RidgePort delayed as research continues

DIAMOND - Once again, the village is delaying annexation of the RidgePort intermodal site to continue its research into the proposal. "It's my duty to Diamond residents," Mayor Michael Ramme noted Tuesday evening in announcing a special meeting of the Diamond Village Board at the Diamond Banquet Hall at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 15. He said the board has worked on the RidgePort project since January, and that a specialist is being hired to check concerns recently raised about underground mining and possible effects on the area. The reports will be presented at the public hearing, Ramme said as he removed the annexation proposal from Tuesday's regular bi-monthly meeting agenda to December. RidgePort is the 3,000-acre business park proposed at the intersection of Interstate 55 and Lorenzo Road in Will County, northeast of Diamond. The intermodal will include rail-served warehouse and distribution facilities , plus more than 40 acres of commercial development, including a travel plaza, hotels, restaurants, retail services and offices. The intermodal is to be built in three phases over a 10- to 15-year time span. The developers say the project will further enhance the region's position as the largest freight transportation hub in the nation. During the meeting, Village Trustee David Warner noted the size and scope of the project, and said he would expect a lot of community effort in putting the details together. "Contact us - seek us out," he said. "I think you'd be surprised at what the facts are." Trustee Teresa Kernc is interested in what the village's experts will have to say. Her questions and fears involve the community's quality of life, she said. If the slightest chance exists the proposal is not a good choice, Kernc indicated she would say no. "We're not an island," she said. "We need our neighbors and they need us now." Trustee Carla Youngquest said the area should work together as one community “to get this settled." "We're looking into this thing," she said. "Talk to us. We'll give you the facts we've got." Trustee Donna Scholtes agreed. "Sounding off doesn't do anything," she said in reference to heated comments made during the public hearings last month on the proposal and lack of public attendance at regular village board meetings. "It's just blowing off steam. If you want something from your community, you have to give to your community." The RidgePort development is going to happen, Mayor Ramme told the 50 or so people in the audience. "If not in our community, then somewhere else," he said. "If the county takes it over, there's nothing in it for us. We've got to work a little harder and see if we can get along." About 10 spectators sought the podium during the public comment portion of the meeting. Among them was the man who thought this type of industry was not good for anyone. "Greedy people try to force us to annex," he said. "Why don't you go across the road. We don't want you to be in Diamond. We want to be left alone. Are we supporting China with all these warehouses?" Roger McCullough of Coal City noted the larger turnout for village board meetings indicates a concern among communities about RidgePort "coming in and ruining our quality of life." Another spectator said residents rely on the village board to look out for the best interests of the people. "And a lot of us think you are not," he added, saying residents and “this kind of environment can't co-exist." Diamond resident Wayne Halligan said the village board has to closely scrutinize the proposal. "There are so many things hidden that we don't know about," Halligan told the board. "RidgePort is going to happen. I think it's being rushed. Some don't want it, and some don't mind." Paul Sistek of Diamond gave his take on the proposal. "RidgePort is here," he said. "There's no way to change it. The village board is looking at it correctly. RidgePort can certainly be an asset to the village of Diamond. If you drop the ball," he said to the board, "there are others willing to pick it up." Newly elected Grundy County Board member Mike Throneburg of Coal City said the RidgePort proposal worries him, and he does not believe the village board is acting in the best interest of the public. For one, he said, county taxpayers will have to pay about $20 million to improve East Pine Bluff Road to handle the in-creased traffic to RidgePort. He said the proposal would put more burden on the Grundy County Sheriff's Department and County Health Department, and on the Coal City schools. He suggested the village board obtain professional assistance, return to the drawing board, and meet with all affected taxing bodies. "Don't give 100 percent of the TIF (tax increment finance district) funds to the (RidgePort) developer as currently proposed," Throneburg concluded. One spectator noted tons and tons of Chicago sludge lies buried beneath the topsoil on the Cinder Ridge portion of the site. Another maintained Lorenzo Road has the worst deer-vehicle collision record in Illinois. "All truck traffic from RidgePort should go directly to Interstate 55," he said. In a fact-finding release recently distributed to area residents, the mayor noted the Cinder Ridge Golf Course annexation of 778 acres will be individually zoned. The I-1 limited industrial district will take up about 148 acres, and the 221-acre Lakepoint Club will be zoned R-4 general residence, as will the 329-acre Cinder Ridge Golf Course and property between the fairways. Another 80 acres at Frontage Road will be zoned B-3 service business district. The limited industrial district will serve as the buffer between the large-scaled industrial district and R-4 district for the Lakepoint area. The R-4 areas will be restricted to ages 55 and over, and will not impact the schools iin Wilmington or locally. The RidgePort Logistics Center annexation will consist of about 1,407 acres, with special uses to include underground mining of limestone and dolomite. The village of Diamond is requiring the vibration from the mining be 50 percent of state requirements. Royalties from the mining operation will go to the village. About 60 acres of commercial development will be at the northern and southern ends of the property near the Interstate 55 interchanges. The sales tax from the commercial development is to go to Diamond. RidgePort is to build a million gallon water tower and provide waste water service at its expense. RidgePort will contribute $100,000 toward a vacuum truck to remove waste water from the center and to use in other village projects. The center will pay for police protection by the Will County Sheriff's Depart-ment. RidgePort also said agreements have been reached with the Wilming-ton school and fire districts. The village of Diamond is expected to receive about $1 million annually in fees, sales and real estate taxes from RidgePort. Property taxes for village residents are expected to remain low. No residential zoning will be in the RidgePort Center, the mayor noted in the release. Every aspect of the proposal has been investigated, he wrote. "Let me assure you this has been months of investigation, hours of meetings, and days of review,” he added. “The benefits for our village, I believe, will be numerous.” Ramme wrote it is the board's responsibility to work for the future of the village, and representation of village residents is and must remain the top priority. “During these hard economic times, we need to take advantage of this opportunity and provide a future for the village of Diamond,” he concluded.