Campton Township seeks support for $17.2M open space referendum

Campton Township is seeking a $17.2 million bond referendum on the April 1 consolidated election ballot, for acquisition, maintenance, development, rehabilitation and renovation of open space.

This is a continuation of the township’s effort at open space preservation, which began in 2001 with voters approving $18.7 million in bonds; and then $28.2 million in 2005.

The two bond issues allowed the township to buy and preserve 1,650 acres, maintaining a rural residential environment.

“Development was at a peak and our open space was being gobbled up,” officials said as part of a presentation on the referendum.

Officials hope the township’s good record of qualifying for nearly $8 million in grants, plus nearly $11.2 million funding from the Conservation Foundation, also according to the presentation.

“We are extremely proud of our Open Space program and look forward to passage of the bond referendum,” Campton Township Supervisor John Kupar wrote in an email.

The new bond request is proposed for:

• $5.4 million for additional property purchases
• $400,000 for additional personnel
• $560,000 for the first phase of priority projects
• $2.9 million for the second phase of priority projects
• $1.8 million for the third phase of priority projects
• $6.2 million for future projects

“We are anticipating a 10-year bond issuance on the $17.2 million open space referendum which targets a $0.23 tax rate in order to keep the tax in line with the taxes paid in 2025,” according Kupar’s email.

The impact on a house valued at $400,000 would be $286 per year or $24 per month. The impact on a house valued at $800,000 would be $590 per year or $49 per month, according to Speer Financial Inc.‘s calculations.

The township refinanced its existing open space bonds several times, lowering the tax impact on its residents by over $16.7 million from 2011-2020, according to Kupar’s email.

“The township has been good stewards of the public’s money and it’s kind of reflected in how many acres we have,” Kupar said.

In the years since 2001, the township bought 1,461 acres, has 189 acres of conservation easements and 12 historic sites, according to a summary in its presentation.

Its purchases include:

• 221 acres at Corron Farm
• 96 acres at Headwaters
• 628 acres at Headwaters Conservation Area
• 120 acres at Poynor Park
• 67 acres at Mongerson Farm
• 85 acres at Brown Road Farm
• 55 acres of Motz property
• 45 acres at Harley Woods
• 208 acres at Gray Willows Farm
• 210 acres of wetland mitigation banks

Campton Township Open Space Foundation Executive Director Joe Garbarski said his group is the citizen volunteer organization that is promoting the referendum. The money would be used for maintenance, operations, improvements, and land acquisition.

“We created a list for the township of improvements through our own committee,” Garbarski said. “We feel that it’s work that needs to be done and there’s also some parcels of land still available for purchase.”

One area that needs more that $2 million in improvements is the 206-acre Gray Willows Farm, at 5N949 Corron Road, Campton Hills, he said.

“Gray Willows Farm came with nine buildings on the property and some of those needed to be taken down because they’re in poor shape,” Garbarski said. “The main house was in very poor shape and we can’t use it for any of our programs until it’s done.”

Suggested improvements at Gray Willows:

• A 60-by-100-foot shop where all the trucks and equipment would be stored in one central location for $900,000
• Insulating a barn, installing stairs and ADA compliance bathrooms, for $500,000
• Building 80-car asphalt parking lot with bumpers for $450,000
• The main house needs $400,000 worth of refurbishing and remodeling

More information is available on the foundation’s website at ctosf.com.