On Monday, August 15th, the St. Charles City Council approved an intergovernmental agreement with School District #303 to transfer ownership of the former Little Woods School from District 303 to the City. This is an excellent example of two local governments cooperating on a transaction that provides benefits to each agency and is good for taxpayers.

School District #303 is the owner of a parcel of property commonly referred to as the Little Woods School site. The site is approximately 2.25 acres in area located on the west side of Illinois Route 25 near its intersection with Pinelands Road. You can view an aerial photo of the site here. 

In 2007, the city obtained a “first right of refusal” to purchase the Little Woods School property in exchange for the lease of some city-owned property near the District 303 transportation facility (bus barn) on Peck Road. At that time, the school district needed some property from the city to accommodate its school bus operations. The “first right of refusal” ensured that the city would get the first opportunity to acquire the Little Woods property, if the school district wanted to sell it.

Also in 2007, a 10-Year Water System Master Plan was done to evaluate the city’s current water supply and distribution system to determine alternatives for future upgrades and improvements. One of the recommendations at that time was locating an elevated water storage tank at one of the following locations:

• Illinois Route 25 and Country Club Road
• Illinois Route 31 and Red Gate Road

The recommendation was to locate a water tower in these area for the following reasons:

1. Provide additional storage required in the long term, 
2. Facilitate maintenance in the system, for example water tower and system infrastructure service and maintenance, and 
3. Accommodate emergency shut-downs.

In 2010, Dr. Don Schlomann, Superintendent of School District 303, contacted me and indicated that the school district planned to consolidate its administrative offices, relocate personnel from the Little Woods School, and sell the facility. This was being pursued as a way to save over $100,000 annually on the costs of operating the facility. When Dr. Schlomann indicated that Little Woods was being closed, it represented the perfect opportunity to pursue the city’s water tower plan, given the site’s location and topography.

Benefits of constructing a tower at this location include:

• Increased flows in sections of both east and west sides of town.
• Substantial impact on improving and maintaining pressure with the loss of the Campton Hills Road water tower due to either scheduled maintenance or emergency repair.
• Improve and maintain pressure with loss of Well #8 booster station (located in the Central Manufacturing District on Kirk Road) due to either scheduled maintenance or emergency repair.
• Allows modification to operation of Well # 8 booster station that will save approximately $30,000 annually (2010 dollars) in electrical costs.

In further discussing the transfer of the property, the school district expressed a preference to have the City provide the District with “in kind” consideration by providing high school resource officers for a period of time, in lieu of receiving money. For several years, the city and school district have had an agreement that places police officers in both high schools to assist with a variety of incidents. The duties of officers include:

1. Promote rapport between police officers and students in the school.
2. Make presentations to students, parents, and staff members on law and law enforcement, safety, and good citizenship.
3. Refer troubled students to proper professional help within the student services division of the school and police department.
4. Plan preventative substance abuse programs.
5. Work with parents on runaway students.
6. Assist school officials in the enforcement of truancy laws and work with truancy detail.

In exchange for the transfer of the Little Woods school to the city, the city agreed to extend the agreement for police officers at St. Charles North High School and St. Charles East High School for an additional eight (8) years from June 7, 2011 through June 6, 2019.

In the next several weeks, District 303 will be permitted to remove certain items that it can use in other buildings such as window air-conditioning units, chalkboards, fire extinguishers, and door hardware. District 303 will also remove and preserve the the building’s cornerstone for commemorative purposes.

The City intends to take possession of the property in mid-September, at which time the facility will be razed. The city will maintain the site until such time as a plan is approved to construct the water tower.

In St. Charles, residents are served by a variety of governmental agencies that work diligently to provide high quality services, programs, and facilities for the community. It is important that the local government representatives communicate regularly regarding their programs and activities and work cooperatively for the benefit of our constituents. The current economic climate will force more government entities to look at working more closely to serve common populations. The Little Woods School transaction is a model of intergovernmental cooperation and represents a true ‘win-win.’