Environmental concerns & new D204 HS site

If there are differing opinions on weather or not the site is safe, what gives the school board the right to decide it is safe for our children? They have decided without any input from the community. Put the site to a vote at the very least.

This is serious! It is time to stop the name calling and pay attention to the facts. For those of you who honestly believe the SB is acting financially responsibly and is "saving" us 13M by buying Eola/Molitor over BB, please read Justin Kmitch's article in the Daily Herald yesterday! (follows) Botton line, the SB may have to pay BB attorney fees and damages to the BB trust for abandoning the condemnation suit, upwards of 13M DOLLARS! They don't even know the final amount yet - it could be more! So, this perceived "savings" is a joke - people need to wake up to this fact.
In the article Metzger admits they have budgeted $5M to pay the BB lawyer fees, but nothing for damages. The SB apparently thinks they can tie up someone's property for several years, then walk away without a care! Where do you think the money to pay the attorney fees and damages are going to come from? Our tax dollars! So, millions of dollars and counting..........just to back out of a deal. They don't know the final amount owed, yet want to sign a contract on Eola in 4 days (per Daeschner). This is responsible?

Furthermore, it has been confirmed by Daeschner in today's Sun article that plans for a good portion of the Eola property may need to be changed and that that portion of the land is going to be "fenced off" for awhile. Why? Because it is unsafe and is going to need more remediation in the future before it is safe for students and employees. If it's not being done now, it is not being paid for by Midwest Gerneration. It will be paid by us, the taxpayers, down the road! So, POOF, there goes the rest of our "savings".
So, at the end of the day, the EOLA PROPERTY WILL PROBABLY END UP COSTING MORE THAN BB. We will forever also have safety issues in the back of our minds, whether our children attend there or not. To quote today's Sun article: "building a school over gaslines will change the status of the property to a "high consequence area".

PLEASE PUT PERSONAL AGENDAS ASIDE, STOP ACCUSING YOUR NEIGHBORS OF SELFISH MOTIVES AND READ/UNDERSTAND THE FINANCIAL (and environmental) FACTS. THE DISTRICT WANTS TO USE OUR TAX DOLLARS TO BUY A SUB-STANDARD PIECE OF PROPERTY FOR THE NEW SCHOOL. They themselves turned this property down for the very issues that are now coming to light. Is the degree of seriousness of these issues really the point? WHERE IS THEIR INTEGRITY? After looking at THE FACTS, and not surmising about what may or may not motivate your neighbors, how can anyone think, in good conscience, that this SB is doing the "best that it can". This is a disgrace. The SB should be ashamed of its recklessness, lack of leadership, and its continued promotion of pitting neighbor against neighbor as a distraction to understanding what is really going on here.

Daily Herald article (3/15) by Justin Kmitch*******************

Imagine being forced to pay $13 million for something you don't even want.

Indian Prairie Unit District 204 officials could find themselves in that position pending the outcome of Monday's court date regarding their failed effort to acquire the Brach-Brodie land in Aurora for Metea Valley High School.

The district and representatives of the Brach-Brodie trust are expected to appear at 9 a.m. before Circuit Judge Robert Kilander. They will discuss what the property owners want to recoup as a result of the district's decision to abandon its pursuit of 55 acres near 75th Street and Commons Drive. The district already owns 25 acres there.

District 204 had selected the Brach-Brodie site for the proposed 3,000-student high school, but backed away after a jury decided the 55 acres were worth $31 million -- about $17 million more than the school system was prepared to pay.

"The court will want to know who's going to make what kind of claim, when we are going to have a hearing on those claims and if there is going to be discovery to determine whether the claims are bona fide," property trust attorney Steve Helm said.

Those claims could top $13 million, Helm said Friday. He said that figure is based on reports from hired experts who determined the value of the acreage rapidly declined between December 2005 when the district attempted to condemn it and this February when the district formally ended its condemnation effort.

Helm said his clients first will ask the judge to force the district to use funds secured in its $125 million 2006 referendum to buy the property.

If the district is unable to do so, it will be asked to reimburse the trust for about $3 million in legal fees and roughly $9.5 million in damages caused by the decreasing value of the property.

"The property has undergone a big loss in value from December 2005, when we were subjected to the condemnation lawsuit, until Feb. 4, 2008," Helm said. "During that time the market went from a fantastic market to all of a sudden being a market that is not as good as it was.

"The Brodies will be seeking that reduction in value that results from the abandonment if they don't come back to buy our property."

School district attorney Rick Petesch did not return calls Friday. School board President Mark Metzger said the district has budgeted for some of the estimated legal fees but not for any decrease in property values.

"We asked early on in October for the fee estimates and we were told they would be as much as $4 million, so we budgeted $5 million," Metzger said. He would not comment on any additional damage claims the trust might seek.

Officials say Monday's proceedings are unlikely to derail the district's plans to build Metea on their newly selected site along Eola Road south of Diehl Road near Aurora.

Superintendent Stephen Daeschner last week said he hopes the district will close on the 87-acre Eola Road parcel owned by St. John AME Church and Midwest Generation on March 19.

On Friday, Metzger declined to set the same target date.

"The sale will close when it's ready to close," he said.

The Aurora City Council is expected to annex the Eola Road site on March 25.

School officials say they're still hopeful they will be able to open the bulk of Metea Valley in the fall of 2009.

By Anonymous on March 16, 2008 7:12 AM

"If there are differing opinions on weather or not the site is safe, what gives the school board the right to decide it is safe for our children?"

It is no different than a select few claiming the site not safe for the sole reason they don't want their kids going to WVHS.

H-E-L-L-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO People....

Why doesn't everyone just cool their jets on the whole "is the Eola site safe" argument and wait for the results of testing?

I'm sure that once the results are presented everyone will have a chance to review them and better understand whether the new site is suitable or not. Until then it's all just conjecture, speculation and idle chatter.

big picture issues on March 16, 2008 9:49 AM

"Furthermore, it has been confirmed by Daeschner in today's Sun article that plans for a good portion of the Eola property may need to be changed and that that portion of the land is going to be "fenced off" for awhile. Why?"

The area around the peaker plant will be fenced off during the dismantling and remediation process. That is standard procedure on any site,regardless of environmental concerns. The fencing helps to limits liability from nosey busybodies looking for evidence and curious children getting hurt snooping around the site.

To: big picture

"PLEASE PUT PERSONAL AGENDAS ASIDE, STOP ACCUSING YOUR NEIGHBORS OF SELFISH MOTIVES"

Oh, you mean like your person agenda of suing the IPSD because you want the school in your backyard or no where at all? Because you don't want your kids attending WVHS? Kinda like those agendas and selfish motives? Will your kids be attending MVHS? Mine will so I like the rest of the parents who's kids will be attending MVHS will wait for the professional results and not trust NSFOC and their greedy lawyer. Afterall the lawsuit doesn't even mention the Eola site, all it says is BB or nothing. Give me a break, let me worry about my own kids safety and you concentrate on your falling real estate property values by the way your acting.

..and I thought Chicken Little was a fictional character. This is quite entertaining.

I love the comments from our superintendent that we will just rope off the contaminated area that we really do understand?

Yep, you kids will go to school next to a toxic dump but don't worry, we will build a fence around it.

What a joke.

Do you want to take the risk that your children will go to school on a site that we may discover in 10 years was completely unsafe all along?

That site will never be safe, I don't care who they hire to say otherwise.

Facts? More hysteria. No one really knows anything despite the chest thumping in the media. This question will not be answered until an independant study is made by professionals that have no emotional attachment to #204 and makes its findings public. The SB has lost its credibility and are spending more money by hiring another law firm. NSFOC main objective is to keep Tall Grass at NV so they are not creditable. No one can be believed until outside studies are completed.

I see you are already gearing up for an excuse if the EPA comes back and states everything is fine.

Quoted from the sun

"The studies are being overseen by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, which must approve all test results and will ensure the site is clean before the district will build the third high school at the Eola site."

By Anonymous on March 16, 2008 11:06 AM
"That site will never be safe, I don't care who they hire to say otherwise"

You see where this is headed NSFOCfraud, please include this comment on your website. These people will never be happy, even after everything comes back fine. ITS ALL ABOUT NV. Not MV. Not the SB. Just a bunch of BS.

To the sun, you ask about which side do you believe? The ones with accurate and hard evidence, not those who have the NV or bust mentality.

To: Anonymous at 11:06am

What do you care, seriously? I will bet you don't even live in that area and probably have never been there yourself. Please stop worrying about those kids and focus on your own. Oh wait, you are because you helped file a frivolous lawsuit because it's BB or nothing so your kids can go to the newest HS because you don't want them going to WVHS. Did I get that about right? I thought so.

Let me pose a question to the NSFOC. Say there is no serious risk at the Eola site or better yet what if they picked a site still in the "north" that had no risk. I'm guessing you would have still filed your frivolous lawsuit, right? It still would have been BB site or bust, so your kids can go to the new HS or NVHS. I know it is a hypothetical question but I'm assuming my asnwer is correct, you'd still sue and think of a different propoganda technique to further your self interests. We all see through your BS.

When moving to Naperville we looked at houses near high power lines. Why do you think these houses cost less than similar houses in the same neighborhood?...Because there are questions regarding the safety of living under high power lines. We chose not to consider those homes for purchase "just in case". For the exact same reason, the school board rejected this site previously. Why do you think this property is a bargain for 204? I guess, for me, that risk is just too high.

Moderator Jim to Anonymous: Very good point. The SB's prior rejection of this site is one of the big unanswered questions in this story. Sooner or later they're going to have to answer it.

Wow, now that was interesting. I just read Shawn Collins letter to the SB(nice job in earning $204 per idiot just to sign his name on a letter).

If you take everything in his letter to the SB as truthful and apply it to the Tall Grass subdivision. They never should have built homes in TALL GRASS. There exposed to high EMF readings due to the power lines in their subdivision.

add the Laidlaw bus fumes and the noise level of freight train horns all times of the day and night. This should have been the land the school board should condemn and looks like they would have gotten a bargain.

Moderator Jim to Anonymous: Very good point. The SB's prior rejection of this site is one of the big unanswered questions in this story. Sooner or later they're going to have to answer it.

I don't know what there answer will be but I'll guess..

Think of a beauty pageant. The winner is disqualified. The first runner up takes her place. She wasn't good enough to win, but she won by default.

I would assume the SB rejected the site, because they could only choose one "winner" and the POTENTIAL hazards of the "1st runner up". As you see, they are trying to see if the POTENTIAL hazard is an ACTUAL hazard.

Sorry to use such an analogy, but some people need things explain by illustration and laments terms.

To: Your Narrow Mind........

To quote you: "Afterall the lawsuit doesn't even mention the Eola site, all it says is BB or nothing. Give me a break, let me worry about my own kids safety and you concentrate on your falling real estate property values by the way your acting."

Your comments do nothing except prove my point about the level of ignorance that exists on many, many levels. And, again, all you can do is resort to more name calling. You have obviously not read the complaint. It does mentione the Eola site and a good portion of the complaint actually focuses on the concerns surrounding it, including the fact that the SB itself dismissed it because of potential hazards two years ago. Try reading it, then try looking at a map that plots out the school and its "amenities". Maybe the school is not right on top of the peaker plant and oil storage container, but that doesn't mean that kids will never be near them.
I won't be sucked in to your ridiculous comments about property values. They only land and the only property value I'm concerned about at the moment is that of Eola/Molitor.

To RJ: Thanks for at least refraining from name calling. I can understand that it is standard operating procedure to fence off areas that are under construction for any reason. My concern, and focus of my comment, was rather at the timeframe we are looking at here. It's "full steam ahead" on buying the land and getting the school up and running while the "bad part of the property" sits fenced off "for some time", according to Mr. Daeschner. Further he says, "It will not be utilized until it is totally remediated, but we will have nobody - kids or anyone - in that area for quite a while down the road." As a concerned person and taxpayer, this means to me that it is not going to be remediated any time soon - remaining as a risk and a future tax burden. Midwest Generation is NOT going to be around to pay the bill, or assume any interim liabilities - that is clear.

Environmentally safe or not, the site is in the wrong and an "unsafe" location to serve the student community and the population density. This Eola creates a situation where more children and parents going more distance each day by bus or car. That is where the risk is - automobile accidents. Also not to mention a great waste of gas and adding more traffic on an already congested mess on the maain roads of Naperville.

I think the NFSOC took their "best" argument forward to maybe win a case, but it is about all those other things. People who don't want the third school (taxes taxes), people who don't want to go a school further than the one they go to now, people who think the SB was untrustworthy, (almost illogical at times and definitely played the own agendas), people who think they were mis-led by SB , and people who think that a nice new HS should be situated in the SW or SE corner of the district would solve alot.

http://www.nsfoc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62&Itemid=77

RE: This blog

'In today's Sun (Sun. 3.16) we outline and put the new site for the proposed third high school for District 204 in full context. In a

detailed front-page graphic, using satellite imagery, we show the exact location of where the school stands to be located at Eola and Molitor Rd.The precise locations of the power lines, gas pipelines and the peaker plant are shown where they are in relation to where the high school will be." .....
----------

i saw the 'front page graphic map' on the front page of the Naperville Sun.. why isn't it on the Naperville Sun website? and it isn't on the Aurora Beacon, The Plainfield Sun, or the Bolingbrook Sun websites.

you have to 'search' to find today's (sun 3.16.08) article in the Aurora Beacon; and you can't find today's article, at all, in the Plainfield or Bolingbrook Suns.

Yet, you have a 'poll' on the Naperville Sun front page which will be on for another week- is this story important, or not??

Moderator Jim to Anonymous 2: Yes, the story is very important and your concerns are noted. On the Naperville home page, click on the headline "D204 sifting through environmental reports." That takes you to the story along with a PDF of the site map. Just click on that link and you'll have it in living color on your computer. We will follow up - great idea - by getting this document up on the Bolingbrook and Plainfield web sites tomorrow (Monday, 3.17) morning. As for the Aurora paper, I can't speak for them. They do their own thing. You might want to contact them. Thanks.

big picture issues: Here is exactly what Dr.D stated in it's entirety;

"That will not occur for quite some time now," he said. "So, in all honesty, that whole entire area is going to be fenced off, if you will. It will be not be utilized, certainly until it is totally remediated, but we will have nobody - kids or anyone - working in that area for quite a while down the road."

Nowhere does he state it is "going to need more remediation in the future before it is safe for students and employees",nor does he state "If it's not being done now, it is not being paid for by Midwest Generation. It will be paid by us, the taxpayers, down the road! So, POOF, there goes the rest of our "savings".

Those are your words. What this means in reality is, MWGEN needs to dismantle the peaker plant in it's entirety and remediate the property to the satisfaction of all parties, including the IL EPA, before it turns it over to the SD. Meanwhile, the rest of the site can and will be built on as this process is done, as it would be foolish to hold up the start of construction on the actual school until this process is complete.

............."That takes you to the story along with a PDF of the site map. Just click on that link and you'll have it in living color on your computer"
-----------------
Sorry, i get nothing when clicking on pdf but the following:

.."Windows has the following information about this file type. This page will help you find software needed to open your file.

File Type: Unknown

Description: Windows does not recognize this file type.

You may search the following Web site for related software and information:

Windows Live Search
You may purchase or download software related to this file type from the following Web site:

Windows Marketplace

Have questions? See these Frequently Asked Questions"....

-------

.. but then i copied the above mentioned pdf link, saved it to my desktop, then opened it with adobe acrobat, and it worked...

that'a a lot of hoops to jump thru to open this pdf file!

Moderator Jim to Anonymous 2: Sorry about that, but glad you were able to get it. weird, I had no problem on my computer. Maybe it was just a temporary glitch.

..." As for the Aurora paper, I {MOD JIM} can't speak for them. They do their own thing. You might want to contact them. Thanks."

-------------
that's unfortunate that the Aurora side of district 204 does not have this map, or info(they have to do a 'search'.. it's not on the website 'front page')...

and the Aurora City Council is meeting to discuss, further, on whether to annex this parcel of land(!) on Tues 3.18, and Tues 3.25.08.

Is the Aurora Beacon relevant to the people of Aurora, and the Aurora City Council?

Moderator Jim to Anonymous 2: Telll you what, I'll contact them in the morning and try to get it up on their web site as well. Thanks.

from Moderator Jim to Anonymous 2-

"Sorry about that, but glad you were able to get it. weird, I had no problem on my computer. Maybe it was just a temporary glitch"

-------
it's not a temporary glitch- i have had this happen before with the sun pdf's... i will ask other people if they have trouble clicking directly on the pdf links, and getting the info directly.

anonymous2, it must be your computer. I also have no problem with the PDF opening up by just clicking on the Sun's link. Maybe a visit from the geek Squad is in order?

from Moderator Jim to Anonymous 2-

"Telll you what, I'll contact them in the morning and try to get it up on their web site as well. Thanks."

---
thank YOU, jim; and, maybe, the people of aurora might thank you, also.

It would be helpful if folks contributing comments to this blog indicated which high school their neighborhood will attend under the current plan. Do neighborhoods slated for Metea support this lawsuit or not? If the crux of the lawsuit is about the safety of the site, it seems to me that theirs are the only opinions that should matter.

RJ -
I didn't mean to attribute anything to Dr. Daeschner other than:
"That will not occur for quite some time now," he said. "So, in all honesty, that whole entire area is going to be fenced off, if you will. It will be not be utilized, certainly until it is totally remediated, but we will have nobody - kids or anyone - working in that area for quite a while down the road."

So, you are right. The rest are my words. Because, in effect, the SB wants to close on the land and get going, with the outcome of the peaker plant dismantling, subsequent land remediatation, and IEPA test results TBD. In my opinion, and for my dollars, that is an awfully big thing to leave open ended. It would be nice for Daeschner to specify the timeframe of all this - "quite some time" is rather vague, isn't it and clarify to the taxpaying public in writing that Midwest Gen is responsible for all associated costs, no matter how long it ends up taking. Would you feel comfortable buying a house if the builder told you it will be ready "some time from now"? And, oh, by the way, we don't know what we might find once we start digging in the ground. We'll let you know once we cross that bridge. I think people might feel more comfortable if the SB was more forthcoming with details. They give off the appearance that they, themselves, don't know - or they don't want us to know. Not sure. But sharing some more information would go along way in securing public trust.

http://www.healthy-energy-lifestyle.com/HealthyEnergyLifestyle_ChiWaveGuard.htm

It would appear that we all need one of these :). I have been poring over medical literature and EPA sites the last few days.The only thing that I have concluded is that we should all have cancer by now due to EMF's. Actually our homes have the highest levels.To put it fairly, one must have the genetic presence for the EMF to cause a disease such as Leukemia but nonetheless... There are lots of sites in our district that have higher EMF readings and you would be surprised where they are. Folks we are opening a can of worms, bigtime. Eola/Molitor is the least of our concerns....

I pulled up the Eola map on the Naperville Sun website with no problem.

Why is the district buying the church site if there isn't anything planned for the land? Why is every jammed to the north and east up against the power lines?

Looks lovely. Not. Whether it is safe or not, the perception of power lines isn't great. So all those visiting schools (baseball, tennis, footbal) can enjoy the view too. ("why would Naperville build a school here?)

Much of what has been said above (from both sides of the coin) makes sense...(ie. let's wait for the results).

Up until a few days ago, the District continued to state that they plan on closing on March 19th and breaking land on April 1 (I think the official position at this time is "no comment").

I do want to give Mr. Metzger credit in that he has now come out and stated that the land will close when the land is ready to close (which is certainly a more prudent and responsible approach).

Jim, I appreciate you acknowledging that the Board has to answer why it raised the concerns regarding EMF when they excluded this site 2 years ago. They should also address why the Illinois PTA has a position against building schools near such power lines. To date, there has been no such answer forthcoming!

It is clear (and consistent with precendence) that reasonable due diligence on whether a school should be built on industrial land such as this should be comprehensive and should take months.
This is especially true given Mid West Gen's contradiction of the statements by the Board and the District that it would carry liability going forward.Fortunately, I think we are finally heading in that direction.

One small example to illustrate the point... the District's EMF readings shared to date were inexplicably only taken near ground level. I expect that the school will be 2-3 stories tall, and obviously the higher the level, the closer it will be to the power lines (and preseumably, the higher the EMF numbers).

As an aside, many of us refuse to accept the comparison to hair dryers, etc. There is a body of evidence to suggest that there is a higher incidence of childhood leukemia the closer a child lives to power lines (and folks, the size of the power lines at this site are not the power lines you see in our subdivisions). Perhaps if a child used a hair dryer for 8 hours a day for 200 days a year, there would be a similar connection (I do not know).

Regardless, the Board itself suggested the concern regarding EMF in the past and excluded the site because of this (as has at least one other State which prohibits building a school within a certain distance from powerlines---and building on this site would be illegal per se if we lived in that State).

The EMF is just one small example of what has emerged in the District's testing, and I believe that there will be independent testing performed over the next months as well that will in fact shed light on whether this site is in fact safe. I suspect that the fact we have not been provided with the test results promised by the District speaks volumes in regards to the remediation that has emerged after these rounds of cursory testing (that as Midwest Gen pointed out, were only done under under the supervision of the District's hired experts).

I understand the frustration and emotions that are attached to this issue (after all, these are our children). However, I would hope that everyone would agree that before we spend our taxpayer money on closing on this land (and starting construction), these issues need to be answered in a satisfactory manner.

Please people it is NOT Naperville building the school it is the tax payers of IPSD 204 which is consists of Aurora, Naperville, Bolingbrook and Plainfield.

Enough of the "Naperville" BS it is not their SD.

Any chance of the Naperville Sun posting a satellite picture of Tall Grass with the powerlines, rail tracks and gas lines highlighted? It would be great to see a comparison.

Sorry - Point taken about it not being a Naperville High School. Let me re-state:

(the site)"Looks lovely. Not. Whether it is safe or not, the perception of power lines isn't great. So all those visiting schools (baseball, tennis, football) can enjoy the view too. ("why would Indian Prairie School District, consisting of mostly Naperville, Aurora, a few neighborhoods from Bolingbrook and one from Plainfield build a school here? (Eola site)

So now NSFOC is concerned over the costs of lawsuit against BB. And their answer to that is to file ANOTHER lawsuit so the school board has to pay MORE legal fees?

See through the smokescreen people. The lawsuit is all about certain people getting their children into Neuqua Valley.

NAPERVILLE Schools For Our Children.

It sure is funny how the law suit talks about EMF from the power lines by the Eola Road site, yet no one raised a syink about the power lines running behind NVHS and through the Tall Grass Subdivision.
The Eola Rd site is the best choice. It does not make sense to have 3 high schools clumped together in the middle of a district.
To all you parents who say they don't want their children crossing the railroad tracks to get to WVHS; should children really be driving?

Jim, curious what the reaction of the Sun is in regards to the NSFOC.fraud website that attacks Mr. Waldorf's "objective" reporting.

Some of the people in this community just don't get it. Take a look for a moment at what has gone on here:

1) D204 drives a referendum through to get us to agree to build a third high school at Brach-Brodie.

2) They try to buy the land and the jury gives them a really high price.

3) They choose an inferior alternative site. They get the community riled up into filing a lawsuit.

4) So now, what will they do? To appease those people who are so upset over the Eola/Molitor property and its environmental concerns and to appears the NSFOC people who want their kids to go to their 'neighborhood' (read: Neuqua) school, they'll agree to buy Brach-Brodie. BUT it's going to cost an additional $10-20 million dollars -- and the referendum to approve that additional cost is coming your way. After all -- IT'S WHAT YOU WANTED, right? To build the school at BB? That's what NSFOC is saying.

The School Board is playing us. They'll end up with just what they wanted -- a 3rd high school at Brach-Brodie and we'll pick up the tab because, hey, the residents sued to make it happen.

Editors/Moderators:

Why are you trying to incite further NSFOC riot with the rehashing of the parcel evaluation from two years ago?

Two years ago the School Board listed "perceived" environmental issues on the Eola site as one of the concerns with the location. They did not perform environmental testing on the site. All possible locations had concerns listed. The biggest one with Eola was the sellers didn't want to sell. Now they do.

Move two years forward, they did the environmental studies, and the site is safe.

Amazing how the most vocal of those pushing their environmental concern/agenda are those who are being now relocated to WVHS???

To: Editors/Moderators:
Move two years forward, they did the environmental studies, and the site is safe.

They did???Perhaps you are on the special secret mailing list and you have been provided with the Phase II studies that are being held back from the rest of us. Perhaps the couple of weeks of testing is not anywhere close to what will be required in regards to placing a school on an industrial site? Keep reading the papers....we are months away from the real testing being completed!

Has the District concluded this site is now safe (yes, somewhere around January 15th before any of their cursory testing was performed). The District excluded the site because of exactly what is happening today.

Here is a link showing the electric substation and power lines in relation to Tall Grass. You can zoom in and move around within the map to get your bearings.

The tan colored rectangle towards the top of the map is the substation and the power lines run just south of it. You can make out the power line poles.

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/Naperville+IL+60564/?#a/maps/l:::Naperville:IL:60564:US:41.7059:-88.1973:zip:Will+County/m:hyb:12:41.698311:-88.210313:0::/io:0:::::f:EN:M:/e

It looks like those lines run directly overhead the NV soccer fields? What kind of lines are these? It looks like they go 6 wires or so across....

My family recently moved into the Harris Farm neighborhood, the subdivision directly across the proposed location for MVHS. My kids are young, but if we stay here, ultimately they will attend MVHS. Our backyard faces the new Eola/Molitor site and in fact we have a Bird's Eye view of the entire location from our bedroom window. I've even taken pictures of the property from our backyard and would be more than willing to share them with the moderator to post here if interested. In all honesty, the true picture (how the property looks) is somewhere between the extremely negative pictures on nsfoc.com and the extremely positive pictures on nsfocfraud.com

We ultimately bought our home in Harris Farm assuming that our kids would go to WVHS (this was before the BB site controversy). We've heard great things about WVHS from our friends in Oakhurst and Stonebridge and were really excited about sending our kids there.

Getting back to the issue here, I am very concerned about the environmental hazard that this site MIGHT pose. However, I am waiting to hear from the IEPA and read their report before taking any sort of action. It is at least comforting to read that a school will not be built on this site if the IEPA finds reason to believe that it could be harmful to kids.

What I do find interesting though is that there's not so much chatter from the folks who would be directly affected by this new site - namely families whose kids would be attending the new MVHS. The lawsuit appears to have originated mainly from the TG/WE communities, and while I appreciate their humanitarian concern for our children, I would really like to hear from my nearby neighbors how they feel about this issue. It would really help if you identified your subdivision in your post.

By 204 on March 17, 2008 9:31 AM
Here is a link showing the electric substation and power lines in relation to Tall Grass. You can zoom in and move around within the map to get your bearings.

The tan colored rectangle towards the top of the map is the substation and the power lines run just south of it. You can make out the power line poles.

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/Naperville+IL+60564/?#a/maps/l:::Naperville:IL:60564:US:41.7059:-88.1973:zip:Will+County/m:hyb:12:41.698311:-88.210313:0::/io:0:::::f:EN:M:/e

MY COMMENT....It helps if you ZOOM in to Level 14 on the mapquest link.

Start at the busses,(the yellow rectangular objects) go a little south until you see a white rectangular shape. This is one of the buildings of the storage company, go left of there and you will see the substation and south of there is the power lines.

By Wake Up 204! on March 17, 2008 8:07 AM
Some of the people in this community just don't get it. Take a look for a moment at what has gone on here:

1) D204 drives a referendum through to get us to agree to build a third high school at Brach-Brodie.

2) They try to buy the land and the jury gives them a really high price.

3) They choose an inferior alternative site. They get the community riled up into filing a lawsuit.

4) So now, what will they do? To appease those people who are so upset over the Eola/Molitor property and its environmental concerns and to appears the NSFOC people who want their kids to go to their 'neighborhood' (read: Neuqua) school, they'll agree to buy Brach-Brodie. BUT it's going to cost an additional $10-20 million dollars -- and the referendum to approve that additional cost is coming your way. After all -- IT'S WHAT YOU WANTED, right? To build the school at BB? That's what NSFOC is saying.

The School Board is playing us. They'll end up with just what they wanted -- a 3rd high school at Brach-Brodie and we'll pick up the tab because, hey, the residents sued to make it happen.

....I must have been sleeping because I didn't even figure this one out! "Wake Up 204" you are RIGHT ON POINT!!!

Yes, the power lines run through NV and across Frontier Park and on through Ashbury. Not sure the size but they're pretty big.

You want to see a blog in regards to Ms. Tyle's email yesterday...go to:

http://www.ipsd204.proboards76.com/index.cgi?board=sb&action=display&thread=1205707896&page=1

Completely inappropriate from a Board member! Kinda sick of hearing about how TG and WE want to stay at NV (when we all know this is not going to happen and that these communities are accepting of this). Looks like Ms. Tyle and her community will do anything to stay at NV! (I guess their self interests are at least being protected by a Board member and Joni).

My son will be a freshman next year at WV, and if all goes well, and the SB is successful in meeting their time lines, he will be a member of the first graduating class of Metea Valley. We are very excited about this proposition for a number of reasons. His commute to school will be reduced, he will have greater opportunities to become involved in extra curriculiar activities due to the lower student population, and he will always have the honor of being a member of the first gradutating class from Metea Valley.

The people who have filed this lawsuit are claiming that the site is unsafe. I would like to know how anyone can come to any conclusion on whether the site is safe or not without all of the testing results. If the complaintants only concern was for the safety of the children, I don't beleive the lawsuit should have been filed until after the enviromental testing results had been made public.

I am still crossing my fingers in hopes to having Metea Valley open for my son next year.

Hey Chris B, get off the blogs (just sending out a hello to the peeps ont he street). Still 50 and 0, and going strong! Looking forward to continuing the streak.

This could happend to your child while they are at school.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyMbaZ9FVjA

High pressure pipelines run all over the Eola property!!
The Eola site is wrong for our children.

Call you elected officials!

80 volunteers (which represents only a small number of those who are supporting NSFOC) are handing out NSFOC flyers today throughout the District, and hundreds and hundreds of people have made donations, and continue to support the action to slow down our Board and Administration.

Meetings are taking place every single day in homes and coffee shops throughout the district (although, most of the public activity has been centered in South Naperville, it has grown into many of the MV communities including Mays West, Owens West and yes...even Stonebridge).

People may be intimidated by the tactics used by many in the community, but this is a grassroots effort that continues to grow everyday. Just read the recent stories in the Sun and Herald if you have any question as to where this is heading---. LOOK AT THE FACTS and decide whether the path and speed being employed by the Board and District are in the best interests of the District.

If the Board and District had their way, they would have closed on EOLA and would be breaking ground as we speak (is this reasonable due diligence when we still do not even have the Phase II results)?

However, PLEASE, those of you who continue to support slowing down our Board and Administration....we need your help. Do not rely on others to carry forward your voice on this important issue. Please consider making a donation at www.NSFOC.org to help us carry forth the momentum and protect ALL of our communities.

One of our Board members (Ms. Tyle) made it clear this weekend in her mass email to her subdivision who she is protecting, but who is looking after you? The answer has to be YOU if there is a chance to continue to make sure that the District and Board engage in a fair and reasonable process, and do not make dangerous decisions that we will all have to live with for years to come.

Thank you all.

The simplest solution is to put it to a vote. If they really cared, they could have gotten it on the April ballot. Now, of course, it's too late. I'm sure they wouldn't have anyway because they know there is NO WAY this site would pass a vote.

I'm sorry for people like anonymous and others who are very excited about the new school. It would be great, but I think many are blinded by the upside. You are too quick to negate all the added risks with this site. EMF, pipelines and fuel contamination, more people crossing RR tracks, an increase in commutes for many that outweighs the decrease for fewer.

To all interested parties: On our home page we now have a special archived section of stories relating to the D204 controversy over the new high school. Included in this is a link to the pdf of the satellite image graphic that appeared on the front page of Sunday's (3.16) Sun. Click the link and you can see the map - in color - outlining everything on the Eola/Molitor site.

By the way, "We are slowing down," great post - just wanted to point out that it is May Watts and Owen West.

"However, PLEASE, those of you who continue to support slowing down our Board and Administration....we need your help. Do not rely on others to carry forward your voice on this important issue. Please consider making a donation at www.NSFOC.org to help us carry forth the momentum and protect ALL of our communities.".. as posted by WE are slowing down..

I AM already making a donation with my hard earned taxpayer money, and so is everybody else.... to defend your stupid lawsuit against US!AND please, be clear, you are not "the voice" and do not speak for the majority of this district! Give me a break!! :)

By now you and your "masses" should have more than enough to cover your tens of thousands of dollars (or should I say hundreds of thousands?) of Mr. Collins "justified" legal fees....Good luck soliciting with your "truthful" brochures. Oh yes, BTW, NO SOLICITORS does means you.Thank you.

Thanks for the info, Jim. It's unfortunate that the link to the graphic seems to be cut off. In the front page picture, you could clearly see that the tennis courts are right next to/ practically on top of / the peaker plant area. You really can't see the other adjacent areas in the picture that is now there.

No matter what happens my kids will continue to go to a very good school - WVHS. I pray that the IEPA approves the site and MVHS is built on Eola so I can welcome our new neighbors from White Eagle and Tall Grass to our school.

In regards to:

Good luck soliciting with your "truthful" brochures. Oh yes, BTW, NO SOLICITORS does means you.

If you are one of the volunteers handing out brochures, please do not go to his house (he seems kinda grumpy).

Stick to the facts and let's keep pushing ahead. Thanks again for everyone's efforts.

Moderator Jim to km: I just compared the pdf to the front-page picture and I see no difference. It's exactly the same.

If you DON'T support the lawsuit. Vote by going to:

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/d204suit/index.html

NSFOC WEBSITE...

Our goal is to get the IPSD school board members to SLOW DOWN, RETHINK AND REDO the new high school, the boundaries, their own criteria and fiscal responsibility.

NSFOC FRAUD WEBSITE:

We hate you and you are really, really, really, stupid...and mean and unfair and I don't like you (and you are ugly and stupid and mean). We are mild mannered parents, but you are not, and we hate you and you are really, really, really, stupid...and mean and unfair. Joni and Tyle think you are really, really mean too, don;t you Tyle and Joni!

IPSD 204 WEBSITE as of last week:

"We will not be derailed and will close on the EOLA property on March 19th. Breaking ground on April 1st. Everything is safe...trust us.

IPSD 204 WEBSITE(as of today):

"No comment"

IPSD WEBSITE next week

The new land selection process will be announced on April 15, 2008, with the new boundary recomendations to be announced shortly thereafter and well before new land is purchased (NO PUBLIC COMMENT WELCOME)!

After reading these blogs I've just realized what a waste of time all this is.

Thank goodness for March Madness. Can never have enough of College BBall. If you haven't done so yet go to www.MarchMadness.com and fill out your bracket. This is a good use of your time. No name calling, backstabbing antics. Just good old clean fun.

Moderator Jim to Anonymous: Who are you picking for your Final Four?

To Anonymous on March 17, 2008 12:45 PM

You are "really, really, really, stupid...and mean and unfair and I don't like you (and you are ugly and stupid and mean)."

Have you taken your meds today?

I think the Sun should do an investigative report (Dave Savini style) on the people behind NSFOC.

What they would find is that there are about 10 core people, all from TG, who all stormed out of the school board meeting on 1/22 (after the boundaries were announced), who were all shouting "THIS IS NOT OVER, THIS IS NOT OVER". Within days of their emotional outburst, they formed NSFOC and and filed a lawsuit.

I'm so glad that they were able to channel their self-serving anger towards a better cause.... the safety of school children located 10 miles from their own community (sarcasm). Give me a break.

These people need to be exposed!!! Come on Sun, do some real reporting.

Does anyone have the text of Ms. Tyle's email? If so can you please quote it here for us? It is important to see what our board representatives are saying.

Thanks.

Hey Jim, why not a blog about the Final 4 because this whole mess in 204 is getting old and people are acting worse than the Duke fans in the 80's. Yeh anyone over 40 I'm sure remembers those days. Won't see that this year as Duke didn't even make it to the dance this year.

To the WE/TG whiners. This is not about your children nor the childred who will attend MVHS. This is about your selfish desires and how you want the new high school for your own personal reasons, ie property values, I don't want WVHS, etc. Do not insult us by implying you care about the safety of the site or the children who will attend. Any person and/or judge with minimal knowledge of this could see through your claims to the crux of the matter and the obvious truth behind your smokescreen claims. It reminds me of the OJ trial....throw enough mud on the wall in the hope some will stick.

Due dilligence has been and will continue to be done by the board and those associated with the Eola site development. I applaud them on their efforts to most efficiently use our tax dollars to acquire this site in a timely manner and to stay on schedule in the aftermath of the BB debacle. Site testing by outside agencies has been posted to date and show comparable results far lower than standing next to your refrigerator or microwave, for example. In addition, these issues were discussed and responded to at length at the public board meeting last month.

As for the claim that site remdiation costs will be borne by the taxpayers. That is simply untrue. If site remediation is needed, those costs will be incurred by Midwest Generations. That was part of the negotiations for the land.

It is also important to note that the reason for moving ahead as voted on and planned is not only to maintain the construction schedule, but to avoid escalation costs in the millions from the site contractors if delayed. That factor is, and should be considered by all. Lord knows the attorneys filing these claims are looking to delay as much as possible. That, my friends and neighbors, are only benefiting them, not the taxpayers nor our children. Let truth prevail...

If you want real scientific evidence regarding EMFs - electromagnetic fields caused by electrical sources and the effects of EMFs on health, go to a credible, scientific source. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/electromagneticfields.html

MedlinePlus is part of the National Library of Medicine, a repository of scientific information, resources and research that anyone can utilize. The information on MedLine plus is real research studies that the US National Institutes of Health has funded with your tax dollars through research grants to our nation's best scientists and medical professionals.

Here's a bit of what the National Institutes of Health and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has to say about the effect of EMFs on our children's health. Bottom line, there isn't much if anything to worry about regarding the power lines near the new high school site, those by Neuqua or those running through Tall Grass. They might not be pretty, but unless you touch them, there's not much of a health issue.

Electromagnetic Fields

Also called: EMFs

Electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) are areas of energy that surround electrical devices. Power lines, electrical wiring, and appliances produce EMFs. Some people worry about EMF exposure and cancer. A few studies found a link between EMF exposure and a higher risk of childhood leukemia, but the link is weak. Other studies didn't find a link between EMF exposure and other childhood cancers.

For adults, studies of EMF exposure from power lines and electric blankets show little evidence of a link to cancer. In adults, EMFs may reduce heart rate and interfere with brain electrical activity during sleep. This may or may not affect your health.

Some people worry that wireless and cellular phones cause cancer. They give off radio-frequency energy (RF), a form of electromagnetic radiation. Scientists need to do more research on this before they can say for sure.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Start Here http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/emf/

By Anonymous on March 17, 2008 3:20 PM
I think the Sun should do an investigative report (Dave Savini style) on the people behind NSFOC.

What they would find is that there are about 10 core people, all from TG, who all stormed out of the school board meeting on 1/22 (after the boundaries were announced), who were all shouting "THIS IS NOT OVER, THIS IS NOT OVER". Within days of their emotional outburst, they formed NSFOC and and filed a lawsuit.

I'm so glad that they were able to channel their self-serving anger towards a better cause.... the safety of school children located 10 miles from their own community (sarcasm). Give me a break.

These people need to be exposed!!! Come on Sun, do some real reporting.
_________________________________________________

This post takes the cake as the most absurd thing I've read on these blogs.

Go ahead, call Dave Savini. I encourage you to also have him look into how and why District 204 got into the position we are in today. Maybe he can uncover the cost to all of us taxpayers/parents as result of poor leadership and decision making in district 204.

Can you also ask Dave to get us a $$$ amount spent on lobbyists for quick take?

To Stonebridge who wrote: "This is not about your children nor the childred who will attend MVHS. This is about your selfish desires and how you want the new high school for your own personal reasons, ie property values, I don't want WVHS, etc. Do not insult us by implying you care about the safety of the site or the children who will attend. Any person and/or judge with minimal knowledge of this could see through your claims to the crux of the matter and the obvious truth behind your smokescreen claims."

You hit the nail on the head. The NSFOC organizers (all from TG) are aware how transparent this looks... that is why they have tried from day one to turn this into a non-TG thing. That strategy is actually written in some interal planning emails. They succeeded in coercing a WE resident to book the WE clubhouse for the meeting. They have actively been trying to recruit people who actually ARE concerned about the safety of the site. They have actively been trying to recruit the original NO voters. They have actively been trying to recruit any other communities who might not be overjoyed with the new boundaries.

Part of their documented strategy is try to diversify the group as much as possible so as to hide the FACT that the people truly behind NSFOC and the lawsuit are 100% TG. People so mad at how the boundaries turned out, that they are determined to screw the whole thing up for everyone else.

From the other blog...

By Give peace a chance! on March 17, 2008 4:24 PM
I would suggest it is time for everyone to stop the B.S. and talk (novel approach).

Is there some political leader out there willing to have a summit between the District, Board, NSFOC and BB, whereupon BB agrees to reduce its price below 31 million, NSFOC agrees to drop its lawsuit and waive any damages and legal fees fron the District, and the District agrees to build a third high school so that we can have a new school up and running as soon as possible (which was in fact the referendum passed by the voters of 204).

I see no possibility of this resolving in the next 6 months, in which case we will have incurred millions of additional legal fees and perhaps worse (20 million being requested by BB).

Please, for the sake of all of our kids, let's take a deep breath and work something out (the pride thing is getting old).

NSFOC, Dr. D, MM, BB (anyone willing to address this?).

To: NSFOC Insider on March 17, 2008 4:50 PM

You nailed it!!!

Funny how I haven't seen any NSFOC representatives come to my neighborhood or local grocery stores handing out their flyers trying to use the emotional scare propaganda tactic. Come to think of it...if they have been in my neighborhood they are probably lucky I didn't see them!!!

Dave, you can start with me. I would love to share the 100's of documents now in my possession (some no longer available on the IPSD website) that we collectively have in regards to promise after promise made by the District.

How about interviews with the 100's of people who bought homes and made very serious life decisions because of the written and verbal promises by the District that NO MATTER WHAT THE JURY CAME BACK WITH, the District was building on BB.

Or maybe an expose and an accounting of the MILLIONS and MILLIONS and MILLIONS and MILLIONS spent by our elected public officials (and the resulting mess that has resulted).

Or Dave how about the District sending materials in our kids' backpacks encouraging yes votes on the referendum (can anyone say....violation of election laws which actually may void the referendum altogether!).

Something tells me this will be more interesting that investigating the motives of the personal (not elected) residents in NSFOC.

(and Chris B from S.cal, tell your boss that yes...this is real and we appreciate his generous financial support).

By A novel suggestion on March 17, 2008 4:52 PM
From the other blog...

By Give peace a chance! on March 17, 2008 4:24 PM
I would suggest it is time for everyone to stop the B.S. and talk (novel approach).

Is there some political leader out there willing to have a summit between the District, Board, NSFOC and BB, whereupon BB agrees to reduce its price below 31 million, NSFOC agrees to drop its lawsuit and waive any damages and legal fees fron the District, and the District agrees to build a third high school so that we can have a new school up and running as soon as possible (which was in fact the referendum passed by the voters of 204).

I see no possibility of this resolving in the next 6 months, in which case we will have incurred millions of additional legal fees and perhaps worse (20 million being requested by BB).

Please, for the sake of all of our kids, let's take a deep breath and work something out (the pride thing is getting old).

NSFOC, Dr. D, MM, BB (anyone willing to address this?).
_______________________________________________________

This is a great post and also a great idea. I sincerely hope someone that can make a difference in this situation is reading this blog and will respond to this idea.

This might be the only way out of this nightmare.

In two or three weeks, we will own the land and these ridculous blogs will be a distant memory.

Time to fire up the Dozers!!!

NSFOC Insider nailed it indeed. The night the boundaries were announced there were many many speakers. 2 individuals threatened lawsuits - both from the TG community. Their strategy to diversify their group to give the "appearance" of community support is nothing if not very good strategy. Transparent to those of us who know the truth, though.

The only spokesman to come forward from NSFOC thus far is Todd Andrews from the TG community. I suggest that those who do not believe it's all about boundaries to please watch the video from the 1/28/08 School Board meeting (see link below). Go to 58:12 where you will see the NSFOC spokesman talk at length about boundaries, his proximity to NV, the TG bridge and why his children should go to Neuqua as opposed to WV. No mention of any environmental concerns at the Eola site. No mention of SB "promises" that the SB made regarding Brach Brodie. It was all about the boundaries. The lawsuit is nothing but a vehicle to stop the 3rd high school from being built, so that their community stays at NV.

http://ipsdweb.ipsd.org/Subpage.aspx/OnDemandVideo

Here you go, Anon:

From: Alka Tyle
Sent: Friday, March 14, 2008 6:01 PM
Subject: please vote

another insane poll that NSFOC is going to use in court...please spread the word for people to go to the following page and vote No. don't know when they will close it, so sooner the better.

thanks,
alka

http://media1.suburbanchicagonews.com/multimedia/na16_meteaplan_pdf.pdf_20080314_22_14_49_119.imageContent

Can you imagine what would happen if a train derails here and is carrying hazardous material!? Our children will be dead before they reach the exit door to the school!

With the CN takeover of EJ&E there will be close to 400 hazardous loads a year. To me this is a huge concern!

This is no place for a school.

This community is toxic. And no, I'm not referring to the land at the proposed site of Metea Valley. I'm referring to the way the folks in this community now address one another. It's truly sad to see adults communicating with each other in this manner.

I'm in River Run, so my assignment to Neuqua is not changing, but we're moving on to the next city in our journey. Naperville has been a bit of a bust for us, and frankly I'm looking forward to departing. With all of this in-fighting and sniping, Naperville just didn't live up to all the hype we had read about in Money Magazine.

I find it ironic that when our realtor showed us homes in Tall Grass, we weren't interested because we thought the power lines were unsightly. We also didn't like the proximity to the Laidlaw bus depot. We enjoy opening the windows on cool days, so the thought of bus fumes wafting into the home was unappealing. I don't know what to say to friends in Tall Grass who express concerns about the Metea site. My goodness, I wonder how they sleep at night since some of their homes are right by those power lines. Wow, maybe that's what's causing all of this odd behavior in town. It's the fault of the pow