Excerpts from the journal-topics.com:
Petitions to file for a referendum in one of the necessary steps to dissolve the Elk Grove Rural Fire Protection District have been collected and are stored in the offices of the fire district’s attorneys.
Those petitions, could be filed with a judge who could then order a referendum be placed on an upcoming ballot allowing voters to dissolve the district. Collecting petitions was a preliminary action to be prepared for the district’s dissolving, but said no action beyond that has been taken. Fire district trustees acknowledge funding is unsustainable as annexations have shrunk the boundaries of the fire district and with that, shrunk available property tax revenue.
Another step in the dissolution process, which the fire district took at its Aug. 17 meeting, was to declare district assets as surplus and able to be sold, specifically the fire station itself. On Aug. 19 the fire district ran a legal notice in an area newspaper declaring the fire station as surplus and setting the valuation for the building at $850,000.
An item on the fire district’s Thursday, Sept. 21 meeting agenda was to declare additional fire district assets including vehicles as surplus, able to be sold, but no vote to do that was taken at the Sept. 21 meeting. Fire district trustees also voted to engage a surveyor or engineer to create or confirm a boundary and territory description.
Also filed in the Chancery Division of the Cook County Circuit Court on Sept. 21, in the hours before the fire district meeting, was an amended motion by attorneys for the village of Mount Prospect and Elk Grove Township, separate governmental entities from the fire district, seeking a preliminary temporary restraining order to prevent the fire district from declaring any further assets as surplus. A court date is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 3 on the requested restraining order in Cook County Chancery Division. The village and township filed for an initial temporary restraining order on Sept. 11 to stop the fire district from selling its assets after the August vote declaring the fire station surplus property.
The village and township attorneys contend that any assets of the fire district should be transferred to the municipal government taking over firefighting responsibilities for the district. Additionally, Stream Data Centers was recently granted annexation of the Roppolo Subdivision in unincorporated Elk Grove Township, into the village of Elk Grove Village, which would become effective in early 2024. To be annexed into Elk Grove Village, Stream had to have all 55 homes in the subdivision under contract. Stream and Elk Grove Village officials said closings on those 55 homes would happen in two phases with the first round of closings beginning next month.
All of the fire district trustees live in the Roppolo Subdivision. The fire district board could function with a quorum of three trustees. Fewer trustees than that would fail to reach a quorum and would not be able to conduct fire district business in a public meeting.
Attempts have been made for several years to secure an agreement between the fire district and surrounding municipalities to dissolve the district and keep a continuity in fire fighting and emergency medical response, but a recent effort involving Elk Grove Village, Des Plaines, and Mount Prospect failed. Mount Prospect village officials have proposed a special service area, which would allow Mount Prospect to take over the entire Elk Grove Rural Fire Protection District coverage area. A public hearing is scheduled by Mount Prospect in early November.
Also at the Sept. 21 meeting, fire district trustees adopted a calendar year 2024 budget and set a property tax levy without discussion.
thanks Martin
#1 by Jeremy B. on October 2, 2023 - 6:09 PM
Well, that was Mount Prospect’s proposal, and it seems like it will be followed somewhat. The FPD is/was owed money by Mount Prospect after they incorporated land to make up for lost revenues, but the FPD Board was alleging that Mount Prospect didn’t pay the correct amount, and Mount Prospect didn’t want to pay because they knew they would be taking over services eventually and just saw it as prolonging the inevitable.
Basically, they’ve been fighting and are still fighting – the FPD board declared the station surplus and might sell it, but Mount Prospect and Elk Grove Township (not the FPD) filed an injunction to prevent the property from being sold and the board from declaring other property as surplus. The FPD never agreed to the arrangement with MP getting the tanker and station, but the other municipalities (Elk Grove and Des Plaines) did. The plan was that MP would take the station and tanker, then EG and DP would each get half of 50% of the funds that the FPD had on hand and from selling their other assets (engine, ambulance, etc.). The other 50% would go towards the legal process of disestablishing the district and any miscellaneous costs with closing down operations.
The FPD board has said they don’t think it’s in the best interest of their taxpayers to do that. I think the FPD wants to just make a clean break and get rid of everything flat out and just deal with money when it comes to it. I don’t know if they were going to try and rebate it out to the taxpayers… I can’t think of anything else because I don’t really know what use the FPD would have for money after being disestablished.
They already have the paperwork to disestablish the FPD drawn up apparently and are just waiting to file it when they believe the time is correct.
#2 by Pat on October 2, 2023 - 8:16 AM
Jeremy, so Mount Prospect is taking over that firehouse at some point but is only covering 20% of the response area? How do those numbers add up for that? Just curious, thanks for the info.
#3 by Jeremy B. on October 1, 2023 - 1:00 PM
https://www.mountprospect.org/home/showpublisheddocument/17806/637738001651670000
There’s a map with the proposed areas of coverage. Elk Grove would take most area-wise from Station 8, but I think they said in the end, call volume would be like 40/40 between Des Plaines and Elk Grove with the final 20 being Mount Prospect.
Mount Prospect would take over their station and get their tender and would hire 6 more to run that station – I can’t remember details on if they’d have anything else there like an additional ambulance to jump with the tender. If they were only hiring 6 additional for it, I couldn’t see them putting an engine into service (assuming 2 FFs for 3 shifts), but maybe an ambulance?
I’m not sure what the replacement plan is currently because Elk Grove and Mount Prospect were both getting pissed off with the Township FD board trying to hold out. This was inevitable with their funding, but Mount Prospect has been overplaying their hand lately, which got the Township FD board to dig their heels in.
The large, traditional single-family home subdivision where all the current board members live is being incorporated into EG for another data center and will be covered by EG Station 8 eventually. Yes, they are server buildings and have little staff. Most of them so far are near the old Elk Grove Station 8 on Oakton before they combined with Station 9 and relocated to the new station on Fargo, but they are also going to incorporate areas on the west side of town off Rohlwing Road and build there too.
#4 by Michael m on September 30, 2023 - 11:18 PM
Ok sounds like they have been dying a slow death for a long time.
Which Mt. Prospect station is the closest to this area? Why can’t either Mt. Prospect or Elk Grove take over station 11? Sounds like this is political. Still curious which town has the closest fire station. I would still be concerned if I lived in that subdivision.
At laser most of their district is covered.
I have been surprised at all the Data Centers that have gone up in EGV in the last few years. I am curious what are all these data centers for? What is in these buildings servers?