Village Board Refuses To Reconsider $2M Sale Of Land By Settlers' Park

PLAINFIELD, IL — Before the Plainfield Village Board could vote for the second time Monday night to potentially buy the 2.9 acres of undeveloped land adjacent to Settlers' Park, trustees failed a motion to even reconsider the sale.

The acquisition of the land at the corner of West Village Center Drive and South Van Dyke Road was the first item of business at Monday night's regular Village Board meeting, a week after it initially appeared before, and got denied by, the Village Board. Trustees first had to vote whether to reconsider the purchase before they could vote to approve or deny the sale with the property owner, Dandelion Development, LLC, with the intent to turn it into permanent park space by combining it with Settlers' Park.

The agenda item began with Mayor John Argoudelis giving an impassioned speech about preserving green space for future generations while urging the Board to rethink its prior decision where trustees Tom Ruane, Brian Wojowski and Cally Larson voted no, Patricia Kalkanis and Richard Kiefer voted yes, and Margie Bonuchi recused herself.

Those opposed said the $2 million price tag was "fiscally irresponsible," citing concerns about it not being budgeted for the current fiscal year, Patch reported. Bonuchi refused to vote due to the project's tight timeline, she said.

"To reiterate, all of the major projects that are moving forward are funded whether we purchase this property or not. Nothing will suffer," Argoudelis said.

He went on to say he's "passionately in favor of this because I really believe this would be a horrible mistake for the future generations of Plainfield."

The reconsideration of the sale went before the Board as soon as it did because a motion to reconsider a "no" vote — which must be initiated by someone who voted "no" the first time — must take place at the very next meeting, Argoudelis explained.

RELATED: Spending $2M For Undeveloped Land By Settlers' Park? Board Votes No

Larson got the ball rolling by initiating the reconsideration motion, seconded by Ruane.

"At this point, I would be willing to make the motion to reconsider, but I am still a no," Larson said. "But I would like there to be discussion on the floor. That would be the intent."

Trustees went on to vote as they previously did on the matter: Wojowski, Larson and Ruane denied it, while Kalkanis and Kiefer were for it. Argoudelis asked Village Clerk Michelle Gibas to mark him as a "yes."

When Bonuchi's name was called in the middle of the vote, she reminded everyone she recused herself "so that takes me out of the voting process." She was met with an uproar from the audience, prompting her to reiterate her reasoning.

"All the facts need to be out there," she said. "Yes, all of you are here but ... not everybody can be here, not everyone can voice an opinion. So yes, all of you are here and you have a very strong opinion, and I believe it, I believe it, but you're not— there's 40,000 people in this town. I'm sorry, but you have to look at that."

As more audience members began shouting, Bonuchi continued to say she was "bullied by the mayor, and I'm not going to let this go. He has called and texted and called and texted and drove me crazy."

She said she meant to recuse herself, which indicates a conflict of interest, rather than invoke an abstention, which meant she simply did not vote. She explained: "I did mean to recuse myself because I was trying to make that deal [with a third party] to get the best, but apparently, it didn't happen at this point. ... I am still recused."

"For the record," Bonuchi said, "I never really liked the apartments. ... I never voted for them, ever. But you've got to give people their just do, and people have the right to voice their opinions whether they're in this room or not."

RELATED: 84 Apartments, Mixed-Use Development Proposed Near Settlers' Park

The village's desire to purchase the property came as it faced being turned into a mixed-use development, known as Marnette Apartments. The land has been zoned as a B-5 Traditional Business District since 1998, meaning the developer is legally allowed to build the complex housing 84 apartments and more than 9,000 square feet of commercial space.

"This is a final decision. This is our last chance to buy this tonight," Argoudelis said before the roll was called. "If we fail to do this, the developer will, and has every right to, proceed and develop their project, and I don't begrudge them that at all. They've given us this much time to pull the trigger."

Had the sale been approved, officials planned to "put some type of covenant on that parcel so that it can not be developed in the future, and then also combining lots with the existing Settlers' Park," Village Administrator Joshua Blakemore said. Argoudelis said his vision for the larger park also entailed hosting more village events similar to the now-defunct Plainfield Fest.