Wheatland Voters Overwhelmingly Reject Town Hall Plans

The muggy warehouse that is Wheatland Township Hall was a sea of pink electors’ cards as about 200 township residents swept in a slate of measures that essentially overturned plans to build a $1.5 million administrative center.

“The purpose of this meeting is to put the brakes on this project,” said Mike Crockett, who co-chairs the citizens group that pushed for a special meeting to reconsider the need for a new building.

Residents overwhelmingly approved a measure to suspend all action and spending on the new town hall. They directed township staff to draft a summary of construction, operating and maintenance costs for the existing building and a list of what's been spent to date on the new building.

That information is to be posted on the township's Web site within 10 days.

They also signed off on the creation of a space study committee that will do an assessment of what is needed in a township hall and will examine “viable space options,” including the purchase or lease of existing space.

Trustees Joe Hudetz and Frank King will serve on the committee with residents Crockett, Deb Holscher and Rick Peabody. The group will present its findings at an Aug. 11 public meeting, at which residents will again be able to vote.

Initially, King rejected his committee appointment but later reversed his position.

Trustee Township Karl Karantonis said he believed Monday’s meeting was one of the best-attended township gatherings in the history of Illinois. And while the building may have been packed and conditions uncomfortable, the accommodations were good enough for Audrey Clair, a Naperville resident.

“The people only actually meet here once a year, so we don’t need to spend a fortune for meeting space,” she said, referring to the annual town meeting at which residents have the power to vote directly on agenda items they select.

“It’s about what we need for the township and not any more,” she said to a round of applause.

Until this past April, the Wheatland board was proceeding with plans to build a new $1.5 million town hall near Route 59 and 103rd Street. Those plans came into question at the annual town hall meeting, which led to Monday night's special meeting.

When someone complained about the lack of microphones and suggested an alternate site for future town meetings, township Supervisor Todd Morse made his case for the new building.

“It’s a shame you guys don’t want to meet in this building,” he said, “because this is your tax dollars at work. We work in this building every day.”

Many residents and officials agree the current township quarters, built in the 1970s as a highway garage, are no longer viable. Their objections, however, center on what kind of facility is needed and how much it should cost.

Almost from the opening gavel, momentum seemed to be against those who support the new building, particularly Morse and King.

For example, residents opted to choose deputy township clerk Bill Alstrom to serve as the meeting moderator -- the choice of the citizens’ group -- over over former township Supervisor Bob Biedron, who was proposed by Brenda Morse, Todd Morse’s wife.

Then, voters rejected Todd Morse’s request to do PowerPoint presentation on the proposed new building.

Chuck Maher, a Will County Board member from Naperville, urged the crowd to get all of the facts.

“We try to get people out all the time and get people to talk about the issues,” he said. “But I hope what we have here is a Democratic system. ... I hear people asking for information. I think we should allow them the opportunity to get the information they’re asking for.”

When the presentation was rejected, Morse said he will post it on the township Web site.

“I don’t care who is asking for more money from me, the answer is ‘no,’” Naperville resident Andy Parker said.

At the end of the evening, many in attendance heralded the meeting as a banner day for “people power.” Mike Strick, of Naperville, called it the spirit of “the new Republican Party."

“This is a perfect example of the republic we all pledge allegiance to,” said Ben Wolfe, a retired business consultant from Plainfield. “We have the right to tell (elected officials) to sit down and listen. If we’d been doing this for the last 10 years, we wouldn’t have this problem.”

Doug Ibendahl, the Chicago attorney who worked with citizens to draw up the night’s agenda, said he was “proud to be a part of this.”

“The people won,” he said. “This is a great example of what regular people can do to make their government better.”