Voters give Elk Grove Township permission to buy new property

Voters gave Elk Grove Township permission Tuesday to buy property as part of a plan to consolidate services to one location.

In a 37-11 vote at the annual town hall meeting, residents authorized using proceeds from the potential sales of three township properties on buying a new property.

The township has about 10 acres of land and roughly 36,000 square feet of building space at three properties. A real estate study last year determined the township could operate with 3 acres and 15,000 square feet of space, officials said.

During the past year, the township has put three properties on the market: the headquarters at 2400 S. Arlington Heights Road in Arlington Heights; the day care center at 711 Chelmsford Lane in Elk Grove Village; and the youth services building at 401 W. Golf Road in Mount Prospect.

The approval Tuesday is the next step in shifting services to a single building - though the township has not identified a new property.

Originally, the proposal would've authorized the township to spend $3.75 million on the new property, which is the combined appraised value of the three properties. But some voters argued the township should not spend more than the amount received from selling the properties, if the properties sell for less than appraised value.

Supervisor Mike Sweeney said the township will not continue with the consolidation plan if it's not cost-effective.

"If those numbers aren't working out, I'll be the first one to suggest pulling the plug," Sweeney said.

Sweeney said he wants to spend less than the proceeds from the sale and put the savings in a reserve fund or lower the tax levy.

In a separate measure, residents voted 40-6 to give the township permission to sell the youth services building. Voters had previously authorized the action, but a deal on selling the property failed.

In February, board members rejected an offer by DiMucci Cos. to buy the property for $245,000. DiMucci, which owns the neighboring Golf Plaza II shopping center, and the township had a nonbinding deal to sell the property for $350,000, officials said.