Kane County is continuing to discuss plans to build a commemorative garden outside the county’s Geneva courthouse featuring an elm tree donated by the local Daughters of the American Revolution and a plaque acknowledging several Revolutionary War patriots buried in the county.
The project, meant to celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday, has generated some concern among board members, and a vote on an official measure recommending a concept plan and budget estimate for the square has now been tabled until May.
In November, Kane County accepted a historical marker and “Liberty Tree” from the Elias Kent Kane Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, meant to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary and honor several Revolutionary War veterans who settled in Kane County and who are buried within its borders.
When the donation was accepted by the county, the proposed location for the historical marker and tree — an American elm which was grown from seed since last spring — was the Kane County Courthouse at 100 S. Third St. in Geneva.
Since then, the county has been deciding exactly where at the courthouse the tree and plaque should be placed.
The area in front of the courthouse building along Third Street had originally been considered, but it was decided the abundance of trees there would make for difficult growing conditions for the new sapling.
From there, the county landed on a spot in the middle of the parking lot behind the courthouse, proposing a central square be made around the tree in that location, a pitch that has generated some pushback from board members.
Describing the suggested parking lot location, Kane County’s Executive Director of Information Technologies and Buildings Management Roger Fahnestock said at a recent Executive Committee meeting that the proposed square gives the tree more room to grow and not be disrupted by existing trees. The county worked with its staff and an arborist to identify possible locations, he said, and consulted with the Morton Arboretum in Lisle.
The site is also in close proximity to another proposed county project: a neutral space for supervised parenting time and child exchanges for families involved in court proceedings. Fahnestock noted that the garden space could be used by those working in family courts.
The county is currently working on plans for the site, as well as looking to fundraise and seek donations for the project, according to Fahnestock.
But, with the United States’ 250th coming up in July, the county is under some time pressure to make a decision.
Fahnestock said at the meeting that the current plan is to have a groundbreaking or ceremonial event for the square and tree this coming July, perhaps accompanied by a naming competition or time capsule. Construction would follow, with plans to complete the project in 2028.
In the meantime, the county will be planting the tree at the county’s government building, with cameras and steps taken to protect it from wildlife, according to Kane County Board Chair Corinne Pierog.
At the recent meeting, during which no official measure was voted on, board members asked questions about aspects of the project, with some expressing concern about the proposed courthouse site.
Board member Bill Roth, for example, asked about the soil below the parking lot, which Fahnestock said has been considered. And board member Mavis Bates asked if American elm trees are susceptible to Dutch elm disease, to which Fahnestock said there are steps the county could take like using insecticide or fungicide, doing regular inspections and planting the tree away from existing elm trees so disease doesn’t spread.
Board member Leslie Juby asked about the estimated cost, expressing concern about the possible financial implications of the project since the county had received the tree as a donation and had not expected the project to cost anything out of its pockets.
“And, now we’re being asked to approve a plan without the money in place,” Juby said.
Board member Michelle Gumz similarly emphasized that, though the board voted to accept the donation, “you cannot associate that vote … with what we may or may not plan to do in the future” with the project.
At the meeting, Fahnestock estimated the total project could come to around $600,000.
Pierog, however, reiterated the county’s plans to get materials and labor donated, but said she “did not want to jump ahead with” pursuing donations “until the concept plan was approved of by committee, and then accepted by the board.”
Then, the topic came up again at the county board’s Administration Committee meeting on Wednesday.
At that meeting, Fahnestock reiterated the county’s intention to fund the project by donations, and said the county is looking to have an architect and engineering firm donate planning services so that vendors and donors could see a design for the project.
But those plans haven’t been done yet, he said, as the county is looking for the board’s approval of the location and concept first, and to OK a budget estimate for the project and the plan to raise funds and donations.
On the question of location, Juby said the board hadn’t been given an alternate location proposal and asked if the county would not pursue the project at all if the board didn’t approve of the current plans.
Fahnestock said it’s up to the board, and that county staff had been asked to find the best location at the courthouse. He explained that American elm trees are “very hearty trees” and can be planted in many places, but reiterated the concerns about the tree canopy in the front of the courthouse and noted that opting for that location would also make having the commemorative square idea impossible.
Approval of a concept plan and budget estimate for the site had been put on the meeting’s agenda, but Fahnestock, at Wednesday’s meeting, said a formal resolution wasn’t ready for discussion or a vote. The matter was ultimately postponed until May.
mmorrow@chicagotribune.com