These are the findings of our Kane County Forest Preserve Study: 1. Open Brunner Forest Preserve to the public and put a higher priority on restoration of this largest and most expensive purchase ever made by the Kane County Forest Preserve District. 2. Support Senate Bill 1344 (SB 1344), introduced by Senator Michael Noland, and amend the Downstate Forest Preserve Act to ban any new sand, gravel, or other mining operations on land owned or acquired by a forest preserve district. 3. Support to amend the Downstate Forest Preserve Act to ban the extraction and sale of natural resources, including gravel, coal, timber, oil, natural gas and water, from land owned or acquired by a forest preserve district. 4. The core mission of the Forest Preserve District of Kane County is to preserve natural lands. We recommend the board analyze their priorities and practices to align with this mission. 5. There is an inherent potential for conflict of interest in serving simultaneously on two boards with different missions. Therefore, we recommend the Kane County Board Members/Forest Preserve District Commissioners A)take steps to deal with any conflict in a forthright manner; and B) we support any action by the any governing body to establish two separate Boards (the Kane County Board and a Kane County Forest Preserve District Board) with different individuals serving on each. 6. The people have a right to be informed about the conduct of the peoples business. The Forest Preserve District of Kane County must strive to improve compliance with the laws governing public access and transparency of the district.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 21:57:11 +0000