Village Board to Hold Special Meeting on COD De-annexation
COD says they will not be attending the meeting in any official capacity
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The Village of Glen Ellyn will host a special board meeting on the College of DuPage’s de-annexation plans, even though the college will not be in attendance.
Joseph Moore, COD associate vice president of external relations, said the college has no plans at this time to attend the meeting and will continue to pursue de-annexation.
“Our board realized they could not continue to chase a moving target, and ultimately voted to pursue deannexation,” Moore said.
Carl Henninger, village trustee, said he was disappointed over COD’s decision to not attend the special board meeting.
“Inevitably, the citizens will probably pose the question, ‘Why is COD doing (this)?’” Henninger said. “We’d rather have them there to answer that.”
Even though COD will not be attending in any official capacity, Henninger said the purpose of the meeting is threefold – to answer questions, hear citizens’ concerns, and to potentially act on the issue.
Henninger said there is a possibility the village board will approve the proposed intergovernmental agreement – the same agreement COD rescinded from its May 23meeting.
College and village officials had been negotiating a new IGA for at least a year, coming to an agreement on April 18. But when the village approached the college with health and safety ordinances, the college looked into the option of de-annexation.
“The college worked extremely hard over the past year to negotiate a fair IGA. Through this process, we have been transparent and forthright in our efforts to come to a resolution that both sides can live with,” Moore said. “Every single time we thought we came to an agreement, village leadership would change its mind.”
COD officials have described the relationship between the college and the village as being “irretrievably broken.” Village Board President Mark Pfefferman disagreed with this assessment.
“I am steadfast in the opinion that we can make it work,” Pfefferman said. “It is the right thing to do.”
The special board meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday in the Glen Ellyn Civic Center. Materials related to the meeting can be found here.
Robert J. Nowakowski
7:09 am on Monday, June 6, 2011
Again, this is a turf dispute that the taxpayers are the loosers. Deanaxation will cost MONEY
that the COD will tax the Glen Ellyn taxpayer. Don't need a crystal ball to see that.
Bob Nowakowski
Julie Farrell
11:51 am on Monday, June 6, 2011
So a "fair IGA" includes no health or safety oversight by the village? Hm. That's interesting.
Gwendolyn H
3:08 pm on Monday, June 6, 2011
I am a student at COD and I feel that it is insulting to the people of Glen Ellyn that they would not appear at the special board meeting. I do not know the details about what Glen Ellyn refused to do or what COD refused to do, but I know that people have been working things out in a democracy ever since Illinois was started as a state.
Jim Hankes
3:15 pm on Monday, June 6, 2011
If students get injured by a falling roof or a failed wall and the cause is determined to be "faulty workmanship", the first question is going to be how could the village of Glen Ellyn have approved the plans/designs? If the answer is "the village didn't even see the plans", COD wouldn't let the village have access or approval rights to the plans...there is going to be a mile-long line of personal injury attorneys waiting for their big payday.