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Algonquin mayor urges District 300 to accept developer’s offer for Westfield access road citing student safety
Summary
Village President Debbie Sosin told the Community Unit School District 300 board that a Lennar-built access road from a new Meadows subdivision would improve drop-off and pick-up safety at Westfield School, that the developer estimated the road at $600,000 and that impact fees collected for the district exceed $900,000.
Debbie Sosin, village president of Algonquin and a Westfield School grandparent, urged the Community Unit School District 300 Board of Education on June 24 to accept a developer’s offer to build an access road from the Meadows subdivision to Westfield School to improve student and parent safety.
Sosin said, “The safety of the 1,200 students that attends Westfield is imperative,” and described Sleepy Hollow Road during drop-off and pick-up as “not, I repeat, not a safe environment during those times.”
She told the board that Lennar, the developer of the Meadows subdivision west of the school, has proposed an access road and offered to partner with the district to construct it. Sosin said Lennar estimated the road would cost about $600,000 and that the village is collecting more than $900,000 in development impact fees tied to District 300, which she said would “pay for the road plus.”
Sosin also said she has been working “for 3 years” with the village, Lennar and Westfield staff on the road and provided the board a letter from the village police chief about safety concerns. She asked the board to prioritize student safety over retaining off-site athletic space, saying Westfield staff previously “indicated the need for only 1 baseball field for the school curriculum.”
District staff clarified to Sosin that multiple maps exist for potential road placements and that the map she had may not be the version staff will use. Superintendent and staff discussion framed the road as an item to revisit when the board considers parking-lot updates; staff said determining which map, “if any,” to implement would be part of that later discussion.
No formal board action was taken on the access-road proposal during the meeting; Sosin’s remarks were received during the public comment portion and will be part of ongoing discussions about parking and facilities.
The board will consider the placement and any next steps as part of future operations or facilities discussions rather than making an immediate decision at this meeting.
