Kane County riverboat committee recommends $1.07 million in external grants to executive committee

The Grand Victoria Riverboat Fund Committee on May 7, 2025, voted to forward recommended external grant awards totaling $1,066,613 to the Kane County executive committee for final action.

Committee chairman Chris Kias opened the meeting and identified the committee’s role: "I am chairman of the Grand Victoria Riverboat Fund Committee," he said as staff presented the applicant list and spreadsheet used for deliberations. Staff told the committee they had received 39 applications from nonprofit and local government agencies this cycle and provided a summary spreadsheet with member recommendations and calculated averages.

Why it matters: the Riverboat Fund distributes Grand Victoria receipts to projects across Kane County. Committee members said they balanced support for one-time capital projects — which they prefer because they “live on” beyond the grant year — against operational requests that depend on recurring funding. Staff reported a target of $1,066,613 for external grants in fiscal year 2025; the committee’s initial average recommendations totaled about $992,894, leaving roughly $73,719 still available to allocate.

Key facts and decisions

- Receipts and reserves: Kane County finance staff reported the county received roughly $4.9 million from the riverboat in April and that unobligated/soft-landing funds available for future years stood in the multimillion-dollar range (staff provided approximate figures). Committee members described the soft-landing fund as a reserve to smooth future downturns in riverboat receipts.

- Process and priorities: staff mapped applications into tiers based on how many committee members recommended funding and on evaluation criteria. The committee generally prioritized capital projects over operational requests but retained discretion to fund some operational items when judged to have lasting community benefit.

- Specific adjustments: the committee agreed to restore funding at request levels for two small, previously low-ranked applicants: Dundee Township Historical Society (about $2,008 requested) and Hawthorne Hill Nature Center (about $7,000 requested). Members cited the watershed and water-quality benefits of Hawthorne Hill when agreeing to fund it.

- Consensus to spend target amount: after adjustments and small rounding edits to the spreadsheet, members agreed to use the full external target of $1,066,613 rather than leave a substantial unallocated balance in the external pool.

Formal action and next steps

The committee voted to forward its recommendation to the county executive committee. The motion was moved by Berman and seconded by Strathman; the voice vote recorded “yes” votes from the members present (Kias, Strathman, Garcia and Berman) and noted that Leonard was not present for a roll-call vote. The committee’s action is a recommendation; the executive committee and the full county board retain authority to modify allocations before final appropriation.

Staff flagged that internal (departmental) grant requests and the FY2026 internal application schedule remain tentative and that staff will circulate application materials and timelines in advance of next year’s cycle.

The committee ended by asking staff to prepare the recommended award list and supporting materials for the executive committee’s review.