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Kane County board debates $25,000 request to bring power to proposed observatory
Summary
Stellar Observatory asked the Kane County Economic Development Board for $25,000 to extend electric service to a planned observatory at Jackson Flat Reservoir; board members questioned whether the project fits the rural county grant program’s infrastructure and business-development criteria and sought state clarification. No vote was taken.
Rich Sanje, president and founder of Stellar Observatory, asked the Kane County Economic Development Board for $25,000 to pay to bring electric utility service to a proposed observatory at Jackson Flat Reservoir. "We're asking the economic opportunity board to contribute $25,000 to help us bring electric utility to this site," Sanje said during a slide presentation describing monthly public star parties, school field trips and paid private programs the nonprofit runs.
The project, Sanje said, is intended as both an educational resource and an economic development tool. He showed satellite sky-brightness maps and argued Kane County’s dark skies give the county a competitive tourism advantage; he also described a two-phase site plan with a 600-square-foot Phase 1 building (bathrooms,…
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