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Oswego resident proposes $100-per-foot riverfront easement fund, cites 1996 flood risk
Summary
John Gordemas urged the commission to consider purchasing riverfront easements to protect floodplain and public access, citing the 1996 flood and estimating a $100-per-foot purchase model (an estimated $528,000 total). He asked how to move the idea into park/conservation planning and raised soil and detention-basin concerns.
John Gordemas of Oswego told the commission he had taken a related idea to the village board and urged officials to consider a riverfront-easement program to protect floodplain land and create a walking/bike path and water-feature amenities. “I\'m proposing a $100 per riverfront foot along the way,” Gordemas said, offering that formula as a starting point for budgeting and noting it could be less costly than building other park infrastructure.
Gordemas cited the 1996 flood — when he said the river rose about 10 feet in 24 hours — as context for treating the riverfront cautiously. He urged the panel to consider whether banks or financiers would support development in such a risky environment and recommended investigating floodplain and soil conditions before approving development that could affect detention basins and the water table. He said engineers involved in a nearby detention basin hit groundwater at a shallower than proposed depth, and that soil and hydrology work should inform any plan.
Gordemas asked where to direct further outreach on the idea (village board, Park District or the comprehensive plan process). Staff and commissioners pointed him to existing comp-plan materials and an online comment platform and said there were ways for his input to be included in the review process; staff told him the village would review the proposed plan and that specialized consultants are involved in plan development.
No formal action or funding decision was taken at the meeting; Gordemas was advised to continue work with the village board and the comprehensive-plan process.
