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Committee amends title and approves five‑year lease for 20‑acre parcel near Route 38
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Summary
The Kane County Administration Committee voted to convert a farmland resolution to an ordinance and to recommend a five‑year lease of Parcel 0932300013 to a local farmer for $75 per acre ($1,500 per year); the committee added language to extend termination notice and will forward the ordinance to the executive committee.
The Kane County Administration Committee on March 11 amended an item on the agenda to an ordinance and approved recommending a five‑year lease of Parcel 0932300013, at the northeast corner of Route 38 and Peck Road, to a local farmer for $75 per acre per year — $1,500 annually and $7,500 over five years. The committee voted to forward the ordinance to the executive committee for further action.
Roger Fonstock, presenting the packet, said the county received only one sealed bid for the roughly 20‑acre parcel and recommended accepting the lone proposal. “The bid was $75 per acre per year, which is $1,500 per year for a 5 year lease,” Fonstock said, adding that farming the parcel is more economical than county maintenance and that the new lease contains protections against storage and property alteration.
The item was converted from a resolution to an ordinance at the state's attorney’s request. Committee members questioned the termination clause — initially proposed as 90 days — and whether that period would unreasonably interfere with a farmer’s growing season. Assistant state's attorney Steve Ford explained the committee’s options and recommended writing a longer notice period into the draft agreement: his office suggested an amendment to the ordinance’s exhibit to provide for 180 days of notice where appropriate. "You could provide for a longer termination period, and then we could work with staff to make sure that's in the agreement that's signed," Ford said.
Members discussed the common‑law doctrine of estovers, which can protect a farmer's right to harvest planted crops even after lease termination. Several members favored incorporating explicit notice language rather than relying on obscure common law doctrines. The committee approved an amendment to the exhibit to account for extended notice language and approved the ordinance as amended on a roll‑call vote.
The ordinance as amended defines the five‑year lease to Jeff Lesinski (bid 26‑019) at the stated price and directs staff to finalize the draft with the state's attorney’s office; Fonstock said the matter will go next to the executive committee for further review. The packet notes the lease has no effect on the county general fund.
