Lake Geneva City Council approves purchase of former Hillmoor Golf Club property | #citycouncil

Members of the Lake Geneva City Council unanimously approved, Monday, Sept. 26, to purchase the former Hillmoor Golf Club property, 333 E. Main St., from Chicago-based White River Holdings, LLC for $6 million and settle litigation with the company.

City officials plan to sell bonds to purchase the property. 

Many residents spoke during an hour-long public comment portion of the meeting asking the aldermen to approve the purchase. Some audience members indicated that they were in favor of the purchase, but asked the council to hold off voting to allow more time to present information to the residents.

Several of the aldermen also were emotional regarding the pending vote to approve the purchase. 

The former Hillmoor Golf Course property has been a topic of discussion among city officials and residents for several years. 

Alderwoman Mary Jo Fesenmaier was teary-eyed while reading the motion to purchase the property and settle the litigation. Fesenmaier later held up a book entitled “The Park our Town Built.”

The council members also unanimously approved a resolution declaring that the purchase of the property would be for public purposes. The resolution indicates that the property will be used for “public and recreational” purposes.

“The seller wants to make sure we’re dedicating this for public use, and that we’re not going to flip it and sell it to somebody else,” City Attorney Dan Draper said of the resolution. 

Alderman Ken Howell said there are pros and cons for purchasing the property. He said $6 million is a lot of money, and it would affect Lake Geneva taxpayers. 

The owner of a $200,000 home would pay a $52.98 tax increase during the first year. 

Howell said if the city lost the lawsuit to White River Holdings, the city would likely have to pay $15 million plus attorney fees and if the city won the lawsuit the whole process might start all over again. 

“Do we want to gamble on a lawsuit that could bring a bad outcome or do we want to control our future?,” Howell said. “I’m going down the side of controlling our future.”

Alderman John Halverson also said he is in favor of purchasing the property.

“This is truly a visionary move,” Halverson said. “Our future ancestors will thank us for it. I think we should buy it.”

Alderwoman Shari Straube said she would rather have the property be used for recreational purposes instead of development.

“This is something that is very special to me, as well. Not only do I have memories of playing golf there, but I am a tree-hugging, nature-loving, animal-loving person,” Straube said. “To think of that land being developed or overdeveloped broke my heart. Just this past weekend, we went for a walk with the dogs, we had to go to Williams Bay. Now, I don’t have to. I think this is the right thing to do.”

Alderman Richard Hedlund said he is in favor of purchasing the property but feels the city should have conducted a referendum to give residents an opportunity to vote on the issue. 

“I got several phone calls. Most of them where in agreement that we should buy Hillmoor, some were not,” Hedlund said. “Some wanted to know more specifics. It might not be logical to do it, but I really feel that when we’re making every taxpayer, every property owner in the City of Lake Geneva pay for this, I think everyone should have a voice in it. I think we should buy it, but I think they should have a voice also.” 

Mayor Charlene Klein said, if the sale goes through, she plans to form a committee consisting of residents, environmentalists and conservationists to develop a plan for the property. 

“We will figure it out going down the road,” Klein said. “I think this is something the community will certainly be getting behind, and we will make a plan going forward.” 

Klein also said that representatives from Geneva Lake Conservancy have offered to assist the city with clearing the property. 

“As far as maintenance, I have already told the department of public works to not worry about a thing,” Klein said. “The conservancy is going to help organize some work days, and I do know a guy who has some goats, and he said he could come in with 40 goats and clear five acres at a time.”

City officials have discussed the former Hillmoor property in closed session several times during the past few months. Klein said city officials could not discuss the issues in public because of the litigation with White River Holdings.

“Because of litigation, we couldn’t talk about the plan use,” Klein said. “We couldn’t talk about the funding. We couldn’t talk about anything.”

Representatives from White River Holdings purchased the former Hillmoor Golf  Course property in 2016 for about $3.4 million and presented plans to redevelop the site for a mix of residential and commercial development.

City aldermen rejected a proposed land zoning change for the planned development in November 2017 by a 4-3 vote.

Officials from White River Holdings then filed a lawsuit against the city in 2018, which later was dropped as part of an effort to restart development talks with the city.

The city council, again, voted against changing its comprehensive plan to allow new uses for the property.

The company then filed another claim against the city in 2020 allegeding damages stemming from stalled redevelopment efforts of the property.

City council members voted to deny the claim during a closed session, Oct. 12, 2020, allowing White River Holdings to take the city to court and ask a judge or jury to order the city to pay damages.

The former Hillmoor Golf Course closed about 12 years ago, and the property has mostly sat vacant since then.

Klein thanked the council members for voting to approve the purchase and settling the litigation with White River Holdings. 

“You have made history this evening,” Klein told the aldermen. “You’ve done a good thing.”