Latest / Kendall County News - Shaw Local / Data centers submit $91M up-front proposal to Yorkville, $68.25M for the school district’s buildings expansion

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Data centers submit $91M up-front proposal to Yorkville, $68.25M for the school district’s buildings expansion · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Data Centers submit ninety one million dollars upfront proposal to
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  Speaker 1: Yorkville sixty eight dollars and twenty five cents and for
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  Speaker 1: the school district's buildings expansion. Written by Joey Weslow, this
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  Speaker 1: article is being read by an automated voice brought to
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  Speaker 1: you by ever Lit. With a two hundred and seventy
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  Speaker 1: five million dollars school district referendum upcoming and significant public
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  Speaker 1: pushback against a slew of data center plans in Yorkville,
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  Speaker 1: the mayor requested the developers of the two largest projects
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  Speaker 1: to write upfront checks to the city. Those check proposals
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  Speaker 1: are now in and they could be a game changer
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  Speaker 1: for the city and school district. Yorkville School District eleven
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  Speaker 1: fifteen voters will still have the referendum before them on
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  Speaker 1: the March seventeenth ballot. The City Council on Tuesday will
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  Speaker 1: be looking to approve the annexation, rezoning and PUD for
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  Speaker 1: the five forty acre Project Steel Data Center with eighteen
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  Speaker 1: two story warehouses. Tied to the vote will be discussions
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  Speaker 1: on accepting upfront checks from Project Steel developers Prologus LP
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  Speaker 1: and the already approved one thousand and thirty four acre
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  Speaker 1: Project Cardinal from Data center developers Pioneer Development LLC. In total,
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  Speaker 1: the developers for Project Steel submitted an upfront check of
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  Speaker 1: forty million dollars. The developers for Project Cardinal submitted an
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  Speaker 1: upfront check of fifty one million dollars to be paid
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  Speaker 1: over the next four years. Combined, these checks could send
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  Speaker 1: ninety one million dollars towards the city for the school district,
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  Speaker 1: the fire districts, city projects, and charitable community organizations. Of
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  Speaker 1: this total ninety one million dollars, the city is sending
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  Speaker 1: thirty million dollars from Project Steel's check directly to the
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  Speaker 1: Yorkville School District one to fifteen, to be used for
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  Speaker 1: new facilities and the expansion and remodeling of current buildings.
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  Speaker 1: The city also is committing an additional thirty eight thousand,
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  Speaker 1: two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to the school district
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  Speaker 1: from Project Cardinals check. This means of the original ninety
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  Speaker 1: one million dollars, sixty eight dollars, two hundred and fifty
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  Speaker 1: thousand dollars is potentially being sent directly to the school district.
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  Speaker 1: Superintendent Matt Zedeker said on Friday that while the potential
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  Speaker 1: donated money will not result in a change of the
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  Speaker 1: language of the two hundred and seventy five million dollar referendum,
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  Speaker 1: it will drastically reduce the tax burden on homeowners and
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  Speaker 1: property owners, he said. Given the projected student growth in
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  Speaker 1: the district, still imperative to pass the referendum March seventeenth
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  Speaker 1: to have students using the new buildings by the fall
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  Speaker 1: of twenty twenty eight. Zedeker previously said during a city
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  Speaker 1: council meeting that if the referendum doesn't pass in March,
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  Speaker 1: they can downsize the plan and try again on the
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  Speaker 1: November ballot. He said this would unfortunately push opening the
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  Speaker 1: new buildings back to the fall of twenty nine. Within
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  Speaker 1: the current two semi five million dollar referendum are plans
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  Speaker 1: for a new middle school and a new elementary school.
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  Speaker 1: A new academic wing is planned for the high school,
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  Speaker 1: and updates on other buildings. The plans also include a
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  Speaker 1: new performing arts center and an athletic fieldhouse for a
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  Speaker 1: combined price of sixty million dollars. The district is contributing
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  Speaker 1: twenty million dollars in reserves for the facility master plan upgrade.
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  Speaker 1: Zedeker previously said the expansion is necessary because the community's
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  Speaker 1: surgeon population has made it where current classrooms simply cannot
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  Speaker 1: fit the student body. I'm really excited about the dollar amount.
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  Speaker 1: The city has done a great job in procuring these dollars,
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  Speaker 1: Zedeker said. With the announcement of this money, it will
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  Speaker 1: significantly reduce the tax burden that we would be asking
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  Speaker 1: the community for this referendum. We would not have to
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  Speaker 1: borrow the full two hundred and seventy five million dollars
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  Speaker 1: that's on the ballot. Zedeker said. The money is only
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  Speaker 1: earmarked for new buildings, remodeling or upgrading current facility. It
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  Speaker 1: goes to show that the city cares about our kids
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  Speaker 1: in our community and our schools, and also the data
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  Speaker 1: centers understand the importance and value of the schools within
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  Speaker 1: our community. Zedeker said. The remaining twenty two thousand, seven
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  Speaker 1: hundred and fifty thousand dollars from the two upfront checks
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  Speaker 1: are being divided by the city to a robust group
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  Speaker 1: of projects and organizations. The Bristol Kendall Fire Protection District
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  Speaker 1: is earmarked for three pint five million dollars from the
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  Speaker 1: combined checks for a new station, expanded current facilities, or
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  Speaker 1: new vehicles. The city's Downtown project will get seven million dollars,
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  Speaker 1: and another eighty one hundred and eighty thousand dollars is
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  Speaker 1: earmarked for the city for non staffing costs. The Parks
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  Speaker 1: and Recreation Department is tagged for one thousand and fifty
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  Speaker 1: thousand dollars for expanding parks and playgrounds and recreation programming.
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  Speaker 1: Another twelve hundred and fifty thousand dollars is highlighted to
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  Speaker 1: enhance the city's sidewalks and trees. Special recreation programs will
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  Speaker 1: receive two hundred thousand dollars. The Yorkville Public Library will
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  Speaker 1: receive one hundred and thirty thousand dollars of The Yorkville
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  Speaker 1: Area Chamber of Commerce is set to get ninety five
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  Speaker 1: thousand dollars. The Kendall County Community Food Pantry is receiving
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  Speaker 1: one hundred and sixty thousand dollars for vehicles and supplies.
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  Speaker 1: Another two hundred thousand dollars is being spent on local
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  Speaker 1: organizations who assist Yorkville's homeless population. Additional funds are tagged
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  Speaker 1: for groups associated with the school district, the Yorkville Education Foundation,
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  Speaker 1: music Boosters, sports Boosters, bilingual parents, Advisory Committee, Science and
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  Speaker 1: Robotics clubs, parent teacher organizations, and other student clubs. Money
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  Speaker 1: is also allocated for several community organizations, including sale House,
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  Speaker 1: Yorkville Senior Services KASSA, the county's animal control, and the
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  Speaker 1: Kendall Area Transit