Letter to Editor: New Crystal Lake South Bleachers are 'Berlin Wall of Steel'

The following is a Letter to the Editor regarding the new bleachers at Crystal Lake South High School.

"THE BERLIN WALL OF STEEL- CRYSTAL LAKE SOUTH HIGH SCHOOL’S NEW MEGA BLEACHERS"

No one is above the Law. The Law must be adhered to by all men. Justice must prevail for each and every one of us. NO EXCEPTIONS.

On December 23, 2011, the decision by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan states school districts must comply with municipal and county zoning ordinances unless such ordinances interfere with the district’s main purpose of educating students.

For District 155 to comply with Crystal Lake’s municipal and county zoning ordinances in construction of these CL South High School Mega Bleachers ABSOLUTELY in no way interferes or hinders in the education of their students.

For School District 155 to maintain they do not have to adhere to the City of Crystal Lake's zoning process and laws because they are governed solely by the McHenry County Regional Superintendent of Schools and received permits from that office is stating they are above the law and the law does not apply to them.

District 155’s defiance is an example of governmental abuse at its finest.
Taxpayers do not work for the government; the government works for the taxpayers because it is through the taxpayers' sacrifices in paying their taxes they support all government salaries, contribute towards their pensions, etc. and keep all of these agencies functioning.

We, the taxpayers, definitely without question have a say in all that we support through our hard-earned taxes that by law we must pay or be penalized. 

District 155 in defiance to comply with Crystal Lakes municipal and county zoning ordinances has failed in the trust we the taxpayers have placed in them to be teaching educational development to students. 

By ignoring the law, District 155 and the Regional Superintendent have taught students that it is acceptable to defy the law and ignore the concerns of Crystal Lake taxpayers who are the individuals paying District 155’s and Regional Superintendent’s salaries, contributing to their pensions and funding the lawsuits against the wrong doings of District 155.

Although District 155 in advance placed announcements in the newspaper about their upcoming plans, they never went into explicit detail as to being up front as to their vision in replacing the current bleachers.

Nor did they convey the truth and notify Amberwood Drive homeowners as to the wrongful injustice they would have to endure in the construction of replacing the old bleachers. 

Further, for the first time, the City of Crystal Lake was by-passed in not being notified of the District 155’s plans in replacing the current bleachers. We are residents on Amberwood Drive (most likely the longest residing homeowners) since 1988 (25 years plus) and never until The Berlin Wall of Steel was constructed did problems exist between the school administration staff and the homeowners.

The previous administration and Amberwood homeowners enjoyed a Good Neighbor Policy. The school maintained their property and the homeowners took care of their property.

The appearance of the new grandstands on the west side of the football field is, in our estimation, at least five to six times larger than the old stands.

The Scorekeeper's Booth (which is approximately the size of a trailer) at the top of the stands will make these grandstands, by far, the largest and highest structure in the whole area. They block the sun and the open views we have been accustomed to for over twenty-five years.

We also receive the worst view of the stands. The exposed supports and beams are unsightly. And in the years to come their appearance will deteriorate as the supporting structure rusts due to poor maintenance of the stands in the same way as the old stands had deteriorated.

Already it is noticeable that the steel construction beams are showing discoloration. If the school had a proper maintenance program in place, the old stands would still be in usable condition.

Further evidence of the poor maintenance program practiced by the school recently is the poor condition of the easement between the school fence and the homes on Amberwood Drive.

Grass is cut infrequently, trash collecting in the easement is not removed, and bushes along the fence allowed to grow wild are but a few of the examples. It was not unusual to see an Amberwood homeowner mowing the easement between their property and the school so they would not have to look at the unsightly condition of the school’s easement property.

We can only recollect that the structure of the old stands were painted once which was just a few years ago. No wonder the old grandstands were cited as “Unsafe." 

The Homeowners on Amberwood Drive, who have, by the payment of their Real Estate Taxes, paid for this monstrosity in their back yards. Now we are being rewarded for this by having our home values drastically reduced with no hope of ever getting the equity out of our homes even when the economy improves, because our homes have now become worthless due to The Berlin Wall of Steel.

About fifteen years ago, we had our home appraised by a licensed appraiser. At that time, the appraiser advised us that the biggest detraction to our property value was the presence of the grandstands in place at that time.

I wonder what the appraiser would say now. We look at this Berlin Wall of Steel morning, noon and night. When relaxing in one’s family room, eating meals in one’s kitchen, or just looking out one’s windows, The Berlin Wall of Steel glares at you.

When spectators occupy the top bleachers and hang over the top rail, they look right into one’s private home necessitating one to keep their blinds and curtains drawn. 

We are retired and getting up in the years with related aging health issues, and it is extremely painful and depressing to see what has happened to the value of our home and the loss of our investment due to The Berlin Wall Of Steel for 4 to 5 football games each fall season. 

As soon as the Amberwood homeowners realized what was taking place as to the replacement of the old bleachers, complaints by the homeowners became apparent.

So bless their little hearts, School District 155 hand delivered letters to affected homeowners about a meeting to take place to address concerns. Unfortunately, District 155 was sued so the homeowners’ meeting was cancelled. 

However, as rumor would have it, they planned on planting trees to camouflage the unsightly monstrosity they constructed in our backyards.-

As previous stated, we have been residing behind CL South High School for many years, and just now the trees originally planted on our properties are starting to look full grown or close to it.

The point made here is that if District 155 planted trees, it will once again take a good 20 to 25 years before the trees reach their potential height, and still they will never grow tall enough in height to cover the hideous bleachers we are faced with.

Further as we all know, trees shed their leaves in the fall and become baron during the winter months. Then to add insult to injury when the 5 purple portable potties appeared for the first football game under the bleacher side facing the homeowners.

And, of course, no school administrative personnel took blame for the portable potties being placed there. Strange to say the least, because the portable potty company when delivering them will place them where they are instructed to place them.

The District 155 has completely failed in its responsibility to the surrounding community to do what is right for all concerned. No one is above the law which includes District 155. 

Only 4 to 5 football games are played at Crystal Lake High School in the fall.

Only twice in our residence of over 25 years, we observed 2 games where the old grandstands where full.

Track and soccer do not draw many spectators to justify for these new mega grandstands. Further,there is only activity on the football field during fall and spring.

The football field remains empty during winter and summer months. With Statistics like these, the new grandstands that will seat approximately 3900 spectators at a cost of $1.18 MILLION taxpayer’s money is not justified.

To date, NO 3900 spectators attended the recent scheduled football games here at Crystal Lake South High School. 


Further, we taxpayers are paying for District 155 to transport school buses round-trip from their parking lot to Central High School’s parking lot and surrounding area in the event more parking spaces at CL South High School is needed for spectators attending their football games.

We have been residing on Amberwood Drive for 25 years plus and as retirees with aging health issues, depression, anxiety and stress prevails due to our home now becoming unsellable when the economy improves in the housing industry. 

School District 155 must be held accountable for the dishonesty in not properly notifying Amberwood homeowners who are affected by this monstrosity Berlin Wall of Steel by letter before construction of the bleachers began.
 
Their newspaper notices never conveyed the truth of their anticipated plans just that the bleachers are to be replaced due to safety concerns. Homeowners ultimately assumed the old ones would be replaced with similar bleachers along with providing seating for handicap spectators --- Not The Berlin Wall of Steel they replaced the old bleachers with.

School District 155 must be held responsible to reimbursing each and every Amberwood Homeowner $150,000 who has been affected with property value loss and the anxiety and stress they are encountering due to THE BERLIN WALL OF STEEL in our backyards.

Respectfully,
Paul & Eileen Schwake
Amberwood Drive, Crystal Lake, Ill.