Leaders optimistic about Champion Farm

Potential as an “important hub of development” touted

If you visit Perry Township’s website at perrytownship-lake. com, you’ll find a link to the Champion Farm Joint Land Study located near the top left-hand side of the home page.

Perhaps the prominent position of that link reflects how township leaders feel about the planning study.

The study offers suggestions on how to revitalize the 230-acre parcel that once was home to a thriving horticultural nursery.

“It is expected that this piece of property will be an important hub of development for our community,” said Perry Township Trustee Board Chairman Rick Amos.

“It is expected that this piece of property will be an important hub of development for our community.” — Perry Township Trustee Board Chairman Rick Amos

The study

The unveiling of the 33page study at a public forum in June proved to be one of the highlights of 2018 for Perry Township, which is home to about 80 acres of the former Champion Farm.

During that event, township Trustee Robert Dawson, who also serves as president of the Perry Joint Economic Development District Board, recalled the history of Champion Farm and discussed events leading up to the study being completed.

Dawson played a major leadership role in working with Perry Schools and Perry Village to gain control of the former Champion Farm, Amos said. The farm had been a bank-owned property for seven years when the 232-acre parcel was purchased by the Perry School District in 2017.

Perry Schools is leasing 150 acres of the site to the Perry Village and 80 acres to the township. The township’s section comprises the northernmost side of the property and is zoned commercial.

During the summer, township and village road crews teamed up to improve the aesthetics of Champion’s Route 20 frontage by cutting tall grass, weeds and other foliage. In late November, a two-sided sign was placed on the lot, alerting motorists that the property was for lease. The sign instructs interested developers to contact Perry Township Administrator Karen Sundy for more information.

Township leaders and Perry JEDD board members are hopeful that the sign will drum up prospective tenants for Champion Farm.

“We’re very optimistic,” Sundy said.

Services to residents

Perry Township trustees, as they’ve done in previous years, also focused in 2018 on seeking to provide highquality services to residents of the community at minimal costs, or in other instances for free. Amos said the township:

• Continued the summer concert series that offers free admission. The series is supported by a variety of community sponsors.

• Provided extra funding to the Perry Area Joint Recreation District to help maintain strong leadership for senior and youth programming.

• Continued its program with Laketran that provides subsidized rides to the elderly and others in need.

• Subsidized a summer membership program to the Perry Outdoor YMCA.

“We believe all these benefits and more are important quality-of-life initiatives that help make our community a great place to live,” Amos said.

Future prospects

Looking ahead to 2019, Amos said the township’s challenges are basically limited to ongoing finances.

“Perry Township is the only community in Lake County that does not have a single voted levy or income tax to support our operations,” he said. “The trustees have made numerous changes to the way work was done to control costs— there are many examples of doing more with less.”

However, Amos said without sacrificing many of the basic services that Perry Township needs, enjoys and expects, the time is coming when township government will have to ask the community to invest in itself.

“Our revenue stream has continued to shrink significantly — even faster than the cost-saving measures that have been implemented,” he said.

BILL DEBUS — THE NEWS-HERALD A new sign was installed Nov. 30 on the northernmost section of the former Champion Farm, along Route 20 in Perry Township.