ANSWERS TO A POSTING - PART FOUR

Q7: Why was no landscaping plan required of the college, when it appears that one was required of Aurora Clinic?
I cannot speak for the entire Plan Commission, but, in my opinion, the landscaping plan for Aurora was necessary due its location on a main highway in one of our business districts. Aurora was very good to work with on the plan. As for the college's plans, they had said they would try to keep as many trees and bushes as feasible. One resident asked for large trees and berms to block their view of the dorm. That is simply not reasonable. Why would the college put up a $3 million building and then try to block the view? I would ask you to drive past the dorm and tell me what is disturbing to the eye landscaping-wise.

Q8: Surely the minutes of the Council meeting of October 9, 2007, have been approved by now. When will they be posted? Were the minutes of the October 22, 2007, meeting approved at the November 12, 2007, meeting? With regard to the downtown redevelopment proposal, I hold little hope for your statement “I am pushing for copies to be placed on-line at either the City of Ripon website or the Ripon Main Street site” when even the minutes aren’t posted in a timely manner.
The Council did not meet on November 12th due to the lack of a quorum. And I am sorry you do not think we will be posting copies of the Downtown plan on the Internet quick enough. I can only encourage the various groups involved to do so.

Q: If I correctly understand the financing plans for each group, it goes as follows:$250,000 Ripon College: Source of funds and interest rate irrelevant.$360,000 Ingalls Field Committee: Loan financed by FieldTurf; Interest rate unknown, guaranteed by Johnson Bank;Paid by donations.$162,491 RASD:Loan financed by FieldTurf;Interest rate unknown;Paid by 7 year continuation of the increased tax levy approved by 2004 referendum for track renovations.$772,491 Total, not including interestIs this correct? If not, will you state, clearly and succinctly, for each entity that is paying for the installation of FieldTurf, 1) from whom they are getting their portion of the $772,491 and at what interest rate, and 2) how they expect to fund the money to make these payments? I would also like to know the total amount of the installation cost that is being financed by FieldTurf’s financing company, and, if the loans are being made separately to each repaying entity, if the interest rate will be the same for each loan.
I do not have the interest rates on each specific loans. I would suggest you contact Cris Johnson, who has spearheaded the private fundraising, and Richard Zimman, the superintendent, for the specifics of each loan. For the record, I am not leading the turf fundraising, but I have contributed time and energy to the fundraising efforts. I am not privy to each and every detail. I have given you contact information, and I believe they can provide the clear and succint information you are looking for.