Shorewood sells surplus land
By Clare walters Correspondent December 13, 2012 8:40AM
Updated: January 20, 2013 6:05AM
The Shorewood Village Board on Tuesday approved the sale of a small parcel surplus property to residents who live adjacent to it.
The board accepted an offer of $722 from Susan O’Leary for a nearly 4,000- square-foot parcel on South Raven Road.
The sale of the property became a consideration for the village after O’Leary inquired about purchasing the land. The village declared the land as surplus property in October, had it appraised at a value of $980, published it for sale and accepted bids until Nov. 30.
The property could not be sold for less than 80 percent of the appraised value, which is the amount offered by O’Leary — the only bidder.
“It’s a small lot that really has no likelihood of being sold to anyone else,” village attorney James Murphy said.
Trustee Dan Anderson said he spoke with village staff who couldn’t find any reason why the village owned such a parcel. The land presumably was donated to the village by the subdivision’s developer.
“We speculate that it may have been to have a drainage pipe to the river or something,” he said.
In other business Tuesday, the village board approved an agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation for the installation of LED traffic signals at some major village intersections.
By participating in the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program, the village will pay $5,000 for LED lights to be installed Route 52 and Interstate 55 east and west, Route 52 and Route 59, Route 52 and Brookshore Drive, and Route 52 and River Road.
Shorewood is covering 10 percent of the project’s costs with the state covering 90 percent.
Replacing incandescent lights with LED lights will reduce maintenance, energy consumption and enhance visibility, according to information from the transportation department.
Installation will begin in 2013.
