Steve Balich Editors Note: A broken window after 3 seasons of Football is still not fixed. There is water damage now yet the window is still not fixed. One of the things being asked at the annual town meeting April is that township property be repaired in a timely matter. Make sure you keep the date on your calendar and come to vote on items submitted by voters in Homer Township
Benjamin Conboy, Assistant Editor3:34 pm CST February 14, 2020
A months-long feud between the Homer Township Board of Trustees and the president of the Homer Stallions football team is coming to a head.
At the Township board meeting on Feb. 10, Homer Stallions President Dan Hagan announced he has invited all of the members of the Stallions to come to the next regular board meeting to express their displeasure over their perception that the Township has been slow-walking much-needed repairs to the football announcer’s tower at Killmer Field, which is Township property.
Hagan has been coming to the board for months, saying a window frame that is blown out is allowing water into the structure, and that the temporary repairs the Township has done are nothing more than band-aids for a larger problem.
“Regarding the board-up of the windows, you’re entitled to your opinion, but the windows have been sufficiently boarded,” Township Supervisor Pam Meyers told Hagan during a contentious exchange. “The water that has been coming in has likely been coming in through the interior walls.”
“How can you say that a hole you can stick a finger through is boarded up properly?” Hagan retorted.
Hagan has grown frustrated with the pace at which the Township has moved to repair the buildings, but Meyers insists the Township has moved forward and that the process is much more involved than simply replacing a window.
“The reality of it is that I can prove and have every indication that we’ve moved forward with structural engineers, contractors and tried to get this project done as much as we can,” Meyers said. “We’re hoping we can get a scope of work from a contractor, and we can then submit it to the Village [of Homer Glen] for further permitting.”
Meyers asked Hagan how many months of the year the structure is used, to which he replied four months.
“We have been dealing with other buildings and other properties that are used 365 days a year,” Meyers responded.
Hagan told The Horizon in an email afterward that his “frustration is at an all-time high.”
“They talk about installing shade structures and water fountains at the dog park, but have none of these at the football fields for our kids?” Hagan said in the email. “[Meyers] said other buildings have priority because [the tower is only used four months a year], so in the meantime, we allow this building to further deteriorate due to water damage? This is not right. The Stallions helped fund and build this over 20 years ago.”
