The agency responsible for dredging 7,600 acres of waterways from the Wisconsin border to Algonquin released a list of proposed projects for the next two years.
The Chain-o-Lakes Fox River Waterway Management Agency is proposing 45 projects that stretch through Algonquin, Antioch, Cuba, Nunda, McHenry, Grant and Lake Villa Townships. The agency will vote on the proposal at its March 17 meeting.
A more important vote on March 15, though, may make the list a moot point.
A referendum proposal will ask residents near the Fox River and Chain O’ Lakes in northern Lake and McHenry Counties to decide whether the agency should stay in business. A “no” vote would transfer the agency’s responsibilities for navigable waterways to the state next year.
A positive vote would keep the agency in business indefinitely. The two-year proposal includes several projects that have been proposed before or are in varying stages of permit approval, said Karen Kabbes, executive director of the agency.
User fees, averaging $30 per boat, and state grants account for most of the agency’s annual budget of $750,000. The agency licensed 22,800 boats last year, Kabbes said.
One proposal would dredge a portion of the sandbar in the channel of the Fox River, north of Burton’s Bridge. Dredging of that site has been considered for two years and some permits have been issued, she said.