Special Meeting Called to Discuss Westphal Rebate

The Village Board will hold a special meeting Tuesday to further discuss and possibly vote on the $300,000 tax rebate deal with Westphal Chevrolet.

The board was originally scheduled to vote on the matter Jan. 10, but the meeting was moved up to allow for the presence of all trustees, said Village President Brian LeClercq. The Jan. 10 meeting conflicted with the schedule of at least one other trustee, he said.

“On a matter as important as this I think that it’s important for all board members to be present and have their say,” LeClercq said.

Trustee Terry Michels was absent from Tuesday’s meeting and the original vote was delayed in part for that reason.

LeClercq said all trustees have agreed to attend the special Tuesday meeting, which starts at 6:30 p.m. at .

Westphal has asked for the $300,000 rebate to help them pay for a $1.5 million renovation and expansion to the dealership at the corner of routes 34 and 30.

The agreement would pay the village the same amount of sales tax dollars its been receiving the past three years (about $173,000 annually) plus 25 percent of extra tax dollars on top of that. The dealership would keep the remaining 75 percent of what is generated annually until the $300,000 is captured. The proposal gives the dealership 10 years to make up the amount.

Westphal has indicated that they have had offers from Aurora and North Aurora to move the dealership and General Motors has pushed them to do so.

with Jeff Lawson and Tony Giles, saying they didn’t support the incentive. Trustees Gail Johnson, Judy Sollinger and Scott Volpe all appear to support it.