By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The latest turn in an ongoing dispute between Severson Dells Nature Center and the Forest Preserves of Winnebago County could turn the nonprofit from a partner to a tenant.
Forest Preserves commissioners on Wednesday approved their end of a lease with Severson Dells, something the education center had requested after talks to form a new partnership agreement reached an impasse.
But commissioners also indicated they weren’t ready to give up on a potential partnership with Severson Dells, which has served as the educational arm of the district for roughly 50 years.
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The board voted 6-1 to indefinitely table a motion to cease services with Severson Dells. Board commissioner Cheryl Maggio was the lone no vote. Tabling the motion buys the two sides time to try again to strike a deal.
“I think this is a huge black eye for us that we cannot negotiate an agreement with a partner that we’ve had for all these years,” commissioner Jerry Paulson said. “I think we should go back to the negotiating table … to go back and see if we can’t work out a new agreement.”
Paulson said the Forest Preserves should go back to the negotiating table with a new negotiating team, something that spurred applause from Severson Dells supporters in attendance.
“The trust, obviously, between Severson Dells board and our board is gone,” Paulson said. “I would have to say that’s our fault.”
How we got here
The Severson family donated their 369-acre farm to the Forest Preserves in 1975, and the family’s former home was converted into the nature center. The Forest Preserves owns and maintains the property, and it partners with Severson to run an array of educational programs.
Supporters of Severson Dells have been filling Forest Preserves board meetings for months after the board decided to terminate its existing agreement with the nonprofit and forge a new deal.
The major disagreement is how the proposed deal transfers the responsibility of employment to Severson Dells. The Forest Preserves, which is a public taxing body, has long been the employer of the small Severson staff and the nonprofit reimburses it for much of those costs.
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The Forest Preserves’ proposal put employment responsibilities in the hands of Severson, forcing it to handle payroll and human resources responsibilities that have always been handled by the taxing body. It would also make the nonprofit responsible for employee benefits.
The combination would cost the nonprofit tens of thousands of dollars and create uncertainty in its budgeting process. It could also force it to increase fees for educational programs.
Last month, Forest Preserves commissioners approved their half of a new agreement, but it was rejected by Severson’s board.
“In short, the Severson Dells organization has inherited all the responisibility and the risk associated with our operation,”Chris Samuelson, chairman of the Severson board, said at Wednesday’s Forest Preserves meeting. “Therefore, a partnership does not exist with the Forest Preserve.”
Samuelson said an operating agreement would only be appropriate for Severson if there was some benefit to the nonprofit. Since the proposal had no benefit for the group, he said a lease agreement was all that made sense.
That two-year lease still spelled out financial contributions the Forest Preserves would supply to Severson to the tune of $30,000 a year. The Forest Preserves OK’d that lease after making several technical changes to the language, but they also vowed to continue to work toward a full operating agreement.
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The two boards have gone back and forth for months on various aspects of a potential agreement, but they haven’t been able to reach a deal.
“It puzzles me that we couldn’t come to a partnership agreement because it’s no different than our relationship with Klehm,” Commissioner Audrey Johnson said. “I’m not sure who’s digging their heels in, but I don’t like it.”
Samuelson said it appears the two sides will reach a deal on the lease, and he was glad to see they tabled the motion to cease services.
“At the end of the day, our value, our mission, our purpose is to support nature education in the northern Illinois/southern Wisconsin region, and we’re going to stick to that,” Samuelson said. “That’s still going to be our mission moving forward, no matter what happens between Severson and the Forest Preserve.”
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas