Kane County board debates $25,000 request to bring power to proposed observatory

Rich Sanje, president and founder of Stellar Observatory, asked the Kane County Economic Development Board for $25,000 to pay to bring electric utility service to a proposed observatory at Jackson Flat Reservoir. "We're asking the economic opportunity board to contribute $25,000 to help us bring electric utility to this site," Sanje said during a slide presentation describing monthly public star parties, school field trips and paid private programs the nonprofit runs.

The project, Sanje said, is intended as both an educational resource and an economic development tool. He showed satellite sky-brightness maps and argued Kane County’s dark skies give the county a competitive tourism advantage; he also described a two-phase site plan with a 600-square-foot Phase 1 building (bathrooms, storage) and a later 40-seat classroom and permanent telescope mounts. Sanje listed funds already secured in the project packet: $199,500 from the governor’s office, $25,000 from a local source listed in the packet, $35,000 raised by the observatory group and in-kind work promised by the land conservancy. He said a contractor quoted roughly $69,000 to run power to the site and that the governor's grant must be spent by September 2026.

At least one board member objected to the application’s eligibility under the rural county grant program, saying the program’s stated criteria emphasize recruitment, business development, workforce training and capital facilities for business. "I don't see how it fits with us as under this rural county grant program," the Committee member said, calling the proposal primarily recreational and tourism-oriented. A different board member said they had contacted the governor's office of economic opportunity and was told that installing a power line to a building could qualify under the program’s infrastructure category: "the state was fairly favorable to this presentation," the Committee member said.

Another member cited prior board recommendations funding training and educational programming for county schools as precedent for organization-to-organization funding under the board's recommendations. Board members also raised administrative questions about whether the state grant’s reimbursable budget included the power hookup; Sanje said the power estimate was unavailable when the state application was prepared and that the group would seek contractor quotes and additional fundraising if needed.

The board discussed business-development uses for the facility — training tour guides, hosting orientation for outfitters and reservable space for community or corporate events — but Sanje said telescope equipment would remain with the nonprofit and that businesses would need their own equipment to run sessions. No formal motion or vote to fund the $25,000 request was recorded by the end of the discussion.

The board asked staff and the presenter to document contractor quotes and confirm which line items are reimbursable under the governor’s grant. The grant deadline — September 2026 — was flagged as a timing constraint for spending state funds on Phase 1. The item remains under discussion; no final funding decision was recorded during the meeting.