Larsen Property Stable Left in Disarray; Village Board Discusses What's Next for Facility

When the former tenants of a horse stable owned by the village of Lake in the Hills moved out earlier this year, they left behind an unwelcome mess. 

Now the village of Lake in the Hills is tasked with the clean-up of the stable facility located at 1109 Pyott Road littered with debris and piles of manure.

Village staff asked the Lake in the Hills Village Board for direction on what to do with the facility moving forward.

"What we are trying to figure out is what's next," said village administrator Gerald Sagona. "If we are going to re-rent the building, we should get going (on clean up)." 

The Village Board OK'd village staff's reommendation to remove a windmill, milk house, small barn and lean-to, which had various structural issues, from the property and to pay for the cleanup. 

"There are safety concerns," said Lake in the Hills Village Trustee Stephen Harlfinger. "Yeah, these buildings should be taken care of as soon as possible." 

Village staff estimates it will take 279 hours of labor and $5,5,25 in materials to clean up debris and manure left behind by the former tenants and to make bathrooms operational in the facility, according to village board documents.

The village plans to conduct that clean-up in April. 

Then in May, the village estimates 168 hours of labor will be needed to remove a small barn, milk house, lean-to and windmill. 

The Future of Larsen Property Stable

The village board during an April 10 meeting discussed the future of the facility, which had been owned by the Larsen family of Lake in the Hills and is on the same property of the newly-opened Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Food Pantry. The pantry moved this past week from a location on Oak Street to a refurbished pole barn toward the back of the property at 1109 Pyott Road. 

Gordon Larsen and his wife, Joann, who have both passed away, were influential to the village of LITH. Gordon Larsen was a well-known developer and businessman in Lake in the Hills for decades, according to the village of LITH website. 

Trustee Russ Ruzasnki said since the food pantry is now located on the property, the village board might want to look into creating some sort of community-oriented facility or organization in the stable at some point. 

Trustee Stephen Harlfinger spoke on the importance of maintaining the facility. 

"I think we should continue to look into preserving that barn," Harlfinger said. 

The village of Lake in the Hills estimates it would cost $8,700 to complete work on electrical, plumbing and other general repairs to make the facility "fully functional," according to village documents. 

Other improvements that could be explored down the road for the facility include updates to make the property more attractive to tenants, new space heaters and upgrades to insulation, exterior doors to help contain the heat and other structural improvements to the barn, according to village board documents.