McHenry County News for the week of May 1st

Through our collaboration with McHenry County, we will continue to share important information on services, programs to help our citizens, and events in our county through Resume McHenry County updates.

Please take a moment to scroll down to see new advancements this week as we move forward in McHenry County. If MCEDC can be of any help, please call. Forward this email to your friends and family to help get the word out!

McHenry County breaks ground on law enforcement shooting range

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and the Village of Cary came together on April 26 to break ground on an indoor shooting range to train deputies and municipal police.

The McHenry County Regional Range will be a 12,000-square-foot range and classroom that will support advanced training for county law enforcement. Besides giving police a modern facility, it will keep costs down by allowing law enforcement to train locally, rather than travel to engage in training.

Construction is expected to be finished later this year, weather permitting. Congratulations to McHenry County and Cary officials for working together to make this happen!

Vacancies open for Zoning, Conservation District boards

The McHenry County Board is looking for qualified candidates to serve on the Zoning Board of Appeals and the McHenry County Conservation District Board of Trustees.

One vacancy each exists on both board. The ZBA’s responsibilities include making recommendations on zoning variations and conditional use permits, and making recommendations on zoning map and text amendment applications. The MCCD board is responsible for overseeing the conservation district and developing long-range plans to preserve the county’s natural resources.

Click here to learn more about these boards and apply. While MCCD applicants can live anywhere in the county, applicants for the ZBA vacancy must live in Chemung, Hebron, Burton, Dunham, Hartland, Greenwood, McHenry, Marengo, or Seneca townships.

Mental Health Board holding town-hall meeting next week

The McHenry County Mental Health Board is asking people to come and make their voice heard regarding support for people with mental health challenges and developmental disabilities.

The board is holding a town hall meeting from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 11. Your input can make a difference in how our county supports residents in matters of mental health, intellectual / developmental disabilities, and substance use.

Click here or call 815-455-2828 to learn more. To provide written feedback, please email informationrequest@mc708.org.

County Board adopts updated Strategic Plan

The McHenry County Board at its April 18 meeting approved the county’s updated Five-Year Strategic Plan.

The 2022-2025 Strategic Plan is divided into six key areas, which overlap and connect with one another to create the County Board’s vision for the future and to help guide its policy decisions. Each key issue, in turn, is divided into goals, each of which have their own actions for completion over the next three years.

This update contained the input of freshman board members elected in November to this new, 18-member County Board.

You can learn more about the Strategic Plan, and review the goals and progress for yourself, by clicking here.

Woodstock Farmers Market returns outdoors

The renowned Woodstock Farmers Market has returned to the Square for the outdoor season!

It reopened on the Square last Saturday, and will be open for business every Tuesday and Saturday through the end of September, followed by Saturdays through October before once again heading indoors for the winter.

Likewise, the Farmers Market+ at the Dole will return outdoors starting Sunday, May 28, at the Dole Mansion, 401 Country Club Road, Crystal Lake. The American Farmland Trust last year named the Woodstock and Dole markets as two of the top five farmers’ markets in the entire Midwest.

McHenry County is home to many farmers markets and you-pick farms! You can find a partial list by clicking here.

Richardson Farm Tulip Festival is open

It’s tulip time once again! Richardson Adventure Farm’s third-annual Tulip Festival is under way!

The event, which runs through this Sunday (maybe longer if the weather and the tulips cooperate), features 12 acres covered in more than 1 million tulips, with more than 60 varieties – and about 100,000 are in the pick-your-own area.

You can cut your own, play games with the whole family, and enjoy great food and drink – to say nothing of snapping the ultimate colorful spring selfie.

We literally could fill this entire newsletter with all the activities at the festival alone, to say nothing of Richardson Farm as a whole. So visit their website, and check them out on Facebook, for a list of activities.

You can buy tickets at the gate, or click here to purchase them online. Admission is $16 for ages 4 and up on weekdays; on Saturday and Sunday the cost is $16 for ages 4-12, and $19 for ages 14 and up. Admission includes one free tulip, with more available on a per-tulip fee.