Lake Zurich Director of Public Works David Heyden recommended putting a referendum on the November ballot, asking for voter input on whether the village should move forward with obtaining Lake Michigan water. At Monday's village board meeting, trustees voted against a November referendum.

Overall, trustees stated there wasn't enough time before the November election to educate voters.

Lake Zurich received an allocation for Lake Michigan water from the Illinios Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) in 2010. Since that time, the village staff has been researching the most cost-effective way to bring Lake Michigan water to Lake Zurich.

Heyden said that staff could go no further without additional funds, an estimated $350,000, to conduct a detailed analysis and preliminary design work.

Heyden suggested asking for either an advisory referendum asking voters to support the village spending up to $350,000 for detailed plans or a binding referendum asking voters to approve issing bonds for up to $29 million.

Heyden said a rough estimate of the cost to bring Lake Michigan water to Lake Zurich is $29 million, if the village does it on its own. If Lake Zurich partners with Wauconda, the estimate is $23 million.