The Sierra Club and other environmental groups are angry with Glenview and 22 other Chicago area suburbs that are suing for the right to build a 142-acre garbage dump rising 80 feet in the air over Bartlett, Illinois. The Army Corps of Engineers has blocked the project, claiming it would wipe out valuable wetlands that provide habitat for birds, but the suburbs say the federal government has no business telling Illinois communities what to do with wetlands.

The Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act and other federal laws governing the environment depend on the constitutional right of Washington to regulate "interstate commerce," but developers and communities like Glenview are now challenging the notion that water quality and survival of migratory birds have anything to do with interstate commerce, and the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case this fall.

Ironically, observers say the case got rolling 15 years ago when communities like Glenview feared a garbage crisis. Today, landfill capacity exceeds demand – in part due to successful recycling of bottles, cans and plastics. The Bartlett facility may not be needed, but having spent $25 million in legal fees so far, the suburbs are determined to pursue this legal fight.

The Village Board has voted to award a $70,000 contract to Conservation Design Forum, a company that studied the Air Station prairie and is now being asked to plan its future. Trustee John Patton questioned staffer Amy Ahner about future expenses – $229,000 for studies and $2 million for a nature center, parking lot and trails on the 31-acre site.

"I just think this gives us a good picture of the true costs that are involved in maintaining open space lands in this town," Patton said.

But Trustee Rachel Cook took a look at the costs of the Great Park (more than $10 million), Lake Glenview (more than $7 million) and landscaping for those properties (more than $4 million). Her conclusion: The prairie is a "cheap date."

Patton proposed to make the date "as cheap as possible," by getting the public to help with prairie maintenance.

Cook then asked Ahner why the contract with Conservation Design Forum should not be competitively bid. "At what point do we get a reality check for the cost of the services being provided?" she asked. Ahner said bids should be waived in this case because Conservation Design Forum is a "very unique firm in the Chicagoland area."

Editor’s note: Conservation Design Forum is by no means unique in advising communities on the preservation, restoration and maintenance of prairies and wetlands. Prairie Sun Consultants is located in Naperville and advises Sears on its giant prairie and wetland complex while Applied Ecological Services in Brodhead, Wisconsin, advises the villages of Matteson and Homewood on native landscapes they have created.

Both will tell you that prairies are, in fact, cheap dates – costing $800 - $3,000 per acre to install depending on the quality of the land. Putting in a grass lawn costs $4,000 - $8,000 an acre and will cost about $2,000 an acre each year to mow, fertilize, weed and water. Prairies require no mowing, weeding, fertilizing or watering, and after they’re established, their maintenance costs are minimal.

In light of these numbers, maybe Trustee Patton should ask village residents to volunteer for lawn mowing duty in Gallery Park. As for the $2 million nature center to be built at the prairie with TIF money, we wonder if the facility could be put into a Catellus building or in Hangar One near the Challenger Space Center to save on construction costs, eliminate the need for a large parking lot and preserve land for plants and animals.

Two weeks after Village Board President Nancy Firfer pushed through reappointment of everyone on the Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals, Trustee Donna Pappo raised a legitimate legal concern. Terms for some of the individuals had expired so long ago that reappointing them for the usual four or five-year term wouldn’t make them current. Take Linda Witt and Howard Silver for example. Their terms on the Plan Commission expired in 1992.

Firfer turned to Trustee John Patton who had made the original motion. He said he had meant for the new terms to begin immediately and continue for a length of time listed on papers handed out by Firfer, but Pappo quoted Patton from the minutes: "I make the motion that we reappoint all these commissioners as identified in this listing – to extend their terms from the point that they’ve been expired for the natural length of the terms being designated."

Trustee Fuller wasn’t sure what to make of the situation, and Trustee John Crawford chose the moment to quote: "As Oliver Hardy would say to Stan Laurel, ‘This is a fine mess!’"

Firfer, who had characterized the matter as "housekeeping," swept it under the carpet until the next meeting – agreeing with a suggestion that attorney Jeff Randall research the situation and report back.

As the Watch reported Thursday, Plan Commission Chairman Tim Doron is stepping down after accepting a job with KLOA – a Rosemont-based traffic planning firm that works with many developers who appear before the commission and village board. Doron said the new job might put him in violation of the village ethics ordinance.

We also noted that Doron plans to open an Irish pub at The Glen in partnership with Plan Commissioner Howard Silver, Saturn dealership owner Leo Stec and Mike Downing, a lawyer who represents many developers before the Plan Commission. Our story sparked this response from Silver:

"Since your story ran, I have received both congratulations and questions about it. My concern is that some of your readers may infer improprieties with both Tim’s and my village positions as they relate to our venture.

"Tim Doron has had a dream for quite some time, and it dates back a long time before the village of Glenview began developing the Navy base. Over time, he enlisted the talents of Leo Stec and Mike Downing for the unique business specialty that each could bring into the equation. I was asked fairly recently to lend my talents to the group, as I had previously been the chief financial officer for a very successful and high-profile Chicago restaurant group.

"To date, no partnership or other legal entity has been formed. Tim’s dream is now all of ours, but it is still in its infant stages, and the plans are nothing more than notes on the back of cocktail napkins. We have looked at several possible sites in town, including the abandoned restaurants along Milwaukee Avenue, and we have also looked at what might become possible locations on The Glen. No one as of yet has any clue as to what types of buildings might be built in any of the retail areas of The Glen, so any "plans to open an Irish Pub at The Glen" are still conjecture on all of our parts.

"If our dream becomes real, we will lease a space in someone’s building, and only if it makes good economic sense for both parties. A landlord will not give us a rent break in what might be the hottest area on the North Shore just because we are a couple of volunteer commissioners. Even on The Glen, a developer will buy the land from the village and build on his property. We won’t be dealing with the owner, because he will have a real estate broker handle the transaction. The only relationship that we would ever have with Glenview would be regarding business licenses and the health department. There has never been a thought to using any perceived influence that some might think we have in order to circumvent ordinances and requirements.

"We are four men with a dream. If we open our Irish Pub in town, we want it to be a success, but we will only do it honestly and ethically. There should never be a perceived conflict just because a village commissioner or board member also owns a business in town. If that were to be the case, it would be very difficult to attract any talented citizen to any position anywhere. So, please don’t dampen the spirit of those that want to serve and give us some credit for integrity."

Mike Luxem, a Glenview resident who fought for preservation of Wagner Farm, is on to a new cause. He wants to save Gingles tavern just east of The Glen on Chestnut. Alas, Luxem says, Gingles (pronounced "jingles") isn’t such an easy sell. In fact, Glenview might like to forget about the place where Navy pilots cavorted for more than 50 years. It was open 23 hours a day," says Luxem, "and the place rocked. I have met some old-timers who give me eye-opening accounts. Luxem still stops by Gingles on a regular basis and laments plans to close in November. The property has been sold to a landscaping firm.

Coke and Pepsi suppliers want the Park District to make up its mind! Contracts give our concession stands a bigger cut of the profits if we are an exclusive supplier of Coke or Pepsi products. The problem is that many Glenview residents like Gatorade, and that product is made by Quaker. The Park District hopes to reach a decision before the new recreation center opens in 2001.

By the way, do you know how Gatorade got its name? It was developed at the University of Florida.

Good news for those who tangle with traffic each morning at GBS: District 225 has won an okay from the state to build a new intersection on Lake west of Pfingsten, allowing westbound buses to turn right onto the campus rather than turning on Pfingsten and attempting a difficult left onto school grounds. The high school also got speedy approval from the Village Board for construction – connecting the two wings on the second floor and adding to its cafeteria, field house, English, music and science areas. Work on the $32.5 million expansion will begin in March.

Developer Bernie Schmidt, who had proposed the construction of eight town homes to replace a couple of single family homes on Grove Street near Church failed to win approval for his plan from the Village Board. "It may meet the technical requirements," said Trustee Larry Carlson, "but it’s too much for this piece of property."

Trustee Kent Fuller argued that the area was zoned for high density and that town homes were going up on either side of Schmidt’s land, but some trustees felt he was leaving too little green space, and most seemed upset by the lack of visitor parking. (Schmidt would provide two spaces for each townhouse.)

"I drive through this area every day on my way to the train station," said Patton, "and it’s crowded with cars on the street. . .It’s an excellent looking development. You present a tough choice here, and I agree with Trustee Fuller. It’s consistent with a lot of the developments already there, many of whom did not provide for off street parking for visitors, but at some point we just have to make a decision."

Referring to the school operated by his church, Patton added: "OLPH is 100 yards from there, and [when you come back with a new proposal] I’d like you to include your thoughts on how you could protect the children from all the [construction] trucks that would be coming on and off that property."

The matter was referred back to the Plan Commission for changes.

Patton had no reservations about another high density project proposed by Cambridge Homes at The Glen. It offers no visitor parking and provides just 1.5 spaces per unit for the 244 unit development that will cover 80 percent of the land with impervious surface (buildings, parking lots, sidewalks and decks).

Cambridge argued, successfully, that some of the smaller units were unlikely to house more than one driver and that they had set out to create a more urban neighborhood near the new Metra station. Given their proximity to Gallery Park and the Air Station Prairie, developers said residents didn’t need green space and that the reasonable cost of each unit – some rowhouses selling for a little more than $300,000 – dictated the density.

Children from the Cambridge development were to attend school in District 30, but District 34 has agreed to take them instead – allowing all children from The Glen to attend Glenview schools. As part of the deal, 34 will also get revenues from a shopping strip near the Metra station and from a portion of the Catellus office park when the TIF ends. Planners estimate 50-60 new students will come from the new area.

The Fox Meadow development near the southeast corner of Waukegan and Willow could be in trouble. Sources in Northfield say their comprehensive plan calls for single family homes on one-acre lots, but the James Company has proposed building 56 villas and rowhouses. Northfield staff have listed 20 issues to be resolved before construction can proceed. Among other things, the developer wants to skip the sidewalks and make roads narrower than Northfield usually permits.

James says they need to bend the rules in order to make some land available for sale to the park district and schools, but Northfield police are also concerned about the placement of those athletic fields. They are located along the perimeter of the property – perilously close to traffic. A hearing is set for October 18 at Northfield Village Hall.

It’s a boy -- a bull calf to be exact, born last week on Wagner Farm. No one’s sure what he weighs, but officials say he’s small enough to slip through the fence, so they’ll be keeping the new baby indoors for a few months. The bull is black and white. He joins a female born earlier this year. Both need names, and the Park District may hold a contest for school kids to solve that problem.

OTHER NEWS FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD

– The Zoning Board of Appeals has refused to make changes that would allow the New Canaan Presbyterian Church to build a convocation center on Greenwood north of Lake. Neighbors thought the building was too big and would bring too much traffic. The church had offered the use of its parking lot to neighboring Westbrook School where baseball games often fill existing spaces.

– Classic Residence by Hyatt hopes to break ground for their senior development at The Glen in November.

– The North Branch Restoration Project invites Glenview residents to assist with seed gathering at the Air Station Prairie on October 15 at 1:30. Meet on Lehigh just south of Willow.

– State Representative Beth Coulson is the only Republican in Illinois to be endorsed by the Sierra Club.

This year’s winner of the Mrs. Illinois pageant is from Glenview. Dena Ron is a retired nurse, the mother of two kids and a full-time staffer at Allstate.

Ron is also mistress of a menagerie – three cats, a dog, two birds and three aquariums and caretaker for the wildlife feeding in her Indian Ridge back yard – six racoons, several possums, a deer and two skunks.

She took part in her first competition six years ago "as a lark," but quickly saw the contest as a way to promote her personal cause – hospice. Dena volunteers with three different hospice organizations and speaks publicly on the subject.

Other rewards of the office – about $20,000 in prizes including a new vacuum cleaner. You can see Mrs. Illinois on October 8 and 14 when the PAX channel (18 on our cable) shows the Mrs. America Pageant.

The Bethany Methodist development sounds like more assisted living. Any count on how many units of senior/assisted living are planned or exist in Glenview? Is there a pent_up demand? Or is it like auto dealerships, dry cleaners, and vacant stores – we just have a lot of them in Glenview.

The Watch replies: While Bethany offers meal service, transportation and recreation, the company won’t be providing assistance directly to residents, so this is not "assisted living." Instead, village planners consider it reasonably priced senior housing – something they felt Glenview needed when plans were made for the base. The village has not done a study on how much of this housing we need or whether Bethany’s product is really "affordable" in light of what most seniors in Glenview have to spend. Residents will pay a refundable $125,000 - $230,000 to get in. Monthly service charges for one meal a day, weekly housekeeping, maintenance, transportation, health education and recreation will run $1,555-$2,355 a month.

Brossard continues:

As a small home owner we looked at a "small" home in The Glen. They cost a fortune and look horrible on the inside. Some of the worst space design, small little bedrooms with no cross ventilation and a bathroom next to the garage that measures 2' by 4' -_ too small to be a closet. It looks like we don't care what gets built in our town! Meanwhile, we're tearing down all older small homes and replacing them with castles. It appears that developers rule the town and that town leaders want to be developers and that the rest of us who don't have conflicting interests need to call their bluff.

Five Great Reasons to vote YES/YES for a new Junior High on Nov. 7:

1.) The Illinois State Board of Education says we're crowded

2.) The land at the base to build the school is FREE

3.) District #34 will received a grant for $6.2 million to build it

4.) Those offers are gone if it doesn't pass.

5.) Less crowding=better education=higher property values+ better college admissions

A few people I've spoken with call this a "no brainer."

Editor’s note: Some of the $6.2 million that could come from the state is money for improvements at other schools in the district. Those dollars (up to $500,000) will be available to us regardless of what voters decide on the referenda.