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The
Glenview Watch |
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Don Owen, The Glen development director, has a knack at public hearings for dropping oblique comments that when examined more closely reveal serious problems with managing The Glen.
During recent a 2001 budget hearing, Owen made a lite comment about a "ding" from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) for a muddy mess made by Concord Homes. The problem: Soil washed away from the Concord building site has polluted streams and tributaries of the Chicago River and wetlands in violation of strict IEPA regulations.
Don's "ding" is the threat of legal action by the state of Illinois against the village and Concord Homes and the possibility of fines against both for failure to control the erosion and prevent water pollution. Owens said the village could pay some fines, but Village Manager Paul McCarthy quickly downplayed the situation, saying "We're doing a lot better than before."
The potential fine against the village caught at least four trustees by surprise. Trustee Kent Fuller said Owen's comment was the first he had heard about it, though Fuller said he knew that Concord had been nailed by the state. Three other trustees were not aware of the correspondence from IEPA addressed to Village Board President Nancy Firfer and the Village Board.
In June, IEPA advised Firfer the village "allowed its contractors and developers to perform work on an essentially bare site with inadequate erosion control measures." During an inspection in March, the state agency found the storm water pollution prevention plan had not been completed, and the partially completed plan was not being followed.
In September, the IEPA further advised Firfer it may ask the Illinois Attorney General to prosecute because the "village of Glenview has failed to respond adequately to a violation notice."
Editor's note: Owen said John Chitty has been hired by the village to monitor on-going environmental problems at The Glen. Chitty's job is to be the eyes and ears of the village. He has been a staff ecologist with Harza Engineering, the village's engineering consultant paid to protect the village from these problems in the first place.
TAX FOE SLAMS DEVELOPERS' DONATIONS
Three major developers at The Glen gave more than $5,000 to persuade voters to pay for a school. Documents released by an anti-tax group show the James Co. and the parent company of Cambridge Homes both donated $2,500 to a group campaigning for passage of referenda to build and operate the school. Catellus, developer of an office building at The Glen, gave $500.
"This smells!" said Larry Miller, co-chair of Citizens Associated for Responsible Education. "The developers didn't pay impact fees for the school in the first place, and now they want all the taxpayers outside their developments to pay for a palace-in-the-park school inside their development."
Architectural drawings leaked to the public showed a three-story glass building complete with elevators, an atrium and food court. District officials have said that is a preliminary plan that will not necessarily be built.
NO RUGEN REDUX
Returning the Rugen Center back to a school has been "investigated thoroughly" and is not financially plausible, says District 34 Superintendent Dot Weber. She responded to community talk about the prospect of acquiring Rugen for $1. The district sold Rugen Center in 1996 to the Glenview Park District for $406,000, and it now operates as a recreational center in need of major repairs. Weber said it would cost at least that amount for the district to reacquire the building and site. And just to bring an already declining facility up to state code as a school building would be a major financial challenge, she said.
Weber says to tear down the Rugen Center is not an appealing prospect either because the site is not big enough to accommodate a new 800-student middle school, projected to be 150,000 square feet, more than three times the size of Rugen. Besides, she said, the new middle school would be only three blocks from the district's other middle school and that doesn't make good sense either.
TIMBURRRR! 98 TIMES
Residents of southeast Glenview are distraught over a construction project started by Cook County at the Skokie courthouse. Planners intend to destroy a wooded berm between the neighbors' property and the courthouse to make way for a temporary parking lot while a new parking garage is built. In the process, the county will remove 98 trees with trunks up to 12 inches in diameter.
Glenview resident Judy Bjorling and her neighbors went out to measure and discovered a few trees were actually 21 inches in diameter. "I guess the planners made a typographical error," she joked. Distressed by the prospect of losing the trees, she called a county attorney who claimed work crews would "put everything back the way it was." "How do you put back a 21-inch tree?" she wondered aloud. "I don't know."
The neighbors also lament a lack of notice. Skokie reportedly asked the county to give warning, but county officials did nothing to let Glenview residents know what was coming. County Commissioner Cal Sutker conceded communication should have been better. Sutker said trees now on the site are "not very good ones," and "much nicer trees" would be planted.
NEIGHBORS FIRED UP OVER EAST SIDE STATION
People who live near the proposed site for a new East Side fire station have taken a survey and discovered 98 of 99 residents think Lake and Wagner is a terrible spot for the facility. Folks on Wagner, Timberline Drive, Appletree, Normandy, Eastwood, Greenacre and Golfview Lanes say they're about two minutes away from the fire station in downtown Glenview.
"Why would they stick this darn thing in our neighborhood?" asks resident Bob Friedman.
He and others are angry that they were not notified about plans until after the village announced purchase of the property. "They claim to have been working on this for years," Friedman says, "but the first notice we got was when the fire department dropped off letters from Nancy Firfer telling us about the new fire house and inviting us to a discussion on Monday."
Trustee John Patton Jr., told the residents the fire station was a done deal. Residents asked if the village had explored other options. They thought, for example, that Wilmette needed a fire station to its west while Glenview needed one east. Could some kind of agreement be worked out to cover both areas with costs being shared? Had the village asked the forest preserve to swap land, preserving the parcel at Wagner and Lake while allowing Glenview to build on forest preserve land some distance from their quiet residential neighborhood?
Patton admitted those ideas had not been explored and promised to check them out.
Meanwhile, history buffs are fretting over the situation. The planned fire station site is the original Wagner homestead, and the house there is considered important by some. When officials went looking for the original deed, they found it at the Wilmette Historical Society.
Editor's note: Glenview's new Historic Preservation Committee should be involved in this matter, but President Firfer has still not appointed a chairman for that group so no meetings can be called. Like the Environmental Review Committee that was brought in only after serious environmental destruction at The Glen, we fear the historic preservation panel will be empowered only after history has been destroyed.
KEEPING UP WITH LAKE FOREST
Next year's village budget contains $2 million for a new fire station at The Glen. Planners say they modeled the station after one in toney Lake Forest.
Also in next year's spending plan:
– $100,000 for a study of space needs at Village Hall and the police department. (Bureaucrats say a new village hall will be needed 3-5 years.)
– $2,000 for certificates and awards.
– $5,800 for a dinner honoring members of all village boards and commissions, including the Forestry Commission -- a body that hasn't met for 20 years. The banquet will be held at the North Shore Country Club – a private facility that does not admit Jews, blacks or Asians as members.
Editor's note: Trustee Patton, rumored to be eyeing a run for village president next spring, was a no-show for both weekend budget sessions. When he attended Wednesday night's session, the other trustees had to sit through several discussions on matters that had already been covered so Truant Patton could be brought up to speed.
STATE HEARING FOR A WIDER WILLOW ROAD
Critics say the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) wants to turn Willow Road into a "Junior Expressway," pushing the road to six lanes through Glenview and Northbrook. IDOT will hold its ONLY public hearing on the matter from 2-8 p.m. November 14 at Allgauer's in the Northbrook Hilton, 2855 N. Milwaukee Avenue. Those who can't testify in person can send written comments to IDOT until December 5.
BANK GETS A GENTLE BOOT IN NORTHBROOK
Northbrook's Plan Commission sent Wintrust Financial Corporation away – voting, unanimously against rezoning for a three-story bank it hoped to build on Waukegan Road at Shermer. Officials also rejected the traffic pattern proposed by Wintrust's consultant, former Glenview Plan Commission Chairman Tim Doron. The Northbrook Star says Wintrust will be back with a new proposal on December 5.
HELP WANTED AT VILLAGE HALL
Planning Director Mary Bak says she's been unable to find folks at $10-$12 an hour to scan documents for storage on microfilm or discs. Hours are flexible – nights okay. For details, call 724-1700 and ask for the planning department.
A JOLLY TROLLEY FOR GLENVIEW
Glenview's Chamber of Commerce has asked the village for $60,000 to conduct an economic development study and wants Village Hall to hire a director of economic development. During a presentation to the trustees, a spokesman for the group also mentioned a novel idea for boosting downtown business. Mike Downing proposed Glenview acquire and operate a trolley service.
READERS WRITE
WHERE'S TRADER JOE'S? RN is getting nervous. Just 18 shopping days ‘til Thanksgiving, and no sign of Trader Joe's in Glenview: "What is going on with Trader Joe's? Their web site already is talking about Northbrook and other Illinois locations."
The Watch replies: After much boasting and crowing about the coming of Trader Joe's, the shopping center at the corner of Lake and Waukegan, managed by former Glenview president Jim Smirles, failed to start construction on time. At this point, Trader Joe's estimates opening in late February or March.
SYBARIS SUPPORTER: Karen M. Fann comes to the defense of Sybaris in its bid to provide romance for area residents without paying hotel taxes to the village:
"I am a resident of Glenview, and I pay taxes like anyone else. I am also a business owner in Glenview, and I pay taxes for that as well. However, this thing with Sybaris is really asinine. It seems to me that all Glenview is worried about is how much money it can get out of something.
"Sybaris is a place for couples to get away from the strains and stresses of everyday life and be able to keep the romance in their relationships, hopefully keeping down the divorce rate. Yes, they charge these couples that want to take advantage of the settings; however, they also pay taxes, maybe just not the amount that Glenview wants.
"I think that Glenview just needs to leave them alone. I mean, aren't things expensive enough here? Why is it that Glenview has always got to put its hands in someone's pocket, thus increasing the cost of everything? The village needs to concentrate on more important issues such as the terrible roads. I know there are other issues that are of more concern than getting money out of Sybaris. Come on people, wake up!"
IT'S A HOTEL: But Gayle Nelson thinks Sybaris is a hotel that should pay hotel taxes, no matter how romantic it may be: "This issue on Sybaris seems to be so logical. Why has it taken so long for Glenview to do this? Hasn't Sybaris been there for ages (as long as I can remember). Any idea what happens in other suburbs where they have establishments?"
The Watch replies: In 1993, Downers Grove hauled Sybaris into court contending the company should pay a hotel tax. Sybaris argued successfully that it was not a hotel but a "private place of enhanced romantic surroundings for sexual activity between two persons." As evidence, Sybaris described a range of exotic furniture, pointed out that it has no closets and its rooms are rented in four-hour blocks.
WATCH THE WHISPERING: GI was disturbed by whispering in the board room during debate on the teardown ordinance. He writes about the private discussions involving Village Attorney Jeff Randall, Planning Director Bak and Zoning Board Chairman Ty Laurie:
"I was there at the Village Board's meeting when this occurred. In fact the meeting between Randall, Laurie and Bak was at the end of the row in which I was sitting. Observing their discussions and noticing they were huddling in a seemingly secretive way, I picked up and moved over to the seat directly next to Attorney Randall. Once sitting down, I asked if they would like to repeat their discussion so I would have the opportunity to hear the substance of such. They immediately dispersed! I felt that I had caught kids doing something they knew they should not be doing.
"There is no doubt in my mind that their ‘meeting' was to review the present Maximum Building Size Plan to ensure the trustees would not enact a more restrictive bulk and scale ordinance than that proposed by Laurie, the Plan Commission and Zoning Board. I just wonder how many fellow citizens thought the behavior of those public officials was – if not illegal – then unethical.
"Earlier in the meeting, I noticed Mr. Laurie passing out documents to various builders. I was amazed by the fury with which he pursued passage of his maximum building size proposal! I guess he's really committed to representing the interests of at least some Glenview citizens – or businesses."
STAY TUNED, TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES: Cable Nut tried to press his complaints with the village, but GVTV turned him off: "I've called the GVTV office and spoke to a Ms. (Julie) Soto. Her attitude was, I can't do anything about the outages. In fact it was I who received the lecture. Sorry, I thought the village's tv office was there for the citizens. My mistake."
DON'T HUSTLE HISTORICAL HOUSE OFF TO FARM: Henry Hill, co-founder of COWS, wants the historical society's house to stay in historic downtown Glenview: "Is moving the Historical Society house to Wagner Farm a 'fine idea?' Not so fast. The present location of the Historical Society enhances downtown Glenview, lending to it a certain amount of class. With everything focused on The Glen, the east side needs to maintain some cachet to sustain any semblance of viability.
"Unfortunately, the Historical Society has failed to live up to its full potential and needs more active promotion and the exercise of more aggressive initiatives. The village also should be a major player by acquiring the empty property immediately to the south. Part of this could be used for off-street parking and part could be used to enhance the landscaped grounds around the HS building. With a bigger lawn area and off- street parking, the Historical Society could hold more public functions as well as rent the grounds for private functions. Just think, Sunday afternoon tea at the Historical Society during the summer.
"Keep in mind, too, that the Historical Society spent a considerable sum to build the humidity controlled 'barn' to contain historical artifacts; where are these going to be moved? These considerations are wholly apart from the question of whether moving the house to Wagner Farm is consistent with the public vision for the Farm. Let's not jump at this idea."
DON'T CROWD THE COWS: Ginny Guerant says Wagner Farm is not equipped for crowds: "Rob Blomquist writes that he's pleased the idea has been presented to move the Glenview Historical Society house over to Wagner's Farm. He stated, ‘There would be more room for buses to park and drop school children off at Wagner.' Has he ever been down that portion of Wagner whenever the Greek Church is in session or is having an event and witnessed all of the traffic that parks along Wagner Road? I live in the area and it's horrible. And does he really think that a bunch of school buses who MAY have to park along the road aren't going to create a traffic nightmare as well as the constant worry that some school child could decide to run around the parked bus out into the street? Now, if the buses park on the property, that's fine. But I can foresee times when an event is being held at the farm and several buses would have to park along Wagner Road. What a mess that could be!"
TEEN SCENE: Jennifer Sheridan sends an all-points bulletin for businesses offering teen entertainment: "I'm sure many of us have noticed the need for teens to go someplace safe and fun yet be out of the confines of private homes. Think of the money teens have to spend for a movie and popcorn and drink (nearly $15) or think of the quality of movies available, and it becomes obvious that they need other choices of places to socialize. The roller rink is packed every weekend, and the park district dances are always crowded too. We need some savvy business folks to create new hangouts. There does seem to be plenty of empty spaces to rent if one can figure out liabilities, crowd control, etc. I'll thank anyone who steps up to the plate."
WHY NOT INVOLVE THE Y? The head of the North Suburban Y says she'd like to help. Eva Prokop writes: "I noticed the letter in Glenview Watch in which one resident asked about a teen center. I think it would be great for the Y to support its mission by becoming involved in this query. We also believe there are few bad kids, and we certainly are all about families, kids and communities. Can you mediate a meeting with myself and some of the "vacant" place landlords to see if we can help offer a teen solution located in Glenview?"
The Watch replies: We called Glenview's Chamber of Commerce where executive director Cathy Miles said she was still waiting for a list of vacant properties to be prepared by Planning Director Mary Bak. If she got the list, Miles promised to call Prokop, but given Bak's preoccupation with The Glen, we aren't holding our breath. We hooked Prokop up with a local realtor.
SIDEWALK UPDATE: Mickey Safstrom is back with news of the sidewalk near Greenwood and Lake: "Since you printed my letter to the village re. uncompleted yard restoration along sidewalk to Westbrook School, I have gotten a phone call from a neighbor informing me that she has also been trying to pursue this. She told me the Park District has jurisdiction. Therefore, I have forwarded my original e-mail to the Park District. Now I am wondering why the village couldn't have taken time for one 'reply' click on the computer to let me know that it was the Park District's project, and I needed to contact them. Even though I specifically requested a reply from the Village they ignored my letter. Let's see what happens with the Park District!"
The Watch replies: The Park District thought perhaps the land in question belonged to District 34, but an official at the school office studied a map and confirmed that this is, indeed, a village problem. He kindly took Mickey's name and referred her to Glenview's director of public works. Bill Porter is known for taking care of business. We trust, Mickey, that your problem will soon be solved.
LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS, DISTRICT 34: John Nicolau writes: "I'd suggest that we ask District 34 to do what we all do everyday, namely live within your means and manage your existing resources better. After watching the very poised, professional, articulate and competent superintendent these past few weeks, I'd suggest she make the hard and maybe unpopular choices that someone of Dr. Weber's caliber can. This may include redrawing school boundaries, managing space better and putting the ever-increasing tax base to the most efficient use possible. People may call this too tough, but I'd call it demonstrating leadership, something that seems in rather short supply these days."
SUPPORT THE REFERENDA: Babette Sanders writes: "Enrollment for District 34 is now 3,836. The Kasarda study projects enrollment will not reach that level until 2004/2005. We need a school now! Every homeowner and business on The Glen will pay property taxes through the TIF (Tax Incremental Financing). The village gives payments to District 34 to compensate for the costs to educate each child in District 34 schools from The Glen. The opposition to the referenda published estimates of the impact on property taxes. However, neither an explanation of their estimates nor calculations is available for review. The facts supporting the District 34 estimates have been scrutinized by the public and by two independent and unbiased organizations: The Glenview Announcements and League of Women Voters. Both gave their unqualified support to the referenda.. The state has approved a $6.2 million grant for Glenview schools as a result of their overcrowded status. If we wait that grant funding could be lost. Support the referenda now!"
LET'S BE FRANK: Frank Frelka is puzzled: "I keep reading the Glenview Watch but am starting to wonder why. Are you actually worried about the formula for allocating the cost of a street light? Give me a break. Why don't you get a life?"
The Watch replies: Hey, Frank, you're the one who's reading a newsletter that upsets you. Be our guest. Give it up. But be warned. The price of light bulbs adds up, and when 140 percent of those street lights are in one part of town -- The Glen -- we think it's important to ask questions.
Frelka responds: "I wish I had time to write more thoughtful comments about some of what I read in the Glenview Watch. The news is generally well reported, much of the commentary is very negative and knee-jerk, showing, I believe, an inability to adjust to change, and many of the opinions expressed by readers reflect the unfortunate fact that too many people aren't very well informed about how things work. I guess I'll just join the crowd and send you my rants and raves when I feel like it."
The Watch's turn: We're all for change if it makes things better, but we don't believe all change is good. More critically, we think local government could do a better job of managing change, and sometimes citizens know more about "the way things work" than the so-called experts. In any event, we welcome your rants and raves. Thanks for reading the Watch.