|
|
The
Glenview Watch |
|
After years of sometimes tense discussion about The Glen's Gallery Park, village and park board members met Thursday night to smooth ruffled feathers and attend to business.
Don Owen, director of redevelopment for The Glen, set the tone when he told park officials: "The Village Board doesn't want to be in the park business, but we don't want to shove it down your throat right now. We'll take care of it until you're ready."
The park district is reluctant to assume responsibility for the new property in part because it will be so expensive to maintain. The children's garden, for example, will be an amazing playground, drawing kids from Glenview and other communities. The crowds will mean more litter and more wear and tear on equipment, and the hedge mazes will need frequent trimming. Elsewhere, flower gardens will require intensive care, and delicate new ecosystems, like Lake Glenview and the frog pond, must be monitored to protect wetland plants and animals. Insurance for the sled hill could be steep, while the boat house and amphitheater might require people with special expertise. Some say the total bill for maintenance of this showcase park could reach $1 million a year.
Owen said the village was especially anxious for park district crews to take over tennis courts and athletic fields. Trustee Kent Fuller joked that he'd like them to handle "goose control" as well, but first the park district wanted a favor.
Speaking on behalf of 1,800 kids who play AYSO soccer and their parents, Board member John Winand asked the village to turn over two more acres of land at Gallery Park for soccer fields. "This isn't a land grab by us. We're not trying to pervert your vision of Gallery Park," he said. "It's just a very minor accommodation."
Winand and officials from AYSO explained they're forming teams for kids in kindergarten through second grade – using smaller fields so more kids get a chance to play. As a result, they can't share large fields with District 34 and need the extra acres to make their program work.
Village President Nancy Firfer, Trustee/Soccer Pop John Patton Jr., and others in the crowd sounded sympathetic, but Fuller, who has played a huge role in planning Gallery Park, was not ready to surrender land now designated for a meadow and frog pond. "Each meeting we have with you there's a little surprise," he told the park district. "You're always asking for something else."
President Firfer stepped in to suggest staff redraw plans by mid-December so the board can see how the park would change with two more acres for soccer. She promised to have a decision for the park district and AYSO soon.
Editor's note: While they're considering new soccer fields, the Board of Trustees should also take another look at the $60,000 frog pond and the 30-foot sledding hill. The slope faces south, so on days that aren't too cold, the sun is likely to melt the snow. What's more, the frog pond is located precariously close to the foot of the hill, so high-speed sledders could be in for a cold and soggy surprise.
DEARLY BELOVED
One piece of real estate the park district seems anxious to acquire is the old Navy chapel built by German POW's during World War II. It's been moved to a site near Chestnut and Patriot Boulevard, and the cross that once adorned it has been sent to the Glenview Historical Society. (Religious symbols are not allowed on government buildings.)
The village spent $789,000 to relocate and rehab the building and is predicting maintenance costs of $87,900 this year, but the park district views the property as a possible money maker. Already doing a booming nuptial business at Redfield House in The Grove, it wants to host weddings at the chapel and receptions across the street at Park Center.
TRAILER TALK
The Park District also asked about The Glen offices, wondering if they might eventually be converted to an informal clubhouse for the nine-hole public golf course. Village Manager Paul McCarthy said the double-wide used by the Navy for its teen center is now available, and a representative from District 34 joked the schools might have some extra trailers, referring to portable classrooms they'd like to retire with construction of a new school. Trustee Rachel Cook laughed and proposed all the trailers be brought to Village Hall to solve a space shortage there, and Village Manager Paul McCarthy quipped, "We'll call it our West Virginia motif."
GROVE WATCHING
The news from Glenview's Grove is good. With the help of a recent $90,000 grant from the state and matching money from the Grove Heritage Association, the park district will add another eight acres along Lake Avenue to the wooded preserve. Officials bought it to prevent new homes or a strip mall from going in there.
On a related note, park district officials have met twice with the Illinois State Tollway Authority to discuss prospects for a sound barrier. Grove Director Steve Swanson says a committee of citizens, representatives from the park district and the village will form early next year to explore strategies for getting the barrier.
"The noise is really an awful problem," says Swanson. "We can no longer do programs outside Kennicott House. People just can't hear. There's more traffic than ever, and it's moving faster. With the increase in speed, you get an increase in sound."
MEETING THE NEIGHBORS
Glenview's Village Board will meet with Northbrook trustees at 6 p.m. Monday night (12/4) at in the Board Room of Glenview Village Hall. The regular Village Board meeting will follow at 7:30 p.m. The public is welcome. The second meeting will be cablecast on Channel 17.
PLAN COMMISSION: ‘WE'RE HERE TO HELP YOU.'
Glenview's Plan Commission spent about an hour this week explaining why a man who wants to build onto his small home near the Glenview Car Wash might have to pay thousands of dollars for a new street while his neighbors pay nothing.
A law designed to make sure developers pay their share of village costs requires that owners of newly subdivided property pay a portion of the price for new curbs, gutters, sidewalks, sewers and roads when the village gets around to doing those things. In this case, however, the law applied to one homeowner, and village officials couldn't really say how much money he might owe. Chief Steve Jacobson of the Village Engineering Department gave a laundry list of variables that effect construction costs. He guessed the guy might be billed for $20,000.
Accountant and Plan Commission Chair Howard Silver noted that with rising costs, that amount could double in 12 years. Sidewalks, curbs and gutters would be extra, and don't forget the $325 tree he must plant on his parkway, $450 for a site survey and more than $1,200 he owes for sewer work the village did last year.
"I can understand paying my share, but it's difficult for me to continue with this application because I don't have any idea what sum of money we're talking about," said the homeowner. "It doesn't seem fair to me that I have to pay for a street where no one else on my street will have to pay."
Recognizing the injustice of it all, the Plan Commission voted to waive any future charge for road work. The proceeding took nearly an hour, and that surprised the petitioner. "We're from the government,"said Silver. "We're here to help you."
THE GAMES DEVELOPERS PLAY
Builder Bernie Schmidt was before the Plan Commission again asking for approval of Savannah Square, his townhouse development on Grove Street. When Schmidt went before the Village Board, the trustees told him his eight-unit complex was too dense, and they asked him to eliminate one unit. Schmidt's new plan follows that order – scaling back to seven – but he's enlarged three of the town homes so he can charge $420,000 instead of $380,000 apiece.
The project won approval from all four Plan Commissioners present. Jack Bevington was absent, and two other commissioners had to leave the room, recusing themselves without the explanation required by law. Chairman Silver is Schmidt's accountant, and our newest commissioner, architect Peter Brinckerhoff did some illustrations for Savannah Square.
HI-TECH TAX
The village of Glenview is about to join several neighboring suburbs that tax technology with a 5 percent charge on dedicated fax lines, paging services and fiber-optic transmissions. If approved by the trustees at Monday night's meeting, the charge would take effect this spring. Revenue, projected at $300,000-$350,000, will be used to pay the borrowing charges for repairs around the village.
READERS WRITE
WAIST DEEP IN THE BIG MUDDY
PLR writes about a flood water control plan submitted to the Illinois EPA: "I'm confused, or maybe I don't understand the humor of the comedy team of ‘Owen & Randall.' Owen says the plan was rejected. Then Randall says the plan itself was not rejected, but a technical violation was rejected. Then he concludes, ‘They accepted the plan, and they're pleased that the plan is now in effect.' Which is it, rejected or accepted?"
The Watch replies: The plan was rejected, according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
WEST SIDE PUMP STATION NEEDS LANDSCAPING
Roberta Kurtz writes about the new West Side Pump Station at Pfingsten and West Lake: "As a Glenview resident, I am very concerned about the landscaping around the new water pumping station. The building is not attractive, and I would hope that the people on the Appearance Commission reexamine the original landscape plans. Nothing that has been planted will ever shield the structure. Hopefully, the village will follow Signode's lead and put enough plantings around the building so it will not stand out like a sore thumb. I don't think the new residents at The Glen would put up with something looking like that in the middle of their property."
The Watch replies: The Village Board is expected to discuss landscaping of this eyesore and the Rugen Road water plant early next year.
NORTH
SHORE CLUBBING
Howard Silver writes, "I just want to help in getting two of your
readers' comments straight regarding the North Shore Country Club issue.
PG wrote: ‘I'd feel better if Bob Abt, the owner of
soon-to-be-Glenview's Abt TV and Electronics], were paying for it.' Tough
luck, PG. Bob Abt couldn't because he's Jewish and can't join North Shore
either. AB wants the name of an exclusive Jewish country club. There's one
in Lincolnwood--Bryn Mawr Country Club – that not only excludes non-Jews
but Jews who don't fit the socio-economic profile, such as myself. (They
might take Bob Abt, though.) I've never actually tried to join and have no
desire to. Groucho Marx once said when he was denied a membership because
of his religion: ‘I wouldn't want to join a club that would have me as a
member!' Neither would I, Groucho."
Ann Chalem writes: "After sending my message expressing concern about
the village dinner at the North Shore Country Club, my husband and I wrote
to the Glenview Village President and all of the Village Board of
Trustees, expressing our very serious concerns on that issue. We received
two responses -- calls from Trustee Patton and President Firfer. President
Firfer told me that from now on the village will hold its dinners at one
of the new public facilities being built at The Glen. We're very happy to
hear that; however, since both President Firfer and Trustee Patton have
announced that they will not be running for re-election, those of us who
are concerned will need to monitor the situation, since decisions will be
made by the remaining trustees, who could not even be bothered to
acknowledge our concern."
Phil Montross writes: "Perhaps I overreached in likening the NAACP
and NOW to the North Shore Country Club regarding exclusivity. Or perhaps
AB missed the point that there are literally thousands of organizations in
this country that start with the desire of members to associate with
like-minded people. I don't think the North Shore Country Club issue is
worth a war of words, but the lack of common sense on the Village Board
may be."
PLR writes: "Public figures have the right to belong to their choice
of clubs on their time away from service. In other words, their PRIVATE
time is their own. As for which clubs limit their membership to certain
nationalities, I'm quite sure you would get not one affirmation of this
from ANY of the private clubs; the only way these rumors or facts are
disseminated is by
word-of-mouth, so the validity of these statements rests in your trust of
the messenger's word."
FIRFER NOT READY FOR SNL
AB responds to our report about the appointment of Howard Silver to head
the Plan Commission. In making the announcement, Village Board President
Nancy Firfer said Silver knows how to control growth. "Control
growth?" says AB. "Maybe Nancy is stepping down to audition for
Saturday Night Live – although it wasn't that funny."
PLR writes, "I agree with you. I have seen no evidence from anyone in
our local government of growth control. I think Nancy must have named
Silver for the post because no one else wanted it!"
BIFF THIELE'S LETTER ABOUT LARRY CARLSON'S NEW PARTY
AB says: "I want to commend the way Mr. Thiele writes. He is an
articulate writer and I would have him on my team in a heartbeat."
Zcloser says: "Once again Mr. Thiele has helped validate what
candidate Larry Carlson meant when he said that the Unite Glenview party
‘will stand for inclusiveness, not exclusiveness, for positivism, not
negativism.' Thiele's negative and divisive comments are simply more of
the same rhetoric that attempt to lift him and his supporters up by trying
to tear others down. I hope you're proud of the example you continue to
set, Mr. Thiele, namely a poor one."
Phil Montross adds: "Hurrah for Biff Thiele and his comments to Mr.
Carlson. Will Thiele run for Village President? Also, I second his
comments regarding Sandy Hausman's interest in, and efforts to promote
better government in Glenview."
PLR writes: "Mr. Thiele's prose is brilliant! He is quite the
wordsmith. (I envy him!) He hit the issues right on the button, and I
totally agree about declining any invitation to be under Carlson's tent.
He would invite you in and then probably bite you!"
Ken Bertolucci writes: "As I read Mr. Carlson's announcement of his
intention to seek office, I was very impressed. I feel that we need a
leader who is willing to be inclusive and erect a "big tent" to
allow open discussion and debate about the future of Glenview, but when a
candidate talks about being inclusive and immediately lists those people
who he wants to exclude, it sounds like business as usual. I guess Mr.
Carlson's tent is only large enough to hold those people who agree with
him.
"The strength of a democracy is based on open discussion, debate and
decisions made for the greater good. The reason for the contentious
attitudes in our village is due to the feeling that the taxpaying public
is not being properly represented. There is a frightening lack of
information available about the decisions being made and the process for
making them. If Mr. Carlson is serious about the size of his tent, he
needs to talk to the residents of the neighborhoods in this community, not
his friends, developers and special interests. Everyone's voice needs to
be heard."
A WIDER WILLOW
DC writes: "Why stop at a six-lane Willow Road? Where is the
foresight of IDOT?
Traffic is getting so bad that we should just pave the whole Northeast
section of the state of Illinois, remove all the stop lights and use the
same driving rules that boaters use. Instead of speed limit signs, we
could have no wake zones for residential, school, shopping and other areas
in which people congregate. I can't imagine what traffic will be like when
the next snow storm hits during a rush hour."
Richard Feit writes: "For well over 30 years, Willow Road has been a
major traffic bottleneck at rush hour. After widening Willow to four lanes
between Waukegan and Sunset Ridge for the Kraft campus, the bottleneck was
reduced, but repeated attempts to widen Willow through Northfield were
neatly subverted by village leaders, like Marge Parcells, who served both
as a Northfield Trustee and member of the Illinois Legislature. They
pushed for widening Glenview Road to four lanes instead, even though
Glenview Road has residential housing all the way to the Edens and no
access ramp.
"Plans to widen Willow Road from the tollway to Waukegan Road make
absolutely no sense while the Northfield bottleneck remains. Unless, of
course, planners want to divert six lanes of Willow traffic onto already
gridlocked Waukegan Road, south to Lake Avenue and Glenview Road. Widening
the bottleneck from two to four lanes would smooth out and speed up Willow
traffic to the Edens and would cost taxpayers much less than widening
Willow to six lanes through Glenview and Northbrook."
Art Wulf writes: "I went to the meeting regarding expanding Willow
Road. They were talking about things like sidewalks along Willow Road and
more mass transit for people who work in the area. With 20-50,000 cars a
day on Willow, a few more pedestrians on sidewalks won't have much impact,
and buses taking workers from the Lake-Cook train station to work provide
minimal benefit. The real problem was that Bobbie Moore, who was leading
the discussion, was from Northfield. There is no way that someone from
Northfield is at all concerned about the traffic impact on Northbrook and
Glenview. Her role was to gather support to stop everything, to protect
Northfield's private little world. That has been their position for the
past 20 years., and Northfield's position is directly in conflict with
Glenview and Northbrook.
"Getting cars off Willow is a 20-year project. Getting the cars to
flow smoothly onto the Edens, out of Northbrook and Glenview is an
immediate concern. Residents better start leaning on their respective
trustees to put pressure on IDOT to widen Willow through Northfield. If we
rely on the folks who showed up the other night to protect our community
from six-lanes of traffic, you can start constructing 20-foot walls along
Willow Road."
KB writes: "Isn't Willow Road already being widened around the
Target/Kohls? How far west are they widening? All the way through
Northbrook? I went to the IDOT website, and they said they were widening
it from Milwaukee (U.S. 41) to Waukegan. But when I drove down there last
night, I can't really see how it is possible because of all the houses,
bridges and strip malls.
"P.S. In the last Watch, Amy Brossard mentioned coffee houses, the
North Branch restaurant, and a book store downtown. I think those are
great ideas! Just fabulous! We miss the North Branch Bar and Grill lots,
and a coffee house/bookstore with some live folky type artists performing
would just be FAB."
The Watch replies: The current widening of Willow near the intersection
with the new Patriot Boulevard will be limited to that area – serving
The Glen and Home Depot's shopping center. As for long-term, long distance
widening, there's no doubt. It will be a hugely expensive and massively
annoying public works project that does not guarantee an end to rush hour
back-ups. Why? Because when drivers find out that a new, six-lane Willow
is open for business, they're likely to abandon alternate routes (Lake,
Dundee or Lake-Cook) and make a beeline for Willow.
Studies in California show that in a very short time, newly widened roads
are as busy as they were before. It's easy to attack Northfield's
"David and Goliath" battle as a selfish act, but you could argue
that our neighbor to the east is doing us a favor – that even many more
drivers would be barreling through Glenview/Northbrook if Willow were four
lanes through Northfield.
LEAVE LIBRARY DOWNTOWN
Ib Jorgenson writes: "We like it the way it is. Spend the money on an
interior space consultant. Take a tip from the newly renovated Dominick's
on Waukegan Road. They have now re-arranged the store and are utilizing
100 percent of their space."
Your Turn. What's on your mind? Send us an e-mail. We are Sandy Hausman and Dean Schott – GlenviewWatch@aol.com.