|
|
The
Glenview Watch May 13, 2001 |
|
CERTIFIED MAIL FOR THE WATCH
Two weeks ago we reported on a new website – www.domania.com.
By typing in an address, you can find out what was paid for
the property. We used the service to check a
figure first reported by the Chicago Tribune. Over
a year ago the newspaper listed 1814 Camden Drive – the home of former
Village President Jim Smirles – with a sale price of $196,500 on a block
where homes were selling for up to $466,500.
When that number first appeared, we phoned Smirles to ask about it.
"I think that's a pretty good price, don't you?"
he said. Thinking he might be teasing, we
asked if the number was a mistake. "This
is our holy week," he told The Watch, referring to the Greek Orthodox
Easter. "I don't really want to talk
about this." Smirles said he would get back to us, but even after
printing the information we found on domania.com, we heard nothing from
him. This weekend, however, we received a
certified letter from Edward R. James Homes – the seller of the
property. Edward James wrote:
"The Glenview Watch, dated April 29, 2001 contained a substantial
factual error, which is damaging to our Company as well as to James W.
Smirles and Regina Smirles, purchasers of a home from us located in
Heatherfield at 1814 Camden Drive, Glenview, IL.
"You reported that Mr. and Mrs. Smirles purchased their Heatherfield
residence at a purchase price of $196,500. This
is incorrect. The purchase price was
$392,624.50. Enclosed is a copy of the
private, final Closing Statement certified by Chicago Title and Trust
company, as well as a copy of the public recorded Deed, verifying that
purchase price.
"We thank Mr. and Mrs. Smirles, no longer public figures, for
allowing us to make public their otherwise private documents to correct
the misstatements in the Glenview Watch. An
immediate and prominent correction in the Glenview Watch is
expected."
Copies of the letter were sent to Village Board President Larry Carlson
and Village Attorney Jeff Randall.
The Watch replies: The Watch only reported what domania.com and the
Chicago Tribune said Smirles paid for the property. We provided Smirles
with the opportunity to correct any misinformation, but in a year he has
said nothing. We're grateful that the James Company took the time to set
the record straight.
WHO'S COUNTING?
Last week Glenview's Village Board approved a $26,000 payment to the
architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill to supervise the
installation of benches, trash cans and bike racks at The Glen's Gallery
Park. Some trustees squawked about it, but
redevelopment staffer Amy Ahner and Village Manager Paul McCarthy held
fast – insisting we needed the expertise of SOM to do the job right.
Ahner said village staffers couldn't ensure that the benches were properly
parked in their concrete base because "these are special
benches."
Very special indeed if our records are correct. On
July 21, 1998 the Glenview Village Board approved a $287,750 payment to
SOM for a number of things, including "design and construction
supervision for Great Park amenities such as benches."
Glenview Watch called Don Owen, Director of Redevelopment for The Glen, to
inquire about this apparent double payment. He
did not return our call.
DISTRICT 34 CONSIDERS BUDGET CUTS
Members of the District 34 Board began discussing specific budget cuts
last week – reviewing a list of possibilities that totaled $768,100.
That's about half the amount needed to close a gap in
revenues versus anticipated expenses next year. The
rest could come from a $3.5 million reserve fund.
In requesting the list, board members said they did not want to lose any
teachers and did not want to increase class size. Here
are some things the staff proposed:
Cut extracurricular activities - $125,900
Cut Springman's special activity buses - $110,000
Reduce spending for supplies - $105,000
Delay purchase of new technology - $100,000
Reduce professional conference attendance - $50,000
Delay hiring a fine arts/language teacher - $50,000
Cut field trips to The Grove - $47,000
Reduce use of professional consultants and outside psychologist - $35,000
Leave positions for Human Resource and Health Coordinator vacant - $34,500
Superintendent Dot Weber called the list a band-aid, noting that the
District expects 400 more students by 2004. She
predicted that without a tax hike, growth will eventually mean larger
classes and cuts in current programs.
Board members disagreed on how much money should be taken from its reserve
fund to cover costs next year. Some, like President Anastasia Usher, felt
the public was demanding significant cuts by twice rejecting a referendum.
This fall, Superintendent Weber will ask a task force to craft a
comprehensive financial plan for the schools – outlining long-term
options. She has also devised a process for
deciding which kids and staff will go to the new middle school set to open
at The Glen in fall 2003. Among other things,
the district will take two months to gather feedback from the public
before making a decision in April 2002.
HIGH SCHOOL KIDS QUESTION DISTRICT SPENDING
Glenbrook South High School has been experimenting for nearly two years
with something called "block scheduling." The idea was to
devote longer periods of time to academic subjects such as math, science,
social studies and English, so students could have more time for hands-on
learning and interaction with their teachers.
The school board paid an outside consultant $90,000 to evaluate this
approach, but before an official report was issued, the board decided to
dump block scheduling, replacing classes of nearly two hours with daily,
50-minute classes. In an editorial in their newspaper, the Oracle,
students blasted the board for wasting money.
Principal David Smith says the consultant's report did come out after the
district vote, but he says board members were aware of preliminary
findings by the consultant. In 55 classroom visits, the consulting
firm found less hands-on learning and less interaction with teachers
during blocked classes. Instead, those longer sessions consisted of
more "teacher talk." Also, surveys of teachers and
students showed the longer lessons were unpopular, and Smith told the
Oracle that the best schedule is one that the faculty agrees with.
POST OFFICE OFFERED OPTIONS
In an effort to move Glenview's post office from its current site, making
library expansion possible downtown, the village has reportedly been
playing real estate agent. The Glenview
Announcements reports that officials have shown the postal service
storefronts at 1800 Dewes Street in the Optima West Building.
That site could be used for its retail operations –
selling stamps, taking in mail and packages.
The post office has talked about moving its sorting and mail truck loading
functions to a larger warehouse facility outside of downtown – even
outside of Glenview. Toward that end, the
village has proposed the old Mullarkey Distributors' site at 2025 Johns
Drive. Mullarkey has moved its operations to the North Shore Industrial
Park off Willow Road.
The property once owned by Rennecker's drug store is now back on the
market after a residential developer backed out of a deal, but the postal
service says that site has too little parking.
Glenview's Library Board has said it wants to expand or build a new
facility downtown but will consider moving to The Glen if no progress is
made with the post office by July.
NICOR PROPERTY BACK ON THE BLOCK
Nearly two years ago residents of south Glenview rallied against a plan to
build an assisted living facility and 28 single-family homes on a 15-acre
parcel at the corner of Shermer and Golf. The
Village Board responded to resident concerns about traffic, flooding and a
lack of open space by allowing the sale of six acres along Golf Road for
construction of assisted living but refusing to rezone the other nine
acres for residential use.
Last week NICOR posted a sign indicating nine acres of residential land
were for sale. The asking price – $3.3
million. Glenview's Park District had
previously rejected the site, saying it was too expensive, noting the area
is well-served with neighborhood parks.
NEW TOWNHOMES IN THE PIPELINE
The Plan Commission seems poised to approve two new town home developments
with four units at 918 Harlem and three units at 1819 Prairie.
Several neighbors on Prairie protested plans by developer
Bernie Schmidt. They argued that three town
homes were too many for such a small lot, that the construction of a
driveway onto Prairie could jeopardize children's safety and that the
height of the buildings could impede their sunlight and invade their
privacy.
"It's a crying shame that this downtown area has turned into town
home after town home," said Tom Howland who lives across the street
in a single-family house. "Developers
come here in front of the commission and constantly push the
envelope."
Schmidt dismissed the objections, saying he was surprised "that I can
still draw a crowd." His previous
developments have prompted complaints from other neighbors, but Schmidt
said he thought his "hey day was over." He
agreed to rework his plans – scaling back on the height, but insisted he
was not pushing any envelopes since zoning would have allowed him to build
four units.
The commissioners were generally satisfied with Schmidt's plan and with
the third generation of drawings from James Metropolis, the architect and
developer on Harlem. Chairman Silver urged the builders to apply for
"planned development" status. If it
were granted, they would not need to ask Glenview's Zoning Board for
permission to do things at variance with local zoning laws. Instead,
their design would be overseen by the Plan Commission. Later, Silver
learned that the properties in question were too small to qualify as PD's,
so both developers will have to take their plans to the Zoning Board of
Appeals.
GASSING UP
Soon to come: Consideration of major changes to the Shell service station
at 2000 Willow Road. The owners hope to tear down their current
building and replace it with a combination filling station and mini-mart
that would be open 24 hours a day.
Finally done: Demolition of the E-Z Go gas station on Waukegan Road.
No word yet on how that property will be redeveloped.
BREAKING GROUND AND PROMISES?
Loyola Academy will hold a ground-breaking ceremony at 10 a.m. next Sunday
for its sports complex atop the old Lutter dump. When the village approved
sale of that property, Loyola agreed to provide a conservation easement
along the west branch of the Chicago River, preserving the property
as part of a wildlife corridor running from Willow Road to Chestnut.
Loyola's attorney said there wasn't time before the Thanksgiving holiday
to convene the school board and get signatures on documents assuring that
Loyola would not build on the land. Former trustee John Patton Jr.
urged the village to trust the school, and board members did just that,
allowing the deal to go through. Five months later the village is still
without proper contracts assuring the future preservation of the river
front property.
RIVER CLEAN UP NETS SURPRISING FINDS
About 20 people took part in the latest attempt to clean the north branch
of the Chicago River in Glenview, collecting cans, bottles, plastic and
paper along with seven different kinds of balls. They also spotted
two snapping turtles and three great blue herons.
A second clean-up is set for 9 a.m. Saturday, May 19. Meet in the
parking lot of Kohl's on Willow, west of Waukegan Road. Bring
gloves, sunscreen and bottled water.
BARGAIN CAREER AND BUSINESS ADVICE – FREE AT THE LIBRARY
The library hosts "Starting Your Own Business" on Wednesday, May
16 at 7 PM. Sponsored by the Chicago Bar Association and the North
Suburban Library System, Attorney Arthur Wulf will discuss legal aspects
of establishing a corporation or partnership, how to deal with contracts
or
agreements, buying a franchise, and more. Register at the
information desk or call 729-7500 ext. 112 for more information, and if
you're job hunting, stop by the library on Tuesday, May 22 at 7 p.m.
for "Job Search Resources: A Panel Discussion." A team of
experts will offer help with identifying career choices, resume
writing, interviewing, Internet resources, and more. New graduates are
encouraged to attend.
For other library activities, go to http://www.glenview.lib.il.us.
STEPPING OUT
When Greg Ranz goes to the prom this Friday night, he'll have something
extra to celebrate. The Glenbrook South senior
has wrapped-up a most unusual part-time job – wearing a tuxedo to school
each Wednesday for the past six weeks. Greg got the gig from Gingiss
Formalwear. His mission, to get other guys
interested in renting a tux for the prom. Anyone
who inquired about Greg's attire was given a coupon for 25 per cent off at
the Niles store, and Greg himself will get a free tuxedo as payment.
The net value – about $200 – may not seem like a lot,
but then Greg says he enjoyed the job and feels Gingiss did him a favor.
"They dressed me once a week," says the grateful
teen.
BART'S REPRIEVE
After much media coverage and several polls showing huge public
support for the beast, an advisory committee for Wagner Farm has reversed
itself, voting 9-1 in favor of keeping Bart the bull. A final
decision is expected from the Park Board next month.
YOUR TURN: Share your views on local issues and news. E-mail to glenviewwatch@aol.com or snail mail to 3537 Maple Leaf Dr., Glenview, IL 60025. Your comments are an important part of the Watch, and we look forward to hearing from you. We are Sandy Hausman and Dean Schott, co-editors of Glenview Watch.