When PDI, a Milwaukee-based consultant, surveyed Glenview residents about traffic in the village, 92 percent said Waukegan Road was "congested all the time or at rush hour," so the city planners studied that problem and proposed a solution. By putting median strips down the middle of Waukegan, they could keep cars from making troublesome left turns except at key intersections, and by consolidating the number of access points to Waukegan they could further improve the flow of traffic.

When the idea was explained at a public meeting last week, however, Development Director Mary Bak threw up a roadblock, saying these plans would not be popular with the local Chamber of Commerce.

The consultants also had a surprising idea for downtown. They thought that sites occupied by the library and post office would be so appealing to residential and commercial developers that those developers might be willing to buy the land and pay for a new post office in some other part of town.

Finally, PDI offered a variety of scenarios for downtown development including one that showed no fire station. The planners said we didn’t need a fire house on Glenview Road – that it could be located somewhere else if tax increment financing brought a flood of interest in downtown redevelopment.

The mention of TIF, which has already proven controversial at The Glen, produced an audible gasp. Trustee Jeff Lerner said the community is still arguing about the first TIF, and Village President Larry Carlson said the consultants were only dealing with local planning, not with local politics.

Editor's note: At the outset, serving on the Comprehensive Plan Commission held great appeal -- so much that the panel was expanded to 20 members and the board room was packed with residents. This week, the group was almost forced to cancel its meeting for lack of a quorum. Only when two latecomers appeared was the president able to convene with 11 commission members and fewer than a dozen observers on hand.

Village President Carlson confessed a dark fear Tuesday telling the trustees that Glenview’s Historic Preservation Ordinance puts this community at risk. He explained that a hateful resident could ask to have his neighbor’s house declared historic. The neighbor would be unable to make home improvements while mounting a costly fight against designation and the village would be helpless – forced to consider the spiteful request.

To prevent that from happening, Carlson suggested citizens who request historic designation for a local place be charged $500. If the property was eventually found to be historic, Carlson said he would be willing to give the citizen a refund. Trustee Jeff Lerner thought the idea had merit, suggesting that citizens who couldn’t afford the fee be allowed to apply for a waiver.

Watching the meeting on cable TV, Glenview resident Bob Sacoff was alarmed. He lives just a few blocks from Village Hall and made a quick trip to the board room in order to challenge Carlson’s plan. "It strikes me as kind of incredible that we need to be tightening up an ordinance that hasn’t exactly created a flood of applications," he said noting that since the law was enacted two years ago, only one effort had been made by citizens to secure historic preservation, and despite their effort, the Dahlquist Building was torn down.

"This is going in the wrong direction if the policy of the village is to encourage historic preservation. If there evolves a pattern of abuse, that’s something that ought to be addressed. Just because there’s a possibility of abuse, the board is contemplating making it more difficult, imposing punitive fees."

Trustee Donna Pappo thought the current filing fee of $100 was adequate. "I think it should be as easy as possible for properties to be nominated," she said. Development Director Mary Bak reminded the trustees that under the ordinance, anyone proposing historic designation must make a case for it, often by hiring one or more experts to testify.

"In essence what you’re doing is putting the onus on the individual who’s paying the $100 to come up with a professional opinion which might cost $300, $500!" said Trustee Mike Guinane.

"More like $3,000," said Pappo.

"That’s correct," said Lerner. "That’s the whole idea. If they want to seek the designation of the property, it’s their burden."

"Because otherwise someone could drive by your house," said Village Attorney Jeff Randall, "and say, ‘I think that’s historic,’ and file the application."

"Most people in this community are decent people that aren’t going to start filing historic preservation requests on properties throughout the village," said Guinane.

Randall then raised the case of the old Wagner house recently demolished by the village to make way for a new fire station. It was the original Wagner homestead, and some neighbors thought it should be saved, but others argued the house had been remodeled so often that it was no longer historic. "It was determined by this board, by the park district, by COWS that there was really no historic value to that house," said Randall. "There were people that were talking about filing an application to go before the Historic Preservation Commission to preserve that house. . .That application, as baseless as it would have been, would have gone through the historic preservation process."

Editor’s note: To our knowledge, Randall is not a historian and is in no position to say that an application for historic designation would be "baseless." The village board, park district and COWS were also ill-qualified to make that determination and had their own agendas. The village was in a hurry to build its fire station. The park district had no money to move and rehab the original Wagner house and did not want to surrender any land at Wagner Farm. The fact is that Glenview demolished the house without serious consideration of its historic value because saving it would not have been convenient.

Randall is not an elected member of the village board, but that doesn’t deter the lawyer from speaking his mind, even when his opinion is not sought. His friendship with the village manager and some of the trustees protect him from the censure he deserves. A professional board would remind Randall that he is there to provide legal opinions when asked and not to offer his own ideas about government policy.

Fortunately, he and Carlson failed to frighten the trustees into raising the fee for requesting consideration of local properties that may be historic.

Trustee Mary Beth Denefe, who has been fairly quiet during her first year in office, tried her hand at politics Tuesday night in an apparent attempt to embarrass Trustees Rachel Cook, John Crawford and Donna Pappo. They had objected when Denefe’s party modified the ethics ordinance, making it possible for the law firm of their ally – zoning board chief Ty Laurie – to represent developers in Glenview.

As the board reviewed minutes from a previous meeting, Denefe noted "something that I think needs to be either amended or corrected." Referring to the police department’s purchase of laptop computers she said, "This was the item where Trustee Cook recused herself. . .My understanding of the code is that the specific nature and extent of the conflict is to be specifically stated. The minutes don’t reflect that Trustee Cook stated the reason for her recusal. . . I do believe that we need to have a proper record on this matter, and I would simply request that [President Carlson] direct Trustee Cook to state the reason for her recusal so that we can have a proper record."

Without prompting from Carlson, Cook replied: "My husband is an employee of Motorola, and the purchase was for equipment that Motorola manufactures."

Village Attorney Randall said the minutes could not be amended, but the information was now on the record. After a short silence, Denefe moved to approve the minutes.

Editor’s note: The reason for Cook’s recusal was no secret, and had Denefe paid attention to local government during Cook’s first two years on the board, read The Watch or the Glenview Announcements she would have known it. Perhaps she did know but found it convenient to play dumb. Either way it was a clumsy move, and the embarrassment she apparently wished on Cook landed in her own lap.

At the start of last week’s village board meeting, Manager Paul McCarthy told the trustees, "I would not sleep tonight if I did not make some public notice that Joe Robberson is resigning as chief in Glenview to take the position of Fire Chief in Wilmette." Noting that Robberson was not dead, McCarthy promised not to eulogize him but spent about four minutes praising the man he promoted to the top fire department job 28 years ago. "If he were here, I’d probably be making bad jokes likening him to a pitcher who has thrown out his arm and is being returned back to the minors, but he’s not here, so I’ll spare you all that," he said. Later McCarthy told the Glenview Announcements, "Given a choice, I’d rather lose a body part than Joe Robberson."

Bernie Schmidt, a local builder known for tearing down small homes and putting up big ones, has temporarily lost his license to do business in Glenview. Village Manager McCarthy barred the contractor after a series of public complaints and violations of local ordinance. On March 12, the trustees will hear Schmidt’s case and decide whether the license should be restored.

Glenview’s attorney said he had received several calls regarding the matter with some people praising Schmidt and others damning him, but Jeff Randall said no public comments would be invited during the hearing to be held at 7 .p.m in the police department’s meeting room. While members of the public are free to attend, Randall said the proceeding would be something like a trial with each side calling its own witnesses.

When a school or park district wants to build on its land, the project is not usually subject to plan commission, appearance commission or zoning board review but goes straight to the village board. That policy was established on the assumption that park and school boards are elected bodies that require less oversight by municipal government than private developers. Land owned by public utilities is zoned in the same way as park or school property, so when it decided to ask for permission to expand in downtown Glenview, Ameritech went straight to the trustees. With all the expansion in Glenview, the phone company said it needed more equipment and more office space and would like a second story addition to its building on Prairie Street next to the post office.

The trustees expressed no sympathy for Ameritech and voted to send the request to the appearance commission, the plan commission and zoning board first. Trustee Mike Guinane felt this was a "once in a lifetime opportunity to take an institutional building and try to make it look a little bit nicer than four walls and a flat roof." Trustee Donna Pappo agreed, urging Ameritech to take a look at the park district’s administrative building in making architectural improvements.

Trustee John Crawford didn’t like Ameritech’s drawings, comparing the proposed building to a barracks at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center. He asked if Glenview’s public library had been notified of Ameritech's plans to expand since the library is considering expansion in that same area and had expressed interest in building over the phone company site.  Manager McCarthy said he wasn’t sure if notice had been given but would find out. Pointing to the library’s executive director in the audience, Crawford put the question directly to him, and John Blegen said Village Hall had not informed the library board.  Later, McCarthy apologized for the oversight.

While thousands of people use a stretch of Lake Avenue from Milwaukee Avenue west to the Des Plaines River, village officials made little effort to spread the word that it would be closed on March 7. During last week’s board meeting, Manager McCarthy announced the closure to the cable audience and suggested, "If you know anybody that uses Lake Avenue heading west, they’re not going to do it on March 7."

Meanwhile, traffic is down to one lane in each direction along Willow Road between Pfingsten and the tollway. Construction will continue through May. Work is also underway along Milwaukee Avenue from Glenview Road south to Howard through August.

Next year, Cook County will begin work on Lake Avenue. The county’s highway department will tell the trustees what they have in mind during the board’s April 2 meeting. Among other things, engineers will describe changes to the intersections of Harms, Wagner and Sunset Ridge. In the mean time, residents are encouraged to send comments to Wally Kos, Superintendent of Highways, Cook County Highway Department, 69 Washington St., Chicago 60602-1369. You can also try calling 312-603-1600 or fax to 312-603-9945.

A documentary-making company with links to public television powerhouse WGBH is planning to produce a program about the Kennicott family and The Grove. The idea was born when David Goldin, vice president of TMK Productions, toured Redfield House as a possible site for his wedding. After talking with Grove staffers about the history of the place, he and partner Ted Kay proposed the program. They will seek corporate funding and may pay The Grove for use of its photographs and letters.

The Grove will also be featured in a future issue of Chicago Wilderness, a classy magazine published by local nature lovers and conservationists.

Plans are underway for the annual designer showcase at Redfield House – an opportunity for members of the American Society of Interior Designers to show their stuff. The park district contributed $10,000 toward the decorating effort but expects to recoup most of that on May 4-19 when the house will charge admission for tours.

Finally, Grove Director Steve Swanson reports the property is now officially called Redfield Estate because of some public confusion about the nature of the facility. The park district had received calls asking whether people could rent basketball courts at the "red fieldhouse."

The park district is making minor changes to its schedule for public use of Park Center and will charge slightly more for memberships. Individuals who join will pay $4 more per year while family fees will rise $6. Limited senior memberships will cost $10 more annually, and swimmers who had been using a combined pass will now have to buy a punch card or pay a daily fee. The annual membership for Splash Landings was just $140, so after only 28 visits, lap swimmers were essentially getting in free. Noting that most of them swim twice a week, Park Center says it can raise another $20,000 by eliminating lap swimming from the privileges offered to general members of the aquatic center. Park officials said they were keeping the increases to a minimum given the anticipated opening of Lifetime Fitness on Harms Road and community centers in Wilmette and Niles providing on-going competition.

Glenview has received a $400,000 grant from Springfield to help build Swenson Park at the site of the old Rugen Center.

The park district has collected 3,276 Christmas trees, turning them into mulch that can be used at parks around town.

Playground equipment is being installed at West Fork Park, and the park district has agreed to explore the possibility of providing boat rentals at Lake Glenview this summer. Seeing an opportunity to raise money, Commissioner Chris Warren said, "I’d hate to waste the summer waiting for the village to build a boathouse."

The commissioners hope to decide on a new name for the Milwaukee Avenue parcel temporarily known as West Park. "How about Toll Road Park," joked board member Tom Pontarelli. "I think it should definitely be something with `Glen’ in it," replied board member John Winand. "Maybe we could hire that consultant who, for 25 grand, came up with ‘The Glen.’"

Bart the bull makes his political debut Wednesday when Cook County Board candidate Larry Suffredin plans a visit to Wagner Farm. The Evanston Democrat will join Glenview’s best known bovine for a photo opportunity and plans to pledge support for saving Bart.

The nightmare on Prairie Street has apparently come to an end. Village Hall says a house owned by Trustee Mary Beth Denefe’s mother-in-law is finally up to code. Problems were first reported to the village last summer and by January, Glenview had threatened court action over violations "judged to be health and life safety related."

The old Nicor building near the corner of Shermer and Golf has been torn down, but Glenview’s development department has received no applications for construction at that site.

34Connect – a program designed to solicit community ideas for most of Glenview’s elementary and middle schools – will hold its second meeting from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, March 14 at Springman.

New Trier High School has a new principal – former Assistant Principal for Administrative Services Debbie Stacey. She starts work in July when the current principal, Wes Baumann, retires.

The Rotary Club of Glenview Sunrise invites applications for scholarships from undergraduate or graduate students who’d like to study abroad. Cultural scholarships allow study of 3-6 months, or you can apply for a grant to cover the full academic year. For more information, call Mary Pribyl at 729-6290 or e-mail mpribyl@aol.com.

Northbrook has established an arts commission with funding from the village and the proceeds of that community’s centennial celebration. The group, to be appointed by local trustees, will meet in April. Our neighbor to the north also plans to double the amount of brick paving, wrought iron fences and old-fashioned street lights downtown and around its train station.

Dan Nava and sons have opened their new submarine sandwich shop, Famo’s, on Milwaukee Avenue at Sanders. It features a delightful collection of vintage photos and antique toys. An Italian coffee and pastry shop will open next door this spring.

The Glenview National Nine’s Golf Club will soon offer hot dogs, brats and chips via vendor Jim Pomerantz. He operated Langtry’s and The North Branch Saloon in Glenview, still owns J.P. McCarthy’s in Winnetka and provides food service to the Willow Hill and Winnetka Park District golf clubs.

Congratulations to Glenview resident Ib Jorgenson, recently hired as the assistant to the general manager of the Chicago Yacht Club. Ib is wasting no time in recruiting the best and brightest to help. If you or someone you know is looking for a summer job in the hospitality industry, send them to http://www.chicagoyachtclub.com/Home/Employment.htm.

Glenview’s public library offers a class on how to land a job online 7 p.m. Thursday, March 14 in the Maynard Room. Learn about sites in Chicago and other cities where you can search. Sign up at the Information Desk.

The library also offers a two-part program for parents and kids in the fourth grade up to learn about Internet links and free electronic resources on the library website. Classes will be held at 7 p.m. March 13 and March 20. Pre-register at the Youth Service Desk.

Kathy Schulte thinks the library should grow slow: "I have three school age children. They have replaced about 90 percent of their library usage with Internet services. In the last two years we have visited the Glenview Library about five times. In the years prior to 2001, I would estimate that we were in the library every other week. This is a dramatic change and one that has remained stable over a two-year period. I must say it is very nice not having to play parking space tag. That parking lot always reminds me of playing musical chairs!

Why not expand the second floor, filling in the two-story open air area in the main room? Could we get Evanston Paint & Glass to move to the Renneckars building? EPG would have about the same space and parking, and the library could use that area for parking and perhaps storage.

JS responds to Barbara Hines’ letter about the extensive use of consultants by local government: "There is no common sense being used in Glenview. That would be the reason for hiring consultants. Regarding GW's question about the safety of a fire station on Lake and Wagner, I recall similar concerns when Wilmette built a firehouse on Lake and Illinois Road. If memory serves me correctly, someone was killed there when his car was hit by a fire truck exiting the firehouse. On a related note, I would say that if Glenview residents had any idea how unsafe our community is since we dropped from Red Center, they would be horrified."

The Watch replies: Village officials insist that with a trip light at Wagner and Lake, emergency vehicles will be able to enter the intersection safely, and they say access to a major east-west road (Lake) and a north-south road (Wagner) will improve their response time to emergencies.

R. Newman asks why more spots cannot be given out at the North Glen Train Station: "There is a long waiting list and lots of empty spaces. The village and METRA cannot give good answers as to why so many spots are sitting empty and the waiting list is so long."

The Watch replies: METRA, which is paying for the station and parking lot, views The Glen of North Glenview as a regional station and wants to leave room for residents of other communities.

There could also be a financial motive with the village getting money for 100 monthly spaces and METRA collecting on the other 400 daily pay spots. Glenview could try to negotiate additional space for residents, but Assistant Village Manager Joe Wade sees no reason why the RTA would be willing to bend on this issue. On the other hand, State Rep. Beth Coulson and State Sen. Kathy Parker have expressed a willingness to explore the issue, and Parker certainly knows the lay of the land. She chairs the Senate Transportation Committee and is a former RTA board member. We’ll let you know what they discover.

DB asks about sidewalks: "I live in Countryside, an area bounded by Central on the south, Greenwood on the west, Glenview Road on the north and Milwaukee on the west. I've been

here for ten years and have always wondered why there is no sidewalk between Milwaukee Avenue and Greenwood. Given that the street lights along this stretch of Central are few and far between, and given that the traffic is relatively heavy on this 40 mile-per-hour stretch of road, it would seem like a good idea to have a sidewalk."

The Watch replies: That neighborhood is unincorporated, which means Glenview does not take care of the streets or sidewalks. The road itself is owned by the state, which does not normally build sidewalks, but Northfield Township might consider it if you can get 50 percent of the neighbors to sign a petition in support of the idea. For details, contact the township’s highway chief Peter Amarantos at 724-7055.

JK comments on current events in Glenview. Of Wagner Farm she says, "I thought it would keep up its activity as a regular working farm." And with regard to downtown redevelopment, "The library as well as the post office should be kept here and not located elsewhere. Glenview citizens should not be considered subservient to the benefits awarded The Glen by our stellar village board."

MW has a quick fix for The Glen’s lighting problems: "In discussions of how to solve the light pollution problems at the Glen, a trustee asked if it would be possible to turn off every other light until the trees grow in. The answer was that it was impossible, given the way they are wired. Surely it doesn't take a rocket scientist to suggest that removing every other light bulb would have the same effect."

A correction from George Stutz who had written from Northbrook to tell us about that community’s approach to controlling the size of teardown replacements: "My comments concerning the negative impact of disproportionately bulky homes on the value of neighboring homes originated with an appraiser cited in a report prepared by Northbrook's Village Planner for our Plan Commission (Docket No. 97-8: Phase 2 Residential Bulk), not with a consultant. To my knowledge, no consultant was hired to address this issue. I regret the error and hope this clarifies the source of the information for those who may be interested."

YOUR TURN: What’s on your mind? Drop us a line by e-mail – glenviewwatch@aol.com -- or snail mail: 3537 Maple Leaf Drive, Glenview, IL 60025. If you haven’t already done so, please consider making a contribution to support The Watch. Non-deductible checks should be payable to Glenview Watch. Thanks for your support and for reading. Dean Schott and Sandy Hausman, Co-Editors.

– Sandy Hausman and Dean Schott, Co-Editors of The Watch.

To read past issues of Glenview Watch, Click Here