This year’s fun run by a local church has prompted the village board to revise its policy on who pays for the services of police, paramedics and public works during and after public events. Glenview has traditionally provided these services to some non-profit groups at no charge. Thousands of tax dollars have been spent, for example, to facilitate the annual street sale – a money-making event sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce.

On Sunday, April 28, Our Lady of Perpetual Help will hold its annual PHun run, and some members of the village board thought it was time to send the church a bill for public safety services. President Carlson, Trustees John Crawford and Jeff Lerner seemed to favor a different approach – making exceptions for other government agencies or not-for-profits under certain circumstances.

Carlson pointed out that OLPH permits the village to use its property as a staging place for several local parades and allows parking on church grounds during the street sale. Since the run is coming up soon, Lerner proposed that any debate about whether to charge be put off, but Trustees Mary Beth Denefe, Donna Pappo and Rachel Cook were ready to roll.

"If OLPH wants to charge us to stage the Fourth of July parade there, I think that’s fair and equitable," said Pappo, "but if we start using tax dollars for activities that don’t benefit the total population, we’re getting into a very fuzzy area."

"So what would you consider the homecoming parade for the high school?" asked Trustee Lerner.

"Well that’s a village event," said Carlson.

"Why would it be a village event?" said Lerner.

"Well, you’re right. You’re right," said Carlson. "That’s a high school event."

"So the school is now going to pay for the service?" Lerner asked.

"They do pay for services already," said Pappo. "GBS pays for security and other services from the police when needed."

Carlson proposed the discussion continue some other time, but Cook moved to vote on the "everybody pays" idea, and Pappo quickly seconded the motion.

"We have a motion?" said Carlson. "That was Trustee Pappo, seconded by Trustee Cook?"

"No," said Pappo, "Trustee Cook, seconded by Pappo."

Carlson called for a vote, but when his political ally Mary Beth Denefe voted for the "everybody pays," approach, Carlson stopped the music. "Wait, wait," he said. "Just for clarification, we’re voting for ‘everybody pays?’"

"Correct," said Pappo.

Cook repeated her motion that any group requiring village services be required to pay for them.

"And Trustee Pappo seconded that?" said Carlson.

"Yes," said Pappo.

"I’m sorry. Can we start over again?" said Carlson.

The trustees then voted unanimously to approve the new policy.

IF IT’S SAUCE FOR THE SALE IS IT SAUCE FOR THE PHUN RUN?

Mike Guinane didn’t think OLPH – the church he attends – should have to abide by the new policy this year, since it had applied for a permit before the policy was approved, but Pappo said the board had deliberately okayed the policy before considering the OLPH request so it would apply. Manager McCarthy confirmed that the church would be expected to pay for village services.

He then dropped a small bomb on the trustees who proposed the policy to assure that all groups were treated consistently. McCarthy pointed out that earlier in the evening the board had approved the Chamber of Commerce street sale as a matter of routine, and earlier in the year it had set aside money in its budget to assist with the event. "That would not be affected by this policy," he said. "We are, in fact, a participant with the chamber. The village has been a partial sponsor of that event for the 20 years I’ve been here."

Carlson, a former chamber president who collected thousands in campaign contributions from chamber members, reasoned that since money had already been set aside and a vote had already been taken, any debate about fees from the chamber should take place next year.

Mike Guinane, the bad boy of Carlson’s political ticket, was willing to give the chamber a pass only if the same courtesy was extended to his church. He argued that the police and fire department budgets contain money for special events like the PHun run and moved to reconsider the OLPH matter. For lack of a second, the motion died.

Editor’s note: Once again, Glenview’s reformers dropped the ball by failing to call for reconsideration of the street sale. Why should the Chamber of Commerce, which charges hefty fees to vendors for space at the sale, get a pass for their event when the high school, the park district and everyone else must now pay for public services? We hope the trustees refuse to allocate money for the Chamber of Commerce in next year's budget. Better yet, we wish the chamber would offer to pay its own way this year.

A resident of Swainwood, through which the fun run participants pass, asked the board for relief from the annual inconvenience, saying he can’t drive down his own streets during the event because race volunteers serve as traffic cops, keeping vehicles away from the race.

James McKevitt thought he should have the right to enter and leave his subdivision on public streets, and that right should not be superceded by a private event. "I’m asking this board to deny the permit. Send them to The Glen. Send them around Lake Glenview. It’s beautiful."

Failing that, he urged the board to instruct the race committee that local drivers be allowed to enter and leave the area. The board said it would ask event organizers to let neighborhood traffic pass.

Glenview’s police department has made dramatic progress in improving public communications, establishing an electronic link to local media. This week, by e-mail, we received a report of emergency road work and a comprehensive report of criminal activity.

There were several shoplifting and drunk driving cases, a couple of peeping Toms, a number of auto burglaries, the disappearance of a Jaguar hood ornament from the main train station lot, a home burglary on Fairway Drive and a hit-and-run accident on March 27, just before 1 p.m.. A car pulling out of a private drive in the 1,000 block was hit. The driver was not injured, but police say the offending vehicle may have right front-end damage with maroon paint transfer. It was silver, driven by a woman believed to be in her 40's.

Sixty dollars disappeared from a locker at Park Center, a wallet was stolen at Glenbrook South High School and a house on Crestwood was "egged." There was also a compact disc case and six discs found near a wooden bench in the rear of 967 Waukegan Road, and Commander Scott Stewart reports a case of possible e-fraud. A resident reported receiving an e-mail asking him to assist a foreign citizen in the recovery of $10 million. The complainant suspected a scam. If you have questions about these or other police matters, Stewart can be reached at 847-729-5000, extension 4408.

Planners spent 90 minutes Tuesday telling Glenview how Lake Avenue will be improved in 2002-2003 with new water lines and sewers installed under a reconstructed roadway. Between Laramie Avenue in Wilmette and Patriot Boulevard at The Glen, look for better drainage, modernized traffic lights, turn lanes at Sunset Ridge, Wagner and Harms, sidewalks and a road that’s eight feet wider with standardized curbs and lane widths.

A county engineer said the new Lake Avenue would be safer and faster with turn lanes at Sunset Ridge cutting the rush hour wait from 42 seconds to18 seconds. At Wagner Road the delay would drop from 2.5 minutes to 50 seconds, and at Harms, improvements could cut the wait from 74 seconds to 22 seconds. Turn lanes are also planned for the Scott Foresman entrance, Harms and Fairway Drive in Wilmette.

The engineer said more efficient travel through Glenview would also mean less air and noise pollution, but some locals were not impressed. "If you bring the traffic four feet closer to my bedroom windows," said one Lake Avenue resident, "I’m not happy with that idea at all. I thought when we expressed our opinions to Cook County a few years back, 95 percent of the residents were against any widening of Lake Avenue. I know the improvements will be nice for the traffic flowing through, but we live here. We’re trying to sleep at night."

She added that she had just spent several thousand dollars to replace her sidewalk and driveway. If only she had known about these plans! "The stars just came together about a year ago," said the county official. "We just did the work last summer," said the woman. "Had you told us a year ago, we wouldn’t have done it."

Residents of Sunset Ridge were also upset, claiming turn lanes would only increase the amount of traffic on their residential street. "I know at least nine grade school children who cross that street to get to school," said one woman. "If you add turning lanes, you have increased the chance of an accident involving these children just for the ease of commuters. That’s not right!"

County Highway Director Wally Kos offered to meet with the woman and her neighbors. "I can come out some evening. We can chat on the patio. I’ll be glad to work with you," he said.

"We’ll make a date after the meeting," said the woman.

"Well, I don’t know my golf schedule yet," said Kos. "We’ll do that some time."

Work on Lake will begin late this year and continue through 2003. For more information, call Village Development Director Mary Bak at 847-904-4340.

When residents of Pleasant and Queens lanes west of Wagner Road voted to pay for flood control in their area, the village approved a 36" pipe to carry storm water east toward the Chicago River. The pipe emerges near the properties of three families living on Pleasant east of Wagner. Anticipating serious new flooding problems in the rainy season, those families asked the village to clear debris from a ditch that helps drain their land and to dredge it so water will flow more swiftly into the adjacent forest preserve.

Village engineers thought clearing the ditch would be sufficient, but when the residents hired their own engineer and lawyer, the trustees decided to get a second opinion. On Tuesday, their consulting engineer weighed in. Ismael Martinez spent several minutes explaining that water flows downhill. Since the land in this area is flat and lies in a flood plain, water was not inclined to flow anywhere. Even if the ditch were cleared, he said, it would soon fill again with debris.

He estimated the cost of cleaning the ditch at $13,000. Dredging would add another $4,500 and improve the situation perhaps 15 percent more – an amount he did not consider significant. "Neither proposal will eliminate the flooding or the mosquito problems," he said. "A flood plain will always have some amount of standing water, thus offering the mosquitoes a place to breed. There are some elements of Mother Nature that we cannot change."

A native of Mexico, Martinez expressed sympathy for the residents. "Coming from where I come from," he said, "I hate mosquitoes, however you build next to a flood plain, you can expect mosquitoes. Maybe we need some Mexican frogs to come and eat the mosquitoes." On the other hand, he mused, mosquitoes in the upper Midwest get so big that they might end up eating the frogs.

Trustees Donna Pappo and Mike Guinane seemed especially sympathetic to the affected families, noting that the village had made their problems worse by channeling water their way. Pappo predicted the addition of sump pumps by homes to the west would increase flooding and thought Glenview should do whatever it could to protect homeowners.

Trustee Jeff Lerner preferred to do the minimum. "The topography is flat," he said. "Cleaning the ditch will help somewhat, but unless we dig the Suez Canal, the water’s not going anywhere."

As Guinane and Lerner began a heated discussion, Board President Carlson called a time out, and Village Manager Paul McCarthy proposed that village staff clean the ditch and assume responsibility for future maintenance. The trustees voted to go with McCarthy’s plan. Only Pappo voted no.

The trustees then turned their attention to another ditch, this one owned by the village. It connects Lake Glenview to the Chicago River and runs through a wooded area where shade trees have kept ground cover from growing. As a result, soil from the banks flows into the river creating pollution that upsets the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

As part of a deal to appease the IEPA over bigger run-off problems at The Glen, village officials offered to remove many trees from the banks of the Navy ditch and to plant native grasses with long roots that would hold the soil in place. They also proposed a path along the waterway for the enjoyment of residents. Competitive bidding brought just one offer from McGinty Brothers, a local landscaper who agreed to do the work for just over $391,000.

Glen Redevelopment staffer Amy Ahner said the work was highly specialized and recommended the board hire McGinty, but Trustee Jeff Lerner said he was uneasy about the situation. With only one bid, he said "We have nothing to compare it to." Ahner said six companies considered the job, but it was labor intensive and most were not interested.

Trustee John Crawford thought the cost of the job excessive and wondered if village staff, students and volunteers might help with the removal of debris and underbrush.

"I appreciate your careful watching of the village purse strings," said President Carlson, "but I think in a situation like this we do need somebody with a little more expertise than we or a group of volunteers might have. I also would like to see more than one bid, but frankly it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. We were only able to get one bid, and we don’t want to take the chance of losing that one."

Trustee Mary Beth Denefe agreed and moved for approval of the McGinty bid. President Carlson called for a second. The room fell silent for 10 seconds. Carlson looked to one side of the table, to the other and then back again – fixing his gaze on political ally Lerner who seconded the motion.

Crawford, Pappo, Guinane and Rachel Cook voted it down, urging Ahner to go back to those firms that had expressed initial interest in the job and find out how we could get them to bid.

Editor’s note: Ahner told the Watch that she had approached landscaping companies with the job but had not notified a handful of area companies that specialize in land restoration. Firms like Conservation Design Forum, Hey and Associates, Applied Ecological Services, Prairie Sun Consultants and Pizzo and Associates should be considered since they specialize in removing non-native brush, planting native grass, creating nature trails, restoring woodlands and wetlands. Once again, Glenview’s tendency to do business with a small circle of familiar vendors may be the source of our troubles, and the trustees who insisted on greater staff vigilance should be commended. As for Larry Carlson, we were surprised to hear him insisting that experts do this work – rejecting the role of the volunteer – since he frequently insists that laymen with no expertise be allowed to serve on village boards and commissions.

– Watch Editor Sandy Hausman’s offbeat tale of tropical rainforest protection aired on Public Radio International last week. You can hear it by visiting www.TheWorld.org, clicking on "5-day archives" in the left column and going to the piece in Wednesday’s show titled "Ecuador Park Report."

– Glenview Friends of Nature and the Friends of the Chicago River will host another clean-up near the Techny Basin on May 11. Meet in Kohl’s parking lot on Willow Road at 9 a.m. Bring gloves, a hat, sunscreen and water. Garbage bags will be provided. Kids are welcome.

– Grove Director Steve Swanson, prairie stewards Kent and Jerry Fuller, Rob Blomquist, John Balaban and more than a dozen volunteers conducted the first controlled burn of the season at Glenview’s Air Station Prairie Saturday. Their effort removed unwanted weeds and underbrush while stimulating the native plants to grow taller than before. Area residents will have a chance to visit the prairie 9 a.m.- noon June 22. Work days are scheduled for June 30 and July 28. Call Robyn Flakne at 847-486-5653 for details.

– Glenview State Representative Beth Coulson won praise from the Sierra Club for her fight to pass legislation that would protect isolated wetlands in Illinois. The bill was defeated last week when 29 members voted "present." Some of those lawmakers favored the bill, but they may have been intimidated by a powerful coalition of lobbyists including, the Farm Bureau, realtors, home builders and electric utilities. "Strong legislation is rarely passed in a year," said the Sierra Club’s Jack Darin. "We will be back for certain in 2003."

Two new calves and a pregnant cow have arrived at Wagner Farm from Wisconsin, presumably to replace five animals slated for the slaughterhouse despite vocal public protest. In addition to Bart the Bull and a steer, deemed unnecessary to the operation by park district staff, Moodonna will be leaving. The 13-year-old cow could live to be 25, but farm advocate Biff Thiele says some people at the park district consider her too old. "Another cow, Pumpkin, kicked the caretaker, and Milkshake is fat," he continued, offering possible reasons why those animals are being replaced.

Bob Quill, superintendent of leisure services, says the rotation of dairy cows is routine on American farms. The cows who are leaving are unlikely to become pregnant, and if that doesn’t happen, they can’t produce milk. 

He said the new residents have adapted well to the farm, but they might not be given names – a practice which causes the public to think of them as pets. Quill said visiting hours for the public will be announced in early May, and the district is planning a series of summer activities including a "barn raising" for the new chicken coop, wheat threshing and a farm breakfast.

Meanwhile, Citizens Organized for Wagner’s (COWS) has begun raising money to send Bart to an animal sanctuary where the seven-year-old celebrity can live out his days. The Chicago Sun-Times, which broke the story of Bart to the world, wrote about his impending departure and has received calls from several readers wanting to help. Donations to a travel fund can be sent to C.O.W.S at 2031 Wagner Rd, Glenview, IL 60025. Fundraisers ask donors to note on their checks that the gift is for Bart and/or the cows.

Several folks wrote to inform us that the village newsletter did, in fact, inform residents about the Lake Avenue hearing held Tuesday night at Village Hall: "It clearly stated that there would be a public meeting to discuss adding left turn lanes on Lake as well as plans for the entire project," wrote one person who got the notice on March 29 or 30. "This week's Watch implies that no one knew about the upcoming meeting."

The Watch replies: Lucky you! Our newsletter arrived April 3, the day after the hearing. Others apparently got their newsletter a day or two beforehand, but given the magnitude of this project, we feel the information should have gone out much sooner, and people living in the area should have received a separate notice. Finally, we wonder if the village sent a press release to the Glenview Announcements and the Glenview Journal. Perhaps those papers would have given the subject coverage in advance had they known.

While some residents may be dreading the Lake Avenue project, Ginny Guerrant says she is living through road improvements on Pleasant Lane in Glen Oak Acres, and it isn’t half bad: "Our street work went extremely well. All of the drains are in place, and we are now waiting for the weather to warm up so the road work can progress. The contractor had really nice people working on the street, and when we had a water pressure problem, they teamed up with the village to take care of it right away. Of course, they had to dig up a section of our front yard, but they promised to fix it when they repave the street. Plus watching all of that heavy equipment was just so much fun. I wanted to hitch a ride a few times!"

Barbara Cohen also looks forward to a better Lake Avenue: " Living in the Tall Trees subdivision, and having Lake Ave. as the only entrance/exit, I am delighted to read about the left turn lanes that are proposed. I need to turn left onto Sunset Ridge to go to Pleasant Ridge School, so I am also delighted with that left turn lane. I have no sympathy for residents who did not read the Village Report. The five-paragraph item was hard to miss!"

Noting some errors in an e-mail sent by Trustee Jeff Lerner, AB wonders: "Is there any way that we could get George W. Bush to help Mr. Lerner with his grammar?"

Henry Hill writes about the subject of Lerner’s e-mail in which a resident claimed James Company construction was causing flooding of neighboring lots: "The James foundation fiasco at The Glen shows that the village's building department is not doing its job. Foundation approval is required before building can proceed. The discrepancy should have been caught at that time and James required to put in a new foundation."

D. Conant asks about river maintenance: "Who is responsible for cleaning up the river -- the one that runs across Woodland in East Glenview? The river is clogged with fallen branches, debris and plastic garbage, all of which is plainly in view now that the water level is low. Is this a village problem, a forest preserve responsibility, sanitary district or what?"

The Watch replies: There is no particular agency charged with keeping the river clean, so the task has fallen to citizen groups like Friends of the Chicago River (www.chicagoriver.org) and Glenview Friends of Nature which will undertake a river clean-up near the Techny Basin on May 11 (see "The Green Scene" above). Call Kent Fuller (729-4642) to get help in organizing a neighborhood clean up for your section of the river.

Biff Thiele writes, again, about the park district and Wagner Farm: "Taxpayers voted to preserve the historic Wagner Farm. The Glenview Park District says that’s what they’re doing. They claim that ‘preserve’ means saving it from the developers. I feel that definition doesn’t go far enough. For me, in the Farm & Fields referendum, the word ‘preserve’ was to take a historical snapshot of the farm – a remnant of Glenview’s pastoral past. ‘Leave it as it was!’ That’s what we said at the polls.

"I did not vote to save our precious farm only to allow the park district to sell trinkets out of a souvenir shop or to create some kind of perverse petting zoo that kills off healthy, relatively young animals and replaces them with soft cuddly newborns that can interact with children. I campaigned as hard as anyone for this farm, and I spoke to countless residents during that time. I have been a board member of C.O.W.S., and I can safely say many people share my views.

"The park district’s executive director has said that Wagner ‘was to be developed as an educational, working farm.’ In my mind, the farm was already working and should continue in a similar fashion. The farmer should run the day-to-day operations. The director should run the educational and interpretive functions, and the two should be separate. Visitors should not interact with the livestock, except to watch supervised demonstrations from a safe distance or possibly feed grass to the cows through the fence. Everything else should be illustrated within the interpretive center and museum portion of the farm.

"The park district answers to the public. Not the other way around. The public was asked to create a master plan for the farm. Nearly 70 taxpayers answered the call and worked for eight months with consultants who were paid $80,000 to create a 45-page document which covers every possible aspect of the farm. For the park commissioners to selectively follow only those parts of the plan they like while ignoring the parts they don’t like is to pervert the public will – using our words to fit their agenda. The park district should endorse the master plan, making it possible for the public to hold board members accountable."

Helping Hands wrote about the new resident who failed to get a warm Midwestern welcome when she arrived in Glenview: "That reader had called for help with unpacking which is something we do not do. We promptly contacted the North Shore Senior Center which is more apt to find that type of support. At Helping Hands we provide assistance to seniors who need transportation to the doctor, dentist, hospital or shopping."

Communications Professor Robert Walker sends an open letter to members of Glenview’s library board about plans for a new building: "I urge you to reconsider what appears to be an unnecessarily large and expensive structure – a showcase that would be underutilized in this computer age. I am well acquainted with our library and its many excellent staff members. I’ve also used at least six neighboring libraries, and those facilities are seldom crowded.

"The entire village seems to be out of touch with reality ever since the development of The Glen! Your present plans are not realistic. Priority should be given to improving our holdings and finding alternatives to an exorbitant new building. Perhaps we could move children’s services or the business section to empty stores east on Glenview Road or acquire the paint store property next door.

"Having served on every sort of committee during my professorial years, having worked with large corporations and consulted with others, I know the closed-circuit thinking that can go on. Please, re-visit the options available to you. Open your minds to other possibilities that may serve the interests of the citizenry without the costs currently contemplated."

YOUR TURN: Write to glenviewwatch@aol.com or 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. – Sandy Hausman and Dean Schott, Co-Editors of The Watch.

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