Some years ago, Glenview’s library board decided its reserves were too high. With about $2 million in the bank, members agreed to ask for fewer tax dollars than their budget required and to spend some of their assets. Last summer, the board discovered it may have gone too far. With tax bills going out late, the library had to borrow money from the village to pay its bills and is now seeking a 26 percent hike in its annual levy. The increase could have meant an extra $60 per household on average, but library charges are part of the larger village tax bill. Because some village revenues are up and some expenses have been cut, tax bills are not expected to rise.

"It’s not a pretty situation for us," Library Board President Gail Anderson told the Pioneer Press. Executive Librarian Vickie Novak agreed, saying staff and operating hours might have to be cut if no increase is approved.

"The library is being frugal and fiscally responsible," Novak said. "In order to keep this building functioning for the level of activity that it gets, [a tax increase] is a must."

The board plans to spend $4.63 million next year, with $2.4 million set aside for salaries and a new technology specialist, $100,000 for building maintenance and up to $35,000 for lawyers and consultants to help plan a new library.

Glenview trustees will vote on the library and local government budgets at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 3 in the board room of Village Hall, 1225 Waukegan Road. Members of the public are invited to speak for up to three minutes on local spending priorities before the vote is taken.

– The rate for sewer service in Glenview will rise by five cents per $1,000 assessed valuation – about $6 a year for the average customer.

– The cost of insurance for the village will rise about 3 percent to provide coverage in the event of a terrorist attack.

– Sales tax revenues are expected to rise by $1.5 million over last year to $8.3 million, thanks in large part to new retailers like Abt and Costco.

– As Glen construction winds down, the village expects to see nearly a million dollars less in revenue from building permits and engineering fees. Those revenues that do come in will likely be used to build a new police station.

– As the slump in business travel continues, Glenview expects to reap $250,000 less from the hotel/motel tax.

– As the slump on Wall Street continues, interest income is likely to fall about $100,000.

Revenues for 2003 are projected to fall short of anticipated expenses by more than $10 million. "While this may appear as a radical imbalance, it in fact reflects the planned draw down of cash accumulated over time," says Glenview’s finance director in explaining his intent to dip into community reserves.

About 15 percent of Glenview is not served by storm water sewers or detention facilities – ponds or underground storage. To bring those neighborhoods up to standards set after they were built, the trustees may impose a storm water detention tax on residents in areas without detention who plan home improvements that increase impervious ground cover by more than two percent – additions, patios, sidewalks or driveways, and on second-story additions that increase a home’s value by more than 25 percent. The proposed charge would amount to about $9,000 on average for affected households.

In last week’s Watch, we reported on the village board’s refusal to give the Glenview Historical Society $20,000. Village President Larry Carlson lectured the group about the need to raise its own money from the public and warned against dependence on local government for support. Ironically, the society had been invited by the village manager’s office to apply for funds.

In 1999, the society agreed not to hold any fundraisers so a private group, appointed to organize Glenview’s centennial celebration, could benefit fully from public generosity in that historic year. The Glenview Centennial Commission did business as an arm of the historical society and promised that any leftover money would be given to them.

The centennial group, headed by former Village President Jim Smirles, raised most of its money from developers and big business. Contributors included the James Company, Kimball Hill and Concord Homes, Glenview State Bank, Groot Recycling and Waste, the company which holds a contract to haul away Glenview’s trash, Gallagher Risk Management, Glenview’s insurance consultant and Cowhey, Gudmandsen, Leder – an engineering consultant to the village. Jewel and Dominick’s donated food for a community picnic, and Mullarkey Distributors contributed $5,000 worth of beer. The Centennial Commission sold the food and beverages to the public with help from local volunteers. The historical society donated hours of research and hundreds of historic photos for a commemorative book.

While it was not overseen by an outside accountant or auditor, the commission claimed to have raised more than $488,000 in cash and merchandise. The historical society got very little of that money. Last week’s Watch put the number at $1,100. This week, Glenview Area Historical Society President Beverly Dawson clarifies the situation.

"Following dissolution of the Glenview Centennial Commission, the Glenview Area Historical Society (GAHS) received $2,218. The Society also received a portion of the remaining inventory of Centennial Books. Monies received from book sales have provided revenue for GAHS. While these sales could not be described as a primary source of income, the proceeds are, nevertheless, very welcome.

"Since the Centennial Commission dissolved, Jim Smirles has forwarded proceeds from books he has sold to the society. In addition, he has referred to GAHS a Glen developer and other parties wishing to purchase Centennial Books. In recent years, the society's operating expenses have been in the range of $16,500 _ $18,000. Funds to cover these expenses must be raised entirely through the efforts of society volunteers. The purpose of the society's request for a grant from the Village last year was to accomplish long-needed maintenance of the 1864 Farmhouse Museum and the Coachhouse [Hibbard] Library.

"Glenview Area Historical Society endeavors to preserve and promote the history of the Village of Glenview. It recently contributed photos and other material to Chicago's Public Television Station – WTTW, Channel 11 -- for use in the production of a program featuring the history of Chicago's northern suburbs. The program will air at 7:30 p.m. Monday, December 2 in conjunction with WTTW's fundraising telethon."

VILLAGE TO BUILD DRIVING PAD FOR POLICE AND FIRE TRAINING

In exchange for the right to train personnel at no charge for years to come, the village of Glenview plans to spend more than $1.6 million building a driving pad where police and sheriff’s deputies, firemen and paramedics can practice maneuvers at high speed. The facility will be part of the Northern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy – an educational center located at The Glen. Land for NIPSTA was also provided by the village. Operating costs will be paid by about 20 member communities and through state and federal grants.

As part of its plan to widen Willow Road from Landwehr Road to the Tri-State Tollway, the state has promised to put up a sound wall, but it’s refusing to build along land adjacent to the Villas at Indian Ridge, saying homeowners are too far away to benefit from the noise protection. Experts explain that a sound wall reduces traffic noise for properties up to 200 feet away. Parts of the larger Indian Ridge subdivision and Glen Ridge Meadows will be protected by the new sound barrier.

A group of animal lovers is back from a weekend visit to Trego, Wisconsin where Bart the Bull and three former Wagner Farm cows are living at the Animal Rescue and Farm Sanctuary. Biff Thiele and Glenview resident Debby Rubenstein raised money to buy the bovine from Glenview’s Park District so they would not be sold for slaughter. Bart moved into the sanctuary first. The females arrived a few months later, and Thiele reports they were immediately recognized by their old mate. "He cut them out of the herd and loudly declared to all in his pasture that he was laying claim to these girls."

The visit from old human friends also suited Bart who posed for pictures with the Glenview delegation. "We scratched Bart’s head and ears, and hugged his neck," says Thiele. "The rest of him was just too big to wrap your arms around. He’s trimmed down to a healthy 2,400 pounds, replacing a lot of fat with muscle since his release from the Wagner barn."

The group also enjoyed visiting with some of the other animals at Trego: pot-bellied pigs, emus, rabbits, donkeys, horses, goats and chickens. For details, see Thiele’s letter in "Readers Write."

Despite its reported financial woes, Glenview School District 34 continues to earn awards. The 2002 Bright A+ goes to schools whose students perform in the top 5 percent statewide, and the Bright Red Apple went to just 70 districts out of 890 in Illinois. It is given based on academic performance, pupil/teacher ratio, expenditure per pupil, education level of teachers and average teacher salary.

The district has earned the Bright Red Apple every year it has been given, but this is the first time it’s been given an A+ award. Glenview also received a grant for more than $82,000 to assist with the purchase of telecommunications services and Internet access.

If you’d like to read more but lack the time to visit the library and browse through books, Glenview’s new Online Book Clubs could be for you. Monday through Friday the service delivers a five-minute selection from books in one of six categories: the original book club, fiction, business, horror/sci-fi, audio books and teens. After e-mailing two or three chapters, the service will start a new book. If you liked the one you were reading, stop by the library and check it out. To sign-up, go to www.glenview.lib.il.us and click on "Books in your Email."

Also from the library comes word of a special holiday program – Making Your Own Centerpiece. The crafts course, conducted by Peggy Garvin of Garvin Gardens, will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, December 11. The cost is $12.50 with all materials provided. To register, call 729-7500, extension 112.

The library is collecting "Warm Fuzzies for Winter" – new or handmade mittens, gloves, hats, scarves, socks, slippers and sweaters for Northfield Township holiday gift baskets. Gifts can be dropped in the library lobby until December 18.

Know someone who needs job skills in a hurry and might enjoy nursing? Sign up for a free, eight-week course leading to state certification as a nursing assistant. Classes start January 13 in Skokie after orientation and skills testing on January 3. For details, pick up a flyer at the Glenview Public Library’s Information Desk.

Baseball and golf are common topics of conversation around Park Center, but those were fighting words on Saturday, November 23 when Glenview and Northbrook police were called to the community center to break up a brawl "involving 100 people using baseball bats and golf clubs." The trouble, which was not as bad as the police report suggests, began when 10 uninvited guests showed up for a wedding reception and refused to leave. A few of them had golf clubs, but the park district’s director of leisure services says no one was swinging and nobody got hurt. Six men, Pedro Gonzalez, Luis Martinez, Leonicio Grion, Anthony Ramirez, Guillermo Flores and Juan Solano, were arrested and charged with mob action and disorderly conduct.

Residential and car burglaries dominate the latest weekly summary of crime in Glenview. Nearly $51,000 worth of cash and jewelry disappeared from a home on Manu Court along with the .38 caliber revolver.

The take was $1,000 in cash from a home on Ivy, a Brook Lane resident lost $500 worth of jewelry, and a contractor’s construction trailer on Lehigh Road was robbed of water pumps, cameras, tools, copy and fax machines valued at $4,200.

Another unsuspecting customer lost her purse when she left it inside an unlocked car at the Mobil station on Milwaukee Avenue and went to pay for gasoline. (Isn’t it time that station posted warning signs to protect its customers?) Two cars were burgled on Elizabeth Lane and one on Plymouth Place. In what could be a related note, someone turned in a cellphone found in the 1300-block of Elizabeth.

A Highland Park resident reported his ‘96 Jeep stolen from an address on Pfingsten Road. A white male in blue jeans and a black coat reportedly jumped in and drove the vehicle away. Later, police said the car had been recovered after it was "re-possessed by mistake."

And a sorry tale of the season: someone made off with Thanksgiving plywood figures placed in front of a home on Gregory. Be on the lookout for a Pilgrim and an Indian.

– Officers confiscated a large collection of guns from a home at 1419 Waukegan Road in Northbrook. Their owner, 49-year-old Paul Phillips, said he might use four shotguns, a rifle, .38-caliber revolver and BB rifle to shoot trespassers. Phillips had called police at least three times in November to report men climbing in the trees on his property or attempting to break into his home. Officers said they found no evidence that those claims were true. Phillips was charged with possession of a controlled substance, unauthorized use of a weapon and failure to get gun permits.

– Northbrook police charged a teenager with vandalizing the peace display set up November 1 by residents opposed to a war in Iraq. That display, near the corner of Shermer and Walters roads, featured Iraqi flags and a coffin with the words War = Death. It was vandalized seven times before being taken down to make way for a Hanukkah menorah. Officials also report that the bronze statue of a girl jumping rope on Northbrook’s Centennial Plaza had been damaged – perhaps by kids climbing on it. The community’s arts commission will try to raise the $1,300 needed to make repairs.

– The Northbrook Park district is asking residents to help choose new playground equipment for the Village Green Park. Visitors to the district’s website can vote on one of six possible designs.

– Dog lovers are urging area residents to register with the Cook County Forest Preserve at a cost of $50 so they can let their pooches run free at Beck Lake just west of Glenview near Central Avenue along the Tri-State Tollway. The forest preserve is strapped for cash and wants users to pay for the fence it says is needed before the area can open. Only 150 have sent money, but if Lake County is any indication, this community initiative could eventually succeed. Lake County sells more permits for its dog park than for picnics and likes the canine owners better. Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley told the Pioneer press, "The dog owners pick up after their dogs. Picnickers tend to leave a big mess that costs a lot to clean up."

– Parents who want their children to be bilingual have a new education option. The French Institute of the North Shore in Winnetka says it will open a children’s academy with half-day instruction for kids 3-6 years of age. Research shows humans have an amazing capacity to learn language until the age of six at which time that ability begins to decline. The pre-school program will begin next fall. For details, call 847-501-5800.

– With annual revenues falling $275,000 short this year, Wilmette is expected to stop clearing snow from most of its 166 miles of residential sidewalks – hoping to save about $250,000 over five years. Only walks leading to train stations and schools will be plowed. As in Glenview, the community will ask residents to clear their own sidewalks if possible. Wilmette keeps a list of young people willing to do the work for $7-$10 an hour.

Last week we told you about a holiday music concert sponsored, in part, by the Glenview Senior Center. That event will be held at the United Methodist Church, 727 Harlem Avenue at noon Monday, December 4.

NN rails against local government’s spending priorities: "Our trustees need to get their priorities straight! At the last village board meeting a gentleman from the Monroe/Jefferson area appeared and asked when the village was going to honor the commitment made in 1991 to pave a street in his neighborhood which regularly turns into a mud hole. He had been told several times that the village would include that project in its budget, but it never has. Village Manager Paul McCarthy prefers to wait until development in the area is complete, fearing construction equipment would damage a new road. Unfortunately, prospective developers have been disenchanted by village rules and show no signs of building. So the village doesn’t have $20,000 to pave a street for the taxpayers living on Monroe Street, but we have $45,000 to buy the village manager a new SUV! Isn’t that great!

"The village also budgets $600 so employees working at The Glen can have their cars washed, and spends about $1,300 on washes for village managers. These folks already get a free car maintained at taxpayers’ expense. Can’t they wash those vehicles themselves or use their own money to have them washed? And finally there are those holiday certificates in next year’s budget – gifts to employees who are already well-paid by the taxpayers. Where are the taxpayers’ holiday certificates?"

And BH writes about Brian Boyd, former president of the Glenview Area Historical Society. We wrote that there had been no independent accounting for the Glenview Centennial Commission and no one from the society, with the possible exception of Boyd, had seen the books. Now, we noted, he’s retiring to Ireland: "I don’t know if you meant to impugn Brian Boyd, but he told me more than a year ago that he would be moving this year because he operates on a 20-year plan. He’s been living in Glenview for nearly 20 years and has relatives in Ireland where he plans to spend the next 20. In any event, Brian has given a great deal of himself to Glenview charities. In addition to the historical society, he’s worked for the Lions’ vision program, Cancer Relay for Life and many other worthy causes."

The Watch replies: We left a voicemail for Mr. Boyd asking him to call us for a discussion of Centennial Commission finances. We are still waiting for a call back.

SD doesn’t like the look of Wagner Farm as its managers attempt to restore sections of the pasture with a new set of fences, the addition of a chicken coop and machine shed: "What in the world are they doing to Wagner Farm? Driving by from Lake it looks like a giant cribbage board. Are they trying to woo aliens for a game? Awfully cluttered with those new shacks too, wouldn't you say?"

BA worries about the location of a new Village Hall now in the early planning stage: "First it’s move the post office to The Glen, then the library to The Glen and now we learn our Village Manager Paul ‘Mr. Glen’ McCarthy wants to build a new Village Hall monument to himself and his ‘Yes, Paul’ Board of Trustees. ‘Where?’ you might ask. Where else but The Glen. The rampant preoccupation with The Glen by village managers and trustees has seen our village go downhill. It’s time for The Glen to secede from Glenview and let ‘Mr. Glen’ and those ‘Yes, Paul’ trustees and developer buddies go with it. Good riddance! Let Glenview go back to being Glenview, the village that used to respond to what its residents want, not what the developers and consultants want."

The Watch replies: Village Manager Paul McCarthy has publicly stated that he will not move to The Glen. His sights are set on something sunnier. One year ago he purchased a place at Fiddler’s Creek – a 3,900-acre resort community in south Florida where each home has a view of the lake or the golf course.

And Biff Thiele shares thoughts on his recent reunion with Bart the Bull: "While various news outlets have commented on the 385-mile trek to Trego to see the exiled animals from Wagner Farm, the point of our visit was actually to see the conditions of their new home and meet the people who run it. These folks have undertaken a lifelong commitment. There are roughly 160 animals and birds at the Animal Rescue & Farm Sanctuary (A.R.F.S.), where Bart, Moodonna, Milkshake and Pumpkin will live out there lives.

"We learned that it costs about $60,000 a year to run the facility -_ all of which comes from donations. This doesn't include a mortgage, car, truck and equipment or putting food on the table. So, if anyone out there knows about organizations that provide grant opportunities, please forward that information to me at GTOUSPL@aol.com.

"The people at A.R.F.S. have no time for conventional jobs, and a vacation is virtually impossible, but they love the work and are dedicated to the animals. Thank God there are people like them out there providing this service for the rest of us. It is a job that brings more tears than rewards. Many of the animals that they take in are blind or ill.

"Co-owner Susan Slater rarely leaves the farm, except for a weekly trip to local auction houses. There she regularly takes sick animals that can't be sold. Many times she has pulled a live calf out of a pile of killed animals. These creatures are terrified and in shock or seriously ill from exposure and travel. More often than not, they don't survive. This summer, she brought home 28 calves. Seventeen of them died, but11 survived the trauma and will soon join Bart and the cows in the pasture.

"David Slater, on the other hand, is often on the road, delivering animals that have been adopted or picking up rescues from people who want their animals saved or put down in a humane fashion. He picked up our cows in Peotone a month ago, just after a trip to Washington State and another to Massachusetts. Imagine how dedicated one must be to drive across the country to pick up an animal that perhaps has no chance of survival and bring them to your home where they can feel safe or at least die with dignity.

"All in all, it was a lot of fun and a very quick trip. Everyone expressed a desire to do it again soon, perhaps in the spring. Anyone who was unable to make this trip is, of course, welcome to join us again next time. In the mean time, please visit the A.R.F.S web site at www.arfs.org and learn more about the residents in this wonderful little piece of the world. The home page welcomes you to the web site of the Animal Rescue and Farm Sanctuary, Home of Bart the Bull.

IYOUR 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. Dean Schott and Sandy Hausman, Co-Editors.

To read past issues of Glenview Watch, Click Here