All but one of Glenview’s elected trustees gave strong support to a new one percent local sales tax the village manager says is needed to plug a $1.6 million gap in next year’s budget.  Board members were especially excited by the prospect of collecting from people who shop but don’t live in Glenview and noted that most surrounding communities levy a similar tax. Only Trustee Mike Guinane and former Trustee John Crawford raised questions about the impact of the tax on local residents.

 The sole member of the public to testify, Crawford told the board that it would be fairer to have a small property tax increase. That would generate more dollars from the rich while sparing many senior citizens and low-income families. He added that sales taxes are harder on the poor and are not a reliable source of community revenue since they decline during hard economic times.

 Trustee Mike Guinane said Glenview has more than $60 million in six reserve funds, including one that contains $34 million from land sales at The Glen.  By pulling from one or more of those accounts, Guinane said the village could plug the budget shortfall next year without raising taxes.  Noting that Cook County might be raising its sales tax, Guinane said Glenview residents could expect to pay 9 percent on the dollar if the village also increases its charge.

 Editor’s note: Whether you agree with John Crawford or not, you have to give the guy credit.  No other former public official has remained as active in the community, as concerned about a broad range of issues as Crawford.  Nancy Firfer shows up only when someone wants to honor her.  Jim Smirles appears only to plead for one of his business interests. Donna Pappo is laying low, Rachel Cook has moved away, and we never hear from John Patton Jr., Bill Stickney, Emil Ulstrup, Bob McLennan or Joyce Schmidt.

 LARRY’S SOAP BOX

 Apparently stunned by Guinane’s criticism, Village President Larry Carlson began a lecture – his tone suggesting a father scolding a spoiled child.  “You talked about our CERF [Capital Equipment Replacement] fund.  Let’s talk about that for a second.  That is the fund that we have very carefully saved money for to purchase capital equipment for this village.  For instance, we’re buying a new fire truck.  We will start, almost immediately, putting money aside every month for a fire truck to replace that 15 years from now.  That’s why we can replace that, because we have had a conservative fiscal policy, and we’ve been able to save money for those needs.  There are suburbs where the fire chief walks into the village president’s office and says, ‘We need a new fire truck.’ The reply is, ‘Well, I guess we better have a bake sale.’  We’re not going to do that in Glenview.”

 “That fund currently has $9.5 million in it,” said Guinane. 

 “I’m sorry, it’s my turn now,” Carlson interrupted.  “When you have as many snow plows and fire trucks and police cars as we do, that’s money that is very well put in a rainy day fund.”

 Carlson also argued proceeds from land sales at The Glen should remain in the bank, gathering interest for community projects that might be needed once the tax increment financing program ends 12 years from now.

 “It’s great to let that money stay in the bank and earn interest so that in 12 years we’ll have $60 million,” Guinane replied, “but you’re not going to get the same bang for your buck with the rising cost of construction and labor.”

 Editor’s note: People living in Glenview in 2003 are bearing the brunt of Glen redevelopment. We’re putting up with road work on Lake Avenue, Lehigh and Chestnut.  We’re sitting in bigger traffic jams, exacerbated by so many new residents, workers and shoppers on our roads.  With construction trucks rumbling through town, streets are crumbling, and with the TIF in place, our schools do not fully benefit from new construction at The Glen. When the TIF ends in 12 years, we’re told a flood of tax dollars will arrive. The problem, of course, is that our children will have graduated by then, and many of us may be living in other communities. When the original Glen plan was presented, residents were promised a portion of land sale revenues would be used to spruce up other parts of town.  That money should be spent now, not later.

 HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

 Guinane also argued the new sales tax would generate far more revenue than is needed.  Referring to Abt on Milwaukee Avenue he said, “When we have a retailer who has sales in excess of $200 million a year, that retailer alone will generate more than $2 million. That doesn’t include The Glen Town Center, Costco, Home Depot or Harley Davidson.”

 Trustee Kerry Cummings defended the decision.  “I am not comfortable taking every dime of the shortfall out of reserves,” she said, her voice rising with indignation. “We’ve looked at all the possibilities. This budget uses a portion of reserves while increasing revenues.”

 Wandering onto unfamiliar turf she continued, “When you talk about the permanent fund, we are using some portion of that to support the tools that we need to, um, I have to have the name of the project, but, uh, G-L-A-S.”

 “GIS,” Guinane corrected.

 “GIS, which supports many services and will aid in many of the departments here in the village,”  Cummings said.

 “That’s not coming from the permanent fund,” said Guinane.

 “All right, I stand corrected on that one, but it is coming from reserves.  You can’t keep spending from reserves and tell the public you’re going to keep the same level of services.  It can’t be done!”

 When Guinane attempted to respond, Carlson cut him off.  “One moment, Trustee Guinane.  Please let her finish.”

 “It can’t be done,” Cummings repeated, adding that the trustees would review the balances in each fund at some time in the future.

 Guinane again tried to respond, but Carlson informed him that “Trustee Lerner is next.”

 The president then turned to Lerner who, in fact, had nothing to say.

 Editor’s note:  Glenview has at least 44 different funds. The Capital Equipment Replacement Fund has more than $9 million.  Is that too much, as suggested by Mike Guinane, or is it needed to cover yearly expenses, like the $700,000 fire truck the village just bought or the $128,000 spent on six new squad cars?  What about some of these other accounts?  Can anyone who’s not a CPA with expertise in municipal finance tell which of those is a slush fund?  In our own quest to answer such questions, we asked a financially savvy friend to look at Glenview’s financial report – the one that was supposed to be filed with the state by the end of June.  The village needed a two-month extension, and no wonder!  The document, which for most communities is about 40 pages, was 214 pages long and included 20 pages of footnotes. 

 Let us give you an example: “Interfund Transactions: Quasi-external transactions are accounted for as revenues, expenditures or expenses.  Transactions that constitute reimbursements to a fund for expenditures/expenses initially made from it that are properly applicable to another fund are recorded as expenditures/expenses in the reimbursing fund and as reductions of expenses in the fund that is reimbursed.  All other interfund transactions, except quasi-external transactions and reimbursements are reported as transfers. Non-recurring or non-routine permanent transfers of equity are reported as residual equity transfers. All other interfund transfers are reported as operating transfers.”

 Got that?  Neither have we.  And we’d venture to guess that not one of Glenview’s trustees has a real clue about what’s going on with all those funds either. Six members of the village board are sheep, bleating their appreciation to a village manager who keeps money in 44 different funds, moving it around in ways that are virtually impossible for the public to track.

 What we strongly suspect is that Glenview has plenty of money sitting in accounts.  The village’spolicy is to have three months worth of working cash in its general fund. This reserve serves as insurance should the village face delays in tax payments, lose a big lawsuit, suffer a natural disaster or other fiscal difficulties. At the end of last year, Glenview had a cash reserve of more than six months! In previous years, reserves were also far in excess of the 90-day goal. We give Trustee Mike Guinane credit for asking some very important questions, and we have nothing but disdain for the bullies who tried to belittle and silence him.

We are also disturbed by the fact that the trustees never questioned Village Manager McCarthy’s basic premise – that the level of service in this village equates to the level of spending. The truth is, our village board has never critically analyzed the level of service in any department.  To site just one small example of what we’re saying here, the trustees happily shelled out $700,000 for a new fire truck without really knowing if Glenview needed a new fire truck.  

 WHAT TAXPAYERS REALLY WANT

 Guinane reminded Cummings that twice while she was on the School District 34 board voters had rejected a request for higher taxes, forcing the board to spend reserves that a panel of business experts said were unnecessarily high. 

 “It’s great to wave the flag and say, ‘Don’t raise taxes.’  Nobody up here really wants to raise taxes,” Lerner said. “I think that’s pretty obvious because we didn’t raise everybody’s property tax bill, but if you oppose the sales tax, you don’t have to shop.”

 “I have not been a big proponent of this sales tax,” he continued, “because I believe that the amount of money that’s going to come into this village from the new businesses may be sufficient to carry us forward, however there is enough support on this board to impose this tax, so I certainly don’t intend to be an obstructionist and avoid having it imposed.”

 Editor’s note: The holidays are right around the corner.  Let’s take up a collection and buy Jeff Lerner a gift he really needs – a backbone.  This guy wasn’t elected to go along with whatever everybody else wants to do.  Presumably voters hoped he would exercise some independent judgment.  Instead, admitting he felt the sales tax hike was unnecessary, he joined the gang and voted for it, telling his constituents to stop buying if they object.

 THE REAL REASON TAXES ARE GOING UP

 Village Manager Paul McCarthy has insisted, over and over again, that his plan to redevelop the former Naval Air Station would not mean higher taxes for Glenview, but it’s getting harder and harder to conceal the elephant at Village Hall.  We’re borrowing like mad to build two new fire stations and a new police station. A little further down the pike, Manager McCarthy says we’ll  need a new Village Hall.  This much spending is predicated not only on adequate tax revenue but on a Aaa bond rating that keeps the cost of loans down. 

 Trustee Kimball Woodrow, who batted clean-up, said it all.  “We’re raising the sales tax to protect reserves, and – very importantly --  we’re insuring that our Aaa bond rating remains protected.  That’s not to say that if we didn’t do this it would go away, but it is one more assurance there will be no difficulties with the rating agencies. We need to keep one thing squarely in view. . .We’re planning for the future. . . There are many, many projects out there that will need attention.”

 Editor’s note: In other words, the public’s willingness or ability to pay has nothing to do with it. The critical issue is Glenview’s heavy debt – now in excess of $100 million, 80 percent of it for The Glen.  If we didn’t have to worry about that, the difference between a Aaa bond rating and a Aa would be no big deal.  The reason even the poorest people in town will have to pay a higher sales tax is because village management wants to keep on building and needs to look pretty for the guys who rate our bonds.

 COOK COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TO FIGHT HIGHER TAX

 On December 9, the Cook County Board will consider a budget of nearly $3 billion that would increase sales tax by one-fourth of one percent and impose a 4 percent tax on leases of cars, computers, office and manufacturing equipment.  Both of Glenview’s commissioners say they’ll oppose the new taxes in favor of reform, but Gregg Goslin and Larry Suffredin disagree on the alternatives.

 Goslin, a Republican, says he’ll propose that Cook County spend no more in 2004 than it spent in 2003.  To achieve that goal, he says the county should start charging more for health coverage of employees’ families and stop automatically promoting county workers every two years.  Instead, he would promote them at five year intervals.

 Suffredin, a Democrat, will join with Commissioners Forrest Claypool (D), Anthony Peraica (R) and Mike Quigley (D) to attempt more comprehensive budget reforms.  They’ll hold a news conference Monday to explain how they’ll “pull the fluff out of the budget.  We’re trying to find out where they’ve hidden money they don’t need,” Suffredin said.  “We have the votes to stop the tax increase.  Nobody’s made a case for the extra $57 million those taxes would generate.”

 He noted that $200 million will be carried over from this year’s budget and predicts that number will grow to $300 million if the new budget is approved, because President John Stroger is “asking for too much money.”

 Suffredin warned that a lease tax could drive car dealers out of Cook County and recalled a similar exodus from the city when Chicago imposed a lease tax under former Mayor Jane Byrne.

 He agreed with Goslin that health insurance for county employees is costing too much but said any change should come next year when new contracts are negotiated.  Suffredin said the county might join forces with the city and Chicago’s board of education to purchase more cost-effective coverage.

 Goslin was invited to join the coalition but preferred to pursue his own plan.  “I don’t think their numbers are right,” he said.  “There’s no way their plan will be enacted.  I’m proposing bits and pieces.  That’s how things get done down there.”

  DISTRICT 34 ACES RECENT PUBLIC SURVEY

 A recent survey of more than 500 School District 34 residents found a relatively high level of satisfaction with local elementary and middle schools.  More than 90 percent said the district did an excellent or good job keeping students safe, maintaining the buildings and educating students.  More than 50 percent said the district was doing a good job of managing money.

 Voters have twice rejected a referendum to raise taxes for public education, but the telephone poll by St. Louis-based Unicom Arc found 57 percent of those questioned would support a tax hike.  A similar number said that in 2001 before voters rejected the most recent referendum.

 About 84 percent of those surveyed this year thought they were getting excellent value for their tax dollars, but 46 percent said they couldn’t afford to pay higher property taxes no matter how good the cause.

 The community was divided on whether additional budget cuts would hurt kids.  Nearly half said yes, while 40 percent thought there was room for spending reductions. Nearly 63 percent thought the district needed more money.

 Editor’s note: Here’s how Unicom Arc, the company hired with your tax dollars by School District 34 to conduct a community-wide focus group called 34Connect, then engaged to conduct the survey, describes itself on its website: “Since 1970, our integrated approach has helped the Unicom Arc team build an 80% ‘win’ record in 118 election campaigns and develop a well_earned reputation for taking on difficult and complex issues and turning them into success stories. Using research as a guide, we implement the most effective strategies to reach out to the target audience and build better understanding or awareness of an issue or product. This is best achieved by letting your audience ‘discover’ firsthand the challenges you face or the advantages of your product or service, then engaging them in meaningful two_way dialog at a grassroots level.”

 HISTORY STILL ON HOLD

 Glenview’s historic preservation commission won a short-term victory when Chairman David Silver, Commissioner Norma Morrison, COWS President Mark Steger, the League of Women Voters’ Josie Hamilton, Scenic Illinois’ Gary Bruckner, Bill Dose and Bob Sherman, and a spokesman for the Illinois Landmarks Preservation Council persuaded the village board to hold off on changes to an ordinance that allows the commission and private citizens to nominate properties for landmark status. 

 When a site is nominated, the law calls for hearings and a recommendation from the commission, followed by a ruling from Glenview’s trustees.  If they agree to designate a landmark, it becomes eligible for special protection and tax benefits.

 Last month, the trustees worried that homeowners might lose some of their rights if their house were landmarked. The board proposed making properties eligible for historic designation only if nominated by their owners. Critics from the Glenview Announcements to the Illinois Landmarks Preservation Council promptly attacked the idea, saying it would leave the community’s historic buildings with no protection at all.

 Chairman Silver said it was apparent the board did not understand the ordinance.  He assured the trustees that property owners still had rights and proposed a workshop or series of workshops on the subject before any change is made.  “There is no rush to do this,” he told the board. 

The ordinance was enacted five years ago. So far, not a single property has been landmarked.  Earlier this year, the commission proposed historic status for the park district’s headquarters – a Prairie Street  building it leases from the village, and COWS nominated Wagner Farm. 

 The park district promptly asked to be exempt from the ordinance, arguing it is already assuring preservation of its historic properties – The Grove and Wagner Farm.  COWS countered that the district had proven a poor steward of history when it painted the Wagner barn red despite evidence the building had never been red before.

 During the latest round of discussions, Park District Attorney Sam Witwer said he had come to testify – not in his official capacity but as a resident.  He advised the village board not to bother landmarking buildings.  Instead, he said, Glenview could use its powers of eminent domain to purchase any properties it wanted to save.

 Editor’s note: Leave it to a lawyer to see things that way!  Eminent domain is a process that can cost a fortune in legal fees as property owners and government bodies fight over how much taxpayers should pay for land or buildings.

 TRUSTEES AGREE TO TALK – EVENTUALLY 

 The village board voted unanimously to hold a workshop on the topic before deciding whether to change the historic preservation ordinance.  No date was set for that seminar, and Norma Morrison, the first woman elected to the Glenview Village Board and a self-described municipal junkie, questioned the legality of delay.

 Noting that two properties had been nominated and the ordinance requires a hearing within 60 days, she asked, “Are we in violation?”

 Village Attorney Jeff Randall said the village board could do whatever it wanted. “The village board will make whatever exceptions or waive whatever requirements are necessary to insure that those applications proceed through the pipeline if the ordinance is not changed.”

“I don’t know that the ordinance refers to anything like that,” said Morrison.

 “But the board can do that if it so desires,” said Randall with a chuckle.

 ARE SECRET PLANS AFOOT?

 As the board prepared to move from historic preservation to its next agenda item, Attorney  Randall raised one more point. “There are two petitions or applications pending – one for the park district administration building and the other is Wagner Farm.  Chairman Silver indicated that he will hold those applications and there will be no hearings until the conclusion of the workshops.  What about other applications that may come before the commission during these workshops?  What is going to be the pleasure of the board and the commission?”

 The historic preservation board’s chairman, who was appointed by Nancy Firfer, said no nominations would be considered unless they came from property owners.

 Randall pressed David Silver for details: “What if somebody other than the property owner were to nominate between now and the conclusion of the workshops?”

 Trustee Jeff Lerner suggested the commission only hear nominations if the property owner consents. 

 Silver and the board agreed.

 Editor’s note: That last remark left us wondering. There are several historic buildings in downtown Glenview that might be worthy of landmark status.  One, 1800 Glenview Road, is nearly 100 years old and served as an early post office for this small farm town. It’s now occupied by a dental practice.  The skate shop, boutique and Chinese carry-out restaurant at 1816, 1818 and 1820 Glenview Road were also built in the early part of the 20^th century (about 1910) and have some nice architectural detail. Village President Larry Carlson has fingered that entire block for possible demolition, opening the door for a mixed use development like what we now have on the southeast corner of Glenview and Waukegan roads.  Landmark status for any building in the 1800 block could prove an impediment. Across the street stands the venerable old Glenview State Bank building, still owned by the bank.  Its scion, John Jones, has been extraordinarily generous to Glenview’s political establishment.  His Cummins-American Corp gave more than $6,000 to the election of Larry Carlson, Kerry Cummings, Jeff Lerner and Mike Guinane in 2001.  If Glenview’s downtown were to enjoy a renaissance, Mr. Jones might want to rehab or demolish that building.  Landmark status would stand in the way.                                          

COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD

 – The library will close at 5 p.m. Wednesday, November 26 and remain closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving. It will reopen at 9 a.m. Friday, November 28.

 – The Northfield Township Food Pantry is asking for donations of canned and packaged products to restock its shelves for the holidays.  You can bring your contributions for families in need to 3801 Lake – the northwest corner of Lake and Pfingsten, on weekdays, 8:30_4:30. 

 – The Dry Cleaning Factory at Waukegan and Chestnut is accepting donations of used coats for  low-income children and their parents.  For details, call 847_486_8666.

 PARK DISTRICT NEWS AND NOTES

 – The Glenview Park Board has voted to ask residents for a tax hike to fund construction of two new swimming pools.  The commissioners can’t say, yet, how much they’ll request as plans for the pools are not final.

 – The district has named Elizabeth Fritz and Pat Marohn to serve three-year terms on the Independence Day Commission.  Fritz works for the Pioneer Press and is active in the chamber of commerce.  Marohn is a Glenview librarian, served on the village’s window sign task force and is key to OLPH fundraising efforts. Cook County Commissioner Gregg Goslin asked for and received another three-year appointment.

 – In time for the holidays, the park district is selling special fitness packages and 2004 Wagner Farm calendars.  Stop by Park Center for more information.

 – Next year’s Glenview Theatre Guild show will be Hello Dolly, a musical with a cast of more than 50 people.  It was chosen after Kiss Me Kate, a play with very few cast members, drew paltry crowds and put the guild in the red by $7,000.

 READERS WRITE:

 John Ranz snorts at the results of a new survey showing Glenview residents are willing to spend more for schools: “I was one of the lucky people they talked to, and I could not believe how biased the questions were.  ‘When did you stop beating your wife ?  Would you pay more for the schools or rather see all children in Glenview die in a big fire?’ That is the way I felt on several of the questions. Tactics like that are the only way they could produce the outcomes they did.  The Glenview Announcements quotes Rodney Wright, president of Unicom Arc, the company that conducted the survey.  He was impressed that just 5 percent of this year's respondents said they were not knowledgeable about tax caps.  All I would say is:‘Yea and pigs can fly.’  I would bet that no more than 30 percent of board members really understand all there is to know about tax caps. If 57 percent of those surveyed favored increased spending, why did a majority vote against higher taxes when the last referendum appeared on the ballot?  Different sample?  You bet.  Next time you hire Unicom Arc, better tell them to poll registered voters, or likely voters.  I hope you don’t make the mistake of going for another referendum.”

 Bob Sacoff hopes the trustees won’t change Glenview’s historic preservation ordinance: “I was among the group of petitioners who submitted the first (and to my knowledge the only) petition to nominate a Glenview building for preservation under the preservation ordinance.  Despite our group’s investment of substantial personal time and money to present our petition, including presentation of expert witnesses, our effort to preserve the Dahlquist Building, an attractive icon of downtown Glenview’s old charm, was turned down and the building on the southeast corner of Glenview and Waukegan roads was demolished. In 2002, the village board suggested raising the petition fee from $100 to a prohibitive $500. President Carlson supported that amendment to prevent ‘hateful residents’ from making ‘spiteful requests’ to declare their neighbors’ houses historic under the ordinance.  I opposed the increase, citing an absence of any evidence that this had ever occurred or was a genuine problem, and because further restricting a preservation ordinance that had never been applied was a transparent anti-preservation statement.  The fee-hike amendment was not adopted. Now, once again, the board proposes to restrict preservation because of a phantom concern about its abuse.  This ordinance has not even been used, much less abused.  Since there is no apparent problem necessitating restriction of the ordinance, it is obvious that an ulterior agenda is at work. Maybe the board is trying to remove a potential obstacle to another part of downtown Glenview -- the 1800 block of Glenview Road.”

Joe disagrees with our interpretation of neighbors’ complaints at The Glen: “Your article regarding urban life in the Glen couldn't be more wrong!  I live with my wife and daughter in the Cambridge homes and we love it!  After living in Lincoln Park for six years we wanted to move to the suburbs so our daughter could go to the best schools, but we didn't want to lose the benefits of living in a city where we could walk to everything.  From Cambridge homes we can walk to the park, to the train to the Glen Town Center, to the Park Center and hopefully soon to the pizzeria!  We were told there would be restaurants near the train station when we bought in 2001, and this is one of the reasons we bought here.  A family friend who grew up in Chicago in the 1950's remarked how similar the Cambridge homes are to the neighborhood she enjoyed growing up in.  She said its hard to get that family atmosphere in today's suburbs where everyone just gets into their cars and never talks to or sees their neighbors.  I congratulate the city on the great job they did developing the Glen.”

The Watch replies: Ah, but are you willing to put up with the parking problems, the traffic, the noise from neighboring businesses that may choose to stay open until 1 a.m. on weekends?  In our view, that’s the true test of how much anyone loves urban living, and while you might accept the downside of urban life, it’s clear that many residents do not.

And a reader whose property adjoins The Glen does not think residents living near a new shopping strip at The Glen will get the protective landscaping they were promised: “Look around.  This land was sold by the square inch. You will never get the protection you think you deserve.  As life-long residents of this community, we asked, we begged, and we got shot down every time we asked for protection from your new development. We lost our golf course view, a berm, and even a uniform fence behind our homes on the south side of The Glen. If you’re waiting for the developers to take care of you, don’t hold your breath. Buy some beer and order a pizza.”

Sarah, who’s lived in Glenview for 24 years, responds to Redevelopment Director Don Owen’s prediction that The Glen will someday be viewed as just another neighborhood in Glenview – that people won’t even refer to The Glen: “Don Owen is dreaming! The Glen will always be referred to as The Glen. That’s because The Glen is nothing like Glenview. It causes a clear divide, and it might as well be its own separate town. Does Owen even live here?  It's like Old Glenview versus the new Glen. A lot of people actually hate The Glen.  They hate the look of it and how much it costs to live there.  I, personally, would never move there.  The houses look shoddily built, and that area floods horribly. Plus it looks like a Hollywood movie set. Ugh! I just find it ridiculous that this guy thinks people will actually say, ‘I'm on Patriot Boulevard in Glenview.’ No way.  They'll always follow that up with, ‘in The Glen.’”

JH thought Lehigh north of Chestnut was supposed to be finished by now: “It looks like they're nowhere near that. Do you have an update as to when it will be finished? Also, why are there right turn lanes and no right turn on red signs in The Glen.  The lights there are very long and there are  terrible traffic backups, especially at rush hour.  It would move traffic along much better if you could turn right on red lights when there are no pedestrians crossing.

Biff Thiele takes strong exception to Jack Neymark’s letter supporting a new library at The Glen: “With all due respect, Jack Neymark’s opinion on moving the library is an extension of the library board’s one_sided vision and the village’s smoke and mirrors. The board has embellished the truth to manipulate public opinion, while ignoring facts that expose the flaws in their logic. They intend to move that facility, and the facts be damned.  Toss out the inflated cost estimates, show how expanding at the current location can save taxpayers $15 million _ $20 million and the 38% of residents who prefer a downtown location, reverts back to 60%. When you consider giving the post office land we got for free and a $4 million buyout incentive to move, that’s a bargain in anyone’s book and everyone wins. Neymark dismisses the idea of Glenview helping the post office because these are two different government supported entities.  He claims that just isn’t done, but The Glen is a perfect example of how this village has used local tax dollars in dealing with another tax_supported institution, the federal government. We have given away millions to attract businesses at The Glen’s corporate campus. A simple buy-out of the post office could save us millions of dollars and we could begin the library expansion right away. Having worked construction for the better part of 40 years, I know that additional footings can be poured to provide the necessary support for a larger structure, which might include a second story. The existing building is structurally sound according to the library’s own study. So nobody has to raze the building to achieve ‘functionality.’ As for an ‘antiquated HVAC system’ and ‘the crumbling canopy on the southwest,’ that can easily be upgraded. While we’re discussing construction, the library board’s quote for a parking garage is just one more way to pad the predicted cost of renovation. Rather than build an underground garage, which would be expensive, we could put ground-level parking at the site of the post office and Epco paint store, then build new library space above. And finally, rebuilding at the current location does not mean that Glenview won’t get all the modern trappings of a newer, larger, world class library.  Wherever we build, it will be a top notch library that the community can be proud of.

Terry Wodder adds: “Neymark is sadly misinformed.  Anyone familiar with the original feasibility study knows it would not be necessary to raze the current structure. It’s in good shape and could serve as the core of a newly-renovated library.  Four out of the five expansion options recommended by the consultant were add_ons to the existing building.  If Neymark hasn't read the report, shame on him. Northbrook did it right.  They completely renovated their existing building and prepared the site for under $3 million, added 35,000 square feet at a cost of $10 million, and spent $1 million on major repairs to the existing HVAC system, roof, exterior finishes, etc.  I have often said they overbuilt, but I can't remember a single complaint about the final product from the community. Finally, I want to correct Neymark’s impression of how Glenview could have a new library and post office for even less than we’re now planning to spend on a new library at The Glen. Nobody ever suggested that Glenview residents pay for a new post office.  Instead the village should assist the post office by floating a bond to fund a new facility at The Glen, then sell it back to the postal service over a 30-40 years on a lease/purchase basis.  That would not add long-term debt to their balance sheet – a major concern for the U.S. Postal Service.”

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. Dean Schott and Sandy Hausman, Co-Editors.

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