OFFICIALS INCH CLOSER TO A NEW LIBRARY

 

Members of Glenview’s village and library boards deadlocked last week over whether to build a new, 98,000-square-foot facility at a cost of $35 million, rehab and expand the existing downtown building for $25 million or seek a third course of action not proposed by a consultant.   

 

Village President Kerry Cummings thought Glenview could get by with a smaller facility that would cost $25 million.  “I have school-aged children,” she began.  “The way my children gather information is changing very rapidly. They use lap tops.  They move around.”

 

Cummings said consultant Sente, Rubel, Bosman, Lee had included lots of unnecessary spaces for computers.  She noted that the library’s current collection of VHS tapes also took up room, but DVDs – which are rapidly replacing tapes in the media marketplace – were smaller. She questioned the need for so many magazines on the shelves when copies could be available on the Internet or on microfiche. 

 

“I see the answer less in brick and mortar than I do in replacement with modern collections.  I don’t want to skimp on the area for pre-schoolers, and I don’t want to skimp on some reading areas, but flexibility will be gained in the future through technology and the way we store our information.  I don’t want to overbuild.”

 

If the trustees and library board wanted to spend more than $25 million, Cummings said she would push for a referendum.   

 

TO VOTE OR NOT TO VOTE

 

Library Trustee Claire McGuire bristled at the mention of a ballot issue.  “Did we go to referendum for the new police station?” she asked.

 

“No, we did not,” replied Cummings.  “It was not, it was not an increase to the tax levy, so no impact to the taxpayer, and it was not a $30 million building.”

 

“But we got the $22 million from somewhere,” McGuire replied.  “I do not feel we need to go to referendum for the library, even if it costs $35 million.  I think it delays things.” She added that during two public hearings, residents had clearly demanded a new, world-class library.

 

Trustee Debby Karton said only a limited number of people had taken part in those hearings, while a referendum would give thousands a chance to express their view “on what we’re doing with their money.”

 

Library Board President Arlene Anthony said the community had commissioned reports from two different consultants.  “If we follow their recommendations, then I think the community will accept the cost.  I don’t want to spend the money on a referendum, and I really don’t think it’s necessary.  The public doesn’t have the time to study this the way we have, and that’s why they entrusted us with this job.”

 

Glenview residents clearly wanted a top notch library, Anthony continued, and a rehab would not meet their expectations.  She was anxious about the “unknowns” of renovation – “the asbestos, the mold.” 

 

She did not know if a new addition would work well with an existing, rehabbed structure and felt sure such a library would not be energy efficient.  “I think a lot of this is worrisome and has a lot of costs that would surprise us,” she said, adding that it might be possible to build a new structure that would meet community needs for $30 million. 

 

Library Vice President Jerome McQuie also opposed going to referendum.  “A couple of residents told me: ‘We elected you to the board to make these decisions.  If we’re really pissed off, we’ll call you at three in the morning.’  My phone number is still listed,” he said.

 

McQuie shared Anthony’s doubts about rehabbing.  “We could get bitten by this mid-project.  That’s the last thing any of us want.”  He warned that heating and air conditioning the existing building and an addition could be tricky and costly.  If the village could only afford $25 million, McQuie suggested building a large, basic facility, then adding a parking deck or an annex when more money is available.

 

“Our fundamental objective has got to be to create a first-class facility – a signature building for the downtown,” said Trustee Kimball Woodrow, chair of Glenview’s downtown redevelopment commission.  He, too, objected to a referendum and called for “a major public investment that signals our belief in the long-term viability of the downtown and helps to spearhead revitalization.”

 

Woodrow, an investment banker, said he had a fundamental bias toward new buildings, but he did not rule out rehabbing and building an addition. “Our firm engages in remodelling projects regularly,” he explained, “and I’ve seen some extraordinary things done over the years.”

 

Trustees Phillip White and Paul Detlefs agreed that a renovated library with an addition could do the job, but Library Trustee Jack Neymark said an architect would have a lot more flexibility with a new building. 

 

A professional accountant, Neymark said families now paying a $5,000 tax bill would see an increase of $125 per year for a $35 million building. “I think $125 is a very good value,” he said. “This is Glenview.  Let’s do what Glenview deserves.”

 

Trustee Pat Cuisinier and Library trustees Ellen Scholly, David Johnson and David Winton also voiced enthusiastic support for a new, $35 million building.

 

Said Johnson: “Building a new library is sort of like the farmer going to the feed store to buy oats.  If you want good, clean oats, you gotta’ be willing to pay a fair price for them.  If, on the other hand, you’re satisfied with oats that have already been through the horse, you can get a better price.”

 

The group chuckled, and Cummings requested a translation.

 

“No referendum!” said Johnson.

 

Editor’s note:  Glenview’s finance director says taxpayers would also have to pay for operation and maintenance of a larger facility, boosting the annual tax increase to about $200 for someone already paying $5,000 a year in real estate taxes.  President Cummings has said she’d be willing to use $10 million from the fund generated by land sales at The Glen to help cover library construction costs.

 

WHAT’S NEXT?

 

Trustee White wanted more detail about services to be provided in the new library. He thought Sente, Rubel, Bosman, Lee’s numbers were “excessive.”  White is on the board of the Catholic Theological Seminary, a group building a 95,000-square-foot structure in Hyde Park.  “The building itself will come in at about $16 million.  I don’t understand where [Sente] got their numbers,” he said.

 

Scholly pointed out that a theological seminary did not serve the age range that a public library does, so it was not fair to compare the two. 

 

Anthony thought the library’s architect – Philips Swager Associates – should be called in to talk with the two boards about how a building might function, how the space would be allocated and what actual costs would be. 

 

White agreed. “I think we owe it to the community to determine whether renovation is realistic from a financial standpoint and from a functional standpoint, and if it isn’t, get it off the table and move on,” he said.

 

Village Manager Todd Hileman suggested further analysis could lead to cost savings and proposed a new committee be formed to look closely at the differences between new construction and renovation/expansion.

 

Cummings said she would choose a couple of trustees and two village staff members for the new panel and proposed Anthony appoint two people from her board and two library staffers.

 

Hileman thinks that group might be able to recommend something to both boards in March or April.

 

THE PUBLIC’S PERSPECTIVE

 

Residents and business owners were as passionate, articulate and divided as the trustees in discussing a future library.  Here are some of the remarks offered during a public hearing that preceded the boards’ discussion.

 

Speaking for a group called Save Our Library Downtown or “SOLD,” Biff Thiele noted that since 1997, Glenview’s population has risen 14 percent while library attendance fell 22 percent. He blamed the decline of more than 12,000 visitors per month on technology, and said it was difficult to justify building a large new library under the circumstances.

”SOLD also feels that if the current facility is structurally sound, as the consultants have stated it is, we should save ourselves $10-$15 million and renovate the building that we have already paid for,” Thiele said.

 

A Glenview resident who chairs the communications department at the Chicago City Colleges disagreed:  “I know that new technology begs for more power, more communication ports, screening rooms, computer areas for individuals as well as groups, and so forth.  Tomorrow’s library will need to be a community center for intellectual development, just as the park center is for physical development.  The idea of remodelling an ancient building and upgrading it to meet modern technological standards is ludicrous. 

 

“We’re talking about an investment in intellectual and educational development of our children and citizens in general. I unequivocally endorse making the maximum investment.  A good education pays back many fold. One other comment I would like to make involves the gentleman who spoke previously about reduction in the number of visits to the library.  There could be many reasons for that to happen – one of which is a library that has not kept pace with modern times.”

 

Ellen Clark, director of the Wilmette Public Library:  “It is embarrassing to be asked six times in the last few weeks, ‘What’s happening with the Glenview Library?’ and to have no answer.  People wonder if I have a perspective that will help make sense of the bickering and inaction that have accompanied the topic of the future of the Glenview Public Library during the last few years.  I must admit I do not.  The Wilmette Library regularly serves Glenview residents who are frustrated with the overcrowding and lack of parking at the Glenview Library.  I’m at a loss to explain to them or myself why the members of the Glenview Village Board have a vision for Glenview that is mired in the Fifties.  As a taxpayer, I ask that you spend my money on a project that will proudly stand for years in the future.  Do not waste it on temporary fixes that will need replacing in three to five years.  Be bold. Be visionary. Make us proud!”

 

Carl Hanson, a licensed structural engineer:  “I’m in favor of renovating the library, and I don’t have a problem with expanding it.  I consider the existing library a valuable asset worth at least $10 million. It would be a waste of money to tear down the beams, walls and foundation, only to rebuild them again in essentially the same place.  If we spend our money wisely, we can build a magnificent new addition.”

 

Bud Boynton, a 50-year resident of Glenview: “Our pools at Roosevelt and Flick Park are just outstanding.  The Park Center is hard to beat.  The schools that have been built are all first rate.  The fire department – the stations that we now have, the police station that we’re going to have one of these days are all top notch, and I think that’s the way we should continue.”

 

Merton Silbar, public relations executive:  “Northbrook has almost 10,000 less population than Glenview.  The Glenview library is 47,500 square feet.  Northbrook is 85,000 square feet.  An article published during the depression by Women’s Home Companion praised the town of Glenview, Illinois for putting a library over its gymnasium and saving a bundle.  The tax levied was .0009.  That article was titled ‘Library on a Shoestring.’ Don’t let that be said after this library is built. You will surely stand outside that library someday and say to your children, your grandchildren and great grandchildren: ‘This is my legacy.  This is what I did.’  The legacy is not the fire station, the pools or the park district.  It’s the legacy of the library that you ought to be proud of.”

 

Stan Dulkowski, retiree:  “My wife will die if she sees me on TV.  When I get up to talk, she hides under a table.  I’ve listened to you people talk about this thing.  I was a blue collar worker.  I’ve got two sons.  They can’t afford to live in this town.  We’re priced out.  You talk about ‘first class’ this, ‘first class’ that.  Look at the police station you’ve got there. Talk about a legacy for our grandkids!  We’re gonna’ give ‘em a big damn tax bill.”

 

John Ranz, businessman and fiscal watchdog:  “Glenview is a member of the very large North Suburban Library Association.  If we don’t have something in stock, those resources are available within hours or days through the association.  The square footage you have can be set up in many different ways.  You can have decorated aisles of books, or you could set it up more like a warehouse in which the number of volumes you can have in the library increases and the cost per square foot decreases.

 

“We have just undergone a five- or six-year period of massive building and development throughout the community, and nowhere do I see any solar power. I would not like to see what happened in Wilmette when they rebuilt their library and could barely afford to open their doors and to keep the heat and lights on.  This library should at least be a site for a demonstration project with solar heating of water and maybe generation of some electricity.  That might encourage other people in the community to do the same.”   

 

Richard Feit, businessman and long-time library watcher: “Demolition of our 53,000-square-foot granite, steel and concrete library building that has been declared structurally sound is to waste $7-10 million in the building value.  They renovated in Niles, Northbrook, Arlington Heights and Skokie, and they have first class libraries.

Microsoft has contracted to put 100,000 volumes on line from the British Library. Google has contracted with Michigan, Stanford and Harvard universities to do likewise.  This is a digital age. You don’t need excess brick and mortar.”

 

Rebecca Gerber, mother and library aide:  “A library is not just a place I go to borrow books.  It’s a place I go to be with my kids. A library is a great way to encourage kids to read and to get to know other people in the community.  It’s a safe place.  It’s a good place for the community to meet. We’re not just talking space for books.  We’re talking space for meetings, for seniors learning to use computers, for people who don’t speak English as a first language to learn.”

 

Amy Claver, mother of two:  “Last summer they were showing a Winnie the Pooh movie, and I wanted to bring my kids.  I was thinking maybe I’ll meet some other parents, as I’m still sort of new to the community.  We came, ready to enjoy the movie, but there were tons and tons of people in the hallway, and everybody was scooted in, shoulder to shoulder.  The bathrooms are so small, you can’t even change a diaper.”

 

Norma Morrison, 89 -- Grande Dame of Glenview:  “Everyone in this room wants a first class library, and I think we will get one.  The only question is at what cost.  I expect my elected representatives on both boards to pay attention, to weigh the alternatives and give us a first class library that matches the culture of this community.”

 

PLAN COMMISSION INCHES TOWARD ISMAILI CENTER APPROVAL

 

Planners for a proposed Ismaili Muslim house of worship near the corner of Golf and Shermer roads presented changes to the plan commission, hoping to appease neighbors who fear increased traffic, parking problems, light and noise.

 

The new plan sets aside land for 50 more parking spaces, bringing the total capacity to 400.  It promises improvements to the Golf and Shermer intersection and includes what traffic engineers call a “pork chop’ island at its entry off Shermer to prevent entry from or exit to MacArthur and keep northbound cars on Shermer from making a left-hand turn into the site.  (In deference to the dietary laws of Islam, Chairman Howard Silver suggested the traffic guide be called something other than a “pork chop.”)

 

Finally, the planners said they’d redesigned their lighting and would plant more evergreens to shield the neighbors.

 

Most members of the commission liked what they heard and said they were not willing to hold up the project over the neighbors’ objections.  Still, they were sympathetic.  Trustee Steve Bucklin admitted driving through the Park Manor neighborhood is already difficult because of parked cars on the narrow streets. “That’s an issue that has nothing to do with this [Ismaili House of Worship] proposal,” he said, adding that the village should limit parking to one side, add signs to encourage traffic safety and create cul de sacs to stop cut-through traffic.

 

“Also, I heard over and over about the sidewalks not being plowed.  I live on Central, and those sidewalks are plowed every morning when there’s a snowstorm.  To have children walking to school [in the street because sidewalks] are not being plowed – is something that I think the village has to look at.  That is unacceptable.”

 

Bucklin did not think the House of Worship would cause flooding, and he warned the neighbors that under current zoning, “we could put office buildings on that property.” He also dismissed concerns about traffic noise, pointing out that the property was close to a couple of very busy streets – Golf and Shermer.

 

Commissioner Peter Brinckerhoff was prepared to go further.  “To approve even one house on this site exacerbates the existing conditions, and I think that has to be solved before we even talk about the house of worship.  I know village staff is working on traffic issues and traffic calming devices, and restrictive turning during certain hours. Without those issues being solved, it’s impossible to endorse or allow this to proceed.”

 

Brinckerhoff pointed out that a “very objective, non-interested third party,” – the Illinois Department of Transportation – had given the intersection of Golf and Shermer a failing grade. “Until I see solutions, I can’t endorse allowing this project to go ahead,” he said.

 

Commissioner Allan Ruter expressed gratitude to the neighbors for calling their problems to the attention of village leaders and said he regrets that it has taken so long for Village Hall to pay heed. “I’ve run through the neighborhood, and it’s made me a faster runner dodging traffic,” he added, sparking a round of applause. 

 

Chairman Silver said new development should not make matters worse, but he didn’t think it fair to hold the Ismailis responsible for existing traffic problems in Park Manor.  “It would not be right to hold this development hostage until the village or the state fixes everything else, but we have to make sure it is not exacerbated by a single car.  If we waited for the government to fix everything, nothing would ever get built on that site.”

 

While one area resident presented petitions from residents who opposed the project (more than 820 people have now signed), some testified that they would welcome the Ismailis.

 

Bill Zamzow, who lives along the proposed Ismaili property line, recalled the years when Northern Illinois Gas did business from that location.  “They had many service trucks and other vehicles parked there.  During the morning rush hour, the employees would be arriving, and they would leave during the evening rush hour. Customers would come and pay their gas bills there.  The service vehicles were used to respond to emergencies at night and on weekends.  I wasn’t aware of any complaints about traffic or noise.”

 

Michael Weidemann said he had gone to Northlake, where the Ismailis now worship, and talked with seven neighbors. “None of them had any problems with traffic or noise from the Ismaili congregation,” he said. “They were not even aware that morning worship went on, so I can only surmise that there isn’t much of a problem with noise, light or traffic in that neighborhood.  Four of them told me that the Ismailis have a couple of people who are magnificent at controlling the traffic and making sure that parking regulations are followed.  One man who’s lived across the street from that center for 12 years said it really didn’t make any difference to that neighborhood.  He doesn’t notice that they’re there.”

 

Alice Scott, a 21-year resident of the Park Manor neighborhood, thought the community might be “creating a Chicken Little syndrome here with the objections to the Ismaili House of Worship.”  She noted that many parts of Glenview are congested, including the streets around schools, parks and the library.  “The community is growing and changing.  We are not rural any longer.  We seem to have welcomed commercial enterprises that cause traffic jams.”  

 

She noted that Ismaili services are held early in the morning and early in the evening, outside of the rush hours.  “If you’re a commuter, you’re always grateful to be going against traffic.  This institution is doing that for us.  If we were to put a professional building or a bank or some other commercial enterprise there, we would have people congesting the area when we want to congest the area. These people are going to come at 5 o’clock in the morning to go to church.  That doesn’t seem to me like the worst thing that could happen in Park Manor. The Ismailis could be some of the best neighbors we will have.”

 

Neighbor Ed Campbell demanded to know if the Ismailis actually owned the property.  It’s deeded to a company called 100 Shermer Real Estate, LLC.  Chairman Silver said the ownership of the property was not an issue, as anyone had the right to request rezoning.

 

The plan commission will continue its discussions on the Ismaili House of Worship in January.  The ultimate decision on whether to rezone the property for a religious center will be made by the village board.  

 

KIRK’S MISTAKES

Congressman Mark Kirk said he misspoke when he told 400 spectators that North Chicago's financially strapped schools would get $7 million a year from the federal government to educate military children even if as few as two kids from the Great Lakes Naval Station enrolled.

Kirk made the mistake during a town hall meeting organized to ease the fears of school districts in Gurnee, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Green Oaks and Libertyville.  Those communities worry that the departure of military students could force North Chicago schools to close and send 4,800 children to neighboring districts.

In fact, the feds will continue to pay North Chicago $6,100 per military pupil for the next five years. That aid translates into about $7 million if 1,150 students come from the naval base -- a figure Kirk considers realistic.

Democratic state Sen. Susan Garrett of Lake Forest was at the meeting where Kirk made the claim.” What was he thinking there?" Garrett said. "He put it in his press release and said it five or 10 times during his presentation."

The Congressman also came under fire last week for saying he thinks it’s fine to discriminate against young Muslim men. To protect its borders from foreign terrorists, Kirk told a conference at Northwestern University, “I’m OK with discrimination against young Arab males from terrorist-producing states.  I think that when we look at the threat that’s out there, young men between, say, the ages of 18 and 25 from a couple of countries, I believe a certain amount of intense security should be placed on them.

“I’m not threatened by people from China,” Kirk continued.  “I’m not even threatened by people from Mexico. I just know where the threat is from.  It’s from a unique place, and I think it’s OK to recognize that.”

The leader of a local Muslim civil rights group called the remark “a classic, malicious, bigoted attitude.”

“It’s one thing for me to hear it from Joe Schmoe on the street and deal with it as an ignorant attitude and give that person the benefit of the doubt,” said Yaser Tabbara.  “It’s another, and 100 times more disturbing and dangerous, to hear something like that spewed out of the mouth of a public figure.”

The Chicago Tribune reports a coalition of 25 groups is now demanding an apology.  It includes the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs; the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office of Hispanic Ministry; the Korean American Senior Center; the United Methodist Church’s Northern Illinois Conference; the National Arab American Medical Association of Illinois; and the Chicago Commission on Human Relations.

Editor’s note:  That kind of thinking gives militant white men in Oklahoma City little scrutiny, and you can be sure there are terrorist groups in Mexico and China.  At the same time it could mean millions of peaceful professionals, businessmen, artists and scholars who want to visit this country or study here would be humiliated at our borders. 

 

 

LUXEM STEALS MOSQUITO ABATEMENT SPOTLIGHT

With three newly-appointed members on its board, the controversial North Shore Mosquito Abatement District met last Saturday. State Rep. Elaine Nekritz and Glenview watchdog Mike Luxem were there to keep an eye on proceedings.

Member Bill Zimmer caused the first shock – asking for approval of next year’s $1.3 million budget.  The new members hadn’t even seen the document, and they were not prepared to vote. Attorney Norm Rosen told them it was just a formality, since the board will vote again after a 30-day public comment period.  Reassured, the new guys agreed to the spending plan. 

 

The board’s 89-year-old president Otto Cesario then moved to adjourn, but Luxem wasn’t ready to go home.  He asked if public comment would be permitted.  "How much time will it take?" snapped Cesario. "Two quick minutes," Luxem replied.

 

Luxem then began quizzing board members about their political connections and travels on the public tab.  He wondered if Cesario planned to seek re-election.

 

“Why are you asking these evil questions?” Cesario shot back.

 

Luxem continued.  Was it true that the board’s long-time office manager was stepping down?  (Rumor has it Zimmer’s daughter has been promised the job.)

 

“No!” said Cesario.

 

"Yes she is, Otto" said Rosen.

 

Cesario glared at Luxem. "Who tells you these thing?" he asked.  “Meeting adjourned.”

 

Later, Luxem said he “wanted to show the three new board members how the real club operated.”

 

TRAFFIC NEWS AND NOTES

 

-- At 7 p.m. Thursday, November 17 the Glenview Village Board will discuss pedestrian safety, the use of speed bumps and other traffic calming measures and will talk about how the current system of government committees might be reformed. The public is welcome to come and speak.

 

-- The Union Pacific railroad line is installing new concrete pads at the West Lake crossing between Pfingsten and Greenwood, so that section of the road will be closed until Tuesday, November 22.  Pace Bus 210 will detour northbound along East Lake to Pfingsten before resuming its regular route; southbound it will run Pfingsten to East Lake to Greenwood.  Students who walk to Glenbrook South High School have been advised to leave home early.

 

-- Residents of Dewes Street who often complain about drivers who speed through their neighborhood will be pleased to hear that Glenview police arrested a teen-aged driver in the 2200 block.  He was charged with doing 70 in a 20-mile-per-hour zone and with having no proof of insurance.

 

VILLAGE BOARD PREVIEW

 

-- The trustees will hold a public hearing before discussing a tax hike during their regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 15 at Village Hall.  The village has not increased property taxes since 1999.  The $769,000 hike has been proposed to fund more road repairs.

 

-- The board must also decide whether to extend the contract of downtown consultant S.B. Friedman to give the firm another $146,718.  Village Manager Todd Hileman says Glenview has held more public hearings than expected, so the consultant has had to invest a more hours than the original contract covered.

 

-- The agenda and background materials for Tuesday’s meeting are now available online at www.glenview.il.us, although they’re not easy to find, and residents trying to download over a dial-up line are in for a very long wait.  Click on “Board of Trustees” in the left column, then on “Agendas.”

 

-- Other matters to be discussed include service provided by Commonwealth Edison, a zoning plan for adult bookstores, traffic recommendations for the complex intersection of Chestnut and Lehigh, and announcement of a policy for special events at Gallery Park.

 

SAVE THE DATE

 

-- The downtown plan committee meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 22 in the board room of Village Hall.
 

-- State Sen. Jeff Schoenberg will host a Town Hall meeting at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 17 at Attea Middle School, 2500 Chestnut Avenue. Constituents are invited to come and ask questions.  For details, call 847-492-1200.

 

-- North Glen Business and Professional Women will hold their annual holiday dinner meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, December 13 at the Five Seasons Country Club, 1300 Techny Road, Northbrook.  Members plan to interview each other about moments of high achievement and use the results in February’s program. There will also be a white elephant gift exchange – so wrap up some of your junk.  It could be someone else’s treasure.  For more information, call Cindy Pfeiffer at 847-331-6631.

 

READERS WRITE

 

NN was alarmed to hear the trustees may raise taxes to pay for road repairs: “The village has a nerve even considering a tax increase.  Without the wasteful mismanagement of funds in general and at The Glen, the village would have plenty of money for infrastructure in the rest of the town. The last two boards, novices setting themselves up as developers, spent money like water, some of it to correct mistakes made through their own ineptness.  Millions were spent on consultants who told them what common sense should have.  Millions more went to corporations demanding incentives to locate in Glenview.  Then there were unnecessary and frivolous items like music in the parking garages at The Glen Town Center and $350 trash cans for Gallery Park.  A little here, a little there adds up. How many times did we hear that The Glen would pay for itself – that no new taxes would be required?  Glenview economics leave a lot to be desired.”

 

NLM thinks Glenview should close the gap for funding street improvements by again selling vehicle stickers – a practice stopped in 1997: “In 1996, stickers generated more than $459,000 a year. With the increase in Glenview’s population and the growing number of three-car garages, we could easily cover our budget shortfall!  Other North Shore communities seem to have figured this out.  Deerfield, Highland Park,    Northbrook, Wilmette and Winnetka charge $30-$50 per year for vehicle stickers.”

 

MB resents JLo’s suggestion that residents in other neighbourhoods be excused from paying for maintenance at The Glen: “By that way of thinking, why should The Glen pay for services in the rest of Glenview?  You act like we don't belong to the village.  You think we don't pay high taxes?  Look again.  I would suggest you patronize shops and restaurants at The Glen Town Center to bring revenues up instead of complaining.”

 

Kevin Killion takes us to task over our story about a telephone poll by District 225: “Your item about glowing survey results in the Glenbrook high schools omitted a crucial detail:  The survey was commissioned by the district itself, and conducted by Decisions Resources, Ltd.  That firm is a hired gun for school districts and municipalities preparing to ask for higher taxes or bond issues.  It would be startling if a survey conducted by a company of that kind ever came up with a less than glowing report.  For more, see Spinmeisters Come to Town at www.illinoisloop.org/spinmeisters.html.

 

JV writes about the village board’s refusal to fund taller trees between the new police station and neighbors’ yards: “The police station landscaping is shaping up nicely, but it is interesting that the trustees who were willing to spend $25 million for the police station wasted so much time discussing whether to spend another $50,000 for taller trees.”

 

Miss K was amused to see Glenview in the papers this week:  “Couldn't help noticing in the Tribune that the Village Hall and a number of  park district properties, including Wagner Farm, the building the chamber of commerce is in, and I think Gallery Park, are all scheduled to be sold in January for non-payment of real estate taxes.  What's the story on that?”

 

The Watch replies:  We asked Glenview’s Finance Director Dan Wiersma what happened.  “That’s an excellent question,” he replied, shaking his head.  “The residents must think we’re so inept and stupid!”  In fact, Wiersma said, it’s the county that has slipped up, repeatedly listing properties as delinquent when they are not.  Then again, he said, the county assessor’s office keeps records on more than three million properties.

 

RP is tired of second-class treatment for his street: “We have lived on Fontana Drive for 41 years and the last time is was re paved was when I was driving a 1992 Buick LeSabre.  Have had five new cars since and am still driving on a road that looks like it belongs in Appalachia with its many patches. Is all the road money being spent in  Wonderland (at The Glen) or what?

 

The Watch replies:  Good news, RP.  Fontana is on the list for an overhaul in 2006.  The project is expected to cost about $1 million.

 

AK wonders “whatever happened with plans to hire new human resource and information technology directors at Village Hall?”

 

The Watch replies:  Glenview initially hired its number two man in the public works department to serve as director of human resources, but then Chris Clark was promoted to deputy village manager, replacing Joe Wade, and Glenview was again in need of an HR manager.  The village has, however, hired someone to oversee its computer operations.  Dale Chellis came to Glenview with more than 35 years of experience in IT.

 

And on hearing the village manager had terminated former Fire Chief Dan Bonkowski, another reader wrote: “Can he do that?  Is there a possibility that the chief will be back?”

 

The Watch replies:  The village manager has full authority to terminate any top staffers without consulting the trustees.  Manager Todd Hileman says Chief Dan Bonkowski plans to issue a public statement on his situation later this week.

 

TW writes about the evolution of the former EZ Go gas station: “A lot in the 1850 block of Waukegan Rd. was filled with used cars on Thursday and also seems to be serving as a truck stop for United Van Lines. What’s up with that?  I also hear that one of the trucks  sideswiped a fire plug on November 8 causing a leak.  The village water crew showed up on Sunday morning to make repairs, shutting off service to the neighborhood at 9 a.m. The crew was probably getting double overtime pay!”

 

The Watch replies:  The property is owned by a Milwaukee company, and Development Director Mary Bak claims that if the firm has given permission to park vehicles on the lot, there is nothing the village can do. As for the decision to make hydrant repairs on a weekend, Village Hall says it tries to accommodate local businesses that need water to operate. In this case, a restaurant and beauty shop would have been forced to close had the work been done on a weekday.  That said, crew members do earn extra pay for showing up on a Sunday.