Tonight's City Council agenda (.pdf) is pretty full. The PRU Crew is wondering how badly the taxpayers and citizens of Park Ridge will get stung.
A few items have caught our attention:
1) A City Council discussion of off street parking (.pdf) for a property at 14 Main St. -- this item is on the agenda at the request of Benedict Alderman Robert Ryan (5th Ward); it seems Ald. Ryan is always eager to see to it the Real Estate company of his campaign treasurer, Owen Hayes, gets plenty of special attention.
2) Under the City Manager's report, a discussion of the proposed extension of Cumberland Ave. (.pdf) under the train tracks; this isn't the worst idea we've heard come out of City government, but couple it further with a proposal to close Greenwood at the train tracks, and it becomes perhaps the most boneheaded proposal we've heard come out of City government.
3) Also under the City Manager's report we see that an amendment to the separation agreement with former Chief of Police, Jeff Caudill, is up for discussion. We're going to bet this has something to do with the Pension Board's denial of a portion of the compensation package Caudill received.
4) Under Planning and Zoning is a first reading of the rather extensive changes to the year-old zoning ordinance that includes language we believe allows for more development of R-5 projects (.pdf); the densest and tallest residential projects that can be built. We're also wondering how much the City has paid out in consulting fees on the zoning re-write and why these changes weren't recommended or corrected by the consultant during the re-write process.
5) Under the Procedures and Regulations Committee report, the City Council is set to give a first reading to a new ordinance (.pdf) allowing Mayor Howard to control all appointments of the City Council.
6) Finally, under the Finance and Budget Committee report, we read that the City Council plans to authorize Mayor Howard to sign a lease agreement (.pdf) for parking spaces at 20 S. Fairview Ave. We are pleased to see that the City will pass through all parking space rental costs to those leasing the spaces, but we do wonder why the City will be providing bookkeeping and secretarial services to SCH Real Estate LLC, free of charge. We also wonder why the City's required disclosure of ownership (.pdf) documents have not been provided by SCH Real Estate LLC in accordance with the City's ordinance.
Those are just a few of the items we hope residents will be paying attention to, but we admit we haven't checked tonight's t.v. listings; though we all know that the City Council meeting won't be among those t.v. listings.
1) A City Council discussion of off street parking (.pdf) for a property at 14 Main St. -- this item is on the agenda at the request of Benedict Alderman Robert Ryan (5th Ward); it seems Ald. Ryan is always eager to see to it the Real Estate company of his campaign treasurer, Owen Hayes, gets plenty of special attention.
2) Under the City Manager's report, a discussion of the proposed extension of Cumberland Ave. (.pdf) under the train tracks; this isn't the worst idea we've heard come out of City government, but couple it further with a proposal to close Greenwood at the train tracks, and it becomes perhaps the most boneheaded proposal we've heard come out of City government.
3) Also under the City Manager's report we see that an amendment to the separation agreement with former Chief of Police, Jeff Caudill, is up for discussion. We're going to bet this has something to do with the Pension Board's denial of a portion of the compensation package Caudill received.
4) Under Planning and Zoning is a first reading of the rather extensive changes to the year-old zoning ordinance that includes language we believe allows for more development of R-5 projects (.pdf); the densest and tallest residential projects that can be built. We're also wondering how much the City has paid out in consulting fees on the zoning re-write and why these changes weren't recommended or corrected by the consultant during the re-write process.
5) Under the Procedures and Regulations Committee report, the City Council is set to give a first reading to a new ordinance (.pdf) allowing Mayor Howard to control all appointments of the City Council.
6) Finally, under the Finance and Budget Committee report, we read that the City Council plans to authorize Mayor Howard to sign a lease agreement (.pdf) for parking spaces at 20 S. Fairview Ave. We are pleased to see that the City will pass through all parking space rental costs to those leasing the spaces, but we do wonder why the City will be providing bookkeeping and secretarial services to SCH Real Estate LLC, free of charge. We also wonder why the City's required disclosure of ownership (.pdf) documents have not been provided by SCH Real Estate LLC in accordance with the City's ordinance.
Those are just a few of the items we hope residents will be paying attention to, but we admit we haven't checked tonight's t.v. listings; though we all know that the City Council meeting won't be among those t.v. listings.
16 comments:
Regarding item 6: Who--or what--is "SCH"?
SCH Real Estate LLC is the
"Harriet D. Scharringhausen Trust
Agreement Dated March 25, 1988,
and known as Trust # 22-24"
Scharringhausen? Yep no connection there at all.....
http://www.elections.state.il.us/CampaignDisclosure/CommitteeDetailPrevOfficers.aspx?id=5691
Anyone else involved with the trust?
Any former cocktail waitresses, perhaps?
Fancy Nancy?
I'm concerned about the extension of Cumberland. Besides the effect on the residents near there, why would be want to spend all that money and the pain of the construction to then go and close off Greenwood at the tracks? That seems crazy! We need more north and south routes!
"allowing Mayor Howard to control all appointments of the City Council", well, well will good old Judy Barclay and her purple ribbon brigade be having a party tonight to celebrate this achievement?
Hope you like the "new" Park Ridge Judy!
Is this meeting open to the public?
We're going to go ahead and assume you've become so used to the council going into closed session that is why you are asking. But, the answer is yes, the city council meeting is open to the public.
Is that the same trust that was rumored to own one of the parking lots by the AT&T building that Howard was trying to get the city to buy for a new police station?
Gee, isn't that convenient.
Wasn't Judy Barclay on that committee that rewrote the zoning ordinance a year ago? She's supposed to know all this zoning stuff and talks a great game, but judging by all the changes they want to make the whole thing looks like a cluster. Was Judy asleep at the wheel when this was being written? And didn't we pay some zoning consultants a lot of money for this, too? Sure looks like a crap job by everybody associated with it if it needs this much work so soon.
Don't know if the zoning code needs so much work as much as certain groups want to have it changed for their benefit.
Look for campaign contributions to Howards war chest come the fall.
before spending money to do a million studies about Cumberland, and going ahead with it (because you KNOW they will, even though the citizens are against it...), how about FIXING THE ROADS in Park Ridge?
Fix what you have before you start more problems.
I think he is trying to get all these things through because he realizes that he is a LAME DUCK.
Howard the Duck. ha.
I crack myself up.
I agree with Ms. Manchester. This administration is only looking out for what THEY want now. The fact is we need new streets! We need New SEWERS! Not new storm sewers but new Sanitary sewers. Some of these sewers are 50/60/70 + years old. That's not just a guess,that's a fact! All we do is add a RELIEF Sewer for storm water. Is there money in the budget to improve that? Some of the city equipment is well overdue to be replaced yet money was taken from that budget (for what, who knows) and some trucks that are 12 or 13 years old as well as 18/19 years old are still out on the street while other towns replace their fleet when their trucks are 6 years old. All you have to do to survive in this type of administration is simply blame the last guy and deflect all questions to the next guy. Then hopefully when the shit might hit the fan you can retire and you won't have to deal with it.
QUACK
I noticed Baileys Restaurant has a zoning sign behind the bushes off of Cumberland and Touhy. Is this a request for a change to R5? How convenient? No wonder he wants Cumberland to go under to make more money for his friends.
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