Round 2! Video From 9-28-09 COW

The Crew appreciates your patience -- yesterday, the technology came through, but the clock was not on our side. So here today are the second two videos from Monday night's Council COW meeting, for your viewing pleasure.

video #00002.MTS


Begins with continuing discussion and vote on the Historic Preservation ordinance amendments offered by Ald. Ryan., then amendments offered by Ald. Wsol, then amendments offered by Ald. DiPietro

@46:00 mark -- Discussion begins on modification to liquor ordinance relating to live entertainment

@48:08 mark -- Discussion begins on modification to the Reciprocal Easement Agreement (REA) for the Uptown Redevelopment agreement between the City of Park Ridge and PRC Partners



video #00003.MTS


Begins with continuing discussion of the Uptown Redevelopment REA

@00:17 mark -- During discussion of the Uptown topic, Deputy City Mgr. Maller opines that she/they "don't believe there will be any profit" for the City of Park Ridge from partnership with PRC for the development project

@04:05 mark -- Discussion of property maintenance code begins

@15:55 mark -- Public Works Committee begins -- with discussion of payment to Des Plaines on Levy 50

@27:55 mark -- Discussion begins on ordinance revising parking restrictions on and around Summit Ave.

@29:15 mark -- Ald. Bach requests that the preliminary flooding report received from Burke Engineering be placed on the next Public Works agenda as a discussion item

@30:00 mark -- Under New Business, Ald. Wsol remarks on the City sewer tax and services

@31:00 mark -- City Manager Hock suggests that Council meet at a 6:30 pm workshop to conduct his review

@32:45 mark -- Council adjourns

Video From 9-28-09 COW

video #00000.MTS


@00:44 mark -- Citizen George Kirkland addresses the City Council on a non-agenda item -- suggesting the Council consider a different definition of a "dangerous animal"

@03:43 mark -- John ? asks why the video gambling ordinance is not on the agenda

@05:16 mark -- Finance and Budget Committee of the Whole begins

@05:38 mark -- Committee begins discussion of Special Events agenda item

@07:38 mark -- City Manager Hock recommends the City Council approve all future permits for special events -- let the games begin!

@14:18 mark -- Director of Finance, Diane Lembesis begins her financial report



video #00001.MTS


Begins with continuing discussion of Dir. Lembesis' financial report

@01:30 mark -- Ald. Bach reveals he's never owned a dictionary and therefore does not understand the difference between debt and deficit

@16:40 mark -- City Manager Hock suggests the Council may wish to move the goal posts

@21:40 mark -- Ald. Wsol again displays his devotion to subsidies

@25:15 mark -- Procedures and Regulations Committee of the Whole begins

@48:56 mark -- Council prepares to vote on amendments to the Historic Preservation ordinance, offered by Ald. Ryan, and the video ends.

Cue Carly Simon's Anticipation!

The Motionbox.com servers were offline overnight for upgrades and maintenance, so only 2 of the 4 videos from last night's meeting have been loaded into the Melidosian Motionbox folder. If time and technology allows, we'll try to index and embed the remaining videos today.

Another Set of PRU Briefs!

#1. One up!

The Park Ridge Park District Board has selected a new Executive Director to fill the position being vacated by the retiring Mr. Jim Lange. At their September 24th meeting, the Park Board unanimously voted to hire Mr. Ray Ochromowicz, the former Director of the Bolingbrook Park District for over 20 years.

According to our PRU sources, Mr. Ochromowicz has undergone a thorough vetting and the unanimous vote of the Park Board reflects their belief in the promise Mr. Ochromowicz brings to the position.

Welcome to the machine, Mr. Ochromowicz!


#2. One down!

We've also learned that the Park Ridge Park District Board will need to appoint still another replacement to its ranks -- Mr. Scott Duerkop, one of the “4 The Parks,” candidates has resigned from the Board for personal reasons.

Anyone out there in PRU reader land who may be interested in filling the newly opened position on the Park Board should get their rear in gear and contact the Park District office for information. We're told a press release on the process will be forthcoming.

We wish Mr. Duerkop all the best for his future.


#3. No Tape Measure Blast!

The City Council will be meeting again tonight as a Committee of the Whole to discuss topics related to Procedures and Regulations and Finance and Budget. The odds that any one of these clowns will find a sweet spot and hit a tape measure blast, on any of the issues before them (.pdf), is slim and none. But the PRU Crew will be following the plays just the same.

Make Your Own Kind Of Music!

ToneMatrix from aM laboratory/andre-michelle.

Click on the link above, then click on any combination of squares in the matrix to create a "simple sinewave synthesizer triggered by an ordinary 16step sequencer." To clear the matrix, press your space bar -- to clear individual squares, click on them.

Make your own kind of music and enjoy the weekend!

Fighting Fire With Fire!

The Crew has spent a considerable amount of time staring back into our screens and watching the talking heads on our City Council --and other representative bodies -- go about the business of government, such as it is.

We again urge PRU readers to do the same. We would like to draw our readers particular interests to the following video segments from the Melidosian Motionbox collection.

Park Ridge City Council 9/21/09 video #00006


@00:30 mark -- Discussion of AT&T U-verse begins.


Park Ridge City Council 9/21/09 video #00007


Begins with continuation of discussion of AT&T U-verse option.

@30:38 mark -- Council begins vote on AT&T U-verse agreement.

@31:25 mark -- New Business agenda; Ald. Ryan raises issue of boarded up properties.

@35:55 mark -- A local trouble-maker wrests control of the Council meeting from Mayor Schmidtzkrieg.

@37:00 mark -- Ald. Wsol motions to defer closed session.

@37:45 mark -- Council moves to adjourn.


The PRU Crew also found the first meeting of the Park Ridge O'Hare Airport Commission very entertaining!

PROAC video #00000


PROAC video #00001

The Write Stuff!

#1 -- Guest Essay

Dear Friends:

We have seen some changes since that day in November of 2008' when our air space was invaded from east to west involving the new north runway 9L27R.

Most here who are living in the glide path - support the return of the "Cap" that was ripped away by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL).

We are now seeing 200-300 jet air craft per day since that day and the non governmental organizations - continue to grow with the home spun leadership factor.

Yes, many have said , " We tried to fight it, it cost us approximately over 2 million plus and where did it get us "?

We also saw first hand, the city council members split there votes and moved towards the ONCC side. Some supported the people, some did not and many slept through the warning signs.

Additionally, the runway usage has not let up since and more air traffic is on the way with runway 9 Center set to have its ribbon cutting by next year. This will additional east to west runway will follow Granville and into O'Hare.

We have sought meetings, received form letters, formed committees, neighborhood - ward groups and so on.....with no results.

Unfortunately, we have even seen a few of the alderman play the good guy with this very important health and air safety issue while an area school lost out on it's sound proofing.

Recently, and through the Freedom of Information Act - request made , I personally was able to view the records kept involving the airport issues, meeting minutes, contact between city council members back then and now. I was not able to view any of the closed door meeting mins.

My observation is: Former Mayor Howard Frimark never lifted a finger ( prior ) to September 2005' and the sign off on the re-configuration of the runway system at O'hare.

Mr. Terrance Brunner's 2004' OMP Corruption Report is very explicit and goes into further detail involving all of the key O'Hare towns that were targeted by Mayor Daley's office back then and now by ONCC.

There was NO prior documentation to support that former Mayor Frimark took it upon himself to fight for the people here in setting up any meetings with Mayor Daley forces.

Now, we are faced with an even higher level of jet fuel - toxicity within the 5 mile marker - which by the way reaches out to cover all of the City of Park Ridge and more.

The current Federal investigation into the " OHare Case" continues with some key players in the pay to play scandal.

Yet, we now see the for sale signs springing up through the glide path from the 41st ward and through our city's - south ward areas.

They call it the "trail of fear" from the cockpit view while inbound on final approach. Some sadly, have already moved out. Others are waiting until their kids are through with school.

In another most recent development - a team of aviation expert attorneys - have been contacted to further review - if we in fact have a civil case before the clock runs out.

Only the FAA and the City of Chicago have the complete authority of what flys through our air space and at what altitude we might add.

Changes are coming with the most recent change in our air space that has been upgraded to class B". The Ad-Hoc FAA committee and their report # 148 also points to lowering the altitudes for many aircraft across the nation's air space.

Next Gen is currently being reviewed prior to its application across the national grid by the Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force command staff.

In closing, the comment , made by the chief officer and pilot who holds the office of accident analysis for the country through the Airline Owners and Pilots Association - was on the mark:

" Air space redesign was formed to manage and compress the key air routes across our Grid".

This means more planes through the efforts of Mr. James C. May who is the president of the American Transportation Association that is based in Washington, D.C.

Mr. May is the chief lobbyist for the commercial airlines and wants more planes in our air space. He has been known to also testify on the "Hill" in front of the U.S. Commerce and Infrastructure committee.

In closing, we have been let down by those politicians who took it upon themselves to respond to a market that is in demand for constant and increased revenues.

Somehow, they lost sight and unfortunately, our local, state and federal system has let us down.

We know the problems, we just need to find the proper leadership to help locate and identify the right solutions.

People should always be first, property then comes second.

Our country is facing many challenges as we speak and never before has your input and participation been needed more.

We can't afford to sit back and allow this massive take over of our skies, our lives, our property values to all go down the drain.

Stay involved!

Thank you.

Gene Spanos
Resident-Volunteer
6th Ward
Park Ridge


#2 -- From the Comments

Steve Schildwachter said...

Neighbors: It seems to me that we are long overdue for a serious, public conversation about what we want Park Ridge to look like 20 years from now.

This is not about blue-ribbon commissions and visioning projects where a consultant leads the city council and city staff down a primrose path of vague language.

This is about how many primrose paths we want, how many national chain drugstores, how many local merchants, how many trees and parks -- and yes, how many historically preserved homes.

An alderman -- I don't remember which one -- said publicly a couple of years back that he wanted Uptown to resemble the Lincoln Park area of Chicago, with the same types of restaurants and businesses. I don't happen to agree, but at least he put a stake in the ground.

A related point is the discussion about how tax revenues generated from business development are supposed to keep residential property taxes lower. (Uptown has been in "business" for a while now and I don't see my property tax bill going down, folks.) Rather than seek revenue -- which is elusive anyway -- we should seek a consensus about what kind of community we want to have.

The zoning code re-write of the past year could have been such an opportunity, but frankly the city council disregards the code so frequently that it seems a poor substitute for a community model.

This is the kind of conversation we need to have; otherwise we will handle each situation individually with no clear path, primrose or paved. What do we want Park Ridge to look like 20 years from now?

September 23, 2009 8:29 AM

Procedures & Regulations Workshop Video

Yesterday we posted that last evening the City Council would hold a Committee of the Whole workshop to discuss the Historic Preservation Task Force recommendations.

The video of that meeting is below -- the topic is far reaching with very serious and important implications for future building and development in Park Ridge.

We strongly encourage PRU readers to give this topic their time and attention. Anyone interested can review the recommended ordinance here (.pdf).

By Request! And Another Council Extravaganza!

From Melidosian's Motionbox!

The latest ONCC meeting videos were posted on www.parkridgemayor.com this morning. Watch the first video where Park Ridge is introduced and then 2 of our 3 representatives are excused from the meeting table.

Also, here are direct links to each video from the meeting:

9-17-08 ONCC video# 00000.MTS

9-17-09 ONCC video# 00001.MTS



Council Meetings Tonight!

6:30 Procedures & Regulations Workshop!

The Committee of the Whole/Procedures and Regulations workshop is for the purpose of discussing the Preservation Task Force's Recommended Historic Preservation Ordinance (.pdf)


7:30 Regular City Council Meeting!

The regular meeting of the City Council is probably for the purpose of pretending any of these guys have a clue about anything.

Casual Friday!

Glenn McCoy

Have a great weekend!

Flood Control Task Force Video 9-16-09

Amazingly, last night the Flood Control Task Force managed to talk about some engineering issues!

video #00000




video #00001

Put On Your Thinking Cap!

The new Chief of the Park Ridge Police Dept. needs you!

Announced on the City's website --


Chief's advisory task force created
Tuesday, September 15, 2009

A Chief’s Advisory Task Force is being created to assist Park Ridge Police Chief Frank Kaminiski in obtaining feedback and input on Police department issues, performance, and activities.

The Task Force will include about 15-20 volunteers from a cross-section of the community. Members representing a blend of age groups and representing schools, businesses, civic organizations, neighborhoods, clergy and youth, are being sought.

Applications are being accepted in the Chief’s Office, 200 S. Vine. The application is posted here and is available at the Park Ridge Police Department.

Once applications are received, the Mayor will appoint the advisory members and ensure the Task Force represents a cross section of the community. Volunteers will undergo a criminal background check.

Initially, the Task Force will meet on a monthly basis for 90 minutes. The Chief will prepare the meeting agenda, take minutes, and serve as liaison to the task force.

Related Documents
Advisory Task force appl 09 15 09.pdf


The PRU Crew hopes this is a more productive effort than "coffee with the cops."

Video From 9-14-09 COW

video #00000


@00:55 mark -- Non-agenda items

@07:05 mark -- Public Works discussion begins on ordinance governing weed height
@21:34 mark -- COW begins discussion of times for placing trash bins at curbs

@40:31 mark -- COW begins discussion of AT&T U-verse agreement


video #00001


-- Begins with continuing discussion of AT&T U-verse agreement

@16:57 mark -- COW begins discussion of Elliot St. water main installation

@19:08 mark -- COW begins discussion of bulk rock salt

@22:00 mark -- COW begins discussion of Levy 50 payment

@41:32 mark -- COW begins discussion of Avondale parking restrictions


video #00002


-- Public Safety begins discussion of dangerous animal ordinance


video #00003


-- Begins with continuing discussion of dangerous animal ordinance

@08:38 mark -- COW begins discussion of Red Speed camera update

@21:17 mark -- COW begins discussion on internal traffic safety committee

@22:30 mark -- Report to COW on "organizational assessment" of Police Dept

@23:47 mark -- Report to COW on Maine South event

@26:23 mark -- Report to COW on traffic safety plan for schools

@26:59 mark -- Report to COW on Chief's advisory task force

@29:34 mark -- Report to COW on suburban drug trafficking

@30:40 mark -- Report to COW on letters to Police Dept. complimenting staff

@33:30 mark -- Fire Dept. report begins

@38:15 mark -- Other city business

@39:12 mark -- New business; Bach reports on FAA decision to rescind soundproofing funds for Carpenter School

@40:27 mark -- COW moves to adjourn

Laws And Sausage!

Once again tonight, the Park Ridge City Council will be meeting as a committee of the whole to make sausages laws.

Tonight's agenda (.pdf) covers Public Works and Public Safety.

We hope to post the videos tomorrow.

Remember

7:30 a.m. 9/11 Patriot Day Ceremony.pdf

To The Gills!

Hello PRU readers -- we apologize for the delayed posting today and appreciate your patience.

In today's online Herald-Advocate, we read 'Commission suggests changes for Touhy condo developer'. The article begins --

A developer looking to construct a 32-unit condominium building in Park
Ridge received some advice from the city's Planning and Zoning Commission.

The commission on Aug. 25 asked that Hoffman Homes, Inc. consider
reducing the height and "softening" the look of the building, which is proposed for three properties from 1963 W. Touhy Ave. to 1975 W. Touhy. Commissioners also said the density of the building should be examined, and the project (.pdf) should meet parking requirements under the city's Zoning Ordinance.

The proposed height of the building is 42 feet, which exceeds the
40 feet allowed for under R-4, high density residential, zoning. Plans call for eight fewer parking spaces than the Zoning Ordinance requires, and 32 units are proposed although the density allowed for the size of the property is just 12 units.

Everybody got that? 32 units on a site that currently contains 3 single family homes, but even with a zoning change, the maximum allowable density would be 12 units.

Think think. Think think.

Why would a developer believe he could ask for and expect to receive a zoning variance of that magnitude? Precedent, perhaps?

The zoning code does allow the city to grant variances for certain public amenities. If you're interested, you can read about all those amenities in the zoning code -- Section 5 Planned Developments (.pdf)

It could be possible that the public amenities the developer plans to offer are --

6. Community amenities including plazas, malls, formal gardens, places to
congregate,outdoor seating, public art, and pedestrian and transit facilities.

But the PRU Crew feels it's more probable that the public amenities the City of Park Ridge will be offered will be --

11. An affordable housing set-aside of twenty percent (20%) or more of all units as either rental or for-sale, according to the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development(HUD) guidelines.

Okay, everybody got that? From 3 single family homes to a building 42 feet high with 32 units -- in exchange for the public amenity of having 6 more affordable housing units in the City of Park Ridge.

Be still our beating, bleeding hearts!

Remember this PRU post? Density. Density. Density.

And who is the great guy from Hoffman Homes who will offer Park Ridge this great public amenity? President and owner of Hoffman Homes Inc., Mr. Norman Hassinger.

The PRU Crew read about Mr. Hassinger here. Doesn't Mr. Hassinger sound like a real great guy?

Be still our beating, bleeding hearts!

Council Video 9-8-09

video #00000



@03:55 mark -- Mayor's report; Proclamation - Park Ridge Warriors Blue 11 Baseball Team and US Constitution Week, and 2009 Resolution / Best of Park Ridge

@17:15 mark -- Police Chief Kaminski remarks about forming a new Chief's Advisory Task Force

@20:06 mark -- City Clerk report; Pace conducts public hearing

@20:50 mark -- Mayor's congratulations to Maine East and South football teams

@21:51 mark -- Mayor's remarks on passing of former City Mgr., Mr. Hagman

@22:29 mark -- City Clerk remarks on 9/11 Patriot Day Ceremony

@23:12 mark -- Resident John Farley addresses council on AT&T U-verse option; council discussion ensues.

@47:55 -- Resident Barbara Hale agrees to buy Brooklyn Bridge; we mean that in the nicest way.


video #00001




-- begins with Procedures and Regulations Committee action item about liquor ordinance and sales for CVS Pharmacy; council unanimously votes in favor for first reading

@07:24 mark -- Finance & Budget Committee action item about parking fine increases; council unanimously votes in favor for first reading

@10:46 mark -- Public Safety Committee Chairman Wsol discusses proposed Chief's Advisory Task Force; calling it a Blue Ribbon Task Force

@19:35 mark -- Agenda line item New Business

-- Ald. Sweeney tells council of need to inform residents about city ordinance requiring visible addresses on properties

-- Ald. Ryan reminds council of his concern over weed heights and asks for status of the issue; also asks about completion of Summit Hotel facade

-- Mayor asks about status of Heinz development, noting the time for action under the development deadline has passed. Mayor continues with remarks about vacant homes along Northwest Hwy.

-- Ald. Sweeney asks about construction equipment being stored behind vacant homes on Northwest Hwy.

-- Ald. Ryan asks if other members of the council have received comments or complaints about the soon-to-be discontinued brush pickup

@25:36 mark -- Council moves to adjourn

Another Tuesday Two-fer!

The PRU Crew thanks our faithful readers for the forwards.

item #1

Park Ridge - Niles School District 64 Needs You!

Strategic Plan News

The District is inviting members of the community to volunteer to serve on five Action Planning Teams to identify the specific steps needed to achieve the five identified goals. Volunteers are invited to let us know of their interest by submitting a form, either on-line or by mail. For a form and more information: http://www.d64.org/site/files/strategicplan_8_09_flyer.pdf






item #2

Sincere Ignorance Meets Conscientious Stupidity!

To District 64 Parents:

As you may have heard, President Barack Obama will address the school children of America at 11 a.m. (CST) on Tuesday. It is the first day of school for many districts across the country. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the President’s address “will be an inspirational speech to welcome students back to school, challenge them to work hard and recognize that education can help them to achieve their future dreams. It will not address political issues.” The President is scheduled to speak for 15-20 minutes.

We have been informed that the President’s speech is expected to be posted sometime Monday to the White House Web site (http://www.whitehouse.gov), so that it may be read in advance.

In District 64, schools will make opportunities for our students to view (or record for later viewing) the address as schedules permit and the age of the students is appropriate. No one is required to view the address. If plans are in place to have classes view the speech, alternate activities can be provided. Please contact your child’s teachers if you do not want him or her to participate.

President Obama’s address on Tuesday may be watched live via the Internet by visiting the same White House Web site noted above. C-SPAN, the cable public affairs network, also will broadcast it live on TV, radio and the Internet.

Best wishes for a relaxing Labor Day weekend.
Sally Pryor, Ed.D.
Superintendent



Seriously, the ruckus raised over this issue should be an embarrassment to every thinking conservative and Republican we know. And that back peddling dumbass from Florida needs a trip to the woodshed.

Another Long Weekend!

Relax and enjoy!

Flood Control Task Force Videos!

For your viewing pleasure -- no indexing today people; watch the whole thing.

Video #00000




Video #00001




Also for your viewing pleasure, we received the below from a faithful PRU reader who added, "From dog bites to flooding surveys...it's déjà vu all over again!"

Published in the Park Ridge Advocate -- May 26, 1966



Right click to open larger view in a new window.

Freewheeling -- Sept. 2, 2009!

From wallpaper-s.org


#1 -- Flood Control Task Force

The pocket protector posse will be meeting again tonight! We just love engineers -- really we do! We hope these engineers will manage to stick to the engineering issues facing them again this evening!

#2 -- Baffle Them With Bullshit!

Once again, PRUdos to the Pub-dogs for their highlight of an article in today's Journal & Topics!

#3 -- Surprise! Surprise!

Our long time readers may remember one of our earliest posts -- Drop the Chicken And Put Your Hands Up!

PRU readers will be pleased to learn the good executives at Koch Food won't be facing any repercussions for all the good work they do!

Turns out Koch Food executives are great at doing business, as this article from the Middletown Journal reports, "According to www.forbes.com, Park Ridge, Ill.-based Koch Foods in 2008 ranked at No. 272 on the magazine’s list of largest private companies. It reported sales of $1.8 billion in 2007 and employed 14,000, according to the Web site."

But asking all workers for documentation of citizenship is just too hard, it's really really hard. Just ask Koch Food's attorney Martin Pinales. He'll tell you. According to the article, "Pinales said employment regulations were difficult to follow. "You can’t discriminate against anyone,” Pinales said. “You can’t ask for anyone with a Hispanic-sounding name to provide more documentation than a non-Hispanic."

#4 -- Facts are either stubborn or stupid things! You Decide!

Some PRU readers may be John Adams fans, while others may be Ronald Reagan fans.

The PRU Crew likes to think we're fans of facts.

So we liked a forwarded link we received, in our now working gmail email account today, enough to want to share it with all of you!

Twenty-six Lies About HR 3200 published by the self-proclaimed nonpartisan people at Factcheck.org.

Happy reading!

What's The Park Board Been Up To?

L to R top row = Jim O'Brien, Marty Maloney, Scott Duerkop, Rick Biagi
L to R bottom = Richard Brandt, Mary Wynn Ryan, Stephen Vile

-- not a bad looking bunch --


Our techy guru attempted to find a way to download then upload the most recent video from the Park Ridge Park District meeting on August 20, 2009 -- but as our PRU.Tech phrased it...

...on second thought, we shall leave out how PRU.Tech phrased it.

For those who may be interested in what the Park Board's been up to, we encourage PRU readers to click on the video link below.

Video PRRPD 8-20-2009 Mtg.

And for those so inclined, you can view agendas, packets, notices and other documentation along with Park Board minutes here.