For the viewing displeasure of our faithful PRU readers! It was one helluva long meeting, but we strongly encourage people to make the time to view the video.
Mr. Mayor, you come off like a jackass on a handful of issues. The 6th ward's Ald. Tom Carey kicked your backside on the topic of the City Manager's contract -- for a figuratively blind, squirrely guy, on rare occasions Carey's flush with nuts! And the PRU Crew thought Procedures and Regulations' Chairman Allegretti acted fairly in his recall of events surrounding severance payments.
The PRU Crew was pretty pleased with the general discussion and vote on the issue of the Facade Improvement Program and we look forward to the Council's future action -- we hope we aren't speaking too soon.
As far as the Taste of Park Ridge discussion is concerned, we were again almost taken in by the warm and fuzzy effervescent spewing. But we've now gotten a look at TOPR's 990 tax return. We've taken a good long look at their expenses, we've listened to their statements about the need to maintain a "rainy day fund," and we are more than certain it's now time for the Taste of Park Ridge, Inc. to reimburse the City for costs, gentlemen! We'll have more to say on this subject in a future posting.
PRUdos go to City Manager Jim Hock for what 7th ward Ald. Wsol described as "thinking out of the box." Despite Ald. Wsol's negative approach, we hope the Council will seriously entertain City Manager Hock's funding idea for Community Groups.
Mayor Schmidt's attempt to appeal to the ids, egos, and superegos of the Aldermen, on the subject of appointment authority for department heads, was laughable in its' transparency. Suuure, Mr. Mayor --the PRU Crew is suuure your intention is to secure the voice of the City Council by suggesting they should consider whether or not they "have a say" in the appointment process of City staff below the level of City Manager. The PRU Crew is also pretty sure it would be pretty convenient for the Mayor if that "voice" were filtered through his involvement in the process of appointing individual department heads -- an authority goal long dreamed of by his predecessor. Given the performance of the Mayor on the contract issue of the already appointed City Manager, we're going with the 2nd ward's Ald. DiPietro in agreeing, "the City Manager should manage," and any conflict in the language of article 3 should be "cleaned up" and clarified to allow the City manager to manage. Or we may be inclined to begin referring to Mayor Schmidtzkrieg as Mayor Schmidtstain -- we briefly considered using "Mayor Small Fri--," but we liked the sound of "Schmidtstain" better. Elected officials with the ability of bestowing employment on department heads is a recipe for patronage disaster -- and that's not just your average Schmidstain mess, that's 7 square miles full of manure!
Finally, PRUdos to the 5th ward's Alderman Ryan -- your suggesting the City review the process by which residential improvements are approved, especially as they pertain to land grades and drainage, is timely. We've heard about a number of problems with the City's inability to address residential engineering and construction issues, and it's about damn time the problems were addressed.
October 27, 2010
COW 10-25-2010 Video!
October 7, 2010
Quick Hits and Questions!
The PRU Crew feels that's an excellent start to efforts long over-due.
The article goes on to report, "Perry Fisher, president of the Cultural Arts Council, said in a flyer circulated to fine arts members recently. “We are all interested in preserving, maintaining and enriching the arts in Park Ridge. Let’s put our nose to the grindstone, dissolve or hide our respective organizational hats, and work together to foster and nurture all the arts for our town."
The PRU Crew feels that middle phrase, "dissolve or hide our respective organizational hats," is more than a little odd. Have there been instances of artistic ego conflicts and infighting?
The article also reports, "The [cultural arts] council has served as an informal umbrella group and grant coordinator for such groups as the Park Ridge Civic Orchestra, the Fine Arts Society, the Brickton Art Center, and the Historical Society."
Huh.
So in addition to the City's previous contributions to each of those individual organizations, the City also made contributions to the Park Ridge Cultural Arts Council, which then also made "grants" to those individual organizations?
Huh. Double dipping for your pleasure and double dipping for your fun. Emphasis on fun.
The article begins with, "The Board of Directors of the Park Ridge Teen Center will meet next week to discuss how -- or if -- the facility will continue to operate without financial support from the city of Park Ridge."
Bummer.
The PRU Crew hopes the Board of Directors of the Park Ridge Teen Center will be able to come up with a way to fund the facility so they can keep it open. After all, we would hate to see 7 out of 8 of the kids pictured in the article, who are reported as being residents of Chicago, not have a place to hang out and play video games.
As the article notes, "Charging teens a fee to use the center may also play into the discussion, she said. Use of the center is now free and teens do not need to be Park Ridge residents to drop in."
The PRU Crew has no opinion on whether or not the Park Ridge Park District chooses to change the names of its' buildings in an effort to better brand themselves.
However, we were pleased to read, "As for the Senior Center, [Executive Director Ray] Ochromowicz is hoping to encourage other uses of the building when the seniors are not there.
"If we want to expand the use of the building, perhaps the name of the building should be addressed as well," he said."
Hey there Big O, we may know of some Chicago teenagers looking for a place to hang out and play video games in the near future! Unless the Seniors take their Wii console and go home.
For our faithful PRU readers who have been paying attention, you know the article is about former Director of Community Preservation and Development, Ms. Carrie Davis.
And if you've been paying close attention, you know the article headline is not quite true. Because if you read the whole article, then you know, "As she was laid off the past summer Davis was paid $25,000 and agreed not to collect unemployment benefits, according to the separation agreement she entered into with City Manager Jim Hock.
Last month Mayor David Schmidt pointed out that the City Council should have voted on the $25,000 expenditure because it exceeded the $20,000 discretionary spending authority the city manager has. The council then rejected a motion to approve $5,000 of the total payment, rendering the separation agreement void, according to City Attorney Kathie Henn."
Is it possible to violate a separation agreement that has been voided by Council action?
Good old Action Ridge, where not all the action is all that good.
Dumbasses. We can't wait to see the legal bills for this stupidity.
May 6, 2010
Thursday PRU Briefs!
1. -- Out with the old!
For those who may have missed the announcement by City Manager Hock, the Director of Community Preservation and Development, Ms. Carrie Davis, enjoyed her last day of gainful employment with the City of Park Ridge last Friday.
It is our understanding the assistant to the City Manager, Ms. Cathy Doczekalski -- bet you can't say that fast, five times! -- will be overseeing the department, at least for the time being.
Good luck to Ms. Davis in her future endeavors.
May the good Lord have mercy on Ms. Doczekalski.
2. -- In with the new!
The new City website is up and running and if you are an obsessive mouse clicker, then has the City got a website for you!
Our PRU.TECH adds -- and not a lick of drupal in the source code to be found. Then again, why bother with free open source code when you've got a local company eager to copy and license their own CMS? It's not like the City of Park Ridge could afford either one or another of the web designers at Blue State Digital.
We hope the geeks in the crowd -- we mean that in the nicest way -- have a good time figuring that out.
3. -- Rudyard Kipling and FOIA -- Part deux!
As promised, the Butterly on Education blog has posted another installment of FOIA Fun! The latest piece offers "A few points to keep in mind on your way to becoming a FOIA maven." As well as providing step-by-step strategy instructions --
Butterly's five steps for FOIA requests.
1. Pick your target.
2. Determine who to send the FOIA to.
3. Perfect your question.
4. Send via e-mail.
5. Await your answer.
4. -- Happy Mother's Day!
Or if you prefer --
And there's always --
Enjoy the weekend!
October 5, 2009
Timing Is Everything!
It's time once again for the City Council to hold their bi-weekly regular meeting. Tonight's agenda (.pdf) is farshtopped with consent items, which aren't likely to be pulled off the consent agenda for discussion.
Also on tonight's agenda are two items of interest for closed session -- one is for discussion of pending litigation, and the other is discussion of an employee matter. We're guessing the employee matter will be City Manager Jim Hock's review, since that review was deferred from the last regular City Council meeting held on 9-21-09.
At that meeting, City Manager Jim Hock boasted of an award Park Ridge received -- "The Voice of People Award for Excellence Award" presented to Park Ridge for recognition of the City’s code enforcement. Mr. Hock states, "The City of Park Ridge was in the top 3 of the top 10%" of more than 500 jurisdictions surveyed for the award.
You can watch the video of that portion of the meeting below, beginning at the 02:45 mark --
video #00002.MTS PRCC 9-21-09
At the 04:32 mark is where the "timing is everything" moment of sad irony begins. Immediately following the City Manager's boast of how well the City of Park Ridge reflects the voice of the people, two residents address the Council on a building code enforcement matter which appears to have been an utter failure on the part of the City's Community Preservation and Development Department under the Directorship of Ms. Carrie Davis.
We had expected that some PRU reader would have come along and commented on the above at some point.
The issues involved with the residents' complaints about lack of code enforcement were followed-up in last week's edition of the Journal & Topics newspaper -- 'Residents Claim New Home Causes Flooding'
In the article, the Director of Community Preservation and Development Ms. Carrie Davis says, "When it comes to flooding regulations and standards, each property owner is responsible for his or her own water drainage." The PRU Crew was left virtually speechless after reading the article and Ms. Davis' quotes in it. We're left wondering why the City of Park Ridge has a sewer system at all!
By the way, who selected Ms. Davis to be the new Director of Community Preservation and Development? That's right, people -- City Manager Jim Hock.
Whether the Council chooses to review Mr. Hock's performance in closed or open session, we sure hope they demand some explanations from him as to why his Director of Community Preservation and Development has once again made an ass of herself, and what he intends to do about moooooving forward in addressing what appears to be Ms. Davis' inability to read and understand the Park Ridge building and zoning code.
On a side note -- The PRU Crew spends a considerable amount of our limited time reviewing and indexing the videos from various meetings. We also try to keep an eye on the number of views each video receives, and we do that by checking the Melidosian Motionbox folder.
We're both irritated and disappointed that it appears the only videos which receive a respectable number of viewings are the ones we post here on our blog.
Come on people -- just because we pull out and highlight something doesn't mean you shouldn't make the effort to go beyond the information and opinion contained here.
The Melidosian Motionbox folder link is the first link in our list, provided for you on your right.
Click. Go. Watch.
And we'd like to suggest you give the Planning and Zoning Committee videos your time and attention too.
October 14, 2008
Avast, mateys!
The PRU Crew missed "Talk Like A Pirate Day" but decided to go marauding anyway. Our discussion today is an idea we pillaged from a comment we read in a post on the Pub-dog's blog.
Our regular readers may recall one of our early posts on the subjects of Journeys from PADS to Hope, HUD funding, and the State of Illinois' plans for affordable housing; we titled our post "The HUDdled Masses and More." In that discussion we told readers that --
"In a 2004 report released by the Illinois Housing Development Authority, Park Ridge was listed as one of the affordable housing community slackers (.pdf), right there on page 4. But what caught the PRU Crew's attention in that report was the section:
Local Control is Maintained
“One of the important provisions of the law is that local decisions remain with the local government and that all developments must meet the standards of the local community,” explained Dibble. “The community can tailor its own plan for its own needs and concerns. And once they have their plan in place, the community is in charge of its own destiny.”
"Communities also have the option of choosing one of three planning goals. They can adopt a plan that requires 15% of all new developments to be affordable; a plan whereby the community will increase its overall percentage of affordable housing by three percentage points; or a plan whereby communities will increase their overall percentage of affordable housing to 10%."
"The type of development – rental or for sale – as well as the type of buildings – detached single family, attached townhomes, condos, etc. – are all completely under the control of the municipality. Also, the population that the community intends to address is completely flexible and under the control of the municipality. Communities with aging populations may consider rental developments for seniors, but others may plan for a homeownership program for teachers, hospital workers, or other municipal employees. Still others may develop a program to retain the young families who grew up in the community, who are otherwise forced to find homes in other communities."
And that right there, our dear fellow Park Ridgians, means developers. Campaign contributing developers, along with whatever else those developers may deign to bestow upon a politician who may then look favorably on a new development.
Because what will happen is that any developer required to set aside some portion of a development for "affordable housing" purposes will then have a substantial reason to ask for......can you guess......that's right......increased density. Density. Density. Density."
What caught the PRU Crew's attention in the comment on the Pub-dog's website was a link to a pioneer press article and a reference to an Arlington Hts. task force, known as "ACT, an acronym for the Appropriate Conduct Task Force." Arlington Heights Village Manager Bill Dixon is quoted in the article as saying the task force has been asked to, "make sure our village resources are being used to the best they can be" and "He expects the task force to report its findings by the end of the year." And we were reminded of our cautions about how we here in the City of Park Ridge could find ourselves dealing with issues surrounding low income housing and a host of tangent issues and fallout from that.
So we went looking to find the promised "ACT" report on the Village of Arlington Hts. website. We couldn't find the full report, but we did find a set of village board meeting minutes.pdf (item #6 on the agenda) that discusses cameras at the Arlington Hts. train station and also some of the findings of the "ACT" report. It appears to us that considerable time, effort, and expense is being spent by the village of Arlington Hts. on the issue surrounding homeless loitering, though we note with general amusement each board members careful avoidance of actually mentioning homeless loitering as a problem. We also note Village President Mulder's references to seeking grant money.
We also found that the Village of Arlington Hts. has a Housing Commission and "Multi-Family Affordable Housing Policy" which demands "Developers of multi-family residential housing must now submit information to the Village concerning how they intend to address the Village Board's goal to promote affordable housing in the Village. The provision of affordable housing will be one of the issues examined when deciding whether to grant new Planned Unit Development of amendments to Planned Unit Development for multi-family residential housing."
The PRU Crew is wondering if the very visible homeless population that likes to hang out in Arlington Hts. has had anything to do with why the Village so eagerly promoted and adopted the "Metropolitan Mayors Caucus’ “Housing Endorsement Criteria” that include promoting transit oriented and pedestrian-friendly development projects, encouraging an array of quality housing options throughout the community including housing at various price points, giving preference to mixed-income developments, promoting good design in order to ensure the long-term contribution to the improvement of neighborhoods." We're willing to bet that any inquiry to Village President, Arlene Mulder, would be met with some variation of, "We simply responded to a community need that we saw. The PADS programs run by our churches have never been a problem."
But we all know, this is Park Ridge, our elected officials would never bow to developer demands for zoning variances for height and density just because developers cry poor-mouth. And our elected officials would never bow to those demands because developers may cry poor-mouth about being required in the future to set aside a portion of their developments for low income and subsidized housing. No way. That will never happen here.
We're sure there's no connection or correlation whatsoever between homeless shelters, increased numbers of homeless people, adoption of affordable (read low income and subsidized) housing policies, and developers. And surely there's no connection or correlation whatsoever between politicians and campaign contributions from developers. No way. That only happens in Chicago.
And as Benedict Alderman Robert Ryan (5th Ward) offered in his statement read by Mayor Howard at the last City Council C.O.W., "there is a need in the Park Ridge community" for homeless shelters.
August 4, 2008
It must be like being high all the time!
In our last post, we hoped PRU readers would "critically consider" what was published in last week's Herald-Advocate.
If you read the Herald-Advocate, then you may have read their article What should be on the Napleton Cadillac site, about a meeting between approximately 50 residents and 5th Ward Benedict Alderman Robert Ryan. If you read that article, the following paragraphs may have struck you as something to critically consider:
Residents asked Ryan what they could do to get the land rezoned for townhouses or condominiums which are recommended in the 2002 Uptown comprehensive plan. Ryan said he did not know and would need to ask staff.
Acting Director of Community Development Carrie Davis told the Park Ridge Herald-Advocate that a request to rezone property can only be made by the property's owner.
"The owner is the only party that has the ability to bring forth the request for a zoning change," she said.
Davis also clarified that the Uptown plan's recommendations are not absolute: "It is not something that says, 'this is something that has to happen.' It is something the city uses as guidelines for determining the future land uses," she said.
Apparently Ryan wasn't fully aware of the residents' concerns, at least not enough to have consulted the City's Zoning Ordinance before attending the meeting. It has been reported that Ryan carried with him to the meeting a copy of the City's Uptown plan-.pdf, instead of a copy of the City's Zoning Ordinance.
News Flash for Ald. Ryan!!! Your constituents are already aware of what is contained in the Uptown plan. Didn't you think maybe they would want to know about the Zoning Ordinance too?
But o.k., we know Ald. Ryan is a busy guy with not enough time to show up to all required meetings, let alone look up local zoning laws. So when in doubt, ask a city staffer. And that's what the reporter for the Herald-Advocate did, which brings us to Ms. Carrie Davis, acting Director of Community Development. As noted above, Ms. Davis said, "a request to rezone property can only be made by the property's owner." (emphasis added)
We would like to now take the opportunity to introduce Ms. Davis -- and Ald. Ryan -- to the City's Zoning Ordinance-.pdf. It is a useful tool when conducting the job of Director of Community Development -- or Alderman -- in either a real or merely "acting" capacity.
A quick search of the Zoning Ordinance may even lead someone to the following:
4.8 ZONING AMENDMENT
A. Purpose
The regulations imposed and the districts created by this Ordinance may be amended from time to time in accordance with this Section. This process for amending the Zoning Ordinance text or the Zoning Map is intended to permit modifications in response to changed conditions or changes in City policy. Amendments are not intended to relieve particular hardships or confer special privileges or rights upon any person or party.
B. Initiation
An owner of any property in the City or the City may propose text or map amendments.
Does that say what we think it says? Does that say that an owner or the City may propose text or map amendments? Are "text or map amendments" the same thing as the "zoning change" Ms. Davis talked about?
The last paragraph of the Herald-Advocate article says:
Ryan promised residents he would support their desire to make the properties residential. "I think it's important to follow our [Uptown] plan," he said.No time like the present to keep that promise, Ald. Ryan.
As for Ms. Davis, by our count she's 0 and 2 in knowing the critical information available in the Zoning Ordinance, and providing that information to those with questions about a zoning issue.
And finally for residents with concerns about zoning issues or anything else...as one of our more friendly correspondents likes to quote, "Trust, but verify."
May 20, 2008
A Quickie Council Recap!
Unlike James Patterson's 384 pages of 'The Quickie', ours is going to be much shorter.
In yesterday's post, Busy Bees!, we highlighted six items of interest on the City Council agenda that we hoped would get attention from the Park Ridge populace. We hear some items drew a lot of attention, while other items were referred to committees or ignored entirely.
Below is our quickie recap of those six agenda items:
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.
While Benedict Alderman Robert Ryan (5th Ward) attempted, weakly, to speak in general terms about the zoning code requirements and process for requesting a zoning code variance for properties that remain vacant for 180 days or more, it was fairly clear to those present and familiar with Ald. Ryan's nonsense that his goal was to provide assistance to a particular property, 14 Main Street, that just happens to be a commercial property listing out of the McClennan Real Estate office; the same real estate office from which Ald. Ryan's campaign manager, Owen Hayes, operates. Mr. Hayes also has a listing, 104 Main Street, which is said to have off street parking issues as well.
The issue of the City's zoning code requirements for off street parking was referred to committee for review.
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.
Alderman Dave Schmidt (1st Ward) offered that he could immediately save the City the cost of consulting fees by letting everyone know that the idea of extending Cumberland Ave. under the train tracks and then closing Greenwood at the tracks was considered insanity by everyone he's heard from on this issue. Several residents also addressed the Council and expressed their displeasure with this idea.
However, our sources tell us this item provided the highlight of the evening when those in attendance were given a glimpse into the void, otherwise known as the mind of Mayor Howard Frimark. Mayor Howard let everyone know that the money spent to study the extension of Cumberland Ave. is not "our money" but rather it is "Federal money". The PRU Crew isn't sure about Mayor Howard, but Crew members recall recently reviewing some very large amounts of "our money" going into the Federal coffers.
Mayor Howard's mindset reminded us of the District 64 School Board thinking on money matters related to the City's offer to buy their district headquarters building.
Mayor Howard also let everyone know that he is unfamiliar with the area North of the train tracks because during the 30 years he's lived in Park Ridge he "doesn't go that way".
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.
A motion was made to set aside this issue until Ekl Williams could confirm for the City that former Chief Caudill had cooperated with the internal investigation of the police department. Ald. Ryan offered that doing such a thing seemed like "negotiating after the fact." Ald. Schmidt offered his agreement and this matter was referred to the Finance and Budget committee for number crunching.
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.
This item was referred to committee for discussion of language concerning the B-4 area of the central business district; the hope is to determine language that would define the B-4 business district as a geographic area, then assign the R-5 zoning code to that area.
This item was also referred to committee to determine whether it is the City Council or the Planning and Zoning commission that has the authority to determine procedures and policies. The PRU Crew feels elected officials on the City Council should determine procedures and policies, but we know there are commissions out there that would prefer to operate freely and not be subject to the scrutiny of elected officials.
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.
To the PRU Crew's surprise, this item was referred back to the Procedures and Regulations committee for further discussion. It is our hope that committee and council members choose democracy over dictatorship, but we're not holding our breath.
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.
Finally, the City Council adopted the lease agreement for the parking spaces at 20 S. Fairview, and will now be providing SCH Real Estate LLC with free bookkeeping and secretarial services.
A member of the audience asked Mayor Howard if the long rumored participation of his wife, Nancy Frimark, as a beneficiary in the trust and/or SCH Real Estate LLC that holds title to this property is true. Mayor Howard stated that the rumor is "absolutely false." Certainly, Mayor Howard wouldn't lie about such a thing.
We look forward to seeing the required disclosure of ownership documents for this agreement; the City law is very clear -- disclosure of ownership interest is required.
There you go folks! A quickie recap of 1,137 words for your reading enjoyment!
May 19, 2008
Busy Bees!
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.
April 28, 2008
It's Raining Meetings!
Commercial Art & Illustration
If you are a resident of Park Ridge, but especially a resident of the 5th Ward, you may be interested in two meetings scheduled for this evening.
First up is the St. Mary's PADS Community Information Night. The 6:30 pm meeting is billed as informational, but the PRU Crew believes this is one of those evenings designed to accomplish two things; 1) allow St. Mary's and the Park Ridge Ministerial Association to sell, sell, sell their PADS homeless shelter idea to the St. Mary's neighbors, and 2) gain forgiveness from the community for St. Mary's and the PRMA's having failed to ask anything resembling permission for this project from the St. Mary's neighbors.
We hear that St. Mary's and the PRMA were asked if it was possible to reschedule the PADS Community Information Night because there is also a 7:30 pm Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting this evening, but St. Mary's and the PRMA declined to accomodate that request.
The Planning and Zoning Commission will be discussing a rather important change to the zoning ordinance that would allow for an expansion of high-density R-5 zoning into more areas "adjacent to" the "Central Business District".
If you love very tall and highly dense residential developments, then R-5 is for you! Show up at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting tonight and give them your heartfelt support and thanks for this proposed change.
Post addendum -- resource provided by a PRU reader: A Guide to Counting Unsheltered Homeless People Second Revision -.pdf
April 3, 2008
The HUDdled Masses and More!
The PRU Crew feels that most people have kind and charitable hearts. So much so that organizing a 501(c)3 non-profit organization seems to be all the rage these days. And this non-profit business wing of the population seems to have enough clout to manage to get themselves exempted from pending legislation on junk mail, along with political entities and small businesses; small businesses being the only entities the PRU Crew doesn't mind receiving junk mail from.
Of course in many of these non-profit organizations there are paid staff members conducting the organization's work; we use the term loosely. And of course many of the 501(c)3 non-profit organizations are substantially government funded.
Say hello to HUD, a.k.a. the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD funds so many assorted 501(c)3 organizations that we could not possibly list even a fraction of them here. Which leads us to believe, as with most government departments the Crew's ever come to know, they probably aren't doing a real bang-up job of due diligence and oversight. And that is probably why lack-luster social programs such as PADS are allowed to continue being funded. That and the fact that nobody, and we mean NOBODY, really knows what the hell to do about the problem of the homeless and all the other problems associated with that condition.
It's "the system".
But, if one isn't truly looking for solutions to a problem and is, instead, looking to "work the system" then...
Say hello to HUD!
A couple days ago, a poster here referred to Mayor Howard and asked, "He can't make a buck on a PADS shelter, can he?"
The answer is, probably not directly. But indirectly? Quite possibly.
You see, the way the system works is that you incorporate a 501(c)3 (even out of sincere intentions), then you establish a continuum of care plan for the homeless and low/moderate income folks at risk, which is exactly what the Journeys from PADS to Hope organization is. Then you demonstrate that you are filling a community need through your program.
Then you apply for grants.
Community Development Block Grants.
Why would Park Ridge want to apply for CDBG grants with big time Federal strings attached? Because it's nice to get the Feds to pay for community development initiatives.
And because HUD is as interested in promoting its 'America's Affordable Communities Initiative' as any self-perpetuating bureaucracy can be, and the Feds can count on our very own Governor Blow Dry to help with that, along with so many assorted local organizations and socially conscious butterflies, we literally could not save all the links. But we did find a few "stand outs."
To start we have the “Prime Solutions for Affordable Housing” Illinois’ 2008 Annual Comprehensive Housing Plan (.pdf). The vision statement in this plan says: "Quality housing, affordable to each household, with accessible and appropriate services where needed, that supports individual and family success. Housing is an essential asset and economic engine for neighborhoods, integral to the creation of robust communities for the citizens of Illinois."
Okay, uncross your eyes and continue.
Apparently, if your community is so "robust" that your housing stock doesn't include at least 10% of units "affordable" to low and moderate income people, then you should expect to be required to make amends. No exceptions, or "non-exempt", as the State of Illinois' prefers to phrase it. And the "non-exempt" phrase means communities like Park Ridge.
In a 2004 report released by the Illinois Housing Development Authority, Park Ridge was listed as one of the affordable housing community slackers (.pdf), right there on page 4. But what caught the PRU Crew's attention in that report was the section:
Local Control is Maintained
“One of the important provisions of the law is that local decisions remain with the local government and that all developments must meet the standards of the local community,” explained Dibble. “The community can tailor its own plan for its own needs and concerns. And once they have their plan in place, the community is in charge of its own destiny.”
"Communities also have the option of choosing one of three planning goals. They can adopt a plan that requires 15% of all new developments to be affordable; a plan whereby the community will increase its overall percentage of affordable housing by three percentage points; or a plan whereby communities will increase their overall percentage of affordable housing to 10%."
"The type of development – rental or for sale – as well as the type of buildings – detached single family, attached townhomes, condos, etc. – are all completely under the control of the municipality. Also, the population that the community intends to address is completely flexible and under the control of the municipality. Communities with aging populations may consider rental developments for seniors, but others may plan for a homeownership program for teachers, hospital workers, or other municipal employees. Still others may develop a program to retain the young families who grew up in the community, who are otherwise forced to find homes in other communities."
And that right there, our dear fellow Park Ridgians, means developers. Campaign contributing developers, along with whatever else those developers may deign to bestow upon a politician who may then look favorably on a new development.
Because what will happen is that any developer required to set aside some portion of a development for "affordable housing" purposes will then have a substantial reason to ask for...
...can you guess...
...that's right...
...increased density. Density. Density. Density.
And in case anybody has forgotten, a majority of our city council members made drooling lapdogs of themselves when presented with "senior housing" that isn't really "senior housing," when Norwood Builders wanted to increase the density of their development at Executive Office Plaza. We tell you now, affordable housing set asides will be deemed a "real hardship" and there is likely to be nothing close to a fighting chance for staying within the zoning code.
And while all of that is procedural and municipal and ordinance-laden, the socially conscious butterflies are hard at work (.pdf - see pg. 5, first item). We guess former Alderman Sue Bell just can't get enough of "representing" Park Ridge. It also appears that our Fair Housing Commission chairman, Nan Parson, forgot which commission she intended to join. Though, anybody who has been paying close attention or knows Nan Parson, knows that Nan is nearly incapable of distinguishing her role as Fair Housing chairman from her "social justice" agenda for affordable housing.
And the people with social and political agendas hide themselves behind the communities of faith who will ALWAYS be suckers for a hard-luck story, but remain shallow and short on thought when it comes to public policy.
And all of that is likely why Mayor Howard is working behind the scenes to support the PADS shelter at St. Mary's. You don't risk appearing to be less than a "good christian" in front of the clergy because, after all, they've got the ultimate bully pulpit. And no matter how much of a ding-a-ling she may be, you don't cross a political party ally, former Alderman Sue Bell, politically. And you might just be able to spin some campaign contribution hay out of some new residential development plans.
BOHICA.
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Tomorrow -- Other things considered.
February 8, 2008
That Explains It!
In both of the local rags this past week, we got to read about Mayor Howard's views on the Napleton deal, which the Mayor's tie-breaking vote assured would give his campaign contributor, Napleton, as much as $2.4 million over the next 15 years.
The Wednesday rag ran Mayor Backs Incentive Vote, while the Thursday rag had a special "Guest Essay" under the Mayor's own name.
Members of the PRU Crew have had the dubious privilege of reading things the Mayor has actually written, and while it cannot be proved at this time, it is universally believed among the Crew that the Mayor's pen never met paper, nor did any of his fingers touch a keyboard during the production of that essay. And if you've ever heard the Mayor speak, then you are already aware that the Mayor's having dictated his thoughts is not even close to a possible reality in this lifetime - nor the next.
However, since the Mayor put his name on the "Guest Essay", we will move forward as if he really did author the thing, and we will explain to you all the things the Mayor didn't tell you in either of those pieces.
We read in the first piece that Mayor Howard said of his vote on the Napleton deal, "I'm not ashamed of my vote at all." Translation = "I'd do it again." Believe it people; he sure will.
The first article also quoted Frimark as saying, "43% of our sales tax comes from automotive: car dealers and gas stations" What the Mayor didn't tell you is that the roughly $5.9 million dollars in total sales tax revenues collected accounts for only 11% of the City's total revenue income of almost $53 million.
Property taxes ($15 million) account for about 30% of all revenue collected. All other revenue is split among 5 other sources of income. The City earns more from the sale of water ($6.5 million), and almost as much from the utility taxes it collects ($5 million) as it does in sales taxes.
Further, that 43% includes ALL automotive categories not just gas stations and car dealerships, but also car rentals and repair shops.
One of the City's greatest revenue streams comes from a category of income called "other"; about $12 million. The revenue sources for "other" include income from various fees, such as ambulance, gasoline, food and beverage taxes, etc.
It seems to us that the $200,000 in sales taxes generated by Napleton may be a 6% contribution to the City's total sales tax revenues, but it is less than .5% of the City's total income. So the PRU Crew isn't exactly sure what would be so tragic about losing the Napleton dealership to some other municipal suckers willing to bribe a car dealership to locate in their town; and that's if you are willing to believe that Napleton would high-tail it out of Park Ridge for "greener" incentive pastures.
Here's what we think: Napleton isn't going anywhere for the foreseeable future. They have already invested in their new site at Busse and Greenwood. And more significantly, Napleton has more clout in Park Ridge because of that 6% addition to the City's sales tax bottom line than they would have in any of the larger, more sales tax rich surrounding towns like Niles or Des Plaines. And Napleton is probably well aware that when it comes to generating sales tax revenues, what they are talking about generating in Park Ridge would be nothing more than a pimple on a flea’s sales tax ass in Niles or Des Plaines. Napleton knows this. Des Plaines' Mayor Arredia and Nile's Mayor Blase know this. And so do Mayor Frimark and his council bobble heads, even if they don't want to share that knowledge with you.
The Wednesday rag goes on to report that Mayor Howard said Park Ridge taxpayers, "...hear you're giving (Napleton) $400,000," he said, but he explained the town would eventually get that money back after the town homes are built and property tax starts coming in at a higher rate."
There you have it folks. You'll get the money back, as long as you are willing to tolerate more town houses being built into an already saturated and slumping housing market, not to mention the greater residential density and traffic the project will bring to Uptown and the surrounding neighborhood.
Of course, the taxpayer's of Park Ridge know that they wouldn't have to "get that money back" if it hadn't been given away. And most Park Ridge taxpayer's also seem to have a healthy respect for the idea that government should keep its nose out of private business transactions between two privately held businesses.
In the Mayor's essay, he elaborates on what he said about the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds in the news piece; that, "The agreed-to contribution of up to $400,000 will be generated by the project itself and is consistent with the intended use of TIF revenues. None of this revenue comes from the taxpayers of the city of Park Ridge."
That is such a remarkably stupid statement, we aren't sure where to begin to unravel the idiocy.
TIF funds are, in fact, revenue from the taxpayer's of the City of Park Ridge. Period. Whether the taxes are generated within the TIF district or not, ALL OF IT is taxpayer money. Those residents and businesses located within the TIF district are as much Park Ridge taxpayers as are the folks at Boardwalk, Park Ridge Point, Edison Park Homes and every other property owning and property tax paying person or business in Park Ridge.
Because TIF funds are held separately from the general City fund used to pay for services for Park Ridge residents, that DOES NOT MEAN IT ISN'T MONEY COMING FROM PARK RIDGE TAXPAYERS! And every dollar of TIF revenue given to a private interest is a dollar less that the City has to spend on infrastructure within the TIF district; or to retire the TIF debt sooner so that our local School District and Park District can realize the full benefit of Uptown redevelopment along with the rest of Park Ridge's taxpayers.
Furthermore, the longer the TIF fund takes to break even, the longer taxpayers outside the TIF district will have to cover increasing expenses for City services, including those demands for services within the TIF district. And the City's general fund is forced to advance money to the TIF district for anything not covered by the generation of enough TIF funds.
The Mayor's essay also says, "Napleton will be investing $2 million in improvements into his dealership. This will be used to help remodel the facilities at their new location on Busse and Greenwood."
What the Mayor fails to tell you is that the remodeling of Napleton's new location is required by their franchise agreement. Perhaps Napleton Cadillac would remodel their new facility anyway, without the franchise agreement. But they have to, and now the taxpayers of Park Ridge will be paying for yet another deal between private businesses: Napleton and the manufacturers for whom it serves as a dealer.
Mayor Howard's concluding remark in the Wednesday article is, "The agreement benefits both of us"
Yeah...both Mayor Howard and his campaign contributor, Napleton Cadillac.
January 1, 2008
The More Things Change...
We took a look at some recent condominium and mixed-use developments going up in the surrounding area suburbs. In our opinion, it looks like the more redevelopment changes any given town's landscape, the more those towns begin to look the same.
But maybe all these developers and architects are just using the same graphics software? Maybe that's why all these renderings look remarkably similar?
Addison
Lincolnshire
Berwyn
Naperville
Park Ridge
Homewood
Franklin Park
Lombard
Vernon Hills
We actually like the one in Homewood. It reminds us of the stretch along Prospect, South of the Pickwick in Park Ridge.
All of these pics were lifted off an internet forum dedicated to discussion about big, big buildings. Much of the discussion also notes how great it would be if suburbanites would just learn that density is delightful and tall buildings are terrific; we just don't seem to have that Euro-flare for density that city sophisticates do. There is also some grave concern expressed for how terribly sprawl-tastic us sub-urban dwellers tend to be.
We think big big buildings are great and tall buildings are terrific too, for big big cities like Chicago. But we don't feel everybody has to, or should want to, live in a big big city, with big big buildings that are terrifically tall. But that's just our opinion.
December 20, 2007
An Interesting and Different Perspective.
M.C.Escher Puddle
Perhaps some of you noticed the new link we added to our list: Time Tells.
It is a blog billed as, "...a project of FNewsmagazine, the student news publication at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago."
Topics center around architectural history, preservation, and related issues.
We found it interesting. We also found some discussions we thought folks here may want to take a look at.
Time Tells » Huge Fact
Time Tells » A Tragedy in Park Ridge
Time Tells » Park Ridge: a Fistful of Dollars
If we'd had our act together, we would have sought permission to print 'Huge Fact' as a guest essay for today. But we're slackers.
December 19, 2007
Park Ridge Wonderland!
Our inspiration: 'Typo' or zoning loophole? - Park Ridge Herald-Advocate
For desired accompaniment: Winter Wonderland
(Click on traditional arrangement)
Hey, Park Ridge
Are you listening
In Uptown
Steel is glistening
A beautiful sight
If you're a builder tonight
Walking in a Park Ridge Wonderland
Gone away is the green space
In its place is a disgrace
A four-story hulk
With way too much bulk
Looming in a Park Ridge Wonderland
In the future we can build more condos
Then pretend that density is good
Why not build them higher?
Call them "Mondos"!
And you can say good-bye
To your old 'hood
Once again
They'll conspire
To go up even higher
And face unafraid
The zoning code that we've made
Building in a Park Ridge Wonderland
In the Uptown we can spend TIF dollars
And pretend that we are flush with cash
We'll have lots of fun with those TIF dollars
Unless a downturn bites us in the ass
Years from now
Reminiscing
Open space we'll be missing
What will we say
About back in the day
Living in a Park Ridge Wonderland
What will we say
About back in the day
Walking in a Park Ridge Wonderland
November 30, 2007
Another One Bites the Dust!
In February of this year, the last city council passed the Early Retirement Incentive plan (ERI). We've been watching the dominoes fall ever since.
First out the door was Joe Saccomanno, Director of Public Works.
Second out the door was Brian Emanuel, Assistant Director of Community Development who was also the top Environmental Health Officer for the City.
Third to announce his exit was Randal Coo coo cachoo Derifield, Director of Community Development.
Yesterday, City Manager Timothy Schuenke announced he's leaving to return to the land of milk and cheese, a.k.a. the State of Wisconsin.
Click on photo above for larger view
In this weeks edition of the Journal & Topics, the last paragraph of an article about the city council's Law Firm Decision? reads as much like a want-ad as it does a reporting of facts. As we told you before, Chief of Police Jeff Caudill's head seems to be next on Mayor Frimark's butcher block.
Did we say falling like dominoes? We meant that they are dropping like flies over there at 505 Butler Place!
With the exit of 4 top-tier city employees, Frimark is in the position of populating the upper echelon of city government with people he hand-picks for like-minded loyalty to himself.
We can hardly wait for the tall tales to begin spinning about "Mayor Howard Frimark; Government Reformer!"
Welcome to Howardwood!
October 15, 2007
Play It Again, Sam!
We feel the following letter is an outstanding contribution to the discussion of redevelopment in the Park Ridge community. It appeared in last week's Herald-Advocate as a guest essay. We felt an encore was in order.
Plan better for future
BY JUDY BARCLAY
I ask you to think about the future of Park Ridge.
We have always stood out among our neighboring communities. Whatever direction you entered our town from, you could always distinguish Park Ridge from our neighbors. The tree-lined streets, the green space and the charming small town feel, you knew you were home -- but that is changing rapidly.
We have already started to experience the over-development creep. Sixteen condos in place of two houses on Peterson. Over a dozen condos in place of a small commercial property on Busse. A soon-to-be-built 58-condo unit at Greenwood and Northwest Highway in place of five single family homes. And of course, almost 200 condos, lofts and town houses where there were a few commercial buildings and plenty of open space in Uptown. We must also mention so many of the single family homes that have been replaced by two or more new homes. This is just the beginning.
We have closely reviewed the Lakota Study and the Park Ridge LLC development is a very small piece of the puzzle. By not looking at the total picture the City Council is doing Park Ridge an enormous disservice. This development is just another of many to come and what the council does will affect all developments in the future. By not enforcing the use of proper zoning districts and granting exceptions, the council can establish a precedent. Each subsequent development will continue to ask for more. We have already heard from city and elected officials about the mistakes we have made in the past. We should be learning from these mistakes, not repeating them.
Executive Office Plaza is approximately 16 acres and using the R-5 designation this site will be allowed about 464 units when fully developed without any exceptions. Target Area 3 across Washington would provide space for over 500 units plus retail. Target Area 2, now under construction, has almost 200 units plus retail. So let's do the math. From Morris on the west to Berry Parkway on the east we have the aggregate of 1,200 dwelling units. That translates into a minimum of over 2,000 people. Two thousand new people and that is just in the immediate Uptown area.
There is already talk of Target Area 4 and that could burden us with 200-400 additional units. So the full potential of development in Uptown would be 3,000 new people. A 10 percent increase in our population without any exceptions, and the cars, traffic, and congestion that accompany this type of development in such a concentrated area. This could put an undue burden on our crowded streets, our already decreasing city services and our aging infrastructure.
All this over-development could have a negative effect on our property values. We would be no different from any other town along the North Western rail line. We will lose the uniqueness and character that make us one of the kind. Today, park Ridge is an island in the sea of development. Please don't allow the insidious fog of excessive development, which is creeping in, to engulf us.
The entire Executive Office Plaza site should be zoned R-4, a transition zone, a buffer between the single family homes on Berry and the higher intensity uses of Uptown. R-4 zoning would decrease the density and height and is necessary because, as we see, developers are always looking for exceptions. By establishing the R-4 district, on this site, you are demonstrating we are not anti-development but rather taking the position of pro-thoughtful, sensible and reasonable development. This sends the message Park Ridge is very special -- we are not just Anytown, USA. It is an easy out for aldermen who choose to close their eyes and mind and vote for what what is before them, instead of looking at what future development lies ahead.
We are not looking for quantity, as the developer does, but rather quality. In so doing, we maintain the values, comfort and the standard of living our existing residents and the new residents expect.
September 27, 2007
Out of the Closet!
September 25, 2007
Doping the Demographics
The district 64 board and administration are supposed to plan for the future while attending to the present. We have mixed opinions on how well or poorly they have met those goals.
We do feel their efforts to see into the future through the use of a demographer is not the worst expenditure of public money on a consultant that we have ever seen. The information is valuable for planning purposes, and we are also impressed with the accuracy of the projections the district's demographer has provided.
Enrollment Expected To Level At 4,500
"Enrollment in Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 will remain generally stable for the next decade, but will rise very slightly annually to a level of nearly 4,500 by 2015.
Projections are based on estimates of fertility rates for a specified period of years and turnover of existing housing units and teardowns in Park Ridge through 2015."
Let's repeat that - "projections are based on estimates of fertility rates for a specified period of years and turnover in existing housing units and teardowns in Park Ridge through 2015." One more time - "existing housing units and teardowns in Park Ridge."
What happens to those school district projections when a city government begins giving developers approval for variances beyond the zoning code for density and height for new multi-unit condominium projects? Will the relatively predictable turnover of existing housing units accelerate? How quickly? What will the effect be?
Didn't anybody tell district 64 and their demographer about the city's big plans for big multi-unit condo developments?
Not exactly the intergovernmental cooperation the community may have hoped for.
Hey, district 64, we hope you've kept that demographer's phone number handy.
September 14, 2007
Maybe It Ain't Easy Being Green?
The Park Ridge Country Club, zoned for single-family residential use under Park Ridge's old zoning code, is now zoned as "open space".
Of course, once a property is zoned as "open space", the logical thing to do is build on it - Country Club plans terrace, dining room improvements
Club respresentative and architect Andy Koglin, of PRC/Uptown Redevelopment infamy, said that the terrace would offer club members the opportunity to enjoy warm weather. "So many times we're doing weddings and events where people like to enjoy the outside," he said.
We're guessing the club's cigar aficionados will get some enjoyment out of the new 1800 square foot terrace too.
The club, according to Koglin, will be making a "sizable investment" in the "hundreds of thousands of dollars" for the improvements. All of which will be done under the new zoning code without requiring the club to get a special use permit, endure a hearing process, or notify neighbors.
According to the article, Carrie Davis, city planner for Park Ridge, said the new zoning is more appropriate for the club...the "open space" zoning is reserved for the club and the city's park areas.
Fine.
But.
If the Park Ridge Country Club isn't just paying lip service to being "open space", we'd suggest they invest some time and effort in The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses
We note the Park Ridge Country Club is absent from the List of Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program Golf Courses.pdf, while quite a number of local area clubs are listed, along with those in other states and around the world.
Interestingly, on the list we found Raptor Bay Golf Club, about a 20 minute drive from Mayor Frimark's "home away from home" in Bonita Springs Florida.
The Audubon program is vigorously promoted by the USGA, which says about the program: Audubon International helps golf courses enhance and protect habitat for birds and other wildlife species, reduce water and chemical use, and educate the public about the benefits of environmentally managed golf courses.
We are pretty sure participation wouldn't require a "sizable investment" in the "hundreds of thousands of dollars" - just a real committment to being not merely "open space" but truly "green space".
September 6, 2007
Coo coo cachoo.
Development director Derifield to retire reads one of today's headlines in the Herald-Advocate.
The mustachioed maestro of the city's Community Development department will have to be replaced, which begs the question of how effective the city's early retirement incentive plan will prove to be.
City Manager, Tim Schuenke, notes that the salary range for a replacement is beyond the current salary of $119,242.00 being paid to Derifield. Who says public service isn't rewarding? And you just can't beat a guaranteed government pension.
Derifield, himself, notes that he will probably find other employment. He is young enough to do that with many income producing years ahead of him.
If we had a crystal ball, we suspect it would tell us Derifield will go on to become a crystal ball gazer, a.k.a. - a consultant, maybe even a lobbyist*. That is usually what you become after you have worked in government. Just ask former State Senator Dave Sullivan.
With Derifield's departure, we are left to wonder if the city's Economic Development Director, Kim Uhlig, will feel more free to discuss demands for office space in Park Ridge?
Derifield has been telling city officials for years there is little if any demand for office space in Park Ridge, but we hear Ms. Uhlig has a different story to tell.
We feel she should be asked to tell it, before the city council takes Norwood's map amendment from the table for another vote.
*Our thanks to a keen eyed reader for the details.
