"When all is said and done, the real citadel of strength of any community is in the hearts and minds and desires of those who dwell there." Everett M. Dirksen
"We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works." Douglas Adams
Read the comprehensive cold weather report on Portland Cement Pervious Concrete Performance. If you don’t want to wade through 70+ pages, short form: works great. Around here, it doesn’t eliminate the need for detention/retention, but it would significantly reduce runoff we continue building into our village now-despite knowing how much fixing the problem costs us later.
Council Commissioner Geoff Neustadt just called me.
“Plan B” worked!
In a meeting earlier today, members of the ICC, METRA, IDOT, county and DG, along with elected local downstate officials (don’t know who yet) sat down and IDOT hashed it out fast and sweet. They have almost all the cash, they want the project turning dirt ASAP, they are in. The balance, maybe $200,000 will be coughed up a bit here and there by other parties.
Update: IDOT ponies up the full funding. $8.3 million was what the parties figured as the actual gap.
After 10 years of effort, finally the work can begin.
Last night Mayor Sandack announced the Belmont Underpass Plan B, where he and AVM Fieldman and VA Petrarca will try and assemble area elected officials from the IL house and senate (Dillard Pihos, Bellock, maybe others), county officials (Schillerstrom and staff, and maybe our county board members from 2&3), as well as officials and staff from IDOT to try and hash out the extra $8.5 million needed to start construction on the Belmont Underpass.
Looks like 2008 has slipped away as the year the Belmont Underpass gets done started. Despite an intense and coordinated effort by Mayor Sandack and council, hired lobbyists, and staff this year, the Illinois legislature finished up its regular session without passing Illinois Works, an increasingly controversial capital projects bill that would solve many old and festering problems, let us finally get our BU…and create new problems for the state on the process.
Claremont/71st Street is a clean shot from Cass in Darien to Main in DG, a nifty bypass of hectic 75th Street. Cars zip back and forth all day with only a few stop signs. Zipping is the problem for residents who live on the street. Posted speed limits of 25-30 MPH are pretty much ignored; obeying them risks an angry tailgater that wants you the hell outta the way. Residents of both DG and Darien have asked for help. In Darien, a temp speed bump was installed last year, removed for winter so the snow plows didn’t trash it, and it was reinstalled recently.
DG purchased a similar product, and as soon as a few needed steps are taken, it can be installed somewhere on Claremont in DG. It looks like the purchased traffic speed table (a more effective, wider device shown on the right) will go in somewhere on Claremont in about thirty days.
‘Traffic Czar’ Bill Wrobel has campaigned patiently and continuously for traffic calming devices on streets with speeding drivers that more resemble raceways. Prairie Avenue is another candidate for calming devices. I thought asphalt was the way to go, but more and more, rubber removable devices are being employed by municipalities because they can be moved around as needed, and are not a permanent addition to the street. Council member Sean Durkin first brought back information on the temporary rubber devices last year, and has, along with Wrobel, championed their use.
This is our governor, Gov. Blago. A lot of people do not like Gov. Blago. He is trying to pass a $25 billion Illinois Works capital bill. He doesn’t quite know how to pay for it, but he would like to sell 80% of our lottery to get part of it.
Our DG officials have worked hard to get $8.5 million for the Belmont Underpass slotted into this bill. Right now, the Belmont Underpass will not happen if Illinois Works does not happen.
The city of Portland OR has struggled with stormwater runoff problems for decades and has established expertise on how to best deal with runoff issues. Meeting ASTM standards relating to stormwater has nothing to do with mitigating run off. The idea behind a Low Impact Design (LID) water garden type of storm water storage is to completely prevent the fist 1/4″ of rainfall from leaving the property at all.
On Tuesday council will workshop an ordinance to amend the zoning of two manufacturing parcels at 715-719 Rogers Street from M-1 (Light Manufacturing) to DT (Downtown Transition), an ordinance for a Final Planned Development with a variance to construct 16 townhouses, a Plat of Subdivision resolution that will subdivide the two separate parcels into 17 individual parcels, and a Special Use Ordinance for dwellings.
A variance is required to allow steps greater than four feet in height to extend into the required front yard. A Special Use is required to develop townhouses exceeding one unit per 4,000 square feet of land area. Council, in particular Mayor Sandack and Commissioner Tully, have opined often how Special Uses would be scrutinized with the residents welfare and protection in mind, that we could rest easy because Special Uses require specific council approval.
Well; here we are, and here it is, so what will happen?
The bond issuance for construction of Fire Station #2 was for $10.2 million, and the total construction costs are firming up around $9.3 million. The bonds have been issued and it is not simply a matter of paying back the near million on the bond-you cannot necessarily do that. So what to do with the extra $$?
The current agenda for tonight’s meeting includes the updated slides. There is one bullet point on the very bottom of page 4 that is not correct. It was an informative meeting, and I would urge everyone with an interest in knowing what is happening for the largest assumption of village debt ever to listen to the MP3 podcast file when it is posted.
Malfeasance: Misconduct or wrongdoing, especially by a public official.
The County Board met Wednesday in a special session to divy up the goodies provided by Gov. Blago’s sales tax kick to the groin of Illinois retail commerce. That swift kick that punishes us all for an incompetently run RTA supposedly adds millions for transportation purposes. Since King Bob was right by Blago’s side whispering in his ear for the now famous “and public safety” clause, DuPage County will not be spending any of that newly minted money on transportation projects.
Where will King Bob and his yes men legions will spend $20 million this year, and $40 million starting next year?
Tuesday the village council will workshop hiring a lobbying firm based in Springfield to help convince IDOT, the legislature, and other needed entities that DG should get the $8.5 million out of state so we can start the Belmont underpass.
And to maybe end run DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom, who made his position clear: he wasn’t about to help with any of “his” millions.
Council voted unanimously tonight to amend the muni code so as to ban further flag lots in Downers Grove. Commissioner Tully said he was looking forward to this day for seven years, and he had much to do with shepherding the ban through to approval. Read the rest of this entry »
On March 10 at the village council workshop, staff will forward new language and changes to Section 20 of the municipal code that will effectively end the practice of “flag lots” in Downers Grove.Read the rest of this entry »
The Village Manager and staff have decided the “Heritage Tree Ordinance” (HTO) is not going to happen right now. Unless someone on council takes exception to it, it will be left on the back burner. That is too bad. We need a responsible, moderate, heritage tree ordinance now, so we can measure and adjust it if needed in the future. Read the rest of this entry »
Last night Mayor Sandack announced the Belmont Underpass Plan B, where he and AVM Fieldman and VA Petrarca will try and assemble area elected officials from the IL house and senate (Dillard Pihos, Bellock, maybe others), county officials (Schillerstrom and staff, and maybe our county board members from 2&3), as well as officials and staff from IDOT to try and hash out the extra $8.5 million needed to start construction on the Belmont Underpass.
The bond issuance for construction of Fire Station #2 was for $10.2 million, and the total construction costs are firming up around $9.3 million. The bonds have been issued and it is not simply a matter of paying back the near million on the bond-you cannot necessarily do that. So what to do with the extra $$?
The County Board met Wednesday in a special session to divy up the goodies provided by Gov. Blago’s sales tax kick to the groin of Illinois retail commerce. That swift kick that punishes us all for an incompetently run RTA supposedly adds millions for transportation purposes. Since King Bob was right by Blago’s side whispering in his ear for the now famous “and public safety” clause, DuPage County will not be spending any of that newly minted money on transportation projects.
The current agenda for tonight’s meeting includes the updated slides. There is one bullet point on the very bottom of page 4 that is not correct. It was an informative meeting, and I would urge everyone with an interest in knowing what is happening for the largest assumption of village debt ever to listen to the MP3 podcast file when it is posted.
Read the rest of this entry »