Northwest suburban mayors look back at 2014
As we head into 2015, the Daily Herald reached out to the mayors and village presidents of the Northwest suburban communities we cover and asked them to reflect on what their towns accomplished in 2014.
These are their responses:
Angie Underwood, Long Grove: Under the leadership of Trustee Joe Barry, our Village Pathways committee has made some great strides in 2014. We were able to pave two sections of trailways to make connections and link up four different neighborhoods in the central part of our village. In addition, plans and engineering are finalized to make a connection this coming spring between Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve and the village-owned South Schaeffer Road trail. This is a cooperative effort between the village of Long Grove, Lake County Forest Preserves, and partially funded with grant money.
Arlene Juracek, Mount Prospect: I am particularly proud of two important infrastructure programs that were completed in 2014: the Levy 37 gap was permanently filled by the Army Corps of Engineers after an almost 20-year effort by the village, our municipal neighbors and other governmental entities; and 18.8 miles of village streets were resurfaced with minimal neighborhood disruption, eliminating a 12-mile backlog of projects deferred during the post-2008 economic downturn. These projects highlight the "nuts and bolts" expertise required of our Public Works Department and our ability to successfully partner with entities such as the Army Corps.
Jim Schwantz, Palatine: The village was able to reduce our property tax levy for the fourth consecutive year, resulting in a total of more than $300,000 in savings to our residents.
Nick Helmer, Prospect Heights: The really great thing that has occurred in our city these past several years can be plainly put as "The return of Pride" in the city we live in, enjoy our half acre and larger lots and continue to raise our children as those did who came before us. Pride has certainly led the way as we progressed from things like a former moonscape to newly resurfaced and repaired streets with no potholes on 32 miles of our city streets. We now have a fully staffed police department and city hall operations; a balanced budget with newly generated revenues that far exceed our expenses; phenomenal new economic development that has created over 400 new jobs and 15 new housing starts this past year alone. Most of all it can now be said that "there is Peace in the Valley" with our neighbor in Wheeling and our municipal interactions, especially with our co-ownership of the Chicago Executive Airport.
Tom Rooney, Rolling Meadows: The second of the three major national rating agencies upgraded Rolling Meadows' bond rating this year. We think that two different upgrades are a terrific sign that we're doing financial things well.
Al Larson, Schaumburg: Very proud of the creation of a Youth Choir to augment the award-winning Schaumburg Youth Orchestra's performances. Also proud of the wonderful job Schaumburg's Marriott Hotel and convention center is doing that brings additional restaurants to what has become a restaurant row on the west side of Meacham Road. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Village Board's continued reduction in our property tax levy.
Billie Roth, Streamwood: The Village of Streamwood is proud of how our community has grown and improved throughout 2014. While all communities struggled through the economic downturn, we are proud of how we have come out stronger, healthier and positioned to improve. We were able to provide exceptional services, while preserving our long term financial stability. Confidence in our community is reflected in the growth we've seen this year. $29 million in private sector investment was made including new and expanded retail, commercial and industrial business, which also led to increased employment. The village invested over $8 million in 2014 to maintain our streets, combat the emerald ash borer, and enhance our infrastructure. We accomplished this with no acquired debt and no increases in taxes or fees. We enter 2015 with a balanced budget, healthy revenues and, again, no increases in taxes and fees - it's a great way to start the New Year!
Kathleen Leitner, Tower Lakes: Tower Lakes' greatest accomplishment in 2014 has been to work with neighboring villages and area governments on several projects. Nine area lake communities have combined to form the Tower Lakes Drain Partnership, which will implement the best management practices derived from the CMAP (Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning) analysis of our sub-watershed. We have entered into an intergovernmental agreement for the distribution of non-injectible medicines with our neighbors in Cuba Township, and an intergovernmental agreement with Barrington District 220 for the use of North Barrington School as an emergency shelter.
Dean S. Argiris, Wheeling: Among the village's many 2014 accomplishments - from our $11.2 million investment in villagewide infrastructure, to the continued prosperity of our industrial sector, which maintains one of the lowest vacancy rates in the region - the year's biggest milestone was the establishment of two new TIF districts that will begin the transformation of our town center and the area around Chicago Executive Airport for the betterment of all our residents. We're grateful for the productive dialogue we had with our library, park, and school districts during this process, and we look forward to working cooperatively toward a bright future.
Tom Hayes, Arlington Heights: One of our major accomplishments in 2014 was the continuous provision of high-quality services to our residents and businesses during the recruitment and hiring of new village manager, Randy Recklaus. Thanks go to Interim Village Manager Diana Mikula, all of our employees, and members of our community for their hard work, understanding, and cooperation during this four-five month process. We are very happy to welcome Randy and his family to Arlington Heights and look forward to what we know will be many years of dedicated service to our community.
Karen Darch, Barrington: We are so pleased to have our Hough/Main Village Center retail redevelopment project underway in downtown Barrington, with the Barrington White House renovation/restoration project happening alongside it as well. The community response to the White House - a community and cultural center - fundraising has been heartwarming and truly bespeaks our community's special connection to its heritage and hope for its future.
Martin McLaughlin, Barrington Hills: This fall, our board working cooperatively with South Barrington settled a nearly two-decade long legal conflict with Sears. This settlement is a huge accomplishment for the village. It means millions of dollars in savings for our taxpayers. We have also reduced spending by $448,000 by controlling legal and administrative costs from the prior year's $8.4 million budget. We will be investing these savings into our roads for 2015. It has become evident that our 10-year road program ending in 2014 was not managed effectively. Our board working cooperatively will be focused on addressing road conditions, police pension, and public safety issues in 2015. We have successfully instituted programs and changes to past practices which reduced overall spending in 2014. These improvements will result in a lower levy for our residents in 2015.
Kevin Wallace, Bartlett: The village reduced its levy by $500,000 for 2013 in an attempt to provide tax relief to all Bartlett residents. We further reduced the tax levy by $141,473 on Dec. 2. We accelerated the removal of all the parkway trees infested with emerald ash borer. To date we have removed 2,593 trees and will remove a remaining 3,370 by the end of 2015. We have replanted almost 1,000 trees in 2014 and are committed to replanting nearly 5,000 trees by the end of 2017. In 2014, we had significant growth in our business community; 19 new businesses have opened. This is the biggest year over year increase we have seen in five years. The first industrial building in the Bluff City/Blue Heron Business Park was approved for construction in November, and two new buildings and five new businesses opened in the Brewster Creek Business Park. We look forward to this positive trend continuing into 2015.
Jeffrey Braiman, Buffalo Grove: 2014 was a very challenging year for the village. We were able to complete several important and critical public works projects, and saw the opening of several new businesses, including the opening and re-branding of two of our former Dominick's sites into a Mariano's and a Garden Fresh grocery stores, as well as the opening of a new Rohrman car dealership on Dundee Road. We took steps to increase our communications with our residents by launching a communitywide mobile app and social media pages on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Matt Bogusz, Des Plaines: I am thankful for my neighboring communities of Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Wheeling, and Palatine and proud of the groundbreaking water contract we collaborated to create. This monumental effort will break Des Plaines' reliance on expensive Chicago water, generate revenue for our neighboring communities, and save residents and businesses of Des Plaines as much as $3.6 million per year. It's good government at its best.
Craig Johnso>, Elk Grove Village: Elk Grove Village's most notable event of 2014 was the enhanced Mid-Summer Classics Concert Series, which provided residents with first-class entertainment in their own backyard. The 2014 lineup, which included America, Survivor, Pat Benatar, John Michael Montgomery and Kenny Loggins, received an enthusiastic response and was the best-attended concert series to date. Over the course of the free concert series, total attendance was estimated at over 60,000 people. Additionally, 2014 saw the adoption of the Busse/Elmhurst Tax Increment Finance District in the business park. One of the early successes occurred in October, when the village board approved the first development agreement for this TIF District. Atlas Toyota Material Handling will relocate into the village, invest nearly $18 million into the site, and bring 250 employees and nearly $400,000 in sales tax into the community.
Rodney Craig, Hanover Park: The residents of Hanover Park are most proud of the collaboration between Elgin Community College and Harper College to establish the Education & WorkNet site which opens up opportunities for jobs and a career path through education. Quality collaboration and support of our state officials from WorkNet through our state Rep. (Fred) Crespo.
William McLeod, Hoffman Estates: In 2014, the village of Hoffman Estates welcomed long-awaited news of successful funding for a full interchange at I-90 and Barrington Road. Construction is underway on the $68 million interchange, $63 million of which is funded by the Illinois Tollway Authority (ITA) and Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). Once complete, the full interchange will improve access to nearby St. Alexius Medical Center, increase alternative transit options, and offer additional opportunities for development close to the tollway corridor. The village also kicked off a five-year street improvement project this year. For the remaining four years, including 2015, residents and businesses will see nearly 66 percent of the village's roads resurfaced or reconstructed.
Kevin Richardson, Lake Barrington: There were a number of important accomplishments which occurred in Lake Barrington in 2014, including a major expansion at the Wild Onion Brewery (one of Chicagoland's finest craft breweries), the arrival of Battle House Laser Tag and the opening of both Pepper Park Coffee and RSVP Rental Services on Pepper Road.