Buffalo Grove appoints committee on business growth

Buffalo Grove trustees have appointed the 12 members of a new Economic Development Strategic Plan Steering Committee, which will work on a development strategy for the village.

Community Development Director Christopher Stilling said the group's first meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 26, at village hall, 50 Raupp Blvd. It is open to the public.

"The role of the steering committee is to review the progress and the development of an economic development strategic plan for the village board," he told the board on Monday.

The committee of 12 will meet four or five times over the next several months, he said.

The group will be chaired by Michael Abruzzini, president of the Buffalo Grove Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce and vice president of the Buffalo Grove Bank and Trust.

The village board will be represented by Trustee Lester Ottenheimer III, while the village's planning and zoning commission will be represented by its chair, Eric Smith.

Also on the committee will be Dave Ruber, director of facility and distribution for Yaskawa, which is one of the village's largest employers and, as Stilling pointed out, has recently expanded to more than 100,000 square feet, "so they are familiar with our development process."

Paul Sheridan, Hamilton Partners, whose father was the original developer of many of the sites within Buffalo Grove, including shopping centers, will be included on the committee.

Also on the committee will be Michael Stevens, executive director of Lake County Partners, the county's regional economic development corporation.

Stilling said, "They are instrumental in helping promote Lake County as a place to do business, so we feel that they will be a great fit to help identify some of the regional resources that we have available to us."

The group will be rounded out by Tim Donahue, property manager and broker for the Buffalo Grove Town Center; Peter Panayiotou, owner of the Continental Restaurant; Jennifer Serino Stasch, director of Lake County's workforce development department; Rich Cillessen, vice president of sales for Siemens Building Technologies; and village residents, Maria (Nina) Strezewski and Sangeetha Subramanian, both of whom were recommended by local school district superintendents.

Stilling said it was important to have Stasch on board because "employers are having a difficult time filling vacancies for jobs, particularly highly skilled technical jobs."

He added that Siemens is the largest employer in the village and a partner with the village on many projects.

The Economic Development Strategic Plan is currently in its first phase, Market Assessment and Goal Development.