Sugar Grove planner leaving for North Aurora
Today is Scott Buening's last day after six years as community development director for the village of Sugar Grove. He will have the same position next week in North Aurora.
Buening says he will miss his Sugar Grove colleagues and the residents, but is looking forward to his new challenges.
"There are significant differences between the two communities," he said.
"Sugar Grove still has a lot of farmland with new growth and subdivisions. North Aurora is near the end of its housing run, but there is a lot of land that is available for commercial development. Particularly along the Orchard Road corridor.
"Also, it's a much older community, and like a lot of older communities, it needs attention and possibly some re-development."
Buening added that he will miss working on special projects in Sugar Grove, like the mixed use developments proposed by Crown Development Corp. and Forest City.
Although Forest City has allowed its bid to buy the land expire, Buening is confident the project is not dead.
"I know it's in limbo now, but Forest City is a 'someday project.' I believe it will happen when the housing market comes back. It's the perfect place."
Buening is from the Northwest suburbs and lives in St. Charles. His residence and his move to North Aurora prove he has an affinity for river towns, he says. He previously worked in Lemont and Yorkville.
Buening earned a bachelor's degree with a major in geography from Northern Illinois University, and has a master's degree in urban planning from the University of Illinois.
Make your bid online
Sugar Grove occasionally has merchandise to unload and makes it available for the public to buy.
To make the bidding process easier, the village is now part of the Illinois iBid online auction site.
Through iBid, the public can use any computer with Internet access to bid on surplus items not only from Sugar Grove, but also from the State of Illinois, the Department of Corrections, the Illinois State Police and other municipalities.
According to Village Clerk Cynthia Welsch, the system is very similar to other popular online auction sites, and bidders can monitor bids throughout the duration of the weekly auction.
"The staff has been trained, and it's a faster and easier way to list our surplus items," Welsch said. "We can even use it to list lost property."
Look for Sugar Grove's first iBid items this week: a 1997 Chevy pickup (dump truck) and a 1995 Plymouth Neon.
Items available for sale can include cars, trucks, boats, antiques, tools, computers and electronics, heavy equipment and machinery, medical supplies, office furniture and specialty items.
For details, visit https://ibid.illinois.gov/secure/default.aspx or www.sugar-grove.il.us/links.htm.
ngier@dailyherald.com