It looks like there will be dancing at Buffalo Grove's eSkape

Eight was enough, it turns out.

It took eight public hearings for Buffalo Grove trustees and eSkape management to agree on the conditions for a dance club at the bowling alley and family entertainment center, 350 McHenry Road.

Under the proposal, an area called "the arena" would fill a space formerly used for laser tag. It would be used for a variety of events, but on Friday and Saturday nights would be devoted to dancing, with one night admitting 17-to-20 year-olds and another night catering to the 21-and-older crowd.

In order to get trustees to agree to allow the use, the center's managing partner, Bill Feldgreber, had to agree to provide five security employees, as well as hire two sworn Buffalo Grove police officers to monitor safety conditions.

Feldgreber had balked at the expense, but Buffalo Grove police Chief Steve Balinski was adamant, saying that his research, which included talking to chiefs in neighboring towns, indicated such clubs have acted as a magnet for gangs, drugs, underage drinking and violence.

Two board members, Jeffrey Braiman and Beverly Sussman, voted against allowing the use. Braiman said that if the dance club is marketed throughout the entire metropolitan area, "It's going to encourage a lot of people who we don't want to have in our village." Nor did Braiman think having two police officers on the premises is going to solve the problem.

Village President Elliott Hartstein was unable to attend the meeting, but said in a statement read by the acting president, Braiman, that the use would be detrimental to the public safety, adding that no use, however commendable, would be worth the risk.

Feldgreber made one last attempt to convince the village board to allow him to use private security instead of Buffalo Grove officers. Feldgreber said he was willing to provide five off-duty sworn officers from the firm Seldin Security Services, which hires from such departments as Chicago and the Illinois State Police.

But Trustee Lisa Stone said she still had doubts based on testimony that indicated private security might be less willing to report an incident to police out of allegiance to the employer.

"I understand that they are sworn officers. And in a perfect world - their word is their bond."

The difference is that the Buffalo Grove officers would be accountable to Chief Balinski, she said, and she did not want to take a chance when there is the potential danger of "gangs, guns and heroin."

Balinski said private security officers lack arrest powers. Moreover, he said, "These officers from the Buffalo Grove police department represent your values, the values of this agency.

"They are accountable to the people that they serve. They are accountable to government, they are accountable to the police department and they are especially accountable to the citizens of Buffalo Grove."

He said these are values "you can't put a price on."

Feldgreber has resisted using village police, citing the cost of $68 an hour for five hours that he said would drive his total security costs up to $1,605 a night.

"Obviously, these past couple of weeks, I have just been struggling, trying to get a solution that works for everybody," he said. "It's disappointing after eight or nine public hearings that we have gotten to this point. I am in a very difficult situation that I never thought I would be in."

The police chief will conduct a review after six months to reevaluate the need for sworn village officers, and the village agreed at his request to a courtesy review after three months.

Feldgreber also agreed not to hold dances during the Labor Day weekend, when Buffalo Grove police would need all hands on deck for Buffalo Grove Days. Feldgreber did get support from one audience member, Julie Swislow Harris, who said, "These kids 17 to 20 need someplace to go that is safe."