You must spend money to get it, say candidates
Economic development is critical for Arlington Heights — and achieving it costs money, candidates for the village board agreed Saturday.
The five candidates for four trustee seats in the April 5 election appeared at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect and Buffalo Grove areas. Candidates for the Arlington Heights Memorial Library and the Northwest Suburban High School District 214 board also spoke.
Recently announced successes like hhgregg and three restaurants moving into vacant spaces in the Rand and Arlington Heights roads area “didn’t happen by accident,” said John Scaletta, an incumbent seeking re-election.
Buying a booth twice a year at a convention of the International Council of Shopping Centers is one unusual step that Arlington Heights takes to secure development, he said.
The village needs a few more attractions that make Arlington Heights a destination for “other people’s money” such as the Metropolis Theatre, Mitsuwa shopping center and Mariano’s Fresh Market, said Michael Sidor, one of two challengers.
Bruce Green, a challenger who chairs the village’s plan commission, said the commission and the planning and development department try to lure new developments and usher them through the process as quickly as possible.
Thomas Hayes, another incumbent, said municipalities need to work with others such as the chamber of commerce and the Woodfield Convention and Visitors Bureau to draw businesses “because of the market forces out of our control.”
Officials have learned that “you need to continue to balance national brands with small, local businesses to protect and bolster the economy,” said Carol Blackwood. She was appointed to the village board a year ago, and said part of her job is to be the voice of business.
While candidates listed consequences of foreclosures and vacant houses in the village, Blackwood pointed out the lower prices in the housing market offer an opportunity for young people who grew up in Arlington Heights and want to move back.
Sidor said he is not sure the economy is going to turn around and that he has heard experts say 10 years from now they hope the values of their homes will be as high as they were four or five years ago.
Green said his education and experience as an architect will bring expertise to the board.
The village has given the building and health services departments ordinances they need to make sure properties are kept up, said Scaletta. He noted the village prosecutor asked for funds in next year’s budget in case there is a home in very bad condition. Often the village takes care of such a problem and gets the money back only when the home is sold.
Hayes wrapped up the session when he said the group is dedicated to insuring quality of life in Arlington Heights remains second to none.
The forum will be rebroadcast on the village’s access channels, Channel 6 on WideOpenWest and Channel 17 on Comcast, courtesy of Lorelle Communications Inc. For more information visit www.lwvah.org.