Three run to replace Rooney as Rolling Meadows mayor

Three longtime Rolling Meadows residents are pitching their credentials to voters, who will decide April 4 on who will serve as mayor for the next two years.

Alderman Mike Cannon of Ward 1, Alderman Len Prejna of Ward 2 and zoning board Chairman Dave Whitney are seeking to fill the remaining time on former Mayor Tom Rooney's term. Rooney stepped down in November after being appointed to the state senate; the city council appointed Ward 7 Alderman Tim Veenbaas as acting mayor until the election.

Here are excerpts from the candidates' answers to the Daily Herald questionnaire. Complete questionnaires are at dailyherald.com.

Q: What should be done with the long-vacant Dominick's site?

Cannon: This has been an area of great embarrassment and controversy. With the site now cleared, I believe other opportunities to rebuild will come forward. The current owner only wants to sell the entire 11 acres to one buyer.

I think that the mayor should get involved and bring 3 or 4 interested parties to a negotiating table and split the property up and rebuild in a multipurpose way. Residential is going to be a large component in this.

In addition, there are commercial opportunities. However, no one single retailer is going to buy the entire plot, so splitting it up is the best way to move the property to useful purposes.

Prejna: The old Dominick's property should be marketed as a destination location. Kirchoff Road is a major thoroughfare, with easy access from Route 53 or Wilke Road. We need to sit down with developers and let them know that we are strongly committed to developing this destination location.

We need to be communicating and marketing this idea to businesses that show interest in coming to Rolling Meadows. I would sit down with any and all developers or businesses to communicate our strong support for developing this property.

Letting the developer know that the city supports a plan that either includes all commercial use or, for example, a mixture of 1/3 condos and 2/3 commercial. This type of development would draw restaurants and medium-size businesses. Increasing the density would make the property more attractive to businesses. I believe our citizens would support this idea.

The city needs to ask and answer the following questions:

A. What can the city do to make things happen for this property to be developed such as: zoning changes, marketing promotions with chamber of commerce and the City of Rolling Meadows.

B. What can the city do to coordinate and reach out to the county and the state to look for resources to help medium and small businesses become attracted to the property.

We need to be better prepared in our Community Development Department when businesses come to Rolling Meadows.

Whitney: The Dominick's site has been an issue for quite some time. The odds of the entire site becoming retail are small. Because of the way South Bay was handled, getting someone to come in and invest the amount of money that they did in creating a plan that would require a zoning change, will be limited.

The city staff, city council, plan commission, and the Economic Development Committee need to be unified in what will be accepted for the site. It would be easier to market the site if there is awareness ahead of time of what would be acceptable, especially if zoning changes are required.

At this point, I support pursuing retail for the site. Now that the structure has been demolished, it might be easier for a potential business to come in and have a better vision of what the property could be.

Q: Do you support the fire department's plan to replace Fire Station 15 with a new station to the south, and Fire Station 16 with a new station to the east?

Cannon: Yes, I think it is the most logical solution to ensure appropriate levels of emergency protection throughout the entire city. This change, along with our partnerships with Palatine and Palatine Rural Fire Departments and our coverage agreements with Arlington Heights, gives us outstanding coverage and plenty of backup response when needed.

There is also a lack of physical space to build a modern firehouse at current Station 15.

Studies were conducted by objective fire professionals that graded many different potential locations. The two geographical areas that have been approved were the best for overall coverage for the entire City.

Prejna: No. I believe that Station 16 should stay at its current location. The reason being that it was remodeled approximately 10 years ago and is currently in good operating condition.

I've always supported replacing and rebuilding Station 15. So at this time I would only support rebuilding Station 15. I will not support spending approximately $9 million to build two stations when only one station needs to be replaced at this time.

Whitney: In my time with the Emergency Services and Disaster Agency, I have spent time in both stations. Fire Station 15 is badly in need of repair. The functionality of the two-story set up is not ideal, as firemen must rush down a very long and steep stairway to get to the vehicles when a call comes in. Station 16 is in good condition, with much of the interior being renovated within the last 10 years.

I support the rebuilding of Station 15 in a new spot further southeast. Rebuilding Station 15 in the existing spot would be difficult, as temporary quarters would need to be acquired and the cost of outfitting the temporary property would be expensive. Unless the current estimate of $9 million for moving both stations could be significantly reduced, moving Station 16 is a luxury that is difficult to cost justify.

While moving two stations is what is considered optimal for service, there are compromises that could be worked through to improve response time while reducing the financial impact of building two new stations.