Focused on preserving Barrington's charm

Over the years, I have often spoken at village board meetings in Barrington to remind the board about the philosophy of the Barrington area: low density, controlled growth, open space.

Karen Darch has worked to preserve exactly that along with the quaint charm and character of Barrington. She has done a wonderful job. Barrington is so lucky to have such a devoted public servant. And of course, she more than deserves re-election as the village president of Barrington.

But there is also a reason that her opponent, Mike Kozel, should never be elected in Barrington. His whole philosophy is growth, especially to include high-density, multifamily housing in town. That is a philosophy many politicians find irresistible, and I have often said, if you like that style of town, there are plenty close by you can move to. You do not have to ruin Barrington. We still prefer the old "quaint and charming" thing. It is why people move here in the first place.

And there is one more real reason high-density, multifamily is not good for Barrington, I mean besides the obvious reasons of more traffic and congestion. That is the real concept that we have somewhat limited supplies of water. Barrington uses well water. With just the building going up next to the Volvo Dealer, imagine 64 more showers and 64 more loads of laundry. We must be very careful planning for the future with our limited supply of well water. If we don't, water in the future could be much more expensive.

Stay with one great village president. Vote for Karen Darch.

Bill Hartman

Barrington