Carpentersville improvement committee starts brainstorming

Members of Carpentersville's newest committee met for the first time Wednesday to discuss the village's code enforcement problems and what can be done to remedy them.

Although the first meeting of the ad hoc Carpentersville Improvement Committee was more of a brainstorming session than an official committee meeting, the three residents and two trustees made some good headway.

Resident Patricia Schultz, a former member of the village's audit and finance commission, was named acting chairman, while resident Karen Sutter was named secretary.

Both Schultz and Sutter grew up in Carpentersville and said they joined the committee to improve the village's image and aesthetic appeal.

"I have heard negative things about the town and I want to turn that around," said Sutter, who has lived in the village for 21 years.

"I don't want to be in a position where I am ashamed to say that I am from Carpentersville."

Trustees Kay Teeter and Linda-Ramirez Sliwinski and resident Adam Ruiz round out the committee.

Community development director Cindy McCammack and senior village code enforcement officer Craig Martin also attended the meeting. The pair will work with members to determine how the committee will operate.

Ruiz is a relative newcomer to the village compared to his committee comrades, having lived in town for about five years.

Ruiz, who often speaks out at board meetings against ordinances and resolutions related to illegal immigration, offered many counterpoints to other members' ideas of the committee's role in the community.

He disagreed with using an initiative similar to a program in Omaha, Neb., called the Omaha Neighborhood Scan,. a resident-led code enforcement program similar to neighborhood watch.

In the Nebraska town, pocket PCs are made available to community leaders who are trained to conduct "windshield" or "walking" surveys of neighborhoods. Residents then compile information on the PCs and use digital cameras to record code violations.

Neighborhood associations and members, in coordination with area resource agencies, then work with code violators to remedy what needs to be remedied.

However, Ruiz argued the Carpentersville committee should focus more on educating residents about village codes and what is expected of them regarding areas of property maintenance, rather than "snitching" on their neighbors.

"We need to have more positive reinforcement," Ruiz said.

"We need to work with residents and have residents that are willing to work with other residents. We don't want anyone to cause grief with their neighbor or anyone else in the community."

Schultz said she agreed.

"We are not deputized to do anything here," Schultz said.

"We want to let residents know that the door is open if they have issues."

The committee will next meet at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 14 in the village hall conference room, 1200 LW Besinger Drive, to discuss its goals, objectives and mission statement.

• Larissa Chinwah covers Carpentersville, East Dundee and West Dundee. To reach her, call (847) 931-5722, or e-mail lchinwah@dailyherald.com.