Glenview plans to continue progress made in 2022

The past year has been a historically productive and busy time in the village of Glenview.

Perhaps the biggest task before us in 2023 is to continue the progress we made in 2022 by following through on a number of projects, developments and initiatives that kicked off last year.

Here are a few of the priorities of the village board going into 2023:

Downtown revitalization

Implementation of the village's Downtown Strategic Plan will feature a series of efforts occurring simultaneously over time that serve to stabilize the environment for investment and define a place in the minds of residents, businesses and visitors.

We generated a great deal of momentum last year in our ongoing efforts to revitalize downtown Glenview. The board passed a number of new downtown code amendments, which formalize the community vision relayed during the Glenview Connect process and clarifies for residents and developers what to expect from future development. We purchased a parcel of downtown property that was identified as a "spark" site to create room for additional downtown public parking and a potential new restaurant.

And the board established a program to reimburse Glenview business owners for half the cost to make facade and tenant improvements according to design guidelines that are being put in place.

In 2023, we will continue our work to redevelop downtown spark sites and partner with business owners to update aging facades and modernize tenant spaces to attract new, exciting businesses to downtown Glenview.

Dermody Logistics Campus

Work has already begun on transforming the former Allstate campus into a premier logistics campus.

The redevelopment and build out of the logistics campus will bring significant new revenue to local taxing jurisdictions, most notably $90 million to school districts 31 and 225.

Additionally, since the property was newly annexed into the village, our police, fire, dispatch and public works departments have developed and implemented plans to service these new areas of the village.

I-294 Tollway Ramps

The village is in the early stages of exploring the possibility of tollway on- and offramps at Milwaukee Avenue. Right now, the village is engaged in preparing a feasibility study, including resident input that will help determine the viability of ramps in that location and whether the project should move forward in the coming years.

Sustainability

The village hired a sustainability coordinator, Molly Laycob, last year, and 2023 will be the first full year with her in place.

We're excited about a number of initiatives coming up this year, including an update to the village's Plan for Nature, which was originally compiled in 2008 as a two-volume report inventorying and detailing the ecological condition and potential of 99 open-space areas throughout Glenview. The update will include a review of related local and regional plans, mapping and photographing open-space parcels in the village, conducting field reconnaissance to determine their ecological condition, and preparing and presenting draft documents at a series of public meetings to solicit feedback, along with public meetings to adopt the final plan.

Other topics we're looking into are electronic vehicle infrastructure, solar energy systems, recycling programs and an overarching sustainability plan.

I'm also excited about the second year of the "No Mow 'til Mother's Day" initiative we introduced last year to protect the habitat of pollinator insects. We had nearly 300 participants and hope to see even more residents take part in 2023.

Capital Improvement Plan

The village's Capital Improvement Plan, or CIP, is a multiyear infrastructure plan that consists of core projects such as road, water mains, sanitary sewers and storm sewers, as well as special projects such as bridges, streetscape, sidewalks and green infrastructure improvements.

Included within the proposed $35.64 million CIP budget is $20.48 million to reconstruct 3.8 miles of road and $2.24 million going toward the resurfacing of 4.6 miles of roadway.

Some of the larger projects included in next year's CIP are the continuation of the Tall Trees Subdivision drainage project, which is being done in conjunction with the Army Corps of Engineers; and improvements at the intersection of Zenith Drive and Milwaukee Avenue, which is the entrance to Community Park West.

If you have any feedback about these or other village priorities, please don't hesitate to email me at mjenny@glenview.il.us. And as a reminder, village news and board meeting summaries are emailed to residents weekly in our eGlenview newsletter. Residents can subscribe by visiting glenview.il.us/eglenview.

• Mike Jenny was elected Glenview's village president in 2021 after serving on the village board since 2011.