Antioch board going paperless

The Antioch Village Board is taking a green step by deciding to go paperless at their meetings, trustees said Wednesday during a finance committee meeting.

The choice to ditch paper in favor of using laptop computers is not only environmentally sound, but it will save money, trustees said.

"With the amount of paper it's going to save, it's the right thing to do," said Trustee Jay Jozwiak, who heads the committee. "Frankly, with the cost of ink, the cost of leasing the copiers, paying a nickel a sheet (for paper), we need to make the decision to stop killing trees. Everything I take home now, I pretty much throw out."

The village spends about $2,300 a year to print packets of information board members use for meetings and other village business. Those documents will now be available online. It will cost $5,000 to buy 10 refurbished computers and software. Trustees are required to leave the laptops at village hall at the end of the work day.

"We will start realizing the savings in about a year and a half to two years," Jozwiak said.

Board members Ted Poulos, Mike Wolczyz, Dennis Crosby and Village Manager Jim Keim all favored the decision.

"I think it's a great idea. The savings will be there, it's a copy per page savings," Keim said. "It's the right thing to do environmentally."

The money for the laptops is coming from cuts made elsewhere, Jozwiak said. Officials decided to take back village-issued cell phones the trustees were using and to use propane to power some village vehicles.

"This is with the understanding that we'll save $2,100 on the trustees phones that we have collected back," Jozwiak said. "And putting five village vehicles on propane usage and save $3,500 a year per vehicle, at least. We are paying for this (laptops) with reductions in other places."

The finance committee also discussed options regarding what to do about the village's only public pool.

The 55-year-old pool at Williams Park needs an estimated $30,000 worth of work to repair leaks. Inspectors found the fiberglass lining is separating from the concrete underneath. The discussion centered on whether it is wise to spend money on a facility that has outlived a normal life.

The village lacks the money to make the repairs or build a new facility. However, Antioch plans to apply for the right to issue up to $3 million in reduced rate bonds made available through the federal stimulus package.

Lake County is administering $19.8 million in bonding capacity to be distributed to finance construction projects. The village will find out if its application is chosen by lottery in early March. The final decision about whether to repair, close or build a new pool will be made at the regular board meeting March 17.