Glenview's State of the Village offers positive message for these uncertain times
The coronavirus pandemic hasn't discouraged the speakers at Glenview's annual "State of the Village" address on Nov. 5.
Co-hosted by the Village, the Glenview Chamber of Commerce, the Glenview Values Committee and the League of Women Voters, the address was offered to remote attendees and a limited audience at Village Hall.
Those included Illinois State Sen. Laura Fine (D-9th), Illinois House Reps. Robyn Gabel (D-18th) and Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-17th), who celebrated successful reelection campaigns on Tuesday, and representatives of U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-9th), both also winners in the general election.
Chamber executive director Betsy Baer first introduced Jeff Thoelecke, president of Northbrook Bank & Trust, speaking on behalf of event sponsor Wintrust. Thoelecke joked that it was the first time he'd worn a tie since February.
Later, Baer said attendance for Tuesday's remote/in-person format eclipsed that of past State of the Village offerings.
Thoelecke nailed that aspect, too: "What's been inspiring to me is how members of this great community have responded to the overwhelming pandemic," he said.
Glenview Village President James Patterson reviewed what he called "a year of unanticipated events." It's due, of course, to a COVID-19 pandemic that currently finds indoor service in Glenview's bars and restaurants closed under Tier 1 Mitigation until Nov. 11.
"It seems to be dragging on a little longer than we expected," Patterson said. "But really and truly, as Mr. Thoelecke said at the outset, our intention is not to react but instead to respond; to try to make sure that we do things in the right way; and try to remain as positive as possible."
Patterson reviewed 2020 Glenview happenings, including revenues whose bleeding has proved to be less dire than originally projected.
"I would tell you that more recently we're even more optimistic," he said.
He touched on capital projects including more than 3 miles of road reconstruction and 5 miles of resurfacing, trails at Techny Basin, storm sewers at North Glen Oak Acres and improvements to the downtown Metra train station, projects either aided by grants or reimbursed by Metra.
Patterson noted developing projects at 1850 Glenview Rd., and at the former Hart Estate at Willow and Pfingsten roads - both of which, a remote viewer later drew out by a question, are currently subjects of litigation. Just on Nov. 4 an injunction to halt construction on the Hart shopping center development was found in court to be viable.
Before moving to 2021 topics Patterson noted the "exciting" Glenview Connect plan in which residents can contribute their village planning ideas. The next Glenview Connect village board workshop will be offered Nov. 18.
Patterson cited Glenview's continued financial stability including the highest possible Moody rating, despite being impacted by COVID. He said the most important things to this stability had been continuing to invest in projects and fund pensions, though solid financials from 2019 helped.
"It was prudent ... and lucky, in a way," Patterson said.
He said public hearings will be held for the 2021 tax levy on Nov. 17 and for a 2021 budget on Dec. 8.
Upcoming capital projects will include water main replacement on Glenview Road, reconstruction and sidewalk installation on Pleasant Lane, and Pine Street-River stabilization. The 56-acre former Signode space, 3650 W. Lake Ave., and the 19-acre Pearson Education, 1900 E. Lake Ave., are for sale and to be dealt with. The village president said the Glenview Plan Commission currently is considering consolidating four commissions into two to increase developmental efficiency. This discussion continues Dec. 15.
Before taking a couple questions Patterson recommended people sign up for two new services: the glenview.watersmart.com site to follow water usage; and the Smart 911 safety profile for cellphones.
Because as we've seen, it's better to be safe than sorry.
"Are we going to have a vaccine? Are we going to have the end of COVID? Are we going to have some sense of back to normalcy? I don't know," Patterson concluded, with a chuckle.
"On the other hand, I am actually very optimistic we will, I believe that the village is in a great position to get through this. And I think probably the single-biggest challenge is making sure that we have a positive mental attitude. I think that that's important, that we continue to support each other, and we see the glass half-full."