The Village has released edited audio recordings from the September 23 Village Board meeting. To access the menu of the meeting’s topical audio recording segments, click here.
Having thoroughly reviewed these recordings, The Observer strongly suggests readers listen to the “Administration” recording before any other. A direct link to that recording can be found here.
Most of the “discussion” centered on the upcoming “The Hills Are Alive Heritage Fest 2013” scheduled for Sunday October 13 from 12-5 PM at the Riding Center. For those unfamiliar with this event, it will be the first Village Hall-sponsored gathering for village residents in many years. There will be a variety of activities as well as food and drink for residents of all ages – even a “Chicken Beauty Contest.”
The few residents who witnessed the discussions first hand and those who’ve already listened to the recording might conclude that the preliminary talent trials for the chicken beauty contest began Monday night during the board meeting.
The dialogue regarding one of the first positive village events in years turned negative almost immediately with Patty Meroni leading the charge of her flock. Her objections to the upcoming event included what can only be described as clucking, hen-pecking or crowing about her “extensive” experience in planning such an event one time in the Village.
In this type of discussion, most people with experience offer solutions, not roadblocks. Sadly, from Trustee Meroni, there were no positives, only negatives from her or her herd of five on the board with very few, momentary exceptions.
Objections and concerns were raised about obtaining a liquor license, too many attendees, too few attendees, where the portable toilets were to be located, etc. Despite reassurances to the contrary, Meroni & Company persevered. Meroni’s endless list of protestations were reminiscent of Chicken Little – full of doom, gloom, and dire predictions of the imminent falling of the sky.
Our previous uses of the words “flock” and “herd” are appropriate and intentional. It does not take a fervent student of Barrington Hills politics in the last ten years to recognize what transpired Monday evening.
The choices of words and tactics by Ms. Meroni and some other “herd” board members Monday night would seem to suggest they continue to take direction from a former member of the Village Board who always seemed to encourage costly feuds both inside and outside of our borders.
If this is the case, then that is their misguided choice. However, we believe residents have had enough of such needless and unproductive distractions from a positive, forward course for our village.
– The Observer
Well Said!
I attended the BOT meeting, and it was like the Board” came alive”; no discussion or comment about a LOOMING Longmeadow Parkway (supported by the defeated past President), one question by the Village President about the $800,000 monthly bills (is that due to the $600,000 paving expense?), no discussion about a $9,000,000.00 annual budget. No disscusion about lowering the 18% of our tax bills going to support Village government and services.
I call it nit-picking! Don’t get me wrong, I attend and enjoy the Polo Matches, but I don’t remember any such detailed attacks or even discussion of the Village administration when the Board was approving the Polo matches, which draws 2,000+ to the Village.
Kudo’s to Trustee Harrington who encouraged the Board to get with the 21st Century and broadcast the Board Meetings “so that the Residents can observe….”. What a show that would have been!. Would their behavior been any more reasonable? I doubt it. Meroni, Selman, Messer, and Gohl challenged every statement or assurance by the long time village manager Kosin (as if he had never had any experience in these matters.) President McLaughlin described a happy village event to draw the residents together and have fun, ‘revenue neutral’ – wouldn’t cost anyone anything, and he and Kosin were ganged up by certain hen pecking Trustees. Remember, no discussions re: multi-million dollar expenditures, yet a parade of criticisms “you should have consulted the Board earlier” (Meroni).
One positive note: If these clowns keep misbehaving, it will be easy to vote them out of office in the next election. In the meantime, the Observer and other public watchdogs will have to keep shining the spotlight on their antics!
James T. O’Donnell (not the former Plan Commisstioner.
Holy bat crap. Time to ‘cull’ this flock of thieves and liars. Two words of caution – Attorney General. Or do these nitwits think they are exempt?
From my perspective, it looks as if Mayor McLaughlin has bent over backwards to accommodate the jackmites called our village trustees who live to supply our residents with a continued dose of crazy. I say it’s time to play hardball and ask all the normal residents (this would exclude the ‘real people’) to call the riding club and close the horse trails on their respective property. Then let’s meet at the negotiation table……
I think Nick and Nora have hit on some very logical strategy. close the trails on private property, which are there only by the generosity of the landowners. Q What do the people get in return from the Riding Club? A.Nasty exchanges at Board Meetings, ZBA and obvious attempts to inflict their choices on everyone else. Nick and Nora – how can we help?
I attended this meeting and what Jim OD reports shows his lack of knowledge of many years of Trustee meetings. I am very disappointed that he and those who believe such testament actually think they are reading the truth. Jim has an agenda that I didn’t recognize when I met him Monday night.
Having lived in VBH for 33 years, I have watched many meetings and been involved in many activities. There are no halos and no horns going on at the meeting; rather some Trustees expressed genuine concern about the possible residential liability WE ALL WILL PAY should an incident occur during or following the ‘Hills Are Alive’ event. WE ALL ARE STILL PAYING for the $20 Million judgement resulting from an accident on rte 62 from about a decade ago BECAUSE VBH did not have enough/the correct insurance coverage.
All Trustees & our President should be concerned about details of all VBH events!. Mr Kosin has been our employee for about 26 years now; to say that HE has the experience necessary to plan & cover all bases and to accomplish all the things involved is unreasonable. To lay that credibility on the BH Park Board also is not reasonable.
Boards are supposed to discuss, plan and assign committees to implement events; it isn’t appropriate that a Village event, that is hoped to become an annual event, hasn’t been properly discussed completely by the full Board of Trustees many months in advance so that all elected officials would take assignments to help bring this event to a full & enjoyable conclusion. Resident Volunteers should be brought into a committee/sub-committees to assist this event rather than Village employees being paid to preform tasks that push their regular work aside. Bob Kosin and Anna had NOT discussed and implemented all the items that our President suggested they had.
As a resident I am very happy that finally things are being discussed about the event and that hopefully this will be the type of event that our President hopes for; lets not continue to put the cart before the horse in the future and lets not continue to have individuals complain about things they have no history to complain about. When I am in town I attend the meetings so that I know for myself what is happening at our VBH Meetings and I hope all the naysayers will start coming as well so the Observer/Preserve will not able to fire off such spins.
To continue with such negativity suggests that neither critic site is attempting to assist nor improve the Village I have raised my children in.
Clearly you were hearing what you wanted to hear at the meeting and not listening to what was REALLY happening during that meeting, Denise. There is a difference in case you didn’t know.
I’m sure Kosin had a lot of information he could have shared to address most of the trustee’s questions and “concerns” but for whatever reason he just sat there in silence.
And again tell me why we should not terminate Kosin???
Fire Kosin. We need a strong administrator that is not afraid to do what’s right serving the residents and best interests of the Village versus cowering to the bullying of Abboud’s cronies.
Email to the BH Riding club your intention to close the horse riding trails on your property effective the day of mailing – snail mail the club a signed copy also – send registered or certified. Something like this….
As the registered property owner of ________ in Barrington Hills, 60010 – I am informing the Barrington Hills Riding Club of the closure of any/all horse trails situated on my property and common easement or roadway effective immediately. My decision should be considered responsive to the hostile actions of members of this community, this organization and our board of trustees namely Meroni, Selman, Messer and Gohl. Consideration of reopening such trails will not be entertained until the resignation of the aforementioned trustees is accepted.
How’s that for a start ????
We need to close THEIR TRAILS in our back yards!
What does that stupid comment mean?
Wonderful picture of Mouthy Meroni ! ! Normal people of the village have got to stand up and support the Marty and Colleen ! STOP the madness ! Help them now and Help find candidates for the next election ! !Pull the rug out from under neath the mob and their mentor .
P. Denise:………and who’s words are being posted under your name, this time? Sounds very much like an ex seeking to re-write history to cover past misdeeds……..are we to believe you or our lying eyes?
P Denise – aren’t you head of the beautification committee who on this past Memorial Day chose to honor and dedicate a Blue Star Marker and intentionally and not my husband kia Afghanistan June 19, 2012 – who died so that you can enjoy the freedoms such as speech which you so prolifically provide….please read a letter to Trustee Harrigan. If you,as head of a committee cannot even get this issue correct why would anyone attempt to discuss anything with these ridiculous committees which purport their own agenda and that of your former mayor – Abboud. Transparent as glass…..read on.
Dear Trustee Harrington,
I wanted to take the time to address an issue I believe is too often misunderstood and is being proliferated by the village of Barrington Hills – that being the difference in meaning between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Presently there are many who interchange these holidays and wrongfully so. Memorial Day – formerly Decoration Day – is meant to honor those who died defending our freedom – killed in action is another descriptive phrase often used. Veteran’s Day honors those who served in the armed services. Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day; Veterans Day celebrates the service of all veterans, while Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving.
With this in mind I have copied to you some narrative and history of the Blue Star …
The Blue Star Memorial Program honors service men and women. This program began with the planting of 8,000 Dogwood trees by the New Jersey Council of Garden Clubs in 1944 as a living memorial to veterans of World War II. In 1945, the National Council of State Garden Clubs adopted the program and began a Blue Star Highway system, which covers thousands of miles across the Continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii. A large metal Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker was placed at appropriate locations along the way.
The program was expanded to include all men and women who had served, were serving or would serve in the armed services of the United States. Memorial Markers and By-Way markers were added to the Highway Markers, to be used at locations such as National cemeteries, parks, veteran’s facilities and gardens.
The Blue Star became an icon in World War II and was seen on flags and banners in homes for sons and daughters away at war, as well as in churches and businesses.
This program has been active all through the years to the present, a fitting tribute always and especially now. Many states and regions have been very dedicated, but there is room for growth in some areas.
During the May 23rd board beeting mention was made of the Blue Star Civil War dedication to be held on Memorial Day in Barrington Hills as an appropriate measure. As an American and a patriot as well as a gold star widow, I wish to emphasize the difference between the holidays as well as how continuing to interchange these holidays is diminishing to the service of ‘those who gave all’. To be blunt Trustee Harrington, the dedication of the Civil War and Blue Star marker should have been held on Veterans Day – not Memorial Day. It is my understanding that the Civil War monument merely depicts or indicates where our patriots enlisted. It is not indicative or dedicated to those who died in battle. The excerpt from the Blue Star Memorial Program also indicates that it is a living memorial to veterans. I realize that the dedication was to be correlated with the original date of dedication – which was indeed erroneously memorialized years ago. It is not my intent to diminish the service of our veterans – to the contrary I applaud all who serve. However there is a large schism between those who serve and those who gave all. When one continues to negate or diminish the distinction between serving and dying – it is hurtful to all who died in battle and their families.
It is my hope that in the future the Village of Barrington Hills, the Garden Club, and the Beautification committee take into consideration the correct nature of each of the holidays and approach each in the appropriate manner. I thank you for your time and cooperation regarding this matter and I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Pauline Boyle
Additionally P Denise – I am aware that Abboud – who opposed the proper and overdue ceremony on the one year anniversary of my husband’s death in June – solicited signatures for a petition to stop it. You wouldn’t be one of those who signed it, were you? Just asking……
Cluck….Cluck….Cluck. Hey, can we just get on with the planning of The Hills Are Alive? After reading all of the comments, there is an awful lot of energy being spent calling each other names. After listening to the tapes, there is much to do about nothing except for the BOT worrying about having enough money for hotdogs.
This village needs healing so how about we open our minds to serving our residents instead of our resentments?
BOT, if you feel such animosity about our current village president, (I heard the animosity on the tapes), rent one of those dunk tanks and raise the hotdog money with Mr. President in it!
Please just get on with the show. I want to bring my grandkids!
As an addendum to my above comment I would suggest that we invite both our current and past president to sit in the dunk tank for equal time limits and have a contest to see who raises the most fun!
^ Mama Mia – the cost of the ‘Hills” event is 100% covered already by donations already. The subsequent fallout is just another tactic by the old regime to continue to throw the proverbial monkey wrench into the fray. Obviously they will never cease this disruptive behavior – again I say – CLOSE THE TRAILS….then we’ll meet at the negotiation table. Appeasement does not work – anyone remember WWII?
Mr. McLaughlin … consider resignation!
The gang of Meroni, Messer, Selman, Gohl and Harrington will continue meeting illegally and do everything they can to continue their petty and mean spirited approach to undermine you. These Trustees care only for their special interests. The rest of the Village is uninformed and apathetic and just doesn’t care that the Village is really run by these vindictive and selfish people.
Does anyone care that our Village’s property values have been in a steady decline? While other suburbs are improving, ours is mired in petty and harmful self interests. Who is marketing Barrington Hills as a great place to live if our BOT is allowed to behave in this manner? Deep down, more and more people are wanting out.
The fact that a BOT can’t rally around a simple celebration of the Village at an annual fall fest is disgraceful. McLauglin, you showed the promise of leadership in your campaign, yet allowing the BOT laughter to take place in this segment and letting these Trustees simply point out problems without coming up with solutions to make this work is pathetic governance.
Shame on this BOT! Shame on our Village residents for allowing this to happen. Lots of for sale signs and very few people talking about how they wish they could live in BH.
Until the BOT begins to behave in a way that serves the community and not petty self interests, this will continue. Peace and Harmony doesn’t work unless all parties are aligned for the good of the community. This problem is real and is destroying our community. A simple request to rally around a fall festival can’t work without this pettiness … shame on all of you!
Bad suggestion Alice. If McLaughlin were to step down, Fritz would become president, so we need to support McLaughlin in any ways we can.
If the former president is pulling the strings of some BOT members it must because he wants to prove to residents that they made a mistake by not electing him to a third term (sour grapes).
The last election proved that residents are taking notice of what’s going on (or not) on the BOT. They just don’t seem to show up at meetings to see the circus and that’s a shame. The good news is three seats on the board are up in the next election and it cannot come soon enough.
“Adder Tongue in Cheek” – not a serious suggestion.
Mr. Gohl received enough votes for reelection as Trustee, a mandate of about 3 votes. The Voters did speak – further evidence of the uniformed.
Mr. Gohl has been lead of the committee on public safety, therefor the effective liaison for BOT to police and fire – police unionize, costs skyrocket with bloated department, pension fund out of control, where is he on fire department change leadership !!!!!! Enough said as to qualifications for President?
No, McLaughlin needs to stay on and be strong with increasing support of the community
Alice, are you serious?
McLaughlin is the only thing keeping the gang of 5 and the “shadow” in check. Pretty appalling that they can’t find a way to help and support the Fall Festival in BH, seems like they want it to fail for political gain instead of supporting something good for the community.