The Observer takes a look back at the year gone by and presents our most frequently read news stories and editorials for 2014. Click on any title to read or revisit stories from this past year.
NEWS STORIES:
Attorney General’s office determines April 2013 Village appointments violated OMA
This story from June reported the Attorney General’s office finding confirming that outgoing Village President Bob Abboud’s appointments made during his last official Village Board meeting in 2013 violated the terms of the Illinois Open Meetings Act.
Barrington Hills passes controversial measure on horse boarding
A reporter who attended the December 15th Special Village Board meeting called by Trustees Gohl and Selman provided her perspectives on the meeting as it related to the passing of the Anderson horse boarding amendment in this Chicago Tribune feature article.
Barrington Hills board debates horse boarding plan
One of the Observer’s most read and commented upon stories, this Daily Herald article reported on the September 22nd Board of Trustees meeting where a large crowd of residents in opposition to the Zoning Board’s first version of the Kurt Anderson-authored horse boarding ordinance spoke out.
13-year lawsuit of Sears vs. Barrington Hills, South Barrington settled
For over a decade, Barrington Hills had spent $1.4 million in legal defense costs over a lawsuit filed by Sears. With no progress in sight, Martin McLaughlin and South Barrington’s Paula McCombie, both newly elected Village Presidents, decided on a different approach and reached out to Sears executives directly instead of using lawyers to obtain a settlement in this suit that could have ultimately cost Barrington Hills taxpayers $15 million in legal fees and damages.
FPDCC discusses plans for Barrington Hills’ Horizon Farms property
In November the Forest Preserve District of Cook County held a second meeting with residents and interested parties to provide an update on their future plans for Horizon Farms and to gather more feedback from attendees regarding how they envisioned uses for the property. This Chicago Tribune article summarized the meeting.
EDITORIALS:
Here We Go Again. . . . Commercial Horse Boarding Drama Returns
In our most read editorial of 2014, The Observer suggested that given the irreconcilable conflicts of interest on the Village’s Riding Club-dominated Zoning Board of Appeals and Board of Trustees, the only way to rationally and fairly tackle the issue of commercial horse boarding would be to create a blue-ribbon panel of objective residents.
Of Bikes and Blame – Part One: The Phantom Menace
This story focused on the underlying issues regarding a proposal to add dedicated bike lanes to Haegers Bend Road in an attempt to gain federal funding for repaving the road which began in 2012. It also revealed the former Village President’s (The Phantom) participation in hosting a website used by a small anti-bike path group that couldn’t seem to get their stories straight.
Of Bikes and Blame, Part Two – Peter, Paul and Patty
This editorial followed up on the issue of bike paths and examined the reasons that Roads and Bridges spending in the past ten years, the last 3.5 years under the control of Trustee Patty Meroni, woefully failed to keep pace with the maintenance schedule created years ago, while excess spending on legal fees ballooned.
Why Barrington Hills must change
In this feature, the Observer opined on the reasons for the loss of Barrington Hills’ reputation due to in-fighting, fear-mongering and purposeful miscommunication on numerous Village issues and the desperate need for reform.
Last January we took a look at Trustee Karen Selman’s performance during her tenure as Finance Chair that was inspired by a gaffe she’d written in a Village newsletter in a well-read editorial.
– The Observer
A story almost equal in scope to the purposeful dismantling of VBH R1 (“5 acre”) residential zoning code brought about by passage of Anderson II is the abysmal results of the 10 year BOT “Captial Road Project” set to expire today, Dec. 31, 2014..
It was promised by Abboud et al. 10 years ago, VBH would have the best roads in the NW and Northern Suburbs. It was said, VBH would set the “gold standard” for its roads and be the envy of neighboring municipalities.
To help defray the cost of this long-term captial road project, VBH tax levy was increased by a total of 22% by [former] VBH Pres. Abboud and “Save 5 Acres” dominated BOT over the next 3 successive years (2006 – 2008).
Just recently, “Save 5 Acres” BOT member Meroni (who manages “roads and bridges”, the largest line item expenditure on annual VBH budget) requested and received by “Save 5 Acres” dominated BOT a record 47% increase in authorized expenditure for village roads for the year 2015 from @1.3 Million Dollars to @1.9 Millon Dollars. A reward from “Save 5 Acres” BOT cronies for the abysmal failure of this 10 year road improvement project. “Save 5-Acres” -BOT promote “Peter Principle” in VBH government.
HAPPY NEW YEAR VBH TAXPAYERS!
This record increase for 2015 was approved by “Save 5 Acres” dominated BOT in an economy where crude oil is approaching record low prices and a job market with excess labor on hand. By my estimation, to meet the goals of the 10 year project, which was to repair/replace every VBH owned road, VBH taxpayes will have to belly-up an estimated 4.8 Million Dollars even though VBH taxpayers were informed sufficent funds would be on hand with those aforementioned increases in the tax levy.
Incredibly, each year “Save 5 Acres” BOT member Meroni was formulating her budget for “roads and bridges”, Meroni never provided BOT or VBH residents with a report or even verbal status of the 10 year road project; specifically that paving and resurfacing goals were not even close to being met. In fact, neither Meron nor “Save 5 Acres” dominated BOT ever to my knowledge mentioned the existence of this 10 year road improvement program.
Now “Save 5 Acres” BOT member Harrington wants to allocate more of our tax dollars for “Save 5 Acres” BOT member Meroni to manage through a “new ill-defined 5 year capital road improvement project”. Harrington wants to do this without providing VBH taxpayers an accounting/report on the results of the prior 10 year road project. Harrington said at BOT meeting, we cannot worry about the past, we must look forward now.
In fact, “but for” an informed VBH resident who raised this issue and requested BOT member Meroni provide an accounting, you, the VBH taxpayer, were not supposed to know about the existence of the VBH 10 year capital road project. In retrospect, it appears from the absence of any record or accounting that this road project was only used as a “reuse” by “Save 5 Acres” dominated BOT for raising real estate taxes on VBH residents without any real intent of making good on this promise.
That is why over these many years there have been no written reports or references by BOTor GWH concerning the progress of this plan. As Dan Strahan of GWH summed up at a recent BOT meeting, any road improvement project more than 5 years into the futue is unreliable due to inability to accuratley predict change in variables. Maybe VBH residents should have been told this in 2005.
Beside the decision by “Save 5 Acres” BOT member Gohl to “spear head” change in management of VBH police pension from State IMRF to be managed locally by VBH via referendum which will cost VBH taxpayers many more Milllons of Dollars, the mismanagement of the 10 year capital road project by BOT, (specifically “Save 5-Acres” BOT member Meroni and her “Save 5 Acres” predecessor on road and bridges) falls second in VBH wasteful spending with expenditure of attorney fees on unwise decisions making it in at a distant third.
They call themsevles “Save 5-Acres” but their record of service in VBH government demonstrates a more appropriate name for them might be “Waste Millions of Taxpayer Dollars”. Maybe you have a name you would like to call them?
VBH needs qualified and accountable BOT leadership on “roads and bridges” now. Maybe one or more of the “new candidates” for 2015 will offer some expertise in this area.
2015 wish list:
10. An end to the hateful rhetoric polarizing the community and labeling residents as horse lovers or horse haters
9. Reduction of Village Expenditures and proper allocation of spending
8. Clean house in Village Management, especially hiring a new Village Administrator (soon!)
7. Proper assignment of competent Village Trustees and Commissions in areas of financial management, roads and bridges, zoning, health, planning, 911, etc. and resolution to these matters
6. Replace the conflicted Chair of Zoning Board and appointment of balanced and honest Members to fill the expired and illegally held Seats
5. Independent government investigation into corrupt practices in Village Hall and criminal punishment for abuses
4. Repeal of the Anderson Text Amendment, replaced by an ordinance that protects commercial horse boarding within reasonable limits and reinforces Home Occupation rights under Special Use
4. Harmony with our neighbors, neighboring Villages, Forest Preserve and Park District for the balance of Open Spaces, Equestrian Activity, Conservation and non-commercial property rights
3. President McLaughlin to articulate a simple and positive message for our unique Open Spaces Village and rallies the entire community
2. Electing Michelle Maison, Bryan Croll and Brian Cecolo as Trustees April, 2015
1. Increasing Barrington Hills Property Values … and World Peace
Richard, I couldn’t agree with you more on your 2015 wish list!