Posted in Agenda, County, Kane, Lake, Longmeadow Parkway, Road construction, Roads & Bridges Committee, Taxes on March 23, 2015| 2 Comments »
The Roads & Bridges Committee meets tomorrow, March 24th, at 3:00 PM at Village Hall. Topics for discussion include:
A copy of the ePacket agenda, including some of the documentation to be discussed during the meeting, can be downloaded here.
Posted in 2015 Elections, Audio Recordings, BH Polo Club, Conflict of interest, Ethics, FRVPC, Politics, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, SOS Party, Zoning Board on March 23, 2015| 4 Comments »
The Village has released recordings from the March 15th Zoning Board of Appeals public hearing regarding the 2015 official Zoning Map, and the special use permit application from the Barrington Hills Polo Club. A link to the menu of topical recording segments can be found here.
Before opening the hearing, ZBA chair Judy Freeman asked for public comment. One resident, whose voice has become familiar to many, took the opportunity to speak, and his comments can be heard here.
As we previously reported in “Polo politicking – SOS Party style,” Polo Club President John Rosene was requesting a perpetual renewal of the original five-year special use permit previously granted to his club for the LeCompte Kalaway Cup by the Village in 2011. In addition, however, Rosene was asking the Village of Barrington Hills to grant his club expanded use of a private road (maintained by homeowners, not the Village), in perpetuity and this was a topic of concern by many on the Board.
Equally concerning to some members was the lack of information and documentation regarding insurance for the polo event. While the ZBA attorney, Mary Dickson, did mention a private event on private property might not expose the Village to any liability due to accidents or injuries, she did bring up the fact that if our police officers are involved in some form while supporting the event, there might be risk.
A sensible motion to postpone voting on Rosene’s renewal application based on these factors was denied by a 3-2 vote. Pressing forward as though this was a time-sensitive matter (which it was not, of course), member Anderson moved that the term of the permit be granted for 20 years through the year 2035. That motion failed to pass by a necessary majority vote, and now must go before the Village Board for a decision.
We questioned the timing of Mr. Rosene’s unconventional application for special permit renewal when we first published the March Zoning Board agenda (seen here).
Considering Rosene is a committee member of the SOS Party, perhaps it is potentially part of an SOS campaign plan since he, and his fellow committee members, wasted no time alerting residents in social media and mass emails that the [LeCompte] Kalaway Cup was “Killed” by responsible Zoning Board members looking out for the interests of our Village.
All we can tell readers is to expect more unnecessary drama between now and Election Day on April 7th. It only serves to distract voters from the material issues in an important election for all residents of Barrington Hills.
Posted in Algonquin Rd, County, Kane, Longmeadow Parkway, Road construction, Roads & Bridges Committee on March 21, 2015| 2 Comments »
Taxpayers Against the Longmeadow Toll Bridge are leading a groundswell of opposition to the $100 million project planned for northern Kane County citing the environmental damage it could cause to the surrounding area, including a forest with 100-year-old oak trees.
JoAnn Fritz, a member of the Taxpayers Against the Longmeadow Toll Bridge, encouraged people to attend the Dundee Township annual town meeting on April 14 to ask for a referendum on the bridge and to attend local and county board meetings to voice opposition.
Read more here.
Posted in 2015 Elections, BH Polo Club, Commercial Horse Boarding, Conflict of interest, Elections 2011, Ethics, FRVPC, Horse Boarding, Land Use, LeCompte/Anderson Commercial Horse boarding amendment, OMA, OP/Ed, Politics, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Save 5 Acres, SOS Party, Village Code on March 20, 2015| 4 Comments »
For nearly three years we’ve published a monthly feature titled “Flashbacks” that features news articles and editorials for the month dating back to December of 2009 when this site was first launched. The inaugural issue of Flashbacks published in April of 2012 included a quote from George Santayana who wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
With that in mind, today’s edition of March Flashbacks will focus on the year 2011, when two incumbent Trustees, Patty Meroni and Karen Selman, were running for their first term in office as Save 5 Acres candidates.
A slate of Barrington Hills village board candidates and a purported financial backer are facing claims they violated recently enacted campaign disclosure laws.
A closed hearing on the complaint against the “Save 5 Acres” candidates — incumbent Joseph Messer, current Village Clerk Karen Selman and Patty Meroni — will be heard before the State Board of Elections in Chicago Friday morning.
Read the Daily Herald story here.
The state board of elections agreed this week there was “justifiable grounds” to hold public hearings on two complaints filed against the Save 5 Acres slate of candidates for the Barrington Hills Village Board, a spokesman said.
The latest hearing focused on allegations that the three candidates, Karen Selman, who is village clerk, Trustee Joe Messer, and Patty Meroni each received $5,000 from the same donor and deposited the checks in their own accounts instead of the campaign account. When the money later went into the election account, it appeared to be personal contributions, the complaint said.
The donor was said to be Barry LeCompte, owner of Oakwood Farms of Barrington, L.L.C, 350 Bateman Road, a commercial horse boarding operation and site of polo matches.
The full TribLocal article can be read here.
The trio, Trustee Joe Messer, Village Clerk Karen Selman and Patty Meroni, have the backing of village president Robert Abboud and say their priorities center on maintaining the town’s distinct culture, which stems from the minimum five-acre zoning.
Selman and Meroni declined on Sunday to comment about a complaint that contributions to their campaigns violated a state financial disclosure law that took effect Jan. 1. The state election board is looking at allegations that the three slate members each accepted $5,000 donations from the owner of a horse boarding facility but funneled them through personal checking accounts before depositing them in a campaign account. That gave the appearance that the donations were personal, according to the complaint.
Selman, who’s been village clerk for two years, said the candidates will issue a press release on the matter. [Editorial note: No press release was ever issued that we’ve witnessed]
Read the complete TribLocal article here.
Members of the Save 5 Acres slate of candidates for Barrington Hills Village Board testified Tuesday at a state election board hearing in Chicago that no deception was intended with donations to their campaigns.
The three-hour hearing was adjourned, with no new date set, because the clerk said to be responsible for filing the campaign paperwork was in Florida. No ruling on the complaint that certain donations sidestepped legal limits is likely before the April 5 municipal election.
Read the full article here.
Additional articles related to the Save 5 Acres campaign committee’s State Board of Elections hearings can be viewed in our March, 2011, archives by clicking here.
A copy of the State Board’s final report on Trustees Patty Meroni and Karen Selman’s campaign finance disclosure reporting, issued well after the April 2011 Village elections, can be downloaded here.
– The Observer
Posted in 2015 Elections, BH Polo Club, Conflict of interest, Ethics, Politics, Public Safety, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Save 5 Acres, SOS Party, VBHPD, Village Board, Village Code, Zoning Board on March 19, 2015| 11 Comments »
The future of a popular polo event held annually in Barrington Hills is in doubt for 2016 and beyond, after the village zoning board refused to extend the event’s permit past this year.
Dan Wolfgram, one of the two members who voted against the plan, said he would have supported it for five years instead of 20, and if the village was protected from liability with adequate insurance coverage.
Read the full Daily Herald article here.
Posted in 2015 Elections, BH Polo Club, Conflict of interest, Ethics, FRVPC, LeCompte/Anderson Commercial Horse boarding amendment, Politics, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Save 5 Acres, SOS Party, Village Board, Village Code, Zoning Board on March 18, 2015| 6 Comments »
Reports of the demise of the LeCompte Kalaway Cup have been greatly exaggerated, and have been done so without any background and substantiation. This has become the hallmark practice we’ve come to expect from the SOS candidates and their committee who spin fables for their political benefit.
At Monday night’s Zoning Board meeting, John Rosene, President of the BH Polo Club and SOS Party committeeman, requested an early renewal, with additional terms, of the five-year special use permit allowing his club to conduct the Kalaway Cup (now the LeCompte Kalaway Cup). One of the additional terms he requested was perpetuity of the new special use permit. The current permit runs until December.
Following his prepared presentation, Rosene was asked how much insurance his club carries for the event (which can draw up to 2,000 spectators), and if the Village was named as insured under that policy. Considering that taxpayers are still paying off a loan in incurred by the Village resulting from an unrelated accident years ago involving one of our police officers, this is a legitimate question that needed to be answered.
Rosene either could not, or would not answer the question with any certainty. Since this is an important piece of information for the Zoning Board to consider before voting, members David Stieper and Dan Wolfgram voted to postpone action on Rosene’s application.
There was also discussion of the length of the permit, with the Polo Club originally requesting it be issued in perpetuity, rather than the current five period – which would essentially negate the Village’s ability to review the event’s impact on the neighborhood.
Not surprisingly, in another block vote we’ve come to expect from the ZBA, members Clark Benkendorf, Kurt Anderson and chair Judy Freeman voted against postponement. (It should be noted that Karen Rosene, ZBA member and wife of the Polo President, had recused herself from the vote, and member Chambers was absent from the meeting.)
Soon after, Freeman called for a vote, and the three members who voted against postponement voted in favor of special use permit issuance, and two members who wanted clarification on insurance and other matters voted against. Freeman seemingly believed the motion had passed, but a majority of the total Zoning Board membership (4 of 7 members), not that of the quorum present, is required to approve such measures.
Now the SOS Party spin-doctors are busy spreading a vicious smear campaign against two members of the Zoning Board claiming they are pawns of President McLaughlin “killed” the Kalaway Cup. They also malign the One Barrington Hills candidates (who all also happen to be Riding Club members or staunch supporters), insinuating that they will act to destroy the equestrian community if they are elected.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The Village Board meets on March 30th, and a vote of five Board members can override the Zoning Board vote. It just so happens we have five elected officials who vote in blocks, so in less than two weeks, Mr. Rosene will provide them with the insurance information, and SOS candidates Patty Meroni and Karen Selman will then proclaim they saved the polo event as they ride off on their unicorns.
Our most recent editorial was titled “Loud noises won’t silence the facts” for good reason. SOS’ attempt to create a crisis out of nothing simply reinforces their low esteem for the intelligence of residents and furthers their mission to obfuscate facts from voters in order to get elected.
– The Observer
Posted in 2015 Elections, Audio Recordings, Commercial Horse Boarding, Conflict of interest, Ethics, LeCompte/Anderson Commercial Horse boarding amendment, Public Safety, Save 5 Acres, SOS Party, Village Attorney, Village Board on March 18, 2015| 1 Comment »
The Village has released recordings from the March 9th special Village Board meeting called by Trustees Harrington and Messer to continue discussions of 911 consolidation and legal matters pertaining to a recent lawsuit filed against the Village. A link to the menu of edited recording segments can be accessed here.
Trustee Harrington presented what he believed the next steps should be in order for he, and some others on the Board, to be more comfortable with definitively voting on 911 consolidation. With the exception of Trustee Gohl, a motion was passed to pay additional consulting fees to obtain more information to be discussed at the regular March meeting.
Discussion of special counsel selection for legal and insurance purposes to address the pending lawsuit was moved to executive session at the request of Harrington and Messer. Before the public meeting broke, however, President McLaughlin point out the fact that he appointed Patrick Bond to be special counsel assigned to all matters related to horse boarding in May of 2014. He then moved public comment up so the dozens of residents in attendance could have an opportunity to speak before the closed executive session began.
Five residents took advantage of this opportunity. Three were particularly pointed in their opinions of some of the current Village Board members, and one of them raised some eyebrows with his direct candidness.
Speaker number four questioned why an additional attorney for the lawsuit is being discussed when we don’t pay our current one. He described some on the Board to be a “cancer on our Village” and opined if they were good people, they would resign. His brief, but very pointed comments can be heard here.
Posted in 2015 Elections, Cook, Kane, Lake, McHenry on March 17, 2015| 2 Comments »
The Barrington Hills elections are just three weeks away, but there is still time to request applications to vote by mail (formerly known as absentee voting) for those who are away at school, spend their winters elsewhere or cannot take advantage of early voting. Those wishing to request a ballot can click on the name of any of the four counties listed below and be linked directly to the steps for voting by mail:
In-person early voting begins Monday, March 23rd. We’ll publish information on where to vote early shortly before that date as a reminder.
Posted in Accidents, Crime, Police Reports, VBHPD on March 16, 2015| Leave a Comment »
A copy of the consolidated January monthly Barrington Hills police activity report can be downloaded here.
Posted in 2015 Elections, BH Polo Club, Commercial Horse Boarding, Conflict of interest, Elections 2011, Ethics, FRVPC, LeCompte/Anderson Commercial Horse boarding amendment, OP/Ed, Politics, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Save 5 Acres, SOS Party, Village Board, Village Code, Zoning Board on March 13, 2015| 2 Comments »
On February 23rd, Trustees and candidates Patty Meroni and Karen Selman voted to override a veto of the LeCompte/Anderson Horse Boarding Text Amendment. Four days later, a lawsuit was filed against the Village of Barrington Hills.
The suit cites, among other things, the actions of Meroni and Selman, beginning four years ago when they were first running for office. They (along with outgoing Trustee Joe Messer) accepted campaign donations from Benjamin LeCompte and then falsely named themselves as the contributors of those donations in official State Board of Elections (SBOE) filings. In other words, they provided false information in official government filings. Unfortunately, this became fully aired only after they were elected.
In their current campaign for reelection, they refer to their actions at that time as “a minor paperwork error,” yet they fail to mention the recommended $850 civil penalty levied against each of them by the SBOE Hearing Officer for reporting violations (waived since they’d already closed out their political committees according to the SBOE reports), and a two-year dissolution period imposed on their campaign committees. Not even a master spin-doctor can change these facts.
The suit also alleges the LeCompte/Anderson Amendment was drafted and enacted to benefit one large-scale boarding operation that was deemed in violation of our Village Codes years ago–Oakwood Farms. Last June, the Riding Club of Barrington Hills issued a written statement that an Appellate Court decision against Oakwood in April was just that, and “… no other horse boarding facilities are at risk other than the one involved in the current legal dispute.” (see Riding Club now acknowledges Village official’s support of horse boarding)
This has always been a “single-issue”—indeed, a single property—matter.
Based on this history, Meroni and Selman (and Trustee Messer) were asked to recuse themselves from voting on anything that might affect LeCompte’s Oakwood Farms boarding operation. They refused. And now we’re being sued.
What’s disturbing to many is that Meroni and Selman’s supporters continue to advocate loudly that, if the LeCompte/Anderson Amendment is repealed or modified by a new board, all large boarding operations in Village are at risk of closure. Nonsense.
Odd that the supporters of Selman and Meroni have now conveniently forgotten their prior position that the horse boarding dispute in Barrington Hills was and is a “single-issue” that is a single property matter.
Nonetheless, we expect their noise to increase as they attempt to spread baseless fear among voters between now and Election Day in social media and mailings. Before that crescendo begins, we ought to look at something SOS Party committee member Dan Lundmark once wrote that applies to the SOS Party and their supporters’ fear-mongering tactics:
“Single-issue groups create the appearance of force and momentum at public meetings. They present an organized, loud voice, that creates a disproportionate and misleading sense that they are speaking for the majority.”
We don’t believe SOS Party supporters are speaking for the majority of residents’ interests. Nor do we believe Meroni and Selman protected the broad interests of village residents when they voted to take away the majority of residents’ rights to peace and privacy in favor of protecting the commercial interests of their prior benefactor.
It is clear that the loud noise of a “single-issue” group has drowned out reason and good governance in our Village for too many years. As a result, we’ve overspent on legal fees while neglecting our roads. No doubt the majority of residents have had enough of both.
– The Observer
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