The Village has released the audio recordings from the December 7th quarterly meeting of the Equestrian Commission.
There were no formal comments made during public comment, however attendees were allowed to comment or ask questions when recognized by the chair throughout the meeting. This more informal format is used for most Barrington Hills meetings, excluding the Village and Zoning Board meetings.
The first item covered in the meeting was the status of Horizon Farms. Trustee Maison, liaison to the commission, provided the update, which can be heard here.
Village attorney Patrick Bond then spoke about the status of horse boarding in Barrington Hills as it stands currently in our Village Codes. His presentation can be heard here.
It was surprising that none of the estimated 20 residents in attendance, or any of the commission members had questions or comments after Bond’s comments. Considering the misinformation circulating throughout the Village on this topic in the last few years, one might have expected some interaction, but there was only silence.
When the topic of equestrian trail maps was discussed, there was interaction.
The Riding Club of Barrington Hills has expressed a desire to convert some of the private trails on homeowners’ properties to legal easements deeded to the club. Two cases in which a swimming pool and a garden had been constructed which disrupted the trails were cited as factors for their desire to have better control of their trails.
It was suggested that if the trails were deeded to the Riding Club, this might be avoided, and a club representative in the audience stated that Riding Club would bear the cost of the filing fee. Interested residents can contact the Riding Club, and the recording of that discussion can be heard here.
The agenda subject of “Equestrian Information on Website & in newsletter” also proved to be quite interesting. The chair began the discussion by stating, “We have a number of equestrian clubs in Barrington Hills, and our events overlap. For example, the Riding Club had a sector ride on the same day as the Village held ‘Hills Are Alive’, and so we couldn’t participate.”
Citing this recent scheduling “conflict,” she went on to express the desire to have one central calendar that all equestrian clubs may use for planning purposes, and to provide the public an opportunity to see all Village equestrian events, hunts or shows.
The chair then requested that the Village invite the Riding Club, Polo Club, Fox River Hounds, the Pony Club and the Barrington Hills Park District to utilize the Village government’s calendar for scheduling and information purposes, as well as add links to those organizations’ websites.
This seems like a reasonable concept, however the Barrington Area Library already provides a community calendar for this purpose, as seen here.
Furthermore, if the Village were to extend such an invitation, other organizations within the Village should be allowed to participate as well. Garden clubs, youth scouting organizations, public and private schools, conservation groups and houses of worship, among others, would likely wish to have their notices posted to the calendar as well.
There’s also the matter of resources to be considered. If the Village were to take on this responsibility, the time required to maintain such a calendar might become too great, thus detracting from other duties performed by Village Hall staff.
If the Village does decide to proceed with this initiative, the one suggestion we have is to create separate calendars for government business and community events. Otherwise, the current calendar would likely become very muddled, thus making it more difficult for residents only interested in government meeting information to find what they’re looking for.
The link to the full Village website utilization discussion recording can be accessed here. The menu of edited recordings by agenda topic for the entire meeting can be accessed here.
Why is VBH paying attorney’s fees for Patrick Bond to attend Equestrian Commission meeting to explain status of commercial horse boarding in VBH. Why can’t these people attend VBH Board of Trustee meeting to be updated where attorney Bond is in regular attendance and already under a fixed fee contract?
Prior to former VBH President, VBH had no Equestrian Commission. Matters concerning zoning, horse or otherwise, would be presented before VBH ZBA or Board of Trustees.
The Riding Clan has scheduled sector rides and parties on the same day as the Heritage Fest for two years in a row now after the huge success of the inaugural fest in 2013. In 2014 the RC barely participated and this year they flat out boycotted, and it wasn’t a matter of not knowing the schedule. The sector ride dates were announced AFTER the fest dates were.
These are the same people who accuse McLaughlin of doing nothing to unite the village. There are certain members of the clan who will do everything in their power to prevent it. It’s really pathetic.
“Longtime”, I have to completely agree with you. The “Hills Are Alive” was announced in the summer newsletter, and it has been scheduled in mid-October since its inception. Wouldn’t the RCBH be aware of this when planning their trail ride? Of course they would. Wasn’t reservation of the Riding Center for the Heritage Fest discussed at Park District Board Meetings where RCBH members were present? Of course it was. Weren’t they personally invited by the Village to participate? Of course they were.
Bottom line is that the Riding Club didn’t want to attend. That’s their loss.
After listening to the entire meeting recording, I have to say that I was struck by the Chair’s inability to separate her personal involvement with the Riding Club from her status as a member (and chairman) of a village committee, with her responsibility to represent the community as a whole.
“…For example, the Riding Club had a sector ride on the same day as the Village held ‘Hills Are Alive’, and so we couldn’t participate.” WE?
The discussions of integrating private clubs’ initiatives and activities during a public government meeting also seemed inappropriate.
I’m not sure, but if all the members of the Eq Commission are also members of the Riding Club, how are the interests of non-equestrians and non-RCBH equestrians being acknowledged and respected during these meetings? In this regard, I have to concur with Traveler’s Ghost’s remarks above questioning the existence of this commission at all.
The extreme equestrian fringe continues to work to advance their special interest agenda at the expense for what is best for the Village. It is reassuring to see that more residents understand this.
The hope is that the majority that truly cares about the entire Village will continue to vote to rid these extremes, including the ouster of Trustees Michael Harrington and Fritz Gohl.
Can anyone tell me why we even have an “Equestrian Commission.”? other than to alienate our residents, equestrians and non-equestrians. Time to evaluate and weed out unnecessary commissions and committees, left over from the past administration.
Does anyone see the major correlation between the COD board and the old BH trustees? Rome is burning and they are worried about the lawyers. Glad we are out of that!