One resident made public comments, and though he did not identify himself, we’re told it was A. Robert Abboud, father of the former president. His prepared remarks can be heard here.
The regular meeting began with the financial reports for approval, and we would be remiss if we didn’t recognize the thoroughness and professionalism of the new village treasurer, Peggy Hirsch. She has presented financial reports she generated from her work at every trustee meeting since her appointment was approved, and is there to answer any immediate questions from the trustees.
The recording of the finance reports and approvals can be heard here.
The Roads and Bridges report and discussion which followed clearly displayed some frustration on the part of some board members, particularly when it came to further delays on the Cuba Road Bridge reconstruction project. The questioning regarding the ongoing delays in the bridge completion was impeded by the fact that Dan Strahan of Gewalt Hamilton was not present at the meeting. Nonetheless, Bob Kosin, village administrator, should have been prepared to address the issues raised, but the recordings bear witness to the fact he could not, or would not.
First, it was reported the Cuba Road Bridge project could be shut down completely by IDOT on June 30th due to their 80% funding of the project, as a result of the then pending budget impasse in Springfield. We did not previously report this possibility due to the political theatre that Springfield has become, and we trust that Trustee Cecola is already fielding calls from residents upset with prolonged delays.
Trustee Konicek pointed out that the original forecasted completion date provided last year by Gewalt Hamilton was May 13th of this year, so the possible IDOT construction shutdown should have been moot. When she questioned who arrived at that forecasted completion date, and why proper oversight of the project was not provided (presumably by Gewalt Hamilton), Bob Kosin stated that, “The oversight (of the project) has never been surrendered to the Village of Barrington Hills, but it’s always been managed by IDOT. Day one, IDOT directed every step of this process. ”
Konicek then asked Kosin, “Then why are we paying Gewalt Hamilton, with all due respect?” Kosin’s answer to this perfectly valid question made little sense to us and can best be told by listening to the recording, but if, in fact, IDOT was in complete charge of the project, we have to wonder where we would stand today if Trustee Cecola didn’t meet with ComEd months ago to expedite the movement of misplaced utilities at the work site?
The recording of the full Cuba Road Bridge discussion can be heard here.
During the Building and Zoning report, it was revealed that the Zoning Board of Appeals members were given “confusing” and erroneous instructions, by counsel and the village administrator, regarding what their duties were as it related to commercial horse boarding codes at their June meeting.
In fact, the Board of Trustees did not instruct the Zoning Board to review the current boarding codes as they were incorrectly advised, but instead they were to address a petition for amendment to those codes submitted in May by a resident. The Village Board itself makes no schedule for hearing of such petitions by the ZBA.
Mary Dickson, the attorney assigned to the Zoning Board, later, after executive session, apologized for the miscommunication to the ZBA. Mr. Kosin, however, chose so sit in silence, as usual.
The Zoning Board report and discussion can be heard here, and according to the Village calendar, the Zoning Board will be holding a hearing on the text amendment petition on July 18th.
The next scheduled meeting of the Board of Trustees is on July 21st.