After a three-year hiatus, officials in Deer Park recently decided to reverse course and rejoin the Barrington Area Council of Governments, a longstanding regional group focused on environmental issues.
Deer Park’s decision to leave BACOG was made by former elected officials, who since have been replaced, said Village Administrator Beth McAndrews. Elected in 2017, Village President Dale Sands has made rejoining the group a priority, along with re-establishing the village as a team player in the Barrington area, she said.
“We realize the benefits. We’re all similar communities,” McAndrews said. “You’re only as good as who you surround yourself with. (Sands) saw it as a benefit to our community.”
Sands could not be reached for comment.
Janet Agnoletti, executive director of BACOG, said the group was thrilled to welcome back one of its founding members.
The council first met in 1970 as a way for communities in the Barrington area to respond collaboratively to the “developmental and environmental pressures” facing towns that were then regarded as fledgling suburbs, she said.
BACOG now includes Barrington, Barrington Hills, Deer Park, Lake Barrington, North Barrington, South Barrington, Tower Lakes, Barrington Township and Cuba Township, Agnoletti said.
“They have been an active and key participant for all these years,” Agnoletti said of Deer Park. “They helped create the greater Barrington area by how they developed their area. Though they’ve been gone for a few years, we have always felt they are part of the BACOG family.”
To read the full story in the Chicago Tribune/Lake Zurich Courier, click here.
Barrington Area Council of Governments will be offering residents an easy and affordable way to test water from their private wells, officials said.
Barrington Area Council of Governments has a new leader for 2017-18. Tower Lakes Village President David R. Parro recently was selected as chairman of the executive board. Lake Barrington Village President Kevin Richardson was re-elected as vice chairman. In addition, retired Cuba Township Supervisor David Nelson was honored for his 13 years of service to the organization. The Barrington Area Council of Governments is a regional membership organization that plans for development, legislation, environmental protection and services through intergovernmental cooperation. Members are the villages of Barrington, Barrington Hills, Lake Barrington, North Barrington, South Barrington and Tower Lakes and the townships of Barrington and Cuba. You can view the Daily Herald article 
Following are some of the articles published by The Observer in the month of January since 2010. These articles, gathered from various publications and editorials, are noteworthy for residents in that they remind us of where we’ve been as a community.
