Posted in Agendas, Barrington Hills Park District, Commercial Horse Boarding, Fox River Valley Hunt, FPDCC, FRVPC, Horizon Farms, Horse Boarding, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, Massbach Hounds, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Riding Center Advisory Committee, Riding Club of BH, Unions on September 8, 2021| Leave a Comment »
The Barrington Hills Park District Board will hold their regular monthly meeting this evening in-person and via Zoom at 7:00 PM. Some of the topics on their agenda include:
A copy of their agenda can be viewed here. Instructions for accessing the meeting remotely can be found here.
Posted in Animal Welfare, Barrington Hills Park District, Commercial Horse Boarding, Horse Boarding, Public Safety, Riding Center Advisory Committee on June 29, 2021| Leave a Comment »
An insurer must defend an Illinois equestrian business from a lawsuit filed by a man who was injured when he was run over by a golf cart operated by an employee who was chasing a loose horse, a federal appellate court ruled Monday.
A three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court judge’s order granting summary judgment in favor of American Bankers Insurance Co. of Florida. The opinion says the “farmowner policy” issued to St. Charles Farms contained ambiguous language that the owners could have construed as providing commercial general liability coverage.
“The risks undertaken and purchased were ‘[a]ll known exposures’ of the business: stables, boarding, riding clubs and academies, commercial saddle animals, and coverage for instructors liability,” the opinion states. “Without a link to the insured premises at that juncture, it would have been reasonable for SFC to anticipate coverage at an off‐site riding event where an SFC instructor was in charge of observing riders; an accident in this context was an ordinary business risk.”
On Nov. 11, 2016, SFC employee Ashley Ratay transported horses, equipment and a golf cart from the business’ property in St. Charles, Illinois to the Barrington Hills Riding Center, about 15 miles away. Ratay was in charge of supervising the people riding SFC’s horses, which she did while riding the golf cart.
Robert Shockley Jr. was riding as a passenger in the golf cart when Ratay sped across a grassy field to chase a horse. Shockley flew out of the cart when it passed over uneven ground and Ratay ran over his leg.
After Shockley filed a lawsuit seeking compensation from Ratay and SFC for his injuries, American Banker filed a lawsuit at the U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois seeking a declaratory judgment that no coverage was owed under its policy.
Read more here.
Posted in Animal Welfare, Barrington Hills Park District, Commercial Horse Boarding, Equestrian Commission, Horse Boarding, Riding Club of BH on June 21, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Dear Equestrian Patron,
Your current annual equestrian rider’s license (membership card) and equestrian tag are scheduled to expire on June 30, 2021. Membership cards must be with the rider and tags must be worn on the horse at all times
while riding on FPCC trails.
2021-2022 Equestrian License and tag will be available for purchase starting May 24, 2021. Upon completion of the purchase, both the membership card(s) and horse tag(s) will be mailed to the address provided. Please allow 1-2 weeks’ processing time for FPCC staff to mail your membership card and/or tag(s).
You may apply:
As COVID-19 regulations change, please refer to our website for the most up to date FPCC regulations.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call the Permits, Rentals and Concessions Department (PRC) at 800-870-3666 option 1. Thank you for your continued support of the Forest Preserves of Cook County.
Sincerely,
Permits, Rentals and Concessions
Posted in Agendas, Animal Welfare, Commercial Horse Boarding, Deception, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, Fox River Valley Hunt, FPDCC, FRVPC, FUBAR, Horizon Farms, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, LeCompte/Anderson Commercial Horse boarding amendment, Politics, Riding Club of BH on June 7, 2021| Leave a Comment »
The Equestrian Commission meets this evening for the first time in a year at 6:30 PM. The agenda the commission submitted (and NO, we are NOT kidding) is as follows:
Click here to view and download the agenda as submitted.
Posted in Commercial Horse Boarding, Elections 2013, Ethics, IAA, Land Use, LeCompte/Anderson Commercial Horse boarding amendment, News Media, Pension Funding, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Topics Of Interest, Village Board, Village Code, Village President, Well Water Quality on April 24, 2021| 1 Comment »
Editorial note: Monday’s monthly Village Board of Trustees meeting will be the last regular one for President Pro-Tem Colleen Konicek Hannigan and President Martin McLaughlin. Here’s what the Daily Herald wrote when the two first won office eight years ago:
Barrington Hills Village President-elect Martin McLaughlin looks over results Tuesday at his election night party with Trustee-elect Colleen Konicek Hannigan. Both won election and will be sworn into office next month. (John Starks | Staff Photographer)
A day after his upset victory over two-term Barrington Hills Village President Robert Abboud, president-elect Martin McLaughlin said his intentions remain the same as during his campaign — to return the village to the normal business of providing services cost-effectively.
McLaughlin said he’d considered divisive debates over outdoor lighting regulations and commercial horse boarding to be manufactured and unnecessary, and believes voters ultimately agreed.
“There were a lot of exhausted, weary residents who were just looking for someone to represent them,” McLaughlin said. “We need someone to actively heal the divisions. I don’t think we need to do anything great here. We just need a deep breath.”
McLaughlin said he never considered the race to be personal and hopes he can turn to Abboud as a resource in the future.
Given the perceived strength of Abboud’s campaign, McLaughlin said he never counted on more than being a messenger.
“I thought I would define issues,” McLaughlin said. “The outcome was a pleasant surprise.”
While McLaughlin would like to give the village a fresh start, he realizes there’s few times when that’s entirely possible. The village remains in the midst of addressing important issues such as the proposed Insurance Auto Auction site in neighboring East Dundee, the long lingering lawsuit over covenants governing the Sears property in Hoffman Estates and mediated negotiations toward a police contract.
McLaughlin believes the fact East Dundee voters also elected a new village president — Lael Miller — provides opportunity for a fresh start for talks about the auto auction proposal, which he considers a threat to the aquifer Barrington Hills residents use.
McLaughlin disagreed with his predecessor’s aggressive approach to East Dundee.
“Shaking hands isn’t a bad way to start, instead of shaking fists,” McLaughlin said.
He also hopes to reach a settlement on the Sears lawsuit and examine the police department’s pension system, which broke away from the state’s several years ago.
Senior Village Trustee Fritz Gohl, who won re-election Tuesday, said he’s keeping an open mind on working with the new president, whom he’s not yet met.
McLaughlin will be joined on the board by two new trustees, Gohl’s running mate, Michael Harrington, and McLaughlin’s running mate, Colleen Konicek Hannigan. Though he’s unfamiliar with McLaughlin, Gohl knows Konicek Hannigan very well.
“I know where she’s coming from because she’s a Barrington Hills lifer like me,” he said.
Having worked with both Abboud and the late Jim Kempe, Gohl said he knows the approach to the village president job has a lot to do with each president’s personality. He agrees with McLaughlin’s assessment that new leadership in East Dundee offers new opportunities for negotiation over Insurance Auto Auction.
Gohl is less certain McLaughlin will find any obvious places to cut the village budget short of laying off workers, and said he welcomes professional insight of the new president and Harrington on managing the village’s police pension fund.
More challenging will be the village’s change of leadership in the midst of police contract talks, Gohl said. The new contract will be one of many areas in which the new president will likely experience a baptism by fire.
“It’ll be interesting to see what happens,” he added. “He’ll be learning as he goes.”
Posted in 2021 Elections, 220, Algonquin Rd, Barrington Area Library, Barrington Hills Park District, Board of Education, Commercial Horse Boarding, Conflict of interest, Deception, District 220 referendum, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, FPDCC, His Master's Voice, Horizon Farms, One Barrington Hills, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Public Safety Committee, Real Estate, Resident Spotlights, Riding Center Advisory Committee, Riding Club of BH, Roads & Bridges Committee, School Districts, Topics Of Interest, VBHPD, Village Board, Village Code, Village Government, Village President, Your Barrington Hills on April 5, 2021| 1 Comment »
With so many candidates running for various offices, we’d like to remind readers of the candidates The Barrington Hills Observer wholeheartedly endorses:
Posted in 2021 Elections, Barrington Hills Park District, Commercial Horse Boarding, Conflict of interest, Cook, County, Deception, FPDCC, Horizon Farms, LeCompte/Anderson Commercial Horse boarding amendment, One Barrington Hills, Politics, Property Taxes, Village Board, Village Code, Village President, Your Barrington Hills on April 2, 2021| 4 Comments »
Spring just sprung, and many find ourselves in the biennial rite of Village elections season. It is recognizable from campaign signs dotting the countryside to complete strangers ringing the door or gate bell of our five-acre sanctuaries from masked humanity saying, “Howdy Neighbor,” causing you to wonder what unannounced circumstances you’re in for.
For the uninitiated, it will be an opportunity to meet a neighbor. For others it represents something akin to an unsolicited sales pitch trying to convince you to vote a certain way. If it’s the latter, you’re likely encountering a “special interest club” member.
Some of these club members can be the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Others, however, might say anything to sway your vote, and we’ve heard a lot of the classics. Either way, these club members manage to get eighty to ninety percent of their membership roster to the polls; thus, the reason for our request for all residents to take the time to vote. Here are our reasons:
Currently, the special interest club is fronting four of their Cook County members as candidates who would represent a majority of seats on our Village Board of Trustees. We believe it important the county be mentioned since most of their interests in running is county centric, such as the revival of commercial horse boarding conflict and wanting to have more control of the Forest Preserve of Cook County’s Horizon Farms on top of the extensive trail system.
Leading this group is the current president of the Barrington Hills Park District who is running for Village President. Transparency is not in his vocabulary, nor is fiscal responsibility or expense reduction. In fact, our Park District has seen a 17% increase in levies under his watch, and three month ago he asked what the legal limit was for raising the 2021 levy prior to the required formal hearing – and he then approved that maximum raise.
Contrast that with the repeated seven levy decreases we’ve experienced along with many other financial benefits our village has experienced in eight years. Benefits such as lower taxes, vastly improved roads, legal expenses that are a small fraction of what they were under the prior village president, just to name a few.
The way to continue the positive progress Barrington Hills has benefited from is to elect candidates with the values instilled by Martin McLaughlin and Colleen KonicekHannigan when they first took office eight years ago.
To accomplish that, all residents reading this need to make every effort possible to vote. We’re confident Brian Cecola is up for the challenge to serve as President as are David Riff, Tom Strauss and Laura Ekstrom to serve as Trustees. They not only have our endorsement, but also the endorsements of those with the highest regard of most residents; Marty McLaughlin and Colleen Konicek Hannigan.
So yes, if you want to continue the positive momentum we’ve enjoyed for eight years, please take the time to vote!
Early voting times and locations can be found here.
Posted in 2021 Elections, Barrington Hills Park District, Commercial Horse Boarding, Deception, Horse Boarding, Illinois State Board of Elections, LeCompte/Anderson Commercial Horse boarding amendment, Riding Club of BH, Roads & Bridges Committee, Village President on March 19, 2021| Leave a Comment »
The Daily Herald has published profiles of the two candidates running for Village President. In ballot order, click on any of their names to read the bio they wrote for submission:
Election Day is April 6th.
Posted in 2021 Elections, Barrington Area Library, Barrington Hills Farm, Barrington Hills Park District, Commercial Horse Boarding, Equestrian Commission, Going green, Horizon Farms, League of Women Voters, Lighting Ordinance, Organizations, Plan Commission, Politics, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Riding Club of BH, Topics Of Interest, Transparency, Village Board, Village Code, Village Government, Village President, Well Water Quality, Zoning Board on March 8, 2021| 4 Comments »
Posted in 2021 Elections, Agendas, Barrington Hills Park District, Commercial Horse Boarding, Conflict of interest, Deception, Ethics, FPDCC, OMA, Politics, Riding Center Advisory Committee, Riding Club of BH on January 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »
The Barrington Hills Park District Board will hold their, “Annual Budget and Appropriation Hearing,” via video conferencing this evening at 6:45 PM. A copy of the agenda can be viewed here, but don’t expect to see any more than that.
You will not find a, “budget and appropriation,” because clearly, the District doesn’t feel it important for taxpayers to review such trivial information prior to the public meeting. If you MUST review them, it is assumed one can obtain a copy from the District office (but there are no guarantees).
At 7:00 PM, the District will be conducting their regular monthly meeting. A copy of their typically boilerplate agenda can be viewed here.
Once again, minutes from the prior District meeting are not available for public review. If they were, residents might have questions, and the last thing commissioners want are questions.
The person responsible for this blatant lack of transparency is Dennis Kelly, President of the Barrington Hills Park Board. Word has it he is now running for President of Barrington Hills.
Given the way Kelly treats his responsibilities at the Park District, in the unlikely event he were elected Village President, the Village would likely return to what most residents remember as “The Dark Ages” we experienced prior to 2013.
Information on how to join the Zoom meetings tonight can be found here.
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