The Barrington Hills Park District Board will hold their regular monthly meeting this evening in person and via Zoom at 7:00 PM. Topics on their agenda include:
The Barrington Hills Park District Board will hold their regular monthly meeting this evening in person and via Zoom at 7:00 PM. A copy of their agenda can viewed here.
Instructions for accessing the meeting remotely can be found here.
The Riding Club of Barrington Hills (RCBH) recently released their September, 2021 newsletter. One of the sections provides an “update” on the August meeting of the Village Equestrian Commission regarding, Equestrian Trail Licenses:
“The Equestrian Commission met on the 19th of August to discuss the continued need for the Equestrian Trail Licenses issued by the Village for the purpose of riding on the Village deeded easement trails.
By Ordinance in June in 2005, certain trails traversing private land in the Village exist as easements recorded in favor of the Village. The easements are generally in and around the newer subdivisions in the Village where the Village and the Equestrian Commission worked successfully with developers subdividing tracts of land to protect the continuity of the trail network and to maintain the unique character of the Village. Easement trails are maintained by the RCBH. As set forth in Title 6 and Section 8-5 of the Village Code, equestrian use of easement trails is allowed solely by licenses issued by the Village of Barrington Hills.
There is an ongoing discussion with a need for further information. As soon as the Equestrian Commission has that information a date will be determined for the next meeting.”
In other words, they’d rather not reveal anything that was discussed. No surprise.
A copy of the RCBH newsletter can be viewed and downloaded here.
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)
McLaughlin looks ahead to Barrington Hills presidency
Posted 4/10/2013 5:15 PM
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.”
The League of Women Voters has posted recordings of the two Village candidate forums they held Saturday morning.
The session for Village of Barrington Hills President candidates can viewedhere, and the session for candidates running for Village Trustee seats can be viewedhere.
The Environmental Committee meets this afternoon after nearly a year of inactivity. This will only be the fourth meeting Trustee Paula Jacobsen has scheduled since she took office in 2017, and the first three were called to discuss a single topic of “Bee City USA.”
Since Jacobsen is running for reelection, she must think she needs to have another meeting about bees to put on her “qualifications” for running. She has, however, added the topic of the “Blue Star Memorial” to the agenda, but that is for obvious reasons.
You see, her property is adjacent to the Christ The Rock Church, which was granted a special use permit last night to operate a religious institution at 195 South Sutton Road, where the memorial is located. Not very subtle timing, is it?
And while we’re at it, aren’t there other topics that could be addressed by her committee? Apparently Jacobsen doesn’t see the need or is not inclined to put forth the effort.
A copy of her agenda can be viewedhere. To listen in on the meeting remotely, dial 508-924-1464.
In May of last year, the Board of Trustees directed the Plan Commission to review the Village Comprehensive Plan and make recommendations for any changes they saw fit for the Board to adopt. The last time the Comprehensive Plan was updated was 2005 and amendments were approved in 2008.
After nearly a year of work and meetings, the Plan Commission has agreed to the changes they would like seen in the Plan. A copy of their proposed 2019 Village Comprehensive Plan can be viewed and downloaded here.
A public hearing is scheduled for July 8th at 6:30 PM to allow residents to voice their comments, or feedback can be provided to the Village Clerk atclerk@vbhil.gov.
Tomorrow, Wednesday September 5, is the date of the BACOG Well Water Sample drop-off. Residents who purchased test kits last week at the Village Hall should follow the provided directions on how to draw their water samples. Samples will be received at the Garlands between 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM.
In addition, three informational presentations will be held, beginning at 2:00 PM. Topics include the role of BACOG in promoting regional groundwater sustainability, contamination of the aquifers by chlorides from softened water, and improvements in modern water softening systems.
The Barrington Area Council Of Governments will host a water testing event Sept. 5 for Barrington-area residents who receive their water from private wells.
Households with private wells are advised to test for bacteria and nitrates on an annual basis to detect invisible, odorless contaminants. Bacteria and nitrates can result from animal or human waste or fertilizer components reaching the well water and can cause illness. At last year’s event, 13 percent of households tested positive for bacteria, officials said.
Residents of Barrington, Barrington Hills, Deer Park, Lake Barrington, North Barrington, South Barrington and Tower Lakes and the unincorporated areas of Barrington and Cuba townships are eligible.
Kits can be purchased for $12 between Aug. 27-31 at village and township offices of BACOG member communities. They can be dropped off between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sept. 5, at The Garlands of Barrington, 1000 Garlands Lane, Barrington. Results will be mailed to homeowners within two weeks.
The original Daily Herald article can be found here.
