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Our Village Board of Trustees will be holding a special meeting beginning this evening at 6:30 PM. The purpose is to certify the results of the April 4 election and to vote on Board responsibility assignments as follow:

  • John Carpenter Clarke: None
  • Laura Ekstrom: Environment, Roads & Bridges and Equestrian Commission
  • Darby Hills: Building & Zoning and Plan Commission
  • Jessica Hoffman: Health
  • David Riff: Municipal Buildings & Grounds and Public Safety
  • Thomas Straus: Finance, Insurance and Village Personnel

Also, President Cecola is nominating David Riff to be President Pro Tem.  A copy of tonight’s agenda can be viewed here.

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April 2023 Adg

Our Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting beginning this evening at 6:30 PM. Topics on their agenda include:

  • [Vote] Amended Village Budget FY 2023
  • [Vote] Resolution Authorizing the Issuance of Notice of Award for the 2023 Road Program Project by the Village of Barrington Hills, Illinois Resolution 23 –
  • [Vote] Ordinance Amending Escrow Requirements for Tree Removal Permits as Set Forth in Title 4, Chapter 6 in the Village Code Ordinance 23 –
  • [Vote] Resolution of Proclamation Appreciating Trustee Bryan C. Croll for 8 Years of Dedicated Service Resolution 23 –
  • [Vote] Resolution of Proclamation Appreciating Trustee Colleen Konicek Hannigan for 10 Years of Dedicated Service Resolution 23 –

In addition, nominations for new or renewal appointments to Boards and Commissions will be voted on.  Four member of the Equestrian Commission is on the list of renewals, however there is a problem with the renomination of one of those members.

That member ran for and won a seat on the Barrington Hills Park District Board earlier this month, and now this represents a conflict. Therefore, an alternate should be considered at a subsequent Board of Trustees meeting.

A copy of this evening’s agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.

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CK

What follows was recently posted to the Village website:

“Chances are you’ve seen the lime green Jeep zipping around town….the American Flag proudly displayed on the wheel cover.  This would come as no surprise to learn that Trustee Colleen Konicek Hannigan is behind the wheel. The vibrancy of her vehicle matches her get-up-and-go drive. Yes, pun intended!

Trustee Konicek, as she is notably known, has always had, undoubtedly, a sense of duty to her village and to society.  “I think that everyone should be willing to do something to serve their community,” said Konicek Hannigan, a visible lesson she learned from her father, Dr. Frank Konicek, who has been a volunteer member of the Village’s Board of Health since its inception in 1992 and is currently its chairman.

Trustee Konicek Hannigan has been a Village Trustee since 2013, deciding to get involved in local government at a time when a bit of strife existed between neighbors all throughout our community. Controversy surrounding bikes, horses or lighting dominated headlines–and friendships. “This community was so divided ten years ago, visibly divided, that I decided to run…to tone down the rhetoric and bring back the Barrington Hills of my childhood,” said Konicek Hannigan.

She recounted neighbors on horseback stopping by for a cup of coffee and a friendly chat; neighbors getting together to create a makeshift baseball diamond to play a neighborly game; and hot air balloons landing in backyards of nearby residents.

No doubt residents’ lives have been touched in one way or another by the actions and accomplishments of Trustee Colleen Konicek Hannigan. Perhaps it was while attending the annual Hills Are Alive Fall Festivals that she co-founded in 2013 with the goal of bringing the community together. Or perhaps while running alongside her when participating in the Police Torch Run or during the Independence Day 5K/10K that she not only participated in but organized and brought to Barrington Hills. Or maybe it was while supporting the Barrington Honor Ride and Run benefitting America’s Veterans which she arranged to have routed through our scenic Village. If not by one of these events, it has been most definitely by her conviction in protecting the Village’s open spaces, zoning laws, and the characteristics that make living in Barrington Hills truly unique.

Trustee Colleen Konicek Hannigan chose not to seek reelection this year, ending her tenure of ten years. She was elected to two four-year terms and appointed to fill the remaining two-year term of the Trustee vacancy that was created when then, Trustee Brian Cecola was elected as President.

“I feel that we are back to a friendly, courteous neighborhood since we don’t have to rent out Countryside School to have Board meetings anymore…I wanted to live in the neighborhood that I grew up in again, and I feel like that has mostly happened,” said Konicek Hannigan in a reflective manner when asked about her accomplishments. “I would count that as my greatest achievement.”

While Trustee Colleen Konicek Hannigan may no longer be sitting on the Board, bets are her sights are set on new endeavors within our community. What those entail remains to be seen.

Thank you, Trustee Colleen Konicek Hannigan, for your dedication to all things Village related, your behind-the-scenes hours and selfless service!

Monday, April 24, will be “Trustee Konicek’s” last Board Meeting as next month the newly elected Trustees will be sworn in to complete the new Board.

Feel free to send her an email of thanks to CKonicek@vbhil.gov.”

Learn more about her accomplishments here.

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Cuba Road

Cuba Road east of Rte. 14 is plowed by Cuba Township

Cuba BH

Cuba Road west of Rte. 14 in our village is currently plowed by Mac’s

For nearly fifteen years, our Village benefitted from the snow plowing services provided by the Cuba Township Road District.  Inexplicably, in September of last year, Trustees Ekstrom, Croll, Riff and Strauss awarded our snow plowing services contract to Mac’s Property Management Services of Wauconda. The results have been abysmal.

The images above best illustrate the new service experienced by our residents this Winter. After a recent snow event, Cuba Township plowed Cuba Road east of Route 14 Lake Barrington, and the photo at top shows the results of their work.  A photo was then taken of Cuba Road in our Village within minutes of the first photo capture, and it was plowed by Mac’s.  The difference is significant and concerning.

At best, Mac’s snow plowing services have been consistently shoddy, with slow (or sometimes no) service being the experience of many residents.  Lack of deicing is an oft heard complaint, and as recent as Friday’s afternoon snowfall, many witnessed their own driveways being plowed before Mac’s employees bothered to show up.

We cannot allow substandard service on our Village roads. The modest decrease in expense does not justify the liability our Board of Trustees has exposed our residents to.

Our Village does have an “out” clause with Mac’s, but Roads & Bridges Chair, Laura Ekstrom, couldn’t recall if it was 30 or 60 days.  The point is moot, however, since by the time our Village Attorney sorts it out, Mac’s will be mowing lawns.

The decision to discontinue Cuba Township’s services has been a huge error in judgement, and we’re being generous in that assessment.  We’re just fortunate we don’t have to call it a tragic one (yet).

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VBHPD

Here’s to recognizing the Barrington Hills Police Department on this day and every day for their service to residents.  Thank you.

Related:Special delivery: How Barrington Hills cops helped with roadside birth

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With so many candidates running for various offices, we’d like to remind readers of the candidates The Barrington Hills Observer wholeheartedly endorses:

Pres VBHTrustee VBH220 VBH 1HC VBHBAL VBHBHPD VBH

If you haven’t already, Please Vote tomorrow! 

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Brian Cecola

Two experienced, knowledgeable candidates are vying for the opportunity to serve Barrington Hills as village president in the April 6 election, and voters face a difficult time choosing between them.

Brian Cecola, a self-employed business owner, is a village trustee with a long record of service in the area, including leadership of the Barrington Lions Club and serving as a firefighter and board member for the Barrington Fire Department, On the Barrington Hills village board, he heads the Bridges and Public Safety Department, which accounts for a large portion of the town’s budget.

He emphasizes goals of fiscal restraint — citing the village’s record of six-straight years of levy reduction — and sees himself as a relationship builder who can work constructively with other leaders.

Our preference leans toward Cecola, whose direct experience with the village board gives him more direct insight into the workings of village government and would seem to give him a head start in working with village board members to address issues facing the community. He gets our endorsement.

Read more here.

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The pandemic that created so many hardships in 2020 is far from behind us, but with vaccines already being distributed to millions and the calendar turning to a new year, there’s reason for optimism as we begin 2021. We asked mayors and village presidents in the Northwest suburbs what they hope to see their communities accomplish in the year ahead.

Barrington Hills, Martin McLaughlin

The village is currently testing the use of cameras to create a “virtual gated community,” which if approved, will be implemented in 2021.

Barrington, Karen Darch

Next year, we are looking forward to leading the community “back to normal” after the pandemic and beginning work on our Route 14 Metra access project as well as engineering work on the Route 14 underpass.*

South Barrington, Paula McCombie

In 2021, we are looking forward to working on an increase in development and new business, as well as the completion of our serenity garden in our Village Conservancy.

The plans of Hoffman Estates, Inverness, Lake Barrington and others can be viewed here.

* We were wondering what ever happened with the,Curious Questions with Karen Darch,” podcasts?

The first (and only) podcast was in February, and we think she should reactivate it given current events (District 220, for example), since the first one was so stimulating!

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It was long considered illegal to leave your horse unattended on the streets of Arlington Heights without having it securely fastened somewhere.

How long ago? Until this week.

The village’s lawyer found the antiquated rule on unattended equines and other “draft animals” when she went to update village code about negligent and distracted driving, a far more common occurrence in 21st-century suburbia than horses running loose through the streets.

“I think this may be the last vestige of something that’s truly, truly, truly old,” said Robin Ward, the village’s in-house counsel.

Ward was surprised when she found the old section of municipal code because much of it had been cleaned up during a re-codification in 1995. Before that, the code was updated in the 1960s. But the horse rule likely predates that, into the 1920s, Ward said.

Read more here.

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Barrington Hills officials are exploring whether changes are needed in the village’s open burning regulations after hearing from residents on several sides of the issue.

Resident Nina Chandel recently told the village’s public safety committee the ordinance for residential property needs a definition for habitat restoration open burning. She also suggested a modification for approved habitat restoration open burning days to be available based on wind speed and the air quality index.

Chandel said the current burning policy is hindering her ability to restore 4 acres of forest to natural health near her home.

“I now have masses of invasive brush on my residential property that cannot be removed or chipped or mulched,” Chandel said. “And it cannot reasonably be burned within the three-hour, five-foot single location limits that are in the current ordinance. Right now, this massive invasive brush presents health and safety hazards for the forest plants and wildlife and for us.”

Resident Justin Pawlik questioned Barrington Hills’ 10 p.m. cutoff time for a fire during the village board’s public safety committee last Thursday.

Read more here.

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