We're still here

I just wanted to put a quick message up letting everyone know that things are going good here. We've been super busy with the holidays and I've had some horrible issues with my computers. My main desktop computer went kaput last Saturday the 22nd. The motherboard doesn’t even post (doesn’t turn on.) Then while trying to transfer my “server” from a desktop case to a tower case it bit the big one too. So now all I’m left with is the laptop we bought this summer. We just purchased a cheap laptop to use for videos in the car if you’ll recall, so it isn’t going to hold up to much abuse, but at least I still have a computer that works and I can still access my email, etc.

We got the best snow yesterday. About three inches of really wet snow that is perfect for making snowmen and stuff like that. But I didn’t play in the snow because I was still diagnosing my two dead computers and trying to get them running. Julie and Grace made a snowman though. I wish we would get some more. I’m still dying to learn how to make an igloo. I got this igloo “brick” mold a few years ago and it supposedly makes it easy to make an igloo. I’ll have to at least try it with this nice snow and see how it holds up even if I can’t make an entire igloo.

That’s about all for now. I’ll write again soon as I should have some time to write coming up in the next week or two as we slowly get back into a “normal” routine. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas (we did) and also hope you have a very Happy New Year.

Eye Doctor

Grace had an appointment today for her one month follow up from her surgery. She was shy/afraid of the doctor again today for some reason. The appointment itself went just great - it actually couldn't have gone any better. Her eyesight in both eyes is 20/20 and both eyes are centered as they should be without being crossed (turned in.)

After that we stopped at Whole Foods in Deerfield on the way home. I love this store. They have the BEST salsa -- called Salsa Fresco -- but they are expensive. I wish it was cheaper but organic food costs more no matter where you buy it. After the grocery store we stopped at Egg Harbor Cafe in Lincolnshire for lunch. They have really good food! And their iced tea is spectacular; the black currant version is my favorite. Grace had the rainbow pancakes which it looked like had M & M's in them. She liked them but didn't eat much.

Then on the way home we stopped at the cemetery in Vernon Hills where my grandmother is buried. Unfortunately Grace never got to meet her. She would have absolutely loved Grace. But it's really because of her death back in 1989 that allowed Julie and I to meet. A few months after she passed on I moved up to the Chicago area to help my grandfather out and was hired at a bank in Libertyville where Julie just happened to work. God does work in mysterious ways. Anyway this was my grandma's favorite time of year; she just loved Christmas. I always think of her a lot during the Christmas season.

Speaking of the Christmas season we had an ice storm on Saturday. It started as an inch or two of snow and then ice to cover it up. It was a mess. Then it warmed up on Sunday into the 40's and rained. Unfortunately it didn't rain enough to get rid of all the snow/ice so I still had to shovel. And now it's cold again and it's supposed to stay cold. I don't mind if it's cold, I just wish it would make up it's mind to be cold or warm; which it looks like its going to be cold for a while now so no need for me to worry.

Hainesville Police Dept

My observations of the Village of Hainesville Special Board Meeting today, December 1, 2007 at 11:00 a.m.

Here is the agenda:
A. Call to order by presiding officer
B. Pledge of Allegiance to flag
C. Roll Call
D. Establishment of quorum
E. Approval of Agenda
F. Discussion of Police Services
G. Advertising for consultants and/or staffing
H. Consideration and possible action on the conflict waiver
I. Letter agreement between Village of Round Lake Park and Village of Hainesville
J. Adjournment

This meeting was announced only 48 hours before the meeting occurred.

The Village Attorney of the month at this meeting was Paul Keller. Trustees Stilz III and Bonds were absent at the beginning of the meeting. Trustee Stilz III was just a few minutes late.

The Mayor began the meeting by stating that the purpose of this meeting is to explain that the relationship between Round Lake Park (RLP) and Hainesville for police services has been officially terminated as of November 13. The final day they will provide police service for our town is February 10, 2008. He also stated "there will be no public comment allowed during this meeting; only after the meeting has adjourned...you are free to voice your opinion but not at this meeting."

This spurned a great deal of disdain among the residents whom were in attendance. Most people in attendance started yelling that the Mayor and the trustees had already made the decision concerning the items on the agenda -– more specifically agenda item number "F" about Police Services. The general theme was that this meeting was called merely to inform us what decision had been made and the public will have no say in it. Some details of the decision being yelled out were that the initial startup costs for the village having their own police force would be around $2 million with annual costs going forward of $1.5 million per year. The other general theme being shouted out was why the public was even invited considering we had no input.

On a personal note, I didn’t know why we were there considering we had no chance for interaction or input concerning the agenda items. I would have preferred to stay home and have the board meet in private and just provide minutes from the meeting for us to review later. I could have been home putting up my Christmas lights before the snow started to fall instead of wasting my time listening to the officials I elected tell me how they plan to spend the money I haven’t earned yet on a situation while granted, it is imminent, it isn’t occurring today.

Because the Mayor had such uproar in the Council Chamber and since he wasn’t intending to allow any public comment, he first asked the trustees if they wanted to allow public comment. This blew up however and actually made the situation worse. The Mayor thus forth called the very police department we’re running out of town to "restore order" to the meeting so he could carry on with the meeting as he had intended.

After the police arrived and after some more yelling occurred and some people were escorted out of the council chamber as well as many people just getting up and walking out, the meeting went forward as scheduled. There was a point where if any resident said anything they were escorted out of the council chambers.

Again on a personal note, I thought all of us should have walked out but I really wanted to hear what they had to say since I’m not privy to all the behind the scenes discussions (read: executive sessions.) All I know about what’s happening in my town is what is listed on the agenda. All I knew about today’s meeting was the actual words on the agenda (discussion of police services.) I had no idea prior to the meeting finally getting under way that the meeting was about how we will no longer have a police force on February 10 and that the Mayor wants permission to start interviewing candidates for police chief of Hainesville for the resume’s he already has because they’ve already started advertising for the position. And I had no idea that the village was already planning to acquire police vehicles from Round Lake Beach (RLB) to be used for our future police department.

Moving on, the meeting began quietly since most residents in attendance had left. The Mayor began by stating that there is a difference of opinion between RLP and Hainesville regarding police service and the problem has no resolution. We hope to have our own police department and the RLB Police Chief Larson is providing significant consultation and help for us to undergo this endeavor. We possibly plan to acquire two police vehicles from RLB – possibly for free. These vehicles were going to be sent to auction. Our current EMA vehicle has been stripped of its decals and is ready to be repainted and used as a community service vehicle. We plan to hire a police chief which will be coordinated through Chief Larson. The Mayor will select the chief of police and the trustees will approve the selection. He is here today asking the board for approval to interview and hire a chief of police. This motion was approved by the board.

Georgeann Duberstein interrupted asking if this was a legal village board meeting considering the facts surrounding how the meeting was announced and the fact that the public has been given no chance to express their opinion. Kathy Metzler the village clerk says she announced the meeting in the same manner she always does and that it was announced 48 hours ahead of time which is the requirement. The lawyer concurred also stating that the public doesn’t have to be allowed time to comment.

The Mayor opened up this subject for discussion among the trustees. Trustee Walkington asks if we begin interviewing candidates for chief of police is the village obligated to then go ahead and have our own police department. The lawyer responded that by approving this motion today we are creating a new chapter in the village code creating a police chief position and the entire hierarchy involved with a police department as well as establishing procedures for selection and establishment of other officers for the police force. After hiring a chief of police the village will then be bound to the terms agreed to in the contract used in the hiring process as he/she is appointed through the employment agreement unless the board votes to remove the police chief from their position. So basically the village would not be bound to have their own department but he hasn’t heard of a case where a village interviews and hires a chief and then doesn’t follow through with creating a police department of their own.

Gary responded that he was under the belief that this was only intended as a temporary measure at most and that we were still exploring other options. Trustee Stilz III asked whose decision it would be to not go forward in creating our own police force. Mayor replied that it would be all of the trustee’s decision. Wally asked what happened to asking neighboring villages how much they would charge to provide police service to our village. Mayor replied that RLB is assisting us now in setting up a new police force but that they don’t have the staff to support us. Other villages don’t want to take over but would assist like RLP is now. Wally said he thought in executive session that the decision was made to investigate the village’s options not to move forward with creating a police force. Mayor replied that he thought everyone was in agreement to severe agreement with RLP and create a new police force. He then addressed the entire board in asking "what do we want to do?"

Wally states that the next meeting is Tuesday, December 11 and we should put this on the agenda and let the public speak their opinion. Trustee Tiffany states that he would hate to make any decision in haste and doesn’t want to burn any bridges. Trustee Gottsacker says we should do this in the interim and look at options. We need a backup plan when the safety of the public is at question. Mayor says Chief Larson will assist the interim chief after being hired in getting up to speed. Wally says he still wants to see other options. He isn’t turning anything down, but that he’s not convinced this is our best option since he hasn’t seen any other options presented.

Trustee Barrett says he talked with Grayslake Police Department and they don’t have the man power. He talked to Round Lake and they are losing 4 officers to attrition by February and wouldn’t have the staffing either. Lake County Sheriffs department he said isn’t cost effective. The only thing that really makes sense is to create our own police force.

At this point a Lake County Sheriffs Department worker stood up and said that she works for the department and that no one has contacted them in regards to this at all. She said that the Illinois State Statute requires the Sheriffs department to provide service if needed. She was quite upset with everything (false) being said about Sheriffs department slow response time and also that if an arrest was made that it would take the officer on duty out of the area as they would have to take the perpetrator to Waukegan where the Lake County Jail is located. She was summarily escorted out of the chamber.

Mayor says that in 2006 there were 3,002 calls to the police department (not sure if I wrote that number down right, but that’s what I thought I heard.) Wally is complaining that he doesn’t have enough information to make a decision. Georgeann begins to distribute information I believe regarding Lake County Sheriffs Department. The Mayor says that she’s not allowed to do this. She replies that she isn’t speaking as she’s been requested not to do. He orders her to be removed from the chamber as well.

Wally says he has said all he can say -– that you (the Mayor) should just do what you want to do. He then leaves the meeting after discussion of this agenda item was complete.

Since this agenda item has already been approved, they moved on to the next agenda item (I think) which was in regards to acquiring older police vehicles from RLB. These would be considered interim police cars. They were originally intended to be put up for auction. We should be able to acquire them for a low fee at most. Trustee Barrett says that at auction recently 2004 Crown Victoria was going for approximately $4,700 plus taxes, fees, etc. making it over $5,000 for the vehicle. Trustee Gottsacker says that he doesn’t believe legally they can sell it to us for more than $1 considering it’s from one local government to another and that taxpayer dollars have already paid for the vehicles once.

Mayor is looking for motion to proceed with acquiring these two vehicles. Motion is approved pending RLB’s meeting on Monday, December 3 where they will determine if they will sell the vehicles to us for sure and how much they are intending to charge us. And also pending any other decisions regarding starting our own police force (ie: if we decide to not pursue our own department that we also don’t need to pursue purchasing these vehicles.)

Next agenda item is the fact that our attorneys represent our village and also the Village of Round Lake Beach whom we are now entering into association with in regards to helping us with our police department. This agreement between RLB and Hainesville states that both municipalities are aware of this and that in the event that a conflict of interest exists they will notify both villages and they can seek council from another firm. Motion is approved pending RLB approving as well.

Last agenda item is in regards to the fact that RLP and Hainesville don’t agree with the amount due RLP for police services. This billing dispute is under litigation and RLP’s attorney advised the Mayor of RLP to not accept/cash the check as this would signify their agreement with us paying only this portion of the bill. The agreement now before the board is stating that the amount due is still in dispute pending litigation but they will take the money being offered (so they have the income.) Motion is passed.

Now the Mayor opens up the meeting for public comment. He allows Georgeann to address the board (and return to the chamber as she had been escorted out.) She is the only one to address the board and says when she was running for trustee at the last election she personally investigated using the Lake County Sheriffs Department by going there and talking to someone there about it for an hour. Their fee was higher than that which RLP was charging monthly but that overall costs would be considerably less than starting our own department. Please don’t just jump into this without considering all the options available to the village. After this the meeting was adjourned.

There was originally one reporter present at the meeting from the Round Lake Journal. He will hopefully publish a detailed report this week. During the meeting another reporter showed up with a camera and took several pictures. She didn’t stay too long, but she did take several pictures. I only wish I had my video camera. I really think all the residents should see our board meetings in person. You can’t begin to understand what really goes on unless you’re there. They can be very intense as this one obviously was considering the police were called. I’m still not convinced it’s legal to force someone to leave a public meeting involving village business, but the lawyer was advising the Mayor to do as such and the police were carrying out those instructions without question.

My questions would be what the villages intentions are in regards to a police department building considering the old Hainesville Police building was in the old village hall building as far as I know. And I don't believe that building can be used because of asbestos. And what jail would our new police department use considering we don't have a jail either.

Douglas Raul Williams who also ran for trustee at the last election was handing out fliers for his run for Lake County Board. He asked me to include the following information:

www.douglasraulwilliams.com
citizensfordouglasraulwilliams@yahoo.com
Democratic Candidate for Lake County Board of 16th District

> Tax relief for homeowners by proposing a cap on property assessments
> Improve senior citizen property tax exemptions
> Restore funding to Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group (MEG) for gang/drug units
> Improve Lake County Court case management system to relieve overcrowding in the County Jail

Only 28 days

...until Christmas. Can you believe it? I suppose we should really start working on purchasing all of our gifts. We got our tree this last weekend. We went to a new place in Lake Villa called Gengel's Tree Farm. The tree we picked out was taller than we had intended to buy. Usually I want a really tall tree that goes as close to the ceiling as is possible. But to be quite honest it just makes it more difficult to decorate. You have to use a ladder and it takes more time and effort than if the tree were shorter. So we went to buy the tree with the intention of getting an 8' tree and the one we picked out didn't look so tall but when we got it home, it's at least 9'; so maybe next year we'll get a shorter one.

Our Thanksgiving was really good. The turkey I cooked on the grill came out REALLY good. I think it's the best one I've ever made. Then on (black) Friday I went out shopping early in the morning. I was waiting in line at Circuit City at 3:15 am waiting for them to open at 5 am. It was 20 degrees outside and I was number 172 in line at that time. By the time they opened there was six or seven hundred people waiting. I was able to go in and get everything I wanted. I got an LCD monitor (Merry Christmas to me!) Then I went across the street to the Staples and waited in line there as they didn't open until 6 am. I got everything I wanted there too including a new 400 Gb hard drive for only $60. That's about half price. The monitor I got was almost half price too.

So I saved a lot of money but most of what I bought was for myself. Is that selfish? Probably, but it sure was fun. And I love my new monitor. The only thing I haven't figured out yet is how to get the screen resolution to stay. Every time I reboot my computer it defaults to 1024 x 768 and I have to change it to 1680 x 1050 every day. It's annoying; granted I have a new monitor, but nonetheless annoying.

I got the grass mowed on Sunday after church and mostly before the Bears game. I ended up with 6+ yard waste bags full of grass and a lot of leaves. I don't know where the leaves come from in the front yard as we don't really have any trees - at least not mature ones. But I got them all cleaned up and the grass looks good. Now if I could just get the other things on my "outside" to-do list completed I might not dread spring so much. There isn't much left. I really need to dig up my dahlias as they will die in this cold weather we've been having.

The Bears actually won this weekend. I was really surprised after how they played in the first half, I almost wasn't going to watch the second half because there were other games on that looked good, but I started watching and they all the sudden were doing better so I stuck with them.

Grace is officially old enough (alright: tall and heavy enough) to be out of the car seat in Julie's car. So we got her a booster for my car and put the car seat from my car into Julie's. So now she has a few more freedoms in the car and since we just picked it up yesterday and used it for the first time today, I'm not sure how well this will actually go over with Grace. So far she can't do the buckle by herself and she's already discovering that she can move around more and reach things while she's in her seat. But at least she's getting in her seat quickly. That's one thing she does that drives me batty. She will get in the car in a normal amount of time but then she just stands (or sits) there and won't get in her seat. Same thing happens when we get where we were going; she just continues to sit in her seat and doesn't get out. It doesn't help us get places in a timely fashion I'll tell you that.

Did you hear about the safety from the Washington Redskins that they're telling us got shot during a home invasion yesterday? His name is Sean Taylor; and he was only 24 years old and he died today. Very sad. He was too young. Obviously they haven't released many details about the circumstances, but what they are saying is that it's related to a home invasion that occurred about a week ago and that I guess they broke in again and this time he was shot in the groin area and lost a lot of blood and they attempted to do surgery and save him but they couldn't. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Redskins family as well as Sean's family.

That's about all for now. I hope you had a good Thanksgiving too.

Happy Thanksgiving

A very Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Here is how it looked outside this morning:

And here is the grill when I was about to start cooking the turkey:

And...Here is how the turkey looks now:

More Rain

Our weekend was pretty good. Saturday was like a regular day as Julie was at a craft fair for her Stampin' Up business and to help her Mom out. Then on Sunday after church we headed over to the Farm Bureau for our family portraits. Since we have our insurance through Country Insurance we're members of the Farm Bureau and as a "perk" for belonging to it we get to have our portrait taken with no fees, a free 10x13 print and really good prices on extra prints. I'll post some of them when they come in on the 13th of December. Hopefully we'll have Grace's school pictures by then too.

The weather was supposed to be nice today so I had planned on doing a few things in the yard just to button everything up outside. But it wasn't so nice as it was drizzling all day long pretty much. So I never started working on that project at all. I never really started any projects today. There's something about a rainy day that makes you want to just sit around and relax. And both Grace and I took advantage of it.

Julie talked her Mom into letting us help out this year with the Thanksgiving meal for the family. We'll be cooking the turkey (on the grill), making the obligatory green bean casserole and either making or buying some rolls. I found a recipe for rolls that looks good but we could just buy them too; that would be even easier than a recipe that's easy to make.

Our neighbor that helped us out over the summer that I referred to as "A" had her tonsils taken out today. Everything went well and she'll be recovering over the next week. I didn't know this but a tonsillectomy is now an outpatient surgery. She went in the O.R. at 8:00 am and was home before 11:30 am; that's just amazing.

This afternoon Grace and I went over to her friends house up in Antioch and picked up the cookie dough we ordered through her preschool. I can't wait to try it. And then another friend brought over a pie we ordered through his school tonight so we're all set for desserts for a while.

I've actually been working on organizing the office. For those of you that have seen our office, you'll know it's desperately needed. I've only gone through a portion of it so far, but have thrown a lot out already. And last night I made my first homemade notepad. I got to thinking that I recycle a lot of paper from things I no longer need or things I try to print that don't print properly, etc. and that I could reuse that paper to make notepads. So I got all the stuff and last night I finally trimmed some of the paper I had been saving to size and put it all together in the clamp I made and glued it up. It turned out really well. If I had used plain and unused paper it would have looked like anything you can get in the store. I'm really excited how they turned out. Julie and I are going to work together and make some Christmas gifts related to this.

Village Board Meeting Update 11.13.2007

I haven't been posting my observations and notes from the village board meetings lately. I thought I'd start to catch up on these by starting with the latest one which was just this last Tuesday the 13th. This meeting had the potential of being an "ugly" one as some of the topics up for discussion where controversial.

The meeting started right on time (as the Mayor was watching the clock waiting for 7 pm to start) and one trustee (Trustee Bonds) was absent.

Immediately upon the start of the meeting the Mayor said that he was moving the Executive Session up from the end of the meeting to the beginning of the meeting. So as soon as we started the meeting all of the residents were left alone while the Mayor and trustees all left for the executive chamber. This executive session was labeled as a discussion of imminent litigation.

It was short as they all returned within 5 minutes. Public discussion was next on the agenda and there was quite a bit of discussion this evening. First the Mayor acknowledged that our State Representative was in attendance tonight: Sandy Cole and Lake County Board Member Bob Powers. Then Georgeann Duberstein mentioned that the Great Age Club was taking collections especially toiletries for Winchester House in Libertyville.

Then the real public discussion began when Georgeann's husband George brought up item number J-5 from the agenda (A Resolution Calling for an Advisory Referendum to Determine whether the Village should provide Retirement Benefits to Long-Time Employees.) He was asking the Mayor for permission to talk about this topic when it came up in the meeting instead of at the beginning before any discussion among the trustees had occurred. The Mayor said no that he should talk now.

George went on to say that this is not a resolution that the residents have filed and whether or not the village will provide this to it's employees but that it's a tax that the residents (as tax payers) will be required to pay for and shouldn't be worded as such in the agenda. The plan (through IMRF) as it's laid out now obligates the village to permanently remain in the program they've selected to provide retirement benefits to its employees. This plan also requires that in the first year that the villages contribution would be approximately $20,000 and that this was essentially an unfunded mandate as we will never know in advance how much it will cost the tax payers. George has put up a resolution for the spring ballot (the Mayor verified it will be on the ballot and that representatives from IMRF will be at the December Village Board Meeting.) He also states that a 457(b) retirement plan is much better and the Mayor responded with "We will have our say" meaning the trustees, village employees and himself will have the final word on this issue.

Georgeann then got up again and stated that a misnomer has occurred (which is basically what George said) in that the village isn't being obligated, it's the residents that will end up paying for this retirement plan. She read from the IMRF brochure saying "who guarantees employees pension? - the tax payer." She asked the Mayor and the board to please look at other options as the referendum as stated doesn't have other options.

Douglas Raul Williams stood up and said he concurs with Georgeann.

Kelly Hensley (Treasurer) asked the villages lawyer Dirk if the retirement plan would show up on each residents tax bill as a separate line item. He said no it would not, it would just be included in whatever amount the village needs each year unless the village defaults (goes bankrupt) in which case it would show up as a line item because then it would be solely the residents responsibility.

The Mayor also states that village has the hardest working staff in the state probably and are entitled to this - its about time we did this.

Georgeann responded saying that isn't the issue. To the trustees: if you, having been elected by us, truly feel this is the right plan to implement you are askew. In the corporate world nearly every company has moved away from pension plans and towards 401(k) plans instead which is what a 457(b) plan is (just for municipal employees.) With the IMRF plan the village is permanently obligated to remain with that plan, it's not transferable for the employee even after terminating their employment with the municipality. Please consider other options.

The Mayor states we are investigating the 457(b) plan - but again they are entitled to whatever decision they make. This was the end of public discussion.

The Mayor started his report saying that on Monday the 26th that Kelly Hensley, Debbie Bonds and himself would be discussing a new contract with Veolia and that hopefully they would complete those negotiations before the December meeting.

He also gave an update on the bike path along Hainesville Rd. For the Avon portion between Washington St and the ball fields the bidding opens on November 27th. So it will obviously be done next year and the other portion from the ball fields south to Walgreens would occur next year as well.

Kathy Metzler (Clerk) said she's working on the village newsletter and needs articles from the trustees by the 27th.

Debbie Bonds (trustee - not present) is spearheading a Santa visit to the Village Hall on December 8th.

Kelly Hensley (Treasurer) said the audit's start has been delayed and will begin on Thursday the 15th.

Jeff Gately (Public Works) said there are approximately 60 homes left to convert from the old water meter reading system to the new wireless system. Hopes to set up appointments and complete this task by Thanksgiving.

Jeff also stated that a maintenance plan is being developed for the air relief valves to avoid any further problems with the sewer mains going into the Fox Lake Treatment Facility.

Marcia McCutchan (Engineer) said in regards to the MFT (road repaving and improvement throughout the village and along E Big Horn Dr) that the contractor is having difficulty with the landscaping sub-contractor and are finding a new one and it will be done before Thanksgiving.

Mark Gottsacker (trustee -> Public Safety Coor.) Georgeann wants an article in the newsletter.

Kelly Hensley (Treasurer) said in regards to the Tax Levy: An overall increase of 5.6% which is not per homeowner, this is the overall increase. Public hearing in regards to this will be December 11 with (hopefully) ordinance approval that night at the village board meeting. (approved resolution # R07-11-39)

Set of three ordinances in response to AT&T trying to avoid paying fees associated with the delivery of video by claiming they aren't a "cable" company and that their video service isn't delivered over "cable" lines (it's over fiber.) Basically these bills re-phrase the ordinances to state that any video delivery, regardless of delivery method, must provide a certain level of service to their customers. And also that they are obligated to pay any fees associated with the delivery of video just as any other company must. Approved ordinance #'s 07-11-86, 07-11-87 & 07-11-88.

For the "big question" resolution regarding retirement benefits all trustees unanimously decided to not include this resolution on the spring ballot basically stating that they need to explore all their options before jumping in especially since the IMRF plan is permanent. The Mayor stated "note to Georgeann: we will be looking into the 457(b) plan."

End of meeting - cake time celebrating everyone's birthday for this year. Cake was from Lovin' Oven Cakery in Round Lake with whipped cream frosting.