June Was A Productive Month

June was a busy and productive month for the Village of Carpentersville. We were notified that we had received grant money to help us with gang crime and we were notified that our gang task force was earmarked by the federal government to possibly receive $400,000 in additional funding sometime next year. This earmark is just beginning the total process, but at least we are in the game. We also were notified that we had received $40,000 in state grant funds to help with street lighting on the Eastside of the Village.

Our street program continues to move ahead and more and more streets are being milled and resurfaced. These improvements will continue throughout the season. The Village will be doing some substantial patching work on Alameda. This was a change in our original plans, but after taking a look at that street it was determined that it makes sense to do some repairs there this year. If you are looking for the complete list of streets to be done this season that information can be found by clicking on the Village of Carpentersville site on my blogroll.

We also had a productive meeting/tour of the Rt. 25 corridor with State Senator, Michael Noland and staff from the Governor’s Office and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). More on this meeting will be shared at a later time. Some of our requests included the Beautification of the Illinois Route 25 Corridor: Which would include uniform fencing along each side of the road – The removal of the current concrete median strip and replacement with landscaping and additional street lighting. We also discussed the possiblity of a sidewalk to run along side Bonnie Dundee Golf Course on Rt. 68. This sidewalk would be paid for by the Dundee Park District.

I’m sure all of you have seen the new entryway signs by now. These were a welcome addition during the month of June. There are three left to be placed. We have budgeted for six (6) total signs and we have three (3) installed. The lanscaping is still left to be done.

Some long awaited repairs are in the works for Fire Station #2 on Lake Marian Road. This fire station has been in need of repair for several years. This year after many years of discussion, it will be done. Also, I’m pleased to report that still moving forward are plans to build a new Public Works Facility. This is another project that has been needed and talked about for many years. It is getting closer to becoming a reality. This facility is long past due. We have approximately 2 million dollars of equipment sitting outside currently because we have no place to garage this equipment inside. That is unaceptable. This shortens the life of this valuable equipment and it delays the effecincy of our Public Works Department. This must be addressed this year.

WOW! Did You See The Fireworks?

WOW! The fireworks were the best I’ve seen in Carpentersville. There were thousands of people out to watch them. After a strange weather day today with the storms and the gusty winds this afternoon, the evening turned out to be quite nice for the fireworks display. I drove around the area and people were everywhere watching the show and what a show it was. The Village Fresh Market parking lot was filled as were all the other parking lots around the eastside of the Village. It was fortunate that we have moved the fireworks from Carpenter Park to the open field behind the Meadowdale Shopping Center. This makes a much better venue for viewing the spectacular event. This was the third year now that we’ve had the fireworks at this location and it has worked very well. Each year the show has gotten bigger and better. It was a beautiful sight indeed to watch all the people streaming back to their homes and cars at the conclusion of the display. Our police were out directing traffic doing a fine job. Some of the traffic signal lights had been knocked out by the wind storm earlier in the afternoon. But traffic was moving very well and the police were doing a fine job of keeping everyone safe as they ventured home after the show.

Unfortunately, the weather did not cooporate with our second annual Great American Festival. The power kept going on and off, but the vendors all stayed until the end and there was a fairly sizable crowd on hand to enjoy the fun. There were many children who were taking great delight in taking their turns on the inflatables. Janice Murphy our Economic Development and Special Projects Coordinator did a very good job. Given the conditions I would say the event went very well. Some of the food vendors even went across the street to sell their goodies to the people who had come early to stake out a good position for the evening’s show. The bands did an excellent job of providing music. I stood by and watched as a young father gave pennies to his toddler to throw into our fountain out front of Village Hall. The small boy was having the time of his life tossing those pennies into the clear water in the blue pool. I overheard the proud father ask the boy if he’d made a wish. It was a memorable momment for both of them as well as me. One of our maintenance employees saved a very frightened and very hungry parrakeet that obviously had been someone’s pet. The last I saw the parrakeet had been fed and was doing quite well. If you know of anyone who may have lost their pet bird you may want to check with Village Hall to see if this bird may be yours or someone you know. We are always the first in the area to celebrate July 4th, our nation’s birthday. This year we really did it up right. Thanks to the Dundee Park District for coordinating the fireworks event.

Great American Festival & Fireworks Display

Can you believe it the 4th of July soon will be here. Our Village will be celebrating our nation’s Birthday on Saturday, June 28th. For the second consecutive year, we the Village of Carpentersville, will be the sponsor of The Great American Festival. The Festival will be the prelude to the late evening Fireworks program that is again sponsored by the Dundee Park District. This is a family event. It will be held out front of Village Hall and will begin at 3:00 p.m. and run until 7:00 p.m. There will be food, fun and music for the entire family to enjoy. The Great American Festival is arranged and coordinated by Ms. Janice Murphy, our Economic Development and Special Projects Coordinator.

Event Schedule–

The Great American Festival – 3-7 p.m. Children’s Activities, Food & Beverage Vendors.
First Concert 5:30 – Chuck Drager
Second Concert 7:30 – The New Invaders
Fireworks begin at dark (9:30)
Parking is available in the field to the west of Village Hall.

Come out and see the show! I will be there stop by and say hello.

Really Good News

I was contacted yesterday by our former lobbyist in Washington, DC to inform us that Carpentersville has been included on the House Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee Bill for a $400,000 earmark for our Community Response Team (CRT). This earmark was due to the efforts of our new Congressman, Bill Foster, who myself and our Village Manager, Craig Anderson met with not long ago to give him our list of projects that we have been attempting to get some federal assistance. If this money makes the cut, it most likely will not be seen until early next year. If this earmark holds up, the funding received would help our Police department combat gang crime in Carpentersville. It would be a big help in that ongoing effort.

I was able to contact Congressman Bill Foster on his cell phone while he was at the airport preparing to return to Washington, DC. I thanked the Congressman for his help. As you may be aware Congressman Bill Foster won a special election to finish out the unexpired term of our former congressman, J. Dennis Hastert. Hastert who had been Speaker of the House retired early, that set up a special election. Bill Foster won that election and is already producing results for his district. He also had a very large earmark included for Fermi Lab in Batavia. Requests for other funding for Carpentersville have been made by Congressman Foster and we are hopeful that we get some additional federal help on those requests. Congressman Bill Foster has shown some very good skills since being sent to Washington to represent the 14th Congressional District. He has come through for Carpentersville and I will not forget that in November.

More Odds and Ends

Meet Your Congressman

For those who may be interested in meeting their new Congressman, Bill Foster will be at the Jewel/Osco in West Dundee, Saturday, June 21, 2008, from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. Stop by and say hi.

New Entryway Signs

I hope everyone has had a chance to see the new entryway signs that we have at both ends of RT. 25 and at the south end of Rt. 31. If you haven’t seen them take notice as you drive by those locations. They took quite some time to get installed but they were worth the wait. They look terrific!

Improvement At Raceway Woods

A new foot bridge has been installed at Raceway Woods by the Kane County Forrest Preserve. Take a walk over there and see it. It is a big improvement.

Watch The Board Meeting

Don’t forget that Friday night is the night that the Carpentersville Village board meeting is aired on Ch.17 on Comcast. The program begins at 7:00 p.m. Tune in to see your elected officials in action. There usually is a delay in when the meetings are aired. I believe that tonight’s airing will be the second half of the June 3rd meeting.

Some Help For Motorists

Also it was decided at the last Village board meeting that some major patching work would be done this year on Alameda. This street is widely used and is in very bad condition. It is scheduled to be completely redone in 2010 or perhaps 2009.

Taking A Look At Rt. 25

Next Tuesday, I will be taking a tour of Rt. 25 with State Senator Michael Noland and officials from the Illinois Department Of Transportation (IDOT) to see what can be done to improve this vital corridor.  Sen. Noland has had a real interest in helping to improve this area.  It’s also high on my list of things to do in the coming years. We have applied for a 1.3 million dollar grant from the state of Illinois to improve this area on the east side of the Village. As I hope you are aware, and if not, please be assured that we are looking for additional money from everywhere. It is my goal to get some good things done without having to raise taxes on our home owners.

Check Out Welcome – New Policy On Comments

I have decided that feedback is more important to me than knowing who is making the comments. Therefore, I will post comments that are respectful and constructive, regardless if the person chooses to use a screen name instead of their own name.  

Help for Homeowners

At a recent Village board meeting we had Kane County come out to make a presentation on what help is available to homeowners who are faced with foreclosure and other issues.

Today, at noon, I will be attending a news conference that I’ve been invited to take part in by Kane County Board Chairman, Karen McConnaughay.

News reports have well-documented the national forclosure crisis and the devastation it is causing homeowners and the communities from coast-to-coast. Here in Kane County, we’re feeling the impact as well-in fact our county saw the highest rate of increase in foreclosures in the Chicagoland metro area rising by more than 42% between 2006 and 2007.

This trend threatens not only individual taxpayers who are losing their homes, but the economic vitality of our entire region. Given the stakes, the County Board unanimously approved the launch of a comprehensive public information campaign to raise awareness of existing services available to help homeowners.

Homeowner Clinics will be held soon in our area. This is a crsis that must not be ignored. I urge anyone who is facing hardship with their mortgage to seek help.

Village Board Meeting Tonight

We will be holding our second regular Village board meeting of June this evening at 7:30 p.m. at Village Hall. I would like to invite you to come and see your elected officials in action. If you have anything you’d like to say, there is a period of time at the beginning of each regular meeting that is dedicated to “public comments”. This is your chance to speak up about your local government. All comments must be directed to the entire board and not to any one individual member and all comments must be respectful and on topics that are directly related to Village business.

Last night we had a special meeting of both the Village board and the Audit & Finance Commission. The purpose of last night’s meeting was to get more information on the building of a new Public Works Facility. The Audit & Finance Commission will meet to further discuss this matter on Thursday, June 26, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. at Village Hall. The new Public Works Facility isn’t an option it’s a necessity. We currently have 2 million dollars of equipment sitting outside in all kinds of weather. This is unacceptable. This shortens the life span of the equipment and is very foolish economicly. This is equipment that YOU the taxpayers have paid for and this equipment will have to be replaced sooner than normal if we do not provide adequate storage space. We wouldn’t dream of allowing our Fire equipment to sit outside. Our space needs are real and must be addressed with real answers.

Students To Learn How to Save Lives

Over the past several months I have been working with Save A Life Foundation to raise money to begin a program in the Carpentersville schools to instruct our students in life saving skills that they will be able to use the rest of their lives.

As I see this program it has several positive aspects. First of all, the obvious benefit is that we will have an army of first responders living right here in Carpentersville. An additional benefit is that our students will be learning how important a life truly is, therefore, I would hope that these young people would think long and hard before ever thinking of taking another person’s life or joining a gang. This program will teach our students that lives are worth saving. This is one more positive way to put youngsters on the right path in life. A good beginning in our life has much to do with the rest of our journey.

The program is prepared for a fall kickoff. Through the generosity of several of our local businesses we now have the seed money to begin the program. We have raised over $5,000.00 toward this worthwhile endeavor. Save A Life Foundation works with local Fire Department personnel to instruct the students in age appropriate life saving skills and techniques. Because of the generosity of our local businesses, taxpayer money will not be needed to launch this program. School District 300 has been very supportive in helping to get this program set up in the Carpentersville schools.

Our Emergency Medical Technicians [EMT] have been trained and are ready to begin the program. This training was also done at no cost to the Village.

I will give you more information on this program as the next school year approaches. If you are reading this and would like to make a contribution to this program it’s not too late to do so.

If you are interested please make a check payable to Save A Life Foundation and get it to me at Village Hall. Please make it to my attention and write on the envelope for Save A Life Training.

$40,000.00 Grant From State of Illinois

Friday, June 13, 2008, I received some very good news. In my mail box was notification from the state of Illinois that we had been awarded $40,000.00 in grant money from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). This money was reimbursement for some new street lighting that went into some of our capital projects last summer. This means that the Village has an additional $40,000.00 back in the capital fund that we didn’t have earlier. This money will be used for additional street lighting in the Village where lighting is most needed. We are constantly looking for more revenue to do more good things. This money is the result of meetings I’ve had with our elected State Representatives and State Senators. I’ve also been notified that the funding requests that we had previously made through our lobbyist have been submitted by our new Congressman, Bill Foster. The programs we are asking for some help with are the Police CRT (anti-gang unit) and funding for our new Public Works Facility and a new back up generator at the Waste Water Treatment Plant. All of these requests have been made by Congressman Bill Foster. Keep checking back here for more good news About Carpentersville.