Improving Carpentersville

NOW – It’s time to begin a discussion on how do we really improve Carpentersville.

Allow me to begin by saying this. It’s not going to happen without a true commitment to do so by the Village itself. We cannot depend on volunteer committees to accomplish or sustain any real improvements. Real improvements must be done with the will to spend money on them and have staff to maintain them. It’s really that simple. What seems to have been the biggest obstacle to over come in the past was the political will and leadership to do this. Even routine things like maintaining the streets were not done in the past. This fact begs the question: WHY weren’t these things done? Those who made those decisions were not doing anyone in our town any favors. They were cheapening and devaluing our investment. That type of thinking hurt this Village very badly.

As with all places, reputations are earned. If a town has a good reputation, it’s been earned, if the reputation is NOT so good, that too has been earned. Carpentersville has earned its reputation. The good news is a reputation can be changed. For the life of me, I do not understand why past Village boards and some on this current board do not see the benefit in making improvements in our town. The better your town becomes the less the residents have to pay in real estate taxes. Some thriving communities do not tax their home owners at all. That should be the goal of Carpentersville. To reach the point where we are self sustaining without burdening our residents with property taxes. To get there may involve some pain, but it’s worth the pain if it will increase the value of our community, provide better jobs and get us to a truly “tax free” community.

The biggest fallacy in government is the thinking that taxes in and of themselves are bad. The spending of tax money should always be set on TWO main goals or objectives: 1. To improve productivity 2. To enhance the investment/worth/value of your community. When those goals are met, your community then is on its way to actually lowering your tax burden. That’s taxation with true representation. That’s getting the full value out of every tax dollar. That’s NOT paying taxes, that’s investing in the future.

Carpentersville must change the way we do business, with business. We must be willing to work with businesses to help them locate in our community. Spending some money “upfront” to get much more money in the long run is how that is done. We have to stop thinking that one segment of our community is hurting us, namely the Hispanic commuinty. Did you know that in “Little Village” in Chicago, a heavily Hispanic section of Chicago, they have a $2 billion dollar per year economy in just that one Hispanic neighborhood. So, it’s not the Hispanic’s that are our problem. We need to begin to understand that fact and use this knowledge to the advantage of our entire community. That’s why narrow minded thinking is hurtful in so many ways. Those who think narrowly never see the BIG PICTURE. Those who think narrowly, ALWAYS lose. There is no situation that a wise person cannot turn to their own advantage. We can improve Carpentersville, but we must see the BIG PICTURE. We must realize the current opportunities that we have and build on them. We must spend money to make much more money. We must invest in our future, so that later, that future investment pays huge dividends back to ALL of us. I look forward to your thoughts. Come on Carpentersville, we can do this!

Parks & Recreation Department For C’Ville

In my last comment on the previous thread I mentioned the Village forming its very own Parks & Recreation Department. This makes perfect sense. We currently have a Parks Committee made up of one Village Trustee and some appointed members from the community. This has not worked well for the Village. This is in NO WAY a rap on these people or the committee itself. It just is not the right way to get the things done that need to be done. This committee works with some Village staff, but those who they work with do not have the time or the man-power to do the things a Village our size needs to do. Remember, we are a Village of 37,000 people.

I do know quite a bit about this topic: A long time ago, when I was 21 years old, I was the “Leadman” at Elgin’s Lord’s Park. That was a civil service job that was within the Parks & Recreation Department of the City of Elgin. I’m guessing, but I would wager that Elgin was smaller at that time than Carpentersville is NOW. The City of Elgin had two major parks, Wing Park on the westside, where I began working for the City (as a partime seasonal employee) and Lord’s Park on the eastside where I finished up my service to the City of Elgin. During that time I helped to build a golf course “Spartan Meadows” next to Elgin Community College. I worked on Wing Park’s golf course. I drove trucks and cut grass with gang mowers pulled by a tractor. I pushed lawnmowers. I raked leaves in the fall. I cut the grass on the greens of the golf courses, and picked up trash. I fed the animals at the Lord’s Park Zoo. I painted playground equipment. I helped put up chain link fences for ball fields. I helped out with recreational activities. I formed a “flag football” league for young boys. I supervised the men’s basketball league. I also supervised the girls softball league. I umpired for the men’s softball league. I also played on teams in both the men’s softball league and the men’s basketball league. As the “Leadman” over Lord’s Park my duties were to oversee the maintenance crew working at Lord’s Park. I was second in command under the Park foreman. When the foreman was gone, I was in charge of the park. During the winter we provided ice skating rinks at the Lord’s Park Lagoon, at Trout Park and also on the parking lot at Wing Park. That’s my background concerning Parks and Recreation. I cut down large trees with chain saws. In short, I did ALL the jobs in the Parks & Recreation Department. This gives me a very strong background of knowledge of how this department would function in Carpentersville.
Carpentersville needs a Parks & Recreation Department. We need a dedicated Village department to maintain, create programs and promote our parks. We need a dedicated staff to schedule, promote and create activities for our community. This should all be done under the direction of a Parks & Recreation Director. Who would answer to the Village Manager as do all other Department Heads.

This department would have its own budget. Its own man-power. The Village Manager, would hire qualified individuals who know recreation and know park maintenance. This department would create things for our youth to do during the year. Not just during the summer, but year round. This is a vital service that is sorely missing right now in Carpentersville. The parks crew would also be responsible for maintaining the common areas in the Village. This would include landscaping, planting flowers, trees, bushes, grass and the maintenance of all of these. It would include the landscaping of the Village buildings. It would include the maintenance of the Ivy Wall project. In the winter this crew would be responsible for the clearing of snow from the sidewalks in the parks, removing dead trees, and doing routine maintenance of the equipment. The full-time crew would be smaller than the seasonal summer crew. The recreational function would be responsible for planning events and promoting those events. We definately need sports leagues in the Village. These leagues would be made up of business sponsored teams. There would be a fee to join the league, (paid for by the sponsor) which would be used to pay for the activities. I would think that the basketball league could use the gyms at some of the schools in District’s 300 and 220. This is possible. It must be done.

Where Do We Go From Here

Okay — We’ve listed some things that are missing in Carpentersville and we’ve taken a look backwards to those days when “Meadowdale” was formed. It’s now time to take a look into the “crystal ball” of the future.

One commentor mentioned, wishing that he could go back in time, in a time machine. Well, how about getting in that time machine and taking a ride into OUR FUTURE? Frankly, It’s much more fun looking ahead instead of looking into the rearview miror.

I truly do believe that our best days are yet to come. One commentor scoffed at that thought, but that’s because some people can only see what they want to see. To have a bright future will take cooporation from many in our community. It will mean putting differences aside for the good of all.

Another commentor said that those who grew up in Carpentersville were looked down on by some in other communities. That commentor also said that should be a reason for us to unite to make a point that WE here in Carpentersville are proud. We are as good as anyone else.

I’m very tired of hearing other people put our Village down. I’m tired of reading in the media that we are somehow lacking. I just don’t buy that. Many of us were not born and raised in Carpentersville, but for a number of reasons WE came here to make this our home. Some of us came from other towns in Illinois some from other state’s. Wherever we came from, we have one common bond, we all now live here.

This Village was expanding rapidly during the 50s, 60s, 70s, and is still growing today. Much of the new growth during those rapidly growing years came from mostly returning veterans of World War II and the Korean conflict buying affordable homes in the Meadowdale section of the Village. One thing those vets all had in common, was that when they served, wearing our country’s uniform, they were part of a group of men and women who had come from every part of this great nation. Pulling together they were able to forge a fighting force unsurpassed by any other army on the face of this earth. That’s our proud tradition. That’s our proud heritage. We’ve come from those who would never ever give up. We came from those who were all different, but at the same time, came to realize that they really were ALL the same. Nothing has changed. We are ALL the same. Those who would say differently are just plain WRONG.

Now, it’s time to dream and to plan. To turn those dreams into reality. It’s time to get down to business and get things done. We’ve made some significant headway in the past 3+ years. Our streets are getting fixed. We can see vast improvements in Old Town. We have a new bridge. A new Welcome sign leading to Old Town. We have new entryway signs at our borders. We are doing festivals and parades once again. We have a lighted holiday tree in the park. We have purchased equipment to do this high priced street resurfacing work, in house, by our own crews, that saves you and me money. Can you feel it? The “winds of change” are sweeping through our Village. We have a sclupture outside of the front entrance of Village Hall, it’s called the Winds of Change. I purchased that sculpture from my own funds and donated it to the Village. It’s been there since shortly after I was sworn into office. I believe it’s a sign of things to come, work still undone. Real change takes time.

Now, We must focus on economic development. We need to change our image. We need to get the message out to the business community that there is a new day, a new way of looking at business in Carpentersville. We need to be smart and think of ways to raise revenue without having to raise taxes. To do this we must find some tax generating businesses who will locate here in our Village. That may cost us something up front, but it will pay huge dividends for ALL of us down the road.

We must improve the Rt. 25 corridor. The shopping center needs to have a reason to be upgraded and be redeveloped. The owners are not just going to make the improvements out of the kindness of their hearts, it must make business sense for them to invest in the future. We have to provide that reason. We have to make it worth their while. As a community UNITED we can do this. If we listen to those who would divide us, then we all lose. Our future is in our hands. It’s up to us. Let me hear from YOU. What do you say, are YOU ready to make a difference? I’m betting on YOU, that YOU are!

A Proud History of Carpentersville

As promised, I do want to highlight some of those things that Carpentersville was known for in the “Good Old Days”. Sometimes it just feels good to take a look back at better times. I’ve listed as you know some things that I feel have been missing from Carpentersville. But, on the flip side of that coin are the good things that Carpentersville had and unfortunately are now just part of the past. This isn’t to say that things will never get better. I believe that OUR best days are yet to come. But, it’s worth taking a look back in time…

Here is information of things that Carpentersville should be very proud. Much of this information comes from a book from the Dundee Township Historiacal Society. “It began on March 1, 1953, with the bold headline in the Chicago Tribune: BIG RESIDENTIAL CENTER TO RISE IN FOX VALLEY, PLAN Town of 15,000 Near Elgin.” The Tribune reported: “A multimillion dollar residential-shopping-industrial development, eventually to house more than 15,000 persons, will be built in the Fox River Valley, it was learned yesterday. It will be one of the largest projects of its kind ever planned for the Chicago metropolitan area.” The project — which literally rose from the ashes — was the brainchild of a Chicago building contractor, Leonard W. Besinger, who owned a 200-acre ‘gentelman’s farm’ just north of Carpentersville. Besinger bred hackney show ponies on the farm, which was called Meadowdale. The farms stables had been destroyed by a $100,000 flash fire that killed 25 ponies on May 15, 1949. A second fire doing similar damage killed 14 more ponies on November 27, 1951. Besinger at that point shifted direction and his dreams. So, he gave up the horse business and went into land development. He began to purchase land that totaled more than 2,605 acres and another 1,000 acres on which there was pending options. His original plan was to build a new town called Meadowdale. But, there were objections to his plan. Leonard W. Besinger was a man with a plan and he was not to be detered. After opposition from Kane County and the Village of East Dundee, Carpentersville was glad to annex the property, and gave access through the Village to the river. “So I (L.W. Besinger) started building and selling — and at the end of the first year we had sold more than 700 houses. After overcoming more trouble — In the second year we obtained VA financing and sold — and built — 700 units. Gradually the opposition faded and demand for homes in Meadowdale grew by leaps and bounds.” Carpentersville’s population in 1950: 1,523. In 1960: 17,424. In 1970: 24,059. In 1957, a year before the tollway opened, Besinger’s firm did a study of Meadowdale residents and found that most came from Chicago. Their incomes ranged from $4,700 to $6,900 and families included up to nine children. (overcrowded homes?) Besinger estimated that 98% of the men were veterans from World War II and Korea. Most of these men continued to work in Chicago.

The Good Old Days:

1. A 54 store shopping center was opened in May of 1957. It soon became one of the largest regional shopping malls in the Chicago area. Its most attractive feature in the early years was the Wintergarden Mall, accurately described as ‘a beautiful, enclosed ice skating rink surrounded by small specialty shops with a multi-tiered, open air restaurant overlooking the skating arena.’

2. Meadowdale Raceway opened the weekend of September 13, 1958, when it attracted up to 200,000 spectators.

I’m going to stop here, I want to hear from YOU the long time residents. I want your memories of Carpentersville. I want your take on its unfinished future. Let’s hear about the F.W. Woolworth & Co. Store at the mall, Revco drug store, The Eagle Food store, Cook’s and so much more. This is your chance to tell me all the good memories you have of Carpentersville. Even the swimming pool behind the mall. What was it like growing up in Carpentersville?

This Is YOUR Chance – Sound Off

Today, I’m opening this forum up to YOU. I want to hear back from YOU on things you’d like to see our Village do that we currently are not doing. Or, just do a little brainstorming. There is NO Right or Wrong answer. This is not a test. It’s YOUR chance to sound off. To be heard. What’s on your mind? I really do want to know. If you want to post a comment as anonymous please feel free to do so. Nothing you say will be held against you.

As the Mayor of Carpentersville I do want to know what the people want from their government. This is YOUR government. Please give me your ideas and thoughts.

I’ve pointed out some of the things I believe that we are lacking in Carpentersville. Now, remember, we are the largest Village in the area, except for Elgin. Why do you believe that Carpentersville isn’t living up to our “size” potential? Or, are we? What can we do better? I can point to many more things that get me going, but this is your turn to sound off. Do you like the new streets and sidewalks? How about Old Town, what could we do better there? Illinois Rt. 25, now there is an area that needs some serious help. What do you think? Okay, it’s all yours let me have it.

…More Things Missing In Carpentersville

Since doing that post on what’s missing in Carpentersville some other things came to mind. Here are some additional things we should have in a Village of 37,000 people.

1. Banquet Hall
2. Motel/Hotel
3. Parks & Recreation Department
4. Fine Dinning Restaurants – With Live “Family Style” Entertainment District
5. Civic Center To Hold Public Events
6. Museum Of Local Memorabilia
7. Branch Of the Dundee Twp. Public Library On The Westside of the Village
8. Our Very Own Village Ochestra – To Hold Concerts in the Park
9. Organized Sports Leagues for Adults and the Teenagers.
10. At Least 3 Major Parades Each Year.

Okay, I’ve listed 20 things that are or were lacking in Carpentersville. I would love to hear what you think about these things. I’ve gotten a few very good comments. I want many more. If you are reading my blog and you have friends in Carpentersville, let them know about this site, so they can chime in on these ideas. This site is about YOU not me. I’m here to toss out ideas and it’s up to YOU to give me feedback. I will post ALL comments that are respectful and constructive. So, fire back your ideas. Let’s prove that we ALL can work together to get good things done in this Village. It’s time to correct the mistakes made in the past. Let’s make Carpentersville the best place to live in all of the area. I want our future generations, our children and their children to be proud to call Carpentersville their hometown. I want YOU, who are living here right now, today, to be proud that you live in Carpentersville.

What’s Missing In Carpentersville

I’ve been doing some thinking about things that are missing in Carpentersville. When this Village was founded in 1887. It was lacking some usual things that most places our size had that we didn’t and still don’t to this day. Just off the top of my head I’m going to put together a list of the things I find to be missing from Carpentersville.

1. We have no identified Town Center or Downtown Shopping District.
2. There was no Drive-in movie theater.
3. We do not have a hospital.
4. There is no medical complex (doctor’s office building).
5. There is no cemetery.
6. We have no funeral home.
7. We have no auto dealerships.
8. We do not have older chruches with classic architecture.
9. We do not have traditional events or parades.
10. We have only one bridge crossing the Fox River.

Allow me to explain why what we are missing is so important. When you go through this list you will see that we lack many important things that bring a commuinty together and things that cause people to put down roots. When these things are missing so is community spirit. Also missing is a hometown feel.

Cemetery

A cemetery is a classic example of what I mean. When you have your own cemetery and your friends, relatives, loved ones who have passed on before you have lived in a place and they’ve died and are buried in your home town cemetery you have much more of a reason to call that place home. A cemetery also offers a historical record of a town. We don’t have one.

Funeral Home

Something connected to a cemetery that we also lack is a funeral home. Again, this may not seem very important, but when you think about it, most places have their own funeral home and funeral director that the people in town know and respect. People entrust their loved ones to that person to prepare them for burial. Families have a tradition of using the services of the same Funeral Home for years. It’s part of a community. It’s tradition. We don’t have a Funeral Home.

Hospital

We also do not have our own hospital. Once again, a hospital is a place where we, our loved ones, were born or have died or have been healed. Hospitals are there to serve us when we need them at some of the most important times in our lives. We don’t have one.

Downtown

A Downtown has traditionally been a place for people to go and meet. To shop at their favorite stores. To dine out. To go to a movie. To have a drink with friends. To sit out on benches during warm summer nights. They are places that usually hold fond memories of times gone by. We don’t have one.

Outdoor Drive-in Theater

These for the most part have gone the way of the roller-skating rinks and the drive-in fast food places. But, the towns that had them have some fond memories of warm summer nights watching the screen, while it was not yet dark enough to see anything but gostly images on the movie screen. The speaker placed on the half rolled down car window, was what tipped us off that the movie was beginning. That was a great time to hit the snack bar for some last minute food. However, I remember in my old hometown of Elgin, we used to pop our own popcorn and bring drinks from home. You see, more fond memories. These are important to a community.

Car Dealerships

Who doesn’t remember buying their first car. It most likely wasn’t the best looking “ride” on the street, but it was ours and that made it the BEST. I still remember going to that car dealership to look at what they had on the lot in my price range. It turned out to be a 1964 VW Bug that I got for a steal at only $550.00. I had a lot of fun in that car and harrowing experiences, that I still wonder how I survived. I still recall the dealership where I bought that first car. Another fond memory. We don’t have a dealership.

Parades & Events

We need to do much better at providing quality entertainment for our community. We are lacking in this regard. We had our first parade last year after 47 years. I’m not counting the homecoming parades held by the High School. That’s way too long to wait between parades. Carpentersville used to have a huge event each summer it was called “Jamboree Days”. People came to Carpentersville from miles around to enjoy this multi-day event. We do need to bring back events. We need to do major parades. Here we are the Village that was built on returning veteran’s from WW II and the Korean Conflict and we have no Memorial Day Parade nor a 4th of July Parade or a Veteran’s Day Parade. My question is: WHY NOT?

I’d like your comments on what you’d like to see in Carpentersville that we don’t have. Dream BIG this is the time. Add your item to the list that I began.

I know this seems to be very critical, but my next post will deal with all the GOOD THINGS that Carpentersville has been known for over the years. My goal is to return to those days of fun times and good things. I believe that our BEST DAYS are still ahead of us.

Nate Spain: Still A Member Of Audit & Finance

Contrary to a published newspaper article by Larissa Chinwah of the Daily Herald, Nate Spain is still a member of Carpentersville’s Audit & Finance Commission.

Here are the facts: Nate Spain has missed some meetings of the Audit & Finance Commission due to his belief that Paul Humpfer is unfit to continue to serve as the Chairman of this Village Commission, or as a member of the Village board. Mr. Spain’s reasoning is based on the fact that Mr. Humpfer has been convicted of domestic battery for beating his wife with a baseball bat during a dispute at the Humpfer house in May of 2007. Mr. Humpfer is awaiting sentencing on his 4 count conviction after being granted three continuances from a Kane County Judge. Mr. Humpfer was convicted on March 5, 2008.

Mr. Spain after making it known that he did not intend to attend anymore meetings of the Audit & Finance Commission until Mr. Humpfer was removed or resigned from the Village board, an ordinance was introduced by Trustee Judith Sigwalt, an ally of Mr. Humpfer, setting limits on how many consecutive meetings could be missed without cause, before a commission member could be removed from their position. It was decided that three (3) consecutive missed meetings, without cause, would be sufficient to remove a member of a committee or commission.

At the last Audit & Finance Commission meeting, on June 26, 2008, Trustee Ed Ritter made a point to put it on the record that Mr. Nate Spain had missed his third consecutive meeting. He requested that Village Manager, Craig Anderson, send a letter to Mr. Spain informing him that he was to be removed from the Audit & Finance Commission. Audit & Finance Commission Chairman Paul Humpfer agreed with member Ritter and Manager Anderson without acknowledging any correspondence from Nate Spain, agreed to send the letter notifying Mr. Spain.

On July 2, 2008, I called Mr. Spain to inform him of the situation. During our conversation I learned that Mr. Spain had sent emails to Manager Anderson and other Village staff who work with the Audit & Finance Commission to inform them that he was going to be traveling for business during two of the three meetings that Mr. Spain had not attended. His absences were due to reasonable cause and Mr. Spain gave writen email notice to staff informing them of his inability to attend two of the three meetings, therefore, under the provisions of the new ordinance no violation has occured. Nate Spain is a member of the Audit & Finance Commission.

A personal aside - Nate Spain has proven to be an excellent member of the Audit & Finance Commission and I sincerely hope that he will be allowed to continue to serve our community. Mr. Spain is also a valuable member of the Firefighter’s Pension Board and does an outstanding job in his capacity with that vital board. Mr. Spain is top quality financial talent that we are very fortunate to have working for our Village as an unpaid volunteer. Some will undoubtedly try to turn this into a political matter. I assure you that Mr. Spain has acted on his own and is in everyway his own man. My reason for posting this information is to let the public know that there is not an opening currently on the Audit & Finance Commission. The Daily Herald’s article was misleading. I passed this new information on to Ms. Chinwah and had fully expected to see this new information disseminated to the readers of the Daily Herald, but so far it has not appeared.

Update: I spoke with Larissa Chinwah of the Daily Herald, she informed me that she had spoken to Nate Spain and that he had not told her of the emails that he had sent to Village staff concerning his absences. She also was not informed of this fact by Village staff. So, she wrote the story according to the information she had received. This does not explain why the Daily Herald has not corrected the story. They’ve had the correct information now for nearly a week.

Have A Happy & Safe – July 4th

The roads are filled with traffic. Seems that the $4.00+ per gallon gasoline prices have not really curtailed people’s activities. It took me the better part of an hour to drive from Wood Dale to Carpentersville. While in traffic, I was listening to the traffic report on WLS FM, (The Oldies Station) and the drive times were all an hour or more.

If you are going to be out this weekend please remember to not drink and drive. Also that fireworks are illegal in Illinois. Have fun, but be careful and be safe! Don’t break the law.

As I was driving I was noticing the advertising that many towns do for their festivals. This reinforced my thinking that we need more festivals and we need to do a better job of getting the word out. Arlington Hgts. has a Festival that goes from July 2nd thru July 6th. We need to provide more activities for our residents. This is something I’ve been trying to do since I was sworn into office. In fact, the very first meeting, after I’d taken my Oath of Office, I suggested that we form a special events committee. That’s something we still need to do. But my idea was voted down by the trustees. This is still a goal of mine. We have gotten a couple of events going the past two years, but it’s not enough. We should be doing parades and festivals on a much grander scale. I’d like to hear your thoughts on this idea. Have a great weekend – Happy July 4th America!

Village Board Meeting Tonight

The Carpentersville Village President and Board of Trustees will meet tonight for the first regular Village Board meeting for the month of July. The agenda is rather light.

Two Firefighters will take the oath of office Matt Jackson will be sworn in as a Firefighter and Robert Beattie will be sworn in as a Fire Lieutenant. My CONGRATULATIONS go out to both men.

The board will consider a Resolution to “Prioritize” Huntley Road Improvements Between State Rt. 31 and Randall Road.

The Carpentersville Village Board meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesday’s of each month. Regular Board Meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. The public is welcome and I would encourage you to come and participate or at least watch your Village government in action.