Our Village Valentines

February 13, 2015April 24, 2016angie

The Village staff ladies (Margerita, Sherry, and Julie) enjoy a spot of tea with the Village Board ladies (Angie, Lori, and Heidi)

I have always enjoyed St. Valentine’s Day, as it is a good excuse to tell those special people in our lives how much we appreciate them. One group of “sweethearts” to those of us living in Long Grove would be the members of our Village Staff. We are small but mighty here in our community, with only four full-time staff members and one part-time employee to manage our Village of 8,000-plus residents. But what we lack in numbers can be more than made up for by the friendly smiles that will greet you on a visit to Village Hall.

Our small staff means that they sometimes have to be “jack of all trades” and flexible enough to fill in however needed. How many of you could: sell a used truck, fix a furnace on a 150 year old building, help a resident find garage space for a new garbage can, draft a zoning change, approve a building permit, smooth over a merchant’s ruffled feathers, and cheerfully mediate a neighborly dispute over a dead deer, all in a day’s work?

So, on behalf of all Long Grove residents, here’s a Valentine poem for Julie, Sherry, Margerita, Jim and Dave:

In a leafy, green ‘burb of Chicago,
Toils a crack Village Staff; and we all know,
To be pleasant and kind,
And not lose your mind,
Is a skill, and to you we say “Bravo!”

And the next time you’re tempted to call,
A complaint in to our Village Hall,
Be sweet and genteel,
And in turn, you will deal,
With our lovable staff, one and all.

We Are The Champions

February 11, 2015February 13, 2015angie

At Tuesday night’s Village Board meeting I had the pleasure of issuing a proclamation. It read, in part:

WHEREAS, the hard work, dedication, sportsmanship, talent and exceptional team chemistry of the 2014 Adlai E. Stevenson High School Patriots football team has enabled these student athletes to earn a State Championship title; and

WHEREAS, winning the 2014 Class 8A Illinois High School Association State Championship brought honor to Adlai E. Stevenson High School and the Village of Long Grove on the local, state and national level;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Angela Underwood, Village President of Long Grove do hereby recognize and heartily congratulate Adlai E. Stevenson High School and the 2014 State Championship Football Team on its outstanding accomplishment in this 50th year of the school’s history, and

FURTHER, I urge all citizens of Long Grove to join me in recognizing and celebrating the team’s achievement and wish the members of the team continued success.

Nineteen residents of Long Grove are part of this Patriot varsity team. How wonderful it was to have most of these students in attendance at our Board meeting, along with their parents. It was an honor to recognize these boys for their hard work and achievements!

To read more about what happened at this Village Board meeting and what is happening in our historic downtown, check out the Daily Herald article and video:

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20150211/news/150219808/

Infinite Beauty

February 4, 2015February 11, 2015angie

This magnificent image of a coyote was taken two winters ago in my backyard. It illustrates one of my favorite quotes:

“Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty”–John Ruskin.

I wonder if she is still hunting mice in my conservancy; if she was part of the howling and yipping pack that we heard Sunday night in the blizzard. Earlier this winter, I had a resident phone me to complain that a deer had died in the open space near his neighborhood, and it needed to be removed because it was attracting coyotes. My response involved some version of the “circle of life” explaining that the coyotes are residents of Long Grove too, and don’t we live here because we value the abundance of nature? I’m not sure he agreed with me, and as it turned out, the deer was on private property so the Village couldn’t remove it had we wanted to. Even though I wish the ground hog had predicted a quicker end to our current season, I am choosing to appreciate the beauty of this winter. The trees in my backyard vista look so much more graceful with snow outlining the delicate branches. One of the joys of living in our Village is the opportunity to observe the wild things up close and personal. The challenge is allowing ourselves the chance to really see it.

An Evening of Excellence

January 28, 2015February 4, 2015angie

Having a good time at the 2015 Lake Zurich Evening of Excellence

This past Saturday night I had the opportunity to attend a dinner, dance, and awards presentation sponsored by the Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce. I enjoyed the chance to meet and converse with area business and civic leaders. In my past year and a half as Village President, I’m continually impressed with the collaborative way I see our elected officials and chamber volunteers work together for the mutual benefit of everyone in our corner of Lake County. And the award winners this past weekend were perfect examples of this. I noted that none of the recipients this year were from Long Grove. For the next Evening of Excellence, I have it in mind to put forward some deserving nominees for “business of the year” and “citizen of the year” from our Village. Could it be you?

State of the Village of Long Grove

January 27, 2015February 4, 2015angie

Happy New Year! I hope that your 2015 is off to a great start. I’d like to take a moment of your time to recap some of the significant things that happened on the Village Board in the past 12 months, and give you a peek ahead to what is on the agenda for Long Grove in the coming year.

GOALS ACHIEVED

Every two years, as new Village officials are elected, the new Board spends a workshop day identifying goals for the months ahead. 2014 saw the realization of several of those goals, and significant work was achieved on many goals that are ongoing. Goals that were achieved include: the replacement of street signs throughout the Village, update and expansion of the permitted uses in the downtown historic district, lease of the Village soccer fields, and determining the specifics of a road maintenance funding referendum, which was held this past March. One goal that is ongoing is to “identify sustainable long-term funding sources for needed infrastructure repair and replacement.” Following the failure of the referendum, this goal became a high priority. A series of infrastructure workshops was held over the summer and fall months, with the 4th and final workshop planned for January 20th. Members of the community were invited to work with the Board of Trustees in exploring funding options aided by the guidance and advice of consultants in the fields of strategic planning, engineering, economic development, and finance. As an outcome of these workshops, the Board expects to have a consensus on direction with regard to funding our current and future infrastructure needs. The completion of a long-range Capital Improvement Plan that provides a comprehensive view of the Village’s capital needs is another goal that is ongoing, and has been a topic of this workshop series.

ADDITIONAL 2014 ACTIONS

Several new issues were brought before the Board this year, two of which resulted in large attendance at public hearings and Village Board meetings. Video Gambling was approved by the Board on a six month temporary basis, and is currently available at four locations in the historic downtown. The decision on establishing this on a permanent basis will come before the Board this coming April. Two new Senior Living & Memory Care developments have been approved in the Village, one near the intersection of Routes 53 and 83, another near the intersection of Rt. 53 and Long Grove Road. Construction is expected to start on both of these projects in the coming months.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2015

On April 7th, you will be asked to participate in the future direction of our Village as three of the Trustee positions will be up for election. Six candidates are running in the race, and your vote will be important. Our Village Clerk position is uncontested.

One of the first goals that the Board will be addressing in 2015 is an update of the Comprehensive Plan. It has been many years since the previous update, and the time has come to take the pulse of the current residents to make sure that our policies and guiding principles accurately reflect those of the majority. To assist with this, the Village is hiring a professional survey organization to conduct a Village-wide survey this winter. If you are called to participate, please let us know your opinion.

In the coming year we expect to make progress on the extension of our Village pathway system, finalizing a connection between the south Schaeffer Road path and the Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve. A decision on the renovation or replacement of our covered bridge will be made, and steps will be taken to get this work underway. Our Village water system will be extended from the municipal well at Sunset Plaza into the downtown crossroads. This will bring higher quality water into the shops and restaurants in our historic business district and be an important factor in attracting new development and encouraging improvements to existing properties. Speaking of new development, many of the properties in the historic downtown have recently come under new ownership, with several more expected in the next few months. The Board is looking forward to working with these new owners in 2015, as new shops and restaurants are opened. We will be assisting with efforts to attract new businesses by forming an Economic Development Commission, and will be taking a more active role in outreach.

Many goals are yet to be achieved. But your Village Board has the willingness to work hard, and with your support much can be accomplished in the year ahead.

Life in Long Grove Blog

January 26, 2015angie

One of the ways that I’ve decided to challenge myself in this new year is to finally create and maintain a blog. The occasional postings that you read here will not be official opinions of the Village of Long Grove, but my own personal thoughts about local issues. We do not have a Village newspaper, and while the monthly “Bridge” newsletter and “Long Grove Living” are great communications, they aren’t always timely. So my hope is that this blog will serve as a handy format to quickly get news and musings out to the community, and give our residents one more way to be informed on local happenings.

In putting together my ideas for an initial post, I ran across this quote:

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” –Plato

I am confident in saying that most of the blog entries you will read here will fall somewhere in between the wise and foolish spectrum. I’ll do my best to keep it brief and non-controversial. I will not be enabling comments, but if there is a topic that you would like to see me write about, I am open to suggestions. I promise to keep a civil tone, and will expect the same in return.