Everyone Loves a Parade

July 4, 2016July 13, 2016angie

Back Row: Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor. Front Row: Long Grove residents Angie Underwood, Vicki Juster, Heidi Locker-Scheer, and Rick Juster.

What’s the 4th of July without a parade, and what’s a parade without a few politicians? Several Long Grove residents helped me ring in our 2016 Independence Day by participating in the annual Vernon Hills parade earlier this morning. We had fun supporting our Lake County Board Chairman while getting in our daily 10,000 steps.

Here’s to the red, white & blue, and a safe and happy holiday everyone!

Summer Fest

June 26, 2016angie

Friends and neighbors sharing a picture perfect day at Summer Fest L to R: Angie & Aaron Underwood, Michael Trickey, Jim Uszler, and Diane Trickey.

This is going to be a very short blog post because I think the picture above says it all! We love our town, and Long Grove was a great place to be this weekend as we celebrated Summer Fest in the historic downtown with fun, families, food, carnival rides, and great music. It was cheerful to see so many neighbors, residents and merchants enjoying the festivities despite the seasonable heat. Besides, what’s a good summer festival without a little sizzle?

Glorious Garden Walk

June 24, 2016September 28, 2016angie

Just a small portion of the beautiful gardens created by Jo and Harry Moser of Kildeer.

Today the members of the Long Grove-Kildeer Garden Club brought a little bit of beauty and joy into the lives of others. Five area private gardens were open to the public for tours this morning, to share the wonders of nature and raise a bit of money in the process. Whenever I attend this event I invariably come away with creative ideas and inspiration, and also a healthy dose of garden-envy. We have some seriously talented (and hard working) gardeners in our corner of Lake County! The gardens featured this year in the annual Garden Walk were quite diverse and unique: vegetable gardens, unusual flowers, water features, a serene Japanese garden, fruit trees and berries, wildflowers, orchids, cactus, a garden shed to die for and even a couple of fairy gardens–we saw it all. Thankfully, Mother Nature set a perfect scene today for the gardens in all their glory.

By volunteering and participating in this event I was once again reminded of the best things our Village has to offer. Neighbors working together for a common goal were raising money for scholarships and stewardship work in our public Woodland and open spaces. And in the process, showcasing some outstanding gardens and those who create them; providing beauty and inspiration to fellow green thumbs in our community. Our local garden club is a real asset to Long Grove all year round, but in the summer it truly shines the brightest.

A Bit Further Down the Path

August 30, 2015angie

My favorite walking buddy, Aaron Underwood, tests out the new pathway segment.

With the recent completion of another trail segment, our Long Grove pathway system is one step closer to making a connection to Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve. Several years ago, when the sewer lines were put in for the Menard’s development, the Village took the opportunity to have a pathway installed on South Schaeffer Road. This north-south path runs almost the whole southern length of our village, and is considered a “spine” in the system to eventually link all neighborhoods to the historic downtown. Starting at Schaeffer Road and Route 53, the path had previously ended at Checker Road. The plan has been for this path to connect into the Lake County Forest Preserves pathways at Buffalo Creek, but making that final connection has proven very costly. Surprisingly, pathways are very expensive to engineer and construct–it’s almost like building mini roads. This is why most paths are created as part of a new housing development, or added by taking advantage of the opportunities created when roads are widened or infrastructure added.

The Village had applied and received some grant money from the State of Illinois, but it was only enough to get halfway there with the connection. By working with our counterparts on the Lake County Forest Preserves Board, we have been able to partner with them and they have committed to adding a path that connects where ours currently ends, linking the Village system with the one in Buffalo Creek. So even though the path currently looks like it dead-ends halfway, it will eventually connect to the Forest Preserve when they undertake their enhancements.

Pathways are one feature that our residents consistently advocate for, and we have a Village Pathways Committee that meets monthly to make headway on this initiative. This weekend, my husband and I went out to check out the new path and give it a spin. We’re getting closer to making that final connection to the Forest Preserve, one step at a time!

Is it Lawn or is it Prairie?

August 20, 2015angie

Open space in Long Grove this time of year features many wildflowers and native prairie plants.

Most municipalities have rules and regulations regarding property maintenance and in particular, standards for keeping a tidy yard. But Long Grove is not like most municipalities. Our community includes many acres of forest preserve, park district lands, and platted conservancy, which are protected through county and state regulations. In addition to this, many privately owned lots in our Village have been partially or fully maintained as open space prairie. Residents have seeded these areas with native plants, and hold the occasional controlled burns suggested for best management. Many of these natural areas are adjoining platted conservancy, so that there is no distinction where lawn ends and open space begins.

Nevertheless, I was surprised to learn this summer that we have an ordinance restricting the height of grass and weeds on private property to 8 inches. Prior to 2009, this rule did not exist, due to the unique nature of our local open spaces as described above. But after the economic crash in 2008 and the subsequent default of properties to banks and other agencies, exterior property maintenance became a concern. The “tall grass” restriction has been successfully used by our staff to keep vacant properties from becoming an eyesore, in the few instances where it was needed. Until recently.

Disputes between neighbors happen, even in friendly towns like Long Grove. Complaints ensued, and unfortunately this ordinance was used to force a resident to mow a large unbuilt lot that was being maintained as open space. As a result, our Village Board took a look at this rule at our past meeting, with an eye on making it more compatible with the character of our community. When is it a lawn, and when is it a prairie? Is Long Grove a better place with less milkweed for the monarchs to find? We will revisit the distinctions on our upcoming agenda, with the goal being to craft standards that can be more practically applied.

I do know one thing. Lawn or prairie, the wildflowers they contain this time of year are gorgeous!

Golden Girl

August 15, 2015July 27, 2016angie

Girl Scout Erin McDermott in the butterfly garden she has created at Reed Turner.

One of the more enjoyable things that I get to do as Village President is to recognize students for their achievements. Today I was honored to meet Erin McDermott, who is completing her Gold Award project for Girl Scouts here in Long Grove at Reed Turner Woodland and Nature Center. Many of us are familiar with the Eagle Scout award in Boy Scouting. The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest honor that can be achieved, and 2016 marks it’s 100th anniversary.

For Erin’s project, she chose to restore a prairie and install a butterfly garden and sitting area at the Woodland. This afternoon she held a ribbon cutting ceremony, education session, and open house to unveil the restored garden to the public. I was lucky enough to get a personal tour by Erin, and see the beautiful wildflowers and benches she has created on which to sit and contemplate nature. It is a great enhancement to an already wonderful community treasure.

In today’s world, our kids have so many choices about how they want to spend their time. I want to thank Erin for giving of her time to make our community a little bit better. I was happy today to congratulate her for sharing what she has learned, and for her recent accomplishments. And, I will be making some trips back in the months ahead to check for more butterflies!

Summer Concert Series Kickoff

July 6, 2015angie

The 2015 Long Grove Sunday Concert Series Opened on July 5th

The Long Grove Arts and Music Council marks its 10th Anniversary this year. For the past decade, our Village has been the lucky recipient of free Sunday afternoon concerts held for all to enjoy in our historic downtown. From their humble beginnings in the summer of 2006, the volunteers who make up the Arts & Music Council have grown the organization into a 501(c)3 not-for-profit which relies exclusively on donations from members of the community. The summer music series has expanded to feature eight concerts in July and August, featuring a diverse array of quality artistic talent in styles such as Bluegrass, Folk, Classical, Harmonica, and Blues. The first concerts were held at the gazebo in Buffalo Creek Park, and when the need for more space became apparent they moved over to Towner Green. When Sunset Pavilion was built in 2011 the concerts moved again to Fountain Square, and this year the venue has returned back to the lovely Towner Green. An added bonus this year is the new wine bar, “UnWined” just opened in the Victorian house at the end of Towner Green. Residents and visitors can bring a picnic and enjoy a glass of wine or other favorite beverage while soaking in the sights and sounds of a summer concert in the open air. It’s like a mini Ravinia-style experience in our own downtown!

These hometown concerts are one of the things that I have grown to love best about summer in Long Grove. The music is top-notch, the weather is almost always pleasant, and it is supremely relaxing to be downtown among friends and neighbors. This Sunday I was reminded again how fortunate we are in our community to have individuals who work year after year, to create this kind of cultural enrichment for us all. This is truly a community effort, as it takes financial support from merchants, the Lions Club, the Village, and generous residents for this concert series to happen. It was a beautiful day for the kickoff event, and Grammy Award winning harmonica player Howard Levy did not disappoint. You have seven more opportunities this summer for a slice of bliss, free of charge, Sundays at 4:00 in Towner Green. Don’t miss out!

Arts & Music Council Board Members (L to R) Jane Primack, Carolyn Denaro and Walter Roth help sell friendship bread at the concert.

Life in Long Grove

by Angie Underwood

Summer