HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/10/1995 CWC minutesMINUTES
COFFEE WITH COUNCIL
JUNE 10, 1995
9:00 a.m.
Present at Coffee with Council were: Mayor Gerald Farley; Trustees Richard Hendricks,
Michaele Skowron, Irvana Wilks and Assistant Village Manager David Strahl. Residents
present were: Bob McKillop, Bill Wittmeyer; Leo Floros, Jack Metcalf, Barbara Benham,
Lil Floros and Dick Norak.
Leo Floros, 111 North Emerson, stated that a Committee has been formed of citizens to
determine where a memorial to Veterans might be placed in Mount Prospect. He stated
the Committee had been organized under Barbara Benham's leadership. Numerous
meetings have taken place where locations were discussed. He stated the preferred site
of the Committee is the Village -owned property at the corner of Emerson and Central
Road.
Bill Wit6meyer, 217 North Maple Street, the VFW representative, stated that all the towns
he has gone to in the area have a, memorial to Veterans except Mount Prospect and is
strongly encouraging the Village Board to consider placement of such a memorial
someplace in town.
Bob McKillop, 108 South Waverly Place, stated he is a career military person who has
recently retired and would sincerely appreciate the Village Board considering some type
of memorial to recognize all Veterans.
Mayor Farley suggested that Jack Metcalf go ahead and advise the Board of his thoughts
because the majority of the people at the meeting appeared to be present to discuss the
memorial placement.
Jack Metcalf, 210 North Prospect Manor, handed out an article from the Wall Street
Journal talking about the increased drug usage in schools. He stated he is very
supportive of the SRO Program and encouraged working with the School Liaison Officer.
He stated he recently saw a television program focusing on a program called Project
Courage which is intended to limit the use of drugs among school children. The
communities of Antioch, Lindenhurst and Grays Lake were featured in the program and
he suggested the Trustees consider contacting these communities to get information on
their success.
He also stated that many Veterans' groups promote citizenship through scholarships to
various programs including Boys and Girls State. To his knowledge, Prospect High
School does not participate in the Boys' State program but has a parallel program which
is available to the students. He is at the meeting primarily to provide some general
information to the Village Board.
Barbara Benham, 223 South George Street, Chair of the Citizens' Group which was
recently formed to determine a location for a Village Veterans' Memorial, provided some
general background as to the discussion of the committee. She is here at this meeting
to give the Village Board some preliminary information and would encourage a
cooperative effort with the Park District for the property at Central and Emerson. She
stated that she is aware of the cost of the Village to acquire this property. She stated
that setting aside green space in the downtown area is desirable based on the current
redevelopment activities within the downtown. She stated that the committee will begin
soliciting Memorial designs through a memorial design contest in the near future. The
parameters of the design contest are designed so that any submitted design can be
flexible enough to fit on a smaller site if necessary. She stated that the committee highly
prefers the site at Emerson and Central.
Trustee Hendricks stated that open space seems to make sense in the downtown but is
concerned about the investment the Village has already made into the property. He
asked whether there is any room for compromise in order to allow the Village to recoup
at least a portion of the investment; does the committee absolutely need all three lots?
Trustee Wilks stated that the Board has discussed the parking needs of the Library
assuming their expansion is approved. She also stated that there has been some interest
by other commercial developers which have approached the Village about redevelopment
at this site.
Mayor Farley stated that the Village Board has previously made a commitment to
redevelop the property and has also committed to the Library that the property is
available for additional parking assuming the Library receives approval for expansion.
Trustee Skowron stated she understands why the committee is coming forward at this
time to discuss the most preferred site. She also thinks it is a good site for a Memorial
but is concerned about the impact upon the Library's expansion plans. She stated that
she cannot completely ignore the Library needs and would have difficulty in prioritizing
the needs of these two groups.
Dick Norak, 1200 West Northwest Highway, suggested the Memorial site would need to
have enough space for possible special events; otherwise, the site would typically be
passive. He stated that if the Park District does, in fact, purchase the Trade Services
building that a possibility of a Memorial be put up on that site be considered.
Barb Benham stated that it would be possible to construct a Memorial on only a part of
a lot and still have parking available for the Library. She stated she would return to the
Library to discuss possible inclusion of a Memorial with their parking site.
Mayor Farley stated that the Board may consider a variance of counting some parking
spaces in the Bank lot as part of the Library's required number of parking stalls. He
stated he could support a variance in parking if a Memorial was placed on that site. He
suggested that the committee talk to the Library about their level of cooperation to
determine whether a memorial site could be incorporated or not.
Meeting adjourned at approximately 10:45 a.m.
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DAVID STRAH L
Assistant Village Manager
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