September 29th Roundup

City budget discussions are being discussed at neighborhood meetings with the Mayor and will be held throughout the month of October. Information is also available on our "know your city budget" city website and our budget page.
Greentown Highland Park is coming October 17-19 and hope you will take part in this great three day event. Greentown Kicks off on October 17th at 7pm at Ren. Place with the movie Waste Land. Learn about the conference from HP Greentown press release and learn about the schedule of events and register at the Highland Park Greentown Website.
Recycling containers are on the way to our Central Business District and Train Stations soon. They are the same design as trash containers but will be a dark green color with different lids...long time coming!!
Bike Walk Plan (draft form) was passed unanimously creating benchmarks to get folks out of their cars and in non-motorized modes of moving. The Greenways Plan and Greenways Brochure does barely survive this new policy document but needs revision to update connections and importance of the Lakefront and other natural destinations.
PTAD Parents the Anti-drug work with our High School parents to help educate on best practices of informing our children about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. In response to recent events and tragedy within our communities the following letter was released. As parents, we can't make choices for our children but can continue to push good information and demonstrate good choices.

One month until Election Day

Along with a presidential race, congressional race, state senator and representative race, there are a few Lake County races including mine for Lake County Board. I am running in the new Lake County Board District 11 which is about 85% of Highland Park, Highwood, and one Moraine precinct in Deerfield. The district area is currently represented by Anne F. Bassi and Michelle Feldman which have both decided not to run for re-election. The responses I have received has been all good and am very excited to move my public service to the County level.

The three main bullet points of my campaign are as follows: First, I want to continue my quest on creating a new government model that shares services, creates efficiencies, and reduces the overall tax and fee burden on our public. Second, work on a more regional methodology to promote our sustainability and environmental work creating partnerships and stakeholders. Third, push for transparency, open government, and more integration of citizen involvement.

If you want a sign for your lawn or want to send friend to friend cards to voters please contact me at stevemandel@comcast.net or call me on my cell at 847.456.6933.

Historic Preservation Demo Delay imposed

In 1998 we passed a law that gave authority to the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) to put a  hold on a tear down of a historically significant home when the demolition permit is requested.  If the residential structure is shown to be significant, the petition is reviewed by the HPC for determination of a demolition delay. To put a demo delay on a residence is serious business and rarely used. The HPC can impose a six month or one year delay on a demolition to give more time for a buyer to emerge to live in the significant residence.

This past week a resident and his buyer appealed a decision of the HPC to put a one year demolition delay on a residence described as a poster child for preservation by the Chairman of the HPC. The City Council upheld the HPC decision by a 4-2 vote under the eyes of a full Council chamber.

As property values have dropped significantly it becomes much harder enforce these delays. I do however believe we should still attempt to get folks to buy and maintain these historic significant structures and not let them simply be torn down without a second chance.

Recycle First. Trash Last....

SWALCO has launched a brand-new recycling campaign, “Recycle First. Trash Last.” The campaign encourages all Lake County residents to place a priority on recycling first, and trashing what’s left. Instead of immediately thinking about throwing away that empty shampoo bottle, for example, ask yourself “is that recyclable?” (The answer, by the way, is yes!) For a full list of what is accepted in Lake County, click here.Through this campaign, we hope to redefine the way you view trash and recycling. Recyclable materials are valuable resources and should not be buried in a landfill. Our hope is that Lake County residents will start recycling far more, and throwing away far less. After all, according to the U.S. EPA, more than 75% of most of what you are trashing COULD be recycled. We challenge you to transition from a mindset of pulling recyclables out of the trash to, ideally, pulling trash out of the recycling. And we ask that you to make recycling a regular part of your daily routine. While many residents in Lake County already do a good job at recycling, we can always do better. Check out the campaign at www.RecycleFirstTrashLast.org and learn more about curbside recycling in Lake County, the campaign and what you can and cannot recycle.

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