City Reports 'Good Financial Health' at Town Hall Meeting

officials touched on several topics at Tuesday's annual Town Hall meeting at a packed Lake Forest City Hall, and said the city was in good financial health, despite the economy.

City Finances

"One of the things the city has been working on is to be more efficient in its delivery of services," said City Manager Bob Kiely. "In 2003, we tried to anticipate the pressures we are seeing today and began outsourcing."

Kiely said the challenge for the city now is to determine how to provide services while addressing expected shortfalls in state funding. (See attached pie chart).

"The state of Illinois is the unpredictable factor," he said. "There are talks going on now to take some of the money they provide to the city. There's a projected shortfall in the (state) budget of $6 million to $7 million next year."

Development Updates

In answer to resident questions about plans , Mayor James Cowhey said that while the project is only at the initial stages, city officials are looking forward to working with hospital representatives.

"The good news is this will, in my opinion, be a first-class hospital with Northwestern's name on it. My understanding is there will be a heart center, also. I don't think a lot of people realize the benefit already to the community," he said. "This is going to make it a lot better with the addition of Northwestern, one of the biggest employers. They'll be bringing a lot of money into this community."

An informational meeting on the project is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 17 at the of Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital.

Capital Projects

First Ward Alderman Kent Novit reported that several projects were near completion. These include:

• In the Lake Road and South Beach Access, the retaining wall is completed and the roadway should be done by November.

• Water main replacement at Park and Greenleaf Avenues will be done by the end of the week.

• Sewer and sidewalks are complete on the Telegraph Road right turn lane. Road work will be finished by November.

• Illinois Department of Transportation's smoothing and fixing the street at Waukegan Road and Route 60 should be done before Thanksgiving.

Barat Property

No further information could be added about the donation of the A meeting of the Historic Preservation Committee to discuss the purchase of the Barat College property by an anonymous donor, the potential development and future educational use will be held Wednesday night. Cowhey said he didn't know "whether the (name of ) the anonymous donor would be told."

Other Resident Concerns

• Crosswalk upgrades at Waukegan Road have been done with street paving at the Settler's Square site scheduled for next year. Kiely said money for the underpass project is secured, but has not been received by the city. Underpass work is expected to start in 2014.

• Private investors have purchased the former gas station property at Everett and Waukegan roads though no development plans have been filed yet. City officials will continue to monitor the site's appearance.

• Cowhey said talks also are continuing on securing a possible Amtrak train stop in the city, providing access to Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee and provide the only stop in Lake County.