Voting Meeting: BOLI Approves Funds to Finish Timber Trails Unit 1

The Western Springs Board of Local Improvements (BOLI) has approved a draw of $427,661.70 from the Timber Trails Special Assessment fund and PNC Bank to pay for work done to complete the “punchlist” of municipal improvements on the Timber Trails division’s Unit 1.

Additionally, BOLI approved a second draw of $57,740.63 to reimburse the Village for the cost of legal and contracting fees related to Timber Trails. The payments will go to Real Property Holding, Western Springs, LLC, a subsidiary of PNC set up after Dartmoor Homes foreclosed on the property following the onset of the nationwide housing crisis.

Village Engineer Jeff Ziegler estimated that a remaining $150,000 worth of improvements are left to be done on Unit 1 in Timber Trails, including the relocation of a bridge over Flagg Creek and some landscaping. Unit 2, the western 60 percent of the division, is undeveloped and up for sale.

The funds drawn continue to be at no cost to Western Springs taxpayers. “The whole premise here from day one was that if Timber Trails was going to be developed, it was not going to be at any cost to the Village,” said Village president William Rodeghier. “Thus far, we have been able to adhere to that premise.”

Monday’s regularly-scheduled voting meeting, which followed the BOLI votes, passed a number of items that had previously been under discussion, including the establishment of a small Village raffle license fee and the moving of Sunday liquor sales to one hour earlier.

Two items were pulled off the Board’s typical omnibus voting procedure for discussion: the first relating to the hours of supervision required during construction of the new reverse-osmosis water plant, and the second relating to the design of planters to protect diners from vehicles at 800 West’s proposed outdoor dining location. After brief discussion, each passed unanimously.

The purchase of three vehicles was okayed: a 2011 Ford Taurus ($22,419) for Village Manager Pat Higgins, to replace his current working vehicle with over 100,000 miles on it, and both a 2011 Chevrolet Tahoe ($29,095) and a 2011 Chevrolet Caprice ($25,791) for the Western Springs Police Department.

Also passed at the meeting were several resolutions approving and authorizing contracts for the RO plant, approval of a $43,320 contract to Lupfer Landscaping and resolutions to proclaim April 10-16 as National Telecommunicatior Week and April 29 as Arbor Day in Western Springs.

During his financial report, trustee James Horvath revealed that while the State of Illinois has finally gotten Western Springs its October, 2010 shared income tax payment, it still owes five months’ worth—approximately $375,000—to the Village.

At the end of the meeting, the Board retired to executive session to discuss “real property [land] acquisition and pending litigation.”

No further details about the executive session were given, although President Rodeghier stated that “these are sensitive matters [about which] public information getting out would hurt the Village.”