Politics & Government

Five Reasons You Should Go to Tonight's Village Board Meeting

It's the last meeting of the month, and the last for another four weeks. Here are five highlights from the agenda, and how they will affect you.

On Monday, your village board will meet for the last time this month, and it’ll be another four weeks before they convene again. As you might imagine, they’ll have a lot to talk about. Here are five highlights from the agenda, and how they’ll affect you.

1. You may get more chances to speak at board meetings.

Trustees will consider a new proposal that will allow anyone who comes to a village board meeting the opportunity to speak to the board for two minutes. Under the current policy, those wishing to speak must sign up by noon on the Tuesday preceding the meeting—almost a full week in advance—and provide the topic they wish to address.

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Under the new policy, those who sign up to speak the Tuesday before the meeting will get up to five minutes to address the board. But anyone who wishes to can have two minutes to do the same, without signing up. A response would not be guaranteed, according to the draft of the policy.

2. You might get a new place to eat and drink downtown.

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According to a memo written by Police Chief Daniel Meyers, Tim Ivers, the owner of Gray's Mill on River Street, is interested in opening the mill up himself as a bar and restaurant. He's enlisted William Garlough, the owner of My Chef Catering in Naperville, to provide food, and the pair is seeking a license to sell alcohol, and to serve it on the patio outside.

It would be the same type of license given in 2003 to the owners of Jason’s at Gray’s Mill, Meyers said. Jason’s operated in Gray’s Mill until around 2007, leaving the mill, one of the oldest structures in the village, vacant. That area of downtown has been hit hard recently, with the demise of Boca Burrito II and the shuttering of The Mill after the death of in May.

3. You might get to use Village Hall services at night, and on the weekends.

Trustees will debate keeping open and staffed in the evenings, and on Saturdays and Sundays. Village staff, however, notes that doing so might affect services during normal business hours, since some employees would need to be pulled from those hours to work the new evening and weekend shifts.

Most visitors to Village Hall go to pay utility bills, or request building permits, according to village staff.

4. You might want to avoid Orchard Road for a while.

You’ve probably noticed that the long-awaited is underway. Before it can be completed, however, the village must move one of its , which is in the way. The village received nine bids for the project, and trustees will discuss granting the contract to the lowest bidder, Superior Excavating of Channahon, for $448,910.

With both projects going on at once, however, Orchard Road will likely be a traffic nightmare for a while. Temporary pavement widening on Orchard, from Aucutt Road to Cornell Drive, begins Wednesday, and county workers will stop traffic periodically to let the heavy machines through.

County officials have asked that drivers proceed carefully and follow the flaggers’ instructions through the construction zone. But if you can avoid Orchard, it might be your best bet.

5. You may have won the village’s photo contest.

You may remember the that village officials ran in May and June. The winners will be announced at Monday’s meeting, and the top choices will have their photos displayed on the new village website, currently being designed. The site is expected to go live in December.

The Village Board meeting begins at 7 p.m. Monday at Village Hall, 200 N. River St. It is free and open to the public.


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