Grafton Township in-fighting

I got to thinking that I ought to be planning ahead for the next catfight in Huntley and maybe even make a reservation for the Press Box. So I went to the Township website (www.graftontownship.us) to learn when the next meeting is. Ready?

The "next" meeting is February 11th at 7:30PM. And the "next" Special Meeting is February 22nd at 7:30PM.

Now, wouldn't you think that with a Township Supervisor (earning how much?) and a Township Administrator earning $35,000 and a Township Supervisor's Assistant earning $40,000 that one of them could update the website with accurate dates for the next meetings?

Seeing the Pledge of Allegiance on the agenda is nice. The Woodstock District 200 school board opens its meetings with the Pledge; if I recall correctly, so does Judge Weech in his courtroom.

According to the Township website, meetings are at the Huntley Recreation District, 12015 Mill Street, Huntley.

Who knows? Are the Regular Meetings of the Township on the second Thursday of the month at 7:30PM?

They certainly use some "interesting" wording at the top of the Agenda. What business will be conducted? It reads, in part: "... regular Township Board Meeting of the Grafton Township Board, McHenry County, Illinois will be held on Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. for the purposes of considering the following agenda."

Boilerplate wording gets carried forward month-to-month without anyone's really taking a close look at it. What do you suppose is plural about the "purposes" of the agenda? And are they convening to "consider" the agenda? I don't think so. The agenda is the program for the night. They won't "consider" it; they'll follow it. Hopefully...

Another "interesting" aspect of the agenda is the public participation portion of the Meeting. Each speaker gets three minutes, and only 30 minutes is allocated for the public to put in its 2-cents' worth.

And another "interesting" observation? The Township's legal beagle faxed the Agenda to the Township. Did it only review the agenda or did a lawyer write it? What did either of those legal services cost the Township? It's pretty sloppy to post the fax copy of the agenda, when the Township Clerk or Supervisor probably has the responsibility for publishing it. Why not publish a "clean" copy of the agenda, even if they do have the lawyer preview it? And why publish the blank third page?

March 11? See you there. Maybe the Supervisor and the Administrator will have hired a mediator by then. Hopefully, they won't hire a lawyer to mediate their differences. Lawyers are adversarial. A mediator's role is to bring the parties closer together. After all, there is something on which they do agree. It's that they don't agree! A skilled mediator will start with that.

Man! Where is Bob Anderson when you need him? Get busy, Bob. Let's get rid of townships in Illinois. But then, who will provide the entertainment in Huntley?

BOFPC cancels 3/1 meeting; avoids training

The Woodstock Board of Fire and Police Commissioners has canceled its March 1st Regular Meeting and has once again avoided completing the training directed last May by the City Attorney on behalf of the mayor and the city manager.

On May 19, 2009, City Attorney Rich Flood wrote to the Commissioners and its attorney and stated, "Also, the City has asked us to make a presentation to the Commission on the requirements of and compliance with the Open Meetings Act at its next regularly scheduled meeting."

There were regularly-scheduled meetings in June, September, December and now, March 1. And there were numerous Special Meetings.

This Commission is appointed by the mayor. Why is it being allowed to cancel Regular Meetings and thus avoid the Open Meetings Act presentation and training by the City Attorney?

TWI cries over broken window

At last week's City Council meeting Woodstock Realtor Tom Harding said that window that had been removed from the west side of the old house had gone into the dumpster; thus, the "broken window." He said it was an honest mistake.

No doubt about it. I'm sure he wishes whoever on his renovation team had failed to look at the plans and the Historic Preservation Commission directions had been more careful. That "little" oversight might add $3,000 to his renovation expenses. Or maybe only $1,500.

The Woodstock Independent's news editor Mike Neumann wrote a fine article on Page 1 of this week's paper, recounting the City Council meeting and the vote to deny Harding's appeal of the denial of his revised Certificate of Appropriateness (to allow the new, incorrect window to remain). Confused yet?

And then I turned to Page 4, where "Our View" rips the HPC and the City Council for their 3-2 votes. Those votes mean that Harding must restore the window to the plans that were approved; i.e., remove the double-hung windows and install one single pane.

And why not?

TWI's editorial board seems to believe that its okay to be careless. TWI wants the City Council to have a little compassion and show they are flexible. Just let it slide, in other words.

Maybe the next time my $30.00 is due for my TWI subscription, I'll be a little tardy in remitting; like, maybe, 4-5 months tardy. I wonder if they'll have a little compassion for me, and show me how flexible they are, by continuing to deliver my paper weekly.

Are you laughing yet?

Woof, woof. - OK, you! Paws up!

I had a good laugh this morning before I even got to the comics in the Northwest Herald.

Harvard bad boy Michael T. Spencer, 19, was charged Tuesday for his alleged actions last May, when he apparently impersonated a McHenry County Sheriff's Department deputy when he stopped by a parked car outside of Harvard with a young couple in it. You can read the whole story at www.nwherald.com

The article didn't say what the 16-year-old boy and the 15-year-old girl were doing, but what does a young couple do in a parked car out in the country?

Why did I laugh? Spencer was convicted last month of barking twice at a Harvard police dog that was inside a squad car. That's what the article says. Really!

What "crime" did he commit? Did he alarm the dog? Disturb the dog? Threaten the dog's peace?

Last time I walked by K-9 unit, the dog went crazy. Maybe I should have called Animal Control.

Well, there is probably more to the story.

MCSD Lt. Andy Zinke offered some good advice at the end of the article. "Drivers who are signaled by an unmarked car should drive safely to a well-lit area, preferable in a crowded area." And "People who question the identity of a purposed police officer also can use a cell phone to call the local police department to confirm his or her employment."

Man, I hope all the cops on the road know that...

Red-light cam gets another one

The red-light cameras are working, and they are catching the violators. And, every time a violator whines about his ticket, he just takes one more step into that big pile of manure he just drove through.

In a Letter to the Editor of the Northwest Herald this morning, Gilberts resident Michael O'Brien griped about his ticket for not stopping for the red light as he rolled up to turn left. Or was he just postulating? Here's what he said:

"If you are in the left turn lane and the arrow turns red while you are about to make your turn, and you decide to brake and be one car length past the solid white stop line..."

Well, he just admitted entering the intersection (passing the white stop line) on a red light. What was he doing when the green arrow changed to a yellow arrow? Gotcha, Mike. You should have "decided" sooner and stopped.

If you can make it into the intersection before the light turns red, then you have not violated the law and you won't get a ticket. A yellow light gives you that time. Now, if you are racing to "make" it, you run the risk of not making it. But being able to stop only one car length (20-22 feet) past the white line means you weren't going all that fast.

And what does "one car length past the solid white stop line" mean? Was there a car length between the white stop line and the back of your car? If so, you were probably out in the intersection. But the main thing is that you admit the light turned red while you were "about to make your turn". You should have stopped sooner.

It's very seldom that a green light will turn to red with no warning.

You said it all, Mike, when you wrote, "What a novel concept for people to look and pay attention while they drive." Yes, indeed.

NWH printing off to Schaumburg

For those who don't read the Northwest Herald, it probably won't matter at all that the Northwest Herald printing is leaving Crystal Lake and being "out-sourced" to Schaumburg.

The NWH has been getting smaller, at least on Mondays. But print quality will improve; so says the article in this morning's paper. Maybe they'll make the type in the comics a little larger and a little darker. Then I can put away my magnifying glass.

This "important" story got 24 column-inches of "real estate" today. I mean, who cares where it is printed, as long as it is on my doorstep when I open the front door. I'll tell you who cares; the stockholders care. Oh, yes; the employees in the printing plant care, too.

Twenty-five full-time and six part-time employees care. I know one of them.

"Paddock has agreed to interview those Shaw employees affected by the printing transition." Oh, isn't that nice? Big deal; that doesn't cost Paddock anything but a little HR time. Maybe a few will be hired; maybe not. It's probably a pretty good bet that few, if any, of them live between Crystal Lake and Schaumburg.

A sign of the times...

Harvard rescues Chev dealer

I wish I felt good about the deal carved out by the City of Harvard to save its hometown Chevrolet Buick GMC dealer. This morning's paper reported that the City of Harvard and the Harvard Economic Development Corporation will cough up $500,000 to keep the doors open and the lights on.

In exchange, the dealership is to "grow its business" and hire some more full-time employees. The City thinks that remodeling and expansion will preserve the $100,000/year it has been collecting in sales taxes. Let's hope so. And the dealership must increase sales by 2% within the first year.

Has word of the recession (some say, the Depression) reached Harvard yet?

If sales go up 2%, then sales tax revenues will go up 2% (in a perfect world). So they make a $500,000 investment and get a $2,000 return?

Or else. Or else, what? Do they think they'll get their money back, if sales decline (or continue to decline)?

It's a 10-year deal. If the business closes or moves out within ten years, Harvard gets its money back, plus interest. (If there is any business value for it to claim against.) But get this: "the amount the dealership would have to repay decreases by $50,000 every year."

What a deal!