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this room. We have more space upstairs
for additional people

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and
everyone will have the opportunity to be

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called down here if they wish to make a
comment before this committee.

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So, we have space upstairs for more
folks.

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The occupancy limit is set by the fire
marshall and we will comply with that

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occupancy limit. So, there's seating
upstairs

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and you can submit a card and we'll
we'll call your name when you're ready.

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Okay. Thank you everyone. I would like
to call the village board meeting for

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Tuesday, August 25th, 2026
to order, please. Uh, deputy clerk,

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please call the role. or

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» here. Whitaker

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» here.
>> Fowler,

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» here. Chelsea Gallen
>> here.

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» Chessy Edis
>> here.

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00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:54,240
» Chessy Elfman
>> here.

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» President Mendrich
>> here.

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» Uh the first item on the agenda um is an
employee recognition. Um Chief Hutenski,

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I understand you have something you'd
like to share with us tonight.

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00:10:05,279 --> 00:10:08,279
» Yes.

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» And while our two chiefs approach a
podium and let me just explain a little

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bit of what we have here. This is an
unusual capacity for this room. Uh we've

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00:10:17,839 --> 00:10:23,200
taken a look at things to try to make
things as safe as possible for everyone

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00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:26,720
in here. So just so you're aware of it,
there's an exit door here off to the

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00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:30,640
side. There's an exit door over here
that takes you directly outside. For

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00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:34,880
those of you who are watching upstairs,
there's an elevator and a staircase to

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00:10:32,399 --> 00:10:38,480
get you the exit doors. We are keeping
an eye on things to make sure we don't

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get in a situation where it's an unsafe
situation for everybody, but right now

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everything's looking it's okay. And I
really appreciate everybody being here

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to recognize our public safety officers.
Chief, go ahead.

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» Thank you.
>> Thank you, President Menret. Uh, Chief

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Mix and I are honored to be here tonight
to recognize the incredible efforts of

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our co-workers. On the evening of July
3rd, Northfield officers were dispatched

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to a report of a subject attempting to
take their own life. Based on the nature

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00:11:05,839 --> 00:11:10,720
of the call, the police watch commander
requested that the fire rescue

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department also respond to the scene and
staged nearby until officers were able

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to ensure that the scene was safe.
Officer Michael McGary was the first

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00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:22,800
officer to arrive and he was able to
quickly get access to the building via

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an unlocked door. Once inside the
building, Officer McGary located the

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victim and took immediate action to
intervene and stop the attempt. At this

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time, the victim was not breathing and
had no pulse.

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00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:43,680
Fire rescue personnel from Engine and
Nameless 29 which included myself, fire

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00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:50,880
medic Luke Lapki, fire medic Jeff
Leelssa, fire EMT Frank Cambria,

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00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:55,519
paramedic firefighter Kyle Tuttle, and
fire medic David Steel entered the

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00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:59,680
scene. Once we received that the scene
was safe from the police department, we

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00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:05,120
began immediate advanced life support
and critical care measures. After

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several minutes, the victim's pulse and
had been restored.

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00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:13,440
He was quickly packaged and we began our
transport to the hospital. While on

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route to the hospital, he became
pulseless again and the fire rescue

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00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:22,959
personnel were able to continue
life-saving measures and restore a pulse

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for the second time.
The emergency room met us on the uh

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approach ramp with their staff and they
were advised that we had a critical

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patient and they were prepared and
waiting as we pulled in. Through

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00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:42,800
immediate advanced lifesaving care given
by the first responders and progressive

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00:12:40,560 --> 00:12:46,480
hospital intervention, the patient was
reported to have been treated and

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released after their hospital stay. The
patient is now continuing their recovery

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00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:56,399
journey. This incident is a prime
example of the way coordination between

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00:12:54,160 --> 00:13:00,959
first responders and specialized medical
care can be critical for life-saving

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00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:04,079
outcomes. The rapid actions, seamless
communications, and exceptional care

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00:13:02,639 --> 00:13:08,680
provided at every stage were
instrumental in saving the victim's

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life.

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chiefs. Thank you very much.

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00:13:46,959 --> 00:13:53,120
Uh the next order of business um I am
going to pass on the village president's

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00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:57,279
report at this point. I have some
comments to make later in the evening.

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Um the next order of business is public
comment and I will tell you that this is

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the not the public comment related to
TIFF. That will happen when we open the

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public hearing. And I would encourage
you if you intend to speak on that topic

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that you fill out one of these forms
that Melissa has here at the end of the

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table and I think Brett has upstairs so
that we can get you in the queue. I will

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call these names when we get to this
segment uh three at a time so

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everybody's here in the room ready to
speak so we can move things along. Uh

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and anyone who's coming from upstairs if
you hear your name called you can make

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00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:43,760
your way downstairs. Um, so if anyone
has anything they'd like to comment on

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00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:50,079
outside of TIFF, you're welcome to um
approach the podium at this time.

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00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:55,279
Otherwise, I'll move on.
>> Okay, great. Uh, the next item of

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business is the approval of bills and
dispersements from July of 2026.

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May I have a motion to approve the bills
and dispersements from July 1st, 2026

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00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:09,760
through July 31st, 2026?
>> So moved.

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00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:13,440
» Second.
>> Okay. Patrick, are there any items you

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wish to point out?
>> Thank you. Not this month.

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00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:20,240
» Okay. Any comments or questions from the
board

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00:15:18,399 --> 00:15:23,839
or comments or questions from the
public?

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00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:26,079
Okay. Deputy Chief, please call the
role.

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00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:28,079
» Trusty Ort.
>> Yes.

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00:15:26,639 --> 00:15:29,440
» Trusty Whitaker. Yes.
>> Trusty Fowler.

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00:15:28,959 --> 00:15:30,880
» Yes.
>> Trusty Gallen.

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00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:32,639
» Yes.
>> Trusty Edis.

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00:15:31,839 --> 00:15:33,839
» Yes.
>> Alman.

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00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:37,760
» Yes.
>> Motion carries.

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00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:43,600
» Okay. Thank you. The next item on the
agenda is the omnibus vote for the

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00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:47,839
consent agenda items. Um
this is the section of our agenda where

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00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:51,519
one vote can be called to approve a
number of items. Are there any items

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00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:56,000
that any board member would like to have
removed from the consent agenda for

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00:15:53,759 --> 00:16:00,639
discussion?
Okay. Hearing none. Uh, will the deputy

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00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:04,720
clerk please read the consent agenda
items into the record?

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00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:09,519
There are four items. The first is the
approval of the minutes from July 21st,

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00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:16,680
2026. The second is the ratification of
the purchase of fire turnout gear from

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00:16:11,759 --> 00:16:16,680
Conway Shield in the amount of $26,114.

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00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:23,440
The third is the authorization to
execute an agreement with Gualt Hamilton

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00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:28,639
for construction management services for
the 2026 asphalt program. And the fourth

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00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:33,279
is the adoption of an ordinance waving
the formal bidding process authorizing

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00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:37,759
disposal and authorizing a contract with
Silverstar Technology of Rolling

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00:16:35,519 --> 00:16:42,600
Meadows, Illinois for a security camera
system in the amount of $17,852.

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May I have a motion and a second?
>> Motion to approve the consent agenda.

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00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:52,160
» Second.
>> Any comments or questions from the

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00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:56,160
board?
>> Deputy Clerk, please call the role.

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» Trusty Orth. Yes. Whitaker.

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00:16:57,199 --> 00:16:59,360
» Yes. Fowler.

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00:16:58,639 --> 00:17:00,399
» Yes.
>> Gallon.

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» Yes.
>> Pussyas.

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» Yes.
>> Elfman.

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» Yes.
>> Motion carries.

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» Okay.
The next item of business is to conduct

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uh a public hearing for the proposed
village center tax incremental financing

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district. May I have a motion and a
second to open the public hearing?

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» So moved.
>> Second. All those in favor?

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00:17:26,559 --> 00:17:32,640
» I
>> opposed.

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00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:41,200
Okay. I am calling to order the public
hearing for the village center tiff at

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7:13 p.m. on August 25th, 2026.
I will stop here again and remind you if

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that you would like to make comments,
you need to fill out a comment card so

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that we can call your name and you can
come to the podium and make your

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00:17:52,080 --> 00:18:00,320
statements. Um you can also decide at
some point in the evening that you don't

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wish to make comments. Um if if you
don't come to the podium, we'll move on.

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And I would encourage you um we know
that this is an important issue and if

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you we are going to stay to the three
minute uh time frame because I already

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have this many comment cards. So I would
like to try to keep us to that uh

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number. But I have a couple of things
that I want to say before we get started

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tonight. As we open this public hearing,
I want to convey some thoughts about

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what will happen here tonight.
Northfield residents have always been

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able to come together and talk about
issues gracefully and with mutual

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respect for all opinions. I hope that
those who are here tonight can continue

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that tradition as we move through these
proceedings.

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I also want to be clear about something.
Our schools are important to this

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village and so is a vibrant downtown.
This isn't a choice between the two. We

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want Northfield to have both excellent
schools for our families can be proud of

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and a village center that's alive with
businesses, restaurants, and places for

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neighbors to gather. That's the
Northfield we're all working toward. And

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it is with that lens that we will be
approaching tonight's discussion.

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I want to reiterate what I said in an
email I sent to residents this

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afternoon. We are working with the three
affected school districts to negotiate

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an agreement that supports both our
students and our villages needs. There

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00:19:33,679 --> 00:19:40,080
have been three meetings between the
superintendent and the village to date

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and this morning we received the first
draft of an intergovernmental agreement

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00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:50,000
based on those conversations.
We have not yet had the chance to

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thoroughly review the draft, but we are
at the table with our partners at the

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schools working in good faith toward an
agreement that serves the interest of

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00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:06,160
both the schools and the village.
I'll be honest, reaching that agreement

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00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:12,320
will likely require some compromise on
both sides and it may be uncomfortable

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00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:18,240
at times, but that's the work of good
governance and it's work we're committed

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to seeing through. With that, Greg,
would you please provide an overview of

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the process for this evening?

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00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:32,559
» I'll borrow your microphone. Thank you,
Pre. President Mendrich. Um, yes. So,

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00:20:30,559 --> 00:20:36,960
the the TIFF Act establishes a number of
steps the village must take when

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considering whether to uh create a TI
district. The village has taken many of

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these steps over the course of the past
few months, including evaluating the

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properties in the TIF district,
analyzing the eligibility of those

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properties under the TIFF Act, preparing
an eligibility report and redevelopment

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plan, creating an interested parties
registry, making the plan available to

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the public, setting a public hearing
date. This happened back in June. That's

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why everyone is here this evening. uh
and convening the joint review board

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which is comprised of representatives
from each of the taxing districts. Uh

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the JRB met twice, once in July and then
once earlier this month to review the

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proposed tiff district and related
documents. That brings us to tonight the

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00:21:11,919 --> 00:21:17,840
public hearing. The hearing serves a
couple of purposes. First, it allows the

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village board to review the proposed
redevelopment plan and project, which is

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00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:26,320
the TIFF proposal, and evaluate whether
or not the proposal is consistent with

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00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:30,400
the TIFF Act standards and criteria. Uh
the village's tiff consultant Caitlyn

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00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:34,159
Johnson with SB Freriedman will present
on that topic in a couple of minutes. Uh

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but the public hearing also provides the
public an opportunity uh to provide the

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00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:42,640
board with feedback concerning the
proposed tip district. As well to be

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00:21:40,559 --> 00:21:46,799
clear, the village board is not voting
on the tiff district proposal tonight.

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There are three ordinances that the
board ultimately must consider if there

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00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:54,880
were if they were to approve a tiff
district and those are not on tonight's

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00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:58,400
agenda. Instead, the public hearing
tonight is an opportunity for further

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00:21:56,640 --> 00:22:02,159
dialogue concerning the proposed TIFF
district and all interested parties uh

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00:22:00,559 --> 00:22:05,919
and there are many will have an
opportunity to address the board during

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the hearing. After public comment is
concluded, the board may consider

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00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:14,000
closing the public hearing. Once the
hearing has been closed, the TIFF act

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provides a time frame during which the
ordinances necessary to establish the

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00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:22,799
tiff district can be presented to the
board for consideration. That time frame

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is between 14 and and 90 days after the
hearing is closed. I'll now turn it over

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00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:34,280
to Caitlyn Johnson with SB Freriedman uh
to discuss the eligibility findings and

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the redevelopment.

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00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:46,240
Okay.
So, um

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we're we're not we're not quite ready.
Um, I think the first thing before we

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00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:55,200
get into SB Freriedman's report, I'm
sure all of you have um heard us talk

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00:22:53,280 --> 00:23:03,760
about this or me talk about this, but
the goals and vision for this um this

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00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:11,120
area um we have concerns that um our
village um is not performing as we might

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00:23:07,919 --> 00:23:16,799
have hoped. We have a 47,000 square foot
empty storefront in our buil in our

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00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:25,600
village. Um, we are looking for a
vibrant, walkable, um, downtown that is

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00:23:21,679 --> 00:23:31,200
a safe place for our families to gather
and students to gather and and for

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00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:38,159
residents to really be able to come
together and enjoy our community. Um,

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00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:46,080
the vision that I see in my head is a
vibrant uh former Mariano space um with

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00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:52,080
the Skoi Valley Trail adjacent to it
with a brand new library um sitting

194
00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:59,760
where it currently sits with a brand new
post office and um having streetscapes

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00:23:56,960 --> 00:24:05,679
and having a HAP road that has safe
crossings for residents. So when we talk

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00:24:03,919 --> 00:24:11,679
about our vision, those are the things
that we're talking about. We have also

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00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:16,960
um as as many of you know gone back and
reaffirmed the uh 2040 comprehensive

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00:24:15,279 --> 00:24:20,880
plan that a group of residents put
together. Um it does talk about some of

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00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:26,640
the things that I have already
discussed. Um but you when the HAP road

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00:24:24,799 --> 00:24:33,520
committee got together and did their
work on what a new HAP road could look

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00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:39,039
like um uh Francisco Gonzalez Pledo who
is a a resident and a renowned architect

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00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:44,000
um put together some drawings because we
think that sometimes people need visuals

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00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:48,159
and not just words. So, I wanted to just
share some of the visions that he came

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00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:53,600
up with for Hap Road, but I think that
they uh piqued all of our interest in

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00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:58,720
trying to create a downtown that that
has uh you know, again, dedicated

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00:24:56,240 --> 00:25:04,159
walking paths, places that people can
cross the streets safely to get to and

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00:25:01,120 --> 00:25:11,520
from our businesses.
Um, again, another view of what could be

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00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:16,880
um our downtown. This is not to say that
this is what we will have, but just some

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00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:22,720
visuals of what a new downtown for
Northfield could look like.

210
00:25:20,159 --> 00:25:28,960
Um, again, I mentioned the library. This
is the initial design for the library.

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00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:34,320
Um, it is a gateway into our community
from Willow Road and HAP. Uh, that

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00:25:32,559 --> 00:25:39,360
sidewalk that you see there coming off
the left of the screen goes all the way

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out to Willow Road. creates an entry
into our village there as well. The

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library is on the east side. The post
office sits on the west side and the

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00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:55,840
connecting building on top is is more of
library space that they can use for

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00:25:53,120 --> 00:26:01,120
other programming. Um some people have
asked me why we need a new library and

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frankly um the library came to us and
said we need more space. we can't do the

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00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:11,520
programming we'd like to in Northfield
and we have committed to working with

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the library to to create that new space.
Um it's you or me. Um

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I want to talk a little bit about our
empty storefront. Um which is a concern

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I think for everyone. We've heard from
all um walks of life in Northfield that

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they'd like to have a grocery store. Uh
as we all know that the owner has had

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trouble finding a tenant for the full
building. Um they are now in a position

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where they are talking to tenants that
would be a ger in one half of the

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00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:52,640
building, an adult beverage in the other
half of the building as well as an

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outlot um across from the the current
bank. So up against Willow Road.

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They have indicated to us that they
can't make the deal work without some

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00:27:00,559 --> 00:27:09,360
help from the village. Um and that is
really where we are with them right now.

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There are expenses like dividing the
building site prep and improvements that

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um they are beginning well not beginning
that they have been looking at that are

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costly. Um, I don't think that anybody
uh in this room probably doesn't know

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that there have been environmental
issues on that site that that everybody

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has heard about by now, which are a
concern for uh any tenant that moves

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into that space. So you couple that with
the library again site conditions there

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00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:46,480
um the the curse of of being a village
that's built along rail lines is that

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there are site conditions that you have
to deal with. Uh and then there is the

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HAP road redesign that we talked about
earlier this evening that includes um

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00:27:55,360 --> 00:28:02,559
redesign of the space, construction
costs, things that have been put on hold

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00:28:00,799 --> 00:28:07,039
um with federal funding and state
funding because we weren't prepared to

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move forward with the project of a few
years ago. As um you all know that was a

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an important conversation that we all
had together. Uh and then the other

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thing is water manes, sewers, sidewalks,
lighting, things like that. Water manes

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00:28:19,039 --> 00:28:26,320
are not the most exciting topic in the
world, but uh the fact of the matter is

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00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:32,480
that there are water manes in this area,
this tiff district, potential tiff tiff

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00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:38,320
district that need to be repaired. Um
those can run anywhere from $1.5 million

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00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:45,760
up to $2 million depending on the size
of the water man and how much pipe needs

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00:28:40,559 --> 00:28:51,200
to be replaced. Um, so these are all
costs related to our downtown village

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00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:57,200
center right now that we're aware of.
And as I said, these are just inside the

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proposed TIFF district.
Um, we talk about sources of revenue for

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00:29:00,799 --> 00:29:06,960
the village. I want to put a I just want
to make sure that people understand

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00:29:05,279 --> 00:29:12,960
where this board is on that
consideration. Um,

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00:29:10,559 --> 00:29:17,039
I'll I'll Patrick, you can jump in on a
couple of things, but I want to just

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00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:21,760
talk about property taxes because many
of you in this room were involved in in

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00:29:19,279 --> 00:29:28,480
the um home rule initiative that this
village took on some years ago. Um, home

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00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:37,919
rule, as you know, allows us to work
outside of some of the um the sweeping

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00:29:34,559 --> 00:29:44,000
um legislation that Springfield passes.
And so they often pass legislation that

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00:29:41,279 --> 00:29:48,559
does not require home rule communities
to participate. And when we did that, I

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00:29:47,039 --> 00:29:53,039
was the co-chair of that committee.
Kathy Esesterbrook, who's sitting in the

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00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:57,360
room, was very involved in it. uh we
asked the sitting board at the time to

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00:29:55,679 --> 00:30:04,240
promise that they would never raise
property taxes above the CPI which no

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00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:10,480
board has done previously and which this
board does not intend to do either. So,

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00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:17,600
um, a few other things that are possible
ways to raise some money, taxes, fees,

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00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:21,279
permits, um, water rates, but I'm going
to let Patrick give you some of the nuts

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00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:26,000
and bolts of some of those topics as we
move along here. So, Patrick, please.

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00:30:23,919 --> 00:30:29,840
» Thank you. That's a list of the typical
revenue sources that you'd see a village

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00:30:27,919 --> 00:30:33,760
normally, the levers they would pull to
raise additional revenue. There are a

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00:30:31,919 --> 00:30:36,880
couple of other special things that the
board has looked at and that are

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00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:40,880
available to to villages that are home
rule communities. A special service

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00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:46,080
area, you may heard of that. It's a way
to levy additional property taxes on a

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00:30:43,279 --> 00:30:50,640
set area that puts an additional
property tax burden on for a period of

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00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:54,960
time, but used to pay to fund a
particular project. You often hear of it

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00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:58,799
in Northfield for many of the private
lanes. they will ask for a special

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00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:02,799
service area to be applied so they can
repave a roadway or rebuild a roadway

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00:31:01,039 --> 00:31:06,720
and then pay for that over a period of
time. In this example, it doesn't work

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00:31:05,279 --> 00:31:11,360
well for the village because we're
looking at working on an area that's

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00:31:08,559 --> 00:31:16,080
already not doing well financially. To
levy an additional property tax on the

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00:31:13,279 --> 00:31:20,559
area would not be helpful for our goals.
So, we looked at property tax rebate.

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00:31:17,919 --> 00:31:25,600
That is rebating directly to the
taxpayer amount of their property taxes.

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00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:31,360
It's unlimited value to us because the
village portion of the total tax bill is

280
00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:35,120
only about 12%. So that isn't a a big
incentive for most people. Another

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00:31:33,679 --> 00:31:40,799
option is something called a business
development district. It is the

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00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:48,320
application of an additional tax like a
sales tax on top of retail sales or

283
00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:52,399
hotel uh uh room rentals. It is an
additional re revenue source, but it

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00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:58,240
generally works well in areas that have
high retail capacity or activity. For

285
00:31:55,360 --> 00:32:02,399
example, an outdoor mall area. That's
something that would raise a significant

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00:31:59,919 --> 00:32:08,159
number of funds for a village. Here, not
so effective. Very similarly, sales tax

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00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:11,919
rebate is you can work deals to have
rebates going back to those that are

288
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:17,519
collecting the sales tax as a way to
incentivize growth or location in the

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00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:22,480
village.
Additional options were raised to us

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00:32:19,279 --> 00:32:26,720
were Cook County 6B and 7B. You see the
information there. Uh 6B is primarily

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00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:32,960
for industrial use. So that wouldn't
work. 7B may have limited application

292
00:32:29,919 --> 00:32:37,200
but again that lowers the overall EAV
for that property for a period of time.

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00:32:35,039 --> 00:32:40,399
So it actually is harmful to many of the
districts because it lowers their

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00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:45,919
capacity. And then as president
mentioned uh Mrick mentioned uh raising

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00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:49,919
property taxes is an option. We are in
the ballpark of our neighbors, which is

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00:32:47,679 --> 00:32:55,679
a competitive advantage because we're
not in a high uh property tax area that

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00:32:53,519 --> 00:33:00,799
helps people relocate here. So, we're
we're in line. It's the last resort, but

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00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:04,880
the next option looked at and it was
something mentioned in the comprehensive

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00:33:02,159 --> 00:33:09,039
plan is a tax increment financing
district. I see a number of familiar

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00:33:07,039 --> 00:33:13,760
faces in the room tonight, a number of
new faces, so I won't go into a lot of

301
00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:16,960
detail on this. You can read the slide
probably in the amount of time I've

302
00:33:15,039 --> 00:33:22,399
talked so far. This is something that
the board has looked at as a fiscally

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00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:27,360
smart move to be able to minimize the
impact on everyone yet raise the

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00:33:24,799 --> 00:33:31,760
greatest amount of potential benefit to
achieve the village's goals.

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00:33:29,840 --> 00:33:35,440
The board has full oversight on the
expenditures of how those funds are used

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00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:41,600
and they've looked at the estimated
impact and for a $500,000 home. If we in

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00:33:39,519 --> 00:33:46,240
raise that increment that value about $5
million, it's a $38 impact on the home.

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00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:50,559
That's one of the many questions we
received from residents about what is

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00:33:48,159 --> 00:33:54,080
this potentially going to do to us.
Later in uh the presentations today,

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00:33:52,720 --> 00:34:00,080
we'll address a number of the other
questions that have come in. However,

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00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:03,840
with tiff districts, almost universally
when a village is looking at it, the

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00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:08,399
school districts raise concerns and
they've got valid concerns about how's

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00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:12,000
this tiff district going to impact them
because when they look at new growth,

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00:34:10,240 --> 00:34:18,320
they want to figure out what's the
impact and to help present some of that

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00:34:15,599 --> 00:34:21,760
information. I think Dr. Tyos, were you
planning on presenting tonight?

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00:34:20,240 --> 00:34:24,079
» Please. Thank you.
>> And Melissa, if you'd ceue up their

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00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:28,200
presentation, please.
>> Thanks, Melissa. Before

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00:34:28,879 --> 00:34:35,040
we get further into the presentation, if
anyone is planning to speak tonight,

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00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:38,639
we're going to swear everybody in all at
once so we don't have to do this 35 or

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00:34:37,119 --> 00:34:41,919
40 times. So, uh, if you could just
raise your right hand if you're planning

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00:34:39,839 --> 00:34:46,079
to speak tonight. Repeat after or and
just affirm that this is correct. Do you

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00:34:44,159 --> 00:34:49,679
hereby affirm the testimony you provide
tonight is the truth, the whole truth,

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00:34:47,599 --> 00:34:55,879
and nothing but the truth?
>> Yes.

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00:34:51,119 --> 00:34:55,879
» You're sworn in. Thank you. Thank you.

325
00:34:56,480 --> 00:35:01,920
Thank you so much.
Thank you. Please go ahead.

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00:35:00,240 --> 00:35:05,200
» Thank you. Um I'm Peter Trigos. I'm
proud superintendent at Nutri and I'm

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00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:10,240
also a proud Northfield resident for the
last 25 years as well. So um I will

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00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:14,560
share a brief part of this and turn it
over to Chris Johnson who's the deputy

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00:35:11,599 --> 00:35:18,960
superintendent at Nutrier. Um and then
uh I'll close out as as well here. So

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00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:21,920
President Mendick, thank you for making
time for the school districts on your

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00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:25,440
agenda. We appreciate it. It's uh not
only a packed house, but it's a packed

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00:35:23,280 --> 00:35:29,440
agenda. So, we do appreciate uh making
time for us on the agenda. In this short

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00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:33,599
presentation, we will summarize our
consultants um report, Joe Psky's

334
00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:36,400
report. It's a report that we've
submitted to village trustees and that

335
00:35:35,200 --> 00:35:42,000
we've shared and that we've also
submitted to the JRB as well. Um he was

336
00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:45,920
unable to attend due to a prior conf uh
commitment. So, Chris and I will share

337
00:35:44,079 --> 00:35:51,280
that today. we'd like to present a
highle summary of his findings and we'd

338
00:35:48,240 --> 00:35:54,160
also like to share um what the impact is
on the three school districts and ask

339
00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:58,160
you to all consider that in your
deliberations uh this evening and

340
00:35:55,760 --> 00:36:01,359
throughout the process. So um you know
first and foremost it's important to

341
00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:05,119
state and we've said this in every
meeting we've been in to to to agree on

342
00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:08,560
and share here. It's important to state
that we have a shared interest in a

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00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:13,280
vibrant uh central business district in
Northfield and our other uh uh uh

344
00:36:11,280 --> 00:36:17,119
villages throughout the township as
well. and we appreciate the respect and

345
00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:20,720
civil service that you all provide to
the village and volunteering your time

346
00:36:19,440 --> 00:36:23,839
um in this. So, thank you and we
understand what those roles are and how

347
00:36:22,240 --> 00:36:27,760
important they are. I also want to echo
President Mendri's uh comments at the

348
00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:30,720
beginning of this um opening agenda
about the mutual interests. We do indeed

349
00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:33,760
have mutual interests. We may have
differences and we can talk about those

350
00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:37,760
differences and share those. But
honestly, we have some shared mutual

351
00:36:35,599 --> 00:36:43,280
interest that you'll see here a bit to
today. um really through through this is

352
00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:47,119
um we share those interests and you know
we're we're you're investing in your

353
00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:50,720
infrastructure and and modernizing your
central business district and we

354
00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:54,640
understand that we're investing in our
infrastructure too and modernizing for

355
00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:59,440
the same people in the village here and
also throughout the township. So so we

356
00:36:56,960 --> 00:37:02,720
get it um we agree on the problem and
also have said we agree on the problem

357
00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:07,520
however we disagree on the solution
right now. Um and that is we support

358
00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:11,040
development. It's good for all of us. We
do not support the TIFF as a mechanism

359
00:37:09,119 --> 00:37:14,720
for that redevelopment, especially as we
start to see resoning starting to turn

360
00:37:12,800 --> 00:37:19,599
that flywheel. Perhaps not as fast as
others think, but we think it's an um a

361
00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:22,720
viable opportunity to do so. So, again,
we're starting to see some of that here.

362
00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:25,680
We know that we may see that
differently, but want to recognize that

363
00:37:24,079 --> 00:37:31,359
it's starting to bring some development
here to our village. We'll um talk a bit

364
00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:35,920
about the summary report and recognizing
again that you see this. We believe in

365
00:37:33,119 --> 00:37:39,440
strong villages um as well uh or excuse
me in up these projections from the

366
00:37:37,839 --> 00:37:44,000
strong villages to what you've started
to project in the village this $175

367
00:37:41,920 --> 00:37:46,640
million set of needs for redevelopment.
We've seen that and we understand what

368
00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:50,640
those needs are and you've laid those
out as well. Those are needed

369
00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:54,480
redevelopment costs and we recognize
that the village is also you know as you

370
00:37:52,720 --> 00:37:57,440
start to look at this implementing a
funding mechanism though however that

371
00:37:55,920 --> 00:38:01,680
could generate up to three times what
the stated revenue is needed in that our

372
00:37:59,920 --> 00:38:05,119
consultant Joe Pvki you've seen the
report estimates that tiff could

373
00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:10,720
generate on the low side you see this in
the middle projected incremental um

374
00:38:07,040 --> 00:38:16,000
gains of $253 million on the low end and
on the medium end up to $459

375
00:38:13,760 --> 00:38:20,720
um million. These projections and the
formulas that yield these projections

376
00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:24,480
were also shared with SB Freriedman.
You're and we you know we were an open

377
00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:28,079
book in showing our work on this and we
appreciate the collaborations with that

378
00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:32,720
with and these estimates are without
objection from SB Freriedman. So these

379
00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:36,240
are the potential um uh revenues to to
be uh yielded through uh the TIFF

380
00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:41,359
district here. So, based on these
projections, a 23-year TIFF um not only

381
00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:45,119
exceeds the project cost of $175
million, but will likely exceed the

382
00:38:43,040 --> 00:38:49,920
village's annual general fund revenue
over that same time period as well. So,

383
00:38:48,079 --> 00:38:54,240
something for you all to consider in
that. Um from here, I would like to turn

384
00:38:52,240 --> 00:38:58,640
it over to Chris Johnson um at this
point and then um pick it up.

385
00:38:57,200 --> 00:39:02,480
» Thank you. A pleasure to be here tonight
to speak again on on the TIFF. So, the

386
00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:06,079
headline here is the significant
financial impact on school districts.

387
00:39:04,480 --> 00:39:10,000
One of the reasons school districts are
typically concerned about tiffs is that

388
00:39:08,079 --> 00:39:13,839
we're primarily funded through local
property tax dollars. In the case of our

389
00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:18,000
school districts, about 90% of our
revenue with a small amount of funding

390
00:39:15,839 --> 00:39:22,480
from the state, about 2% small amount of
funding from federal government, about

391
00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:25,680
2% as well. So substantial money if a
tiff was created could be diverted from

392
00:39:24,240 --> 00:39:30,079
our school districts over the life of
the tiff. This is potential new property

393
00:39:27,839 --> 00:39:33,599
revenue in excess of our levy. These
estimates uh you see on the screen are

394
00:39:31,839 --> 00:39:36,800
based on assumptions compiled by our
consultant who Peter mentioned earlier

395
00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:40,960
or retained by the school districts that
uses assumptions included in the

396
00:39:38,400 --> 00:39:44,960
villages plan and tiff study. So you see
uh that low reassessment value

397
00:39:43,040 --> 00:39:48,960
potentially 150 million in new property
diverted from the three school districts

398
00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:55,400
at a medium uh reassessment failure of
4% about 169 million over the life of a

399
00:39:51,839 --> 00:39:55,400
23-year tiff.

400
00:39:56,880 --> 00:40:03,839
We have relied on new property as school
as we call it uh to supplement our levy

401
00:40:01,760 --> 00:40:08,240
beyond inflation. Our annual increase
for that 90% of our revenue is capped at

402
00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:11,839
the consumer price index the inflation
number from the prior year. New

403
00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:15,839
construction really is the only increase
for us beyond that. And in the case of

404
00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:19,760
nutrier specifically has been vital to
avoid an operating rate referendum for

405
00:40:17,680 --> 00:40:23,760
23 years. We last did an operating rate
referendum in 2003 and made a 5-year

406
00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:28,240
commitment not to have one. Now we're at
23 years in large part due to that new

407
00:40:26,079 --> 00:40:31,760
property revenue which just brought us a
little bit more each year than CPI.

408
00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:35,599
Another factor that is important
especially for a district like Nutrier

409
00:40:33,520 --> 00:40:39,280
is that the value of property increase
as the value of property increases in

410
00:40:37,119 --> 00:40:43,119
the tiff zone school districts continue
to levy the same amount. Meaning over

411
00:40:41,040 --> 00:40:47,680
that time residents outside the tiff
zone will pay more for school district

412
00:40:45,040 --> 00:40:53,440
taxes. So particularly for Nutrier who
serves Wat Gleno Wka all the other

413
00:40:50,800 --> 00:40:58,000
communities each of those uh residents
will pay a little bit more in their

414
00:40:54,880 --> 00:41:01,760
property tax bill as the EAV is frozen
properties in the tiff zone and that

415
00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:04,760
incremental revenue goes to the tiff
fund.

416
00:41:05,920 --> 00:41:11,280
As Patrick mentioned earlier there are
other mechanisms available that can

417
00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:14,480
generate funds for improvement such as
the special service area bond. We

418
00:41:12,960 --> 00:41:18,720
understand there are concerns about
using some of these mechanisms, but

419
00:41:16,079 --> 00:41:22,880
these mechanisms do exist and they could
generate some revenue, potentially not

420
00:41:20,640 --> 00:41:27,079
as much as the tiff. TIFF is one option,
but there are others as well.

421
00:41:27,760 --> 00:41:32,800
Schools have been responsible stewards
of our finances and maintain fund

422
00:41:31,200 --> 00:41:36,640
balances, which are essentially our
savings accounts. These allow us to

423
00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:41,040
continue to fund our operations as
revenue is distributed to us two times

424
00:41:38,720 --> 00:41:44,960
per year when tax bills are issued or
they say in Cook County lately if tax

425
00:41:42,720 --> 00:41:48,960
bills are issued. Uh funds have been
critical during delays and property tax

426
00:41:46,880 --> 00:41:52,880
payments. While we know the gross dollar
amounts have been presented previously,

427
00:41:50,880 --> 00:41:57,119
it's the context that matters. How many
months of expenditures they fund, which

428
00:41:55,200 --> 00:42:00,240
averages about seven or eight months for
our school district. So when you look at

429
00:41:58,480 --> 00:42:04,000
last year when property tax bills were
six months late, having these reserves

430
00:42:02,400 --> 00:42:07,680
was a vital lifeline for our school
districts to continue to pay our

431
00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:13,720
teachers, to continue to uh offer our
programs and operate our facilities

432
00:42:09,200 --> 00:42:13,720
without using highcost borrowing.

433
00:42:15,520 --> 00:42:21,359
The school districts believe that
development is already occurring. School

434
00:42:19,440 --> 00:42:25,680
districts respectfully disagree with the
eligibility finding. The tiff shifts

435
00:42:23,680 --> 00:42:29,200
costs to residents outside the tiff
zone. We believe the loss of new

436
00:42:27,359 --> 00:42:33,599
property growth is significant for
school districts and the scale may be

437
00:42:31,520 --> 00:42:38,880
larger than the vill's identified needs
of 175 million. Uh I'll turn it over to

438
00:42:37,119 --> 00:42:42,640
Peter, but I I I want to just share my
thanks to to the village board for their

439
00:42:40,720 --> 00:42:46,720
service and to Patrick who's been just a
wonderful partner in this and we

440
00:42:44,720 --> 00:42:50,640
appreciate the collaboration uh even
though we see uh things a bit

441
00:42:48,560 --> 00:42:53,920
differently. So uh thank you for your
service and Patrick thank you for all

442
00:42:52,319 --> 00:42:57,359
you're doing in this process and I'll
turn it over to Peter.

443
00:42:58,960 --> 00:43:05,119
I'll close here. Um almost where we
started with a tiff and

444
00:43:02,160 --> 00:43:08,640
intergovernmental agreement here. Um you
know our position on the tiff. I think

445
00:43:06,560 --> 00:43:13,920
we've made it clear here and in our in
our forums. Uh we advocate for a

446
00:43:10,720 --> 00:43:18,240
non-piff non-tiff path uh to a vibrant
downtown uh Northfield and central

447
00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:22,960
business district. However, school um
however, if the village moves forward

448
00:43:19,920 --> 00:43:27,040
with a tiff, uh we want to stay engaged
in these discussions between the village

449
00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:31,920
and the school districts to develop an
IGA um to meet both needs here. An IGA

450
00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:35,280
can lessen but it cannot completely
mitigate the impact on schools. You

451
00:43:33,359 --> 00:43:40,319
heard the impact right here. Uh the long
range impact on schools is significant.

452
00:43:37,839 --> 00:43:44,960
um and an IGA in the best of terms and
continue our collaborations um we can

453
00:43:42,640 --> 00:43:49,040
indeed lessen those and we we ask the
village uh not to approve it with with

454
00:43:47,200 --> 00:43:52,720
um without an IGA in place. So if that's
your going forward really you know the

455
00:43:51,359 --> 00:43:56,480
the ask here is if you're going to
continue to do that or this is the path

456
00:43:54,640 --> 00:44:00,560
you pursue we ask that that go hand
inand with an IGA and that would be our

457
00:43:58,560 --> 00:44:03,760
our ask and again we you see here in our
last statement a vibrant community and

458
00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:08,599
strong villages and strong schools.
Thank you very much.

459
00:44:05,440 --> 00:44:08,599
» Thank you.

460
00:44:16,880 --> 00:44:22,560
So, um, while our representative from SB
Freedom approaches the podium, I just

461
00:44:21,200 --> 00:44:27,280
wanted to point out the joint review
board that was chaired by Dr. Chris

462
00:44:24,240 --> 00:44:31,200
Johnson, uh, voted against recommending
the tiff district for the village. So

463
00:44:29,680 --> 00:44:35,440
you've re the village board has received
a copy of their minutes that indicate

464
00:44:33,280 --> 00:44:38,960
that that was their reasoning for saying
no and that articulated their reasons

465
00:44:37,680 --> 00:44:43,839
for forwarding a negative
recommendation. At this time some of you

466
00:44:41,680 --> 00:44:47,839
that have been here you may recommend or
may recognize that this does not look

467
00:44:45,599 --> 00:44:51,200
anything like Kait Caitlyn from SP
Freriedman. Uh Caitlyn had something

468
00:44:49,760 --> 00:44:55,040
happen that was totally outside of her
control that she's unable to attend this

469
00:44:52,720 --> 00:44:59,520
evening and uh we've been lucky enough
to have um Karen step up and take the

470
00:44:58,400 --> 00:45:02,079
lead for us.
>> Wonderful. Thank you.

471
00:45:00,800 --> 00:45:08,800
» So Melissa, if you bring up their
presentation, please

472
00:45:04,960 --> 00:45:12,240
» and you you'll advance the slides.
>> Can you please see?

473
00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:15,800
» Yes.
>> Pull it forward.

474
00:45:17,359 --> 00:45:22,400
All right. I'll go ahead and get
started. Thank you all for your time

475
00:45:20,400 --> 00:45:28,160
this evening.
As Patrick mentioned,

476
00:45:25,839 --> 00:45:32,400
my name is Karen K, which will be
evident on the slide in a moment.

477
00:45:31,280 --> 00:45:35,280
I'll go ahead and get the introduction
started. My name is Karen Kay. I'm a

478
00:45:33,839 --> 00:45:39,680
senior vice president with SB Friedman.
I am accompanied in the wings by Ryd

479
00:45:37,119 --> 00:45:43,440
Bose, a partner with SB Friedman. And um
we are standing in for Caitlyn Johnson,

480
00:45:41,119 --> 00:45:47,040
who unfortunately couldn't be here. As I
believe many are familiar, SB Freebin is

481
00:45:45,119 --> 00:45:50,079
a consulting firm based out of Chicago
that specializes in public private

482
00:45:48,720 --> 00:45:55,599
partnerships, special district
designations, underwriting, um, economic

483
00:45:53,040 --> 00:45:59,359
development and housing related matters.
Uh, and this evening we're going to

484
00:45:57,040 --> 00:46:03,040
focus on the statutory requirements for
TIFF districts. So, we'll walk through

485
00:46:01,119 --> 00:46:07,520
the eligibility factors and the required
findings and tests to demonstrate uh,

486
00:46:06,160 --> 00:46:13,280
the conditions within the proposed
redevelopment project area. I will start

487
00:46:10,640 --> 00:46:20,160
with an overview of the proposed project
area. The district includes 141 10-digit

488
00:46:16,960 --> 00:46:26,079
parcels. It accounts for 106 acres and
76 primary structures. The parcels are a

489
00:46:23,200 --> 00:46:30,960
combination of 25 improved parcels. Two
vacant parcels and 14 parcels that are

490
00:46:28,800 --> 00:46:34,480
right-of-way. Right-of-way parcels are
not included in eligibility analysis.

491
00:46:32,880 --> 00:46:38,400
And so we'll only be focused on the
improved and the vacant properties

492
00:46:35,920 --> 00:46:42,480
within the proposed district. Right now,
the district, as many folks know, is a

493
00:46:40,319 --> 00:46:46,319
mix of vacant, commercial, industrial,
mixed use, uh, public, open space,

494
00:46:44,720 --> 00:46:50,640
rightway, and utility related
properties.

495
00:46:48,160 --> 00:46:55,119
As I said, I'm going to focus on the
statutory eligibility and requirements

496
00:46:53,040 --> 00:46:59,520
for TIFF designations per the Illinois
TIFF Act. There are different

497
00:46:57,200 --> 00:47:04,319
requirements for improved parcels versus
vacant parcels. And I'll start with the

498
00:47:01,040 --> 00:47:10,000
improved parcels. Improved parcels must
have 50% of buildings which are at least

499
00:47:07,200 --> 00:47:14,240
35 years old or older and at least three
eligibility factors of the myriad

500
00:47:12,240 --> 00:47:17,760
available uh present across the
district. We have to find district

501
00:47:16,160 --> 00:47:22,880
factors meaningfully present and
reasonably distributed across the entire

502
00:47:19,839 --> 00:47:28,319
boundary of a proposed district. Um, and
based on our both desktop and fieldwork

503
00:47:25,280 --> 00:47:32,160
research, we found that 89% of primary
buildings within the proposed RPA are at

504
00:47:30,160 --> 00:47:36,000
least 35 years old. And there are four
documented eligibility factors present

505
00:47:34,160 --> 00:47:39,520
in the district. Those are lack of
growth in EAV, which I'll talk through

506
00:47:37,680 --> 00:47:43,599
in a moment, the presence of structures
below minimum code standards, inadequate

507
00:47:41,920 --> 00:47:47,599
utilities, and deterioration of both
site and structures. for vacant

508
00:47:46,079 --> 00:47:51,839
properties within the district. As I
said, we have to find eligibility for at

509
00:47:49,920 --> 00:47:56,160
least two factors present within the
district. Those that were found include

510
00:47:54,160 --> 00:48:00,640
lack of growth in EAV, which is a
standalone criteria um from the improved

511
00:47:58,480 --> 00:48:04,640
factors, and then also deterioration of
structures or site improvements in

512
00:48:02,800 --> 00:48:08,560
neighboring areas adjacent to the vacant
land.

513
00:48:07,119 --> 00:48:13,119
So, I'll go into a little bit more
detail on the EAV standards per the act.

514
00:48:11,200 --> 00:48:17,599
Per the TIFF act, there are three
different mechanisms or pathways to

515
00:48:15,280 --> 00:48:23,119
demonstrate lack of growth in EAV and
BIFF eligible. The first is an overall

516
00:48:20,400 --> 00:48:27,520
decline in EAV in three of the last five
calendar years. The second is an

517
00:48:25,359 --> 00:48:32,000
increase in EAV at a rate less than the
balance of the village as a whole. And

518
00:48:29,760 --> 00:48:36,400
the third is an increase in the district
EAV at a rate lower than CPI for at

519
00:48:35,040 --> 00:48:41,920
least three of the last five
year-over-year periods. The proposed RPA

520
00:48:39,599 --> 00:48:45,760
meets the criteria for the the
comparison relative to the village as a

521
00:48:43,760 --> 00:48:50,240
whole for four of the last five
year-over-year periods. And it meets the

522
00:48:48,400 --> 00:48:56,200
criteria for growth slower than this
than CPI for three of the last five

523
00:48:52,559 --> 00:48:56,200
year-over-year periods.

524
00:48:56,559 --> 00:49:01,920
I'll now walk through just at a high
level a few of the other statutory

525
00:49:00,079 --> 00:49:06,160
findings that are required to designate
a TIFF district and then I'll go into

526
00:49:03,599 --> 00:49:10,160
greater detail on three of them. There
must be lack of growth from private

527
00:49:08,000 --> 00:49:14,000
investment in any tiff district that is
proposed. You must make the but for

528
00:49:12,400 --> 00:49:18,640
finding which is that development would
not happen but for a tiff district.

529
00:49:16,160 --> 00:49:22,880
Parcels must be must be contiguous. A
proposed district must be in conformance

530
00:49:20,640 --> 00:49:26,720
with plans of the village. That the
village must certify that there will not

531
00:49:24,720 --> 00:49:31,200
be resident displacement or conduct a
housing study and there must be an

532
00:49:28,640 --> 00:49:35,599
identified date of completion. The
village um has found that private

533
00:49:33,760 --> 00:49:40,079
investment has not produced sustained
areawide redevelopment as evidenced by a

534
00:49:38,240 --> 00:49:44,880
limited new construction activity and
lagging EAV growth in the proposed

535
00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:48,400
district. The redevelopment objectives
of the plan would not reasonably be

536
00:49:46,640 --> 00:49:52,400
achieved without public assistance as
discussed um by the village president

537
00:49:50,640 --> 00:49:56,720
due to extraordinary infrastructure
costs, the age of buildings and

538
00:49:54,160 --> 00:50:01,040
condition of buildings. The RPA consists
of contiguous parcels that will benefit

539
00:49:59,040 --> 00:50:05,680
substantially upon implementation of the
redevelopment plan. The redevelopment

540
00:50:03,440 --> 00:50:10,240
plan conforms to and promotes land uses
and objectives identified in the village

541
00:50:07,839 --> 00:50:14,319
of Northfield's vision 240 comprehensive
plan. The village has certified that no

542
00:50:12,480 --> 00:50:18,319
resident displacement will occur as a
result of activities pursuant to the

543
00:50:16,160 --> 00:50:24,440
redevelopment plan and the plan is
estimated to be completed no later than

544
00:50:20,240 --> 00:50:24,440
December 31st, 2050.

545
00:50:25,040 --> 00:50:30,960
As I said, I'll go into a couple of
these criteria a little bit more

546
00:50:29,119 --> 00:50:36,079
specifically as it relates to lack of
private investment. Uh that finding the

547
00:50:33,920 --> 00:50:40,240
TIFF Act requires that a municipality
finds the redevelopment project area on

548
00:50:38,160 --> 00:50:43,280
the whole has not been subject to growth
and development through investment by

549
00:50:41,760 --> 00:50:46,880
private enterprise and would not
reasonably be anticipated to be

550
00:50:45,280 --> 00:50:51,200
developed without the adoption of a
redevelopment plan. As has been

551
00:50:49,280 --> 00:50:56,720
mentioned, private investment has been
isolated and limited in scope across the

552
00:50:53,520 --> 00:51:02,000
proposed redevelopment project area and
um the district overall lags in EAV

553
00:50:59,200 --> 00:51:08,240
growth. When we look at the most recent
year's performance from 2019 to 2024,

554
00:51:05,119 --> 00:51:13,040
there was only 15% EAV growth over that
5-year period, which lagged cumulative

555
00:51:10,640 --> 00:51:19,280
inflation uh and only accounts for about
a 2.8% compound annual growth rate.

556
00:51:16,400 --> 00:51:24,720
Since 2021, there have only been major
improvements, uh, building permits

557
00:51:21,200 --> 00:51:29,440
exceeding 100,000 on nine of 141 parcels
across the district. And there have only

558
00:51:27,200 --> 00:51:34,160
been two proposed projects, one 12-unit
condominium project and one proposed 92

559
00:51:32,240 --> 00:51:38,000
unit multif family project.
Collectively, those two projects do not

560
00:51:35,920 --> 00:51:41,839
demonstrate sustained areawide private
investment. And therefore, SB Freeman

561
00:51:40,720 --> 00:51:47,440
found that the lack of private
investment finding was met.

562
00:51:45,520 --> 00:51:51,280
Switching gears to the second half of
that same statement within the tiff act

563
00:51:49,680 --> 00:51:56,319
that private investment would not
reasonably be anticipated to be

564
00:51:52,880 --> 00:51:59,920
developed uh with without the adoption
of the redevelopment plans. This is the

565
00:51:58,240 --> 00:52:03,359
but for case that we talked about
earlier that development and investment

566
00:52:01,760 --> 00:52:07,359
would not occur but for the
implementation of a tiff district.

567
00:52:05,599 --> 00:52:11,599
Again, the documented extraordinary
costs both in the TIFF plan and as

568
00:52:09,119 --> 00:52:15,599
spoken to this evening uh indicate that
the plan identified uh by the village

569
00:52:14,000 --> 00:52:19,760
and the comprehensive plan and again in
the redevelopment plan would not be

570
00:52:17,520 --> 00:52:24,640
developed in accordance um without
implementation of the tiff district and

571
00:52:22,079 --> 00:52:28,880
tiff assistance that is attributable to
deteriorated buildings uh outdated

572
00:52:27,359 --> 00:52:32,800
utilities and infrastructure
environmental remediation concerns and

573
00:52:30,960 --> 00:52:37,280
needs elevated construction and
financing costs that we're experiencing

574
00:52:35,280 --> 00:52:42,880
uh regionally and then project specific
expenses that create substantial fund f

575
00:52:39,760 --> 00:52:46,720
funding gaps on projects. Uh we also
know from proposed projects within the

576
00:52:44,800 --> 00:52:50,319
district and again one was spoken to or
about this evening and there's also the

577
00:52:48,559 --> 00:52:53,680
92 unit proposed multif family
development that developers have

578
00:52:51,920 --> 00:52:58,079
indicated a need for public assistance
to advance projects within the proposed

579
00:52:55,680 --> 00:53:00,960
redevelopment project area. And although
we've talked about other potential

580
00:52:59,520 --> 00:53:05,280
pathways for providing public
assistance, there's no requirement that

581
00:53:03,520 --> 00:53:09,520
all alternative funding mechanisms be
exhausted before establing establishing

582
00:53:07,200 --> 00:53:12,960
a tiff district. And as um has been
mentioned, a number of those alternate

583
00:53:11,200 --> 00:53:17,400
pathways have repercussions or impacts
on project feasibility as well.

584
00:53:17,599 --> 00:53:23,760
And I'll finish with conformance to the
comprehensive plan. So this requirement

585
00:53:22,000 --> 00:53:27,040
states the municipality must find that
the de the redevelopment plan and

586
00:53:25,520 --> 00:53:32,000
project conform to the comprehensive
plan for the development of the

587
00:53:28,240 --> 00:53:36,800
municipality as a whole. Um the vision
2040 plan must be read as an integrated

588
00:53:34,559 --> 00:53:41,760
policy document and conformance must be
evaluated as the plan as a whole and not

589
00:53:39,040 --> 00:53:45,839
single components of that plan document.
The vision 2040 plan does call for

590
00:53:43,920 --> 00:53:50,559
avoiding adverse school impacts but it
does not prohibit the establishment of

591
00:53:47,680 --> 00:53:55,200
tiff. It does propose the creation of a
mixeduse land use framework consistent

592
00:53:52,800 --> 00:54:00,319
with the vision 2040 plan uh that
directly overlaps this uh proposed

593
00:53:57,359 --> 00:54:04,960
redevelopment project area.
So with that I will conclude um that the

594
00:54:03,119 --> 00:54:09,119
proposed RPA satisfies the eligibility
criteria of the act uh as a combination

595
00:54:07,440 --> 00:54:13,599
of both vacant blighted land and
improved conservation area land factors.

596
00:54:11,359 --> 00:54:17,359
As just articulated, the eligibility
factors are documented to a meaningful

597
00:54:15,359 --> 00:54:22,800
extent and reasonably distributed across
portions of the RPA to which they apply.

598
00:54:20,319 --> 00:54:26,160
The RPA is no less not less than 1.5
acres, is within the village, is

599
00:54:24,480 --> 00:54:31,280
contiguous and includes only property
expected to be substantially benefited

600
00:54:27,920 --> 00:54:34,480
by the plan itself. The RPA on the whole
has not experienced sufficient growth

601
00:54:33,200 --> 00:54:37,920
and development through private
investment and would not reasonably be

602
00:54:36,160 --> 00:54:42,720
anticipated to be developed in
accordance with the plan but for the

603
00:54:40,079 --> 00:54:47,440
implementation of the tiff. The plan
conforms to the vi vision plan 20 240

604
00:54:45,119 --> 00:54:51,440
and establishes the required pro program
and financial framework and contains

605
00:54:49,760 --> 00:54:55,440
material findings and information as
required by the act and the plan is

606
00:54:53,680 --> 00:54:59,359
reasonably expected to enhance the
long-term tax base of the overlapping

607
00:54:57,200 --> 00:55:03,280
tax districts by addressing conditions
that impair redevelopment

608
00:55:01,520 --> 00:55:07,119
encouraging private investment and
improving infrastructure and property

609
00:55:04,880 --> 00:55:11,359
conditions. So with that, I'll conclude
by saying the the proposed village

610
00:55:09,040 --> 00:55:15,599
center RPA is eligible for designation
and the plan as presented satisfies the

611
00:55:13,680 --> 00:55:20,280
applicable eligibility criteria, plan
requirements and objective of the TIFF

612
00:55:17,280 --> 00:55:20,280
act.

613
00:55:32,800 --> 00:55:38,760
Thank you, Karen. Melissa, if you bring
our slide deck back up, please.

614
00:55:45,200 --> 00:55:51,440
» So, I'm going to skip ahead a couple of
slides here because I think uh Karen did

615
00:55:48,640 --> 00:55:55,680
a nice job explaining uh where we find
an eligibility. So I had planned on

616
00:55:54,079 --> 00:56:01,200
going through a report from the school
district uh and talking about where what

617
00:55:59,119 --> 00:56:07,680
they had asserted we feel doesn't meet
or is in a criteria but um I'll instead

618
00:56:04,799 --> 00:56:12,160
focus on something that Dr. Trios had
said is that we're working together. Uh

619
00:56:09,920 --> 00:56:16,720
we recognize the board recognizes that
there are potentially impacts at school

620
00:56:13,680 --> 00:56:21,920
districts as this tiff proceeds. if this
test proceeds that those concerns

621
00:56:20,079 --> 00:56:26,720
primarily fall in a couple of areas you
see bulleted there and that is the

622
00:56:24,000 --> 00:56:32,400
delayed receipt of new property growth.
The potential for a growth of housing in

623
00:56:29,920 --> 00:56:39,440
the district that creates an additional
demand on the schools for staffing for

624
00:56:35,440 --> 00:56:44,000
school uh classroom space and if we uh
the village does that other villages may

625
00:56:41,440 --> 00:56:48,960
do the same thing. So, our discussions
have really focused on what can we do to

626
00:56:46,319 --> 00:56:54,400
help mitigate those first two concerns
as far as ensuring that the districts

627
00:56:51,040 --> 00:56:59,200
get um additional funding beyond what is
required in the TIFF Act for their needs

628
00:56:56,720 --> 00:57:03,920
if those needs do in fact come to
fruition. We're working on it. As uh

629
00:57:01,520 --> 00:57:07,599
President Metric Metric stated, we have
a draft intergovernmental agreement and

630
00:57:05,599 --> 00:57:12,799
we'll continue working through that
going forward.

631
00:57:10,160 --> 00:57:17,440
Um
so through this process we have received

632
00:57:15,520 --> 00:57:22,640
a a large number of emails from
residents. Many are asking questions and

633
00:57:20,319 --> 00:57:26,319
we've gone through all those emails
looked at what their questions are and

634
00:57:24,640 --> 00:57:31,280
really kind of tried to distill them
into some common um themes of what we're

635
00:57:28,799 --> 00:57:34,559
hearing. All of you here can read this
and luckily my text is big enough

636
00:57:32,960 --> 00:57:39,040
because Kathy told me to check it ahead
of time to make sure we could see it on

637
00:57:36,079 --> 00:57:44,000
the screen. So it is visible. Uh so I
won't read all of these uh to you

638
00:57:41,359 --> 00:57:47,920
because that would just not be fair. But
uh one of the common questions we're

639
00:57:45,599 --> 00:57:52,559
getting is is the village currently
negotiating with developers for this

640
00:57:50,319 --> 00:57:56,559
tiff if it happens to promise funds or
promise developments or promise some

641
00:57:54,720 --> 00:58:02,079
special thing to them in the future
going forward. The answer is no. We are

642
00:57:59,760 --> 00:58:07,359
talking to the owners of 1822 Willow the
former Mariano site as mentioned earlier

643
00:58:04,720 --> 00:58:13,359
in the slides. We need help. Go ahead.
Sure.

644
00:58:10,319 --> 00:58:17,359
» Thank you. So, we're talking to them.
They've made a funding request. They're

645
00:58:15,040 --> 00:58:22,640
not specifying how that funding comes,
but the size of the request um is beyond

646
00:58:20,720 --> 00:58:26,799
the vill's capabilities of funding
without outside assistance. And they're

647
00:58:24,720 --> 00:58:31,440
indicating if this deal can't be
brokered, can't happen, that they are

648
00:58:29,599 --> 00:58:36,000
out of options for that building. And
they uh don't know what the next step

649
00:58:33,280 --> 00:58:38,559
would be other than vacancy.
Uh we've been asked about other

650
00:58:37,280 --> 00:58:42,880
alternatives. You heard some of those
presentations tonight. We've looked at

651
00:58:40,319 --> 00:58:47,119
other alternatives. Uh and there's been
concern about is there something other

652
00:58:45,040 --> 00:58:52,400
than tiff that can be used? As we
mentioned that there's over 300 tiff

653
00:58:49,520 --> 00:58:58,559
districts in the Cook County suburbs of
Chicago is a tool used commonly to help

654
00:58:55,440 --> 00:59:02,319
spur and stimulate growth. And uh we're
getting questions about uh could an

655
00:59:00,400 --> 00:59:05,520
independent party come review what we've
done? The answer is, of course, the

656
00:59:04,079 --> 00:59:09,599
school district uh has hired their
independent consultant to take a look

657
00:59:07,280 --> 00:59:13,520
and offer their opinion as far as what
the villages consultant has presented.

658
00:59:11,760 --> 00:59:19,599
And you heard those findings this
evening.

659
00:59:16,000 --> 00:59:25,200
And uh while the display we had earlier
had an answer to all these questions,

660
00:59:22,400 --> 00:59:32,440
um I'm going to really do this one on
the fly. Um and I'm not sure how that's

661
00:59:28,799 --> 00:59:32,440
missing. Um

662
00:59:33,760 --> 00:59:43,119
But it definitely is. So, what will
residents receive if TIFF uh passes? Uh

663
00:59:40,319 --> 00:59:47,119
really the answer for that is we're
going to be moving forward closer to the

664
00:59:45,040 --> 00:59:50,960
vision that the community had started
five years ago or six years ago when

665
00:59:49,040 --> 00:59:56,319
they adopted the comprehensive plan and
it's a more vibrant uh vital downtown, a

666
00:59:54,079 --> 01:00:00,400
place that is a core for the village and
a place to gather. Will the tiff

667
00:59:58,240 --> 01:00:06,240
district change your property taxes?
probably yes. Uh you saw the the number

668
01:00:03,280 --> 01:00:10,960
earlier that about a $5 million worth of
growth within the tiff district we're

669
01:00:08,079 --> 01:00:15,359
calculating out to be about a $38 impact
of your home value to $500,000. If your

670
01:00:13,839 --> 01:00:20,720
home is a million dollar, you can double
that number and have a good idea of what

671
01:00:16,880 --> 01:00:26,000
that sense is. That number, that $38 is
less impact than if the village raised

672
01:00:23,599 --> 01:00:30,720
property taxes to try to achieve the
goal of all these uh items moving

673
01:00:28,160 --> 01:00:37,280
forward. And you may think why? Well,
the reason it's less is because uh what

674
01:00:33,599 --> 01:00:43,920
uh Dr. Johnson explained that the tiff
impact that fee is paid not just by

675
01:00:40,960 --> 01:00:50,480
those here in Northfield, it's everybody
in Cook County. So Cook County property

676
01:00:46,319 --> 01:00:55,040
taxes as EAVs grow and levies raise,
everybody in Cook County pays a little

677
01:00:52,240 --> 01:00:59,280
bit extra because this area designed by
the tiff district isn't contributing in

678
01:00:57,359 --> 01:01:06,319
that growth because those funds are
directed to the village to be reinvested

679
01:01:02,000 --> 01:01:11,920
within the tiff area. So if you hear
that tiff doesn't impact your property

680
01:01:08,319 --> 01:01:17,359
taxes, it does. The goal though is over
the long term when the TIFF is ended all

681
01:01:14,559 --> 01:01:23,359
that new EAV equalized assessed
valuation growth gets released so

682
01:01:20,720 --> 01:01:27,599
everybody pays less percentage of future
property taxes because of the work done

683
01:01:25,440 --> 01:01:32,079
by the village. And without going too
deep into it, let me give you a real

684
01:01:29,040 --> 01:01:37,440
world example. The Marianos property,
they're paying upper $600,000 a year in

685
01:01:35,040 --> 01:01:42,319
a tax bill for a building when it was
leased. They're going to appeal their

686
01:01:40,000 --> 01:01:45,680
taxes when the windows open to lower
that because it's currently a vacant

687
01:01:43,839 --> 01:01:51,359
building and they will most likely be
successful. I'm going to make up the

688
01:01:47,760 --> 01:01:56,480
number here. $400,000 gets knocked off
their tax bill. The next tax bill that

689
01:01:54,480 --> 01:02:01,599
comes around, every taxpayer in
Northfield is going to pay a little

690
01:01:58,640 --> 01:02:06,000
extra to make up for that $400,000 that
the Marianos property is not providing.

691
01:02:04,160 --> 01:02:12,720
They're not contributing to the overall
tax bill. That's the magic as we look at

692
01:02:09,280 --> 01:02:16,799
for trying to grow the tiff district EAV
because that higher value in that

693
01:02:14,720 --> 01:02:20,240
district means everybody pays a lower
percentage

694
01:02:18,480 --> 01:02:24,960
and that's our goal over time just to
help make that happen to make a

695
01:02:21,599 --> 01:02:29,440
healthier Northfield. Um what accountab
accountability controls be in place for

696
01:02:26,960 --> 01:02:33,760
expenditures? The board hasn't started
working on that yet. If the tiff looks

697
01:02:31,680 --> 01:02:38,799
like it's moving forward, we'll start
having discussions about accountability

698
01:02:35,680 --> 01:02:43,359
and rules and applications and forms to
get a process laid out so it's

699
01:02:41,119 --> 01:02:47,280
transparent. Everybody can see it on the
website and uh developers that are

700
01:02:45,599 --> 01:02:50,880
looking for assistance will be able to
see how to uh make a request for that.

701
01:02:50,160 --> 01:02:54,640
And then fin
>> Patrick, I'm sorry, but ultimately it

702
01:02:52,960 --> 01:02:59,680
would come before this board before any
TIFF funds were dispersed.

703
01:02:56,880 --> 01:03:03,359
» Yes. So the tiff fund would be managed
much like the village's annual budget

704
01:03:01,280 --> 01:03:06,960
where we would roughly budget what the
revenue would be and then expenditures

705
01:03:05,200 --> 01:03:09,920
and then if a developer is asking for
funding assistance there's a

706
01:03:08,480 --> 01:03:14,400
redevelopment agreement that must be
negotiated and passed by the board that

707
01:03:12,160 --> 01:03:18,000
is done at a public meeting. It's a
public process for adopting that

708
01:03:16,319 --> 01:03:22,400
document and it would be on our packet
in our website so you can see it. Even

709
01:03:20,640 --> 01:03:27,280
if the village board uh moves forward
and one of the other options is uh

710
01:03:24,480 --> 01:03:31,119
grants for facade improvement grants,
those expenditures are approved by the

711
01:03:29,599 --> 01:03:34,559
village board as those grants are
awarded.

712
01:03:33,280 --> 01:03:37,920
How will we know if the tiff is
succeeding? That's a it's a common

713
01:03:36,079 --> 01:03:41,520
question worded many different ways from
people, but this comes up especially

714
01:03:39,920 --> 01:03:47,200
when we start looking at the fact that
the board is going to I believe if this

715
01:03:45,200 --> 01:03:52,079
moves forward require a midterm
reevaluation of the tiff. Is it

716
01:03:49,280 --> 01:03:57,200
succeeding? Is it achieving goals that
success looks like an active vibrant

717
01:03:54,400 --> 01:04:02,240
healthy downtown? Right now the tiff
district area is lagging growth of the

718
01:03:59,760 --> 01:04:06,480
rest of the village by 19% over five
years. That's drag. That's actually

719
01:04:04,319 --> 01:04:10,000
raising everybody's property taxes.
Getting that closer to even if not

720
01:04:08,319 --> 01:04:17,119
exceeding the rest of the village would
be a good sign that this is moving well.

721
01:04:14,319 --> 01:04:20,559
And the version of this gets posted on
our website sometime tomorrow. We'll

722
01:04:19,280 --> 01:04:26,599
have the answers to the rest of the
questions. I'm sorry. I have no idea why

723
01:04:22,960 --> 01:04:26,599
that's blanked out.

724
01:04:29,599 --> 01:04:35,440
So, we're getting close with President
Mendri's permission for this to enter

725
01:04:33,359 --> 01:04:39,280
the public comment period. You see the
information here about the speaker

726
01:04:36,960 --> 01:04:43,200
cards. If anybody's come in late, please
see one of our staff members speaker

727
01:04:41,280 --> 01:04:46,799
card. When you fill out the card, if you
don't want to speak, you can just note

728
01:04:44,720 --> 01:04:50,559
your position on TIFF and any comments.
The board will get all of these. They

729
01:04:48,559 --> 01:04:54,640
will be retained, scanned in, and kept
in the file with this public hearing

730
01:04:52,319 --> 01:04:58,160
process. Just like those that have sent
in comments, especially in the last few

731
01:04:56,240 --> 01:05:02,960
days, saying, "I want this to be part of
the record for the village, those emails

732
01:05:01,039 --> 01:05:07,119
were received by the village board. They
are part of the record and we will

733
01:05:04,559 --> 01:05:11,680
retain them in our files."
Thank you.

734
01:05:07,839 --> 01:05:15,839
» Okay. Um, first of all, I'm going to say
it again, the comment cards, if you

735
01:05:13,920 --> 01:05:20,480
would like to make a comment or you're
not sure if you want to make a comment,

736
01:05:17,520 --> 01:05:27,119
please see Melissa or Holly at the end.
Brett is upstairs, I think, with those

737
01:05:23,039 --> 01:05:32,880
cards as well. Um,
what I will do next is in order to keep

738
01:05:30,720 --> 01:05:39,359
things moving along, I am going to call
three names and I would like you to head

739
01:05:36,160 --> 01:05:43,920
towards the podium. Um, make state your
name and address so that we have that

740
01:05:41,440 --> 01:05:50,240
for the record. make your comments in
the three minute time frame and I will

741
01:05:46,799 --> 01:05:54,880
keep calling additional names to join us
at the podium or anyone who's upstairs

742
01:05:52,880 --> 01:05:59,760
that needs to make their way down here
to give them an opportunity to do so.

743
01:05:57,520 --> 01:06:04,720
Okay, everybody here on the board square
with what's happening next? All right,

744
01:06:01,839 --> 01:06:11,200
super. Okay, so the first name on the
list is Simon Babs.

745
01:06:07,680 --> 01:06:18,000
The next one is Erica Foster. The next
one is Mary Lind Bland.

746
01:06:15,520 --> 01:06:21,760
If any of those people are in the room,
not necessarily in order. If we're

747
01:06:19,839 --> 01:06:29,839
waiting for people to arrive, we can
certainly do that. Simon Babs.

748
01:06:26,880 --> 01:06:35,440
Okay.
If you, Erica, are ready, please go

749
01:06:32,480 --> 01:06:40,079
ahead.
>> Uh, Erica Foster, 305 Sunset Drive. Good

750
01:06:39,520 --> 01:06:44,640
evening.
>> Patty Morell, 255 Sunset Drive.

751
01:06:42,799 --> 01:06:49,520
» We're gonna
>> Yeah. Patty Morell, 255 Sunset Drive.

752
01:06:48,079 --> 01:06:51,599
» We're gonna do this together for
efficiency purposes.

753
01:06:50,720 --> 01:06:55,359
» Yeah.
>> Um and if you have music like the Oscars

754
01:06:53,920 --> 01:06:58,000
at the three minute mark, I ask you to
mute it. I'm going to borrow a little

755
01:06:56,640 --> 01:07:02,720
bit of time from all the meetings I've
attended and not spoken because tonight

756
01:06:59,920 --> 01:07:05,200
I feel very compelled to speak. I would
like to personally thank all the

757
01:07:03,839 --> 01:07:08,000
trustees here for all the hard work
you've done on behalf of the village. I

758
01:07:06,640 --> 01:07:12,480
know it has not been an easy three
months for you all.

759
01:07:10,480 --> 01:07:17,280
I'm actually not up here to discuss the
merits of the tiff. Shocking, I know.

760
01:07:15,359 --> 01:07:20,400
Instead, on behalf of the many residents
I have spoken to over the last few

761
01:07:18,559 --> 01:07:25,440
months, I'm here to discuss restoring
civility, kindness, and neighborliness

762
01:07:22,880 --> 01:07:28,880
to this village. Over the last several
months, it has been incredibly sad to

763
01:07:27,440 --> 01:07:33,200
witness the village being needlessly
torn apart over this tiff decision. I

764
01:07:31,440 --> 01:07:37,760
sat on the village caucus for over a
decade prior to my recent resignation.

765
01:07:35,359 --> 01:07:41,200
I've been part of many complex village
decisions, but I have been so

766
01:07:39,520 --> 01:07:45,440
disappointed by the behaviors I've seen
in the last few months. I'm deeply

767
01:07:43,440 --> 01:07:48,960
troubled that we have a village board, a
school board, a park board, and even the

768
01:07:47,119 --> 01:07:53,039
library board that have been needlessly
pitted against each other by residents.

769
01:07:51,440 --> 01:07:58,240
I'm saddened to see neighbors and
friends at odds. And it does not need to

770
01:07:56,000 --> 01:08:02,559
be this way. This has escalated way
beyond what's reasonable.

771
01:08:00,319 --> 01:08:07,599
We celebrated our 100th anniversary this
year. It was a lovely celebration. Thank

772
01:08:04,960 --> 01:08:12,240
you to the trustees for that.
And it restored my hope that we can

773
01:08:10,160 --> 01:08:16,960
preserve our community. But we have to
do the work. We have to make changes and

774
01:08:14,240 --> 01:08:21,359
it has to happen tonight. At the
celebration in the history room, we all

775
01:08:19,359 --> 01:08:26,319
spent time reflecting on those who came
before us in Northfield. And I cannot

776
01:08:24,319 --> 01:08:29,199
imagine that those founders of this
village would be pleased with what's

777
01:08:27,600 --> 01:08:32,719
happening right now with how our
residents are treating other residents

778
01:08:30,640 --> 01:08:36,400
and treating this village board. I
cannot imagine they'd be pleased with

779
01:08:34,239 --> 01:08:41,679
our beautiful Northfield landscape
littered with signs every time a village

780
01:08:39,120 --> 01:08:44,880
board issue comes up. I cannot imagine
our village founders would have dreamed

781
01:08:43,279 --> 01:08:49,359
of residents lodging baseless
allegations against this village board

782
01:08:46,880 --> 01:08:53,520
claiming they have a nefarious purpose
invoking the names of their private

783
01:08:50,719 --> 01:08:56,480
employers or their family members. I
cannot imagine they would be comfortable

784
01:08:55,120 --> 01:09:00,719
with our school board members and
village board members being publicly at

785
01:08:58,400 --> 01:09:04,159
odds with one another.
I have repeatedly described this

786
01:09:02,480 --> 01:09:07,920
divisiveness as mutual assured
destruction. If we continue down this

787
01:09:06,000 --> 01:09:12,560
path of incivility, this does not end
well for our village. No one wins. Our

788
01:09:10,560 --> 01:09:15,839
brightest, most qualified residents
won't serve on village boards and school

789
01:09:14,319 --> 01:09:19,600
boards because they will fear for their
families, their reputation, and their

790
01:09:17,600 --> 01:09:22,960
livelihood. We will not explore
opportunities for our villages or our

791
01:09:21,440 --> 01:09:26,560
schools because board members and
residents will be fearful to even

792
01:09:24,400 --> 01:09:30,560
propose ideas that may result in
backlash. We will have longtime friends

793
01:09:28,799 --> 01:09:34,799
and neighbors not speaking. We have
residents afraid to come to this meeting

794
01:09:32,480 --> 01:09:39,040
to even speak about their views pro or
against. It is the natural consequence

795
01:09:37,359 --> 01:09:44,159
of our actions over the past several
months. And if we do not make changes

796
01:09:42,640 --> 01:09:48,880
right here, right now to stop the
incivility, it will continue. Civic

797
01:09:46,239 --> 01:09:53,040
engagement does not have to be divisive.
These trustees are fine upstanding

798
01:09:50,799 --> 01:09:56,239
citizens. to impugn their intelligence,
their integrity, or their

799
01:09:54,320 --> 01:10:00,480
trustworthiness is simply unacceptable
and baseless. They are doing this as

800
01:09:58,320 --> 01:10:04,880
unpaid volunteers for our community
because they love our community and they

801
01:10:02,560 --> 01:10:08,000
want to see it thrive. They don't have
some ulterior motive. They don't have

802
01:10:06,800 --> 01:10:12,480
anything to gain personally or
financially. To baselessly suggest

803
01:10:10,000 --> 01:10:16,880
otherwise is reckless.
And I think we need to ask ourselves,

804
01:10:15,120 --> 01:10:21,440
are we behaving as becoming of
Northfielders? Residents are supposedly

805
01:10:19,440 --> 01:10:25,360
so focused on schools, yet ironically,
they themselves are not modeling the

806
01:10:23,199 --> 01:10:29,280
very behavior we expect of our students.
In district 29, we have school and

807
01:10:27,760 --> 01:10:33,199
village board meetings where the tone of
the meeting is divisive. Harsh words,

808
01:10:31,440 --> 01:10:37,280
threats, whispers, clapping for a
particular position, grumbling about an

809
01:10:34,880 --> 01:10:40,080
opposing position. We would not accept
this from our district 29 students. We

810
01:10:38,880 --> 01:10:44,800
should not tolerate it from our
residents.

811
01:10:42,320 --> 01:10:47,920
It is not who we are. Our residents
don't like the division either. They are

812
01:10:46,400 --> 01:10:51,040
more uncomfortable with this division
than they are of a tiff. I've had

813
01:10:49,520 --> 01:10:54,960
countless residents say, "At this point,
I don't even care if it happens or not.

814
01:10:52,719 --> 01:10:58,000
I just want the drama to stop." I've
residents contact me and say they are

815
01:10:56,320 --> 01:11:00,800
disappointed in the behavior of other
residents. I've had families in the

816
01:10:59,600 --> 01:11:04,480
school district reach out and tell me
they are confused and nervous and upset.

817
01:11:02,800 --> 01:11:09,600
They want good schools and a great
downtown. Putting fear into young

818
01:11:07,040 --> 01:11:14,159
parents is not becoming of our village.
I have heard threats of lawsuits and I

819
01:11:11,840 --> 01:11:18,000
can tell you no one benefits from a
lawsuit here. and residents certainly

820
01:11:16,320 --> 01:11:22,159
don't want their tax dollars spent on a
lawsuit. We have residents asserting

821
01:11:20,560 --> 01:11:26,320
that there is lack of transparency from
the village. Every single one of these

822
01:11:24,560 --> 01:11:30,719
trustees will pick up the phone if you
call and have questions.

823
01:11:29,120 --> 01:11:34,239
Every single one of them will sit down
with you and hear your concerns and

824
01:11:32,159 --> 01:11:38,159
answer your questions one-on-one. If
you've taken to keyboard warrioring,

825
01:11:36,000 --> 01:11:42,560
posting on social media, making signs
without having tried these one-on-one

826
01:11:39,840 --> 01:11:46,280
communications.
All right, I'll wrap it up.

827
01:11:48,480 --> 01:11:55,199
» This is what we're talking about.
>> Yes. Call them directly and have a

828
01:11:52,719 --> 01:12:00,520
conversation. No solution is perfect.
None of these trustees are suggesting

829
01:11:56,880 --> 01:12:00,520
it's a perfect solution.

830
01:12:00,960 --> 01:12:06,159
» This is a tool that's been leveraged by
Kennallorth, Glen View, Highland Park,

831
01:12:04,560 --> 01:12:09,719
Deerfield, Northbrook, Evston, Highwood
to name just a few.

832
01:12:11,600 --> 01:12:17,040
to the residents in this room tonight.
Let's lead by example and assume good

833
01:12:14,640 --> 01:12:19,520
intent. Be gracious and civil. Thank
you. It's perfect example.

834
01:12:18,560 --> 01:12:26,640
» Thank you.
>> I agree.

835
01:12:22,239 --> 01:12:34,080
Okay. Mary Lindblad and I'm going to um
again Simon Babs. Next on the uh list is

836
01:12:30,080 --> 01:12:40,080
Tom O'Donn, John Reynolds, Kim Orth,
Betsy Cochar, Todd Berlinghoff. So, I

837
01:12:37,760 --> 01:12:44,159
would like to try to get those people in
the room um so we can move on. So,

838
01:12:43,040 --> 01:12:48,560
please go ahead.
>> Okay. Um

839
01:12:47,040 --> 01:12:52,000
ever since the
>> I'm sorry, ma'am. Can you

840
01:12:49,520 --> 01:12:55,920
» Oh, Mary Lindlad 21 North Half Road.
>> Thank you.

841
01:12:52,560 --> 01:13:02,640
» Um ever since the um joint review board
meeting, um I've thought that I I

842
01:13:00,640 --> 01:13:10,239
absolutely am convinced that this the
adoption of the TIFF ordinance is a done

843
01:13:05,760 --> 01:13:15,199
deal. and that uh the only choice that
those of us who oppose it would have if

844
01:13:12,159 --> 01:13:18,480
we chose to would be to challenge the
classification of the village as a

845
01:13:16,719 --> 01:13:24,400
blighted area with the state of
Illinois. Now that being said, I think

846
01:13:21,360 --> 01:13:30,239
the tiff has been a distraction from the
real issue that for me, which is the

847
01:13:27,199 --> 01:13:37,040
redevelopment plan down from between the
last four years we're or the years we're

848
01:13:32,000 --> 01:13:42,960
considering or 2019 to 2024,
COVID was in there. Nobody was doing

849
01:13:40,400 --> 01:13:48,800
very well in those years.
And um so I think that that using those

850
01:13:45,679 --> 01:13:53,520
statistics is is a little bad. And then
the

851
01:13:50,960 --> 01:13:59,760
survey of the village that was taken
that said they want walkability. Um

852
01:13:58,159 --> 01:14:04,320
all those different vibrant I still
don't know what vibrant means but uh it

853
01:14:02,000 --> 01:14:12,560
seems to me to be overcrowded and busy.
Um but in any event, so the vision plan

854
01:14:08,400 --> 01:14:20,719
as I look at it has been lost in in the
all the tiff dust and I I really am

855
01:14:16,400 --> 01:14:25,040
worried about the vision plan. I mean I
hope that whoever buys the shell

856
01:14:22,960 --> 01:14:29,920
station, which I know is targeted,
realizes it's contaminated and they're

857
01:14:27,520 --> 01:14:37,760
going to have to spend money to clean it
up. Um, and for I can't I can't imagine

858
01:14:35,360 --> 01:14:42,000
the hotel on the corner. I that's not
something I would would particularly

859
01:14:39,199 --> 01:14:45,760
want, but I I just don't want the fact
of the tiff to take away from the

860
01:14:44,159 --> 01:14:51,600
changes that would be made in this
village. And look, it it covers the

861
01:14:47,920 --> 01:14:56,400
entire village center. And I'm thinking
of all my small businesses that I use

862
01:14:53,600 --> 01:15:02,000
and I enjoy. and I see the pictures of
the multi-story, multi-use buildings and

863
01:14:59,520 --> 01:15:07,679
I can't I can barely imagine them in
this small area and so I'm just saying

864
01:15:05,440 --> 01:15:11,600
that uh let's get past the tiff and
let's start worrying about the

865
01:15:09,679 --> 01:15:16,080
redevelopment. Thank you.
>> Thank you.

866
01:15:13,360 --> 01:15:19,840
» Next, Madam Chair, can I just uh ask
that maybe the subsequent speakers give

867
01:15:17,920 --> 01:15:22,800
the speaker a little bit of space? I
know there's a lot of people here, but I

868
01:15:21,679 --> 01:15:25,840
think the speakers probably want a
little bit of space.

869
01:15:24,560 --> 01:15:31,040
Thank you. Okay.
>> Simon Babs, 385 Meadow Brook Drive. My

870
01:15:29,440 --> 01:15:36,239
wife and I moved to Northville from
England with our son. Sue and I have

871
01:15:33,360 --> 01:15:41,440
lived here for over 27 years. We are US
citizens. We all owe a debt of gratitude

872
01:15:39,199 --> 01:15:46,880
to those who as trustees or in lower
profile roles have served our community

873
01:15:43,920 --> 01:15:53,760
during that period. Northfield is not a
large community. The 2020 census counted

874
01:15:49,920 --> 01:15:58,400
just over 5,700 people. That number of
course includes children and also many

875
01:15:55,840 --> 01:16:01,840
adults who for one reason or another do
not give much attention to village

876
01:16:00,080 --> 01:16:07,840
matters.
How many adult residents I wonder are

877
01:16:04,480 --> 01:16:12,239
even aware of the petition at change.org
that requests that if the village board

878
01:16:10,320 --> 01:16:18,520
considers that the proposed tiff would
be good for Northfield then that

879
01:16:14,159 --> 01:16:18,520
proposal should be put to a referendum.

880
01:16:22,960 --> 01:16:30,880
I don't know, of course, but I'd be
surprised if even 2,000 residents were

881
01:16:28,159 --> 01:16:38,239
aware of the petition. Yet, of those
2,000, say, over 56% have signed the

882
01:16:35,440 --> 01:16:42,719
petition seeking a referendum.
In the last 27 years, I've seen many

883
01:16:40,960 --> 01:16:47,920
issues put to a referendum in our
village. Yet none that I recall involves

884
01:16:45,440 --> 01:16:53,600
as large a fraction of the land area of
our village, nor such a large amount of

885
01:16:50,640 --> 01:16:57,840
prospective tax revenues, nor such an
extended time period as the proposed

886
01:16:56,000 --> 01:17:02,560
tiff.
If you were a current trustee and made

887
01:17:00,640 --> 01:17:08,880
favoring a tiff part of your pitch to
voters when you last stood for election,

888
01:17:04,960 --> 01:17:11,920
would you please raise your hand?
>> I see no hands raised.

889
01:17:10,800 --> 01:17:17,920
» Hear your question, sir.
>> Oh, sorry. If you were a current trustee

890
01:17:14,880 --> 01:17:23,440
and made favoring a tiff part of your
pitch to voters when you last stood for

891
01:17:20,880 --> 01:17:26,440
election, would you please raise your
hand?

892
01:17:26,960 --> 01:17:35,280
I see no hands raised. The situation
then is this. The tiff is an unusually

893
01:17:33,120 --> 01:17:40,480
significant proposal.
The board has no explicit electoral

894
01:17:37,679 --> 01:17:46,159
mandate for it and what is in all
probability a majority of those aware of

895
01:17:44,000 --> 01:17:51,120
aware of a petition calling for a
referendum chose to sign it.

896
01:17:49,520 --> 01:17:56,560
Trustees,
if after further deliberation and

897
01:17:53,760 --> 01:18:02,480
despite the recent joint board joint
review board vote, you favor a tiff,

898
01:17:59,600 --> 01:18:06,960
please put it to a referendum.
If you enact a TIFF without a

899
01:18:04,400 --> 01:18:12,400
referendum, then you would, I fear, be
failing in your democratic duty to the

900
01:18:09,679 --> 01:18:18,040
residents of this village. We, the
people, expect better of you than that.

901
01:18:19,840 --> 01:18:29,679
Um, the next I'm the ne Well, you can go
ahead. John Reynolds is next, but Kim,

902
01:18:26,880 --> 01:18:36,000
you're after that, so please.
Kumor, 1655 Orchard Lane. Um, first I'd

903
01:18:34,080 --> 01:18:42,080
like to address something that was just
talked about with civility. I've never

904
01:18:39,040 --> 01:18:45,920
mentioned this before, but I'll go there
now. About a year and a half ago, when

905
01:18:44,480 --> 01:18:49,920
the election took place, there were
people going doortodoor saying that my

906
01:18:48,239 --> 01:18:55,920
husband had dropped out of the election
because he was severely ill and they had

907
01:18:52,800 --> 01:19:01,760
no choice but to vote for Tracy. So when
you want to talk about civility,

908
01:18:59,040 --> 01:19:05,920
both sides are guilty of that.
I want to mention that I hadn't really

909
01:19:03,280 --> 01:19:09,679
engaged before this board on this tiff
because I never imagined that anyone

910
01:19:07,679 --> 01:19:14,159
would ever be in favor of a tiff to
bring vitality to Northfield. We have

911
01:19:12,000 --> 01:19:18,640
vitality currently. Ask the business
owners. At the August 4th caucus

912
01:19:16,880 --> 01:19:22,880
meeting, President Mendrich, you were
asked if you had any evidence that the

913
01:19:20,480 --> 01:19:27,920
Mariano's property was in need of a of
remediation. You have spoken endlessly

914
01:19:25,600 --> 01:19:32,719
about that very need. Your answer was
no. Multiple nos. You have not seen any

915
01:19:31,199 --> 01:19:37,760
evidence that there is need for
remediation. Do you still stand by that

916
01:19:35,199 --> 01:19:42,640
statement or do you now have
documentation or some substantiation of

917
01:19:40,880 --> 01:19:47,760
your fact that Marianos needs
remediation and we need a tiff to assist

918
01:19:45,120 --> 01:19:52,800
in that process? Did Dominics need
remediation? Did Marianos need

919
01:19:50,239 --> 01:19:57,840
remediation? Do you still stand by your
word, without a tiff, we can't have a

920
01:19:54,960 --> 01:20:01,360
grocery store? My second statement is
one that refers to your comment just

921
01:19:59,600 --> 01:20:05,679
today in the village email that was sent
out. You said, and I quote, "This

922
01:20:03,920 --> 01:20:09,600
included a great conversation last
Thursday hosted by a Northfield family

923
01:20:08,080 --> 01:20:14,560
where school board members were in
attendance with community members asking

924
01:20:12,000 --> 01:20:19,440
sharp, thoughtful questions. This kind
of in-person dialogue is what Northfield

925
01:20:17,040 --> 01:20:24,880
does best. we talk through concerns and
vigorously protect those things that

926
01:20:21,840 --> 01:20:28,800
make Northfield special."
I would disagree with a portion of that

927
01:20:26,640 --> 01:20:32,560
statement regarding dialogue. I believe
that as a village president, in my

928
01:20:30,719 --> 01:20:36,239
opinion, there should only be one
platform for messaging where you

929
01:20:34,560 --> 01:20:41,600
disseminate information to the
residents, maybe an official village

930
01:20:38,480 --> 01:20:46,640
website. having numerous one-offs, wine
and tiffs, coffee or tea meetings at

931
01:20:43,679 --> 01:20:50,560
private residences or associations where
you present your personal views on the

932
01:20:48,320 --> 01:20:55,120
tiff without anyone in attendance to
fact check your statements isn't really

933
01:20:52,640 --> 01:20:59,520
best practice. How do these private
meetings benefit the village as a whole?

934
01:20:57,520 --> 01:21:04,000
If you are interested in having healthy
dialogue, why haven't you organized a

935
01:21:01,920 --> 01:21:08,640
meeting outside of this one with
residents who live directly outside the

936
01:21:06,000 --> 01:21:13,280
tiff area who would be the most impacted
by a tiff district? I see your practice

937
01:21:11,280 --> 01:21:18,960
as a measure attempting to merely
convince or sell people that your vision

938
01:21:15,840 --> 01:21:21,960
of this tiff is the only vision. Thank
you,

939
01:21:25,760 --> 01:21:32,320
John Reynolds. Yes,
>> that's me.

940
01:21:28,880 --> 01:21:35,840
» Donahghue, Betsy, Coachar,
>> Todd Merling, Hoff.

941
01:21:33,840 --> 01:21:41,920
» Okay, so I'm John Reynolds. I'm in
Dickens in Northfield. And

942
01:21:38,800 --> 01:21:47,440
my name is John Reynolds. I'm in uh I'm
in Northfield and I'm on Dickens Street.

943
01:21:45,120 --> 01:21:51,120
So, Madame President, um I'm holding up
your campaign mailer. I got

944
01:21:50,159 --> 01:21:56,679
» Sorry.
>> Sorry. I'm keeping the time, too. Excuse

945
01:21:53,679 --> 01:21:56,679
me.

946
01:21:58,400 --> 01:22:04,320
You have a little bit more time than
that. Honest.

947
01:22:02,719 --> 01:22:07,360
» This is my first meeting. I like city
government. That sounds great. Great.

948
01:22:05,920 --> 01:22:11,040
» All right. Okay. We're killing it,
aren't we? Hang on one second here.

949
01:22:09,360 --> 01:22:12,639
» Everybody have their phone on mute. Just
make sure.

950
01:22:11,440 --> 01:22:16,880
» All right. Got it.
>> We're all set. Fantastic. So, I'm

951
01:22:14,719 --> 01:22:21,280
holding up your your your campaign that
I'm assuming you wrote you're familiar

952
01:22:18,239 --> 01:22:25,600
with. Um it said you stand for common
sense leadership, transparency, and

953
01:22:23,280 --> 01:22:30,560
accountability. I have two questions. My
first question is granted to the the uh

954
01:22:29,199 --> 01:22:35,120
proposal that was done that was
mentioned today. I really appreciate the

955
01:22:32,080 --> 01:22:39,199
FAQs and that that speaks to the idea of
uh how is this accountable for the

956
01:22:37,440 --> 01:22:44,080
majority of Northfield residents who
oppose this tiff continuing to be pushed

957
01:22:41,040 --> 01:22:48,639
forward. The kind of people have spoken
uh their concerns deserve to be heard

958
01:22:46,159 --> 01:22:53,440
and not just kind of set aside. Uh and
transparency means more than saying the

959
01:22:51,120 --> 01:22:57,920
word. It means full disclosure. The
public serves to know who benefits, who

960
01:22:56,000 --> 01:23:03,600
takes the risks, and why should
taxpayers help finance private

961
01:23:00,320 --> 01:23:08,320
development. There's one more step I'd
like to council consider uh our sister

962
01:23:06,239 --> 01:23:12,719
community, Wana. I've spoken to many of
the elected officials there and they

963
01:23:10,159 --> 01:23:16,960
actually uh uh upon election they
receive they have to go through a course

964
01:23:15,040 --> 01:23:21,600
where they kind of sign agreements for
their uh as far as uh uh what their what

965
01:23:20,000 --> 01:23:25,520
disclosure are, ethics and whatnot.
Nadesh Northfield to consider adopting a

966
01:23:23,520 --> 01:23:29,760
civil requirement as part of the
governance. Uh it's kind of simple. It

967
01:23:27,600 --> 01:23:34,520
puts all your commitments or in common
writing and disclose them to the public.

968
01:23:34,880 --> 01:23:42,320
Uh it it kind of makes them easy to see
and it holds elected officials

969
01:23:39,280 --> 01:23:47,360
accountable to them. Um, if we ask
residents to trust us, you the committee

970
01:23:45,360 --> 01:23:51,199
with our tax dollars, then only the city
government must earn that trust with

971
01:23:49,440 --> 01:23:56,239
transparency, disclosure, and
accountability. This sounds like common

972
01:23:53,120 --> 01:23:59,480
sense to me. That's all I have.
>> Thank you.

973
01:24:05,760 --> 01:24:12,800
» Good evening. My name is Betsy
Coachfire, address 187 Zachary. Until

974
01:24:10,800 --> 01:24:18,320
today, I have not spoken regarding the
upcoming tiff vote. My husband and I

975
01:24:15,120 --> 01:24:22,239
moved here 32 years ago. We had not yet
started a family, but we were thinking

976
01:24:19,920 --> 01:24:26,800
about it, and the number one priority on
our list of places to live was the

977
01:24:24,000 --> 01:24:32,560
quality of the schools. We also wanted a
small town Mayberry feel. Northfield had

978
01:24:29,920 --> 01:24:37,040
both. Our children attended all of the
Northfield District schools and have

979
01:24:34,800 --> 01:24:41,600
fledged the nest successfully in part
thanks to the great school system. I'm

980
01:24:39,600 --> 01:24:46,400
concerned that the tiff I'm concerned
about the tiff purs proposal. I want

981
01:24:44,480 --> 01:24:51,679
Northfield to thrive and I am seeing
that happen. Many new families with

982
01:24:49,040 --> 01:24:56,320
small children have made their home in
Northfield. I think as more families

983
01:24:54,320 --> 01:25:00,719
move here, this will usher in a
transition to a vibrant downtown

984
01:24:58,080 --> 01:25:04,800
community without a tiff. Of course,
everyone would like a new, larger

985
01:25:02,480 --> 01:25:10,480
library and a replacement for Marianos
ASAP. Our surrounding towns all have new

986
01:25:08,159 --> 01:25:15,040
or rehab libraries and good grocery
stores. We have access to those

987
01:25:12,560 --> 01:25:20,080
amenities within 5 to 10 minute within a
5 to 10 minute drive. Here are some of

988
01:25:17,679 --> 01:25:23,600
my concerns about the tiff. Do residents
realize that their real estate taxes

989
01:25:21,840 --> 01:25:28,159
will increase to cover the school cost
if the tiff passes? Do they realize

990
01:25:26,480 --> 01:25:32,719
Northfield schools may struggle to
accommodate the potentially large influx

991
01:25:30,320 --> 01:25:37,280
of students if property taxes are
diverted to the tiff and not directly to

992
01:25:35,120 --> 01:25:41,520
the schools? Do they understand that the
tiff will likely be in place for 23

993
01:25:39,440 --> 01:25:45,600
years and the village board decides
where the tiff money goes? Do residents

994
01:25:44,159 --> 01:25:52,239
comprehend that our school district
maintain maintains a a bun sorry fund

995
01:25:48,960 --> 01:25:56,960
balance or rainy day fund to cover
funding gaps that arise from late

996
01:25:54,159 --> 01:26:02,400
property tax distributions and that the
fund may have to instead cover increased

997
01:25:59,199 --> 01:26:07,120
school expenses not covered by the tiff
among other items. The school fund

998
01:26:04,239 --> 01:26:12,960
balance assures that teachers and staff
will continue to be paid on time during

999
01:26:10,000 --> 01:26:17,760
the property tax distribution delays.
Would the district attra attract the

1000
01:26:14,960 --> 01:26:22,719
caliber of students and teachers and
staff if they weren't guaranteed on time

1001
01:26:20,960 --> 01:26:27,440
payments in order to cover their
personal expenses? How will the tiff

1002
01:26:25,440 --> 01:26:31,440
affect the ability of residents,
especially older residents, to sell

1003
01:26:29,199 --> 01:26:36,080
their houses? Will the tiff reduce the
marketability of the housing here? In

1004
01:26:34,159 --> 01:26:40,159
conclusion, I truly believe that
Northfield's downtown will improve

1005
01:26:37,679 --> 01:26:44,159
without a tiff. Why is there such a rush
on the proposal when this is a complex

1006
01:26:42,000 --> 01:26:48,880
issue that will affect Northfield for
the next 23 years and beyond? I'm hoping

1007
01:26:47,280 --> 01:26:53,520
that the board will consider a
referendum in November to allow the

1008
01:26:51,199 --> 01:26:58,560
village residents to comprehend exactly
how a tiff will affect the future of

1009
01:26:56,000 --> 01:27:01,360
Mayberry. Thank you for your time. Sure.
>> Thank you.

1010
01:27:03,520 --> 01:27:13,440
Tom O'Donahue, Todd Berlinghoff, Sue
Kelly, Barnaby Dingis, Kathy

1011
01:27:09,840 --> 01:27:17,520
Esesterbrook, Terry Dason.
Okay, that's enough. If all of those

1012
01:27:15,760 --> 01:27:20,960
people can
be close by, Tom, please go ahead,

1013
01:27:19,280 --> 01:27:26,280
introduce yourself. Sorry.
>> Good evening, everyone. My name is Tom

1014
01:27:23,280 --> 01:27:26,280
O'Donnary

1015
01:27:26,639 --> 01:27:35,120
in Northfield. I have been a resident of
Northfield since 2003. I have lived in

1016
01:27:32,960 --> 01:27:40,480
four homes inside of Northfield. So,
I've experienced tax bills in various

1017
01:27:37,040 --> 01:27:45,520
ways. My uh attempt tonight is this is
the third time I've spoken before some

1018
01:27:42,560 --> 01:27:50,239
of you. Uh my concern is as a financial
consultant in the turnaround world is

1019
01:27:47,440 --> 01:27:54,960
that the open-ended nature of the
ordinance as I have read it

1020
01:27:53,199 --> 01:27:59,600
uh supported by something called the
vision 2040

1021
01:27:57,040 --> 01:28:04,800
which at the time my son was one of the
members of that committee depended on a

1022
01:28:02,480 --> 01:28:10,239
sales tax that was generated by a
growing food store called Marianos.

1023
01:28:07,840 --> 01:28:16,239
So my suggestion to all of you, since
you're trying to pass a TIFF based on a

1024
01:28:13,120 --> 01:28:22,719
plan that was based on a vibrant grocery
store and many other things going on in

1025
01:28:18,880 --> 01:28:27,360
2015, it's time to reassess the plan. At
this point in time, 2040 seems to be, as

1026
01:28:25,520 --> 01:28:31,760
you read, the preamble in the TIFF
ordinance is the justification for the

1027
01:28:29,679 --> 01:28:37,040
TIFF ordinance.
Is the underlying reason still the same

1028
01:28:33,760 --> 01:28:42,159
today in 2026?
I don't think so. And I'm concerned in

1029
01:28:40,639 --> 01:28:47,040
passing it, it's going to be one of
those cases where we're going to pass it

1030
01:28:44,480 --> 01:28:53,280
and figure it out later.
I think that is probably poor planning

1031
01:28:49,840 --> 01:28:58,400
in most homes, in most businesses, and
hopefully in the village of Northfield.

1032
01:28:56,400 --> 01:29:02,719
Thank you all for listening to us this
evening. And one other piece of history,

1033
01:29:00,560 --> 01:29:08,719
I loved going through that that poster
board in the lodge and the feistiness of

1034
01:29:06,000 --> 01:29:14,719
the Northfield people when they got the
name Wobbon and said the heck with this.

1035
01:29:11,600 --> 01:29:20,600
We're going back to Northfield. So you
still have the feistiness a 100 years

1036
01:29:16,560 --> 01:29:20,600
later. Thank you.

1037
01:29:29,280 --> 01:29:36,080
Good evening.
My name is Todd Berlinghoff. I live at

1038
01:29:33,199 --> 01:29:39,600
one landmark in Northfield. Emily and I
and our three children have lived in

1039
01:29:37,440 --> 01:29:44,159
Northfield since 1995
in three different houses, not four.

1040
01:29:42,719 --> 01:29:48,880
Located in three different parts of
town. All our kids graduated from

1041
01:29:46,480 --> 01:29:52,960
Middlefork, Sunset Ridge, and New Trier.
My wife was the president of the PTO.

1042
01:29:51,280 --> 01:29:56,880
I've served 10 years on Northfield's
architecture commission and 12 years on

1043
01:29:55,040 --> 01:30:01,199
the planning and zoning commission. We
love Northfield.

1044
01:29:59,440 --> 01:30:04,560
With nearly four decades of real estate
development, I have built I've been

1045
01:30:02,880 --> 01:30:08,320
fortunate to build over 4 million square
feet of retail space for prominent

1046
01:30:06,159 --> 01:30:14,639
companies such as Jewel, Dominic's,
Marianos, Whole Foods, Aldi, Costco,

1047
01:30:11,520 --> 01:30:18,639
Walmart, and Heinens.
Locally, Willow Festival in North Brook

1048
01:30:16,159 --> 01:30:22,800
stands as one of these properties. My
experience also includes developing more

1049
01:30:20,320 --> 01:30:26,159
than 1,000 multif family apartments as
well as class A office and medical

1050
01:30:24,400 --> 01:30:30,239
office space throughout the Chicagoland
area. As I prepared these remarks for

1051
01:30:28,639 --> 01:30:34,560
tonight, I considered addressing the
misinformation surrounding TIFF, but I

1052
01:30:32,960 --> 01:30:38,159
believe the board is best positioned to
clarify these points. My hope is

1053
01:30:36,560 --> 01:30:42,560
everyone here will be open to facts
rather than hyperbole.

1054
01:30:40,400 --> 01:30:46,400
Yet, I do have one comment. Having
participated in numerous tiff deals over

1055
01:30:44,560 --> 01:30:50,239
the years, I have observed that school
boards never support them as their

1056
01:30:48,480 --> 01:30:55,120
primary responsibility is to maximize
revenue for their constituency. My focus

1057
01:30:53,280 --> 01:30:59,120
tonight is on what matters most to me,
how Norfolk can attract investors like

1058
01:30:57,440 --> 01:31:03,120
myself.
We often express a desire for a more

1059
01:31:00,960 --> 01:31:07,040
walkable community with a variety of
restaurants, shops, and services.

1060
01:31:04,800 --> 01:31:11,280
However, such progress requires more
than wishful thinking. Small businesses

1061
01:31:09,520 --> 01:31:15,520
need affordable infrastructure and a
steady customer base. By implementing

1062
01:31:13,840 --> 01:31:19,440
proper zoning and offering financial
support for downtown re residential

1063
01:31:17,440 --> 01:31:23,199
development, Northfield can encourage
small businesses to flourish.

1064
01:31:21,199 --> 01:31:28,159
Communities that welcome development and
provide incentives are the ones poised

1065
01:31:24,960 --> 01:31:32,000
for growth and continue relevance.
One major challenge in Cook County is

1066
01:31:29,840 --> 01:31:35,360
the exceptionally high property taxes,
making new construction nearly

1067
01:31:33,440 --> 01:31:39,440
impossible without some form of village
tiff support. In fact, every apartment

1068
01:31:37,760 --> 01:31:43,840
development we've completed in the past
5 years has relied on TIFF assistance

1069
01:31:41,520 --> 01:31:47,920
from a village. Northfield must have
tiff as a tool to achieve its downtown

1070
01:31:45,760 --> 01:31:52,320
redevelopment goals. Without it,
progress will stall. Redeveloping the

1071
01:31:50,480 --> 01:31:56,159
Mariana's grocery store may be possible
without TIF. If medical institutions

1072
01:31:54,560 --> 01:32:01,040
like Northwestern or the University of
Chicago Medicine are acceptable tenants,

1073
01:31:59,679 --> 01:32:05,280
however, if the goal is to attract
retail or another grocery store, tiff

1074
01:32:03,040 --> 01:32:09,520
support will be necessary. Otherwise,
the property could remain vacant for

1075
01:32:06,880 --> 01:32:13,760
years, diminishing both its value and
tax base. The longer it takes to secure

1076
01:32:11,840 --> 01:32:17,920
a tenant, the greater the risk that the
owner will demolish the building to

1077
01:32:15,520 --> 01:32:22,400
lower their tax burden even more. A
scenario no one wants.

1078
01:32:20,719 --> 01:32:26,800
Like many in this room, I enjoyed our
100th year celebration on Saturday.

1079
01:32:24,719 --> 01:32:31,760
There was a sense of symmetry between
our current situation and the challenges

1080
01:32:29,120 --> 01:32:36,639
faced a century ago. History shows that
Northfield's transformation from pagan

1081
01:32:33,920 --> 01:32:40,800
and radish farming to modern suburbs was
marked by tough decisions and

1082
01:32:38,639 --> 01:32:44,159
significant change. Today we celebrate
our centennial with aging

1083
01:32:42,080 --> 01:32:47,199
infrastructure, water and sewer mains in
need of replacement and a downtown

1084
01:32:45,679 --> 01:32:50,400
retail spaces that are becoming
obsolete.

1085
01:32:48,800 --> 01:32:54,400
I want the board to know that I support
tiff and many residents who are not

1086
01:32:52,719 --> 01:32:57,600
present tonight do as well.
Conversations with my neighbors during

1087
01:32:55,920 --> 01:33:01,679
the celebration revealed substantial
support for the tiff. Similar to the

1088
01:33:00,000 --> 01:33:06,159
debate over widening Willow Road, this
issue has stirred strong emotions.

1089
01:33:03,760 --> 01:33:10,639
Change is difficult, especially when
there is vocal opposition. While it may

1090
01:33:08,560 --> 01:33:14,719
be easy to reject TIFF, I urge the board
to make the decision that best serves

1091
01:33:12,560 --> 01:33:18,560
our community by supporting TIFF, paving
the way for an exciting future for

1092
01:33:16,480 --> 01:33:25,360
Northfield. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Sue. Kelly, uh, Barnaby

1093
01:33:21,760 --> 01:33:28,360
Dinges, Kathy Esesterbrook, Terry Dason,
Jeff

1094
01:33:28,639 --> 01:33:36,159
Keading, Jeff Kading, I think I got that
right. William gets Ariel Hoer. Please,

1095
01:33:35,440 --> 01:33:40,800
Sue, go ahead.
>> Good evening. My name is Sue Kelly, 1642

1096
01:33:38,400 --> 01:33:45,199
Orchard Lane. I am speaking tonight to
place a formal objection on the record

1097
01:33:43,040 --> 01:33:48,639
regarding concerning compliance with
Illinois law regarding TIFF districts

1098
01:33:47,280 --> 01:33:53,239
and the public hearing notice
requirements of 65 ILCS511-74.4-6A.

1099
01:33:57,120 --> 01:34:04,320
The statute provides that notice of the
public hearing shall be given by mailing

1100
01:34:01,440 --> 01:34:09,120
notice by certified mail to the person
or persons in whose name the general

1101
01:34:06,480 --> 01:34:14,480
taxes for the preceding year were paid
on each lot, block, tract, or parcel of

1102
01:34:12,320 --> 01:34:19,520
land within the proposed redevelopment
project area and that the notice must be

1103
01:34:17,360 --> 01:34:23,840
mailed not less than 10 days prior to
the public hearing. I personally

1104
01:34:22,000 --> 01:34:28,880
communicated with commercial property
owners whose properties are located

1105
01:34:25,840 --> 01:34:32,080
inside the proposed tiff area. I have
been informed by such owners that to the

1106
01:34:30,639 --> 01:34:36,480
best of their knowledge they did not
receive certified mail notice from the

1107
01:34:34,080 --> 01:34:40,400
village concerning this public hearing.
These individual property owners may not

1108
01:34:38,480 --> 01:34:45,600
wish to be identified publicly tonight.
I am therefore not asking the board to

1109
01:34:42,480 --> 01:34:49,280
simply take my word for it. It is also
possible that mail can be lost or

1110
01:34:47,360 --> 01:34:54,320
overlooked. But I am asking the village
to establish on the record whether it

1111
01:34:52,320 --> 01:34:59,679
complied with the statutory mailing
requirement. First, I request proof of

1112
01:34:56,960 --> 01:35:04,080
compliance. Will the village attorney or
appropriate village staff state on the

1113
01:35:01,920 --> 01:35:09,440
record whether the village deposited the
required notices in the United States

1114
01:35:06,400 --> 01:35:14,320
mail by certified mail to the persons
identified by the statute for every lot,

1115
01:35:12,000 --> 01:35:19,040
block, tract, or parcel within the
proposed redevelopment project area at

1116
01:35:16,800 --> 01:35:24,320
least 10 days before this public
hearing? And does the village possess

1117
01:35:22,400 --> 01:35:30,000
the corresponding certified mail
receipts, mailing records, or USPS

1118
01:35:26,960 --> 01:35:35,280
tracking documentation demonstrating
that those notices were deposited.

1119
01:35:32,880 --> 01:35:39,840
Second, if the village cannot establish
compliance with the statutory mailing

1120
01:35:37,360 --> 01:35:44,400
requirement, I request that this hearing
be continued rather than closed so that

1121
01:35:42,480 --> 01:35:49,760
the village can determine whether any
required notices were omitted and if

1122
01:35:47,280 --> 01:35:53,920
necessary provide the notice required by
state law. I'm making this comment for

1123
01:35:52,480 --> 01:35:59,040
the purpose of assuring that the
statutory notice requirements are

1124
01:35:56,080 --> 01:36:03,159
followed before this process proceeds
further. Thank you.

1125
01:36:11,520 --> 01:36:19,840
Good evening, Northfield. Uh, Barnaby
Dinges, 421 Chapel Hill Lane. Uh, I

1126
01:36:17,840 --> 01:36:24,480
think we begin Northfield's next hundred
years tonight. And I hope we can capture

1127
01:36:22,000 --> 01:36:29,040
some of that karma from the other night.
Uh, I come to you tonight as a former

1128
01:36:26,960 --> 01:36:32,960
school teacher, started my career 40
years ago, Harvard St. George on the

1129
01:36:31,120 --> 01:36:39,280
south side, Francis Parker on the north
side, Columbia College downtown Chicago,

1130
01:36:35,920 --> 01:36:45,280
Depal University. And uh I took my role
as an educator seriously and I had two

1131
01:36:42,320 --> 01:36:49,360
things in mind as a teacher.
Uh the big picture, always encourage my

1132
01:36:47,679 --> 01:36:54,639
students to look at the big picture. You
can always narrow it later. And uh be a

1133
01:36:52,239 --> 01:37:00,480
role model. Everything you say and do uh
can affect your students. And uh that

1134
01:36:57,520 --> 01:37:04,639
gets me to talking about the role of our
school boards in this whole debate that

1135
01:37:02,480 --> 01:37:11,360
we've been having. Um and I guess I'll
express my disappointment in how that's

1136
01:37:07,119 --> 01:37:17,679
gone. I also pay my wife and I $1,200 a
month. I call it paying tuition to our

1137
01:37:14,159 --> 01:37:21,040
schools. Uh $1,200. And I've never
questioned that. I've always felt good

1138
01:37:19,119 --> 01:37:24,880
about that. I live right between the
schools in our community. Spent a lot of

1139
01:37:22,800 --> 01:37:29,760
time with the schools.
um consider myself a big supporter of

1140
01:37:27,520 --> 01:37:36,719
the schools, but I also support our
downtown. And when when the schools talk

1141
01:37:33,679 --> 01:37:40,880
about uh the community, they say we
support a vibrant downtown, and then the

1142
01:37:38,719 --> 01:37:45,119
discussion ends there. They never say
another word. And what was interesting

1143
01:37:42,239 --> 01:37:49,600
to me is six months ago when you went to
the schools with this idea of a tiff,

1144
01:37:47,760 --> 01:37:54,560
instead of inviting the parents in to
ask what they think or the community in

1145
01:37:51,920 --> 01:38:00,320
or to refer to the just completed Hapro
report which included 900 responses from

1146
01:37:57,600 --> 01:38:05,600
our residents, 85% whom said they wanted
an improved downtown and include

1147
01:38:02,800 --> 01:38:09,760
hundreds of testimonials from our
residents, young parents who moved to

1148
01:38:07,840 --> 01:38:13,040
town talking about what they wanted in
our downtown because the education of

1149
01:38:11,520 --> 01:38:18,080
their children doesn't just end in the
classroom. It ends uh includes them

1150
01:38:15,840 --> 01:38:23,280
going downtown and hanging out as they
do in some of the towns around us. So,

1151
01:38:20,159 --> 01:38:27,600
we can have great schools and a great
downtown. Since I've been in this town

1152
01:38:25,600 --> 01:38:32,080
for 13 years, we've had two referenda
for our schools. I voted for them. I

1153
01:38:29,760 --> 01:38:37,119
supported them. So, this idea that
somehow we're going to stop supporting

1154
01:38:33,840 --> 01:38:42,639
our schools and we're going to somehow
get distracted, I think is a a real red

1155
01:38:40,639 --> 01:38:47,040
herring and a and a false argument and
and I'm personally offended by it. So,

1156
01:38:45,280 --> 01:38:52,159
when the school board met to discuss the
TIFF proposal, six representatives very

1157
01:38:49,920 --> 01:38:56,560
quickly said, "We oppose it." Now, this
board is grappling with this issue, and

1158
01:38:54,719 --> 01:39:00,560
I guarantee you if I asked each one of
you, you would have a subtle distinct

1159
01:38:59,119 --> 01:39:04,800
difference, and you could argue with
each other on it. But our school board

1160
01:39:02,560 --> 01:39:09,679
didn't do that. And then when the joint
review board met, which was already

1161
01:39:07,119 --> 01:39:15,199
stacked with schoolboard representatives
and had a chance to have a community

1162
01:39:11,520 --> 01:39:20,719
member, Debbie Papus, who served as the
head of the school board,

1163
01:39:17,840 --> 01:39:24,560
was one of their people. she was denied
the ability to serve on that committee.

1164
01:39:22,719 --> 01:39:30,480
So, they added another person from the
school board. I don't think that served

1165
01:39:26,400 --> 01:39:38,280
the community as well. And then when we
get sent something like this in the mail

1166
01:39:33,280 --> 01:39:38,280
and it doesn't include the fact that

1167
01:39:38,719 --> 01:39:46,159
negotiations already happening, I
consider that disingenuous. And I I have

1168
01:39:43,840 --> 01:39:50,000
talked to dozens of people who are
afraid to come here and say what they

1169
01:39:47,920 --> 01:39:54,480
think about TIF because they're
neighbors of schoolboard people and uh

1170
01:39:52,880 --> 01:39:57,760
they have been threatened. I've heard
people come up here and threaten you

1171
01:39:56,000 --> 01:40:02,719
with lawsuits and lose the next
election. And I don't think we want to

1172
01:40:00,639 --> 01:40:08,080
live in a community where people are
afraid to come out and ask questions and

1173
01:40:05,679 --> 01:40:12,000
share their thoughts. So I commend you
for the hard work you're doing. you're

1174
01:40:09,840 --> 01:40:15,440
doing it without the support that you
should be getting from some parts of our

1175
01:40:13,679 --> 01:40:18,880
community and I will support that
effort. Thank you.

1176
01:40:17,040 --> 01:40:24,560
» Thank you,
>> Kathy Esesterbrook.

1177
01:40:20,800 --> 01:40:31,679
Terry, then you're next. Jeff,
William, Ariel, then Lauren Ruger,

1178
01:40:29,760 --> 01:40:34,880
um
Eileene Isac's.

1179
01:40:34,320 --> 01:40:39,360
Go ahead.
>> I'm Kathy Esesterbrook, 1620 Mount

1180
01:40:36,960 --> 01:40:44,800
Pleasant. I'm not necessarily against
the tiff. I'm against the size of the

1181
01:40:41,920 --> 01:40:50,639
tiff district and the fact that it spans
23 years. The Mariano property is a

1182
01:40:48,080 --> 01:40:54,880
major issue for sure. However, the owner
paid too much for the property, so is

1183
01:40:52,639 --> 01:40:59,119
asking for relief. I don't feel our
resident should be penalized for his

1184
01:40:56,719 --> 01:41:04,080
poor business decision.
I'm I'm concerned that SB Freeman's

1185
01:41:01,600 --> 01:41:08,480
figures include the year 2020.
Obviously, it's going to skew those

1186
01:41:06,639 --> 01:41:12,560
figures
significantly.

1187
01:41:10,159 --> 01:41:17,840
Um, we reszone the North Corridor in
late 2025, so let's let the resoning

1188
01:41:15,280 --> 01:41:22,320
take hold before we put another option
on top of it.

1189
01:41:20,320 --> 01:41:27,280
I believe there are various ways to
increase our revenues, adding the 1%

1190
01:41:24,800 --> 01:41:32,080
sales tax, increasing our vehicle
stickers, to name two. How much

1191
01:41:29,920 --> 01:41:37,040
additional revenues are we receiving
from our car dealerships since sales

1192
01:41:35,119 --> 01:41:44,199
have been have increased? That must
help. Our town is thriving and sweet.

1193
01:41:40,239 --> 01:41:44,199
Please keep it that way.

1194
01:41:48,000 --> 01:41:57,840
Oop.
Oh, I lost it. Um there was that um on

1195
01:41:52,960 --> 01:42:02,480
the darn it on the um
back wall of the south the south wall in

1196
01:42:00,159 --> 01:42:09,119
the lustic lodge there was a wonderful
quote saying how sweet our it was from

1197
01:42:05,520 --> 01:42:14,960
19 76 years ago saying how sweet our
village was and let's keep it that way

1198
01:42:11,199 --> 01:42:17,960
we deserve it. Thank you,
Terry.

1199
01:42:22,159 --> 01:42:28,960
Good evening, President Mendrich,
Manager Brennan, and the members of the

1200
01:42:27,199 --> 01:42:33,920
board of trustees. Thank you for the
opportunity to speak this evening. I am

1201
01:42:31,679 --> 01:42:39,119
Terry Dason, president of the Waneka
Northfield Gleno Chamber of Commerce.

1202
01:42:36,400 --> 01:42:44,159
Before addressing the tiff, I would like
to congratulate the village and everyone

1203
01:42:41,360 --> 01:42:49,760
involved in Northfield's 100th birthday
celebration. Clarkson Park was filled

1204
01:42:46,880 --> 01:42:55,119
with residents, families, and friends of
all ages. The activities, music, local

1205
01:42:52,880 --> 01:43:00,560
food, and wonderful fireworks showcased
Northfield at its very best. It was

1206
01:42:58,000 --> 01:43:05,920
truly a celebration of community and a
job very well done. Tonight, I am

1207
01:43:03,679 --> 01:43:11,360
speaking on behalf of the many
independent and locallyowned businesses

1208
01:43:08,880 --> 01:43:16,800
that are important to our community. The
chamber understands the purpose of a tax

1209
01:43:14,159 --> 01:43:22,920
increment financing. When used
thoughtfully, a tiff can encourage

1210
01:43:18,800 --> 01:43:22,920
investment, improve

1211
01:43:23,920 --> 01:43:32,239
infrastructure, and create opportunities
for economic development. We want

1212
01:43:29,199 --> 01:43:38,320
Northfield to grow, remain competitive,
and continue to thrive. At the same

1213
01:43:35,360 --> 01:43:42,159
time, I ask that you cons, as you
consider redevelopment, you also

1214
01:43:40,560 --> 01:43:46,320
consider the people behind the
storefronts. Many of our local

1215
01:43:44,320 --> 01:43:52,080
businesses have invested in Northfield
for years. They employ people, serve our

1216
01:43:49,520 --> 01:43:56,639
residents, support our schools and
organizations, contribute to community

1217
01:43:54,480 --> 01:44:00,800
events, and help create the character of
this village. If redevelopment

1218
01:43:59,280 --> 01:44:06,880
ultimately affects some of these
businesses, I believe the time to begin

1219
01:44:03,840 --> 01:44:12,080
planning for them is now, not when a
lease expires or a business suddenly

1220
01:44:08,719 --> 01:44:17,199
learns it needs to relocate. Can we
identify potential spaces within

1221
01:44:14,080 --> 01:44:23,440
Northfield before they are needed?
Can we develop a strategy to assist

1222
01:44:19,840 --> 01:44:28,400
businesses that may be displaced? Can
the village, the chamber, and property

1223
01:44:25,440 --> 01:44:33,600
owners and businesses work together to
identify relocation opportunities within

1224
01:44:30,800 --> 01:44:38,880
Northfield? And most importantly, can
retaining our existing local businesses

1225
01:44:36,320 --> 01:44:42,480
become one of the stated goals of
redevelopment?

1226
01:44:40,480 --> 01:44:46,960
Once a small business is forced to leave
a community, there's no guarantee it

1227
01:44:44,639 --> 01:44:50,800
will return. The chamber is not asking
Northfield to choose between

1228
01:44:48,719 --> 01:44:57,199
redevelopment and its existing
businesses. We believe that Northfield

1229
01:44:53,280 --> 01:45:02,480
can and should have both. We can welcome
new investment and new businesses while

1230
01:44:59,679 --> 01:45:06,960
valuing the entrepreneurs have already
invested in the community. Economic

1231
01:45:04,800 --> 01:45:12,560
development should not simply be about
what we build next. It should also be

1232
01:45:09,520 --> 01:45:17,040
about preserving what we what is already
working and helping our existing

1233
01:45:14,480 --> 01:45:22,800
businesses succeed through periods of
change. As Northfield begins its next

1234
01:45:19,920 --> 01:45:26,880
hundred years, we have an opportunity to
approach redevelopment thoughtfully,

1235
01:45:24,880 --> 01:45:30,080
creating new possibilities while
protecting the businesses and

1236
01:45:28,239 --> 01:45:37,639
relationships that already make
Northfield a special place to live,

1237
01:45:32,560 --> 01:45:37,639
workshop, and gather. Thank you.

1238
01:45:46,719 --> 01:45:51,800
Jeff Keading is next on my list.

1239
01:45:55,440 --> 01:46:02,800
Good evening. Jeff Keading, 54 Wagner
Road.

1240
01:46:00,159 --> 01:46:06,239
My wife and I bought up in Northfield 30
years ago of raising our kids here

1241
01:46:04,560 --> 01:46:12,239
because of the size of the community and
the village that it was. I'm opposed to

1242
01:46:08,880 --> 01:46:16,239
any large tiff program, period. Uh I
think you're going to destroy our

1243
01:46:13,520 --> 01:46:20,719
village with that. And I believe that uh
the way we first moved in here was

1244
01:46:18,560 --> 01:46:25,360
because of the size of the village and
the community we came from. A lot of the

1245
01:46:23,199 --> 01:46:28,239
people I spoke against the tiff, I agree
with a lot of the stuff that they said

1246
01:46:26,719 --> 01:46:31,239
tonight and I'll make it short. Thank
you,

1247
01:46:35,119 --> 01:46:38,679
» William Gats.

1248
01:46:43,920 --> 01:46:48,560
I hope I pronounced that. Is that what
it is?

1249
01:46:46,400 --> 01:46:52,080
» Sites.
>> Boy. Okay. Sorry. Good of you to know

1250
01:46:51,360 --> 01:46:56,159
what I was saying.
>> Well, that's okay, Madam President.

1251
01:46:53,920 --> 01:47:02,000
Thank you very much. Good evening. Um, I
was My name is William Sites. I'm an

1252
01:46:58,320 --> 01:47:10,560
attorney. My office is in Northbrook.
Uh, attorney Jones knows me from

1253
01:47:04,560 --> 01:47:16,239
Gleniew. Um so uh I originally um uh got
involved in this issue when I was asked

1254
01:47:13,199 --> 01:47:22,800
how Glen View's tiff worked out for uh
district 34. It didn't and I explained

1255
01:47:19,520 --> 01:47:27,760
how district 34 ended up getting short
and and how it got short. So I explained

1256
01:47:25,360 --> 01:47:34,400
that uh but otherwise I wasn't planning
on speaking here tonight. I did ask um I

1257
01:47:31,840 --> 01:47:37,920
did speak to two tenants and two
property owners in this district and

1258
01:47:36,400 --> 01:47:44,080
none of them none of them felt
comfortable authorizing me to to express

1259
01:47:41,600 --> 01:47:51,280
uh with their name but they they didn't
feel that um you know putting their name

1260
01:47:48,000 --> 01:47:55,280
out there and explaining why they they
didn't feel the tiff was in their in

1261
01:47:53,440 --> 01:47:59,760
their interest they didn't feel
comfortable so it didn't have their name

1262
01:47:56,800 --> 01:48:03,119
but as it turns out Um, and I'm going to
give each one of you a copy since, uh,

1263
01:48:01,520 --> 01:48:08,320
attorney Jones says you're not taking a
vote. Um, you know, I I've done this

1264
01:48:06,000 --> 01:48:12,960
myself as an attorney. Um, some somebody
put out a website called Unlock

1265
01:48:10,320 --> 01:48:18,960
Norfield, and I did when I represented a
coal uh, a company that had coal plants.

1266
01:48:15,360 --> 01:48:22,639
I did this myself. Um, and you know, uh,
on these tiffs, you know, the I don't I

1267
01:48:21,199 --> 01:48:27,280
don't think it's eligible. I don't think
it meets the qualifications. I don't

1268
01:48:24,560 --> 01:48:32,560
think if you do a uh impact agreement,
the schools are going to be held uh

1269
01:48:29,360 --> 01:48:36,159
whole, but um I think that you you need
to make sure that you're you're talking

1270
01:48:34,719 --> 01:48:41,199
the same language, you're talking the
same facts and you make sure that the

1271
01:48:39,440 --> 01:48:47,360
the the
uh information you're getting is

1272
01:48:43,840 --> 01:48:53,440
accurate facts. and what what and what
you have here is you know something that

1273
01:48:49,840 --> 01:48:57,760
some you know college kid put together
and you know I mean that's that doesn't

1274
01:48:55,280 --> 01:49:01,600
serve you any in in making a decision
this is a very difficult decision um you

1275
01:49:00,159 --> 01:49:07,280
know and one of the things that says it
doesn't raise taxes if if if you look at

1276
01:49:04,239 --> 01:49:11,440
this uh Freriedman report you know on
the um back part of the report and you

1277
01:49:10,239 --> 01:49:15,119
know any developer is going to love
tiffs because you know it's got a

1278
01:49:13,040 --> 01:49:18,639
proposed budget for various expenses is,
you know, I I represent developers. So,

1279
01:49:17,040 --> 01:49:21,840
you know, everybody's, you know,
everybody wants to do development deals,

1280
01:49:20,560 --> 01:49:25,840
but there's other ways of doing it other
than the tiffs as well. So, you know,

1281
01:49:23,840 --> 01:49:29,760
I'm I I'm going to leave you copies of
of these documents for you take a look

1282
01:49:27,600 --> 01:49:35,760
at them if you'd like. But, you know, I
I think that it's very important that

1283
01:49:31,600 --> 01:49:39,920
you have the right information to make a
to make a sound decision. And you know,

1284
01:49:38,400 --> 01:49:44,239
other than that, you know, I think that,
you know, it's it's, you know, u I'm

1285
01:49:42,719 --> 01:49:48,000
dealing with a lot of problems with with
Glen View that I would that I would say,

1286
01:49:46,320 --> 01:49:54,880
you know, one of the problems I'm having
with Glen View that as attorney Jones

1287
01:49:49,679 --> 01:50:00,159
perhaps knows is in Glen View um a lot
of money from from the from the former

1288
01:49:56,960 --> 01:50:03,760
TIFF when they sold land sales um went
into its big fund called the permanent

1289
01:50:01,760 --> 01:50:07,840
fund. And that permanent fund is now
being spent on restaurants to quote

1290
01:50:05,840 --> 01:50:11,920
unquote revitalize downtown Glen View
that built a five-story uh uh apartment

1291
01:50:10,480 --> 01:50:17,679
building in the center of downtown Glen
View that I spent six years uh suing on

1292
01:50:14,400 --> 01:50:22,480
Glen View. Um and the problem with all
this money is it ends up going to LLC's

1293
01:50:21,199 --> 01:50:26,880
where the people coming to public
meetings represent the LLC's, they're

1294
01:50:25,119 --> 01:50:31,360
not the real people getting the money.
The real people getting the money are

1295
01:50:28,880 --> 01:50:35,040
wealthy people. So you you need to make
certain if you're doing deals that the

1296
01:50:33,600 --> 01:50:38,719
people who are actually getting the
money, you know who who's actually

1297
01:50:36,639 --> 01:50:42,400
getting the money. So anyway, I
appreciate your time. I probably went

1298
01:50:40,000 --> 01:50:46,000
over the three minutes. Your your uh
contemporary in Glen Gy would cut me off

1299
01:50:44,400 --> 01:50:49,760
after two and a half minutes. So I
appreciate your time. Um but uh thank

1300
01:50:48,639 --> 01:50:53,000
you very much.
>> Thank you.

1301
01:50:55,360 --> 01:51:05,119
Um, Ariel Hoffer,
Lauren Ruger, Eileen Issacs,

1302
01:51:01,679 --> 01:51:09,360
Barb Silva, Jordan Shackleford, Holt,
Ziggler.

1303
01:51:07,920 --> 01:51:13,440
Just so everybody started waiting in the
weeks. Go ahead.

1304
01:51:10,480 --> 01:51:17,840
» Ariel Hoer, resident at 1554 Willow and
business owner at 300 Hap Road. Many

1305
01:51:16,080 --> 01:51:21,760
residents, business owners, taxing
bodies, and interesting parties have

1306
01:51:19,360 --> 01:51:25,040
spoken over the last few months about
concerns relating to TIFF eligibility as

1307
01:51:23,840 --> 01:51:28,400
well as the effect it will have on
schools. I'll leave it to the others to

1308
01:51:26,880 --> 01:51:32,000
reiterate those important concerns
tonight. I want to start by saying how

1309
01:51:30,400 --> 01:51:36,320
incredible our 100redyear celebration
was this past Saturday. It reminded me

1310
01:51:34,320 --> 01:51:40,480
about what makes Northfield so special.
Mom and pop vendors served a park full

1311
01:51:38,560 --> 01:51:45,040
of families, many of which had family
members actually founded this town. We

1312
01:51:43,119 --> 01:51:49,040
did not have chain vendors and all main
food vendors that participated are

1313
01:51:47,199 --> 01:51:53,440
located within the proposed TIFF
boundaries. I believe this is something

1314
01:51:50,880 --> 01:51:57,840
of huge note. My concern is rooted in
overdevelopment at the cost of the

1315
01:51:55,040 --> 01:52:01,119
vibrancy we currently display display.
To establish a tiff area in a place

1316
01:51:59,599 --> 01:52:05,040
already populated by thriving
businesses, most of which don't own

1317
01:52:03,199 --> 01:52:09,119
their space is to ask to change the
landscape that makes us so special.

1318
01:52:06,960 --> 01:52:13,599
Should businesses face relocation to
make way for the rise of condo towers,

1319
01:52:11,679 --> 01:52:18,080
they will fail. I have no doubt about
this. This tip proposal, as outlined,

1320
01:52:16,400 --> 01:52:22,480
does not ensure a legacy of small
business. Rather, it will help usher in

1321
01:52:20,000 --> 01:52:26,320
an era of big box chains with mom and
pops left by the wayside. In fact, I

1322
01:52:24,960 --> 01:52:30,880
don't see any of the vendors from
Saturday surviving in this unlocked

1323
01:52:28,480 --> 01:52:34,719
Northfield. As elected members of this
board, it is your responsibility to

1324
01:52:32,560 --> 01:52:38,400
represent the interests of our of your
constituents. How can you hear the

1325
01:52:36,639 --> 01:52:42,639
incredible amount of concerns from your
villagers and still choose to blatantly

1326
01:52:40,719 --> 01:52:47,880
ignore them? If it is a matter of a
budget crisis, then tell us though.

1327
01:52:44,639 --> 01:52:47,880
Thank you.

1328
01:52:52,480 --> 01:53:01,679
» Hi, uh Lauren Reager, 248 Wagner. Um I
wanted to just stand up and say a few

1329
01:52:59,360 --> 01:53:07,840
words in support um for the proposed
tiff. I um have lived in Northfield my

1330
01:53:05,119 --> 01:53:11,760
entire life. I grew up here attending
Middlefork, Sunset Ridge, and New Trier.

1331
01:53:10,000 --> 01:53:15,760
I was a teacher assistant at Middlefork
and now my two children attend

1332
01:53:13,280 --> 01:53:21,440
Middlefork as well. Um growing up in
Northfield, there was a uh my favorite

1333
01:53:18,639 --> 01:53:27,280
place to go was TCBY. I think I funded
it uh solely by myself. Um we would run

1334
01:53:25,040 --> 01:53:33,440
around the fountain um with my friends
and enjoy the local establishments that

1335
01:53:29,679 --> 01:53:39,760
were there. Um and
at TCB TCBY we would gather as families

1336
01:53:36,880 --> 01:53:44,960
after um dance recital, spring sings,
winter sings, and families would gather

1337
01:53:41,679 --> 01:53:51,840
in line uh commune um and share stories
that still uh stay with me today. We

1338
01:53:48,239 --> 01:53:56,800
have a great local um downtown. We have
uh great resident uh great shops and uh

1339
01:53:55,280 --> 01:54:01,520
restaurants, but we're lacking the
gathering place where families can go

1340
01:53:58,800 --> 01:54:05,840
and kids can safely ride their bikes. Uh
currently I see a lot of them riding to

1341
01:54:03,520 --> 01:54:09,840
Walgreens and Starbucks, and I'm very
concerned with their safety, especially

1342
01:54:07,760 --> 01:54:16,080
at the Walgreens or the Starbucks uh
crossing zone. Um, I got involved or

1343
01:54:13,760 --> 01:54:20,080
leaned in more to this conversation um,
over the last several months as I

1344
01:54:17,920 --> 01:54:24,880
started to see, like many Northfield
residents, the yard signs um, popping up

1345
01:54:22,560 --> 01:54:29,199
more and more and I started to try to
understand what the information was. And

1346
01:54:27,040 --> 01:54:35,280
as I went searching, I only found one
side of the story. Um, and it's only

1347
01:54:32,960 --> 01:54:39,599
gotten louder. I haven't heard as much
information up until recently with the

1348
01:54:37,520 --> 01:54:45,679
uh, various meetings and information
that's been shared. Um and so I'm

1349
01:54:42,560 --> 01:54:51,440
encouraged by the um both sides now
sharing information um together and in

1350
01:54:48,480 --> 01:54:55,760
different various formats. Um recently I
had the um ability to join a

1351
01:54:53,920 --> 01:54:59,199
conversation where both the school board
members and village board members were

1352
01:54:57,280 --> 01:55:03,520
having a conversation that was the most
productive conversation I've heard in

1353
01:55:01,199 --> 01:55:07,760
this entire experience that I've been
participating in which admittedly is

1354
01:55:05,520 --> 01:55:12,320
fairly limited. Um, but I've heard
criticisms of these gatherings, which

1355
01:55:09,760 --> 01:55:17,840
disappoints me. Um, because it's the
side of Northfield that I've known and

1356
01:55:14,239 --> 01:55:22,880
loved growing up here is small, local,
uh, shared communication and

1357
01:55:19,760 --> 01:55:26,560
conversation, even if they disagree, of
coming together, talking about things

1358
01:55:24,800 --> 01:55:32,480
that they agree or disagree, in a
productive, calm, and rational way. Um,

1359
01:55:30,239 --> 01:55:37,199
I won't stand up here spouting the
different data points of why I support

1360
01:55:34,320 --> 01:55:41,520
our schools, our local businesses, and
the need for our downtown and Northfield

1361
01:55:39,520 --> 01:55:45,280
to thrive generally. I think you've done
a nice job of sharing that information

1362
01:55:43,040 --> 01:55:48,320
with us. However, I do think we could do
a better job of sharing with our

1363
01:55:46,639 --> 01:55:52,800
residents uh some of the information
that I just learned here tonight. For

1364
01:55:50,000 --> 01:55:58,159
example, that there is a need to invest
in Northfield and by doing nothing, we

1365
01:55:55,920 --> 01:56:03,440
won't accomplish anything. So, I do
encourage residents to consider uh the

1366
01:56:00,560 --> 01:56:11,480
reasons why this is being proposed to um
support Northfield's growth. Thank you,

1367
01:56:07,760 --> 01:56:11,480
» Eileene Isacs.

1368
01:56:16,560 --> 01:56:23,199
» Good evening and thank you for the
opportunity. I had not expected to

1369
01:56:20,639 --> 01:56:29,679
speak, so I've been jotting notes as the
meeting has gone on. I've lived here for

1370
01:56:26,080 --> 01:56:35,119
41 years. Um I live in the old Calderini
house for you old people that know. Um

1371
01:56:33,040 --> 01:56:38,800
the first reason, the first thing that I
would like to raise is since you knew

1372
01:56:37,040 --> 01:56:43,280
that this was going to be such a white
hot issue, since you knew that on both

1373
01:56:41,040 --> 01:56:47,599
sides there was going to be such a
agitated participation, why we aren't in

1374
01:56:46,000 --> 01:56:52,560
a bigger space that could have
accommodated everybody. I don't

1375
01:56:49,840 --> 01:56:56,840
understand. And I think that that casts
a Paul on the whole conversation.

1376
01:56:58,400 --> 01:57:05,360
The second question I have is you are
all elected representatives elected to

1377
01:57:03,440 --> 01:57:09,920
represent the interests of those who you
represent. There's a very strong notion

1378
01:57:08,000 --> 01:57:14,960
out there that every one of you has
already made up your mind except one in

1379
01:57:12,239 --> 01:57:19,599
favor of a tiff and that these are just
dur kinds of meetings that you're having

1380
01:57:17,599 --> 01:57:24,159
and that none of you are in a position
to change your mind that you've all set

1381
01:57:22,159 --> 01:57:28,639
your positions. This is very
disheartening and makes it feel like we

1382
01:57:26,800 --> 01:57:34,639
are not involved in a democratic
situation.

1383
01:57:30,800 --> 01:57:40,080
Um, my third concern is the legality of
the entire enterprise. TIFFs were

1384
01:57:37,040 --> 01:57:44,159
designed to help blighted communities
who were unable to attract commercial

1385
01:57:42,239 --> 01:57:48,639
development. This has never been the
case in Northfield. This is an

1386
01:57:46,159 --> 01:57:53,280
embarrassment in of riches as the wealth
of our community and the value of our

1387
01:57:50,480 --> 01:57:58,560
homes climb. It's an insult to those
communities that really need TIFFs that

1388
01:57:55,840 --> 01:58:03,679
we should usurp that desperate mechanism
for our own development.

1389
01:58:01,520 --> 01:58:07,599
Our village manager oversaw
Kennallworth's tiffs and it's my

1390
01:58:06,000 --> 01:58:12,800
understanding that very little
development occurred as a result in

1391
01:58:09,920 --> 01:58:17,040
Deerfield. They have a tiff and last
week they had to pass a bond issue to

1392
01:58:15,040 --> 01:58:22,639
support the schools because the schools
were short the funding that they needed.

1393
01:58:19,599 --> 01:58:26,560
At the terrific centennial celebration
this weekend and it was terrific and

1394
01:58:24,800 --> 01:58:30,960
congratulations to you all on the
amazing job you did. I learned that in

1395
01:58:29,199 --> 01:58:36,880
1984
there were only 350 students enrolled in

1396
01:58:34,560 --> 01:58:41,280
our schools and that there was some
consideration being given to closing the

1397
01:58:39,119 --> 01:58:46,639
schools and sending the children perhaps
to a VOCA or something else. Of course,

1398
01:58:43,840 --> 01:58:52,719
enrolling my children there in 1985. Dr.
Bullink didn't mention that to me, but

1399
01:58:49,440 --> 01:58:57,440
um it was of great concern. But the
constituents then rose up, stood firm,

1400
01:58:55,360 --> 01:59:04,400
and look how the student body and our
academic institutions have thrived.

1401
01:59:01,520 --> 01:59:08,880
I was proud to be a member of the 2040
committee. We were definitive and clear

1402
01:59:06,719 --> 01:59:16,960
that the schools could not be impacted
in any way. Any way, not little bit, not

1403
01:59:12,000 --> 01:59:21,920
a lot, anyway. So why is this now any
kind of an issue? The school board has

1404
01:59:19,119 --> 01:59:27,119
spoken that this would be a bad gesture.
What is the rush? I yield to the other

1405
01:59:24,719 --> 01:59:34,199
person who spoke earlier tonight. This
is an issue of such concern, it deserves

1406
01:59:29,599 --> 01:59:34,199
a referendum. Thank you,

1407
01:59:40,960 --> 01:59:44,679
Barb Silva,

1408
01:59:45,920 --> 01:59:49,480
Jordan Shackleford.

1409
01:59:51,840 --> 02:00:01,440
Um, hi, I'm Jordan Shackleford. I'm um a
business owner of two businesses at 300

1410
01:59:58,320 --> 02:00:06,080
South Hap Road. one being Shred415,
which I've owned for 13 years, and the

1411
02:00:04,080 --> 02:00:12,159
other being Sweat Shack, which I opened
last June. Um, I my husband's here, too,

1412
02:00:10,080 --> 02:00:19,760
in case I split up, but I was going to
say, um, my issue is that, you know, I

1413
02:00:16,239 --> 02:00:25,520
employ somewhere around 40 to 60
individuals at my studios, be it

1414
02:00:22,719 --> 02:00:34,159
trainers, front desk, kid care, cleaning
staff, as well as 60,000

1415
02:00:29,840 --> 02:00:40,400
um unique visitors a year at both of my
um studios. So I drive a lot of traffic

1416
02:00:37,199 --> 02:00:48,000
to the Northfield for shopping, for um
engagement, for um just, you know,

1417
02:00:44,239 --> 02:00:53,119
lively and vibrant area. So I am just
saying that I find, you know, with um

1418
02:00:51,040 --> 02:00:58,000
other business owners that I'm friends
with and also are in my um building, we,

1419
02:00:56,560 --> 02:01:02,719
you know, we've done a really good job.
300 South HAB is fully I think fully v

1420
02:01:01,360 --> 02:01:04,800
or fully
>> what?

1421
02:01:03,599 --> 02:01:07,920
» No, but fully.
>> Yeah,

1422
02:01:05,199 --> 02:01:11,920
» sorry. It's not it's not blighted. Um in
our opinion and we welcome you guys to

1423
02:01:09,679 --> 02:01:18,880
come visit and have an open house to to
to assess what that it's not blighted.

1424
02:01:15,360 --> 02:01:22,800
Um I would also say that I just feel um
I don't envy your guys' position. We

1425
02:01:21,119 --> 02:01:28,480
love Northfield. We've been here, as
Jordan said, since 2013. reinvested in

1426
02:01:25,360 --> 02:01:33,280
Northfield last year, last summer, um,
and and went through all the process.

1427
02:01:30,639 --> 02:01:38,480
Um, and I feel like the business owners
in this community are part of this blast

1428
02:01:35,280 --> 02:01:43,679
area and and re with the redevelopment.
I understand it. I don't believe that

1429
02:01:40,800 --> 02:01:50,159
300 and 310 South Hap Road was part of
the the 20 uh 2040 plan. It's now part

1430
02:01:47,679 --> 02:01:55,679
of this redevelopment uh redistricing
process. And I just feel like, you know,

1431
02:01:52,800 --> 02:01:59,520
consideration should be given um for,
you know, that this is not a blighted

1432
02:01:57,520 --> 02:02:06,080
building and it's not a blighted
community for sure. Um as well um I

1433
02:02:03,599 --> 02:02:10,480
recognize that some of the things that
were in there. I I I find it hard to

1434
02:02:07,599 --> 02:02:14,000
believe that in that report um were a
lot of instances for a lot of

1435
02:02:12,639 --> 02:02:17,679
infrastructure and a lot of things with
buildings. And we were just here two

1436
02:02:15,599 --> 02:02:22,719
months ago whether you guys authorized a
brand new business in at 300 South Hap

1437
02:02:20,080 --> 02:02:26,800
Road where somebody was in investing in
the community and there was no

1438
02:02:24,719 --> 02:02:30,880
consideration given or even a heads up
that hey you got you might be going into

1439
02:02:28,880 --> 02:02:35,199
a building that we deem being deemed to
be blighted. I think that's a little

1440
02:02:32,480 --> 02:02:40,360
disingenuous.
>> Thank you.

1441
02:02:36,639 --> 02:02:40,360
» Thank you very much.

1442
02:02:44,480 --> 02:02:51,760
Holt. Holt, are you still here? There
you are. Okay. Uh, the next on the list

1443
02:02:49,840 --> 02:02:56,239
is,
uh, Yarn Sharon, it looks like to me.

1444
02:02:54,480 --> 02:03:03,280
I'm having trouble reading some of these
names. Uh, Chris and Marky

1445
02:03:00,800 --> 02:03:07,119
from Children's Gift Outlet, Carol
Richtol,

1446
02:03:04,960 --> 02:03:12,159
Anna
Ladden perhaps. Okay. So anyway, Holt,

1447
02:03:10,880 --> 02:03:17,440
take it away. Thank you.
>> Hello. Hello. My name is Holt Zidler.

1448
02:03:14,719 --> 02:03:21,520
I'm at 265 Somerfield Road in the evil
Northbrook.

1449
02:03:19,760 --> 02:03:26,080
Uh, as some of you know, I'm on the
school board of D29 and I'm currently

1450
02:03:24,080 --> 02:03:31,119
serving as president. So, I'm actually
usually on the other side of this table

1451
02:03:28,159 --> 02:03:34,159
until I can appreciate uh your position.
First of all, thank you for your

1452
02:03:32,239 --> 02:03:40,000
service. I think there is no greater
impact to a whole community than locally

1453
02:03:37,199 --> 02:03:44,239
elected public service. There's nothing
that beats it. Uh I want to make a few

1454
02:03:42,480 --> 02:03:49,599
quick points in a simple ask that's
consistent with my peers in um nutrier.

1455
02:03:47,599 --> 02:03:55,760
First, I'd like to reiterate Peter Tos
and Chris Johnson comments. There is

1456
02:03:52,080 --> 02:03:59,520
impact to schools. There is.
We stand by our estimates and our

1457
02:03:58,080 --> 02:04:04,000
communications. In fact, we believe it
is our duty to inform our community of

1458
02:04:01,760 --> 02:04:07,599
our concerns. I will say I'm encouraged
by some of the dialogue um tonight

1459
02:04:06,320 --> 02:04:12,159
already. there may be a shift in
messaging from there's no impact to the

1460
02:04:09,920 --> 02:04:16,960
math to we could work something out
let's talk and hash out a deal that may

1461
02:04:14,000 --> 02:04:21,199
be possible second a key philosophy of
mine is to always seek what is fair if

1462
02:04:19,280 --> 02:04:25,280
any fans of John RWS in the audience
fairness principle in my board meetings

1463
02:04:23,440 --> 02:04:30,480
I've talked about timing and messaging
concerns I think it's fair to insist on

1464
02:04:27,840 --> 02:04:35,840
truthful messaging and I think it's fair
to insist on timing to not feel rushed

1465
02:04:32,880 --> 02:04:40,560
for a magnitude of this size uh and so
that's the Third point and the ask. So

1466
02:04:37,440 --> 02:04:44,800
I'd ask this village board uh just like
my colleagues to consider delaying the

1467
02:04:42,880 --> 02:04:49,760
vote on a tiff maybe for a long time or
permanently but at least until an IGA is

1468
02:04:47,440 --> 02:04:53,119
in place that makes schools whole. I
believe it's possible and fair. Thank

1469
02:04:51,840 --> 02:04:56,360
you.
>> Thank you.

1470
02:04:59,920 --> 02:05:10,920
» Hello uh dear toes of the village. Uh my
name is Yav Shaon. I live in Glen View

1471
02:05:05,199 --> 02:05:10,920
in the Avoka 37 school district.

1472
02:05:11,040 --> 02:05:19,599
I am also a school board member but I'm
speaking here as an affected taxpayer

1473
02:05:16,880 --> 02:05:24,159
and more importantly a neighbor.
First I want to congratulate you for

1474
02:05:21,280 --> 02:05:28,239
your 100th uh anniversary of the
village.

1475
02:05:26,080 --> 02:05:33,520
I understand the challenge posed by the
vacant building specifically where

1476
02:05:30,719 --> 02:05:37,840
Mariana once stood. uh it is your duty
and responsibility as the trustees to

1477
02:05:36,239 --> 02:05:42,400
find a solution that restores and
revitalize that property and I share

1478
02:05:40,639 --> 02:05:47,920
that call.
But I urge you not to proceed with the

1479
02:05:44,480 --> 02:05:53,040
tax increment financing district.
You argue that a TIFF is the only

1480
02:05:49,679 --> 02:06:00,239
solution that avoids raising taxes. Yet
a TIF does not create new money. that

1481
02:05:57,040 --> 02:06:07,040
$175 million would need to come from
somewhere.

1482
02:06:02,880 --> 02:06:12,000
Uh as property values outside the TIF
rises because of inflation, those

1483
02:06:09,599 --> 02:06:17,599
property owner will bear a larger share
of the tax burden. School and other

1484
02:06:14,880 --> 02:06:23,119
taxing district may also face pressure
to increase rates to fund additional

1485
02:06:20,320 --> 02:06:28,960
students and services generated by
development inside the TIFF. And when

1486
02:06:26,400 --> 02:06:34,480
taxes rise, the residents will connect
these increases to the decision you'll

1487
02:06:31,840 --> 02:06:39,679
be making next month.
Worse, many of the people who will bear

1488
02:06:36,880 --> 02:06:44,159
those higher taxes have no vote on this
board. They live outside the village

1489
02:06:42,159 --> 02:06:49,079
like me, but share the same school
district and other taxing bodies.

1490
02:06:49,679 --> 02:07:00,079
The reason the TIF has a lesser impact
on residents of the village versus other

1491
02:06:56,639 --> 02:07:05,840
options that you uh investigated is
because you are forcing people outside

1492
02:07:01,840 --> 02:07:11,040
the village like myself to chip in. Uh
that is not how good neighbors should

1493
02:07:07,840 --> 02:07:16,560
treat one another.
Uh a commercial developer and that is

1494
02:07:14,159 --> 02:07:22,480
your goal. Uh the first thing they will
be looking for is customers and likely

1495
02:07:19,520 --> 02:07:29,040
beyond just within the village. Al
alienating neighbor neighboring

1496
02:07:24,719 --> 02:07:33,599
residents by shifting taxes into them is
a poor way to build a lo loyal customer

1497
02:07:32,000 --> 02:07:39,679
base.
Uh and finally a personal plea. Our

1498
02:07:36,639 --> 02:07:45,840
political system is under strained. Too
often people feel that elected officials

1499
02:07:43,119 --> 02:07:51,119
make decisions without broad public
support.

1500
02:07:48,480 --> 02:07:57,280
Um and it's clearly here that I don't
know how what's the percentage but there

1501
02:07:52,960 --> 02:08:00,880
is a strong opposition to this tiff and
the result of that is growing

1502
02:07:58,719 --> 02:08:07,679
frustration and declining trust in
government. So I implore you uh do not

1503
02:08:04,719 --> 02:08:15,480
contribute to that trend. Please seek B
public support before making a decision

1504
02:08:10,560 --> 02:08:15,480
this consequential. Thank you very much.

1505
02:08:26,719 --> 02:08:31,360
I'm going to talk a little slower and a
little louder because I've noticed

1506
02:08:29,360 --> 02:08:36,320
that's been a problem and mind listening
to some of the fine comments. I'm Marky

1507
02:08:34,400 --> 02:08:42,079
Geekas. I own the children's gift shop
at 310 Hap Road, unit 128 in the

1508
02:08:39,520 --> 02:08:46,639
Northfield Village Center. I oppose the
tax extremate financing proposal the

1509
02:08:44,400 --> 02:08:50,800
board is considering. I oppose the
proposal because it not only will

1510
02:08:48,400 --> 02:08:55,280
completely destroy my business, it will
also deprive Northfield and surrounding

1511
02:08:52,880 --> 02:09:00,719
communities of the valuable service that
my store provides. To understand my

1512
02:08:58,239 --> 02:09:06,239
opposition, you must understand what the
Children's Gift Shop is all about. I've

1513
02:09:03,520 --> 02:09:10,560
been in Northfield for 35 years. 10
years on Northfield Road and 25 in the

1514
02:09:08,719 --> 02:09:14,639
Northfield Village Center, my present
location. We have been we have been

1515
02:09:13,199 --> 02:09:20,079
voted the best toy store on the
Northshore multiple times in this

1516
02:09:16,800 --> 02:09:26,079
period. My mission for the past 35 years
has been to ignite the imagination and a

1517
02:09:23,679 --> 02:09:30,560
sense of wonder in our children so they
can discover themselves, their passion,

1518
02:09:28,560 --> 02:09:35,520
and their purpose.
In fact, it is the power of play that

1519
02:09:32,960 --> 02:09:41,199
captivates all of us and allows us to be
our truest selves. So, in this world of

1520
02:09:38,719 --> 02:09:45,440
speedy digital connections, how does an
independent Northshore brickandmortar

1521
02:09:43,440 --> 02:09:50,400
business, in this case, children's gift
shops, stay relevant? The first brick

1522
02:09:48,159 --> 02:09:55,119
brick, excuse me, the first brick in any
brickandmortar store is, of course, the

1523
02:09:52,079 --> 02:09:59,119
selection it offers. On buying trips,
whenever a manufacturer tells to me,

1524
02:09:56,719 --> 02:10:04,880
"Oh, this sells everywhere." I just roll
my eyes. I cherrypick like crazy to

1525
02:10:02,079 --> 02:10:09,440
offer a curated collection from only
trusted vendors with the highest

1526
02:10:06,400 --> 02:10:14,079
standards. After 35 years, I am well
tuned into the tastes and needs of our

1527
02:10:11,520 --> 02:10:18,560
community. The choices I make are the
learning tools that we offer to enrich

1528
02:10:16,320 --> 02:10:24,159
children's lives based on their needs
and their parents' goals. The expertise

1529
02:10:21,360 --> 02:10:27,679
is irreplaceable. Unlike the big box
stores, in addition to knowing our

1530
02:10:25,760 --> 02:10:32,000
customers, we don't have to commit to
products a year in advance. We can

1531
02:10:29,679 --> 02:10:36,800
quickly adapt as markets change and new
trends appear. Another brick is the

1532
02:10:34,639 --> 02:10:41,840
Northshore experience you all have
learned to expect and enjoy. In our

1533
02:10:40,079 --> 02:10:46,239
case, this means expert product
knowledge and our enthusiasm to match

1534
02:10:44,079 --> 02:10:51,920
the child's age and abilities to the
perfect gift. Our economy depends on a

1535
02:10:49,599 --> 02:10:56,560
small locallyowned businesses that
create jobs and play a central role in

1536
02:10:54,480 --> 02:11:01,520
keeping consumer dollars and our own
communities. When you support us, it

1537
02:10:59,119 --> 02:11:06,480
allows me to employ eight plus local
souls. Hire a local insurance agent, an

1538
02:11:04,239 --> 02:11:11,920
accountant, a printer, an IT guy,
security customer security company, and

1539
02:11:08,960 --> 02:11:16,239
even a window washer. More bricks. It's
a big risk to open any independent

1540
02:11:13,920 --> 02:11:21,199
business. It takes an enormous labor of
love, courage, and that Midwest work

1541
02:11:18,159 --> 02:11:25,920
ethic. Again, more bricks. If you have
been in our Bright Happy store, you have

1542
02:11:23,280 --> 02:11:30,480
my met my amazing staff who support
sustain the children's gift shop and me

1543
02:11:28,239 --> 02:11:35,040
beyond measure. Their product knowledge
and amazing stamina, oh boy, is the

1544
02:11:32,719 --> 02:11:38,880
mortar between the bricks and makes
everything possible.

1545
02:11:36,960 --> 02:11:43,199
Finally, this is really important to me.
It became painfully obvious during CO

1546
02:11:41,520 --> 02:11:48,639
that available spaces like our
neighborhood stores, restaurants, parks,

1547
02:11:45,599 --> 02:11:53,280
groceries, libraries offer us personal
community interactions to help us

1548
02:11:50,639 --> 02:11:58,639
reclaim balance outside of the digital
world, enhancing the quality of life for

1549
02:11:56,000 --> 02:12:02,400
our families and the entire community.
It is inconceivable that you would

1550
02:12:00,719 --> 02:12:07,360
destroy this valuable gift to the
community with this ill-considered,

1551
02:12:04,800 --> 02:12:12,480
hastily assembled TIFF proposal. Thank
you.

1552
02:12:09,760 --> 02:12:15,719
Can I sit down or stay up here with you?
Can I sit?

1553
02:12:15,840 --> 02:12:24,560
» Hi, my name is Chris Geekus,
excuse me. And I'm the chief disposal

1554
02:12:22,719 --> 02:12:29,280
officer at the uh
>> children's gift shop, which means I take

1555
02:12:26,719 --> 02:12:36,480
out the trash every day.
Um, I'm also a lawyer and I sent to I

1556
02:12:33,040 --> 02:12:42,320
think you and to your your council what
is a legal memorandum in my presentation

1557
02:12:39,599 --> 02:12:48,239
is going to be substantially drier than
what you heard earlier and from my wife.

1558
02:12:46,719 --> 02:12:55,199
Um,
the first stop on this journey for you

1559
02:12:51,440 --> 02:13:00,320
is to determine whether or not the
neighborhood that you're trying to

1560
02:12:56,800 --> 02:13:08,800
designate as a tiff area satisfies the
eligibility requirements of the tax

1561
02:13:04,159 --> 02:13:14,400
incentive redevelopment act. And
you're not going to be able to rely on

1562
02:13:11,599 --> 02:13:20,719
the report of your expert. And I have
tried to outline in my memorandum to you

1563
02:13:17,599 --> 02:13:26,320
uh why that is uh to summarize it
briefly. Generalized conclusions about

1564
02:13:23,920 --> 02:13:34,800
the area that you're dealing with and
the properties that are there um are not

1565
02:13:30,000 --> 02:13:40,000
sufficient to support a determination of
blight or conservation area which is a

1566
02:13:37,360 --> 02:13:44,400
little bit less. I think that of the
four factors that Freriedman has

1567
02:13:42,239 --> 02:13:49,599
identified, two of them are not
satisfied, one of them has to do with

1568
02:13:47,040 --> 02:13:54,960
deterioration and the other has to do
with non-compliance with the current

1569
02:13:51,679 --> 02:14:00,960
code. I think you all remember probably
that the village adopted the 2021

1570
02:13:58,719 --> 02:14:05,360
building and fire codes and if I
understand the logic of the Freriedman

1571
02:14:02,800 --> 02:14:10,800
report because all these buildings are
substantially older than that they don't

1572
02:14:08,239 --> 02:14:16,239
uh satisfy the current code which I
think is wrong as a matter of law

1573
02:14:13,280 --> 02:14:22,159
because the codes specifically provide
that uh buildings that were compliant

1574
02:14:20,000 --> 02:14:27,679
with previous codes are grandfather
bothered in they may be non-conforming

1575
02:14:24,800 --> 02:14:33,199
uses but they are permitted non and
lawful non-conforming uses. So it is

1576
02:14:30,480 --> 02:14:38,320
wrong we think is a matter of law to
conclude that they're non-compliant with

1577
02:14:35,760 --> 02:14:42,320
the existing code. And on the other
factor that we think is not shown

1578
02:14:40,719 --> 02:14:47,119
deterioration.
The case law that I have cited to you

1579
02:14:45,440 --> 02:14:52,880
that I've looked at and I hope that I'm
right. This is not an area I practice

1580
02:14:49,040 --> 02:14:58,079
in. The case law is that routine wear
and te and wear and tear of property

1581
02:14:55,360 --> 02:15:03,199
does not add up to deterioration.
Perhaps there are vacancies, but the

1582
02:15:00,719 --> 02:15:08,239
market, the free market that we all
adore, is essentially designed to solve

1583
02:15:06,400 --> 02:15:14,560
those problems. And even if it's going
to take some time to do that, that does

1584
02:15:11,520 --> 02:15:21,679
not mean that the properties involved
are deteriorated within the meaning of

1585
02:15:18,079 --> 02:15:26,719
the tax incentive act. So, I just have a
couple of more thoughts and ding-dong.

1586
02:15:25,040 --> 02:15:31,440
Um,
I think you sit here patiently and you

1587
02:15:28,880 --> 02:15:36,719
listen to everybody and I know you're
taking every what they say quite

1588
02:15:33,520 --> 02:15:40,320
seriously. Um, and I know you're not
going to respond to me to the points

1589
02:15:38,480 --> 02:15:45,599
that I've made or any of the other folks
have made. But that's not going to work

1590
02:15:42,400 --> 02:15:50,800
in the court. The policy question, there
are two prongs to this. One are the

1591
02:15:47,840 --> 02:15:55,920
policy questions. Is this a good idea?
Is it a good idea to short the schools?

1592
02:15:53,440 --> 02:16:01,760
Are you shorting the schools? Is the
plan uh being developed enough so that

1593
02:15:59,199 --> 02:16:07,840
they will be sufficiently protected? The
policy question presented here by Mark

1594
02:16:04,560 --> 02:16:11,520
is are you going to destroy existing
businesses? And you are. There's no

1595
02:16:09,760 --> 02:16:15,360
question about it. And is that a
relevant consideration?

1596
02:16:13,440 --> 02:16:19,679
And that's all essentially within your
discretion. What's not in your

1597
02:16:17,440 --> 02:16:25,040
discretion are the eligibility
requirements. And you've got a learned

1598
02:16:21,920 --> 02:16:31,360
lawyer here on the on the board. You've
got one of the preeminent municipal

1599
02:16:27,119 --> 02:16:36,160
council in the in the um in the state
and they will be able to advise you. The

1600
02:16:34,000 --> 02:16:42,399
question that you have to ask yourself
is this going to be defensible in court

1601
02:16:40,000 --> 02:16:47,359
and the generalized
conclusions that are in the report that

1602
02:16:45,120 --> 02:16:53,200
I've seen of Freriedman are not
sufficient to do it. Now, my last

1603
02:16:50,639 --> 02:16:58,399
thought is this. I sent you a
preservation demand, and I hope you

1604
02:16:55,840 --> 02:17:03,120
didn't weren't too offended by it. The
second to the last paragraph of it says

1605
02:17:01,359 --> 02:17:09,120
that I'm doing it because of the
likelihood that this is going to end up

1606
02:17:05,840 --> 02:17:16,960
in litigation. That is sufficient of a
justification for you to do an a uh

1607
02:17:13,599 --> 02:17:23,040
executive session non-public where you
can talk to each other and hear from

1608
02:17:19,920 --> 02:17:29,280
your council which would be protected by
the attorney client privilege anyway. So

1609
02:17:25,840 --> 02:17:33,359
be you'd be able to uh keep it
confidential. And I don't mean secret, I

1610
02:17:31,439 --> 02:17:38,479
mean confidential.
And the point of it is that it was allow

1611
02:17:35,519 --> 02:17:43,200
you to have the interchange amongst
yourselves as to whether or not you can

1612
02:17:40,880 --> 02:17:48,639
defend it because that's where you're
headed down to the daily center in the

1613
02:17:46,719 --> 02:17:51,880
city of Chicago.
Thank you.

1614
02:18:01,200 --> 02:18:07,519
» Carol Ritchell. Yes, please. Anna
Ladden,

1615
02:18:06,080 --> 02:18:12,000
Tanya Walt,
>> sorry,

1616
02:18:08,960 --> 02:18:17,040
» Brad Rosett.
Okay.

1617
02:18:13,679 --> 02:18:24,000
Uh, Carol Richel, 81 Hap, you are a
tough act to follow. My god. Thank you.

1618
02:18:20,160 --> 02:18:29,439
Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Um,
>> oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I always do

1619
02:18:25,840 --> 02:18:36,800
this. Okay. Um, Simon was one of the
people who brought up a petition that

1620
02:18:33,519 --> 02:18:43,519
was raised to ask you to slow down and
ask for a referendum. As of this moment,

1621
02:18:39,679 --> 02:18:48,399
I believe there are 1,126
signatures on that petition.

1622
02:18:46,559 --> 02:18:53,679
Truth is, you weren't slowing down. You
haven't slowed down. a second petition

1623
02:18:51,040 --> 02:19:00,880
actually was started which specifically
just let's see uh it's asking you

1624
02:18:57,599 --> 02:19:06,960
basically to stop stop this um so as of
a few hours ago I can't read my own

1625
02:19:02,800 --> 02:19:11,760
writing there were um oh god 200
>> 54

1626
02:19:07,920 --> 02:19:16,479
» thank you 254 signatures on that one
okay I'm rambling here okay so I'm

1627
02:19:13,439 --> 02:19:22,080
piggybacking on what Sam Simon brought
up what I believe Terry brought up as

1628
02:19:18,880 --> 02:19:26,559
far we have asked you for a referendum
and actually at one of the meetings when

1629
02:19:24,479 --> 02:19:31,679
Tracy you were specifically asked would
you consider it what you said was no

1630
02:19:30,160 --> 02:19:37,280
essentially because it would slow down
the process which kind of speaks to

1631
02:19:34,639 --> 02:19:42,800
we've made up our minds don't confuse us
with the facts I'm sorry to be offensive

1632
02:19:40,000 --> 02:19:46,040
if I am offensive and the other thing
you know

1633
02:19:46,399 --> 02:19:54,720
I think it's up to the elected Ed, you
elected representatives, it's your

1634
02:19:53,040 --> 02:20:01,680
responsibility,
sorry I'm flumbling here, to um to res

1635
02:19:58,960 --> 02:20:06,960
to represent your constituent
constituents.

1636
02:20:03,439 --> 02:20:11,600
It is our responsibility to hold our
elected officials accountable and that's

1637
02:20:09,680 --> 02:20:16,840
what a whole lot of people are trying to
do. Thank you. Thank you for your time.

1638
02:20:19,840 --> 02:20:28,800
Good evening. Analic 276 Bristol. I live
in Northfield for 25 years.

1639
02:20:26,080 --> 02:20:34,640
» Yes, absolutely. So, two things that
I've noticed tonight. Several of you and

1640
02:20:31,920 --> 02:20:39,680
we do appreciate everything you do. Had
to correct yourself and you said when

1641
02:20:37,359 --> 02:20:44,479
Tiff is going to pass and then you
quickly corrected yourself and you said

1642
02:20:41,600 --> 02:20:48,960
if TIF is going to pass. And I'm not the
first one who noticed that tonight. It

1643
02:20:46,880 --> 02:20:53,760
is a bit concerning.
Second comment, when the lovely old

1644
02:20:51,600 --> 02:20:58,399
resident, I believe Mary, right, was
sitting here and she used the word

1645
02:20:56,000 --> 02:21:04,240
vibrant. I don't know if you've noticed,
we all clapped. When any of you used the

1646
02:21:01,040 --> 02:21:08,319
word vibrant, there was a dead silence.
So, I think there's got to be some

1647
02:21:06,160 --> 02:21:12,880
difference here.
That's two things that I've noticed

1648
02:21:09,680 --> 02:21:18,399
tonight. I am also been working in
Vanetkcoa public schools for 28 years. I

1649
02:21:16,000 --> 02:21:22,479
have my colleagues here. I have the
friends of my children here who on the

1650
02:21:20,960 --> 02:21:28,560
board.
And what you don't know and what you

1651
02:21:24,960 --> 02:21:33,760
don't see when the families move into
the village and the district because of

1652
02:21:31,520 --> 02:21:40,720
the services
and there is no adequate pay. And I see

1653
02:21:37,520 --> 02:21:46,479
it every day and I'm sure Dr. Tragas see
it every day too. That's what creates a

1654
02:21:43,920 --> 02:21:52,960
difference for the teachers and you
really really really I am asking you to

1655
02:21:50,240 --> 02:21:58,399
listen to the board. They did not come
up with those ideas because they just

1656
02:21:55,680 --> 02:22:04,399
look at the numbers. They came up with
those ideas because they feel it on

1657
02:22:00,960 --> 02:22:10,120
every day on their back. Please give us
an opportunity to have a referendum.

1658
02:22:06,880 --> 02:22:10,120
Thank you.

1659
02:22:14,960 --> 02:22:23,280
Tanya. Oh, Tanya or Brad. One or the
other. Whoever's ready. Good to go.

1660
02:22:21,359 --> 02:22:29,120
» Good evening, President Mendrich and
trustees, two of whom are my neighbors.

1661
02:22:26,479 --> 02:22:33,200
Um, I'm Tanya Wallik, a 21 year
Northfield resident, two houses at

1662
02:22:31,600 --> 02:22:37,359
Sunset Ridge parent, and I've spent the
last five years in development finance.

1663
02:22:35,359 --> 02:22:41,920
These views are my own, not the views of
my employer. Um, I have some prepared

1664
02:22:39,920 --> 02:22:46,880
remarks, but I wanted to start with a
comment that Erica made, and just you

1665
02:22:44,960 --> 02:22:51,920
guys are really impressive. Like, I'm
walking out of here, every one of you,

1666
02:22:49,120 --> 02:22:57,200
so immensely proud of this community on
either side. Just wonderful. And and I

1667
02:22:54,880 --> 02:23:00,640
was thinking about what Erica said and
one of the things for me, maybe not for

1668
02:22:58,960 --> 02:23:05,040
others, is that this has felt like a
public relations campaign. It has not

1669
02:23:02,960 --> 02:23:11,920
felt like a genuine exchange. And so
I've and and as an example, at 12:57

1670
02:23:09,200 --> 02:23:17,040
today, there was an email sent out and I
took a meeting off because I wanted to

1671
02:23:13,680 --> 02:23:21,359
read it. And it's there are facts in it,
but it is misleading in order. It is

1672
02:23:19,520 --> 02:23:24,560
misleading. Is there's things in there
that are distractions. They're not

1673
02:23:22,880 --> 02:23:28,800
proof. They're apples to oranges.
They're not guaranteed and they're

1674
02:23:25,840 --> 02:23:33,120
unclear. And I've listed those in here.
But I would encourage all of you to have

1675
02:23:30,800 --> 02:23:39,680
more direct engagement with all of our
citizens versus trying to

1676
02:23:36,560 --> 02:23:44,880
sell this to us. Um, now to the prepared
remarks. Uh, more philosophical. Years

1677
02:23:42,319 --> 02:23:48,479
ago, uh, Dominic's before Marianos
closed for a few months over a roof

1678
02:23:46,399 --> 02:23:51,840
leak. And my husband and I always joke
about this because we got a flyer in the

1679
02:23:50,080 --> 02:23:56,240
mail that said, "We're sorry for this
tragedy."

1680
02:23:53,359 --> 02:23:59,760
Begs the question, "What is a tragedy?"
It's not a grocery store closing, we

1681
02:23:58,000 --> 02:24:04,560
survived that. It's a child hit on
Willow, Wagner, or Waneka roads because

1682
02:24:01,840 --> 02:24:09,520
traffic keeps increasing. It's schools
so overwhelmed with new students that

1683
02:24:06,640 --> 02:24:13,439
classrooms balloon and services dwindle.
It's a downtown that looks like the

1684
02:24:11,120 --> 02:24:18,399
Glenn and lacks the quirky character and
characters that we all moved here for.

1685
02:24:15,840 --> 02:24:23,040
These are the unintended consequences of
good people making short-sighted

1686
02:24:20,720 --> 02:24:28,240
decisions. I know those consequences
firsthand. I lived down the street from

1687
02:24:25,359 --> 02:24:31,600
Trustee Judas and Trustee Galen and I
was backing out on Avon out of my

1688
02:24:30,000 --> 02:24:35,680
driveway and I looked both ways and a
car was speeding around the bend near my

1689
02:24:33,120 --> 02:24:40,720
house and it almost hit me. Traffic
pushed on my street after Willow Road

1690
02:24:38,479 --> 02:24:45,920
was widened is an unintended
consequence. And I know what those

1691
02:24:43,120 --> 02:24:49,760
services mean. My son, who couldn't
speak at three, with the help of this

1692
02:24:47,920 --> 02:24:53,520
district's services last spring in
seventh grade, was named most

1693
02:24:51,120 --> 02:24:58,080
outstanding student. This year, he's in
his second year at Nutrier in math.

1694
02:24:56,479 --> 02:25:01,760
Unbelievable.
That's what it's at at stake when we

1695
02:25:00,000 --> 02:25:07,040
talk about school funding. And it's not
an abstraction for me. We've been here

1696
02:25:04,399 --> 02:25:11,120
before. As I understand it, in 1955, a
developer eyed undeveloped land here.

1697
02:25:09,520 --> 02:25:15,359
Residents didn't wait for incentives.
They formed a park district and bought

1698
02:25:12,720 --> 02:25:19,920
the land themselves. The paper mocked it
as invalid. Voters backed it anyway

1699
02:25:17,359 --> 02:25:24,960
twice. Today, that land is Willow Park
and Middlefork School. This town already

1700
02:25:22,640 --> 02:25:29,600
works on its own terms. Northfield's
charm is its schools, its parks, and its

1701
02:25:26,720 --> 02:25:34,240
trails. We all want a vibrant downtown,
but not at the expense of a 23-year

1702
02:25:31,760 --> 02:25:40,520
mortgage. We earn a fixerupper. Please
don't take out that mortgage on a house

1703
02:25:35,920 --> 02:25:40,520
that's already selling itself. Thanks.

1704
02:25:47,439 --> 02:25:57,760
Hi, Brad Ross at 1040 Arbor Lane over in
Meadow Lakes. I don't doubt anyone's

1705
02:25:54,319 --> 02:26:03,600
passion here uh for or against the TIFF.
Everyone on this board, everyone who has

1706
02:26:00,080 --> 02:26:07,760
spoken, it's all about what is best for
Northfield.

1707
02:26:05,200 --> 02:26:13,760
And what people are asking for, it's not
no, it's not yet. uh they want more

1708
02:26:11,439 --> 02:26:21,439
information, they want more time, they
want real numbers before this $175

1709
02:26:18,080 --> 02:26:25,840
million tiff, yes or no. The message has
been pretty clear. There's been a

1710
02:26:23,200 --> 02:26:32,720
thousand people on a petition and that's
roughly one in five registered voters in

1711
02:26:29,200 --> 02:26:36,640
this uh village. For comparison, only
1,542

1712
02:26:34,479 --> 02:26:42,720
people turned out to vote in the last
year's municipal election. That's a 32%

1713
02:26:39,920 --> 02:26:49,439
turnout. This petition represents nearly
twothirds of that. Many voices on one

1714
02:26:45,680 --> 02:26:54,960
issue outside the election cycle.
What residents are asking for is more

1715
02:26:52,000 --> 02:27:00,240
time, not a rejection. TIFF money is
public money, diverted public uh

1716
02:26:57,280 --> 02:27:06,240
property tax revenue, and the public
deserves a real framework on how it's

1717
02:27:02,720 --> 02:27:12,160
spent, not just a headline figure. Right
now, we have a $175 million number. A

1718
02:27:10,000 --> 02:27:18,160
few lines for construction, maintenance,
and administration. No one, three,

1719
02:27:15,600 --> 02:27:23,280
five-year cash flow projections. No
sensitivity analysis.

1720
02:27:20,560 --> 02:27:28,720
Private development is already happening
in this corridor. Well, without any tiff

1721
02:27:26,240 --> 02:27:35,840
help, which should make the board
seriously question where is it but for

1722
02:27:32,479 --> 02:27:41,920
test is even met. When asked for a plan,
residents have been pointed to a vision

1723
02:27:38,319 --> 02:27:47,600
2040 uh plan, a general vision document,
not a financial model. And then there's

1724
02:27:44,560 --> 02:27:52,960
the bigger question. A tiff hand
significant leverage to whoever

1725
02:27:50,160 --> 02:27:57,760
developers show up with a proposal. Once
that money is committed, this board and

1726
02:27:55,520 --> 02:28:05,280
this community are reacting to
developers plans instead of setting the

1727
02:28:00,560 --> 02:28:13,439
terms on our owns. Before we commit $175
million or so, I uh residents uh deserve

1728
02:28:10,160 --> 02:28:19,600
a clear villageled vision, not a
developer on one. What what are the

1729
02:28:17,280 --> 02:28:25,439
mixes? Residential, commercial,
industrial. Uh what do we want in the

1730
02:28:22,399 --> 02:28:32,880
corridor? What does this mix look like
5, 10, 20 years now? Not just at uh

1731
02:28:29,520 --> 02:28:39,920
project completion. What tax flow pro
projections do we have right now?

1732
02:28:36,399 --> 02:28:45,920
H um how the future uh decisions get
made once this money is committed. Does

1733
02:28:42,560 --> 02:28:52,399
the board retain real control or does
the approval uh hand the control over to

1734
02:28:49,600 --> 02:28:57,840
the developers? My ask tonight is
specific. release all of the

1735
02:28:55,040 --> 02:29:03,520
documentation, SB Freriedman and others,
the deliverables, not the excerpts, but

1736
02:29:00,800 --> 02:29:10,000
not a summary presentation, all of the
background information so every resident

1737
02:29:06,560 --> 02:29:16,240
can take a look at it and an analysize
it themselves. Um,

1738
02:29:13,520 --> 02:29:23,880
so that's it. I'm just looking slow
down, define the vision before the

1739
02:29:18,640 --> 02:29:23,880
developers do it themselves. Thank you.

1740
02:29:26,720 --> 02:29:38,880
The last uh three slips are Tana, I
think, Hitch, Rick Zalinski,

1741
02:29:35,359 --> 02:29:43,000
and boy, this last one, it looks like C
H E T Han.

1742
02:29:43,359 --> 02:29:52,720
I got it. Okay, great. Tana,
>> hi. Good evening. I have heard a lot

1743
02:29:50,319 --> 02:29:57,840
tonight and a lot of emotion and a lot
of dedication. I wanted to clarify

1744
02:29:55,680 --> 02:30:03,520
something that was important to me when
I was thinking about this. If a a

1745
02:30:00,960 --> 02:30:10,160
village has a tiff, they cannot
structurally keep a school out of the

1746
02:30:06,319 --> 02:30:15,040
tax instrument increment financing. If
the village decides to move forward with

1747
02:30:12,160 --> 02:30:20,640
the tiff, what that means because their
overlapping tax bodies that all the

1748
02:30:17,920 --> 02:30:26,399
incremental tax revenue is diverted into
the villages tiff fund rather than going

1749
02:30:23,359 --> 02:30:31,439
to the schools. But as you were saying
earlier, while a village can't exempt a

1750
02:30:29,520 --> 02:30:38,560
school district from the TIFF baseline
mechanics, they can enter enter into a

1751
02:30:34,960 --> 02:30:43,920
legally binding IGA, intergovernmental
agreement. Through an IGA, the village

1752
02:30:41,200 --> 02:30:50,000
can agree to carve out a specific
portion of the TIFF revenue and pass it

1753
02:30:46,960 --> 02:30:56,640
back directly to the school district to
offset any financial strain or handle

1754
02:30:53,200 --> 02:31:01,600
new student enrollment.
In many states, including Illinois,

1755
02:30:59,200 --> 02:31:06,479
statutory protections require the
village to reimburse school districts

1756
02:31:04,160 --> 02:31:12,720
out of the tiff fund if the new
development directly causes school

1757
02:31:09,120 --> 02:31:17,200
enrollment to increase or brings in more
children. And I didn't understand that

1758
02:31:15,359 --> 02:31:21,640
before and I just wanted to clarify it
for everybody. Thank you.

1759
02:31:18,479 --> 02:31:21,640
» Thank you,

1760
02:31:23,600 --> 02:31:27,160
» Rick Sinski.

1761
02:31:30,960 --> 02:31:38,479
Just in case there's someone upstairs,
we'll give them a minute.

1762
02:31:35,040 --> 02:31:41,120
And last but not least,
is it

1763
02:31:39,280 --> 02:31:45,319
» Shaathan?
>> Jathan.

1764
02:31:42,319 --> 02:31:45,319
» Okay.

1765
02:31:47,040 --> 02:31:55,680
» Good evening and thank you for the time.
Uh I am Chathan Sharma live in 2251

1766
02:31:52,720 --> 02:31:58,560
Bracken Lane. uh very actively involved
in everything that goes on in the

1767
02:31:56,880 --> 02:32:04,880
village. Patrick knows the email
exchanges we've had uh going going on

1768
02:32:02,240 --> 02:32:08,640
for a while now. Right? So I think you
know first of all I kind of want to

1769
02:32:06,640 --> 02:32:13,200
reflect what uh some of the people here
said. I do not believe the village board

1770
02:32:11,120 --> 02:32:17,520
is out to destroy this village. Right?
Many of you live here. Many of you lived

1771
02:32:14,800 --> 02:32:21,200
here longer than I have. And I I don't
believe that you're here to destroy the

1772
02:32:19,280 --> 02:32:26,479
village, ruin our schools and turn this
into an unlivable place. Right. I I

1773
02:32:24,000 --> 02:32:30,560
don't I do not really believe that. But
at the same time, when I go through

1774
02:32:29,040 --> 02:32:33,920
everything that you put out there, I've
read every single document, every single

1775
02:32:32,479 --> 02:32:37,840
communication that you have sent out,
including the email that came out this

1776
02:32:35,520 --> 02:32:42,960
afternoon, which kind of seemed a bit,
you know, last minute.

1777
02:32:40,240 --> 02:32:49,120
The one thing that kind of strikes me is
I moved to Northfield about 11 years ago

1778
02:32:46,160 --> 02:32:54,160
because I liked sleepy old town that
Northfield is at the moment, right? When

1779
02:32:52,080 --> 02:32:59,200
you talk about vibrancy,
I go to happen. I had dinner at Blue

1780
02:32:57,040 --> 02:33:05,840
Blue Fish or Blue forget the name of the
restaurant. Bluefish, I think. Uh, I go

1781
02:33:01,760 --> 02:33:10,920
to Stormies and you know I really do not
want any more vibrancy than what we all

1782
02:33:10,960 --> 02:33:14,840
about you but you know

1783
02:33:15,760 --> 02:33:19,080
I really

1784
02:33:19,520 --> 02:33:27,280
I step out on a Friday night and you
know other than casinos and you know uh

1785
02:33:25,359 --> 02:33:32,160
betting stands and things like that
there's enough in this village to kind

1786
02:33:28,800 --> 02:33:35,520
of you know keep me happy Okay, I do
agree that the Marianos is a blight. I

1787
02:33:34,240 --> 02:33:39,120
understand all the problems that you're
trying to deal with and we should do

1788
02:33:37,520 --> 02:33:44,080
something about it, right? But I don't
know if that requires $175 million over

1789
02:33:41,840 --> 02:33:48,880
23 years. That's the part I do not
understand.

1790
02:33:45,840 --> 02:33:53,200
So for me, the appeal is look, this is
not one against the other. We're not

1791
02:33:51,200 --> 02:33:56,720
here to fight with each other. It's
really to understand what does that

1792
02:33:55,280 --> 02:34:00,960
mean, right? What do you mean by a
vibrant downtown?

1793
02:33:58,960 --> 02:34:05,120
is does it involve big box stores? Does
it involve you in a cannabis

1794
02:34:02,160 --> 02:34:08,720
dispensaries? What exactly is vibrant?
That definition may be different

1795
02:34:07,120 --> 02:34:12,640
compared to like you know what the board
has versus what the residents think but

1796
02:34:11,200 --> 02:34:16,560
I think as someone I think it was the
last speaker who said give us more

1797
02:34:14,479 --> 02:34:22,319
details right tell us what the plan is
2040 yes I've read that plan it's a bit

1798
02:34:19,680 --> 02:34:27,520
vague it's a bit far off right so what
we need is something that's real

1799
02:34:25,520 --> 02:34:33,439
something that makes sense to all of the
people and I don't think you know I

1800
02:34:30,319 --> 02:34:36,399
would say no to tiff just just like that
without understanding that once Once we

1801
02:34:35,120 --> 02:34:40,240
understand that, once we know where
we're going,

1802
02:34:38,319 --> 02:34:43,840
a referendum would be great. If we can
have that, it's a democracy after all,

1803
02:34:42,000 --> 02:34:47,680
right? That'd be a fantastic move on
your part to do that. But all I'm

1804
02:34:46,160 --> 02:34:53,040
asking, just like a lot of people here
have asked for, is look, you're not our

1805
02:34:49,760 --> 02:34:56,960
enemies. We're not your enemies either.
So, let's kind of work together. Give us

1806
02:34:54,880 --> 02:35:00,000
more details, slow down a little bit,
and I'm sure we'll get to a place where

1807
02:34:58,479 --> 02:35:04,600
now we can do the right thing for the
village. Thank you.

1808
02:35:01,359 --> 02:35:04,600
» Thank you.

1809
02:35:08,560 --> 02:35:17,520
Okay. Is there anyone else who didn't
submit a slip or who I may have missed

1810
02:35:14,240 --> 02:35:21,439
who'd like to speak at this point?
>> Does it have to be on? Can I make an

1811
02:35:19,359 --> 02:35:24,960
announcement?
>> Is that I should have done it at the

1812
02:35:23,600 --> 02:35:32,880
beginning.
>> Come on up. It'll be a nice distraction.

1813
02:35:29,600 --> 02:35:37,680
No, just um just that if you go to our
caucus website, tell us who you are.

1814
02:35:34,800 --> 02:35:42,160
» Oh, Beverly Smith, 772 Heap Road,
Northfield, um chair of the Northfield

1815
02:35:40,000 --> 02:35:47,840
Caucus. If you go to our caucus website
right now, you'll see that we have a

1816
02:35:44,640 --> 02:35:52,880
call for future trustees that we will be
interviewing at the end of September and

1817
02:35:50,640 --> 02:35:58,000
the application deadline is September
7th. So, tonight you see people here

1818
02:35:55,280 --> 02:36:01,120
that are interested in village issues.
just wanted to make that announcement.

1819
02:36:00,319 --> 02:36:04,359
Thank you.
>> Thank you.

1820
02:36:05,359 --> 02:36:16,080
» Okay.
Um so now uh board members, we have a

1821
02:36:12,720 --> 02:36:19,840
chance to um discuss this amongst
ourselves. Um

1822
02:36:18,640 --> 02:36:24,000
first of all, I want to thank all the
residents for for taking the time and

1823
02:36:22,160 --> 02:36:29,920
and sticking with us for this long
period of time to share your concerns.

1824
02:36:26,479 --> 02:36:32,560
Um, board members, anybody want to have
a go at any thoughts they have after all

1825
02:36:31,920 --> 02:36:38,000
of this?
>> I I I'm going to start. Um, I appreciate

1826
02:36:36,319 --> 02:36:42,880
everybody sharing their thoughts, their
concerns. Um,

1827
02:36:40,880 --> 02:36:48,080
I've really struggled. I reached out to
some of my fellow board members having

1828
02:36:44,479 --> 02:36:51,720
been a resident in Northfield for
way too many years.

1829
02:36:52,160 --> 02:36:58,600
The div the division,
the divisiveness,

1830
02:36:58,720 --> 02:37:07,280
the threats,
the mistreatment of human beings,

1831
02:37:05,840 --> 02:37:11,600
whether it's schoolboard members,
whether it's village board members who

1832
02:37:09,520 --> 02:37:16,240
are trying
to look out for the best interest of

1833
02:37:14,319 --> 02:37:22,800
ourselves.
And I I think that we really need to

1834
02:37:21,040 --> 02:37:27,120
look what's going on in this country and
and some of these other countries and

1835
02:37:25,359 --> 02:37:33,840
say to ourselves, do we really want to
be looked at like that

1836
02:37:30,160 --> 02:37:38,560
by the people that we represent? And I I
think that um

1837
02:37:36,960 --> 02:37:43,920
there's not one board member sitting up
here at the dis tonight who would do

1838
02:37:42,000 --> 02:37:50,800
anything
intentionally

1839
02:37:46,080 --> 02:37:56,160
to hurt our schools who give our our
students

1840
02:37:53,040 --> 02:38:00,720
the best education in the area. And I
look at Dr. Treyos right now and I told

1841
02:37:58,479 --> 02:38:06,000
him, "You want a free advertisement?
What Nutrier did for my boys is amazing.

1842
02:38:04,399 --> 02:38:11,120
And my wife and I never thought we would
have two kids in Big 10 schools. I mean,

1843
02:38:08,160 --> 02:38:17,280
it's it's awesome. Go Hawks. But in in
in in reality, I I think that

1844
02:38:15,200 --> 02:38:25,439
the strongest message that people need
to hear is the fact that we're trying to

1845
02:38:21,600 --> 02:38:32,479
work together with the schools to reach
a common goal, and that is to make

1846
02:38:28,399 --> 02:38:37,840
everybody happy. And is that achievable?
I sure as hell hope so. And I'll do

1847
02:38:34,960 --> 02:38:42,560
everything I can in my power as an
individual board member to make that

1848
02:38:39,439 --> 02:38:47,920
happen as well. But I I I just end with
what I'm saying is is

1849
02:38:45,680 --> 02:38:53,359
this is really tough for the people who
love this town, who live in this town to

1850
02:38:50,399 --> 02:38:58,800
see the division of what's going on with
our community. and and I I see a couple

1851
02:38:56,399 --> 02:39:04,880
of our business our business people here
tonight. I will tell you

1852
02:39:02,720 --> 02:39:10,880
I will do anything I can to support you
guys if something happens. And I know

1853
02:39:08,240 --> 02:39:15,359
it's if or when or however anybody wants
to say it, but as a village board, we

1854
02:39:13,280 --> 02:39:21,120
support our small businesses. We
patronize them and we want them to

1855
02:39:17,439 --> 02:39:25,359
exceed just as well. So, you know, I I I
know we can get through this and I I

1856
02:39:23,280 --> 02:39:28,720
think it's just everybody's got
different opinions, but we can't let

1857
02:39:26,960 --> 02:39:33,720
those opinions get in the way of
friendship and civility. Thank you.

1858
02:39:33,840 --> 02:39:40,240
» Anyone else?
>> Uh big comment I'll make at the end of

1859
02:39:37,760 --> 02:39:44,880
the end of all of this. Um one, we're
listening. We've been listening all

1860
02:39:41,600 --> 02:39:49,200
along. Um, just because we don't go on
various platforms and

1861
02:39:47,439 --> 02:39:52,640
um, engage in debate there doesn't mean
we're not listening and paying attention

1862
02:39:50,640 --> 02:39:57,359
to what everybody's talking about and
what's out there. Um, I will reiterate

1863
02:39:54,880 --> 02:40:01,280
from my side of the world, I've got
students in the school system. I want to

1864
02:39:59,520 --> 02:40:05,200
see them go to good schools. I'm not
going to wreck my kids school. I mean,

1865
02:40:03,040 --> 02:40:09,520
like, come on. Like, uh, but at the end
of the day, where I think that leads to

1866
02:40:07,280 --> 02:40:13,600
is our next steps.
IGA was mentioned a few times tonight in

1867
02:40:11,439 --> 02:40:19,439
different ways. I think there's ways we
can put that together. I think we're not

1868
02:40:16,399 --> 02:40:22,880
any I think it's be tough um because
there's multiple factors to how an IGA

1869
02:40:21,600 --> 02:40:28,000
can work, whether it's the amount of
students that move into the district,

1870
02:40:24,319 --> 02:40:30,880
whether it's the um CPI increases that
happen, how to reconcile that, whether

1871
02:40:29,600 --> 02:40:35,600
it's the new growth side. I mean,
there's multiple If you love charts,

1872
02:40:33,840 --> 02:40:39,600
check out school finance. It's the best
way to look at multiple charts on growth

1873
02:40:37,280 --> 02:40:43,120
and what it looks like over time. So I
tell I say that in the sense that we are

1874
02:40:41,920 --> 02:40:49,200
paying attention to it. We're trying to
figure out how to make that all work to

1875
02:40:46,880 --> 02:40:53,920
what Trusty Whitaker was saying. Um the
unfortunate thing about negotiations is

1876
02:40:52,240 --> 02:40:56,960
you said everybody's going to be happy.
A lot of negotiations I've been in not

1877
02:40:55,600 --> 02:41:02,720
everybody ends up happy at the end of
the day. Um, but I think there's a path

1878
02:40:59,600 --> 02:41:06,880
for us to go down that can ensure that
our schools are still in a good place.

1879
02:41:04,720 --> 02:41:09,680
Well, making our downtown do the things
we've been asking, people have been

1880
02:41:08,479 --> 02:41:14,479
asking for with their downtown for
years. I'll refer back to the Hap Road

1881
02:41:11,680 --> 02:41:18,479
survey, 900 residents, 85% said they
wanted a better downtown. The caucus

1882
02:41:17,040 --> 02:41:23,760
survey that came out, I think it was
2023

1883
02:41:20,080 --> 02:41:27,680
or four, right in that range,
two top two things were a better

1884
02:41:25,280 --> 02:41:31,840
downtown. So, at some point we have to
listen to our residents that are saying

1885
02:41:28,880 --> 02:41:35,600
we want our downtown to be improved
well balancing making sure that our

1886
02:41:33,600 --> 02:41:39,359
schools are in a good place. And the
last comment I'll make, not to speak for

1887
02:41:36,880 --> 02:41:43,760
my other trustees, but we've had lots of
us have had one-off conversations. This

1888
02:41:41,359 --> 02:41:47,439
is not being taken lightly in any way,
shape, or form. And in fact, in some

1889
02:41:45,920 --> 02:41:50,720
ways, I'm sick of talking about I'd
rather talk about some other things like

1890
02:41:49,040 --> 02:42:00,080
how the Gophers are going to beat Iowa
this year um for Tom's benefit. Um,

1891
02:41:55,840 --> 02:42:04,240
but when we we look at at at all this
I think we're all in very different

1892
02:42:02,240 --> 02:42:07,600
places. Please do not discredit and just
say we're all same thought process. We

1893
02:42:06,000 --> 02:42:10,960
are in very different places trying to
make sure that we're coming to a

1894
02:42:08,880 --> 02:42:17,200
conclusion that makes the most sense for
the village as a whole. There are 5751

1895
02:42:15,520 --> 02:42:21,840
people here according to our sign, but
it's probably more than that according

1896
02:42:19,040 --> 02:42:25,520
to the world population deal. we have to
represent all those vi all the folks in

1897
02:42:24,000 --> 02:42:28,800
the village across the board and we're
trying to do our best to make sure we

1898
02:42:26,800 --> 02:42:32,399
can do that. So please give us some
grace on trying to figure this out um

1899
02:42:31,120 --> 02:42:35,680
and make sure that we have the right
conclusion. I think this board will come

1900
02:42:34,160 --> 02:42:39,120
to that right conclusion at the end of
the day. But I appreciate the work

1901
02:42:37,680 --> 02:42:43,040
that's been put in by everybody. I
appreciate the comments from everybody

1902
02:42:41,040 --> 02:42:48,920
and thank you for packing the room. I
didn't know village board meetings would

1903
02:42:44,240 --> 02:42:48,920
be so exciting. So thank you everybody.

1904
02:42:50,560 --> 02:42:59,359
Um, I I know I'm the quiet trustee. Um,
I try to do a lot of listening and right

1905
02:42:56,880 --> 02:43:03,920
now I'm processing a lot. There's a lot
of good conversation tonight. Uh, a lot

1906
02:43:01,359 --> 02:43:09,920
of thoughtful comments,
compassionate comments, respectful

1907
02:43:05,680 --> 02:43:14,479
comments, and I would urge the the
public hearing, you know, will be

1908
02:43:11,840 --> 02:43:19,120
complete tonight. Um, but I would urge
that those that sentiment continue. I'd

1909
02:43:17,439 --> 02:43:24,000
like to hear from more people in the
community with with that same idea.

1910
02:43:21,359 --> 02:43:29,120
People that understand that this is a
complex problem that's has a lot of

1911
02:43:27,040 --> 02:43:33,520
nuance to it. It it doesn't it's not
reducible to a sound bite. And I'd like

1912
02:43:31,359 --> 02:43:37,359
more people to have thoughtful
conversations like we had tonight. I

1913
02:43:35,120 --> 02:43:41,520
that that's immensely helpful to me and
I think it's immensely helpful to

1914
02:43:38,720 --> 02:43:45,760
everybody else up here.
>> Charlie, go ahead.

1915
02:43:43,439 --> 02:43:49,680
» Um I just kind of kind of got a question
and some comments. Um Patrick, when you

1916
02:43:47,680 --> 02:43:53,520
say we're not doing well, by what
standards are you talking about?

1917
02:43:51,120 --> 02:43:58,240
Excluding the Mariano site, because what
I've seen is full parking lots and busy

1918
02:43:55,840 --> 02:44:02,399
businesses on a daily basis year round.
The whole downtown area has been doing

1919
02:44:00,399 --> 02:44:06,319
were very well. I talked to Hoffers and
I talked to all the people that we have

1920
02:44:04,240 --> 02:44:09,840
in those businesses. They're doing
exceptionally well. I talked to people

1921
02:44:08,319 --> 02:44:12,800
in certain other businesses. They're
complaining that their parking lots are

1922
02:44:11,200 --> 02:44:17,200
being filled by other people that are
walking across the street to go to those

1923
02:44:14,880 --> 02:44:21,439
businesses. So, um, the other thing is
that doesn't get talked about much is

1924
02:44:19,040 --> 02:44:25,920
790 frontage, which the new three-story
medical office building is going into,

1925
02:44:23,520 --> 02:44:29,600
which is going to clean up that section
if people want to talk about blight or

1926
02:44:28,000 --> 02:44:34,080
they're not happy with what was there.
So, I think that's a that's a huge plus.

1927
02:44:32,080 --> 02:44:38,240
Also, there is a phase two that's been
discussed for the Joselyn Center

1928
02:44:35,600 --> 02:44:41,520
property that the developer has said
that they are working on. They're buying

1929
02:44:39,760 --> 02:44:47,439
up other property. So, there's other
development there's that's going on

1930
02:44:43,439 --> 02:44:52,880
there as well. And yes, this I agree
this is a complex issue. Uh this is

1931
02:44:50,160 --> 02:44:56,880
getting very difficult. But I also think
that you know as trustees that are

1932
02:44:54,880 --> 02:45:00,240
elected by the residents and when you
look at and I took the the list here as

1933
02:44:58,720 --> 02:45:04,319
I was kind of for who's kind of against
it, who's kind of neutral. Um, you know,

1934
02:45:02,640 --> 02:45:08,319
there's an overwhelming response. An
overwhelming response. And I also before

1935
02:45:06,720 --> 02:45:13,920
I came here tonight started going
through the from August 16th till today,

1936
02:45:11,279 --> 02:45:18,160
we had 71 people that are opposed to the
TIFF and 10 basically that said they're

1937
02:45:16,160 --> 02:45:22,240
for it. So, and I didn't get a chance to
go back because there are so many

1938
02:45:20,160 --> 02:45:27,680
responses we're getting. And that's what
I've pushed for and I think people need

1939
02:45:24,080 --> 02:45:31,760
to is to constantly email the Vgroup.
Reach out to our fellow trustees. Reach

1940
02:45:29,840 --> 02:45:36,880
out to Tracy. Reach out to the village
manager. I think the Vgroup is a great

1941
02:45:33,840 --> 02:45:40,240
way to to share your opinions because
the way it's set up is that the village

1942
02:45:38,399 --> 02:45:44,720
manager is the only one that's supposed
to respond so that we get to see his

1943
02:45:42,399 --> 02:45:49,680
response and we get to see your input.
Um, again, you know, not to beat a beat

1944
02:45:47,760 --> 02:45:54,240
a dead horse, but I've lived here 67
years and if you look at where we've

1945
02:45:52,080 --> 02:45:58,160
been and where we're going and the
development that we've had and the

1946
02:45:55,680 --> 02:46:02,160
changes, it's incredible. I feel after
this centennial that I've lived here for

1947
02:46:00,240 --> 02:46:07,680
a hundred years because all the work
that I've done and we've done in

1948
02:46:04,319 --> 02:46:13,439
researching this uh history and there's
a lot of tremendous history and I agree

1949
02:46:10,080 --> 02:46:16,800
and Erica, what you said was spot on. I
agree. There's been things that have

1950
02:46:14,880 --> 02:46:20,000
happened that people that were friends
aren't talking to each other now.

1951
02:46:18,240 --> 02:46:24,800
There's things that have happened and I
think we have to we have to uh put out

1952
02:46:22,720 --> 02:46:30,160
the olive branch, so to speak, and
really look at what needs to be done. Um

1953
02:46:27,200 --> 02:46:33,760
I would hope that I've never gotten the
answer to this yet, and I don't know if

1954
02:46:31,359 --> 02:46:38,240
Tracy can answer it or Patrick, but I I
agree. What is the rush? I feel like

1955
02:46:36,000 --> 02:46:41,840
there's this big push. We have getting
development. I I look at all the people

1956
02:46:40,319 --> 02:46:45,279
that come to these meetings. I look at
all the people that have emailed uh

1957
02:46:43,680 --> 02:46:50,560
people that we talk to each other on the
street whether it's at the centennial

1958
02:46:46,880 --> 02:46:56,160
which I tried to avoid any tiff talk at
the centennial because that was our day

1959
02:46:52,560 --> 02:47:01,520
to shine and celebrate. So I wore the no
tiff talk at that night for a reason

1960
02:46:59,600 --> 02:47:06,399
because I think we needed a couple days
to heal. We needed a couple days to

1961
02:47:03,600 --> 02:47:11,279
focus on what we have back here against
the wall and what the work that the

1962
02:47:08,240 --> 02:47:17,200
committee especially mayor roads myself
um you know all of us have done Tracy.

1963
02:47:14,399 --> 02:47:21,520
So I think um you know I would like to
see a slowdown and I I've been opposed

1964
02:47:20,080 --> 02:47:26,880
to the tiff from the very beginning
because my primary concern is our small

1965
02:47:24,160 --> 02:47:31,680
businesses, our local businesses. Uh
Trusty Whitaker and I worked on a

1966
02:47:29,200 --> 02:47:36,240
committee that we came up with during
COVID and I came up with the slogan shop

1967
02:47:34,160 --> 02:47:40,399
eat explore find it northfield that we
had on our vehicle stickers until the

1968
02:47:38,160 --> 02:47:45,680
centennial sticker came up this year.
Trusty Whitaker and I and Melissa DeFao

1969
02:47:43,520 --> 02:47:49,840
worked on making sure that we advertised
and advocated for our small businesses.

1970
02:47:48,000 --> 02:47:55,279
So, and that's what I'm trying to do now
because if the business owner doesn't

1971
02:47:52,399 --> 02:48:00,160
own the property, that person is at risk
of losing everything. And you have

1972
02:47:57,279 --> 02:48:04,880
people here that own their business that
live in town that I feel we have to

1973
02:48:02,399 --> 02:48:09,600
protect. And no matter what you say, pro
or against tiff, my biggest concern is

1974
02:48:07,520 --> 02:48:13,359
that yes, we can cont try to control
zoning and all the other things we do,

1975
02:48:11,359 --> 02:48:18,319
but if some developer wants to come in
and he fits the zoning, uh, we're going

1976
02:48:16,000 --> 02:48:22,800
to get sued if we try to stop him from
doing something. And I worry that a

1977
02:48:20,240 --> 02:48:26,640
place like Hoffers or UD dog has got
millions of dollars invested in their

1978
02:48:24,640 --> 02:48:30,640
business, in their equipment. And
what'll happen is somebody comes in and

1979
02:48:28,560 --> 02:48:33,760
says, "Oh, I want to put an apartment
complex here, but I don't want to put

1980
02:48:32,000 --> 02:48:38,000
retail on the first floor." Or if they
do want to put retail on the first

1981
02:48:35,200 --> 02:48:41,359
floor, what they want to do is you'll be
out of business for a couple years.

1982
02:48:39,279 --> 02:48:44,720
We'll lose that tax revenue. And once a
business is gone for a couple years,

1983
02:48:42,960 --> 02:48:48,479
it's very difficult for people to come
back and establish that. And then in the

1984
02:48:46,880 --> 02:48:53,120
meantime, where are they going to go?
And if they do get a spot back in that

1985
02:48:50,720 --> 02:48:58,240
location, what's the rent going to be?
So that's why I'll be honest. From the

1986
02:48:55,840 --> 02:49:02,560
very beginning, I've been against TIFF.
30some years ago, because I've lived

1987
02:48:59,840 --> 02:49:06,319
here forever, they tried to do a TIFF
from where Pam's building is, where

1988
02:49:04,160 --> 02:49:10,240
Metamorphosis, all the way down that row
to where Suels was, which is now

1989
02:49:08,080 --> 02:49:15,279
Stormy's. And a big part of the tax
increment financing that they wanted to

1990
02:49:12,000 --> 02:49:19,680
do was the imminent domain section of
that where they wanted to use imminent

1991
02:49:16,960 --> 02:49:24,160
domain to knock all that down, build a
hotel, do all these different things.

1992
02:49:21,520 --> 02:49:28,160
And it was strongly defeated by the
residents of this community at that

1993
02:49:25,680 --> 02:49:32,880
time. And I wasn't involved politically
at that time. I was raising kids. I was

1994
02:49:30,000 --> 02:49:37,200
busy doing my jobs. But when I look back
on that now, I feel like we're in that

1995
02:49:34,800 --> 02:49:41,279
same position right now that we have to
protect the integrity of our small

1996
02:49:39,680 --> 02:49:44,640
businesses and the integrity of
Northfield. If you go back to the

1997
02:49:42,880 --> 02:49:48,880
history lesson, especially when you look
at the walls and you look at the stuff

1998
02:49:46,080 --> 02:49:53,600
at the park, it really shows you where
we've come and where we're going. and

1999
02:49:51,200 --> 02:49:57,600
that it it's worked out. Yes, there are
things that we could do better, but you

2000
02:49:56,000 --> 02:50:02,000
know, I think when you listen to the
people, which is what our responsibility

2001
02:49:59,200 --> 02:50:06,399
is as trustees, overwhelmingly they're
against this tiff. So, that's why I'm

2002
02:50:04,640 --> 02:50:09,600
against it and that's why I don't think
that, you know, we have to protect our

2003
02:50:07,840 --> 02:50:14,040
small businesses and and protect our
community. So, thank you for your time.

2004
02:50:18,000 --> 02:50:23,200
» All right. Um, I just want to say thank
you very much to everybody who's taken

2005
02:50:21,520 --> 02:50:26,960
the time to come to the meeting, to
write the village board, to talk to us

2006
02:50:25,040 --> 02:50:30,640
personally, to have conversations. I
think the strength is in conversations

2007
02:50:28,880 --> 02:50:37,040
and people getting together and asking
questions and having a dialogue, you

2008
02:50:33,040 --> 02:50:41,439
know. Um, I also appreciate all of the
people up here who have who have worked

2009
02:50:39,120 --> 02:50:46,319
together to try to promote and sell and
make Northfield a better place. Um, I I

2010
02:50:44,080 --> 02:50:50,960
do want to encourage a m uh meeting with
the business owners to have a discussion

2011
02:50:48,560 --> 02:50:53,920
and maybe come to terms or at least a
discussion about what's wanted from

2012
02:50:52,160 --> 02:50:57,680
them, what's best for them because I
know that there's some mix. I've spoken

2013
02:50:55,279 --> 02:51:01,520
to some people who want an SSA and are
fine with their property tax going up

2014
02:50:59,200 --> 02:51:04,399
4%. I've talked to some people who
thinks that that would put them out of

2015
02:51:02,960 --> 02:51:09,760
business. So, I think it's worthwhile
maybe having a business meeting um with

2016
02:51:06,640 --> 02:51:14,240
them. Um, and I also think a as a
teacher who teaches at Nutrier, whose

2017
02:51:12,080 --> 02:51:19,120
children go to Sunset Ridge, whose wife
works at Nutrier, I'm heavily invested

2018
02:51:16,560 --> 02:51:24,240
at not just this community, but those
schools and Middle Fork and AOKA where I

2019
02:51:22,479 --> 02:51:29,120
did the eighth grade meetings for 16
years. Um, I encourage everyone as an

2020
02:51:27,520 --> 02:51:35,040
educator to get their information from
the facts. Go to the school's website,

2021
02:51:32,479 --> 02:51:39,680
read their Palooi report, go to the
villages website, do your research.

2022
02:51:37,520 --> 02:51:45,760
Please, please do not rely on social
media. As an educator, I beg you not to.

2023
02:51:43,760 --> 02:51:50,319
It is not a valid source. Go to the
facts. Do your own research, please. Um,

2024
02:51:48,319 --> 02:51:54,160
and I encourage the continued dialogue.
I encourage people to ask questions, to

2025
02:51:52,080 --> 02:51:58,880
reach out, to write the village group. I
I think as we celebrated and spent time

2026
02:51:56,960 --> 02:52:02,880
um at the Clarkson Lodge and spoke to
different people who came back, there's

2027
02:52:00,720 --> 02:52:06,640
love for this community as a whole. And
I think that involves the businesses,

2028
02:52:04,720 --> 02:52:10,399
that involves the schools, that also
involves the people who live here. And

2029
02:52:08,319 --> 02:52:15,200
I'd like to use this opportunity for us
to work together as a whole community to

2030
02:52:12,640 --> 02:52:18,399
improve this and not divide and fraction
this because this is a beautiful

2031
02:52:16,720 --> 02:52:23,359
community with incredibly strong
schools, wonderful businesses that have

2032
02:52:21,439 --> 02:52:27,920
been here for years and years, many of
whom, you know, we frequent you. My kids

2033
02:52:25,520 --> 02:52:31,040
were at Udogu yesterday. I was just
getting a slice of pizza at Northshore

2034
02:52:29,680 --> 02:52:36,080
before this meeting because we didn't
have food today. Um, but I, you know,

2035
02:52:34,000 --> 02:52:40,000
this is a community that we all love and
I want that established. I also want

2036
02:52:37,600 --> 02:52:43,600
people to know that you're being heard.
You know, we're reading every single

2037
02:52:41,359 --> 02:52:47,920
email we receive. You know, we're having
conversations. You know, please, if you

2038
02:52:46,080 --> 02:52:51,800
have my email, reach out. I'm happy to
have a conversation with you.

2039
02:52:53,840 --> 02:53:00,800
» Thanks, Andrew. It's been a long night,
but I think a very productive night. And

2040
02:52:58,399 --> 02:53:07,439
to your point, I think we are listening
and hearing what people have to say. and

2041
02:53:03,040 --> 02:53:11,840
I appreciate the general tone of uh the
dialogue tonight. Um so I I I took a lot

2042
02:53:10,640 --> 02:53:17,840
away from that and I think if we
continue that I think we can make

2043
02:53:13,920 --> 02:53:22,000
progress and come to a good solution one
way or another. So um very encouraged

2044
02:53:21,279 --> 02:53:26,319
about tonight.
>> Okay. Thank you.

2045
02:53:24,399 --> 02:53:30,479
All right. Then with nothing further for
the public hearing, may I have a motion

2046
02:53:28,160 --> 02:53:33,279
and a second to close the hearing?
Motion to close the public hearing at

2047
02:53:32,160 --> 02:53:35,760
this time.
>> Second.

2048
02:53:34,399 --> 02:53:36,640
» All those in favor?
>> I

2049
02:53:36,080 --> 02:53:41,840
» I
>> opposed.

2050
02:53:39,120 --> 02:53:46,000
» I declare the public hearing closed at
9:49 p.m.

2051
02:53:44,640 --> 02:53:49,840
» But don't leave. There's more board
meeting.

2052
02:53:47,520 --> 02:53:54,880
» The next item on the agenda is the
trustee liaison reports.

2053
02:53:53,279 --> 02:53:58,600
» Oh, you guys aren't you guys aren't
going to want to miss this.

2054
02:53:59,200 --> 02:54:06,200
Trusty Yetus, would you like to start?
>> I would be happy to.

2055
02:54:06,880 --> 02:54:12,960
» Um,
>> can I just ask for quiet as you exit the

2056
02:54:10,399 --> 02:54:16,479
room, please? Thank you.
>> Uh, well, this is probably the most

2057
02:54:15,120 --> 02:54:20,720
exciting month for me to give a report
on the schools. The schools are back in

2058
02:54:18,080 --> 02:54:24,240
session. Students are back at school.
Parents are relieved. teachers are

2059
02:54:22,720 --> 02:54:30,080
excited to welcome the new students
across the board both at Sunset Ridge,

2060
02:54:26,479 --> 02:54:34,560
Middlefork, Avoka, and at Nutrier. Um
because the timing of the meeting, I

2061
02:54:32,080 --> 02:54:39,120
don't have a great deal to update on uh
Sunset Ridge, but I will say at uh

2062
02:54:36,800 --> 02:54:42,479
Nutrier, uh you've probably noticed the
construction that's going on at the

2063
02:54:40,319 --> 02:54:47,040
Northfield campus. Uh they modernized
those outdoor facilities for athletic,

2064
02:54:44,399 --> 02:54:51,680
kinetic, wellness, and community use uh
because of an 11 million donation as

2065
02:54:49,600 --> 02:54:55,760
well as some additional district funds.
Um that will provide a lot of things,

2066
02:54:53,600 --> 02:54:59,920
some some things I've learned while it's
gone on, but the bleacher replacements,

2067
02:54:57,279 --> 02:55:04,960
the new stadium scoreboard, additional
accessibility, and a fitness path, which

2068
02:55:02,479 --> 02:55:09,520
I thought was kind of exciting. So, uh
at the WKA campus, there's new science

2069
02:55:07,040 --> 02:55:13,279
labs. Um and five more are under
construction. They've moved post high

2070
02:55:11,359 --> 02:55:18,240
school counseling to be most or more
accessible and uh they've changed some

2071
02:55:15,760 --> 02:55:21,279
of the security to make it uh more more
efficient.

2072
02:55:20,000 --> 02:55:26,080
There's a lot more if you want to read
their briefs.

2073
02:55:23,200 --> 02:55:28,720
If anyone wants I have a copy here.
>> Okay. Thank you.

2074
02:55:27,200 --> 02:55:30,399
» Nothing on planning and zoning this
month.

2075
02:55:29,279 --> 02:55:36,080
» Okay.
>> Uh park district, I have nothing. Uh,

2076
02:55:33,040 --> 02:55:43,920
Red Center, we're in the pro process of
starting our budget and hoping to have a

2077
02:55:38,880 --> 02:55:47,920
proposed budget by the end of next week
and then we will have budget

2078
02:55:45,279 --> 02:55:50,160
subcommittee meetings in October and
ready to go for approval. So,

2079
02:55:49,680 --> 02:55:52,640
» okay,
>> there we go.

2080
02:55:51,600 --> 02:55:57,680
dressy or
>> uh VOCA school update. We met they met

2081
02:55:54,640 --> 02:56:01,439
on August 20th and um they gave us a
really nice shout out for the centennial

2082
02:55:59,680 --> 02:56:04,960
and promoting that and helping us to
promote that with uh uh at their

2083
02:56:03,520 --> 02:56:09,840
meeting. So, thank you very much to the
VOCA school board for the shout out for

2084
02:56:06,720 --> 02:56:12,720
the centennial. Uh they're if you want
to go make it brief, go to their

2085
02:56:11,439 --> 02:56:16,880
website. There isn't really anything
special that's going on as far as

2086
02:56:14,880 --> 02:56:21,439
bizarre that we really have to cover.
Um, their next meeting is September 17th

2087
02:56:19,359 --> 02:56:26,560
at Marie Murphy at 6 o'clock.
Architectural did not meet in August.

2088
02:56:24,319 --> 02:56:31,120
Their next meeting is Monday, September
14th. Correct, Steve?

2089
02:56:28,399 --> 02:56:34,720
» Okay. And then the Centennial, I think
we talked about that plenty. Again,

2090
02:56:33,279 --> 02:56:38,319
thank you very much to everyone that
came. Thank you to all the businesses

2091
02:56:36,160 --> 02:56:43,200
and all the individual donors. It was a
huge success. We are planning the next

2092
02:56:39,840 --> 02:56:46,240
one coming up. So, um, be prepared for
that. Um, I had people say, "Why can't

2093
02:56:45,120 --> 02:56:50,720
we do this every year?" here. I said,
"Well, that's an awful lot to do the

2094
02:56:48,319 --> 02:56:56,640
101st, 102nd." But, uh, I think
hopefully Ribfest will take the next

2095
02:56:52,720 --> 02:57:03,359
level to that. Uh, also, uh, please join
us on Friday, September 11th at 8:30 at

2096
02:57:00,479 --> 02:57:08,160
the fire station to commemorate the 25th
unfortunate anniversary of 911. I know

2097
02:57:06,080 --> 02:57:13,359
the police and fire department and Tracy
and the village manager are working with

2098
02:57:10,160 --> 02:57:18,560
the fire chief to plan that. Uh, so that
was um, awesome. And then there's some

2099
02:57:15,920 --> 02:57:22,319
neat news with the police pension. I was
told the other day that they're

2100
02:57:19,760 --> 02:57:26,960
basically almost at 70% funding, which
is up from about 62 to 63% at their last

2101
02:57:25,520 --> 02:57:31,279
pension meeting. So the investments that
we've made, the extra money that we put

2102
02:57:29,120 --> 02:57:35,920
is helping that investment do much
better. So I think that that's a really

2103
02:57:33,520 --> 02:57:41,600
uh cool thing. And then also shout out
to the police department for hosting the

2104
02:57:38,319 --> 02:57:45,920
PD uh community rollouts. I think there
were five of them. I think I attended uh

2105
02:57:43,359 --> 02:57:48,560
four of them. They were awesome. Uh I
think you know some weren't as well

2106
02:57:47,279 --> 02:57:51,840
attended, but I think it's a great
program and I hopefully you can do that

2107
02:57:50,479 --> 02:57:55,680
again next summer. But there were some
really cool moments and it was great to

2108
02:57:53,600 --> 02:58:01,840
interact with the police department. So
thank you very much for that.

2109
02:57:59,120 --> 02:58:05,680
» Uh since our last meeting, the library
board has had two meetings. They had a

2110
02:58:03,520 --> 02:58:09,359
special meeting in early August to
discuss the JRB. I was not present

2111
02:58:07,760 --> 02:58:12,800
there. Patrick was there. I think you
guys know the result of that. If you

2112
02:58:11,200 --> 02:58:16,720
have any specific questions, Patrick can
probably answer it. And then last week

2113
02:58:14,560 --> 02:58:22,960
they had a regular meeting and of
relevance is their their understanding

2114
02:58:18,800 --> 02:58:27,520
or their hope is that um by October the
post office should have a response about

2115
02:58:25,359 --> 02:58:32,560
the what they want to do with respect to
the the library renovation and if you

2116
02:58:30,560 --> 02:58:38,080
know at that point they can continue
hopefully the their planning. So Patrick

2117
02:58:36,000 --> 02:58:40,960
maybe have more on that um in your
report but that's it. Northwest

2118
02:58:39,680 --> 02:58:44,080
Municipal Conference should have a
meeting in September. They're off the

2119
02:58:42,399 --> 02:58:48,560
summer and there should be a report for
that. Then

2120
02:58:46,479 --> 02:58:52,080
» no ZBA meeting in August, but we're
going to have a big time on September

2121
02:58:50,479 --> 02:58:57,359
2nd because there's four things on the
agenda. So, we've got some stuff coming

2122
02:58:53,920 --> 02:59:02,720
up for ZBA. Um, stop on by at 7 p.m.
>> Okay.

2123
02:58:58,960 --> 02:59:07,120
» Thank you. Um, the departmental reports
were provided in our packets. Do

2124
02:59:04,640 --> 02:59:10,520
trustees have any questions related to
those reports?

2125
02:59:10,640 --> 02:59:18,080
I I don't but I just want to say
something in in conjunction with the

2126
02:59:14,080 --> 02:59:24,479
centennial. The public works, police,
and fire were Johnny on the spot for

2127
02:59:21,200 --> 02:59:30,640
everything. And I I think we we take for
granted our essential services, but what

2128
02:59:27,760 --> 02:59:36,000
we have in Northfield is an amazing
group on all the from admin down to

2129
02:59:34,160 --> 02:59:38,800
police, fire, and public works. We're
we're very lucky. So, thank you guys.

2130
02:59:38,240 --> 02:59:42,319
Thank you.
>> Thank you.

2131
02:59:40,160 --> 02:59:44,880
» Okay, Greg, anything from the village
attorney perspective?

2132
02:59:43,359 --> 02:59:47,120
» No report tonight. Thank you.
>> Patrick, anything you'd like to report

2133
02:59:46,560 --> 02:59:51,120
on?
>> Just one thing. Uh, as some of you may

2134
02:59:49,200 --> 02:59:56,720
have heard, we had a high school student
struck at the uh cross near the crossing

2135
02:59:53,680 --> 03:00:03,120
on Waneka Road near the uh trail east of
Lagoon. Um, Dr. Dr. Tyos and I spoke on

2136
02:59:59,920 --> 03:00:06,479
Friday about uh that crossing and the
fact that it's a route to schools and

2137
03:00:04,960 --> 03:00:11,040
there are a lot of people cross there
and we had a discussion about the

2138
03:00:08,800 --> 03:00:15,040
potential for a rapid flashing beacon at
that intersection. I know we've got one

2139
03:00:13,120 --> 03:00:18,880
just west of there, but I wanted to
check to see with a group what your

2140
03:00:16,720 --> 03:00:22,319
thoughts are on us entertaining initial
discussions with the county about what

2141
03:00:20,880 --> 03:00:25,760
we could do for that crossing and
possibly the forest service district.

2142
03:00:24,000 --> 03:00:31,040
» Absolutely.
>> Yes. Okay. So, we'll get working on that

2143
03:00:28,399 --> 03:00:34,479
and uh despite a late afternoon Friday
outreach, he promised me that it

2144
03:00:32,720 --> 03:00:37,520
wouldn't be a bad news and it was not.
So, thank you.

2145
03:00:36,880 --> 03:00:40,000
» That is it.
>> All right.

2146
03:00:37,840 --> 03:00:45,840
» Quick quick question for for Patrick.
Um, as promised, I just wanted to for

2147
03:00:42,720 --> 03:00:49,760
you to give us an update on the sidewalk
potential sidewalk issue across from

2148
03:00:47,920 --> 03:00:54,080
Middlefork.
>> Sure. So, um, we recently received, uh,

2149
03:00:52,319 --> 03:00:58,800
preliminary plans on what their site
layout could be for the new school. Uh,

2150
03:00:56,640 --> 03:01:02,479
it looks like, and I'm looking for Steve
to give me a nod if I'm wrong, but a

2151
03:01:00,640 --> 03:01:07,439
significant change in the way that they
cue vehicles for school. Uh, which will

2152
03:01:05,920 --> 03:01:12,080
give us some different opportunities for
a midblock crossing, we believe, at that

2153
03:01:09,120 --> 03:01:15,520
intersection. It's still preliminary uh
but it's uh data that we're going to be

2154
03:01:13,760 --> 03:01:19,600
continuing to work with the schools on
and meet and talk about the possibility

2155
03:01:17,439 --> 03:01:22,960
for getting a midblock crossing in that
may not need to wait until the school

2156
03:01:21,680 --> 03:01:26,399
construction starts. Right.
>> So we may be able to work something out

2157
03:01:24,240 --> 03:01:31,439
sooner and I'm still chasing uh
Schroeder concrete on answers about um

2158
03:01:29,840 --> 03:01:34,640
their work in that proposed for that
area.

2159
03:01:32,720 --> 03:01:40,000
» And then is do you have an update from
the village standpoint on the post

2160
03:01:35,920 --> 03:01:46,240
office? Um, we finally have a contact at
the post office to help shepherd through

2161
03:01:43,760 --> 03:01:50,880
our request for consideration of a
temporary location for them and a

2162
03:01:47,760 --> 03:01:55,279
permanent location. Uh, the person has
the requested information that they had

2163
03:01:53,600 --> 03:02:00,640
asked me to send them and they just
haven't gotten me a response yet. Uh,

2164
03:01:57,200 --> 03:02:03,760
the last update I had from him was on
Thursday or Friday of last week and he

2165
03:02:02,319 --> 03:02:07,600
said I just hadn't had a chance to look
at it yet. So, I have a reminder on my

2166
03:02:06,000 --> 03:02:11,200
calendar every Monday to send him a
paying reminder. What's our status?

2167
03:02:10,000 --> 03:02:14,080
» I'll let you know as soon as I hear
more, but I'm keeping the executive

2168
03:02:12,720 --> 03:02:18,560
director of the library apprised when I
do have outreach.

2169
03:02:16,800 --> 03:02:23,200
» Do I I know he's not standing here
anymore, but you you have a new the

2170
03:02:21,439 --> 03:02:25,120
village has a new employee.
>> He's sitting right there.

2171
03:02:24,399 --> 03:02:28,399
» He's sitting right there.
>> Oh, there he is. See the

2172
03:02:26,960 --> 03:02:29,200
» Did you just walk in when I turned my
head?

2173
03:02:28,800 --> 03:02:32,960
» No.
>> Okay, great. Thank you.

2174
03:02:31,279 --> 03:02:38,160
I'd like to introduce Brett Stewart
who's uh just joined us on Monday uh

2175
03:02:36,319 --> 03:02:42,000
joins us from Colorado where he was an
assistant to the village manager there.

2176
03:02:40,080 --> 03:02:45,920
He'll be at the same title with us but
working on a much bigger scale as far as

2177
03:02:44,080 --> 03:02:49,920
assisting with special projects,
communication, economic development,

2178
03:02:48,319 --> 03:02:53,680
public works, you name it, he's going to
be the kind of jack of all trades for

2179
03:02:52,080 --> 03:02:57,439
helping us work through issues that come
in. And uh I'd like to thank you for

2180
03:02:55,920 --> 03:03:01,520
authorizing that position during the
budget last year. I think we've got a uh

2181
03:02:59,600 --> 03:03:06,640
a great find and he's already adding
great value.

2182
03:03:03,439 --> 03:03:10,240
» Thank you.
>> And Patrick, I want to clarify, people

2183
03:03:08,479 --> 03:03:14,479
were asking about that, but they forget
that we used to have an assistant

2184
03:03:11,920 --> 03:03:17,840
village manager years ago and during
monies that got tied or whatever wasn't

2185
03:03:16,160 --> 03:03:21,200
replaced. So, this isn't something new
to Northville. We've had an assistant

2186
03:03:19,840 --> 03:03:24,080
village manager, an assistant to the
village manager, which is, you know,

2187
03:03:22,560 --> 03:03:27,279
well overdue. We talked about this when
you were get hired. So, I'm glad to see

2188
03:03:25,520 --> 03:03:30,640
that we're moving forward and helping
you get additional staffing. That's

2189
03:03:29,279 --> 03:03:33,840
» much needed. Thank you.
>> Great.

2190
03:03:32,319 --> 03:03:39,200
Okay.
>> Anything else? Um, this concludes our

2191
03:03:37,600 --> 03:03:41,120
business for the evening. May I have a
motion and a

2192
03:03:40,000 --> 03:03:43,680
» So moved.
>> Second.

2193
03:03:42,319 --> 03:03:49,319
» All those in favor?
>> I opposed. Thank you everyone.