[0:00] this room. We have more space upstairs for additional people

[0:06] and everyone will have the opportunity to be

[0:10] called down here if they wish to make a comment before this committee.

[0:16] So, we have space upstairs for more folks.

[0:23] The occupancy limit is set by the fire marshall and we will comply with that

[0:27] occupancy limit. So, there's seating upstairs

[0:31] and you can submit a card and we'll we'll call your name when you're ready.

[9:30] Okay. Thank you everyone. I would like to call the village board meeting for

[9:35] Tuesday, August 25th, 2026 to order, please. Uh, deputy clerk,

[9:42] please call the role. or

[9:45] » here. Whitaker

[9:47] » here. >> Fowler,

[9:48] » here. Chelsea Gallen >> here.

[9:50] » Chessy Edis >> here.

[9:51] » Chessy Elfman >> here.

[9:53] » President Mendrich >> here.

[9:55] » Uh the first item on the agenda um is an employee recognition. Um Chief Hutenski,

[10:02] I understand you have something you'd like to share with us tonight.

[10:05] » Yes.

[10:10] » And while our two chiefs approach a podium and let me just explain a little

[10:13] bit of what we have here. This is an unusual capacity for this room. Uh we've

[10:17] taken a look at things to try to make things as safe as possible for everyone

[10:21] in here. So just so you're aware of it, there's an exit door here off to the

[10:24] side. There's an exit door over here that takes you directly outside. For

[10:28] those of you who are watching upstairs, there's an elevator and a staircase to

[10:32] get you the exit doors. We are keeping an eye on things to make sure we don't

[10:36] get in a situation where it's an unsafe situation for everybody, but right now

[10:40] everything's looking it's okay. And I really appreciate everybody being here

[10:43] to recognize our public safety officers. Chief, go ahead.

[10:50] » Thank you. >> Thank you, President Menret. Uh, Chief

[10:53] Mix and I are honored to be here tonight to recognize the incredible efforts of

[10:57] our co-workers. On the evening of July 3rd, Northfield officers were dispatched

[11:01] to a report of a subject attempting to take their own life. Based on the nature

[11:05] of the call, the police watch commander requested that the fire rescue

[11:08] department also respond to the scene and staged nearby until officers were able

[11:12] to ensure that the scene was safe. Officer Michael McGary was the first

[11:16] officer to arrive and he was able to quickly get access to the building via

[11:20] an unlocked door. Once inside the building, Officer McGary located the

[11:24] victim and took immediate action to intervene and stop the attempt. At this

[11:28] time, the victim was not breathing and had no pulse.

[11:34] Fire rescue personnel from Engine and Nameless 29 which included myself, fire

[11:40] medic Luke Lapki, fire medic Jeff Leelssa, fire EMT Frank Cambria,

[11:48] paramedic firefighter Kyle Tuttle, and fire medic David Steel entered the

[11:52] scene. Once we received that the scene was safe from the police department, we

[11:57] began immediate advanced life support and critical care measures. After

[12:02] several minutes, the victim's pulse and had been restored.

[12:07] He was quickly packaged and we began our transport to the hospital. While on

[12:12] route to the hospital, he became pulseless again and the fire rescue

[12:16] personnel were able to continue life-saving measures and restore a pulse

[12:20] for the second time. The emergency room met us on the uh

[12:25] approach ramp with their staff and they were advised that we had a critical

[12:30] patient and they were prepared and waiting as we pulled in. Through

[12:35] immediate advanced lifesaving care given by the first responders and progressive

[12:40] hospital intervention, the patient was reported to have been treated and

[12:44] released after their hospital stay. The patient is now continuing their recovery

[12:48] journey. This incident is a prime example of the way coordination between

[12:54] first responders and specialized medical care can be critical for life-saving

[12:58] outcomes. The rapid actions, seamless communications, and exceptional care

[13:02] provided at every stage were instrumental in saving the victim's

[13:05] life.

[13:41] chiefs. Thank you very much.

[13:46] Uh the next order of business um I am going to pass on the village president's

[13:51] report at this point. I have some comments to make later in the evening.

[13:54] Um the next order of business is public comment and I will tell you that this is

[13:59] the not the public comment related to TIFF. That will happen when we open the

[14:05] public hearing. And I would encourage you if you intend to speak on that topic

[14:11] that you fill out one of these forms that Melissa has here at the end of the

[14:16] table and I think Brett has upstairs so that we can get you in the queue. I will

[14:21] call these names when we get to this segment uh three at a time so

[14:25] everybody's here in the room ready to speak so we can move things along. Uh

[14:29] and anyone who's coming from upstairs if you hear your name called you can make

[14:33] your way downstairs. Um, so if anyone has anything they'd like to comment on

[14:39] outside of TIFF, you're welcome to um approach the podium at this time.

[14:46] Otherwise, I'll move on. >> Okay, great. Uh, the next item of

[14:53] business is the approval of bills and dispersements from July of 2026.

[14:58] May I have a motion to approve the bills and dispersements from July 1st, 2026

[15:04] through July 31st, 2026? >> So moved.

[15:08] » Second. >> Okay. Patrick, are there any items you

[15:12] wish to point out? >> Thank you. Not this month.

[15:14] » Okay. Any comments or questions from the board

[15:18] or comments or questions from the public?

[15:22] Okay. Deputy Chief, please call the role.

[15:25] » Trusty Ort. >> Yes.

[15:26] » Trusty Whitaker. Yes. >> Trusty Fowler.

[15:28] » Yes. >> Trusty Gallen.

[15:30] » Yes. >> Trusty Edis.

[15:31] » Yes. >> Alman.

[15:33] » Yes. >> Motion carries.

[15:35] » Okay. Thank you. The next item on the agenda is the omnibus vote for the

[15:39] consent agenda items. Um this is the section of our agenda where

[15:45] one vote can be called to approve a number of items. Are there any items

[15:49] that any board member would like to have removed from the consent agenda for

[15:53] discussion? Okay. Hearing none. Uh, will the deputy

[15:58] clerk please read the consent agenda items into the record?

[16:03] There are four items. The first is the approval of the minutes from July 21st,

[16:06] 2026. The second is the ratification of the purchase of fire turnout gear from

[16:11] Conway Shield in the amount of $26,114.

[16:16] The third is the authorization to execute an agreement with Gualt Hamilton

[16:20] for construction management services for the 2026 asphalt program. And the fourth

[16:26] is the adoption of an ordinance waving the formal bidding process authorizing

[16:31] disposal and authorizing a contract with Silverstar Technology of Rolling

[16:35] Meadows, Illinois for a security camera system in the amount of $17,852.

[16:43] May I have a motion and a second? >> Motion to approve the consent agenda.

[16:46] » Second. >> Any comments or questions from the

[16:49] board? >> Deputy Clerk, please call the role.

[16:54] » Trusty Orth. Yes. Whitaker.

[16:57] » Yes. Fowler.

[16:58] » Yes. >> Gallon.

[17:00] » Yes. >> Pussyas.

[17:01] » Yes. >> Elfman.

[17:03] » Yes. >> Motion carries.

[17:05] » Okay. The next item of business is to conduct

[17:11] uh a public hearing for the proposed village center tax incremental financing

[17:17] district. May I have a motion and a second to open the public hearing?

[17:22] » So moved. >> Second. All those in favor?

[17:26] » I >> opposed.

[17:30] Okay. I am calling to order the public hearing for the village center tiff at

[17:35] 7:13 p.m. on August 25th, 2026. I will stop here again and remind you if

[17:43] that you would like to make comments, you need to fill out a comment card so

[17:47] that we can call your name and you can come to the podium and make your

[17:52] statements. Um you can also decide at some point in the evening that you don't

[17:57] wish to make comments. Um if if you don't come to the podium, we'll move on.

[18:02] And I would encourage you um we know that this is an important issue and if

[18:08] you we are going to stay to the three minute uh time frame because I already

[18:14] have this many comment cards. So I would like to try to keep us to that uh

[18:19] number. But I have a couple of things that I want to say before we get started

[18:23] tonight. As we open this public hearing, I want to convey some thoughts about

[18:28] what will happen here tonight. Northfield residents have always been

[18:33] able to come together and talk about issues gracefully and with mutual

[18:37] respect for all opinions. I hope that those who are here tonight can continue

[18:42] that tradition as we move through these proceedings.

[18:46] I also want to be clear about something. Our schools are important to this

[18:51] village and so is a vibrant downtown. This isn't a choice between the two. We

[18:58] want Northfield to have both excellent schools for our families can be proud of

[19:03] and a village center that's alive with businesses, restaurants, and places for

[19:08] neighbors to gather. That's the Northfield we're all working toward. And

[19:13] it is with that lens that we will be approaching tonight's discussion.

[19:18] I want to reiterate what I said in an email I sent to residents this

[19:22] afternoon. We are working with the three affected school districts to negotiate

[19:27] an agreement that supports both our students and our villages needs. There

[19:33] have been three meetings between the superintendent and the village to date

[19:38] and this morning we received the first draft of an intergovernmental agreement

[19:42] based on those conversations. We have not yet had the chance to

[19:47] thoroughly review the draft, but we are at the table with our partners at the

[19:52] schools working in good faith toward an agreement that serves the interest of

[19:57] both the schools and the village. I'll be honest, reaching that agreement

[20:03] will likely require some compromise on both sides and it may be uncomfortable

[20:08] at times, but that's the work of good governance and it's work we're committed

[20:14] to seeing through. With that, Greg, would you please provide an overview of

[20:20] the process for this evening?

[20:27] » I'll borrow your microphone. Thank you, Pre. President Mendrich. Um, yes. So,

[20:30] the the TIFF Act establishes a number of steps the village must take when

[20:34] considering whether to uh create a TI district. The village has taken many of

[20:38] these steps over the course of the past few months, including evaluating the

[20:42] properties in the TIF district, analyzing the eligibility of those

[20:45] properties under the TIFF Act, preparing an eligibility report and redevelopment

[20:49] plan, creating an interested parties registry, making the plan available to

[20:52] the public, setting a public hearing date. This happened back in June. That's

[20:56] why everyone is here this evening. uh and convening the joint review board

[20:59] which is comprised of representatives from each of the taxing districts. Uh

[21:03] the JRB met twice, once in July and then once earlier this month to review the

[21:07] proposed tiff district and related documents. That brings us to tonight the

[21:11] public hearing. The hearing serves a couple of purposes. First, it allows the

[21:16] village board to review the proposed redevelopment plan and project, which is

[21:19] the TIFF proposal, and evaluate whether or not the proposal is consistent with

[21:23] the TIFF Act standards and criteria. Uh the village's tiff consultant Caitlyn

[21:28] Johnson with SB Freriedman will present on that topic in a couple of minutes. Uh

[21:32] but the public hearing also provides the public an opportunity uh to provide the

[21:36] board with feedback concerning the proposed tip district. As well to be

[21:40] clear, the village board is not voting on the tiff district proposal tonight.

[21:45] There are three ordinances that the board ultimately must consider if there

[21:49] were if they were to approve a tiff district and those are not on tonight's

[21:52] agenda. Instead, the public hearing tonight is an opportunity for further

[21:56] dialogue concerning the proposed TIFF district and all interested parties uh

[22:00] and there are many will have an opportunity to address the board during

[22:03] the hearing. After public comment is concluded, the board may consider

[22:07] closing the public hearing. Once the hearing has been closed, the TIFF act

[22:12] provides a time frame during which the ordinances necessary to establish the

[22:15] tiff district can be presented to the board for consideration. That time frame

[22:19] is between 14 and and 90 days after the hearing is closed. I'll now turn it over

[22:26] to Caitlyn Johnson with SB Freriedman uh to discuss the eligibility findings and

[22:31] the redevelopment.

[22:38] Okay. So, um

[22:43] we're we're not we're not quite ready. Um, I think the first thing before we

[22:48] get into SB Freriedman's report, I'm sure all of you have um heard us talk

[22:53] about this or me talk about this, but the goals and vision for this um this

[22:58] area um we have concerns that um our village um is not performing as we might

[23:07] have hoped. We have a 47,000 square foot empty storefront in our buil in our

[23:13] village. Um, we are looking for a vibrant, walkable, um, downtown that is

[23:21] a safe place for our families to gather and students to gather and and for

[23:29] residents to really be able to come together and enjoy our community. Um,

[23:34] the vision that I see in my head is a vibrant uh former Mariano space um with

[23:42] the Skoi Valley Trail adjacent to it with a brand new library um sitting

[23:49] where it currently sits with a brand new post office and um having streetscapes

[23:56] and having a HAP road that has safe crossings for residents. So when we talk

[24:03] about our vision, those are the things that we're talking about. We have also

[24:08] um as as many of you know gone back and reaffirmed the uh 2040 comprehensive

[24:15] plan that a group of residents put together. Um it does talk about some of

[24:19] the things that I have already discussed. Um but you when the HAP road

[24:24] committee got together and did their work on what a new HAP road could look

[24:28] like um uh Francisco Gonzalez Pledo who is a a resident and a renowned architect

[24:36] um put together some drawings because we think that sometimes people need visuals

[24:41] and not just words. So, I wanted to just share some of the visions that he came

[24:45] up with for Hap Road, but I think that they uh piqued all of our interest in

[24:50] trying to create a downtown that that has uh you know, again, dedicated

[24:56] walking paths, places that people can cross the streets safely to get to and

[25:01] from our businesses. Um, again, another view of what could be

[25:08] um our downtown. This is not to say that this is what we will have, but just some

[25:13] visuals of what a new downtown for Northfield could look like.

[25:20] Um, again, I mentioned the library. This is the initial design for the library.

[25:25] Um, it is a gateway into our community from Willow Road and HAP. Uh, that

[25:32] sidewalk that you see there coming off the left of the screen goes all the way

[25:36] out to Willow Road. creates an entry into our village there as well. The

[25:41] library is on the east side. The post office sits on the west side and the

[25:47] connecting building on top is is more of library space that they can use for

[25:53] other programming. Um some people have asked me why we need a new library and

[25:58] frankly um the library came to us and said we need more space. we can't do the

[26:03] programming we'd like to in Northfield and we have committed to working with

[26:07] the library to to create that new space. Um it's you or me. Um

[26:16] I want to talk a little bit about our empty storefront. Um which is a concern

[26:22] I think for everyone. We've heard from all um walks of life in Northfield that

[26:27] they'd like to have a grocery store. Uh as we all know that the owner has had

[26:32] trouble finding a tenant for the full building. Um they are now in a position

[26:38] where they are talking to tenants that would be a ger in one half of the

[26:43] building, an adult beverage in the other half of the building as well as an

[26:48] outlot um across from the the current bank. So up against Willow Road.

[26:56] They have indicated to us that they can't make the deal work without some

[27:00] help from the village. Um and that is really where we are with them right now.

[27:07] There are expenses like dividing the building site prep and improvements that

[27:12] um they are beginning well not beginning that they have been looking at that are

[27:16] costly. Um, I don't think that anybody uh in this room probably doesn't know

[27:22] that there have been environmental issues on that site that that everybody

[27:26] has heard about by now, which are a concern for uh any tenant that moves

[27:31] into that space. So you couple that with the library again site conditions there

[27:38] um the the curse of of being a village that's built along rail lines is that

[27:44] there are site conditions that you have to deal with. Uh and then there is the

[27:49] HAP road redesign that we talked about earlier this evening that includes um

[27:55] redesign of the space, construction costs, things that have been put on hold

[28:00] um with federal funding and state funding because we weren't prepared to

[28:04] move forward with the project of a few years ago. As um you all know that was a

[28:10] an important conversation that we all had together. Uh and then the other

[28:14] thing is water manes, sewers, sidewalks, lighting, things like that. Water manes

[28:19] are not the most exciting topic in the world, but uh the fact of the matter is

[28:23] that there are water manes in this area, this tiff district, potential tiff tiff

[28:28] district that need to be repaired. Um those can run anywhere from $1.5 million

[28:35] up to $2 million depending on the size of the water man and how much pipe needs

[28:40] to be replaced. Um, so these are all costs related to our downtown village

[28:48] center right now that we're aware of. And as I said, these are just inside the

[28:54] proposed TIFF district. Um, we talk about sources of revenue for

[29:00] the village. I want to put a I just want to make sure that people understand

[29:05] where this board is on that consideration. Um,

[29:10] I'll I'll Patrick, you can jump in on a couple of things, but I want to just

[29:14] talk about property taxes because many of you in this room were involved in in

[29:19] the um home rule initiative that this village took on some years ago. Um, home

[29:24] rule, as you know, allows us to work outside of some of the um the sweeping

[29:34] um legislation that Springfield passes. And so they often pass legislation that

[29:41] does not require home rule communities to participate. And when we did that, I

[29:47] was the co-chair of that committee. Kathy Esesterbrook, who's sitting in the

[29:50] room, was very involved in it. uh we asked the sitting board at the time to

[29:55] promise that they would never raise property taxes above the CPI which no

[30:00] board has done previously and which this board does not intend to do either. So,

[30:07] um, a few other things that are possible ways to raise some money, taxes, fees,

[30:14] permits, um, water rates, but I'm going to let Patrick give you some of the nuts

[30:19] and bolts of some of those topics as we move along here. So, Patrick, please.

[30:23] » Thank you. That's a list of the typical revenue sources that you'd see a village

[30:27] normally, the levers they would pull to raise additional revenue. There are a

[30:31] couple of other special things that the board has looked at and that are

[30:34] available to to villages that are home rule communities. A special service

[30:38] area, you may heard of that. It's a way to levy additional property taxes on a

[30:43] set area that puts an additional property tax burden on for a period of

[30:48] time, but used to pay to fund a particular project. You often hear of it

[30:52] in Northfield for many of the private lanes. they will ask for a special

[30:57] service area to be applied so they can repave a roadway or rebuild a roadway

[31:01] and then pay for that over a period of time. In this example, it doesn't work

[31:05] well for the village because we're looking at working on an area that's

[31:08] already not doing well financially. To levy an additional property tax on the

[31:13] area would not be helpful for our goals. So, we looked at property tax rebate.

[31:17] That is rebating directly to the taxpayer amount of their property taxes.

[31:23] It's unlimited value to us because the village portion of the total tax bill is

[31:28] only about 12%. So that isn't a a big incentive for most people. Another

[31:33] option is something called a business development district. It is the

[31:37] application of an additional tax like a sales tax on top of retail sales or

[31:44] hotel uh uh room rentals. It is an additional re revenue source, but it

[31:50] generally works well in areas that have high retail capacity or activity. For

[31:55] example, an outdoor mall area. That's something that would raise a significant

[31:59] number of funds for a village. Here, not so effective. Very similarly, sales tax

[32:05] rebate is you can work deals to have rebates going back to those that are

[32:10] collecting the sales tax as a way to incentivize growth or location in the

[32:14] village. Additional options were raised to us

[32:19] were Cook County 6B and 7B. You see the information there. Uh 6B is primarily

[32:24] for industrial use. So that wouldn't work. 7B may have limited application

[32:29] but again that lowers the overall EAV for that property for a period of time.

[32:35] So it actually is harmful to many of the districts because it lowers their

[32:38] capacity. And then as president mentioned uh Mrick mentioned uh raising

[32:43] property taxes is an option. We are in the ballpark of our neighbors, which is

[32:47] a competitive advantage because we're not in a high uh property tax area that

[32:53] helps people relocate here. So, we're we're in line. It's the last resort, but

[32:59] the next option looked at and it was something mentioned in the comprehensive

[33:02] plan is a tax increment financing district. I see a number of familiar

[33:07] faces in the room tonight, a number of new faces, so I won't go into a lot of

[33:11] detail on this. You can read the slide probably in the amount of time I've

[33:15] talked so far. This is something that the board has looked at as a fiscally

[33:20] smart move to be able to minimize the impact on everyone yet raise the

[33:24] greatest amount of potential benefit to achieve the village's goals.

[33:29] The board has full oversight on the expenditures of how those funds are used

[33:34] and they've looked at the estimated impact and for a $500,000 home. If we in

[33:39] raise that increment that value about $5 million, it's a $38 impact on the home.

[33:44] That's one of the many questions we received from residents about what is

[33:48] this potentially going to do to us. Later in uh the presentations today,

[33:52] we'll address a number of the other questions that have come in. However,

[33:57] with tiff districts, almost universally when a village is looking at it, the

[34:01] school districts raise concerns and they've got valid concerns about how's

[34:06] this tiff district going to impact them because when they look at new growth,

[34:10] they want to figure out what's the impact and to help present some of that

[34:15] information. I think Dr. Tyos, were you planning on presenting tonight?

[34:20] » Please. Thank you. >> And Melissa, if you'd ceue up their

[34:23] presentation, please. >> Thanks, Melissa. Before

[34:28] we get further into the presentation, if anyone is planning to speak tonight,

[34:33] we're going to swear everybody in all at once so we don't have to do this 35 or

[34:37] 40 times. So, uh, if you could just raise your right hand if you're planning

[34:39] to speak tonight. Repeat after or and just affirm that this is correct. Do you

[34:44] hereby affirm the testimony you provide tonight is the truth, the whole truth,

[34:47] and nothing but the truth? >> Yes.

[34:51] » You're sworn in. Thank you. Thank you.

[34:56] Thank you so much. Thank you. Please go ahead.

[35:00] » Thank you. Um I'm Peter Trigos. I'm proud superintendent at Nutri and I'm

[35:03] also a proud Northfield resident for the last 25 years as well. So um I will

[35:08] share a brief part of this and turn it over to Chris Johnson who's the deputy

[35:11] superintendent at Nutrier. Um and then uh I'll close out as as well here. So

[35:17] President Mendick, thank you for making time for the school districts on your

[35:20] agenda. We appreciate it. It's uh not only a packed house, but it's a packed

[35:23] agenda. So, we do appreciate uh making time for us on the agenda. In this short

[35:27] presentation, we will summarize our consultants um report, Joe Psky's

[35:32] report. It's a report that we've submitted to village trustees and that

[35:35] we've shared and that we've also submitted to the JRB as well. Um he was

[35:39] unable to attend due to a prior conf uh commitment. So, Chris and I will share

[35:44] that today. we'd like to present a highle summary of his findings and we'd

[35:48] also like to share um what the impact is on the three school districts and ask

[35:52] you to all consider that in your deliberations uh this evening and

[35:55] throughout the process. So um you know first and foremost it's important to

[35:59] state and we've said this in every meeting we've been in to to to agree on

[36:03] and share here. It's important to state that we have a shared interest in a

[36:06] vibrant uh central business district in Northfield and our other uh uh uh

[36:11] villages throughout the township as well. and we appreciate the respect and

[36:14] civil service that you all provide to the village and volunteering your time

[36:19] um in this. So, thank you and we understand what those roles are and how

[36:22] important they are. I also want to echo President Mendri's uh comments at the

[36:25] beginning of this um opening agenda about the mutual interests. We do indeed

[36:29] have mutual interests. We may have differences and we can talk about those

[36:32] differences and share those. But honestly, we have some shared mutual

[36:35] interest that you'll see here a bit to today. um really through through this is

[36:41] um we share those interests and you know we're we're you're investing in your

[36:45] infrastructure and and modernizing your central business district and we

[36:48] understand that we're investing in our infrastructure too and modernizing for

[36:52] the same people in the village here and also throughout the township. So so we

[36:56] get it um we agree on the problem and also have said we agree on the problem

[37:01] however we disagree on the solution right now. Um and that is we support

[37:05] development. It's good for all of us. We do not support the TIFF as a mechanism

[37:09] for that redevelopment, especially as we start to see resoning starting to turn

[37:12] that flywheel. Perhaps not as fast as others think, but we think it's an um a

[37:17] viable opportunity to do so. So, again, we're starting to see some of that here.

[37:21] We know that we may see that differently, but want to recognize that

[37:24] it's starting to bring some development here to our village. We'll um talk a bit

[37:29] about the summary report and recognizing again that you see this. We believe in

[37:33] strong villages um as well uh or excuse me in up these projections from the

[37:37] strong villages to what you've started to project in the village this $175

[37:41] million set of needs for redevelopment. We've seen that and we understand what

[37:45] those needs are and you've laid those out as well. Those are needed

[37:48] redevelopment costs and we recognize that the village is also you know as you

[37:52] start to look at this implementing a funding mechanism though however that

[37:55] could generate up to three times what the stated revenue is needed in that our

[37:59] consultant Joe Pvki you've seen the report estimates that tiff could

[38:03] generate on the low side you see this in the middle projected incremental um

[38:07] gains of $253 million on the low end and on the medium end up to $459

[38:13] um million. These projections and the formulas that yield these projections

[38:18] were also shared with SB Freriedman. You're and we you know we were an open

[38:22] book in showing our work on this and we appreciate the collaborations with that

[38:26] with and these estimates are without objection from SB Freriedman. So these

[38:29] are the potential um uh revenues to to be uh yielded through uh the TIFF

[38:35] district here. So, based on these projections, a 23-year TIFF um not only

[38:39] exceeds the project cost of $175 million, but will likely exceed the

[38:43] village's annual general fund revenue over that same time period as well. So,

[38:48] something for you all to consider in that. Um from here, I would like to turn

[38:52] it over to Chris Johnson um at this point and then um pick it up.

[38:57] » Thank you. A pleasure to be here tonight to speak again on on the TIFF. So, the

[39:00] headline here is the significant financial impact on school districts.

[39:04] One of the reasons school districts are typically concerned about tiffs is that

[39:08] we're primarily funded through local property tax dollars. In the case of our

[39:12] school districts, about 90% of our revenue with a small amount of funding

[39:15] from the state, about 2% small amount of funding from federal government, about

[39:19] 2% as well. So substantial money if a tiff was created could be diverted from

[39:24] our school districts over the life of the tiff. This is potential new property

[39:27] revenue in excess of our levy. These estimates uh you see on the screen are

[39:31] based on assumptions compiled by our consultant who Peter mentioned earlier

[39:35] or retained by the school districts that uses assumptions included in the

[39:38] villages plan and tiff study. So you see uh that low reassessment value

[39:43] potentially 150 million in new property diverted from the three school districts

[39:46] at a medium uh reassessment failure of 4% about 169 million over the life of a

[39:51] 23-year tiff.

[39:56] We have relied on new property as school as we call it uh to supplement our levy

[40:01] beyond inflation. Our annual increase for that 90% of our revenue is capped at

[40:06] the consumer price index the inflation number from the prior year. New

[40:10] construction really is the only increase for us beyond that. And in the case of

[40:13] nutrier specifically has been vital to avoid an operating rate referendum for

[40:17] 23 years. We last did an operating rate referendum in 2003 and made a 5-year

[40:21] commitment not to have one. Now we're at 23 years in large part due to that new

[40:26] property revenue which just brought us a little bit more each year than CPI.

[40:30] Another factor that is important especially for a district like Nutrier

[40:33] is that the value of property increase as the value of property increases in

[40:37] the tiff zone school districts continue to levy the same amount. Meaning over

[40:41] that time residents outside the tiff zone will pay more for school district

[40:45] taxes. So particularly for Nutrier who serves Wat Gleno Wka all the other

[40:50] communities each of those uh residents will pay a little bit more in their

[40:54] property tax bill as the EAV is frozen properties in the tiff zone and that

[41:00] incremental revenue goes to the tiff fund.

[41:05] As Patrick mentioned earlier there are other mechanisms available that can

[41:09] generate funds for improvement such as the special service area bond. We

[41:12] understand there are concerns about using some of these mechanisms, but

[41:16] these mechanisms do exist and they could generate some revenue, potentially not

[41:20] as much as the tiff. TIFF is one option, but there are others as well.

[41:27] Schools have been responsible stewards of our finances and maintain fund

[41:31] balances, which are essentially our savings accounts. These allow us to

[41:34] continue to fund our operations as revenue is distributed to us two times

[41:38] per year when tax bills are issued or they say in Cook County lately if tax

[41:42] bills are issued. Uh funds have been critical during delays and property tax

[41:46] payments. While we know the gross dollar amounts have been presented previously,

[41:50] it's the context that matters. How many months of expenditures they fund, which

[41:55] averages about seven or eight months for our school district. So when you look at

[41:58] last year when property tax bills were six months late, having these reserves

[42:02] was a vital lifeline for our school districts to continue to pay our

[42:05] teachers, to continue to uh offer our programs and operate our facilities

[42:09] without using highcost borrowing.

[42:15] The school districts believe that development is already occurring. School

[42:19] districts respectfully disagree with the eligibility finding. The tiff shifts

[42:23] costs to residents outside the tiff zone. We believe the loss of new

[42:27] property growth is significant for school districts and the scale may be

[42:31] larger than the vill's identified needs of 175 million. Uh I'll turn it over to

[42:37] Peter, but I I I want to just share my thanks to to the village board for their

[42:40] service and to Patrick who's been just a wonderful partner in this and we

[42:44] appreciate the collaboration uh even though we see uh things a bit

[42:48] differently. So uh thank you for your service and Patrick thank you for all

[42:52] you're doing in this process and I'll turn it over to Peter.

[42:58] I'll close here. Um almost where we started with a tiff and

[43:02] intergovernmental agreement here. Um you know our position on the tiff. I think

[43:06] we've made it clear here and in our in our forums. Uh we advocate for a

[43:10] non-piff non-tiff path uh to a vibrant downtown uh Northfield and central

[43:16] business district. However, school um however, if the village moves forward

[43:19] with a tiff, uh we want to stay engaged in these discussions between the village

[43:24] and the school districts to develop an IGA um to meet both needs here. An IGA

[43:30] can lessen but it cannot completely mitigate the impact on schools. You

[43:33] heard the impact right here. Uh the long range impact on schools is significant.

[43:37] um and an IGA in the best of terms and continue our collaborations um we can

[43:42] indeed lessen those and we we ask the village uh not to approve it with with

[43:47] um without an IGA in place. So if that's your going forward really you know the

[43:51] the ask here is if you're going to continue to do that or this is the path

[43:54] you pursue we ask that that go hand inand with an IGA and that would be our

[43:58] our ask and again we you see here in our last statement a vibrant community and

[44:02] strong villages and strong schools. Thank you very much.

[44:05] » Thank you.

[44:16] So, um, while our representative from SB Freedom approaches the podium, I just

[44:21] wanted to point out the joint review board that was chaired by Dr. Chris

[44:24] Johnson, uh, voted against recommending the tiff district for the village. So

[44:29] you've re the village board has received a copy of their minutes that indicate

[44:33] that that was their reasoning for saying no and that articulated their reasons

[44:37] for forwarding a negative recommendation. At this time some of you

[44:41] that have been here you may recommend or may recognize that this does not look

[44:45] anything like Kait Caitlyn from SP Freriedman. Uh Caitlyn had something

[44:49] happen that was totally outside of her control that she's unable to attend this

[44:52] evening and uh we've been lucky enough to have um Karen step up and take the

[44:58] lead for us. >> Wonderful. Thank you.

[45:00] » So Melissa, if you bring up their presentation, please

[45:04] » and you you'll advance the slides. >> Can you please see?

[45:10] » Yes. >> Pull it forward.

[45:17] All right. I'll go ahead and get started. Thank you all for your time

[45:20] this evening. As Patrick mentioned,

[45:25] my name is Karen K, which will be evident on the slide in a moment.

[45:31] I'll go ahead and get the introduction started. My name is Karen Kay. I'm a

[45:33] senior vice president with SB Friedman. I am accompanied in the wings by Ryd

[45:37] Bose, a partner with SB Friedman. And um we are standing in for Caitlyn Johnson,

[45:41] who unfortunately couldn't be here. As I believe many are familiar, SB Freebin is

[45:45] a consulting firm based out of Chicago that specializes in public private

[45:48] partnerships, special district designations, underwriting, um, economic

[45:53] development and housing related matters. Uh, and this evening we're going to

[45:57] focus on the statutory requirements for TIFF districts. So, we'll walk through

[46:01] the eligibility factors and the required findings and tests to demonstrate uh,

[46:06] the conditions within the proposed redevelopment project area. I will start

[46:10] with an overview of the proposed project area. The district includes 141 10-digit

[46:16] parcels. It accounts for 106 acres and 76 primary structures. The parcels are a

[46:23] combination of 25 improved parcels. Two vacant parcels and 14 parcels that are

[46:28] right-of-way. Right-of-way parcels are not included in eligibility analysis.

[46:32] And so we'll only be focused on the improved and the vacant properties

[46:35] within the proposed district. Right now, the district, as many folks know, is a

[46:40] mix of vacant, commercial, industrial, mixed use, uh, public, open space,

[46:44] rightway, and utility related properties.

[46:48] As I said, I'm going to focus on the statutory eligibility and requirements

[46:53] for TIFF designations per the Illinois TIFF Act. There are different

[46:57] requirements for improved parcels versus vacant parcels. And I'll start with the

[47:01] improved parcels. Improved parcels must have 50% of buildings which are at least

[47:07] 35 years old or older and at least three eligibility factors of the myriad

[47:12] available uh present across the district. We have to find district

[47:16] factors meaningfully present and reasonably distributed across the entire

[47:19] boundary of a proposed district. Um, and based on our both desktop and fieldwork

[47:25] research, we found that 89% of primary buildings within the proposed RPA are at

[47:30] least 35 years old. And there are four documented eligibility factors present

[47:34] in the district. Those are lack of growth in EAV, which I'll talk through

[47:37] in a moment, the presence of structures below minimum code standards, inadequate

[47:41] utilities, and deterioration of both site and structures. for vacant

[47:46] properties within the district. As I said, we have to find eligibility for at

[47:49] least two factors present within the district. Those that were found include

[47:54] lack of growth in EAV, which is a standalone criteria um from the improved

[47:58] factors, and then also deterioration of structures or site improvements in

[48:02] neighboring areas adjacent to the vacant land.

[48:07] So, I'll go into a little bit more detail on the EAV standards per the act.

[48:11] Per the TIFF act, there are three different mechanisms or pathways to

[48:15] demonstrate lack of growth in EAV and BIFF eligible. The first is an overall

[48:20] decline in EAV in three of the last five calendar years. The second is an

[48:25] increase in EAV at a rate less than the balance of the village as a whole. And

[48:29] the third is an increase in the district EAV at a rate lower than CPI for at

[48:35] least three of the last five year-over-year periods. The proposed RPA

[48:39] meets the criteria for the the comparison relative to the village as a

[48:43] whole for four of the last five year-over-year periods. And it meets the

[48:48] criteria for growth slower than this than CPI for three of the last five

[48:52] year-over-year periods.

[48:56] I'll now walk through just at a high level a few of the other statutory

[49:00] findings that are required to designate a TIFF district and then I'll go into

[49:03] greater detail on three of them. There must be lack of growth from private

[49:08] investment in any tiff district that is proposed. You must make the but for

[49:12] finding which is that development would not happen but for a tiff district.

[49:16] Parcels must be must be contiguous. A proposed district must be in conformance

[49:20] with plans of the village. That the village must certify that there will not

[49:24] be resident displacement or conduct a housing study and there must be an

[49:28] identified date of completion. The village um has found that private

[49:33] investment has not produced sustained areawide redevelopment as evidenced by a

[49:38] limited new construction activity and lagging EAV growth in the proposed

[49:42] district. The redevelopment objectives of the plan would not reasonably be

[49:46] achieved without public assistance as discussed um by the village president

[49:50] due to extraordinary infrastructure costs, the age of buildings and

[49:54] condition of buildings. The RPA consists of contiguous parcels that will benefit

[49:59] substantially upon implementation of the redevelopment plan. The redevelopment

[50:03] plan conforms to and promotes land uses and objectives identified in the village

[50:07] of Northfield's vision 240 comprehensive plan. The village has certified that no

[50:12] resident displacement will occur as a result of activities pursuant to the

[50:16] redevelopment plan and the plan is estimated to be completed no later than

[50:20] December 31st, 2050.

[50:25] As I said, I'll go into a couple of these criteria a little bit more

[50:29] specifically as it relates to lack of private investment. Uh that finding the

[50:33] TIFF Act requires that a municipality finds the redevelopment project area on

[50:38] the whole has not been subject to growth and development through investment by

[50:41] private enterprise and would not reasonably be anticipated to be

[50:45] developed without the adoption of a redevelopment plan. As has been

[50:49] mentioned, private investment has been isolated and limited in scope across the

[50:53] proposed redevelopment project area and um the district overall lags in EAV

[50:59] growth. When we look at the most recent year's performance from 2019 to 2024,

[51:05] there was only 15% EAV growth over that 5-year period, which lagged cumulative

[51:10] inflation uh and only accounts for about a 2.8% compound annual growth rate.

[51:16] Since 2021, there have only been major improvements, uh, building permits

[51:21] exceeding 100,000 on nine of 141 parcels across the district. And there have only

[51:27] been two proposed projects, one 12-unit condominium project and one proposed 92

[51:32] unit multif family project. Collectively, those two projects do not

[51:35] demonstrate sustained areawide private investment. And therefore, SB Freeman

[51:40] found that the lack of private investment finding was met.

[51:45] Switching gears to the second half of that same statement within the tiff act

[51:49] that private investment would not reasonably be anticipated to be

[51:52] developed uh with without the adoption of the redevelopment plans. This is the

[51:58] but for case that we talked about earlier that development and investment

[52:01] would not occur but for the implementation of a tiff district.

[52:05] Again, the documented extraordinary costs both in the TIFF plan and as

[52:09] spoken to this evening uh indicate that the plan identified uh by the village

[52:14] and the comprehensive plan and again in the redevelopment plan would not be

[52:17] developed in accordance um without implementation of the tiff district and

[52:22] tiff assistance that is attributable to deteriorated buildings uh outdated

[52:27] utilities and infrastructure environmental remediation concerns and

[52:30] needs elevated construction and financing costs that we're experiencing

[52:35] uh regionally and then project specific expenses that create substantial fund f

[52:39] funding gaps on projects. Uh we also know from proposed projects within the

[52:44] district and again one was spoken to or about this evening and there's also the

[52:48] 92 unit proposed multif family development that developers have

[52:51] indicated a need for public assistance to advance projects within the proposed

[52:55] redevelopment project area. And although we've talked about other potential

[52:59] pathways for providing public assistance, there's no requirement that

[53:03] all alternative funding mechanisms be exhausted before establing establishing

[53:07] a tiff district. And as um has been mentioned, a number of those alternate

[53:11] pathways have repercussions or impacts on project feasibility as well.

[53:17] And I'll finish with conformance to the comprehensive plan. So this requirement

[53:22] states the municipality must find that the de the redevelopment plan and

[53:25] project conform to the comprehensive plan for the development of the

[53:28] municipality as a whole. Um the vision 2040 plan must be read as an integrated

[53:34] policy document and conformance must be evaluated as the plan as a whole and not

[53:39] single components of that plan document. The vision 2040 plan does call for

[53:43] avoiding adverse school impacts but it does not prohibit the establishment of

[53:47] tiff. It does propose the creation of a mixeduse land use framework consistent

[53:52] with the vision 2040 plan uh that directly overlaps this uh proposed

[53:57] redevelopment project area. So with that I will conclude um that the

[54:03] proposed RPA satisfies the eligibility criteria of the act uh as a combination

[54:07] of both vacant blighted land and improved conservation area land factors.

[54:11] As just articulated, the eligibility factors are documented to a meaningful

[54:15] extent and reasonably distributed across portions of the RPA to which they apply.

[54:20] The RPA is no less not less than 1.5 acres, is within the village, is

[54:24] contiguous and includes only property expected to be substantially benefited

[54:27] by the plan itself. The RPA on the whole has not experienced sufficient growth

[54:33] and development through private investment and would not reasonably be

[54:36] anticipated to be developed in accordance with the plan but for the

[54:40] implementation of the tiff. The plan conforms to the vi vision plan 20 240

[54:45] and establishes the required pro program and financial framework and contains

[54:49] material findings and information as required by the act and the plan is

[54:53] reasonably expected to enhance the long-term tax base of the overlapping

[54:57] tax districts by addressing conditions that impair redevelopment

[55:01] encouraging private investment and improving infrastructure and property

[55:04] conditions. So with that, I'll conclude by saying the the proposed village

[55:09] center RPA is eligible for designation and the plan as presented satisfies the

[55:13] applicable eligibility criteria, plan requirements and objective of the TIFF

[55:17] act.

[55:32] Thank you, Karen. Melissa, if you bring our slide deck back up, please.

[55:45] » So, I'm going to skip ahead a couple of slides here because I think uh Karen did

[55:48] a nice job explaining uh where we find an eligibility. So I had planned on

[55:54] going through a report from the school district uh and talking about where what

[55:59] they had asserted we feel doesn't meet or is in a criteria but um I'll instead

[56:04] focus on something that Dr. Trios had said is that we're working together. Uh

[56:09] we recognize the board recognizes that there are potentially impacts at school

[56:13] districts as this tiff proceeds. if this test proceeds that those concerns

[56:20] primarily fall in a couple of areas you see bulleted there and that is the

[56:24] delayed receipt of new property growth. The potential for a growth of housing in

[56:29] the district that creates an additional demand on the schools for staffing for

[56:35] school uh classroom space and if we uh the village does that other villages may

[56:41] do the same thing. So, our discussions have really focused on what can we do to

[56:46] help mitigate those first two concerns as far as ensuring that the districts

[56:51] get um additional funding beyond what is required in the TIFF Act for their needs

[56:56] if those needs do in fact come to fruition. We're working on it. As uh

[57:01] President Metric Metric stated, we have a draft intergovernmental agreement and

[57:05] we'll continue working through that going forward.

[57:10] Um so through this process we have received

[57:15] a a large number of emails from residents. Many are asking questions and

[57:20] we've gone through all those emails looked at what their questions are and

[57:24] really kind of tried to distill them into some common um themes of what we're

[57:28] hearing. All of you here can read this and luckily my text is big enough

[57:32] because Kathy told me to check it ahead of time to make sure we could see it on

[57:36] the screen. So it is visible. Uh so I won't read all of these uh to you

[57:41] because that would just not be fair. But uh one of the common questions we're

[57:45] getting is is the village currently negotiating with developers for this

[57:50] tiff if it happens to promise funds or promise developments or promise some

[57:54] special thing to them in the future going forward. The answer is no. We are

[57:59] talking to the owners of 1822 Willow the former Mariano site as mentioned earlier

[58:04] in the slides. We need help. Go ahead. Sure.

[58:10] » Thank you. So, we're talking to them. They've made a funding request. They're

[58:15] not specifying how that funding comes, but the size of the request um is beyond

[58:20] the vill's capabilities of funding without outside assistance. And they're

[58:24] indicating if this deal can't be brokered, can't happen, that they are

[58:29] out of options for that building. And they uh don't know what the next step

[58:33] would be other than vacancy. Uh we've been asked about other

[58:37] alternatives. You heard some of those presentations tonight. We've looked at

[58:40] other alternatives. Uh and there's been concern about is there something other

[58:45] than tiff that can be used? As we mentioned that there's over 300 tiff

[58:49] districts in the Cook County suburbs of Chicago is a tool used commonly to help

[58:55] spur and stimulate growth. And uh we're getting questions about uh could an

[59:00] independent party come review what we've done? The answer is, of course, the

[59:04] school district uh has hired their independent consultant to take a look

[59:07] and offer their opinion as far as what the villages consultant has presented.

[59:11] And you heard those findings this evening.

[59:16] And uh while the display we had earlier had an answer to all these questions,

[59:22] um I'm going to really do this one on the fly. Um and I'm not sure how that's

[59:28] missing. Um

[59:33] But it definitely is. So, what will residents receive if TIFF uh passes? Uh

[59:40] really the answer for that is we're going to be moving forward closer to the

[59:45] vision that the community had started five years ago or six years ago when

[59:49] they adopted the comprehensive plan and it's a more vibrant uh vital downtown, a

[59:54] place that is a core for the village and a place to gather. Will the tiff

[59:58] district change your property taxes? probably yes. Uh you saw the the number

[1:00:03] earlier that about a $5 million worth of growth within the tiff district we're

[1:00:08] calculating out to be about a $38 impact of your home value to $500,000. If your

[1:00:13] home is a million dollar, you can double that number and have a good idea of what

[1:00:16] that sense is. That number, that $38 is less impact than if the village raised

[1:00:23] property taxes to try to achieve the goal of all these uh items moving

[1:00:28] forward. And you may think why? Well, the reason it's less is because uh what

[1:00:33] uh Dr. Johnson explained that the tiff impact that fee is paid not just by

[1:00:40] those here in Northfield, it's everybody in Cook County. So Cook County property

[1:00:46] taxes as EAVs grow and levies raise, everybody in Cook County pays a little

[1:00:52] bit extra because this area designed by the tiff district isn't contributing in

[1:00:57] that growth because those funds are directed to the village to be reinvested

[1:01:02] within the tiff area. So if you hear that tiff doesn't impact your property

[1:01:08] taxes, it does. The goal though is over the long term when the TIFF is ended all

[1:01:14] that new EAV equalized assessed valuation growth gets released so

[1:01:20] everybody pays less percentage of future property taxes because of the work done

[1:01:25] by the village. And without going too deep into it, let me give you a real

[1:01:29] world example. The Marianos property, they're paying upper $600,000 a year in

[1:01:35] a tax bill for a building when it was leased. They're going to appeal their

[1:01:40] taxes when the windows open to lower that because it's currently a vacant

[1:01:43] building and they will most likely be successful. I'm going to make up the

[1:01:47] number here. $400,000 gets knocked off their tax bill. The next tax bill that

[1:01:54] comes around, every taxpayer in Northfield is going to pay a little

[1:01:58] extra to make up for that $400,000 that the Marianos property is not providing.

[1:02:04] They're not contributing to the overall tax bill. That's the magic as we look at

[1:02:09] for trying to grow the tiff district EAV because that higher value in that

[1:02:14] district means everybody pays a lower percentage

[1:02:18] and that's our goal over time just to help make that happen to make a

[1:02:21] healthier Northfield. Um what accountab accountability controls be in place for

[1:02:26] expenditures? The board hasn't started working on that yet. If the tiff looks

[1:02:31] like it's moving forward, we'll start having discussions about accountability

[1:02:35] and rules and applications and forms to get a process laid out so it's

[1:02:41] transparent. Everybody can see it on the website and uh developers that are

[1:02:45] looking for assistance will be able to see how to uh make a request for that.

[1:02:50] And then fin >> Patrick, I'm sorry, but ultimately it

[1:02:52] would come before this board before any TIFF funds were dispersed.

[1:02:56] » Yes. So the tiff fund would be managed much like the village's annual budget

[1:03:01] where we would roughly budget what the revenue would be and then expenditures

[1:03:05] and then if a developer is asking for funding assistance there's a

[1:03:08] redevelopment agreement that must be negotiated and passed by the board that

[1:03:12] is done at a public meeting. It's a public process for adopting that

[1:03:16] document and it would be on our packet in our website so you can see it. Even

[1:03:20] if the village board uh moves forward and one of the other options is uh

[1:03:24] grants for facade improvement grants, those expenditures are approved by the

[1:03:29] village board as those grants are awarded.

[1:03:33] How will we know if the tiff is succeeding? That's a it's a common

[1:03:36] question worded many different ways from people, but this comes up especially

[1:03:39] when we start looking at the fact that the board is going to I believe if this

[1:03:45] moves forward require a midterm reevaluation of the tiff. Is it

[1:03:49] succeeding? Is it achieving goals that success looks like an active vibrant

[1:03:54] healthy downtown? Right now the tiff district area is lagging growth of the

[1:03:59] rest of the village by 19% over five years. That's drag. That's actually

[1:04:04] raising everybody's property taxes. Getting that closer to even if not

[1:04:08] exceeding the rest of the village would be a good sign that this is moving well.

[1:04:14] And the version of this gets posted on our website sometime tomorrow. We'll

[1:04:19] have the answers to the rest of the questions. I'm sorry. I have no idea why

[1:04:22] that's blanked out.

[1:04:29] So, we're getting close with President Mendri's permission for this to enter

[1:04:33] the public comment period. You see the information here about the speaker

[1:04:36] cards. If anybody's come in late, please see one of our staff members speaker

[1:04:41] card. When you fill out the card, if you don't want to speak, you can just note

[1:04:44] your position on TIFF and any comments. The board will get all of these. They

[1:04:48] will be retained, scanned in, and kept in the file with this public hearing

[1:04:52] process. Just like those that have sent in comments, especially in the last few

[1:04:56] days, saying, "I want this to be part of the record for the village, those emails

[1:05:01] were received by the village board. They are part of the record and we will

[1:05:04] retain them in our files." Thank you.

[1:05:07] » Okay. Um, first of all, I'm going to say it again, the comment cards, if you

[1:05:13] would like to make a comment or you're not sure if you want to make a comment,

[1:05:17] please see Melissa or Holly at the end. Brett is upstairs, I think, with those

[1:05:23] cards as well. Um, what I will do next is in order to keep

[1:05:30] things moving along, I am going to call three names and I would like you to head

[1:05:36] towards the podium. Um, make state your name and address so that we have that

[1:05:41] for the record. make your comments in the three minute time frame and I will

[1:05:46] keep calling additional names to join us at the podium or anyone who's upstairs

[1:05:52] that needs to make their way down here to give them an opportunity to do so.

[1:05:57] Okay, everybody here on the board square with what's happening next? All right,

[1:06:01] super. Okay, so the first name on the list is Simon Babs.

[1:06:07] The next one is Erica Foster. The next one is Mary Lind Bland.

[1:06:15] If any of those people are in the room, not necessarily in order. If we're

[1:06:19] waiting for people to arrive, we can certainly do that. Simon Babs.

[1:06:26] Okay. If you, Erica, are ready, please go

[1:06:32] ahead. >> Uh, Erica Foster, 305 Sunset Drive. Good

[1:06:39] evening. >> Patty Morell, 255 Sunset Drive.

[1:06:42] » We're gonna >> Yeah. Patty Morell, 255 Sunset Drive.

[1:06:48] » We're gonna do this together for efficiency purposes.

[1:06:50] » Yeah. >> Um and if you have music like the Oscars

[1:06:53] at the three minute mark, I ask you to mute it. I'm going to borrow a little

[1:06:56] bit of time from all the meetings I've attended and not spoken because tonight

[1:06:59] I feel very compelled to speak. I would like to personally thank all the

[1:07:03] trustees here for all the hard work you've done on behalf of the village. I

[1:07:06] know it has not been an easy three months for you all.

[1:07:10] I'm actually not up here to discuss the merits of the tiff. Shocking, I know.

[1:07:15] Instead, on behalf of the many residents I have spoken to over the last few

[1:07:18] months, I'm here to discuss restoring civility, kindness, and neighborliness

[1:07:22] to this village. Over the last several months, it has been incredibly sad to

[1:07:27] witness the village being needlessly torn apart over this tiff decision. I

[1:07:31] sat on the village caucus for over a decade prior to my recent resignation.

[1:07:35] I've been part of many complex village decisions, but I have been so

[1:07:39] disappointed by the behaviors I've seen in the last few months. I'm deeply

[1:07:43] troubled that we have a village board, a school board, a park board, and even the

[1:07:47] library board that have been needlessly pitted against each other by residents.

[1:07:51] I'm saddened to see neighbors and friends at odds. And it does not need to

[1:07:56] be this way. This has escalated way beyond what's reasonable.

[1:08:00] We celebrated our 100th anniversary this year. It was a lovely celebration. Thank

[1:08:04] you to the trustees for that. And it restored my hope that we can

[1:08:10] preserve our community. But we have to do the work. We have to make changes and

[1:08:14] it has to happen tonight. At the celebration in the history room, we all

[1:08:19] spent time reflecting on those who came before us in Northfield. And I cannot

[1:08:24] imagine that those founders of this village would be pleased with what's

[1:08:27] happening right now with how our residents are treating other residents

[1:08:30] and treating this village board. I cannot imagine they'd be pleased with

[1:08:34] our beautiful Northfield landscape littered with signs every time a village

[1:08:39] board issue comes up. I cannot imagine our village founders would have dreamed

[1:08:43] of residents lodging baseless allegations against this village board

[1:08:46] claiming they have a nefarious purpose invoking the names of their private

[1:08:50] employers or their family members. I cannot imagine they would be comfortable

[1:08:55] with our school board members and village board members being publicly at

[1:08:58] odds with one another. I have repeatedly described this

[1:09:02] divisiveness as mutual assured destruction. If we continue down this

[1:09:06] path of incivility, this does not end well for our village. No one wins. Our

[1:09:10] brightest, most qualified residents won't serve on village boards and school

[1:09:14] boards because they will fear for their families, their reputation, and their

[1:09:17] livelihood. We will not explore opportunities for our villages or our

[1:09:21] schools because board members and residents will be fearful to even

[1:09:24] propose ideas that may result in backlash. We will have longtime friends

[1:09:28] and neighbors not speaking. We have residents afraid to come to this meeting

[1:09:32] to even speak about their views pro or against. It is the natural consequence

[1:09:37] of our actions over the past several months. And if we do not make changes

[1:09:42] right here, right now to stop the incivility, it will continue. Civic

[1:09:46] engagement does not have to be divisive. These trustees are fine upstanding

[1:09:50] citizens. to impugn their intelligence, their integrity, or their

[1:09:54] trustworthiness is simply unacceptable and baseless. They are doing this as

[1:09:58] unpaid volunteers for our community because they love our community and they

[1:10:02] want to see it thrive. They don't have some ulterior motive. They don't have

[1:10:06] anything to gain personally or financially. To baselessly suggest

[1:10:10] otherwise is reckless. And I think we need to ask ourselves,

[1:10:15] are we behaving as becoming of Northfielders? Residents are supposedly

[1:10:19] so focused on schools, yet ironically, they themselves are not modeling the

[1:10:23] very behavior we expect of our students. In district 29, we have school and

[1:10:27] village board meetings where the tone of the meeting is divisive. Harsh words,

[1:10:31] threats, whispers, clapping for a particular position, grumbling about an

[1:10:34] opposing position. We would not accept this from our district 29 students. We

[1:10:38] should not tolerate it from our residents.

[1:10:42] It is not who we are. Our residents don't like the division either. They are

[1:10:46] more uncomfortable with this division than they are of a tiff. I've had

[1:10:49] countless residents say, "At this point, I don't even care if it happens or not.

[1:10:52] I just want the drama to stop." I've residents contact me and say they are

[1:10:56] disappointed in the behavior of other residents. I've had families in the

[1:10:59] school district reach out and tell me they are confused and nervous and upset.

[1:11:02] They want good schools and a great downtown. Putting fear into young

[1:11:07] parents is not becoming of our village. I have heard threats of lawsuits and I

[1:11:11] can tell you no one benefits from a lawsuit here. and residents certainly

[1:11:16] don't want their tax dollars spent on a lawsuit. We have residents asserting

[1:11:20] that there is lack of transparency from the village. Every single one of these

[1:11:24] trustees will pick up the phone if you call and have questions.

[1:11:29] Every single one of them will sit down with you and hear your concerns and

[1:11:32] answer your questions one-on-one. If you've taken to keyboard warrioring,

[1:11:36] posting on social media, making signs without having tried these one-on-one

[1:11:39] communications. All right, I'll wrap it up.

[1:11:48] » This is what we're talking about. >> Yes. Call them directly and have a

[1:11:52] conversation. No solution is perfect. None of these trustees are suggesting

[1:11:56] it's a perfect solution.

[1:12:00] » This is a tool that's been leveraged by Kennallorth, Glen View, Highland Park,

[1:12:04] Deerfield, Northbrook, Evston, Highwood to name just a few.

[1:12:11] to the residents in this room tonight. Let's lead by example and assume good

[1:12:14] intent. Be gracious and civil. Thank you. It's perfect example.

[1:12:18] » Thank you. >> I agree.

[1:12:22] Okay. Mary Lindblad and I'm going to um again Simon Babs. Next on the uh list is

[1:12:30] Tom O'Donn, John Reynolds, Kim Orth, Betsy Cochar, Todd Berlinghoff. So, I

[1:12:37] would like to try to get those people in the room um so we can move on. So,

[1:12:43] please go ahead. >> Okay. Um

[1:12:47] ever since the >> I'm sorry, ma'am. Can you

[1:12:49] » Oh, Mary Lindlad 21 North Half Road. >> Thank you.

[1:12:52] » Um ever since the um joint review board meeting, um I've thought that I I

[1:13:00] absolutely am convinced that this the adoption of the TIFF ordinance is a done

[1:13:05] deal. and that uh the only choice that those of us who oppose it would have if

[1:13:12] we chose to would be to challenge the classification of the village as a

[1:13:16] blighted area with the state of Illinois. Now that being said, I think

[1:13:21] the tiff has been a distraction from the real issue that for me, which is the

[1:13:27] redevelopment plan down from between the last four years we're or the years we're

[1:13:32] considering or 2019 to 2024, COVID was in there. Nobody was doing

[1:13:40] very well in those years. And um so I think that that using those

[1:13:45] statistics is is a little bad. And then the

[1:13:50] survey of the village that was taken that said they want walkability. Um

[1:13:58] all those different vibrant I still don't know what vibrant means but uh it

[1:14:02] seems to me to be overcrowded and busy. Um but in any event, so the vision plan

[1:14:08] as I look at it has been lost in in the all the tiff dust and I I really am

[1:14:16] worried about the vision plan. I mean I hope that whoever buys the shell

[1:14:22] station, which I know is targeted, realizes it's contaminated and they're

[1:14:27] going to have to spend money to clean it up. Um, and for I can't I can't imagine

[1:14:35] the hotel on the corner. I that's not something I would would particularly

[1:14:39] want, but I I just don't want the fact of the tiff to take away from the

[1:14:44] changes that would be made in this village. And look, it it covers the

[1:14:47] entire village center. And I'm thinking of all my small businesses that I use

[1:14:53] and I enjoy. and I see the pictures of the multi-story, multi-use buildings and

[1:14:59] I can't I can barely imagine them in this small area and so I'm just saying

[1:15:05] that uh let's get past the tiff and let's start worrying about the

[1:15:09] redevelopment. Thank you. >> Thank you.

[1:15:13] » Next, Madam Chair, can I just uh ask that maybe the subsequent speakers give

[1:15:17] the speaker a little bit of space? I know there's a lot of people here, but I

[1:15:21] think the speakers probably want a little bit of space.

[1:15:24] Thank you. Okay. >> Simon Babs, 385 Meadow Brook Drive. My

[1:15:29] wife and I moved to Northville from England with our son. Sue and I have

[1:15:33] lived here for over 27 years. We are US citizens. We all owe a debt of gratitude

[1:15:39] to those who as trustees or in lower profile roles have served our community

[1:15:43] during that period. Northfield is not a large community. The 2020 census counted

[1:15:49] just over 5,700 people. That number of course includes children and also many

[1:15:55] adults who for one reason or another do not give much attention to village

[1:16:00] matters. How many adult residents I wonder are

[1:16:04] even aware of the petition at change.org that requests that if the village board

[1:16:10] considers that the proposed tiff would be good for Northfield then that

[1:16:14] proposal should be put to a referendum.

[1:16:22] I don't know, of course, but I'd be surprised if even 2,000 residents were

[1:16:28] aware of the petition. Yet, of those 2,000, say, over 56% have signed the

[1:16:35] petition seeking a referendum. In the last 27 years, I've seen many

[1:16:40] issues put to a referendum in our village. Yet none that I recall involves

[1:16:45] as large a fraction of the land area of our village, nor such a large amount of

[1:16:50] prospective tax revenues, nor such an extended time period as the proposed

[1:16:56] tiff. If you were a current trustee and made

[1:17:00] favoring a tiff part of your pitch to voters when you last stood for election,

[1:17:04] would you please raise your hand? >> I see no hands raised.

[1:17:10] » Hear your question, sir. >> Oh, sorry. If you were a current trustee

[1:17:14] and made favoring a tiff part of your pitch to voters when you last stood for

[1:17:20] election, would you please raise your hand?

[1:17:26] I see no hands raised. The situation then is this. The tiff is an unusually

[1:17:33] significant proposal. The board has no explicit electoral

[1:17:37] mandate for it and what is in all probability a majority of those aware of

[1:17:44] aware of a petition calling for a referendum chose to sign it.

[1:17:49] Trustees, if after further deliberation and

[1:17:53] despite the recent joint board joint review board vote, you favor a tiff,

[1:17:59] please put it to a referendum. If you enact a TIFF without a

[1:18:04] referendum, then you would, I fear, be failing in your democratic duty to the

[1:18:09] residents of this village. We, the people, expect better of you than that.

[1:18:19] Um, the next I'm the ne Well, you can go ahead. John Reynolds is next, but Kim,

[1:18:26] you're after that, so please. Kumor, 1655 Orchard Lane. Um, first I'd

[1:18:34] like to address something that was just talked about with civility. I've never

[1:18:39] mentioned this before, but I'll go there now. About a year and a half ago, when

[1:18:44] the election took place, there were people going doortodoor saying that my

[1:18:48] husband had dropped out of the election because he was severely ill and they had

[1:18:52] no choice but to vote for Tracy. So when you want to talk about civility,

[1:18:59] both sides are guilty of that. I want to mention that I hadn't really

[1:19:03] engaged before this board on this tiff because I never imagined that anyone

[1:19:07] would ever be in favor of a tiff to bring vitality to Northfield. We have

[1:19:12] vitality currently. Ask the business owners. At the August 4th caucus

[1:19:16] meeting, President Mendrich, you were asked if you had any evidence that the

[1:19:20] Mariano's property was in need of a of remediation. You have spoken endlessly

[1:19:25] about that very need. Your answer was no. Multiple nos. You have not seen any

[1:19:31] evidence that there is need for remediation. Do you still stand by that

[1:19:35] statement or do you now have documentation or some substantiation of

[1:19:40] your fact that Marianos needs remediation and we need a tiff to assist

[1:19:45] in that process? Did Dominics need remediation? Did Marianos need

[1:19:50] remediation? Do you still stand by your word, without a tiff, we can't have a

[1:19:54] grocery store? My second statement is one that refers to your comment just

[1:19:59] today in the village email that was sent out. You said, and I quote, "This

[1:20:03] included a great conversation last Thursday hosted by a Northfield family

[1:20:08] where school board members were in attendance with community members asking

[1:20:12] sharp, thoughtful questions. This kind of in-person dialogue is what Northfield

[1:20:17] does best. we talk through concerns and vigorously protect those things that

[1:20:21] make Northfield special." I would disagree with a portion of that

[1:20:26] statement regarding dialogue. I believe that as a village president, in my

[1:20:30] opinion, there should only be one platform for messaging where you

[1:20:34] disseminate information to the residents, maybe an official village

[1:20:38] website. having numerous one-offs, wine and tiffs, coffee or tea meetings at

[1:20:43] private residences or associations where you present your personal views on the

[1:20:48] tiff without anyone in attendance to fact check your statements isn't really

[1:20:52] best practice. How do these private meetings benefit the village as a whole?

[1:20:57] If you are interested in having healthy dialogue, why haven't you organized a

[1:21:01] meeting outside of this one with residents who live directly outside the

[1:21:06] tiff area who would be the most impacted by a tiff district? I see your practice

[1:21:11] as a measure attempting to merely convince or sell people that your vision

[1:21:15] of this tiff is the only vision. Thank you,

[1:21:25] John Reynolds. Yes, >> that's me.

[1:21:28] » Donahghue, Betsy, Coachar, >> Todd Merling, Hoff.

[1:21:33] » Okay, so I'm John Reynolds. I'm in Dickens in Northfield. And

[1:21:38] my name is John Reynolds. I'm in uh I'm in Northfield and I'm on Dickens Street.

[1:21:45] So, Madame President, um I'm holding up your campaign mailer. I got

[1:21:50] » Sorry. >> Sorry. I'm keeping the time, too. Excuse

[1:21:53] me.

[1:21:58] You have a little bit more time than that. Honest.

[1:22:02] » This is my first meeting. I like city government. That sounds great. Great.

[1:22:05] » All right. Okay. We're killing it, aren't we? Hang on one second here.

[1:22:09] » Everybody have their phone on mute. Just make sure.

[1:22:11] » All right. Got it. >> We're all set. Fantastic. So, I'm

[1:22:14] holding up your your your campaign that I'm assuming you wrote you're familiar

[1:22:18] with. Um it said you stand for common sense leadership, transparency, and

[1:22:23] accountability. I have two questions. My first question is granted to the the uh

[1:22:29] proposal that was done that was mentioned today. I really appreciate the

[1:22:32] FAQs and that that speaks to the idea of uh how is this accountable for the

[1:22:37] majority of Northfield residents who oppose this tiff continuing to be pushed

[1:22:41] forward. The kind of people have spoken uh their concerns deserve to be heard

[1:22:46] and not just kind of set aside. Uh and transparency means more than saying the

[1:22:51] word. It means full disclosure. The public serves to know who benefits, who

[1:22:56] takes the risks, and why should taxpayers help finance private

[1:23:00] development. There's one more step I'd like to council consider uh our sister

[1:23:06] community, Wana. I've spoken to many of the elected officials there and they

[1:23:10] actually uh uh upon election they receive they have to go through a course

[1:23:15] where they kind of sign agreements for their uh as far as uh uh what their what

[1:23:20] disclosure are, ethics and whatnot. Nadesh Northfield to consider adopting a

[1:23:23] civil requirement as part of the governance. Uh it's kind of simple. It

[1:23:27] puts all your commitments or in common writing and disclose them to the public.

[1:23:34] Uh it it kind of makes them easy to see and it holds elected officials

[1:23:39] accountable to them. Um, if we ask residents to trust us, you the committee

[1:23:45] with our tax dollars, then only the city government must earn that trust with

[1:23:49] transparency, disclosure, and accountability. This sounds like common

[1:23:53] sense to me. That's all I have. >> Thank you.

[1:24:05] » Good evening. My name is Betsy Coachfire, address 187 Zachary. Until

[1:24:10] today, I have not spoken regarding the upcoming tiff vote. My husband and I

[1:24:15] moved here 32 years ago. We had not yet started a family, but we were thinking

[1:24:19] about it, and the number one priority on our list of places to live was the

[1:24:24] quality of the schools. We also wanted a small town Mayberry feel. Northfield had

[1:24:29] both. Our children attended all of the Northfield District schools and have

[1:24:34] fledged the nest successfully in part thanks to the great school system. I'm

[1:24:39] concerned that the tiff I'm concerned about the tiff purs proposal. I want

[1:24:44] Northfield to thrive and I am seeing that happen. Many new families with

[1:24:49] small children have made their home in Northfield. I think as more families

[1:24:54] move here, this will usher in a transition to a vibrant downtown

[1:24:58] community without a tiff. Of course, everyone would like a new, larger

[1:25:02] library and a replacement for Marianos ASAP. Our surrounding towns all have new

[1:25:08] or rehab libraries and good grocery stores. We have access to those

[1:25:12] amenities within 5 to 10 minute within a 5 to 10 minute drive. Here are some of

[1:25:17] my concerns about the tiff. Do residents realize that their real estate taxes

[1:25:21] will increase to cover the school cost if the tiff passes? Do they realize

[1:25:26] Northfield schools may struggle to accommodate the potentially large influx

[1:25:30] of students if property taxes are diverted to the tiff and not directly to

[1:25:35] the schools? Do they understand that the tiff will likely be in place for 23

[1:25:39] years and the village board decides where the tiff money goes? Do residents

[1:25:44] comprehend that our school district maintain maintains a a bun sorry fund

[1:25:48] balance or rainy day fund to cover funding gaps that arise from late

[1:25:54] property tax distributions and that the fund may have to instead cover increased

[1:25:59] school expenses not covered by the tiff among other items. The school fund

[1:26:04] balance assures that teachers and staff will continue to be paid on time during

[1:26:10] the property tax distribution delays. Would the district attra attract the

[1:26:14] caliber of students and teachers and staff if they weren't guaranteed on time

[1:26:20] payments in order to cover their personal expenses? How will the tiff

[1:26:25] affect the ability of residents, especially older residents, to sell

[1:26:29] their houses? Will the tiff reduce the marketability of the housing here? In

[1:26:34] conclusion, I truly believe that Northfield's downtown will improve

[1:26:37] without a tiff. Why is there such a rush on the proposal when this is a complex

[1:26:42] issue that will affect Northfield for the next 23 years and beyond? I'm hoping

[1:26:47] that the board will consider a referendum in November to allow the

[1:26:51] village residents to comprehend exactly how a tiff will affect the future of

[1:26:56] Mayberry. Thank you for your time. Sure. >> Thank you.

[1:27:03] Tom O'Donahue, Todd Berlinghoff, Sue Kelly, Barnaby Dingis, Kathy

[1:27:09] Esesterbrook, Terry Dason. Okay, that's enough. If all of those

[1:27:15] people can be close by, Tom, please go ahead,

[1:27:19] introduce yourself. Sorry. >> Good evening, everyone. My name is Tom

[1:27:23] O'Donnary

[1:27:26] in Northfield. I have been a resident of Northfield since 2003. I have lived in

[1:27:32] four homes inside of Northfield. So, I've experienced tax bills in various

[1:27:37] ways. My uh attempt tonight is this is the third time I've spoken before some

[1:27:42] of you. Uh my concern is as a financial consultant in the turnaround world is

[1:27:47] that the open-ended nature of the ordinance as I have read it

[1:27:53] uh supported by something called the vision 2040

[1:27:57] which at the time my son was one of the members of that committee depended on a

[1:28:02] sales tax that was generated by a growing food store called Marianos.

[1:28:07] So my suggestion to all of you, since you're trying to pass a TIFF based on a

[1:28:13] plan that was based on a vibrant grocery store and many other things going on in

[1:28:18] 2015, it's time to reassess the plan. At this point in time, 2040 seems to be, as

[1:28:25] you read, the preamble in the TIFF ordinance is the justification for the

[1:28:29] TIFF ordinance. Is the underlying reason still the same

[1:28:33] today in 2026? I don't think so. And I'm concerned in

[1:28:40] passing it, it's going to be one of those cases where we're going to pass it

[1:28:44] and figure it out later. I think that is probably poor planning

[1:28:49] in most homes, in most businesses, and hopefully in the village of Northfield.

[1:28:56] Thank you all for listening to us this evening. And one other piece of history,

[1:29:00] I loved going through that that poster board in the lodge and the feistiness of

[1:29:06] the Northfield people when they got the name Wobbon and said the heck with this.

[1:29:11] We're going back to Northfield. So you still have the feistiness a 100 years

[1:29:16] later. Thank you.

[1:29:29] Good evening. My name is Todd Berlinghoff. I live at

[1:29:33] one landmark in Northfield. Emily and I and our three children have lived in

[1:29:37] Northfield since 1995 in three different houses, not four.

[1:29:42] Located in three different parts of town. All our kids graduated from

[1:29:46] Middlefork, Sunset Ridge, and New Trier. My wife was the president of the PTO.

[1:29:51] I've served 10 years on Northfield's architecture commission and 12 years on

[1:29:55] the planning and zoning commission. We love Northfield.

[1:29:59] With nearly four decades of real estate development, I have built I've been

[1:30:02] fortunate to build over 4 million square feet of retail space for prominent

[1:30:06] companies such as Jewel, Dominic's, Marianos, Whole Foods, Aldi, Costco,

[1:30:11] Walmart, and Heinens. Locally, Willow Festival in North Brook

[1:30:16] stands as one of these properties. My experience also includes developing more

[1:30:20] than 1,000 multif family apartments as well as class A office and medical

[1:30:24] office space throughout the Chicagoland area. As I prepared these remarks for

[1:30:28] tonight, I considered addressing the misinformation surrounding TIFF, but I

[1:30:32] believe the board is best positioned to clarify these points. My hope is

[1:30:36] everyone here will be open to facts rather than hyperbole.

[1:30:40] Yet, I do have one comment. Having participated in numerous tiff deals over

[1:30:44] the years, I have observed that school boards never support them as their

[1:30:48] primary responsibility is to maximize revenue for their constituency. My focus

[1:30:53] tonight is on what matters most to me, how Norfolk can attract investors like

[1:30:57] myself. We often express a desire for a more

[1:31:00] walkable community with a variety of restaurants, shops, and services.

[1:31:04] However, such progress requires more than wishful thinking. Small businesses

[1:31:09] need affordable infrastructure and a steady customer base. By implementing

[1:31:13] proper zoning and offering financial support for downtown re residential

[1:31:17] development, Northfield can encourage small businesses to flourish.

[1:31:21] Communities that welcome development and provide incentives are the ones poised

[1:31:24] for growth and continue relevance. One major challenge in Cook County is

[1:31:29] the exceptionally high property taxes, making new construction nearly

[1:31:33] impossible without some form of village tiff support. In fact, every apartment

[1:31:37] development we've completed in the past 5 years has relied on TIFF assistance

[1:31:41] from a village. Northfield must have tiff as a tool to achieve its downtown

[1:31:45] redevelopment goals. Without it, progress will stall. Redeveloping the

[1:31:50] Mariana's grocery store may be possible without TIF. If medical institutions

[1:31:54] like Northwestern or the University of Chicago Medicine are acceptable tenants,

[1:31:59] however, if the goal is to attract retail or another grocery store, tiff

[1:32:03] support will be necessary. Otherwise, the property could remain vacant for

[1:32:06] years, diminishing both its value and tax base. The longer it takes to secure

[1:32:11] a tenant, the greater the risk that the owner will demolish the building to

[1:32:15] lower their tax burden even more. A scenario no one wants.

[1:32:20] Like many in this room, I enjoyed our 100th year celebration on Saturday.

[1:32:24] There was a sense of symmetry between our current situation and the challenges

[1:32:29] faced a century ago. History shows that Northfield's transformation from pagan

[1:32:33] and radish farming to modern suburbs was marked by tough decisions and

[1:32:38] significant change. Today we celebrate our centennial with aging

[1:32:42] infrastructure, water and sewer mains in need of replacement and a downtown

[1:32:45] retail spaces that are becoming obsolete.

[1:32:48] I want the board to know that I support tiff and many residents who are not

[1:32:52] present tonight do as well. Conversations with my neighbors during

[1:32:55] the celebration revealed substantial support for the tiff. Similar to the

[1:33:00] debate over widening Willow Road, this issue has stirred strong emotions.

[1:33:03] Change is difficult, especially when there is vocal opposition. While it may

[1:33:08] be easy to reject TIFF, I urge the board to make the decision that best serves

[1:33:12] our community by supporting TIFF, paving the way for an exciting future for

[1:33:16] Northfield. Thank you. >> Thank you, Sue. Kelly, uh, Barnaby

[1:33:21] Dinges, Kathy Esesterbrook, Terry Dason, Jeff

[1:33:28] Keading, Jeff Kading, I think I got that right. William gets Ariel Hoer. Please,

[1:33:35] Sue, go ahead. >> Good evening. My name is Sue Kelly, 1642

[1:33:38] Orchard Lane. I am speaking tonight to place a formal objection on the record

[1:33:43] regarding concerning compliance with Illinois law regarding TIFF districts

[1:33:47] and the public hearing notice requirements of 65 ILCS511-74.4-6A.

[1:33:57] The statute provides that notice of the public hearing shall be given by mailing

[1:34:01] notice by certified mail to the person or persons in whose name the general

[1:34:06] taxes for the preceding year were paid on each lot, block, tract, or parcel of

[1:34:12] land within the proposed redevelopment project area and that the notice must be

[1:34:17] mailed not less than 10 days prior to the public hearing. I personally

[1:34:22] communicated with commercial property owners whose properties are located

[1:34:25] inside the proposed tiff area. I have been informed by such owners that to the

[1:34:30] best of their knowledge they did not receive certified mail notice from the

[1:34:34] village concerning this public hearing. These individual property owners may not

[1:34:38] wish to be identified publicly tonight. I am therefore not asking the board to

[1:34:42] simply take my word for it. It is also possible that mail can be lost or

[1:34:47] overlooked. But I am asking the village to establish on the record whether it

[1:34:52] complied with the statutory mailing requirement. First, I request proof of

[1:34:56] compliance. Will the village attorney or appropriate village staff state on the

[1:35:01] record whether the village deposited the required notices in the United States

[1:35:06] mail by certified mail to the persons identified by the statute for every lot,

[1:35:12] block, tract, or parcel within the proposed redevelopment project area at

[1:35:16] least 10 days before this public hearing? And does the village possess

[1:35:22] the corresponding certified mail receipts, mailing records, or USPS

[1:35:26] tracking documentation demonstrating that those notices were deposited.

[1:35:32] Second, if the village cannot establish compliance with the statutory mailing

[1:35:37] requirement, I request that this hearing be continued rather than closed so that

[1:35:42] the village can determine whether any required notices were omitted and if

[1:35:47] necessary provide the notice required by state law. I'm making this comment for

[1:35:52] the purpose of assuring that the statutory notice requirements are

[1:35:56] followed before this process proceeds further. Thank you.

[1:36:11] Good evening, Northfield. Uh, Barnaby Dinges, 421 Chapel Hill Lane. Uh, I

[1:36:17] think we begin Northfield's next hundred years tonight. And I hope we can capture

[1:36:22] some of that karma from the other night. Uh, I come to you tonight as a former

[1:36:26] school teacher, started my career 40 years ago, Harvard St. George on the

[1:36:31] south side, Francis Parker on the north side, Columbia College downtown Chicago,

[1:36:35] Depal University. And uh I took my role as an educator seriously and I had two

[1:36:42] things in mind as a teacher. Uh the big picture, always encourage my

[1:36:47] students to look at the big picture. You can always narrow it later. And uh be a

[1:36:52] role model. Everything you say and do uh can affect your students. And uh that

[1:36:57] gets me to talking about the role of our school boards in this whole debate that

[1:37:02] we've been having. Um and I guess I'll express my disappointment in how that's

[1:37:07] gone. I also pay my wife and I $1,200 a month. I call it paying tuition to our

[1:37:14] schools. Uh $1,200. And I've never questioned that. I've always felt good

[1:37:19] about that. I live right between the schools in our community. Spent a lot of

[1:37:22] time with the schools. um consider myself a big supporter of

[1:37:27] the schools, but I also support our downtown. And when when the schools talk

[1:37:33] about uh the community, they say we support a vibrant downtown, and then the

[1:37:38] discussion ends there. They never say another word. And what was interesting

[1:37:42] to me is six months ago when you went to the schools with this idea of a tiff,

[1:37:47] instead of inviting the parents in to ask what they think or the community in

[1:37:51] or to refer to the just completed Hapro report which included 900 responses from

[1:37:57] our residents, 85% whom said they wanted an improved downtown and include

[1:38:02] hundreds of testimonials from our residents, young parents who moved to

[1:38:07] town talking about what they wanted in our downtown because the education of

[1:38:11] their children doesn't just end in the classroom. It ends uh includes them

[1:38:15] going downtown and hanging out as they do in some of the towns around us. So,

[1:38:20] we can have great schools and a great downtown. Since I've been in this town

[1:38:25] for 13 years, we've had two referenda for our schools. I voted for them. I

[1:38:29] supported them. So, this idea that somehow we're going to stop supporting

[1:38:33] our schools and we're going to somehow get distracted, I think is a a real red

[1:38:40] herring and a and a false argument and and I'm personally offended by it. So,

[1:38:45] when the school board met to discuss the TIFF proposal, six representatives very

[1:38:49] quickly said, "We oppose it." Now, this board is grappling with this issue, and

[1:38:54] I guarantee you if I asked each one of you, you would have a subtle distinct

[1:38:59] difference, and you could argue with each other on it. But our school board

[1:39:02] didn't do that. And then when the joint review board met, which was already

[1:39:07] stacked with schoolboard representatives and had a chance to have a community

[1:39:11] member, Debbie Papus, who served as the head of the school board,

[1:39:17] was one of their people. she was denied the ability to serve on that committee.

[1:39:22] So, they added another person from the school board. I don't think that served

[1:39:26] the community as well. And then when we get sent something like this in the mail

[1:39:33] and it doesn't include the fact that

[1:39:38] negotiations already happening, I consider that disingenuous. And I I have

[1:39:43] talked to dozens of people who are afraid to come here and say what they

[1:39:47] think about TIF because they're neighbors of schoolboard people and uh

[1:39:52] they have been threatened. I've heard people come up here and threaten you

[1:39:56] with lawsuits and lose the next election. And I don't think we want to

[1:40:00] live in a community where people are afraid to come out and ask questions and

[1:40:05] share their thoughts. So I commend you for the hard work you're doing. you're

[1:40:09] doing it without the support that you should be getting from some parts of our

[1:40:13] community and I will support that effort. Thank you.

[1:40:17] » Thank you, >> Kathy Esesterbrook.

[1:40:20] Terry, then you're next. Jeff, William, Ariel, then Lauren Ruger,

[1:40:29] um Eileene Isac's.

[1:40:34] Go ahead. >> I'm Kathy Esesterbrook, 1620 Mount

[1:40:36] Pleasant. I'm not necessarily against the tiff. I'm against the size of the

[1:40:41] tiff district and the fact that it spans 23 years. The Mariano property is a

[1:40:48] major issue for sure. However, the owner paid too much for the property, so is

[1:40:52] asking for relief. I don't feel our resident should be penalized for his

[1:40:56] poor business decision. I'm I'm concerned that SB Freeman's

[1:41:01] figures include the year 2020. Obviously, it's going to skew those

[1:41:06] figures significantly.

[1:41:10] Um, we reszone the North Corridor in late 2025, so let's let the resoning

[1:41:15] take hold before we put another option on top of it.

[1:41:20] I believe there are various ways to increase our revenues, adding the 1%

[1:41:24] sales tax, increasing our vehicle stickers, to name two. How much

[1:41:29] additional revenues are we receiving from our car dealerships since sales

[1:41:35] have been have increased? That must help. Our town is thriving and sweet.

[1:41:40] Please keep it that way.

[1:41:48] Oop. Oh, I lost it. Um there was that um on

[1:41:52] the darn it on the um back wall of the south the south wall in

[1:42:00] the lustic lodge there was a wonderful quote saying how sweet our it was from

[1:42:05] 19 76 years ago saying how sweet our village was and let's keep it that way

[1:42:11] we deserve it. Thank you, Terry.

[1:42:22] Good evening, President Mendrich, Manager Brennan, and the members of the

[1:42:27] board of trustees. Thank you for the opportunity to speak this evening. I am

[1:42:31] Terry Dason, president of the Waneka Northfield Gleno Chamber of Commerce.

[1:42:36] Before addressing the tiff, I would like to congratulate the village and everyone

[1:42:41] involved in Northfield's 100th birthday celebration. Clarkson Park was filled

[1:42:46] with residents, families, and friends of all ages. The activities, music, local

[1:42:52] food, and wonderful fireworks showcased Northfield at its very best. It was

[1:42:58] truly a celebration of community and a job very well done. Tonight, I am

[1:43:03] speaking on behalf of the many independent and locallyowned businesses

[1:43:08] that are important to our community. The chamber understands the purpose of a tax

[1:43:14] increment financing. When used thoughtfully, a tiff can encourage

[1:43:18] investment, improve

[1:43:23] infrastructure, and create opportunities for economic development. We want

[1:43:29] Northfield to grow, remain competitive, and continue to thrive. At the same

[1:43:35] time, I ask that you cons, as you consider redevelopment, you also

[1:43:40] consider the people behind the storefronts. Many of our local

[1:43:44] businesses have invested in Northfield for years. They employ people, serve our

[1:43:49] residents, support our schools and organizations, contribute to community

[1:43:54] events, and help create the character of this village. If redevelopment

[1:43:59] ultimately affects some of these businesses, I believe the time to begin

[1:44:03] planning for them is now, not when a lease expires or a business suddenly

[1:44:08] learns it needs to relocate. Can we identify potential spaces within

[1:44:14] Northfield before they are needed? Can we develop a strategy to assist

[1:44:19] businesses that may be displaced? Can the village, the chamber, and property

[1:44:25] owners and businesses work together to identify relocation opportunities within

[1:44:30] Northfield? And most importantly, can retaining our existing local businesses

[1:44:36] become one of the stated goals of redevelopment?

[1:44:40] Once a small business is forced to leave a community, there's no guarantee it

[1:44:44] will return. The chamber is not asking Northfield to choose between

[1:44:48] redevelopment and its existing businesses. We believe that Northfield

[1:44:53] can and should have both. We can welcome new investment and new businesses while

[1:44:59] valuing the entrepreneurs have already invested in the community. Economic

[1:45:04] development should not simply be about what we build next. It should also be

[1:45:09] about preserving what we what is already working and helping our existing

[1:45:14] businesses succeed through periods of change. As Northfield begins its next

[1:45:19] hundred years, we have an opportunity to approach redevelopment thoughtfully,

[1:45:24] creating new possibilities while protecting the businesses and

[1:45:28] relationships that already make Northfield a special place to live,

[1:45:32] workshop, and gather. Thank you.

[1:45:46] Jeff Keading is next on my list.

[1:45:55] Good evening. Jeff Keading, 54 Wagner Road.

[1:46:00] My wife and I bought up in Northfield 30 years ago of raising our kids here

[1:46:04] because of the size of the community and the village that it was. I'm opposed to

[1:46:08] any large tiff program, period. Uh I think you're going to destroy our

[1:46:13] village with that. And I believe that uh the way we first moved in here was

[1:46:18] because of the size of the village and the community we came from. A lot of the

[1:46:23] people I spoke against the tiff, I agree with a lot of the stuff that they said

[1:46:26] tonight and I'll make it short. Thank you,

[1:46:35] » William Gats.

[1:46:43] I hope I pronounced that. Is that what it is?

[1:46:46] » Sites. >> Boy. Okay. Sorry. Good of you to know

[1:46:51] what I was saying. >> Well, that's okay, Madam President.

[1:46:53] Thank you very much. Good evening. Um, I was My name is William Sites. I'm an

[1:46:58] attorney. My office is in Northbrook. Uh, attorney Jones knows me from

[1:47:04] Gleniew. Um so uh I originally um uh got involved in this issue when I was asked

[1:47:13] how Glen View's tiff worked out for uh district 34. It didn't and I explained

[1:47:19] how district 34 ended up getting short and and how it got short. So I explained

[1:47:25] that uh but otherwise I wasn't planning on speaking here tonight. I did ask um I

[1:47:31] did speak to two tenants and two property owners in this district and

[1:47:36] none of them none of them felt comfortable authorizing me to to express

[1:47:41] uh with their name but they they didn't feel that um you know putting their name

[1:47:48] out there and explaining why they they didn't feel the tiff was in their in

[1:47:53] their interest they didn't feel comfortable so it didn't have their name

[1:47:56] but as it turns out Um, and I'm going to give each one of you a copy since, uh,

[1:48:01] attorney Jones says you're not taking a vote. Um, you know, I I've done this

[1:48:06] myself as an attorney. Um, some somebody put out a website called Unlock

[1:48:10] Norfield, and I did when I represented a coal uh, a company that had coal plants.

[1:48:15] I did this myself. Um, and you know, uh, on these tiffs, you know, the I don't I

[1:48:21] don't think it's eligible. I don't think it meets the qualifications. I don't

[1:48:24] think if you do a uh impact agreement, the schools are going to be held uh

[1:48:29] whole, but um I think that you you need to make sure that you're you're talking

[1:48:34] the same language, you're talking the same facts and you make sure that the

[1:48:39] the the uh information you're getting is

[1:48:43] accurate facts. and what what and what you have here is you know something that

[1:48:49] some you know college kid put together and you know I mean that's that doesn't

[1:48:55] serve you any in in making a decision this is a very difficult decision um you

[1:49:00] know and one of the things that says it doesn't raise taxes if if if you look at

[1:49:04] this uh Freriedman report you know on the um back part of the report and you

[1:49:10] know any developer is going to love tiffs because you know it's got a

[1:49:13] proposed budget for various expenses is, you know, I I represent developers. So,

[1:49:17] you know, everybody's, you know, everybody wants to do development deals,

[1:49:20] but there's other ways of doing it other than the tiffs as well. So, you know,

[1:49:23] I'm I I'm going to leave you copies of of these documents for you take a look

[1:49:27] at them if you'd like. But, you know, I I think that it's very important that

[1:49:31] you have the right information to make a to make a sound decision. And you know,

[1:49:38] other than that, you know, I think that, you know, it's it's, you know, u I'm

[1:49:42] dealing with a lot of problems with with Glen View that I would that I would say,

[1:49:46] you know, one of the problems I'm having with Glen View that as attorney Jones

[1:49:49] perhaps knows is in Glen View um a lot of money from from the from the former

[1:49:56] TIFF when they sold land sales um went into its big fund called the permanent

[1:50:01] fund. And that permanent fund is now being spent on restaurants to quote

[1:50:05] unquote revitalize downtown Glen View that built a five-story uh uh apartment

[1:50:10] building in the center of downtown Glen View that I spent six years uh suing on

[1:50:14] Glen View. Um and the problem with all this money is it ends up going to LLC's

[1:50:21] where the people coming to public meetings represent the LLC's, they're

[1:50:25] not the real people getting the money. The real people getting the money are

[1:50:28] wealthy people. So you you need to make certain if you're doing deals that the

[1:50:33] people who are actually getting the money, you know who who's actually

[1:50:36] getting the money. So anyway, I appreciate your time. I probably went

[1:50:40] over the three minutes. Your your uh contemporary in Glen Gy would cut me off

[1:50:44] after two and a half minutes. So I appreciate your time. Um but uh thank

[1:50:48] you very much. >> Thank you.

[1:50:55] Um, Ariel Hoffer, Lauren Ruger, Eileen Issacs,

[1:51:01] Barb Silva, Jordan Shackleford, Holt, Ziggler.

[1:51:07] Just so everybody started waiting in the weeks. Go ahead.

[1:51:10] » Ariel Hoer, resident at 1554 Willow and business owner at 300 Hap Road. Many

[1:51:16] residents, business owners, taxing bodies, and interesting parties have

[1:51:19] spoken over the last few months about concerns relating to TIFF eligibility as

[1:51:23] well as the effect it will have on schools. I'll leave it to the others to

[1:51:26] reiterate those important concerns tonight. I want to start by saying how

[1:51:30] incredible our 100redyear celebration was this past Saturday. It reminded me

[1:51:34] about what makes Northfield so special. Mom and pop vendors served a park full

[1:51:38] of families, many of which had family members actually founded this town. We

[1:51:43] did not have chain vendors and all main food vendors that participated are

[1:51:47] located within the proposed TIFF boundaries. I believe this is something

[1:51:50] of huge note. My concern is rooted in overdevelopment at the cost of the

[1:51:55] vibrancy we currently display display. To establish a tiff area in a place

[1:51:59] already populated by thriving businesses, most of which don't own

[1:52:03] their space is to ask to change the landscape that makes us so special.

[1:52:06] Should businesses face relocation to make way for the rise of condo towers,

[1:52:11] they will fail. I have no doubt about this. This tip proposal, as outlined,

[1:52:16] does not ensure a legacy of small business. Rather, it will help usher in

[1:52:20] an era of big box chains with mom and pops left by the wayside. In fact, I

[1:52:24] don't see any of the vendors from Saturday surviving in this unlocked

[1:52:28] Northfield. As elected members of this board, it is your responsibility to

[1:52:32] represent the interests of our of your constituents. How can you hear the

[1:52:36] incredible amount of concerns from your villagers and still choose to blatantly

[1:52:40] ignore them? If it is a matter of a budget crisis, then tell us though.

[1:52:44] Thank you.

[1:52:52] » Hi, uh Lauren Reager, 248 Wagner. Um I wanted to just stand up and say a few

[1:52:59] words in support um for the proposed tiff. I um have lived in Northfield my

[1:53:05] entire life. I grew up here attending Middlefork, Sunset Ridge, and New Trier.

[1:53:10] I was a teacher assistant at Middlefork and now my two children attend

[1:53:13] Middlefork as well. Um growing up in Northfield, there was a uh my favorite

[1:53:18] place to go was TCBY. I think I funded it uh solely by myself. Um we would run

[1:53:25] around the fountain um with my friends and enjoy the local establishments that

[1:53:29] were there. Um and at TCB TCBY we would gather as families

[1:53:36] after um dance recital, spring sings, winter sings, and families would gather

[1:53:41] in line uh commune um and share stories that still uh stay with me today. We

[1:53:48] have a great local um downtown. We have uh great resident uh great shops and uh

[1:53:55] restaurants, but we're lacking the gathering place where families can go

[1:53:58] and kids can safely ride their bikes. Uh currently I see a lot of them riding to

[1:54:03] Walgreens and Starbucks, and I'm very concerned with their safety, especially

[1:54:07] at the Walgreens or the Starbucks uh crossing zone. Um, I got involved or

[1:54:13] leaned in more to this conversation um, over the last several months as I

[1:54:17] started to see, like many Northfield residents, the yard signs um, popping up

[1:54:22] more and more and I started to try to understand what the information was. And

[1:54:27] as I went searching, I only found one side of the story. Um, and it's only

[1:54:32] gotten louder. I haven't heard as much information up until recently with the

[1:54:37] uh, various meetings and information that's been shared. Um and so I'm

[1:54:42] encouraged by the um both sides now sharing information um together and in

[1:54:48] different various formats. Um recently I had the um ability to join a

[1:54:53] conversation where both the school board members and village board members were

[1:54:57] having a conversation that was the most productive conversation I've heard in

[1:55:01] this entire experience that I've been participating in which admittedly is

[1:55:05] fairly limited. Um, but I've heard criticisms of these gatherings, which

[1:55:09] disappoints me. Um, because it's the side of Northfield that I've known and

[1:55:14] loved growing up here is small, local, uh, shared communication and

[1:55:19] conversation, even if they disagree, of coming together, talking about things

[1:55:24] that they agree or disagree, in a productive, calm, and rational way. Um,

[1:55:30] I won't stand up here spouting the different data points of why I support

[1:55:34] our schools, our local businesses, and the need for our downtown and Northfield

[1:55:39] to thrive generally. I think you've done a nice job of sharing that information

[1:55:43] with us. However, I do think we could do a better job of sharing with our

[1:55:46] residents uh some of the information that I just learned here tonight. For

[1:55:50] example, that there is a need to invest in Northfield and by doing nothing, we

[1:55:55] won't accomplish anything. So, I do encourage residents to consider uh the

[1:56:00] reasons why this is being proposed to um support Northfield's growth. Thank you,

[1:56:07] » Eileene Isacs.

[1:56:16] » Good evening and thank you for the opportunity. I had not expected to

[1:56:20] speak, so I've been jotting notes as the meeting has gone on. I've lived here for

[1:56:26] 41 years. Um I live in the old Calderini house for you old people that know. Um

[1:56:33] the first reason, the first thing that I would like to raise is since you knew

[1:56:37] that this was going to be such a white hot issue, since you knew that on both

[1:56:41] sides there was going to be such a agitated participation, why we aren't in

[1:56:46] a bigger space that could have accommodated everybody. I don't

[1:56:49] understand. And I think that that casts a Paul on the whole conversation.

[1:56:58] The second question I have is you are all elected representatives elected to

[1:57:03] represent the interests of those who you represent. There's a very strong notion

[1:57:08] out there that every one of you has already made up your mind except one in

[1:57:12] favor of a tiff and that these are just dur kinds of meetings that you're having

[1:57:17] and that none of you are in a position to change your mind that you've all set

[1:57:22] your positions. This is very disheartening and makes it feel like we

[1:57:26] are not involved in a democratic situation.

[1:57:30] Um, my third concern is the legality of the entire enterprise. TIFFs were

[1:57:37] designed to help blighted communities who were unable to attract commercial

[1:57:42] development. This has never been the case in Northfield. This is an

[1:57:46] embarrassment in of riches as the wealth of our community and the value of our

[1:57:50] homes climb. It's an insult to those communities that really need TIFFs that

[1:57:55] we should usurp that desperate mechanism for our own development.

[1:58:01] Our village manager oversaw Kennallworth's tiffs and it's my

[1:58:06] understanding that very little development occurred as a result in

[1:58:09] Deerfield. They have a tiff and last week they had to pass a bond issue to

[1:58:15] support the schools because the schools were short the funding that they needed.

[1:58:19] At the terrific centennial celebration this weekend and it was terrific and

[1:58:24] congratulations to you all on the amazing job you did. I learned that in

[1:58:29] 1984 there were only 350 students enrolled in

[1:58:34] our schools and that there was some consideration being given to closing the

[1:58:39] schools and sending the children perhaps to a VOCA or something else. Of course,

[1:58:43] enrolling my children there in 1985. Dr. Bullink didn't mention that to me, but

[1:58:49] um it was of great concern. But the constituents then rose up, stood firm,

[1:58:55] and look how the student body and our academic institutions have thrived.

[1:59:01] I was proud to be a member of the 2040 committee. We were definitive and clear

[1:59:06] that the schools could not be impacted in any way. Any way, not little bit, not

[1:59:12] a lot, anyway. So why is this now any kind of an issue? The school board has

[1:59:19] spoken that this would be a bad gesture. What is the rush? I yield to the other

[1:59:24] person who spoke earlier tonight. This is an issue of such concern, it deserves

[1:59:29] a referendum. Thank you,

[1:59:40] Barb Silva,

[1:59:45] Jordan Shackleford.

[1:59:51] Um, hi, I'm Jordan Shackleford. I'm um a business owner of two businesses at 300

[1:59:58] South Hap Road. one being Shred415, which I've owned for 13 years, and the

[2:00:04] other being Sweat Shack, which I opened last June. Um, I my husband's here, too,

[2:00:10] in case I split up, but I was going to say, um, my issue is that, you know, I

[2:00:16] employ somewhere around 40 to 60 individuals at my studios, be it

[2:00:22] trainers, front desk, kid care, cleaning staff, as well as 60,000

[2:00:29] um unique visitors a year at both of my um studios. So I drive a lot of traffic

[2:00:37] to the Northfield for shopping, for um engagement, for um just, you know,

[2:00:44] lively and vibrant area. So I am just saying that I find, you know, with um

[2:00:51] other business owners that I'm friends with and also are in my um building, we,

[2:00:56] you know, we've done a really good job. 300 South HAB is fully I think fully v

[2:01:01] or fully >> what?

[2:01:03] » No, but fully. >> Yeah,

[2:01:05] » sorry. It's not it's not blighted. Um in our opinion and we welcome you guys to

[2:01:09] come visit and have an open house to to to assess what that it's not blighted.

[2:01:15] Um I would also say that I just feel um I don't envy your guys' position. We

[2:01:21] love Northfield. We've been here, as Jordan said, since 2013. reinvested in

[2:01:25] Northfield last year, last summer, um, and and went through all the process.

[2:01:30] Um, and I feel like the business owners in this community are part of this blast

[2:01:35] area and and re with the redevelopment. I understand it. I don't believe that

[2:01:40] 300 and 310 South Hap Road was part of the the 20 uh 2040 plan. It's now part

[2:01:47] of this redevelopment uh redistricing process. And I just feel like, you know,

[2:01:52] consideration should be given um for, you know, that this is not a blighted

[2:01:57] building and it's not a blighted community for sure. Um as well um I

[2:02:03] recognize that some of the things that were in there. I I I find it hard to

[2:02:07] believe that in that report um were a lot of instances for a lot of

[2:02:12] infrastructure and a lot of things with buildings. And we were just here two

[2:02:15] months ago whether you guys authorized a brand new business in at 300 South Hap

[2:02:20] Road where somebody was in investing in the community and there was no

[2:02:24] consideration given or even a heads up that hey you got you might be going into

[2:02:28] a building that we deem being deemed to be blighted. I think that's a little

[2:02:32] disingenuous. >> Thank you.

[2:02:36] » Thank you very much.

[2:02:44] Holt. Holt, are you still here? There you are. Okay. Uh, the next on the list

[2:02:49] is, uh, Yarn Sharon, it looks like to me.

[2:02:54] I'm having trouble reading some of these names. Uh, Chris and Marky

[2:03:00] from Children's Gift Outlet, Carol Richtol,

[2:03:04] Anna Ladden perhaps. Okay. So anyway, Holt,

[2:03:10] take it away. Thank you. >> Hello. Hello. My name is Holt Zidler.

[2:03:14] I'm at 265 Somerfield Road in the evil Northbrook.

[2:03:19] Uh, as some of you know, I'm on the school board of D29 and I'm currently

[2:03:24] serving as president. So, I'm actually usually on the other side of this table

[2:03:28] until I can appreciate uh your position. First of all, thank you for your

[2:03:32] service. I think there is no greater impact to a whole community than locally

[2:03:37] elected public service. There's nothing that beats it. Uh I want to make a few

[2:03:42] quick points in a simple ask that's consistent with my peers in um nutrier.

[2:03:47] First, I'd like to reiterate Peter Tos and Chris Johnson comments. There is

[2:03:52] impact to schools. There is. We stand by our estimates and our

[2:03:58] communications. In fact, we believe it is our duty to inform our community of

[2:04:01] our concerns. I will say I'm encouraged by some of the dialogue um tonight

[2:04:06] already. there may be a shift in messaging from there's no impact to the

[2:04:09] math to we could work something out let's talk and hash out a deal that may

[2:04:14] be possible second a key philosophy of mine is to always seek what is fair if

[2:04:19] any fans of John RWS in the audience fairness principle in my board meetings

[2:04:23] I've talked about timing and messaging concerns I think it's fair to insist on

[2:04:27] truthful messaging and I think it's fair to insist on timing to not feel rushed

[2:04:32] for a magnitude of this size uh and so that's the Third point and the ask. So

[2:04:37] I'd ask this village board uh just like my colleagues to consider delaying the

[2:04:42] vote on a tiff maybe for a long time or permanently but at least until an IGA is

[2:04:47] in place that makes schools whole. I believe it's possible and fair. Thank

[2:04:51] you. >> Thank you.

[2:04:59] » Hello uh dear toes of the village. Uh my name is Yav Shaon. I live in Glen View

[2:05:05] in the Avoka 37 school district.

[2:05:11] I am also a school board member but I'm speaking here as an affected taxpayer

[2:05:16] and more importantly a neighbor. First I want to congratulate you for

[2:05:21] your 100th uh anniversary of the village.

[2:05:26] I understand the challenge posed by the vacant building specifically where

[2:05:30] Mariana once stood. uh it is your duty and responsibility as the trustees to

[2:05:36] find a solution that restores and revitalize that property and I share

[2:05:40] that call. But I urge you not to proceed with the

[2:05:44] tax increment financing district. You argue that a TIFF is the only

[2:05:49] solution that avoids raising taxes. Yet a TIF does not create new money. that

[2:05:57] $175 million would need to come from somewhere.

[2:06:02] Uh as property values outside the TIF rises because of inflation, those

[2:06:09] property owner will bear a larger share of the tax burden. School and other

[2:06:14] taxing district may also face pressure to increase rates to fund additional

[2:06:20] students and services generated by development inside the TIFF. And when

[2:06:26] taxes rise, the residents will connect these increases to the decision you'll

[2:06:31] be making next month. Worse, many of the people who will bear

[2:06:36] those higher taxes have no vote on this board. They live outside the village

[2:06:42] like me, but share the same school district and other taxing bodies.

[2:06:49] The reason the TIF has a lesser impact on residents of the village versus other

[2:06:56] options that you uh investigated is because you are forcing people outside

[2:07:01] the village like myself to chip in. Uh that is not how good neighbors should

[2:07:07] treat one another. Uh a commercial developer and that is

[2:07:14] your goal. Uh the first thing they will be looking for is customers and likely

[2:07:19] beyond just within the village. Al alienating neighbor neighboring

[2:07:24] residents by shifting taxes into them is a poor way to build a lo loyal customer

[2:07:32] base. Uh and finally a personal plea. Our

[2:07:36] political system is under strained. Too often people feel that elected officials

[2:07:43] make decisions without broad public support.

[2:07:48] Um and it's clearly here that I don't know how what's the percentage but there

[2:07:52] is a strong opposition to this tiff and the result of that is growing

[2:07:58] frustration and declining trust in government. So I implore you uh do not

[2:08:04] contribute to that trend. Please seek B public support before making a decision

[2:08:10] this consequential. Thank you very much.

[2:08:26] I'm going to talk a little slower and a little louder because I've noticed

[2:08:29] that's been a problem and mind listening to some of the fine comments. I'm Marky

[2:08:34] Geekas. I own the children's gift shop at 310 Hap Road, unit 128 in the

[2:08:39] Northfield Village Center. I oppose the tax extremate financing proposal the

[2:08:44] board is considering. I oppose the proposal because it not only will

[2:08:48] completely destroy my business, it will also deprive Northfield and surrounding

[2:08:52] communities of the valuable service that my store provides. To understand my

[2:08:58] opposition, you must understand what the Children's Gift Shop is all about. I've

[2:09:03] been in Northfield for 35 years. 10 years on Northfield Road and 25 in the

[2:09:08] Northfield Village Center, my present location. We have been we have been

[2:09:13] voted the best toy store on the Northshore multiple times in this

[2:09:16] period. My mission for the past 35 years has been to ignite the imagination and a

[2:09:23] sense of wonder in our children so they can discover themselves, their passion,

[2:09:28] and their purpose. In fact, it is the power of play that

[2:09:32] captivates all of us and allows us to be our truest selves. So, in this world of

[2:09:38] speedy digital connections, how does an independent Northshore brickandmortar

[2:09:43] business, in this case, children's gift shops, stay relevant? The first brick

[2:09:48] brick, excuse me, the first brick in any brickandmortar store is, of course, the

[2:09:52] selection it offers. On buying trips, whenever a manufacturer tells to me,

[2:09:56] "Oh, this sells everywhere." I just roll my eyes. I cherrypick like crazy to

[2:10:02] offer a curated collection from only trusted vendors with the highest

[2:10:06] standards. After 35 years, I am well tuned into the tastes and needs of our

[2:10:11] community. The choices I make are the learning tools that we offer to enrich

[2:10:16] children's lives based on their needs and their parents' goals. The expertise

[2:10:21] is irreplaceable. Unlike the big box stores, in addition to knowing our

[2:10:25] customers, we don't have to commit to products a year in advance. We can

[2:10:29] quickly adapt as markets change and new trends appear. Another brick is the

[2:10:34] Northshore experience you all have learned to expect and enjoy. In our

[2:10:40] case, this means expert product knowledge and our enthusiasm to match

[2:10:44] the child's age and abilities to the perfect gift. Our economy depends on a

[2:10:49] small locallyowned businesses that create jobs and play a central role in

[2:10:54] keeping consumer dollars and our own communities. When you support us, it

[2:10:59] allows me to employ eight plus local souls. Hire a local insurance agent, an

[2:11:04] accountant, a printer, an IT guy, security customer security company, and

[2:11:08] even a window washer. More bricks. It's a big risk to open any independent

[2:11:13] business. It takes an enormous labor of love, courage, and that Midwest work

[2:11:18] ethic. Again, more bricks. If you have been in our Bright Happy store, you have

[2:11:23] my met my amazing staff who support sustain the children's gift shop and me

[2:11:28] beyond measure. Their product knowledge and amazing stamina, oh boy, is the

[2:11:32] mortar between the bricks and makes everything possible.

[2:11:36] Finally, this is really important to me. It became painfully obvious during CO

[2:11:41] that available spaces like our neighborhood stores, restaurants, parks,

[2:11:45] groceries, libraries offer us personal community interactions to help us

[2:11:50] reclaim balance outside of the digital world, enhancing the quality of life for

[2:11:56] our families and the entire community. It is inconceivable that you would

[2:12:00] destroy this valuable gift to the community with this ill-considered,

[2:12:04] hastily assembled TIFF proposal. Thank you.

[2:12:09] Can I sit down or stay up here with you? Can I sit?

[2:12:15] » Hi, my name is Chris Geekus, excuse me. And I'm the chief disposal

[2:12:22] officer at the uh >> children's gift shop, which means I take

[2:12:26] out the trash every day. Um, I'm also a lawyer and I sent to I

[2:12:33] think you and to your your council what is a legal memorandum in my presentation

[2:12:39] is going to be substantially drier than what you heard earlier and from my wife.

[2:12:46] Um, the first stop on this journey for you

[2:12:51] is to determine whether or not the neighborhood that you're trying to

[2:12:56] designate as a tiff area satisfies the eligibility requirements of the tax

[2:13:04] incentive redevelopment act. And you're not going to be able to rely on

[2:13:11] the report of your expert. And I have tried to outline in my memorandum to you

[2:13:17] uh why that is uh to summarize it briefly. Generalized conclusions about

[2:13:23] the area that you're dealing with and the properties that are there um are not

[2:13:30] sufficient to support a determination of blight or conservation area which is a

[2:13:37] little bit less. I think that of the four factors that Freriedman has

[2:13:42] identified, two of them are not satisfied, one of them has to do with

[2:13:47] deterioration and the other has to do with non-compliance with the current

[2:13:51] code. I think you all remember probably that the village adopted the 2021

[2:13:58] building and fire codes and if I understand the logic of the Freriedman

[2:14:02] report because all these buildings are substantially older than that they don't

[2:14:08] uh satisfy the current code which I think is wrong as a matter of law

[2:14:13] because the codes specifically provide that uh buildings that were compliant

[2:14:20] with previous codes are grandfather bothered in they may be non-conforming

[2:14:24] uses but they are permitted non and lawful non-conforming uses. So it is

[2:14:30] wrong we think is a matter of law to conclude that they're non-compliant with

[2:14:35] the existing code. And on the other factor that we think is not shown

[2:14:40] deterioration. The case law that I have cited to you

[2:14:45] that I've looked at and I hope that I'm right. This is not an area I practice

[2:14:49] in. The case law is that routine wear and te and wear and tear of property

[2:14:55] does not add up to deterioration. Perhaps there are vacancies, but the

[2:15:00] market, the free market that we all adore, is essentially designed to solve

[2:15:06] those problems. And even if it's going to take some time to do that, that does

[2:15:11] not mean that the properties involved are deteriorated within the meaning of

[2:15:18] the tax incentive act. So, I just have a couple of more thoughts and ding-dong.

[2:15:25] Um, I think you sit here patiently and you

[2:15:28] listen to everybody and I know you're taking every what they say quite

[2:15:33] seriously. Um, and I know you're not going to respond to me to the points

[2:15:38] that I've made or any of the other folks have made. But that's not going to work

[2:15:42] in the court. The policy question, there are two prongs to this. One are the

[2:15:47] policy questions. Is this a good idea? Is it a good idea to short the schools?

[2:15:53] Are you shorting the schools? Is the plan uh being developed enough so that

[2:15:59] they will be sufficiently protected? The policy question presented here by Mark

[2:16:04] is are you going to destroy existing businesses? And you are. There's no

[2:16:09] question about it. And is that a relevant consideration?

[2:16:13] And that's all essentially within your discretion. What's not in your

[2:16:17] discretion are the eligibility requirements. And you've got a learned

[2:16:21] lawyer here on the on the board. You've got one of the preeminent municipal

[2:16:27] council in the in the um in the state and they will be able to advise you. The

[2:16:34] question that you have to ask yourself is this going to be defensible in court

[2:16:40] and the generalized conclusions that are in the report that

[2:16:45] I've seen of Freriedman are not sufficient to do it. Now, my last

[2:16:50] thought is this. I sent you a preservation demand, and I hope you

[2:16:55] didn't weren't too offended by it. The second to the last paragraph of it says

[2:17:01] that I'm doing it because of the likelihood that this is going to end up

[2:17:05] in litigation. That is sufficient of a justification for you to do an a uh

[2:17:13] executive session non-public where you can talk to each other and hear from

[2:17:19] your council which would be protected by the attorney client privilege anyway. So

[2:17:25] be you'd be able to uh keep it confidential. And I don't mean secret, I

[2:17:31] mean confidential. And the point of it is that it was allow

[2:17:35] you to have the interchange amongst yourselves as to whether or not you can

[2:17:40] defend it because that's where you're headed down to the daily center in the

[2:17:46] city of Chicago. Thank you.

[2:18:01] » Carol Ritchell. Yes, please. Anna Ladden,

[2:18:06] Tanya Walt, >> sorry,

[2:18:08] » Brad Rosett. Okay.

[2:18:13] Uh, Carol Richel, 81 Hap, you are a tough act to follow. My god. Thank you.

[2:18:20] Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Um, >> oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I always do

[2:18:25] this. Okay. Um, Simon was one of the people who brought up a petition that

[2:18:33] was raised to ask you to slow down and ask for a referendum. As of this moment,

[2:18:39] I believe there are 1,126 signatures on that petition.

[2:18:46] Truth is, you weren't slowing down. You haven't slowed down. a second petition

[2:18:51] actually was started which specifically just let's see uh it's asking you

[2:18:57] basically to stop stop this um so as of a few hours ago I can't read my own

[2:19:02] writing there were um oh god 200 >> 54

[2:19:07] » thank you 254 signatures on that one okay I'm rambling here okay so I'm

[2:19:13] piggybacking on what Sam Simon brought up what I believe Terry brought up as

[2:19:18] far we have asked you for a referendum and actually at one of the meetings when

[2:19:24] Tracy you were specifically asked would you consider it what you said was no

[2:19:30] essentially because it would slow down the process which kind of speaks to

[2:19:34] we've made up our minds don't confuse us with the facts I'm sorry to be offensive

[2:19:40] if I am offensive and the other thing you know

[2:19:46] I think it's up to the elected Ed, you elected representatives, it's your

[2:19:53] responsibility, sorry I'm flumbling here, to um to res

[2:19:58] to represent your constituent constituents.

[2:20:03] It is our responsibility to hold our elected officials accountable and that's

[2:20:09] what a whole lot of people are trying to do. Thank you. Thank you for your time.

[2:20:19] Good evening. Analic 276 Bristol. I live in Northfield for 25 years.

[2:20:26] » Yes, absolutely. So, two things that I've noticed tonight. Several of you and

[2:20:31] we do appreciate everything you do. Had to correct yourself and you said when

[2:20:37] Tiff is going to pass and then you quickly corrected yourself and you said

[2:20:41] if TIF is going to pass. And I'm not the first one who noticed that tonight. It

[2:20:46] is a bit concerning. Second comment, when the lovely old

[2:20:51] resident, I believe Mary, right, was sitting here and she used the word

[2:20:56] vibrant. I don't know if you've noticed, we all clapped. When any of you used the

[2:21:01] word vibrant, there was a dead silence. So, I think there's got to be some

[2:21:06] difference here. That's two things that I've noticed

[2:21:09] tonight. I am also been working in Vanetkcoa public schools for 28 years. I

[2:21:16] have my colleagues here. I have the friends of my children here who on the

[2:21:20] board. And what you don't know and what you

[2:21:24] don't see when the families move into the village and the district because of

[2:21:31] the services and there is no adequate pay. And I see

[2:21:37] it every day and I'm sure Dr. Tragas see it every day too. That's what creates a

[2:21:43] difference for the teachers and you really really really I am asking you to

[2:21:50] listen to the board. They did not come up with those ideas because they just

[2:21:55] look at the numbers. They came up with those ideas because they feel it on

[2:22:00] every day on their back. Please give us an opportunity to have a referendum.

[2:22:06] Thank you.

[2:22:14] Tanya. Oh, Tanya or Brad. One or the other. Whoever's ready. Good to go.

[2:22:21] » Good evening, President Mendrich and trustees, two of whom are my neighbors.

[2:22:26] Um, I'm Tanya Wallik, a 21 year Northfield resident, two houses at

[2:22:31] Sunset Ridge parent, and I've spent the last five years in development finance.

[2:22:35] These views are my own, not the views of my employer. Um, I have some prepared

[2:22:39] remarks, but I wanted to start with a comment that Erica made, and just you

[2:22:44] guys are really impressive. Like, I'm walking out of here, every one of you,

[2:22:49] so immensely proud of this community on either side. Just wonderful. And and I

[2:22:54] was thinking about what Erica said and one of the things for me, maybe not for

[2:22:58] others, is that this has felt like a public relations campaign. It has not

[2:23:02] felt like a genuine exchange. And so I've and and as an example, at 12:57

[2:23:09] today, there was an email sent out and I took a meeting off because I wanted to

[2:23:13] read it. And it's there are facts in it, but it is misleading in order. It is

[2:23:19] misleading. Is there's things in there that are distractions. They're not

[2:23:22] proof. They're apples to oranges. They're not guaranteed and they're

[2:23:25] unclear. And I've listed those in here. But I would encourage all of you to have

[2:23:30] more direct engagement with all of our citizens versus trying to

[2:23:36] sell this to us. Um, now to the prepared remarks. Uh, more philosophical. Years

[2:23:42] ago, uh, Dominic's before Marianos closed for a few months over a roof

[2:23:46] leak. And my husband and I always joke about this because we got a flyer in the

[2:23:50] mail that said, "We're sorry for this tragedy."

[2:23:53] Begs the question, "What is a tragedy?" It's not a grocery store closing, we

[2:23:58] survived that. It's a child hit on Willow, Wagner, or Waneka roads because

[2:24:01] traffic keeps increasing. It's schools so overwhelmed with new students that

[2:24:06] classrooms balloon and services dwindle. It's a downtown that looks like the

[2:24:11] Glenn and lacks the quirky character and characters that we all moved here for.

[2:24:15] These are the unintended consequences of good people making short-sighted

[2:24:20] decisions. I know those consequences firsthand. I lived down the street from

[2:24:25] Trustee Judas and Trustee Galen and I was backing out on Avon out of my

[2:24:30] driveway and I looked both ways and a car was speeding around the bend near my

[2:24:33] house and it almost hit me. Traffic pushed on my street after Willow Road

[2:24:38] was widened is an unintended consequence. And I know what those

[2:24:43] services mean. My son, who couldn't speak at three, with the help of this

[2:24:47] district's services last spring in seventh grade, was named most

[2:24:51] outstanding student. This year, he's in his second year at Nutrier in math.

[2:24:56] Unbelievable. That's what it's at at stake when we

[2:25:00] talk about school funding. And it's not an abstraction for me. We've been here

[2:25:04] before. As I understand it, in 1955, a developer eyed undeveloped land here.

[2:25:09] Residents didn't wait for incentives. They formed a park district and bought

[2:25:12] the land themselves. The paper mocked it as invalid. Voters backed it anyway

[2:25:17] twice. Today, that land is Willow Park and Middlefork School. This town already

[2:25:22] works on its own terms. Northfield's charm is its schools, its parks, and its

[2:25:26] trails. We all want a vibrant downtown, but not at the expense of a 23-year

[2:25:31] mortgage. We earn a fixerupper. Please don't take out that mortgage on a house

[2:25:35] that's already selling itself. Thanks.

[2:25:47] Hi, Brad Ross at 1040 Arbor Lane over in Meadow Lakes. I don't doubt anyone's

[2:25:54] passion here uh for or against the TIFF. Everyone on this board, everyone who has

[2:26:00] spoken, it's all about what is best for Northfield.

[2:26:05] And what people are asking for, it's not no, it's not yet. uh they want more

[2:26:11] information, they want more time, they want real numbers before this $175

[2:26:18] million tiff, yes or no. The message has been pretty clear. There's been a

[2:26:23] thousand people on a petition and that's roughly one in five registered voters in

[2:26:29] this uh village. For comparison, only 1,542

[2:26:34] people turned out to vote in the last year's municipal election. That's a 32%

[2:26:39] turnout. This petition represents nearly twothirds of that. Many voices on one

[2:26:45] issue outside the election cycle. What residents are asking for is more

[2:26:52] time, not a rejection. TIFF money is public money, diverted public uh

[2:26:57] property tax revenue, and the public deserves a real framework on how it's

[2:27:02] spent, not just a headline figure. Right now, we have a $175 million number. A

[2:27:10] few lines for construction, maintenance, and administration. No one, three,

[2:27:15] five-year cash flow projections. No sensitivity analysis.

[2:27:20] Private development is already happening in this corridor. Well, without any tiff

[2:27:26] help, which should make the board seriously question where is it but for

[2:27:32] test is even met. When asked for a plan, residents have been pointed to a vision

[2:27:38] 2040 uh plan, a general vision document, not a financial model. And then there's

[2:27:44] the bigger question. A tiff hand significant leverage to whoever

[2:27:50] developers show up with a proposal. Once that money is committed, this board and

[2:27:55] this community are reacting to developers plans instead of setting the

[2:28:00] terms on our owns. Before we commit $175 million or so, I uh residents uh deserve

[2:28:10] a clear villageled vision, not a developer on one. What what are the

[2:28:17] mixes? Residential, commercial, industrial. Uh what do we want in the

[2:28:22] corridor? What does this mix look like 5, 10, 20 years now? Not just at uh

[2:28:29] project completion. What tax flow pro projections do we have right now?

[2:28:36] H um how the future uh decisions get made once this money is committed. Does

[2:28:42] the board retain real control or does the approval uh hand the control over to

[2:28:49] the developers? My ask tonight is specific. release all of the

[2:28:55] documentation, SB Freriedman and others, the deliverables, not the excerpts, but

[2:29:00] not a summary presentation, all of the background information so every resident

[2:29:06] can take a look at it and an analysize it themselves. Um,

[2:29:13] so that's it. I'm just looking slow down, define the vision before the

[2:29:18] developers do it themselves. Thank you.

[2:29:26] The last uh three slips are Tana, I think, Hitch, Rick Zalinski,

[2:29:35] and boy, this last one, it looks like C H E T Han.

[2:29:43] I got it. Okay, great. Tana, >> hi. Good evening. I have heard a lot

[2:29:50] tonight and a lot of emotion and a lot of dedication. I wanted to clarify

[2:29:55] something that was important to me when I was thinking about this. If a a

[2:30:00] village has a tiff, they cannot structurally keep a school out of the

[2:30:06] tax instrument increment financing. If the village decides to move forward with

[2:30:12] the tiff, what that means because their overlapping tax bodies that all the

[2:30:17] incremental tax revenue is diverted into the villages tiff fund rather than going

[2:30:23] to the schools. But as you were saying earlier, while a village can't exempt a

[2:30:29] school district from the TIFF baseline mechanics, they can enter enter into a

[2:30:34] legally binding IGA, intergovernmental agreement. Through an IGA, the village

[2:30:41] can agree to carve out a specific portion of the TIFF revenue and pass it

[2:30:46] back directly to the school district to offset any financial strain or handle

[2:30:53] new student enrollment. In many states, including Illinois,

[2:30:59] statutory protections require the village to reimburse school districts

[2:31:04] out of the tiff fund if the new development directly causes school

[2:31:09] enrollment to increase or brings in more children. And I didn't understand that

[2:31:15] before and I just wanted to clarify it for everybody. Thank you.

[2:31:18] » Thank you,

[2:31:23] » Rick Sinski.

[2:31:30] Just in case there's someone upstairs, we'll give them a minute.

[2:31:35] And last but not least, is it

[2:31:39] » Shaathan? >> Jathan.

[2:31:42] » Okay.

[2:31:47] » Good evening and thank you for the time. Uh I am Chathan Sharma live in 2251

[2:31:52] Bracken Lane. uh very actively involved in everything that goes on in the

[2:31:56] village. Patrick knows the email exchanges we've had uh going going on

[2:32:02] for a while now. Right? So I think you know first of all I kind of want to

[2:32:06] reflect what uh some of the people here said. I do not believe the village board

[2:32:11] is out to destroy this village. Right? Many of you live here. Many of you lived

[2:32:14] here longer than I have. And I I don't believe that you're here to destroy the

[2:32:19] village, ruin our schools and turn this into an unlivable place. Right. I I

[2:32:24] don't I do not really believe that. But at the same time, when I go through

[2:32:29] everything that you put out there, I've read every single document, every single

[2:32:32] communication that you have sent out, including the email that came out this

[2:32:35] afternoon, which kind of seemed a bit, you know, last minute.

[2:32:40] The one thing that kind of strikes me is I moved to Northfield about 11 years ago

[2:32:46] because I liked sleepy old town that Northfield is at the moment, right? When

[2:32:52] you talk about vibrancy, I go to happen. I had dinner at Blue

[2:32:57] Blue Fish or Blue forget the name of the restaurant. Bluefish, I think. Uh, I go

[2:33:01] to Stormies and you know I really do not want any more vibrancy than what we all

[2:33:10] about you but you know

[2:33:15] I really

[2:33:19] I step out on a Friday night and you know other than casinos and you know uh

[2:33:25] betting stands and things like that there's enough in this village to kind

[2:33:28] of you know keep me happy Okay, I do agree that the Marianos is a blight. I

[2:33:34] understand all the problems that you're trying to deal with and we should do

[2:33:37] something about it, right? But I don't know if that requires $175 million over

[2:33:41] 23 years. That's the part I do not understand.

[2:33:45] So for me, the appeal is look, this is not one against the other. We're not

[2:33:51] here to fight with each other. It's really to understand what does that

[2:33:55] mean, right? What do you mean by a vibrant downtown?

[2:33:58] is does it involve big box stores? Does it involve you in a cannabis

[2:34:02] dispensaries? What exactly is vibrant? That definition may be different

[2:34:07] compared to like you know what the board has versus what the residents think but

[2:34:11] I think as someone I think it was the last speaker who said give us more

[2:34:14] details right tell us what the plan is 2040 yes I've read that plan it's a bit

[2:34:19] vague it's a bit far off right so what we need is something that's real

[2:34:25] something that makes sense to all of the people and I don't think you know I

[2:34:30] would say no to tiff just just like that without understanding that once Once we

[2:34:35] understand that, once we know where we're going,

[2:34:38] a referendum would be great. If we can have that, it's a democracy after all,

[2:34:42] right? That'd be a fantastic move on your part to do that. But all I'm

[2:34:46] asking, just like a lot of people here have asked for, is look, you're not our

[2:34:49] enemies. We're not your enemies either. So, let's kind of work together. Give us

[2:34:54] more details, slow down a little bit, and I'm sure we'll get to a place where

[2:34:58] now we can do the right thing for the village. Thank you.

[2:35:01] » Thank you.

[2:35:08] Okay. Is there anyone else who didn't submit a slip or who I may have missed

[2:35:14] who'd like to speak at this point? >> Does it have to be on? Can I make an

[2:35:19] announcement? >> Is that I should have done it at the

[2:35:23] beginning. >> Come on up. It'll be a nice distraction.

[2:35:29] No, just um just that if you go to our caucus website, tell us who you are.

[2:35:34] » Oh, Beverly Smith, 772 Heap Road, Northfield, um chair of the Northfield

[2:35:40] Caucus. If you go to our caucus website right now, you'll see that we have a

[2:35:44] call for future trustees that we will be interviewing at the end of September and

[2:35:50] the application deadline is September 7th. So, tonight you see people here

[2:35:55] that are interested in village issues. just wanted to make that announcement.

[2:36:00] Thank you. >> Thank you.

[2:36:05] » Okay. Um so now uh board members, we have a

[2:36:12] chance to um discuss this amongst ourselves. Um

[2:36:18] first of all, I want to thank all the residents for for taking the time and

[2:36:22] and sticking with us for this long period of time to share your concerns.

[2:36:26] Um, board members, anybody want to have a go at any thoughts they have after all

[2:36:31] of this? >> I I I'm going to start. Um, I appreciate

[2:36:36] everybody sharing their thoughts, their concerns. Um,

[2:36:40] I've really struggled. I reached out to some of my fellow board members having

[2:36:44] been a resident in Northfield for way too many years.

[2:36:52] The div the division, the divisiveness,

[2:36:58] the threats, the mistreatment of human beings,

[2:37:05] whether it's schoolboard members, whether it's village board members who

[2:37:09] are trying to look out for the best interest of

[2:37:14] ourselves. And I I think that we really need to

[2:37:21] look what's going on in this country and and some of these other countries and

[2:37:25] say to ourselves, do we really want to be looked at like that

[2:37:30] by the people that we represent? And I I think that um

[2:37:36] there's not one board member sitting up here at the dis tonight who would do

[2:37:42] anything intentionally

[2:37:46] to hurt our schools who give our our students

[2:37:53] the best education in the area. And I look at Dr. Treyos right now and I told

[2:37:58] him, "You want a free advertisement? What Nutrier did for my boys is amazing.

[2:38:04] And my wife and I never thought we would have two kids in Big 10 schools. I mean,

[2:38:08] it's it's awesome. Go Hawks. But in in in in reality, I I think that

[2:38:15] the strongest message that people need to hear is the fact that we're trying to

[2:38:21] work together with the schools to reach a common goal, and that is to make

[2:38:28] everybody happy. And is that achievable? I sure as hell hope so. And I'll do

[2:38:34] everything I can in my power as an individual board member to make that

[2:38:39] happen as well. But I I I just end with what I'm saying is is

[2:38:45] this is really tough for the people who love this town, who live in this town to

[2:38:50] see the division of what's going on with our community. and and I I see a couple

[2:38:56] of our business our business people here tonight. I will tell you

[2:39:02] I will do anything I can to support you guys if something happens. And I know

[2:39:08] it's if or when or however anybody wants to say it, but as a village board, we

[2:39:13] support our small businesses. We patronize them and we want them to

[2:39:17] exceed just as well. So, you know, I I I know we can get through this and I I

[2:39:23] think it's just everybody's got different opinions, but we can't let

[2:39:26] those opinions get in the way of friendship and civility. Thank you.

[2:39:33] » Anyone else? >> Uh big comment I'll make at the end of

[2:39:37] the end of all of this. Um one, we're listening. We've been listening all

[2:39:41] along. Um, just because we don't go on various platforms and

[2:39:47] um, engage in debate there doesn't mean we're not listening and paying attention

[2:39:50] to what everybody's talking about and what's out there. Um, I will reiterate

[2:39:54] from my side of the world, I've got students in the school system. I want to

[2:39:59] see them go to good schools. I'm not going to wreck my kids school. I mean,

[2:40:03] like, come on. Like, uh, but at the end of the day, where I think that leads to

[2:40:07] is our next steps. IGA was mentioned a few times tonight in

[2:40:11] different ways. I think there's ways we can put that together. I think we're not

[2:40:16] any I think it's be tough um because there's multiple factors to how an IGA

[2:40:21] can work, whether it's the amount of students that move into the district,

[2:40:24] whether it's the um CPI increases that happen, how to reconcile that, whether

[2:40:29] it's the new growth side. I mean, there's multiple If you love charts,

[2:40:33] check out school finance. It's the best way to look at multiple charts on growth

[2:40:37] and what it looks like over time. So I tell I say that in the sense that we are

[2:40:41] paying attention to it. We're trying to figure out how to make that all work to

[2:40:46] what Trusty Whitaker was saying. Um the unfortunate thing about negotiations is

[2:40:52] you said everybody's going to be happy. A lot of negotiations I've been in not

[2:40:55] everybody ends up happy at the end of the day. Um, but I think there's a path

[2:40:59] for us to go down that can ensure that our schools are still in a good place.

[2:41:04] Well, making our downtown do the things we've been asking, people have been

[2:41:08] asking for with their downtown for years. I'll refer back to the Hap Road

[2:41:11] survey, 900 residents, 85% said they wanted a better downtown. The caucus

[2:41:17] survey that came out, I think it was 2023

[2:41:20] or four, right in that range, two top two things were a better

[2:41:25] downtown. So, at some point we have to listen to our residents that are saying

[2:41:28] we want our downtown to be improved well balancing making sure that our

[2:41:33] schools are in a good place. And the last comment I'll make, not to speak for

[2:41:36] my other trustees, but we've had lots of us have had one-off conversations. This

[2:41:41] is not being taken lightly in any way, shape, or form. And in fact, in some

[2:41:45] ways, I'm sick of talking about I'd rather talk about some other things like

[2:41:49] how the Gophers are going to beat Iowa this year um for Tom's benefit. Um,

[2:41:55] but when we we look at at at all this I think we're all in very different

[2:42:02] places. Please do not discredit and just say we're all same thought process. We

[2:42:06] are in very different places trying to make sure that we're coming to a

[2:42:08] conclusion that makes the most sense for the village as a whole. There are 5751

[2:42:15] people here according to our sign, but it's probably more than that according

[2:42:19] to the world population deal. we have to represent all those vi all the folks in

[2:42:24] the village across the board and we're trying to do our best to make sure we

[2:42:26] can do that. So please give us some grace on trying to figure this out um

[2:42:31] and make sure that we have the right conclusion. I think this board will come

[2:42:34] to that right conclusion at the end of the day. But I appreciate the work

[2:42:37] that's been put in by everybody. I appreciate the comments from everybody

[2:42:41] and thank you for packing the room. I didn't know village board meetings would

[2:42:44] be so exciting. So thank you everybody.

[2:42:50] Um, I I know I'm the quiet trustee. Um, I try to do a lot of listening and right

[2:42:56] now I'm processing a lot. There's a lot of good conversation tonight. Uh, a lot

[2:43:01] of thoughtful comments, compassionate comments, respectful

[2:43:05] comments, and I would urge the the public hearing, you know, will be

[2:43:11] complete tonight. Um, but I would urge that those that sentiment continue. I'd

[2:43:17] like to hear from more people in the community with with that same idea.

[2:43:21] People that understand that this is a complex problem that's has a lot of

[2:43:27] nuance to it. It it doesn't it's not reducible to a sound bite. And I'd like

[2:43:31] more people to have thoughtful conversations like we had tonight. I

[2:43:35] that that's immensely helpful to me and I think it's immensely helpful to

[2:43:38] everybody else up here. >> Charlie, go ahead.

[2:43:43] » Um I just kind of kind of got a question and some comments. Um Patrick, when you

[2:43:47] say we're not doing well, by what standards are you talking about?

[2:43:51] Excluding the Mariano site, because what I've seen is full parking lots and busy

[2:43:55] businesses on a daily basis year round. The whole downtown area has been doing

[2:44:00] were very well. I talked to Hoffers and I talked to all the people that we have

[2:44:04] in those businesses. They're doing exceptionally well. I talked to people

[2:44:08] in certain other businesses. They're complaining that their parking lots are

[2:44:11] being filled by other people that are walking across the street to go to those

[2:44:14] businesses. So, um, the other thing is that doesn't get talked about much is

[2:44:19] 790 frontage, which the new three-story medical office building is going into,

[2:44:23] which is going to clean up that section if people want to talk about blight or

[2:44:28] they're not happy with what was there. So, I think that's a that's a huge plus.

[2:44:32] Also, there is a phase two that's been discussed for the Joselyn Center

[2:44:35] property that the developer has said that they are working on. They're buying

[2:44:39] up other property. So, there's other development there's that's going on

[2:44:43] there as well. And yes, this I agree this is a complex issue. Uh this is

[2:44:50] getting very difficult. But I also think that you know as trustees that are

[2:44:54] elected by the residents and when you look at and I took the the list here as

[2:44:58] I was kind of for who's kind of against it, who's kind of neutral. Um, you know,

[2:45:02] there's an overwhelming response. An overwhelming response. And I also before

[2:45:06] I came here tonight started going through the from August 16th till today,

[2:45:11] we had 71 people that are opposed to the TIFF and 10 basically that said they're

[2:45:16] for it. So, and I didn't get a chance to go back because there are so many

[2:45:20] responses we're getting. And that's what I've pushed for and I think people need

[2:45:24] to is to constantly email the Vgroup. Reach out to our fellow trustees. Reach

[2:45:29] out to Tracy. Reach out to the village manager. I think the Vgroup is a great

[2:45:33] way to to share your opinions because the way it's set up is that the village

[2:45:38] manager is the only one that's supposed to respond so that we get to see his

[2:45:42] response and we get to see your input. Um, again, you know, not to beat a beat

[2:45:47] a dead horse, but I've lived here 67 years and if you look at where we've

[2:45:52] been and where we're going and the development that we've had and the

[2:45:55] changes, it's incredible. I feel after this centennial that I've lived here for

[2:46:00] a hundred years because all the work that I've done and we've done in

[2:46:04] researching this uh history and there's a lot of tremendous history and I agree

[2:46:10] and Erica, what you said was spot on. I agree. There's been things that have

[2:46:14] happened that people that were friends aren't talking to each other now.

[2:46:18] There's things that have happened and I think we have to we have to uh put out

[2:46:22] the olive branch, so to speak, and really look at what needs to be done. Um

[2:46:27] I would hope that I've never gotten the answer to this yet, and I don't know if

[2:46:31] Tracy can answer it or Patrick, but I I agree. What is the rush? I feel like

[2:46:36] there's this big push. We have getting development. I I look at all the people

[2:46:40] that come to these meetings. I look at all the people that have emailed uh

[2:46:43] people that we talk to each other on the street whether it's at the centennial

[2:46:46] which I tried to avoid any tiff talk at the centennial because that was our day

[2:46:52] to shine and celebrate. So I wore the no tiff talk at that night for a reason

[2:46:59] because I think we needed a couple days to heal. We needed a couple days to

[2:47:03] focus on what we have back here against the wall and what the work that the

[2:47:08] committee especially mayor roads myself um you know all of us have done Tracy.

[2:47:14] So I think um you know I would like to see a slowdown and I I've been opposed

[2:47:20] to the tiff from the very beginning because my primary concern is our small

[2:47:24] businesses, our local businesses. Uh Trusty Whitaker and I worked on a

[2:47:29] committee that we came up with during COVID and I came up with the slogan shop

[2:47:34] eat explore find it northfield that we had on our vehicle stickers until the

[2:47:38] centennial sticker came up this year. Trusty Whitaker and I and Melissa DeFao

[2:47:43] worked on making sure that we advertised and advocated for our small businesses.

[2:47:48] So, and that's what I'm trying to do now because if the business owner doesn't

[2:47:52] own the property, that person is at risk of losing everything. And you have

[2:47:57] people here that own their business that live in town that I feel we have to

[2:48:02] protect. And no matter what you say, pro or against tiff, my biggest concern is

[2:48:07] that yes, we can cont try to control zoning and all the other things we do,

[2:48:11] but if some developer wants to come in and he fits the zoning, uh, we're going

[2:48:16] to get sued if we try to stop him from doing something. And I worry that a

[2:48:20] place like Hoffers or UD dog has got millions of dollars invested in their

[2:48:24] business, in their equipment. And what'll happen is somebody comes in and

[2:48:28] says, "Oh, I want to put an apartment complex here, but I don't want to put

[2:48:32] retail on the first floor." Or if they do want to put retail on the first

[2:48:35] floor, what they want to do is you'll be out of business for a couple years.

[2:48:39] We'll lose that tax revenue. And once a business is gone for a couple years,

[2:48:42] it's very difficult for people to come back and establish that. And then in the

[2:48:46] meantime, where are they going to go? And if they do get a spot back in that

[2:48:50] location, what's the rent going to be? So that's why I'll be honest. From the

[2:48:55] very beginning, I've been against TIFF. 30some years ago, because I've lived

[2:48:59] here forever, they tried to do a TIFF from where Pam's building is, where

[2:49:04] Metamorphosis, all the way down that row to where Suels was, which is now

[2:49:08] Stormy's. And a big part of the tax increment financing that they wanted to

[2:49:12] do was the imminent domain section of that where they wanted to use imminent

[2:49:16] domain to knock all that down, build a hotel, do all these different things.

[2:49:21] And it was strongly defeated by the residents of this community at that

[2:49:25] time. And I wasn't involved politically at that time. I was raising kids. I was

[2:49:30] busy doing my jobs. But when I look back on that now, I feel like we're in that

[2:49:34] same position right now that we have to protect the integrity of our small

[2:49:39] businesses and the integrity of Northfield. If you go back to the

[2:49:42] history lesson, especially when you look at the walls and you look at the stuff

[2:49:46] at the park, it really shows you where we've come and where we're going. and

[2:49:51] that it it's worked out. Yes, there are things that we could do better, but you

[2:49:56] know, I think when you listen to the people, which is what our responsibility

[2:49:59] is as trustees, overwhelmingly they're against this tiff. So, that's why I'm

[2:50:04] against it and that's why I don't think that, you know, we have to protect our

[2:50:07] small businesses and and protect our community. So, thank you for your time.

[2:50:18] » All right. Um, I just want to say thank you very much to everybody who's taken

[2:50:21] the time to come to the meeting, to write the village board, to talk to us

[2:50:25] personally, to have conversations. I think the strength is in conversations

[2:50:28] and people getting together and asking questions and having a dialogue, you

[2:50:33] know. Um, I also appreciate all of the people up here who have who have worked

[2:50:39] together to try to promote and sell and make Northfield a better place. Um, I I

[2:50:44] do want to encourage a m uh meeting with the business owners to have a discussion

[2:50:48] and maybe come to terms or at least a discussion about what's wanted from

[2:50:52] them, what's best for them because I know that there's some mix. I've spoken

[2:50:55] to some people who want an SSA and are fine with their property tax going up

[2:50:59] 4%. I've talked to some people who thinks that that would put them out of

[2:51:02] business. So, I think it's worthwhile maybe having a business meeting um with

[2:51:06] them. Um, and I also think a as a teacher who teaches at Nutrier, whose

[2:51:12] children go to Sunset Ridge, whose wife works at Nutrier, I'm heavily invested

[2:51:16] at not just this community, but those schools and Middle Fork and AOKA where I

[2:51:22] did the eighth grade meetings for 16 years. Um, I encourage everyone as an

[2:51:27] educator to get their information from the facts. Go to the school's website,

[2:51:32] read their Palooi report, go to the villages website, do your research.

[2:51:37] Please, please do not rely on social media. As an educator, I beg you not to.

[2:51:43] It is not a valid source. Go to the facts. Do your own research, please. Um,

[2:51:48] and I encourage the continued dialogue. I encourage people to ask questions, to

[2:51:52] reach out, to write the village group. I I think as we celebrated and spent time

[2:51:56] um at the Clarkson Lodge and spoke to different people who came back, there's

[2:52:00] love for this community as a whole. And I think that involves the businesses,

[2:52:04] that involves the schools, that also involves the people who live here. And

[2:52:08] I'd like to use this opportunity for us to work together as a whole community to

[2:52:12] improve this and not divide and fraction this because this is a beautiful

[2:52:16] community with incredibly strong schools, wonderful businesses that have

[2:52:21] been here for years and years, many of whom, you know, we frequent you. My kids

[2:52:25] were at Udogu yesterday. I was just getting a slice of pizza at Northshore

[2:52:29] before this meeting because we didn't have food today. Um, but I, you know,

[2:52:34] this is a community that we all love and I want that established. I also want

[2:52:37] people to know that you're being heard. You know, we're reading every single

[2:52:41] email we receive. You know, we're having conversations. You know, please, if you

[2:52:46] have my email, reach out. I'm happy to have a conversation with you.

[2:52:53] » Thanks, Andrew. It's been a long night, but I think a very productive night. And

[2:52:58] to your point, I think we are listening and hearing what people have to say. and

[2:53:03] I appreciate the general tone of uh the dialogue tonight. Um so I I I took a lot

[2:53:10] away from that and I think if we continue that I think we can make

[2:53:13] progress and come to a good solution one way or another. So um very encouraged

[2:53:21] about tonight. >> Okay. Thank you.

[2:53:24] All right. Then with nothing further for the public hearing, may I have a motion

[2:53:28] and a second to close the hearing? Motion to close the public hearing at

[2:53:32] this time. >> Second.

[2:53:34] » All those in favor? >> I

[2:53:36] » I >> opposed.

[2:53:39] » I declare the public hearing closed at 9:49 p.m.

[2:53:44] » But don't leave. There's more board meeting.

[2:53:47] » The next item on the agenda is the trustee liaison reports.

[2:53:53] » Oh, you guys aren't you guys aren't going to want to miss this.

[2:53:59] Trusty Yetus, would you like to start? >> I would be happy to.

[2:54:06] » Um, >> can I just ask for quiet as you exit the

[2:54:10] room, please? Thank you. >> Uh, well, this is probably the most

[2:54:15] exciting month for me to give a report on the schools. The schools are back in

[2:54:18] session. Students are back at school. Parents are relieved. teachers are

[2:54:22] excited to welcome the new students across the board both at Sunset Ridge,

[2:54:26] Middlefork, Avoka, and at Nutrier. Um because the timing of the meeting, I

[2:54:32] don't have a great deal to update on uh Sunset Ridge, but I will say at uh

[2:54:36] Nutrier, uh you've probably noticed the construction that's going on at the

[2:54:40] Northfield campus. Uh they modernized those outdoor facilities for athletic,

[2:54:44] kinetic, wellness, and community use uh because of an 11 million donation as

[2:54:49] well as some additional district funds. Um that will provide a lot of things,

[2:54:53] some some things I've learned while it's gone on, but the bleacher replacements,

[2:54:57] the new stadium scoreboard, additional accessibility, and a fitness path, which

[2:55:02] I thought was kind of exciting. So, uh at the WKA campus, there's new science

[2:55:07] labs. Um and five more are under construction. They've moved post high

[2:55:11] school counseling to be most or more accessible and uh they've changed some

[2:55:15] of the security to make it uh more more efficient.

[2:55:20] There's a lot more if you want to read their briefs.

[2:55:23] If anyone wants I have a copy here. >> Okay. Thank you.

[2:55:27] » Nothing on planning and zoning this month.

[2:55:29] » Okay. >> Uh park district, I have nothing. Uh,

[2:55:33] Red Center, we're in the pro process of starting our budget and hoping to have a

[2:55:38] proposed budget by the end of next week and then we will have budget

[2:55:45] subcommittee meetings in October and ready to go for approval. So,

[2:55:49] » okay, >> there we go.

[2:55:51] dressy or >> uh VOCA school update. We met they met

[2:55:54] on August 20th and um they gave us a really nice shout out for the centennial

[2:55:59] and promoting that and helping us to promote that with uh uh at their

[2:56:03] meeting. So, thank you very much to the VOCA school board for the shout out for

[2:56:06] the centennial. Uh they're if you want to go make it brief, go to their

[2:56:11] website. There isn't really anything special that's going on as far as

[2:56:14] bizarre that we really have to cover. Um, their next meeting is September 17th

[2:56:19] at Marie Murphy at 6 o'clock. Architectural did not meet in August.

[2:56:24] Their next meeting is Monday, September 14th. Correct, Steve?

[2:56:28] » Okay. And then the Centennial, I think we talked about that plenty. Again,

[2:56:33] thank you very much to everyone that came. Thank you to all the businesses

[2:56:36] and all the individual donors. It was a huge success. We are planning the next

[2:56:39] one coming up. So, um, be prepared for that. Um, I had people say, "Why can't

[2:56:45] we do this every year?" here. I said, "Well, that's an awful lot to do the

[2:56:48] 101st, 102nd." But, uh, I think hopefully Ribfest will take the next

[2:56:52] level to that. Uh, also, uh, please join us on Friday, September 11th at 8:30 at

[2:57:00] the fire station to commemorate the 25th unfortunate anniversary of 911. I know

[2:57:06] the police and fire department and Tracy and the village manager are working with

[2:57:10] the fire chief to plan that. Uh, so that was um, awesome. And then there's some

[2:57:15] neat news with the police pension. I was told the other day that they're

[2:57:19] basically almost at 70% funding, which is up from about 62 to 63% at their last

[2:57:25] pension meeting. So the investments that we've made, the extra money that we put

[2:57:29] is helping that investment do much better. So I think that that's a really

[2:57:33] uh cool thing. And then also shout out to the police department for hosting the

[2:57:38] PD uh community rollouts. I think there were five of them. I think I attended uh

[2:57:43] four of them. They were awesome. Uh I think you know some weren't as well

[2:57:47] attended, but I think it's a great program and I hopefully you can do that

[2:57:50] again next summer. But there were some really cool moments and it was great to

[2:57:53] interact with the police department. So thank you very much for that.

[2:57:59] » Uh since our last meeting, the library board has had two meetings. They had a

[2:58:03] special meeting in early August to discuss the JRB. I was not present

[2:58:07] there. Patrick was there. I think you guys know the result of that. If you

[2:58:11] have any specific questions, Patrick can probably answer it. And then last week

[2:58:14] they had a regular meeting and of relevance is their their understanding

[2:58:18] or their hope is that um by October the post office should have a response about

[2:58:25] the what they want to do with respect to the the library renovation and if you

[2:58:30] know at that point they can continue hopefully the their planning. So Patrick

[2:58:36] maybe have more on that um in your report but that's it. Northwest

[2:58:39] Municipal Conference should have a meeting in September. They're off the

[2:58:42] summer and there should be a report for that. Then

[2:58:46] » no ZBA meeting in August, but we're going to have a big time on September

[2:58:50] 2nd because there's four things on the agenda. So, we've got some stuff coming

[2:58:53] up for ZBA. Um, stop on by at 7 p.m. >> Okay.

[2:58:58] » Thank you. Um, the departmental reports were provided in our packets. Do

[2:59:04] trustees have any questions related to those reports?

[2:59:10] I I don't but I just want to say something in in conjunction with the

[2:59:14] centennial. The public works, police, and fire were Johnny on the spot for

[2:59:21] everything. And I I think we we take for granted our essential services, but what

[2:59:27] we have in Northfield is an amazing group on all the from admin down to

[2:59:34] police, fire, and public works. We're we're very lucky. So, thank you guys.

[2:59:38] Thank you. >> Thank you.

[2:59:40] » Okay, Greg, anything from the village attorney perspective?

[2:59:43] » No report tonight. Thank you. >> Patrick, anything you'd like to report

[2:59:46] on? >> Just one thing. Uh, as some of you may

[2:59:49] have heard, we had a high school student struck at the uh cross near the crossing

[2:59:53] on Waneka Road near the uh trail east of Lagoon. Um, Dr. Dr. Tyos and I spoke on

[2:59:59] Friday about uh that crossing and the fact that it's a route to schools and

[3:00:04] there are a lot of people cross there and we had a discussion about the

[3:00:08] potential for a rapid flashing beacon at that intersection. I know we've got one

[3:00:13] just west of there, but I wanted to check to see with a group what your

[3:00:16] thoughts are on us entertaining initial discussions with the county about what

[3:00:20] we could do for that crossing and possibly the forest service district.

[3:00:24] » Absolutely. >> Yes. Okay. So, we'll get working on that

[3:00:28] and uh despite a late afternoon Friday outreach, he promised me that it

[3:00:32] wouldn't be a bad news and it was not. So, thank you.

[3:00:36] » That is it. >> All right.

[3:00:37] » Quick quick question for for Patrick. Um, as promised, I just wanted to for

[3:00:42] you to give us an update on the sidewalk potential sidewalk issue across from

[3:00:47] Middlefork. >> Sure. So, um, we recently received, uh,

[3:00:52] preliminary plans on what their site layout could be for the new school. Uh,

[3:00:56] it looks like, and I'm looking for Steve to give me a nod if I'm wrong, but a

[3:01:00] significant change in the way that they cue vehicles for school. Uh, which will

[3:01:05] give us some different opportunities for a midblock crossing, we believe, at that

[3:01:09] intersection. It's still preliminary uh but it's uh data that we're going to be

[3:01:13] continuing to work with the schools on and meet and talk about the possibility

[3:01:17] for getting a midblock crossing in that may not need to wait until the school

[3:01:21] construction starts. Right. >> So we may be able to work something out

[3:01:24] sooner and I'm still chasing uh Schroeder concrete on answers about um

[3:01:29] their work in that proposed for that area.

[3:01:32] » And then is do you have an update from the village standpoint on the post

[3:01:35] office? Um, we finally have a contact at the post office to help shepherd through

[3:01:43] our request for consideration of a temporary location for them and a

[3:01:47] permanent location. Uh, the person has the requested information that they had

[3:01:53] asked me to send them and they just haven't gotten me a response yet. Uh,

[3:01:57] the last update I had from him was on Thursday or Friday of last week and he

[3:02:02] said I just hadn't had a chance to look at it yet. So, I have a reminder on my

[3:02:06] calendar every Monday to send him a paying reminder. What's our status?

[3:02:10] » I'll let you know as soon as I hear more, but I'm keeping the executive

[3:02:12] director of the library apprised when I do have outreach.

[3:02:16] » Do I I know he's not standing here anymore, but you you have a new the

[3:02:21] village has a new employee. >> He's sitting right there.

[3:02:24] » He's sitting right there. >> Oh, there he is. See the

[3:02:26] » Did you just walk in when I turned my head?

[3:02:28] » No. >> Okay, great. Thank you.

[3:02:31] I'd like to introduce Brett Stewart who's uh just joined us on Monday uh

[3:02:36] joins us from Colorado where he was an assistant to the village manager there.

[3:02:40] He'll be at the same title with us but working on a much bigger scale as far as

[3:02:44] assisting with special projects, communication, economic development,

[3:02:48] public works, you name it, he's going to be the kind of jack of all trades for

[3:02:52] helping us work through issues that come in. And uh I'd like to thank you for

[3:02:55] authorizing that position during the budget last year. I think we've got a uh

[3:02:59] a great find and he's already adding great value.

[3:03:03] » Thank you. >> And Patrick, I want to clarify, people

[3:03:08] were asking about that, but they forget that we used to have an assistant

[3:03:11] village manager years ago and during monies that got tied or whatever wasn't

[3:03:16] replaced. So, this isn't something new to Northville. We've had an assistant

[3:03:19] village manager, an assistant to the village manager, which is, you know,

[3:03:22] well overdue. We talked about this when you were get hired. So, I'm glad to see

[3:03:25] that we're moving forward and helping you get additional staffing. That's

[3:03:29] » much needed. Thank you. >> Great.

[3:03:32] Okay. >> Anything else? Um, this concludes our

[3:03:37] business for the evening. May I have a motion and a

[3:03:40] » So moved. >> Second.

[3:03:42] » All those in favor? >> I opposed. Thank you everyone.

August 25, 2026 Board Meeting

Transcript