Written by Paul & Eileen Schwake, who live on Amberwood Drive in Crystal Lake, this is Part Two of
THE BERLIN WALL OF STEEL CRYSTAL LAKE SOUTH HIGH SCHOOL’S NEW MEGA BLEACHERS
The previous administration and Amberwood Homeowners enjoyed a Good Neighbor Policy.
The school maintained their property and the homeowners took care of their property.
The old bleachers.
The appearance of the new grandstands on the west side of the football field is, in our estimation, at least five to six times larger than the old stands.
The Scorekeepers Booth(which is approximately the size of a trailer) at the top ofthe stands will make these grandstands, by far, the largestand highest structure in the whole area.
They block the sun and the open views we have been accustomed to for over twenty-five years.
We also receive the worst view of the stands.
The new football bleachers behind the same back yard as above.
The exposed supports and beams are unsightly.
And in the years to come their appearance will deteriorate as the supporting structure rusts due to poor maintenance of the stands in the same way as the old stands had deteriorated.
Already it isnoticeable that the steel construction beams are showing
discoloration.
If the school had a proper maintenance program in place, the old stands would still be in usable condition.
Further evidence of the poor maintenance program practiced by the school recently is the poor condition of the easement between the school fence and the homes on Amberwood Drive.
Grass is cut infrequently, trash collecting in the easement is not removed, and bushes along the fence allowed to grow wild are but a few of the examples.
It was not unusual to see an Amberwood homeowner mowing the easement between their property and the school so they would not have to look at the unsightly condition of the school’s easement property.
We can only recollect that the structure of the old stands were painted once which was just a few years ago.
No wonder the old grandstands were cited as “Unsafe”.
The Homeowners on Amberwood Drive, who have, by the payment of their Real Estate Taxes, paid for this monstrosity in their backyards.
Now we are being rewarded for this by having our home values drastically reduced with no hope of ever getting the equity out of our homes even when the economy improves, because our homes have now become worthless due to The Berlin Wall of Steel.
About fifteen years ago, we had our home appraised by a licensed appraiser. At that time, the appraiser advised us that the biggest detraction to our property value was the presence of the grandstands in place at that time.
I wonder what the appraiser would say now.
= = = = =
More tomorrow.
This is interesting, but how about Bill Prim having a fundraiser at The Advantage Group and violating campaign laws because TAG is a 501(c)3 and cannot take part in political fundraiser.
He needs to answer for this.
You can see from the 1st picture taken last year that the school’s shrubs are extremely overgrown.
They cut them down in the 2nd photo taken this year but they look even worse.
You can see how dead the shrubs are.
This was the 1st time in 15 years that they have ever cut the shrubs.
I like the shrubs in picture #1.
(Provides a much better screen. Could have even hid those porta-potties – maybe.)
They were cut down so the neighbors could see the potty’s I’m sure.
It was done on purpose as a F*** Y** to the neighbors.
This is the mentality of the school board.
Find out if that former $135 K a year coach, caught stealing out of gumball machines or whatever, has any community service time left on his sentence.
Have him come out and trim and spruce up those bushes.
Stealing out of gumball machines and he teaches at the School..
If they cut those trees to get even with the homeowners may they all when “Big Bucks” for that..
A civil jury will be able to see through all of that if they have the right lawyer that presents the evidence…
Someone please provide a list of the School Board members….
Everyone should know the names of the people who are behind the shenanigans and decisions…
Perhaps this is the time to re-read Edward Abbey’s The Monkey-Wrench Gang.
Those four had some interesting ideas about unwanted blights on the landscape.
The current members of D155 school board
Ted Wagner – board president
Gary Oberg – vice president
Jim Nelson
Dave Secrest
Ann Somers
Barbara Slusin
Karen Whitman
and of course the new superintendent Johnnie Thomas
RE:
jgkm6 on 10/10/2013 at 5:00 pm said:
The current members of D155 school board
Ted Wagner – board president
Gary Oberg – vice president
Jim Nelson
Dave Secrest
Ann Somers
Barbara Slusin
Karen Whitman
and of course the new superintendent Johnnie Thomas
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Looks like it’s time to keep this record and vote them out, ask for resignations, or fire them. If this nonsense could be arrogantly foisted on the residents near this construction, what else would these people do? Just a thought. How would you like it happening to you.