Erin Smith’s Lakewood Winter Letter, Appointing Jason McMahon To Fill Ken Santowski’s Place

The latest quarterly letter from Lakewood Village President Erin Smith:

From the President

Erin Smith

On behalf of the Board of Trustees and Village Staff, I want to extend our best wishes for a very Happy New Year. I hope you were able to take time off over the holiday season to relax and
enjoy time with family and friends.

As with previous newsletters, I will highlight some of our current projects and provide status
updates for each project. But, first I would like to share some personal thoughts with you.

In April I will complete my 8th year as Village President following 4 years of service as Trustee.

It has been my great privilege to serve as Village President. My desire was to serve two terms as
President if given the opportunity to do so. Consistent with this plan, I am not running for a 3rd
term.

Lakewood has been my home since I was 12 years old. My husband Mike and I have raised our 4 children in the house where we have resided for 24 years. Lakewood is still home to 24 members of my family. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the residents of Lakewood for providing me the opportunity to serve in the community I care about so deeply.

As you may know, in my full-time career, I serve as the head of Total Rewards for a global technology company. With the completion of my Village Board service, I look forward to the additional flexibility I will be afforded when planning international business travel. In addition to my professional career, I will continue to pursue my passion for community service. I have accepted a position on the Advisory Board of the Chicago Community Trust Disability Fund, where I hope to make a difference in expanding inclusion, accessibility, education and employment opportunities for citizens with disabilities.

Board Transitions

Jeff Iden

In addition to my transition, Trustees Jeff Iden and Bev Thomas are not running for reelection and Trustee Ken Santowski has resigned his position as Trustee effective December 31, 2016. I hope you will join me in expressing our appreciation to Jeff, Bev and Ken for their years of service to the Village of Lakewood. In addition to serving as Trustee, Jeff Iden served on the RedTail Committee and as our Board Liaison to the Turnberry Lakes Committee, adding considerable time to his Village commitment.

Ken Santowski

Ken Santowski initiated and maintained our award winning Village recycling program for nearly 10 years, donating many hours of service each week to process our Styrofoam and electronics recycling.

I have been very fortunate to serve with many dedicated Board Members throughout my 12 years on the Lakewood Village Board and I am very proud of the many accomplishments we have achieved together.

At our January 24 Board meeting, I will be asking for the advice and consent of the Board to appoint Jason McMahon to complete the remaining 2+ years of Ken Santowski’s term. He will be one of many new faces on the Board, as we will have a new Village President and 3 Trustee positions on the ballot in the April General Election. Please make sure you vote in this very important General Election on April 4th .

Turning attention back to Village business, I will now provide a number of important updates.

MCRide Services

The Village of Lakewood recently discontinued our direct participation in the County’s Dial-A-Ride Transit Service, commonly known as MCRide. Despite this, senior and disabled residents living in either Grafton or Dorr Townships will seamlessly continue to receive the benefits of the MCRide program through their Townships’ participation.

Algonquin Township, which includes properties east of Meridian Street, is not a participating member of MCRide and is therefore not eligible for service throughout the MCRide service area.

Instead, the township manages their own transportation services for both seniors and disabled individuals travelling within the township. In order to use this service, residents must first register with the township. Reservations can be placed a minimum of 24 hours in advance by calling (800) 639-2700, Ext. 6.

The Village Board understands the importance of having access to transportation services within the community. We are confident that the programs offered by our each of our townships will continue to support our senior and disabled residents, who are the primary users of the program.

Utility Billing Dropbox

The Village has installed a utility billing dropbox as you approach the exit to the Village Hall parking lot on Lake Avenue. This dropbox allows you to securely drop off your utility payments without having to leave the comforts of your vehicle. This should be particularly helpful during winter months. Residents are always welcome to stop in at the front desk to pay in person. Payments received in the box after hours will be posted the next business day.

Turnberry Well Abandonment

The boat ramp can been seen to the right of the pontoon boat.

Well #2 is located adjacent to the boat launch along Turnberry Trail. Since this well is not actively in service, the Village planned to have it properly abandoned or sealed over the summer of 2016. In
anticipation of this work, many have noticed that the landscaping around the well site was cleared. This was done to allow the heavy equipment easier access to the well.

Unfortunately, the depth of the well presented some challenges that will require the project to be completed in the summer of 2017. This will leave the area open and exposed for a bit longer than hoped, but the Village has every intention of replacing the landscaping as soon as the project is complete.

2017 Roadway Program

Our 2017 Roadway Program will be bid in January as one project, but is broken into two parts for funding purposes. The first section will be the resurfacing of Lake Avenue and the addition of bike lanes from Huntley Road to the east Village limits (East of Essex Lane).

Adding bike lanes might mean removal of the day lilies in front of our home.

The cost for this portion of the project is estimated to be $693,000.

However, the Village is responsible for only 20% of the cost, or $138,600, as the remaining 80% will be paid for through federal highway funds.

These day lilies may turn into asphalt.

The second portion of the roadway program includes the following additional roadways whose construction and engineering is estimated at $545,821, will be fully funded by the Village of Lakewood:

  • Pheasant Drive – Bard Road to Bardwell Lane
  • Wiltshire Lane – S. Shore Dr. to Broadway Ave.
  • Warwick Lane – S. Shore Dr. to Lake Ave.
  • Cumberland Lane – Lake Ave. to Broadway Ave.
  • Oxford Lane – Lake Ave. to Broadway Ave.
  • Essex Lane – Lake Ave. to Broadway Ave.

The Village’s website will provide regular updates throughout the construction, which is expected to begin in the spring.

Sincerely,

Erin Smith
Village President


Comments

Erin Smith’s Lakewood Winter Letter, Appointing Jason McMahon To Fill Ken Santowski’s Place — 12 Comments

  1. Those day lilies look like a site distance problem in the making.

    If you want I’ll take some for my new house.

    LOL

  2. Bike lanes on Lake Ave are a waste of money, for decades bikers have regularly used South Shore Dr and Broadway for travel, NOT Lake Ave.

  3. The bike lanes on Lakewood Road are going to lead to somebody’s death eventually.

  4. Imagine the State announcing they were building a new interstate highway. When asked where, they responded “Oh, there’ll be a mile near Rockford, another mile near Peoria, another mile near Springfield, and a mile near Decatur. Oh, and we’re calling some pieces of existing state highways interstates.”

    You’d think to yourself, “That’s nuts! How can you call it an interstate highway when it’s a bunch of disconnected pieces? And how can just calling a state highway an interstate make it an interstate? Interstate highways are supposed to be limited access, among other criteria.”

    Now apply that to our local bike paths.

    We have one good bike path that goes pretty far south and goes up into Wisconsin.

    It’s disconnected in the middle of town, but other than that it’s a pretty good bike path.

    But does painting lines on disconnected three block segments of local streets make them “bike paths”?

    No, it doesn’t.

    First of all, bikes are permitted on the roads whether there’s a line painted or not.

    So unless the road is widened, it’s no more a bike path after a line is painted than before.

    Second, unless the “paths” are all connected, go a decent distance, and get you somewhere, they’re not a “path”. What is the use of having miles of bike paths in three block segments that aren’t connected?

    This is just window dressing, but at least it’s cheap window dresssing since painting lines doesn’t cost a lot.

    We should be grateful Lakewood isn’t building a million dollar dedicated “bike path” one mile long going from nowhere to nowhere near a country club, unlike some cities in the area.

  5. It’s a Russian plot to stop Cal from placing campaign signs next to the road!

  6. Good news. The road will not be widened.

    And you know how day lilies grow.

  7. There are lines along Lake Avenue already.

    The Village Administrator said they would be re-painted after the re-paving.

  8. I would be happy to meet face to face with anyone that has questions.

    I find face to face meetings are much more productive and civil.

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