To all Go Downtown! members,

At our meeting on Wednesday evening, we created a plan on how best to get people involved for the upcoming vote on February 11th regarding the hiring of a consultant for developing a Long Term Strategic Plan for our downtown. At the meeting, various ideas were discussed and we decided upon a 4 step approach:

1) Send an email out to all of our email lists encouraging residents to write a letter to the Village and attend the February 11th meeting.
2) Send an email to all business owners encouraging them to write a letter to the Village.
3) Create a poster for business owners to put in their windows encouraging residents to get involved.
4) Place a 1/4 page ad in the paper encouraging residents to get involved. (this ad was generously donated by Jan at Riviera Jewelry)

The poster and resident letter has been created and the business letter is just about done. Please see the resident letter below, then forward it to your friends and family in Glen Ellyn. There is still time to get involved, and I have full faith that the Village will hear us. As I stated in our Wednesday meeting, I have watched ALL Trustees interact with residents who have attended the Board meetings since last April with much respect. I believe we are back on track with this agenda item as well since Trustee Comerford's statement Monday night. Let's show respect as well, both for the Trustees and the Village as a whole, by getting involved and working with the Trustees to choose the correct firm for our downtown.

The letter:

Friends,

I am writing on behalf of Go Downtown!, a resident-based organization formed in April 2007 dedicated to support Glen Ellyn’s downtown business district. On Feb. 11, the Village Board will be voting on a monumental issue. I can not stress enough how important it is that Glen Ellyn residents contact the Village and make your voices heard. The time to revitalize Glen Ellyn is now! Below are details on this critical issue, along with information on how you can help to steer our downtown back on the right road.

Over recent months, our Village Board began the process of selecting a firm to provide a Master Long-Term Strategic Plan for Glen Ellyn’s downtown district. The Village Board has narrowed down the initial list of 17 candidates to 2, and the one being pushed forward is Town Builders Studios. The process did not go smoothly and there is not consensus amongst the Village Trustees and many Residents that this is a qualified firm that should shape Glen Ellyn’s future.

Go Downtown! and various Trustees have done extensive research on the Town Builders Studios, LLC (TBS) and have uncovered the following:
TBS has been in business for 14 months. They have not completed a comparable downtown strategic plan. Several Trustees have questioned potential misrepresentations made by TBS.
TBS has assembled a team of firms to perform various aspects of this project. As a whole, the group has not worked together on a project.
TBS has commented they have made a significant investment of time so far on this project. This certainly was not apparent in either their presentation or proposal.

Due to a contentious meeting on January 21st, and concerns amongst the Trustees and Residents, a motion was made to table the approval of the TBS contract until the next meeting on February 11th. The Village has a budget of $100,000.00 to spend on this project. The Master Plan process is a large one and this is not a large fee for the scope of work that our project entails. We do not want Glen Ellyn to be a guinea pig during this process. Why should we hire a firm that does not have experience and take the risk of having a solution that is not relevant and implementable?

We implore all residents to write to the Village and to come to the Village meeting on February 11th at 8:00pm. There will also be a pre-board meeting at 7:00pm which is open to the public, however public comments are deferred to the 8:00pm meeting. This is a critical meeting, as they will be reviewing TBS’s contract once again. Our hope is that the Village does not approve the TBS contract. We need an experienced firm to spend our money wisely and provide relevant, exciting, and implementable solutions to improve our downtown district.

Please provide your input to the Village via the Contact The Village section of their website at: www.glenellyn.org. If you want change, as most of us do, we have to speak up or it will never happen. Your comment may be as simple as “As a Glen Ellyn resident, I do not agree with the Board’s hiring decision of Town Builders Studios. Please heed the objections voiced and reconsider a more qualified firm, as this is an investment in OUR VILLAGE’S FUTURE!” Then add your name.

For more information, or to check for updates, please visit the Go Downtown! website: www.downtownglenellyn.com.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE ONTO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS IN GLEN ELLYN - WITH COMMUNITY SUPPORT WE CAN MAKE DIFFERENCE!

Best Regards

LET’S BUILD OUR TOWN TOGETHER
all roads need to lead to a solid plan
to revitalize our beloved town.

i have it on good authority that the letter i wrote last time (through the glen ellyn village web site) was never seen. i recommend you somehow contact trustees individually, and/or submit a letter for the record at the public participation section of the meeting.

Howdy,
If you want to forward your letter to me I will respond that I received it and make certain it gets to the rest of the Board and or staff. I am sure you know but if you click on my Message Board name and click on personal profile, it will take you to my personal e-mail address.
We were, only given a sampling of letters before a workshop a few weeks back but when we requested the balance of them the following week we were sent all of them, as far as we know.
Thanks for your continued involvement.

ok, what's with that? a sampling?! who makes that sort of decision? someone who saw that the overwhelming number of letters were against Town Builders(sic). Small town, chicago behavior!

Just a reminder from one of the "Vociferious Little Minority", the workshop begins at 7:00 p.m., the board meeting at 8:00 p.m. Even if you do not care to speak, it is a good experience to see local government in action. Your prescence will show all the trustees just how important this decision is to the future of GE.

Curious when is the next public meeting on this (Downtown) topic?

Is a final decison expected to be made then?

Yes, I can't wait to see this "final decision."

The meeting this Monday night, February 11th is the next time the contract will go before the board. When an agenda item is before the board, it is normally the last time it will be voted on. Last Board meeting it was tabled, which brings us to Monday's meeting.

The pre-board meeting starts at 7:00pm and is open to the public as well. During the pre-board meeting, the Trustees will be discussing the contract itself and they will not be asking for public input. However, these discussions are often the most valuable and enlightening on how they are arriving at their decisions. At the Board meeting, 8:00pm, the public will be invited to speak.

I encourage you all to attend both.

Also on the agenda that night:

Ordinance No. 5653, an Ordinance Granting Approval of a Special Use Permit to Allow Outdoor Merchandise, Promotional Activities and Tents at Young’s Appliances Located at 500 Crescent Boulevard.

Planning and Development Director Staci Hulseberg will present information on the request of Doug Samuels, President of Young’s Appliances, for approval of a special use permit to allow outdoor merchandise, promotional activities and tents in the front parking lot of Young’s Appliances located at 500 Crescent Boulevard. The subject property is located on the north side of Crescent Boulevard between Main Street and Glenwood Avenue in the C5A Central Business District, Central Retail Core. The Plan Commission reviewed the request at a public hearing on January 24, 2008. By a vote of 7-1, the Plan Commission recommended approval of the requested special use permit with conditions.

As a resident, I hope this gets approved for Doug. Last year he had really fun ideas such as bbq demonstrations for his front parking lot. I believe the outdoor merchandise refers to the bbqs themselves.

Hope to see many of you tonight

Provide us with a specific list of who you hope not to see.

1)Smart *** Nathan Lane look a likes
2)Paris Hilton
3)Roy Scheider

That is all.

Daily Herald 2/12:

Glen Ellyn president breaks tie over consultant.