You knew it was going to come to this....
The governing fathers and mothers of the village discussed a sign variance Adam's Roadhouse over on Milwaukee Avenue. Place used to be Mothercluckers, Cy's -- and now it's Adam's.
Big deal.
But let's set he wayback machine, Sherman --- Adam's place has ::gasp:: OTB -- and that doesn't mean desserts have the crust On The Bottom. It's the dreaded off track betting that will infest your mind, curve your spine and let the allies lose the war.
If you are not aware of the crisis surrounding OTB you either don't pay much attention to village business -- as it seems a lot of people do, or you just don't care -- as it seems a lot of people do.
Seems as though Adam and friends want to have a changeable letter sign -- one of those things that flash messages at you.
So here's the situation, at least one trustee (wanna guess who?) is concerned the place will promote "Breeder's Cup Specials" or "Triple Crown Specials" as a way to promote OTB.
That's one issue, but it's not the most important one. Enter Beverly Sussman -- she was emphatic that if a variance is allowed for one restaurant, what about others.
THIS JUST IN -- New Trustee has Voice of Reason.
Good point Bev (I'd like to use her initials, but there's so much BS with the board lately, I don't want to discredit her). For the record, 'da village has a long -- very long -- tradition of sign regulation. Nearly 30 years ago they drilled regional reps. from Baker's Square about a change in signs to reflect a name change.
Lisa Stone, whether she realizes it or not, raises a potentially interesting point -- duck tailing specials to events is, in essence, promoting another aspect of the establishment.
That's assuming the common folk know enough about the Breeder's Cub and Triple Crown to care. A word of caution, here -- Triple Crown could be used in relation to baseball -- but since that's an unknown quantity around here, it's not worth discussing.
So here's my solution -- if you allow the changeable letter signs (which are really tacky, by the way -- just look at the electronic edifice at Aptakisic and Milwaukee) on restaurants, just stipulate that content can now promote activities that are off limits to minors. That rules out any connection to alcohol, OTB and, if it comes to be, video poker. Simple solution, right?
But folks, this is Big Animal Grove, and nothing is simple, at least not lately. Ms. Quixote felt that had the OTB been discussed longer, this would have been discussed.
No really. Signs come from the Zoning Board of Appeals who make recommendations to the board.
Some people are giving Stoney credit for the debate, but signs and village boards bring out discussion. Items need to be discussed on merit and impact on the village -- not to appease any one village official.
Cheap Shot Of The Night...
It's one thing to revise minutes, it's another to make it a personal attack. Ms. Stone seemed out of sorts because an item under old business was under new business in the minutes from the Aug. 3 meeting.
News flash -- this is why the Board President asks for any corrections to the minutes. Ms. Stone, however, insists on belittling the point as if it was a malicious conspiracy. Wanna bet she did not read all 14,000 words of the minutes? To top it off, she saw fit to try and snip at Village Clerk Jan Sirabian. Ms. Sirabian is no novice, she's been handling the minutes for 30 years, which, using rough math, means she has been responsible for about 750 board meetings...give or take.
Ms. Stone needs to realize that the village, while not perfect, has an excellent staff and one miscue doesn't diminish the quality.
Other tidbits...
** The Police Department dominated recent traffic awards taking 1st place among departments with 51 - 100 officers and taking three of seven possible category events -- Teen Traffic Safety, Commercial Vehicle Safety and Railroad Grade Crossing. Top cop Steve S. Balinski noted that crashes are at a 20-year low and personal injuries are at a 15-year low.
** BG Days looms. A lot of work by a lot of people. Co-chairs JV Springman and Paulette Greenberg cited the efforts of the committee and community. The Board was quick to point out that a committee reflects the nature of the its chairs. The full schedule for BG Days can be found at the village web site, vbg.org.
** And finally...the Lake County Forest Preserve's unveiling of the extension of its Skokie Valley Bike Path was washed out on Monday -- it has been rescheduled for 10 a.m. on Aug. 28. Check the Forest Perserve's web site (www.lcfpd.org) for details.
Just one final thought -- wouldn't it be a better idea to have the dedication on a weekend when families could attend?
Just wondering...
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