HIGHWOOD CITY COUNCIL’S 10.17.23 MEETING IN A NUTSHELL
Appointments
The City Council voted to approve the following Mayoral reappointments:
Ben Ellis to the Appearance Review Committee for a 3-year term
Daniel Wertheimer to the Appearance Review Committee for a 3-year term
Lydia Gonzalez to the Appearance Review Committee for a 3-year term
Jason Muelver to the Library Board of Trustees for a 3-year term
Nora Loredo to the Library Board of Trustees for a 3-year term
Development
In 2004, the City Council passed an ordinance that subdivided a single, privately-owned property on Wrendale Ave. into two properties on which single-family residences could be built. For reasons unknown, the ordinance included a condition that one of the properties have a single-family residence constructed within 6 months of the ordinance’s passage. A single-family residence was never constructed on the subject property and it remains as vacant land today. The property owner is now planning to sell the property. The City Council voted to approve a revised ordinance that solely removes the time-based construction condition. This revision does not change the zoning of the property, which restricts the property to be used as a single-family residence.
Finance
The City Council voted to approve the payment of various bills totaling $146k.
To levy property taxes, State law requires cities to – among other things - pass an annual tax levy ordinance that includes the amount(s) to be levied and the purpose(s) for the same. The City Council discussed different funding levels for the 2023 tax year levy and continued further discussion to a future meeting (click here to find a chart showing the past decade of City property tax levies).
Infrastructure
The City is presently conducting preventative maintenance of fire hydrants by way of hydrant flushing (i.e., systematic opening of hydrants to - among other things - ensure they are functioning properly for firefighting purposes). Flushing may result in temporary lower than normal water pressure and water discoloration. Click here to find answers to frequently asked questions.
Library
Library Director Laura Ramirez conducted a tour of the Library’s ongoing facility renovation project. The renovations are expected to be completed by late November.
Other
The City Council voted to approve meeting minutes from October 3, 2023.
Highwood Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours event will be held on Thursday, October 19th from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at ABLAZE Design Group (259 Waukegan Ave.); information re this event as well as other Chamber of Commerce events can be found here.
Highwood Chamber of Commerce’s Trick-or-Treat event will be held on Friday, October 27th from 3:00pm to 6:00pm in downtown Highwood and Everts Park; information re this event as well as other Chamber of Commerce events can be found here.
78 years ago this month, the City Council appealed to residents to vote in favor of purchasing land to develop the City’s first public park (The Highland Park Press newspaper article here; titled “Highwood Will Discuss Park Project October 24”); shortly thereafter residents voted in favor of purchasing property off Western Ave. as well as levying a tax to fund the purchase and maintenance (The Highland Park Press newspaper article here; titled “Highwood Carries Vote For Two Park Issues in Saturday Election”). As public funds were not available for redeveloping the property into a park, volunteers completed the various improvements. As the culminating event of a homecoming celebration for World War II servicemembers, the park was dedicated as Memorial Park to commemorate residents that had served in World Wars I and II (28 Miles North - The Story of Highwood book excerpt here). Today the park is commonly known as the “ballpark” or “ballfield”.
Meeting Records