The Forest Park Village Council, Monday, approved the final draft of the updated comprehensive plan. The plan was approved 4-1 by council members, with Commissioner Chris Harris voting nay.
Harris complained that Consultants Images Inc. were “defensive” in their answers to council criticisms of the plan at the Nov. 21 council meeting.
“I found this document extremely disappointing,” Harris said, noting he was one of the biggest supporters of choosing Images to craft the plan. He called the plan a “letdown” and “a disservice to Forest Park.”
Public comment was heard from Steering Committee member Jennifer Wolfe, who complained the committee meetings were months apart. Wolfe, a former member of the village’s recreation board, said plan consultants from Images Inc. didn’t really consider green space for the village’s Altenheim property. Wolfe said asking every Realtor in town what to do with the space “colored the discussion of the Altenheim.
“Realtors want to sell property,” she said.
Brownfield grant acknowledged
The village council approved a memorandum of agreement that allowed federal grant funds to be used to pay for the assessment of “brownfield” cleanup at the Altenheim site. The agreement is between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, seven Proviso towns and the Cook County Dept. of Environmental Control. Under the agreement, the CCDEC will provide a consultant to help map out a plan to measure and remediate industrial contamination on the site.
Village levy approved
The village council approved the 2014 Tax Levy for the fiscal year, May 1, 2014-April 30, 2015, in the amount of $6,949,365. The amount is $49,554, or 0.7 percent more than the total 2013 levy, which was $6,899,821.
Phone contracts renegotiated
The village council approved a new phone contract with AT&T. The new master agreement will decrease village hall phone costs by $15,000-$20,000, said Village Administrator Tim Gillian.
This story has been updated to correct the difference between the 2013 and 2014 Tax levy. The 2014 levy is $49,554, or 0.7 percent more than last year’s.
