As the leaders of Concerned Van Buren Citizens, a commission named by The Grove condominium boards to represent the preferences and concerns of residents of The Grove as to the future uses of the Altenheim property, we welcomed your Oct. 12 editorial: Aim higher at Altenheim. However, we take issue when you say: “We are worried about the deference being paid to the good folks at the … Altenheim retirement facility and The Grove townhome development — both adjacent to the open land.” We are not aware of any “deference being paid” residents of The Grove community — and we’ve been following the village’s actions regarding this property for several years. Also, we’ve attended all the meetings of the village-appointed Altenheim Advisory Committee and have not detected any such “deference.”
We are more perplexed by your statement that ideas we might suggest should be viewed with caution because “our collective voice is one of self-interest.” Respectfully, you cannot know what we might suggest because, as yet, we have suggested no ideas on the matter. Further, we consider it rather presumptuous of you to suggest at this early stage that ideas we might suggest would not be consistent and compatible with the interest of all residents of the village.
We would feel better if you had held your criticism until after you learned more about our vision for future use of the property. At this point, we fear that your warning may simply have planted the seed of distrust in the minds of the members of the committee. That is not only unfortunate, it is unfair.
Gene Armstrong, Kathryn Heavey, Ellyn Gullo, Marilyn Jancewicz
Concerned Van Buren Citizens leadership team
