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Thankful for You!
Thank you to our partners at the Vernon Hills Park District
for helping us keep an attitude of gratitude.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
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A socially distant holiday celebration...
Santa Parade
Virtual Tree & Menorah Lighting
Saturday, November 28
Santa is coming to town on Saturday, November 28 – and he plans to take a quick tour through our neighborhoods before flipping the switch on the Village Tree and Menorah.
Santa will start his tour at about 2:45 p.m., with plans to drive through all of our major neighborhoods, giving a wave to the young and young-at-heart. The maps of Santa's expected route give approximate times so you can be outside and ready to greet him. Santa's elves plan to share their journey on Facebook Live and other social media platforms, too, so you can keep track of his progress.
Once Santa makes his way through town, he will head to the Vernon Hills Municipal Golf Course to light the Village Tree and Menorah – which will be broadcast on Facebook Live. (Please note that we will not gather at the golf course in order to keep everyone safe and healthy this year.) For more information, please refer to the Santa Parade & Virtual Tree & Menorah Lighting web article. Thank you to Countryside Fire, Vernon Hills Police, Vernon Hills Park District and their lovable mascot Sully for escorting Santa. Watch for updates – and please come out to cheer Santa on!
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Toys for Tots
- New, unwrapped toys
- Collecting from now until December 11
- Drop off at Vernon Hills Police Department, Village Hall and Public Works
- Learn more on the VHPD website or toysfortots.org
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Shop, Dine and Enjoy Vernon Hills!
Thank you to everyone who works to support our local businesses. While the Pandemic has changed our processes, there are still many ways to support our partners and neighbors – including curbside pick up and delivery from not only our restaurants but also our retailers. Check out our 2020 Holiday Dining, Shopping & Winter Guide for information about our shopping areas, restaurants and activities. It's a real page turner!
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A Few Reminders...
- Last yard waste collection – November 23 or 24, depending on your garbage collection day
- Street sweeping this week – Please keep streets clear of parked cars when the contractor comes through
- No overnight parking on streets – Request on-street parking permission by visiting the VHPD webpages
- Vacation House Watch available – Sign up for the free service by visiting the VHPD webpages
- No snow parking – No parking on Village streets after a snow of 2 inches or more; this helps us quickly clean the streets - thank you!
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Artist's rendering of Hawthorn Row residential portion of the redesigned Hawthorn Mall.
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Meeting Schedule
Tuesday, December 8*
Tuesday, January 5**
Tuesday, January 19**
- In-Person Meetings Suspended: In response to public health guidelines, the Village has returned to remote meetings conducted via internet-based platforms. Log-in information will be published with each agenda and posted on the Village website. Public comment will be accepted prior to each meeting and read into the record – please send your comments to Social@VHills.org by 6:45 p.m. prior to each meeting. Meetings begin at 7 p.m., unless otherwise noted.
- *There is only one meeting planned for December.
- **January meetings are tentative; Trustees will approve the 2021 schedule during the December 8 meeting.
- The full Meeting Schedule is available on the Meeting Schedules webpage.
- Agendas and minutes are posted online; Meeting recordings are available on the Village YouTube Channel
Actions of Note...
Hawthorn District 73 Agreement: Village Trustees voted in support of an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between the Village and Hawthorn District 73, which offers financial support for the elementary district while paving the way for the redevelopment of Hawthorn Mall. Under the agreement, the Village secured $400,000 in impact fees from the developer for the District. The Village will also provide the maximum return (as mandated by state law) of 27 percent of the TIF's property tax gain back to Hawthorn, without requiring the district to document the number of new students moving into the residential portion of the Mall. The Village will also work to turn back surpluses to Lake County for distribution to taxing body partners starting at year three, as well as work to terminate the TIF earlier than the 23-year typical life. Residents are reminded that this TIF did not require the sale of bonds, but rather is a pay-as-you-go TIF, which greatly reduced risk to the Village by requiring the developer to hit milestones and schedules before receiving payouts. (Vernon Hills Village Board Meeting - 11/17/20)
Hawthorn Mall Plans, Approvals and Variances: During the November 17 Committee of the Whole Meeting, Trustees were updated by representatives from Centennial Real Estate, Focus and Atlantic, who provided detailed plans for Hawthorn Mall's redevelopment. Artist's renderings show pedestrian friendly walkways, green spaces, play areas, and an outdoor amphitheater, in addition to new retail entrances and 562 new apartments. Trustees affirmed the changes requested by the Planning & Zoning Commission, who reviewed the projects on October 28, and approved developer's plans and variance requests for both the main Mall project, as well as for a separate outlet project for a new Sleep Number store. Demolition of the former Sears building is expected in January, with work on the residential portions beginning in April. The project is expected to be complete by fall 2022. (Vernon Hills Village Board Meeting - 11/17/20)
Mall TIF Ordinances: During the November 4 Board Meeting, Trustees approved three ordinances, which represented the final steps necessary to set up the Hawthorn Mall TIF District. (Vernon Hills Village Board Meeting - 11/17/20)
Financial Update: Village CFO Kyle Cratty noted that while revenues including sales tax and food/beverage tax are down, staff has aggressively cut expenses, which has kept the Village in a solid position going into winter. The Village will continue to defer projects and monitor the situation. Residents are reminded that the Village of Vernon Hills does not collect any property tax. (Vernon Hills Village Board Meeting - 11/4/20)
Hawthorn School Permit Fees Waived: As is standard procedure for the Village, Trustees waived permit fees for work being done at Hawthorn Aspen Elementary and Hawthorn Middle School South, for the amount of $6,310. (Vernon Hills Village Board Meeting - 11/4/20)
888 Forest Edge Drive: Representatives appeared before the November 4 Committee of the Whole Meeting for approval of site, landscaping, easements and architectural plans for the site of the former Illinois Tool Works building at 888 Forest Edge Drive, which was recently demolished. Developers propose a 95,486 square foot flexible industrial warehouse space. Trustees questioned the developer's representative about errors during demolition of the empty ITW building that resulted in the removal of trees between the site and The Oaks residential community. Trustees and Staff worked out an agreement whereby developers will revise plans to provide dense landscape coverage as well as compensate The Oaks to allow that community to replace trees. Because this development is part of the Corporate Woods PUD, it will not go to Planning & Zoning, but rather will go into technical review by Staff before returning to the Village Board for any approvals or revisions. (Vernon Hills Village Board Meeting - 11/4/20)
2021 Road Rehab Program: Trustees gave preliminary approval to the Village's 2021 Road Rehabilitation Program, which allows Vernon Hills and partner bidders Mundelein and Libertyville to submit plans to IDOT for approval as soon as possible – and secure contractors early in the season in an effort to secure the best pricing available. As currently proposed, the $1.1 million program will encompass Lakeside Drive, Cherry Valley Road, Westmoreland Drive, Greenbrier Lane, Court of Elm, Court of Ash, Richard Court, Bloomfield Court, Indianwood Road, Greenleaf Drive and West End. Note that the Council of Mayors program has pushed the federally funded Lakeview Parkway improvement project to the 2023 construction season. (Vernon Hills Village Board Meeting - 11/4/20)
Snow & Ice Program: Public Works Director David Brown reported that the Village is prepared for winter weather. The Public Works Department has prepared 17 pieces of snow removal equipment, filled the salt bins, and prepared the brine tanks with calcium chloride and beet juice. Public Works operators partner with local contractor James Martin Associates (who plows 106 cul-de-sacs/loops and the Metra Station), eight HOA contractors (who assist with 17 additional cul-de-sacs and several streets), and Vernon Township (who maintains streets in Georgetown Square, Sugar Creek, River Grove, Writer's Estate, Woodbine Circle entrances and portions of Port Clinton Road). (Vernon Hills Village Board Meeting - 11/4/20)
Village Garbage Contract: The Village was formally advised that the purchase of Advanced Disposal by Waste Management is complete. As reported previously, the Village negotiated an extension of our residential waste contract earlier this year in anticipation of this acquisition in order to lock in stability and savings over the next five years. Under the contract, waste hauling costs increase by approximately 2 percent starting each December. Residents should note that in addition to this contracted increase, an error by Advanced Disposal resulted in an uncollected 2 percent increase for the bulk of 2020; rather than backtrack to collect the missed increase, Advanced only collected the additional amount starting in October. More information is found on the Advanced web article. (Vernon Hills Village Board Meeting - 11/17/20)
Kemper Agreement: Trustees approved a new agreement with Kemper Sports Management to continue to run the Village's Municipal Golf Course on Evergreen Drive. The previous ten-year agreement was set to end in December. The new agreement calls for two percent increases each year, with incentives built in for profitability. (Vernon Hills Village Board Meeting - 11/17/20)
Liquor Barn: During the Liquor and License Commission Hearing on November 4, Commissioners approved a Class B Liquor License for the Liquor Barn, which will be moving into the former Chuck E. Cheese at 700 N. Milwaukee Ave. Note that Binny's Beverage Depot is also planning to move into the Village at the former Hobby Lobby location on Townline Road.
Village Board Positions – Filing Starts December 14: Reminder to residents that the April 6, 2021 Consolidated Election ballot will include a variety of local positions, including Village President and four Village Trustee positions. Petition packets are available from Village Hall. More information is also available by visiting the Lake County Clerk's Candidate Services webpage.
Thank You, Trustee Schultz: During the November 4 Board Meeting, Trustee Jim Schultz noted that he would not seek another term as Trustee – a position he has held for 16 years. He encouraged others to run for office, not only for the Village but also for other positions that benefit our local schools, libraries and other organizations. Thank you, Trustee Schultz.
Community Voice Announcements: Check out the Village's Community Voice webpage for events, activities and announcements. If you have an announcement to share, please send it to Social@vhills.org.
Midwest Veterans Closet Collection: Thank you to all who donated to the Midwest Veterans Closet coats-and-more collection. Thousands of coats and other items were collected, thanks to the efforts of the GLMV Chamber of Commerce and our residents. Learn more at MidwestVeteransCloset.org. (Vernon Hills Village Board Meeting - 11/17/20)
Thank you for all of the generous donations to this year's Midwest Veteran's Closet Coats-and-More Drive! Thousands of people will benefit from your kindness!
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Attention Deerpath Neighbors:
ComEd Improvements Coming in January
ComEd preparing for system upgrades that involve replacing underground cables in southern portions of the Deerpath neighborhood. The work, which is designed to improve service reliability, should be announced with "door hangers" for residences where the contractor, Intren, will be working in your yard. Much of the work will be done at the rear edge of back yards where existing cables are already located. The project is expected to start by January 14, and conclude in early March. The process will use directional boring to install new cables, with final landscaping (topsoil, seed, blanket) to follow within three weeks of the project's completion – weather permitting. Impacted properties are expected to include portions of Annapolis Drive, Auburn Court, Monterey Drive, Montgomery Lane, Montauk Lane, Memphis Lane, Manchester Lane and Montebello Drive, as well as properties backing up to Sullivan Drive and to the south edge of Aspen Backyard Park. More information provided by ComEd is posted on the Village website.
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Photo courtesy of VH Park District Facebook
#BeautifulVernonHills
"When I started counting my blessings,
my whole life turned around."
– Willie Nelson
Wishing you a safe and healthy
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks for reading
The Village Voice
Suggestions? Questions? Need support?
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