Forum on Sam's--March 30th at 7 p.m. at the Village Hall

Due to pressure from us, Sam's Club has scheduled a forum to discuss its proposed store where the Do It Center and Four Flags Automotive are currently. The Sam's representatives are supposed to be prepared to answer questions. We need to be there to ask: Why should cancer-causing creosote be disturbed on the property? Why does Sam's deserve millions of dollars in tax breaks? Why is the village eager to help the largest retailer in the country put locally owned stores out of business? What goods will Sam's offer to residents that are not currently available in Glen Carbon and Edwardsville? Why isn't the traffic study for the store available to the public? Why is the village content to maintaining a grade of D for the traffic at the site? What's the hurry? Why does the village need to approve this before the new trustees are sworn in? The forum will be held at 7 p.m. at the Village Hall on March 30th.

We had a good crowd last night in front of the board of trustees. Several people told the trustees why we oppose the plan to allow a Sam's Club to develop and give the developer millions of dollars in tax revenue. I apologize for likely misspellings below.

• Gary Graves talked about the problem with the Sam's in O'Fallon and disagreed with giving money to a for-profit organization.
• Mike Chamberlain noted that tax breaks given to Lowe's helped Lowe's put the Do It Center (which did not get tax breaks) out of business. Sam's will have the same impact.
• Phil Jarsik told the trustees that Glen Carbon should not be in the business of giving money to businesses.
• Jeff Corbin mentioned that Wal-Mart has taken huge amounts of money in tax breaks all over the country, making its primary owners very wealthy. He added that Sam's should pay its own way to come to Glen Carbon.
• Susan Hamil said that Sam's will not be a benefit to the community.
• Steve Strayer questioned the Sam's traffic study that shows the store will have only 33 cars per hour coming to the store.
• Grace Garin reminded the trustees that small businesses deserve the same treatment given to big businesses in Glen Carbon.
• Kenny Wilhelm asked why Glen Carbon should welcome a company that treats employees so badly and threatens other stores' abilities to survive.
• Kathy Starch told the trustees that it doesn't make sense to spend money to bring a store to Glen Carbon that doesn't sell anything not currently available in Glen Carbon.
• Mark Martin told them that Glen Carbon doesn't need a Sam's.

You have to be there!

The Village of Glen Carbon wants to give OUR tax money to THF Realty and their friends at Wal-Mart and Sam’s. We HOPE it doesn’t happen. But the Village Trustees are considering giving OVER SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS to the developer who wants to build a Sam’s Club in Glen Carbon. But if all we do is hope, we won’t stop this waste of tax dollars.

The public hearing is on Tuesday, March 22nd at the Village Hall, 7:00 pm

You need to show up! YOU need to tell the Village what you think! Tell them that sales tax revenue should be spent on the community, NOT GIVEN AWAY to businesses with no loyalty to Glen Carbon.

Just ask yourself; if Glen Carbon is such a great location for a Sam’s Club, why does the Village of Glen Carbon have to pay for it?

Citizens Meeting

Dear Citizens,

We will be having a meeting to discuss our position and actions in response to the recent proposals to both expand the local WalMart store and to build a Sam's Club at the intersection of 159/Troy Road and Center Grove Road. We will also discuss our potential support for candidates for Village Trustee in the April 5 election.

If you are interested in becoming involved, please join us Monday March 21st at 7:00 pm. We meet in the offices of UCFW 881.
#1 Sunset Hills Executive Drive, Suite 102
Edwardsville, IL 62025-9931
(618) 692-6400

The WalMart proposal has already passed Building and Development, we have a short timeframe for getting our opinions heard by the Village of Glen Carbon. Please contact your Trustees by phone, email or letter and tell them what you think of this new proposal. Do it now.

http://www.glen-carbon.il.us/index.aspx?nid=319


--

Karen Bracki O'Koniewski
GlenEd Citizens
www.GlenEdCitizens.blogspot.com
GlenEdCitizens@gmail.com

Candidate Forum

Glen Carbon residents,

There will be a forum for the five candidates running for three open positions on the Village Board. Please come to hear about the candidates positions and ideas and ask questions.

Our League of Women's Voters is hosting this event for Library and Village Board candidates. The Meet and Greet will be held March 17th at the Glen Carbon Community Center, beginning at 7:00 pm. Candidates will give a five minute presentation and then be available for questions in an informal setting. Cookies and coffee will be served.

Meeting Summary

Last night I attended the special meeting of the Building and Development Committee. There was a nearly two hour presentation by THF and the professionals representing the companies involved in the traffic study, the architecture of the proposed building and the proposal to create a Business District. What is a Business District? It's another word for a TIF district.

Sam's Club would receive half a percent of sales tax until they make 7 1/2 million dollars above and beyond their sales revenue. This is 7 1/2 million dollars out of the Glen Carbon Village budget.

Last night was the first formal presentation of the site plan to the Village of Glen Carbon. A number of concerns were raised by members of the committee as well as the public. Unfortunately, the meeting was adjourned before all questions could be addressed, as the Village Board meeting required the presence of the committee members. The issue is tabled by Building and Development until their next scheduled meeting, March 28th at 7:15 pm. Until then, you can hear their proposal for three variances at the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting on March 16.

I will request of both our Village Building and Zoning Director Wil Shashak and Alan Bornstein of THF Realty that site plans be available for review online. I would also like to see detailed plans for site remediation. The site and surrounding area used to house the American Creosoting Factory. THF has plans in place for soil testing; however we should be able to see what areas are being tested and to what depth. Work on site will create a new level of contamination for the area.

Trustee and Building and Development Chairman Ron Slemer directs property owners and concerned area citizens to contact Wil Shashak with any questions or concerns regarding the proposed development. He can be contacted at 288-7502 between the hours of 8:00 am and 4:30 pm. His email is wshashak@glen-carbon.il.gov

Guess What They Want to Build in Glen Carbon

A Sam's Club AND an expansion of the WalMart! That's right, folks. We avoided the Walton Corporation's previous attempt to fill our town with more traffic from their proposed SuperCenter expansion of WalMart. But Sam's descendants are back again. They presented a new WalMart expansion proposal to our Building and Development Committee in February*. And now they want to put a Sam's Club at the corner of 159 and Goshen/Center Grove Road. The old Goshen Do-It Center building and Four Flags are up for grabs.

Don't get me wrong, I'm tired of seeing an abandoned building as much as the next resident. But a Sam's Club? Imagine the traffic piling up at that intersection from 270 and points South as well as Governor's Parkway.

Our Village has a set of FOUR meetings scheduled for March; the final meeting potentially approving the project. That seems like a pretty quick process, doesn't it?

The Village home page announces a "special" Building and Development meeting coming up TOMORROW. But you have to look up the Agenda to find out what this meeting addresses; it is devoted solely to consideration of the Sam's Club proposal. In additon, the meeting nights for both the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning and Zoning Commission have been changed. Interestingly, they are now being held in the proper order for having a propsal passed.

The agendas have yet to be published for March meetings of Planning and Zoning, Zoning Board of Appeals and the Village Board's second meeting.

Two sources, however, have shared the following with us:

• March 8, 5:00 pm Special Meeting of Building and Development, one item of business: propsed Sam's Club (published information)
• March 16th, DATE CHANGE, Zoning Board of appeals will consider the Sam's proposal
• March 17th, DATE CHANGE, Planning and Zoning will consider the Sam's proposal
• March 22, Village Board will consider and potentially vote on the Sam's proposal

Citizens, if you have an opinion on the proposals for the WalMart expansion and/or Sam's Club, you know what you need to do. Go to these meetings to be heard. Send letters, emails and call your Commission members and Village Board members.

And you better do it now, because they could start building in April at the rate this is being rammed through the system.

*www.glen-carbon.il.us/archives/53/BldgDevCommAge022811.pdf