Saturday, March 19, 2011

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?

Sunday, March 13, 2011

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

Friday, March 11, 2011

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.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

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

Monday, March 7, 2011

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



Monday, April 5, 2010

April Meeting

Happy Spring, everyone! Hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather this past weekend. I was enjoying it so much I didn't get this information out until today.

Wednesday April 7 will be our monthly meeting. We will meet at 6:30 pm at St. Cecilia's Family Life Center. This is the building to the left on the Parish campus, located at 155 N. Main St in Glen Carbon, IL.

May will be our last meeting until Fall. Summer vacation!

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

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

No March Meeting

Due to a lack of agenda at this time, we are cancelling the March meeting. If there are any significant developments regarding University Town Center or other issues, we will meet as scheduled in April. As always, if you have any issues you feel are not being addressed by your government, please contact us.