Richton Park Herald

Hopefully this issue has already been addressed for the 2010 IML Conference, but just in case it hasn't... Well its that time of year for village officials across the state to start thinking about going to the IML Conference that's held in downtown Chicago every year around September. The first year I went to this conference as a Richton Park Village Trustee, I drove downtown with my own car, parked the car in a garage, spent a couple nights at The Hilton, took cabs to restaurants and bought some meals. There were some free meals involved, but when I added up all my expenses including mileage, parking, cab fare, hotel and a couple meals, the expense report came up to around $1,000. Now a lot has happened since those heady days of 2007. We found out the village was just about out of cash to the tune of 6 million dollars with spending a million dollars over budget for the prior 6 years. Then comes the economy and housng crashes of 2008 and 2009. The last IML Conference I attended in 2009, I downsized. I think my expense account was less then $100. I didn't stay overnight at a hotel. I took the train downtown, went to my classes for the day. went to one free dinner offered by our engineering firm, then drove home with my wife.

So, that was a big reduction in expenses. I did that because I knew the village was having money problems. I tried to get other board members to follow suit, but those that went did the stay downtown thing again just like we (the Village of Richton Park) had money coming out of our ears. The Village of Olympia Fields doesn't allow village personnel or officials to stay overnight for any downtown Chicago conferences. They're expected to drive back and forth. Its only 35 miles away and driving home at night after rush hour is over only takes 30 minutes. I know because I've doen it. The problem in some instances is alcohol. At most of the after-the-work-day parties there's open bars. People tend to have a few more drinks then they normally do when they're not paying for them. So staying overnight in downtown Chicago at $275 a night becomes a safety issue. But the Village of Richton Park, heck the PEOPLE of Richton Park, shouldn't be picking up the hotel tab. And that's goes for whether or not you're drinking.

The policy should be "the village will not pay for overnight hotel stays for any conference or seminar held within a 60 mile radius of Richton Park." If village personnel and officials want to stay overnight for convienience or for whatever reason, they can do so, but they do so at their own expense. And that sholld be the policy even when the economy comes back, tax revenues are up and the village coffers are full of surplus dollars! Remember, its not your money your spending, its the taxpayers of Richton Park!

I can't think of a better person to be appointed to my vacant Trustee seat. Congratulations! Both to Monica and to Richton Park. I met Monica around town at many different functions and she always seemed in tune with what was going on in Richton Park and always concerned about quality of life issues in Richton Park. I know she' sgoing to do a good job for the people of Richton Park and she's got my vote in this spring's upcoming election. (If I could vote in Richton Park, that is!) Good luck Monica!

On May 4, 2010 Trustee Harry Olson sent out the following email:


Dear Village President Reinbold, Board of Trustees, Village Staff and Citizens of Richton Park,

With the recent death of my mother and the sale of my home in Richton Park, I am tendering my resignation as Trustee for the Village of Richton Park effective immediately. After living in Richton Park for the past 33 years, my wife and I will be moving full time to our house in Arizona.

I'd like to thank the people of Richton Park. Its been a great honor serving on the Board of Trustees for the village. Not only do I feel that the makeup of the board has changed for the good, I feel that while I've been on the board we've made some great progress in regards to management staff changes at the village and that our village is now headed in the right direction with the right leadership in place. I'd like to thank all the volunteers I've worked with over the years including the Merchants Chamber, the Lakewood Home Owners Association, the Cable TV committee, the Economic Development Committee and the HOA Day volunteers. I'd also like to thank the people at Park Towers, Lioncrest Town Homes and Cedar Ridge. I very much enjoyed the Diversity dinners. Hope sure throws a good party.

After long time Richton Park business L.A. Café closed its doors last year, I volunteered to help develop and host the Richton Park Business website to aid in business retention. This past year I helped develop the new Village of Richton Park website. I'm sorry I won't be around to see the finished community center.

Finally, I'd like to thank Village President Rick Reinbold and all the hard working staff at the village for all their help and encouragement they offered to me while I was a volunteer and Trustee.

Thank you and good luck Richton Park!

Sincerely,

Harry Olson

By Harry Olson

Let me say, first of all, that this is just my opinion. What's going to happen is beyond me and certainly out of my control!

Let's start out with who should not be appointed. Any one who has previously held the office should not be appointed. In my opinion change is good. I would like to see term limits on public offices held in Richton Park. I proposed this while I was on the Board, but it didn't even get put on the agenda because "why go through all the legal expense when its just going to get voted down anyway". When incumbents say they have the experience or want to see things through, its all a bunch of nonsense. Anybody with half a head on their shoulders can do the job. The village is run by the Village Staff. They do all the work, they put the Board's agendas together and make suggestions as to the path we should take. We have legall consul, finance and accounting people, Parks and Rec, Public Works, Police and Fire. They run, maintain and protect the Village on a day to day basis. When the Board meets two times a month (more when the budget is being worked on), who's not going to vote for the vicious dog ordinance? I don't mean to belittle trustees or the work they do, but again, I think just about any resident can do the job. So no need to appoint somebody who has already been in the job. They've had their chance and if they decided to quit or got voted out of office lets leave it at that and let the village move on. I hope in the upcoming election in Spring 2011 we have 3 new trustees voted in that have no political experience whatsoever.

So who do I think should be appointed? I have a special place in my heart for Richton Park Citizens of the Year. I was one myself and it was nice to be recognized for all the volunteer efforts one does. Some of the more recent Citizens of the Year include Brian Coleman and Bill Colon. Another person I think would be good would be Monica Holden. They all seem to me to have the best for Richton Park in the forefront without any hidden agendas. But hey, that's me. Maybe the seat will remain empty until the election. In any case, I think the Village of Richton Park needs someone new without any hatchets, hidden agendas or devisive old alliances. What we need is someone with a new attitude!

Good luck Richton Park!

P.S. I'm now living in Arizona, so why don't I just keep my big fat nose out of it? Well, I lived in Richton Park for over 30 years and there's still a special place in my heart for the people in Richton Park. The village is moving along in a good direction and I'd hate to see it slip back into two opposing camps arguing with each other all the time. Isn't the internet great? Just like I'm there!

Richton Park had a ground breaking ceremony on Saturday, October 31st for their new Community Center. Scheduled completion will be around the same time next year. Community advocates have  wanted a community center in the village for a long time. However, a couple of village wide referendums were defeated years ago that would have increased taxes on residents to build and operate a community center. It just so happens that one of the more successful TIF (Tax Increment Financing) districts in the village has accumulated tax funds over the years. These funds were sitting there until someone reviewing the original TIF documentation discovered a clause that allowed these funds to be used to build a community center! These funds accumulated over many years, so no increases in taxes were required to build the community center.

From left to right is Village Clerk Mary Pierce, Trustee Cynthia Butler, Trustee Valerie Babka, Village President Rick Reinbold, Trustee Julian Alexander, Trustee Sharon Kriha, Trustee Jennifer Artis and Trustee Harry Olson.

Above are the Community Stakeholders plus everyone else that showed up! A good time was had by all! Let's start construction!