Recently in City Council Category

There's a nine-year wait to get a space in a commuter parking lot in Naperville. Think about that. Nine years. You could move here when your kid is entering kindergarten and he could be in high school by the time you finally get the call: "Mr. Smith, we have a space for you."

There are remote Park and Ride lots, which help. There are bus routes, which, if you're lucky enough to live within walking distance of, can get you to the train. But Naperville, with the two busiest stations in the entire Metra system, and oodles of parking decks for shoppers and diners downtown, has no parking decks for commuters.

Other towns do, like Downers Grove. Why, there's even government money available to help build such decks, you just need to ask Metra and they'll see what they can do.

The question is this: How much would you be willing to pay to park in a deck for commuters near the downtown train station? Three dollars a day? Five dollars a day? User fees would have to cover the costs, city officials say.

Also, the city is doing a study of the area around the Fifth Avenue Station. How important is it to you that the study include consideration of a parking deck for commuters? In other words, with sites like the public works facility ripe for redevelopment, what should be done with that land: parking deck for commuters, or something else?

The great planner Daniel Burnham once said, "Make no small plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood." We see the spirit of this in Naperville in projects like the Millennium Carillon.

Last October The Sun first reported that an entity calling itself the Omnia Performing Arts Association was considering a grand plan for a project around Naperville's downtown train station. Details were scarce then -- and remain so, today -- but the project is said to entail a 2,700-seat theater, possibly offices and/or condos and parking.

Residents of the area are understandably worried, since change can be stressful and no one likes feeling like they are being kept in the dark. Or worse, no one likes feeling like something on a big scale is being talked about in back rooms by developers and attorneys and city representatives and then by the time it comes around for formal public approval it just sails through. Not saying this is how things are done in Naperville. Chicago, maybe, or some other hypothetical place. Just saying, some people want to know what's going on, is all.

Well, they're supposed to get their chance, Monday, at 7:15 p.m. in council chambers at the Municipal Center, when agents from the performing arts association are expected to address questions and concerns.

What do you think about the proposal? With North Central College opening a new theater soon, does Naperville need a privately funded performing arts space akin to the Paramount in Aurora or the Rialto in Joliet? In this economy, how wise is it to undertake such a project? With the public works center near the downtown station becoming available soon, is this the best use for that site?

UPDATE: We received word late Friday afternoon that Monday's meeting has been cancelled. See comments below.

Chicago has the Picasso, among others. In Naperville, it's Dr. Seuss. The City Council recently agreed to spend $115,000 to have a "Green Eggs and Ham" statue installed outside the 95th Street Library.

Funding comes from the Special Events and Cultural Amenities fund, which amounted to $2.57 million last year and comes from a citywide 1 percent tax on food and beverages. Century Walk, which is putting up the Seuss statue, received $274,000 in funding total this year.

What say you? Is public art a good thing that enhances the aesthetic value of a community and shows its deeper appreciation for the finer things in life? Or do you think it's not needed, that it's a luxury that should be financed via the private sector instead of by tax money?

Friday's Sun cover is a story about local business owners expressing their gratitude toward Naperville police by making an $1,1117 donation to the Police Department for solving a crime involving the theft of an expensive puppy.

Earlier this year, detectives and investigators made an arrest within 36 hours of Naperville's first non-family murder in years.

So what's the verdict on Naperville cops? Are they the best money can buy? Can you say they're not worth every penny? Next week they'll remain at the forefront of Internet crime safety by hosting a presentation instructing parents on how to protect their children from Internet predators.

Is it a policy decision of the city council to place such emphasis on crime and devoting taxpayer resources toward crime prevention? Or is it an administrative function, department heads who take it upon themselves to ensure the crime rate stays low?

Testimonials would indicate the police in Naperville are doing a great job. Do you agree?

Naperville's City Council Tuesday night decided to join a consortium that opposes Canadian National's acquisition of the EJ&E Railway. Opponents say increased freight traffic at grade-level crossings would hinder the ability of emergency vehicles to get around town, slow school buses and cause delays for commuters. Yet officials concede that federal officials appear likely to approve CN's acquisition of the EJ&E. If and when that happens, opponents--like Naperville--might wage a legal battle as a next step. This could end up being a costly move. Do you agree with Naperville's decision to join other towns and counties fighting the sale? What will the impact be to you if the acquisition goes through?

A report in Monday's Sun details how some commuters who use Naperville's Smart Card system to pay for parking at the Route 59 Metra lot are getting stuck with $15 tickets because of a machine malfunction. Those who believe they have received parking tickets in error can appeal.

The story also reports how Naperville's dramatic increase in quarterly parking permit fees hasn't had much of an effect on demand yet. With costs doubling to $120 for residents, the thought was that some who hoard the passes without using them very often would drop them, thus putting a dent into that list of some 3,700 people waiting two to six years to get a parking permit for a commuter lot.

But that hasn't happened. So far, only nine people have withdrawn from the program, a city official said.

Should Naperville charge even more money, then take those funds and create more parking for commuters? Are you taking the train more often now that gas costs more than $4 a gallon? What's your experience with commuter parking in Naperville?

A report in Sunday's Sun describes what local governments are doing about high fuel prices. The city of Naperville, for example, says its cut fuel consumption by 6 percent in recent years by reducing the number of vehicles in its fleet, buying fuel wholesale, and taking other steps. The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County is using alternative fuels. The Naperville Park District is telling workers not to leave vehicles idling.

What do you think -- are these steps enough? Remember not long ago when a whistleblower told DuPage County Board members how public works employees were filling up personal vehicles with gas paid for by county taxpayers? And that was before $4 a gallon gas. How confident are you that there are no thefts by employees taking place now?

What are you doing to cut your own personal fuel consumption? What do you think government agencies should do to reduce fuel costs?

It was billed as a wonderful public-private partnership that would wrap retail shops around a parking deck. But the deal to build the 317-space addition to the Van Buren parking deck has gone sour, with the parties involved in the private side of the partnership suing each other. In court Tuesday, a lawyer for one of the parties said the dispute threatens to shut the project down, The Sun reports Wednesday.

Maybe this will all work out and there will be no delays to the project. Then again, maybe not.

What impact do you think the lawsuits will have on construction? How important is it to you that the Van Buren deck addition be completed on time? What do you think of the downtown parking situation? And given these developments, what should Naperville's approach to public-private partnerships be in the future?

Tuesday night, we learned Naperville's City Council likes to replace vehicles after just 52,000 miles. After wringing its hands and a few members saying they didn't think the city needed to replace vehicles that were so near to new, the council went ahead anyway and voted to spend $222,000 for 10 replacement vehicles. Only Dick Furstenau dissented.

City staff recommended the purchases, saying the new models will be more fuel-efficient, for one. These were mostly pickup trucks, used by Department of Public Works employees.

What do you think about the purchases? Do they make sense to you? How come the majority of council members questioned the wisdom of replacing perfectly good vehicles, then went ahead and approved the purchase anyway?

Is this fiscally responsible? Do you agree with staff's recommendation that the vehicles had to be replaced due to "excessive use?"

Naperville got out of an agreement with a company that was supposed to install cameras to catch red-light offenders at selected intersections. But the city isn't ready to kiss good-bye the nearly $900,000 in revenue those cameras were expected to generate in fines. Naperville expects to choose a new vendor and install cameras at busier intersections along Route 59, a move expected to generate as much revenue (in a shorter time) as the other cameras would have.

What do you make of all this? Are you confident the cameras provided by the new vendor, once chosen, will be reliable? Are you concerned about reports that some jurisdictions are abandoning red-light camera enforcement programs due to problems? What about the plan to shift focus to Route 59? If those are the intersections with the biggest concerns about safety, why wasn't the focus there all along?