We should stabilize taxes, especially for those on fixed income, why should we keep losing the long time elderly residents, we should have more police patrol, we should concentrate on those weird people that keep strolling up and down York Road, not that we have to profile, but, watch what they are doing, spend as much time on crime as you do hiding police cars in driveways looking to build up revenue by giving out tickets, keep on top of the electric and flooding problems, these are just a few things that could help all of us

I would love to see Elmhurst address the plummeting property values on the north side of town. While the rest of Elmhurst is slowly recovering, North Elmhurst is not. The problem is caused by the large number of section 8 rentals,(could the number per block be limited? I don't know the legalities of this,) Could the homeowners,( a lot of them are builders who purchased tear downs before the housing market collapsed) be forced to make improvements to the homes to give them more curb appeal and also force renters to keep up the property? The other problem is the school report cards on the north side of town. Potential home buyers are asking realtors not to show them homes in the Churchville school district. Could the City and School Board work together to help these 3 schools where the teachers are overwhelmed with the numbers of ESL and transient students?
I wish parades and Elm Feast could be my main concern but for most of us in North Elmhurst this is not the case.

Make Radon testing mandatory at time of sale, just like checking legal sump pump connections. I've never heard of anyone dying from an illegal sump pump connection, but nobody should have their wife and children exposed to radioactive gas in their home as a normal part of their daily routine. To live the nightmare of watching someone you love contract lung cancer from the risky behavior of being a stay-at-home mom is criminal, especially when the risk in homes has been known and documented since the 80's.

STOP ALL OF THE BURGLARIES!!!

I am tired of writing long responses only to have them disappear. What am I doing wrong?

Ideas that I have offered with a few new additions.
1) A serious look at improved efficiencies on all levels. Satellite branches for public works in the north and central districts.
2) More efficient Police cars in the day of rapid communications
3) Video cameras at all entry and exit points to our community.
4) Better sound barriers along 290. I tried to address this years ago. There is way to much noise pollution.
5) Police assigned to specific areas so they better know the people and the area they patrol.
6) Utilization of old police cars as decoys to prevent crime.
7) Creation of community watch groups
8) Gazebos in all parks used with a permit
9) Shelter for our crossing guards
10) More shelters downtown for inclement weather

11) Portable bathrooms discretely tucked away in the downtown area
12) Sidewalks along the tracks to avoid pedestrians having to walk in the streets.
13) A teen gathering area. Teenagers are bored to death in our community
I recommended the old firehouse. on York but it was quickly torn down.
14) A shuttle bus connecting south and north Elmhurst to the central district and each other
15) Electronic signage by the underpass instead of city workers installing banners.
The selling of advertising space along the walls of the underpass.
16) I love the library but shouldn't be a place of knowledge instead of the huge amount of trash novels that are sold off quickly. The lowest common denominator may improve circulation numbers but ...........
17) tax credits to replace old housing along major roads in our community. This is where primary impressions of our community are formed.
18) A much more proactive code enforcement everywhere. There is much blight in our community that is ignored. How do we define ourselves?
19) Careful monitoring of section 8. We tiptoe lightly around this. This is not about discrimination, it is about community standards.
20) a more proactive approach by the police to assist landlords instead of washing theirs hands of the problem and then complaining about the landlord.

21) Utilization of East End Park building all year long instead of three lousy months. What a waste of a resource.
22) Replacement of trees throughout our community to replace old and dying trees
23) I agree with Bill about the radon issue.
24) Hahn street as a community park and gathering spot. Why under utilize it until the economy recovers, if it ever does?
25) Less focus on petty and questionable tickets for issues such as rolling stop signs and unbuckled seat belts while driving 20 mph on side streets. We do not need trained and highly paid officers for this type of work.
26) Overly zealous parking enforcement can drive away those who would frequent downtown. A balance must be achieved.
27) Demand that trains arrive on time and do not leave early. It creates problems for commuters. I witness this every morning.
28) More sheltered areas for commuters.
29) Improve the conditions of the downtown streets from Larch to York road, It looks like a war zone.
30) Improve the outside appearance of the train station. it looks shabby.
31) Have summer help paint curbs to keep them fresh instead of old and tired.
32) Change the train warnings to green, yellow, red. There is no time to respond to a signal that is simply on or rapidly off.

I would earnestly petition all dog owners/lovers to display courtesy to their fellow citizens. Please clean up after your dog, (i.e. do not use parkways or homeowner's shrubbery under cover of night), do not set up de-facto dog runs at every park or spacious green and keep your dogs leashed!

33) Actively seek out ideas from city employees to improve methods. They tell me that they are completely ignored. Typical of a late stage bureaucracy.
34) Create a forum for the public to make suggestions for improvements.
35) Promote Elmhurst aggressively as a desirable place to raise a family.
I love the new homes and the tax dollars they generate. Just don't use these tax dollars to support less than efficient government.
36) Call on Elmhurst College and educated community residents to help guide us into best practices. We should strive to be a world class community.
37) More to come as I think of them.

Happy New Year !!!

38) I tried to somewhat address this years ago with Alderman Bram but we received little response. The sound barriers along 290 are totally inadequate and create a huge amount of ambient noise within our community.
39) While not being divisive, I will the local media would more aggressively challenge the status-quo. Rah-rah is okay but you will not stir up readership unless you are willing to do so. We do many things right but there is still room for improvement.
40) Install tables and chessboards in the parks and downtown. It suggests many positives about the values and interests of the community.
41) Along with the shuttle bus idea, what about satellite branch offices for the public library so students can gather locally. North and South locations.
42) What about the purchase of the land along Spring road by the York Athletic field for possible creation of a teen center that stands apart from, yet close to the high school?
43) What about a community wide clean up day? In the spring, just before everything blooms? We need something that enjoins us in a sense of community.
44) Maybe we should clean up the property along rt. 83. It says nothing positive about our community. It looks terrible.
45) Elmfest was a good idea. Why not do it again?
46) Bumper stickers sold by the city " I love Elmhurst" Why not promote our town?
47) Beautification of the area along the tracks. Train commuters would have a positive impression of our community.
.

48) Utilize the best practices of other communities.
49) Could one of the quarries be converted into "Lake Elmhurst"
50) Dredge and widen salt creek and clean up the area adjacent to the creek.

Take away my coffee

I agree with the under-utilization of both East End and Smalley Pool/Parks. All the money poured into the pools that are open less than 3 months. It's ridiculous. The response from the park district was they could not get anyone but high school and college kids to apply and they go back to school in early August. Get a little creative with your hiring. Maybe it's nepotism that's the issue? That's the only thing that makes sense for the lack of "applicants". It's not worth the investment in the pools.

I really wonder. A question was asked about the financial cliff. A huge number of Naperville residents responded. No one from Elmhurst did. Very few Elmhurst residents responded to the question about what would you do to improve Elmhurst.

I often wonder why we as a community seems so disengaged compared to other communities. Does anybody have a thought on this? Probably not.

Require scrapers that pick up metal items throughout the city to register with city similar to contractor registration program that is already in place. Require proof of insurance, bonding and limit hours of operation to the same hours that contractors are limited to.
Determine what the city tax increase would be to eliminate the city sticker fee and move it over to the property taxes. This would save the enforcement expense and administrative expense of running a city sticker program. It would also eliminate the aggravation of purchasing stickers every year while increasing the transparency on the level of taxes and fees in Elmhurst compared to other cities that don't have sticker fees.
Create a "dog park"..

Dan

Great ideas. Where are the rest of the folks in Elmhurst ?

the rest of elmhurst is in florida or aspen for the holidays...check back after the kids go back to school... .

Did you see the response from Naperville concerning the impact of the financial cliff.

Make all door to door soliciting illegal in Elmhurst.

End the use of the city's reverse 911 emergency messages for everything but extreme emergencies and than have it made by an unelected official like the city manager and not the mayor.

Bill,

Isn't about being proactive verses a reactive approach. One approach initiates, the other approaches responds. This makes enforcement inconsistent and thus hypocritical. Fairness does not then exist. We could use a more entrepreneurial approach and less of a bureaucratic approach. I am starting to wonder if this approach the passivity of our citizens. The Elmhurst Patch has so few people commenting compared to a town like Naperville. The recent fiscal cliff article received no response from Elmhurst and perhaps two hundred from Naperville.
What does this say about us as a city? You get the Government you deserve. I have spent too much of my life fighting upstream, feeling like I am in the wrong place. Perhaps I am.

We need a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe's in town.

Patch,

Please guide me. I just wrote a long response to Julie Travers and then logged in.
It never showed up. Maybe it is me but this seems to occur randomly. I am getting to the point where I no longer wish to participate.

Jim,

As regards your comment for Elmhurst College to get the message out about Elmhurst being a world class locale, I wanted to talk briefly about the Niebuhr Medal that our Board of Trustees put in place back in the mid 1990s. It is always a special occasion when the Niebuhr Medal is awarded.

The Niebuhr Medal was first awarded in 1995, to Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel. I remember that night so well. And, since then Niebuhr Medals have gone to Joseph Bernardin, cardinal archbishop of Chicago, Lech Walesa, the first democratically elected president of Poland; Millard and Linda Fuller, co-founders of Habitat for Humanity International, author Arthur Schlesinger who is a world recognized historian, and many others.

Jim, your idea about having Elmhurst College promote Elmhurst on a world stage is an excellent one.

Also, Elmhurst College has a vibrant Speaker Series so that many times each month local, regional, national and international speakers take stage to educate and inform students and the Elmhurst and surrounding area public.

We welcome all to visit and take part in these world class events on campus.

Thanks JIm.

And, Happy New Year to all for 2013!

Alan Brinkmeier

Does anyone know what they are building by the old TCBY on York and South?

JJ

I believe Mr. McKenna Is constructing that as a professional office building. I believe Mr. McKenna has a tenant or tenants already lined up, too. It will be great to have that parcel back on the roster for Elmhurst regarding our schools and business use.

It has been a non performing lot for far too long in a nice location just across from the fountain park at the Prairie Path.

Alan Brinkmeier

Alan,

I sincerely have much respect for your logical and rational approach coupled with a deep commitment to Elmhurst. You have the heart of a statesman and a strong ethical foundation.

That is a very nice building that utilizes modern methods of construction. Steel framing has so many positive benefits. I applaud the city and Mr. McKenna for acceptance of such building methods.

Any chance that it will be a real estate office for Koenig-Strey?

Julie,

As much as I am sure that the community would have welcomed your choices, it is my opinion that when you have so many dollars available for groceries and the pie is divided in so many ways, that corporations look at this in determining a location.
Adjoining communities have sufficient grocery stores available so it is doubtful that they would travel here. Average household incomes of these communities probably would prevent this type of shopping. As it is, local stores are operating on thin margins. Did you ever see how many fliers for groceries you receive. You can also shop at Target, WalMart,K-Mart Sams Club, and Costco. Add Walgreens, CVS, the various dollar stores, and well as convenience stores, Gas Stations, and even Menards. Although I welcome Marianos as a potential anchor development for North Elmhurst, it will further squeeze margins for the other grocery sellers.
Based on these factors I do not believe we will see your hopes take place.

I would monitor K-Mart and work with Lowes to redevelop this into a home center.
This would keep tax dollars in Elmhurst and even attract tax dollars from outside the community. It also would save our residents time and gas money and would bring people to this mall. Traffic from RT 83 would even shop there. We have little compelling shopping along Route 83 and miss many opportunities to gain potential tax dollars from those outside the community.

Does anybody have any thoughts on this?

I would like to see an indoor ice rink complex that included two sized rinks and also an in-line skating rink, and how about an indoor swimming pool (similar to Bensenville). There never seems to be enough ice time for teams or open skate time. Maybe with another rink in the area the prices for ice time would be more competitive. I'd like to have a pool that didn't require a full membership fee for members only wanting to swim. This could create jobs, give teens and families a place to go, and promote health and fitness.

Karen,

I just wrote another response and then logged in. It did not show up, It shows me as logged in. Why can't you address this? You are shooting yourself in the foot. The lack of willingness to challenge anything has resulted in a very bland, occasionally sensationalist online paper with very little following on any significant subject. Look at the limited number of people. Maybe it has to do with the ultra conservative Elmhurst populace. I am not sure. The recent column about the economic cliff brought a massive response from people in Naperville and nothing from people in Elmhurst. This surely suggests something is very different. I am about ready to give up offering ideas for improvement at any level. No one responds and no one seems to care.

Someone stated to me that it is based on a personality style that does not embrace change and tends towards both conservatism and passivity.

very nicely stated, karen...people read...they just don't comment here...

proactive people respond. Yes, people respond to lite journalism. Reality TV has a huge following. The financial cliff articlevwas absolutely dominated by Naperville residents. I stand by all that I said.

Karen

I like you. I do not think journalism has to be politically correct and never offer an opinion. What are editorials for?

I once again wrote a long response and it did not show up. You win, I am done writing on a page that does not work consistently. How would you like to write a long column and then have whatever you write disappear. If this was a service oriented business and they did not show up repeatedly, would you embrace their company. It is obviously a software or programming problem that no one is willing to look into.

Look at my ideas. Everyone of them. Would not the community be a better place if they were implemented? Maybe I should do a food review, talk about exercise, or discuss the Kardashians. I would get a much better response. Oh darn, Jersey Shore is over.
Why don't you critique my ideas? Why doesn't a city official comment and explore them?
I was never addressing you directly. Popular does equal substance.

Maybe it is all that AOL seeks. The National Enquirer is not what I read.
This is not a "put-down" of anybody. I have a history of swimming upstream.
It is very frustrating. Perhaps you should read Please Understand Me by David Keirsey. I am an ENF/TP/J. A rare personality style. DuPage seems to be ESTJ territory. They just love the War on Drugs. I see it as a complete failure. Stupid me.