A new city manager for a new mayor...

So, Dave Limardi has resigned. The Highland Park Patch reports that his resignation is effective January 1 as stated in his letter to Mayor Nancy Rotering and City Council.  He has held the position for more than 18 years and everyone will acknowledge that he has been a strong manager.  Some might say, too strong, although others might say that certain mayors and city councilmen were just too weak.  His leaving will make many glad (no more "Limardi-goo" as some have called his approach to working with the City) and some will miss him.  He has helped some, ignored and harmed others. We each have our own perspective, all of which is credible.  How we ultimately view his term in HP depends on how much contact we had and what the outcome was.

Praises, genuine and disingenuous, have been and will be heaped on Mr. Limardi.  It is likely that both former Mayor Mike Belsky and Councilman Jim Kirsch's praises are sincere.  They worked closely with Dave for more than a decade and relied on him -- far too much, which is one of the reasons that the Master Neighborhood Storm and Sanitary Sewer program was accepted and, ultimately, repetitively defended, by City Council.   It cost one exceptionally fine councilman -- Mike Brenner -- his re-election, and Terri Olian her election in the recent mayoral race, although even Terri may not recognize this.

Steve Elrod's praises in the Patch?  Dave's been authorizing the checks to Steve and his law firm, Holland & Knight, for a long time, so Steve's praise is likely genuine. Most of us like the people who have ensured our success.

What about Mayor Rotering's praise? “Dave Limardi has served our city very well during his 18 years on the job...His professionalism and thoroughness as well as his creativity have given us a tremendous foundation and continuity.”

Shall we chalk this up to Mayor Rotering's good political behavior? Sensitivity to Mr. Limardi's feelings? Legal concerns? There must be hundreds of us who opened our doors to Nancy when she running for councilman and, later, mayor, who heard her voice her opinion that Mr. Limardi was a big problem in working with the City of HP and had to go.  Shall we now think that Mayor Rotering has lived up to one of her campaign promises, or did Dave Limardi just decide he didn't want to work with her and resigned, or was it just time for him to pursue new opportunities?  Is it important to know the reality?

It only matters if you're interested in seeing Mayor Rotering live up to another one of her earliest promises -- to terminate the Master Neighborhood Storm and Sanitary Sewer Program as we know it. More than two years after becoming a councilman, and several weeks after my letter to her to request reimbursement to residents who paid (it now appears more than) $250,000 (in the aggregate), we've yet to hear Nancy Rotering officially confirm that, as Mayor, she supports the elimination of the program (as designed by Dave Limardi) and will work to effect a reimbursement to the residents who were treated so poorly and inequitably by the City of Highland Park.  As you see, David Limardi's exit is meaningful to 47+ families who paid substantial sums for that ill-conceived program, who complained to him throughout the process, and whose complaints fell on completely deaf ears.  It should be meaningful to the thousands of other residents who will be subject to the sewer program and who are at risk of having to pay $4,000-$20,000.   We still are waiting to learn if Mayor Rotering is listening and responsive. I remain hopeful...

We are judged by many measures.  David Limardi will leave the City of HP in sound fiscal shape, at least based on the recent publication of the City's budget.  This is no small feat and, while the Mayor and City Council sets the budgets, Mr. Limardi has proposed them and carried them out.  In this economy, that's good, if not great.  A well done for that net result, and a hearty pat on the back. Thank you, David Limardi, for that.

However, in my family, we will remember Dave Limardi more for times when he and his staff showed complete disregard for our complaints and concerns.  Regardless of any organizational charts that he would frequently share with commissioners in which he'd show the City Manager reporting up to the residents, David Limardi managed in a way that the residents had to report to him, and he was up on high...

Withhold Your Support for a New Mayor Until...

Did you know that we’re still down the drain in HP? News to you?

Many of us, especially those in the Ravinia neighborhood, believed that the “Neighborhood Sanitary Sewer Repair Program (‘the Sewer Program’)”was D-E-A-D. Seems we were misinformed, misled. It is very much alive and Mayor Belsky has reinforced that the program has “merit and benefit” to the City. He has indicated that the Sewer program is merely on “hiatus during the economic downturn” and that is will be “discussed in the 2011 budget workshops.” Not dead at all. Alive, kicking and waiting to impolitely knock on your door to demand $5,000-$20,000 of your own savings. If you don’t have any savings, you can either get a loan for it (assuming you are credit worthy in this fine economy) or the City will place an enforceable lien on your property. If you just bought your house in HP, or are just about to sell it, that doesn’t matter (except you better disclose this liability as a seller). That’s the way it is going to be, for sure, if you don’t take action now to stop it.

We now have a unique and strategic opportunity to make things right and conclusively. Mayor Michael Belsky has decided not to run for mayor of HP again. I’m sure we’d all like to thank Mike for his dedication throughout his years of service to this community and some of the extraordinary achievements of the City during his leadership – but this would not include his continued support of the Sewer Program.

With Mayor Belsky’s decision not to run for re-election, we have an opportunity to draw a line in the sand and to tell our mayoral and City Council candidates that we will simply not support or vote for any candidate unless he or she takes a firm and vocal stand against the Sewer Program in its present form that requires individual residents to pay (in any proportion, in whole or in part) for work on their own private property sanitary lines to correct and/or compensate for HP infrastructure problems.

This City must find another way to pay for the infrastructure improvements. The burden simply should not have been placed directly on certain individual residents. From the outset, this was an awful recommendation by the City Manager in complete and total disregard of the impact on the individual residents. It was inexplicably adopted by City Council compounding the error in judgment.

Additionally, you should require your candidate to officially support and deliver reimbursement to the HP residents who have been treated so inequitably by the City and the Program and who have already been coerced to pay sums of approximately $5000-$20,000 during the worst economic environment most can recall.

By the way, if you have ever had your sanitary sewer line rodded, that is considered by the City to be prima facie evidence that you will be liable to pay for “repair” of the line under this Sewer Program (and don’t you think you need to disclose this to any home buyers?). They will knock on your door.

If you haven’t been already, you’ll be contacted soon by candidates to seek support. Don’t give it until you receive a firm commitment to correct this problem and terminate the Sewer Program with regard to individual resident payments. So far, according to the Pioneer Press, the only declared candidates are already in City Council, so require them to take action now. No need to ask for commitments and wait for the election. Seeing is believing. Tell them to put the matter to a vote now. See who votes, how they vote, and what their leadership talents are. Let’s not forget that in the last City Council election certain candidates represented to us that they were opposed the Sewer Program – and you know who they are. What action have they taken? None. Zip. Zero. Remember this for future elections.

Indeed, only former City Councilman Michael Brenner responded diligently, respectfully and with interest to my brother’s complaints to City Hall from the outset. Virtually all of the other City Councilmen ignored my brother’s complaints to City Council about the Sewer Program in 2007 and to date. We don’t even know how many other resident complaints they ignored as well. It was unfortunate that Councilman Brenner lost the last election, especially in light of the fact of the unfounded claims made by other candidates. Still, it is not too late for everyone on City Council to step up and do the right thing now, before the election, to prove their good faith. And we need to encourage them and to keep them focused on getting it done.

Please join me in drawing a line in the sand, No support, no vote for any candidate that does not fix the Sewer Program by terminating the requirement that it be paid for by individual residents. No support, no vote for any candidate that does not immediately call for the reimbursement to HP residents for the considerable sums they paid for work on their own private property to address a City of HP infrastructure problem.

Questions? Comments?

PS Please subscribe to this blog. I don’t have time to write much or often but I will be providing additional information on this issue from time to time. Please stay in touch!

A City of HP eyesore...why does it need federal assistance?

"When one has to go to a U.S. Congressman to seek relief from something going on in one's own backyard, it tells you something is really wrong with our fair town, HP."

This response to my blog and the extraordinary efforts of Adair and Happy Fell says it all.

Our City manager didn't take up the issue in the first place, and now our Mayor assures the neighbors that he'll place a call to Congressman Kirk, or that David Limardi will. I know that Congressman Kirk is always responsive to our local needs, but he has an important job to do at another level. Shouldn't HP be able to handle this on its own? Where is the strength of the City?

Yes, the railroad has certain federal rights but cooperating with the neighbors is nothing new for them. The City worked with the railroad to move the train station south. The City worked with the railroad to improve the station at Braeside. Why now is the City so perplexed about how to take care of this inappropriate,unsightly and potentially dangerous signal tower at the underpass on Cherokee road? The answer rests at the door of the City Manager upon whom the Mayor and the City Council rely so heavily.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so the first of a series of photos of the construction site is included today. (How would you like that mess facing you for the last several months? How disrespectful of the Metra to the neighborhood!) Just imagine, atop this very poorly constructed and unsightly concrete base, a metal signal tower, chain link fence, etc., towering over residential property and beckoning to the children who pass by to conquer it. And our City Manager thinks this can be resolved with a little landscaping...?

BTW, Adair informs me that former councilman Mike Brenner stopped by and will see what he can do to help. Still responsive to and working on behalf of residents -- that's Mike.

For those of you writing letters of support that Adair can send to "the powers that be"...please be sure to note that just south of Lake Cook Road is non-residential property much better suited for a signal tower (assuming a signal tower is really needed).

In case you haven't noticed, there is a voting poll opportunity on this blog. Please take the time to place your vote on this poll, if you're a HP resident. Also, comments are welcome. You can find the link for comments just below the end of this entry.