Spring Clean-Up Dates Announced - Highland Park, IL

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‘High’ Notes 2 Affordable Housing Sessions Offered The Highland Park Illinois Community Land Trust (HPICLT) will offer the following information sessions on affordable housing opportunities available through the Community Land Trust and the City of Highland Park Inclusionary Housing Program. • Saturday, April 10 th at 10:00 a.m. • Saturday, May 15 th at 10:00 a.m. • Saturday, June 12 th at 10:00 a.m. Additional information sessions are available by appointment. Information sessions are held at 400 Central Avenue, #111. Please register by calling the HPICLT at (847) 681-8746. The HPICLT currently has a newly rehabbed 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom single family home available at $180,000; additional homes may become available soon. For more information, visit the HPICLT’s Web site at www.hpiclt.org or call (847) 681-8746. Register Now For Electronic Distribution of The Highlander Residents are encouraged to opt-in to receive an electronic version of The Highlander newsletter. Please visit www.cityhpil.com and follow the link under “City News” entitled “Register to Receive The Highlander Via E-mail” in order to sign up. Residents who opt-in to receive an electronic version of the newsletter will continue to receive a paper copy through regular mail. Printed copies will also continue to be placed in City facilities. Residents will sign up through the Police Department’s existing CitizenObserver software program and create an individual account. Thereafter, an e-mail will be sent to registered users on the 15 th of each month with an attachment of The Highlander and link to the City’s Web site, www.cityhpil.com. Registered users will also have the option to unsubscribe from future e-mails if desired. For more information about electronic distribution of The Highlander, please contact Emily Palm, Management Analyst, at (847) 926-1046 or epalm@cityhpil.com. Landscaping Reminders In 2002, the City established a lawn care professional licensing program that requires all lawn care professionals operating in Highland Park to acquire an annual license. Each operating vehicle used by a lawn care professional requires proof of licensing by display of a sticker on the driver’s side windshield. Please make sure that your landscaper is licensed with the City. Additionally, gaspowered leaf blowers are allowed between June 1 and October 1 for the purposes of roof gutter and downspout cleaning operations. Gas-powered leaf blowers for all other purposes are only allowed between October 1 and May 15. For additional information, please contact Renee Helm in the City Manager’s Office at (847) 926-1030 or rhelm@cityhpil.com. Online Payment of City Invoices Available As of January 1, the City now offers online payment of Accounts Receivables (City Invoices). Residents may pay invoices online for services such as false alarms, alarm permits and certain recurring quarterly and annual parking permits. For further information, please contact the Finance Department at (847) 432-0800 or visit www.cityhpil.com. ComEd Offers Bill Payment Assistance In response to local unemployment rates, ComEd has announced a “Helping Hand” program, which is a month-long effort to pay half the balances for customers facing a recent or pending service suspension due to a financial hardship. From March 1 through March 31, up to $1 million will be made available from ComEd’s customer assistance funds. Eligible residential customers who pay 50 percent of their outstanding balance can receive a credit from ComEd for the remaining 50 percent. To be eligible, customers must have received a disconnection notice within the last 120 days and have experienced a financial or medical hardship. Customers can sign up for the “Helping Hand” program by calling (888) 806-CARE. City Awarded AED Grant Recently, the Fire Department was awarded a grant from the Healthcare Foundation of Highland Park. This $38,000 grant will be used to purchase and place automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in businesses within Highland Park and to train employees in their uses and in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The Fire Department was awarded the same grant from the Healthcare Foundation in 2009. With that grant, the City was able to distribute 15 AED units and certify 52 employees in AED/CPR training. For more information, please contact Pat Tanner, Deputy Fire Chief, at (847) 926- 1066 or ptanner@cityhpil.com. Enter the Fourth of July Parade If you are a local organization, business, or neighborhood group, consider participating in the 2010 Fourth of July Parade. Applications will be accepted until May 15. To obtain an application or for more information on how to participate in the parade, visit www.cityhpil.com or contact Jennifer Dotson in the City Manager’s Office at (847) 926-1006 or jdotson@cityhpil.com. Yard Waste Collection Begins April 1 Veolia Environmental Services will once again begin accepting yard waste in conjunction with its collection schedule on April 1. Yard waste is collected weekly, on the same day as waste and recyclables. Yard waste must be bundled separately from refuse and recycling and will be collected at the curb only. Collection can be initiated on a sticker or subscription basis. For subscription customers, unlimited yard waste is accepted. For those utilizing stickers, one must be affixed to each 50-pound Kraft paper bag, 50-pound bundle of branches, or 45-gallon container. Stickers are available at local retailers, including Sunset Foods and Jewel, City Hall, or from Veolia. Large stumps, branches exceeding four feet in length, rocks, and dirt are not accepted. For more information, contact Veolia at (847) 272-4145.
Business Report Downtown Gift Card Program Adds New Businesses The Downtown Highland Park Gift Card Program has added 15 new businesses since its launch last November, bringing the total number of participating businesses to 70. New businesses include restaurants, salons, personal training and fitness studios, grocery stores, auto body shops, florists and clothing boutiques. A complete listing of participating businesses is posted at www.downtownhp.com. Cards may be purchased at: City Hall, 1707 St. Johns Avenue; the Downtown Highland Park Alliance Office, 442 Central Avenue, Second Floor; and at Renaissance Place, 1849 Green Bay Road, Suite 280. Learn more about the Downtown Highland Park Gift Card at www.downtownhp.com. You can also follow Downtown Highland Park on Twitter @DowntownHP, or become a fan on Facebook, Downtown Highland Park. Message from the Mayor Highland Park is fortunate to have several vibrant business districts. These include Braeside, Ravinia, the Route 41 Corridor, Briergate, the Central Business District and the City’s North border with Highwood. These Districts provide our public and greater Chicagoland with excellent goods and services. While much of our tax base is residential, we benefit greatly from the property values and sales tax generated in these districts. The former is particularly important to our schools and the quality of education in Highland Park, while the latter enables the City to support public services, such as police, fire and public works. Our commercial base also provides a livelihood to thousand of merchants and employees, which is particularly important in this economy. During this recession, state and local governments have experienced a record drop in revenues. Highland Park has been impacted as well. This past fiscal year ending in December the City’s sales tax was down by 7%. In the past I have urged Highland Parkers to please shop locally as a way to reinvest in our City. I would now like to expand that request to ask all Highland Parkers to be our eyes and ears for further economic development. In your travels across Chicagoland and beyond, if you see or patronize businesses that would complement or enhance our districts, please ask if the owner or manager would have an interest in locating to Highland Park. We have two excellent resources for following up these opportunities. One is the City’s Office of Economic Development and the Business and Economic Development Commission. These entities cover all business areas outside of the Central Business District. The contact is Carolyn Hersch at (847) 926-1027 or chersch@cityhpil.com. For the Central Business District we have the Downtown Highland Park Alliance. The contact is Sarah Wiebenson at (847) 780-4293 or info@downtownhp.com. In each instance we will follow up with marketing materials on the City and the advantages of locating in Highland Park, and, if possible, will bring any prospective businesses you surface to the City for a tour of potential locations. While the City will continue to proactively market our business districts, creative ideas and help from the public will be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Mayor Michael D. Belsky Ravinia Business Market Study to be Presented April 6 The public is invited to attend the Community & Land Use Economics (CLUE) Group’s presentation of the Ravinia Business District Market Study at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 6, in the Millennium Hall at the Ravinia School, 763 Dean Avenue. Millennium Hall is accessible from Roger Williams Avenue, just east of Dean Avenue. In 2005, the City Council established a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District in the Ravinia District to foster redevelopment, including public improvements, such as streetscape and utility upgrades. A redevelopment plan created in conjunction with the establishment of this TIF seeks to transition from obsolete land uses to more appropriate land use patterns, enhance the retail sales tax base of the area to support the City’s economic development objectives, and aid in efforts to revitalize the District as a viable mixed-use, pedestrianfriendly, transit-oriented retail environment attracting new private investment, while maintaining its historic character. In 2008, the City, local property owners, merchants, and the Ravinia Neighbors Association, a non-profit organization devoted to preserving the unique character of the Ravinia neighborhood, together committed to improving and regenerating the Ravinia Business District. In May 2009, the City Council authorized the execution of a professional services agreement with the CLUE Group for completion of a market analysis of the Ravinia Business TIF District and development of a strategic plan for retail and mixed-use development. Last spring, the consultants commenced the study with an onsite orientation and interviews of key stakeholders. In June and July 2009, the consultants initiated a community visioning blog, assessed the District’s market potential, and conducted a community-wide consumer survey and focus groups. In August 2009, the CLUE Group evaluated the district’s identity and potential market positioning, and developed recommendations for branding, a retail strategy and tenanting. At that time, they also assessed land use and potential public improvements, the economic impact of those improvements and formulated tax yield projections. Following the public unveiling of the consultant’s draft report, a “Playbook” meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on April 7 at which time the consultants will facilitate a workshop to guide the Ravinia Business District Leadership Group through the process of implementing their recommendations. The Leadership Group, comprised of representatives from the City Council and City staff along with key Ravinia Business District stakeholders, is expected to review and finalize the report prior to its consideration and acceptance by the Highland Park City Council this spring. Copies of the Market Study Report will be available at the meeting or may be obtained from the Office of Economic Development at City Hall. For more information, please contact Carolyn Hersch, Economic Development Coordinator, at (847) 926-1027 or chersch@cityhpil.com. 3
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Spring Clean-Up Dates Announced - Highland Park, IL

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