NL_120816

4 | December 8, 2016 | The New Lenox Patriot news
newlenoxpatriot.com
New Lenox Village Board
Trustees take next step with Route 30, Cedar intersection update
Board amends
Village Code
regarding RV parking
Meredith Dobes
Freelance Reporter
Round it up
A brief recap of Village Board action Nov. 28
• The board unanimously approved the purchase of
replacement mobile data computers for $14, 309.10 from
Brite Computers for the New Lenox Police Department.
• Trustees briefly reviewed the first read of an ordinance
amending construction value in the International Building
Code, and it is expected the item will be brought back for
approval at the next board meeting.
• Mayor Tim Baldermann encouraged residents to shop
local, small businesses during the holidays.
• The Nelson Road extension is expected to officially open
the afternoon of Friday, Dec. 2, according to Village Engineer
Will Nash.
Beginning with voting to
vacate a portion of Church
Street and ending with the
final plat approval for new
developments planned for
the northeast corner of U.S.
Route 30 and Cedar Road,
the New Lenox Village
Board made further progress
on downtown redevelopment
at its Nov. 28 meeting.
At a previous meeting, the
board briefly discussed the
benefit the vacation of a portion
of Church Street would
provide to the development
of the area, and it unanimously
approved the matter on the
consent agenda at last week’s
meeting, with Trustees Emily
Johnson and Doug Finnegan
absent.
The board then reviewed
the resubdivision of the property
the Village purchased
that includes the former BP
gas station, as well as a former
dry cleaning establishment
and the former House
of Hughes restaurant. The
subdivision is to be known as
Rock Island Station and consists
of two lots that will each
be sold to developers.
One lot is for the CVS
planned for the far western
portion of the property, and
the second lot is for the building
planned for the eastern
portion of the property that is
to house Fleckenstein’s Bakery,
Durbin’s and additional
tenants, said Robin Ellis, community
development director.
The board unanimously
approved the item. Both lots
are zoned for commercial
uses and take up a total of
2.89 acres.
Shifting its focus, the
board moved to approve an
amendment to Chapter 106
of Village Code, regarding
the parking of non-commercial
trailers, RVs and boats.
Two residents attended the
meeting to speak or ask questions
about the amendment.
John Kohlhagen asked the
board to clarify what the proposed
changes are.
Ellis said the ordinance
currently allows residents
to park one trailer, RV or
boat on their property April
1-Oct. 31, and the change to
the ordinance would allow
residents to park two such
vehicles, provided one vehicle
is drivable and is used
to pull the other. For example,
if a resident owns a
drivable camper that is used
to pull a boat, he or she can
park both the camper and the
boat on the driveway, as long
as the vehicles do not block
the sidewalk. However, if a
resident owns two motorized
RVs or two non-motorized
trailers, for example, he or
she would not be able to park
both on the driveway.
Bob Kernwein said he has
a drivable RV and a trailer
that is towed behind it, which
he uses regularly for his son,
who is a junior dragster. He
said having both parked in
the driveway is a matter of
convenience for him, especially
if he and his son are
coming back from a racing
event late on a Sunday night.
Trustee Annette Bowden
said she thought it was important
for the board to pass the
amendment because it is easy
and accessible to have the
ability to park an RV at home
rather than at a storage facility
when it is heavily in use during
the summer months.
“The logic is that one vehicle
pulls the other,” Mayor
Tim Baldermann said. “It’s
not just two of whatever you
want there. I tend to fall on
the side of it’s private property,
and you should be able
to do what you want to do.”
The board voted to approve
the amendment to the
ordinance with Trustee David
Butterfield voting “no,”
and the rest of the board
voting “yes.”
holiday
From Page 3
the United States, which were
provided through a deal with
Artistic Holiday Designs, a
Broadview-based company.
“We’ve added this attraction
that has just come to have
a very far-reaching draw,”
Baldermann said, noting that
people have traveled from
nearby communities, and
even other states, to see the
decorations in New Lenox.
However, many residents
have been entranced by the
decorations, as well. Dawn
Kolosh said that she and her
children love the new decorations.
“We’ve driven through the
Commons every night this
week; they love it,” Kolosh
said.
She said that the family
comes to Christmas in the
Commons every year to start
their holiday season, but this
year, her children were particularly
excited about the
opportunity to ice skate.
“They wanted to check out
the ice skating rink,” Kolosh
said. “They play hockey, so
they’re pretty excited about
that.”
The New Lenox Community
Park District debuted its
new synthetic ice skating rink
at the Village Commons during
the event.
“In its first day, it’s been
very successful,” Baldermann
said. “We’ve already had
quite a few community members
that said they like it.”
The synthetic ice skating
rink is 30-by-64 feet and can
be used during any time of
the year, according to Greg
Lewis, executive director at
the New Lenox Community
Park District.
With free admission, the
synthetic ice skating rink will
be open during select hours
and days with ice skate rentals
and concessions. The rink
will be open for those who
bring their own skates any
time, Lewis said. The rink
Camden Bruley, of New Lenox, slides down a hill of snow.
Photos by Laurie Fanelli/22nd Century Media
will be available in the Commons
through early January.
“It’s really cool, and this
is what it’s all about,” Lewis
said. “We’re one day in, and
everybody wants us to make
it bigger next year.”
Eleven-year-old Joe Lullo
was full of excitement as his
mother, Carrie, helped him
get ready to get in the rink.
“I love skating outside, it’s
more fun than indoors,” he
said.
“We kind of have a picture
perfect day for it, too,”
Carrie added.
Eric and Sandi Wesel
brought their youngest son,
Joe, 9, who has been waiting
for the rink to open.
“This is the first time I’ve
been skating outside,” Joe
said. “It was fun.”
Looking ahead, Baldermann
said that he hopes
to continue to build New
Lenox’s Christmas in the
Commons celebrations.
“We’re looking at the possibility
of adding a Kringle
Market,” he said.
Joe Wesel, of New Lenox, ice skates at the Commons’ new
synthetic ice rink, which will be available all through the
month and early January.