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winnetkacurrent.com news
the winnetka current | January 25, 2018 | 3
Winnetka Village Council
Orthodontist office on Gage Street approved by trustees
Nathan Worcester
Freelance Reporter
In a unanimous effort,
Winnetka trustees approved
a special use permit
for an orthodontics office
at 1075 Gage St., which is
within a C-2 commercial
overlay district, at their
Tuesday, Jan. 16 meeting.
Dr. Alex Figueroa, of
Figueroa Orthodontics
LLC, argued his business
would “[Create] a sense
of community and gives
people a reason to come to
the Hubbard Woods downtown...
They can come to
the orthodontist and also
do some of their shopping.”
Trustee Scott Myers
quipped back, saying “I
always like hanging out at
the orthodontist’s office.”
But, on a more serious
note, Myers described the
approval as a test case.
“What kind of exceptions
are we going to allow
in the downtown area, and
how do those exceptions
impact traffic?” he said.
“Does it add to the energy
of the downtown [or] does
it detract from the energy of
downtown?”
Figueroa faced questions
from Trustee Penny Lanphier,
who expressed concerns
the proposed design
would leave a partial dead
space.
In the proposed layout,
the portion of the office
visible through the western
display window would be
filled with orthodontists’
chairs. For privacy reasons,
that area would have to be
partially obscured from the
street by a solar shade or
some other barrier.
Figueroa explained the
firm and its builder were
still determining the office’s
final layout, but that
if the western side of the
office were devoted to patient
care, patients might
have the option of keeping
windows “open to a point”
if they were comfortable
with it.
Lanphier said she “appreciated
[Figueroa’s]
spirit of cooperation” in designing
the office. She also
stated the office’s location
near shopping destinations
would give bored parents
something to do while their
kids are being treated.
After the meeting,
Figueroa concurred his
business was an important
test case for non-retail development
in the Hubbard
Woods area and expanded
on his commitment to the
area.
“I think the Village of
Winnetka is contemplating
what they want to do with
the Hubbard Woods C-2
overlay district and what
other [non-retail] businesses
they want to open it up
to so that they don’t have
to go through this process
[every time],” he said.
Figueroa, who grew up
in Glencoe, emphasized
he hoped his business,
which has a 10-year lease
with two five-year options,
would be a source of stability
and vibrancy in the area.
“I hope that our future
business will come from
people I grew up with and
had relationships with as
well,” Figueroa said.
Exception to a standard
village bid
Trustees unanimously
approved a resolution to
waive the Village’s normal
bidding process for the
purchase of primary utility
cable for 2018 and agree to
a contract with the Okonite
Company, a present supplier
for Winnetka.
Okonite and Resco
(Prysmium Group) both
submitted bids, but their
bids were both considered
non-responsive from a
legal standpoint because
neither vendor accepted
certain terms in the Village
of Winnetka’s contract. The
language in that contract
was recently overhauled by
the village’s attorney, Holland
& Knight LLP.
Although Resco’s bid
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was slightly lower than
Okonite’s, their contractual
requirements were more
onerous than Okonite’s.
In particular, Okonite was
unwilling to alter a clause
allowing them to change
prices with only 30-days
notice.
Though he ultimately
approved the resolution,
Trustee Bob Dearborn expressed
concerns.
“It puts us in a bad position
to be dealing with one
vendor,” he said. “I think
it’s a priority to build out
a process that’s far more
competitive.”
Brian Keys, director of
water and electric for Winnetka,
said there were not
many potential vendors he
considered reliable enough
for primary cable, which is
a non-commodity product.
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