• Addison Restaurant Services will operate the restaurant at the Highlands Golf Course, paying the city $50K yearly in rent.
• Reach Sport Group will display plasma advertising at the recreation center, paying the city $7,500 over three years for the privilege of annoying Centre-goers. Such advertising and television, whether in gyms, check out aisles or fast food restaurants represents the height of bad taste, in my view. It was enough to dissuade me from going to Jewel anymore. As though it were not enough that television has destroyed the American home. They would have it destroy every space in the country, private or public, secular or sacred.
• Hispanic Heritage Coalition gets $12,055 for Fiesta Salsa.
• Next week (or was it this week?) is proclaimed Puerto Rican Week. The Puerto Rican community, about 3,000 strong, will host its 16th annual parade and BoriquaFest at Festival Park Saturday.
• Fire chief congratulated on his retirement after 24 years of service in Elgin.
• Organizers of National Night Out expressed appreciation for support.
• Firefighter passed a boot around. “Fill the Boot” is a nationwide campaign to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
• Keith Farnham got OK to convert an old industrial building into four residential units at 1000 North Preston Avenue.
• Property purchased at 29 Jefferson Avenue.
• Amendment approved 5-2 (Steffen and Kaptain voting NO) to Development Agreement with Water Street Place LLC. Kaptain noted that the amendment would give the developers another three years, while granting no corresponding benefit to the city. He said the development agreement should just be allowed to lapse. Steffen also wants the agreement to lapse. Schock, on the defensive now that this development has apparently fallen through, reiterated his claim that the city incurs no risk in such agreements. “The city’s risk is non-existent,” he said. The mayor claimed that the old GBL building would have been demolished anyway. Figueroa and Gilliam asked the city manager to make the site more pleasant, with some basic landscaping, etc.

Filed under: citycouncil.
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