BLUE ISLAND
Rowers to compete on Cal-Sag channel
The city will host a rowing competition on the Cal-Sag Channel on Nov. 4 to bring attention to Blue Island and highlight recreational opportunities on the waterway.
More than 300 female rowers from six universities will compete in the Southland Regatta at Fay’s Point. Participants include Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Michigan State and Indiana universities.
“It’s especially gratifying to see our river become an outstanding recreational resource for these athletes and the community at large,” said Mayor Donald Peloquin.
Organizers said the regatta is the first of its kind since the 1959 Pan-American Games. It will feature two races, a 2,000-meter Olympic-style race and a 3-mile “head” race. Viewing areas will be set up along the channel between Kedzie Avenue on the west and Fay’s Point on the east.
Fay’s Point, a condominium and marina development under construction near 127th Street and Ashland Avenue, will be the staging area for the races.
“This regatta is a demonstration of the start of the newer activities and uses of the river that cleaner waterways have created,” said Arvydas Laucius, managing partner of Fay’s Point.
Call Mary Poulsen at 708-396-7035.
Carmen Greco Jr.
MOKENA
2 towns may create fund for water fixes
Officials in Mokena and New Lenox want to start saving for repairs to their shared Lake Michigan water system.
Public Works Director Lou Tiberi said this week that a proposed intergovernmental agreement calls for each town to kick in $35,000 a year to a fund for major repairs to the water distribution system, which extends from Tinley Park to Francis and Schoolhouse Roads on the west end of Mokena.
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Each town will make the annual contribution through 2012 and the formula would be re-evaluated in 2013, Tiberi said.
“Any time we can put money away, so if anything happens, we’ve got it covered, that’s a good thing,” Village Administrator John Downs said.
Mayor Joe Werner praised the foresight that led to the proposal. “When [a major breakdown] happens, it happens big, and it’s big money,” he said.
Trustee Don Labriola said he is concerned about the effect of continued growth on the towns’ water allocations. But Downs said allocations take growth into account.
The Village Board is expected to vote on the agreement Nov. 12.
Pat Harper
NEW LENOX
Developers propose adult community
Developers presented plans to the Village Board this week for an “active-adult community.”
The $225 million Nueva Vista would be a 550-home gated neighborhood for people 55 and older.
“It’s a sizable development with lots of unique issues,” said Planning Director Robin Ellis.
But trustee David Smith said the lot sizes are too small and the houses are too close together. “They remind me of those Sears catalog houses from the 1920s or 1930s,” he said. And “50-foot lots are just too small and 13 feet between houses is awful close.”
The 240-acre community, to be built over 10 years, would be geared toward people looking to downsize their living accommodations.
The developers, Hartz Construction of Woodridge, constructed Lago Vista in Lockport, a “very successful” adult community, said the developer’s attorney, Andy Dystrup.
Smith said the developer should contribute funds to Gougar Road expansion plans.
Nueva Vista would include 376 single-family homes, 174 town homes and an upscale multipurpose clubhouse. The site is at Laraway and Gouger roads.
Jeff Borgardt
WILL COUNTY
Parachute park permit approved
The County Board’s land use committee this week endorsed a special-use permit allowing a powered parachute air park within the footprint of the proposed south suburban airport.
But the unanimous endorsement restricts the permit to William and Bonita Hunt of rural Peotone, who have operated Powerchuters on 10 acres since 2000. Special-use permits traditionally are granted to properties and remain in place regardless of ownership.
Committee member Kathleen Konicki (R-Homer Glen) pushed to restrict the permit to the property owners, arguing that the county needs to anticipate that acceptable land uses may become unacceptable over time. The Hunt property is zoned for agricultural use but is in an area that is becoming more suburban.
Dennis Sullivan