PALATINE
Council plans to break with convention bureau
The Village Council has balked at renewing its membership in the Woodfield Chicago Northwest Convention Bureau, though council members say they may reconsider the matter in the future.
Fran Bolson, convention bureau president, said membership in the bureau would aid Palatine’s economy by helping hotels book conventions and other events. But at a meeting Monday, council members said the annual dues — estimated at $20,000 — were too high.
“I think your business approach sounds scientific and fascinating,” said Councilman Dan Varroney. “But the numbers just don’t work.”
Varroney said it would make more sense for Palatine hotels to work directly with the convention bureau.
“If we were spending the hotel’s money, that would be one thing,” said Councilman Jack Wagner. “But this would be spending more taxpayer money than it would be bringing in.”
Council members said they could reconsider the decision during hearings on next year’s budget.
Dues were $4,000 a year until 2002. The fee now is a percentage of a community’s hotel and motel tax revenues.
The Hoffman Estates Village Board voted in March to end its membership in the bureau, saying hotel officials reported little direct benefit from the bureau.
— Jeff Borgardt
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DISTRICT 300
Cost of school lunches to increase by 50 cents
The cost of a school lunch for students in Carpentersville-based Community Unit District 300 will increase next school year by 50 cents under a plan approved by a divided Board of Education.
Board members voted 5-2 Monday night to raise the price to $2.50 from $2. Teachers and other staff members will pay $3 for lunches, also an increase of 50 cents.
The price hikes reflect an effort to balance the district’s $5.7 million food service budget, which is projected to run a $377,000 deficit by the end of the school year, said Cheryl Crates, the district’s chief financial officer.
School board member Mary Warren voted against the increase, saying parents already are facing rising gasoline and grocery costs. The lunch price increase “is a great burden right now when we consider economic conditions,” she said. She said she could have supported a 25-cent increase.
The new fees also increase the price of milk served at lunch and breakfast to 50 cents from the current 40 cents a carton.
— Mark Shuman
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WHEELING
Board to pay for design on outdoor sculpture
Village Board members have approved a $30,000 deal for preliminary designs of an outdoor sculpture planned for Wheeling’s new Village Hall.
“We’ve already had three meetings with the artists,” Pat Horcher, acting village president, said Monday, “and we have started to develop two different styles of sculpture, so that’s a minimum for a start.”
The village has entered into an agreement with Highwood-based artists Julie Rotblatt-Amrany and her husband, Omri Amrany, whose works include the sculpture of Michael Jordan outside the United Center in Chicago.
Jon Sfondilis, assistant village manager, said the agreement with the artists would cover the costs of the designs, drawings and computer renderings and help village staff develop a budget for the sculpture.
“The designs are not set in stone,” Sfondilis said.
— Graydon Megan