Tickets to Reindeer Games? Coal in their collective stockings?
Here. Comes. Santa.
Each Spring, the Winnetka Caucus Council floats the Annual Survey – and our DIY government delivers truth to power. If you're one of the 1,205 residents who took this year's survey, way to nail the Nice List.
But the Taxing Boards to whom the subsequent Platforms get delivered? Santa's working on it.
D36 School Board – Benchmarks, Safety, and Sex Ed.
Benchmarking’s big. In 2021 (70%), and again in 2022 (74%) you wanted to know how prepared D36 kids are compared to other New Trier feeder schools.
See you, raise you, said the District. Signed with ECRA Group. Benchmarks kids against their peers and against themselves, creates a learning profile for each child then measures projected vs actual. Even talks ROI and will help "recapture learning lost through the pandemic." In their own words… Might also help with the “data testing vs progressive learning” ball toss – 34 Survey comments for progressive education; 22 for more “traditional methods.”
Too late for the Survey, just in time for the referendum. After July 4th, safety and security took top billing on the District’s to-do. On September 20th, the Board adopted a "Safe, Secure and Healthy Schools Resolution" then hired a "third party resource" called " Text for Help" to give kids and their families 24/7 immediate and anonymous access to licensed clinicians.
Sex Ed. Made it to the Governor's desk, but not the Survey. Concerned parents referred to it obliquely in the comments as a desire to return to the basics. To which Superintendent Tess issued this – keeping in place the plan they’ve had since 2020. No new classes added. “Aligns with the national standards."
Santa's wondering what they're solving for here, but likes the caution with which the board and Super are moving.
Safe Schools, 24/7 crisis hotline, referendum? Nice List. Full stop.
Library Board – An Embarrassment of Riches, Spending Few Know About – and This Just In.
The District had money. Too much. Whether from overtaxing or canceling projects it didn’t think were must-dos for the Northfield Branch, it's cash that needed to be stashed before auditors started side-eyeing. So they created a reserve to fund projects-to-be-determined. Sixty percent of you Survey-takers said keep the levy flat until that surplus is reduced to a best-practice six months of operating expenses. On November 14th, they did.
You also wanted the Lib to buy the eponymous park to the East. So, they did that, too. "Kind of defensively…” $313,000. Here’s the deal and discussion.
They say they “have no plans for it” but there it is. The Park's little piece of green space best cased in the Facilities part of the Strategic Plan – the Strat Plan 47% of you said you didn't know about or weren’t feeling it. The Board calls it “space planning.” With its potential $15M price tag for Northfield and Winnetka, the Elves bet it has your attention now.
After checking out the Plan, the Presentation, and the suggested rollout, Santa joins the Board, Consultant, and Elves in the maybe-too-much-of-a-good thing column. Is this "a clearer and more convincing value proposition for the strategic plan" called for in the Platform? Thoughts welcome here.
For years, residents have said services were fine, just let more people know more about them. So they ramped up their www, started video-ing their meetings and posting their agenda packets. Major Elfin kudos here.
Just in – the auditors’ report for Fiscal 2022. They say it’s “a clean audit.” Meaning the Lib's spent its reserves down to one year's expenses. On what, the Elves wonder. More than two years'? Auditors will be back.
Santa's thinking Nice List for now. Pencil poised. Waiting to see if the call for "public information sessions clarifying the objectives of the strategic plan" and more, happens.
Park District Board – Sharpen your Pencils, People over Pets, and The Pool.
Too complicated? Too on-going? Not enough info? Whatever, the subject of the Park Board’s last two years – the future of the Centennial/Elder waterfront – didn’t make the Survey. Two years of closed-door sessions can do that.
What did were more-than-suggestions to “go back and sharpen your pencils.” And calls for public access, food trucks, beach seating, watercraft rental, potties, and to put “people over pets.” Oops. On October 27th, the Board voted to amend the Lakefront Plan to put the dog beach back in – "not less than 170 feet and not greater than 270 feet" of dog beach back in.
Then, the Board called it. Four-to-three vote. As of January 20, 2023, the District plans to swap 261 Sheridan Road for 70 feet of Centennial Park. In spite of a lawsuit, that says, um, maybe not yours to swap. The Elves say it's never too late to comment. Otherwise, details TBD.
Wouldn't be a Caucus Survey without this: The perennial pool question delivered the perennial 50-50 answer and the perennial platform direction to study its viability. Ooo-kay...
And this: The multi-year call for transparency among all taxing boards delivered the District’s new website, taped meetings, and a new portal for its meetings and materials.
This is a tough one for Santa. On the one hand, an attempt to come clean in public; on the other hand, 2 years of playing with millions of taxpayer dollars behind closed doors.
Santa's sticking a pin in this one until he sees how the Board handles the land swap lawsuit. Maybe there'll be something interesting in his mailbox.
Village Council – One Winnetka, Diversity, Greenspace, and Storefronts.
The Number One Conundrum is one step closer to done. Nothing to survey, but plenty of "get it done, for Pete's sake." On October 18th, the VC heard the developer's latest version: 53'6" high – or less, on-street and underground parking,18,8000 sq. ft. of commercial, 48 two-to-three-bedroom units. Rental. Tudor – or Tudor-esque. "Guaranteed to fit into the neighborhood." Next up: The just-purchased Conney's Pharmacy joins the plan, back to the VC (dateline: January 2023), lock down architecture and construction methods, then file a planned development application. Elves are feelin' it. Santa's crossing fingers.
Diversity. A term with a dozen meanings. Almost 23% of residents rated it among their top three areas for improvement. They're in luck. It's in the soon-to-be-approved Comp Plan – so you'll see it in some form on some agenda sooner or later.
Survey-takers want eyes on "mature trees and green spaces, pursuing opportunities to install green infrastructure and native plants..." Elves approve of working with The Friends of the Green Bay Trail because, well, greenspace is important when you come from the Tundra.
Economic Development's still on everybody's mind. The Platform says to get with "regional economic agencies, real estate developers, business associations, and business owners to ensure Winnetka is an attractive place to do business." Santa's like, "where have you been?" Liz Dechant and the Village's Economic Development Department's been on this for years. Think Pomeroy, Serena and Lily. We join Santa in the Big Fan Department: We covered Liz's work here and here.
The Stormwater Solution. Top of the list in surveys past, signed, sealed and being delivered. Flood control, no new taxes, and a lotta new friends in high places. Santa's been waiting 11 years to high-five the VC. He's thinking tickets to Reindeer Games.
No way to survey, but a major judge of character: Last week, the VC heard Mr. Land Swap's request for a consolidation of his four lakefront properties into an "authentic suburban experience" for his family. They approved it on its compliance with Winnetka's laws and ordinances – ignoring his lawyer's full frontal accusations of personal bias and more.
Way to earn Santa's admiration – a place squarely on the Nice List. The lawyer? Not so much.
Visions of Sugarplums.
The Number 1 Plank on each of the Platforms was to play nice with one another. Called "Collaborative Cost Reduction," it wants each board to identify "opportunities for efficiencies and cost savings for the taxpayers of Winnetka."
Right now, the Parks and Schools are working on programming for Crow Island's new gym; although the Elves are side-eying the Park's mission to preserve green space, the Library's helping Parks raise capital for its Lakefront projects by buying Library Park; Schools, Parks and Village are getting stormwater done; Village and Parks are reno-ing the Golf Course.
The Elves think it would be way cool for the Library and School District to work together on literacy and technology programming, or the Village, Library, and Schools on programming for the new Post Office site.
While Sipping Your Peppermint Mocha Lattes...
The next survey's 6 months away. See something, say something. Why wait?
Attend or watch their Board Meetings. Finally, all board meetings are either zoomed live or posted a day or two afterward. Always better in person, but still...
Research – we do what we can, but you're way smarter than us. Board meeting agenda packets are packed with neat stuff.
Speak up at meetings. OK, 75% of people hate – really hate – public speaking. The rest of you have realized how powerful your words can be.
OK, email. Remember, passion is good, backed by facts, irresistible. Trust us, they listen. Plus, you might just make it into an agenda packet.
Here are the Boards' calendars, meetings and agenda packets.
And while you're there, sign up for their newsletters. It'll really help with next year's Survey comments.
Oops, almost forgot: 2022 Caucus Survey with raw answers, Comments, Executive Summary, Platforms.
What? didn't get the Caucus Survey? You'll want this: Hello@winnetkacaucus.org.
Happy Holidays, Everyone. May your days be filled with joy and may you be the light at the end of the tunnel! See you next year!