Village Board Briefs: Aug. 22

Steve Balinski was honored for 35 years of service to Buffalo Grove.

Terry Vavra updated the Village Board on the department’s ISO rating, which is used for insurance underwriting purposes. Departments are rated on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the highest achievement. Buffalo Grove is currently in ISO Class 2.

Trustee Mike Terson reported that the Community Blood Donor Commission, in conjunction with LifeSource, will hold a community blood drive from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 3 at the . All donors will receive a free 2011 Buffalo Grove Days Community Blood Drive T-shirt and a certificate good for a pint of Baskin Robbins ice cream.

Trustee Steve Trilling reported that the village will hold an electronics recycling event in conjunction with the Solid Waste Sgency of Northern Cook County from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 24 at 151 Hastings Drive (immediately north of Banner Plumbing on Lake Cook Road). Only certain electronics devices can be accepted based upon the State of Illinois legislation. Accepted materials will include computers, monitors, DVD players, DVR/cable boxex, fax machines, mobile phones, MP3 players, PDAs, computer mice and keyboards, printers, scanners, TVs, VHS players and video game consoles. For more information, call the village at 847-459-2530 or SWANCC at 847-724-9205.

Trustee Andrew Stein reported that the Buffalo Grove farmers market will be a drop-off point for children’s book donations on Sept. 11. The book drive, sponsored by the United Way of Lake County and Bernie’s Book Bank, will distribute new or gently used childrens’ books for distribution to Lake County children.

Trustees adopted an ordinance restricting parking between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on both sides of Carmen Avenue from 467 Carmen north to 471 Carmen Avenue. The move followed complaints from Carmen Avenue residents who said patrons of the were parking on their street, making it difficult for them to back out of their driveways and police said the cars were potentially obstructing emergency vehicles. Signs will be posted on the east side parkway adjacent to the park, indicating that dog park patrons should park at the Metra station.

Trustees passed a resolution to join the Northwest Suburban Housing Collaborative, an intergovernmental effort with surrounding home rule villages to address housing issues. Buffalo Grove will share a housing coordinator, paid through a grant obtained by the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus. The effort will not cost the Village of Buffalo Grove any money.

Trustees approved a salary structure with lower entry-level pay for non-union employees hired after Aug. 22. (See attached PDF.) .

Trustees named Finance Director Scott Anderson as village treasurer.

Village President Jeff Braiman proclaimed:

• 9/11 National Moment of Remembrance, encouraging residents to observe one minute of silence at noon Sept. 11, and to join the village for a commemorative event at 3 p.m. at .
• September as National Preparedness Month, encouraging residents to obtain an emergency supply kit, create a family emergency plan, get informed about potential emergencies and join local preparedness organizations and efforts.
• A “No Texting While Driving Campaign” in which area high school students are encouraged to take the AT&T “Texting and Driving — It Can Wait” pledge. The village is running a 10-minute documentary from AT&T called "The Last Text" on BGTV every day at 3:45 p.m.