What is your vision for Forest Park?
Now that the election season has officially begun, what topics do you hope will be discussed? What are you views on the so-called “hot topics?”
posted by John Plepel | Friday, December 22, 2006
8 Comments:
What type of solution do you see to the parking dilemma? Do you think it is okay to take over people's homes for the good of the bar owners (one who is a commissioner and one who is suing the village)?
During the day when most of the stores are open there does not appear to be a parking shortage.
Bar/restaurant patrons can use a walk!
Hey candidate, your the one that is running for office, not us. Don't ask us what we want, tell us what your going to do. You sound like a novice Plepel. Get a clue here or your going to look like a Calderone'ish fool. What is your vision? Let me guess, you will just make decisions based on what is best for Forest Park. BS Plepel! Take a stand. Are you for good government or Calderone government? You can't sit on the fence punk. Take a stand.
Though I don't agree with blah, I would like to know your vision for FP. There's nothing wrong with being a novice, even blah was a virgen at one time:)
Hey John, Just so you are aware...blah blah plepel is actually Patrick Doolin. Nice guy huh?
To those of you who have commented, thank you. I will try to respond to each of you here to some extent and post an entire new entry if I feel it is warranted. Also, I hope that everyone had a great holiday. I personally celebrate Christmas, and mine was wonderful, filled with good times with my out-of-town sister and her family, as well as my two-year-old son who has fully grasped the idea of Santa. It may take a little longer to make him understand whole Baby Jesus in the manger, etc., but he does like the nativity scene that we have in the living room.
Anyway, my guess is that most of you are not logging on here to hear about my Christmas holiday. I will respond to the posts in the order in which they came in.
Parking solutions: If there is a hotter topic in our village right now than downtown parking and eminent domain, I hope someone will let me know what it is. I posted a somewhat long message on www.forestparkforums.com regarding this issue a few weeks ago. I won’t rewrite the entire post, but here are some of the highlights: I do NOT agree with those that suggest that the village should take action to eliminate the option eminent domain under any circumstance. It is a very important and very powerful authority that any local government should have. Further, I believe that it should be used as a last resort, only after all other options to solve what ever public issue is at hand have been exhausted. It does not appear to me that we have reached that point. There seem to be several options that should be looked at in more detail prior to starting proceedings to impose eminent domain. I will discuss this further in a separate post in the next week or so.
Note: Yes, the Mobil station is one of those options. I will have more to say on this subject.
Take a stand (Blah, Blah Plepel): I understand that I am the one who is running for office. I hope that my seeking the voice of the residents of our village isn’t confused with having no opinion of my own (though from you post, it appears that it may have been, at least by some). This first entry of mine was purposely short on viewpoints on my part. With four months until the election, believe me, I will take a stand on any and all issues that the voters want to know about. That is why I started by asking what people want to be discussed.
I am not usually one for quoting people just to sound smart (I think it often looks like someone is trying to hide behind someone else’s words), but I am reading the new book by Barack Obama. There is a passage in which he describes that he is more interested in making congress understand what is important to “the people” than making “the people” understand what is important to congress. I tend to lean towards his line of thinking on that subject, which is why I started my blog out with this subject line.
As far as my views, I think that I have been very out spoken in several public settings about my views on development. Now that our village has grown and become more desirable to developers, I have said several times, we should “raise the bar” when it comes to new development. That doesn’t mean that we can’t ever issue a variance again, but we are in a position to, and should force developers to make sure that their developments conform aesthetically to our neighborhoods. If we are going to grant a variance, we should be sure that the project will be benefiting the village as a whole. To that end, a group of neighbors and I have been working with Cherryfield Construction regarding their proposed project on the 500 block of Elgin Avenue. Our solution will require several variances (or a PUD), but we hope that in the long run it will allow the developer to make money and ensure that the character of the neighborhood is preserved.
I will talk a little more about my “vision” of Forest Park in a later post. However, since I am looking to represent not only myself, but our entire village, I hope that others will take some time out and share their views as well.
Logic: I assume that you are the same Logic from FPForums. It is always good to hear from you. Don’t worry, I will give some material to hit me over the head with before long.
Voter 07: I have no reason to believe that post was from Patrick Doolin. Obviously, it was not a Mayor Calderone supporter, but I don’t want to get caught up in the whole Doolin vs. Calderone thing. I know all three of the mayoral candidates to various degrees. I feel very confident that I could serve along side any of them. Although I don’t believe any of them is endorsing my campaign officially, I am hoping for all of their votes. I have had nothing but positive experiences with each of them over the years. It seems that almost everyone has an elegance to one of them, so if you care what they think about me, I would suggest that you drop them a line and ask what they think. To the best of my knowledge, each of them would have positive things to say.
If none of the mayoral candidates are endorsing your campaign, then I would consider you an INDEPENDENT. What a nice word. Smart not to get caught up in the Calderone vs Doolin conflict, that nonsense just weights the community down.
First, Mr. Plepel, I think blah blah was a bit harsh in his/her comments. While I understand the importance of having you provide us with your vision, it is nice to actually have a candidate/public official asking us what we want instead of telling us what we need. So, thank you for that.
Second, in terms of raising the bar for new development, what would you like to see happen in Forest Park? More retail (restaurants, bars, shops)? More residential? A combination of the two?
I, for one, am a little concerned with the obscene amount of condo and townhome projects being undertaken in the village. Just not sure this is the best use of the available space. Do you have thoughts on this?
Thankyou for being one the few candidates for commissioner who has started a blog so more voters can get to know you.
Could you write a post about your civic service in the Forest Park area?
Have you served on any boards -- joined any volunteer or parent organizations ?
You're such an eager, up-beat candidate, John Plepel ! -- I'd like to know more about you.
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