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Village Blog April 2010

**NEW BUSINESSES IN VERNON HILLS**
Evergreen Mart Evergreen Plaza	Salon GC Hawthorn Village Commons
Zagg Invisible Shield Hawthorn Westfield

Refuse and Recycling Franchise Agreement with Veolia

April 22, 2010

Dear Association Officer and HOA Manager,

As I indicated in my previous correspondence, on April 20 the President and Village Board took action to approve a franchise agreement with Veolia, which becomes effective August 1, 2010 and runs through April 30, 2015. Single family attached houses (HOAs) are now part of the Veolia franchise agreement for both refuse and recycling collection. We have negotiated significant savings in refuse and recycling costs as compared to current costs for nearly all HOAs. Below are the per unit costs and service levels effective August 1,2010 as part of the contract renewal with Veolia.

Multi-Family Rates (HOAs)
Weekly Collection of Refuse & Recycling
Refuse Service Level	65 Gallon Cart	35 Gallon Cart
Recycling Service Level	35 Gallon Cart	35-Gallon Cart
Monthly Rate	$10.95

Weekly Collection of Refuse & Every Other Week Collection of Recycling
Refuse Service Level	65-Gallon Cart	35-Gallon Cart
Recycling Service Level	35-Gallon Cart	35-Gallon Cart
Monthly Rate	$9.99
Optional 2x/week Refuse Pick-up (Requires entire HOA to increase service level)
Add $3.50/month

There are a number of decisions to be made in reference to the Veolia contract. First, the agreement goes into effect on August 1, 2010. However, Veolia has agreed to honor these prices starting May 1, 2010. Several Homeowners Associations have indicated to us that they want to commence these prices with Veolia as soon as possible. In any case on August 1, 2010 Veolia will begin providing refuse collection as well as recycling collection

The other issue is the refuse toter cart size. Each homeowner will have the option at the beginning of service to choose either a 35-gallon or 65-gallon refuse cart.

HOA Decisions:

1. Each HOA must decide if they wish to have the refuse collected 1x or 2x per week. This option is for the refuse collection for the entire HOA. It is not possible for some units within an HOA to receive 1x per week and some units to receive 2x week refuse collection.

2. Each HOA must decide if they wish to have the recycling collected every week or every other week. This option is for the recycling collection for the entire HOA. It is not possible for some units within an HOA to receive every week and some units to receive every other week recycling collection.

Again, the two aforementioned options, the twice a week pick up for refuse and the every other week for recycling need to be decided in reference to the entire Association. Once your HOA has made these two decisions, your HOA representative should coordinate these decisions for your specific HOA with David Wall of Veolia at 847-623-3870.

Again as I mentioned to you in my letter of March 29 and for those of you who were able to attend our April 8 meeting, we feel that by pulling together all of the single family homes in the Village, which is over 7,900 households, we have achieved excellent prices for our residents on refuse and recycling services.

If you have questions in general about the agreement, please contact me at 874-918-3540 or mikea@vhills.org. Once you have chosen your options, please contact David Wall at 847-623-3870.

GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND

April 23, 2010

The Village of Vernon Hills’ General Obligation bond rating was upgraded on Monday, April 19 from an Aa1 to an Aaa by Moody’s as part of Moody’s effort to recalibrate bond ratings. The Aaa rating represents Moody’s highest bond rating, and is an affirmation of the Village’s financial strength. The Village has worked diligently, in a very disciplined manner to maintain this financial strength. Even with the challenges of lowered revenues that have been experienced by Vernon Hills and most municipalities, we have adjusted our expenses, maintained essential services, and continue to pursue cost savings. The Village is one of only 19 municipalities in Illinois to have an Aaa General Obligation bond rating and is one of only three non-home rule municipalities to have an Aaa General Obligation bond rating.

For comments or questions please contact Larry Nakrin 847 918-3554 or larryn@vhills.org or Mike Allison 847 918-3540 or mikea@vhills.org

ANNUAL BUDGET APPROVAL

April 23, 2010

The Village of Vernon Hills passed a balanced 2010-11 Budget on Tuesday for the fiscal year ending April 30, 2011. Despite facing weakness in every major Village revenue source, as well as pressures from increasing pension and health insurance costs, the Village Board and Staff were able to make significant adjustments in expenses. The major initiative of this cost saving was the offering of an Accelerated Retirement Incentive. As a result of this program, the Village had nine employees retire. The 2010-11 Budget only replaces one of these nine positions. This results in a reduction in employment from 109 full time employees to 99 full time employees. As recently as 2002, the Village had 128 full time employees.

The reduced salary and benefits that resulted from this retirement program results in about $879 thousand of net savings in continuing costs. There was also a $760 thousand reduction in the funding of General Fund permanent improvement projects. Another $350 thousand was saved through the elimination of the recycling subsidy to residents. Additionally, $250 thousand was saved through the extension of vehicle lives, which allowed for the one time deferral of contributions to the Equipment Replacement Fund. The remainder of the cuts was throughout the budget, with emphasis on reductions in contracted services, events, training, overtime, communications to residents, and social service grants.

2010 ROAD REHABILITATION PROJECT

April 1, 2010

The 2010 Village Road Rehabilitation Program will include streets within the Deerpath Subdivision: Aspen Drive, Apollo Court, Alice Drive, Aqua Court, and Abbey Lane. The program will also include Evergreen Drive and New Century Street adjacent to the Hawthorn Village Commons Shopping Center. The Village opened contractor bids on February 18, 2010, and Curran Contracting Company was awarded the contract. Construction will begin on Monday April 26, 2010 and end by early August of 2010.

This year’s work being performed will include; asphalt pavement rehabilitation (existing asphalt surface grinding and asphalt surface replacement), curb/gutter repairs, drainage improvements, sidewalk repairs, and other associated improvements necessary to complete this work. Expect delays during construction and we suggest using alternate routes to travel around the construction zone. New Century Street will be closed for approximately two (2) weeks, April 26 to May 14, to complete this Phase of construction

The Village’s Construction Hotline (847) 918-3575 will be updated weekly and the Broadcast Email system will also be used to update residents. Affected residents are encouraged to read the “Road Rehab Frequently Asked Questions” posted on the Engineering Division web page at www.vernonhills.org.

We will appreciate your patience and cooperation during this construction. If you have any questions contact Steve Maslov at (847) 918-3590 or SteveM@vhills.org.

OAKWOOD ROAD REHABILITATION PROJECT

April 1, 2010

The Village of Vernon Hills will be performing improvements to Oakwood Road between Westmoreland Drive and Rt.45. The Village opened contractor bids on February 18, 2010, and Greg Greenhill Construction Company was awarded the contract. Construction will begin on Monday April 19, 2010 and end by early July of 2010.

We will appreciate your patience and cooperation during this construction. If you have any questions contact Steve Maslov at (847) 918-3590 or SteveM@vhills.org.

VEOLIA TRASH RECYCLING AND YARD WASTE CONTRACT

March 29, 2010

The President and Village Board continue to review the proposal for renewal of the Village franchise with Veolia for trash, recycling, and yard waste. In another part of the Village Blog, we posted a letter that was sent to all attached single family Homeowner Associations.

The changes in service for single family detached homes are less significant as compared to attached single family homes. Our goal is to discuss the Veolia detached home proposal at a public meeting set for April 8. After that meeting, we will have a full discussion of the proposal at the Village Board meeting of April 20, 2010.

Please contact Michael S. Allison, Village Manager at (847)918-3540 or Mikea@vhills.org

Trash and Recycling Service – Meeting – Thursday, April 8 – 7PM
April 1, 2010

Dear HOA Officers or Property Managers,

As I have corresponded previously, the Village Board took action in December to transfer the direct cost of recycling to residents. This was necessitated by the budget challenges being experienced by Vernon Hills and in many communities. We realized as part of this process, the Village franchise with Veolia for trash, recycling, and yard waste is due for expiration on November 30, 2010. It was the Village’s goal to obtain a better price for trash and recycling service for all residents in single family attached and detached homes. At this time, detached single family homes are covered under the franchise for both trash and recycling and attached single family homes for recycling only.

To this end, we have been negotiating with Veolia to renew our agreement and lower costs that can be achieved through the inclusion of all 7,500 plus housing units in the Village, 3,435 of which are townhouses and condominiums for trash and recycling. Below are the proposed numbers from Veolia for townhouses with toter service for trash and recycling. For some of you, this would mean for the first time the provision of a toter for trash.

	65 Gallon Trash 35 Gallon Recycle	35 Gallon Trash 35 Gallon Recycle
Weekly Trash & Recycle	$10.95	$10.95
Weekly Trash & Every Other week Recycle	$9.95	$9.95

From our survey of several Associations, the numbers above for combined trash and recycling are better than what some Associations currently are paying for trash alone. The basis of this Veolia proposal is that at some point this year, all Associations would become part of the Veolia franchise. However as part of the decision, the Village Board wants to have input from our Associations to determine your thoughts on being part of this franchise before any final decision is made.

Several questions we have for you prior to the Village Board making any decision would be the following:

Do you have a contract with a waste hauler? If you do what is the duration?

What is the amount you currently pay for trash service?

If the Village Board implements a franchise with Veolia for single family homes to include attached single family would you prefer to be invoiced for the entire Association or sent to each resident?

To secure your input, we are proposing a meeting of all Associations in the Village to provide an opportunity for the Village and Veolia representatives to answer questions about the contemplated changes. You are invited to a meeting planned for Thursday, April 8 at 7:00PM at the Village Hall.

We also encourage your questions and comments via email at mikea@vhills.org or phone at 847-918-3540.

VILLAGE BLOG - March 2010
- Seavey Ditch @ Hazletime Update
- Illinous State Budget Concerns
- Trash and Recyleing Meetings April 8th, 7:00PM
- Rension Fairness for Illinois Communities
- 2010 Proposed Budget
- New Businesses

VILLAGE BLOG - February 2010
- Operation Welcome Home
- Metra Parking Increase
- Road Projects
- New Business
- Telecommunications Tower
- Loyola University Cuneo Campus

VILLAGE BLOG - January 2010
- Accelerated Retirement Incentive
- Parkway Tree Trimming

VILLAGE BLOG - December 2009
- Budget/Recycling
- Chili's Restaurant
- River's Edge Path
- Seavey Ditch Restoration
- Dick's Sporting Goods

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Vernon Hills Village Hall

Village Blog April 2010

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Vernon Hills Village Hall

Village Blog April 2010

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