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Wilmette Life VOL. LV, NO. 24 SERVING WILMETTE AND KENILWORTH S4.00 A YEAR THURSDAY, OCT. 20, 1966 '» ,* ." Cut Cost Of Police Building New bids for Wilmette's proposed police station may be sought early next year with plans reflecting a $46,000 cut in materials and equipment. The new tentative timetable for the facility calls for readvertising for bids on or about Apr. 1 and awarding contracts and beginning construction about May 1. The village board's police and fire committee recommended the $46,000 cut and the new timetable this week after discussing the proposed station with village officials. The cost reduction will not affect the proposed facility's design oi- size. List Participants Attending the meeting were Trustees Thelma Simon, James A. Schwietert. and Clayton Webb; Mayor Kenneth Santee; Village Mgr. Armon Lund; Police Chief Fred W. Stoecker, Engineer John Scapin. and Architect Joseph Bennett of Arlington Heights. The recommendations are expected to be incorporated into new plans to be drawn up soon by Mr. Bennett. The board's finance committee will then include the project into next year's budget. The project was delayed by bids last August which totaled $421,000, more than $151,000 above the $270,000 which had been appropriated for the facility in the 1966-67 budget. Cost Set at $375,000 The $46,000 reduction means that, based on the original bids, the building would cost about $375,000. Eliminated were: · Wood paneling in all areas except the building entry way. · Cabinets in the basement lounge. · A pass box for transferring equipment and pictures in and out of the darkroom. · Snow-melting equipment costing about $13,000. · An outside masonry sign on the building. The following substitutions .were suggested: --Painted walls in the basement instead of glazed block. --Painting of the garage walls to be done by village employees instead of by the contractor. --Painted walls in the locker and assembly rooms instead of glazed block. --Steel toilet partitions for marble ones. --Galvanized or aluminum gutters and downspouts instead of copper ones. --Concrete block or dry-wall construction for plaster. The deluge in Kenilwor+h last Friday afternoon brought the street department out in force to dig leaves out of storm sewers. W a t e r rapidly reached a depth of nearly 12 inches in spots along Green Bay Rd. (Jan Bateman Photo) Judge Dismisses Two Lawsuits Nixon Sea Wall, High Rise Okayed Charles A. Nixon's luxury high rise project won a major legal victory this week when both the building and the sea wall behind it were declared legal. Circuit Court Judge Daniel Covelli Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit against the sea wall by the 1400 Sheridan Wilmette Corp. and the Wilmette Park District. And yesterday he dismissed another 1400 suit by upholding the village's issuance of a building permit for the nine-story structure. The judge also declared that the Illinois Division of waterways acted legally when it recently reissued a permit for the sea wall. Climaxes Long debate The ruling came after more than a year of legal controversy over Mr. Nixon's site and climaxed more than six hours of debate Tuesday and yesterday among law yers for the 1400 firm, the park district, the village and the 1420 Sheridan Road Co., Mr. Nixon's firm. Tuesday's ruling quashed contentions by the 1400 firm and the park district that the wall would cause erosion of two beaches to the south of Mr. Nixon's site at 1420 Sheridan Rd. The 1400 firm owns a high rise at 1410 Sheridan, immediately south of Mr. Nixon's property, and the park district owns Sand-Lo Beach to the south of the 1410 building. The plaintiffs earlier had contended that the state acted arbitarily and illegally when it issued Mr. Nixon a sea-wall permit last summer without a public hearing. Judge Covelli rescinded the permit last spring and ordered the hearing. The state then reinstated the permit after it held the hearing this June. The building permit appeal followed a hearing last November at which the engineering department's issuance of the permit was upheld by the village zoning board. Mr. Nixon's 75-unit building, which will contain two and threebedroom apartments priced from $46,000 to $129,000, is scheduled for completion next summer or fall. The Nixon project has been the subject of bitter controversy ever since it was first proposed more than two years ago. Besides the sea wall, the issue has centered around the fadt that Mr. Nixon chose to locate his nine-story building substantially closer to the lake than high rises on either side. Cite Viewing Problem The plaintiffs have contended that this will cut off their tenants' view of the lake front and beach, thereby causing their property to depreciate. Mr. Nixon's attorneys have argued that this constitutes no legal hardship, further contending that the other developers could have located their buildings closer to the water's edge. The only village ordinance requirement, to which Mr. Nixon's building conforms, specifies that all lake-front structures must be built at least 70 feet west of the mean low water mark of .576.8 feet above sea level. Attorney's Protest Halts Local Parking Ban A protest by an attorney for a Wilmette businesswoman succeeded Tuesday in delaying a move to ban parking on a section of Wilmette Av. Village trustees tabled until Nov. 1 an ordinance prohibiting parking 12 hours a day from Park Av. to Prairie Av. and 10 hours a day from Prairie to Ridge Rd. Bertram Stone, representing Mrs. Leon Corrus, said the ban would create a hardship for patrons of his client's business. "It is too restrictive and it will force the patrons to park in alleys and side streets many blocks away," he said. "That is an unreasonable restriction on a legal village business." Mrs. Corrus's beauty salon, The Fountainebleau, is located at 1334 Wilmette, on the northeast corner of Wilmette and Prairie. The ordinance specifies that the ban be in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily except Sundays from Park to Prairie and from 2 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. except Sundays from Prairie to Ridge. Mr. Stone suggested that parking also be allowed from Park to Prairie between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. so the entire seven-block stretch would be uniform. "If there is no necessity to ban parking all day west of Prairie, there should be no necessity to do it east of Prairie," he asserted. Trustee James Schwietert said, "There may be a hardship there. We should study it and make sure we are acting fairly." The matter was referred to the streets and alleys committee, of which he is chairman. The ban was proposed to relieve congestion by providing two traffic lanes in each direction. It is part of a comprehensive program to ease traffic and parking problems on the fringes of business areas. Plan Caucus Workshop Appearances by the new Wilmette School District superintendent and two retiring school board members will highlight the first district caucus meeting Monday night. The caucus, composed of representatives of 24 Wilmette and Glenview civic groups, will hold a public workshop on the responsibilities of school board members at 8 p.m. in Logan School cafeteria. It will be followed by an organizational meeting of the caucus, moderated by Chairman Richard Toth. Workshop speakers will include Dr. Donald V. Grote of Evanston, named Wilmette superintendent two weeks ago; M. Stanley Hughey, school board president; and Mrs. William Alexander, board member. The caucus will select successors to Mr. Hughey and Mrs. Alexander, (Continued on page 11) 2nd Class Postage Paid at Wilmette, Published Weekly by Lloyd Hollister Inc., 1232 Central Av., Wilmette, III. 60091