Winnetka Local History Digital Collections

Winnetka Weekly Talk, 4 Jun 1927, p. 11

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rr ar ---- Village Manager's Annual Report Editor's note: Following is the third installment of Village Manager H. L. Woolhiser's annual report made to the Village council recently. The report is a comprehensive survey of every phase of municipal administration of the vil- lage during the past fiscal year and should be of vital interest to every tax- payer and voter in Winnetka. It affords an insight into the great responsibility which lies with our municipal servants, a responsibility far greater than the casual observer can ever comprehend. Other installments of the report will follow from week to week until the en- tire survey is in the hands of the readers of WINNETKA TALK. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT Details of the work of the Public Works department are set forth in the accompanying report of Mr. Harold Bohnen, Superintendent of Streets. It is interesting to note that the ex- pense of operation of the Public Works department for the past fiscal year, namely $111,005 is within .3% of the budget estimate of $111,330, being $325 less than the budget. The work of the Public Works de- partment covered a wide variety of public service, comprising building and electrical inspection, maintenance of pavements, street cleaning, snow re- moval, traffic signs and pavement marking, sewer cleaning, mowing of parkways in front of vacant property, collection and disposal of garbage, ashes and rubbish, and street lighting, both regular and ornamental. In connection with building inspec- tion, the building inspector, Mr. A. B. Krieg, has been appointed secretary of the Zoning Board of Appeals, keeping records of cases heard by the Board of Appeals, and having direct charge of the enforcement of zoning regula- tions. I wish to take this opportunity of expressing a word of appreciation for the self-sacrificing public service being rendered by the members of the Zoning Board of Appeals, who are de- voting a very considerable amount of time to this work, not only in their capacity as an appeal board on zoning problems, but also as a special board to regulate the architecture of build- ings in the business and industrial zones of the village. In a number of cases during the past year, suggestions have been made to owners of proposed buildings, which have served not only to improve the general appearance and character of our business districts, but also to enhance the value and desir- ability of buildings from the standpoint of the owner. During the year, the amount of $23,348 was spent from the General Fund on maintenance of street pave- ments, including $11,218 on asphaltic brick and concrete pavements, $5,766 on macadam resurfacing and $6,300 on patrol of macadam streets. In the case of asphaltic streets, which comprise principally the streets in the west and northwest part of the village, which were paved about 15 years ago with a light concrete base and an asphaltic top, which is now en- tirely inadequate for present traffic conditions, experimental work was done on Birch street, between Spruce and Pine, and on Chestnut street, be- tween Oak and Ash, with a view of determining the best method of re- surfacing these streets. This work has shown that by the removal of the asphaltic top, repairing the concrete base and then adding a new three inch top of crushed stone, penetrated and seal coated with tarvia and gravel, these streets can be placed in fairly good condition at an approx- imate cost of $1.20 per square yard, which is far below the cost of new pavements. It has been suggested to the coun- cil that a plan be presented to property owners on these streets for considera- tion, involving their reconstruction by the foregoing method and also cutting back the corners to facilitate the movement of traffic, which work can be done at a total cost of approx- imately $2.50 per front foot. With 25% of this cost borne by the Village from the vehicle tax fund, the net cost to property owners would be about $1.90 per front foot with corners cut back, or $1.45 per front foot with cor- ners unchanged. By doing this work under special tax proceedings, levied in one installment, the work could be handled by the Village organization at a considerable saving to property own- ers and the village, as was done in the case of macadam resurfacing last year. Resurfacing Plan Succeeds The plan of resurfacing macadam streets by special tax proceedings, adopted for the first time last year, worked out very successfully, a total of 137,300 square yards being resur- faced, at a net cost to property owners of about 10 cents per front foot, the Village bearing 40% of the total cost from the vehicle tax fund. The pro- ceedings for this work were confirmed in court without objection by any property owner, aithough a very large number of properties was involved, and under this plan, vacant property owned by non-residents bore its proper share of the cost, whereas under the former voluntary subscription plan, much of this property escaped pay- ment and the cost to other propertv owners and to the village was accord- ingly increased. An additional amount of work of this nature, both on macadam streets and on the brick pavements of Tower road, Pine street and Willow road has been recom- mended for the present season, and the New Building ELM ST, AT CHESTNUT "Look Your Best" Beauty Culture PERMANENT WAVING in the following methods Maria Keen -- Leon Eugene -- Frederick Satisfaction Assured Phone WINNETKA 762 ordinance for the work has been passed by the Council. Employ Machine Sweeper A considerable improvement in street cleaning was effected by the adoption of machine sweeping, making possible the cleaning of the streets in the business district every other day and residential streets on an average of once every two weeks, at a total cost of $4,939, which is only slightly greater than previous hand sweeping costs, with much superior results. It has been found best to oper- ate the motor sweeper at night, after 12 o'clock, in order to avoid parked cars at the curb, and only a few complaints have been received because of noise of operation during these hours The collection of garbage, ashes and rubbish was handled during the year at a total direct cost of $36,390, as com- pared with the budget estimate of $36,- 200. The income from charges for the collection of garbage and ashes and for the collection of combustible rubbish from business establishments was $33,- 550 To this income should be added tax revenue of approximately $8,000, making a total revenue for this service of ap- proximately $41,500. Taking into ac- count fixed charges on equipment used for this service and overhead expense, neither of which is included in the operating costs stated above, it appears that the service is being rendered at a cost very close to the revenue drived from rates charged to our residents. Because of the installation of oil burners and also garbage incinerators in the Village, the quantities of garbage and ashes collected are not increasing as rapidly as population. During the past year, the following quantities of waste were collected and disposed of : Ashes 8,405 cubic yards Garbage 7,180 sd 4 Hsehl'd Rub. 2,866 " 3 Rubbish from Stores 659 5 Animals 97 " » Retain Garbage Contraet We are still handling the collection of garbage under contract, because of the fact that this is the only method where- by the Village can be assured of a means of disposal, the contractor being a Glenview farmer who uses the garbage for fertilizer and hog feeding. By au- thority of the Council, this contract has been renewed for another year, pending the development of a definite plan for (Continued on Page 14) vv 10 Cariton Annex Bi Sn So will take all worries from your mind. 25 years of experience assures you of a most perfect job. We solicit your patronage. Antique and Periodical Furni- Winnetka Upholstery & Furniture Co. T heodore Spacek, Prop. vv vv vv Vv vv wvww in Our Care Tay rym Upholstered Furniture 4 Made to order Furniture Repaired Mattresses Renovated 4 Slip Covers made to order ture given special attention. Ph. Winn. 614 Pe oo Troe iets his TTT my NY Hubbard Woods ~~ Ne a ro Meats, Fowl, Vegetables Must Be Best The Hubbard Woods hostess is particular, and we know it. .But with Cherries coming into season, and with Sweet Corn, Calavos (Alligator Pears); to say nothing of the Spring Lamb, Broilers, Long Island Ducks, and Squabs for the meat course, there is no reason why she shouldn't be pleased. PULLOM ana REGAN Grocery and Market 1062 Gage Street Phones: Winn. 710-711

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