September 22, 2016 vol. 60 issue 51
Truex wins Chase opener at Chicagoland
see page 8
Featured Sports
nascar weekend
News Vacant Buildings
Morton Grove amends rules for vacant buildings
see page 3
Forum Your Mental Health Learn the hard truths about your old habits
see page 5
sports Dons Victorious
Notre Dame travels to Joliet Catholic; comes away with a win see page 7
Business Dave Says
Own the debt on your commercial properties
B y I g o r S t u d e n k o v | B u g l e S ta f f
T
he Park Ridge City Council’s finance committee of the whole last week recommended a contract for a parking study in the city’s Uptown area. The contract would still need to be approved by the full city council before it takes effect. If it is, Vernon Hills-based Gewalt Hamilton Associates Inc. will look at whether there is enough parking to accommodate residents, businesses and Metra commuters and what the city should do to address any parking deficiencies. Last week’s recommendation came a week after several commuters who use the parking on the south side of the train tracks addressed the city council about a shortage of options. The study would look at all of the parking that serves the Uptown Metra station, as well as the area north of the tracks between Morris
Street, Northwest Highway, Touhy Avenue and Washington Avenue, as well as the area south of the tracks between Touhy Avenue, Third Street, Crescent Avenue, the outer edges of the city hall parking lots and Vine Avenue. Parking has become a major concern in Uptown Park Ridge. New businesses are straining the existing capacity and things also got tighter for commuters who live south of the Metra tracks. Until last fall, AT&T leased spaces at its parking lot on 36 S. Fairview Ave. As of Oct. 1, 2015, the company stopped leasing out parking because it wanted to use the parking spaces for its own employees. Since then, commuters have been struggling to find alternatives. The situation was further complicated by the city’s decision to raise its parking rates from 25 cents an hour to 50 cents an hour. The city council approved the increase during its July 18 meeting.
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Niles staff lay out need for business tax incentives Village hopes incentives would attract, retain businesses By Igor Studenkov bugle staff
nweditor@buglenewspapers.com @BugleNewspapers
As Community Development Director Charles Ostman and Economic Development Coordinator Ross Klicker see it, economic incentives are vital to the village’s economic future.
During a presentation at the Sept. 13 Niles Village Board’s informal consideration meeting, the two staff members made their case for considering any request for incentives on case-by-case basis. While they said that not every company that applies should automatically receive an incentive, Ostman and Klicker argued that incentives are often necessary to
attract new businesses and retain existing companies. In an age when physical locations are becoming less important, they argued that Niles must be able to offer something more than its proximity to Chicago and O’Hare International Airport. Klicker began the presentation by outlining how much Niles currently receives in regular tax
revenue, compared with other nearby municipalities. Every village and city saw revenue decline during the Great Recession but most have rebounded, to some extent or another, since then. Niles and Skokie returned to 2008 levels or higher by 2010, while Morton Grove and Glenview did bounce back until 2014 and 2013, respectively. As of 2015, Niles was third in terms of overall sales tax collection, with $15.21 million. Skokie came
in first, collecting $16.1 million, and Glenview was second, with $15.64 million. Des Plaines came in fourth, with $10.74 million, and Morton Grove was fifth, collecting $4.24 million. Klicker also broke down sales tax revenue by source. Niles ranked first, collecting $2.1 million. He said that, with a Mariano’s opening in Glenview, there is more competition.
see incentives | page 3