College of DuPage as Viewed from BLMH - Part II

Here's a brief video of the status and view of COD Pond 9 from some of our patios. This video was taken on July 11, 2012, about one year after construction began.

This and related videos and photographs are being taken to document what has been occurring on our eastern boundary with the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, IL.

Our association is in Wheaton, IL and on the western border of Glen Ellyn and the campus. One of the issues our association has had is this surprise construction by what I will graciously describe as a disinterested College. As we are in Wheaton, IL, I concluded that we were in some sort of "no man's land" in the issues between the college and the Village of Glen Ellyn.

However, as a result of the DuPage County Zoning Board of Appeals hearings we've entered into a recent dialog with the college about this. Going directly to the Trustees of the college as well as various County and community officials may have helped. A college representative and the college president have stated that what you see in this video is temporary and construction will be completed in 2012. The result will be landscaped and bermed and somewhat shielded from the view of our residents. I am referring to a May 21 letter from a representative of the college and also a conversation with Dr. Breuder, the college president, on June 19 at the County of DuPage Development meeting. We certainly hope this will occur. A meeting with "neighbors" was promised for this fall by Dr. Breuder and some of our owners will certainly want to attend.

Note:

1. I apologize for the shaky camera work. The Steadycam wasn't available on the day I took this. 

Approaching Post Number 300

I'm approaching post number 300, and about 15,000 pageviews. Thanks to all who take the time to read this.

Since that's a somewhat memorable event, I'm open to requests about a special topic.

Norm

Excessive Heat Warning

We're under an "excessive heat warning" until 10:00pm tomorrow. Note: As of Friday July 6, the excessive heat warning has been extended to 4:00PM Saturday!

The landscapers are on the property watering some of the plants. My neighbor has been watering a part of the lawn and the rose bushes as well as the trees behind our building. I've been watering the hostas in the front every other day, as well as some of the trees.

One good thing, the power at my office was finally on this morning, so it was possible to conduct some work there. ComEd reports that power has been restored to about 99% of all businesses and residences without power since Sunday.

Stay Cool!

Care of Trees during Droughts
Many people think of their lawns and other plants which brown out during water deficient weather. We don't always think of the trees. The Village of Glen Ellyn posted a succinct message about this on their website. I sent the information to the board on June 28:

Residents Reminded to Water Trees

June 27, 2012
The following message is from the Village of Glen Ellyn:

The lack of snow this winter and the scant rainfall received so far this spring has resulted in very dry soil conditions. During times of drought, trees must be given top priority over your lawn. If stress from drought does not kill a tree outright, it can set it up for a secondary disease or insect infestations in coming years. Newly planted and young trees are especially vulnerable as the root system is not well established. Trees growing within a restricted area (trees on the parkway, next to a driveway or house, etc.) and trees that have recently received root injury due to construction work are also in danger of drought injury. Supplemental watering during times of drought will help ensure long time health of your trees.

Deep watering to a depth of six inches to 12 inches below soil surface is recommended. Residents are encouraged to water slowly to get the water down to the tree roots. A general rule is to use approximately 10 gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter each time you water or approximately one inch of water. Set a garden hose to a very slow flow. Water close to the trunk first and work your way out from there. Repeat every week during a severe drought.


Here's a link to the original article at the Glen Ellyn Patch:

  New Window> Glen Ellyn Reminder to Water Trees

COD Current Projects and Operating Costs - Part I

Readers have expressed an interest in current projects at the College of DuPage. The College of DuPage website does include a list of current projects. The website is not complete; for example, the construction of "pond 9" and the storm sewer system into the wetlands is not included in those lists. (Note 2). 


I've also included a link to the latest (June 18, 2012) facilities plan published by the college as part of the June 19 County Development Hearing (Note 4). 


This post will be the first in a series which looks at some of the financial aspects of what has been occurring at COD.


I'll include some information in this post, but the published list of current projects can be accessed by anyone going to the COD website and clicking on the Facilities tab:    About COD > Facilities > Construction Projects (Note 3).

Here's a link to COD's Construction Projects website:

After reading this post, you can access the website by clicking on the following link which will open a window to:

  New Window> COD Construction Projects

The most recent update on the college site, in addition to the Plan provided on June 18 to the County Development Hearing was a March, 2011 update for the SRB/BIC project. The general information under the "Construction Projects" area was August 2010!

The following parking improvement projects are listed as completed:

ROADWAY, PARKING LOT AND ASSOCIATED LANDSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS (PHASES 1 & 2)
ROADWAY, PARKING LOT AND ASSOCIATED LANDSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS (PHASE 3)

Clicking on the above highlighted phrases will take you from this page to the College of DuPage website.

Other Released Documents and Planned Project Dates
The college has released other documents as required to float recent bond offerings (2011A and 2011B), taxation and other financial plans. Those documents are available on the college website under COD Financial Documents . Using the information found there, these were the planned project dates prior to the recent County hearings, as well as the planned operating costs (Note 1):

• Homeland Security Building - open July 2011, increase annual operating cost $328,969.
• Culinary Arts Building - open June 2011, increase annual operating costs $453,752 and a full time staff of four.
• BIC/SRC Extension - open July 2011, increase annual operating cost $399,627.
• Demolish M Building July 2014, reduce annual operating cost $305,895.
• Demolish K Building July 2013, reduce annual operating cost $310,265.
• Demolish OCC Building July 2013, reduce annual operating cost $72,832.

Annual Operating Costs for the Planned Projects
Using the information published by the college in its tax and planning documents as summarized above, the college expects an annual operating increase of $493,356 because of the above changes.  The most recent plan as submitted to the county has removed the M, K and OCC buildings.

Why the Lack of Information at the COD Construction website?
There are several possibilities. It could simply be a poorly constructed website is to blame. However, I can't ignore the recent "control" issues that the college had with the Village of Glen Ellyn. It's possible the lack of information is also a consequence of a desire on the part of the college to limit outside scrutiny.

Notes:
1. Costs for new buildings per the most recent "College of DuPage Financial Plan - Taxes."
2. The post on the pond 9 construction and the storm sewers into the wetlands can be opened in a new window by clicking on the following link to Part III of the 3-part post on the construction in our association's immediate area:
New Window> COD Expansion - Runoff, Wetlands and Flood Concerns


3. Information contained in the post as well as the links to the COD website were current as of July 4, 2012.

4. Link to the COD "Planned Development Site Plan"which was approved by the County Development Committee:
New Window> COD Planned Development Site Plan

Severe Storm and Some Tree Damage

Yesterday, a severe storm blew through the area at about 11:30AM.

Returning from religious services, my spouse and I spotted a tree down and I immediately notified management. In fact, several board members contacted management and looked over the association grounds for damage. After the storm had blown out, a few residents were walking the grounds and I met one owner behind Harrow Court en route to Thames.

Here's several photos taken commencing 12:12PM on July 1. A list of locations with damaged trees of note, and several photos were sent to management, the president of the board and to the landscaping director.

Our association has a regular program of tree trimming. It isn't perfect, but it catches most of the problems and limits the damage. Last year, a number of willows on the property were removed. This was a preventative measure.

Not all of our owners agree with this expenditure of fees for prevention.. However, the alternatives are unpleasant or worse. Today we'll have a heat index of about 100F and a lot of people in the area are without power. That includes parts of Wheaton, Winfield, Glen Ellyn and Lombard. As of noon today, ComEd reported 11,637 customers affected in Glen Ellyn! I've attached a link to ComEd's outage map at the end of this post. .

I drove through the village via Main Street at about 8:00am en route to the office and found it blocked north of downtown. Then I had fun taking the circuitous route to get to North Avenue, which had lights out. 

Click on Photos to Enlarge:

Note:

1. I spoke briefly with our landscaping director and we discussed the decision to remove willows on Gloucester. I told him that was a good call in 2011.
2. Some of our owners, the ones who like to complain and make statements such as ":they can't tell us what to do" won't be telling management or the board they did a good job. They'll probably be recruiting a new band of renown for our forthcoming popularity contest. That contest also goes under the name "election." Perhaps it's again time for some change.

Here's a link to ComEd's outage map:

Clicking will open a window toNew Window> ComEd's Outage Map

College of DuPage as Viewed from BLMH - Part I

Here at BLMH, some owners aren't happy with our next door neighbor. Other people apparently wonder why that is.

This will be the first of several videos posted for viewers, so they can make their own decision. At the June 19 County Board Development meeting, Dr. Breuder, the president of the College of DuPage stated to the development committee and the assembly that the college is a good neighbor. I took exception to that statement.

These videos will show the side of COD that you won't see on the TV show "190North." But some of our owners see this every day, and have had to deal with this since August 2011. It's just a "Parking Improvement Program" scheduled for completion fall of 2011. No big deal, according to the college!

After some persistence by our owners, Dr. Breuder stated this work will be completed in 2012 and the area will again be green and suitable. How far is it to that fence? In this particular location it's 50 feet from residences and the walk on which I'm standing. Measurements indicate that the fence is within 40 feet of some of our residences. The view is unobstructed and that dump is the "surprise" and unannounced "material staging area."

Good Neighbors? This isn't what good neighbors do!

So, here's the first of several videos. This one was taken July 1, 2012 from the walk which links Lakecliffe to Gloucester, which is the most northerly point of the "material staging area." "Pond 9" is to the south and can be seen in the distance as I pan.

 The aerial photo shows you my exact position for the taking of this  video.





Here's where I was standing for the filming of this particular video:

Notes: 

1. This post is one of a series to document what the college has been doing along it's western boundary with Wheaton, IL. 
2. What is shown is now, according to the college, a temporary situation which will be completed and restored in 2012. Perhaps!
3. A friend who resides in Glen Ellyn was using their new tablet computer and showing us some internet apps. I took the opportunity to go to this blog and showed them the photos taken of this construction from our patios. Their immediate comment was "The college is a bad neighbor!" 
4. I've decided to take various videos because still photos really don't do this justice, nor do they convey the full impact on this association.