Tower Lakes News

 

Agenda   The agenda for regular Village Board meetings is normally available during the latter part of the week prior to each monthly meeting. It is posted here and on the bulletin board outside the door of the Village Office for 24 hr access. For the current agenda of the Village Board, click here.

 

Curfew for persons under 17 years of age is generally midnight to 6AM Friday and Saturday nights, and 11PM to 6AM Sunday through Thursday nights. There are new exceptions to this curfew in 2004, which are covered in the detailed description on the Police page. The fine for violation is not less than $100.

 

Follow this Link to an Archive of old News items from this web page.

 

Help! The Village of Tower Lakes and the TLIA are collecting historical information on Tower Lakes for our files and for sharing on our web sites. If you have any of the following, please consider donating or even loaning them to the Village: Photographs from the 70's or earlier Newsletters from 1947-49 or earlier, 1952-64 Old phone directories (any prior to present) Realty Ads Postcards Newspaper clippings Anything related to the Davlin/Tower Lakes School Arrowheads, etc. found locally House medallions from the 20's/30's Old beach tags Letters, stories or any shared memories/ anecdotes of life here in past decades Contact the Village Office or Village Historian Dave Parro.

We have historical research and clerical tasks to be done which could qualify as community service credits for any interested BHS student volunteers with a good eye for detail. Please contact Trustee Dave Parro at towerlakes@comcast.net.

A revised leaf burning ordinance was passed in August 2002 after several months of public hearings and study. Burning of leaves is now permitted only from 9 am to 4 pm Oct. 1 through Dec. 15 and April 1 through May 31. Fires must be constantly attended. Other restrictions apply. Contact the Village Office or read the newsletter for more info. Please be considerate of your neighbors who may have health concerns with smoke. Do not burn wet material and do not burn during high winds. Recreational fires, as defined by Village Ordinance, are not prohibited. Please consider subscribing to the low cost yard waste service provided by our waste hauling contractor as an alternative to burning leaves.

A new official Village map was updated in Dec 2005. The new map can be seen by clicking the above link, or go to the Maps section of the Village Information page. Color copies of the new map are included with the current Village telephone directories, and those maps include the additional information on TLIA boat landings. Larger color copies are also available by request from the Village Office for a small fee.

Did you know: you can download a Building Permit Application right here on-line? Just go to Village Information/ Building Information or click on this link, then click on the Building Permit image and you will get a document that you can print out and send in with your check.

Building Inspector office hours are now Thursdays from 8:30-9:30 am at the Village Office. Please call the office during regular hours (weekday mornings) to leave a question or arrange an appointment. You can also leave a voice mail message for the Building Inspector when the office is closed.

The ZBA will be holding it's meetings from now on at 7 PM the first Thursday of the month. The ZBA meetings will still only be held on an as-needed basis, but the fixed timing will allow our homeowners to plan more easily and also allow the Village Board to consider the ZBA recommendations in the same month.

The TLIA is requesting every resident to switch their lawn fertilizer to formulations that contain 0% phosphates, and to ask their lawn care companies to do the same. Phosphate-free fertilizer is available at many garden centers and through all major lawn care companies. This will help reduce weed and algae growth in our lakes. The Village Board discussed a potential ordinance to impose a village-wide ban on fertilizers containing phosphates at its May 2006 meeting at the request of the TLIA.

A state law effective Jan 1, 2007 requires at least one carbon monoxide alarm in every residence.  At least one CO alarm is required within 15 feet of each room used for sleeping. Failure to install or maintain such alarms is a class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a fine up to $1500. Enforcement inspections may be done by fire or emergency personnel if called to a residence for an emergency, or by the building inspector in the course of inspections for building permits. The Village is considering an ordinance that would provide for inspections prior to closings of real estate transactions. The Village is also exploring the possibility of providing discounts on carbon monoxide detectors for residents.

Aqua Illinois informed the Village that they would decline to renew the contract to operate the water system.  After a lengthy search for a new management firm, the Village Board accepted the recommendation of the Utilities Committee to hire Manhard Consulting to manage the system. Residents will see a change in the appearance of their bills in the last half of 2007. Payments will now be made to the Village of Tower Lakes rather than to Aqua Illinois. The new 24 hr service phone number will be 847-325-7270

The Village of Tower lakes has acquired the Connect-CTY service, a village-to-resident notification system, sometimes referred to as Reverse 911. With this service, police and village leaders can send voice or text messages to residents and businesses within minutes with information about severe storm warnings, boil orders, road closures or any other time-sensitive information. The Connect-CTY service is used to supplement other communication plans and augment public safety services. Contact the Village Office if you want to add your number or additional numbers to your profile. An on-line tool for number maintenance will be available here soon.

President Leitner has named Mala Filippell to replace Ali Widmar as the Village Emergency & Disaster Services Director. We thank Mrs. Widmar for her enthusiastic years of volunteer service to the Village.

Tower Lakes has joined a coalition of neighboring communities to try to protect our interests in the proposed CN railroad purchase of the EJ&E railway, which will dramatically increase freight train traffic through Barrington and surrounding areas. We invite you to review the Barrington Communities Against CN Rail Congestion Coalition Fact Sheet and other details on the website www.fightrailcongestion.com. The US Surface Transportation Board will render the approval decision, perhaps with conditions, following an impact study. Visit the Surface Transportation Board's website, stb.dot.gov. Please refer to STB Finance Docket No. 35087 in all correspondence. You can also call the toll-free project information line, 1-800-347-0689. You should also read the letter to residents from the coalition mayors, and the statement to the STB from our President Leitner.

Don't miss the lovely article about our town, Barrington's Best Kept Secret, written by Village President Leitner for the Jan/Feb 2008 issue of Quintessential Barrington magazine on pages 42-43.

Cuba Township has generously awarded Tower Lakes a grant of $5,000 to be used toward the future installation of a tornado warning siren within the Village borders. The Village is studying means for raising the additional funds necessary for construction.

News Archive

1977 illustration by former TL resident Vern McKissack