The Rundown: Village Welcomes New Trustees, Talks Stucco and State Cuts

New trustees: Newly elected Trustees John Manieri and Leonard Ruzak were sworn in along with returning Trustee Al Paveza. Ruzak beat out two other write-in candidates to secure the final open seat on the board.

Manieri has served on the Plan Commission since 2004 and the Economic Development Commission since 2009.

As Mayor Gary Grasso pointed out after the ceremony, Ruzak is no stranger to village service either, having previously served as village president and trustee. Ruzak was elected as a village trustee 50 years ago and served for eight years, until filling in as interim mayor in 1968 and winning the 1969 election. He served as mayor until 1981 and in that time helped form the Village's Comprehensive Plan as well as oversaw many major construction projects.

“Ruzak was instrumental in helping to make Burr Ridge the village that it is today,” said Grasso.

He went on to thank all the newly elected officials for their service to Burr Ridge and congratulated them on winning the election.

A stucco situation: Eddie Merlot's Restaurant, an Italian steakhouse seeking to move into the old Max & Erma's at 201 Bridwell Lane, went before the board seeking special use for a restaurant with limited, live entertainment, extended hours of operation and special use to create additions to an existing building.

The Plan Commission had no objection to the special uses requested, but was not in favor of the petitioner's original design which called for surfacing the building with stucco. Although the Village's building code does forbid the use of stucco, the Plan Commission and many trustees have been opposed to it and have often made limiting the use of stucco a condition of special use or variation approval.

Per the Plan Commission's direction at its last meeting, Eddie Merlot's came back with designs that featured “revised village elevations to minimize the use of stucco and minimize the amount of existing brick that is covered [and keeping] primary facade building materials brick, pre-cast stone or natural stone.”

The new plans brought to the board still had “about a third” of the building covered in stucco, according Richard E. Busfield of Design Collaborative, who spoke on behalf of Eddie Merlot's. Busfield said the use of stucco is part of the company's branding, giving the buildings a Mediterranean look, which it has at all of it's locations except for Louisville, Kentucky, where they moved into a 100-year-old building.

When Grasso asked if the stucco facade was a “deal breaker,” Busfield said he believed it was.

Grasso said he felt it sent a mixed message to the business community when a product not specifically denied in the building code could have such bearing on approval and also said that the Village could use the business and tax revenue.

Trustee Ruzak agreed with the mayor and said, “if there is a problem with stucco, it should be in the building code, this could be a real asset to the community.”

Trustee Bob Grela was most opposed to the idea, pointing out that “national and even multinational chains such as Walgreens change the way their buildings look based [on location and the desire of clients].”

Trustee Manieri also supported Grela and pointed to the timber facade of McDonalds in Wisconsin as support.

Because the Plan Commission had not seen the new drawings brought to the board, the motion approved was to send the matter back to the Plan Commission.

Grasso asked that the Plan Commission meet next Monday to keep things moving forward, even though the meeting had originally been canceled due to a lack of business.

LGDF cuts: The board also adopted a resolution to oppose a reduction in state collected revenues due municipalities under the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF). The state has considered a reduction in part or in full of the funds as it continues to balance its budget. The Village budget currently includes $844,720 in LGDF revenues, which represents 10.8 percent of the total General Fund revenue budget for fiscal year 2011-2012.

Grasso said the a reduction or full cut of the fund would cause serious financial hardships for the Village and it was seen as unfair, as municipalities across the state have already made significant reductions to compensate for the weak economy, and the General Assembly's approval of unfunded public safety pension mandates and other cuts in funding.

“We have already made cuts to 9 full-time positions and close to $1 million in cuts to our budget. To eliminate $800,000 or even half that would be catastrophic,” said Grasso.

He also directed residents to the Village Website for more information on how to contact state representatives concerning the issue.

“This is not the state's money, it belongs to the municipalities,” he said.

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