The article below is available at: http://boonecountyjournal.com/news/2010/Boone-County-News-04-02-10.pdf#page=3
Police Referendum
Could Appear on
November Ballot
By Bob Balgemann
Poplar Grove voters likely will be asked in November
what level of police protection they want and how they’d like
to pay for it. Village officials are working out the details that
could lead to a referendum being placed on the November 2
general election ballot.
Research has determined the village does not have to
pay for police protection, or have its own police department,
once it reaches a population of 5,000 or more.
But Village President Bradley Rightnowar said this
week the general fund, which operates the village, no longer
can afford to pay for police protection. Voters will have to
approve some kind of mechanism to foot that bill, beginning
at a time that has yet to be determined.
The Boone County Sheriff’s Department is required by
law to provide basic law enforcement services for Poplar
Grove, as well as the villages of Capron, Caledonia and
Timberlane, and the unincorporated area. But Poplar Grove
is spending $160,000 this year for an additional 80 hours of
patrol each week.
The village’s proposed 2010-11 budget that takes effect
May 1 will have $80,000 in it for extra coverage as officials
renegotiate a new contract with Sheriff Duane Wirth.
One of the questions the Administration Committee
wants answered is what kind of crime problem, if any, exists
in the village.
Jay Akely, a former police officer with 22 years on the
job, told the committee March 22 he thought “crime around
here is almost non-existent.’’
“Most of our problems are gang-related,’’ committee
Chairman Kris Campbell said.
“Or vandalism,’’ member Ron Quimby interjected.
But Rightnowar said, “The seeds for violent crime are
there.’’
Akely said the city of Belvidere “puts a lot of resources
into gang activity. A uniformed officer will have no effect on
gangs. They (gang members) watch him go by with guns in
their pockets.’’
Committee member Judi Zangs asked about forming
neighborhood watch groups, to which Akely responded,
“That’s a great idea.’’
There was some talk about starting such a program in
Sherman Oaks subdivision, but no one at the March 15
committee meeting knew if one ever was organized.
“We could start at the Homeowners Association level
and work from there,’’ Quimby said.
Akely offered to help the village in any way he could.
The planning process for a November 2 referendum
would include two town hall meetings in June, one at
village hall and one at Timber Pointe Golf Club, committee
members agreed.
A subcommittee, possibly including Belvidere Police
Chief Jan Noble, will be formed to work out the details.
Beautification Update
Village Trustee Cliff Stetter updated the committee on
the beautification effort, being led by his wife, Nancy, who
chairs the Beautification Committee. The group has applied
for a grant of $1,200-$1,500, which would buy fencing,
hoses, rakes and water storage barrels. An informational
meeting on the community garden, being proposed for Hill
Street, across from the village hall, will be held sometime
in April.
Cliff Stetter suggested village trustees designate $107 of
the salary they’re forfeiting due to the budget crunch as a
donation to the village’s beautification effort. Each trustee
is taking a $1,500 pay cut to help the budget. Immanuel
Lutheran Church in Belvidere has asked Nancy Stetter how
it can help the village’s beautification campaign.
A plan is being developed to move about two dozen trees
from the sewage treatment plant to the arboretum, proposed
for the Boeing Trail water tower area, and along Hill Street
from village hall north to State Road 173.
Also March 22 the committee continued discussing a
revised animal control ordinance, which Zangs wants to see
focused more on “responsible pet ownership.’’
“It doesn’t set a limit on the number of dogs you can
have,’’ she said of her idea. “It just says a reasonable
number. We need something. What we have doesn’t address
reasonable pet ownership.’’
That continues to be a work in progress as does a plan to
have a fall festival, as a follow-up to last year’s successful
sesquicentennial celebration held in October.
Training Tower; Produce Stand
Rightnowar touched on the county fire department’s
wanting to construct a training tower at the station at
Hill Street and S.R. 173. While he has not been officially
approached about the proposal, he said, “I really don’t want
it here.’’
He suggested the tower be put near one of the village’s
two sewage treatment plants. “I recognize it’s a needed
thing,’’ he said. “I just don’t want it in our backyard.’’
Rightnowar also mentioned the produce market at
S.R. 173 and Hill Street, saying he had not heard from the
operator, Dan Lane, who has been told by a judge not to
continue operating the business at that location.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he started putting apples out
there,’’ the president said. “That would be in contempt of
court, which isn’t a happy place to be.’’
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