Village News

The Village News section includes news and updates that are taking place throughout Barrington Hills. We will be updating this page from time to time as news changes and as old news becomes outdated. If you have a newsworthy event you would like the Communications Committee to know about and consider posting on VBHComm.info, please contact us.

E911 and VoIP Emergency Services

Part of the IIT VoIP Conference and Expo IV

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Registration Information

Mini-Conference
Chair - Barbara Kemp, Kemp Telecom Solutions and Member of Conference Planning Team
See Barrington Hills Panel in Blue Below:

8:30 to 9:30 AM: Panel I: National View and Department of Transportation Telematics Trials
Moderator: Renee Graves, T-Mobile
Rick Jones, NENA
Mark Grady, INdigital
Ken Lowden, State of Indiana

9:30 to 10:30 AM: Panel II: Small PSAPs – Serving the Last Mile
Moderator: David Staub, NESS, Inc.
Bob Kosin, Barrington Hills Village Administrator
James Arie, Fire Chief, Countryside Fire Protection District
Dean Walker, Fire Inspector, Village of Grayslake

LUNCH BREAK
For a fee of $35 you are invited to a delicious lunch buffet as well as continental breakfast and afternoon snacks. Please RSVP to davids@iit.edu . ( Regular Registration is $150.00 for the full two day Conference - this discount is provided to residents and committee members involved with or technically interested in Emergency 911. Call Professor Davids to get the discount rather than using the www.iit.edu website. )

Afternoon Session Chair – Joe Zubay, LinkIndigo
1:00 to 1:30 PM: Securing IP- based Vehicle Telematics
Speaker: John Kimmins, Telcordia Technologies

Afternoon Panel Chair – Barbara Kemp
1:30 to 2:30 PM: Panel III: Vendors – Network Architectures and Solutions for NG 911
Moderator: Paul Stoffels, AT&T
Robert Sherry, Intrado
Chuck Hunnicutt, Nine-One-One, Inc
Lev Deich, 911 Enable

2:30 to 3:30 PM: Panel IV: Large PSAPs and Network Management and Disaster Recovery
Moderator: Patrick Kenny, AT&T
Clifton Ballard, AT&T 911 Resolution Center
David Beering, Morgan Franklin
Jim Argiropoulos, Deputy Director, City of Chicago – 911 PSAP

Roads and Bridges

Oak Knoll Road Construction Completed

November Projects

Go to the Committee Page

Work may begin in early November on the following: Cuba Road bridge maintenance; Klein bridge maintenance on Meadow Hill Road; and culvert work on Hawley Woods Road; Ridge Road. Buckley Road; Helm Road and Three Lakes Road.

The Village Engineer took photos of the Bridges of Barrington Hills, some of which have an interesting history according to Bob Kosin and Trustee Elaine Ramesh. Go to the History Page for these Photos.

Timely Drainage Info for Barrington Hills Residents

Elaine Ramesh
Roads and Bridges Trustee

Fall is the time to do various chores around the house such as checking and clearing gutters. It would also be a good time to check that the openings of the culvert drainage pipes beneath your driveway are free of debris. You may find that decorative stones which were originally above and beside the culvert pipes have fallen into the drainage ditch and blocked the opening of the pipe. Freeing the openings will allow the run-off water to flow in a more orderly fashion through your area.

Key points are elaborated further on the Village
Committee Page under Roads and Bridges.

1. Our Village does not have any formalized procedure for the maintenance of drainage ditches.

2. The Roads and Bridges Committee is currently considering if a more comprehensive plan for addressing water run-off issues can be developed.

3. As more and more of the Village land is developed, it is to be expected that water run-off problems could increase.

Solutions to the problem may include amendments to the Village code and a schedule for routine maintenance. However, to run a maintenance program, funds will be needed. Since the Roads and Bridges budget is going to be strongly affected by the higher costs for gasoline and salt in 2009, a solution in the short term may not be possible unless a new source of funds for drainage issues is found.

Winter Weather Road Services

The road salt shortage is serious, and has been exacerbated by the Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS) failure to include Lake and McHenry Counties in their annual bidding process for road salt.  For the complete text from Trustee Ramesh go to the Village Committee Page.

Ed. Note:  For everyone using private contractors whether for Private Roads or driveways and walkways, now is the time to verify your contractor is still in business and confirm rates and conditions for services so there are no surprises.  The average date for the first measurable snowfall in this area is October 18.  

Barrington Hills Residents - Tuesday

November 4 Presidential General Election

Please go to the General Election Page

Prior to the Tuesday, November 04, 2008 Election, Early Voting throughout the State of Illinois will take place Monday, October 13, 2008, through Thursday, October 30, 2008.

Residents are encouraged to check with their county clerk’s office for exact early voting days and hours at specific locations. Early voting is NOT conducted at everyone’s usual election day polling place, so it is important to verify the proper voting place either by calling the county clerk, or checking the appropriate county clerk websites listed on our General Election Page!

Cook County Emergency Telephone System Board

ETSB - meets at Village of Barrington Hills on E911

The Village of Barrington Hills hosted the Cook County Emergency Telephone System Board for Enhanced 9-1-1 Emergency Service for Cook County this year. Photos of the tour are included on a special Photo Gallery Page.

“Since its conception, the Cook County ETSB mission has been to provide the highest quality emergency 9-1-1 service available,” according to Executive Director Morrie Farbman. To that end, Farbman has presented the Board with a “Vision 2009” plan, which includes several suggestions that will help improve that level of service in the immediate future. One of those suggestions is “to identify premier 9-1-1 centers throughout the country to use as a benchmark against our (Cook County) center,” he said. Farbman’s idea is to visit these centers, “measure and compare our own performance and service delivery processes” to them, and then to “adapt proven best practices” that will raise the quality of service at the Cook County Communications Center.

Barrington Hills Village Public Safety Answering Point Hub (PSAP)

In the effort to find the best in the country, the ETSB Executive Director and his team met at the Village of Barrington Hills to see the strides the village has made in technology integration and leading edge display capabilities that assist our local PSAP in rapid answer and response to incidents. Barrington Hills has always been at the forefront of technology adaptation and integration to optimize the response time for residents and those passing through the village.

Bob Kosin cites a recent fire on Goose Lake Road as an example where multiple fire departments came together quickly to extinguish a fire at a home under construction. Each event is important and time to get to the events is measured in minutes and seconds to save property and lives. Technology is critical for rapid response.

Village and NENA

Bob Kosin and Chief Murphy and company participate actively in NENA, the National 911 Emergency Number Association and INENA to ensure we are an active part of the national standards. Never has this been more important than with the advent of wireless and voice over the internet phone products and technology.

Resident Actions

We have featured stories in 2008 on the need for advanced testing 911 when purchasing new phones and services from service providers to be sure the calls and associated location identification come through properly to the Police and Fire Dispatchers when there is a need to call 911 for assistance.

Recognition

This fall the Village has been invited to speak in a special E911 Panel at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) Conference on October 23.

More on CTY – Automatic Police Emergency Notification System

When Barrington Hills police learned of an armed robbery in the village August 16, they quickly tried to warn residents about the attack. If you didn’t receive a call or an e-mail, it’s because you still need to sign up for this free notification service. It’s easy to do! Simply log onto the village web site at www.barringtonhills-il.gov. By clicking on the link called CTY in the upper right corner of the front page, residents will be directed to give their address, phone, e-mail and text message information. When a situation arises, the police chief submits messages to the CTY service, which then disseminates the news to the contact information on file. You can name someone else to receive your messages if you are not in town.

Typically, police actions, traffic accidents, road closures are sent via CTY notification. . The contact information you submit is not used for ANY other purpose and, because it is managed by a private company, it is not accessible to village officials or anyone else making a Freedom of Information Act request. Additionally, you only need fill out the data pertinent to your preferred method of contact. Sign up today, so you don’t miss out on the next warning that could be a lifesaver.

Remember:
• If you change your phone, update CTY.
• CTY now can send SMS, i.e., Text Messages, so CTY MVBF 4 NUS

Look for this Icon on the www.barringtonhills-il.gov website. It will lead you to the update process!

 

Plan Commission Reference Material for Village Comprehensive Plan:
"Lighting Choices in a Modern World"

Nancy Schumm-Burgess
Executive Director Barrington Area Conservation Trust

The advantages to living in a semi-rural community are enhanced by our partnership with the natural world. Privacy, the sense of being in the country, and the quiet nature of our neighborhoods as the birds whistle to each other and the wind rushes through the trees are just some of the sensory ways that we appreciate our community. Recent studies have shown that that partnership can be threatened by the over use of inappropriate landscape lighting. Go to the Plan Commission articles on the Committee Page for the full story and prepare to comment on future Comprehensive Plan changes.

Planning Commission: Lumens and Wattage

During recent Planning meetings the discussion centered on Lighting. The most current means to identify the value of the newer lighting is by Lumens which are clearly printed on light packaging. The older method of describing watts is no longer as much help in identifying the amount of lighting needed. A bulb with 1200 Lumens is roughly equivalent to a 75 watt incandescent bulb. A LED or CFL bulb will use many fewer watts to create the same amount of light, so to avoid overpowering the lighting capabilities of lamps and fixtures and help save money while creating adequate lighting please refer to Lumens to get it just right!

The Planning Commission is preparing to update the Village Comprehensive Plan and issues related to landscape lighting and recommendations for ordinances are part of the broader discussion. Stay tuned for more news and attend the meetings to provide input.

Heritage Tree Preservation Ordinance

Spring is the busiest times for year for clean up and removal of trees that may have fallen or died due to storm activity. The Heritage Ordinance does not cover dead trees or small trees. Larger trees are critical to the environment and this Ordinance addresses the protected trees and the actions required by a resident before planning removal of trees on their property.

INTENT AND PURPOSE: The intent of this [ordinance] is to ensure the presence and continuation of Heritage Trees, a special resource throughout the Village of Barrington Hills by requiring sound forestry practices and preventing storm water runoff and topsoil erosion. It is also the intent of this section to promote and educate our residents as to the importance, protection and existence of Heritage Trees. Residents of the Village will then continue to enjoy all the benefits of living in the unique environment of Barrington Hills, because the Village strives to protect the health, safety and welfare of its residents from situations in which may substantially alter the environment. This will be accomplished by regulating how such trees may be removed and replaced, whether as a result of building construction or as a result of landscaping activity only.

To see the ordinance:
http://66.113.195.234/IL/Barrington%20Hills/index.htm (type "heritage tree" in search box). Residents are encouraged to check the Ordinance before authorizing or performing Tree removal. The following Table provides insight into the types of trees covered by this ordinance. In case a resident sees someone potentially violating the Ordinance, a call should be made to the Village Police Department non emergency number (847) 551 3006. You can also download the Heritage Tree Table document to learn more about tree preservation.

Target Shooting Ordinance

The Board of Trustees passed an amendment to the Target Shooting Ordinance at its November 19th, 2007 meeting. Go to www.barringtonhills-il.gov. Click on the Village Code and Search for the Weapons Code which includes the revised Target Shooting Range and use Ordinance.

Open Burning of Landscape Waste Updates

In the Village of Barrington Hills, an outdoor fire is permitted for the disposal of landscape waste upon the premises where it is produced. No more than one bonfire may occur at any one time and it must be constantly attended.

Burning Order Amendments as of April 28, 2008
With summer coming to an end, residents will soon begin fall clean-up on their properties. For many of us, that also means burning of landscape debris, including leaves, grass, cuttings from shrubbery and trees only.

Homeowners who plan to burn are reminded that the Board of Trustees approved several amendments to the Villages long-standing Open Burning ordinance at their April 28th meeting. Below is a summary of the new ordinance.

• The location of the fire shall be no less than 100 feet from any structure.
• No more than one fire at one time shall be allowed on the premises.
• The fire must be constantly attended to by the resident with a shovel or rake
until the fire is extinguished.
• Appropriately rated fire extinguishers or garden hoses shall be available for immediate use.
• The fire cannot exceed 5 feet x 5 feet x 5 feet in dimension.
• Burning can only take place between the hours of 10 a.m. and 10 p.m.,
• Burning can be done for no more than 3 hours total in any 24 hour period.
• Appropriate precautions must be taken to control the blowing of ashes or
cinders from the burn site.

Most importantly, please exercise common sense – avoid burning on windy days, and be considerate of the neighbors! Go to Barrington Hills Government site to the Ordinances for Building Codes, Burning Section.

Good Neighbor Leaf Burning Tips