Central Street Neighbors Association

With a bit of a thaw in the air, residents looking for a musical interlude from the steady stream of governmental and political news can take advantage of a multitude of offerings in the area this weekend. Besides the dance marathon at NU, there are options from classical to jazz, from musicals to bluegrass, and even some gospel and rock. Click on any of the links below for more info.

At the CSNA meeting last night, I reported on the nascent effort to bring Google high speed internet investment to Evanston. Many people were concerned about a repeat of the ugly V-RAD boxes littering our parkways. The following is a response from another attendee to the first meeting held 2/23/10.
 
From Neal Daringer:

At the Site Plan and Appearance Review Committee [SPAARC] meeting on February 24, 2010, which will begin at 2:30 pm in Rm. 2404 of the Morton Civic Center, Granite Investment Properties, represented by Bob Kukor and Bob Burk, will present a proposal for the subdivision of the former Kendall College site (the block bounded by Sherman, Orrington, Colfax and Lincoln) into 19 lots intended for single-family residential use. The proposal, item No. 3, 10ZONA-0013 on the SPAARC calendar, is technically for "2408 Orrington" and is scheduled for 2:50 p.m.

In addition to the Kendall College site proposal (see story above), the Site Plan and Appearance Review Committee will hear on Feb. 24 about two other projects of interest to the Central Street community.
 
Item 4 on the agenda is the proposal of Presbyterian Homes to replace 51 1950s-era independent living cottages with 54 new cottages, and to construct a new apartment building consisting of 32 2-bedroom units.
 
The next item on the agenda is Com Ed's plans for installing new overhead equipment on the 2600 and 2700 blocks of Prairie Avenue, and to replace three existing 35' poles with taller poles. The pole at 2723 Prairie is proposed to be moved from the alley to the parkway.
 
These items are scheduled for 3:10 and 3:40, respectively, at Rm. 2404 in the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center.

A recent online story on Evanston libraries set up a divisive and inaccurate class/race argument by focusing on census tracts in which the north and south branch are "located." This is misleading rhetoric in several ways, including that the north and south branch are each at the very edge of a census tract, that census tracts are somewhat arbitrary and certainly not monolithic, and that the libraries were "located" long before most current residents. But more important, it misses the point that for most Evanstonians, there is no library at all in their "census tract." Since nearly everyone has to travel by foot, bike, car, or public transportation to use a library, a more practical analysis would instead ask, for every Evanstonian, "What library is closest?"
 
As simple geography and the map below (click Read More to see) demonstrate, the answer is that, for most Evanstonians, either the north or south branch is closer and more convenient than the main branch.

The Central Street Neighbors Association will hold its annual meeting Thursday, February 25, 2010 at Three Crowns Park, McDaniel Community Room, 2323 McDaniel Ave., Evanston.
 
The doors will open at 7:00 pm for a half hour social gathering.  The meeting will begin at 7:30 and should last til 9:00 pm.
 
The Agenda includes:

• Evanston city budget 2010-2011 and beyond
• Evanston Public Library: a historic moment?
• Annual election of CSNA board members

A press release from L.A. lender Mesa West reports that, as part of a $14.5 million recapitalization, Connecticut-based Greenwich Partners LLC will convert the Orrington Hotel property in downtown Evanston to a full-service Hilton hotel later this year. The hotel will be renamed Hilton Orrington and will remain managed by Magna Hospitality Group.

The Administration and Public Works (A&PW) Committee will begin at 5:30 PM.  The Planning and Development (P&D) Committee will convene 15 minutes after the A&PW adjourns. The City Council meeting will convene 15 minutes after the P&D meeting adjourns, but not earlier than 7:00 PM. 

Sat., Feb. 20, 2010 at 9 AM
A special meeting of the City Council has been scheduled at the Civic Center. Final decisions about the 2010-2011 budget will be made. A vote is likely.
 
Mon., Feb. 22, 2010 at 7 PM or later (see “New rules”)
This is the last scheduled Council meeting of the City’s fiscal year 2009-2010. The budget must be approved by Feb. 28, 2010. 

As much as we all want to see a balanced City budget, you won't be happy with a fine or having to go down to North Shore Towing.  The City of Evanston has declared a Snow Route Parking Ban for tonight, Tuesday, February, 9. You need to look at the red, white and blue signs on your street to see if it's a snow route and which will be plowed. Emergency sirens will sound to remind you to move your cars at 8:15 p.m
 
Main thoroughfares in Evanston designated as Snow Routes will be cleared first, and parking is illegal on these streets between 11 p.m. tonight and 6 a.m. tomorrow, Feb. 10th.  The predictable main streets plus some others are included: Central, McDaniel, Central Park, Crawford, Gross Point, Ridge, Sheridan, but also part of Grey. A map of the Snow Routes is available here:

http://www.cityofevanston.org/maps/pdfs/SnowRoutes24000.pdf

The City has also declared a Snow Emergency for Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, February 10th vehicles must be parked on the odd number sides of the streets. On Thursday the 11th, vehicles must be parked on the even number side of the streets.

The info on this is a little confusing. The City's notice is at

http://www.cityofevanston.org/departments/parking/snow.shtml
 
Violating the Snow Route Ban carries a $50 fine plus towing and storage charges. Violating the Snow Emergency is a $35 ticket or a $100 tow charge.