Great video on this year’s “Women Out Walking” initiative.

The City, Northwestern University, interested residents and community organizations continue to work on our response to Google to bring their proposed ultra-high speed network to Evanston.

These efforts will culminate in “Google Day in Evanston, IL” on Wednesday March 24, 2010.  Various events are being planned for the day including a meeting of community leaders at the Civic Center beginning at 1:30 PM.

Check out the City’s Google website for more details on how you can be a part of bringing Google to Evanston.

The City Council will be holding a special meeting Thursday March 11 at 12:30 PM in the Aldermanic Library at the Civic Center to discuss changes to the City’s street sweeping schedule.

1.  Update on City Council Safety Goal (staff report-PDF).

2.  Review of Draft Request for Qualifications to Design, Build, Finance and Operate an Ice Rink and Community Center at Crown Park (staff report – PDF).  Draft RFP (PDF).

3.  Review revisions to City street sweeping program (staff report – PDF).

4.  Consideration to apply for a federal grant to fund study of renovations and future uses of downtown Varsity Theater (staff report – PDF).

Agenda  Agenda Packet

We have updated the final decision document on the FY 2010/11 budget here (PDF) and created a summary document of changes found here (PDF).

Video of Mayor Tisdahl’s 2010 State of the City address given last Friday at the Hotel Orrington is now online as well as the text of her address (PDF).

The City’s initiative to bring Google’s high speed fiber network to town is well underway. To be part of the effort, check out the City’s website or sign up to be part of our Google Group “Google Fiber for Evanston.” You can also follow the efforts on Facebook.

The Evanston Public Library celebrated a milestone this week when a patron checked out the 1,000,000th item this year (year ends February 28). This is the first time EPL has surpassed circulation of 1,000,000 items. The lucky patron was a mother, accompanied by her two young sons. The family has just relocated to Evanston from California (a lot of that going on), and have fallen in love with the children’s room. Mayor Tisdahl was on hand to mark the occasion with a library tote bag full of goodies.

With the beginning of the 2010/11 fiscal year starting Monday, there are changes in the operating hours of the Evanston Public Library.  The main library returns to its previous hours prior to December 1, 2009 and the branch library hours are reduced one day a week.  Here is the schedule:

Main Library (resume regular hours)
Monday – Thursday              9:00 – 9:00
Friday & Saturday                 9:00 – 6:00
Sunday                                   Noon – 6:00

North Branch
Monday                      10:00 – 8:00
Tuesday                     10:00 – 6:00
Wednesday               10:00 – 6:00
Thursday                    Closed
Friday                         Closed
Saturday                     10:00 – 5:00
Sunday                       Closed

South Branch
Monday                      Closed
Tuesday                     Closed
Wednesday               10:00 – 6:00
Thursday                    10:00 – 8:00
Friday                         10:00 – 6:00
Saturday                     10:00 – 5:00
Sunday                       Closed

The Evanston Police Department released its 2009 crime stats yesterday.

From the Police Department’s Press Release:

“While other communities throughout the nation may have seen a rise in crime between 2008 and 2009, the City of Evanston has achieved a significant decline as it pertains to major part-one crime categories. Statistics indicate that murder is down 50%, criminal sexual assault rose from 5 incidents to 7 translating to a 40% increase, robbery was down a significant 29.6%, aggravated battery & assault down 5.7%, burglary down 12.6%, theft down 12.9%, motor vehicle theft down 23% and arson rose from 8 to 11, equaling an increase of 37.5%. This statistical analysis equates to a year to date comparison aggregate for 2008 to 2009 indicating a total overall decline in crime of 13.4%.”

More details can be found on our website.

Woody I look forward to a continous dialogue regarding the dental clinic…

Need help quitting? The City of Evanston Health Department is holding a FREE smoking cessation clinic. The clinic will be conducted be Jerry Zabin, L.C.S.W here at the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center in room 1700. The clinic dates are March 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, and 23 and you must registrar and attend the first class. For more information and to register call the Evanston Health Department at 847-866-2949 and ask for Mayda Figueroa or Whitney Jones. Don’t miss this opportunity to quit tobacco for good.

The City of Evanston has been notified of a telephone outage in the Dempster St./Florence Ave. area.

The City is working with AT&T to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

Happy Birthday to our neighbors at Rotary International.  See this great website on where Rotary was founded in Chicago.

1.  The City Council completed its work on the budget tonight.  The Council eliminated one unpaid holiday for staff, reducing the total number from five to four unpaid holidays during FY 2010/11.  This was the only substantial change from its decisions on Saturday.

2.  The City Council also adopted the Capital budget for FY 2010/11 agreeing to $7.8 million of new general obligation debt for capital spending in addition to projects funded from other sources.  The Council will hold a special meeting in late March to continue discussing prioritization of capital spending.

3. City Council adopted new sanitation service charge fee structure of $6.95 for a 65-gal cart and $10.95 for a 95-gal cart, a $1.75 for yard waste stickers to be affixed to yard waste paper bags and/or tree trimming bundles or alternately an unlimited collection of yard waste from a wheeled cart purchased from the City at a rate of $25 per year, and an additional cart fee of $6.95 per cart. This new fee structure will take effect on April 1, 2010.

1.  Final action on FY 2010/11 operating budget.

2.  Consideration of FY 2010/11 capital budget.  There has been little discussion of this aspect of the budget so far.  Assistant City Manager Marty Lyons has an excellent staff report  (PDF) that outlines issues of project need, but difficulty in funding.

3.  Final action to adjustments in refuse, recycling and yard waste services (staff report – PDF).

Full Agenda (PDF)    Agenda Packet (PDF)

The City Council completed its work on the proposed FY 2010/11 budget Saturday and is scheduled to formally adopt the budget on Monday night.

Changes from Saturday:  The Council rejected the proposed 5% salary reduction for all managers, restored the final two staff positions “below the line” (both from Parks, Recreation and Community Services) and added an additional unpaid holiday for all staff.  This brings total of unpaid holidays for FY 2010/11 to five.  These changes balance the budget and leave $294,934 to be placed in reserves.

Monday through Thursday, 8:30am to 12pm; 1:30 to 5pm, BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

• Established in 1967 for children pre-school through 12th grade (high school senior).
• Services include: dental examinations, cleanings, fluoride treatments, dental sealant, restorations, minor surgical procedures, dental x-rays, root canal therapy, dental health education and emergency care.
• Income within eligibility guidelines are required. Call for details.
• Cost: Sliding scale fees apply. All Kids / Medicaid is accepted.

For appointment or more information, call (847) 866-2953 or

(847) 866-2948.

The City of Evanston’s Department of Health and Human Services, through a grant from the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Office of Women’s Health, will again be offering the Women Out Walking (W.O.W.), program. W.O.W. is a 12-week walking campaign beginning on Saturday, March 27, 2010. Save the date!

This program is designed to not only encourage women to become more physically active, but to live healthier lifestyles through a better understanding of nutrition and women’s health issues. Throughout this campaign, women will be encouraged to walk, and will also participate in activities, cooking demonstrations and health information sessions.

This event is free to participants.

Call 847/866-2919 for more information on the program and how to pre-register.

Saturday, March 27, 2010….Save the date!!!!!

Congratulations to Evanston’s own Shani Davis for his gold medal performance in the 1000 meter speedskating event at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.  Davis got his start skating at the Robert Crown Center.