SWAN-Elgin

There are several events going on over the next couple weeks! Here are some of the highlights:

May is Preservation Month
May is Preservation Month in the City of Elgin, and there are several activities planned for all interests. Besides our own Bungalow & Blooms Tour on Saturday, May 15 (contact Pat Hill to volunteer, or Liz Marston at 847-742-4248 to register), there are several other events. For details, see the full brochure.

Mayor’s Awards
Join us on Thursday, May 13 in the Heritage Ballroom of the Centre to celebrate the Mayor’s Awards. Not only will twelve (!) more SWAN homes receive plaques, but our very own Dawn Hartney, Kathy Moore and Stacey Reynolds will receive Mayor’s Awards for their stellar efforts to further historic preservation through last spring’s Trolley Tour and their plaquing campaign. This is a huge achievement, and we should all be very proud, so join us to celebrate! For more information, visit the City’s site.

The Great Unveiling
We’ll be kicking off Preservation Month on Saturday, May 1 with the Great Unveiling. We’ll be teaming up with NWNA to remove vinyl and aluminum siding from some local homes. We’ll kick off the event at 9 AM at 318 South Street!  We’ll then move on to 248 Michigan and 221 Michigan. Th  city will provide donuts and coffee at each house.  Please bring gloves, ladders, and safety goggles and wear appropriate clothing. Of course, the more people that show up, the faster we will get done, so spread the word! For more information, contact: Jennifer Fritz-Williams (847) 931-6004 or fritz-williams_j@cityofelgin.org

Bikes on Parade
Make sure you stop by Gail Borden Library to see the bike decorated by our very own Dawn and Kathy. Great job, ladies!

Councilman Rich Dunne Town Hall
Councilman Rich Dunne will be holding a town hall meeting to mark the 1st anniversary of his swearing in on the City Council.  The event will be held on Thursday, April 29th, 7PM at the VFW Hall on Weld Road.  Please come to learn what is going on in City Hall.

National Street Area Planning Meeting
This is the third in a series of meetings during which residents can voice their opinions about the future of the National Street coridor and area around the Metra station. The first two meetings have been eye-opening, with proposals for major rezoning and redevelopment. At this meeting, on Tuesday, May 4 at 6:30 PM at Gail Borden Library, the consulting team will present the final concept plan of the National Street Station Area. This will be your last opportunity to share your thoughts with the consulting team regarding the growth and development of the area, prior to its final adoption by the City Council. For more information, visit the Downtown Neighborhood Association blog.

Stay in Touch
If you’re on Facebook, join the group here so you can see the latest and add pictures. You can also follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ElginSWAN,

We’ll see you at the next membership meeting on Monday, May 17 at 7 PM.

The Mayor’s Awards Presentation will be onThursday, May 13. A Dessert Reception begins at 7:00 pm, with the Presentation of Awards beginning at 7:30.

SWAN will receive 12 more Historic Plaques to display on our beautiful historic houses, plus 3 more Awards for our neighborhood. Dawn Hartney will be presented an award for leading our group in putting together our Sears Trolley Tour last May and Kathy Moore and Stacy Reynolds will each receive awards for their outstanding efforts in recruiting neighbors to have their houses researched and plaqued.

Everyone is invited. Let’s support our winners and our neighborhood!

Just before Earth Day, join SWAN”s Preservation Committee as we spend a beautiful Saturday planting trees at Burnidge Woods. We’ll meet at noon on Saturday, April 17 and should be done by 3 PM. The city has selected this site for new trees near the new Sherman Hospital.

To reach the site, head west on Big Timber, and then turn turn right (north) onto Lyle.  Then, you make an immediate left onto Monday Dr.  You can park near the corner of Monday and Banks.

We hope to see you there!

Join us on Monday, April 19 at 7 PM for our next meeting. As always, the meeting will be at Zion Lutheran Church at the corner of Washburn and Griswold.

Procedural

Call to Order
Introductions & Announcements
Approval of Minutes
Treasurer’s Report

Committee Reports

Nominating Committee- Will take nominations from the floor ahead of the May election
Code Enforcement
Fundraising - Garden Grants
Environmental
Preservation- Bungalow Tour on May 15

Guest Speakers

Cherie Murphy and Vince Cuchetto, representing the City Manager’s office will lead a discussion about the mindset of our community and our future. This is not intended to be a complaint session, but rather an open dialogue. Some of the questions to consider:

• Do you like living in Elgin?  Why/why not?
• What do you see as Elgin’s greatest assest and what sets us apart from surrounding communities?
• What things about Elgin make it a city?  What makes it suburban?
• If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?
• If Elgin were a person, how would you describe it?

We look forward to a great meeting!

SWAN’s very own Pat Hill is featured in the summer 2010 “Nature’s Garden,” a special interest publication of Better Homes and Gardens. The feature includes a six-page photographic spread of Pat’s prairie garden when it was in bloom last summer.

‘Nature’s Garden’ is on newsstands now, at grocery stores and book stores.

The Courier-News also published a short blurb about Pat’s feature.

Congrats to Pat, and thanks for helping beautify our neighborhood!