Herr, Boyle clash; tent ordinance defeated 4-
3
By Joe Pritchett
Clarion Editor
A half-hour Chatham Village Board meeting had some tense moments Tuesday night, as trustees
(and neighbors) Chuck Herr and Jeanne Boyle verbally sparred during a heated discussion.
The long-awaited vote on the controversial tent/tarp ordinance did take place, though the issue
was almost tabled again. Pressed for a vote, village trustees deadlocked at 3-3, with Mayor Tom Gray
casting the tie-breaking “no” vote to defeat the ordinance as presented.
The issue may be taken up again at the committee level, though the rhetoric from Tuesday’s
meeting will have to cool off as trustees will need to start over.
•After Herr brought a motion forward, Mayor Tom Gray asked to table the ordinance, voicing
concerns that the ordinance as written would outlaw items such as outdoor grill covers or tarps over
firewood.
The ordinance was intended to outlaw canvas or any pliable outdoor storage structures, such as
tents or tarps over old cars, trash or junk piles. Trustee Joe Schatteman worked with attorney John
Myers and Herr to tweak some of the language in the past month, making sure some of the
“unintended consequences” did not occur, such as forbidding temporary backyard tents or deck
canopies.
So as the board weighed to table the ordinance, Herr stated, “Every time this comes up, somebody
throws a new twist out here that has not been discussed in any committee. I believe the disconnect is
on this board and on the committees, not in this ordinance.
“I thought we re-wrote it to satisfy even those who weren’t in favor of it. If we go the other way now,
we’ll have to back to the zoning board and public hearings and start over.
“This isn’t just an issue between two neighbors,” Herr continued further. “There are other issues
people keep telling me about, like people throwing a tarp over a junk car or people putting junk in their
backyards and throwing a tarp over it.”
After consulting with Myers, the board was told it could either “call the question” and take a roll call
vote, or vote to table the measure. Trustee Matthew Mau asked to call the question, and Herr, Mau
and Jill Reynolds voted “yes,” while Boyle, Tom Kavanagh and Schatteman voted “no,” along with Gray.
After Gray voted no, he said, “We need to take this back to the drawing board,” to which Herr
replied, “You guys can take it back to the drawing board, I refuse to work on this anymore. You guys
have not shown any respect to this board in trying to work together. I thought this was called
teamwork, I didn’t think there was an “I” in it. Now, we’ve got two “I’s.”
“Only Joe (Schatteman) offered any suggestions or changes,” Mau added. “We’ve discussed this
at several meetings, and since Joe was the only one to say anything, it seemed like everybody else
was in favor of it.”
“I don’t care for the ordinance and I have a right to vote no,” responded Boyle. “And I’ll tell you one
other thing, and I don’t often get too mad, but I resent the “I” that Chuck just talked about, because I
feel like we all have a right to have our own separate opinions and not have to say that we’re doing
something wrong because we sit on this board and we vote against whatever certain people say we
should vote for.”
At that point, Herr became more upset and he and Boyle exchanged a few more words before Gray
jumped in to calm the situation down.
“We need to get back under control here,” he stated. “After our discussion, we have concerns over
the enforcement of this ordinance and how that might play out. It’s a 3-3 vote, and if we’re that far
apart, we need to sit back down and look at it again.”
“I hope the people who voted “no” have suggestions and advice and ideas on how to change this
and make it better,” Mau concluded.
“This ordinance as written could create a bunch of enforcement issues,” Gray said after the
meeting. “It’s broader than just tents. The real issue could be limiting the number of storage
structures allowed on each property. We need to sit down and see what we really want, and focus on
exactly what we’re trying to accomplish here.”
In other business, the board:
•Approved a resolution (6-0 vote) to participate in the Illinois Federal Surplus Property Program.
•Approved a resolution for an intergovernmental agreement with the State of Illinois for Route 4
improvements (sidewalk along the east side of the highway from Plummer south to the Cottonwood
signals).
The roadway will be resurfaced by IDOT this fall, with bids being let in September. The bridge over
Polecat Creek will be widened to five lanes, and Route 4 will be resurfaced from there to the south
end of town. The village’s share of the sidewalk project will be $10,580.
•As reported on last week, the board approved an increase in the telecommunications tax levied in
the village. The tax goes from five to six percent, the maximum amount allowed by law. It will take
effect Jan. 1, 2011. The vote was 5-1 (Mau no).
•The board approved an annexation agreement and actual annexation of property owned by the
Chester Ping Jr. and Leonard C. Ping Trust. The property is located at the south end of South Main
Street, in the Covered Bridge and Union School road vicinity, and is zoned P-1 (agriculture).
•The board appointed John Seiz to the Plan Commission. Seiz replaces Harry Bethke, who had to
resign due to other personal commitments. Bethke had been on the Commission since the 1980s,
and board members and Gray expressed their appreciation for his service.
•Village committee meetings will be held next Tuesday, Aug. 17, beginning at 6 p.m. at Municipal
Hall.
3
By Joe Pritchett
Clarion Editor
A half-hour Chatham Village Board meeting had some tense moments Tuesday night, as trustees
(and neighbors) Chuck Herr and Jeanne Boyle verbally sparred during a heated discussion.
The long-awaited vote on the controversial tent/tarp ordinance did take place, though the issue
was almost tabled again. Pressed for a vote, village trustees deadlocked at 3-3, with Mayor Tom Gray
casting the tie-breaking “no” vote to defeat the ordinance as presented.
The issue may be taken up again at the committee level, though the rhetoric from Tuesday’s
meeting will have to cool off as trustees will need to start over.
•After Herr brought a motion forward, Mayor Tom Gray asked to table the ordinance, voicing
concerns that the ordinance as written would outlaw items such as outdoor grill covers or tarps over
firewood.
The ordinance was intended to outlaw canvas or any pliable outdoor storage structures, such as
tents or tarps over old cars, trash or junk piles. Trustee Joe Schatteman worked with attorney John
Myers and Herr to tweak some of the language in the past month, making sure some of the
“unintended consequences” did not occur, such as forbidding temporary backyard tents or deck
canopies.
So as the board weighed to table the ordinance, Herr stated, “Every time this comes up, somebody
throws a new twist out here that has not been discussed in any committee. I believe the disconnect is
on this board and on the committees, not in this ordinance.
“I thought we re-wrote it to satisfy even those who weren’t in favor of it. If we go the other way now,
we’ll have to back to the zoning board and public hearings and start over.
“This isn’t just an issue between two neighbors,” Herr continued further. “There are other issues
people keep telling me about, like people throwing a tarp over a junk car or people putting junk in their
backyards and throwing a tarp over it.”
After consulting with Myers, the board was told it could either “call the question” and take a roll call
vote, or vote to table the measure. Trustee Matthew Mau asked to call the question, and Herr, Mau
and Jill Reynolds voted “yes,” while Boyle, Tom Kavanagh and Schatteman voted “no,” along with Gray.
After Gray voted no, he said, “We need to take this back to the drawing board,” to which Herr
replied, “You guys can take it back to the drawing board, I refuse to work on this anymore. You guys
have not shown any respect to this board in trying to work together. I thought this was called
teamwork, I didn’t think there was an “I” in it. Now, we’ve got two “I’s.”
“Only Joe (Schatteman) offered any suggestions or changes,” Mau added. “We’ve discussed this
at several meetings, and since Joe was the only one to say anything, it seemed like everybody else
was in favor of it.”
“I don’t care for the ordinance and I have a right to vote no,” responded Boyle. “And I’ll tell you one
other thing, and I don’t often get too mad, but I resent the “I” that Chuck just talked about, because I
feel like we all have a right to have our own separate opinions and not have to say that we’re doing
something wrong because we sit on this board and we vote against whatever certain people say we
should vote for.”
At that point, Herr became more upset and he and Boyle exchanged a few more words before Gray
jumped in to calm the situation down.
“We need to get back under control here,” he stated. “After our discussion, we have concerns over
the enforcement of this ordinance and how that might play out. It’s a 3-3 vote, and if we’re that far
apart, we need to sit back down and look at it again.”
“I hope the people who voted “no” have suggestions and advice and ideas on how to change this
and make it better,” Mau concluded.
“This ordinance as written could create a bunch of enforcement issues,” Gray said after the
meeting. “It’s broader than just tents. The real issue could be limiting the number of storage
structures allowed on each property. We need to sit down and see what we really want, and focus on
exactly what we’re trying to accomplish here.”
In other business, the board:
•Approved a resolution (6-0 vote) to participate in the Illinois Federal Surplus Property Program.
•Approved a resolution for an intergovernmental agreement with the State of Illinois for Route 4
improvements (sidewalk along the east side of the highway from Plummer south to the Cottonwood
signals).
The roadway will be resurfaced by IDOT this fall, with bids being let in September. The bridge over
Polecat Creek will be widened to five lanes, and Route 4 will be resurfaced from there to the south
end of town. The village’s share of the sidewalk project will be $10,580.
•As reported on last week, the board approved an increase in the telecommunications tax levied in
the village. The tax goes from five to six percent, the maximum amount allowed by law. It will take
effect Jan. 1, 2011. The vote was 5-1 (Mau no).
•The board approved an annexation agreement and actual annexation of property owned by the
Chester Ping Jr. and Leonard C. Ping Trust. The property is located at the south end of South Main
Street, in the Covered Bridge and Union School road vicinity, and is zoned P-1 (agriculture).
•The board appointed John Seiz to the Plan Commission. Seiz replaces Harry Bethke, who had to
resign due to other personal commitments. Bethke had been on the Commission since the 1980s,
and board members and Gray expressed their appreciation for his service.
•Village committee meetings will be held next Tuesday, Aug. 17, beginning at 6 p.m. at Municipal
Hall.
Chatham Clarion
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Issue Date: Aug. 12, 2010