Preserve Our Neighborhoods questions timing and placement of agenda item

Misty Haji-Sheik

SUBMITTED BY MISTY HAJI SHEIK

Preserve our Neighborhoods has asked City Manager, Anne Marie Gaura, to discuss the No Tolerance Smoking Ban Policy where Northern Illinois University is asking for the ability to police the roads and sidewalks that are inside the footprint of the University and the roads that surround the University. (see List of Roads included below).

I saw that the City was going to vote on the No Tolerance Smoking Ban so, I began calling Ms. Gaura appropriately three weeks ago. In our conversations, we agreed that Ms. Gaura would give me some dates that she would be available to meet and discuss the No Tolerance Smoking Ban and other issues like University Village that will be on the City’s Agenda for the September 14, 2015 meeting that relate to the neighborhoods around NIU. I also followed up with additional calls to try to get some dates from Ms. Gaura.

In our original conversation, we decided that she would supply the dates that would allow a meeting at City Hall (between Preserve Our Neighborhoods, the Ellwood Historic Neighborhood and we would contact Preserve Our Neighborhoods and the Ellwood Historic Neighborhood. Some of the issues to be discussed about the No Tolerance Smoking Ban include the possible congregating of students on their property, cigarette butts and other trash on the citizens property, the expansion of NIU’s footprint businesses that will be discriminated against (ie smoking on a patio) because they fall inside the NIU footprint as opposed to a similar business that is not in the NIU footprint, and other issues that effect the neighborhoods .

Ms. Gaura was to select some dates that would work with her schedule for the group to meet -before September 14, 2015 – the date that the City Council is to vote on this issue. Ms. Gaura’s Assistant called on September 11, 2015 to say that Ms. Gaura is not available until sometime in October. It was suggested that the matter be taken up with Jennifer Groce who works for Northern Illinois University.

Jennifer Groce works for NIU and has no jurisdiction over the City or the citizens. Ms. Gaura’s assistant suggested that I contact Jennifer Groce with any concerns, instead of Anne Marie Gaura. Why would a matter dealing with the City and the citizens go through an NIU employee?

Why are the citizens being ignored when they are asking for a meeting in a timely basis to discuss a matter that affects their homes and businesses?

Isn’t it the City Manager’s job to meet with concerned citizens in a timely fashion about matters that come before the City?

Anne Marie Gaura sets the Agenda, if she wanted to hear the concerns of the citizens and she couldn’t meet with the citizens, she could have changed when the No Tolerance Smoking Ban would appear on the Agenda.

This includes the following roads:

• N. Annie Glidden
• Carroll Ave
• Castle Dr
• College Ave
• Crane Dr
• Garden Road
• Gilbert Dr
• Grant Dr. E
• N. Grant Dr
• Kishwaukee Dr
• Lincoln Dr N
• Lincoln Highway/ 38
• Lincoln Ter
• Lucinda Road
• Locust
• NIU Convocation Cr
• Normal Road
• Presidents Blvd
• Russell Road
• Stadium Dr. N
• Stadium Dr. S
• Stadium Dr. W
• N. Stevenson Dr
• University Apartment Dr
• University Circle
• Wirtz Hall
• Woodley
• And other roads

Misty Haji Sheik is the elected representative of District 7 on the DeKalb County Board.