from the meetings on March 17, 2020
by Melanie Jongsma
LANSING, Ill. (March 23, 2020) – “It’s pretty obvious that the Village of Lansing is taking every practice that we possibly can to go through the mandates of our new favorite term, ‘social distancing,'” said Mayor Patty Eidam at the beginning of last week’s Village Board and Committee of the Whole meetings. Any staff who were non-essential to the meeting had been encouraged to stay home, the seating in courtroom had been arranged to put at least six feet between people, and Village Trustee Mike Fish participated by conference call.
The items below are brief summaries of some of the business that was conducted at those meetings.
Child Abuse Prevention Month presentation cancelled
Valerie McDaniels was scheduled to make a presentation to the Village Board about Child Abuse Prevention Month, which is April, before joining the Human Relations Commission at their Thursday, March 19, meeting to make plans for Lansing’s involvement in an awareness campaign. McDaniels is a member of the Board of Directors of Prevent Child Abuse Illinois. Mayor Eidam announced that because of the growing concerns surrounding COVID-19, those plans will be delayed until 2021.
Inspections now required for home daycares
The Fire Prevention Bureau has initiated fire inspections for in-home daycares in Lansing. These inspections are the same as those conducted for daycares in separate business buildings. The Bureau contacted the 24 in-home daycares in Lansing and delivered a letter explaining the new program. The first inspections will be conducted in April.
New businesses licensed
The Building Department reported the following new businesses licensed in Lansing:
- Kobil’s (2521 183rd Street)
African art home business - Craib Accounting LLC (18514 Country Lane)
Bookkeeping home business - TWTC Educational Resources & Consultants (17423 Walter Street)
Consulting services home business - Community Homemaker Services, Inc. (17843 Torrence Avenue)
Office for caregiver service - Kimberly Foster Dream Vacations (3423 Ridge Road)
Travel agency - Facets of Touch (19265 Burnham Avenue)
Nail salon/spa
Businesses to be fined for stray grocery carts
The Building Department is picking up grocery carts that make their way onto village parkways, streets, and sidewalks. Businesses responsible for stray carts may face written citations that could result in a $750 fine.
Patti Leach Youth Center thanks Love for Lansing
In February, the network of churches known as Love for Lansing worked with Youth Center Director Aneisha Titsworth to design and install a new stage and staircase. “The Patti Leach Youth Center wants to send a huge Thank-You to the entire Love for Lansing family,” said Titsworth in her monthly report.
Flags repaired by Mayor Eidam
Included in the Public Works Department’s monthly report was a “very special thank you” to Mayor Patty Eidam for repairing the three flags that fly at Lansing Municipal Center. The American flag, State of Illinois flag, and Village of Lansing flag were badly frayed due to years of use. “Rather than replace the flags now, during bad winter months, I took them home and re-did the hems,” explained Mayor Eidam in an email following the meeting. “Now we should be able to use them until early spring when we will replace them with new ones.” Mayor Eidam has performed these repair services several times over the last decade. She also bought small lawn flags a few years ago and places them around the building in observance of various patriotic holidays.
LFD and LPD work together to protect against COVID-19
Fire Chief Chad Kooyenga explained that when Lansing paramedics respond to a call and have to help people who have symptoms such as fever, dry cough, or shortness of breath, the paramedics do not know at the time if those symptoms represent coronavirus. Paramedics rely on Personal Protective Equipment in these situations to avoid contracting and spreading disease. The department is in need of N95 masks, and Lt. Scott Bailey of the Lansing Police Department is working to locate a source. First responders are also doing their best to practice social distancing on calls, asking people to ambulate themselves when possible.
Fox Pointe brand enhanced
Village Administrator Dan Podgorski, Communications Director Ken Reynolds, and Fox Pointe Director Tony Troncozo presented plans for a monument sign to identify Fox Pointe, as well as the official Fox Pointe logo. Having these identifiers in place will help the Village market the Fox Pointe venue beyond Lansing.
Census 2020 video created by LNN
Fabian Newman shared the new video created by LNN to promote the 2020 Census. The video stars local Lansing residents and business people and can be viewed on LNN’s Facebook page.
Typically Village Board meetings are scheduled to begin at 7:00pm on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at the Police and Court Complex (Lansing Police Department), 2710 170th Street in Lansing. And typically the public is welcome to attend. The Lansing Journal will post notifications about the status of these meetings throughout the duration of Governor Pritzker’s stay-at-home order.
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