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Vol. 5, No. 1 - Mar 1984fKISSING March,1984 Vol. 5, No.1 STORMWATER MANAGEMENT Since our last D-TALES, significant events have occurred with respect to our efforts to reduce flooding problems within Deerfield. BANNOCKBURN RESERVOIR On January 20th, the Lake County.Forest Preserve District and the Village of Bannockburn signed an agreement authorizing the District to acquire property at the southeast corner of Duffy Lane and the Tollway. This location has been designated for a major water retention reservoir as part of the North Branch Floodwater Management Plan. Under State law, it was necessary for Bannockburn to agree to the use of this property as a reservoir prior to the Forest Preserve District's acquiring it. NORTH BRANCH PLAN In December, the Army Corps of Engineers' Board for Rivers and Harbors approved the "North Branch Design Memorandum". This •proval came quicker than expected and is essential to early construction of the reservoirs in this area. The proposed project is now under review at the State level for a 90 day period prior to its being forwarded to Washington for study by the Office of Management and Budget. After these reviews, the reports will be submitted to Congress for authorization and funding. Legislation has already been introduced -both by Senator Percy and Congressman Porter for Fed- eral funds to build the reservoirs. Residents are urged to contact their elected representa- tives and ask for their continued support of the project. We've composed a model letter for you - see Page 2 in the shaded area! CONSULTANT'S STUDY Our engineering consultant, Baxter and Woodman, Inc., continues to meet with the Flood. Advisory Committee and Village Board on the local flooding problems within Deerfield. Their study was divided into three phases: local storm sewer problems, over -bank flooding and sanitary sewer surcharge problems. The final report is expected in March and will be used for planning and budgeting public improvements during fiscal year 1984-85. FEDERAL FLOOD INSURANCE One of our residents (who was a flood victim last year) has re- searched the changes in the Federal F1oo& Insurance coverage, which exclude "basements". This "basement exclusion clause" eliminates basement coverage ex- cept for structural damage and basic appliances such as furnace, washer, dryer, freezers and hot water heaters. Insurance no longer replaces paneling, furniture, carpeting... and a base- ment is defined as "the lowest level or,story of any building of which the floor is below ground on all four sides". The whole first level of a house without a basement but with a sunken first -level floor is considered a basement. After you've thought about this for a w ile you may very well want to write another letter to your elected representatives asking for modification of that basement definition - especially if you live in a split-level home! 0 ****** As the memories of the floods recede (excuse the expression), you may get tired of reading these updates but..they are of great importance to everyone in the Village and we want to be sure you are all kept informed of our progress. You may want to include some comments about the Federal Emergency Management Agency's definition of a basement and the exclusion of them from insurance coverage (see the article on the front page regarding this). Congressman Porter hasasked for the Village's support for House Resolution 2441, which he introduced last April. This would prohibit the use of federal highway funds in any state in -which the minimum drinking age is less than 21 for the consumption of alcoholic bev- erages. Illinois is one of only 19 states to have raised the drinking age to 21. As you probably are aware, Wisconsin (where the age is 18) has declined to change theirs. Mayor Forrest and the Board of Trustees have voted to support Congressman Porter's bill and will adopt a resolution at their next Board meeting. YOU'RE AN OLD TIMER IF you remember when the Centrella store was located on Waukegan Road north of Deerfield Road where the Video store is now. READ ALL ABOUT IT!! We have been told that Deerfield's parental responsibility ordinance - and other facets , of our youth -related program - will be one of the articles in the March issue of READER'S DIGEST. Also, the Kissing Signs will be one of the features in PARADE Magazine, which is a sup- plement to the Sunday Sun Times. This article is supposed to be in the March 18th PARADE. We love good publicity! WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER? ----If you- should have--an-emergency,—could—the Police or Fire Departments find your house? The Municipal Code requires that you have your house numbered (and plainly visible from the street). For older houses, 2" high let- ters are acceptable - all new construction requires not less than 3" letters. Since you already know your number, why not use the 3" letters to let the emergency people find you? Letters must be in figures (not in script), in colors which contrast to the place they are mounted - and they must be placed on the side of the house closest to and parallel to the street. HAVE YOU GOTTEN THE MESSAGE? We regularly change the items on Channel 3 - items of interest to you. This is our gov- ernment access channel on cable television. While it's certain this will never replace _ the soaps,- or climb_to_ the top ten in the _ ratings, you may find something of interest on it. Right now, we're running information on voting and registration plus other local bits of information. There were several residents who bought their vehicle stickers before the deadline..... and all because they saw the reminder on Channel 3! DON'T SIGN ANYTHING ... Spring is coming and with it will come the con men who will offer you great deals on • roof repairs, driveway resurfacing -- any- thing they can think of to separate you from your money. BE CAREFUL! Consult the Police if you have any suspicious callers. ATTENTION SENIOR CITIZENS! Sst July, the Illinois legislature passed a al estate tax deferment bill for Senior Citi- zens. Homeowners 65 or older, with a total in- come of $10,000 or less, may apply for tax de- ferment so that the taxes, plus a 6% annual in- terest charge, may be delayed until the home owner dies or sells the property. YOU MUST APPLY BY MARCH 1st! Contact County Treasurer Jack Anderson (689-6363), County Building, Waukegan.' You must know your home insurance policy number and you must apply each year for the deferment. Forms might be available at the West Deerfield Township Office. You may wish to call there (945-0614) before calling Waukegan. BE A FRIEND ... FOR LIFE! The next blood drive for Deerfield will be on March 4th. Won't you help? The Blood Center. must collect an average of 250 pints of blood a day! Call Patti Moore at 948-1365 to sign up. You can safely donate blood every eight weeks if you are between 17 and 65, in good health and weigh at least 110. Remember, there is no artificial substitute for blood, so why not share yours? WOULD YOU BELIEVE ... Our scavenger service has had a problem with fireplace ashes! When the ashes are placed at the curb in an open container, they blow into the men's eyes, causing injuries. PLEASE bag your fireplace ashes. They will take the ashes but only if they're bagged and tied. HERE'S HOW TO GET IN THE SWIM ... The Park District has a new system for season pool passes this year. Because of your com- ments, the metal tokens are OUT ... coupon books are IN. Books of 50, 25 or 10 coupons will be available by mail, at the Park District offices or at either pool after opening day on June 9th. You will need one coupon to gain admission (there will be discounted rates when you buy coupons in quantity). For further details, watch for the brochure in the mail or call 945-0650. • WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO? Well, it's all budgeted carefully... and we're just about to start on the 1984-85 Budget. In fact, the public hearing on the proposed use of Federal Revenue Sharing Funds was held last week. From now until April 2nd, money will be the big topic for the Mayor, Board of Trustees and Village Staff. On April 2nd, the proposed budget will be put on file for review by the public. On April 19, the public hearing and passage of the budget will be done. Where do you fit in? Anywhere you -like ... be- tween now and April 19th! You are welcome to attend any and all meetings or to offer your suggestions. We run a tight financial ship in Deerfield and, since it's your money, you may want to participate. NEED HELP? Y.E.S. (Youth Employment Service) has high school boys and girls, screened and interviewed who can work part-time after school, weekends, vacation time... whatever. If you need help, call 433-4090 or 441-5514. GET OUT AND V0TE!!! The General Primary Election is MARCH 2Oth. This will cover nomination of Federal, State, and County officers plus the election of some officers in some municipalities (not Deerfield this time). Then - remember, November 6th - that's the day of the General Election. Be a good citizen - get out there and cast your vote on March 20th. If you don't vote, you're not allowed to complain about the re- sults --- that's only fair! Incidentally, if your Precinct Number is 368, you used to vote at the Village Hall. Not any more!. The polling place has been changed to Glenkirk School (old Maplewood School) at Clay and Alden Courts. THERE IS NO LONGER A POLLING PLACE AT THE VILLAGE HALL. P.S. If you want to vote absentee for the March 20th election, you can do so in person at the West Deerfield Township offices between February 27th and March 19th. DOES YOUR GAS FURNACE OR WATER HEATER NEED TO BE REPLACED? Usually, if a water heater needs to be replaced, you'll notice water on the floor. But, in the case of a defective warm air furnace, the need may not be so obvious and may require a close inspection or tests. A heat exchanger with a leak can be a dangerous situation. Air will be forced from the pres- surized fan area through the leak and into the combustion area. Since the combustion area is designed to handle only the quantity of gases generated by the combustion process, the air leaking into the combustion area will (at the very least) upset the combustion process, re- sulting in incomplete combustion and possibly smothering the pilot flame. If the leak is large enough, poisonous combustion products can be forced out of the furnace and into the living area. Heat exchangers on gas fired furnaces can last 20+ years, particularly the "drum and doughnut" type with a single burner. The sectional type with multiple burners can fail earlier due to the fact that the sections are more highly stressed from the die forming process used 'in their manufacture. There are some cursory, visual checks that can be made to locate a major leak, but they are not infallible. If you think your furnace heat exchanger has developed a leak, you should have it checked by a reliable service man or by your gas company (who will charge for this service). If you have determined that replacing your water heater or furnace is necessary, perhaps you should consider one of the newer, high efficiency designs. Water heaters are rated in terms of steady-state efficiency, and there are heaters now on the market that have efficiencies of close to 80%, compared to 70% for older models. This means that a high efficiency heater could save you $22 of the typical Deerfield fuel cost of $177/year for heating water. Dramatic savings are possible from going to high efficiency furnaces. Furnaces are now rated by Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE), as opposed to the steady-state efficiencies of the older furnaces. The typical 75% steady-state efficiency for an older furnace equates to about 62 - 65% AFUE. Newer furnaces are available at AFUE's ranging up to as high as 95%. For an annual heating bill of $700 with a 65% AFUE furnace, a 95% AFUE would save $220 per year -- that's a 31% savings!! An 85% AFUE furnace would save $165, or 24%! The 95% AFUE is obtained by cooling the flue gases low enough to condense part of the water vapor created by the combustion process, thus recovering the heat that was required to vapor- ize the water. This means that the condensed water must be piped to a drain; also, there may be somewhat more noticeable sound from the very high AFUE furnaces. Offsetting this is the fact that the gases are so cool that a chimney is not needed. In general, water vapor is con- densed at AFUE's above 83% to 85% and it is not condensed at or below this efficiency. Ob- viously, the higher efficiencies are not reached without additional cost for the furnace or water heater. You'll have to decide whether the added savings over the long term are worth the added cost now. VILLAGE OF DEERFIELD 850 Waukegan Road Deerfield, Illinois 60015 Fire Department .....................945-2121 Police Department ...................945-2131 Village Hall.........................945-5000 BERNARD FORREST, Mayor TRUSTEES Stephen O. Jackson Edwin B. Seidman - James L. Marovitz Vernon E. Swanson Cynthia J. Marty J. Robert York POSTAL CUSTOMER DEERFIELD, ILLINOIS 60015 Bulk Rate U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 1 Deerfield. Illinois CARIPRE-SORT • Printed at Standard Printing Service, Inc. (312) 498-6126