Winnetka, News

New outdoor seating for Fred’s Garage, new SUV for police dept. and more notes from a 21-minute meeting of the Winnetka Village Council

Discussion was kept to a minimum Tuesday, June 1, when the Winnetka Village Council breezed through a light agenda.

Council members approved a handful of items listed on the consent agenda and one new ordinance while tabling a piece of old business during the 21-minute meeting.

Below is a roundup of the action:

• Fred’s Garage, 574 Green Bay Road, is known for its patio dining, but it can now add more outdoor seating thanks to a permit OK’d by the council. In March, the council approved outdoor seating for 16 Winnetka businesses, many of which were not traditional restaurants but wanted to use sidewalk space for safe gathering areas. Fred’s Garage did not apply for a permit at that time, but had a change of heart recently, asking to place seating along Chestnut Street to the west of its patio. According to village documents, Fred’s Garage wants the outdoor seating for a summer music series starting in June and ending in September.

• The Winnetka Police Department received approval to add a 2021 Ford Expedition to its fleet of vehicles. The Expedition will be purchased for $37,177 from Kunes Country Ford of Antioch, according to a memo from Marc Hornstein, Winnetka’s chief of police. The pending transaction is in line with a cooperative agreement between Kunes and the Northwest Municpal Conference. According to the memo, the new vehicle will replace a 2017 Expedition with 86,000 miles and be used by a patrol supervisor. Once purchased, the department will add “appropriate police equipment and communication systems to make it suitable for service” for an additional $10,000, the memo reads. The additional cost does not need council approval. The Expedition is the second 2021 replacement vehicle purchase by the Village of Winnetka, in line with the budget.

• Winnetka’s Water and Electric Department can execute a $25,998 contract with Muscat Painting and Decorating for the painting of streetlights and traffic signals. According to a memo from village engineer Nicholas Narhi, the department repaints poles as needed each year, but did not repaint any in 2020. In 2021, the budget for the repainting was $26,000, more than $7,500 higher than what was spent in 2019 ($18,475). An estimated 114 poles will be painted throughout the village between June 1-Oct. 1, and the agreement with Muscat includes restrictions on painting during certain special events, such as Art in the Village (June 12-13) and the Winnetka Music Fest (Sept. 10-11). Out of four submitted bids, Muscat’s was the lowest by about $15,000.


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joe coughlin
Joe Coughlin

Joe Coughlin is a co-founder and the editor in chief of The Record. He leads investigative reporting and reports on anything else needed. Joe has been recognized for his investigative reporting and sports reporting, feature writing and photojournalism. Follow Joe on Twitter @joec2319

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