Trustee Dale Vogelsanger, elected Homer Glen Trustee-at-large in April, 2003, will run for President (Mayor) of The Village of Homer Glen.  Vogelsanger was an active volunteer member of the Committee to Incorporate and has been volunteering his services in many capacities since April, 2001.

Trustee Vogelsanger has served as a Homer Glen Zoning Commissioner and Trustee Liaison since its inception in 2001, working to craft and finalize Homer Glen’s zoning ordinances, which has resulted in the creation of the Village’s newly adopted Zoning Ordinance, designed specifically for The Village of Homer Glen. He is a member and Trustee Liaison to the Communications and Civic Involvement Committee and the Homer Glen Events Committee, which brought the first 4th of July post-parade festival to the Village. Dale also served as a founding member of Homer Glen’s Emergency Management Agency, the Comprehensive Plan Committee and the original Roads Task Force. Dale co-designed the Village Logo and submitted the Village slogan “Community and Nature in Harmony” and his many hours of community service were rewarded when he was voted “Volunteer of the Year for 2001”.

In addition to his position as Village Trustee, Vogelsanger is the Chairman of the Economic Development Committee (EDC) created in 2005, and serves as Trustee Liaison for the Homer Township Chamber of Commerce.  The EDC is focused on commercial and retail planning and development to attract unique, quality business opportunities to the Village and is committed to retaining our unique Village character by working to craft and implement a strategically inspired commercial development plan.  This will enable the Village to better manage and control growth, offer necessary opportunities for goods and services and provide additional sales tax revenue for the village, as well as generate property tax dollars to our schools and other taxing bodies.  With the appropriate economic growth we will also generate local job opportunities. This plan, closely followed, will allow the Village to preserve our natural resources and distinctive areas and retain the desirable amenities of our community.  Dale is also a member of the Will County Center For Economic Development representing the Village.

Dale would like to continue to utilize his six years of experience and serve the community in the capacity of Village President (Mayor) of Homer Glen.  He remains committed to retaining our unique countryside character, while closely monitoring the Village's growth.  His main focus going forward will be to continue to operate the Village without a municipal tax, to manage the growth in the area to encourage quality, upscale commercial and retail development and to remain fiscally responsible to the residents.  He will work to promote the local businesses and attract unique retail opportunities to Homer Glen to help lessen the tax burden to residents and continue to work towards making the planned Town Center Commercial area a reality.  He is currently working closely with state and local officials on funding opportunities for the main arterial state and county roads and plans to implement the recently developed Comprehensive Transportation Plan to prepare for the future I-355 Tollway.

Vogelsanger also volunteers his time as Advisory Board member to Shady Oaks Cerebral Palsy Camp on Parker Road working on the reconstruction efforts for the camp and enjoys golf and playing drums.  Dale is employed as Manager in Sales for a national organization in the power equipment industry.  He and wife Kim of 20 years have one adult son, William, and reside in the Colonial Acres subdivision in the southwestern portion of the Village.

To continue to operate the Village in a manner that will . . .

• Remain fiscally responsible with NO municipal tax
• Attract quality commercial opportunities to provide necessary property tax relief and sales tax dollars
• Implement critical road improvements
• Control and manage growth
• Provide ethical and open communication
• Partner with state and local officials for water and sewer reforms
• Require schools' prior approval of ALL new residential and commercial to lower taxes
• Create open space in new residential via new Conservation Design Ordinance
• Plan new parks and recreational areas for all citizens
• Increase capital improvement funding for public safety and flooding issues

Signs, Signs Everywhere

Political signs in the right-of-way do nothing but make our streets look ugly and cluttered. This is not our idea of a GREEN Vision.

As Trustees, Brian Andrews and I voted to adopt the ordinance that restricts these signs, therefore you will NOT see any of our signs along your streets. Our signs will only be erected on the private property of residents and landowners that have committed their support and their votes to us.

If you would like to show your support of Citizens for Homer Glen by placing a sign on your property, please call 708-301-0724.

Together we can Keep our Vision and our Community Beautiful.

Trustee Dale Vogelsanger
Candidate for Homer Glen Mayor

Homer Glen's Major Accomplishments - 2006

By Dale Vogelsanger

The Village of Homer Glen's number one major accomplishment in 2006 is that we are now in our sixth fiscal year and are still operating without a Village property tax.  The Village has not adopted any new village taxes on utilities, real estate transfers or by any other means of taxing.  We are very strong and financially sound largely because of the commercial growth and sales tax revenue collected while remaining fiscally responsible with our expenditures.  The growth in our sales tax revenues has been strong and is, in part, the reason why we have had substantial budget surpluses each of the last two years.  Our annual financial report from our auditors at a recent Village Board meeting showed the Village was in very good shape financially with year end operating surpluses of $1,045,184 in the General Fund, $337,459 in the Motor Fuel Tax Fund, and $259,632 in the Park Fund.

The second most important act the Village Board took in 2006 was to approve a new Conservation Design Ordinance.  Over a thousand acres of new open space could be added to the Village with this new ordinance and it is one of the strongest ordinances of its kind in the country.  It requires a mandatory donation of open space land from future residential development at NO cost to the taxpayers and with NO bond referendum needed.  The ordinance requires developers of new residential subdivisions to set aside between 20% and 50% of the area as dedicated, publicly-owned open space.  This is a requirement for all residential developments over 10 acres in size with only certain main roads exempt because of their commercial nature, any zoning over 1.5 acre, and that which is not served by sewer and water. The new ordinance also uses a “net density” approach that removes environmentally sensitive lands and roads prior to the calculation of number of units allowed.  The new open space areas will not only allow the Village to further protect sensitive lands, but also allow more walking paths, parks, and trails to be built.  Being able to connect some of these new open space areas will also promote and protect wildlife corridors.  The Village will also benefit from reduced infrastructure maintenance costs in the future since fewer miles of roads and utilities will be needed.  Flooding and drainage problems will also be minimized, as there will be less impervious surfaces.

A completely new Zoning Ordinance incorporating the Green Vision and newly designed architectural standards was recently adopted by the Village Board.  I served on the Zoning Commission for the first two years and after becoming a Trustee in 2003 served three years in an advisory capacity and as Trustee Liaison.  Our new Zoning Ordinance will enable Homer Glen to grow the community according to our standards and is our strongest tool we have to control development and manage future growth.

Two other items of importance this year were new laws concerning citizens’ bill of rights on water issues and the exploration of the costs associated with the Village partnering with neighboring communities on the purchase of the Illinois American Water system and infrastructure costs. The other being the authorization of the Transportation Plan for the entire Village.  This study will enable the Village to assess and plan for future roadway improvements in order to properly prepare for future growth and the opening of the new I-355 Tollway.

We are currently working with developers and land owners interested in creating a Town Center mixed use development which would include a major retail development center as well as some residential, a Village Green, band shell, park areas and possible space for a village hall and/or a library.   The Village is getting ready to present a preliminary plan to the public to gather feedback on the design and components currently under consideration in the plan and will be working towards bringing this major commercial opportunity and Town Center concept to the Village.