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Politics & Government

Council Discusses Walgreens Withdrawal, Moves Forward with Electrical Aggregation

The Walgreens petitioners withdrew their request hours before the council intended to vote on the issue.

The agendas were printed—the council was set to vote on the controversial proposed Walgreens at Tuesday night’s meeting—and then .

In a letter sent yesterday morning, the petitioners said they “respectfully request that no further consideration be given to the proposed development.” 

Mayor Martin Tully at the beginning of the council meeting announced that the had been withdrawn—not postponed.

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“It will not be on the agenda in any way, shape or form,” he said.

Nevertheless, a couple residents still commented on the issue.

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“We are very pleased that Walgreens has withdrawn their application, though we don’t know the reason,” Dee Gordon said, adding she hoped resident efforts played a role.

“This project has opened our eyes to the importance of being civically engaged,” she said.

Tully said the “level of engagement by the community was extraordinary.” He then gave a shout-out to all the non-residents who were invested in the matter, saying he wanted those people to become part of the so they can fully engage in the process.

Commissioner Geoff Neustadt said he wanted to clarify to anyone tuning in for the first time that the village engaged the residents and the residents engaged village staff and council members.

Gordon said that one issue she had was when the residents found out about the proposal. There was a lot of dialogue going on between the developer and others before it ever came to residents, she said, “and I think we need to change where we’re engaged.”

With the Walgreens issue of the table, the rest of the meeting followed in short order.

The consent agenda passed unanimously and the few items on the active agenda and first read were taken care of quickly. 

Electrical aggregation was back before the council—they voted to authorize the village manager to enter into a contract with an electrical supplier for a 24-month term. Village staff reported that, based on initial pricing, the average resident would save about $350 a year.

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