Village turns to Notre Dame as possible site for summer race
By Igor Studenkov | For the Bugle
After the Niles Park District denied the Village of Niles a permit to hold the Niles Cycling Classic in Oak Park, it looked like the event would not happen this year.
But during the March 14 meeting of the Niles General Government Committee, Ross Klicker, the Niles Economic Development Coordinator, said that the village has been talking with the nearby Notre Dame College Prep about holding the event there. The new race route would wind its way through the few blocks to the south of the school. While he was optimistic, he said that some details had to be worked out, and Intelligentsia Cup, which the Classic would be a part of, would need to sign off on the new course.
As previously reported by the Bugle, the first Niles Cycling Classic was in 2017. It was part of Intellegentsia Cup series, a multi-day racing championship across the Chicago area. The previous course circled Oak Park, with bleachers and food vendors set up in the park itself.
The permit for that event was approved before the village and the park district wound up in dispute over the latter’s decision to built a baseball diamond at the northeast corner of Oak Park The neighbors went to the village board to complain that they weren’t given any notice about it being put in place, and that it would hurt their property values and have adverse impact on traffic.
While the park district operates Oak Park, it leases the land from the village. In July 2017, Niles village attorney Danielle Grcic issued a “notice of default” to the park district, saying that it violated the lease. And, when it was found that the permits were issued after the field was actually installed, the village revoked them.
After months of discussions, the park district wound up tearing the field down.
When the village applied for a permit for the 2018 Cycling Classi, the Niles Park District Board of Commissioners voted 2-1 to deny grant the permit, with commissioners Julie Genualdi and Dennis O’Donovan abstaining. Out of the two commissioners who voted against, Commissioner Ray Czarnik told the Bugle that he was responding to residents’ safety concerns, while Commissioner Chris Zalinski cited the baseball field controversy as a reason. The village asked the park district to remove the baseball field because it was used for “active recreation.” A bike race, Zalinski said, was active recreation as well, and the village couldn’t have it both ways.
Niles M ayor Andrew Przybylo subsequently pushed back against that argument. In a Letter to the Editor published on March 7 in Niles Journal, he argued that the lease only applied to permanent structures, and because the race didn’t involve anyone putting up any permanent structures, that clause doesn’t apply to the race.
When the park district rejected the permit, village spokesperson Mitch Johnson told the Bugle that Niles had no choice but to cancel the event. But during the March 14 meeting, Klicker said that the village has been looking for an alternative site.
“We have a verbal agreement with Notre Dame for the proposed [new] race route,” he said. “We believe we’ll have a better situation than we had last year. They will have [food] concessions and more visibility from Dempster [street].”
According to the proposed map provided to the Bugle, the racecourse would start near Notre Dame’s football stadium, on Ozark Avenue. Cyclists would proceed south on Ozark, then turn west on Lee Street, less than a block west from Oak Park, and turn north on Ozanam Street before turning west on Greenleaf Street, then north again on Merrill Street. The cyclists would then turn east on Crain Sreet, taking it back to the starting line.
Klicker said that he hopes that the village would be able to get a go-ahead from Intellegensia Cup in time to allow the village board to approve the necessary event permits at its March 27 meeting.
Formation of Veteran Affairs Commission proposed
Niles Trustee George Alpogianis, who chairs the Niles General Government/IT Committee, asked the members and village staff who attended the March 14 meeting to think about establishing the Veteran Affairs Commission.
The commission would discuss any concerns the village veterans might have and look for ways the village can help them. Alpogianis noted that Niles has several veterans on staff, the village has a Veterans of Foreign Wars post and a memorial where it regularly holds Veterans Day and Memorial Day ceremonies, and the commission would build on that. He encouraged members of his committee to think of ways a Veteran Affairs Commission could help veterans and bring back their ideas to the next General Government Committee meeting, which is currently scheduled for April 11, at 8:45 a.m.
Niles committees and commissions are formed and dissolved at the Niles mayors’ discretion. Mayors have the power to appoint members, but any appointment must be confirmed by the Village of Niles Board of Trustees.
Alpogianis explained that he only had a very general idea of what the new commission would actually do – but he felt it was important that the village put something in place.
“We are who were are in this great country because of blood and sweat of those [veterans],” he said. “i think there is a lot of good we can do in this committee.”
He said that it wouldn’t have to meet monthly – like the Niles Human Services Committee, it might only need to meet quarterly.
One of the ideas Alpogianis proposed was setting up a program that would make it easier for veterans to get access to service animals. But ultimately, he said that what he really wanted was to hear from everybody else.
“[I want to see] if everybody can come up with at least one idea that may or may not work,” he said.
Like all public village meetings, April 11 meeting will be open to the public, so residents can come in and suggest their ideas as well.