Is it correct, though, that it doesn't include snow removal? That doesn't make any sense to me: it's crucial to a healthy business district. Is the budget available online somewhere?

if you notice their budget, most of the money is for maintenance.

To tag on to Chris's comment earlier about Evmark, what exactly is the SSA money going towards if not for things like snow removal? I believe that Devcorp pays for both snow and trash removal along Howard street. While marketing the downtown area is an important common expense, keeping it maintained is much more important.

Junad. Talking about the township is fine. Talking about school districts is fine. But, I don't think talking about them on the 8th ward board is appropriate. Ann has provided other boards for those discussions and I believe you should show some net etiquette and not use the 8th ward specific board for general topics.

That is a very fair bit on coyotes in Evanston.

From the Chief of Police and the Animal Warden


EVANSTON’S URBAN COYOTES

When one hears a family of coyotes howling, it is easy to get the impression
that the area is overflowing with coyotes. In reality, there are usually just
2-6 coyotes, including the pups. Howling is the main way for coyotes to
communicate with other coyotes. While some people find it unnerving, this
howl serves many purposes, none of which are malicious. This howl is
telling non-family members to stay out of their territory. A coyotes established
territory may vary in size from 2 to 30 square miles. Pups practice howling
and can be very vocal in late summer as they attempt to mimic their parents.
When there is a potential threat towards the pups, the older coyotes will scatter
throughout the area and howl in order to distract the threat away from the
den site.

Due to the misconceptions and fears about coyotes, many people don’t recognize
the beneficial aspects that coyotes contribute to our ecosystem. Predators, such
as the coyote, serve a valuable function in keeping prey species in balance with
their habitat. Populations of small animals, such as rodents, could increase out of
control without predators. Coyotes are opportunistic feeders, meaning they will
feed on whatever is most readily available and easy to obtain. Their primary
foods include small rodents (especially rats), fruit, berries, rabbits, birds, snakes,
frogs, and insects. They will scavenge on animal remains, including road-kills,
as well as garbage and pet food left outdoors. In suburban areas they prey upon
unprotected pets, including outdoor house cats and unsupervised domestic small
dogs.

Coyotes are naturally afraid of people and their presence alone is not a cause for
concern. However if a resident feels that a coyote is acting strangely please do not
hesitate to contact Animal Control at (847) 866-5080, and speak with one of the
Animal Wardens.

PREVENTING CONFLICTS WITH COYOTES

Don’t let coyotes intimidate you! Don’t hesitate to scare or threaten coyotes
with loud noises and bright lights.. Don’t hesitate to pick up small objects,
such as a tennis ball, and throw them at the coyote. If a water hose is close
at hand, spray the coyote with water in the face. Let the coyote know it is
unwelcome in your area.

Secure your garbage! Coyotes will raid open trash materials and compost
piles. Secure your garbage in tough plastic containers with tight fitting lids
and keep in secure buildings when possible. Take out trash the morning pick
up is scheduled, not the previous night. Keep compost piles in containers
designed to contain but vent the material.

Don’t feed or try to pet coyotes! Keep wild things wild! Feeding, whether
direct or indirect, can cause coyotes to act tame and over time may lead
to bold behavior. Coyotes that rely on natural food items remain wild and
wary of humans.

Keep pets safe! Although free roaming pets are more likely to be killed
by automobiles than by wild animals, coyotes do view cats and small dogs
as potential food and larger dogs (old) as competition. For the safety of
your pets, keep them restrained at all times.

Feed pets indoors! Outdoor feeding attracts many wild animals to your
door!

Keep bird feeding areas clean! Use feeders designed to keep seed off
the ground as the seed attracts many small mammals that coyotes prey upon.
Remove feeders if coyotes are regularly seen around your yard.

Close off crawl spaces under porches and sheds! Coyotes use such areas
for resting and raising young.

Cut back brushy edges in your yard! These areas provide cover for
coyotes and their prey. Also if you have fruit trees make sure to pick
up any fallen fruit off of the ground, and dispose of properly.

Educate your neighbors! Pass this information along since your efforts
will be futile if neighbors are providing food or shelter for coyotes.

Kristin - feel free - we were laughing about this at city hall tonight.

I'm not gonna bother the 8th Ward listserv, but I just *had* to say to someone, somewhere, "There! He did it! Barack Obama called himself a mutt!" Now do "we" forgive Hecky? I guess if Barack can say it, it must be okay. And in my view, it always has been. My, how far we have all come now!

It seem to be an annual contribution. Here is the item from the October 27 Council Agenda:

Recommendation from the Economic Development Committee to provide $132,000 in annual fiscal year funding (2009-10) for EVMARK

Annual funding request for $132,000 from EVMARK to bridge the operational budget funding gap. The City Council agreed to fund the difference between the levy for the special service district and its budget in an amount not to exceed $138,000 annually.

I knew about the condos being refunded their money, but didn't realize the City was adding-back the money to Evmark. Is that a one-time deal, or are they fixing this mistake from here on out?

I don't disagree that SSAs need accountability; it doesn't seem to be built-in to the law (in the way it is, for instance, for non-profits) Howard Street also has an SSA for the Chicago side of the street. I'd love to see where the money goes in both cases.

Michele,
You are correct in the fact that a majority of funding comes from the taxes paid by the businesses they serve. However, when the condo residents of the downtown taxing district rightly protested that they were being unfairly taxed earlier this year, the City approved a contribution to EvMark.

The $132,000 that the Council approved for EvMark was part of this deal. So, this year the taxpayers of Evanston are contributing $132,000 to an organization whose mission is to market downtown Evanston. It just seems to me that the emphasis of their marketing effort should be solely on downtown and that the EvMark name should be a tiny footnote at the bottom of any marketing materials.

I don't question the need for marketing the downtown, however I have concerns when an organization using our tax dollars seems to be more concerned with the EvMark brand than the downtown Evanston brand. I just want to know that someone is watching how our money is spent and is demanding quantifiable results.

Isn't Evmark an SSA? If so, they're not really getting money from the City, but from tax dollars collected from the business properties they serve, who are supposed to be directing their efforts. http://www.evanstondra.org/history.html
There's an PDF outlining SSA law here http://www.friedmanco.com/

Not to say that a clearer picture wouldn't be a good thing, but Evmark shouldn't really have an effect on the City's Budget one way or the other.

Chris,

They have to blow their own horn. How else do they get money from the city?

I agree, we should have some quantitative measure of what they are doing with that money, besides marketing themselves.

Exactly what have they accomplished in the past several years? What sort of revenue increase to the city can be traced to the money that is given them?

It is time for zero based budgeting!

I'd like a clearer picture of what "EvMark" is doing for the City of Evanston for the recent $132,000 taxpayer funded contribution (see October 27 City Council). From visiting their website (www.evmark.org) it seems like they are marketing themselves and not downtown Evanston. It doesn't make any sense from a marketing perspective to be advertising the "EvMark" brand when they should be advertising EVANSTON. When you google downtown Evanston, the link BEFORE EvMark is www.downtownevanston.org. Now THAT makes sense! However, that site appears to be a privately run site by one of the downtown merchants that understands the "brand".

When you click on the EvMark site, the headline proudly states that you have reached an "organization" that apparently "manages and markets downtown Evanston" Why doesn't the website simply market the downtown and put its self-interests as a link at the bottom of the page? It seems to me that EvMark should re-evaluate its priorities and start marketing the City instead of themselves. You would think that $130,000 in salaries for two full-time employees would buy some common sense.

I don't have a problem with "investing" money in marketing downtown. However, I do have a problem when the marketing of the organization is more prominent than what they are supposed to be marketing.