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winnetkacurrent.com news<br />

the winnetka current | January 25, 2018 | 3<br />

Winnetka Village Council<br />

Orthodontist office on Gage Street approved by trustees<br />

Nathan Worcester<br />

Freelance Reporter<br />

In a unanimous effort,<br />

Winnetka trustees approved<br />

a special use permit<br />

for an orthodontics office<br />

at 1075 Gage St., which is<br />

within a C-2 commercial<br />

overlay district, at their<br />

Tuesday, Jan. 16 meeting.<br />

Dr. Alex Figueroa, of<br />

Figueroa Orthodontics<br />

LLC, argued his business<br />

would “[Create] a sense<br />

of community and gives<br />

people a reason to come to<br />

the Hubbard Woods downtown...<br />

They can come to<br />

the orthodontist and also<br />

do some of their shopping.”<br />

Trustee Scott Myers<br />

quipped back, saying “I<br />

always like hanging out at<br />

the orthodontist’s office.”<br />

But, on a more serious<br />

note, Myers described the<br />

approval as a test case.<br />

“What kind of exceptions<br />

are we going to allow<br />

in the downtown area, and<br />

how do those exceptions<br />

impact traffic?” he said.<br />

“Does it add to the energy<br />

of the downtown [or] does<br />

it detract from the energy of<br />

downtown?”<br />

Figueroa faced questions<br />

from Trustee Penny Lanphier,<br />

who expressed concerns<br />

the proposed design<br />

would leave a partial dead<br />

space.<br />

In the proposed layout,<br />

the portion of the office<br />

visible through the western<br />

display window would be<br />

filled with orthodontists’<br />

chairs. For privacy reasons,<br />

that area would have to be<br />

partially obscured from the<br />

street by a solar shade or<br />

some other barrier.<br />

Figueroa explained the<br />

firm and its builder were<br />

still determining the office’s<br />

final layout, but that<br />

if the western side of the<br />

office were devoted to patient<br />

care, patients might<br />

have the option of keeping<br />

windows “open to a point”<br />

if they were comfortable<br />

with it.<br />

Lanphier said she “appreciated<br />

[Figueroa’s]<br />

spirit of cooperation” in designing<br />

the office. She also<br />

stated the office’s location<br />

near shopping destinations<br />

would give bored parents<br />

something to do while their<br />

kids are being treated.<br />

After the meeting,<br />

Figueroa concurred his<br />

business was an important<br />

test case for non-retail development<br />

in the Hubbard<br />

Woods area and expanded<br />

on his commitment to the<br />

area.<br />

“I think the Village of<br />

Winnetka is contemplating<br />

what they want to do with<br />

the Hubbard Woods C-2<br />

overlay district and what<br />

other [non-retail] businesses<br />

they want to open it up<br />

to so that they don’t have<br />

to go through this process<br />

[every time],” he said.<br />

Figueroa, who grew up<br />

in Glencoe, emphasized<br />

he hoped his business,<br />

which has a 10-year lease<br />

with two five-year options,<br />

would be a source of stability<br />

and vibrancy in the area.<br />

“I hope that our future<br />

business will come from<br />

people I grew up with and<br />

had relationships with as<br />

well,” Figueroa said.<br />

Exception to a standard<br />

village bid<br />

Trustees unanimously<br />

approved a resolution to<br />

waive the Village’s normal<br />

bidding process for the<br />

purchase of primary utility<br />

cable for 2018 and agree to<br />

a contract with the Okonite<br />

Company, a present supplier<br />

for Winnetka.<br />

Okonite and Resco<br />

(Prysmium Group) both<br />

submitted bids, but their<br />

bids were both considered<br />

non-responsive from a<br />

legal standpoint because<br />

neither vendor accepted<br />

certain terms in the Village<br />

of Winnetka’s contract. The<br />

language in that contract<br />

was recently overhauled by<br />

the village’s attorney, Holland<br />

& Knight LLP.<br />

Although Resco’s bid<br />

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was slightly lower than<br />

Okonite’s, their contractual<br />

requirements were more<br />

onerous than Okonite’s.<br />

In particular, Okonite was<br />

unwilling to alter a clause<br />

allowing them to change<br />

prices with only 30-days<br />

notice.<br />

Though he ultimately<br />

approved the resolution,<br />

Trustee Bob Dearborn expressed<br />

concerns.<br />

“It puts us in a bad position<br />

to be dealing with one<br />

vendor,” he said. “I think<br />

it’s a priority to build out<br />

a process that’s far more<br />

competitive.”<br />

Brian Keys, director of<br />

water and electric for Winnetka,<br />

said there were not<br />

many potential vendors he<br />

considered reliable enough<br />

for primary cable, which is<br />

a non-commodity product.<br />

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