By Jeff Vorva
Windy City Vape will not be allowed to sell its wares at the Orland Square Mall.
The village board voted 6-0, with Trustee Sean Kampas absent, Monday to deny increasing the numbers of Class B tobacco licenses from 10 to 11, which would have allowed Rubber Ducky LLC’s Windy City Vape to sell vape and vaping accessories out of a kiosk at the mall.
“This is not where we want this new facility to be,” Trustee Brian Riordan said. “It’s a family-friendly place with young adults. I bring my daughters there.”
“It does pose another burden on the police department,” added Trustee Cynthia Nelson Katsenes.
Zoning objections
The board passed a resolution objecting to the zoning actions requested for the property at 9920 W. 187th Street in Mokena for a truck repair facility.
Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau said that even though this is a Mokena issue, the area in which the property is located is close enough to Orland Park to cause issues with too many trucks on the road.
“This is becoming a common theme,” he said. “Will Country wants to change an R1-zoned property (residential) to I2 (industrial) and when you go by that property, there are hundreds of trucks parked there and going in and out of there.
“Mokena is supporting us on this, and I hope this time that Will County listens to our objections. Will County is not there taking care of those roads and Will County is not there doing any enforcement whatsoever. Quite frankly, the places look awful. There are plenty of other places for them to go to.”
Strategic plan starts up
The board and staff will put their heads together for a strategic plan for the coming years.
The vision statement said the village will address transparent, open and honest government, customer service, fiscal responsibility, teamwork and excellence.
Pekau will be working with public works and engineering. Trustee William Healy will work with finance. Katsenes will work with the police. Trustee Michael Milani will work with IT. Kampas will work with developmental services. Riordan will work with recreation. Trustee Joni Radaszewski will work with human resources and communication.
Something to cheer about
The Orland Park Pioneers earned community pride awards for cheerleading.
The lightweight, junior varsity and varsity teams were lauded for winning Illinois Cheerleading Association state titles in DeKalb in December.
