About Town

Plainfield Township Seeking Plans for New Senior Wing

Officials have requested design proposals from three architectural firms, but said they won't release more details until next month.

Plainfield Township officials are keeping mum on the identities of the architects they've asked to submit design plans for a new senior addition. Three architectural firms has been asked to submit design proposals for the new wing planned for the north side of the township building. The addition is expected to cost $500,000, the bulk of which will be shared by the Plainfield Park District and Plainfield Township. The township has preliminary sketches from Plainfield architect Michael Lambert showing a recreation area, a "living-room-like" lounge and a loft office for senior service administrators. Lambert designed the current township hall, built in 2005. State law allows township governments to bypass the bidding process for some …

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All in All, Township's Biz Climate Not as Bad as Expected

Assessors say they looked at 500 commercial properties this summer and found a 16 percent vacancy rate and an average 14 percent drop in property value.

Plainfield Township’s business environment is not as bad as had been feared, assessors say. After visiting and assessing more than 500 commercial properties this summer, assessors found about a 16 percent vacancy rate. Because of dropping property values, commercial property assessments will decline by about 14 percent on average. In a normal economy, assessors would expect to see 10 percent vacancy in business properties, said Vern Kugath, deputy assessor for Plainfield Township, speaking at Wednesday’s Plainfield Township Board meeting. “We are a little healthier than we would have thought,” he said. But those figures are averages, Kugath said, with wide variations on either side of the curve. The assessments, for example, do not …

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Eyes on Plainfield

5:57 pm on Thursday, January 10, 2013

Good point...If Plainfield Township's financial position is so good, why not pass it on to the taxpayer?   more ›

Food Pantry's Staying in Township Building, Officials Say

Plainfield Township wants to end rumors that it's trying to push the charity to find a new location.

Six months after a dispute erupted between Plainfield Township and the Plainfield Area Interfaith Food Pantry, township officials are eager to end rumors that they want the charity to leave its township hall digs. “We are trying to settle all our differences and nobody is thinking about trying to get them out of the building,” township Clerk Anita Gerardy said at Wednesday's township board meeting. While the township committee formed to helped settle the food pantry issues is still working through the final phases of an in-depth review, food pantry organizers have agreed to add a second Saturday food distribution, committe member Gerardy said. “I am very happy about the way this has turned out,” she said. “We have resolved every issue.” …

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Food Pantry Says It Will Do Study to Address Township's Complaints

Township officials say the pantry's once-a-month food distribution system is causing "mob scenes."

The Plainfield Area Interfaith Food Pantry, responding to Plainfield Township's criticism of its operation, has brought in a consultant to come up with ways to improve its service, the township board was told Wednesday night. Barbara Seiden, a Plainfield stay-at-home mom and food pantry volunteer, will use skills honed as a consultant for the global management consulting firm Accenture, to do a "process review" study. In it, volunteers will be interviewed and other food pantry systems examined, Seiden said. Township officials have been unhappy with the pantry's food distribution system, which Supervisor John Argoudelis says causes a "mob scene." Distributing food just one day a month is creating a perilous situation as pantry patrons …

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About Town

Hard Feelings Over Mosquito Spraying -- or Lack Thereof -- Put to Rest

Plainfield Township Supervisor John Argoudelis says Trustee Bill Lamb's irritation was due to a misunderstanding.

Plainfield Township Supervisor John Argoudelis and Plainfield Village Trustee Bill Lamb are exterminating a fracas over sandbags and mosquito control. It started late this summer when Lamb got word that the township was looking into buying a sandbagging machine. At a village board meeting, Lamb wondered aloud whether the expense was justified considering the township had cut back on mosquito control this year. The township this week decided to sandbag on the sandbag machine idea, deciding that, for now at least, it wasn't worth the money. But Argoudelis wants to set this mosquito squabble straight for once and for all, he said at the Wednesday night meeting. The township did not cut back on extra mosquito spraying this year, he said. In …

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