Yes, I remember quite well, then-Mayor Tom Wenham saying “there will never be a house on a golf course as long as I’m the mayor,” and then a few of months later Tom voted and expedited changing zoning to facilitate building houses on my/our Binks Forest Golf Course.
Yes, the village had stopped “enforcing code” earlier at the course, leaving Binks communities with unsightly, uncut fields and the ensuing vermin, and a vandalized building. Yes, the village then facilitated new ownership with a higher-valued real estate, courtesy of a zoning change, allowing for residential construction.
Yes, the village, could have enforced our code as was/is its responsibility, especially after the bank took over, with fines and an order to maintain the property — such small things such as turning on the sprinklers, a minimum of mowing and repairs to unsightly broken windows. The bank might have sold it sooner at a bargain price to another golf-building conglomerate, to avoid their expensive maintenance responsibilities and fines. Instead, the village did some mowing and bought a machine for that enterprise, as I recall.
Yes, and right now as I write this, some developer is making a profit selling units for $350,000-plus per — a tidy profit to be sure.
Yes, now move forward to Tom Wenham’s backyard, an old golf course property, but at least well-maintained, unlike ours. Apparently, Tom is not happy with the prospect of development, and neither is neighbor Al Paglia, another former council member, as reported in our Town-Crier. The same neighbors of his, who never said a peep about Binks course development, are now crying NIMBY (not in my backyard), and I suspect, Binks residents don’t care either.
Yes, I’m also betting any scheduled village meeting on the subject will not be cancelled after the residents arrive, as was done to Binks Forest residents.
Yes, I admit telling my wife, and perhaps others, way back when, “I can’t wait until [Glenn] Straub (owner of said property) decides to build behind Tom’s house,” as the precedent has been set for developing golf courses in Wellington, by Tom Wenham’s council, a kind of “good for the goose” thing.
Yes, I think the man upstairs has a sense of humor, or it’s just belated justice, with a tinge of irony.
I would like to thank the Town-Crier for giving us this opportunity for citizens of Wellington and the western communities to voice our/your concerns, and I urge others to make use of this forum/platform to get involved, our democracy needs our voices. Otherwise, special interests prevail.
George Unger, Wellington
