1996-450 IV 0
RESOLUTION NO. 96- 45
WHEREAS, Lake County is blessed with the recreational opportunities provided by Lake Michigan,
including swimming, pleasure boating and fishing; and,
WHEREAS, these opportunities attract an increasing number of participants to the Lake Michigan
shoreline, including over 3,000 recreations boaters in Lake County; and,
WHEREAS, the U.S. Coast Guard has as one of its charges helping to provided for the public safety
of individuals availing themselves of the recreational opportunities provided on Lake Michigan, as well
as for the protection of the boating and shipping traffic on the inland waterways of the United States;
and,
WHEREAS, the Coast Guard has operated the Chicago Air Station rescue unit stations at Glenview
Naval Air Stations to assist in rescue operation in the southern portion of Lake Michigan; and,
WHEREAS, following the announcement of the closure of the Glenview Naval Air Station, the Coast
Guard was informed that the Chicago Air Stations rescue unit would have to be relocated; and,
WHEREAS, Congressman John Porter was instrumental in inserting language into funding legislation
requiring that the Coast Guard maintain a presence in southern Lake Michigan; and,
WHEREAS, following a review of alternate sites, including the Waukegan Regional Airport, the Coast
Guard announced its decision to reduce its expense of building new housing for rescue teams by billeting
the rescue teams at its regional headquarters in Traverse City, Michigan and establishing a 24 hours
rotation schedule to send rescue teams to its new location at Muskegon, Michigan; and,
WHEREAS, the proposed location would require that a rescue team travel approximately 30 minutes
to each a distressed boat off the Lake County or Chicago shorelines as opposed to approximately 10 to
15 minutes if the rescue team were based at the Waukegan Regional Airport; and,
WHEREAS, while the need to examine and reduce governmental expenditures is a high priority, it
should not be done at the expense of providing for the public safety.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of
Buffalo Grove, Illinois objects to the decision of the U.S. Coast Guard to relocate the Chicago Air
Station rescue team from the Glenview Naval Air Station to Muskegon, Michigan; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the President and Board of Trustees requests that the Coast Guard
reopen this case to re- examine the criteria, and the facts on which its decision was based, and to receive
additional input from other interested individual and governmental agencies regarding the use of the
Waukegan Regional Airport as the site of the rescue teams.
AYES: 6 - Marierthal, Reid, Rubin, Braiman, Hendricks. Glover
NAYES: 0 - None ABSENT: 0 - None
PASSED: October .7, 1996 APPROVED: October 7. 1996
ATTEST: APPR
Villag lerk S NEY H. MATHIAS, Villa esi nt