My last column, "Preparing and Sharing" discussed how our village is cooperating with other surrounding municipalities to reduce costs, share services and prepare for emergencies. The enhanced communication and increased dialogue will help us to provide better services and maintain or reduce our expenses. The same communication process that we are utilizing on the governmental level we hope to see at the residential level. We need the residents of our village to participate and get involved in the decisions that affect us.

Public hearings are one of the best ways to share ideas and inform the residents of the village. Our next Village Trustees meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 24 will provide an excellent opportunity for you to participate in two public hearings. They will focus on the future repairs of the roads in the village and a very interesting emerging concept, aging in place. During the road bond hearing we will discuss the roads that still need to be repaved or repaired and in what priority. We will evaluate the existing needs and look at many other factors that will affect the schedule. Items such as the condition of the sewer and water systems in the areas. We intend to do it right the first time, making sure that everybody is on the same page and that the bond meets all the needs outlined. Residents will have time to alert the board of conditions on their roads and discuss the proper way to proceed with the best interest of all involved. The aging-in-place portions will introduce and explore an exciting new concept that involves pairing seniors together and creating special zones that could allow seniors to share homes with non-family members. Concepts include: shared living residences, accessory apartments, elder cottages and match-up home sharing to name a few. I hope that you will join us during our "Pairing and Paving" discussions and become part of the concerned residents who do make a difference in our community.