Ron Westphal Chevy Asks For Your Help

I'm copying a letter here sent by Brian Caldwell of Ron Westphal Chevy asking you write your state legislators urging them to support the Automobile Dealers Economic Rights Recovery Act of 2009. Westphal Chevy is a long time member of the Warrenville Chamber of Commerce and is heavily involved in the Warrenville community.

Warrenville is split between District 13 (Judy Biggert) and District 14 (Bill Foster). Their contact information is:

Representative Judy Biggert, (13th District)
Washington, DC Office
1034 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-3515
Fax: 202-225-9420

District Office
6262 South Route 83, Suite 305
Willowbrook, IL 60527
Phone: 630-655-2052
Fax: 630-655-1061


Representative Bill Foster, (14th District)
WASHINGTON, DC OFFICE
1339 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2976
Toll Free: (866) 777-6670
Fax: (202) 225-0697

BATAVIA OFFICE
27 North River Street
Batavia, IL 60510
Phone: (630) 406-1114
Toll Free: (866) 324-6128
Fax: (630) 406-1808

June 18, 2009


Good Morning Everybody,

I regret that I have to write this e-mail but I am asking that all of you follow the link below and use the prewritten letter and forward it to all of the Congressional list. If we can get H.R. 2743 passed it would save hundreds of jobs and local businesses.

If you didn't know, your local car dealership is responsible for 15-20% of the sales tax that comes into a local community(quoted by city manager of manager of Monroeville, Pa.on December 1 2008). Also your local dealership is involved in the community that it serves, from Chamber of Commerce, Rotary and other service groups. If the local dealership goes away what will happen to our taxes? If the local dealership goes away what happens to all of the community events/ programs that the dealership sponsors? Just remember when the local dealership is gone the community suffers as well.

I never thought in 14 years of selling cars that I would be writing this e-mail but I am, and I am asking all of my friends and family to take the time to write your Congressional leaders. It's time for the community to support their local new car dealership.

Please pass the e-mail to everybody on your e-mail list!

Brian Caldwell
Sales Manager
Ron Westphal Chevy


Congressional Contacts Needed on H.R. 2743

The Illinois Automobile Dealers Association reminds you that your assistance is needed to urge the Illinois Congressional Delegation to support House Resolution 2743. IADA extends its appreciation to those dealers who have already contacted their Congressman or woman and to the following Congressmen who have signed on as co-sponsors to H.R. 2743: Jerry Costello (D), Bill Foster (D), Phil Hare (D), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D), John Shimkus (R) and Don Manzullo (R).

H.R. 2743 creates the Automobile Dealers Economic Rights Recovery Act of 2009, which would restore dealer rights that have come under attack by Chrysler and General Motors in the course of their bankruptcy proceedings. Click here for the full text of the legislation.

Please contact your Congressional Representative and ask him or her to sign on as a co-sponsor to H.R. 2743.

Sample Letter:

The Honorable _________
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. Mrs. or Ms,

Through bankruptcy the manufacturers have terminated thousands of dealers, not for the sake of cost, but for an unproven belief that fewer dealerships are better. As a result, my local dealership has lost its franchise. This means fewer choices for me when shopping for a vehicle and my current vehicle cannot be serviced for warranty without traveling excessive miles. In addition, not only will the loss of this business affect me, but also our town has lost a valuable community supporter.

Please support for H.R 2743. This bill will not cost the government or the people of the United States any money. What it will do is reinstate my terminated dealer. Thank you for your support.

Sincerely

Customer

Sunset Developers New Showroom

Sunset Developers in Warrenville hosted a Chamber of Commerce After-Hours event last night to show off their new showroom at 3s523 Batavia Road yesterday. Sunset is run by the brother & sister team of Bill and Grace Langford. Bill has been doing remodeling and improvements for quite a while, and has also built several homes, including the castle at 3s510 Mignin Avenue here in Warrenville.

Bill Langford, Mike Hale, Grace Langford

The showroom currently has 37 different styles of cabinets, countertops and backsplashes. What’s unique here is that you can mix and match all of them (not just a small sample piece!) right in the show room to see how they work together. In fact if you have tile already they can even create a sample backsplash for you.

Their focus is mainly on kitchens and baths, but they’ll do many other types of home improvements as well. Stop by the showroom when you have a chance and welcome them to Warrenville!

March 2009 Market Statistics for Warrenville

March saw a very slow Warrenville real estate market with only three homes sold priced from $172,900 to $211,900. (Median sold price: #203,900).

In March of last year 14 homes were sol d at a median price of $213,500. That’s a 78.5% drop in sales and a median price drop of 4.5%. Average Market Time increased 20% from 140 days in Mar 08 to 168 days in Mar 09.

Today there are 20 homes under contract with an average list price of $166,605, and another 150 active listings in Warrenville with an average list price of $277,344. An average of 9.8 homes sold in each of the last 12 months. With 150 active listings, that gives Warrenville 15.25 months supply of inventory.

These numbers aren’t pretty by any means, especially for sellers, but with mortgage rates still near historical lows, and the $8,000 First Time Homebuyer’s Credit, this is a very good time to be a buyer.

While the steep drop in sales when compared to March 2008 looks pretty scary, remember that Warrenville on average the last 12 months sold 9.8 homes, so the percentage is going to be larger because of the smaller number of homes sold each month.

It remains to be seen what effect the government’s bailout and stimulus plans will have on the housing market, and the economy in general, but many economists are still predicting an end to the recession later this year, with growth beginning in 2010.

* Data according to MRED MLS (which may not include FSBO sales)

Governor Launches Illinois Recovery Website

Wondering how Illinois will benefit from the $787 Billion (that’s with a “B”!) stimulus package? IL Governor Pat Quinn launched a website to information about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and how it relates specifically to Illinois taxpayers.

Illinois will seek part of the $2 Billion set aside for the redevelopment of foreclosed and abandoned homes to help fund its own Neighborhood Stabilization Program which provides emergency assistance to local governments to acquire and rehab foreclosed properties.

If you’re interested in seeing which other state programs will benefit go to the Illinois Recovery Website

Warrenville "State of the City"

I attended Mayor Brummel’s “State of the City” address hosted by the Warrenville Chamber of Commerce at the Courtyard Banquets. It was an overview of what was accomplished last year, and the general plans for 2009.

One very important thing to note is that Warrenville is not operating in debt. Projects and purchases are made with city cash, so there are no additional debt servicing payments. Even though these are some tough economic times, and the city has had to scale back or postpone some projects, overall Warrenville is in good financial shape.

I think this is in no small part due to the mayor and city council being prudent in their spending, and they deserve some credit for that. On a side note, in the upcoming city elections, the mayor and all city council members are running unopposed.

Some major projects/initiatives for this year include funding TIF #3, construction of a sidewalk on the south side of Galusha road, implementing a citywide bike & pedestrian plan, continued construction of the new Hubble Middle School and the next phase of the Warrenville Road resurfacing with permeable pavers. The use of these pavers has brought environmental recognition to the city of Warrenville!

The DuPage river cleanup should continue despite the fact that Tronox, the company that acquired Kerr-McGee, has declared bankruptcy. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out this year. The Forest Preserve purchased the Cenacle Property on Batavia Road, and has plans to build a River ecology education center on the site. This is just one more piece of open space for Warrenville to enjoy!

There were two flooding events this year, and the city hired Strand & Associates to do a study on how future flooding can be prevented. The study is being done in a phased approach, so the total cost of the study itself, or the cost of implementing any of its recommendations won’t be known for a while. I have a friend on Williams Road who suffered some major flooding damage, so preventing it from happening again, if possible, is very important.

I walked away from this event with a positive outlook for the new year, that and a full belly from the delicious food provided!

Related Links: Mayor Brummel's Warrenville State of the City Address

Expanded Parking Lot?

Ran out to get some pop (love my Diet Mountain Dew!) tonight and saw a bunch of Warrenville police lights at Route 59 & Batavia Rd. A car had gone into the ditch by the Family Foods lot. I don’t know if anyone was injured or what the story was, since I got there after the tow truck. It looks like it went straight into the ditch from the BK lot, narrowly missing the fire hydrant.

Always having my trusty Samsung Saga with me I snapped a quick pic!

January 2009 Market Statistics for Warrenville

As I’m writing this, the sun is shining and melting away the snow outside. Hopefully this is a sign that the Warrenville housing market will be heating up too!

There were eight sales* in Warrenville in January priced from $112,500 to $251,000 (median sold price: $182,000). Six were Single Family homes and one Attached home sold.

January of last year saw 11 homes sold at a median price of $185,900. While Jan 08 vs. Jan 09 the total number of homes sold was down 36%, the median price only dropped 2%. On a positive note, the average market time decreased from 200 days (Jan/08) to 119 days (Jan/09), a drop of 40%!

There are currently eleven properties under contract with an average list price of $182,500. There are also 133 active listings with a median list price of $218,500.

* Data according to MRED MLS (which may not include FSBO sales)