STATE OF ILLINOIS

COUNTY OF COOK

BTL/10/1/03

Attorney No. 90068

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OCT 012003

BEFORE THE ILLiNOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOA

lATE

0//U

tIo~

Controj Board

MORRY GABEL, MYRA GABEL,

DON FOREMAN, MARSHA FOREMAN,

KEITH PINSONEAULT and TRACY PINSONEAULT.

)

)

)

)

Complainant,

)

)

)

ss.

)

THE WEALSHIRE, INC., an

ILLINOIS CORPORATION.

)

)

No. PCB 03-3 8

)

)

)

)

)

)

NOTICE OF FILING

Bradley P. Halloran

Hearing Officer

Illinois Pollution Control Board

James R. Thompson Center, Suite 11-500

100 West Randolph Street

Chicago, IL 60601

Mitchell S. Feinberg

Chuhak & Tecson, P.C.

30 South Wacker Drive

Suite 2600

Chicago, IL 60606

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on the

/

day of October, 2003, there was filedwith the

Illinois

Pollution

Control

Board

Respondent’s

Motion

To

Stay

Proceedings,

a

copy of which

is

attached and herewith served upon you.

Bruce T.

Logan

Ash, Anos, Freedman & Logan, L.L.C.

77 West Washington Street

Chicago, IL 60602

312-346-1389

Attorneys for Respondent

vs.

Respondent.

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CLEIkK’S OFFICE

OCT

0

12003

STATE OF ILLINOIS

The undersigned, being first duly sworn on oath, deposes and says ~

and foregoingNotice ofFiling and Motion To Stay Proceedings by mailing a copy to:

Bradley P. Halloran

Hearing Officer

Illinois Pollution Control Board

James R. Thompson Center

Suite 11-500

100 West Randolph Street

Chicago, IL 60601

FAX 312-814-3669

Mitchell S. Feinberg

Chuhak & Tecson, P.C.

30 South Wacker Drive.

Suite 2600

Chicago, IL 60606

FAX 312-444-9027

and depositing

same in the U.S.

Mail Chute at 77 WestWashington Street, Chicago, Illinois 60602,

at 5:00 P.M.

on October

1, 2003, with proper postage prepaid and by faxing a copy to the numbers

indicated above on October 1, 2003.

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Subscribed and sworn to before me

this/~~day

ofOctober,

2003

O~A’RCD~TH

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~

STATE

OF

ILLI~O~s

MY

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~

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~XP~~$:O3/16/o4

~

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BTL/10/1/03

Attorney No.

90068

STATE OF ILLINOIS

COUNTY OF COOK

CLERICS OFFtC~

OCT

o

12003

STATE OF ILLINOIS

POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

STATE OF ILLINOIS

100 W. RANDOLPH STREET, SUTTE

11-500

pollutIon

Control

Board

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60601

MORRY GABEL, MYRA GABEL,

)

DON FOREMAN, MARSHA FOREMAN,

)

KEITH PINSONEAULT and TRACY PINSONEAULT.

)

)

Complainants,

)

)

vs.

)

No. PCB 03-38

)

THE WEALSHIRE,

INC., an

)

ILLINOIS CORPORATION.

)

)

Respondent.

)

)

MOTION TO STAY PROCEEDINGS

NOW COMES the Respondent,

THE

WEALSHIIRE,

INC.,

an Illinois

Corporation, by its

Attorneys, Ash, Anos, Freedman & Logan, L.L.C., and moves that this cause be stayed to allow the

Respondent

to

continue

modifications

to

its

air conditioning

system

and

for an

opportunity

to

conduct its

own testing after the improvements to the air conditioning equipment have been made,

upon the following:

1.

The Wealshire, Inc.

is the operator ofa residential Alzheimer’s

disease care facility

and home.

This matter came on a citizens’ Complaint of six individuals under

§5/31(d)

ofthe Act.

The Complaint was filed on September 27,

2002, which inexplicably complained of a year-round

noise allegedly emanating from The Wealshire’s airconditioning units.

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2.

The Complainants filed their Complaint on September 27,

2002 without providing

The

Wealshire with

a copy

of any

written report

concerning

the

claim

of noise

pollution.

The

Complainants’

report

was

not

issued

until

December

31,

2002

and

was

not

provided to

The

Wealshire until some time early in February of2003.

Once it received the report, The Wealshire

couldnot perform its own test until late June of2003, since the system was not operable.

3.

The

Complaint

was

later

amended

on

February

25,

2003.

This

was

after

the

Complainants were informed that the air conditioning equipment does not operate year round, but

operates only during the

spring, summer,

and

early fall seasons

-

from the middle ofJune until the

end

of September.

During

the remainder

of the

year,

it

is

winterized with

ethanol

to

prevent

freezing, since it is a water based cooling system.

4.

To

the Wealshire’s knowledge,

its

facility was in complete compliance with

local

zoning requirements ofthe Village ofLincoinshire.

The Trane air conditioning units,

including the

chillers

and

compressors, are standard units

which

are

surrounded by

8’5”

solid

masonry walls.

The walls on the Complainants’ side are fronted by tall pine trees.

5.

Under

normal enforcement procedures

under

§5/31

(a)(1),

the Respondent would

have been given notice by the Board

and

an opportunity

to

review technical tests

concerning

the

decibel level and proposed remedial resolutions under §5/31 (a)(1), (b), and

(c) p~ç~

to

the filing of

a formal complaint as provided in

§5/31(c).

It would have been given an opportunity to come into

compliance prior to

the

filing of a formal complaint

(~5/31),

and it would have been given notice

under

§5/31(c)

that

there

was

financing

available

under

the

Illinois

Environmental

Facilities

Financing Act.

6.

The

Wealshire, once it reviewed the report

and before it was able

to

confirm the

complained ofnoise conditions

by its own independent testing, began looking into possible means

-2-

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of quieting any noise emanating from the

system.

Inquiry was made to

the manufacturer, Trane,

which recommended O’Neill Engineered Systems, Inc. ofHartland, Wisconsin (herein “O’Neill”).

They were contacted and provided recommendations.

7.

Based

on

the

O’Neill

reconmiendations,

The

Wealshire

began

remedial

modification during the pendency ofthe claim,

including the following:

A.

The

entire

operation of the air conditioning

equipment was changed from

manual

controls

to

automatic

controls,

which

were

thermostatically

set

to

run

on

the

temperature range of 73°,plus

or minus 2°.

This

means the temperature range within the

facility is 3°to

5°

higherthan in prior years.

B.

Hillrnan

Mechanical

was

hired

to

check

all

of

the

air

conditioning

equipment and anything needing attention or repairs was repaired.

This

included repair to

Compressor No. 2 and changes to the fan and blade.

This was completed on June 24, 2003.

C.

A

formal

assessment

was made of the system

by

O’Neill.

Their

initial

recommendations

were

contrary of the

local zoning

ordinances and would

have taken an

extensive

amount

of time

to

implement,

because of the need

to

petition the Village

of

Lincoinshire for variances to its building code.

D.

O’Neill

then recommended the

installation of a

sound

insulation

blanket

system.

This

system was purchased

from O’Neill

and

the installation was

completed on

July

18, 2003.

O’Neill’s testing showed a reducednoise level.

E.

O’Neill’s

other

recommendations

were

the

installation of perforated

steel

and insulation

noise absorption panels for the inside walls ofthe masonry enclosure, and a

deflecting wooden shield mounted above the

8’5”

masonry enclosure on the Complainants’

side.

This equipmentwas ordered and will be completed by the end ofOctober, 2003.

-3-

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8.

A

complete

installation of the

modifications

may not

be

accomplished before the

first frost.

The

system

must

now be

winterized to

protect

its

integrity.

Winterization work

is

performed by

an

outside

firm

and

it

is

costly.

Winterization

costs

approximately $3,000.00.

It

involves draining the water from the entire system and replacing it with ethanol in order to prevent

freezing

and

bursting

of

the

water

circulation

pipes.

The

system

cannot

operate

once

it

is

winterized.

9.

Until

completion of the

installation

of the

improvements to

the

system

and

the

restart of the system next June, it will be

impossible for the Respondent to conduct its

own sound

test to determine if the decibel level resulting from the modifications

and insulation has diminished.

A preliminary test performed by O’Neill

indicates the initial

improvement, i.e. the installation of

the

sound

deadening jackets,

has

reduced the

decibel

level

significantly.

At

this

point, O’Neill

indicates the installation ofthe sound deadening panels will further mitigate the decibel level.

10.

To

proceed

with

discovery

and

a

hearing

before

the

Respondent

has

had

an

opportunity

to modify the air conditioning

system

and

to

conduct its

own independent

final tests

would

impose an unreasonable

and arbitrary hardship

on the Respondent.

A stay will not impose

any hardship on the Complainants, sincethe system willbe shut downuntil June, 2004.

A stay will

prevent a waste ofeconomic resources ofthe parties and the Board, since the modifications

should

satisfy

the sound

level

complaints.

As

far

as the Respondent can

determine,

there

is

no

other

reasonably

economic

method

of

sound

suppression

available,

other

than

that

already

being

implemented by the Respondent.

11.

It would

pose a completely unreasonable and arbitrary hardship on the Respondent

to

turn offthe air conditioning system during the summer months.

This would

force a closing of

-4-

---

the facility.

The Alzheimer’s patients cannot be without the benefit of air conditioning

during the

summer season.

WHEREFORE, the Respondent, THE WEALSHIRE, iNC., an Illinois Corporation, moves

that

a

stay

be

granted

staying

these

proceedings

until

the

final

installation

of the

proposed

modifications

by the Respondent and until after the Respondent has had an

opportunity to conduct

its own independent sound testing.

Respondent respectfully requests that this cause be stayed until

June 30, 2004 to prevent an unreasonable and arbitrary hardship

on the Respondent.

THE WEALSHIRE, INC.

an Illinois Corporation

~

sh,’Aiios,

re

an & Logan, L.L.C.

Bruce T. Logan

Ash, Anos, Freedman & Logan, L.L.C.

77 West Washington Street

Chicago, IL 60602

312-346-1389

Attorneys forRespondent

AttorneyNo. 90068