Following up on last meeting’s discussion over how best to control Sycamore’s growth, the council voted to pass an ordinance that sets a 250-unit limit on new homes annexed into the city.

“It’s late, but it’s good,” said Sycamore resident Peter Barick before the council. It was the same position he stood when he addressed the council a month ago and then again two weeks later, protesting the annexation of B&B Development’s 740-home subdivision.

That subdivision passed because the construction timeline was pushed back, and with the final phases of previously-annexed subdivisions before the council this meeting, he was back with a similar message.

Referring to the 2010 timetable, he said, “Fifty months away – that’s not long at all, just a few pairs of shoes away.”

Despite his protests along with another resident, the city passed the ordinances allowing 262 additional living units into Sycamore.

As City Manager Bill Nicklas noted, the option of completely wiping these final phases wasn’t an option since they were already approved. As it is, Wiseman-Hughes Enterprises’ 190-unit development already had about 100 units knocked off it. Also, the subdivision’s central park was expanded and located more centrally among the various walking paths in the area.

The question of how to golf has also come up many times. Some say it is a sport, others say not. “If you can drink alcohol while doing it, it’s not a sport” goes the saying. Either way, Sycamore is allowing its sporting residents to sip a cold one while they tee-off.

Following a successful probationary period, the park district thought it appropriate to ask for autonomy in serving alcohol on the greens. The council obliged, but only because the selling has been so successful.

The primary concern, as park district Director Dave Peek put it, was “the character of the course would change.” Children often frequent the tees with their parents to learn the game, and with the presence of alcohol, the family-friendly atmosphere could have been compromised.

But it didn’t happen that way, as the alcohol servers allow only one sale at a time, and the beverages are available only an average of every five holes because the golf cart that carries it has to make its rounds.

On money matters, Sycamore passed its annual audit with flying colors. Their general reserve fund grew about $950,000 to more than $5.1 million in the past year, with other notable gains in the sewer and water funds.

But numbers don’t always tell the whole picture, so 4th Ward Council Member Terry Kessler asked if the city was “healthy.”

Dennis Hildebrandt, part of the Siepert and Co. audit team, replied, “Yes, you’re very healthy. You’re in a good position.”