Council: Let Them Have Cake—or At Least Cookies

By Martin Henderson

It was a no-brainer, a decision so easy rival councilmen Adam Nick and Peter Herzog could agree without so much as a backhanded compliment.

After passing a nearly $75 million budget on Tuesday at the City Council meeting for Lake Forest, the four men and one woman on the council got down to crunch time. 

Cookies, or no cookies? 

Without so much as a question—the impact on the budget wasn't even brought up in the discussion—the council voted unanimously Tuesday to usher in the era of cookies and coffee served at Planning Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission meetings. 

The goodies have been served off and on—but mostly on—at council meetings dating back to incorporation in December, 1991. However, at other public meetings in local government, the only refreshment option has been water—albeit cold water.

Former councilwoman Marcia Rudolph spoke publicly and recounted the old days when Oreos emerged as the favorite cookie at council meetings—and she clearly still has a soft spot for the venerable treat.

Jim Gardner, too, spoke in favor of the refreshments, citing the solid public turnout at those commission meetings and that, not to be outdone, the Planning Commission could carry a meeting past 10 p.m. just as easily as the council could.

Longtime councilwoman Kathryn McCullough, making a case for refreshments, argued that some people come to meetings from work and that a couple of cookies serve as the bridge to a late dinner.

According to city clerk Stephanie Smith, cookies currently come from a local bakery, at a reduced price, and the whole spread—cookies, coffee and staff time—shakes out to about $20 per meeting. 

Smith figured a rough estimate of the damage to the budget—for two council meetings and two planning commission meetings per month, and one parks and rec meeting—would be about $1,200 annually, give or take a few crumbs.