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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/08/1995 CS minutes MAYOR GERALD L FARLEY TRUSTEES GEORGE A. CLOWES TIMOTHY J. CORCORAN RICHARD N. HENDRICKS PAUL WM HOEFERT MICHAELE W. SKOWRON IRVANA K. WILKS VILLAGE MANAGER MICHAEL E. JANDNIS VILLAGE CLERK CAROL A FIELDS lfJ~L~IJ'!l.&I1.Ii1~ @)~lf~ , . '2.0 -o~ Village of Mount Prospect 100 South Emerson Street Mount Prospect. Illinois 60056 CONFIDENTIAL Phone: 708 / 392-6000 Fax: 708 / 392-6022 TOO: 708 / 392-6064 MINUTES CLOSED SESSION NOVEMBER 8, 1995 The Closed Session was called to order at 9:24 p.m., in the conference room of the Village Hall, 100 South Emerson Street, for the purpose of discussing Litigation and Personnel. Present at the Closed Session were: Mayor Gerald Farley; Trustees George Clowes, *Timothy Corcoran, Richard Hendricks, Paul Hoefert, Michaele Skowron and Irvana Wilks. Also present were: Village Manager Michael Janonis, Assistant Village Manager David Strahl, Village Attorney Everette Hill and Finance Director David Jepson. litiaation Hoffenbera Appeal The Village Board discussed the status of the Appeal of Judge Hoffenberg's ruling with regard to our mandatory minimum fines contained in the Underage Drinking Ordinance. Mayor Farley reported that he had attended a recent Court session and afterwards met with Judge Hoffenberg to try to better understand some of the Judge's problems with the ~ Mount Prospect Ordinance. Mayor Farley indicated that he felt Judge Hoffenberg was ~ 4 sincere in his efforts to appropriate punish youthful offenders, however, the Judge did not - "20..0 like the fact that the Village seemed to tie his hands regarding what he felt was appropriate penalties. Mayor Farley suggested that Judge Hoffenberg be invited to attend one of the upcoming TAP-Mount Prospect meetings so that a dialogue could be established. The Board was in agreement with this approach. (r Attorney Buzz Hill indicated that all briefs on the appeal of the Judge's decision had been filed and that the Village was currently awaiting a decision from the Appellate Court. There was some discussion about whether the Appeal should be withdrawn as a show of good faith. It was determined that no action should be taken with regard to withdrawing the appeal at this time. Easy Rider Mr. Janonis indicated that he had been notified that the Easy Rider Motorcycle Shop would be filing for a Temporary Restraining Order to prevent the Village from shutting down their tattoo studio. Mr. Janonis indicated that staff had ruled that a tattoo parlor was a non-permissible use under the Village's Zoning Code. Easy Rider subsequently appealed that decision to the Zoning Board. However, the appeal was denied based on the lack of four affirmative votes to override the decision of Mr. Cooney. There is currently a local Ordinance Violation Ticket outstanding against Easy Rider. *let the Minutes reflect Trustee Timothy Corcoran was absent from the Closed Session. ~~ ~.d~ n.1 J ~j 1s [ii'!J @5 c::!J~ c:!J!? 2)~ ~@ CONflDlLNTlAl The Village Board discussed the situation and directed Mr. Hill to aggressively defend the Village in any proceeding to issue a Temporary Restraining Order. The Village Board did not wish to modify the Zoning Code in an effort to settle the matter. The Village would also aggressively pursue the outstanding local Ordinance Violation Ticket. Staff was directed to keep the Village Board apprised of this matter. RJN Litiaation Mr. Janonis reported that the Hatlen Heights Sanitary Sewer Project had been finaled. The additional cost to overcome the original RJN design error amounted to some $526,000. Mr. Hill reported that the RJN attorney had asked the Village to make a demand for damages as part of settlement negotiations. Mr. Hill reviewed with the Village Board the potential likelihood of succeeding in a case on the merits and also the cost of said litigation. Upon brief discussion, the Village Board directed Mr. Hill to make a demand for the full amount of costs associated with remedying the error. Mr. Hill was directed to take an aggressive posture in all settlement negotiations. Staff was directed to keep the Village Board apprised of progress in this matter. )rY' .Qo.- Personnel ~.."... · \ _ U> -D~ Fire Pension Board Finance Director David Jepson reviewed with Board members recent actions by the Fire Pension Board wherein they granted certain retroactive Pension benefits without requiring retroactive reimbursement to the Pension Fund. The cost of retroactive benefits amounted to some $105,000. Mr. Jepson reported that the dollar amount would not seriously injure the financial health of the Pension Fund, however, the practice raised some serious concerns regarding the precedent it sets and the fiduciary responsibilities of the Fire Pension Board Trustees. Mayor Farley indicated that he had formally asked the Pension Board to seek a legal opinion from its own attorney regarding these actions. The Pension Board's legal committee refused. Therefore, he was asking the Village Board's support for seeking an independent legal opinion regarding the Pension Board's actions. Upon brief discussion among Village Board members, it was their consensus to seek an independent legal opinion. Tennination Case Village Manager reviewed pending action against a Firefighter for potentially fraudulent activity regarding filing of a Workers' Compensation case and application for a Disability Pension. Village Manager indicated that this Firefighter has been off work for over a year with an alleged back problem. After being ordered back to light duty based on doctors' opinions, said Firefighter stated that he could not perform even light duty activities. Subsequently, he filed for a Disability Pension. Based on investigation of this matter it was determined that the Firefighter in question may not have serious back problems. Mr. Janonis informed the Village Board that he would be seeking this person's termination and also notifying the Fire Pension Board of the potential fraud. Village Board members concurred with the actions of the Village Manager. ~ Q @/i)' ~~ ~\ df')t ~, gsf'c;) d~ d~ 2)~ ~@) ~o @/i)..... ~1 [@~ gs~ d~ dP 2)~ ~@ CONfg~'[NTIA.l On a Motion by Trustee Clowes and Seconded by Trustee Skowron, the Village Board Moved to adjourn from Closed Session. Upon Roll Call, all Board members voted unanimously to adjourn the Closed Session at 11 :09 p.m. No official action was taken by the Board. The Village Board meeting was adjourned at 11 :10 p.m. M EJ/rcc