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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/15/1997 CS minutes MAYOR Gerald L. Farley Phone: (847) 392-6000 Fax: (847) 392-6022 TOO: (847) 392-6064 TRUSTEES George A. Clowes Timothy J. Corcoran Paul Wm. Hoefert Richard M. Lohrstorfer Daniel A. Nocchi Irvana K. Wilks VILLAGE MANAGER Michael E. Janonis Village of Mount Prospect VILLAGE CLERK Carol A. Fields 100 South Emerson Street Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056 MINUTES CLOSED SESSION JULY 15, 1997 V The Closed Session was called to order at 10:05 p.m., in the conference room of the Senior Citizens' Center, 50 South Emerson Street, for the purpose of discussing Personnel, Litigation and Land Acquisition. Present at the Closed Session were: Mayor Gerald L. Farley; Trustees George Clowes, Timothy Corcoran, Richard Lohrstorfer, Daniel Nocchi and Irvana Wilks. Absent from the Closed Session was Trustee Paul Hoefert. Also present were: Village Manager Michael Janonis and Assistant Village Manager David Strahl. Board members present deferred consideration of the April 2 and June 10, 1997 Closed - Session Minutes. Personnel Board members deferred discussion of the Village Manager's annual performance review pending receipt of all evaluations from Board members. Village Manager Michael Janonis reviewed with Board members the tentative agreement which had been reached with the Police Patrol Union. Mr. Janonis referenced his June 24, 1997 confidential memorandum in which the terms of the tentative agreement were tv outlined. Board members expressed general satisfaction with the outcome of the f;2 negotiations. They noted that it was preferable that the pending Arbitration Hearing did G - not have to take place. ~ Assistant Village Manager David Strahl indicated that the Village Board would be asked to authorize the final agreement as soon as language details had been worked out. Mr. Strahl felt it might happen in late August or early September. Until that happened, no salary increases would be processed. Trustee Corcoran noted that the negotiated increases would be retroactive back to May 1, 1997. ... j ~\. LitiQation " Village Manager Michael Janonis reviewed with Board members the status of the RJN Case. Mr. Janonis reported that the Case had gone to trial and that the Judge, in a bench . trial, had found in favor of the Village with regard to our negligence claims against RJN. Still to be decided was the question of damages. The Judge had asked for legal briefs regarding same which would be due early in August. Mr. Janonis indicated that the Judge had made a strong suggestion to the RJN attorney to settle this case before she had to rule on damages. RJN's attorney responded that his client could not financially meet the present demand by the Village of in excess of $400,000. Village Manager Janonis indicated that in discussions with Village Attorney Everette Hill, there might be some indication that RJN was financially incapable of paying any Judgment. It also could be a bluff on RJN's part. It was Mr. Hill's feeling and Mr. Janonis' concurrence that the Village should pursue a ruling from the Judge on full damages. As part of the post-trial activities, the Village would be able to determine what assets, if any, RJN had to pay the Judgment. Trustee Nocchi inquired as to the presence of insurance coverage for this incident. Village Manager Janonis indicated that there was some indication that insurance coverage was in place but it was not clear how much 9!-!Vhat the deductible was. After brief discussion, it was the consensus of the Board to press for the Judge to issue a damage award for the maximum amount. Thereafter, the Village would aggressively pursue collection of said Judgment. Jfhe Village Manager provided a status report regarding the Javier- Martinez Case. Mr. anonis indicated this case was still in discovery and that the Judge had recently allow the plaintiffs to acquire data regarding the Police Department's arrest records. The Village's attorney was assuming that the plaintiff was trying to establish a pattern of discrimination based on the Village's arrest patterns. She remained confident that this was irrelevant to the pending employment discrimination claim and that the Judge would not allow this evidence to be offered at trial. Mr. Janonis indicated that he would keep Board members apprised of any further developments in the Case. The Village Manager also advised Board members that there were clear indications that the Mt. Prospect Park District was considering filing Suit against the Village over the results of the Trade Service Zoning Case. The clearest indication was a phone conversation that Village Attorney Everette Hill had with Park District attorney Larry Freedman in which Mr. Freedman indicated that in reviewing their options, the Park District was reaching the conclusion that litigation was unavoidable. There was brief discussion among Board members regarding the Village's response. Mayor Farley indicated that it would be appropriate to wait and see if the Park District, in fact, filed Suit. ... Land ACQuisition Village Manager Michael Janonis asked the Board for direction regarding the acquisition of certain properties within the Downtown TIF District given the Board's discussion at the . June 10 Redevelopment Workshop. Mr. Janonis suggested that the Village acquire the Stein property Gunk yard) located on Wille Street near Central Road. Board members concurred with this recommendation and staff was authorized to offer up to the appraised value for the property less any environmental clean-up costs. Mr. Janonis also recommended that the Bdard consider acquisition of the Francek parcels given the interest in pursuing some type of redevelopment on the Village Hall block. After brief discussion, the consensus of the Village Board was to pursue the purchase of the Francek properties. Staff was authorized to offer up to $425,000 for all of the parcels. , Mr. Janonis also recommended that the Board consider acquisition of the "newspaper" building located between the Francek properties and the Sakura properties fronting Elmhurst Road. This building is currently vacant and its acquisition would help to create a very attractive parcel with a frontage along Northwest Highway between Emerson and Main Streets. After brief discussion, the Village Board indicated a willingness to_~rchase . the property if it were available. Staff was directed to make the appropriate inquiries. Village Manager briefly reviewed with Board members a proposal by Tod Curtis to acquire some or all of his property located at 18 West Busse Avenue. After highlighting the major elements of Mr. Curtis' proposal, the Village Board indicated that it was not interested in pursuing the properties. Board members inquired as to the status of the Clocktower (Pontarelli)development in the Downtown Business District. Mr. Janonis indicated that there had been no contact recently between the Village and Mr. Pontarelli. Staff was continuing to pursue its legal options under the Development Agreement. There was no further discussion in'Closed Session. The Closed Session adjourned at 10:49 p.m. on a Motion by Trustee Clowes and Seconded by Trustee Lohrstorfer after a unanimous roll call vote. MEJ/rcc X\USERS\ROBERT AC\WIN\OFFICElMEJ\CS\71 SCS.MIN ..