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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/04/1997 CS minutes MAYOR Gerald L. Farley ~l1& OO!]l1~~[5 lID& iIrn \ - z..O -C ~ TRUSTEES George A. Clowes Timothy J. Corcoran Richard N. Hendricks Paul Wrn. Hoefert Arlene A. Juracek Irvana K. Wilks Phone: 847/392-6000 Fax: 847/392-6022 TOO: 1347/392-6064 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 MARCH 4, 1997 The Closed Session was called to order at 8:42 p.m., in the conference room of the Senior Citizens' Center, 50 South Emerson Street, for the purpose of discussing Land Acquisition, Disposal of Land and Personnel. Present at the Closed Session were: Mayor Gerald L. Farley; Trustees George Clowes, Timothy Corcoran, Paul Hoefert, Arlene Juracek and Irvana Wilks. Absent from the Closed Session was Trustee Hendricks. Also present were: Village Manager Michael Janonis, Assistant Village Manager David Strahl and Community Development Director William Cooney. Those Board members present reviewed the Closed Session Minutes of January 14, 1997. The consensus in Closed Session was that the Minutes were accurate and that official action to approve said Minutes would be taken in open session after completion of the Closed Session. Land ACQuisition Village Manager Michael Janonis reviewed with Board members an offer that had been received by the Village from Heather Francek asking the Village to consider the purchase of property commonly known as 2-10 East Northwest Highway. These addresses constitute four separate buildings at the northwest corner of Northwest Highway and Main Street. Mr. Janonis reminded Board members that the property at 2-4 East Northwest Highway was currently under Demolition proceedings initiated by the Village due to the fact that the building was an unsafe structure. It was staff's opinion that Ms. Francek was soliciting Village interest in purchasing the property so as to avoid the expense of demolishing the unsafe structure. According to Bill Cooney, there were only three businesses operating in the four buildings and one, the HVAC Company, would soon be moving out of one of the buildings. Ms. Francek had previously made inquiries to the Historical Society regarding their interest in the 2-4 building. Trustee Hoefert, who is a member of the Historical Society, recounted that the Historical Society had considered the offer but given the probably expense in renovating, relocating and siting the building, the Historical Society had decided that acceptance of the building was not in the Society's best interest. Trustee Hoefert did, however, indicate that the Historical Society would like to see the building saved, if possible, since it is the oldest commercial structure still standing in the Village. Discussion among Board members highlighted the fact that the building itself is very nondescript and does not have any outstanding architectural features that add to the attractiveness of the building. Trustee Wilks indicated that she had been on a tour of the building with Dave Hulseberg and Ms. Francek and found the building to be in extremely poor condition. Mayor Farley asked if the purchase of these properties would limit the ability of the Village to purse other redevelopment opportunities in the downtown due to the expenditure of funds. Mr. Janonis indicated that this particular purchase was not anticipated and would have to be covered in the long-term. With regard to limiting other options in the downtown, it was too early to speculate. There was a brief discussion among Board members regarding prospects for redevelopment on the Village Hall block if these parcels were acquired. It was noted that the Village would control the southwest and northeast quadrants of the block bounded by Main Street, Busse Avenue, Emerson Street and Northwest Highway. Fannie May, Continental Bakery and Sakura Restaurant would still need to be worked into any redevelopment plan. After additional discussion, it was the consensus of the Village Board to authorize staff to secure an appraisal of the parcels. Staff was also directed to begin looking at redevelopment potential for the Village Hall block. Board members indicated the need for a discussion regarding downtown development in general to be undertaken soon. Disposal of Land Village Manager Janonis reviewed with Board members an inquiry from the owners of the Mount Prospect Cadillac property on Rand Road about the Village's willingness to sell an old well site parcel one lot removed and immediately northwest of the Cadillac site. Mr. Janonis indicated that in a discussion with the owner and Bill Cooney, the owners had indicated interest by a large used-car mega store to occupy the site. However, the current three+ acre site was not sufficient. Board members discussed among themselves whether the sale of this property was in keeping with prior expressions from surrounding neighbors. It was noted that the owner had previously attempted to purchase this lot as part of an earlier proposed expansion. At that time, it was found that there were restrictions on the lot which would have prevented its sale. It was unclear whether those restrictions had to do with utility easements or covenants restricting the type of use which the property could be put to. Mr. Cooney noted that he had suggested to the owners that they contact the owners of the shopping center to the southeast to see if it was possible to acquire some additional property from them. After further discussion, Board members indicated that they were reluctant to consider the sale of the property until they were provided with more information regarding possible reuses for the main site and a determination was made as to the actual restrictions on the sale or the reuse of the Village-owned property. Personnel Village Manager Michael Janonis briefed Board members on the current status of negotiations with the Firefighters and Police Unions. Mr. Janonis indicated that an Arbitration Hearing had been set with the Police Union for June 13, 1997. Those discussions were basically at an impasse. The Police Union was making substantial demands that were not in line with salary increases and benefit changes being implemented with other Village staff and labor groups. Mr. Janonis reviewed with Board members the latest counter proposal from the Fighters' Association. After reviewing the various items, Board members indicated a general consensus that the demands were not in line with wage settlement trends, inflation and reasonable benefit packages. Board members directed staff to pursue a settlement that was more in line with previous guidelines set out by the Board at the beginning of negotiations. There were no other topics discussed in Closed Session. On a Motion by Trustee Hoefert and Seconded by Trustee Clowes, there was a unanimous roll call vote to end the Closed Session. In open session at 9:55 p.m., on a Motion by Trustee Corcoran and Seconded by Trustee Wilks, the Minutes of the January 14, 1997 Closed Session were approved by a unanimous roll call vote. At 9:56 p.m., on a Motion by Trustee Corcoran and Seconded by Trustee Juracek, the meeting was adjourned. DS/rcc X:\USER5\ROBERT AClWINlOFFICElMEJICSI304CS.MIN