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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/26/1998 COW minutes MINUTES ~ COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MAY 26, 1998 I. Mayor Farley called the meeting to order at 7:35 p:m. Present at the meeting were: Trustee.s George Clowes, Timothy Corcoran, Paul Hoefert, Richard Lohrstorfer, Daniel Nocchi and Irvana Wilks. Trustees Corcoran and Hoefert left the meeting at 7:50 p.m. and returned at 8:50 p.m. Staff present included Village Manager Michael Janonis, Assistant Village Manager David Strahl, Police Chief Ronald Pavlock, Deputy Police Chief Ronald Richardson, Fire Chief Michael Figolah, Public Works Director Glen Andler, Deputy Public Works Director Sean Dorsey and Building/Streets Superintendent Paul Bures. Finance Director Brian Caputo arrived at 9:00 p.m. I1. MINUTES Approval of Minutes of April 28, 1998. Motion made by Trustee Nocchi and Seconded by Trustee Lohrstorfer to approve the Minutes. Minutes were approved unammously. ~ III. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD George Flagherty, 445 Cleven, Arlington Heights, spoke. He wanted to thank the Village Board for approving the Downtown Redevelopment Program and was happy to see there was no citizen opposition. He stated that these discussions started over 30 years ago, when he was involved in the Economic Development Commission. He also wanted to advise the Board that they should be careful in their negotiations with developers so that community interests are protected. He stated he was appreciative of the Village Board and their stance on defining height in terms of feet instead of stories and recommended the Board carefully consider Phases II and III and not move forward too hastily. ~ IV. NORTHWEST CENTRAL DISPATCH SYSTEM 800 MHZ RADIO SYSTEM PROJECT UPDATE Village Manager Janonis stated that there are eight members included in Northwest Central Dispatch with the recent addition of Streamwood and Hoffman Estates. He stated the System's infrastructure has been in place since 1972 with very little improvements in terms of technology since that time. He stated that there has been much discussion over the last couple of years concerning the obsolete equipment and the need to bring the Dispatch System up to date. He stated the Dispatch System applied for frequencies in 1996 and that process of finding seven 800 MHZ frequencies took a substantial period of time. The most recent cost projections for the upgrade have been estimated at $9 million System- wide. In order to fund such an improvement, there is a recommendation to increase the monthly surcharge from $.30 per month to $.75 per month. Doug Edmonds, Executive Director of NWCDS, spoke. He stated that it was qUite time-consuming to obtain the necessary frequencies due to the limited availability of frequencies in this area. He stated the Dispatch System utilized a consultant to ensure all needs were addressed'.~hrough the use of available .frequencies and any equipment improvements. He stated they are currently serving five Police Departments with two frequencies and have been forced to regularly move Departments off their own frequencies due to congestion. For example, Mount Prospect, Elk Grove Village and Prospect Heights share one frequency. He said there are coverage dead spots. The consultant recommended using a trunked system which will use a computer system to automatically route communications to available frequencies. He stated Hoffman Estates and Streamwood already have a trunked system in place, therefore, the change would have limited impact for them. He stated that Motorola would be the vendor suggested because of proprietary nature of the equipment. He stated that one of the requirements within the specifications will be 95% radio communication on portables within enclosed buildings. He stated this is a joint project for all particiPants and funding is requested by increasing the surCharge on monthly telephone bills. He said there is a need for funds for capital and possible increased operating costs due to change in technology. He stated the previous Referendum allows for a rate of $.75 but the charge has been $.30 for a lengthy period of time. He stated this funding commitment of the $.75 per month would be for a minimum of eight to nine years. He would estimate that Mount Prospect's share of the total cost would be approximately 17% based on the total number of lines served by the Dispatch System. General comments from the Village Board members included the following items: There was a question regarding liability and possible improvements to reliability with the proposed upgrades. A question was also raised regarding the collection process of the surcharge from the residents. A discussion also ensued concerning the possibility of surcharge monies collected from cellular phone users and the impact of this additional funding on the Overall proposed expenditure. 2 Doug Edmonds stated that there is a time limitation on utilizing the frequencies. If they are not utilized within a certain pedod, the frequencies will be retumed to the pool for other Use. He stated that the proposed increase would increase a resident's phone bill by $5.45 annually. He also stated that his review of monthly sumharges of other Dispatch Systems statewide average $1.25 per month while the current charge has been $.30 for a number of years. He did state that when the Dispatch System initially set up, the monthly charge was $.75 until the equipment was purchased and put on line. Once the equipment was in place, the surcharge was reduced to $.30. He stated to his knowledge, this is the only Dispatch System that he is aware of that has ever reduced a surcharge. He feels that if there were an opportunity for additional funds from the cellular phone users, those funds would be utilized to assist in the upgrade that may also impact operations due to increased call volume and the need for additional staff. He stated that once surcharge money from cellular users is received, an evaluation will be undertaken to determine that impact. He stated there are approximately 35,000 lines in Mount Prospect and he expects a continued growth in the number of lines and the new System will be year- 2000 compliant. Mr. Janonls stated that the way the Dispatch System is organized, the Village Managers and Administrators are the Board of Directors which make all pumhasing recommendations, therefore its Board of Directors would be the ones responsible for approving the vendor for the necessary purchase. At this point, it is anticipated that Motorola will most likely be the vendor. Therefore, elected officials will not directly be required to make the purchase authorization. Consensus of the Village Board was to prepare an Ordinance for presentation -to the full .Board to Increase the monthly surcharge from $.30 to $.75 per phone line within the Village of Mount Prospect effective September 1, t 998. SUBDIVISION ENTRANCE MARKERS ON VILLAGE-OWNED RIGHTS-OF-WAY ~;TATU~ REPORT Deputy Public Works Director Sean Dorsey spoke. He wanted to provide an update to the Village Board summarizing the findings of the research concerning responsibility for entrance markers in various subdivisions within the Village. He stated that the Village Code was revised in October of 1997 and procedures have been drafted for implementation of that Ordinance. He stated an inventory has been completed of all markers to determine their state of repair and to determine which ones are on public property. He stated they have obtained commitments from residents to maintain six of the 27 total markers. He stated that Public Works Department will post a sign by each marker for a minimum of five days requesting any interested persons who may want ~o maintain the marker to contact Public 3 Wor!<s pdor to removal of the marker. He stated the signs will be posted beginning Jun~ 1, 1998. ~ He said there is an ~ssue regarding the status of the markers along Route 83. It is likely that the markers on Route 83 would need to be moved away from the intersection to avoid altering the radii of the intersection. The Village requested funding assistance from IDOT for the movement of the markers but that request was denied. It has been estimated that it would cost approximately $9,000 for each marker to be moved. Since there is a total of six markers that total cost would be approximately $54,000. He stated that he would request input from the Village Board regarding options for the Route 83 markers. ~, General discussion fromthe Village Board members included the following items: There was some concern that if the markers were moved back, what possible impact such movement would have on residents where the markers were placed in their yard or right-of-way. Consensus of the Village Board was to remove the entrance markers along Route 83 when the road work commences. Village Manager Janonis stated that it is possible that the posting of the markers to be removed could be done for a ten-day period to ensure maximum exposure. He also stated that he wanted to confirm the Village Board policy regarding funding for removal or maintenance of the markers. Consensus of the Village Board was to reaffirm the Village Board decision that it will not expend Village funds for maintaining any entrance markers throughout the community. VI. STATE MANDATED ELECTRIC UTILITY DEREGULATION MUNICIPAL UTILITY TAX CONVERSION PROJECT Finance Director Brian Caputo stated that with the recent Deregulation ~---,. Legislation, the Village must convert its gross receipts Utility Tax to a kilowatt, hour tax based on usage to maintain revenue neutrality. Such revenue neutrality is required by the legislation. He stated that the Village needs to determine what the tax rates are going to be pdor to August 1, 1998 at which time residential rates automatically decrease by 15%. He stated there are two methods available to the Village to utilize for determining the appropriate tax rate. He stated the rate structure must be divided into ten tiers with a declining block structure which has a reduced tax rate tied to increased usage. He would recommend Option A as outlined in the background matedal whereby the last three, or highest use classes, would be at such a level to encourage possible economic development of industrial ~' development. He stated that the Village currently does not have any users in block 4 · seven, eight, nine or ten and by utilizing the Option A, it is presumed that the ~ possibility of a favorable utility tax rate in comparison with other communities could be obtained. Consensus of the Village Board was to support Option A as recommended and forward the necessary documentation to the Northwest Municipal Conference for ultimate filing to the ICC. Trustee Clowes stated that he felt that the reduction in aCtUal rates to the residents may be realized by the residents, however, tax liability rate will be maintained which he feels is effeCtively an increase in charges to the residents. He stated that he does not support raising the rate as proposed to maintain the current level of revenue and asked what the level of revenue reduction would be. Finance Director Caputo stated that he would estimate an impaCt of approximately $150,000 in reduced revenue by not implementing the tax structure as recommended. VII. VILLAGE MANAGER'S REPORT Village Manager Janonis wanted to request direCtion regarding a request from District 57 for exempting other taxing bodies from Utility Tax collections by the Village. He stated that it is projeCted the Village would lose approximately $27,000 in revenue by exempting all public taxing bodies within the Village. General discussion from the Village Board members included the following items: There was some concern regarding reducing the Utility Tax for public taxing bodies that do not have contiguous boundaries to Mount Prospect. There was also a concern that by Mount Prospect exempting the public taxing bodies without other area communities following suit, it could create a situation where Mount Prospect would be setting a precedence in this area. Consensus of the Village Board was to exempt public taxing bodies from the Village Utility Tax charge. VIII. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Trustee Clowes inquired as to the impact of the recent announcement of the Area Code change based on the overlay option compared to the geographical split. Village Manager Janonis responded by stating that even though the overlay is not the best situation for Mount Prospect because of the possible need to dial a full eleven numbers just to call neighbors, it is probably better than the alternative which had anticipated splitting Mount Prospect into two Area Codes. 5 CLOSED SESSION , ~ A MOtion was made by Trustee Wilks and Seconded by Trustee Hoefert to move into Closed Session to discuss property acquisition and personnel. The Motion was approved unanimously. The meeting moved into Closed Session at 9:30 p.m. Meeting reconvened in open session at 10:08 p.m. A discussion ,took place regarding a citizen request for a five-foot sidewalk extension along Seminole Road in Mount Prospect. The portion in question is one section of a total of eight sections which will connect Village sidewalks at various intersections for improved pedestrian movement· Consensus of the Village Board was to install the sidewalk as engineered and recommended by' staff. There was general discussion concerning floating Coffee with Council and whether a portion of the meeting will convene at Village Hall before moving to a remote location. No conclusion was reached regarding the status of whether the floating Coffee with Council meetings will be split between two locations or be convened at a Single location. There was no further business, The meeting was adjourned at 10:42 p.m. ' · ResPectfully submitted DAVID STRAHL Assistant Village Manager DS/rcc 6