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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.COW Minutes 10/13/2015 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES October 13, 2015 I. CALL TO ORDER – ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order at 7:01 p.m. in the Village Board Room of the Village Hall, 50 South Emerson Street, by Mayor Arlene Juracek. Trustees present included Paul Hoefert, John Matuszak, Steven Polit, Richard Rogers and Colleen Saccotelli. Staff present included Village Manager Mike Cassady, Assistant Village Manager David Strahl, Community Development Director William Cooney, Senior Planner Nellie Beckner, Police Chief Timothy Janowick and Administrative Analyst Alexander Bertolucci. II. APPROVAL OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES FOR SEPTEMBER 22, 2015 Motion made by Trustee Hoefert seconded by Trustee Rogers. Minutes were approved. III. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD Mayor Juracek welcomed Dylan Sezna from Boy Scout Troop 23 who is working his Citizenship in the Community Badge. IV. DOWNTOWN WAYFINDING SIGNAGE PROGRAM – PHASE I: COMPLETED DESIGN PACKAGE Senior Planner Beckner stated in late 2013 the Village Board approved the Downtown Implementation Plan that included a recommendation to implement a wayfinding signage program. The Village selected Media Objectives as the lead consultant for the wayfinding design process. She stated a steering committee was established to ensure that community stakeholders provided feedback throughout the wayfinding sign design process. She stated two preliminary sign design packages were presented to the steering committee. The public also had an opportunity to review the proposed plan and provide feedback via an online survey. She introduced Joe Lawton and Stephen Killion from Media Objectives to present the Downtown Wayfinding Strategy. Media Objectives Director Lawton provided an overview of the proposed sign designs that included sign types, materials, content organization, fonts, colors, and etc. He stated that the new sign system is composed of four major sign categories, parking signage, placemaking signage, vehicle wayfinding, and pedestrian wayfinding and presented renderings of designed signage. He also presented the proposed redesigned monument signs with screen printed and water jet aluminum panels. General comments from Village Board members included the following items: 1) There was discussion regarding funding strategies to implement the wayfinding signage program and spreading out installation into multiple phases. 2) There were questions regarding the monument sign at Northwest Highway and Central Road and placement of gateway signs. 10/13/15 Committee of the Whole Page 1 of 4 3) It was noted that the monument and gateway signs are designed as an artistic element and are not intended to convey information. 4) There was discussion regarding proposed enhancements to Village parking identification and Village Hall Parking Deck signage. 5) There were questions regarding maintenance costs and degradation of proposed sign materials. 6) There were comments regarding font size, lettering and overall readability of the signs. 7) There was a discussion regarding pedestrian and vehicle perspective of signage versus the total number of kiosks/maps/signs presented on two dimensional maps. 8) There was a discussion regarding light pole standard signs, temporary banners for event advertisement, and coordinating with the Centennial Celebration signage plan. Chad Busse, Mount Prospect Downtown Merchants Association President and Steering Committee Member , spoke. He stated wayfinding signage is important to bring people downtown and incorporating the word downtown into the signage is important to the Steering Committee since businesses promote that they are located downtown. He said the Committee identified the corner of Northwest Hwy & Central Rd as a gateway to downtown. He also stated new downtown signage denoting parking is important and that includes the Village Parking Deck. He said the proposed wayfinding signage is designed to bring and keep people downtown. There was general consensus to pursue the presented wayfinding design, incorporating proposed changes, and develop a phasing concept for fabrication and installation. V. DISCUSSION ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Community Development Director Cooney provided an overview of development projects in progress and expected for 2016. He stated that Randhurst has a new management firm and the potential for future developments at an available out lot and the Chase Bank property. He stated the Village’s retail vacancy is at 8.2% and the vacantDominick's makes up 2% of the total retail vacancy. He stated available Kensington Business Center properties and other industrial/office spaces within the Village experienced growth and secured new tenants. He also provided an overview of economic development activities that included business attraction, business retention, marketing, incentives, process improvements and other efforts. He highlighted the activities of the Entrepreneur’s café and the new Entrepreneur Initiative Program. He also stated staff updates available retail office and industrial properties on a monthly basis. He stated the Village is in its third year of issuing Class 6b tax incentives and the Village experienced its most robust year with its Façade Improvement and Interior Buildout Program. General comments from Village Board members included the following items: 1) There was general discussion regarding the proposed development layout at Mount Prospect Station, “former Tri-State Property”. 2) There was discussion regarding the marketing strategies of the “small triangle” properties downtown. 3) There was a discussion regarding economic development incentives and opportunities to further promote development. 4) There were comments regarding property maintenance issues at certain commercial properties. 10/13/15 Committee of the Whole Page 2 of 4 5) It was noted that future downtown developments need to be conscious about parking needs. 6) There was a discussion regarding available parcels on Kensington Road east of Rand Road. 7) There were questions regarding the vacant Chrysler dealership parcel at the corner of Rand Rd and Central Rd in Des Plaines and the possibility of utilizing the parcel to improve traffic movement in the area. 8) There was discussion regarding development of Mount Prospect businesses assisting business expansion by maintaining a list of businesses pursuing new or larger spaces to facilitate construction of appropriate development. VI. PROPOSED LICENSING OF SERVICE CONTRACTORS Community Development Director Cooney stated a resident recently approached the Village requesting that the Village consider licensing service contractors (e.g. landscapers, driveway sealers, painters, cleaning companies, and etc.) in order to better regulate problem contractors. He stated the Village currently licenses all trades that require building permits and building inspections. He stated staff surveyed neighboring communities to determine if other municipalities license service contractors and their enforcement procedures. He stated instituting a licensing program for service contractors could prove challenging due to the nature of the work they are performing and the limited time that they are at a particular property. He stated implementing a license program may not be cost effective considering the limited amount of complaints the Village receives. General comments from Village Board members included the following items: 1) There was a discussion regarding service contractors having business licenses in the municipality they are based out of. 2) There was general discussion regarding administration and enforcement of service contractor licenses and associated obstacles. 3) It was noted that small claims court is an established system to address contract disputes between a service contractor and customer. Mayor Juracek noted that licensing of service contractors was previously discussed at a Coffee with Council meeting and the resident that presented the topic was in the audience. She provided an opportunity for the members of the audience to present their comments and concerns. Christina Campos, 1724 Verde Dr. , stated she is concerned regarding service contractors operating without any accountability. She requested consideration of registering service contractors to collect contact information and for the Village to provide guidelines for operation (i.e. do not dump yard waste in the street, place leaves a foot away from the curb). She stated a licensing program would provide a list of businesses coming to the Village and enable the residents to hire registered service contractors. Mayor Juracek stated that the informational packet provided by the resident included information regarding scrappers. Assistant Village Manager Strahl stated scrappers would be more difficult to regulate than service contractors since they do not have set business hours and the homeowner 10/13/15 Committee of the Whole Page 3 of 4 has not hired them to complete work. He said residents utilize scrapper services by putting metal waste at the curb expecting scrappers to take the material. Police Chief Janowick stated there are two types of scrappers. He said there are the scrappers that drive around town that take recyclables to a scrapper/salvage location for cash and the scrapper/salvage location recycles the materials. In 2000, the Village repealed the ordinance that regulated this type of scrapping. He said then there is the larger issue regarding organized groups that burglarize construction sites, take copper from utility yards and steal manhole covers. He stated the state has created a task force to review the impact of this larger issue. Christina Campos, 1724 Verde Dr., stated concern regarding scrapper vehicles loose loads and asked about enforcement measures. Police Chief Janowick stated the Village has truck enforcement officers and when they observe a loose load or a vehicle appears overweight they take enforcement action. VII. REGULATIONS FOR SOLICITORS Assistant Village Manager Strahl stated regulations for solicitors were preempted by court decisions. He stated a license fee is a form of regulation and is not permitted. He stated if a municipality is registering solicitors then it is not enforceable. Christina Campos, 1724 Verde Dr., asked if solicitation hours could be further restricted or if different hours could be considered. Police Chief Janowick stated businesses argue that some hours would be better for solicitation then others (e.g. 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.). He stated 15 years ago the solicitation hours in the Village were longer, but were shortened due to community concerns. He stated the number of complaints against solicitors is decreasing. He stated state law allowed counties to regulate solicitors only in their unincorporated areas. Religious, press, political, and community organizations cannot be regulated. VIII. MANAGER’S REPORT None. IX. ANY OTHER BUSINESS None. X. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 10:45 p.m. ALEXANDER BERTOLUCCI Administrative Analyst 10/13/15 Committee of the Whole Page 4 of 4