HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/08/1986 COW MinutesL
lie
IV*
MINUTES
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
APRIL 22, 1986
ROLL CALL
The meeting was called to order at 7:31 p.m. Present at the meeting were: Mayor
Carolyn H. Krause; Trustees Ralph Arthur, Gerald Farley, Leo Floros, Norma
Murauskis, George Van Geem and Theodore Wattenberg* Also present at the
meeting, wereloo, Village M,a,n,ag,e,r Terrance Burghard, Assistant to the Village Manager
Michael, Janonis, Director of Finance David Jepson, Director of Public Works
Herbert Weeks, Deputy, Director of Public Works Glen Andler, Street Superintendent
Melvin Both, Superintendent of Forestry Sandy Forgacs, and Director of Economic
Development Ken Fritz, Also present at the meeting was Hal Predovich, Chairman
of the Business District Development and Redevelopment Commission one person
from the print media.
MINUTES
The Minutes of the Committee of the Whole meeting of April 8, 1986 were
accepted and filed.
CITIZENS TO -BE HEARD
There being no citizens present who wished to make a presentation before the
Committee of the Whole, the Committee moved on to the next item of business.
PUBLIC WORKS FACILITY REPORT
The Committee of the, Whole r'eVii wed the Report prepared by the Village
Manager's office which analyzes th6 needs of the Department of Public Works and
0,
makes recommendations for a new Public Works facility.
Mayor Carolyn Krause opened discussion among Committee members by stating that
she was in favor of keeping the existing facility and expanding it through acqu1's,11W*'
tion of property *Immediately to the north of the Pine Street loca,tion* The Mayor
felt that such expansion would cost approximate.1y one-quarter of that, proposed' for
a new faci,litty and that adequate parking could, be created by converting the Ten
South P*ln;e Street building to parking. The Mayor noted that any subsequent use of
the existing Public Works, city would require, Varilations for, parking and front and
side yards. With regard to the proposed location of the new Public Wor' '* *1 ty,
I ks taci,, i*
the Mayor *Indicated that a western siting would" have the effect of decreasing
service levels to the neighborhoods because, of the loss of a central location. The
Mayor also indicated that she would like the Board to consider other priorities such
as ambulance service on the northwest side of the Village, residential street
repaving and expanded Police service,,
Trustee Ralph Arthur stated that he recognized the need for some kind of expan.
sion of the Public Works facility and offered a plan as a compromise position that
would utilize the existing facility with extensive additions including expansion to
the north of the present site and the construction of a second floor on the present
garage structure. Trustee Arthur's plan called for the demolition of the Ten South
Pine facility in order to provide additional parking. Trustee Arthur stated that his
compromise- plan would provide approximately 70,000 square feet of space at a cost
estimated at 70% below that of a new facility. Trustee Arthur asked that his plan
be turned over to the various reviewing Commissions for their Input. Also, it was
his feeling that no Referendum would be required to carry out his plan.
Trustee Wattenberg stated that he was in favor of following the recommendations
of the Report issued by the Village Manager's office and that the Village should
proceed with hiring an architect to begin work on a new building. It was also
Trustee Wattenberg's feeling that no Referendum was required to construct a new
facility and he also stated that he was not in favor of Trustee Arthur's plan
because it would be a piecemeal solution to the space problems at the present
facility.
Trustee Leo Floros indicated that he sensed the recognition on the part of most
Board members that there was a problem with the existing facility at least as far
as inadequate space. It was Trustee Floros' opinion that the need for a larger
facility had been demonstrated and that other factors such as the current facility's
disruption of downtown traffic and lost revenue potential through the inability to
develop the site as commercial business warranted the construction of a new
facility at' an alternate site. With regard to the latter consideration, Trustee
Floros noted that interest had been expressed in the purchase of the existing
facility. It was also Trustee Floros' feeling that the economic climate with low
interest rates and easier credit was right and that the Village was in a financially
strong position. Trusiee Floros further stated that he would wait to make any final
decisions until after he had heard from all Advisory bodies that had been asked to
comment on the proposed facility. Trustee Floros also stated that he supported
further study of Trustee Arthur's proposal.
Trustee Farley stated that he supported further study of Trustee Arthur's proposal
and that in deliberations on this wsub)ect, it was necessary to factor in the other
needs of the Village such as waste disposal, an aging infra -structure and the
obsolescence of other public facilities. Trustee Farley also stated that he
recognized a feeling on the part of the Board that something needed to be done to
the present facility. Trustee Farley agreed with Trustee Floros that the economic
climate was right, but that he wanted to hear from the various Advisory Boards as
to their feelings on this matter. Trustee Farley proposed that the Village under
take a formalized space evaluation study so that actual needs of the Department of
Public Works were more clearly identified.
o"2"o
Trustee George Van G e e m stated that he supported a thorough review of Trustee
Arthur's proposal, however, he had some concerns regarding piecemeal Construction
and the adverse impact that keeping the facility in the downtown area would have
on future downtown redevelopment. It was Trustee Van Geem's feeling that other
Village priorities should be considered in deciding a course of action on the Public
Works facility but that these other concerns should not be used to deflect the need
to address the Public Works space problem. Trustee Van Geern also stated that
there was a need for a long-term capital expenditure plan so that the Trustees
would be in a better position to make important capital improvement decisions.
Trustee Norma Murauskis stated that she had previously stated her views against a
new facility and that the administration would have to Justify such a large
expenditure. It was her opinion that they had not presented such justification.
Trustee Murauskis admitted that alternatives should be studied in great detail but
that she was convinced that the present location of the Public Works facility was
adequate. I
After discussion by each Committee member, the Mayor asked for comments from
those persons in the audience,. 11
Mr. Hal Predovich of the Business District Development and Redevelopment
Commission, stated that his Commission supported the recommendation that a new
building on a new site be built if the economics supported such a decision. Mr.
Predovich stated by economical, he meant that the cost benefit was positive and,
therefore, he suggested that the Village undertake a detailed cost benefit analysis
of locating a new facility outside of the downtown area. Mr. Predovich stated that
it was his Commission's feeling that the present site was improperly located and
was, therefore, a hinderance to future downtown redevelopment. It was also Mr..
Predovich's opinion that the economic climate was correct and that the Board
should not hesitate too long or they might lose that favorable "window" with which
they could act. It was Mr. Predovich's opinion that a Referendum was not needed
and that long-term capitol planning was something that the Board should undertake.
Several other citizens who live near the Trade Services' property indicated that
they were against the siting of a new facility on that property because it would
adversely. impact the neighborhood directly to the west. Trustee Floros indicated
that the Village was currently considering a site at Melas Park and that the impact
of the Me las Park site would be minimal.
Further discussion by Committee members resulted in a clear 4-3 split in favor of
a new facility and a consensus among Committee members to wait to hear the
recorn mendat 'ions of the other Commissions before taking any official action in this
matter. It was also the consensus of the Committee that a Referendum would be
necessary if a new facility were built or if expansion of the old facility required
the 'issuance of debt to cover the cost. Trustee Van Geem asked that this item be
placed on the next Committee of the Whole Agenda so that the reports of the
various Commissions could be heard and that thereafter be included as a item on
subsequent Committee and Board Agendas.
M
Trustee Van Get!�;,rn stated that his concern in this area was that he was perhaps not
I i
getting as much information as he could, regard*ng Village operations and citizens'
co , l l ;its so that he could better understand the wants and needs of the citzenry.
Trust,ee Van, Geem felt that he needed this type of information so that he could be
a better Trustee through greater understanding. Trustee Farley supported Trustee
Van Geemls*request stating that such additional information would be helpful in
making determinations which faced the Board.
Mr.. Louie Velasco, of the Plan Commission, stated that it was his feeling that the
Board would hear more from the people if the Board went back to the old
Committee system whereby each Trustee sat on a number of Commissions, each
dealing with specific subjects. Trustee Farley stated that he was op,posed, to the
old Committee system because it was redundant and took up an inordinate amo,tint,
of time without having a superior result. It was 'the consensus of the Board, that
the return to the old Committee system was not practicable.
Mayor Krause indicated that she would in the future make more periodic reports
either oral or written to Board members regarding those activities or problems with
which she became "Involved. Committee members felt that this was adequate to
satisfy their need for more information.
VI. EXEMPT VEHICLE LICENSE POLICY
In 1977, the Village Board. passed a Resolution which* exempted certain persons from
1, Ulage, his
licenses. S nce that time, the Vi
paying for Mount Prospect motor vehicle U 0 1 1
allowed churches within the Village to obtain f ree motoir vehicle licen,se stickers for
their buses and= church vehicles. Lately-, however, an "increasing number of reque,st's
for vehicle stickers were coming in from church organizations; specifically, the
Illinois Chicago Mission, located at 500 West Central Road, who requested 52
licenses for 1986-1987. The Village administration expressed its concern over these
0
increasing ncreaSLng numbers and asked the Board to give it guidance in granting such
requests in the future.
After discussion among Committee members, it was decided that in the future, all
church buses operated within, the Village would be allowed to receive a motor
vehicle licens,le sticker free of charge and that up to, two other ch urc h v eh'c e
which, had "CV" ll icensepilates, would be allowed vehl'cle, sticker's, f r6,e, of ch,large.
All other church vehicles would be required to purchase vehicle stickers at the
present fee*
VII. MANAGER'S REPORT
Village Manager Burghard reported that he had scheduled a meeting on May 10 of
an eastside neighborhood who had recently re,quested that the Villa,ge study the
of replacing curb and gutter along their streets. Mr. Burghard restated
possibility
that it was the Village policy in these situations that any improvements be made
under a Special Assessment arrangement and that the purpose of this meeting was
to convey that message and to lay out the cost of such improvements*
.4.
VIILANY OTHER BUSINESS
Trustee Van Geem asked the advice of Board members as to the propriety of
Trustee Van Geem writing a letter on Village letterhead on behalf of the Mount
Prospect Historical Society in a fund-raising effort. It was the consensus of Board
members that the use of Village letterhead was ' ill-advised and set a bad precedent.,
It was suggested in the alternative that Trustee Van Geem use some type of
modified letterhead which stated that he was a Village Trustee but however did not
purport to be the official letterhead of the Village.
IX,o ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to be discussed,. the meeting was adjourned at
99.45 p.m.
on
Respectf ully submitted,
MICHAEL Es JANONIS
Assistant to the Village Manager
MEJ/rcw
_5-