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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/09/2000 COW minutes MINUTES COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MAY 9, 2000 I, CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:35 p,m. by Mayor Gerald Farley. Present at the meeting were: Trustees Timothy Comoran, Paul Hoefert, Dennis Prikkel, Michaele Skowron and lrvana Wilks. Absent from the meeting was Trustee Richard Lohrstorfer, Staff members present included Village Manager Michael E. Janonis, Police Chief F~on Pavlock, Records Supervisor Catherine Caldwel[, Public Information Officer Maura Jandris, Community Development Director William Cooney and Planner Judy Connolly. Three members of the press were also present. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of Minutes from April 11, 2000. Motion made by Trustee Wilks and Seconded by Trustee Hoefer[ to approve the Minutes. Minutes were approved unanimously. Trustee Prikkel abstained. Approval of Minutes from April 25, 2000. Motion made by Trustee Prikkel and Seconded by Trustee Skowmn to approve the Minutes. Minutes were approved unanimously. Trustees Comoran and Wilks abstained. Ill. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD None. IV. REQUEST FOR AN INCREASE FOR THE JULY PARADEFUNDING Board members reviewed a letter from Ms. Jill Friedrichs, member of the Mount Prospect Special Events Commission. Ms. Friedrichs is the Chair of the Special Events Commission's Parade Sub-Committee. Ms. Friedrichs' letter requested an increase in funding for the July Parade from the current $15,000 to $20,500. The reasons for the request were the growing size of the Parade (over 100 individual entries) and the increased cost in securing mamhing bands and musical groups. Ms. Friedrich$ was present and explained to Board members that the most frequent comment regarding the 4th of July Parade was the need for more mamhing bands and musical acts. Up until this year, Ms. Friedrichs indicates that it had been very difficult to find local groups willing to march in the Parade. During her research, she hooked up with the person in charge of the Hoffman ~-~ Estates 4th of July Parade and was able to make contact with several out-of-state marching bands who were interested in coming to the Midwest and march in 4th of July Parades. With the additional funding, MS. Friedrichs predicted that she could secure five to seven additional music acts. Several Board members stated that the annual 4th of July Parade was a very important event in Mount Prospect. Anything that could be done to improve the content and quality of the Parade was worth pursuing; It was also recognized that funding for the Parade had not increased in approximately five years. It was the unanimous consensus of those Board members present to approve the additional expenditure. Village Manager Michael Janonis indicated that he would bring forward an appropriate Budget Amendment at the mid-year Budget Review. Trustee Dennis Prikkel suggested that Ms. Frieddchs contact the new Band Director at Rolling Meadows H gh School and inquire about their availability. The Band Director is new to the position and was looking for ways to improve the program. V. REQUEST FOR STAFFING CHANGES Police Department Police Chief Ronald Pavlock presented a request by the Department to consolidate two part-time Records Clerks' Positions into one full-time Records Clerk position. He stated that the request was occasioned by a substantial increase in workload in the Police Department-Records Section. The increased workload included, among other things, higher demand for document copies, the gathering of statistical information and management reports. Additionally, the Department has recently begun gathering traffic stop data, which needs to be entered into a database on a daily basis. Chief Pavlock indicated that the request was also driven by difficulty the Department was having in attracting part-time Records Clerks. With the strong economy, solicitation efforts attracted few candidates and turnover was high because of the ability for part-time employees to gain full,time employment in the strong job market. Chief Pavlock indicated that the additional cost to the Village for the first year of the change:would be approximately $8,500. Thereafter, on an annual basis, it would be approximately $10,000. The increase in cost is attributable to a slight overall increase in salary and the addition of medical insurance benefits and Pension Fund contributions. 2 "" Trustee Skowron asked for clarification of the additional cost because the amounts presented bythe Police Chief at the meeting were different than those outlined in his memorandum. Chief Pavlock explained that the amount stated in the memorandum did not include cost of benefits. During discussion by Board members, it was recognized that Police records management was a more specialized and demanding operation than normal records management. Board members generally agreed that by creating a full-time position, the likelihood of high turnover would be minimized. It was also recognized that there has been an increase in workload due to new data collection requirements It was the unanimous consensus of those Board members present to approve the consolidation of two part-time positions into one full-time position. Community Development Department Director of Community Development William Cooney presented a request to convert three seasonal intern positions into two part-time inspector positions. The two part-time Inspectors would be assigned to the Building and Environmental Health Divisions respectively, The Inspector in the Building Division would be '-' responsible for simpler inspections such as fiat work and fences. The Environmental Health Inspector would be responsible for property maintenance issues. Mr. Cooney explained that in the past, the Community Development Department has used interns to supplement the inspection staff during summer months when the volume of inspections is at its highest. While the additional staffing has assisted in covering the increased workload, the Interns are generally available for only 12 weeks during the year. Since Intems usually are with the Village only one year, part of their summer tenure is spent in training. This cuts down on their effective value in handling inspections and property maintenance violations. Mr. Cooney explained that the volume of both building inspections and property maintenance service requests has risen substantially in the last few years. He noted that the Building Division was on pace to conduct over 4,000 inspections this year, exceeding last year's record pace. The two part-time positions would allow for supplemental inspection help year-round. General discussion among Village Board members acknowledged that both building activity and property maintenance violations were up considerably in recent years. It was noted that there were times when inspections for construction activity had to -"" be delayed a day or two due to workload. This bottleneck was contrary to the Village's ongoing efforts to streamline the building permit and inspection process. 3 Based on discussion by those Board members present, the request to convert ~-~ three seasonal Intern positions into two part-time inspector positions was approved. Mr. Cooney also requested an upgrade of a ',Current" Planner position to that of "Seniof' Planner position. The change in classification would also: result in an increase in salary from the Iow to mid-S40,000 range, to the Iow to mid-S50,000 range~ Mr: Cooney cited as reasons for his request; the tight labor market and the need to attract the most qualified individual for this position; Mr. Cooney explained that the Senior Planning position is the main contact for all development taking place in the Village. This position is also responsible for processing all Zoning cases before the ZBA as well as requests before the Plan Commission. As such, this position was critical to the smooth operation of the Department of Community Development. Discussion among Village Board members recognized the importance of this position. Based upon questioning, Mr. Cooney indicated that the position would be open to both internal and external candidates, it was also noted that due to the importance of this position, training with regard to the Village's Code requirements and procedures would be critical. Based upon discussion by those Board members present, there was unanimous consensus to reclassify the Current Planner position to Senior Planner and increase the salary accordingly. VI. UPDATE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER Village Manager Michael Janonis stated that the Public information Officer's position had been in place and operational for approximately one year. He felt it appropriate to review with Village Board members the Public Information Program that has been developed over that timeframe. He noted that two major components of the Program, the redesigned Newsletter and the upgraded Web Page, had been a primary focus of the Public information Officer. Public Information Officer Maura Jandris reviewed with Village Board members her memorandum outlining the various Program initiatives and accomplishments she has undertaken during her tenure with the Village. Ms~ Jandris made a PowerPoint presentation, which highlighted the new Village Newsletter, the Web Page as well as programs and brochures she has had a hand in developing: She also noted that she is a member of the Chamber of Commerce Communications Committee and the staff liaison to the Sister Cities Commission, among other duties and responsibilities. ~- 4 The general consensus of Village Board members present was that the public information effort was very good. Many of the goals and expectations the Village Board had set for the position were being realized. It was suggested by several Trustees that the public information effort look to create an identifying "mark" for all Village publications. In this way, readers would recognize immediately that the publication was produced by the Village of Mount Prospect. It was also suggested that efforts be made to standardize Village letterhead and other correspondence. The identity of the Village should be primary with Departmental identification being secondary. It was also suggested that additional efforts be made to advertise the Village's Web Page address and make the Web Page as interactive as possible. Enhancements to the economic development aspect of the public information program was also noted as an ongoing priority. Village Manager Michael Janonis also presented a request that the Village Board consider increased funding for the Village Newsletter. Initial Budget estimates for the revised format called for a 12-page Newsletter, published six times a year. For the first three editions, pa~e length had averaged around 20. It was estimated that given a sixteen-page Newsletter for the remaining three issues would require an additional $25,000 to cover printing and paper costs. Mr. Janonis acknowledged that the cost overruns were unfortunate, but noted that the staff had been engaged in experimentation with layout and length of the product. He also noted that the overwhelming response to the new format had been positive. Village Board feedback acknowledged that the new format Newsletter was a great improvement over the previous publication. They acknowledged that they, too, had received positive feedback from the public. Mr. Janonis noted that he had only received one negative comment regarding the new Newsletter. Discussion among Board members solicited a variety of comments. Trustee Corcoran stated that he was satisfied with the current length of the Newsletter and did not want to see it cut back substantially. Trustee Wilks cautioned that if the Newsletter was too long, it might dissuade some people from reading it thoroughly. Trustee Skowron suggested that a target length should be 16 pages with the understanding that there would be times where more pages would be necessary but also that there might be occasions when the Newsletter could be shorter. Mayor Farley suggested that staff be allowed to continue experimenting through the remainder of this Budget year and take a hard look at the subject dudng the 2001 Budget review process. 5 Trustee Hoefert stated that information dissemination to the public was a paramount resoonsibility of the Village. He generally agreed with Mayor Farley that staff should continue to experiment with the Newsletter and review the cost issue during the upcoming Budget preparation cycle. Trustee Prikkel suggested that the staff experiment with larger font type or different font styles to make the publication as readable as possible to seniors and others with sight impairments. After considerable discussion, it was the consensus of the Village Board to approve an increase in the Newsletter Budget of $25,000. Mr. Janonis said he would bring back an appropriate Budget Amendment during the mid-year Budget review. VII. MANAGER'S REPORT Village Manager Michael Janonis noted that June Coffee with Council would be held on Saturday, June 10 at Village Hall. He also noted that next week would see the arrival of the French Sister Cities delegation. He reviewed the various activities planned for the week. · VIII.ANY OTHER BUSINESS Trustee Hoefert asked that staff look at the signal timing in the area of the Route 83 reconstruction project; specifically the signals at Prospect Avenue and Route 83. He also stated that the drive lane going south on Route 83 seemed to be too narrow. He asked that staff look into the possibility of widening the lane somewhat. Trustee Wilks noted that there had been a ruptured natural gas line in the construction zone which had disrupted traffic flow and inconvenienced residents. She indicated a desire for closer field oversight so that such occurrences did not repeat themselves. Trustee Skowron inquired about whether the regular July 4 Village Board meeting would be moved to Wednesday, July 5, The Village Manager indicated that it would be the normal procedure. However, given the Holiday period, Board members might want to consider canceling the meeting altogether. Mr. Janonis stated that he would review items of business to see if that would be feasible. Mayor Farley inquired whether siding would be going up on the General Store prior to arrival of the French Sister Cities delegation. 6 Trustee Hoefert indicated that it would probably not be possible, Trustee Hoefert also noted that thero has been substantial work done to the building by Distdct 214 students and community volunteers. Work on the siding and front fagade would be commencing within the next week or so. Closed Session Mayor Farley noted the need for a Closed Session to discuss topics of Land Acquisition and Personnel. On a Motion by Trustee Wilks and Seconded by Trustee Hoefert, the Committee of the Whole meeting adjourned to. reconvene in Closed Session at 9:07 p.m. IX. ADJOURNMENT Meeting reconvened into Open Session at 10:15 p.m No other business was transacted and the meeting was adjourned at 10:18 p.m. MEJ/rcc Villag~ Ma nagfi.r/ ! \\VH\V02~DEPT~VILMGR\GEN\Cow~Minutos\050900 COW Minutes.doc 7