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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2. DRAFT MINUTES 09/25/2007 11/13/2007 }~~;s~fi;-:~if4, II ~/Y ,-~,)-, I'll' . ',,' ~L.~ ," ~ ~u.lP "f~"1IlI1 'r.."I'..'~. .:;: ''':.=7'/~ \ <:- "':/ COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES September 25, 2007 I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:06 p.m. in the Village Board Room of Village Hall, 50 South Emerson Street, by Mayor Irvana Wilks. Present at the meeting were: Trustees Paul Hoefert, Arlene Juracek, and Michael Zade!. Staff present was Assistant Manager David Strahl, Police Chief John Dahlberg, Fire Chief Michael Figolah, Emergency Management Coordinator Thomas Janetske, and Community Development Director William Cooney. II. MINUTES Approval of Minutes of August 14, 2007. Two minor modifications to the minutes were made. Motion made by Trustee Zadel and seconded by Trustee Juracek to approve minutes with modifications. III. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD Mayor Wilks read an Emergency Preparedness Month Proclamation and presented it to the Fire Chief. Fire Chief Figolah spoke. He stated the natural disaster of August 23 was a prime example of why it is necessary for emergency preparedness. He also stressed the importance of residents creating a back up plan for their own safety and the ability to function without assistance for at least 48 hours. Tom Janetske, Emergency Management Coordinator spoke. He wanted to recognize the CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) members for their assistance during the storm of August 23. Joe Mojica-622 E. Sha Bonee spoke. He stated he is coming to the Board to voice concerns about overnight street parking enforcement that is about to take place on Sha Bonee. He had previously been instructed to contact the landlord of his property to address his need to park multiple vehicles. He was questioning why it is necessary to enforce this Ordinance now, what has changed, and where would he be able to park his second car. He stated the Village Board is taking away parking without providing any options to him and other residents in the area. Police Chief Dahlberg spoke. He provided a history of the parking enforcement on the street and the additional signage which has been addressed near the intersection of the alley with William Street due to turning radius issues. He stated that previously residents and the owners in this area had told the Village they are working on a possible solution to their parking situation. In return, the Village relaxed enforcement of the overnight parking ban until a solution was in place. However, no action has been completed so there is a need to enforce the Ordinance. He stated he has walked the area and there are a number of garages that are available for use in many instances. He also stated there will be a need to have an accurate account of the number of vehicles that need parking, based on his review he estimates anywhere from 12 to 20 vehicles. He noted the area which has vehicles parked on the street has expanded over time apparently because there are more vehicles now than there have been in the past. He stated part of the problem might be the fact there are at least four homeowners associations in this area. General comments from the Village Board members included the following items: 1. There was a question whether any of the landlords completed the Crime Free Housing Training and whether that training would assist in addressing this issue. 2. There were also comments reiterating the equitable enforcement of the Ordinance and the fact the Ordinance has been around for several decades. 3. It was suggested some additional signage be added in the mid-block area. 4. It was also suggested residents be given some additional time to discuss a possible solution to the parking situation, possibly to November 1. 5. It was requested Village Board members be provided updates and status reports of the discussions prior to November 1. David Brents-620 E. Sha Bonee spoke. He stated he has observed Katco workers parking on the street as early as 5:00 a.m. and the fact the fence screening the yard for Katco makes it impossible for him to maneuver his vehicle into his garage. He also stated there are four units with one parking spot each and very few people only have one vehicle. He noted that he has not seen tickets being written along William for long time or overnight parking as he has on Sha Bonee. Lynne Arntson-614 E. Sha Bonne spoke. She stated she is the owner of the property which originally had one parking space but now she has two cars. She stated she had called the police at the time she was considering purchasing another vehicle and was told there was no enforcement on Sha Bonee at that time. Chief Dahlberg spoke. He wanted to clarify the fact that the lack of enforcement along Sha Bonee was only a temporary situation until a parking solution was worked out. Robert Punazak-721 S. Williams spoke. He stated he is concerned the owners will not be motivated to work directly with residents to offer a solution. Angela Infante- 716 E. Sha Bonee spoke. She stated when she moved into her rental unit the owner never told her parking was not allowed on Sha Bonee. Greg White of 423 S. Williams spoke. He stated due to economic circumstances renters must have multiple cars since multiple residents live in each unit due to the high rents. 2 General comments from the Village Board members reinforced the fact that the Village will not solve the problem for the residents but will work with the residents and owners for a possible solution. IV. PROPOSED CHANGES TO FACADE IMPROVEMENT AND INTERIOR BUILDOUT PROGRAMS Community Development Director William Cooney provided an overview of the current program as it stands to date. He is requesting the two programs be merged into one in order to improve the recruiting and marketing effort to entice retail establishments to move into Mount Prospect. He is also requesting the removal of the five year minimum of time the business was previously required to be present in Mount Prospect before they could apply for such a grant. He stated that these improvements will help target sales tax generating businesses. General comments from the Village Board members included the following items: 1. It was clarified that the funds for these improvements in this program are only through TIF funds and are available to existing businesses. 2. It was suggested that there be additional clarifications as to the type of businesses that are eligible including some examples. 3. There was also a comment regarding the communication outreach and how it can be improved. 4. There was also a discussion regarding who would actually obtain the grant whether it would be the business owner or the building owner if they were different. 5. There was a discussion regarding the assistance for sprinkler improvement build-out that may not be part of the new construction. Consensus of the Village Board was supportive of the changes as recommended by staff. V. EMPLOYER ASSISTED HOUSING PROGRAM Community Development Director Bill Cooney stated there has been a movement across Northwest suburbs to assist employees in obtaining affordable housing within the community for which they work. He stated this assistance would be available to employees that met the income criteria and stay with the employer for a minimum period of time. He also stated there is a limited amount of funds available for this program and would be on a first come first serve basis. Claire O'Shea Long Range Planner spoke. She stated this program would be a valuable recruitment tool. General comments from the Village Board members included the following: Several Board members wanted to clarify any program that would be established under these parameters would not be required under any collective bargaining agreement with the employees and extra effort would need to be undertaken to avoid any possible appearances of favoritism. 3 VI. DOWNTOWN PARKING RECOMMENDATIONS Community Development Director William Cooney provided an overview of the Downtown parking surveys that had been completed during the summer. He stated there is plenty of parking in the downtown area and many spaces are under utilized. He also highlighted the fact that there is substantial evening parking available for any activity which is occurring in the downtown area. The parking review is broken down into several areas for discussion purposes. Each area will be discussed independently and recommendations or modifications will be considered for each area. Prospect Avenue (west of Pine)-there is insufficient on site employee parking. Recommendation from staff is to consider issuing parking passes for parking beyond the four hour zone for thirty nine available spaces. Village Board suggestions included: 1) designating parking further away from Prospect Avenue; 2) a daily pay basis so that it would not be convenient for commuters. Consensus of the Village Board was to consider a hang tag system. Elmhurst Avenue/Northwest Highway-there is insufficient employee parking. Options include: 1) increasing the zone from two hour to four hour; 2) establish employee parking on Prospect as a fee based; 3) consider parking in the Village Hall deck on a per fee basis. Staff recommended either option 2 or 3. Consensus of the Village Board was option 3 however, employees would not be charged for parking in the Village Hall parking deck due to bond sale and electrical service restrictions. Village Hall Parking Deck-consider instituting short term overnight parking for guests of the condominiums and surrounding area. Suggestion by staff was to set up a three day parking pass for a set number of spaces on a first come, first serve basis. This would be on a trial basis with no fee using different color hang tags. Village Board discussion included the fact that if this were available to the condominium owners then other residents in the community should also be considered for this program. Consensus from the Village Board was to continue discussions and formulate how this program might work on an administrative basis. Chase Bank Parking Lot-the parking lot in the evening is significantly under utilized. It could meet much of the parking needs related to businesses at Busse and Emerson. Currently there are signs restricting parking in the lot but many times it is not enforced. Staff recommendation is to pursue a parking lease agreement with the property owner to allow parking between 5:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. 4 Consensus of the Village Board was to empower staff to approach the Bank property owner to consider leasing options. Maple Street Parking Lot- currently it is limited to residential parking only and there is an average of 82 spaces left unused after 10:30 a.m. on weekdays. The option is to consider issuing residential overnight parking passes for a fee to utilize some of the under utilized spaces; however, there is still snow removal and staging issues that need to be worked out prior to this option being considered. There was also some need to address the business need of reverse commuters, again it would be fee based. Consensus of the Village Board was to direct staff to explore further the parking options and make sure the cars move and they do not impede necessary Village operations of the lot and do not create additional staff administration. Downtown Parking Signage staff option is to consider hiring a consultant to assess the current directional signage with the goal to redesign and relocate signage for better communication with the vehicle drivers. This would also be coordinated with banner programs highlighting downtown and community events along with directional signage on light poles which highlight different areas of the community and downtown. Part of the interest is to better identify the Village parking deck and encourage additional usage. General comments from the Village Board members included the following items: 1. It was suggested that some additional signage be placed on the outside of the parking garage, but be limited as to not damage the brick that is currently attached to the building. 2. There was also a suggestion to consider the option of physical barriers to direct cars more efficiently into and out of the deck. Consensus of the Village Board was to pursue the option of hiring a consultant to review the parking signage issues. Trustee Hoefert also suggested staff look at the opportunities and possible locations for a low rise parking garage which would allow doubling up of any surface parking space in the downtown. VII. ANY OTHER BUSINESS None VIII. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 9:37 p.m. :D&d:S'tfj DAVID STRAHL Assistant Village Manager 5 //f:~"'~;t~~b:, (! !(~~..~ \ 4~1l.lV'..fcll"Il..I'r...prrl J ~:,.. ,.\..;;~,~ , ::,1: ":/' COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES November 13, 2007 I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:07 p.m. in the Village Board Room of Village Hall, 50 South Emerson Street, by Mayor Pro Tem Richard Lohrstorfer. Present at the meeting were: Trustees Timothy Corcoran, Arlene Juracek, John Korn and Mike Zadel. Staff present was Village Manager Michael Janonis, Assistant Manager David Strahl, Human Services Director Nancy Morgan, Public Works Director Glen Andler, Deputy Director Sean Dorsey, IT Director Joan Middleton, Fire Chief Mike Figolah, Deputy Chief Malcolm, Village Engineer Jeff Wulbecker, Public Works Administrative Superintendent Jason Leib, Battalion Chief Chris Truty, Streets/Building Superintendent Paul Bures, Water Superintendent Matt Overeem, Finance Director David Erb, Forestry Superintendent Sandy Clark and Vehicle Maintenance Superintendent Jim Guenther. II. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES OF OCTOBER 23. 2007 Motion made by Trustee Juracek and seconded by Trustee Zadel to approve minutes. Minutes were approved. Approval of Minutes of September 25,2007. Minutes were deferred since there were not enough Trustees present at this meeting that were not absent on September 25. III. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD None IV. 2008 BUDGET DISCUSSION Village Assistant Manager David Strahl introduced IT Director Joan Middleton to provide an overview of the IT operation and data relationships among the various departments. She presented a summary of the consolidation of the activities of the IT Division over the last several years and the use of Process Review for Data Management. She also highlighted the use of the Master Address System for consolidation of all information per address. Village Board recommended consideration of an outside security expert to review the vulnerabilities and policies regarding maintenance of data. Village Administration Budget Overview Assistant Manager David Strahl provided an overview of the Village Administration Budget. He stated the Administration Budget includes Public Representation, Village Manager's Office, Legal Services, Human Resources, Information Technology, Public Information, Television Services and the Village Clerk's Office. He stated the Public Representation segment of the budget is proposed to increase 2.25% with the majority of the increases associated with a rise in organizational memberships. Village Manager's Office Budget Highlight: Assistant Village Manager David Strahl provided an overview of the Village Manager's Office Budget. The proposed increase of .68% includes the conversion of the part-time intern position to a full-time Administrative Analyst position. The Legal Services segment of the budget is a contractual arrangement with outside counsel and is proposed to decrease 17.7% assuming labor negotiations are completed early in 2008. The Human Resources Division has a projected increase of 31.7%. This increase represents a salary adjustment pool and an increase in other retirement benefits of a contributory plan recently established by the Village Board. The Information Technology Division has a proposed increase of 8.36% with the majority of the increase attributed to GIS application development. The Public Information Division has a proposed increase of 20% which is related to the implementation of a Marketing Plan for 2008. The Television Services Division has a proposed budget increase of 2.5%. The Village Clerk's Office has a projected increase of 4.15%. The total 2008 proposed for the Administration Department is $2,989,232 and overall increase of 4.2% or $120,367. Finance Department Budget Overview Finance Director Dave Erb provided an overview of the 2007 accomplishments along with the 2008 goals and objectives for the Finance Department. He highlighted the fact the Village has gone live on an E-Pay System with approximately 90 users utilizing the system at this time. He anticipates expanding the E-Pay option for other services during 2008. Among the upcoming goals and objectives for the Finance Department include a review of the license fees and an update of Chapter 11 along with an update of the long term financial policy. He's also suggesting a fixed asset inventory for all Village property. It's been several years since such an inventory took place and would be valuable to have one updated. He is anticipating the assemblage of a Comprehensive Revenue Manual and a Standard Operating Procedure Manual for payroll and fringe benefits. He stated the department would be involved in the Station 14 construction financing and TIF Development financing projects. He noted his department's budget is projected to increase 4.3% primarily related to wage and benefits. He provided a general overview of the non-departmental items including the Community and Civic Services Budget which has a projected increase of 2.6% from the prior year. He highlighted the fact that the overtime budget for the July 4 event and other civic events has been increased by $5,000 to accommodate the number of civic events planned for 2008. That service fund is projected to increase 12.06% which does not yet include any bonds related to Fire Station 14. The total Village and Library debt as of 12/31/07 will be $39,000,000 with the Library's portion accounting for $18,000,000. He stated the debt as a percentage of EA V is under 2.5% which is significantly under the maximum amount available for non home-rule communities; even though Mount Prospect is a home-rule community and is not bound by the limitations. Pension Funds Overview Police pension fund has a projected increase of 4.7% with the levy for the police pension increasing 5.6% and the fund is currently funded at 75.4% which is an increase from 74% of funding from the prior year. Fire Pension fund represents a 5.9 % increase from the previous year with the Fire Pension levy increasing 6.7% and the current level of funding at 76%. 2 The Insurance, Property Liability, and Workers Comp portion of the Budget includes a decrease of 13.1 %. This decrease is primarily related to the liability insurance premium that was previously paid and is now earmarked for self funded options. He also highlighted the High Level Access Pool (HELP) Pool which will be coming up for renewal in 2008. He anticipates that the program will be renewed in 2008 but will advise the Board as discussions continue on. He stated there are three levels of insurance coverage under the HELP Pool. The first $2,000,000 are self-insured by the municipality, the next $4,000,000 are retained by HELP through a pool enragement with the next $6,000,000 in excess liability coverage through the pool. The Insurance Fund includes life and health insurance. This program anticipates a 7% increase from the prior year with health insurance costs estimated at $12,680 per employee. He stated the Village is a member of the Inter-Governmental Personnel Benefit Cooperative Insurance Pool. He also stated the Mount Prospect Public Library Budget for 2008 is $8.6 million which represents an increase of 4.7% operationally and an overall budget increase of less than 1 %. The proposed levy of $8.2 million is an increase of 5.9% from the previous year. Fire Department Budget Overview Chief Figolah provided an overview of the Fire Department budget. He highlighted the 2007 accomplishments and the 2008 goals and objectives. He stated his department has a total of 124 personnel, which includes seventy-two sworn personnel, eleven civilian, twenty paid-on-call, twenty civilian CERT members and one Emergency Management Coordinator. He noted to date in 2007 the department has responded to 3,650 medical incidents or 66% of the total call volume and responded to 1,894 fire calls or 34%. He stated the department responds to 87% of the calls in 2007 under six minutes. He also stated among the accomplishments of 2007 was an updated automatic Aid Agreement with Prospects Heights and a rewrite of the Board and Fire Commission rules. He noted the space study for Station 14 which incorporates a Public Works expansion and Emergency Operation Center has been completed. He mentioned the department has also replaced 4,000 feet of five inch hose. The Fire Prevention Division has completed 4,900 inspections for the year to date. He stated one of the items the department completed for the year was an Emergency Response and Crisis Management Grant. This included installing radio equipment in all schools in addition to school surveys, school security assessments, and crisis management training which was coordinated through the department. 2008 objectives include a large scale mutual aid drill, complete advanced incident management training, and updating the Village Fire Codes. He stated the items that are anticipated to increase in the Budget for 2008 includes employment testing due to the fact of a new hire test is necessary. He also anticipates replacing the multi-gas meters which have become obsolete and replacing turnout clothing. He stated the department is preparing for coordinating the construction of a new Fire Station 14 and the Public Works expansion in addition to Emergency Operations Center for 2008. The noted overall budget increase for 2008 is projected to be 4.5%. Public Works Budget Overview Public Works Director Glen Andler provided an overview of the 2007 accomplishments and the 2008 goals. He highlighted the Linneman Road reconstruction project. He also summarized the combined sewer system improvements which included 20,000 linear feet lined and 218 linear feet replaced. He stated 100% of the Category 5 sewers have been repaired and 42% of the Category 4 sewers have been repaired. He noted they continue to be on target for completion of this project on schedule. The department coordinated residential traffic control studies in four zones and completed sign changes in three zones with completed post studies in four zones. To date the study costs have mounted to $83,501. The total cost of the program to date, including construction and signage cost, is $237,899. He highlighted the Public Works response to the August 23 storm and recovery efforts. He stated the department removed all debris from Village trees within two weeks amounting to 11,000 cubic yards of logs and brush removed. He also stated the storm required 330 village trees to be removed. He highlighted the construction of the levee wall along River Road. He stated the projected budget increase for Public Works is 0.2%. He is requesting an increase in funding for Forestry due to the 2006 drought, recent damage from the August 23 storm and an increase in the Elm Yellow and Dutch Elm disease impact on trees. He is requesting the fencing at Well 8 and 9 be replaced and improved for visual appearance to the adjacent residence. He also is anticipating the one million gallon storage tank at Booster Station 11 be repainted inside and out for 2008 with an estimated cost of $300,000. He further highlighted the necessity to dredge the retention ponds in Kensington Center starting with pond #7, which is estimated to cost $196,000. He stated 2008 would begin Phase III of the Prospect/Meadows Water Main Improvement Project which is relocating approximately 1,800 linear feet of water main from the back yards to Right-A-Way. He also highlighted a number of replacements of public facility infrastructure among public buildings in the Village. Finance Commission Comments: Chuck Bennett, Finance Chairman of the Finance Committee, read the recommendations from the Finance Commission to the Village Board for their consideration. General comments from the Village Board Members included the following item: . It was requested that staff add a line item to include a Data Protection Consultant to review the data and recommend security protocols' for data maintenance. Manager Janonis stated if the Village were to receive any FEMA reimbursements funds as have been promised such monies could be utilized for assisting in some of the tree replacement necessary due to the August 23 storm. V. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Trustee Korn stated the Lions Club is undertaking a program to collect donated goods to assist in the California fire victims. VIII. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m. ~ 4#9j ~ DAVID STRAHL Assistant Village Manager 4 DATE: November 13,2007 TO: Mayor and Board of Trustees FROM: Finance Commission SUBJECT: Proposed 2008 Village Budget First of all, we'd like to thank the Village Manager and his staff, especially the Finance Department, for an excellent presentation on the proposed 2008 budget. We had the opportunity to review the budget documentation, hear presentations from all Department Heads, ask as many questions as we could think of, and solicited some additional information, all of which was received and reviewed. We are very pleased to see a proposed budget that is balanced and has a projected surplus at the end of 2008. The proposed 3.760/0 increase in property taxes is reasonable, and we believe consistent with sound fiscal responsibility designed to generate sufficient income to meet the financial responsibilities for the Village of Mount Prospect. With that said, we felt it was our responsibility to look at any additional staffing requests for the new year. This is due to the fact that once we add additional people to our current staffing we have incurred not only their salary expense, but all of their fringe benefits, including pension obligations, insurance, additional training costs and any specialized equipment that may be necessary. We note the request to convert an intern position in the Village Manager's Office to a full time Administrative Analyst position. The Finance Commission has some reservations about this conversion to oversee special projects and to assist in organizational process reviews. This appears to be the right person in the right place at the right time for this job, but we are not convinced that a new permanent position in the Manager's office is necessary on a long term basis. We look forward to reports from the Manager's office in 2008 regarding the success in converting this intern position to a full time job, as well as the future need for this position if and when it becomes vacant. Page Two We would like to commend the village on the successful implementation of the crime free housing project which the Finance Commission fully supported in last year's budget. While this is not yet a completed task, we have every expectation that it will be fully implemented in 2008. Reports that we have heard indicate community satisfaction with this new program, and we can only hope that it will indeed reduce levels of crime in our community. The Finance Commission is also pleased with the implementation of the new traffic unit in the Police Department. While it took some time to fully staff this unit and bring it up to optimum operational status, it looks like it is already having a positive impact on speeding and other traffic related offenses in our village. We commend the Police Chief for making this a high priority and keeping the community informed thru presentations at the library, etc. Also, we would like to commend the village on its response to the storm of August 23rd. With over a million dollars in damage to both public and private property, this was a major storm event and many of us in our community were very thankful for the immediate and thorough response of all departments in our village, especially Public Works. The costs were unanticipated of course in our 2007 budget, and hopefully some of these necessary expenses will be reimbursed under the Federal Disaster Declaration for Cook County. This is just a good example of why we as a village need to maintain an adequate fund balance to cover unexpected events such as this. In this regard we are pleased that the Village Board concurred with our recommendation to implement a new fund balance policy this year, and to establish a permanent funding source for our capital improvement program. In regard to the 2008 budget, we continue to believe that any implementation of a video conferencing system needs to be primarily funded through the federal grant that was requested. Hopefully this will be approved in the near future. Page Three Although we support the need for an adequate and up-to-date phone system for the village, and recognize that technology has advanced quite rapidly in this area, while old systems may not be supported, we would suggest that the projected cost of a new phone system is of such a magnitude that sufficient bids will have to be solicited so as to obtain the best system for the least cost to the village. The Finance Commission would like to be informed and consulted in this process. In regard to computer equipment and how this is handled in the normal budget process, the Finance Commission has some concerns about how this is charged, or not charged, to the various departments so as to properly account for the computer needs and expenses in each department. We concur that all equipment should be of the same standard and compatible village wide, and IT should coordinate this effort. We look forward to discussing this issue at an early commission meeting in 2008, as proposed by the Village Manager. The Finance Commission questions the need for a "compensation adjustment pool" in the Manager's office, and recommends that this be incorporated in the appropriate line item where it was intended to be incurred in 2008. In regard to an item in our capital improvement program, we still have serious reservations about incurring over two million dollars for emergency generators to run the pumps in our water wells that we are not currently using. The Finance Commission would like to suggest that a more expedient option would be to purchase a number of mobile generators that are of comparable design so that they could be used in any number of emergency situations when and where power is needed. The cost of mobile generators would be considerably less than what is being spent in the CIP. Last, but certainly not least, the Finance Commission has serious concerns about the recommendations in phase one of the Space Study, which will have a big impact on our village in 2008 and beyond, even though it is not currently reflected in the proposed budget. Page Four The commission members would like to be included in future deliberations on the projected fire station, public works addition, and an emergency operations center. We represent the residents of our community and would like to make sure that we appropriately voice their concerns and/or support. On behalf of the members of the Finance Commission, we look forward to working with the Village Board on any issues regarding the 2008 Village budget and the implementation of the Space Study. I will be glad to take any questions you may have regarding our comments and recommendations. Thank you. Chuck Bennett Chairman Finance Commission