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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8. MEETING NOTICES 05/20/2008 VILLAGE OF MOUNT PROSPECT FINANCE COMMISSION AGENDA Thursday, May 22,2008 7:00 p.m. Village Hall Building 50 South Emerson Street 1 st Floor Community Center I Call to Order II Approval of Minutes - Meeting of March 19,2008 III Follow-Up Discussion to Joint Workshop IV Other Business V Chairman's Report VI Finance Director's Report VII Next Meeting: Wednesday, June 18,2008,6:00 p.m. VIII Adjournment NOTE: Any individual who would like to attend this meeting but because ofa disability needs some accommodation to participate should contact the Finance Director's Office at 50 South Emerson Street, Mount Prospect, (847) 392-6000, ext. 5277, TDD (847) 392-6064. FINANCE COMMISSION DRAFT MINUTES OF THE MEETING MARCH 19,2008 VILLAGE HALL BUILDING DRAFT I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:08 p.m. Those present included Acting Chairman Vince Grochocinski and Commissioners Wayne Gardner, John Kellerhals, Tom Pekras and Ann Smilanic. Also present were Director of Public Works Glen Andler, Deputy Director of Public Works Sean Dorsey, Director of Information Technology Joan Middleton, Director of Finance David Erb, Deputy Director of Finance Lynn Jarog and Finance Administrative Assistant Lisa Burkemper. Chairman Charles Bennett and Commissioner Don Ocwieja were absent. II. ApPROV AL OF MINUTES Commissioner John Kellerhals stated he had several changes to the minutes of 2/28/08. First Mr. Kellerhals mentioned a typographical error in the first paragraph on page two, received should be receive. Mr. Kellerhals also mentioned that he wanted the minutes to reflect the fact that he said during the meeting that he was opposed to the EOC. Mr. Kellerhals then stated that he personally took offense to the following statement in the 2/28/08 minutes: "Director of Finance David Erb reiterated that the charge of the Finance Commission is to find funding options for the proposed Fire Station and EOC and that these options should be discussed in greater detail in the coming months." Mr. Kellerhals outlined the duties as defined in the Village Code and again stated that he took offense to the statement as presented in the minutes. There was a general discussion regarding the charge of the Finance Commission. Mr. Kellerhals feels that if the members of the Commission do not agree with a project they have the right to present their opinions to the Village Board and as a Commission discuss alternative options. Mr. Kellerhals added that he did not feel the Commission could discuss/provide funding options for a project that they do not support. Commissioner Ann Smilanic agreed with Mr. Kellerhals that it would be difficult to provide funding options for a project they do not support. Acting Chairman Vince Grochocinski stated that as members of the Finance Commission each member has an obligation to be a good public servant and to try to find the best funding options available for a project whether they happened to agree with the project or not. Commissioner Tom Pekras agreed with the statement made by Mr. Grochocinski. Commissioner Wayne Gardner asked when the Finance Commission is supposed to start coming up with ideas for funding the new Fire Station # 14 and companion projects. Should the Commission wait until the costs are more accurate or go with the estimate that is in place right now. Upon further discussion it was decided to defer approving the minutes until the end of all the other items on the agenda. III. UPDATE ON COMBINED SEWER SYSTEM Deputy Director of Public Works Sean Dorsey presented a power point presentation that outlined the history of the Combined Sewer study and how the program has progressed over the last two and a half years. Mr. Dorsey stated that so far the Village has spent much less than originally estimated on repairs associated with the project. The original total estimate for repairs was $14,426,000. Actual costs have come in much lower and the department thinks that if costs remain favorable total project costs would realistically be in the $11,500,000 range. Commissioner John Kellerhals asked what the service life is of the cured in place piping the Village is having installed. Director of Public Works advised that the life expectancy is approximately 50-70 years. There was a general consensus that the Commission was pleased with the work being done and they felt that it is an important and valuable project and further congratulated Public Works for their efforts. IV. UPDATE ON TELEPHONE SYSTEM PROPOSALS The Telephone System Proposal discussion took place before the Information Technology Discussion. There was a brief review of the status memo prepared by Administrative Analyst Mike Dallas. Director ofIT Joan Middleton advised that select staff conducted three different vendor visits and one additional site visit to see the proposed phone systems in use. Staffwill present the system recommendation to the Village Board at the April 22, 2008 Committee of the Whole meeting. Commissioner John Kellerhals voiced his opinion on the V oIP technology and urged the Village to go with this option because it is current technology and he didn't want to see the Village settle on old technology. Mr. Kellerhals also mentioned that the Village should choose a good business quality phone and not skimp on hardware. Commissioner Tom Pekras asked if the four new features listed in the memo were all being considered. Director of Finance David Erb said the features are going to be included in the final quotes provided by the vendors and the Village will then have the opportunity to decide which options they will choose. Commissioner John Kellerhals asked if the Commission can anticipate any additional staffing requests because the IT division will be in charge of administering the new phone system. Ms. Middleton advised there would not be a request and added that after the new phones are put in place and training has been done the division could expect to spend less time managing the system. V. INFORMA TION TECHNOLOGY DISCUSSION Director ofIT Joan Middleton provided a power point presentation that gave an overview of the databases being utilized by the various departments and how they interact with each other. Ms. Middleton further elaborated on the different types of databases and what information flows in and out of the various programs. Ms. Middleton also outlined several items that are planned for future integration in the various databases. Commissioner John Kellerhals stated that he understands the complexities of our integrated systems and suggests that possibly in the future the Village might consider one system that can take care of all our functions. VI. UPDATE ON WATER AND SEWER RATE STUDY Director of Finance David Erb discussed the memo that had previously been distributed to the Commission during the meeting. Mr. Erb stated that what prompted the need for a water and sewer rate study earlier than planned is that the rate for purchasing water from the City of Chicago will increase by 15% a year for the next three years. The Village purchases water from JAW A who purchases directly from the City of Chicago. Mr. Erb stated that the 2008 Budget does not account for the increase in water rates because the 2008 Budget was already set when news of the increase was made available. Mr. Erb further stated a water rate study will be prepared and presented at the Joint Review Meeting scheduled for April 29th. The study will be done in April after the Auditors have established results of final operations for 2007 and Public Works has submitted their Capital requests for water and sewer. Mr. Erb mentioned that since the Village water and sewer rate is made up of more than just the cost of water, the Village is not expected to increase the water and sewer rate by 15%. VII. OTHER BUSINESS There was nothing to report. 2 VIII. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT There was nothing to report. IX. FINANCE DIRECTOR'S REpORT There was nothing to report. The Commission resumed the discussion on approval of the February 28, 2008 minutes. Acting Chairman Vince Grochocinski stated that while the Commission has the right to disagree with the statement as reflected in the minutes they do not have the right to strike the statement from the minutes. Commissioner John Kellerhals motioned to postpone approval of the minutes to the next scheduled meeting. The motion failed for lack of a second. Finance Director David Erb offered to replace the word reiterated with "opined". There was a discussion regarding approving the minutes as amended. Commissioner John Kellerhals motioned to approve the minutes of February 28,2008 as amended. Commissioner Tom Pekras seconded the motion and all were in favor with the exception of Ann Smilanic. The motion carried. There was a discussion relative to Mr. Erb's comments about the charge and scope of the Finance Commission and several members disagreed with the comment and thought clarification was needed prior to the next meeting. Commissioner Kellerhals added that the members do not take direction regarding the scope of the Finance Commission's duties from staff, and that this direction comes from the Mayor and Village Board. Mr. Kellerhals believes that the duty of the Commission is to look at Village operations as a whole and not just financing issues. Acting Chairman Vince Grochocinski added that while the Commission does have some specific responsibilities like finding funding options they can, as a Commission, make recommendations and the Mayor and Board can choose to incorporate the recommendations or not. Furthermore, this should not stop the Commission from finding a funding source. Commissioner Ann Smilanic stated that if the Commission does not approve of a project it would be difficult to work on finding a funding source. Commissioner Tom Pekras disagreed. Mr. Pekras stated if the Village Board asks the Finance Commission for recommendations it is the Commissions responsibility to try to come up with recommendations on how to fund a project. Whether they agree with the project or not, the Commission has an obligation to do so. Commissioner John Kellerhals added that as a Commission they can disagree with a project and let the Mayor and Board know of its disagreement. Acting Chairman Vince Grochocinski stated the Commission might feel like it has not been involved enough in the decision making process. Mr. Erb said that if staff can provide additional information the members can certainly request that information. Commissioner Ann Smilanic said she attended the Board Meeting where ChiefFigolah presented on the proposed fire station and companion projects. The majority of the trustees were in agreement with the project and Ms. Smilanic stated she did not realize the Board was in essence approving the project. Mr. Erb stated that his understanding was that the Board agreed on the general concept ofthe proposed station and the companion projects and explained that there is a frame work in place for the project to continue. The Board had given staff authority to hire an architect and a construction manager to be able to come up with a cost for the project. This authority is only the first step in the process. 3 Commissioner Wayne Gardner added that the Finance Commission had not met themselves and come up with a recommendation or a consensus that could be presented in writing by the Chairman. Commissioner John Kellerhals added that his objective is to add value to the project and would like the opportunity to do so. Mr. Kellerhals said that at a certain financial impact the Commission might be supportive but then there is a certain tipping point where some members might not be supportive. Currently the project is only a picture on paper; therefore, the Commission still has the opportunity to make recommendations that will ultimately affect final cost. Several members asked about the opportunity to tour several new fire stations in the area with Chief Figolah. Commissioner John Kellerhals motioned that at the May meeting the Commission look at particulars of the Fire Station, Public Works Expansion and EOC projects and look at what the Commission is in support of with respect to each of the three distinct properties. Commissioner Wayne Gardner seconded the motion and the motion carried. X. NEXT MEETING: APRIL 29,2008 Commissioner Tom Pekras motioned to adjourn which Commissioner Wayne Gardner seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 9:55 p.m. The next meeting will be Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Burkemper Administrative Assistant Finance Department 4 MAYOR Irvana K. Wilks TRUSTEES Timothy J. Corcoran Paul Wm. Hoefer! Arlene J uracek A. John Kom Richard M. Lohrstorfer Michael A. Zadel Village of Mount Prospect Community Development Department 50 South Emerson Street Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056 NOTICE VILLAGE MANAGER Michael E. Janonis VILLAGE CLERK M. Lisa Angell Phone: 847/8 I 8-5328 Fax: 847/8 I 8-5329 TDD: 847/392-6064 THE THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2008 MEETING OF THE PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION HAS BEEN CANCELLED. THE NEXT REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING IS THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2008. MINUTES VILLAGE OF MOUNT PROSPECT COFFEE WITH COUNCIL SATURDAY, May 10,2008 9:00 AM Community Room, Village Hall Meeting convened at 9:00 AM. Those present: Trustee Lohrstorfer, Trustee Juracek, Trustee Corcoran, Trustee Hoefert, and Fire Chief Mike Figolah. Residents in Attendance: Carol Tortorello South Elmhurst Ave. Kimberly Sldc Owen Street Ken Koeppen Linneman Road Mal Holec Quince Lane Rodger Kruse South Louis Street Alyssa Hillman Sioux Lane Beverly Zamfel North Maple Street Tom Psihogius North Wille Street Bruce Nejdl North MacArthur Boulevard Franklin Young North Emerson Steve Polit Highland Street Ken Koeppen expressed concern for the southbound stop sign on Huntington Commons Road at Linneman Road because of a parkway tree hindering the sign visibility. Mr. Koeppen then brought up eliminating the vehicle stickers. Board members briefly expressed their concerns with the cost of enforcing the program, but replacing the revenue is the issue. While many discussions have taken place over the years there has been no action to eliminate the stickers. Mr. Koeppen inquired where to dispose of prescription drugs since flushing them down the sewer isn't advisable any longer. Ms. Tortorello stated that our Human Services department will take clearly identified prescriptions. The Solid Agency of Northern Cook County also accepts these prescriptions. Mr. Koeppen recommended the Village consider posting the cost of a ticket on Fire Lane signs. He believes that if people see the actual cost of the ticket they will be less likely to park in the lane. Mal Holec expressed concern with the proposed triangle development because of traffic congestion. He recommended the implementation of a circulating bus strictly for Mount Prospect. This bus (or buses) could continually circulate throughout the community from Randhurst to the downtown and other destinations. He stated that Wheeling currently has two buses for this use in their community. Trustee Juracek stated that she thought it cost the Village of Wheeling about $720,000 annually for that bus service. Board members expressed interest in learning more about the program. Mr. Holec asked the Board to consider a full-time police officer to be stationed at the corner of Busse Avenue and Route 83 to help pedestrian and vehicle traffic cross Route 83. Carol Tortorello expressed concern for a home at 712 West Busse Avenue because the houses address number is spray painted on the home. The house is newly constructed. Ms. Tortorello expressed concern for an illegally parked car at 108 S. Pine Street. She sees this car parked there frequently. Ms. Tortorello brought up the proposed triangle development for discussion. She specifically asked if the cost of Busse Avenue (roadway) was included in the $9.5M cost that the Village was going to contribute to the developer. A debate took place amongst the Board members whether there is a dollar value for the roadway without consensus. Rodger Kruse expressed thanks to the police department for their recent crackdown of illegal drivers. He also expressed kudos to whoever cleaned up the orange mess at 701 Prospect Avenue. Mr. Kruse asked for extra police presence at the corner of William Street and Prospect A venue for stop sign violators. Melissa Hillman introduced herself as a member of the Mount Prospect Youth Commission. She asked if the Board and staff would consider a Youth in Government week where students could shadow the Mayor and staff. A brief discussion took place with support from all. Some recommendations included; not confining the shadows to one week as some may not be available that week and including a mock Village Board meeting where the students could play roles and solve real issues. She appreciated the comments and will take them back for consideration. Kimberly Skic stopped in to see what was going on without any specific issues other than to recognize the fire department for this week's Children's Fire Safety Festival at Randhurst. Chief Figolah stated that more than 3,000 kids went through this week's program and that this was the 29th annual event. Next year's event is questionable due to Randhurst potential redevelopment. Tom Psihogius stopped by just to see what went on. Bruce Nejdl stopped by to express his concerns with parking access for the proposed triangle development. He related a recent newspaper speak-out that spoke about the Des Plaines Metropolitan Square development. He stated that the newspaper comment spoke of customers (at the Metropolitan Square) that looked for on-street parking in front of the shop they were to visit, but if a parking spot wasn't available in front of the store the customer would leave the area; ignoring the parking deck. Mr. Nejdl expressed concern that most people don't like parking decks and, for various reasons, will not park there. He sees a correlation with the proposed triangle development. Although he stated that he personally has no problem parking in the decks and walking a little farther. Mr. Nejdl expressed concern for homeless people taking refuge in parking decks. He is concerned that there are even some homeless in the Village Hall deck. Staff will investigate and take appropriate action. Mr. Nejdl stated that he wanted to see a grocery store in the downtown. Everyone in attendance expressed the same interest. Trustee Corcoran stated that we need more density in the downtown to attract a grocery store. Beverly Zamfelleft the meeting without any comments. Franklin Young recommended the Village look at a different sidewalk replacement program. He stated that the current program, which charges $48 per square, doesn't appropriately look at the bigger picture. He said that the sidewalks in front of his home are all out of level, but only some are broken and/or uneven. He proposed a plan that will allow him to pay a smaller portion to fix larger sections of sidewalk. Board members expressed desire to look at this issue and perhaps consider a sliding scale to coincide with the quantity of sidewalk squares. Steve Polit expressed concern over all of the illegal signs that are placed throughout the Village on Friday's at 4 PM. He states that the people responsible for putting up these signs in the parkways and on utility poles are very sophisticated and know that if they place their signs after staff leaves for the weekend their signs are safe until Monday. His recommendation is to allow residents to have the ability to pull these signs and throw them away. He is aware of a local policy that doesn't allow residents to police these signs. Board members stated that the idea of having residents remove signs may have merit, but only after these selected residents were trained by staff. Steve stated that people would need to be warned about grabbing signs because some are booby-trapped. He is aware of signs with sharp edges and grease to deter people from removing the signs. Mr. Polit asked about the status of the Holiday Inn because he noticed no work being performed and the building posted "Stop Work." Chief Figolah stated that the Holiday Inn has permits to perform outside work, but permits have not been issued for inside work yet work was being performed inside. The stop work order was posted for the inside work and some site conditions. Plans are due this week so that work will hopefully resume. The meeting was adjourned at 10:45 AM. <--t - =d P-- -- Respectfully Submitted, Michael J. Figolah Fire Chief