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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/23/1997 CS minutes MAYOR Gerald L. Farley ...~ .. \Z -,~ -t)~ TRUSTEES George A. Clowes Timothy J. Corcoran Paul Wm. Hoefert Richard M. Lohrstorfer Daniel A. Nocchi IIVana K. Wilks Phone: (847) 392-6000 Fax: (847)392-6022 TOO: (847) 392-6064 VILLAGE MANAGER Michael E. Janonis Village of Mount Prospect VILLAGE CLERK Carol A. Fields 100 South Emerson Street Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056 MINUTES CLOSED SESSION SEPTEMBER 23, 1997 The Closed Session was called to order at 7:58 p.m., in the conference room of the Senior Citizens' Center, 50 South Emerson Street, for the purpose of discussing Personnel. Present at the Closed Session were: Mayor Gerald L. Farley; Trustees George Clowes, Timothy Corcoran, Paul Hoefert, Richard Lohrstorfer, Daniel Nocchi and Irvana Wilks. Also present were: Village Manager Michael Janonis and Assistant Village Manager David Strahl. Board members reviewed Minutes of the September 16, 1997 Closed Session and gave preliminary approval for their acceptance in Open Session. Trustees Corcoran and Hoefert indicated that they were absent from the September 14 meeting and would be abstaining. Personnel Village Manager Michael Janonis reviewed with the full Board his rationale for appointing Deputy Fire Chief Michael Figolah to a six-month term as Acting Fire Chief. Mr. Janonis indicated that there was some precedence for this approach in that current Fire Chief Ed Cavello was appointed in a similar manner. Mr. Janonis indicated that he had spoken in detail with Deputy Chief Figolah about short-term objectives for the Fire Department and felt confident that Deputy Chief Figolah had a clear vision for the Department. Mr. Janonis indicated that the "Acting" could be shortened given Figolah's performance over the next several months. Village Board members concurred with Mr. Janonis' approach and indicated their support. Mr. Janonis indicated he would get a press release out to this effect as soon as possible. Litigation ucr'f Mr. Janonis reported that the Village had received a settlement offer of $61,000 for ~ Firefighter Dennis Amber's Workers' Compensation Case. Mr. Janonis reminded Board 1\ 1l.1..u..u... members that several months ago they had discussed potential litigation with regard to a gap in State Statutes that would allow certain Firefighters hired in the early 70s to receive both Disability Pension payments and Worker Compensation payments without offset. At that earlier date, Board members considered the potential impact on the Village's finances should there be a long-term payment on the Worker Compensation side. ~ ~ @ ~, r::!I~ ~ d~ d[;= 2) !~ ~@ Mr. Janonis indicated that since this would be a lump sum settlement that would cut off all future payments, it was in the best interest of the Village to accept the settlement offer and close the case out. Mr. Janonis indicated that both Finance Director Brian Caputo and attorney Pat Lucansky concurred with this strategy. Mayor Farley indicated that while the settlement might solve the immediate problem, there was no guarantee that other eligible Firefighters wouldn't pursue this double payment in the future. Board members acknowledged this possibility but felt that a settlement now would be in the Village's best interest. Property Acquisition Mr. Janonis indicated that the third appraisal on the Francek property was due in about two weeks. Mr. Janonis further reported that Kerry Stein's attorney had basically rejected the Village's counter offer of $200,000 for the junk yard property along with continuing liability on the part of the property owner for site clean-up. Mr. Janonis requested the Village Board consider covering the up-front expenses for a Phase 2 EPA study of the property. A Phase 2 Study would require soil borings and would give the Village a better indication of the level of contamination on the site. The cost per boring could be up to $2,000. Mr. Janonis felt that five or six borings would be the minimum necessary to give a general idea of site conditions. Board members indicated a willingness to expend said sums if an arrangement could be worked out that these expenses would be recovered in the event that the Village purchased the property. Staff was instructed to pursue this option. Assistant Village Manager David Strahl was excused from the Closed Session. Village Manager's Performance Review Board members then undertook a review of the Village Manager's performance over the last year. Board members reviewed the cumulative results of the written evaluation forms that each Board member had completed. Overall, Board members indicated a strong level of satisfaction and confidence in the performance of the Village Manager. There were several areas where Board members indicated a need for improvement: Better follow-up on individual citizen inquiries including more personal follow-up and quicker response times; the general need for improvements in the operation of the Community Development Department and the need to provide quicker advance notice to Board members regarding items that may generate citizen inquiries or press coverage. Several Trustees noted that the Assistant Village Manager had become a more integral and positive part of the Village's senior management team. A request was also made that the Visions group make a greater effort to solicit input from different segments of the community rather than continuing its internal organizational focus. There were some suggestions offered about how communication between the Village Manager's office and the Board could be improved through the use of voice mail, faxes and E-mail. Mr. Janonis indicated that he would look into these communication options. At 9:20 p.m., the Village Manager was excused from the Closed Session. In the Village Manager's absence, Board members discussed potential changes to the Village Manager's compensation package. At 9:35 p.m., Village Manager Michael Janonis re-entered the Closed Session. Mayor Farley indicated that the Village Board had unanimously agreed to raise the Village Manager's base salary from the current $95,000 to $104,500 retroactive to May 1, 1997. Contributions toward Deferred Compensation and car allowance would remain unchanged. The Mayor also indicated a desire by the Village Board to maintain the Manager's performance review on a May 1-April 30 cycle. There was no other business discussed in Closed Session and on a Motion by Trustee Lohrstorfer and Seconded by Trustee Hoefert with a unanimous roll call vote, the Closed Session was adjourned. In Open Session, the Closed Session Minutes of September 14 were approved on a Motion by Trustee Wilks and Seconded by Trustee Lohrstorfer with concurring votes from Mayor Gerald Farley; Trustees Clowes and Nocchi. Trustees Corcoran and Hoefert abstained. There being no further business conducted in open session, the Committee of the Whole meeting was adjourned at 9:44 p.m. on a unanimous vote following a Motion by Trustee Corcoran and Seconded by Trustee Nocchi. MEJ/rcc