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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/08/1998 COW minutes MINUTES COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE SEPTEMBER 8, 1998 I. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Farley called the meebng to order at 7 34 p m Present at the meeting were Trustees George Clowes, T~mothy Corcoran, Paul Hoefert, Richard Lohrstorfer and Irvana W~lks. Trustee Darnel Nocchi arrived at 8'15 p m 'Staff members present Includ~d Village Manager M~chael E Janoms, Assistant V~llage Manager David Strahl, Public Works D~rector Glen Andler, V~llage Engineer Jeff Wulbecker, Community Development Director W~ll~am Cooney and Finance D~rector Doug EIIsworth II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of M~nutes from August 25,'1998 Motion made by Trustee Nocch~ and Seconded by Trustee Wllks to approve the Minutes. Trustee Clowes requested a modification to the Minutes. Trustee Nocchi requested a clarification to this comments as did Trustee W~lks. Minutes were approved with the modifications requested. Trustees Hoefert and Lohrstorfer abstained from approving the Minutes III.CITIZENS TO BE HEARD None IV. PROSPECT MANOR/VVALNUT STREET PARKING ISSUE Village Engineer JeffWulbecker stated that th~s issue ~s coming back from the April 21, 1998 meeting in which the ~tem was discussed before the Village Board and the Board recommended addibonal effort be made in an opportunity to obtain a comprem~se to resolve the parking issue Mr. Wulbecker provided an overview of the activities to date including all the meetings and d~scuss~ons with the cibzens in addition to proposed solutions presented to the c~bzens at the various meetings Village Manager Janonis stated this meeting was designed to adwse the Board of the proceedings to date. However, in reviewing the material, ~t has been not~ced that the residents of th~s area were notified to attend a Public Meeting on September 15 instead of this evening Therefore, he would recommend th~s ~nforrnabon be put over for final discussion at the September 15 Village Board meeting He would request this be done in an effort to afford residents the opportumty to voice the r v ewpo nts on the suggested revision presented by staff He stated to date there has been very I~m~ted representabon from cibzens m discussing th~s issue 1 General consensus of the Village B~ard was to hold final discussion of this ~tem until ~"-") September 15 ensuring the opportunity for clbzens to provide input regarding the proposed compromise by staff V. MELAS PARK IMPROVEMENTS STATUS REPORT ~ Public Works Director Glen Andler stated that the Village has received a $500,000 Grant from the State to help m funding the proposed ~mprovements to Melas Park The items, which the funding w~ll assist in braiding, are the jogging paths surrounding the Park, the improvement in the parking entrance allowing for turn lanes, the ~nstallation of a washroom fac~hty and additional hght~ng Th~s effort is m cooperation with the Arlington Heights Park DIstnct and Mt Prospect Park Distnct ~n addition to the Metropolitan Water Reclamabon District, which actually owns the property The coordmabon of the project between these entibes has been ongoing, however, the opportumty to utlhze these funds will accelerate the complebon of the project He stated that the Grant funds must be spent by June 30, 1999 He also stated that the bids for the path construction are expected to be opened within the next two weeks so that construction can beg~n later this fall w~th , some restoration remaining to be completed in the spnng. General comments from the V~llage Board members included the following items' ~ A number of Trustees commented that the improvement has been long awaited and w~ll be quite beneficial to patrons of the Park facihty Thero was also some concern about the width of the path and how the shoulders of the path would be constructed, whether with gravel or other material This item was for general information purposes only and required no V,llage Board action at this time. VI. DOWNTOWN TRAIN STATION IMPROVEMENTS Village Manager Janoms is bnng~ng th~s item back to the V~llage Board to prowde an update outhmng what the prewously approved funds have been used for and a request for additional funds to complete the project Community Development Director Bill Cooney stated that approximately $40,000 has been spent on intenor ~mprovements and reflects the first money spent on ~ mamta~mng the station since ~mprovements were completed in 1985 Among the ~mprovements contemplated w~th additional funding is a common newspaper box for the vanous newspaper vendors in a s~ngle location, a screemng on the west s~de of the station and an east s~de enclosure for people to sit outside, an ~mprovement to the front entrance, security improvements and replacement of furniture and ~ garbage enclosures - He ~s recommending an addit~onal $55,000 be allotted for ~mprovements and stated the funds could be obtained from prewously budgeted funds for Corndor Improvements , General comments from V~llage Board members included the following ~tems There was some d~scuss~on regarding the installation of the secunty cameras and the emergency phones There was also a d~scuss~on regarding the outdoor enclosure and who would have pnonty for use of the enclosure There was a concern raised regarding the relocabon of the bike rack on the north s~de of the tracks General consensus of the Village Board was to approve the additional funding request of $55,000 to complete the project during 1998. VII, RELOCATION OF TWO EAST NORTHWEST HIGHWAY Scott Saewert, resident from Prospect Heights, spoke He stated that he would hke to move the building to an area along Busse to match other h~stoncal buildings along the north s~de of Busse, He stated that the building at Two East Northwest H~ghway is one of the oldest braidings in town and would hke to restore it to the 1920's style, which ,s similar to other buildings in the area He is requesting V~llage assistance in funding ~the purchase of the property where the building,will be relocated and such assistance would illustrate the Village's interest in preservation Mr. Saewert stated he has contacted the current owner of the property where he wants to move the bmlding and is awaiting a response to the purchase offer at th~s bme He stated that additional details of h~s plan would be presented dunng a Closed Session immediately following the Committee of the Whole meeting VIII. VILLAGE[ MANAGER'S REPORT Village Manager Janonis stated that Coffee w~th Council w~ll be September 12, 1998 at the V~llage Hall from 9 00 a m. until 11.00 a m. He also stated that the week of October 5-9 is unhm~ted pick-up week. IX. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Trustee Clowes proposed that the Village Board consider a permanent reduction ~n the Property Tax Rate based on the favorable economic cond~bons projected for 1999 _ He stated the V~llage Board has bruited Property Tax growth to 4% ~n prewous years and a major change to 5% in 1998 was undertaken He would propose to cut back to the original 4% and make a further reducbon to 3-1/2% Since the V~llage of Mount Prospect ~s not subject to the Tax cap, he feels that the V~llage should operate just as other taxing bodies do that dc have tax caps 3 Trustee Hoefert stated that ~t may be premature to start offenng rebates or reducbons and determine whether the surplus ~s a s~ngle event or a possible trend and any talk of a surplus should not be considered as found money He ~s concerned about a "yo-yo" effect of increasing and reducing taxes and fees based on varying economic cond~bons He stated that a need exists to fund the underfunded items of capital improvements and vehicle replacement Trustee Nocchi stated that the F~nance Commission has already recommended any excess funds be devoted to capital ~mprovement and vehicle replacements Trustee Corcoran stated that he would hke a s~mple Budget recap to understand the Fund differences Trustee Lohrstorfer stated that the Vdlage has acted conservabvely and should avoid drasbc changes in fees and taxes Trustee Clowes stated that he feels it ~s bad pubhc policy to ~ncrease rates and fees due to a projected deficit and then when the deficit does not occur, not consider reductions He stated the Vdlage must look at its costs of providing service also A Motion was made by Trustee Hoefert and seconded by Trustee Nocchi to enter into a Closed Session to discuss property acquisition. Motion approved The meeting was adjourned into closed session at 9 35 p.m. The Committee of the Whole was reconvened into open session at 11:12 p m There was no further business X. A motion was made by Trustee Corcoran, and Seconded by Trustee Hoefert to adjourn the meeting The meeting was adjourned at 11 13 p m Respectfully subm~tted,~ DAVID STRAHL Assistant Vdlage Manager DS/rcc 4