Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/09/1998 COW minutes MINUTES COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE JUNE 9, 1998 Mayor Farley called the meeting to order at 7:51 p.m. Present at the meeting were: Trustees George Clowes, Timothy. Corcoran, Paur Hoefert, Richard Lohrstorfer, Daniel Nocchi and Irvana Wilks. Staff present included Assistant Village Manager David Strahl, Finance Director Brian Caputo, Public Works Director Glen Andler, Deputy Public Works Director Sean Dorsey and Village Engineer Jeff Wulbecker. I1. MINUTES Approval of Minutes of May 26, 1998. Motion made by Trustee Wilks and Seconded by Trustee Clowes to approve the Minutes. Trustee Hoefert requested a change in the Minutes reflecting that Trustee Corcoran and Trustee Hoefert left the meeting for approximately one-hour beginning at 8:50 p.m. and requested the change be made to the Minutes. Minute was approved unanimously with the change to the Minutes. III. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD Anna Woznlak of 181t Seminole Lane spoke. She stated that she was present at the meeting this evening to request that the Village Board not install a mid-block sidewalk connection near her home. She stated that crosswalks should be installed and maintained at full intersections and encouraging people to cross at mid-block would create a safety problem. She also felt that persons exiting the ddveway near this sidewalk would also put pedestrians at risk. She presented a Petition to the Village Board to consider with approximately 63 names requesting that the five feet 'of sidewalk not be installed at this location. A resident at 1807 Seminole Lane spoke. ,?J3e stated that she supported installing the sidewalk and puffing the curb cut at this location due to the pedestrian flow in the area. She stated, that she, too, would encourage people to cross at intersections but the sidewalk contemplated at this location does not create a safety hazard as far as she can tell. She stated the sidewalk in question is 30 feet from the ddveway from 1811 Seminole and, therefore, she feels that people utilizing the driveway will not put pedestrians at dsk. She stated she supports the ADA f'"' regulations for full access. She stated 'she had talked to other residents in the general area specifically on Maya who have had mid-block curb cuts and have experienced no issues with pedestrians cutting through their yards. Mrs. Orlawskl of 1824 Aztec stated that she disagreed with many of the ~ statements from the previous speaker and would request the sidewalk not be' installed. Chester Gall of 1807 Seminole stated that he does not see a problem with kids cutting through the yard and the installation of this sidewalk would not encourage ~ such cut-through activity. : General comments from Village Board members included the following items: A number of Trustees acknowledged the fact that this does appear to be a safety issue but the installation of a sidewalk does not necessarily appear to compromise safety. The installation would meet ADA requirements as necessary by Federal regulations. There was also some discussion about limiting the number of curb cuts due to the traffic volume on Seminole. Consensus of the Village Board was to support making the sidewalk connection as recommended by staff and previously-approved engineering plans whereby the sidewalk would be connected between the street and existing sidewalk running parallel to Seminole Lane, Tom Neitzke, 17 South Maple, spoke. He stated that he is a 47-year resident of ~ the community and wanted to bring forward some comments concerning clowntown redevelopment. He stated that he is against the Downtown Redevelopment Project due to its apparent disregard of historical businesses within the downtown and the focus on razing buildings on entire blocks. He stated the oldest building in the community is slated for removal and the "city leaders" are ignoring existing history in the community by considering this removal. He stated that someone has come forward to save the building but the Village does not want to help. He stated that historical buildings have value to the community and history must be preserved. He stated he has taken ~ssue with some of the comments directed at the existing downtown business owners and would recommend every effort be made to build around existing historical buildings because such buildings are an attraction unto themselves. He stated he has a concern about the eight-story condominium building on his block because the condominium buildings have no commemial retail included in the .proposal. He felt that commercial development should be encouraged along Wille and questioned why a third condominium building should be built instead of commercial at this time. The developer who has been working -~. with the Village states that commercial does not work along Wille, however, he has a different opinion and feels that it will. He stated the development allows for the developer to own all the property ~and existing businesses who are displaced will not be able to afford the new rents to return to the downtown once the development is completed. ,-.,,. 2 Scott Saewart, Prospect Heights resident, spoke. He stated that he is answering the call for preserving the Keyser building at the comer of Northwest Highway and Route 83. He stated that he has interest in the building and is willing to relocate the building to the designated historic row of buildings along the north side of Busse Avenue. However, he needs assistance from Mount Prospect to find a piece of property to relocate the building to. He would be willing to put the building on Busse and perform extensive renovations, however, no one wants to sell property within the TIF for a location for the relocated building. He stated he is requesting citizens come forward to support his effort in preserving this building. He stated that he has talked to the Village Manager and was informed that it was his responsibility to find the necessary property to relocate the building. Dan Thompkins, a Des Plaines resident, spoke. He stated that he is concerned about the comments of Village representatives who are threatening businesses with condemnation and ignoring preservation of historic buildings. He stated that the Village should not condemn property to provide property for private development. He thought more people would be against the project if they were aware of how the Village was going about the discussions with area property owners. Mike Reese, Arlington Heights resident and owner of the business at 1 $ West Busse spoke. He stated that he has been in business for 14 years and wanted to be in downtown Mount Prospect, therefore, he opened his business at its existing location. He stated that he has run into problems with the Village in the past including sign issues and attempts at generating exposure through installation of a kiosk for the businesses on Busse Avenue. He stated that he is concerned that the Village appears to be heading towards a necessity of razing the entire downtown. He said the Village is not working with existing businesses enough and felt it was important the Village make every effort to keep the identity of the downtown intact. Mayor Farley thanked the speakers for their input and input has been encouraged through the discussion phase of the project. He stated that he has a desire to preserve businesses and historical buildings if possible and stated that decisions are not being made in a vacuum ...... Trustee Hoefert stated that downtown redevelopment has been discussed for 20- 25 years, therefore, the concern of moving too quickly does not necessarily ring true in this instance. He stated discussion continues as to what the development will actually be. He stated everyone has agreed that there is a need for some type of economic vitality in the downtown. He stated that he, too, would like to preserve the building that Mr. Saewart is interested in if a location can be found for the building. He stated efforts would be undertaken to bring parties together with representatives from the Village and businesses. 3 TrUstee NocChi stated the Ad Hoc Committee provided numerous opportunities for indiViduals to speak. He stated that this i~ the first instance of negative comments Concerning downtown redevelopment that he is aWa~e of. Trustee Clowes thanked th~~ non-residents of Mount Prospect for their input. He stated that the TIF Area was expanded and originally called for homes to be ' ' ' demolished as part of redevelopment. He stated the plans are not set in Stone and can be alteredl He woUld s * ' uggest conslderabon be' made to expand the TIF to accommodate buildings of historical Value. · Trustee Wilks thanked the speakers for their comments and would be willing to work wherever possible for historic preservation. . Trustee C°rcoran thanked the speakers for their different p°intS°i view and stated that no one likeS change but Change is necessary and needs to happen within the downtown. He stated discussion has been underwaY for Over 20 years and it is not his intention to force anyone Out of Mount Prospect. He'stat6d the plans have not been completed yet and he would consider supporting a Orie-bl0ck area as an historic area for preservation purposes. Trustee Lohrstorfer stated that Committee members of the Ad J-loc Downtown Redevelopment Committee dediCated a'great deal of time and encouraged input wherever posSible. He stated that the Comm ttee had always been willing to listen to various pointS of view and is somewhat surprised by the comments of the speakers this evening. IV. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR ~999-2003 Assistant Village Manager Strahl stated the establishment of the five-year Capital Improvement Plan provides a comprehensive view of the Village'.s capital needs for a consecutive rolling five-year window. This is the second Capital Improvement Plan Which has been presented to the Village Board for COnSideration. The proposed 1999-2003 CIP is generally comprised of projects which involve the purchase or construction of long-lived tangible assets at a cost of $25,000 or more. He stated a project inclusion in the ClP does not guarantee its 'funding or accomplishment. The CIP is a planning document. As such, it is subject to change. ClP will be reviewed and updated on an annual basis. The next ClP which will be brOught before the Board in June of 1999 will cover the years from 2000-2004. 4 Special ~tjention should be given to projects requested for 1999. Those are the projects Which would potentially be included in the Village's next annual operating Budget. Although the.Village Board may decide not to fund a 1999 project request included in the final 1999-2000 CIP, the ClP should serve as a pre-Budget for capital items, The 1999 project requests included in the proposed CIP amount to $10.4 million. Of this amount, $7.6 million or 73% is for the continuation of established projects including $2.8 million for the accelerated Street Reconstruction Program. Finance Director Brian Caputo stated the total value of projects for the entire five- year Capital Improvement Plan Budget is $52.9 million. He stated the pmjectsare organized by Department and cross-referenced by funds so that the designated funding source can easily be identified. He stated that the capital funding level is currently adequate today with the previously approved transfers from the General Fund but there still is a need to address long-term funding of capital and vehicle replacement for future budget years. He stated the projects are listed as existing or new for a better understanding of where the project sets in the approval process. Trustee Hoefert stated that he felt the Village Hall rehabilitation or construction is being counted twice in the CIP. He stated there is a figure for the existing Village Hall of a little over $900,000 and an additional amount for reconstruction of a new Village Hall and in reality, only one of these items will be undertaken, therefore, there is no need to include both items. Finance Director Caputo stated that he would revise the ClP to include only funding for one option and clarify the item with the necessary verbiage to point to the fact that only one option can be undertaken. Trustee Hoefert stated that there has been funding set aside for Busse Road improvements in 2002 and wanted to make the point that even with concurrence of the CIP, it does not necessarily mean concurrence for any Busse Road work scheduled for 2002. He felt the plan was critical for use in long-term planning. Public Works Director Glen Andler provided a general overview of each item under the Public Works section of the ClP General 'comments from the Village Board members included the following items: There was discussion concerning the status of the Hatlen Heights sanitary sewer project. There was also a discussion concerning lift station repairs and the Senior Center parking lot repair. A question was raised concerning the overall cost of the lighting plan proposed for Route 83 at the time of the reconstruction. There was also a question concerning the proposed Golf Road SPA work and the impact upon Mount Prospect. 5 Public Works Director Glen Andler responded to the questions by stating that lift station repairs are part of the operational budget since they are constantly reoccurring. He stated the Senior Center parking lot reconstruction is wholly dependent or~ pending downtown redevelopment decisions. He Stated the lighting design for Route 83 has not yet been complected due to the date which has been slated for Route 83 COnstruction; At this time, it is Premature to have a lighting plan withOut the reCOnstruction design work completed. He also stated that the work on the Golf Road SPA WOUld not impact Mount Prospect's budget because it was reconstruction of the existing roadway with no widening of the rOad. The proposal to realign the intersections with Des Plaines'' streets has been forwarded to IDOT with a negative recommendation but since funding has not even been considered for any of this work, the likelihood of this work being undertaken in t~ next five years is quite remote. Assistant Village Manager David Strahl provided a g~nerai overview to the Village Board members concerning the two items that the Village Manager's office is requesting: Those items include a document imaging system for electronic maintenance of Village records and the installation of a high-Speed data connection between Public Works Department and the Village Hall. V. VILLAGE MANAGER'S REPORT ~ VI. ANY OTHER BUSINESS ,:: ~Trustee Hoefei-t requested that the Village d~;aff a letter to the Village of Elk Grove outlining the Village's desire tO maintain an open dialOgUe with 'Elk Grove to keep informed about any issues concerning the proposed Bears' Stadium construction and its possible impact Upon Mount Prosl~ect residents. '~ · ~' Trustee Nocchi seconded the need for such correspondence to the Village of Elk · Grove. ' ~ General consensus of the Village Board was t° draft a letter for the signature of all the members requesting the Village of Mount ProsPect be kept informed of any developments regarding the proposed Bears Stadium so that any impact could be minimized for Mount prOSpect residents, Mayor Farley stated that Coffee with Council waslScheduled for June 13 at Village ~-'~' Hall from 9:00 'a.m. until 11:00 a.m. · ' 6 , Trustee Wilks wanted to thank Representative Carolyn Krause for her efforts in ' obtaining the funding for Melas Park improvements. Trustee Clowes requested information be forwarded to the Village Board members on any developments concerning the Area Code plan once information is obtained from the ICC. N3 LQUJ IMEt Trustee Hoefert made a Motion to adjourn and was seconded by Trustee Nocchi. The meeting was adjourned at 10:22 p.m. Respectfully submitted, DAVID STRAHL Assistant Village Manager DS/rcc I:\WIN~OFFICE\COWMIN\608 COW Minutes.doc 7