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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/11/1996 COW minutes ~ ~ REVISED 6/25/96 MINUTES COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE JUNE 11, 1996 CALL TO ORDER Mayor Farley called the meeting to order at 7 30 p m Present at the meeting were Trustees George Clowes, T~mothy Corcoran, R~chard Hendncks, M~chaele Skowron and Irvana Wilks Trustee Paul Hoefert arrived at 7,35 p m Also present were V~llage Manager M~chael Janon~s, Assistant V~llage Manager Dawd Strahl, Deputy Pubhc Works D~rector Sean Dorsey, Traffic Engineer Sean Won and Police Sergeant ~lohn Dahlberg II MINUTES M~nutes of May 28, 1996 Motion made by Trustee W~lks and Seconded by Trustee CIowes to accept the Minutes Trustee VVilks requested a rews~on on page s~x of the Minutes to ~nclude her comments concermng d~spos~t~on of the commercial vehicle matter w~th the ZBA M~nutes were approved w~th the rews~on as requested by Trustee Wilks III CITIZENS TO BE HEARD None IV RAILROAD GRADE SAFETY CROSSING PROGRAM Mayor Farley introduced the topic and stated that the V~llage Board had requested the Safety Commission rewew the current railroad grade crossing areas and recommend any possible changes to improve safety Arlene Juracek, member of the Safety Commission, spoke She stated that the Commission met three d~fferent t~mes and went to a number of seminars in the area to formulate its recommendatmns which are to be presented tonight They also mventoned the current s~gnage at each crossing and reviewed s~gnage which is used In surrounding commumt~es She stated that the Commission dec~ded to focus on the Umon Pacific crossings and rews~t the VViscons~n Central crossings at a t~me ~n the future after the commuter ra~l hne becomes operational She also stated that ~t was their desire to ensure that ~nstallat~on of additional warmng s~gns could occur w~thout increas~ng the amount of s~gn clutter around the ~ntersect~ons She,provided a summary of the recommendations as follows Central Road Install "Do Not Stop on Tracks" s~gns on Central Road for east bound and west bound traffic Main Street (Route 83 and Northwest HiqhwayIProspect Avenue Install ~llummated "No Left Turn" sign on Northwest Highway at Main Street (for turning traffic from northwest bound Northwest H~ghway to southbound Main Street) Emerson Street and Northwest Hi,qhway Install an ~llumlnated "No Left Turn" s~gn on Northwest H~ghway at Emerson Street for turning traffic (from northwest bound Northwest H~ghway to southbound Emerson Street) Install "Do Not Stop on Tracks" s~gn at Emerson Street for northbound traffic Mt. Prospect Road and Northwest Hi,qhwayIProspect Avenue Install "Do Not Stop on Tracks" s~gn at Mt Prospect Road for northbound traffic The Commission also recommended placement of warning s~gns on the fencing that separates the tracks, the s~gnage would be for pedestrians who use the train The s~gns would prowde the crossing warning and warn wolators of a $500 fine The Commission also requested the pavement marking be inspected and remarked as necessary In order to warn drivers of the crossing Pubhc education should ~nclude the placement of flyers in the area coffee shops, parking toll booths and m the train station as well as penod~c Public Safety Officers hand,ng out the flyers to the train-riding public Additional public education could include more V~llage cable telewslon programs on the subject and wdeo tapes shown at the area schools F~nally, the V~llage Newsletter and press releases could also get the ,'word out General comments of the V~llage Board members included the following items Some Board members asked whether sufficient space ex~sted for additional s~gnage Other Board members ~nqu~red whether additional gates would help alleviate the problem 2 A~tene Juracek responded to a number of the comments and stated that the additional gates could ~ncur a s~gn~ficant expense to the V~llage and the Commission felt that the add~bonal s~gnage and pubhc educabon could be an mtenm step before cons~denng whether additional gates would be necessary She also stated that ~n d~scuss~ons w~th State legislators, the Commissioners felt that some local d~screbon would be helpful m addressing tram crossing safety Consensus of the Village Board was to support the recommendations of the Safety Commission and request the items be brought backto the Village Board for formal approval. Manager Janonis stated the Federal VVh~stle Blowing Law has been postponed but he has been told that there w~ll be some form of whistle blowing which w~ll be required ~n the future depending on whether grade crossings are ~mproved or not V. AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER $ - BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS Mayor Farley stated th~s is one of the items he had requested be placed on the Committee of the Whole Deferred Items hst He ~s requesting that the V~llage Board consider term hm~ts for the various Chairs of Boards and Comm~ssmns the V~llage has He stated the reasomng for th~s request is he would hke to see some opportunity for other members to have the ab~hty to hold the Chairs of the various Boards and Commissions He also stated that the V~llage Board could follow recommendabons as proposed without changing the Ordinance through the actual appointment procedure of the Mayor However, he would hke V~llage Board input to th~s proposal General d~scuss~on ensued in which various Board members had the following comments and questions Some Board members felt it ~s necessary that each Commission and Board should be rewewed every five years to determine whether that group ~s st~ll necessary as part of the funcbon of the V~llage A suggestion was also made to consider rotation of participants among various Commissions and Boards Some Board members felt that there would be no need for the Ordinance change because the Mayor retains the power to regulate the terms of the Chairman right now There was also a question whether the proposed term hm~t ~s consecutive years of e~ght and ~f so, ~f a Chairman wa~ted four years, could they come back to the Chairmanship pos~bon There was also some d~scuss~on as to whether the members of a Board or Commission should elect their own Chair Mayor Farley felt it would be best to break th~s proposal into various segments for cons~derabon 1. Consensus of the Village Board was to limit the terms of the Chairs of various Boards and Commissions. 2. Consensus of the Village Board was to define a term as four years for the Chairs. 3. Consensus of the Village Board was to limit the terms to eight years (which Is two consecutive terms) but Chairman may serve again after a one term break. 4. Consensus of the Village Board was the Chair should be picked by the Village Board members. 5. Consensus of the Village Board was to rotate citizens between Boards and Commissions as possible and as participants are willing. 6. Consensus of the Village Board was to allow for a sunset of Boards and Commissions in order to review the need on a regular basis. ThIs review would take place for all Boards and Commissions except the ones which are required by Statute. Village Manager Janonis stated that the L~brary Board would not be a part of th~s proposed change and he stated staff w~ll prowde a draft to the Village Board at an upcoming V~llage Board for consideration Trustee Clowes stated that TAP had recommended a Youth Commission be set up separately w~th terms d~fferent from the length d~scussed for the other Boards and Commissions VI.VILLAGE MANAGER'S REPORT None VII. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Trustee Hoefert commented on the d~scuss~on at last week's V~llage Board meeting concem~ng the rotation of the Coffee w~th Council He suggested that one meeting per quarter be spl~t between the V~llage Hall Iocabon and another Iocabon to be chosen ~n a geographic area of the V~llage ~n order to encourage c~t~zen participation ~n that area Trustee Hoefert further suggested that the Coffee w~th Council at V~llage Hall would be scheduled from 9 00 a m to 10 00 a m and the Iocabon of the rotating port, on of the Coffee w~th Council be scheduled from 10 00 a m unbl noon 4 Mayor Farley stated he ~s supportive of the suggestion but would recommend that the 10 00 start be to 10 30 start order to allow for travel a m changed a a m in to the other location Consensus of the Village Board was to approve the recommendation of Trustee Hoefert whereby the Coffee with Council would start at 9:00 a.m. and run until 10:00 a.m. at Village Hall and then move to another location In the Village convenient to the citizens for a 10:30 a.m. until 12:00 noon time. This scenario would occur once per quarter. Trustee Corcoran suggested that the first meebng of the traveling Coffee with Council should take place ~n the southern part of the Village Trustee Wilks stated she would I~ke to see some dates on the matenal prowded by the Traffic Engineer She also asked whether the addition of Hoffman Estates and Streamwood to Northwest Central D~spatch had any ~mpact on the current members Manager Janonis responded to Trustee Wilks' quesbon by stabng that over the years, members have moved Jn and move out of the group As part of the rewew of technology and staffing, the impact of the two other commumbes w~ll be thoroughly considered before allowing them to participate The recent articles in the newspaper concerning Hoffman Estates and Streamwood only authonzed their respective V~llage Boards to allow their staffs to approach Northwest Central D~spatch for possible participation Before the two other towns become operational on the system, a thorough review w~ll take place VIII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 900pm Respectfully submitted, DAVID STRAHL DS/fcc Assistant V~llage Manager