HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/11/1995 COW minutes MINUTES
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
APRIL 11, 1995
I. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Gerald Farley called the meebng to order at 7 32 p m Present at the
meebng were Mayor Gerald L Farley, Trustees George Clowes, Timothy
Corcoran, R~chard Hendncks, Paul Hoefert, M~chaele Skowron and Irvana Wilks
Also present at the meeting were Village Manager Michael Janonls, Assistant to
the Village Manager David Strahl, Pubhc Works D~rector Herb Weeks, Deputy
Pubhc Works Director Glen Andler and Adm~nlstrabve Intern Cathleen Freels
II. MINUTES
Acceptance of the M~nutes from March 14, 1995 Mobon made by Trustee
Corcoran and Seconded by Trustee Hoefert to accept the Minutes Trustee
Hendncks requested a rews~on at the top of page seven concermng h~s statements
regarding conservator of the peace and requested a rewew of the tape of the
meebng to correct possible inaccuracies Trustee Clowes requested a correcbon
on page five relating to his comments regarding the problem-solwng unit being
considered as part of this fiscal year's budget
Acceptance of the M~nutes from March 28, 1995 Mobon made by Trustee Hoefert
and Seconded by Trustee Clowes to accept the M~nutes Trustee Wilks requested
a rews~on of a sentence at the top of page s~x reflecting her comments Trustee
Hendncks requested a change on page s~x and suggested a rewew of the tape to
correct possible ~naccurac~es concermng h~s statements
III, CITIZENS TO BE HEARD
Jerry Sodaro, of 1777 Crystal Lane, spoke He stated that he recently read an
article in the newspaper concerning the Mount Prospect L~brary He asked what
the procedure ~s to get the L~brary Referendum on the November ballot and how
the V~llage Board ~s involved in getting th~s question on the ballot He requested
the Village Board not to consider putting th~s question on the ballot
Mayor Farley responded to the resldent's question by stabng that the Library may
request the Vdlage Board to put the Referendum quesbon on the ballot m
November However. the Library ~s not required to come before the V~llage Board
to get approval to put the quesbon on the ballot
Ralph Hillenbrand, 1318 Mallard Lane, spoke He stated that he has a
hand~capped m~rror hanger card and has been told that he cannot get the free
vehicle sticker which ~s available to other hand~capped residents which have
handicapped hcense plates
Mayor Farley requested Manager Janoms to research th~s quesbon and respond
d~rectly to Mr H~llenbrand concerning his quesbon
Emle Lasse, 805 South Elm, spoke He stated he was a candidate for the Park
District Board during the most recent election He stated that the V~llage had sent
all candidates a letter outhnlng the regulabons of posting election signs In the
pubhc right-of-way or parkway He stated that he came to the Village Manager's
office on elecbon day and the V~llage Manager refused to enforce the Ordinance
concerning elecbon signs ~n the public nght-of-way dunng elect~on day.
Manager Janonis responded that he told Mr Lasse that ~fthe V~llage pulled s~gns,
there would invanably be s~gns that would be m~ssed and the V~llage would be
subject to charges of favonbsm
Mayor Farley stated that he supports the V~llage Manager's dec,sion concermng ·
these elect~on signs on elect~on day He stated that ~t ~s unfortunate that some
candidates cannot ab~de by the Ordinance
IV. WELLER CREEK BANK STABILIZATION DISCUSSION
Manager Janonis prowded a bnef descnpbon of the proJect He stated that the
V~llage had made a dec, sion ~n 1990 to embark upon a Flood Control ProJect
which would be broken ~nto eight phases and be considered a multi-year proJect
through the year 2004 The funding for th~s Flood Control Project comes from
Home Rule Sales Tax At th~s point, the Project hst has been completed up to
Phase V and Phase VI ~s set to be funded for the coming fiscal year The V~llage
Board has prewously considered the add~bonal Project of the Wedgewood Terrace
and the Maple/Berkshire area as possibly adding these projects to the hst
Numerous Weller Creek'residents had prewously come forward at a Coffee w~th
Council requesbng some consideration from the V~llage Board to resolve the
detenorat~on of the Creek bank area
2
Public Works Director Herbert Weeks prowded a brief summary of the h~story of
the Phases which had been completed s~nce 1990 He stated that some of the
projects that had been completed date back to studies which were completed
dunng the 1960s Many of the projects which have been completed have
s~gn~ficantly reduced any flooding damage which may occur and reduce the
posslbdlty of damage to property owners' homes He stated that a port~on of
Weller Creek has been ~mproved from Wilham Street to the Des Plames C~ty
Limits He stated that the prlonbzat~on of the Project Phases was determined by
the greatest number of residents which would be benefitted from such a ProJect
He stated he is currently working with the Metropohtan Water Reclamabon District
(MWRD) to recommend a solubon for the Berkshire/Maple area to resolve or
m~bgate a possible repeat of basement flooding which occurred last summer
According to MWRD policy, the deep tunnel ~s closed once ~t reaches 50%
capacity so that additional room is avadable for sewage and not storm water The
new basin under construcbon at the Tollway is designed to assist ~n the storage
of sewer and storm water in order to reduce the poss~bdlty of residential flooding
This basra ~s also ~ntended to keep Weller Creek from filling w~th excessive storm
flow which may cause add~bonal damage to the banks of the Creek ~tself
He also stated that as part of the overall ProJect, many storm sewers have been
oversized to handle add~bonal capacity When the Deep Tunnel was originally
proposed and construcbon began, MWRD had expected to accept water w~th no
restncbons However, the Tunnel is unable to handle the volume of water of very
heavy ram storms as originally intended At this point, the Berkshire/Maple area
~s currently under study by a consultant and it is expected that the Consultant's
Report wdl be brought back to the V~llage Board for possible d~scuss~on and action
m the near future
Grace DeVito, 701 South Main, spoke She stated that she would hke to
compliment the Village Board on the flood control measures that have previously
been ~mplemented However, she stated that the problems on Weller Creek
~nclude flooding, pollubon and erosion and should be addressed w~th all due
speed She stated that when she ~mbally brought her concerns to the V~llage
Board, the Board members had requested her to determine the level of support of
residents along Weller Creek The need to repair and maintain the Creek bank is
the ~ntended solution of the residents She would request the V~llage Board
consider fixing the Creek ~n secbons to spread out the costs associated w~th
resolwng the concerns She stated that she has concerns that Weller Creek needs
to be addressed before the 2004 projected bme frame due to the conbnu~ng
detenorabon of the Creek
General d~scusslon followed in which a detailed d~scuss~on of what the effect of the
erosion has had on some of the channel crossings The Wllage has had d~fficulty
m the past getbng easements for access from the residents to address some of
the concerns which are now being brought up by the creek-side residents Some
of the ~tems which need to be addressed are access to the Creek ~tself,
mamtenanca of any ~mprovements which may be prowded, restonng the slope of
the Creek bank, and removal of trees w~th exposed root systems Also, some
research needs to be completed as to which agencies have responsibility for the
Creek and how the V~llage resolves the ~denbfied problems through these other
agencies The consideration of a creabon of an Ad Hoc Committee made up of
c~bzens and staff members was d~scussed Th~s Ad Hoc Committee would review
the consultants report and look into ways to address the ~ssues whmh would be
~dent~fied in the study w~th mm~mal ~mpacts or reduced impacts upon c~bzens which
have property fronting on the Creek
As part of the Consultant's Report, a request could be made of the consultant for
them to determine who has respons~bd~ty and recommend possible funding opbons
which may be avadable outside of the Bonding abd~ty of the Wllage which ~s
currently funding the other projects The likelihood of the project being broken into
segments is a realistic posslbd~ty so that problem areas can be ~denbfied and
possibly resolved quickly
Chuck Beesley of 701 South Berkshire spoke He stated that he ~s happy to see
the Village Board rewew~ng the s~tuabon on Weller Creek and consider moving
forward w~th the necessary steps to resolve the s~tuat~on
The consensus of the V~llage Board was to determine the projected cost of the
Project through a comprehensive study. Within the study itself, the requirement
that the project be broken into segments or phases and the study should also
recommend priorities of each phase. The study should also Identify what other
jurisdictions are Involved in the Creek itself and what their rosponslbility is in
rectifying the situation. The study will also address possible funding options which
may be available to assist the Village in carrying out the recommendations from
the study. Finally, the Board recommended an Ad Hoc Citizen Group be formed
of residents in the Weller Creek area with assistance from staff to meet and
discuss solutions to Weller Creek and review the Consultant"s Report when it is
finished. Prior to a Vdlage Board decision to move forward with the
recommendations of the Consultant, the Ad Hoc Committee would provide
information and recommendations to the Board to consider.
Vicky Bayer of Nine West Berkshire spoke She stated she would be happy to
volunteer when necessary for th~s Committee She stated that she has concerns
about the possible ~mprovements which may be necessary to the Creek She
purchased a home with a natural setbng and would not be supportwe of altering
the natural setting to ~mprove the Creek bank
/.-%, Maureen Majerus of 205 East Bed(shire spoke She stated she ~s supportive of
cleanng up Weller Creek but ~s concerned that the Weller Creek solubon ~s a
higher pnonty than the basement flooding which has recently affected the
Berkshire residents She is also concerned that there have been other studies
which have not been followed up and ~s concerned that th~s study w~ll also not be
acted on as other studies have not been
Lawrence Pacini ofT00 South Main spoke He stated that he has fence posts that
are now exposed due to the erosion and has had no flooding ~n h~s home
However, the erosion has affected the settlement of h~s home He is also
concerned that the trees w~th exposed roots in the Weller Creek bank put his home
and others m danger if the trees do happen to topple over
Jack DeVito of 701 South Main spoke He stated that he ~s concerned that ~f the
situation ~s not acted upon soon, cost ~ncreases w~ll make the ~mprovement much
more expensive ~n the future He stated the Creek ~s a community and County
waterway and should be treated as such He requested the Pubhc Works
Department work w~th property owners to help resolve some of the personal
property ~ssues that currently exist
Mayor Farley requested that members of the community that spoke or other
persons who may be interested ~n serving on the Ad Hoc C~bzens' Committee
please ~denbfy themselves to staff
V. PRIORITIZATION OF THE DEFERRED ITEMS LIST
1 The BOCA Property Maintenance Code and other Landlord/Tenant
Regulations are scheduled to be discussed at the April 25 Committee of the
VVhole meebng ~
2 Disaster Preparedness w~ll be d~scussed as an ~nformat~onal ~tem by
~ prowd~ng the Plan and an overview of the D~saster Plan to the V~llage
Board members for their review
3 The Assault Weapon/Gun Control ~tems w~ll be brought forward as research
~ is completed by staff for d~scuss~on by the Board
4 Tax Caps/Unfunded Mandates. Th~s ~ssue ~s no longer relevant
5 Administrative Review Board for Code Issues. Th~s ~tem can be removed
from the Deferred L~st
6 Towing Contract Th~s ~tem will be brought back w~thm 60 days possibly by
3. the end of June for d~scuss~on due to the expiration of the current contract
7 Use of Stationery by Village Board members. Th~s ~ssue has been resolved
and no longer needs to be on the hst of Deferred Items
8 Follow-up Discussion regarding SWANCC. A rewew ~s proposed in July
after the SWANCC Execubve Board recommendabons have been
formulated
9 Floating Committee of the Whole meetings. This could be a short
d~scuss~on ~tem which could be plugged m to a regular Board meeting which
has a hght Agenda
10 Annexation Opportunities This ~tem w~ll be d~scussed as research ~s
completed by staff A review Map and possible opportunities w~ll be
ident~fied as part of the ~nformabon prowded to the Board members
11 Detail of Board Minutes Th~s should be a short d~scuss~on ~tem which can
be plugged into a regular Board meeting s~nce there would be hm~ted staff
research necessary to resolve or prowde the background mformabon for
Board members to consider
'12 Tenth Amendment Issues.
'13 Density/Residential Redevelopment Opportunities.
'14 Student Resoume Officer (SRO) discussion.
'15 Residential Neighborhood Issues: RecreationalVehicles, Home Occupation
Regulations.
* These items will be brought forward once staff has completed the necessary
research for the Board to consider
VIMana,qer's Report
None
VII. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Trustee Skowron requested research be conducted to change the addresses of
some residences which are w~thln Mount Prospect but have an Arhngton Heights
address She also requested a status report on the streethght mstallabon at Lake
Briarwood and Algonquin
Trustee Clowes stated he was concerned about TCl dropping Channel 33 and
ehm~nat~ng the local cable programming
Trustee Hoefert suggested the consideration of V~llage Board meetings which have
hght Agendas to have Committee of the VVhole ~tems added to the Agendas which
could be d~scussed and d~sposed of w~thout adding to the Deferred Items hst
VIII, ADJOURNMENT
There being no further bus~ness, the meeting was adjourned at 10 22 p m
Respectfully subm~tte~d,~
DAVID STRAHL
DS/fcc Assistant to the V~llage Manager