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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/28/1995 COW minutes Revised 4/25/95 MINUTES COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MARCH 28, 1995 I. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Gerald Farley celled the meebng to order at 6 12 p m Present at the meeting were Mayor Gerald L Farley, Trustees George Clowes, R~chard Hendncks, M~chaele Skowron and Irvana Wilks Trustee Paul Hoefert arnved at 6 41 p m and Trustee T~mothy Corcoran amved at 7.03 p m Also present at the meebng were V~llage Manager M~chael Janoms, Assistant to the V~llage Manager Dawd Strahl, Finance D;rector Dawd Jepson, Pubhc Works D~rector Herb Weeks, Deputy Pubhc Works D;rector Glen Andler, F~ra Chief Edward Cavello, Deputy F;re Chiefs Steve Dumowch and Del Ulre,ch, Assistant Finance Director Carol Widmer, Commumty Development D~rector Wilham Cooney, Pubhc Works Supenntendents ;nclud~ng Sohd Waste Coordinator L~sa Angell and Adm~mstrabve A~de Dawn Wuck~ and Pohce Ch;ef Ronald Pavlock ~ II. MINUTES Acceptance of the M~nutes from March 14, 1995 Mobon made by Trustee Skowron and Seconded by Trustee V~lks Trustee Clowes requested some minor changes on page five but would accept the M~nutes as written Minutes were approved w~th revision outlined by Trustee Clowes III. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD ,Carl Hogland, of Five North Pine, ~spoke He commented on the proposed expansion of Northwest Electnc He stated that the western expansion of th~s business is contrary to the Comprahens~ve Plan He stated this expansion hm~ts the future development of Wille Street He stated Northwest Electric should maintain its focus on its Main Street frontage He urged the Village Board to reJect Northwest Electnc's proposed plan for expansion IV. 1995 BUDGET DISCUSSION Mayor Farley provided general opening remarks stabng th~s is the third of three Budget sessions Th~s session will focus on Public Works, a review of non- Departmental items specifically many Capital items and a d~scussion on the Fanance Commission recommendations He hopes that by the conclusion of th~s meebng, the Board will be able to d~rect staff to start the Pubhc Heanng process at the next Village Board meeting which w~ll eventually lead to a cemplebon of the Budget approval process Manager Janonls again provided general overview of the Budget was presented Th~s Budget is for eight months in preparabon of a calendar year budget beg~nmng on January 1, 1996 This Budget total is approximately $35 7 m~ll~on and represents a 2 8% increase over the prior fiscal year's Budget This Budget focuses on susta~mng current service levels Public Works Department Overview Public Works Director Herb Weeks provided a general overview of the Pubhc Works Budget He stated that the change m the fiscal year w~ll greatly benefit the Public Works Department when it ~s necessary to send out construction proposals He feels that when proposals are sent out ~n future fiscal years, the Department ~nll be able to reahze potential savings being illustrated directly in the Budget because the b~ds w~ll be able to be considered dunng the budgetary process for fiscal years beginning in January. Within the proposed Budget, the Public Works Department is recemmend~ng the extension of the Leaf Removal Program by three weeks based on prewous comments from residents about the Leaf Pick-Up Program being too short and the variable t~me which leaves fall from residents' trees The extended Program ~s projected to cost the Village under $4,000 and add virtually no cost to the residents for the extended penod The funding for the Sidewalk Replacement Program shows an increase relabve to a recent s~dewalk hazard survey. The Department is stepping up ~ts replacement of hazardous s~dewalks to reduce hab~hty to the V~llage in the future In addition to s~dewalk hazard remedlat~on, the Department is also focusing on trees which have been previously ~denflfied as potentially hazardous and remed~ation efforts are currently under way Melas Park Improvement ProJect is currently under construction as we speak and the V~llage will be responsible for expending approximately $300,000 for the construction of an access road into the Park He also stated that the Supenntendents will be more involved in the Budget process in the future so they become more familiar with their operations and the necessary funding to prowde the appropnate services He also stated that even though he w~ll be retlnng at the end of May, he is confident that Glen is fully capable of running the Department and continuing the good things which have previously been accomplished w~th Glen's assistance in the past Deputy Public Wor~.s Director Glen Andler provided an overview h~ghlighflng each Division within the Public Works Department He stated that this Budget reflects no add~bonal employees The current staffing level is at 64 full-bme employees and nine part-brae employees He stated all employees are cross-trained in various D~v~sions so employees are comfortable w~th any operation they may be ~nvolved in as part of the overall Pubhc Works services He stated this Budget also reflects an additional new mandate for Random Drug Testing The Department of Public Works' Budget is approximately $9 7 mill~on for the coming fiscal year. Among the items the Department will be working on in terms of Projects In addition to the ~tems previously identified by Mr. Weeks are the rehab~l~tabon of two traffic s~gnals on Central Road, 4 8 miles of street reconstruction and an update of the topographic maps ~ncludmg water maln rehabilitation/replacement and pump One of the items also included the Relief Storm maintenance Capital IS new Sewer Plan for Catalpa and B~rch and the expansion of the Sohd Waste Division services ~nto mulb-family waste and recycling programs General comments by the Village Board members included the following A lengthy d~scuss~on ensued where the cost of the extended Leaf P~ck-Up Program was d~scussed and analyzed by numerous Trustees As part of the s~dewalk hazard survey, there is a special emphasis being placed in areas in which there is heavy pedestrian traffic There is a pnonty to resolve these sidewalk hazards North Louis Street is also included on the reconstruction list but it is expected that a neighborhood meeting will be convened to discuss whether Louis Street improvements will remain in th~s fiscal year's budget prior to any improvements starting Consensus of the Village Board was to approve the Leaf Program extension as proposed In the Public Works Depai[.ient. Sam Camp, 216 Norat Louis S~et, spoke He stated he ts here to represent not only h~mself but also Lou~s Velasco He wants to keep Lou~s Street business-free and reserved for residents only He stated although he Is not anfl-bus~ness, he feels it ~s a residential street in a residential neighborhood and it should be maintained as such He stated, he feels the ~ Village does not seem to be responding to the residents in order to resolve th~s s~tuat~on in a timely manner He also stated he is concerned that the w~dening will not meet the Development Code spemficaflons as proposed in the Pubhc Works Budget General d~scuss~on of the Village Board members included a discuss~on on the Tree Cost-Sharing Program It was noted that the increase in the cost-shanng amount has apparently decreased the amount of participation by the residents There was also d~scussion concerning Weller Creek improvements near the School Street bndge and public property improvements due to erosion problems Trustee Wllks requested that the staff rewew the poss~b~lity of reducing the c~bzen contribution for trees to encourage tree plantings A summary of Non-Depa,[.~ental Expenditures was provided by Dave Jepson. Mr. Jepson prowded an overview of the Enterpnse Funds and Capital Improvement items He h~ghl~ghted the cost for the Village Hall Space Study and $100,000 earmarked for Phase II of the Computenzat~on Program Other Capital ~tems include an upgrade of the communications system for Police end Fire Departments There are also expenditures earmarked for replacement of 16 squads, an ambulance and a Fire Department squad Overview of Finance Commission Recommendations Dick Bachhuber, Chairman of the Finance Commission, presented a short summary of the F~nance Commission recommendations He stated the Finance Commission felt the Budget was well prepared and d~d not have any major concerns with the Budget items Finance Commission members felt that smaller expenditures should be rewewed in order to be considered for cutbng ~f necessary Village .Board members prowded general comments in response to the F~nance Commission recommendations Mayor Farley stated he was satisfied with the Budget as presented and would request no s~gn~ficant changes Trustee Skowron stated that she felt the Budget reflects good service dehvery and wanted to reiterate the fact that the Village Hall needs to be looked at She stated that she is satisfied with the Budget as it is presented 4 Trustee Clowes noted that the recent changes in the Budget document itself h~ghl~ghtlng Performance Measures is very valuable in understanding the Budget and the Budget process He stated he is concerned about the addlbonal Police Officers that have been budgeted for. He would prefer to look at opportun~bes to reduce staff once these Officers come on board so that the Village ends up w~th the same number of employees two years from now as it does today He also felt the downtown could really do without the additional Chnstmas hghts and suggested the ehmlnat~on of the Histoncal Society funding With these reductions, the monies would cover the necessary cost for the add~bonal Officers once the Grant money ~s terminated. He also stated that inspection and relnspecflon fees should be consistent for both mulb-famlly and single-family housing enforcement Trustee Hendricks stated that his goal is to request the Village Manager cut the budget by $250,000 He also recommended that the Communications Division be terminated along w~th the Officer Manager position in the Human Services Department He stated that he also has concerns about the spending for the Space Study at the Village Hall and felt the money should be put ~nto rehabll~tabon instead of studying the s~tuaflon at the Village Hall He also felt that the Lou~s Street funding should be deleted from the Budget and the money transferred to fund other street besides Louis he stated that he would Improvements Finally, concur w~th the F~nance Commission recommendations requesting a reduction ~n the training budget for the Communications Division, the ehminat~on of the 'downtown Christmas lights and the ehm~nat~on of the Histoncel Somety d,stnbuflon Trustee Hoefert stated that he feels this is a very tight Budget which reflects basic quahty services He is satisfied that the V~llage has been able to move forward with necessary computenzabon, flood control and downtown redevelopment along with refuse reduction programs He feels that emphas~s on new technology w~ll save the V~llage money ~n the long-run He also wanted to hlghhght the fact that the V~llage receives a great deal of benefit from numerous volunteers which assist the Village and do not affect the bottom line on the Budget He stated he is satisfied w~th the Budget as presented and reserves the right to review requests or purchases as they are presented to the V~llage Board Trustee Con=oran stated that he felt the Budget document was quite detailed and well thought-out He stated that he has concerns relating to the Police False Alarm Fees and would like the Police Department to consider chargln~ dollar-per- dollar for an Officer's t~me to respond to a false alarm. He would also recommend Inspection Services' operations as a revenue source and charge people who are causing the work of the Inspectors He stated he is confident there is not a lot of fluff in the Budget and supports the Budget as presented Trustee Wilks stated that she feels the document is complete and she supports the Budget as presented However, she would like to review the c4tlzen fee of the cost-shanng program for replacement trees She feels the cond~bon of the V~llage Hall should be addressed soon or the Village Board w~ll have to dec~de on a replacement fac4hty Mayor Farley stated that there appears to be Village Board consensus to proceed with a first reading of the 1995 Budget for the next V~llage Board meeting Manager Janonis stated that he wanted to thank the Village Board members for their cooperabon in putting the Budget together and would like to acknowledge the good working relationship between the V~llage Board and the staff V. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Mayor Farley stated that the Village has assisted the Lions m covenng part of the cost of their 4th of July F~reworks m the past The Dons recently requested additional funding assistance for the Board of consider. He also stated that there is a Spe=al Events Comm~ssmn meeting coming up this Saturday which w~ll d~scuss the poss~b~hty of an 80th Village B~rthday celebration Once the Commission puts together a proposal for consideration, the village Board w~ll have the option of rewewmg their recommendations Trustee Hoefert asked what the status of the Route 83 speed hm~t enforcement has been and the recenstrucbon status of Route 83 Manager Janonis stated that there is cont,numg d~scusslon concerning alternatives for construction of the road and antic4pates a report and possible Public Heanng in the spnng Chief Pavlock stated there has been extensive enforcement throughout the enbre stretch of Route 83 and had been wntmg tickets with average speeds of 15-18 miles per hour over the speed limit Trustee Clowes commented on the SWANCC Newsletter and felt that the 70,000 p~eces of paper which were d~sthbuted as part of the Newsletter prowded little additional information and would request SWANCC reconsider such publications in the future Trustee Hendricks commented that the Zoning Board of Appeals and the S~gn Review Board have final say compared to other volunteer commissions which only recommend to the village Board Manager Janonis reminded the Board that there is an upcoming Public Heanng on March 30 concerning the C~t~zens' Utilities rate increase request The Heanng w~ll take at School in Arlington Heights He also stated that the place Hersey High Wllage Board meeting w~ll be on Apnl 5 instead of Apnl 4 due to the consolidated election on Apnl 4. On a Motion made by Trustee Hoefert and Seconded by Trustee Wilks, the Committee of the Whole moved Into Closed Session to discuss property acquisitJon/disposltion at 9'23 p.m. Them was no need for personnel The Comm,ttee of the Whole reconvened at 10.18 p m VI. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10 19 p m Respectfully subm~tte~ DAVID STRAHL DS/rcc Assistant to the V~ilage Manager