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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/26/1991 COW minutes MINUTES COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE FEBRUARY 26, 1991 I. ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order at 7.30 p m Present at the meeting were' Mayor Gerald L. Farley, Trustees Mark Busse, Timothy Corcoran, Leo Floros, George Van Geem and Don Welbel. Absent from the meeting was Trustee Ralph Arthur. Also present at the meeting were: Village Manager John Fulton Dixon, Assistant Village Manager John Burg, Public Works Director Herb Weeks, Finance' Director Dave Jepson, Planning and Zoning Director Dave Clements, Assistant Finance Director Carol Wldmer, Deputy Public Works Director Glen Andler, Director of Inspection Services Chuck Benclc, Street Superintendent Mel Both, Water and Sewer Superintendent Jerry Macintosh, Village Planner Mike Sims, Village Forester Sandy Clark; George March of Triton Engineering, Randy Patchett of RJN Associates, Tim Doron and Mark Fowler of the Northwest Municipal Conference-Transportation Unit; four members of the press and eleven persons in the audience II MINUTES The Minutes of the Committee of the Whole meeting of February 12, 1991 were accepted and filed. III. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD Don Harmon of 16 North William, asked a question about disabled parking spaces at Busse School IV. SECOND OPINION-STORMWATER MANAGEMENT George March of Triton Engineering gave a presentation on his company's review of the Stormwater Management Study performed by RJN Associates of Wheaton Mr. March indicated that RJN had done a good job and that Triton Engineering generally agree~ with the recommendations. He explained what the scope of services for his report had been and he gave a history of the various studies and projects performed in the Village from the 1960s to present Mr March said he felt the level of recommended protection by RJN was basically sound Mr. March recommended that the Village Board implement the projects recommended by RJN. Trustee Weibel asked why Triton Engineering did not recommend detention. Mr. March said that land prices are prohibitive. Trustee Weibel asked about the use of standpipes. Mr. March said standpipes would provide a lesser level of protection and he did not feel this was the way to go. Trustee Welbel said he had heard that standpipes tend to buckle basement~,~M~. March said this could happen. Mr. March noted that standpipes also could not prevent~veriand flow. He again noted that standpipes, in certain circumstances, could be a good backup system but that generally he would not recommend standpipes as a solution. Trustee Weibel then asked if backflow valves would merely push the problem elsewhere Trustee Weibel said that he had obtained three bids from companies on ejector pumps and pits He said the price ranged from $3450 to $4050 per home. He said this would be $10 million or more He said that the cost would be almost as much with this kind of a program and this would merely shift the problem elsewhere Trustee Van Geem said that he realized that Triton Engineering had not been asked to do a cost-benefit analysis. However, he asked how d~fficult it would be to cost out the damage that is caused by flooding Mr. March suggested looking at information contained in the 1973 Engineering Report. Trustee Van Geem asked if another Clean Streams Comnuttee would be helpful. Mr. March respectfully suggested that to form another Comnuttee like this would only cause delay and he recommended that the Village go forward now with the recommended projects He d~d suggest that this type of Committee could be used to study a Backflow Ordinance. Trustee Van Geem said that he lives downstream on Weller Creek and he cannot understand how his property will not be negatively impacted Mr. March said he had, in writing, from RJN Associates that properties will not be negatively impacted Mr. March said the theory is that you move water downstream faster before the Creek channel begins to fill. Trustee Corcoran was also concerned that the proposed solutions would merely push the problem elsewhere. Trustee Corcoran asked where Triton Engineering disagrees with RJN Mr. March said that in almost all cases, the estimates of cost by RJN are high He feels that projects previously outlined by the Board as desirable would probably cost approxtmately $12 million rather than the suggested $14 million figure Mr. March reiterated that the Village received good value from the work performed by RJN. Trustee Weibel asked if the Arlington Heights project will help Weller Creek. Mr. March said he had no knowledge of this project Trustee Floros said he was delighted that Mr. March's firm was allowed to do the second opimon. He feels that the Village benefited from Mr. March's experience. Trustee Floros urged the Village to move forward with the recommended projects -2- Village Manager Dixon said he felt the Village obtmned good value from the study performed by Triton Engineering He indicated that Triton did a thorough job ~n a very short timeframe. Mr. D~xon requested direction from the Board on the proposed projects The consensus of the Conumttee was to proceed vath the $14.3 million in projects subject to the constraints previously outlined by the Board. V. NORTHWEST MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE-TRANSPORTATION UNIT Mayor Farley introduced the discussion about the Northwest Municipal Conference Transportation Unit. Tim Doron then made a presentation about the Northwest Municipal Conference - Transportation Unit. Mayor Farley asked what contribution is expected from the Village. Mr. Doron said $5,173 or 9 5 cents per capita. Mayor Farley said that at first he was not convinced that the Village would benefit from membership in this unit However, after receiving additional information about the program, he could see that there were definite advantages to studying transportation needs on a Conference level Trustee We~bel asked Mr Doron to explain how this Unit intends to work vath NIPC Trustee Corcoran asked how other towns have reacted to this proposal. Mr. Doron said that Hoffman Estates is the only community that has said no at th~s point. He said Schaumburg initially rejected the proposal but they are reconsidering He said that 19 communities have indicated they will participate. Trustee Van Geem asked why another agency on transportation Is needed Mr. Doron gave various reasons, among them the need to represent the various communities' ~nterest. Trustee Van Geem asked if the Village's contribution will increase Mr. Doron said there will only be small increases unless the staff has to be augmented due to large numbers of requests for semces by member mumclpahtles Trustee Van Geem asked Mr. Doron to explain what he considers to be a measurement of success of this Umt during the next ten years Mr. Doron listed several goals including reduction of traffic congestion. Mayor Farley indicated that the discussion about whether the Village should participate in the Transportation Unit will be revisited during the Budget process ~(~ VI 1991-1992 BUDGET HEARING Mayor Farley gave opening remarks regarding the Budgets to be d~scussed this evening Manager Dixon then gave a General Budget Overview of the Planning and Zoning, Inspection Services and Public Works Budgets Planning and Zoning Department Budget Dave Clements then gave a presentation on the Planning and Zoning Budget There were several questions by the Committee concerning the Planning and Zoning Budget Trustee Corcoran suggested allowing the Board to discuss the various revisions recommended for the Zoning Ordinance at a later date. Mr. Clements indicated that after the Budget, he would like to consider this topic at a Comauttee of the Whole meeting at which time he would provide suggested areas for revision in the Zoning Ordinance. Trustee Van Geem briefly discussed the enforcement of the Sign Ordinance and asked if there would be an adequate amount in the Budget for legal enforcement There was a discussion about the proposed CDBG program. There was general concurrence by the Committee to go forward with the proposed CDBG program Manager D~xon indicated he needed this direction because a Resolution must be prepared and passed in the near future. Inspection Services Department Budget Inspection Services Director Chuck Bencic gave a presentation on his proposed Budget. The Committee asked various questions about the Budget. Mayor Farley asked if Mr. Bencic agrees with the requirement for a Permit for water heaters Mr. Bencic said yes, a water heater is pressurized and can be very dangerous. Trustee Corcoran raised the question about the animal traps which are loaned out, noting that sometimes the traps are not available for use by residents Mr. Bencic indicated the problems we have with recovering traps from residents since there is no requirement for a deposit Trustee Corcoran recommended charging a deposit. Trustee Corcoran also noted that microfilming of records is a good idea. Trustee Floros said there were some problems in this Department a few year~ ago, and he asked the Manager if the additional staff has addressed these problems. Village Manager D~xon said he is very pleased with the progress which the added personnel are responsible for. Trustee Weibel asked a general question about the fluctuation in the compensated absences category throughout the various budgets Finance,Director Jepson explained the reason for these fluctuations. , Trustee Busse also asked questions about the nucrofilrning. Trustee Busse noted there were fewer Permits this year and asked if there should be a reduction in overtime Mr. Bencm noted that the overtime on Tuesdays and Saturdays is specifically to allow residents to have access to the Department at convenient times. Manager Dtxon said he will recommend not to continue this overtime beginning this fall and through the winter. Trustee Busse suggested considering g~ving the individuals time off during the week instead of overtime. Trustee Busse then asked a question about organizational memberships He also said he did not agree with the Permit fee for water heaters because he feels this is a nuisance Trustee Van Geem asked why records need to be microfilmed. He asked why these could not be placed in a fire-proof room. Mr. Bencic said we have no such fireproof room and it would be yew expensive. Trustee Van Geem asked how much this microfilnnng will cost. Mr. Bencic estimated that the $5,000 charge during this year is perhaps for 1/50 of the records because we have to go back to the 1920s. Trustee Van Geem asked if digital scanning would be more appropriate than nncrofllm Trustee Corcoran suggested requiring builders to submit microfilmed plans. Public Works Department Budget Director of Public Works Herb Weeks gave a presentation on the Public Works Budget. The Committee asked various questions about the budget. Mayor Farley brought up the problem concerning sight obstruction by parkways trees. He asked if the Board had helped to clarify this problem. Mr. Weeks said the discussions with the Village Board definitely helped the Department as well as the public by getting the word out Trustee Van Geem was concerned that less money would be used this year in the Street Program He felt that resurfaclng should be stressed more than reconstruction because resurfacmg could address the problems at an earlier stage and preserve much longer stretches of highway than reconstruction could. , He suggested adding $250,000 to the Street Program or cutting $250,000 from the reconstruction budget. Manager Dixon said he felt the Village could afford to cut the Street budget by $250,000 this year because some streets will be repaired during the sewer projects. Also, he said he expects excellent bids due to the recession Trustee Van Geem asked why the Village cannot use more MFF funds for the street projects. Dave Jepson indicated that the Village usually tries to keep $400,000 in the MFr fund When the first projections were made, ~t was felt that the recommended level would achieve that $400,000 fund balance at the end of the upcoming fiscal year, however, since that time, the availability of funds has been refined and Mr. Jepson feels that another $150,000 would be available. Trustee Van Geem recommended using this additional $150,000 so that the Street fund would only be $100,000 less than the current fiscal year. It appeared that the consensus of the Comrmttee was to add an additional $150,000 to the proposed Street budget. Trustee Van Geem asked what the condition of the Village Hall is Mr. Weeks estimated ~t could cost approxamately $1 million to rehabilitate the HVAC systems in the Village Hall. Trustee Van Geem questioned the 10% water rate increase. Mr. Jepson said he will prepare a report within the next two weeks suggesting a more stable rate increase Trustee Van Geem, asked ff there will be another report on the impact of Personal Sermces to the budget. Mr. Jepson smd he hopes to have this report ready by the end of the week. The Committee discussed a $40,000 item regarding Parking Lot Rehabilitation. Trustee Corcoran did not feel it was necessary to spend this money for curbing and repair of the parlang lot. He suggested saving the money and using it on a big project such as land acquisition or new parking lot development After d~scussion, it was the consensus of the Committee to leave this $40,000 in the budget for Parking Lot Rehabilitation at this time Trustee Van Geem tentatively agreed to leave this amount in but smd this would be subject to later rewew. Trustee Corcoran suggested that there be a pay-back from the revenue received from the parking meters on Prospect Avenue to the General Fund for the widening project Manager Dixon said staff can figure out the appropriate payment to be made to the General Fund. Trustee Van Geem asked if there ~s any benefit to the Village from diverting materials from the waste stream ~n the Recycling Program. Mayor Farley said this issue will be addressed in the new bids. Trustee Van Geem also asked for an explanation of the proposed sticker program. Mayor Farley asked if the yard rubbish program can be year around. Glen .4~ndler said this has not been included in the upcormng bids because the compost sites * are closed ~n the winter. He said this would be d~fficult to provide and he said the usual practice will be to have no service from December 15 through Aprd 1 Due to t~me constraints, Mayor Farley ~ndtcated that the Executive Session on litigation will be deferred to March 5. VII ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:55 p m. J~uRGRespectfully su~ited~~ . Assistant Village Manager JPB/rcw