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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/23/1990 COW minutes MINUTES COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE OCTOBER 23, 1990 I. ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. Present at the meeting were. Mayor Gerald L. Farley; Trustees Ralph Arthur, Mark Busse, Timothy Corcoran, , George Van Geem and.Theodore Wattenberg Absent from the meeting was: Trustee Leo Floros. Also present at the meeting were: Village Manager John Fulton D~xon, Assistant Village Manager John Burg, Director of Inspection Services Chuck Bencic, Village Attorney Everette Hill, Personnel Coordinator Donna Pike, Trixie Goldberg of the Northwest Municipal Conference, two members of the press and 10 persons in the audience II. MINUTES ~ ~ The Minutes of the Committee' of the Whole meeting of October 9, 1990 were accepted and filed. III. CITIZENS '~O BE HEARD There were no citizens to be heard. ~ IV. EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Village Manager John Dixon introduced the d~scussion of the Employee Assistance Program adrmnistered by the NWMC, noting that he was happy to recommend this program. Personnel Coordinator Donna Pike then gave a presentation on the Employee Assistance Program Trixie Goldberg, of the Northwest Municupal Conference, also gave a presentation. In response to a question, Trixie Goldberg indicated that interest in this program was generated when several member communities came to the Conference requesting assistance in obtaimng a more reasonable price for this program. She said a typical price would be $25 00 per employee per year while this program wall only be $19.50 Mayor Farley asked if this fee could be shared by employees. Ms Goldberg indicated it could probably be done but smd that none of the towns that she knows of in this program are doing this because of the reasonable cost. Trustee Van Geem asked how long various cities have been using Comprehensive Psychological Centers for this.type of program. Ms Goldberg said that Buffalo Grove and Skokie have been lislng th~s company for three to four years. She said that Prospect Heights recently engaged their services. Trustee Van Geem asked what kind of savings could be real,zed through this program; for example, in health insurance. Ms. Goldberg said that in towns which have this program, there has been an ~ncrease in morale,, fewer ~dlsciphne problems and a decrease in turnover. She said she would have to find out the 'information r?g~ar ng the effect on the health insurance. ,Trustee Van~Geem said he would prefer to see this t~pe of orgamzatlon refer any patients to outside providers., Trustee Van Geem then asked about the screening proces.s to choose this company. ~Ms. Goldberg indicated there was an RFP, a screemng pr~oc~ess and backgr6.und checks - , Trustee Van Geem then asked how th~ Village health insurance would handle these types of bills. Ms. Pike explained the Village insurance coverages Trustee Van Geem asked for statistics on the increase in health costs. Ms. P~ke said she would have t9 t~ ~to get this information from communities that have this program. ' Trustee Wattenberg said he would be unable to vote for th~s program unless the employee pays a share of the cost Trustee Arthur requested information about the Drug Free Workplace Act. He noted that he also leans towards an employee contribution Trustee Corcoran asked how many compames the NWMC evaluated. Ms. Goldberg said that twelve companies were looked at and they intennewed five. Trustee Corcoran asked why this company 'was chosen. *~ Ms. Goldberg indicated that Comprehensive Psychological Centers was chosen for many reasons, among them their contacts in the area'and the cost-effective nature of ~their program. She d~d indicate that another b~d came in $2 00 cheaper but this company did not offer the same service Trustee Corcoran indicated that people with problems tend ~o avoid them. He asked how we ~vould get the people to use the program Ms Pike indicated that if job performance is bad and the employee's job is on the line, they will have an incentive to use the program. However, she noted that the program addresses many other problems such as marital problems, financial problems and so on. Trustee Busse asked for an explanation of the management training provided through this program Ms. P~ke indicated that all supervisors would go through this traimng. Ms. Goldberg ~ndlcated that the training is done at the beginning of the program and then can be done on an annual basis. The training involves a half-day session. Trustee Busse then asked how the expense of the program would be covered. Manager D~xon said that funds are in the budget. Manager D~xon said this is a very good program, and all the Department Directors are in favor of it. Trustee Busse asked about the confidentiahty of the program. Ms. P~ke indicated that indeed this would be a confidential program. Trustee Busse said he feels this is an excellent program, noting that you cannot beat it for $.05 a day. He urged the Committee to approve this program and to pay the full employee expense. Mayor Farley indicated that the Board would like more information and to study the Employee Assistance Program further at a future meeting CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE REOUIRING BUSINESSES ~O POST NOTII~E OF LICENSE SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION Village Attorney Everette Hill said this Ordinance grew out of the d~scussion a few months ago regarding the suspension or revocation of Liquor Licenses. He said the Police would like to give notice to the public if there is a hquor violation Attorney Hill said, however, that the Committee had requested a more generic Ordinance to include all businesses Mayor Farley noted this item was placed on the Agenda because a Board member had requested it. He said that he wholeheartedly supported the Ordinance. Trustee Corcoran said he had asked to place this ~tem on the Agenda. He has seen this type of Ordinance in operation in Chmago He feels it is a protection to consumers. He said sometimes businesses that are closed hst the wrong reason for dosing, and he feels the public should be made aware. Trustee Arthur suggested that the Ordinance should include a requirement that the exact infraction be listed on the Notice posted at the property. Attorney H~ll said this could be added to the Ordinance. Trustee Bnsse asked how big this sign would be. Attorney I-Idl said the letters would be 1/2" high. Trustee Busse asked if there had ever been an instance where another type of Business License, other than a Liquor L~cense, was suspended or revoked. Attorney H~ll said that we had an instance last year of a contractor not performing properly, and th~s License was revoked. Trustee Busse asked for types of offenses which would warrant suspension or revocation. Attorney Hill smd a criminal offense, nusrepresentation or fraud. He said that the party involved would be entitled to a Hearing Trustee Busse asked how long a normal suspension would be -Attorney Hill smd the most we can suspend ~s for 30 days A usual suspension is seven days or a weekend. He said this type of Ordinance has been used in Palatme and in Hoffman Estates. Trustee Busse said he ~s not in favor of tNs type of Ordinance. Trustee Wattenberg said the Village should consult the NWMC for further information. He also suggested that we should list the fines that minors get for wolating the liquor purchase laws. Mayor Farley requested that the Ordinance with the requested cha~nges be placed on the November 6 Agenda for consideration. ' ~ ~ ~ , VI SIDEWALK POLICY ON MA. IOR ROADWAYS Manager Dixon introduced this topic. He said the Village is not suggesting we should spend $1 8 milhon on sidewalks along major roadways. He said we should / continue w~th the policy we have been 'following over the years, namely waiting for appropriate opportunities to present themselves when it makes sense to have a developer install sidewalks in certain areas. J Trustee Corcoran ind:cated that the intent of tNs Agenda item was to try to ., connect neighborhoods safely throughout the commumty. , Mayor Farley asked what major sidewalk projects have been completed in the last three years. Manager Dixon listed projects along Wolf Road, Busse and Golf. Manager Dixon said that if we are aware of a heavily used area, we will try to work m the construction of a sidewalk w~th our current Sidewalk Program He suggested that citizens should d~rect requests to the staff and then we will try to work these projects into the budgetary process ' , Director of Inspection Services Chuck Bencic gave some examples of requests the Village has received for sidewalks in areas where there were gaps between * sidewalks recently installed by developers He noted that the Village installed sidewalks in those areas if the pedestrian traffic was heavy enough. Trustee Corcoran put in a request to consider sidewalks in the following areas: Brickman Manor on Rand Road, Hill Street neighborhood, and the new Thomas More Subdivision ' ~') ~,~ Mr. Bencic indicated that the State and County will not build sidewalks. E~ther the Village must install the sidewalks or a developer. Mayor Farley noted that there ~s support for the present policy as outhned by the Village Manager. VII DOWNSPOUT DISCONNECTION PROGRAM Village Manager Dixon explained the recommendation to obtain compliance tn the Downspout Dtsconnection Program He recommended hmng a temporary employee for an approximate six month period w~th two eight-hour days per week. He said the personnel and vehicle expense would be approyamately $4,000. The recommended comphance date for the Program would be ~May 1, 1991. This would allow ample time for comphance with winter around the corner. He also suggested that the Village supply a hst of indtwduals who would be willing and able to perform the work at a reasonable price. Mayor Farley asked how a program hke this would be helpful in getting people to comply when they already have had quite a bit of time. Manager Dixon said he feels those who have not complied do not understand what ts reqmred to make the necessary repairs. The function of this Program would be to educate them on the proper procedure and to obtain voluntary comphance. He said the purp6se of the Program is not to fine people but to get their cooperation However, the penalty will have to be spelled out tn a letter as well as the fact that someone who fads to comply could face a ticket and Court. Trustee Wattenberg said he is in favor of this Program He said it is an excellent cost-effective Program. Trustee Corcoran said it is a very human way of solving the problem. Trustee Arthur said he is all for the Program with the fines spelled out tn the letter. Trustee Busse supported the Program. It was the consensus of the Committee that the Village should htre an indMdual for approximately six months to handle the Comphance Program. VIII DISCUSSION OF LEASING PARKING SPACES ON PROSPECT AVENUE Manager DLxon introduced the discussion on leasmg of parking spaces on Prospect Avenue. ~He recommended leasing the 30 spaces at the far eastern edge of Prospect Avenue. He noted that the spaces at the Wtlle Street parking lot cost $90 per space for downtown business owners or $240 per year for commuters. Manager Dixon also recommended allowing Continental Bakery to lease these spaces for overnight parking rather than using the lot across from the bakery. Trustee Arthur asked if this would be legal to lease the spots. He said he would support this program if it were legal. Trustee Busse requested that he not be involved tn thts dtscussion to avoid any appearance of confltct of interest. Mr. Pochard Gammon, of Health Data Systems, 701 East Prospect, said he would hke to have approximately ten spaces just on an overflow basis for customers He did not thtnk they would park all day long. He just wanted to have the same opportunity for parking like other businesses in the community have, for example, in the four-hour parking areas. Assistant Village Manager Burg said he was adwsed by the Village Attorney it is legal to lease these spaces The consensus of the Committee was to approve this leasing program of spaces along Prospect Avenue. IX. MANAGER'S REPORT 1. Manager Dixon mentmned a letter from the MWRD praising the Vxllage for the work at Melas Park. 2. He noted that the Melas Park Agreement should be back to the Village by Friday. , 3. He said the Boxwood Drive Project is 98% complete. He said landscaping will begin tomorrow. 4. He said the Emerson Street concrete is curing at present. He said .the project ' should be completed next week. 5. He said the Leaf Program will end as advertised on November 16 He asked the press to publicize this ~ 6. He noted that if the Village cannot go forward with the Election on November 6 due to the controversy wzth the Harold Washington Party, he said that it would affect our Public Safety Facility schedule if the Referendum were to be successful He noted that if the Referendum is successful, he would like to place a Bond Issue item and an architect fee item on the November 6 Agenda. X. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Trustee Van Geem noted that he concurs with the recommendation of the Village Manager to allow a day off on December 24 for office personnel The Committee was in total agreement with Trustee Van Geem. Trustee Busse noted that the last Open House of the Public Safety Building will be November 3. He encouraged everyone to attend. Trustee Corcoran brought up the discussion of the Lake Briarwood lights He ~ndlcated that in the future when we review our hghtmg needs and are changing fixtures, we should consider more energy-efficient fixtures. ~ Trustee Wattenberg invited people to his new home in Prospect Heights where ~he said there are no lights and everyone is happy. Trustee Van Geem asked about the recent natural gas outage Manager D~xon explained what had happened and the Gas Company's response. ix. The meeting adjourned at 9.30 p m Respectfully submitted, JOHN P. BURG JPB/rcw Assistant Village Manager -6-