06/25/2002MINUTES
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
June 25, 2002
The Village Board met as a Committee of the Whole in the board room of the Village Hall at 7:36 p.m.
on Tuesday, June 15, 2002. In attendance were:
Steven Harris, Mayor
Robert D. Franz, Village Manager
Jerry Kayne, Trustee
Robert Fialkowski, Finance Director
Derek Ragona, Trustee
Barbara Little, Director of Public Works/Engineering
Harriet Rosenthal, Trustee
Jeff Ryckaert, Principal Planner
Bill Seiden, Trustee
Diane Mikula, Assistant to Village Manager
Matt Wylie, Trustee
Cable System Transfer and Settlement
Jesse Rotman, Chairman of the Cable & Telecommunications Commission, summarized his June 2e
memo to the Village Board wherein he reported that the commission believes it has negotiated an
agreement with AT&T regarding its merger with Comcast and resolution of franchise violations. The
settlement would involve a cash contribution from AT&T and several pieces of communication
equipment to be distributed to various government and institutional units within the community.
It was noted that a side letter which had been mailed to AT&T was not distributed to the board.
Copies were made and the board was given the letter that evening. After a brief discussion, it was
agreed to place the merger/settlement matter on the July 1't Village Board agenda. AT&T is expected
to confirm their end of the settlement prior to that date.
Future Role of the VCDC
Mayor Harris acknowledged and thanked several members of the Village Center Development
Commission who were in attendance. He then asked Trustee Kayne to restate his proposal regarding
the future of the VCDC. Trustee Kayne commented that he had raised the possibility of disbanding the
VCDC because he felt that there were overlapping commissions making it difficult for business owners
within the Village Center. He believes that the local merchants should have input in the VCDC
objectives and that alliances should be formed between the groups.
Discussion ensued about procedures that must be followed by all petitioners and the role of various
boards and commissions. Some trustees welcomed the redundancy in that more input is beneficial
even if one commission disagrees with another. Others preferred streamlining the process if possible
to arrive at a consensus on objectives shared by the Village Board and its boards and commissions.
Several comments were made and questions asked by those in attendance. The majority of the board
made it clear that they believed the VCDC serves a valid purpose and wanted that commission to
continue its function in reviewing and commenting on all matters pertaining to the Village Center.
However, Mayor Harris directed staff to develop a matrix in hopes of clarifying both the petition
process and the role of the various board and commissions in dealing with those petitions.
Board and Commission Duties and Responsibilities
Trustee Rosenthal raised concerns about appointments to various task forces and the need for board
involvement and direction when such committees are established. She cited the recent Safety Council
minutes wherein it noted that members of a Walkable Community Task Force intended to hold a
meeting at Starbucks on Sunday morning. She emphasized that the Village Board ultimately is
responsible for any final decisions resulting from board and commission activities and, therefore, it
should sanction the formation of these groups before they undertake any tasks.
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Committee of the Whole Minutes
June 25, 2002
Page 2
There was difference of opinion on whether perspective task force members should be contacted
before or after the Village Board agrees to appoint them. There was agreement, however, that better
communications between the board and its various boards and commissions would be beneficial in
giving these groups a sense of direction.
The manager reported that, in response to Trustee Kayne's concern with Plan Commission quorum
problems, only one meeting had been cancelled in the past year due to lack of a quorum. Several
meetings had been cancelled, but they were at the petitioners' request. Also, the Energy Advisory &
Resource Recovery Commission wishes to change its name to Energy & Recycling Commission. To
do so requires an amendment to the Deerfield Municipal Code. Their request will be on the July I'
agenda.
Geographical Information System
This project was discussed by the board at an earlier committee of the whole meeting. Since then,
Trustee Ragona submitted a memo raising questions about staff s GIS plans. He summarized his
concerns, which dealt primarily with the financial commitment to be undertaken by the village. In
response, Finance Director Bob Fialkowski commented that staff understood that there are other
significant technology components that either exist or will need to be upgraded in the future, and that
the needs analysis did not address these. There is a functional system in place in the police
department, but finance and community development would need to acquire new information packages
that would be substantial in cost but would have to be compatible with the GIS. The needs analysis for
the GIS did present the fiscal requirements for this system and this amount was provided for in the
current budget. Public works would be the primary recipient of the benefits of the GIS. The requests
of the other departments for their specific data processing needs will be presented as part of future
budgets, along with a plan for funding these requests.
After further discussion, it was agreed that the contract between the Village and Municipal GIS
Partners will be placed on the July I" Village Board agenda.
Lake Cook Road Improvements
The board was asked if it had any follow-up questions regarding Lake Cook Road construction plans
proposed by the Cook County Highway Department as described by them in a committee of the whole
meeting held on June 1 Oth. At that time, they asked the village for a position on the scope of the
project as it relates to how far west of Waukegan Road should Lake Cook Road be widened. The
alternatives are: Waukegan Road to the railroad bridge; Waukegan Road to Deer Lake Road;
Waukegan Road to Pfingsten Road.
Board consensus was that, given the need to improve several intersections and the relatively short
distance between them, the improvements should include the entire section between Waukegan Road
and Pfingsten Road. Staff was directed to prepare a report on the matter and to draft a letter stating
village support for the project. Final action would be taken at the July 1st Village Board meeting
The meeting adjourned at 10:10 p.m.
Minutes prepared by:
Rob rt D. Franz, Village M er