08/29/20118-29-11 COW
Page 1 of 4
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE – Minutes of Meeting
August 29, 2011
The Village Board met as a Committee of the Whole in the Council Chambers of the
Village Hall at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, August 29, 2011. In attendance were:
Village Board Staff
Harriet Rosenthal, Mayor Kent Street, Village Manager
Robert Benton, Trustee Clinton Case, Building & Code Enf. Supervisor
Mary Oppenheim, Trustee Barbara Little, Director of Public Works & Eng.
William Seiden, Trustee Bradford Fink, Assistant Director of Public Works
Barbara Struthers, Trustee Robert Phillips, Assistant Village Engineer
Alan Farkas, Trustee Dan Busscher, Streets and Utilities Superintendent
Thomas Jester, Trustee John Sliozis, Police Chief
Peter Coblentz, Village Attorney
Also Present:
RJN Group
Alan Hollenbeck, President
Cathy Morley, Project Manager
Chicagoland Jewish High School
Michael Small, President
Larry Gerber, Vice President
Judith Levin, Secretary
Tony Frank, Head of School
Ralph Schwartz, Daniel Webster Middle School
Matthew Lewin, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Public Comment
There was no public comment.
Review of the proposed Lake Cook Road Widening and Landscaping Plan
Assistant Village Engineer, Bob Phillips reported the Cook County Highway Department
(CCHD) has advised the Village to submit a landscape median design for Lake Cook
Road. Mr. Phillips explained the Village could either bid the work in conjunction with
the County project or could bid it independently. The landscape median would be
installed on Lake Cook Road in places without a turn lane from Deer Lake Road to
Carlisle Avenue. The County has offered to cover 50% of the cost to construct the
landscaped medians, as long as the Village agrees to perform the routine maintenance
going forward. Trustee Oppenheim commented that both option 1 and option 2 have the
same maintenance cost of $16,000 and believes option 2 should be less. Mr. Phillips
reported that he would reevaluate the maintenance costs and get a more accurate number.
Trustee Oppenheim asked if it would be possible to find a compromise between the two
options. Trustee Farkas recommended establishing a budget and allowing the experts to
decide how best to spend the money. Mr. Street advised that Staff is continuing to work
8-29-11 COW
Page 2 of 4
with CCHD to delay the project for one year but the Village still needs to submit a
landscape median design soon. Mayor Rosenthal favored the idea to make the landscape
medians more decorative while keeping the annual maintenance costs low. Mayor
Rosenthal summarized that the Board is in favor of adding additional landscaping items
to option 2 while keeping maintenance costs to a minimum. Further information will be
provided to the Board before a design is finalized.
Animal Control Ordinance Proposal re Dangerous Animals
Mr. Street reported that last November an animal ordinance was discussed at a
Committee of the Whole meeting. Chief Sliozis noted that this type of ordinance is
difficult to enforce and even more difficult if an animal was required to be removed.
Chief Sliozis reported that 7-12 bites are reported annually and are made by mainly non-
repeat offenders at the dog park. Mayor Rosenthal noted that incidents at the dog park
should be treated differently than on private property because the Park District can
remove and keep out unruly dogs from the park. Mr. Coblentz advised that if an
ordinance was enacted it should be a condensed version of the Illinois and Lake County
Animal Ordinances. Mayor Rosenthal questioned if the Village is already required to
report dog bite incidents to Lake County could they enforce their ordinance? Trustee
Jester concurred with Mayor Rosenthal and recommended that we introduce Lake County
to the issue and have them remedy the situation. Mr. Street noted that the Village would
likely need to execute an agreement to grant the County enforcement authority. Chief
Sliozis commented that he would feel more comfortable with the Village handling the
issue rather than the County and recommends a simplified Village ordinance that grants
the Village the authority to muzzle dogs with a history of unprovoked bites. Mr. Sliozis
will work with Mr. Coblentz to draft a simplified animal ordinance that will require dogs
with a history of biting to be muzzled when not on their owner’s property.
Sanitary Sewer Inflow and Infiltration Update
RJN Group President, Alan Hollenbeck, recommended the Village start the private
property pilot program in the northeast quadrant of the Village. Mr. Hollenbeck reported
that the 2009 program in the northeast quadrant on public land determined that 34% of
the flow was unnecessarily treated. He described that the phased approach to reduce
sewer inflow and infiltration includes flow monitoring, identification and rehabilitation.
He noted the phased approach allows the Village to identify and rehabilitate the largest
defects in the sewer system first. Trustee Jester reported he is cautious of moving forward
with studying a new quadrant of the Village when we do not have demonstrable
improvements in the northeast quadrant which was studied in 2009. Mr. Hollenbeck
explained the IEPA has increased regulatory requirements and it’s in the Village’s best
interest to continually demonstrate a willingness to work toward improvements and move
forward with the private sector pilot program in the northeast quadrant while
rehabilitation continues in the northeast quadrant. Assistant Director of Public Works,
Brad Fink recommended pursuing sewer inspections and smoke testing in the northwest
quadrant and at a later date the Village can decide on how to best use the data to
implement the necessary repairs.
8-29-11 COW
Page 3 of 4
Chicagoland Jewish High School Bond Restructuring
President of the Chicagoland Jewish High School, Michael Small requested the Village
re-issue bonds for the CJHS re-structuring. No objections have been received from bond
holders to the restructuring proposal to date. Mr. Small reported that the school continues
to grow and this year’s enrollment totals 167 students. He noted that many students have
gone on to attend prestigious colleges and universities. Mr. Small described the schools
fine arts and sports programs and civic and communal services.
Mr. Schwartz described the mentor program CJHS provides to the Webster Middle
School in Waukegan. He highlighted the value of this cooperative program which
connects seniors from CJHS with 8th graders from Webster.
Matthew Lewin, of Greenberg Traurig the Village’s bond counsel, confirmed that
restructuring the bonds for CJHS has no impact on the Village’s ability to issue its own
debt and the Village is not liable to pay any debt service on the bond. Mayor Rosenthal
expressed concern about what this debt would do to the Village’s reputation. Mr. Lewin
explained the re-issuance and past default does not damage the Village’s reputation
because the Village is not liable and moreover, being a conduit to a bond issuance, as is
the case, is distinctly different from the Village issuing a General Obligation Bond.
Trustee Struthers questioned what precedent is being set for other 501 (c) 3 organizations.
Mr. Lewin explained the Village is amending bonds they have already issued and that
each 501 (c) 3 should be evaluated as a stand alone case.
Mr. Street reported a public hearing will be held at the Village Board meeting on
September 19, 2011.
Sidewalk Snow Plowing and Parkway Maintenance
Trustee Farkas reported he would like to see the Village do more to encourage residents
to shovel sidewalks and more importantly, prevent snow from being added by plow
operators to sidewalks. Trustee Struthers noted it is important to define the carriage walk
as separate from the sidewalk because the Village displaces snow onto the carriage walks.
Trustee Farkas explained his intent is to prevent residents from exacerbating snow
removal from sidewalks. Mr. Street advised that staff will work to draft an ordinance
preventing residents and businesses from exacerbating snow removal from sidewalks.
Remote Meeting Participation by Village Board Members
Mr. Street introduced the discussion regarding remote meeting participation by Village
Board members. Trustee Farkas reported current State Statute authorizes remote meeting
participation by elected officials but noted the municipality is also required to pass an
ordinance permitting it locally. Trustee Farkas understands concerns that the technology
may not be currently available to allow for remote participation but he recommends
passing the ordinance now and implementing it at a later date if technology permits and if
remote participation is found to be useful. Trustee Oppenheim reported she is against
remote participation because it is not fair to the public in attendance at the meeting and
that having all the Board members physically present allows for better decision-making.
8-29-11 COW
Page 4 of 4
Trustee Benton concurred with Trustee Oppenheim’s remarks. Trustee Seiden noted the
Library utilizes remote meeting participation and he found it difficult to talk at meetings
and stated that too many negatives exist at present. Trustee Farkas recognizes the value of
having Board members physically present and agrees this is the best option; however, he
believes if one cannot be physically present, the next best alternative is to allow remote
participation rather than complete exclusion from the meeting. Trustee Struthers noted
she has participated in meetings via Skype numerous times and thought it was beneficial.
Trustee Jester recommended that staff survey other communities to determine if remote
participating is prevalent amongst the municipalities and to expose the advantages and
disadvantages associated with remote participation.
Special Meeting Date
Mr. Street reported a special Board meeting with be held on September 26, 2011 to
advertise the Qualified Energy Conservation Bond Sale for the Wastewater Reclamation
Facility.
Trustee Benton made a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Trustee
Oppenheim.
The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew S. Lichterman
Management Analyst