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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