01/30/2001MINUTES
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Jlanuary 30, 2001
The Village Board met as a Committee of the Whole at 8:15 P.M., Tuesday, January 30, 2001
in the Board Room of the Village Hall. In attendance were:
Bernard Forrest, Mayor
Robert Franz, Manager
Steve Harris, Trustee
George Valentine, Finance Director
John Heuberger, Trustee
Barbara Little, Director of Public Works/ Engineering
Derek Ragona, Trustee
Diane Mikula, Assistant to the Manager
Harriet Rosenthal, Trustee
William Seiden, Trustee
Vernon Swanson, Trustee
Coromandel/ScavengerProperty Tax
The Manager reviewed with the Board the request of the Coromandel Homeowners
Association to address what they believe to be unfair treatment in Village policy regarding
residential scavenger service. Specifically, they object to paying a property tax for a service
that they are not receiving.
A written report was previously distributed to the Board describing: how the Village finances
scavenger costs and the projected rate increases due to the new contract with Onyx Waste
Services; the legal opinion of the Village Attorney which states that the Village has the
authority to impose a real estate tax for garbage collection on all properties and a separate fee
to those receiving the service; a list of multi -family development in Deerfield and a survey of
neighboring municipalities on how they pay refuse collection costs.
In attendance were representatives of Coromandel who reiterated their request to be "treated
fairly" in this matter. No specifics were offered on how that should be accomplished.
Following discussion, staff was directed to get from Onyx a cost estimate to service all multi-
family development in the Village. With that data, the Board will reexamine its scavenger
service policy further to determine if changes are warranted. It was noted that this may take
some time since Onyx will have to visit each development in order to provide solid numbers.
Deerbrook Mall -The Great Indoors
Staff updated the Board on the preliminary proposal from Lend Lease regarding
redevelopment of Deerbrook Mall which is being driven by Sears wanting to build its new
retail concept "The Great Indoors" at the far south end of the site. Sportmart would be
relocated further north and a portion of Best Buy would be used in order to build a 135,000
square foot space for The Great Indoors including an underground parking garage with 250-
270 spaces. Sears is building similar stores in Schaumburg and Lombard and has opened
facilities in Colorado and Arizona.
Sears and Lend Lease are proposing a Sales Tax Sharing arrangement in order to finance the
project. They believe it is warranted due to the extraordinary costs to redevelop the site.
Committee of the Whole Meeting
January 30, 2001
Page 2
The Board indicated a willingness to consider sharing sales tax but needs far more
information on the proposal. A primary concern is the potential traffic impact of The Great
Indoors and the cost of infrastructure improvements which may be necessary. Even though
the proposal must go through a formal public hearing process, the Board wants a traffic study
completed now to better evaluate the overall economics of the project.
Mayor Forrest stated that a provision should also be added to any agreement that, should The
Great Indoors project go out of business, Sears agrees to demolish the building so that it will
not deter further redevelopment of the site.
The Village has retained the services of Gleason, Sklar, Sawyers & Cumpata, a CPA and
management consulting firm, to help review the economic proposal. The Board agreed to
meet with them when more specific financial data is available.
Staff advised the Board that the final projected costs of Phase I streetscape improvements far
exceed the estimated budget developed last summer. IDOT requirements, electrical standards
and streetscape furniture unit prices have escalated the cost from $900,000 to nearly $1.5
million.
After reviewing the numbers, the Board asked for additional data comparing line item costs
from the original budget to the new estimates. In light of these new numbers, it may be
necessary to delay construction of streetscape improvements north of Deerfield Road to fiscal
year 2002-03.
Streetscape improvements south of Phase I would be constructed in conjunction with the
intersection improvement at Waukegan/Osterman/Longfellow.
W,aukenpLOsterman/Longfellowlntersection
The Board was shown the latest design proposal for intersection and signal improvements at
the Waukegan/Osterman/Longfellow intersection. ROW will be needed from three of the four
property owners abutting the intersection. There was an historical review of the different
intersection designs, a brief discussion on turning lane options, their impact on the amount of
ROW needed and what parkway would be left for landscaping purposes.
Staff will renew discussions with the adjacent property owners. The ROW issues must be
resolved soon in order to schedule the project for this summer.
The meeting adjourned at 10:15 P.M.
Minutes prepared by:
Zel�� CA^J
RO RT D. FRANZ, Village ana