08/06/2001August 6, 2001
The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Deerfield was
called to order by Mayor Harris in the Council Chamber of the Village Hall on
Monday, August 6, 2001, at 8:04 P.M. The Clerk called the roll and announced
that that the following were:
Present: Steven Harris, Mayor
Jerry Kayne
Derek Ragona
Harriet Rosenthal
William Seiden
Vernon Swanson
Matthew Wylie
and that a quorum was present and in attendance. Also present were Attorney Judy
Kolman and Village Manager Robert Franz.
APPROVAL OF BOARD MINUTES Trustee Ragona made a motion to approve the
minutes of the previous meeting. Trustee
Kayne seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
PROMOTION TO COMMANDER - GEORGE Chief Sliozis announced the promotion of
"SKIP" HOFFMAN Sergeant George `Skip" Hoffman to Commander.
Commander Hoffman has been with the Deerfield
Police-Department since 1969. The Oath of Office was administered by Mr. Franz.
APPROVAL OF COMMITTEE OF THE Trustee Ragona made a motion to approve the
WHOLE MEETING MINUTES minutes of the July 30th Committee of the
Whole meeting. Trustee Rosenthal seconded
the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF PLAN Mayor Harris asked for Public Comment on
COMMISSION AND REPORT AND the Deerbrook Mall.
RECOMMENDATION OF ARC RE PROPOSED
REDEVELOPMENT OF DEERBROOK MALL - Melissa Bigg stated her opinion that 90°
LEND LEASE REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS parking spaces don't work well. If they are
AND GATEWAY- FAIRVIEW, INC. to be used at Deerbrook, wider lanes should
be required to make parking easier. Mrs.
Bigg also suggested withholding approval on the two outbuildings until it can be
demonstrated that the mall has adequate parking. She asked that Deerbrook's
current small businesses be given the opportunity to be a part of the redeveloped
mall. Lastly, Mrs. Bigg suggested that politicians at the State level be asked .
to help solve the traffic problems at Lake Cook and Waukegan Roads.
Louise Ristow, a resident of the Glenbrook
Countryside subdivision just east of Deerbrook Mall, asked the Board to give
consideration to a southbound left hand turn.lane into Walnut Circle. She also
expressed concerns about security, traffic, parking, and the fact that Sears,
owner of The Great Indoors, has a poor track record.
Reading from a prepared statement Mayor
Harris commented that the Board is not yet comfortable with the overall plan for
Deerbrook Mall. He proposed the following:
• No increase in the square footage of the center from its current size of
624,000 square, feet. This would not necessarily eliminate the outlots.
• A commitment from the developer to dedicate for road improvement purposes the
right -of -way needed to widen the Lake Cook Road /Waukegan Road intersection.
• All driveway access improvements to be completed as recommended by the
consultant.
• Interconnections with adjoining commercial properties to be made if permission
can be obtained from.the owners of those properties.
• More creative landscaping options must be sought.
• Accommodation must be reached with as many current Deerbrook Mall tenants as
possible to locate them in the. redeveloped mall.
Regarding the Sales Tax Sharing Agreement,
Mayor Harris reported that he feels the Board commitment at this time is at
$5,500,000 over fifteen years, with the rebate to the developer to commence at
the completion of the entire project.
Mike McCall of Lend Lease reminded the Board,
that their redevelopment proposal has the approval of the Plan Commission and the
Appearance Review Commission. He feels the project is also supported by village
staff and by current Deerbrook Mall tenants -both the national retailers and the
local tenants. He commented on the dire need of Jewel to be improved. He
commented that the developers are making a $40,000,000 investment, which would
not be undertaken if they weren't convinced the mall would be a top notch,
successful center. Mr. McCall then requested that Board members individually
raise any concerns they have, so that these can be addressed and a consensus
hopefully reached.
Trustee Seiden commented that Lend Lease has
not provided him with certain financial information that he requested. He noted
that most of the property tax from Deerbrook .Mall goes to Northbrook rather than
to Deerfield, making sales tax revenues Deerfield's main revenue source from the
mall. Trustee Seiden expressed concerns about density, parking, and traffic. He
would like to see either no outlots or a reduced main mall, and he agreed with
Mayor Harris that the developers need to dedicate land for the needed roadway
improvements. He would also like to have a revised parking study which takes
into consideration that the typical TGI customer stays in the store for two
hours.
Trustee Swanson's comments centered on
traffic concerns. He noted that, at the earliest, any road improvements will not
be completed until 2004, while The Great Indoors and most of the rest of the mall
will be in operation before that. Trustee Swanson also noted that any
intersection improvements will require the developers to relinquish right -of -way.
Mr. McCall commented that the parking ratios
for the development were based on gross building area. It has been brought to
Mr. McCall's attention that a previous agreement for Deerbrook used gross
leaseable area only. The developers plan to revise their calculations based on
gross leaseable area. This will improve parking ratios and may make additional
landscaping possible.
Trustee Ragona commented that, like the other
trustees, he thinks the development is too dense. He also shares their parking
concerns and concerns about the Lake Cook /Waukegan intersection. Trustee Ragona
would like for staff to look into possible tollway improvements off the Edens '
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Spur that would improve mall ingress and egress. He would also like another
opinion on whether the southbound left turn lane onto Walnut Circle is feasible.
Trustee Kayne expressed his concern about
Sears and about the fact the TGI is an unproven store. He has concerns about
parking and security. He commented that he doesn't agree with the sales tax
sharing concept. Mostly, though, Trustee Kayne is disappointed that Lend Lease
is more interested in justifying their choices than they are in negotiating the
Village's suggestions.
Mr. McCall responded that they-are quite
willing to negotiate, which is why he asked tonight for each trustee to share his
or her concerns. These will be addressed in writing in time for the trustees to
study the responses before the next meeting. He also pointed out that any
dollars received from tax sharing will not go into the developers' pockets but
will go into mall improvements.
Trustee Wylie commented that the landscaping
plan needs improvement, especially along the perimeter of the mall. He has
concerns about the density of the project and thinks the outlots should be
eliminated, at least temporarily. Trustee Wylie expressed concern about the
accessibility of the parking spaces at the rear of the mall and stated that, for
maneuverability reasons, he favors a 62' parking module. Lastly, Trustee Wylie
suggested having two left hand turn lanes northbound out of the mall onto
Waukegan Road.
Trustee Rosenthal shared her concerns about
the mall as it currently exists. Her main objection to the redevelopment plan is
that it is too dense. Less density would alleviate problems associated with
parking and landscaping. Trustee Rosenthal.also would like to see an easement
dedication document and an agreement that the developer is willing to
interconnect Deerbrook Mall with the malls to its west and south.
Mr. Marks remarked that the total square
footage of the mall is not increasing as much as it would appear when viewed in
terms of gross leaseable square footage vs. gross building square footage.
Regarding traffic, he commented that improvements to Route 22 will reduce the
number of cars on Lake Cook Road. Regarding parking, he reported that the
parking is not so much reduced as reorganized. He noted that the portion of the
mall which will be used for warehousing doesn't need to be considered in the
parking calculations.
In response to a question from Trustee
Seiden, Bill Horvet, Investment Manager for the project, explained that the mall
has deteriorated due to its lack of cross shopping. Without a strong anchor at
each end of the mall, the smaller shops in the center of the mall suffer. The
Great'Indoors will provide the missing southern anchor. Another problem has been
that a number of the current stores are in long term leases and can't be required
to make improvements.
Mayor Harris reminded Mr. McCall that written
responses to the issues raised at this meeting should be made as quickly as
possible, preferably early enough to allow for another workshop meeting, if
needed, before the August 20th Board meeting.
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF PLAN The Plan Commission held a workshop meeting
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COMMISSION RE REQUEST FOR FINDING on July 12th. It is their recommendation that
OF SUBSTANTIAL CONFORMANCE, HYATT the request of the Hyatt Deerfield campus for
DEERFIELD CAMPUS a finding of substantial conformance to allow
a parking lot at the west side of the
development be approved. The motion passed 6 -0.
Marek Klonowski of STS Consultants reported
that the petitioners are proposing to construct a parking lot on the west side of
their property on Wilmot Road. At the present time a road with a circular
landscaped island exists in this area. A sidewalk will be provided along a
portion of the east side of the new parking lot. At the south end of the
property ten parking spaces will be eliminated to provide for better traffic flow
and a landscaped island. Seven handicapped spaces will be added to the property
so that each of the four office buildings will have five handicapped parking
spaces, as required.
Trustee Rosenthal moved for acceptance of the
Plan Commission Report and Recommendation. Trustee Ragona seconded the motion.
The motion passed by the following vote:
AYES: Kayne, Ragona, Rosenthal, Seiden, Swanson, Wylie (6)
NAYS: None (0)
OLD BUSINESS
DISCUSSION RE SENIOR CENTER Randi Mayer, who resides at 167 Bristol Ct.
which abuts Brickyards Park, was in
attendance to express her concerns about the proposed senior center, which has
grown in scope from the originally proposed 10,000 square feet to the currently
proposed 16,000 square feet, with possible future expansions already being
discussed. According to Mrs. Mayer, only about 100 senior citizens use the
current center on a somewhat regular basis, and she feels that building a center
that will cost over $4,000,000 and accommodate 331 people is not justified. She
feels that a discussion of how much the Village will contribute to this project
is premature, since residents of the surrounding area have not yet had a change
to voice their concerns about the project. She asked that the matter be tabled
until this has taken place.
Director of Parks .Linda .Gryziedki and several
park commissioners were in attendance to discuss the proposal.
Trustee Swanson commented that the Plan
Commission should study the proposal before the Board makes a decision about it.
Trustee Seiden read a resolution he had
prepared regarding the senior center and Village participation in its funding.
He made a motion to adopt the resolution. No one seconded the motion.
Trustee Ragona commented that the extent of
Village funding for the senior center should be the only topic under discussion
at this time. Discussion of the specifics of the project are premature. Trustee
Rosenthal agreed, adding that an "up to" amount can be approved at this time
without making any other commitments. The Plan Commission will then have the
opportunity to study the proposal and make its report to the Board.
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After further discussion, Trustee Rosenthal
made a motion to amend Resolution R -99 -15 to provide for a Village contribution
of up to $1,676,409 and half of the additional study, not to exceed $3,600, after
which the proposal will go to the Plan Commission for review. Trustee Swanson
seconded the motion. The motion passed by the following vote:
AYES: Kayne, Ragona, Rosenthal, Seiden, Swanson, Wylie (6)
NAYS: None (0)
RESOLUTION R -01 -08 RE MFT FUNDS A resolution for construction engineering and
FOR NORTH AVENUE TRAFFIC SIGNAL construction of the Waukegan Road /North
IMPROVEMENTS Avenue permanent traffic signal is required
by the Illinois Department of Transportation
to expend MFT funds. The Director of Public Works and Engineering requests
approval of the resolution in the amount of $235,784.
Trustee Rosenthal so moved. Trustee Swanson
seconded the motion. The motion passed by the following vote:
AYES: Kayne, Ragona, Rosenthal, Seiden, Swanson, Wylie (6)
NAYS: None (0)
NEW BUSINESS
AUTHORIZATION FOR MAYOR TO SIGN The current concession agreement at the
AGREEMENT RE VENDOR AT DEERFIELD Deerfield Road Train Station expires on
ROAD TRAIN STATION August 31st, and the current vendor does not
plan to renew. Staff recommends that Mayor.
Harris be authorized to sign a three year (minimum) agreement naming Robert
Reinbold as the station's dew vendor. Rent for the concession is to be
$450 /month for the first year and $475 /month for the second and third years. Mr.
Reinbold has worked at the Deerfield.station in the past, filling in during times
when the current vendor has been absent.
Trustee Rosenthal made a motion authorizing
Mayor Harris to sign the agreement. Trustee Swanson seconded the.motion. The
motion passed by the following vote:
AYES: Kayne, Ragona, Rosenthal, Seiden, Swanson, Wylie (6)
NAYS: None (0)
AUTHORIZATION TO AWARD CONTRACT At a previous Board meeting, trustees
FOR NEW INTERCOM SYSTEM RE POLICE rejected a bid of $33,421 from Sound, Inc.
BUILDING RENOVATION for a new Police Department intercom system.
A bid from Midco for $12,688 was also
rejected as it was conditional on being awarded the intercom system, video
surveillance and access control system as one contract, which was not an
economical advantage to the Village. Architect Kurt Hezner has received a bid
for the intercom system from Tricom Communications in the amount of $16,401. Mr.
Hezner recommends the acceptance of the Tricom bid.
After discussion Trustee Ragona made a motion
to award the bid to Tricom Communications in an amount not to exceed $16,401.
Trustee Kayne seconded the motion. The motion passed by the following vote:
AYES: Kayne, Ragona, Rosenthal, Seiden, Swanson, Wylie (6)
NAYS: None (0)
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TRUSTEE IN THE TOWN
recent Trustee In The Town
that over fifty people came
feels these sessions are an
Village matters.
nTRrT1GSTnm
Trustee Seiden reported that he and Trustee
Ragona. represented the Board at the most
held at the Farmer's Market. Trustee Seiden commented
to speak to him during the three hour period. He
important way of keeping the residents informed about
TEAR DOWN TASK FORCE Mayor Harris announced that he is appointing
Trustee Seiden to chair a Tear Down Task
Force.. Plan Commission Chairperson Bob Benton, ARC Chairperson Richard Coen, and
Barbara Houpt will also serve on the commission, as will as 3 -5 members of the
public who have not yet been selected.
LIQUOR LICENSE FOR HI RICKY'S Mr. Franz reported that an amendment to the
Liquor Ordinance is needed for Hi Ricky's
Restaurant, which is due to open by early September. The amendment would
increase by one the number of Class E liquor licenses. This will stand as a
First Reading.
WATER CONSERVATION Mr. Franz requested that during the current
hot dry weather the public try to limit water
use and honor the Village's sprinkling restrictions.
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Mayor Harris commented that there will be a
Committee of the Whole meeting at the end of
tonight's Board meeting to discuss matters relating to the Police Department
renovation. The public is invited to stay for the meeting.
PLAN COMMISSION MEETINGS Trustee Ragona suggested that Plan Commission
meetings be broadcast on cable as a way of
keeping residents informed about the Deerbrook Mall renovation and other Village
matters. Staff will look into it.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE Trustee Ragona suggested an update of certain
sections of the Comprehensive Plan. Trustees
Swanson and Rosenthal responded that this has been discussed for a long time, but
it is not a project that should be undertaken in a piecemeal fashion. The matter
will be discussed.with Mrs. Houpt to get her views on whether and how to proceed.
ADJOURNMENT
the meeting. Trustee Kayne s
The meeting was adjourned
ATTEST:
Village e
There be
Truste
�n�d �- t
:25 P.M.
ROVE
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no further business to discuss,
1 made a motion to adjourn
The nTVtion passed unanimously.
Mayor