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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-08-11 MinutesMINUTESON�A OF T1�D� _ PRESIDENT AND THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE VILLAGE OF MORTON GROVE! COUNTY, ILLINOIS, HELD AT ' RICHARD T. FLICKINGER MUNICIPAL CENTER AUGUST 11, 2014 CALL TO ORDER |& Village President Dan DiMaria called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the || Council Chambers and ed the Board inthe Pledge ofAllegiance. III. Village Clerk Ed Ramos called the roll. Present were: Trustees Bill Grear, Shel Morous, John Pietron, John ThilI, Maria Toth, and Janine 'Ntko. IV. EXECUTIVE SESSION NONE APPROVAL OF MINUTES Regarding the Minutes of the July 14, 2014 Regular Board Meeting, Trustee Toth moved, seconded by Trustee Witko, to accept the Minutes as presented. Upon the voice vote, the motion passed unanimously. VI. SPECIAL REPORTS a Village Administrator Ryan Horne introduced Brian LeFevre from Sikioh, the auditing firm used by the Village, to provide some hiNightototheBnard.TheentinaauditisposLedonthe Village's website. The audit basically examines the Village's records and books to ensure that everything is in order. b. Mr. LeFevre thanked Mr. Horne for inviting him to make this presentation. He noted that the Village has, for the 25th consecutive year, received the Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finandal Officers Association. c. Mr. LeFevre said that, in the Financial section of the Audit Report is his firm's opinion of the Village's records, based on two sets of standards. One is the standards set by the American Institute for Certified Public Accounts; the other is the Financial Reporting standards from GASB, The highest/best level that can be achieved_is '"unmodified” and the Village is in that category. Minutes of Au ust 11, 2014 Board Meetin VI. SPECIAL REPORTS (continued) d. Mr. LeFevre went on to say that, unlike previous yooro, this year's audit does not include the Morton Grove Public Library, in accordance with GASB standards. He said that, within the financial statements, there are two sections. There is an overview section and then, more relevant, is the fund financial statements. These will be reviewed during the Village's first budget meeting. e. Mr. LeFevre said the Village is operationally "in balance," meaning that it's living within its means. He said that its investment policies are reasonable and its deposits are secured. The audit included a recommendation, to which the Village has responded, and he noted that suggestions from the prior year's audit have also been implemented. Mr. LeFevre complimented the ViIIage on having a very good and capable staff. Mayor DiMaria asked if any of the Board members had any questions for Mr. LeFevre. Trustee ThiU asked if the Village is financially in good shape. Mr. LeFevre said that the focus of the audit was on the Village's books and records, and the Village is in good shape there. Mayor DiMaria thanked Mr. LeFevre for the brevity of the presentation. h. Mr. Horne noted that the complete audit can be found on the Village's website under the Financial Department, listed as the 2013 CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Finandal Report). Mayor DiMaria suggested the verbiage on the link be changed to "2013 Annual Audit" to make it easier for residents to find what they're looking for. VU. PUBLIC HEARINGS NONE VIII. RESIDENTS' COMMENTS (Agenda Items OnIy) NONE IX PRESIDENT'S REPORT Proclamation Mayor DiMaria proclaimed August 2014 as "Morton Grove American Youth Soccer Organization, Region 794 'Team Lightning'^ month in the Village, noting that "Team Lightning" competed in the AYSO National Games and earned a second place win. He said the Village congratulates the team and is proud of their success. He presented each team rnernbor, and the coaches, with a certificate, pointing out, "This is a good example of how far you can go when you work as a team." 2 Minutes of Au. ust 11,2014 Board Meetin IX. PRESIDENT'S REPORT (continued) 2. Report on Nicor Gas—JULIF 811 Calls Mayor DiMara said that Administrator Horne had told him that August 11 isNational 811 Day. He encouraged everyone to "caII before you dig". JULIE wifl be out within 48 hours to mark the utilities so as to prevent service disruptions arising from construction projects. 3. Mayoral Update Mayor DiMaria said the Village's branding initiative is coming along very well. He encouraged residentatotako1he^Cornrnunity8un/ey^vvhiohiaon|ine;a|inkoonbefoundontheViUoge'a website. Mayor DiMaria said the more input the Village gets, the better—this input will help the Village shape itself. He said it's important for everyone to get the word out about the Village's marketing/branding initiatives. Mayor DiMaria offered his congratulations to the Finance Department, to its staff and department head, Remy Navarrete, for their assistance with the audit. X. CLERK'S REPORT Clerk Ramos reported that St. Martha's would be holding a Rummage Sale on August 22-24. Hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on August 22 and 23, and from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on August 24. Clerk Ramos said that donations and volunteers arestill needed, and said he had fliers for those who are interested. XL STAFF REPORTS A. Village Administrator: Village Administrator Ryan Horne said the Village has been receiving reports of door-to-door solicitors. He said the Village requires a license for any person or company doing door-to-door solicitation. He reminded people that they are not required to open their door for these solicitors, and fthey have any concerns at aU, they should caU 911 2Mr Horne said that Commonweafth Edison is required by federal law to maintain its rights-of- way. In Morton Grove, some of these rights-of-way are used by adjacent residents as extensions of their backyard. They are no longer allowed to do so. ComEd will begin doing maintenance on its Morton Grove rights-of-way in the next few weeks. Trustee Marcus said that he's known people who've used a ComEd right-of-way adjacent to their house as though it was part of their own yards. He said that it's very important for people to know the Village has no control over this; this is a ComEd issue. He pointed out that it is very important to keep the areas under and around power ines dear. He said if peope wanted to make comments about this, they should contact ComEd. Minutes of Au • Xi B. Corporation Counsel: Corporation Counsel Liston had no report. XU. STAFF REPORTS (continued) TRUSTEES' REPORTS A. Trustee Grear: TruatoeGrearhadnofonne|reporLbutnsrnindedreaidentstornovetheiroarsonstreet- sweeping days. He said it's not rnandotory, but it would really be helpful to Public Works' street crews. Joe Dahm of Public Works added that keeping the streets clean is part of the Village's overall storm water management prograrn, because it helps keep the storm water sewers clear of debris. As a reminder, he said that Mondays and Tuesdays are street sweeping days east of the river, Wednesdays, Thursday, and Fridays are when the streets west of the river are done. B. Trustee Marcus: Trustee Marcus had no formai report, but encouraged people to visit the Farmers' Market on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. til noon. He commended the hard-working Farmers' Market committee for all that they do C. Trustee Pietron: Trustee Pietron had no report. D TrusteeThiU: Trustee Thifl had no re stee Toth Trustee Toth had no report. 4 _ Minutes of Au . ust 11, 2014 Board Meetin XU. TRUSTEES' REPORTS (continued) F. Trustee Witko: 1� XII I. XIV. Trustee Witko presented Ordinance 14-17, Amending the Vilage of Morton Grove Unified Development Code, Section 12-15-4, To Allow Certain Modifications to Existing Non- Conforming This is the second reading of this Ordinance. Trustee Witko explained that this Ordinance will help streamline the Village's development review approval process for certain modifications to non -conforming structunaa, while preserv- ing the intent of the zoning code to allow for the orderly development and redevelopment of the reoen+ingtheintentofthezoningoodetoaUovvfor1heorder|ydeve|opmentandnademe|oprnentofthe Village, and will reduce the permit review time for such project, endinnproveoU000tionofstaff resources. Trustee Witko moved to adopt Ordinance 14-17, secodedbvTrusteeThiU. Motion passed: 6 ayes, 0 nays. Tr. Grear aye Tr. Marcus eye Tr. Pietron aye Tr. Thill aye Tr. Toth aye Tr. Witko aye OTHER BUSINESS NONE WARRANTS Trustee Toth presented two sets of Warrants, 1/ First, the Warrant Register for July 28.2O14mthe amount of$887.388.41 She moved to approve these Warrants as presented, seconded by Trustee Witko. Motion passed: 6ayes, Gnays. Tr. Grear a e Tr, Marcus aye Tr. Pietron aye Tr. Thill aye Tr. Toth aye Tr, Witko aye NeKt, the Warrant Register for August 11, 2014, in the ai " of $338,061-5a Trustee Toth moved to approve these Warrant(' as presented, seconded by Trustee Pietron. Motion passed: 6 ayes, 0 nays. Tr. Grear aye Tr. Marcus aye Tr. Pietron ave Tr. Thill aye Tr. Toth aye Tr. Witko aye 5 Minutes of Au ust 11, 2014 Board Meetin XV. 1. RESIDENTS' COMMENTS Esfir Ksenozovsky, 8141 Belleforte, asked what was going to be done about flooding in Morton Grove and when. She said she is a widow on a limited income. Her basement has flooded so often it's at the point where she has mold and rotting wood, and she can't afford to get it fixed. She noted that the mayor of Des Plaines has applied for and received federal funds to help with the flooding issues in Des Plaines, and wondered why Morton Grove couldn't do the same. Ms. Ksenozovsky was upset that the Village has never helped her, in all the years she's been a taxpayer. She said she's spoken with both Ryan Horne and the mayor but nothing's being done. She fet the Village just doesn't care. Mayor DiMaria responded that his administration has been working hard with the Village's State and Federal representatives to get similar funding, but it's a slow process. He said that Morton Grove does offer flood control assistance to its residents, and encouraged her to talk to Administrator Horne for more information. He said that it's absolutely not true that the Village doesn't care and doesn't help its residents. He said the Board wants to help and said he would speak with her after the meeting. 2. Georgianne Brunner, representing the Morton Grove Days Commission, thanked the Board, the Police Department, the Fire Department, and the Public Works Department for all their assistance and cooperation for the Morton Grove Days festivities. The weather was perfsot, and she said that, next year, the Commission hopes to have another great event. Because the Commission will now be responsible for the fireworks display, she said the need for volunteers and donations will be even greater than it has been, and said she hoped the residents and community would step up to this new challenge. XV. ADJOURNMENT Trustee Marcus moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Trustee Toth. Motion passed: 6 ayes, 0 nays. Tr. Grear aye Tr. Marcus Tr. Thin aye Tr. Toth The meeting adjourned at 7:38 p.m. aye a TcPimtnon aye Tr.VVi1ko aye 6 Minutes of Au ust 11, 2014 Board Meetin • PASSED this 8th day of September, 2014. Trustee Grear Trustee Marcu Trustee Pietron TrusteeThiU Trustee Toth Trustee VVitko APPROVED by me this 8th day of September, 2014. Daniel P. DiMaria, Village President Board of Trustees, Morton Grove, Illinois APPROV nd LED in my office this 9th day of September, 2014. Edi|bartoRamos, Village Clerk Village of Morton Grove, Cook County, Mhinois 7