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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-08-2020-ApprovedMINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE PRESIDENT AND THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE VILLAGE OF MORTON GROVE COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS, HELD VIRTUALLY VIA ZOOM JUNE 8, 2020 CALL TO ORDER I — Village President Dan DiMaria convened the Regular Meeting of the Village Board at 7:00 p.m. in V. the Council Chambers of Village Hall and led the assemblage in the Pledge of Allegiance. VI. Village Clerk Eileen Harford called the roll. Present were: Trustees Bill Grear, Rita Minx, Ed Ramos, John Thill, Connie Travis, and Janine Witko. VII. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Trustee Minx moved to accept the Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of May 11, 2020 as presented, seconded by Trustee Witko. Motion passed unanimously via voice vote. VIII. SPECIAL REPORTS NONE IX. PUBLIC HEARINGS NONE X. RESIDENTS' COMMENTS (Agenda Items Only) NONE Xl. PRESIDENT'S REPORT 1. Mayor DiMaria read a prepared statement as the Village of Morton Grove's response to the death of George Floyd: a. "The Village of Morton Grove joins the entire nation in expressing our sorrow over the unjust death of George Floyd while in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department. On behalf of myself, my family and our entire Village Board, Police Department, and all members of our Village staff, l send our sincere condolences to Mr. Floyd's family during this difficult time. b. I am honored to be the mayor of our incredibly close amazingly open Village, where we not only embrace our diversity, we consider it one of our most valuable assets—if not the most valuable asset. We care about each other regardless of race, national origin, religion, or sexual orientation. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed, we believe that people should be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Minutes of June 8, 2020 Board Meeting XI. PRESIDENT'S REPORT (continued) c. Mayor DiMaria continued: "Our country has made good progress towards racial equality, but after seeing the events of the past two weeks, we have not, obviously, gone far enough. That Mr. Floyd was killed by an on -duty police officer is particularly disturbing. Abuse of power and the unnecessary use of force cannot and will not be tolerated. We also cannot pretend that racism does not exist—it does, and people are hurt by it. We support those who are peacefully protest- ing for justice for Mr. Floyd as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would have wanted. However, we also do not condone the looting and damage to property that has also taken place over the past two weeks. These crimes have unjustly caused enormous financial losses, stress, and grief for inno- cent people who were already suffering the effects of COVID-19. d. Some of our residents have contacted me to inquire about our police department's use of force policies. I am proud to tell you that, under the leadership of Chief Simo, the policies of our police department prohibit chokeholds unless deadly force is necessary, and even then, the officer should first issue a verbal warning, if possible. Officers are required to intervene and stop unwarranted excessive force used by other officers and report these incidents immediately to a supervisor. The Department maintains records any time force is used, and the use of force is subject to a review system starting with the officer's supervisor, up through his Deputy Chief and then, ultimately, Chief Simo. e. The relationship between the Morton Grove Police Department and the public is based on a sacred trust built by honesty, transparency, and respect. Community policing and diversity are primary facets of our Police Department training. Our officers are trained to only use deadly force as a last resort and receive in-house and classroom training on how to de-escalate situations so that, in many cases, force will not be necessary. I would say, in comparison with other cities, Morton Grove's Police Department is better trained than most. Our focus is and will always remain on safety and respectful customer service for every resident and visitor in our community, regardless of the color of a person's skin, religion, or ethnic origin. I am proud to stand with and beside the Morton Grove Police Department. Our homes, businesses, parks, and streets are safer because of them. 1 am, and always will be, grateful for their service. f. The past three months have been overwhelmingly difficult beyond comprehension. We will move forward together as a community, because that's who we are, and that's what we do. Every member of our Village staff, including, and especially including, every member of our police department, is dedicated to serving our community. As ever, my door is always open. I welcome the opportunity to discuss these important issues with anyone—even those who may not fully agree with me. God Bless America—God Bless Morton Grove—God Bless George Floyd." XII. CLERK'S REPORT Clerk Harford had no report this evening. XIII. STAFF REPORTS A. Village Administrator: 1. Mr. Czerwinski the Village has been going through the phases of bring employees back to work. The Village is making sure their work environment is safe and that any interaction with residents who come into Village Hall is safe, and appropriate, and productive. 2 Minutes of June 8, 2020 Board Meeting XIII. A. Village Administrator: (continued) STAFF REPORTS (continued) a. Mr. Czerwinski said the services staff has been providing, in the time that they have been at Village Hall closed, and also working remotely for their own safety and that of residents, has been very productive. He said that staff has done a great job in making sure that the services rendered to the community were appropriate. b. Mr. Czerwinski said we have now come to a point in the State of Illinois, Phase 3, which allows Village Hall to reopen to the public for transactions at the front counter, effective Monday, June 15. Visitors to Village Hall will be subject to social distancing and face coverings will be required. Residents are encouraged to continue to use other available methods already in place; for example, mail, email, and the use of drop boxes if the interaction does not need to be face-to-face. c. Mr. Czerwinski said when Village Hall reopens on Monday, June 15, the hours will be 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. for seniors and people with disabilities or mobility issues. For everyone else, the hours will be 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.rn. He said the hours are shortened to allow for the extensive cleaning that will be done in Village Hall on a continual basis. Additionally, no vehicle stickers will be distributed at Village Hall. To get your Village vehicle sticker, you must do it online, or if you receive the paperwork in the mail, you may drop your payment off in the drobox in the south park- ing lot. This gives the Village a real opportunity to reduce the congestion that can occur at Village Hall. d. Mr. Czerwinski said that the Village has been receiving questions regarding garage sales. Prior to May 27, garage sales were a solid "no" in the State, but since May 27, they can be conducted with some limitations. No more than 10 people are allowed (that includes buyers and sellers) and social distancing must be maintained. Those limitations will be included on the permit. B. Corporation Counsel: Corporation Counsel Liston had no report this evening. XIV. TRUSTEES' REPORTS A. Trustee Grear: 1. Trustee Grear presented Ordinance 20-10, Approving a Final Plat of Subdivision and Accepting Certain Improvements for the Lexington Walk Subdivision, Located at the Southwest Corner of Capulina and Ferris Avenues in Morton Grove, Illinois. This is the second reading of this Ordinance. a. Trustee Grear explained that this Ordinance will approve the Final Plat of Subdivision, release financial guarantee, and accept public improvements for Lexington Walk, according to Municipal Code Title 12, Chapter 8, Section 3. b. Trustee Grear said that Ordinance 17-24, adopted in September of 2017, granted a Special Use for a Planned Unit Development called Lexington Walk, comprised of 36 townhomes in a total of 7 buildings at the southwest corner of Capulina and Ferris Avenues. The preliminary plat was approved and construction work was completed in 2020. 3 XIV. A/ Trustee Grear: (continued) c. The contractor has fulfilled the requirements and obligations required by the Municipal Code and the subdivision is ready for the Village to move the process in the Unified Development Code to approve the final plat of subdivision, release the developer from some financial and construction obligations, and accept the public improvements constructed in the public right-of-way. d. Trustee Grear said this Ordinance will approve the final Plat of Subdivision, accept the dedication of rights-of-way and easements depicted on the Plat, accdept certain improvements constructed by the Developer, and confirm that certain improvements, including private non -conforming streets, will not be accepted by the Village, but will continue to be owned and maintained by the Developer. TRUSTEES' REPORTS (continued) Minutes of June 8, 2020 Board Meeting 2. Trustee Grear moved to adopt Ordinance 20-10, seconded by Trustee Minx. Motion passes: 6 ayes, 0 nays. Tr. Grear Tr. Thill Tr. Minx Tr. Travis Tr. Ramos an Tr. Witko ave Trustee Grear then presented for a first reading Ordinance 20-11, Approving an Amendment to Special Use Permits (Ord. 01-06, 05-08, 13-14, and 18-06) to Allow the Expansion of a Home Improvements Center at 6301 Oakton Avenue, Morton Grove, Illinois. a. He explained that Menards, Inc. is seeking to expand three portions of its existing facility: a 15,070 square foot expansion of the eastern outdoor warehouse building; an 8,092 square foot addition of heated storage and pick-up space to the east of the principal structure, and a 7,103 square foot expansion of the garden center to the west of the principal structure. Menards is proposing a total of 325 parking stalls within the existing lot and an additional 50 spaces within the parking lot to the west of River Drive, for a total of 375 off-street parking spaces dedicated to Menards sole use. While the submitted parking and traffic impact study establishes a peak de- mand of 350 parking spaces, in order to ensure that demand does not exceed the availability of dedicated off-street parking, staff recommends increasing the parking requirement approved un- der the Special Use Permit to 375 parking spaces, which will prohibit the Applicant from removing any additional parking spaces without prior review and approval by the Plan Commission and the Board of Trustees. b. Proposed conditions of approval of the amendment include, but are not limited to: a requirement for activities associated with DiMeo Construction Company to cease and for the eastern portion of the site to be fully restored to previous approved conditions; a requirement for all truck parking activity not associated with the principal use of a home improvement center to cease prior to the Board's approval of the amending ordinance; and a requirement for the property owner to coop- erate with the Village in construction of the planned multi -use path to be located within the public right-of-way directly north of the subject property. c. Trustee Grear said that the Appearance Commission, the Traffic Safety Commission, and the Plan Commission each had unanimously voted to recommend approval of this application, with conditions. As this is a first reading of this Ordinance, no action will be taken this evening. 4 Minutes of June 8, 2020 Board Meeting XIV. A. Trustee Grear: (continued) TRUSTEES' REPORTS (continued) 3. Trustee Grear said he wanted the public to realized that these ordinances and plans go through a whole procedural control process, so by the time they get to the Village Board to be voted on, the Board members are very familiar with them, and that's why you don't hear a lot of questions or dialogue about them. Trustee Thill suggested asking Menards to make employee parking on the west side of River Drive permanent. It would be easier for everyone. He said it couldn't be legislated, but he would likely the suggestion made, especially because Menards is typically busy, so you end up having to drive up and down the aisles for quite a while in an effort to obtain a parking space. B. Trustee Minx: Trustee Minx presented for a first reading Ordinance 20-12, Amending Titles 1, 3, 4, 5, 6,7,8, 9, 10, and 12 of the Village of Morton Grove to Establish a Comprehensive Fee Schedule.. She explained that this will modify relevant sections of the Village Code to allow for the establishment of a comprehensive Fee Schedule. Doing so will provide a centralized opportunity with ease of reference to present charges and user fees in an organized manner and provide a more efficient application and review of Village charges and fees. This Ordinance will facilitate annual review of charges and user fees during the Annual Budget development process to ensure they reflect the cost of providing fee-based services and the cost of municipal operations. Trustee Minx said, as this is a first reading, no action will be taken this evening. C. Trustee Ramos: Trustee Ramos had no formal report this evening, but wanted to thank Boyle Wong and the Village's IT department for making it possible for the Board to meet virtually like this. D. Trustee Thill: Trustee Thill had no formal report this evening, but said he had received a phone call from a grateful resident complimenting Mayor DiMaria and Mr. Czerwinski on their handling of the COVID-19 crisis. E. Trustee Travis: Trustee Travis thanked everyone who participated in the Community Relations Commission - sponsored "Adopt -a -Planter" event this Saturday, June 6. She thanked the Public Works and Village staff personnel who were on hand that day, the most beautiful day yet for picking up planters! She urged people to walk down Dempster Street or by the train station to see these planters—they are gorgeous! 5 Minutes of June 8, 2020 Board Meeting F. Trustee Witko: TRUSTEES' REPORTS (continued) 1. Trustee Witko presented Ordinance 20-13, Amending Title 7, Chapter 5 of the Municipal Code Entitled "Sewer Regulations." a. She explained that the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC) collects and treats wastewater from the Village's sewer system. MWRDGC requires the public sewer systems, whose wastewater they treat, to have programs that will reduce the amount of clean rainfall and groundwater entering their treatment facilities and cause sewers to back-up into building basements or to overflow into rivers and streams. This Chapter of the Municipal Code had its last significant update in 1985. Currently, all of the regulations in this Chapter were re- viewed to ensure current and future needs of the Village are met. Trustee Witko said that, as this is a first reading of this Ordinance, no action will take place this evening. XV. OTHER BUSINESS NONE XVI. WARRANTS Trustee Minx presented the Warrant Registers for May 25, 2020 in the amount of $257,102.80 and for June 8, 2020 in the amount of $472,299.70. She moved that these Warrant Registers be approved as presented, seconded by Trustee Travis. Trustee Grear asked, as a point of order, if the Warrant Registers could be voted on together or if they needed to be voted upon individually. Corporation Counsel Liston responded that either way is fine—they could be voted on together or individually. Mayor DiMaria called for the vote on the Warrant Registers. Motion passes: 6 ayes, 0 nays. Tr. Grear Ey1 Tr. Minx Tr. Ramos Ae Tr. Thill ± Tr. Travis ave Tr. Witko XVII. RESIDENTS' COMMENTS Mayor DiMaria said, "the Village Administrator received four resident comments that all have to do with the Village's efforts to reactivate the Village's Environmental Health and Natural Re- source Commissions as part of the Village's efforts to present a formal sustainability plan." Mayor DiMaria asked Mr. Czerwinski to read all four comments, stating that he would respond when the comments had been read. 6 Minutes of June 8, 2020 Board Meeting XVII. RESIDENTS' COMMENTS (continued) 1. Mr. Czerwinski read the first comment, received from Bob Burkhart, 6034 Grove Ct. "At the October 28, 2019 Village Trustee meeting l asked the question during resident comments about creating a sustainability plan. As I know first-hand, many actions go through the Commis- sion route. There appear that there are two possible existing, but not presently functioning, commissions that could be appropriate for this task—Natural Resources Commission and Board of Environmental Health. Or a possibility, is to create a new commission that would encompass the whole matter. a. At that October meeting, you responded that you would refer this Matter to the Village Adminis- trator for evaluation, and provide recommendations during first quarter of 2020 (January–March). At the May 11, 2020 Trustee meeting, when a similar question was asked by JoAnne Rapp, the response was that attention to the COVID-19 pandemic was diverting major attention, indicating that this matter was being delayed but not ignored. I certainly appreciate all the work and direction that everyone has given to keeping our residents safe from this infectious disease. Thanks to all who have been doing so much, and for communicating the seriousness to residents. b. Nonetheless, attention to the virus began mid-March, 4% months after this matter was referred. Was there anything done during this time? Is there a progress report that can be made public? Have applicants been screened to serve? Are you going the route of a new commission or use the two existing commissions? Thank you." 2. The second comment came from Mary Elsner, 9324 Ozanam Avenue. "Considering the seriousness of the public health threat posed by COVID-19 to Village residents and the importance of citizen input and participation in preventing the spread of the virus, why hasn't the Village and Board of Trustees ensured that the Board of Environmental Health is a functioning Board and meeting regularly? By what date will this Board be functioning? Thank you for your consideration." 3. The third comment received was from Ted Lucas, 9523 Normandy Avenue. "I have two Morton Grove resident friends, Gia Schultz and Andrew Hoffman, who are interested in membership on one of the village groups. So they sent in resumes last year. Why has there been no response on their resumes for consideration of membership on the group designed to formulate a sustainability plan for Morton Grove. Will there be a response?" 4. The fourth comment was from JoAnn Rapp, 8922 N. Mango. "Given that Morton Grove, via board resolution 20-04, now endorses the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus' Greenest Region Compact, and that the mayor has experience chairing the Northwest Municipal Conference, a group committed to collaboration on environmental issues for sustaina- ble communities, what does the Village understand a sustainability plan to be?" 5. Mayor DiMaria responded, saying "At the October 28, 2019 Village Board meeting, Bob Burkhart, Mary Elsner, Ted Lucas, JoAnn Rapp, and several other members of a group named Vision Morton Grove delivered a well -coordinated and organized presentation asking the Board to form a new commission to (1) assist the Village in creating a sustainability plan; (2) have the Village's next solid waste contract include a residential composting service; and (3) pass an or- dinance to no longer classify the milkweed plant as a weed." 7 XVII. Minutes of June 8, 2020 Board Meeting RESIDENTS' COMMENTS (continued) a. Mayor DiMaria continued, "I thanked the speakers for their input and efforts and stated that, while the Village did not have a formal sustainability plan, it had already implemented numerous policies and practices to protect our precious natural resources and reduce our carbon footprint. I then tasked the Village Administrator to evaluate the issues raised that night and report back to the Board before March 31. This date was set to give staff sufficient time to complete the 2020 budget during November and December, operationally complete the transition of the Village's water supply from the city of Chicago to the city of Evanston—a multigenerational project, work on the solid waste bid documents, and negotiate and draft this important seven-year solid waste contract, continue to move the Sawmill development forward; all while maintaining normal Village operations. Our world changed overnight in the beginning of March, as we all grappled with the overwhelm- ing fear and uncertainties, health care response, schools and businesses closures, and all the unprecedented issues dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Morton Grove has less paid staff than many of our neighboring communities, so they are always busy, but the additional burden of the pandemic, coupled with the Governor's stay -home orders, required the Village Administrator to reprioritize assignments, so work on reestablishing the two commissions and drafting a sustainability plan was understandably delayed. However, I can tell you that this Board did adopt the Mayors Caucus' Greenest Region Compact; we passed an Ordinance to rewrite the Code sections on milkweeds and other weeds; and we successfully bid and negotiated a new seven-year solid waste agreement which not only provides for residential composting, but resulted in highly favorable rates and terms that will benefit our residents for years to come. Staff has intermittently worked on sustainability issue. We plan to present draft ordinances to combine the Natural Resource and Environmental Health Board to the Village Board in July. After the Board is created, I will start accepting applications for members, with the expectation to appoint these members in August. To answer Mary's question, the Environmental Health Board had not met in many years, so it did not seem prudent to reactive this resident commission to respond to the COVID crisis, especially since the Village was receiving guidance from the Cook County Department of Public Health and the Governor and Illinois Attorney General had recommended that, for safety purposes, meetings be held to a minimum. ! know this year has been trying and stressful for all of us. I ask that you continue to be patient and we will move these issues forward together. I hear you. I thank you for your comments. This has been a difficult time but I feel we've handled it well. I assure you all that we'll get to the goal line." XVIII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Board, Trustee Minx moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Trustee Grear. Motion passed unanimously via voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 7:28 p.m. 8 PASSED this 22nd day of June, 2020. Trustee Greer Trustee Minx Trustee Ramos Trustee Thill Trustee Travis Trustee Witko APPROVED by me this 22nd day of June, 2020. Daniel P. DiMaria, Village President Board of Trustees, Morton Grove, Illinois APPROVED and FILED in my office this 23rdh day of June, 2020. -7Tz-7t.(2_ Eileen Scanlon Harford, Village Clerk Village of Morton Grove, Cook County, Illinois Minutes of June 8, 2020 Board Meeting Minutes by Teresa Cousar 9