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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-28-2020 Approved MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE PRESIDENT AND THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE VILLAGE OF MORTON GROVE RICHARD T. FLICKINGER MUNICIPAL CENTER SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 CALL TO ORDER I — Village President Dan DiMaria convened the Regular Meeting of the Village Board at 7:00 p.m. V. in 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 September 14, 2020 as presented, seconded by Trustee Thill. 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 proclaimed the week of October 4-1C, 2020 as "Fire Prevention Week" in the Village. This year's Fire Prevention "theme" is "Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen!" Mayor DiMaria said that 4 out of 5 U.S. fire deaths each year occur in the home, noting that cooking is the leading cause of home fires. He callec upon everyone to observe this week by checking their kitchens for fire hazards and using safe cooking practices, such as staying in the kitchen when frying food on the stovetop, keeping a three-foot "kid-free" zone around cooking areas, and keeping anything that can catch on fire away from stove tops. Mayor DiMaria asked residents to support the many public safety activities and efforts of Morton Grove's fire and emergency services. 2. Maria DiMaria reminded everyone that COVID-19 is still with us, and announced that Mayor Pritzker has extended the State of Emergency for the State of Illinois through October 18, 2020. Minutes of September 28,2020 Board Meeting XI. PRESIDENT'S REPORT (continued) 3. Mayor DiMaria noted that the 2020 Census deadline has been reestablished as ending on October 31, 2020, not September 30 as previously announced. He said it is estimated that every person counted in the census represents $13,500 in resources going back to a community over the next 10 years, making an accurate census for Morton Grove very important. He said the Village is doing fairly well, with 85% of households self-responding, but there is time for us to do better. An accurate count is critical because over 150 federal programs rely on census data when allocating resources to communities. Once the 2020 Census is completed, the data is fixed for the next ten years. Mayor DiMaria reminded residents that all census information is kept confidential; he encouraged everyone who may have not yet responded to please respond to the census questionnaire. 4. Mayor DiMaria announced some great new—two stores have now opened at Sawmill Station! Starbucks and Dollar Tree opened to the public on September 25, 2020. Raising Cane's is targeted to open in late October. Kohl's is tentatively scheduled to open on or about November 10, and Cooper's Hawk construction is going well. Mayor DiMaria said he is delighted that Cooper's Hawk decided to stick with Morton Grove. Their opening is planned for Spring of 2021. 5. Mayor DiMaria also encouraged everyone to continue to patronize local businesses and restaurants, noting these entities need us now more than ever. Many restaurants are featuring outdoor dining, so he hoped everyone would take advantage of that and enjoy it while the weather stays good. Mayor DiMaria noted that once it gets chillier out and winter weather arrives, restaurants will be serving indoors, but are only allowed to operate at 25% capacity. He said that, next year, when there's hopefully a vaccine and we can get back to normal, we need to ensure that we still have our restaurants. a. Mayor DiMaria urged everyone to please continue to follow some simple safety measures to fight COVID-19 by remembering the three W's: .Watch your distance; remain at least 6 feet away from those outside your immediate household; Wear face coverings any time social distancing is not possible; and Wash your hands often and for a minimum of 20 seconds each time. Wash with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. The latest guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that simple, everyday actions can help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses. 6. Mayor DiMaria announced that the Village was awarded a $267,000 "Invest in Cook" grant for the Oakton Street Pedestrian Facility Improvements project. On behalf of the Village, and at the invitation of Cook County President Preckwinkle, Trustee Grear attended a press event on September 25th and delivered a brief statement of thanks to President Preckwinkle and the Cook County Commissioners, especially Commissioner Larry Suffredin, who worked very hard for Morton Grove. Mayor DiMaria thanked Trustee Grear for attending the event, and thanked staff for their hard work in getting this done. 7. Mayor DiMaria stated not all Police Department news has to be bad. He congratulated and thanked the Morton Grove Police Department for hosting a Free Throw Contest at Austin Park on September 15. Twenty-five kids in 2 categories—ages 12 and under and ages 13-17— attended and a good time was had by all. Masks and social distancing were required. Winners received one of four new basketballs and one grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card. The mayor thanked Police Chief Mike Simo for the positive efforts of the MGPD, and said the Village is blessed to have the fine men and women of the MGPD who serve us every day. 2 Minutes of September 28,2020 Board Meeting XII. CLERK'S REPORT Clerk Harford said, per the Village's Municipal Code 1-7-6, she was appointing Saba Koya as a deputy clerk to serve during any absence of the Clerk. She said this will fill the void left by the departure of longtime administrative assistant Susan Lattanzi, who previously served as deputy clerk along with former Village Clerk Marilyn Sneider. Marilyn remains as a deputy clerk. Clerk Harford said she wished Susan well as she begins her long-awaited retirement, and welcomed Saba to the "incredibly close and amazingly open" community of Morton Grove. Mayor DiMaria commented that Saba has already shown that she'll be a great value-add for the Village, saying that he's already seen some of the changes she's implemented. He thanked her for joining the Village Hall staff. XIII. STAFF REPORTS A. Village Administrator: 1. Mr. Czerwinski introduced David Van Vooren, Executive Director of the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC), here this evening to give an overview of services offered by SWANCC. a. Mr. Van Vooren noted that SWANCC's mission is to provide efficient and environmentally sound collection, transportation, transfer, processing, treatment, storage, disposal, recovery, and reuse of municipal waste from its 23 member communities. The member communities operate the recycling portion. Member communities generally contract with a trash hauler who is required to bring the solid waste to the transfer station in Glenview. SWANCC does offer a recycling "incentive" in which 16 of its members participate. Other members use recycling programs provided by their hauler. Mr. Van Vooren added that most of the member communities also have participated in "special" collections, such as electronics recycling, document destruction, sharps (used hypodermic needles) and pharmaceuticals disposal, CFLS, batteries, and holiday lights. b. Mr. Van Vooren explained what is collected in curbside recycling: mixed glass, ferrous and non- ferrous metals, such as tin, steel, and aluminum; plastics (soda bottles, milk jugs, detergent bottles, yogurt tubs, and others; paper(cardboard, sorted office paper, sorted residential paper and newspaper; paper containing less than 100% groundwood); and residual (trash, bags, cords, sharps, food waste, clothing, and shoes). The material is sorted and then goes to several places. Mixed glass is processed in Illinois and Indiana. Ferrous and non-ferrous metals stay in Illinois or go to Indiana or Wisconsin. Plastics (depending on which type) are processed in Illinois or sent to Indiana, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Ohio, or Georgia. Paper is processed in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana. Mr. Van Vooren said that Groot processes Morton Grove's recycling, and sells bales of papers to different places depending on the cost. Plastics recycling can also be impacted by the price of oil. He noted it's easy to see that transportation is one of the biggest costs in processing recycling. c. Mr. Van Vooren stressed that everything we put into a recycle bin must be clean, dry, and loose. He advised against putting your recycling in a plastic bag before putting it into the recycle bin. Mr. Van Vooren said the hauler brings the trash/recycling to the transfer station, where it is dumped onto the loading floor. From there, it's moved to a conveyor system, where gravity is used to help sort it (obviously, heavier items such as glass and metal will sort out first). Then the "paper" portion of the recycling is baled and transported to one of the states previously mentioned to be sold. He said recycling is important because it keeps material out of landfills. 3 Minutes of September 28,2020 Board Meeting XIII. STAFF REPORTS (continued) A. Village Administrator: (continued d. Mr. Van Vooren thanked the Village for the opportunity to explain this process. He encouraged the assemblage to visit SWANCC's website (swancc.org) for more information and to check out its "Green Pages: Reuse and Recycling Directory." He added that he and Mr. Czerwinski had worked together to update the FAQs on the Village's website and said he'd be happy to answer any questions for the Board. e. Trustee Grear asked if pizza boxes could be recycled. Mr. Van Vooren said, right now, they can't be, as they aren't "clean"—there's usually some residual grease in the box. However, if the lid of the box is clean, that can be recycled. Mr. Van Vooren said SWANCC is currently working on getting that modified, so that something not 100% clean can be recycled. f. Trustee Minx noted that SWANCC's Glenview transfer station has previously been open for visits. She mentioned she and her family had visited and found it fascinating and very clean. Mr. Van Vooren said SWANCC tries to be a good neighbor. g. Trustee Thill asked about yard waste. Mr. Van Vooren said that yard waste pick-up varies from community to community; it's not covered in the Intergovernmental Agreement each community has with SWANCC. If Groot picks up yard waste, it does so because that's included in the contract with the Village. However, they do use SWANCC's facility, and from there, it's loaded into trailers and goes to a Lake County compost facility. h. Mr. Czerwinski complimented Mr. Van Vooren on a great presentation and said he'd continue to keep the FAQs on the Village's website updated. 2. Mr. Czerwinski noted that the date has changed for the October meeting of the Environment and Natural Resource Commission. It will now be held on October 13, 2020. 3. Mr. Czerwinski announced two budget workshops will be held to discuss the 2021 Calendar Year Budget, the first on Monday, October 5 and the second on Tuesday, October 6. Both workshops begin at 6:00 p.m. and are open to the public. The workshops are held at Village hall, in the Scanlon Conference Room on the second floor. The proposed budget is available for public review at the Morton Grove Public Library or the Village Administrator's office. 4. Next, Mr. Czerwinski said the Village has been receiving calls about Halloween. He said Morton Grove is following the guidance of and suggestions from the Center for Disease Control about alternative low-risk activities, such as carving or decorating pumpkins with family members and displaying them, or carving and decorating pumpkins outside, at a safe distance, with friends or neighbors. Other low-risk alternative activities include having a virtual Halloween costume contest, having a Halloween movie night, or doing a Halloween scavenger hunt where children are given a list of Halloween-themed things to look for while they walk from home to home and admire the Halloween decorations at a distance. Mr. Czerwinski said the Village is awaiting further guidance from the State, but as of right now, the Village has designated Halloween trick or treat hours on Saturday, October 31, between 3:30 and 7:00 p.m., but is encouraging families to keep their children safe by participating in one of the alternative low-risk activities suggested by the CDC. 4 Minutes of September 28,2020 Board Meeting XIII. STAFF REPORTS (continued) A. Village Administrator: (continued 5. Mr. Czerwinski said, as anyone has tried to get across Lincoln Avenue by the train station knows, Metra is replacing the grade crossing, and that part of Lincoln Avenue is closed. The work is scheduled to be completed by Friday, October 2. When Lincoln Avenue is finished, Metra will go on to a bigger challenge, the closing of Dempster Street, to do the same thing. That closure is currently scheduled from October 5 through October 7. The detours will be signed by Metra. Warning signage will notify motorists of the upcoming work, and the Village will notify commuters with handbills at the train station a week before the work is scheduled to begin. Once the dates are confirmed, the Village will get more information out to the public. B. Corporation Counsel: Corporation Counsel Liston had no report this evening. XIV. TRUSTEES' REPORTS A. Trustee Grear: 1. Trustee Grear presented Ordinance 20-20, Approving a Final Plat of Subdivision for a Minor Subdivision at 8649 Callie Avenue, Morton Grove, Illinois. This is the second reading of this Ordinance. a. Trustee Grear explained that this was a request to approve a Final Plat of Subdivision in accord- ance with the requirements for a Minor Subdivision to re-subdivide three lots of record, which are currently distributed between two tax lots, into three lots for the property commonly known as 8649 Callie Avenue. The property was recently improved with three townhomes and is located in the R-3 General Residence District. As the owner approaches completion of construction, he is seeking this subdivision to allow for the future sale of the townhouse units on three individual lots. The three lots do not meet the zoning district lot requirements individually and cannot be developed independent of one another. b. The Appearance Commission approved the building elevations and landscape plan for the three- unit townhome development in 2016. Because no changes to the issued Appearance Certificate are proposed, the requirement for Appearance Commission review has been satisfied. Due to the negligible impact of the development on public roadway infrastructure, the requirement for full commission review by the Traffic Safety Commission was waived. On August 17, 2020, the Plan Commission reviewed the application made under case PC20-11 and unanimously recommended approval of the final plat of subdivision, with certain conditions. Trustee Grear moved to adopt Ordinance 20-20, seconded by Trustee Minx. Motion passes: 6 ayes, 0 nays. Tr. Grear Tr. Minx Ayt Tr. Ramos Tr. Thill Tr. Travis Rig Tr. Witko aye 5 Minutes of September 28,2020 Board Meetin XIV. TRUSTEES' REPORTS (continued) B. Trustee Minx: Trustee Minx had no report this evening. C. Trustee Ramos: Trustee Ramos had no report this evening. D. Trustee Thill: Trustee Thill had no report this evening. E. Trustee Travis: 1. Trustee Travis had some Community Relations Commission news to report: a. The Commission is looking forward to the 9th Community Artist Performance, scheduled for Saturday, October 24 at 4:00 p.m., streaming live or via Zoom. The theme is "We Create and Celebrate" and there's an open call for artists until noon on October 13. Those wishing to participate can submit their performance at www.identityperformingarts.ord/project.aspx. Any questions can be emailed to ginny(cr�identityperformingarts.orq. b. The Commission is also reinstating its quarterly photo contests. The Fall photo contest has the theme "Morton Grove Strong." Up to five photos can be submitted. There is a link on the Village's website to upload your photos, or email them to crc(a�mortongroveil.orq. F. Trustee Witko: 1. Trustee Witko presented Ordinance 20-21, Amending Title 5, Chapter 13, Section F-2 Entitled "No Parking During Certain Hours" of the Municipal Code of the Village of Morton Grove. This is the second reading of this Ordinance. a. Trustee Witko explained that this Ordinance will codify parking restrictions on the south side of Kirk Street between Nagle Avenue and Lehigh Avenue every day between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Trustee Witko moved, seconded by Trustee Thill, to adopt Ordinance 20-21. Motion passes: 6 ayes, 0 nays. Tr. Grear Ays Tr. Minx aye Tr. Ramos Tr. Thill ays Tr. Travis aye Tr. Witko ays 6 Minutes of September 28,2020 Board Meeting XIV. TRUSTEES' REPORTS (continued) F. Trustee Witko: (continued) 2. Next, Trustee Witko presented Resolution 20-42, Authorizing the Execution of a Contract With J. A. Johnson Paving Company For the 2020 Street Patching Program. a. She explained that the annual Street Patching Program is a preventative measure for asphalt streets in order to maintain the quality, drainage, drivability, and longevity of Village streets. This contract was bid through a public process in accordance with the Village Code. Seven bids were received and the lowest qualified bidder was J. A. Johnson Paving Company of Arlington Heights in the amount of$64,270, which is $5,730 less than the budgeted amount of$70,000. Trustee Witko said the Village Administrator recommends the amount of street patching work be increased to fully utilize the budgeted amount. This work should be completed over two days. Trustee Witko moved to approve Resolution 20-42, seconded by Trustee Travis. Motion passes: 6 ayes, 0 nays. Tr. Grear Ay.e Tr. Minx Tr. Ramos ays_ Tr. Thill Tr. Travis Tr. Witko ave XV. OTHER BUSINESS NONE XVI. WARRANTS Trustee Minx presented the Warrant Register for September 28, 2020 in the amount of $392,934.38. She moved to approve the Warrant Register as presented, seconded by Trustee Ramos. Motion passes: 6 ayes, 0 nays. Tr. Grear gy± Tr. Minx gy± Tr. Ramos ays Tr. Thill Ry± Tr. Travis Tr. Witko XVII. RESIDENTS' COMMENTS 1. Ileana Gutiu, 5525 Washington, appeared before the Board and said she's been trying to solve two problems since June of this year. Her neighbor at 5517 Washington (just west of her residence) has two air conditioning units that she feels are too close to her house. Additionally her neighbor changed the grading of his property and now when it rains, all the water flows into her yard. Her neighbor adjusted his downspouts to no avail. She said she had spoken with Jim English. A compliance check was done and she received a message from Mr. English indicating that there was partial compliance on her neighbor's part, but further measures would be need to become fully compliant. Ms. Gutiu was requesting to see the permit for her neighbor's property. a. Mayor DiMaria thanked Ms. Gutiu for coming and directed her to speak with Mr. Czerwinski after the meeting. Minutes of September 28,2020 Board Meeting XVII. RESIDENTS' COMMENTS 2. Mayor DiMaria noted that resident Rudolf Vilk had dropped off his comments for the Board, but did not stay for the meeting. His complaint was about the fact that residents have to wait until the end of the Village Board meeting in order to speak, and then are only allotted for minutes of time to do so. He felt that the Board's job was to improve the lives of residents of the Village and wondered why residents' comments couldn't be at the beginning of the meeting. He felt that having to wait until the end of the meeting showed disrespect for residents' time. 3. Mr. Czerwinski noted two comments had come in via email. He said the first comment had actually been received just prior to the September 14, 2020 Board meeting; however, the resident had not asked for it to be presented to the Board. The resident did receive a response to his questions; at that point, he reached out to the Village and asked that the questions he had asked and the Village's responses be presented at the next meeting. These are the questions received from Akhter Sadiq, 5736 Main Street. a. He wanted to know what the police union of Morton Grove is, and if it was the same as the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). The Village responded that patrol officers (members below the rank of sergeant) are represented by the Fraternal Order of Police. b. His next question was if the union has a connection or collaborates with the Chicago FOP. The Village responded that the FOP is an umbrella organization divided into subgroups called Lodges that act independently. Chicago is Lodge#7; Morton Grove is Lodge#135. Morton Grove does not interact with Chicago in an organized labor capacity. c. Mr. Sadiq next asked how someone would file a complaint against a Morton Grove police officer. The Village's response was that MGPD will accept a complaint in person, over the phone, or via the internet (using a Complaint Form). In serious cases, a person may be asked to sign an affidavit as to what occurred to cause the complaint. Citizens can always call to discuss a matter with a supervisor or the police chief before deciding what to. d. Mr. Sadiq indicated that he could find a feedback form on the internet, but not a complaint form. He was informed that the complaint form is available at the front desk of the police station, through a supervisor, or online at: https://www.mortonciroveil.orq/wp- content/uploads/5A48C5E39C524DBD8BA0279A36ED6F7C1.pdf. e. Mr. Sadiq asked how the Morton Grove Police Department handles police misconduct. The Village said the complaint is investigated and discipline is determined by the Police Chief with input from command staff and, in serious matters, legal counsel. The Village noted that discipline can range from (verbal counseling through termination of employment and criminal prosecution. f. Mr. Sadiq asked if there were details of MGPD expenses available online. He was directed to consult the various financial documents published by the Village's Finance Depart on the Vil- lage's website: https://www.mortongroveil.org/finance/. 4. JoAnn Rapp, 8922 Mango, noted that Groot and the Village are contractually required to main- tain data and periodic reports on the number of subscribers to the composting service, and how much is collected. She asked how many residents have subscribed to the composting program since it began in May of 2020. 8 Minutes of September 28,2020 Board Meeting XVII. RESIDENTS' COMMENTS (continued) a. Mr. Czerwinski said that, for the 2020 subscriptions for yard waste/food scraps, 6 residents have subscribed for a 65 gallon bin and 5 have subscribed for a 95 gallon bin. He added that more information on this is available at the Village's website, as well as in the fall edition of the Village's newsletter. b. Ms. Rapp asked what types of compostables have been collected through this separate sub- scriber group, and asked what poundage of compostable material has been collected through this separate, special-fee program versus the long-standing green bin recycling service. Mr. Czerwinski said he did not have that data at this type, but would work on obtaining it. XVIII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Board, Trustee Minx moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Trustee Thill. Motion passes: 6 ayes, 0 nays. Tr. Grear Tr. Minx aye Tr. Ramos Ays Tr. Thill Tr. Travis Tr. Witko The meeting adjourned at 7:59 p.m. 9 Minutes of September 28,2020 Board Meeting PASSED this 28th day of September, 2020. Trustee Grear d.;i(' Trustee Minx (,yam` Trustee Ramos ut ` Trustee Thill ,;/, Trustee Travis Trustee Witko ;k.1:e APPROVED by me this 28th day of September, 2020. Agi s Daniel P. DiMaria, Village President Board of Trustees, Morton Grove, Illinois APPROVED and FILED in my office this 29th day of September, 2020. XL. Eileen Scanlon Harford, Village rk Village of Morton Grove, Cook County, Illinois Minutes by Teresa Cousar 10