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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-11-2022 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE PRESIDENT AND THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE VILLAGE OF MORTON GROVE RICHARD T. FLICKINGER MUNICIPAL CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS JULY 11, 2022 CALL TO ORDER I. & II. Village President Dan DiMaria convened the Regular Meeting of the Village Board at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of Village Hall. He asked for a moment of silence to remember those who were impacted by the Highland Park shootings last week. III. Village Clerk Eileen Harford called the roll. Present were Trustees Bill Grear, Saba Khan, Rita Minx, John Thill, Connie Travis, and Janine Witko. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Trustee Minx moved to accept the Minutes of the June 27, 2022 Village Board meeting as presented, seconded by Trustee Witko. Motion passed unanimously via voice vote. V. SPECIAL REPORTS NONE VI. PUBLIC HEARINGS NONE VII. PLAN COMMISSION REPORTS NONE VIII. RESIDENTS’ COMMENTS (Agenda Items Only) Bill Page said he was concerned about the Ordinances on the Agenda this evening and hoped that more detail would be provided tonight when each was read out. Minutes of July 11, 2022 Board Meeting 2 IX. 1. a. 2. 3. 4. 5. PRESIDENT’S REPORT Mayor DiMaria said he was confident that he spoke for the Morton Grove community in expressing deepest and most sincere condolences to the families and friends of those who were lost as a result of the tragic event in Highland Park on July 4. The hope is for the full and speedy recovery of everyone wounded, traumatized, and affected by what happened. Mayor DiMaria also gratefully thanked all the courageous first responders and citizens who rushed in to offer aid and protection to people needing medical attention, safety, and comfort. Mayor DiMaria said the Morton Grove team showed up and made a decision to cancel the day’s events based on the information known to them at the time. It wasn’t an easy decision, but in light of the horrific event that had occurred, the team was 100% behind the decision to cancel Morton Grove’s parade, carnival, and fireworks. Speaking of Morton Gove Days, Mayor DiMaria thanked the volunteers and committee members for their hard work in making this year’s event successful. He also thanked everyone who understood and supported the decision to cancel the last day of the event in an abundance of caution and to show respect to our neighbors in Highland Park. Mayor DiMaria especially thanked Trustees Bill Grear and Rita Mix, Park District Commissioner Paul Minx, Village Administrator Ralph Czerwinski, and Assistant to the Administrator, Tom Friel for the phenomenal first three days of the event. He said, “Our community does the Fourth of July better than anyone in the country. For it to end like it did and still be successful is a testament to the MG Days Commission’s hard work. Mayor DiMaria asked the assemblage to continue to remember the terrible events in the Ukraine, and to keep the Ukranian people in their thoughts and prayers. Mayor DiMaria announced that the Police Department will be hosting its 7th Annual National Night Out on Tuesday, August 2, from 5:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. at the Civic Center. This is a free educational and fun event that just gets better every year! Mayor DiMaria noted that former Village Trustee Ed Ramos is in very bad health. He said that he and the Board wished Ed all the best in his fight for his health. X. CLERK’S REPORT Clerk Harford had no formal report this evening. Minutes of July 11, 2022 Board Meeting 3 XI. A. 1. a. b. c. STAFF REPORTS Village Administrator: Mr. Czerwinski presented Ordinance 22-15, An Ordinance Approving and Authorizing the Execution of An Economic Incentive and Tax Increment Financing Development Agreement by and Between the Village of Morton Grove, IL and P & P Properties, LLC in Regard to Certain Real Property Located in the Lehigh-Ferris Tax Increment Financing Redevelopment Area and the Expenditure of Funds from the Lehigh-Ferris Tax Increment Financing District Fund. He explained that the Village has, for decades, owned the vacant properties known as 8720–8726 Ferris Avenue and 8733 Narragansett Avenue and the adjacent public alley, all of which are in the Lehigh-Ferris TIF District. The Village marketed these properties for redevelopment for several years and included them in an RFQ for redevelopment in 2020, but no feasible development project or desirable use was presented. P & P Properties, LLC (“Developer”) owns the properties in the Lehigh-Ferris TIF District known as 8721 and 8735 Narragansett Ave. The Developer’s property and the Village’s property are vacant, underutilized, and exhibit conditions of blight as defined by the TIF Act. The Developer has proposed to develop its property and the Village’s property as a 10-unit townhome development and a one-unit duplex development with an estimated EVA of $6 million. In May, the Board approved requests for the Village to vacate a portion of public alley, a Special Use Permit and Subdivision for a ten-unit townhome development, and a Special Use Permit for a two-unit apartment complex. The Developer submitted a TIF application stating that the developments are not financially feasible without financial assistance. The application was reviewed and was deemed a reasonable request. Currently, the total project costs for the developments (without assistance) are estimated to be between $6.6 and $6.9 million. The Developer and Village staff negotiated an Economic Incentive and Tax Increment Allocation Financing Development Agreement, which provides reimbursement to the Developer for certain TIF-eligible expenses not to exceed $350,000 and the forgiveness of a $420,000 loan to the Developer for the purchase of the Village’s property. The combined incentive is valued at $770,000, and accounts for approximately 11% of the total development costs. As this is a first reading of Ordinance 22-15, no action will be taken this evening. B. Corporation Counsel: Corporation Counsel Liston had no formal report this evening. Minutes of July 11, 2022 Board Meeting 4 XII. A. TRUSTEES’ REPORTS Trustee Grear: Trustee Grear had no formal report this evening B. Trustee Khan: Trustee Khan had no formal report this evening. C. Trustee Minx: Trustee Minx had no formal report this evening. D. Trustee Thill: Trustee Thill had no formal report this evening. E. 1. a. Trustee Travis: Trustee Travis presented for a first reading Ordinance 22-12, Amending Title 6, Chapter 1, Section 3 Entitled “Offenses Against Public Peace” of the Municipal Code of the Village of Morton Grove. She explained that Village staff continuously reviews and proposes updates to the Village Board to ensure the Code remains contemporary and adequately addresses the needs of the community. The Chief of Police has proposed revisions to Title 6, Chapter 1, Section 3 of the Municipal Code of Morton Grove to (1) remove the prohibition against soliciting or begging on public ways, as solicitation regulations are addressed in Title 4, Chapter 6E of the Code, and to comply with recent court rulings regarding First Amendment rights with respect to solicitation and begging; and (2) to remove the prohibition against public intoxication from this section to comply with an Illinois state statute which precludes municipalities from adopting or enforcing any law that includes intoxication as the sole basis of an offence. This Ordinance will codify the Chief’s proposed revisions. As this is a first reading of this Ordinance, no action will be taken this evening. Minutes of July 11, 2022 Board Meeting 5 XII. E. TRUSTEES’ REPORTS (continued) Trustee Travis: (continued) Trustee Travis asked Chief Simo if he’d like to add anything. He noted that there is a Supreme Court ruling saying that “begging” is protected under First Amendment rights, but there are other ways to enforce this. Regarding the change to public intoxication, Chief Simo said that Illinois law states that municipalities cannot have an ordinance just regarding intoxication. Trustee Thill asked, if someone is begging in the roadway and gets hit by a car, who is liable? Chief Simo assured him it would not be the Village; more likely the driver of the car who hit the person in the roadway. F. Trustee Witko: Trustee Witko had no formal report this evening, but said the second annual Sustainability Event would take place on September 10 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The Environment and Natural Resources Commission is currently soliciting exhibitors. She said the Commission is hoping to add to the exhibitors from last year, so if any Morton Grove business has a direct impact on sustainability, they should call 847-470-5220. She encouraged residents to attend this year, noting that last year’s Expo had a great turnout and was a fun and informative event. She said she was looking forward to this year’s Expo as well. XIII. OTHER BUSINESS NONE XIV. WARRANTS Trustee Grear presented the Warrant Register for July 11, 2022 in the amount of $319,608.91. He moved to approve this evening’s Warrant Register as presented, seconded by Trustee Thill. Motion passed: 6 ayes, 0 nays. Tr. Grear aye Tr. Khan aye Tr. Minx aye Tr. Thill aye Tr. Travis aye Tr. Witko aye Minutes of July 11, 2022 Board Meeting 6 XV. 1. 2. 3. RESIDENTS’ COMMENTS Bob Raccuglia, 7439 Arcadia Street, noted that last year’s Sustainability Expo was terrify and thanked the Board for putting it together. He stated that he was a member of the Vision Morton Grove group and said it was their hope that, before an updated Strategic Plan is rolled out, there would be opportunities for public comment and participation. He said they also hoped that the updated Strategic Plan would focus on “EDI” (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) regarding the hiring practices of the Village, the training of Village employees, and the composition of various commissions. Rudy Vilk said he has nothing personal against Corporation Counsel Liston but did feel that Trustee Grear is disrespectful. He said, “When someone stops you on the street with a gun and says, give me your money, you give him what you have on you. What if then he wants your debit card PIN. What do you do” Mr. Vilk said it feel just like that when dealing with Bill Zimmer and Corporation Counsel Liston. He said he’s just talking about people doing a “good” job or a “bad” job, because he knows no one is perfect, including himself. He reiterated that the Board should serve its residents, and said next meeting he will talk about the new roof. Bill Page said, regarding Ordinance 22-15, that this development is going to cost the Village some money, but it will increase the Village’s EVA. Mayor DiMaria said, when the Village invests, it gets a return on it. He said this will be a great development for the Village, and noted that, at the time when the Woodlands was being discussed, people were distraught because the Village was investing $5 million on it. He said now, because of that development, our EVA has gone up three times, which helps all taxing bodies. The mayor said if Mr. Page wants to know more, he could ask Mr. Czerwinski to go over it with him. XVI. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Board, Trustee Minx moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Trustee Witko. Motion passed unanimously via voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 7:21 p.m. Minutes of July 11, 2022 Board Meeting 7 PASSED this 25th day of July, 2022. Trustee Grear __________ Trustee Khan Trustee Minx __________ Trustee Thill __________ Trustee Travis __________ Trustee Witko __________ APPROVED by me this 25th day of July, 2022. Daniel P. DiMaria, Village President Board of Trustees, Morton Grove, Illinois APPROVED and FILED in my office this 26th day of July, 2022. ______________________________________ Eileen Scanlon Harford, Village Clerk Village of Morton Grove, Cook County, Illinois Minutes by Teresa Cousar