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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-12-2023MINUTES 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 SEPTEMBER 12, 2023 CALL TO ORDER I. Village President Dan DiMaria convened the Regular Meeting of the Village Board at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of Village Hall. II. Village Clerk Eileen Harford called the roll. Present were Trustees Saba Khan, Rita Minx, Ashur Shiba, John Thill, Connie Travis, and Janine Witko. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Trustee Minx moved to approve the Minutes of the August 22, 2023 Village Board Meeting as presented. Trustee Khan seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously via voice vote. IV. SPECIAL REPORTS NONE V. PUBLIC HEARINGS NONE VI. PLAN COMMISSION REPORTS NONE VII. RESIDENTS' COMMENTS (AGENDA ITEMS ONLY) NONE Minutes of September 12, 2023 Board Meeting VIII. PRESIDENT'S REPORT 1. Proclamation: Constitution Week a. Mayor DiMaria proclaimed the week of September 17 through September 23 as "Constitution Week" in Morton Grove. He noted that the Constitution of the United States is the guardian of our liberties and embodies the principles of limited government in a republic dedicate to rule by law. It is fitting and proper to accord official recognition to this outstanding document and its memora- ble anniversary, and the patriotic celebrations which will commemorate the occasion. Mayor DiMaria also pointed out that Public Law 915 guarantees the issuance of a proclamation each year by the President of the United States designating September 17 through September 23 as Constitution Week. Mayor DiMaria asked all residents of the Village to reaffirm the ideals the framers of the Constitution had in 1787 by attentively protecting the freedoms guaranteed to us through this guardian of our liberties. 2. Summer 2023 Photo Contest Winners Mayor DiMaria asked Trustee Travis to announce the Summer 2023 Photo Contest winners. a. Trustee Travis said she was pleased to be the Trustee -liaison to the Community Relations Commission, the entity that sponsored the Summer Photo Contest. She said the Commission's purpose is to foster, encourage, and improve our sense of community through positive interac- tions among all residents regardless of age gender, religion, national origin or economic status. b. Trustee Travis said she was excited to announce the winners of the Summer Photo Content. These winners were chosen from over 80 outstanding photos which had been submitted. She asked that the winners come down to the front and stand by their photograph. The winners are Christine Byrnes (not present), Jamie Mette (present), Julia Melio (present), Noel Magsino (not present) and Reinor Dimac (not present). She announced that the Overall Winner is Julia Melio. Photos were taken of the winners in attendance with their photographs and with the Mayor and Trustee Travis. c. Trustee Travis invitee anyone who is interested in serving our Village to think about joining the Community Relations Commission. Their next meeting is September 18 at 6:30pm at Village Hall. More information is available on the Village's website. Everyone is welcome to join! IX. CLERK'S REPORT Clerk Harford had no formal report this evening. 2 Minutes of Se. ember 12, 2021 Board Meet' X. A. Village Administrator: Village Administrator Czerwinski had no formal report this evening. STAFF REPORTS B. Corporation Counsel: Corporation Counsel Liston had no formal report this evening. XI. TRUSTEES' REPORTS A. Trustee Khan: Trustee Khan had no formal report this evening, but commented that she had attended the Sustainability Expo this past Saturday. She said she was very proud of the staff for putting it all together; they did a very good job. She was also impressed at the crowd. Trustee Khan said she's very proud of the Village's efforts regarding sustainability. B. Trustee Minx: 1. Trustee Minx presented Resolution 23-37, Authorizing the Sale of Personal Property Owned by the Village of Morton Grove. a. She explained the Fire Department regularly checks, and when needed, replaces its fire hoses. Recently, the department replaced 2,750 feet of hose (49 lengths of 3" hose and 6 lengths of 2.5" hose) that was at least 20 years old, and considered by the Fire Chief to be obsolete. b. Pursuant to Ord. 05-27, adopted by the Board in May of 2005, obsolete or surplus personal property which, in the opinion of the Finance Director and the Village Administrator, is no longer necessary or useful to the Village, and which has an estimated value exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) and all motor vehicles and real property of any value belonging to the Village may be sold subject to approval by resolution of a simple majority of the Board of Trustees. The Village Administrator and the Finance Director have opined that the old fire hose is no longer necessary or useful to the Village. c. International Fire Equipment in Richmond, CA has proposed to purchase the surplus hose for $2,200 and will also pay for shipping costs, provided the Village palletizes and shrink wraps the hose. This Resolution will authorize the sale of the surplus fire hose to International Fire Equipment for $2,200. 3 Minutes of September 12, 21023 Board Meeting XI. B. Trustee Minx: (continued) Trustee Minx moved to approve Resolution 23-37, seconded by Trustee Thill. Motion passed: 6 ayes, 0 nays. TRUSTEES' REPORTS (continued) Tr. Khan aye Tr. Minx ave Tr. Shiba Tr. Thill aye Tr. Travis aye Tr. Witko aye 2. Trustee Minx said she, too, was at the Expo and thought it was phenomenal and very well - attended. She offered her kudos to Village staff as well. C. Trustee Shiba: 1. Trustee Shiba presented Resolution 23-36, Authorizing the Renewal of a Professional Services Agreement Between the Village of Morton Grove and SAFEbuilt Illinois LLC. a. He explained that the Village has found that utilizing a third -party provider for plan review and inspectional services has given the Village access to specialized expertise from certified building, electrical, mechanical, and health inspectors, plan reviewers, building officials, and code enforce- ment officers, provides supplemental support for larger scale and/or high-volume plan review needs, access to additional inspectors, plan reviewers, and code enforcement officers during peak months, and the flexibility to reduce staffing levels during slower winter months. b. In July 2018, the Village joined the Municipal Partnering Initiative (MPI), a partnership of 11 suburban communities, to jointly solicit proposals for plan review, inspectional and related services. After a competitive bidding process, the MPI communities unanimously selected SAFEbuilt Illinois as its preferred contractor. c. Pursuant to Resolution 19-30, the Village entered into an agreement with SAFEbuilt IL to provide inspectional, plan review and supplemental code enforcement services through December 31, 2020. Pursuant to Res. 21-22, the Village approved a one-year extension of this contract and authorized the Village Administrator, at his discretion, to approve two (2) additional one-year extensions. Pursuant to Res. 21-46, the contract was amended to include health inspections and related services. SAFEbuilt satisfactorily performed these services, and the Village Administrator extended the contract through December 31, 2023. d. In early 2023, after considering the high quality of service provided by SAFEbuilt IL and comparing rates paid by other communities for similar services, the MPI chose not to undergo a competitive bidding process, and Glenview, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Lincolnwood, and Wilmette have or are in the process of extending their agreements with SAFEbuilt IL for 2024 and beyond. 4 MirlOtesof Se+tember 12, 2023 Board Meetin: XI. C. Trustee Shiba: (continued) TRUSTEES' REPORTS (continued) e. Village staff has negotiated a 3 -year contract with SAFEbuilt IL with price increases limited to CPI -U or 3%, whichever is lower. This Resolution will authorize a 3 -year contract with SAFEbuilt and will also authorize the Village Administrator to extend the contract if circumstances warrant renewing the contract for two additional 1 -year periods through December 31, 2028. f. The 2024 rates are 5% higher than the 2023 rates. Cost increases for 2025 and beyond will be limited to 3% or CI -U, whichever is less. Trustee Shiba moved, seconded by Trustee Witko, to approve Resolution 23-36. Motion passed: 6 ayes, 0 nays. Tr. Khan aye Tr. Minx aye Tr. Shiba aye Tr. Thill aye Tr. Travis le Tr. Witko aye 2. Trustee Shiba felt that the Expo was amazing—individuals from all walks of life attended. He also heard compliments about it from some of his friends in Skokie! D. Trustee Thill: 1. Trustee Thill presented Resolution 23-38, Authorizing a Contract With Stertil Koni USA Inc. to Replace the Existing Public Works Omer Vehicle Lift. a. Village vehicles are serviced and maintained by Public Works vehicle maintenance staff. Currently the vehicle maintenance staff uses an OMER vehicle lift to service Village equipment. The lift was installed in 1988 and has now reached the end of its useful service life. Getting replacement parts for the life is very difficult, and it is experiencing frequent and prolonged mechanical issues which then prolong the time needed to service Village vehicles. Public Works maintenance staff has recommended replacing the OMER lift. The purchase and installation of a new OMER vehicle lift was competitively bid through Sourcewell Procurement Agency, Contract #013020. Public Works received two proposals from vendors taking part in that Sourcewell contract, with Stertil Koni USA providing the lowest and most appropriate proposal in the amount of $176,817.18. Trustee Thill moved, seconded by Trustee Minx, to approve Resolution 23-38. Motion passed: 6 ayes, 0 nays. Tr. Khan aye Tr. Minx aye Tr. Shiba ave Tr. Thill aye Tr. Travis ky± Tr. Witko aye 5 Minutes of September 12, 2023 Board Meeting XI. TRUSTEES' REPORTS (continued) E. Trustee Travis: Trustee Travis thanked everyone who had participated in the summer Adopt -a -Planter program, and announced that the Village will soon be transitioning to the winter program. She noted that Public Works will be clearing the summer plants from the planters starting September 25, so if anyone has anything in their planter that they want to keep, they should retrieve it prior to that date. More details will be coming soon about the winter Adopt -a -Planter program. F. Trustee Witko: Trustee Witko had no formal report this evening. XII. OTHER BUSINESS Mayor DiMaria asked for a moment of silence to pause and reflect on the events of 9/11, the lives that were lost and the bravery demonstrated by the first responders. XIII. WARRANTS Trustee Khan presented the Warrant Register for September 12, 2023 in the amount of $770,103.73. She moved to approve the Warrant Register as presented, seconded by Trustee Travis. Motion passed: 6 ayes, 0 nays. Tr. Khan ave Tr. Minx aye Tr. Shiba Tr. Thill aye Tr. Travis aye Tr. Witko aye XIV. RESIDENTS' COMMENTS 1. Rudolf Vilk, 7508 Emerson, reminded the mayor that "residents elect you." He said he's still look- ing for answers to all of his questions. He said he has a letter dated July of 2023 signed by all the trustees but it doesn't respond to all his questions. He felt that residents are losing money from the Village's water service transitioning from the City of Chicago to Evanston. He said that the "residents' comments" part of the meeting should happen in the beginning of the meeting, not at the end. Lastly, he doesn't like it when Village staff uses abbreviations (IDOT) instead of spelling out "Illinois Department of Transportation." 6 Minutes of September 12, 2023 Board Meeting XIV. RESIDENTS' COMMENTS (continued) 2. Matt, a resident of Chicago, was here this evening celebrating his girlfriend's awesome picture of a monarch caterpillar that was recognized in the Summer Photo Contest. He encouraged residents to please get involved with the Morton Grove Prairie Nature Preserve, adding that he has spoken with the Jeff Wait at Park District and they are going to have new initiatives to "refresh and renew" their efforts to support the preserve. Matt told the Board, "Congratulations on having that awesome treasure in your town." 3. A resident said he was here tonight to talk about three subjects: the water; Village ordinances; and flooding. a. He said that ever since the water had switched, he had all new plumbing put in, with copper pipes. He was out of town in Florida for a while and when he came home, his toilet was dark brown from sediment. He put a new float in and after two weeks, it's totally dark brown from the sediment. He said whatever's going on with that water, it's not good. He was not sure if it was not being processed or not being filtered correctly, but something is definitely wrong. b. Regarding the Village ordinances, he said he respects the ordinances and gets permits when appropriate to do so. He hired a contractor; the contractor did not do the work and was guilty of several code violations, but the Village won't do anything about that. When he called the Village's Inspection Department, he was told, "That's a civil matter." Apparently the contractor bears no responsibility for these violations. He asked, "Why do we even have ordinances?" He said it took him six months to get a contractor to correct them. He felt the governing body is supposed to "reinforce" equally (residents and contractors) the ordinances they pass. c. Regarding the flooding, he said it's unbelievable what's going on on his block. But he said it's the same story that he was complaining about six years ago—sewers backing up, etc. He said the Village came out and gave him some kind of "song and dance" but after the truck went by, five minutes later, the water had disappeared. He didn't know if someone had closed a valve or opened it, it's like some kind of secret the Village likes to hide from its residents. There was a number of damages caused by the flooding. It's outrageous. d. Mayor DiMaria told the resident, "We're not hiding anything from our residents." The resident re- sponded that he would appreciate more transparency. Mayor DiMaria asked him to speak to Village Administrator Czerwinski and Mike, the new Public Works Director, immediately following the meeting. 4. Sue Pellicano said she had had an issue with an electrical inspector. He didn't even come in and look at the work that had been done. She said she's never had an inspection that careless. a. She was also very concerned with the lack of communication around the recent accident that closed down Waukegan Road. There was nothing on the news about it. Residents knew something was happening from the helicopters flying around their neighborhood. She personally didn't feel safe while this was happening and thought the Village handled it poorly. 7 Minutes of September 12, 2Q23 Board Meeting XV. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business being brought before the Board, Trustee Minx moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Trustee Witko. Motion passed unanimously via voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 7:28 p.m. PASSED this 26th day of September, 2023. Trustee Khan Trustee Minx Trustee Shiba Trustee Thill Trustee Travis Trustee Witko APPROVED by me this 26th day of September, 2023. Daniel P. DiMaria, Village President Board of Trustees, Morton Grove, Illinois APPROVED and FILED in my office this 27th day of September, 2023. Eileen Harford, Village Clerk Village of Morton Grove, Cook County, Illinois Minutes by Teresa Cousar 8