CITY OF PARK RIDGE 505 BUTLER PLACE PARK RIDGE, IL 60068 TEL: 847-318-5200 FAX: 847-318-5300 TDD: 847-318-5252 www.parkridge.us D R A F T M I N U T E S REGULAR MEETING OF THE PARK RIDGE CITY COUNCIL CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS 505 BUTLER PLACE PARK RIDGE, IL 60068 Monday, December 17, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. Mayor David Schmidt called the meeting to order at 7:12 p.m. I. Roll Call City Clerk Henneman read the Roll Call and the following Elected Officials indicated their presence: Ald. Sweeney, Di Pietro, Smith, Raspanti, Knight, Mazzuca, Maloney and Mayor Schmidt. II. Pledge of Allegiance City Clerk Henneman explained the process for determining the ballot position in the event of a simultaneous filing of candidates running for the same office. A drawing was held to determine the placement of the ballot for the Mayoral race. Mr. Lloyd Godfrey, a resident of the community chose the name of David Schmidt. Therefore, on the April 2013 Election ballot, David Schmidt will appear in the first position and Larry Ryles in the second position. III. Approval of Minutes 1. Workshop Meeting November 19, 2012 Motion carried. 2. Regular City Council Meeting December 3, 2012 Motion carried. 3. Committee of the Whole Meeting December 10, 2012 Motion carried. IV. Consent Agenda *All items listed with an asterisk are considered routine by the City Council and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of those items unless an Alderman so requests, in which event the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the Agenda. VII.B.1. Approve Resolution establishing available Liquor Licenses for 2013 VII.F.1. Approve purchase order for fuel in the amount of $22,751.95; Al Warren Oil, Summit, IL VII.F.2. Approve first reading of Ordinance modifying 13-12-6 to allow one handicap parking space on Yost at Canfield VII.G.1. Approve Purchase Order in the amount of $28,570.00 for five (5) Panasonic Toughbook Laptops and Equipment; CDS Office Technologies, Itasca, Illinois VII.G.2. Approve bid award for six (6) Fire Department furnace replacements in the amount of $36,389.00; Atomatic Mechanical Services, Inc., Arlington Heights, Illinois VII.H.1. Approve warrants reviewed by Ald. Smith for the period ending December 15, 2012 in the amount of $1,568,167.99 VII.H.5. Approve first reading of Ordinance amending Article 3, Chapters 6, 8, 15 and 16 regarding the duties of the Director of Finance and the City Treasurer and the parameters setting the bonds Page 1 of 7
VII.H.6. Approve Resolution appointing Kent Oliven as Acting Director of Finance VII.H.7. Approve Resolution appointing Michael Suppan as the Authorized IMRF Agent for the City of Park Ridge AYES: Ald. Maloney, Sweeney, Di Pietro, Smith, Raspanti, Knight and Mazzuca V. Reports of City Officials A. Mayor 1. Presentation of Gifts to the Police Department; and 2. Recognition of Volunteers Mayor Schmidt thanked all of the City s volunteers; those who serve on the City Boards and Commissions in addition to those who serve the community through various organizations. They all provide a great service to the City. The Cherokee Indian Princesses and Chippewa Indian Scouts expressed their gratitude by presenting the Park Ridge Police Department with Christmas cards and a basket of treats. Police Sergeant DelFosse and Officers Peterson and King accepted the token of appreciation on behalf of the Police Department. Mayor Schmidt called for a moment of silence to remember the victims of the Newtown, CT tragedy. At the request of Mayor Schmidt, Police Chief Kaminski reported on additional measures that are being taken by the Park Ridge Police Department. Chief Kaminski admitted receiving numerous calls from concerned citizens. The department provided reassurance to concerned individuals and has increased Police presence at local schools. 3. Use of Vacant Office Space Mayor Schmidt suggested that department heads discuss how they can provide office space to the Police Department during its renovation. Mayor Schmidt recognized Finance Director Stutts for her service to the City. She fundamentally changed the way the City approaches finances. Stutts is retiring to start her own business. B. City Council C. City Attorney D. City Clerk City Clerk Henneman reported that today was the first day that Petitions were accepted for candidates running for office in the April 2013 election. Today, Clerk Henneman received petitions from the following candidates: David Schmidt and Larry Ryles, for Mayor; Nicholas Milissis for 2 nd Ward Alderman; Marc Mazzuca and Vincent LaVecchia for 6 th Ward Alderman; and Betty Henneman, City Clerk. Currently, there is no candidate for the 4 th Ward. The Clerk s office will continue accepting nominating petitions until 5:00 p.m. on the 26 th of December 2012. E. City Manager s Report 1. ComEd Update Public Works Director Zingsheim provided the following ComEd update: Com Ed is treating or replacing approximately 6,000 feet of underground residential cable. This cable will be refurbished or replaced where necessary to reduce the number of customer service interruptions due to cable failures. This work was or is being done near Greenwood and Greendale Avenue; Dee Road and Woodland Avenue; and near Delphia and Greendale Avenue. Page 2 of 7
Com Ed throughout the year has also installed seventeen automatic fuse devices to improve reliability. These devices are used in place of a traditional fuse to minimize the number of interruptions caused by trees, wildlife, lightning, and other weather related outages. Examples of where these were installed are: Oakton near Busse; Arthur and Greenwood; Elliot and Habberton; Peterson and Prospect; Stewart and Clifton; and Gillick and Courtland. Com Ed has also replaced approximately 1600 feet of overhead cable with spacer cable as part of their storm-hardening program. The location of where this work occurred was along Home Street; Gillick to the north and south to Devon Avenue. We had some problems up on the south side of town in the seventh ward. Com Ed replaced 1800 feet of mainline cable on C917 and installed new poles along Canfield and Talcott. Circuit X7151 (12KV mainline) that feeds Park Ridge is getting 850 feet of Hendrix cable in the Higgins and Harlem area. They are also installing additional fuse sectionalizing to isolate outages from affecting customers on C918 and C919 (in Park Ridge). The Illinois Commerce Commission is not fully funding the grid modernization program. Com Ed must delay installation of additional smart meters until 2015. 2. Human Resources Update A hard copy of the report was provided to the Elected Officials in their weekly packet. City Manager Hamilton spoke briefly about the implementation of the ADP Payroll system. 3. Shop Local Update City Manager Hamilton reported on the City s assistance provided to the Shop Local campaign. 4. Appraisal of the property located at 463D Summit As requested by the Council at a previous meeting, Interim City Manager Hamilton secured and provided an appraisal 463S Summit property. According to Attorney Hill s memorandum, the estimated cost of foreclosure proceedings would range between $6,500.00 and $10,000.00. Hill requested that the Council allow him an opportunity to produce a memorandum regarding the complexity of the foreclosure process. Hill indicated that his staff is obtaining all recordings on the said property at no cost to the City. He plans to have another memorandum prepared for the January 14, 2013 COW meeting. Ald. Knight questioned if anyone was residing at the 463D Summit property. Also, it is his understanding that the City holds his gross severance and that Hock has not made any payments. In response, Attorney Hill indicated that Mr. Hock and his wife reside 463 D Summit and confirmed that no payments have been made. The forbearance agreement was not found to be acceptable by Mr. Hock primarily because of the financial statement required by the City; it would become a public record. Attorney Hill confirmed that he would provide all information to the Council on January 14, 2013 so that this matter could move forward. Ald. Knight requested that all options be provided at that time, including a revised version of the forbearance agreement. Mayor Schmidt indicated that the appraised value of the property is $440,000.00 and the total liens on the property total $410,000.00. After the net severance is applied, the property could be sold for $375,000.00 - $380,000.00 with no loss to the City. 5. Deferral of recommendation to purchase City Vehicles Interim City Manager Hamilton explained that he has deferred his recommendation of purchasing City vehicles until January 21, 2013. The City has retrieved additional data and intends to provide an analysis; purchasing verses leasing. In response to an inquiry from Ald. Smith, Hamilton explained that the City has a separate fund specifically for vehicle replacements. VI. Citizens Who Wish to Address the City Council on a Non-Agenda Item No comments. VII. Reports of Boards, Commissions and Committees Page 3 of 7
A. Planning and Zoning Commission Ald. Sweeney B. Zoning Board of Appeal Ald. Sweeney 1. Approve an ordinance for a variance at 2045 Farrell Avenue to allow a 4' high, traditional spaced open fence in the front yard with the condition that no fence be constructed on Farrell Avenue, Case V-12-09 Michelle Braccioforte, the owner of the property was in attendance and available to answer questions. AYES: Ald. Sweeney, Smith, Raspanti, Knight and Maloney NAYS: Ald. Di Pietro and Mazzuca Motion carried, 5-2. C. Liquor License Review Board Mayor Schmidt 1. Approve Resolution establishing available Liquor Licenses for 2013 / Approved pursuant to the Omnibus Vote D. O Hare Airport Commissions Ald. Maloney Ald. Maloney reported the next O Hare Airport Commission is scheduled for December 19, 2012. Mayor Schmidt indicated that he is still seeking the support of one additional community to co-sponsor the City s Resolution for a Supplemental Environmental Impact Study (SEIS). Mayor Schmidt has gained the support of Mayor Arlene Jezierny of Harwood Heights who has offered to lobby her contacts in neighboring communities. He intends to present the Resolution at the February 2013 meeting of the ONCC. E. Procedures and Regulations Committee Ald. Di Pietro F. Public Works Committee Ald. Maloney 1. Approve Purchase Order for fuel in the amount of $22,751.95; Al Warren Oil, Summit, Illinois / Approved pursuant the Omnibus Vote 2. Approve first reading of Ordinance modifying 13-12-6 to allow one (1) handicap parking space on Yost at Canfield / Approve pursuant to the Omnibus Vote G. Public Safety Committee Ald. Raspanti 1. Approve Purchase Order in the amount of $28,570.00 for five (5) Panasonic Toughbook Laptops and Equipment; CDS Office Technologies, Itasca, Illinois / Approved pursuant to the Omnibus Vote 2. Approve bid award for six (6) Fire Department furnace replacements in the amount of $36,389.00; Atomatic Mechanical Services, Inc., Arlington Heights, Illinois / Approved pursuant the Omnibus Vote H. Finance and Budget Committee Ald. Knight 1. Approve warrants reviewed by Ald. Smith for the period ending December 15, 2012 in the amount of $1,568,167.99 / Approved pursuant to the Omnibus Vote 2. Tax Levy: (1) Move to approve the final reading of the December 2012 property tax levy in the amount of $20,957,403.26 for the City and Library Page 4 of 7
Move to modify the motion by changing the amount of the levy from $20,957,403.26 to $20,721,295.26 by reducing the contribution to the Fire Pension by $114,784.00 and the Police Pension by $121,324.00. Motion by Ald. Mazzuca. Seconded Ald. Di Pietro. Ald. Mazzuca explained that his amendment is based on the 6.75% recommendation proposed by an Actuarial Experience Study (September 26, 2012) performed by the Illinois Department of Insurance which discussed rate of return assumptions. JD Bruschaler, Carl Brauweiler and Joe Egan, members of the Firefighters Pension Fund and Mary Tomanek, the Boards Financial Consultant, were present at the meeting. Discussion ensued among the Board members and the Council relative to the past performance of the Pension Funds investments. The members of the Firefighters Pension Fund did not support Ald. Mazzuca s proposal. They explained their conservative approach for investments. Finance Manager Oliven spoke of the pension fund s equities. Ald. Knight suggested that the Council engage more actively with this matter in the future. Ald. Mazzuca indicated that his proposal was a reduction of one third of one percent of the pension plan s assets. Mr. Brauweiler and Mr. Egan indicated that the liability is what the City has accrued to date. If not funded today, the liability would be pushed down the road, leaving it to another generation. Finance Manager Oliven provided a financial forecast (according to Wilshire) based on information provided to the City by its Bond Consultants, Williams Blair. Ald. Sweeney believes the City should remain diligent in meeting its pension obligations. Therefore, he did not support Ald. Mazzuca s amendment. Ald. Raspanti spoke procrastination of the City on various other matters. He believes this matter deserves thought. As an example, he spoke about Ald. Mazzuca s water rate amendment; a case that the City decided not to support the consultant s suggestion. Ald. Raspanti indicated he would vote to support Ald. Mazzuca s amendment. Ald. Di Pietro believes the conversation is too late and without forethought. He suggested that the topic be included in the tax levy discussion in April or May of the upcoming year. He spoke favorably about the fiscal responsibility exhibited by the Pension Boards. Ald. Smith indicated he would be voting against the amendment. Ald. Knight acknowledged that this is not a material change - either way. However, since this discussion is taking place so late, he is not inclined to make a change. He suggested that the Finance Manager include this topic as part of the budget process next year. Mayor Schmidt would like to see property taxes and the tax levy reduced as much as possible. He tends to question any suggestion made by Springfield since there is a chance it could be politically motivated. He believes there are merits on both sides of the argument relating to this matter. If he was to vote on the matter, he would likely vote against the amendment. However, after the vote was taken, he recognized Ald. Mazzuca for providing the analysis and was appreciative for his expertise. He also thanked members of the Pension Board for their work. Roll Call (on the amendment): AYES: Ald. Raspanti and Mazzuca NAYS: Ald. Di Pietro, Smith, Knight, Maloney, and Sweeney Motion failed, 2-5. Roll Call (main motion) AYES: Ald. Smith, Raspanti, Knight, Mazzuca, Maloney, Sweeney and Di Pietro Page 5 of 7
(2) Move to approve the final reading of the December 2012 property tax abatement in the amount of $1,025,153.76 for the payment of the General Obligation Bonds, Series 2004A and 2004B Ald. Smith s concern was that the abatement conceals the monetary impact that the TIF has on the City and in a few years, the amount will be too large to hide. Regardless of what comes out of the TIF study, Ald. Knight is confident that the abatement will be a topic of discussion next year. Finance Director Stutts indicated, if the Ordinance is not approved for the abatement, the property tax would be well over 2.1%. Although Ald. Sweeney voted against the abatement at the December 3, 2012 City Council meeting, he recognized the expertise of Ms. Stutts and the advice she provided. Therefore, he would be voting to support the abatement. AYES: Ald. Raspanti, Knight, Mazzuca, Maloney, Sweeney, and Di Pietro NAYS: Ald. Smith Motion carried, 6-1. (3) Move to approve the final reading of the December 2012 property tax abatement in the amount of $417,112.50 for the payment of the General Obligation Bonds, Series 2005A AYES: Ald. Knight, Mazzuca, Maloney, Sweeney, Di Pietro, Smith and Raspanti (4) Move to approve the final reading of the December 2012 property tax abatement in the amount of $1,988,315.00 for the payment of the General Obligation Bonds, Series 2006A and 2006B AYES: Ald. Mazzuca, Maloney, Sweeney, Di Pietro, Smith, Raspanti and Knight (5) Move to approve the final reading of the December 2012 property tax abatement in the amount of $156,450.00 for the payment of the General Obligation Bonds, Series 2012A AYES: Ald. Maloney, Sweeney, Di Pietro, Smith, Raspanti, Knight, and Mazzuca Page 6 of 7
(6) Move to approve the final reading of the December 2012 property tax levy for Alley Special Service Areas 86 through 96 and 98 through 103 AYES: Ald. Sweeney, Di Pietro, Smith, Raspanti, Knight, Mazzuca and Maloney 3. Approve first reading of Ordinance amending Article 3, Chapters 6, 8, 15 and 16 regarding the duties of the Director of Finance and the City Treasurer and the parameters setting the bonds / Approved pursuant to the Omnibus Vote 4. Approve Resolution appointing Kent Oliven as Acting Director of Finance / Approved pursuant to the Omnibus Vote 5. Approve Resolution appointing Michael Suppan as the Authorized IMRF Agent for the City of Park Ridge / Approved pursuant to the Omnibus Vote 6. Moved to approve Resolution modifying the deadline to extend the contract with Taste of Park Ridge NFP, Inc. for 2013 and 2014 event City Manager Hamilton explained that approval of this Resolution would allow staff to establish and modify policy procedures for all future Special Events in the City of Park Ridge. Ald. Knight explained to Ald. Maloney that the Council is modifying a deadline, not the contract. Ald. Di Pietro believes the Resolution speaks for itself. He requested that the City Manager propose any policy change(s) at the January 14, 2013 Committee of the Whole meeting. Motion carried, voice vote. VIII. New Business For announcement, deliberation, and/or discussion only; no official action will be taken. Finance Manager Kent Oliven personally thanked Allison Stutts for her dedication and the assistance she has provided to him. In regards to personnel, he spoke about moving forward to fill open positions in his department. He also proposed a Budget Workshop Schedule that included specific topics for each date. The start time would be 7:00 p.m. with a hard stop at 10:00 p.m. Ald. Di Pietro would like to include a discussion regarding the funding of community groups. Ald. Knight believed that talking about actuarials at the end of January was too soon. Ald. Maloney would like a discussion about what social services the City should be providing, but is not. Due to Ald. Raspanti s new job position, he stated that he would be unable to attend some of the budget planning sessions. In response to Ald. Smith s question, City Manager Hamilton indicated that he did not have an update on the former Public Works Service Center. However, he did indicate that a copy of the 2009 appraisal was provided to the Council. IX. Adjournment The Council adjourned the regular meeting at 9:21 p.m. Transcribed by: Cheryl L. Peterson, Deputy Clerk Approved by the City Council on the 21 st day of January, A.D., 2013 Attest: David F. Schmidt, Mayor Betty W. Henneman, City Clerk Page 7 of 7