Citizens' Community Enhancement Commission

MINUTES MEETING OF THE CITIZENS’ COMMUNITY ENHANCEMENT COMMISSION CITY OF DEKALB October 16, 2017 The Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission (CCEC) of the City of DeKalb, Illinois held a regular meeting on Monday, October 16, 2017 in the Haish Conference Room of the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois. The meeting was called to order at 4:02 p.m. ROLL CALL Roll was recorded by Economic Development Planner, Jason Michnick, and the following members of the Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission members present were: Chair Sue Johnson, Deborah Booth, Brad Pietens, Michael Mooney and Brad Hoey. Cohen Barnes arrived at 4:30. Bob Boey was absent. Also present was Fire Chief, Eric Hicks. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION Chair Johnson asked for someone to make a motion to approve the agenda, which was made by Mr. Pietens. The motion was seconded by Mr. Hoey and was carried on a voice vote. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION None APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION Chair Johnson requested a motion for approval of the September 18, 2017 minutes. Mr. Hoey moved to approve the minutes. Mr. Pietens seconded the motion. Motion carried on voice vote. OLD BUSINESS 1. Fire Hydrant Painting Planner Michnick welcomed Chief Hicks to the meeting. The commission discussed past meetings and discussions related to the fire hydrant painting program. Planner Michnick reviewed meeting minutes from April 20, 2015. At the time, the Public Works Interim Director was not in favor, he felt it was a maintenance issue and a matter of public safety to paint fire hydrants. Later in the year it was brought back up but it wasn’t pursued any further because utility boxes had to be looked at instead, that was the focus at the time. Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission October 16, 2017 Page 2 of 3 Chief Hicks said hydrants fall under Public Works. There are about 2300 hydrants in DeKalb spaced approximately 300 ft. apart. The city tries to do hydrant maintenance every 3 years. There are certain rules to abide by like not painting black. The commission continued to discuss specific elements of a potential program, including NIU participation from students and alumni. Mr. Hoey stated he could contact someone at NIU about their hydrants. The commission also discussed the geographic area where hydrants would be painted first, such as the ACE Corridor. It was determined that the commission prefer to see it be citywide and encourage neighbors to come together. Planner Michnick stated he would work on developing the necessary application and paperwork for the program. These documents would be presented to the commission at the next month’s meeting. Once the commission was comfortable with the documents, it could be recommended to City Council at a future meeting. 2. Downtown Wayfinding and Branding Project Update Planner Michnick shared with the commission that Mr. Hoey, Mr. Barnes and himself, attended a class with Steve Quinn at NIU about wayfinding and branding. Mr. Hoey reported on this. It lasted 2 hours and about 30 students were present. Students were excited to be a part of this project and asked a lot of questions. What they are contributing could be an ongoing project. We gave guidance on what we were looking for. The students asked what identity we wanted for the City. We covered a lot of ground at the class. It was nice to have the fresh eyes of the NIU students. This was an advanced visual communications class. Each student has a component assigned to them to do in regards to wayfinding and branding. It is anticipated that the students would present their findings and recommendations to the commission at the November 20th meeting. 3. City Wide Light Pole Banners & FY2017 Funds Planner Michnick reported that banners are currently included in the Public Works FY18 budget, but will confirm the amount. The budget still has to be formally adopted. Planner Michnick said if the commission does not spend their annual funds during FY17, a request can be made to carry them over for a project in FY18. The first reading of the budget is November 27th at the City Council Meeting and the final reading is December 11th. The commission discussed potential enhancement projects throughout the City. These projects included the wayfinding signage that the students present on November 20, painting the walls underneath the railroad overpass on Annie Glidden, or having a mural contest. The commission also discussed the use of FY17 funding for an enhancement project in the Annie Glidden North neighborhood, such as painting 3-D crosswalks. The commission concluded to wait until the adoption of the FY18 budget to determine what project to choose. NEW BUSINESS None Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission October 16, 2017 Page 3 of 3 ADJOURNMENT MOTION Chair Johnson requested a motion for adjournment. Ms. Booth moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Mr. Mooney. Motion carried on voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 5:34p.m. We would like to have a presentation from some students on wayfinding and branding at the next meeting to begin at 2:00. ________________________________ Respectfully Submitted by Linda Odom, Recording Secretary Minutes approved by the Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission on December 18, 2017.