Senior Services Commission

Approved Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Senior Services Commission Village of Northbrook May 12, 2016 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. at Crestwood Place Senior Apartments, Activity Room. Present were Chairman Rosenberg and members Bachrach, Caldwell, Hazaray, Lefkow, Moore, and Stern. Also present was Assistant Director of Finance Betsy Garibaldi, Realty and Mortgage (R&M) Representative Jaworski, Assistant to the Manager Janet Rhode and Recorder Anetsberger. Guests Northbrook President Sandra Frum, Village Trustee Robert Israel, Pioneer Press Reporter Irv Leavitt and approximately 40 residents of Crestwood Place. Review and Approval of Minutes A motion to accept the March 10, 2016 Senior Services Commission minutes was made by Member Caldwell and seconded by Member Hazaray. The motion was approved by unanimous voice vote. Chairman's Report Chairman Rosenberg announced that Member David Bachrach has resigned from the Commission. Applications are available at tonight's meeting for any Crestwood resident who would like to be considered for appointment to the Commission. Chairman Rosenberg thanked Member Bachrach for his service. Chairman Rosenberg welcomed new Commissioner, Michael Lefkow and announced the reappointment of Members Ganitopoulos and Stern. Chairman Rosenberg announced that there were several topics on the agenda for tonight's meeting that are of a controversial nature. He asked that the audience be respectful, keep comments to a five minute maximum amount of time, remarks should address the Commission and cross conversation is to be avoided. Manager's Report Assistant to the Manager Janet Rhode reported that Crestwood sought the three required quotes for HVAC replacement and asked the Commission to approve the bid from Corcoran Heating and Air Conditioning for $9,691.88. A motion was made by Commissioner Lefkow and seconded by Member Caldwell to go with the bid from Corcoran Heating and Air Conditioning to replace the HVAC unit on Building C. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. Assistant to the Manager Janet Rhode reported that at the present time Crestwood Place is 100% occupied. Budget and Finance  1) Review of February 2016 Financial Report There were no issues with the statement. Member Stern, seconded by Member Hazaray moved to approve the February 2016 Financial Report. On voice vote, the motion passed. 2) Review of March 2016 Financial Report There were no issues with the statement. Member Caldwell, seconded by Member Moore moved to approve the March 2016 Financial Report. On voice vote, the motion passed. Old Business 1) Recycling Program At the March 10, 2016 meeting, the Senior Services Commission discussed, based upon information received from Manager Crane, that recycling bins were being used by residents for materials other than allowed. A suggestion was made going forward to only allow paper product recycling at Crestwood Place. Manager Crane was to notify the residents and the item was placed on the agenda for tonight's meeting. Chairman Rosenberg asked that a letter dated April 8, 2016 from Becky Ofsalof to the Environmental Quality Commission and the Senior Services Commission be read into the record. The subject of the letter was, "recycling changes at Crestwood Place." Discussion was opened to the Commissioners. Member Bachrach stated that Management offered a lack of response to the petition circulated from approximately 50 Crestwood residents asking for more recycling containers throughout the building. The petition was not made available to the Commission for review at the March 2016 meeting. The end result was that more recycling containers were not provided for residents and recycling was limited to only paper. Chairman Rosenberg opened the floor to the general public for discussion. Tara Wesselink, member of the community and employee of the YMCA works with recycling at the YMCA and offered her resources to Crestwood. A Crestwood resident stated that it is everybody's duty and right to recycle and if someone is doing it incorrectly, they should be taken aside and enlightened. A Crestwood resident stated that a lack of recycling within the building may be due to ignorance. Recycling information should be included in world languages and getting help with language is paramount. Barb Gerlman of Go Green Northbrook supports everyone who wants to recycle. She committed the resources of Go Green Northbrook. A Crestwood resident stated that she is taking her recycling elsewhere in lieu of not being able to participate in a full recycling program at Crestwood. A Crestwood resident stated that recycling bins should be in every unit and the recycling should be collected. A Crestwood resident suggested using universal signage on the bins. Member Bachrach stated that the idea behind the petition was to get more recycling bins so neighbors using mobile devices did not have to go to the fourth floor to recycle. Member Bachrach offered suggestions where to place more bins. Member Stern stated that it is not acceptable that a building of the size of Crestwood should not have a working recycling program. Member Hazaray is happy that residents want to recycle. He feels that education and access to bins is the answer. He also suggests accepting help from the YMCA and have the refuse company come out to make a presentation to residents. Member Stern added that Management and residents should come together to design and implement a plan with regards to education and placement of recycling bins. He feels it is up to the residents to make sure all are in compliance. Member Moore recommended a task force to identify the problem and hold reasonable discussion on the issue. Chairman Rosenberg asked for volunteers at tonight's meeting who would like to be on the task force and that "Recycling at Crestwood" be put on the July Senior Services meeting agenda as an action item. 2) Staff Evaluations Chairman Rosenberg stated he is in receipt of staff evaluations presented from Realty and Mortgage. The Commissioners will review the documents at their July meeting. A resident asked if Crestwood residents were able to participate in the staff evaluation process. Chairman Rosenberg reported that they were not eligible to participate at this time but that the Commission will take it under consideration. New Business 1) Update on Bed Bug Infestation Chairman Rosenberg read the timeline on bed bug infestation provided to the Commission by Manager Crane into the record. Chairman Rosenberg reported on the action management took with regard to treatment of the problem using vendors, Campbell and Rose. Chairman Rosenberg questions 1) Why was this matter not brought to the Commission at the March meeting? 2) Why was it not addressed in the Manager's report for this meeting? 3) Why were tenants not notified until April 15, 2016? Chairman Rosenberg inquired if the Commission and/or Realty and Mortgage had any questions. No comments were received. The floor was opened to the general public for discussion. A tenant reported that even though the building was stated to be free of current infestation she reported that she received a bite on Monday, May 9, 2016. A technician came in on Tuesday and found a bed bug. The tenant stated that the report is not current. Chairman Rosenberg reinforced the need for everyone to notify the office with regard to infestation. A resident stated that many tenants saw the trucks but question Management's judgment of not notifying the tenants in a timely manner. The resident also questioned the treatment process. Assistant to the Manager Janet Rhode answered that all protocols were followed by the two professional companies that were being used to abate the problem and that they were following the advice of the professionals. Assistant to the Manager Janet Rhode stated in regards to informing the rest of the building community, the decision was made to not release the news at the time bed bugs were first discovered as Management did not want to cause hysteria. Bed bugs were found in four apartments in Building A. Commissioner Stern asked if the bed bugs can move between apartments? Assistant to the Manager Janet Rhode stated, "yes" and "If folks visit each other in the common areas, the bugs can be transported." Janet answered that because of the concrete roofs and floors within the building, the risks for bugs becoming mobile were less likely. Realty and Mortgage (R&M) Representative Jaworski said the cost of inspection is $350 per unit. Commissioner Bachrach questioned the use of chemicals, stating that the most efficient treatment was the use of heat treatment. He stated that this was a very serious problem and that it was not treated correctly. (Applause from the audience.) Realty and Mortgage (R&M) Representative Jaworski answered that as soon as R&M learned of the infestation, they contacted the exterminator immediately, did not wait, and followed the instructions provided by the exterminator. A Crestwood resident stated she recently came home from the hospital and was bed ridden. She felt Buildings B and C should have been inspected. They were not. A Crestwood resident stated that one of the tenants with the infestation was doing his/her entire closet in the community laundry room. That tenant was supposed to wash his/her clothes off of the premises. A Crestwood tenant stated that if you only spray, the bed bugs will find some other place to go. Commissioner Hazaray asked R&M if only heat treatment has shown to be effective, why were chemicals used. R&M answered that they initially used Campbell and when it was beyond Campbell's abilities, Campbell suggested that Rose be called in. Commission Caldwell stated that there are services and dogs that can be used to detect infestation and stated that bed bugs are non-discriminatory and are very mobile. Chairman Rosenberg stated that the health and safety of all of the tenants in the building is of utmost concern and supported the idea of looking into dog inspection. Chairman Rosenberg thinks all of the buildings should be inspected and will look into costs and how soon an inspection can be performed. A Crestwood resident asked if a tenant can be asked to leave due to bed bug infestation. Realty and Mortgage (R&M) Representative Jaworski answered that the tenant's apartment and his truck were both treated for infestation and that he/she has every right to stay at Crestwood. A Crestwood resident asked what areas received heat treatment. Assistant to the Manager Janet Rhode answered that within Building A, four apartments that were found to have bedbugs and the surrounding units were treated, plus the common areas and laundry room. All of the other residential units in Building A were inspected. Only one apartment received heat treatment. 2) Office Hours It was incorrectly reflected in the March 2016 minutes that the business office at Crestwood is open from 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Correct office hours are 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Signage posted outside the Crestwood Business Office after the March 2016 meeting reflect that at certain times during normal business hours, the office is unmanned and closed. Assistant to the Manager Janet Rhode answered that Manager Crane has been ill and that she has performed to the best of her ability in her absence. Chairman Rosenberg stated he had the assurance from Manager Crane at the March Senior Services Commission meeting that the Business Office would be open from 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. on normal days. Chairman Rosenberg stated it is R&M's responsibility to provide that the business office always has coverage during the day. Commissioner Moore stated that the Commission was assured by R&M that no matter the problem, the office would always be open during normal business hours. 3) Notification in Multiple Languages Chairman Rosenberg stated that many nationalities and languages were represented at Crestwood Place and many still speak in their mother tongue. Yiddish, Russian, Ukrainian, Tagalog, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Polish are all represented. He stated the importance of everyone understanding important communications and therefore felt the need for a language census. Commissioner Moore asked if any Crestwood residents would be able to volunteer to help with signage in their native language. A Crestwood resident suggested asking the Glenbrook North World Language Department for help. Another Crestwood resident suggested using world universal signs and symbols. Hear from the Audience Commissioner Bachrach thanked everyone for the opportunity to have served on the Commission and for being a representative of the tenants at Crestwood Place. A Crestwood resident stated that the little alley near Walgreens has two new potholes and is a health and safety issue. A Crestwood resident asked about tenants who have issues with hording. Realty and Mortgage (R&M) Representative Jaworski stated that they will follow up. A Crestwood resident asked how tenants were vetted for apartment rental due to the fact that many have language issues. Assistant to the Manager Janet Rhode explained Crestwood's rental qualification process to the audience and stated that generally tenants are either senior Northbrook residents or parents of a Northbrook resident but that no discrimination is involved. A Crestwood resident asked if bus service was available from Crestwood to the Leisure Center. Assistant Manager Janet stated that the bus is contracted for Monday mornings and Tuesday afternoons. Adjourn A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. The next meeting will be held on Thursday, July 14, 2016, at 7 p.m. at the Village Hall Terrace Room. /s/S. Anetsberger Recorder