President and Board of Trustees

123 Madison Street Village of Oak Park Oak Park, Illinois 60302 www.oak-park.us Meeting Minutes President and Board of Trustees Monday, November 23, 2020 5:30 PM Village Hall I. Call to Order Village President Abu-Taleb called the meeting to order at 5:30 P.M. He authorized a statement be read providing that the meeting is being held remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines and that it is not prudent to have people present at the Village Board's regular meeting location due to public health concerns related to that pandemic. II. Roll Call Present: 7- Village President Abu-Taleb, Village Trustee Andrews, Village Trustee Boutet, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Moroney, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla Absent: 0 III. Agenda Approval Village Trustee Boutet and Village Trustee Taglia asked that item C be moved from the Consent Agenda to the Regular Agenda. It was moved by Village Trustee Andrews, seconded by Village Trustee Boutet, to approve the Agenda as amended. AYES: 7- Village President Abu-Taleb, Village Trustee Andrews, Village Trustee Boutet, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Moroney, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 0 IV. Non-Agenda Public Comment Kim Murphy: Kim provided public comment in support of Hit It! Fitness. Dana Rosales: Dana shared her positive experience with Hit It! Fitness and the positive impact this business continues to have on the Oak Park community. Sharon Foley: Sharon requested that no sanctions be taken against Constance Contursi at her place of business, Hit It! Fitness located on South Boulevard due to complaints from neighbors of noise. Jerome Brown: Jerome provided a letter of support for Hit It! Fitness, urging the Village to find a resolution that does not require this business to close. Village of Oak Park Page 1 Printed on 12/8/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes November 23, 2020 Glenn Johnson: Glenn urged the Village to support small businesses that support people during these trying times. He hopes the Village can work with Constance (owner of Hit It! Fitness) to remain open for business. Constance Contursi: Constance, owner of Hit It! Fitness, provided detailed documentation on the various accounts and interactions with the Village of Oak Park from early August 2020 through November 13, 2020. She urged the Village to facilitate an objective, reasoned and practical resolution between her business and the complainants. V. Consent Agenda VI. Approval of the Consent Agenda Village Trustee Boutet moved and Village Trustee Buchanan seconded to approve the Items under the Consent Agenda. The roll call was as follows: AYES: 7- Village President Abu-Taleb, Village Trustee Andrews, Village Trustee Boutet, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Moroney, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 0 A. RES 20-234 A Resolution Approving an Independent Contractor Agreement with Davis Tree Care and Landscape, Incorporated for Village Wide Parkway Tree Pruning and Removal in 2021 in an Amount Not to Exceed $350,000.00 and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. B. RES 20-235 A Resolution Approving an Independent Contractor Agreement with A & B Landscaping and Tree Service, Inc. for Village Wide Parkway Tree Removal and Stumping Services in 2021 in an Amount Not to Exceed $270,000.00 and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. VI. Regular Agenda C. ORD 20-127 An Ordinance Approving a Second Amendment to the Redevelopment Agreement for the 700-728 Madison Street Redevelopment Project between the Village of Oak Park, Jupiter Realty Company, LLC (Jupiter), Oak Park Madison Street LLC (Pete’s) and AH Oak Park, LLC and Authorizing its Execution Heidi Ruehle: Heidi requested the Village Board to reject changes in the Pete's Fresh Market revised RDA before the Plan Commission Public Hearing in December. Village of Oak Park Page 2 Printed on 12/8/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes November 23, 2020 Frank Heitzman: Frank provided public comment as a member and on behalf of the Save the Hill Coalition. The Coalition urged the Village to remove the new concept plan from the deliberations and allow the Plan Commission's Public Hearing process to determine the best resolution. Frank Lipo: Frank requested the Village Board to reject the changes in Pete’s Fresh Market RDA. A change of this magnitude should not be allowed after the application has been submitted. Updates are reasonable. Changing legal agreements to benefit the developer should not be allowed. Village Manager Cara Pavlicek provided an overview of the ordinance to approve a second amendment to the Redevelopment Agreement for the 700-728 Madison Street Redevelopment Project. The amendment includes updating of the concept plan and updating the time tables. Village President Abu-Taleb mentioned the Madison Street Corridor has not been a good asset with so many vacancies. Pete’s Fresh Market is making the building bigger to make it more efficient. While Village President Abu-Taleb hoped the development would be further along in the process, the pandemic has caused delays. He urged the need to activate this corridor of Oak Park/Madison. Village Trustee Andrews asked, how much would it cost to preserve the façade? Eugene responded approximately $1.4/$1.5 million to salvage, or approximately $2.5 million to add it to the current footprint. Village Trustee Boutet noted that the second amendment gives the Village Board a moment to think about the economic impact of this project. Three grocery stores (SugarBeet, Jewel and Carnivale) could possibly close with this project. Village Trustee Boutet did not think this was a good economic idea for the village, and the Village Board should consider the economic impact on the Village as a whole. Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla asked if the Plan Commission could provide their feedback on the proposed changes. She requested to see this ordinance amendment on the upcoming Plan Commission meeting. Village Trustee Andrews mentioned that SugarBeet provided feedback and said Pete's Fresh Market on Madison Street would not have a negative net effect on their business. If the developer can not preserve the façade, Village Trustee Andrews trusts the developer has done all they can to attempt do so. Village Trustee Moroney asked staff if this is the biggest incentive the Village has ever offered? He was under the impression the Vantage and Wight Co. building amounts were larger. Village Manager Pavlicek did not believe it was larger than the incentives the Village offered the Vantage building or Wight Co. Village Trustee Moroney also asked, when this amendment is scheduled to go to Plan Commission? Director Grossman responded in January 2021. Village of Oak Park Page 3 Printed on 12/8/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes November 23, 2020 Village Trustee Moroney asked, what is the benefit of approving demolition? Stephanie responded that they have to complete demolition to start construction. The developers lost the 2020 construction season due to the pandemic. Demolition of the building will take approximately 6-8 weeks to get the building down safely and correctly. We want to move forward with this project with construction starting in Spring 2021. Village Trustee Moroney also asked if the developers had any plans for the historic pieces of the building? Eugene responded yes, the plan is to have the pieces preserved and displayed on a screen wall. It was moved by Village Trustee Andrews, seconded by Village Trustee Taglia, that this Ordinance be adopted. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 5- Village President Abu-Taleb, Village Trustee Andrews, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Moroney, and Village Trustee Taglia NAYS: 2- Village Trustee Boutet, and Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla ABSENT: 0 D. MOT 20-073 A Motion to Concur with the Transportation Commission’s Recommendation to Support Staff’s Recommendation to Expand the On-Street Parking Permit Zones by Either Adding Spaces Within the Zones’ Boundaries or Expanding the Existing Zones’ Boundaries as Depicted in the Attached Maps and Direct Staff to Prepare the Necessary Ordinance Village Manager Pavlicek provided an overview of the motion. Staff recommended and reviewed with the Transportation Commission approval of this motion to expand the parking zones. Village Trustee Boutet asked if staff was recommending to add parking spaces. Director Grossman noted that there is an attachment with each zone in its own map. Staff looked at each of the parking zones, made recommendations then presented those recommendations to Transportation Commission. The recommendations allows people to park closer to their apartments. Village Trustee Boutet inquired about expanded parking on the 700 block of Carpenter. Director Grossman said, yes. That area would be within Zone Y4. Those individuals are not looking for additional parking on Carpenter. The Village added parking on Grove and Home within that zone. Village Trustee Andrews mentioned this is a step in the right direction, but this does not solve the problem. He proposed an overnight park-anywhere permit program. This would allow permit holders to park anywhere they want, with consideration to various parking restrictions. Village of Oak Park Page 4 Printed on 12/8/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes November 23, 2020 Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla agreed with Village Trustee Andrews comment that this recommendation does not solve the parking problem. This is an equity issue for our residents. She asked, how do we get to a system where our residents don’t pay an undue expense for not having a garage? Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla will support the staff recommendation, but insisted the Village needs to create something better moving forward. She also wants to review current pricing. Village Trustee Taglia agrees with this recommendation and also thinks Village Trustee Andrews' proposal should be explored on a trial basis. Village Trustee Boutet noted that to manage parking in Oak Park is multi-faceted and a tough balance. This is an area that needs to come from staff and those whose expertise is in traffic planning. Village Trustee Andrews' proposal is not a well-developed plan. Village Trustee Boutet agreed with Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla that this is an equity issue. Village Trustee Moroney agreed with the recommendation from staff and the Transportation Commission. Village Trustee Buchanan agreed with expanding zones to accommodate more residents. Village Trustee Andrews officially moved to have a trial period for his proposal. He recommended to have staff come back to the Village Board with the number of spots to be included in the trial period. Village Trustee Boutet urged the Village Board not to use the role of Village Trustee to solve problems that staff work to solve. Village President Abu-Taleb asked Village Trustee Andrews to walk him through his proposal. Village Trustee Andrews suggested having a secondary overnight parking permit which allows residents to park in any legally designated overnight area. Village President Abu-Taleb supported Village Trustee Andrews' motion. A roll call was taken on the Village Trustee Andrews' motion: Village Trustee Taglia, yes; Village Trustee Buchanan, yes; Village Trustee Moroney, yes for a 12-month trial period, Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla, supportive of the general idea but did not agree with the greater cost of permits; Village Trustee Boutet, did not agree with charging more and did not agree the Village Trustee Andrews' proposal without knowing what staff would propose. It was moved by Village Trustee Andrews, seconded by Village Trustee Moroney, that this Motion be approved. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 7- Village President Abu-Taleb, Village Trustee Andrews, Village Trustee Boutet, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Moroney, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla NAYS: 0 Village of Oak Park Page 5 Printed on 12/8/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes November 23, 2020 ABSENT: 0 E. MOT 20-074 A Motion to Concur with the Transportation Commission’s Recommendation to Support Staff’s Recommendation to Expand the Number of Available Overnight Passes from 10 to 15 Per Month Between April 1st and October 31st and Direct Staff to Prepare the Necessary Ordinance Village Manager Cara provided a brief overview of the Transportation Commission’s recommendation to support staff’s recommendation to expand the number of available overnight passes from 10 to 15 per month between April 1st and October 31st. Village Trustee Boutet asked how the dates effect snow removal? Director Grossman responded, Director of Public Works reviewed the proposal and supported the expansion of overnight passes with the caveat that it would not adversely impact snow removal or leaf collection. Village Trustee Moroney asked if there will be a maximum number overnight passes a person can use annually? Director Grossman confirmed there is a maximum number a person can use annually. 15 maximum passes monthly x 12 months each year = a maximum of 180 overnight passes annually. Director Grossman mentioned that at times people new to the community will use overnight passes while they determine their long-term overnight parking options. Overnight passes are also used by kids who come home to visit and by residents who store items in their garage. Overnight passes are primarily used for overnight guests. It was moved by Village Trustee Andrews, seconded by Village Trustee Buchanan, that this Motion be approved. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 7- Village President Abu-Taleb, Village Trustee Andrews, Village Trustee Boutet, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Moroney, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 0 F. ID 20-324 Presentation of Proposals for Business Community Support for Discussion and Staff Direction continued from November 16, 2020 Village Trustee Andrews provided a report from the Task Force meeting. The task force decided on the A5 proposal. Village Trustee Boutet and Village Trustee Andrews attended the Business Task Force meeting, but did not vote, only the business owners on the task force. They found that the A5 proposal was more cost effective and provided better timing. The task force will act as the primary stake holder that A5 will work with directly. Village President Abu-Taleb recommended not to remove staff from this Village of Oak Park Page 6 Printed on 12/8/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes November 23, 2020 process. Staff will be accountable to ensure the funds for this project are being paid responsibly to A5. Village Manager Pavlicek asked the Village Board if the request is for $15,000 to be allocated on development and $15,000 to be allocated on marketing, totaling $30,000? Village Trustee Boutet, Taglia and Walker-Peddakotla agreed with the allocation funds totaling $30,000. Village Trustee Andrews would like to cap at a larger amount so there is flexibility. He recommended a cap at $30,000 with an additional $10,000 for staff to be able to spend, if necessary. G. ID 20-329 Presentation on Outdoor Winter Dining Concepts for Discussion Village Manager provided a brief overview. Jim Lencione presented four options for outdoor winter dining. The Village Board discussed these options and how the covid restrictions are subject to change per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Cook County and State of Illinois guidelines. Staff will look further into this presentation and come back to the Village Board with further recommendations. VII. Regular Agenda for Items Pursuant to Village Code Chapter 3 Alcoholic Liquor Dealers or Related (President Pro-Tem Boutet) H. ID 20-326 Motion to consent to Liquor Commissioner Boutet’s Appointment of: Liquor Control Review Board - Vanessa Matheny, Appoint as Chair Village Trustee Boutet provided a brief introduction the her recommendation for Chair of the Liquor Control Review Board Vanessa Matheny. She stated that Vanessa was chosen amongst her peers to serve in this position. It was moved by Village Trustee Andrews, seconded by Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla, that this Appointment be approved. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 7- Village President Abu-Taleb, Village Trustee Andrews, Village Trustee Boutet, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Moroney, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 0 VIII. Call to the Board Village Trustee Taglia brought attention to the support the Village has Village of Oak Park Page 7 Printed on 12/8/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes November 23, 2020 invested including the significant sum of money and staff time during this difficult time. Village Trustee Moroney encouraged people to acknowledge what the Village is already doing before indicating what is not being done. Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla mentioned there is still a very high covid case count in Oak Park. She urged people not to celebrate with people outside of their home. Stay home. Wear a mask. Village Trustee Andrews thanked the business recovery task force members. He wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Village Trustee Buchanan did not have a comment. Village Trustee Boutet urged the Village to talk to the people who believe they are not being served the way we need to serve them and focus on being responsive to listening. Clerk Scaman wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. IX. Adjourn It was moved by Village Trustee Moroney, seconded by Village Trustee Andrews to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:22 P.M., Monday November 23, 2020. AYES: 7- Village President Abu-Taleb, Village Trustee Andrews, Village Trustee Boutet, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Moroney, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 0 Respectfully Submitted, Deputy Village Clerk Christina Waters Village of Oak Park Page 8 Printed on 12/8/2020