Board of Trustees

SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 2020 – 1:00 P.M. SPECIAL MEETING 1. Pledge of Allegiance led by Village Clerk Pramod C. Shah. 2. Call meeting to order and roll call. 3. Approve Notice of Special Meeting and concur with conducting Special Meeting. 4. Report of the Corporation Counsel. FIRST READING AND ADOPTION: A. Ordinance granting relief from portions of Chapter 2, Sections 2-38 and 2-42, of the Skokie Village Code for duration of the Gubernatorial Declaration of an Emergency Issued in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. 5. Report of the Village Manager. A. Update on COVID-19 in the Village of Skokie. 6. Adjournment. 566199v1  NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING A Special Meeting of the Skokie Village Board has been scheduled by the Mayor for Sunday, March 22, 2020 at 1:00 pm at Village Hall, 5127 Oakton Street, Skokie, in the Council Chambers. The agenda, which will be posted on the Village web-site and on the main door of Village Hall (5127 Oakton Street, Skokie) will contain one item for discussion and action as described below. This shall be the sole substantive matter on the agenda, although there will be required procedural matters. This meeting will be open to the public and will be livestreamed as well. On March 16, 2020, in order to promote social distancing as required in response to the COVID-19 health emergency, Governor Pritzker signed Executive Order No. 2020-07, which in part, allows local governments and public bodies relief from the Open Meetings Act requirements relating to in- person attendance at public meetings and permits elected officials to attend a public meeting by telephone, video conference or other electronic means and to record their vote on properly noticed action items. Further, the Order allows public bodies to conduct meetings electronically by telephone and video conferencing, without having to comply with the physical quorum requirement or any limitations on board members’ electronic participation. The term of this relief is the duration of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation. The Ordinance before the Board at the Sunday, March 22, 2020, 1:00 pm, Special Board Meeting will enable the Village Board to follow the provisions of the Governor’s Executive Order No. 2020-07 so such electronic meetings may be conducted for Village business with the public watching through streaming video. The Village of Skokie wants to keep all residents informed with the latest information and in the most safe and effective manner.  A MML: 3/22/20 1st reading and adoption THIS ORDINANCE MAY BE CITED AS VILLAGE ORDINANCE NUMBER 20-3-C- AN ORDINANCE GRANTING RELIEF FROM PORTIONS OF CHAPTER 2, SECTIONS 2-38 AND 2-42, OF THE SKOKIE VILLAGE CODE FOR THE DURATION OF THE GUBERNATORIAL DECLARATION OF AN EMERGENCY ISSUED IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC 1 WHEREAS, on March 16, 2020, in order to promote social distancing as required in 2 response to the COVID-19 health emergency, Governor Pritzker signed Executive Order No. 3 2020-07, (hereinafter “Order”) which in part allows local governments and public bodies relief 4 from the Open Meetings Act requirements relating to in-person attendance at public meetings 5 and permits elected officials to attend a public meeting by telephone, video conference or other 6 electronic means and to record their vote on properly noticed action items; and 7 8 WHEREAS, the Order also allows public bodies to conduct meetings electronically, 9 including by telephone or video conferencing, without having to comply with the physical 10 quorum requirement or any limitations on board members’ electronic participation. The term of 11 this relief is the duration of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation, issued on or about March 12 11, 2020 by Governor Pritzker; and 13 14 WHEREAS, the presence of COVID-19 has been identified in the Village of Skokie 15 (hereinafter “Skokie”) and the Village of Skokie Public Health Department has warned the 16 community of the growing impact of the virus and instructed specific steps, consistent with the 17 Center for Disease Control’s (hereinafter “CDC”) advisories, including but not limited to social 18 distancing as the best means to break the chain of COVID-19; and 19 20 WHEREAS, based on these warnings and to comply with the nationally recognized 21 practice of social distancing during the COVID-19 crisis, the Mayor and Board of Trustees, upon 22 the recommendation of the Village of Skokie Director of Public Health, have determined that all 23 Village of Skokie meetings, including the Village Board will be held electronically, including by 24 either telephone or video conferencing; and 25 26 WHEREAS, in order to keep the public informed and engaged in Skokie governance, 27 electronic meetings will be livestreamed to the pubic during real time and will also be made 28 available to the public on Skokie’s website subsequent to the meeting; and 29 30 WHEREAS, in order to allow public participation in the meetings and at the same time 31 achieve the critical practice of social distancing as required by the Village Public Health 32 Department and the CDC, written comments or questions regarding any item on the published 33 agenda or presented as a public comment, sent to the Village Manager’s Office by noon (12:00 34 pm) of the day of the scheduled meeting, will be read into or be made part of the minutes of the 35 meeting; and Page 1 of 3 VOSDOCS-#566156-v1-Ordinance__Granting_Relief_from_the_Village_Code__Chapter_2__Sections_2-38_&_2- 42__Gubernatorial_Declaration_of_an_Emergency 1 WHEREAS, Skokie’s first and foremost priority is the health, safety and well-being of its 2 residents and the public at large and given these most urgent and perilous health conditions, 3 Skokie is taking these actions in order to guarantee the orderly and ongoing conduct of Skokie 4 operations, including required public health actions while at the same time, establishing means 5 to keep the residents informed and engaged in the most effective manner possible; and 6 7 WHEREAS, the Corporation Counsel and the Village Manager recommended to the 8 Mayor and Board of Trustees that Chapter 2, Article II, a portion of Section 2-38 and 2-42 of the 9 Skokie Village Code be suspended for the duration of Governor Pritzker’s Executive Order 2020- 10 07 or until such time the Mayor and Board of Trustees take further action, whichever comes first; 11 and 12 WHEREAS, the Mayor and Board of Trustees at a special public meeting duly held on 13 March 22, 2020, concurred in the aforesaid recommendation of the Corporation Counsel and the 14 Village Manager; and 15 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED, by the Mayor and Board of Trustees of the 16 Village of Skokie, Cook County, Illinois; 17 Section 1: That the portion of Chapter 2, Article II, Section 2-38 of the Skokie Village 18 Code highlighted below is hereby suspended for the duration of Governor Pritzker’s Executive 19 Order 2020-07 or until such time the Mayor and Board of Trustees take further action, whichever 20 comes first. 21 Sec. 2-38. Quorum and majority vote. 22 (a) A quorum of the Mayor and Board of Trustees shall consist of a majority of 23 the entire Board of Trustees. Any 4 of the 7 members of the Board of Trustees 24 shall constitute a quorum. A quorum shall be necessary to transact the business 25 of the Board of Trustees. Members of the Board of Trustees shall only be 26 considered in attendance at a meeting if such member is physically present. 27 Attendance by electronic means at a meeting of the Board of Trustees is hereby 28 prohibited. 29 … 30 Section 2: That Chapter 2, Article II, Section 2-42 of the Skokie Village Code highlighted 31 below is hereby suspended and the procedures and requirement’s set forth in Section 3 below 32 shall be given full force and effect for the duration of Governor Pritzker’s Executive Order 2020-07 33 or until such time the Mayor and Board of Trustees take further action, whichever comes first. 34 Sec. 2-42. Meetings to be open to public. 35 All meetings of the Mayor and Board of Trustees shall be open to the public 36 except as provided by ordinance or statute. 37 Section 3: The following procedures and requirements are hereby adopted for public 38 meetings conducted electronically, including by telephone or video conferencing, when the 39 participants are not present in-person and the public is not in physically in attendance: 40 a. Notice of any meeting, including the Village Board and all advisory commissions and 41 boards to be held electronically must conform to the same rules of notice and delivery 42 of notice as in-person meetings; 43 b. All business to be conducted and reports to be provided for any meeting, including the 44 Village Board and advisory commissions and boards, to be held electronically must be Page 2 of 3 VOSDOCS-#566156-v1-Ordinance__Granting_Relief_from_the_Village_Code__Chapter_2__Sections_2-38_&_2- 42__Gubernatorial_Declaration_of_an_Emergency 1 set forth in a published agenda posted at Village Hall and on the Village of Skokie 2 website at least 48 hours before such meeting; 3 c. Meetings, including Village Board meetings held electronically pursuant to this Section 4 shall include and permit the making of motions and the right to vote on any matter 5 brought at the meeting with the same effect and authority as if offered at an in-person 6 meeting; 7 d. All Village Board meetings held electronically pursuant to this Section shall be 8 recorded and minutes shall be prepared and presented for approval at the next Board 9 meeting; 10 e. All Village Board meetings held electronically pursuant to this Section shall be 11 streamed live and available to watch or listen to subsequent to the meeting; 12 f. Members of the public who wish to comment as to an item on the published agenda or 13 to comment during public comments must submit their statement or question in writing 14 to the Village Manager’s Office no later than by noon (12:00 pm) on the day of the 15 scheduled meeting and all properly submitted statements or questions will be 16 presented and read during the relevant portion of the meeting; and 17 g. Any Board member who intends to participate in a meeting electronically and not in 18 person, shall notify the Mayor and/or the Village Manager prior to the scheduled 19 meeting. 20 21 Section 3: That this Ordinance shall be in full force and effect immediately after its 22 passage and approval in the manner provided by two-thirds of the corporate authorities of the 23 Village. 24 ADOPTED this day of March, 2020. Ayes: Nays: Village Clerk Absent: Attested and filed in my office Approved by me this day of this day of March, 2020; March, 2020. and published by the authority of the Mayor and Board of Trustees of the Village of Skokie Approved by me this day of April, 2020. Mayor, Village of Skokie Village Clerk 25 Page 3 of 3 VOSDOCS-#566156-v1-Ordinance__Granting_Relief_from_the_Village_Code__Chapter_2__Sections_2-38_&_2- 42__Gubernatorial_Declaration_of_an_Emergency