Consumer Affairs Commission

Consumer Affairs Commission Minutes December 8, 2021 In attendance: George Matthew, Ted Lavine, Nasko Pelinkaj, Anil Pillai, Jennifer Engel, Trustee Khoeun, Joanne Haeberlin, Gary Merrill (phone) Excused: Sam Pratap, Biju Krishnan Absent: Ruhul Chowdhury, Howard Meyer Meeting was called to order at 6:34. Intro topic. What is your favorite quote. Note: Brian Augustine is no longer staff liaison. Nasko will fill in. Minutes were approved. Skokie Hospital (NorthShore Health System) will present at our February meeting in answer to questions about emergency treatment. Thank you Trustee Khoeun for facilitating. After a short discussion it was decided to invite other commission chairs who would be involved in health care. Jewel ad discrepancy. Nasko brought an e-mail reply from Jewel. Really didn’t address our question as to why in the same time period ads directing shoppers to different stores had different prices. It was decided that Joanne should file the question with the State of Illinois Consumer Affairs. Need ad information from Nasko/Brian. Farmers Market. The drawing prize for Skokie Theatre was returned as the winner felt they would not use it as they didn’t live in Skokie. Nasko to draw another name from the redeemed cards. Jennifer to add contact information from the cards to the weekly market newsletter. Next year we will add additional marketing for the loyalty card program…. Weekly newsletter, Facebook, Instagram. Jennifer to investigate other local market booth fees so that Skokie is comparable. Entertainment is an added plus, Jennifer to add possible clown and balloon twister. Some entertainment requires a booking fee and some are tip based. Reconfigure market vendors to improve traffic flow. Relocate Market tent and CAC to other side of the market. Non-food vendors were a hit this year and next year plan to have 2-3 spaces each week on a rotating basis. Discussed the possibility of inviting fire department / health department for blood pressure screening appointments. Probable additional tent some weeks for other Commissions to be at the market on an occasional basis. We would probably need to purchase another tent. Trustee Khoeun to reach out to Sustainability. January meeting is cancelled. Miscellaneous. Ted reported that he had attended a meeting on cyber fraud presented by Chase Bank. Discussion about having a community meeting in the library. April? It was also brought up that the Illinois Attorney General and the Skokie Police Department do fraud presentations. Ted to forward contact information on Chase to Joanne. Trustee Khoeun to reach out to the Library. Meeting adjourned at 7:42. Joanne Haeberlin, Chair Next meeting: February 9 (2nd Wednesday of the month) Sec 2-812-Duties It shall be the duty of the Consumer Affairs Commission to coordinate consumer affairs activities, carry on educational activities on consumer matters, supervise the preparation of consumer affairs reports and recommend to the Mayor and the Board of Trustees ordinances, rules and regulations and methods of enforcement in relation to consumer affairs .