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HomeMy WebLinkAboutr - September 14 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING September 14, 2005 The regular Committee of the Whole meeting was called to order by Mayor Schock at 6:02 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Present: Councilmembers Figueroa, Kaptain, Rodgers, Sandor, Walters and Mayor Schock. Absent: Councilmember Gilliam. Approval of Minutes Councilmember Walters made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Figueroa, to approve the minutes of the August 24, 2005, regular meeting. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Figueroa, Kaptain, Rodgers, Sandor, Walters and Mayor Schock. Nays: None. Welcome to Students from University of Guttengern, Netherlands Mayor Schock welcomed a special group of guests attending tonight’s meeting. They are undergraduate and graduate level students of Human Geography and Planning from the University of Gronigen in the Netherlands. They have been in the Midwest, and today they took a tour of our City. He welcomed them to Elgin and hoped the day had been productive and useful for them. Mayor Schock said everyone may have noticed that our guests are all very tall, and that one of the professors informed him that Scandinavians are among the tallest people in the world as a group. Consideration of a Resolution to Close a Portion of State Route 31 for the Hispanic Heritage Month Parade A resolution will be presented at tonight’s Council meeting for adoption by the City Council. Presentation by the Elgin Recreation Center (ERC) Judy Jobe, Secretary of the Board of Directors for the Elgin Recreation Center, stated that the ERC mission is to offer the community life-changing alternatives to gangs and drugs. Since 1993 ERC has worked to provide recreation, education, and gang prevention and intervention programs to benefit the city and citizens of Elgin. ERC services are available to anyone in the community, but they are targeted to youth and young adults who are involved in gang activity, as well as, youth who are at risk for gang and drug involvement because of their economic status and/or lack of parental supervision. Currently ERC services over 2,400 members and an additional 300 non-members who made over 60,000 visits to ERC in 2004. Ms. Jobe stated that the ERC serves a wide and varied demographic market. She described in detail the programs offered, which are operating at capacity and are overextended. The recreation programs guide members to pursue victory with honor, respect, integrity, and teamwork as the guiding principles. The education program is trying to develop life-long learning processes in and youths in all of their programs are encouraged to succeed in school. Adults are also offered educational opportunities through the ERC as well. The gang prevention and intervention programs offer second, and sometimes third chances, allowing a person to learn life skills, help increase self- esteem, and to make positive choices. The ERC Board of Directors has taken many steps over the last three years to position the Committee of the Whole September 14, 2005 Page 2 agency for growth. Participating in board training, hiring a full-time administrator, adopting strategic planning, fund-raising and marketing plans, and working to diversify the current funding streams, are all projects that have taken priority. Ms. Jobe outlined their plans to expand existing programs and to offer additional programs. The ERC board and staff are proud to serve the residents of Elgin, they like what they do, and they will continue to work to meet the needs of the community. Ms. Jobe stated they would like very much for Councilmembers to visit ERC and see the programs in action. Presentation by the Downtown Neighborhood Association Steve Munson, President of the Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA), introduced Norma Miess, Executive Director, who expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to share the vision of DNA, which is a coalition that comes together with businesses, property owners, residents, the City of Elgin and their partners in the state, and the National Main Street organization. DNA’s vision is to build a destination where the community can enjoy working and living. Its mission is to represent the downtown’s interest in seeing that it is vital, successful, and flourishing. Its purpose is to foster a center of activity for the downtown and to ensure economic stability for the heart of Elgin. In 1998, a number of businesses and stakeholders came together to establish this organization, and they looked at what structure would be most helpful to get the organization going and to keep and maintain a level of solid and strong operations. They did this through the Illinois Main Street program, which DNA adopted in 2000. DNA became an Illinois Main Street community with active designation in 2002 and the National Main Street community in 2004. These designations were achieved by meeting required criteria, which includes examining the progress of downtown revitalization efforts, involvement of public and private partnerships, and the operations of the organization that administers the program. Ms. Miess stated that they are very happy to report that DNA has continued throughout the years to manage its program through the four point approach, which includes focus on design, promotion, economic restructuring, and organization. Steve Munson described some of the organization’s methods used to enhance the appearance of downtown. They include offering free design assistance workshops and providing construction and architectural consultations to anyone interested in doing business downtown. Over the years, residential and commercial tours have been offered to emphasize what exists downtown. Through its partnership with Judson College, students in the architectural program photograph the buildings and document them with AutoCAD drawings. A block captain program was started last year to establish a point of contact for communication with the public and to keep area businesses informed regarding what is happening in the neighborhood. One-on-one support for businesses includes partnering with the Elgin Community College Small Business Development Center to consult with business owners, recognizing business efforts with Illinois Main Street and DNA awards, ribbon cuttings, recruitment support and referrals to the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce, and City of Elgin Economic Development Department to guide them in the right direction. Marketing the downtown area is done through the following methods: producing and distributing Committee of the Whole September 14, 2005 Page 3 coupons to be used downtown; having a brochure providing a guide to the downtown placed in hotels; business flyers; a brochure in conjunction with the dinosaur exhibit at the library; and a list of downtown retail businesses. An out-to-lunch activity is held the last Monday of every month which brings people into different downtown restaurants. DNA promotes events such as the 4th of July parade, the carnivals, the Harvest Market, the Elgin Cycling Classic, and the Window Wonderland in December. These events bring people downtown where they can see the improvements which have been made and the continued revitalization occurring downtown. A short video was then shown containing testimonials about all the good things happening in downtown Elgin and the benefits of being involved with DNA. Consideration of a Contract with Gail Borden Library for Police Services Councilmember Figueroa made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Sandor, to approve a one year agreement with Gail Borden Public Library for police services at a cost of $5,191. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Figueroa, Kaptain, Rodgers, Sandor, Walters, and Mayor Schock. Nays: None. Consideration of a Contract with Motorola for a Rebanding Study to Modify the Existing Radio System Councilmember Walters made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Rodgers, to authorize a contract with Motorola for a design effort to modify our existing radio system as required by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Figueroa, Kaptain, Rodgers, Sandor, Walters, and Mayor Schock. Nays: None. Consideration of Phase 3 of the Fox River Study Group’s Watershed Investigation Councilmember Rodgers made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Walters, to approve funding for Phase 3 of the Fox River Study Group’s Watershed Investigation in the amount of $47,500. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Figueroa, Kaptain, Rodgers, Sandor, Walters, and Mayor Schock. Nays: None. Consideration of a Business Improvement Grant for Brittain’s Car Wash at 1570 Larkin Avenue Councilmember Walters made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Figueroa, to approve a business improvement grant with Randy Brittain for improvement to 1570 Larkin Avenue in the amount of $25,000. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Figueroa, Kaptain, Rodgers, Sandor, Walters, and Mayor Schock. Nays: None. Consideration of Acceptance of Public Improvements in the Slough Business Center II Committee of the Whole September 14, 2005 Page 4 Subdivision Councilmember Figueroa made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Rodgers, to accept water main, storm sewer, sanitary sewer, and pavement improvements, including their appurtenances for the Slough Business Center II Subdivision and direct staff to prepare the necessary resolution. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Figueroa, Kaptain, Rodgers, Sandor, Walters, and Mayor Schock. Nays: None. Consideration of a Chronic Nuisance Property Abatement Ordinance Corporation Counsel Cogley responded to Councilmembers’ request for clarification regarding certain provisions of the proposed “Chronic Nuisance Property” ordinance. He also stated that the advantage of the proposed nuisance abatement ordinance compared to the City’s existing nuisance ordinance is that it does not include a requirement that the illegal acts on a property be committed by members of a gang. The proposed ordinance would apply to all properties at which the enumerated illegal acts occur regardless of whether such illegal acts were committed by members of a gang. The proposed ordinance is based upon the chronic nuisance ordinance adopted in 1996 by the City of Kankakee. According to representatives from the City of Kankakee, the ordinance has been used successfully on a number of instances in dealing with problem properties. Councilmember Sandor made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Figueroa, to approve the proposed ordinance for adoption relating to chronic nuisance property. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Figueroa, Kaptain, Rodgers, Sandor, Walters, and Mayor Schock. Nays: None. Consideration of Adoption of the 2003 International Building Code and Other Related Codes Councilmember Kaptain made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Figueroa, to place the new building codes, with amendments, as proposed by the Building Commission, on file for 30 days, for public comment, and adopt the codes when the publication requirements allow. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Figueroa, Kaptain, Rodgers, Sandor, Walters, and Mayor Schock. Nays: None. Consideration of a Mutual Aid Agreement with Kane County, the State of Illinois, and the Federal Government Councilmember Sandor made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Rodgers, to authorize the Mayor to sign these two agreements with Kane County and the State of Illinois. Further, it is recommended that the City Council formally pass a resolution adopting NIMS. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Figueroa, Kaptain, Rodgers, Sandor, Walters, and Mayor Schock. Nays: None. Announcements from Council Committee of the Whole September 14, 2005 Page 5 Councilmember comments regarding victims of Hurricane Katrina brought to Elgin Mental Health Center: Councilmember Sandor stated that last Sunday, Elgin received approximately 30 visitors who were brought to Elgin through the efforts of the federal government, after being evacuated from New Orleans. He stated that the outpouring of support from the community and the work done by the City to make the evacuees stay a little bit nicer was overwhelming. All of the support staff in the City, from the police department, the fire department, public works, and the receptionists who did a great job of fielding phone calls advising where people could donate items or volunteer their efforts, and did a wonderful job. It proves that Elgin is a great place to live. Councilmember Walters stated that a number of Councilmembers worked at the free Elgin Symphony Benefit Concert at which over $37,000 in donations was raised just by people coming to the concert that night, plus a $5,000 matching grant. He stated that it is amazing to raise that amount of money, considering the number of people in the auditorium. Councilmember Rodgers stated that she has spoken to the Mayor of Tupelo, Mississippi, who is coming to Elgin to attend an event to be held this Saturday. She stated that her area of about 2,333 people was hit and about 30 homes were lost. The Tupelo Mayor stated that through everyone’s generosity, their area received more items than they need, so she has arranged to provide the excess items to two other small communities. Councilmember Rodgers stated: “I think that the outpouring of the community again shows that we are a caring community. I am very proud to be a part of this community.” Mayor Schock thanked the students, faculty, Judson College staff, as well as PADS, who donated many hours of their time to prepare Elgin Mental Health Center buildings, which had been vacant for some time, to house the evacuees. They went out to clean all the buildings, they painted them, they prepared them for the arrival of the evacuees, and put in many, many hours of volunteer work to help make those buildings habitable again, and stated that he wanted to acknowledge their hard work. “I think this is just an example of the outpouring of support that the Elgin community has given to the entire effort, whether it’s city workers, volunteers from a variety of organizations, or just individuals. The response from Elgin is one that we can all be proud of.” Committee of the Whole September 14, 2005 Page 6 Adjournment Councilmember Sandor made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Figueroa, to adjourn and go into the Executive Session for the purpose of discussing the following matter. Upon a roll call vote: Yeas: Councilmembers Figueroa, Kaptain, Rodgers, Sandor, Walters and Mayor Schock. Nays: None. Pending, or Probable or Imminent Litigation Against, Affecting, or on Behalf of the Public Body Before a Court or Administrative Tribunal - Exempt Under Section 120/2(c)(11) of the Open Meetings Act The meeting adjourned at 6:42 p.m. s/Dolonna Mecum September 28, 2005 Dolonna Mecum, City Clerk Date Approved