Beautification Commission

Village of Brookfield Agenda Beautification Commission Meeting Tuesday, July 1, 2025 @ 6:30 PM Edward Barcal Hall 8820 Brookfield Avenue Brookfield, IL 60513 I. Call to Order II. Roll Call III. Approval of Minutes 1. March 2025 Minutes 2. May 2025 Minutes IV. Reports 1. Chair 2. Staff Update 3. Trustee Liaison Report V. Old Business 1. Project N.I.C.E. Recap 2. Discussion of Landscaping VI. New Business 1. Discussion of Garden Recognition Program 2. Discussion of 2026 Brookie Awards VII. Public Comment VIII. Adjournment Individuals with a disability requiring a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in any meeting should contact the Village of Brookfield (708)485-7344 prior to the meeting. Wheelchair access may be gained through the police department (East) entrance of the Village Hall. Page 1 of 5  Brookfield Beautification Commission Meeting Minutes March 4, 2025 6:30 P.M. Village Hall - Edward Barcal Hall 8820 Brookfield Avenue Brookfield, IL 60513 Called to Order at 6:35pm. ROLL CALL Rose Bottorff Present April Hedlund Present Elaine Jans Present Jason Kaumeyer Present Sue Rohner Present Steve Sabourin Present Ryan Wolber Absent Katie Kaluzny, Trustee Liaison - Present Noah Rife, Staff Liaison - Present Guests: Rebecca Fiala, Salt Creek Watershed Network MINUTES January 2025 Minutes, No changes and approved unanimously. REPORTS Chair Report ● Commissioner Jans has no updates. Staff Update ●Noah Rife presented a slide show of spots recommended by Public Works for clean-up. Trustee Liaison Report OLD BUSINESS 1. Project N.I.C.E. Planning for the event. a. Commissioner Jans brought a sample yard sign from previous Project Nice events. It was decided to use the yard signs and have a sticker printed that would change the wording from “Meet at Village Hall,” to “Meet at Kiwanis Shelter.” Commissioner Jans will get prices for the stickers from Ink Your Wear in Brookfield. Signs will be placed with QR codes, so the public can obtain info. Bob will post on SignUpGenius. Staff Rife will ask Victor and Rocco for other mulch locations outside of Kiwanis/ask Libby about costs of Brookfield Shops landscape. Public works will take inventory of tools in shed for Project NICE. i. An April meeting was set with Trustee Kuluzny, Commissioner Rohner, Commissioner Hedlund and Staff Rife to go over details of planting sites and prioritize locations for work. Page 2 of 5  b. Final T-shirt mockup was presented- tie-dye fabric and on a Project Nice Logo with “Your help is very much appreciated.” i. It was decided to order these t-shirts from Ink Your Wear. Commissioner Jans will get pricing. Number of tee shirts to order include: 1. Qty 35 Adult Small 2. Qty 35 Adult Medium 3. Qty 40 Adult Large 4. Qty 40 Adult Extra Large 5. Qty 5 Adult 2XL 6. Qty 5 Adult 3XL 7. Qty 0 Youth sizes. c. Commissioner Bottoroff recommended garden gloves and Staff Rife will order 90 and check tool, waste bag and garbage bag supplies with Public Works. d. Trustee Kaluzny will investigate purchasing snacks. e. Commissioner Sabourin suggested that Commissioners act as team captains on some of the sites to give instructions for what needs to be done. f. It was suggested that in addition to the Brookfield Shops, flowers be planted at the Grossdale Train Station and the “Welcome” sign at 31st and Grand Ave. g. Trustee Kaluzny will coordinate with Rebecca Fiala regarding the Salt Creek Watershed’s participation in Project NICE. 2. Brookie Awards- One for new businesses and one for existing businesses. A point system will be created. 3. 2025 Landscaping Ideas- Commissioner Rohner discussed several potential locations for Beautification. Ownership of these properties was discussed. For 2025 Landscaping- Out of the total $5,000- $1000 for corner sign planting at the Shops, $500 set aside for fall flowers in the pots at the Shops, $3,500 earmarked for Brookfield Shops other landscape work. $14,000 was spent by the Village and is not counted out of Beautification funding. NEW BUSINESS 1. Brookie Awards- Commissioner Kaumeyer presented plaque to give for Brookie Awards. Staff Rife will order three for the winners: Irish Times, Brookfield Barber, and Brookfield Oral Surgery. Commissioner Bottorff indicated that there should be a discussion to clarify who should be nominated for Brookies and what the criteria should be. This will be discussed at a future meeting. Commissioner Sabourin will schedule award presentations with the three winners. 2. Garden Recognition Awards- Commissioner Jans indicated that there are three yard signs for presentation for the June, July and August winners. Details for Garden Recognition will be discussed at the May meeting. PUBLIC COMMENT ● Rebecca Fiala from Salt Creek Watershed Network was present. She expressed her interest in the Village partnering with her organization for the Salt Creek Clean up during Project NICE. ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 7:45pm. Minutes submitted by: Susan Rohner Next Regularly Scheduled Meeting: Tuesday, May 6, 2025 Page 3 of 5  Brookfield Beautification Commission Meeting Minutes May 6, 2025 6:30 P.M. Village Hall - Edward Barcal Hall 8820 Brookfield Avenue Brookfield, IL 60513 Called to Order at 6:36pm. ROLL CALL Rose Bottorff Present April Hedlund Present Elaine Jans Present Jason Kaumeyer Present Sue Rohner Present Steve Sabourin Present Ryan Wolber Absent Katie Kaluzny, Trustee Liaison - Present Noah Rife, Staff Liaison - Present Guests: Rebecca Fiala, Salt Creek Watershed Network MINUTES March 2025 Minutes were deferred to the July Meeting. REPORTS Chair Report ● Commissioner Jans has no updates. Staff Update ● Another property was purchased at Congress Park- Village Website shows all current Village-owned parcels. ● Brookfield Shops are coming along well and getting ready for the grand opening on June 6. Path, grass and cobbles were installed at the corner. Air conditioning will be coming for the sheds. ADA ramps will also be installed soon. ● Project Nice shirts have been distributed to the Beautification team. Liaison Rife will work on acquiring tools and will coordinate with the team. The Fire Department will be onsite near the canoes clearing the shorelines. ● Uptick in social media presence on the Village website. 46,000 users and 62% non-followers recorded. Trustee Liaison Report ● Liaison Kaluzny is proud of other local Beautification efforts including the painting of the stairs and tunnel at the Congress Park Train Stop and the new construction that has begun on Grand Avenue. ● Grant has been submitted for more streetlights on Prairie and bids came in low for the Grand Avenue Project, so more work will be wrapping around the intersection on Prairie. ● The Triangle property has been purchased by the Village to be renovated. This project will enhance the appearance of the downtown area. Page 4 of 5  ● The former Law Office on Grand is going to be torn down due to structural damage. Quotes are being received. OLD BUSINESS 1. Brookie Awards- The awardees were honored with awards and included Brookfield Oral surgery, Brookfield Barber and Irish Times. This event was well coordinated and all businesses were honored for the recognition. Some of the businesses took their own videos and posted on their websites for additional advertising. 2. Project N.I.C.E.- Various coordination was discussed on the different project locations. Commissioners are to be at the Pavilion at 7:45 to assist in directing volunteers. Dessert will be picked up, new shirts distributed, and tools handed out on the honor system. Commission Bottorff will oversee the flower planting at the Shops of Brookfield and Commissioner Rohner will layout all plants here before heading over to her site at the Grossdale Train Station. Commissioner Sabourin will pick up the flowers for his site at 31st Street and Grand. Mulching of the sites will take place after project NICE and be completed by a contractual firm. 3. Landscaping- Commission Rohner mentioned the path having been installed at the shops, with some grass and cobblestones at the corner sign. Flowers were purchased for the relocated black pots that are normally planted on Grand Avenue. This year, white flowers were chosen to stand out against the multicolored stores and should look good once installed during Project Nice. Commissioner Rohner is caring for all plants in her yard until the event begins. NEW BUSINESS 1. Garden Recognition- June, July and August will be the only months for voting on typical gardens, with September being an add-on for the best native plant garden. a. The Public will get to vote in hopes of more community engagement. b. A quick call for submissions will begin at Project NICE, then at the beginning of the afore mentioned months. c. Homeowners will submit two pictures and Commissioners will vote on their favorite 3-5 homes after the last day of the month. d. Liaison Rife will make Reels of the top favorites, so that we can extend our reach to the public. He will also incorporate an online voting platform, so that the public can choose the winner. e. We will discuss more details on how votes will be tallied at the July 1 Board Meeting after Liaison Rife does more research on the technical options. PUBLIC COMMENT ● Rebecca Fiala from Salt Creek Watershed Network was present. She expressed her sincere gratitude on the Village partnering with her organization for the Salt Creek Clean up during Project NICE. ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 7:40pm. Minutes submitted by: Susan Rohner Next Regularly Scheduled Meeting: Tuesday, July 1, 2025 Page 5 of 5