Village Center Commission (No longer holds meetings)

APPROVED Village Center Commission Meeting Minutes June 1, 2016 A meeting of the Village Center Commission was held on Monday, June 1, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. at the Village Hall Conference Room, 850 Waukegan Road, Deerfield, Illinois. Chairman Jannes Zobus called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Present were: Garo Emerzian Joan Reed Janice Shaw Kenneth Stolman Jannes Zobus, Chairperson Absent was: Victoria Street Also Present: Barbara Reich, Co-Chairperson, Family Days Commission Dan Nakahara, Village Planner Jeri Cotton, Secretary Public Comment Ms. Reich invited everyone to this year’s Family Days events on July 3 and 4, 2016. She noted the parade route has changed, due to the Deerfield Road construction. The parade will start at Deerfield High School, go south on Waukegan Road to Hazel Avenue and ending at Park Avenue. The Optimist Club will sell wristbands for the children’s rides during the July 4th festivities and glow items for the fireworks display on July 3rd. Ms. Reich noted they will have some new food vendors, as well as rides and inflatables for children. She noted that the Rotary Club is in charge of the 5k run held on July 4th. Document Approval Mr. Stolman moved to approve the minutes from the May 4 2016 VCC meeting. Dr. Emerzian seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously on a voice vote with minor corrections. Village Center Commission June 1, 2016 Page 2 of 3 Business 1. Discussion with Deerfield Public Library Director Amy Falasz-Peterson Mr. Nakahara explained the Commission is charged with advocating for the Village Center. Part of the Commission’s charge includes making the Village Center a destination. He noted that Deerfield Public Library, in the Village Center, and Library Director Amy Falasz-Peterson is committed to working hard to make the Deerfield Public Library a destination place. Ms. Falasz-Peterson has been active in the library system for the past 16 years and is happy and excited to call the Deerfield Library her new home. Ms. Falasz-Peterson discussed the library transformation over the years and explained the American Library Association’s campaign to let people know that libraries are more than books. Since the Deerfield Public Library’s renovation, they have increased their digital media, including e-books, e-audiobooks magazines, movies, TV, music and online courses from 11,255 in 2012 to nearly 32,000 in 2015. Ms. Falasz-Peterson noted Deerfield residents are highly supportive of the Library. Ms. Falasz-Peterson commented that the Deerfield Public Library has numerous services, including a virtual library which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, computer stations including two iMacs and a PC lab with Adobe Creative Cloud. The Library offers a variety of classes and programming for patrons, electronic resources include four ROKU systems for streaming movies, Hoopla, which allows access to thousands of book, music and video titles, My Media Mall, a large collection of eBooks, e-audiobooks and Zinio offering popular magazines in an electronic format. The Deerfield Public Library has a social media coordinator and hopes to stream programs offered by the Library and archive these programs. The Library promotes online learning with more than 350 courses from which to select, including languages courses. The Deerfield Library also offers various free services including voter registration, online library renewals, meeting room space for groups and clubs, one-on- one technical assistance and daily and weekly newspapers. Ms. Falasz-Peterson promoted the summer reading program which is set to kick off on Saturday, June 11, 2016 from 9 – 5. They will have a number of giveaways. Mr. Stolman asked about Ms. Falasz-Peterson’s grander vision for the Deerfield Library. Ms. Falasz-Peterson explained she would like to revisit programming, because the library is a wonderful resource for the entire community. She would like her staff to evaluate what is working and what needs to be improved. Ms. Falasz-Peterson explained the Library is part of the Village but is a separate taxing entity with its own seven-member, elected board. She commented that the Friends of Deerfield Library have raised more than $100,000 for the Deerfield Library. Ms. Reich explained The Friends of the Library is having a used book sale and invited everyone to participate as well as to join the Friends of the Library. Village Center Commission June 1, 2016 Page 3 of 3 Ms. Reed reported the Deerfield Library is very well represented at the Farmer’s Market. She is proud to have the library as part of the Farmer’s Market and the community. 2. Village Promotional Brochure Proposal Update Mr. Nakahara reported that the Village Manager’s office has approved the promotional brochure proposal and staff will be meeting with an editor to discuss the content of the brochure. Mr. Nakahara indicated that the Village will get two rounds of revisions per the approved proposal. He is hopeful to have the first draft of the brochure in time for the August meeting and get input on the brochure from the Commission. 3. Village Center Update The construction on the south side of Deerfield Road is ¾ complete. The Village is anticipating the road to be done by the end of November. Ms. Reed commended the Village on for how smoothly the traffic is moving on Deerfield Road during construction. The Village is looking at clarifying and supplementing the parking signage at the Deerfield Metra Station commuter parking lot. Residents are not aware that there is free parking after 10:00 am, Monday – Friday and all day on the weekends. The Fine Arts Festival is this weekend. The Commission is invited to the preview party on Friday, June 3rd from 6:00p.m. – 8:00p.m. in the Village Hall lobby. Mr. Nakahara noted Wildfish in Deerfield Square has closed and a new restaurant named be Dao will be opening in that space. Mr. Nakahara indicated the staff is working on an update to permitted and special uses in the C-1, Village Center Zoning District. The Appearance Review Commission has worked on updating the Appearance Code, which was adopted in 1986. Ch. Zobus noted that the Appearance Review Commission has done a wonderful job as the Appearance Code directly affects the Village Center. Items from the Commission Ms. Reed noted the American flags on the light poles are still being displayed and are supposed to be removed after Memorial Day. Ms. Reed presented the 2016 Farmer’s Market poster created by Evan Hoffmann. The poster will be for sale at the Farmer’s Market. Ms. Reed also gave an update on the vendors who will be participating in the Farmer’s Market. Adjournment There being no further business or discussion, Ms. Shaw moved to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Reed seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously on a voice vote. Village Center Commission June 1, 2016 Page 4 of 3 The next meeting is August 3, 2016. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 pm. Respectfully submitted, Jeri Cotton Secretary