Committee of the Whole

SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES SEPTEMBER 30, 2013 City Hall Council Chambers 109 James Street Present: Mayor Burns, Ald. Brown, Bruno, Cummings, Jr., Flanagan, Kilburg, Maladra, Marks, Simonian, Singer Absent: Ald. Vogelsberg Also Present: Administrator McKittrick, Director Untch, Director Divita, Comm. Dev. Intern Walker 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Burns called the meeting to order at 7pm noting that Ald. Vogelsberg was absent. On a motion by Ald. Marks, second by Ald. Brown, Robert’s Rules of Order were waived by unanimous voice vote. 2. ITEMS OF BUSINESS McKittrick requested that each item go no longer than 30 minutes due to amount of items on agenda. She also stated that staff was looking for consensus of the council on the items for discussion. No official action would be taken. a. Policy Discussion on Use of Development Incentives Dir. Divita this issue has come up several times recently and staff was looking for direction on policy. Divita reviewed the different types of incentives including TIF Districts, property tax abatements, sales tax rebates, business districts, discretionary city revenue, and industrial revenue bond: all of which have been used by the City in the past. Burns noted that TIFs have worked well in the past, as well as the industrial bonds (Northern Illinois Food Bank). After discussion to further explore options, Divita stated she would come back to the council with a framework and parameters of different incentives. b. Policy Discussion on Creation of Additional Tax Increment Finance Districts Divita stated that this issue was being brought to council as a result of inquiries during the Mill Race purchase process. Discussion on specific area of possible TIF district was discussed. (Only Mill Race property or fan out to surrounding area to north up the hill). Discussion on time limit of the TIF was discussed as well as how it affect other governing bodies ability to collect taxes. A consensus was met to support a TIF with certain limitations. Dir. Divita would provide more detail to council in near future. Special Committee of the Whole Minutes – September 30, 2013 Page 1 c. Policy Discussion on Mobile Food Trucks Dir. Untch stated that the City had received some inquiries on allowance of food trucks. As a result, staff felt it necessary to gauge the council on whether to look into allowing this use. Community Development Intern Michael Walker presented information on the types of trucks, which municipalities allowing, fees involved. Discussion on hours allowed, parking issues, who is eligible. Discussion where it could be allowed (some were not in favor of downtown locations due to competition with brick and mortar, as well as traffic congestion and lack of parking). Council members asked staff to work on draft regulations to be brought back at a later date for more discussion. d. Policy Discussion on Prairie Green Wetland Mitigation Program Dir. Untch provided an overview of the evolution of Prairie Green and how it has been managed up to this point in time. He also reviewed the wetland mitigation bank situation. Untch noted that the hydrology has not met Army Corps. standards the last two years. Untch would like to have the consultants look into why this is happening. Untch also stated that while developers are not currently seeking the credits, he does believe that government entities will be interested in them in the near future for various road projects. McKittrick noted that the levy on Prairie Green Preserve is not fully funding the project and asked council if the city should continue work on this site and look into improving hydrology, or no longer fund the program. Council felt that the investments already spent were worth the effort in trying to determine the hydrology situation and directed staff to further investigate the situation. 3. NEW BUSINESS None heard. 4. ADJOURNMENT On a motion by Ald, Marks, second by Ald. Flanagan, the meeting was adjourned by unanimous voice vote at 9:35pm. Special Committee of the Whole Minutes – September 30, 2013 Page 2