Committee of the Whole

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES SEPTEMBER 29, 2014 Present: Mayor Burns, Ald. Brown, Bruno, Cummings, Flanagan, Kilburg, Maladra, Marks, Simonian, Singer, Seno Also Present: McKittrick, Dawkins, Untch, Evans, DeGroot 1. CALL TO ORDER The special meeting was called to order at 7pm by Mayor Burns. Ald. Seno arrived at 7:03pm. 2. ITEMS OF BUSINESS a. City Hall Space Needs – Admin. McKittrick reviewed the history of earlier discussions, along with the space needs study that was done in 2005. Many aldermen noted the difficulty in making plans when other anticipated spaces in town were still not available, specifically the issue of whether the library would stay in its space or move elsewhere. Aldermen were comfortable in waiting to see what happened with the library, as well as their upcoming discussion on home rule. McKittrick stated that this goal would be deferred. b. Home Rule – After discussion on the 2006 task force findings, and the best ways to approach educating the public, it was decided that staff would attempt to bring in Prof. James Banovetz to educate the council first, since several current aldermen were not seated in 2006. A special meeting in the next 6-8 weeks would be scheduled for this session. c. Prairie Green Preserve Wetland Mitigation Bank Update – staff was looking for direction on the future of the Preserve. Dir. Untch reviewed the initial project, including goals, mission, objectives, partners, schedule of work. Untch noted the chronology of the wetland mitigation program which began in 2004. In 2009, major flooding occurred within the area. In 2010, USACE released 25 credits for sale. In 2011, drier conditions led to problems with progress and studies were conducted. By 2014, it was determined that there were piping failures in the property, particularly regarding sufficient capacity to handle runoff north of the property. Untch relayed projected costs to repair the drainage system at approx. $30,817.00. Discussion on future ownership of the land, what, if any, repair work should be done, and whether it would be in the city’s best interest to outsource the management of the wetlands was heard. A future meeting with the City’s drainage consultant, and possible private firms for management, would be scheduled to gather more details on how best to move forward. COW MINUTES SEPT. 29, 2014 1 3. NEW BUSINESS 4. ADJOURNMENT On a motion by Ald. Marks, second by Ald. Singer, the meeting was adjourned by unanimous voice vote at 9:24pm. COW MINUTES SEPT. 29, 2014 2