Board of Trustees Meeting

VILLAGE OF HOMEWOOD BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING TUESDAY - MAY 11, 2021 VILLAGE HALL BOARD ROOM CALL TO ORDER: President Hofeld called the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees to order at 7 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: President Hofeld led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Clerk Marilyn Thomas called the roll. Those present were Village President Richard Hofeld Trustee Barbara Dawkins, Trustee Lisa Purcell, Trustee Lauren Roman, and Trustee Jay Heiferman. Trustee Karen Washington was absent. President Hofeld introduced staff: Village Manager Jim Marino, Police Chief Denise McGrath, Attorney Christopher Cummings, Director of Finance Dennis Bubenik and Assistant Village Manager Napoleon Haney. MINUTES: The minutes of the meeting of April 27, 2021 were presented. There were no comments or corrections. A motion was made by Trustee Purcell and seconded by Trustee Heiferman to approve the minutes as amended. Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Dawkins, Purcell, Roman and Heiferman. NAYS –None. Motion carried. CLAIMS LIST: The Claims List in the amount of $1,234,931.35 was presented. There were no questions from the Trustees. A motion was made by Trustee Purcell and seconded by Trustee Roman to approve the Claims List. Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Dawkins, Purcell, Roman, and Heiferman. NAYS –None. Motion carried. President Hofeld said three items on the list totaled 75 percent of the charges: $598,295.09 to Burns & McDonnell for work on the new water line; $117,803.53 for E-COM payment; and $222,500.50 for employee health insurance for May. A motion was made by Trustee Dawkins and seconded by Trustee Purcell to close the meeting. Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Dawkins, Purcell, Roman, and Heiferman. NAYS –None. Motion carried. The board adjourned the meeting sine die. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Adrienne Davis administered the oath of office to President Richard Hofeld, Clerk Marilyn Thomas and Trustees Barbara Dawkins, Lauren Roman, and Vivian Harris-Jones, who were elected in the April 6 municipal election. The newly constituted Village Board resumed the meeting. HEAR FROM THE AUDIENCE: Resident Mary Siegmeyer addressed the board on a question of garage sales. She believed the Village should give permits for sales in the immediate future. President Hofeld said the Village will follow new state guidelines about re-openings. He asked Village Manager Marino to look into moving up the date for issuing garage sale permits. David Janocha made several comments about issues surrounding the Calumet Country Club disconnection. PRESENTATIONS: Clerk Thomas administered the oath of office to Nancy Adams as executive assistant in the village manager’s office. She is filling a vacancy. Tyhani Hill accepted the oath of office as the finance assistant in the Finance Department. She fills a position left vacant by the retirement of Sandy Ruhlander. Police Denise Chief McGrath presented Jay Bush and Kyle Rhein as new police officers. Officer Bush retired from the U.S. Army after a 20-year career. Officer Rhein is a U.S. Air Force veteran. Clerk Thomas administered the oath of office to Officers Bush and Rhein. PROCLAMATION: Clerk Thomas read a proclamation declaring May 16 through 22 as Public Works Week. President Hofeld said the Public Works crew members are the unsung heroes, and he thanked them for all they do. REAPPOINTMENT: A motion was made by Trustee Purcell and seconded by Trustee Roman to approve the reappointment of Fred Sierzega to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a five-year term through May 11, 2026. Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Dawkins, Purcell, Roman, Heiferman and Harris-Jones. NAYS –None. Motion carried. OMNIBUS AGENDA: Consider a motion to pass, approve, authorize, accept or award the items: A. RESOLUTION R-3080/TRUSTEE LAWRENCE BURNSON: A resolution honoring former Village Trustee Larry Burnson for his years of elected service to the Village of Homewood.  B. RESOLUTION R-3081/RETIREMENT: A resolution honoring Sandy Ruhlander on her retirement after 20 years of services to the Village of Homewood. C. REAPPOINTMENT OF PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE: Approve the reappointment of Trustee Barbara Dawkins as President Pro Tempore. D. ORDINANCE M-2182/AMEND SOUTHGATE TIF DISTRICT: Pass an ordinance approving a third amendment to the redevelopment plan and project for the Southgate TIF District redevelopment project area. E. CONTRACT AWARD/ZONING CODE UPDATE: Authorize the Village President to enter into an agreement with Houseal Lavigne Associates, LLC of Chicago, IL in the amount of $88,980 to update the Village of Homewood Zoning Code. F. BUDGET AMENDMENT/POLICE DEPARTMENT/RADIO LEASE: Approve a budget amendment increasing the PD Radio Leases line item (01-5-423-53- 7900) to $22,920. G. WAIVE COMPETITIVE BIDDING/PURCHASE AGREEMENT/BUSINESS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE: Waive competitive bidding per Section 5; Exception #7 of the Village’s Purchasing Policy for vendors currently under contract; and, approve a contract with Dude Solutions Inc. of Cary NC to provide a subscription for business management software for the Building Division for a first-year cost not to exceed $40,782.81. H. PURCHASE AGREEMENT/FACILITY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE: Approve an Online Subscription Agreement with Dude Solutions Inc. of Cary, NC to purchase a Facility Management software module in the amount of $21,618.83. A motion was made by Trustee Purcell and seconded by Trustee Roman to approve the Omnibus Report as presented. Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Dawkins, Purcell, Roman, Heiferman and Harris-Jones. NAYS –None. Motion carried. GENERAL BOARD DISCUSSION: Trustee Dawkins said she wanted to thank Trustee Burnson for his many years of service to the Village first as police chief and lastly as a member of the Village Board. His comments were always thoughtful and appreciated. The rest of the board seconded her comments and offered thanks to Burnson. Trustees Roman and Heiferman asked, in response to a citizen’s letter to the trustees, whether having the meetings available via Zoom would continue. President Hofeld said the Zoom presentations were necessary under COVID-19 precautions. With meetings in-person again, the Village will resume its past practice of posting video of the meetings to the website. EXECUTIVE SESSION: A motion was made by Trustee Purcell and seconded by Trustee Dawkins to move to Executive Session to discuss the semi-annual review of closed session minutes, and the purchase or lease of real property. Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Dawkins, Purcell, Roman, Heiferman and Harris-Jones. NAYS –None. Motion carried. The board adjourned to Executive Session at 7:30 p.m. The board returned from Executive Session at 7:45 p.m. A motion was made by Trustee Purcell and seconded by Trustee Dawkins to adjourn the regular meeting. Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Dawkins, Purcell, Roman, Heiferman and Harris-Jones. NAYS –None. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Marilyn Thomas Village Clerk Emails Received Prior to the May 11th Meeting From: Michelle Y [mailto:] Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2021 2:51 PM To: PublicComments <comments@homewoodil.gov> Subject: Comments for Tonight's Board Meeting Hi there, I noticed that the Board of Trustees are voting tonight to hire an urban planning firm to review the Village's zoning ordinances for almost $90,000. I am writing to inquire why this company, Houseal Lavigne Associates LLC of Chicago, was selected from competitors? While I see that the selected company emphasizes a Geodesign vision and has some speciality in parks and recreation, I am concerned that the Village did not select an urban planner with an explicit emphasis on sustainable planning and development. Following the recent issue over the re-zoning of the former Calumet Country Club property, it should be clear to Village officials and the Board of Trustees that residents value the environment and sustainability in thinking about the Village's present and future development. If the Trustees are going to continue forward with the proposal to hire this company, I would appreciate a statement from the Trustees and/or the Village that makes an explicit commitment to sustainability and keeping Homewood green(er). I also want to express that I am bummed that the Village has stopped disseminating Board meetings via Zoom. We are still in the midst of a pandemic, with our neighbors in Indiana, a mere 10 miles away, seeing Covid-19 cases rising. This prevents residents from participating in the local democratic process. Is this the intention of the Village of Homewood, to make it harder for residents, especially older residents and immuno-compromised residents, to participate in the local democratic process and, vice versa, to make decisions by local elected leaders less transparent in the midst of a pandemic? The Village of Homewood has already decided that making jokes about gun violence and calling residents 'assholes' is acceptable behavior. I would hate to think that our Village also thinks it's okay to cut residents out of the democratic process. I would really like to see the Village resume the use of Zoom, and to maintain a commitment to utilizing Zoom, or similar technology, even after the pandemic ends, as a way of making a visible commitment to transparency. I think having this sort of transparency will, among other initiatives, help heal (dis)trust issues residents have with the current Board of Trustees and Village officials. Thank you! Sincerely, Michelle Yates (Homewood resident) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Liz Varmecky [mailto:] Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2021 2:36 PM To: PublicComments <comments@homewoodil.gov> Subject: 5-11-21 Comments Board of Trustees Meeting Please see below comments for the Board of Trustees Meeting tonight. Please note that there are both general comments and comments specific to agenda items. General Comment: I want to thank the police department for their statement saying that they will be more transparent. I appreciate that change. But I found some disturbing things when I was looking at the newly released Page 1 of 6 Emails Received Prior to the May 11th Meeting training page. As an example under street crimes, the only training course listed is "survival tactics" for officers. What civilian oversight board or community relations board is approving this type of training? Teaching officers to work from a place of fear isn't the type of training that anyone had in mind when the community has asked about and requested more training. Additionally, please correct me if I am wrong, but I couldn't find a single course listed on implicit bias or racism or even one that mentioned race, though there are circles for "human rights" "civil rights" and "cultural competency." But none of those areas tackle what we all know is a huge problem in policing racial bias, implicit or explicit. Omnibus vote Comments: Regarding the vote on hiring a firm to review the village's zoning ordinance for almost $90K. I hope this is in response to the community's concerns about our zoning regulations not protecting community interests and well-being and being more friendly to developers than residents and taxpayers in Homewood. I understand that there will be community input in the process of rewriting the zoning ordinance. I hope that you will not wait until community input has no weight in the process to include the community. In the past when the board and village management have agreed to changes, it is too late for actual resident input and constructive feedback from community members. I hope that will not be the case this time. The second and third things I have a comment on are the no-bid contracts for Dude Solutions, a company out of North Carolina, for the village's CMM systems. Why is this a no-bid contract when there are literally hundreds of competitors available on the market? The point of the bid system for public contracts is to give multiple companies an opportunity to work as contractors for the government. But every time the village of Homewood utilizes a no-bid contract, you are impeding a competitive marketplace and most likely costing the village money. Thank you, Liz Varmecky Homewood -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: jenna weglarz [mailto:] Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2021 9:52 AM To: PublicComments <comments@homewoodil.gov> Subject: Board meeting comments for 5/11/21 Hello, I am writing to submit a comment to be read at the board meeting tonight. When will the water be shut off at the Calumet Country Club now that the board voluntarily disconnected the property from Homewood? Thanks, Jenna Weglarz ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 2 of 6 Emails Received Prior to the May 11th Meeting From: jenna weglarz [mailto:] Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2021 9:49 AM Subject: Board meeting agenda item 13E I am writing in regards to the Agenda item 13 E: CONTRACT AWARD/ZONING CODE UPDATE: Authorize the Village President to enter into an agreement with Houseal Lavigne Associates, LLC of Chicago, IL in the amount of $88,980 to update the Village of Homewood Zoning Code. What are the updates that the Village of Homewood wants to make? Are they updating it to make it more environmentally sustainable for our village? Or are they changing it to allow Walt Brown to put an industrial development here? Why is this so expensive? Almost 90K! Were other bids and proposals submitted? Are they finally going to add a green code for zoning? Will it go in accordance with the Village’s comprehensive land use plan? Will you allow for comments and suggestions by the public to add more ordinances that are more environmentally friendly? I would love to have a suggestion box of ordinances I would like added. Will they allow public input on this? I do NOT want the changes to the zoning codes to allow for an industrial trucking development to be built here or anywhere across from a residential neighborhood. Now is the time for Homewood to write stricter codes to stop Walt Brown from circling back to the village to put this here or any developer with intent to adversely effect our village. The Village is NOT in litigation anymore so they need to be proactive to protect our community. If the village makes changes to the zoning code, I want there to be more forward thinking and creative ways to develop in Homewood and to make sure it is developed in a more environmentally conscious and sustainable way. We need zoning codes to promote more eco-friendly and sustainable development. The Village of Homewood needs to be more transparent with their actions and allow public input before any changes are made in the zoning code. The Village needs to restore some trust in their residents by creating green ordinances in their zoning codes and making stricter zoning codes to prevent industrial areas from being developed across from a residential area. Also, Why doesn’t the Village of Homewood have a green commission? You have a zoning board. I would like to see Homewood create a green commission and business development needs to be looked at by the green commission and the zoning board. We need a green commission in our Village to maintain and protect our greenspaces. Village of Flossmoor has one and the Village of Hazel Crest is breaking ground on a park on an unused parking lot to create a park with walking trails. What is Homewood doing to be more environmentally conscious? Also, when will the water be shut off at the Calumet Country Club now that it has been voluntarily disconnected to unincorporated Cook County by the Village? Thanks, Page 3 of 6 Emails Received Prior to the May 11th Meeting Jenna Weglar ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: jenna weglarz [mailto:] Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2021 9:46 AM To: PublicComments <comments@homewoodil.gov> Subject: Board meeting comments for 5/11/21 I am writing in regards to the Agenda item 13 E: CONTRACT AWARD/ZONING CODE UPDATE: Authorize the Village President to enter into an agreement with Houseal Lavigne Associates, LLC of Chicago, IL in the amount of $88,980 to update the Village of Homewood Zoning Code. What are the updates that the Village of Homewood wants to make? Are they updating it to make it more environmentally sustainable for our village? Or are they changing it to allow Walt Brown to put an industrial development here? Why is this so expensive? Almost 90K! Were other bids and proposals submitted? Are they finally going to add a green code for zoning? Will it go in accordance with the Village’s comprehensive land use plan? Will you allow for comments and suggestions by the public to add more ordinances that are more environmentally friendly? I would love to have a suggestion box of ordinances I would like added. Will they allow public input on this? I do NOT want the changes to the zoning codes to allow for an industrial trucking development to be built here or anywhere across from a residential neighborhood. Now is the time for Homewood to write stricter codes to stop Walt Brown from circling back to the village to put this here or any developer with intent to adversely effect our village. The Village is NOT in litigation anymore so they need to be proactive to protect our community. If the village makes changes to the zoning code, I want there to be more forward thinking and creative ways to develop in Homewood and to make sure it is developed in a more environmentally conscious and sustainable way. We need zoning codes to promote more eco-friendly and sustainable development. The Village of Homewood needs to be more transparent with their actions and allow public input before any changes are made in the zoning code. The Village needs to restore some trust in their residents by creating green ordinances in their zoning codes and making stricter zoning codes to prevent industrial areas from being developed across from a residential area. Also, Why doesn’t the Village of Homewood have a green commission? You have a zoning board. I would like to see Homewood create a green commission and business development needs to be looked at by the green commission and the zoning board. We need a green commission in our Village to maintain and protect our greenspaces. Village of Flossmoor has one and the Village of Hazel Crest is breaking ground on a park on an unused parking lot to create a park with walking trails. What is Homewood doing to be more environmentally conscious? I would like my comments read at the meeting and put into public record. Page 4 of 6 Emails Received Prior to the May 11th Meeting Thank you, Jenna Weglarz ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Kris Condon [mailto:] Sent: Sunday, May 9, 2021 6:14 PM To: PublicComments <comments@homewoodil.gov> Subject: Comment for May 11, 2021, Board of Trustees Meeting Dear Clerk Thomas: I respectfully request that the following be read during the public comment segment of the May 11, 2021, Board of Trustees meeting. If you could kindly confirm receipt of the following, I’d be grateful. Thank you very much for your assistance. Sincerely, Kris Condon Dear Village President Hofeld, Members of the Board of Trustees, and Police Chief McGrath: Many of your constituents became aware of a death investigation on Saturday, May 8, on 175th Street west of Halsted through an article in the Homewood-Flossmoor Chronicle. Unfortunately, prior to that posting, rumors of police activity on 175th Street were rampant on social media. Like many other residents of our village, I subscribe to the e-Newswire and request notifications for things such as neighborhood watch and other emergencies. As I write this nearly 36 hours after those early reports first surfaced on social media, I have yet to receive a digital update advising there is no continuing threat to the community. What I know has been gleaned from our local media outlet. In recent weeks, we’ve seen and heard our elected leadership decry the flurry of rumor and misinformation that allegedly runs through a number of Homewood-related social media sites. As a result, those of us who subscribe to Village-produced communications received special edition e- Newswires announcing the reinstatement of a Village employee whose professional downfall was widely publicized on social media. It would seem to me that if the Village had this level of concern about social media’s impact on the well-being of one Village employee, a death investigation should warrant at least the same kind of attention and of communication to a community of nearly 20,000 residents. As a 35- year member of the legal profession where routine contact with the media was part of my responsibility, there is surely a way to strike a balance between the community’s need to know, the family’s need for privacy, and the sensitivity of such an investigation. Chief McGrath, you come to us with a long and distinguished career as a public servant, and with that comes an exciting opportunity to set the tone for the infamous “first 100 days in office.” It is my sincere hope that those first 100 days will include a strategic effort to increase and enhance the level of communication between law enforcement and the Homewood community. Further, I sincerely hope the foregoing remarks will be worthy of more than a pro forma acknowledgement that Clerk Thomas read them into the record on May 11. For that reason, I’ve included my contact information here and would heartily welcome a call, an e-mail, or a visit to my front porch from you. Thank you for listening to my concerns. I look forward to a response. Page 5 of 6 Emails Received Prior to the May 11th Meeting Respectfully, Dr. Kristine M. Condon Retired Civics Educator and Legal Professional Dr. Kristine M. (Kris) Condon Homewood, IL 60430 Page 6 of 6