Board of Trustees Meeting

VILLAGE OF HOMEWOOD BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING TUESDAY, SEPTEMER 26, 2023 VILLAGE HALL BOARD ROOM CALL TO ORDER: President Hofeld called the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees to order at 7:00 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: President Hofeld led trustees in the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: Clerk Marilyn Thomas called the roll. Those present were Village President Richard Hofeld, Trustee Lisa Purcell, Trustee Julie Willis, Trustee Anne Colton, Trustee Vivian Harris-Jones, Trustee Jay Heiferman and Trustee Lauren Roman. President Hofeld introduced staff present: Village Manager Napoleon Haney, Village Attorney Chris Cummings, Assistant Village Manager Tyler Hall, Economic and Community Development Director Angela Mesaros, Director of Finance Amy Zukowski and Police Chief Denise McGrath. MINUTES: The minutes of the meeting of September 12, 2023, were presented. There were no comments or corrections. A motion was made by Trustee Purcell and seconded by Trustee Colton to approve the minutes as presented. Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Purcell, Willis, Colton, Heiferman Harris-Jones and Roman. NAYS – None. Motion carried. CLAIMS LIST: The Claims List in the amount of $595,600.46 was presented. There were no questions from the Trustees. A motion was made by Trustee Purcell and seconded by Trustee Harris-Jones to approve the Claims List as presented. Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Purcell, Willis, Colton, Harris-Jones, Heiferman and Roman. NAYS – None. Motion carried. President Hofeld said two items totaled 68 percent of the Claims List: $308,476.35 to the City of Chicago Heights for Lake Michigan water and $99,042.05 for payment to Thorn Creek Basin Sanitary District. MEET THE MERCHANT: President Hofeld invited Kim Rowe and her daughter, co-owners of Blue Pearl Candles, to share information about the business at 17538 Dixie Highway. The business specializes in soy candles, wax melts and lotions. They do work customizing products, they can do corporate and teen events, and host classes in candlemaking, jewelry and pottery. HEAR FROM AUDIENCE: An appeal was made by Tracey King and her daughters for support in their efforts to raise $50,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. They initiated their appeal to support their friend Luke who is a second grader at Willow School, who suffers with the disease. They had a lemonade stand at Fall Fest to raise funds and are nearing their goal. They gave information on ways to donate. Taee Roseman of Place of Zen in Cherry Creek invited the public to visit his shop. The board received four comments via email (attached). OATH OF OFFICE: Clerk Thomas administered the oath of office to Officer Donald Dean, the newest member of the Homewood Police Department. He had most recently served on the Olympia Fields Police Force. RETIREMENT OF KENNETH REUSNOW: A motion was made by Trustee Roman and seconded by Trustee Purcell to approve Resolution R-3158 honoring Officer Kenneth Reusnow for his 48 years and 10 months of service to the Homewood Police Department. (The item was removed from the Omnibus Report for a separate vote.) Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Purcell, Willis, Colton, Harris-Jones, Heiferman and Roman. NAYS – None. Motion carried. Clerk Thomas read the resolution that honored Officer Reusnow for his military service, his work in various capacities and the awards he received serving with the police department from May 1974 until his retirement in May 2003. He returned to the department serving as a reserve officer taking on various responsibilities, including as part-time Community Service Officer. He retired a second time from the police department on August 30, 2023. Police Chief Denise McGrath thanked Officer Reusnow for his years of dedicated service, and noting that it was Officer Reusnow who was her trainer and mentor when she joined the ranks as a police officer in 1995. President Hofeld noted when he was first elected a trustee, Officer Reusnow was the first officer he rode with while on patrol. After receiving a standing ovation, Officer Reusnow said he wanted the community to recognize the work all the members of the police department do every day on behalf of the residents and businesses. OMNIBUS VOTE: Consider a motion to pass, approve, authorize, accept, or award the following item(s): A. R-3159/Retirement/Vincent Starks: Pass a resolution honoring Vincent Starks on his retirement from the Homewood Police Department. B. Reappointments/Senior Advisory Committee/Tree Committee: Approve the reappointments of Alene Rutzky to the Senior Advisory Committee for a three-year term ending on September 26, 2026; Jack Levitt to the Senior Advisory Committee for a three- year term ending on September 26, 2026; and, Paul Kramer to the Tree Committee for a three-year term ending on September 26, 2026. C. R-3160/Executive Session/Approval of Minutes/Authorize Recording Destruction: Pass a resolution approving Executive Session minutes from February 28, 2023 to July 25, 2023 and authorizing the destruction of Executive Session audio recordings from October 2021 through March 2022.  D. R-3161/Release of Executive Session Minutes: Pass a resolution determining minutes or portions thereof from executive sessions no longer requiring confidential treatment. E. Intergovernmental Agreement/Illinois Department of Health Care and Family Services/Ambulance Transports: Authorize the Village President to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Illinois Department of Health Care and Family Services for reimbursement of unrecovered costs of ambulance transports through Medicaid. F. M-2265/Special Use Permit/Ink-N-Um/18661 Dixie Highway: Pass an ordinance granting a special use permit for a Tattoo Studio/Body Piercing Facility on application by Robert Garrity, “Ink-N-Um” at 18661 Dixie Highway, in the B-3 General Business zoning district. G. Budget Amendment/Sales Tax Revenue Sharing/Ford of Homewood: Approve a budget amendment in the amount of $23,219 to the General Fund for the payment to Ford of Homewood for sales tax revenue sharing. H. R-3162/Amended Fund Balance Policy/General Fund: Pass a resolution approving an amended Fund Balance Policy for the General Fund. A motion was made by Trustee Purcell and seconded by Trustee Colton to approve the Omnibus Report as presented. Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Purcell, Willis, Colton, Harris-Jones, Heiferman and Roman. NAYS – None. Motion carried. NEW BUSINESS: A. M-2266/Class 4A Liquor Licenses/Crab Bagz LLC/18681 Dixie Highway: Consider a motion to pass an ordinance amending the Table of the Number of Liquor License Limitations by Class to increase the allowed number of Class 4A liquor licenses by one for the Crab Bagz location at 18681 Dixie Highway, subject to successful completion of the liquor license application process. Owner Paris Walker addressed the board. She said she is asking for a change from a beer/wine license to a license that will allow her to serve mixed drinks. She said she has lost customers because she doesn’t have a full bar. Trustees questioned if the change in the license would give Ms. Walker the ability to offer gaming. Trustee Heiferman said he would oppose the change in the license because he didn’t believe Southgate residents wanted any more gaming in their neighborhood. Trustee Roman asked if the Village could segregate the two – give Walker the license, but deny her a gaming license. Village Attorney Cummings said once a business gets a liquor license that allows on-premises consumption, whether it be a beer/wine license or a full bar license, the owner/operator would have the right to have gaming in the business. Ms. Walker said she didn’t believe her business would have space for gaming. Her primary issue was being able to serve mixed drinks. A motion was made by Trustee Colton and seconded by Trustee Purcell to approve an increase in the number of available Class 4A liquor licenses. Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Purcell, Willis, Colton, Harris-Jones, and Roman. NAYS – Heiferman. Motion carried. B. Acceptance/2022-2023 Annual Fiscal Report: Consider a motion to accept the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Village of Homewood Annual Financial Report. Finance Director Amy Zukowski reported the village’s General Fund is Homewood’s major revenue source from which expenses are paid. The audit shows the Village had added $4.6 million to the $17.3 million fund balance, primarily due to $1.6 million being paid for ground emergency ambulance fees; about $650,000 additional sales tax revenue; and expenses held to 95 percent of what was budgeted. Director Zukowski said the Village had revenue on hand to cover seven months of operating expenses. Don Shaw of Lauterbach & Amen LLP addressed the board. He said the firm gave the Village a clean and unmodified opinion, finding no issues. He thanked the staff for their assistance in his work in preparing the audit. Mr. Shaw said the General Fund had 81percent unassigned, which was a very healthy amount for a Village the size of Homewood. He reported a net income of $4.6 million revenues over expenses. Trustees thanked Mr. Shaw for his work on the audit. President Hofeld commented that Homewood is the envy of communities in the Chicago area, and he congratulated staff and the board for their ongoing efforts at sound fiscal management. A motion was made by Trustee Purcell and seconded by Trustee Heiferman to accept the 2022-23 audit. Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Purcell, Willis, Colton, Harris-Jones, Heiferman and Roman. NAYS – None. Motion carried. GENERAL BOARD DISCUSSION: Trustee Willis reminded residents that a new strain of COVID-19 is upon us. She urged everyone to take precautionary steps. Trustee Colton thanked the more than two dozen people who attended the Committee of the Whole meeting on Sept. 19, and urged that the Village Board consider putting the Committee of the Whole meeting on the Board’s calendar on a regular basis. Trustee Heiferman said he would have his listening session on Oct. 2 at the Starbuck’s on Harwood. Trustee Harris-Jones thanked everyone who worked on Fall Fest, and she appreciated the vendors that came out for the fest. President Hofeld reminded residents that on Saturday, Oct. 7, the Public Works Department will offer branch chipping services at the Public Works garage. EXECUTIVE SESSION: A motion was made by Trustee Colton and seconded by Trustee Roman to move to Executive Session to discuss pending litigation under 5 ILCS 120/2(c)11. Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Purcell, Willis, Colton, Harris-Jones, Heiferman and Roman. NAYS – None. Motion carried. The board moved to Executive Session at 7:45 p.m. The board returned from Executive Session at 7:55 p.m. A motion was made by Trustee Colton and seconded by Trustee Heiferman to adjourn the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees. The meeting adjourned on voice vote. Respectfully submitted, Marilyn Thomas Village Clerk  PUBLIC COMMENTS – for the Tuesday, April 26, 2022 Board Meeting From: Kathryn Klein Date: September 26, 2023 at 11:53:42 CDT To: PZC <pzc@homewoodil.gov> Subject: Bob Garrity tattoo shop I support this shop opening in Homewood. Kathryn Klein Homewood ___________________________________________________________________ From: Morgan Hazen Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2023 8:38 AM To: PZC <pzc@homewoodil.gov> Subject: Inknum Tattoo & Body Piercing To Whom It May Concern, As I am unable to attend tonight's meeting I wanted to reach out and show my support for Mr. Garrity and Inknum Tattoo & Body Piercing shop. I have known Mr. Garrity for almost 10 years now and I could not think of a better guy to support his endeavor in Homewood. He is a great business owner and an amazing person. Again, I wanted to reach out and show my support for approval of Mr. Garrity's shop in Homewood. Thank you ___________________________________________________________________ From: dawn gilbert Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2023 9:21 AM To: PZC <pzc@homewoodil.gov> Subject: Support for Ink-N-Um Tattoo Shop Hello, I would like to voice my support for Ink-N-Um to move to Homewood. I have known Mr. Garrity for over 10 years, and I know that he is a responsible business owner. He is licensed, and he keeps his shop clean and up to code. Also, Mr. Garrity has been a longtime resident of Homewood, and I know the village prides itself in supporting local artists. It makes sense to have a locally owned tattoo shop in Homewood. On a personal note, I would love to have his shop closer, and I know that there are many others who live in or near Homewood who would also love for the shop to be closer. I hope we will be seeing Ink-N-Um in Homewood soon. Thank you for your time. Dawn Gilbert _______________________________________________________________________________ From: Kris Condon Sent: Sunday, September 24, 2023 5:42 PM To: PublicComments <comments@homewoodil.gov> Subject: For Public Comment, September 26 Board Meeting Good Afternoon: I submit the following public comment for inclusion with the September 26 Board of Trustees meeting materials. Thank you. Dear President Hofeld and Village of Homewood Trustees: Thank you for what I hope was the first of many Committee of the Whole meetings last Tuesday night. By attendance alone, I hope this is an activity the Board will continue to offer. I appreciated the questions about the proposed sound and lighting projects currently up for vote at tonight’s meeting. I also understand and appreciate the Village’s wish to make the downtown area aesthetically pleasing. Moving into the Martin Square district during its “Homewood Village Square” days, I understood it was the social center of the village and that event hours might not coincide with my own. I also knew there were other areas outside of the public square, such as my current subdivision, that would be much quieter than living downtown. That said, I appreciate the Village’s efforts to adjust the music schedule and, presumably, the volume to accommodate downtown residents who now work from home in a post-pandemic world. My concern about your vote this evening relates to the scope of this amenity “footprint,” most notably directly adjacent to a church and one-half block from a funeral home. While I appreciated the explanation that sound can be adjusted or turned off at specific locations, no insights were offered into the Village’s outreach to the former St. Paul Community Church and Tews-Ryan Funeral Home (or whether their input had been solicited at all). For that reason, I would hope any expansion of this program would reexamine the scope of this project along Dixie Highway, particularly south of Kroner Lane and Hickory Road. Thank you for taking the time to listen to my comments. Respectfully, Kristine M. Condon Dr. Kristine M. (Kris) Condon Homewood, IL 60430