Comprehensive Plan Implementation Subcommittee

Niles 2030 Plan Implementation Sub –Committee Meeting Summary Tuesday October 16th, 2012 The following persons were in attendance: Committee members Fred Kudert, Chairman Chuck Ostman, and Mike Shields. Committee member Steve Gorski was absent by prior notice. Members Pat Dalessandro and Harry Major were also absent. Niles Trustee Louella Preston and Niles Community Development Manager Rich Wlodarski were also present along with Golf Mill Mall Manager Mike Williams and two members of his staff, Angelica Jurczyk and Monika Kalicki. The meeting was called to order at 6:40 PM by Chairman Chuck Ostman. 1. Because only three (3) committee members were present an official quorum was not established limiting the meeting to general discussion only. Any actions requiring voting would have to be deferred by Rules of Order. Subsequently the review and approval of the September 18th Meeting Minutes was postponed. 2. Mike Shields suggested considering a possible precautionary follow up contact to Harry Major and Pat Dalessandro to make sure that a meeting notice was received, given their perfect attendance and previous level of participation. Chairman Ostman indicated that they would be contacted accordingly. 3. Chairman Ostman continued with the agenda to discuss the following: 1) Presentation revisions and the upcoming presentation to the Building and Zoning Committee, 2) Proposals regarding the contents of the “Board Packet” for the November presentation to the Trustee’s, 3) The status of the hiring program and 4) The proposed employee orientation sessions. The planned initial discussion of ideas and thoughts concerning the possible next steps for the committee, for 2013 and beyond, was postponed because of attendance and the quorum issue. 4. Building and Zoning Committee: Chairman Ostman reported on the scheduled discussion concerning Niles 2030 at the regular monthly meeting of the Building and Zoning Committee which was held on September 20th. Chairman Ostman indicated that Fred Kudert provided a  brief outline of the sub-committee’s activities via an oral summary of the proposed presentation. A request was also made at this meeting, by Chairman Ostman, for a date for the formal presentation to the Building and Zoning Committee of the Niles 2030 implementation sub-committees recommendations to the Board. This meeting will occur October 31st at 8 AM. Chairman Ostman indicated that the purpose of this presentation was to obtain and insure the support of the Building and Zoning Committee for the sub committee’s recommendations, and to follow reporting protocol prior to the Village Board presentation. A request was also made at that time by Chairman Ostman to place the Board presentation on the Village Board’s November 23rd agenda as a pre- board session. 5. Regarding the October 31st Building and Zoning Meeting, Mike Shields proposed the following general procedural outline. He recommended that Chairman Ostman introduce the reason for the presentation (for advisory purposes only and to follow organizational reporting protocol) and then introduce the broad scope of this sub-committees work. Mike Shields would then lead the presentation details with participation from other committee members in certain sections to add further information and other important commentary. He also proposed to focus on holding the presentation to approximately 25 minutes with a question and answer period to follow as time permitted. Mike also suggested following this proposed format at the Board Presentation. Chairman Ostman and Fred Kudert agreed to his proposal. 6. Presentation Review: Mike Shields provided an update on the presentation changes. P. 3, 10 and 11 were revised based on direction from the previous meeting. It was also noted that the changes on P. 11 concerning the “economic drivers” of revenue and expenses were reviewed with Village Manager Van Geem via email, as previously outlined, and approved. In addition to the changes identified at the September 18th meeting Mike Shields apprised the members present of the following additional changes. The table on P.4 was updated based on the revisions to date in the main tracking/summary working document of the 183 objectives. P. 6 was updated to reflect the inclusion of previously missing ratings. Six (6) objectives rated ‘9’ (2014 Implementation) related to Sustainability and Arts and Culture were moved to the Village Managers Office in the responsibility assignment column, essentially as place holders until the  appropriate department and individual(s) for each objective are identified by the Village Manager. Fred Kudert and Chairman Ostman supported the changes described by Mike Shields. In addition Chairman Ostman indicated that an additional seven (7) to ten (10) working days are still required to complete all of the updates to the main tracking/summary document, including formatting. This document will be completed and available to the Board for the November 23rd meeting. 7. Board Packet: The details of the Board’s November 23rd information packet were discussed. In addition to the presentation the tracking/summary document will be included along with a bound copy of all approved meeting minutes as the minutes contain important detail regarding the main points of the recommendations. 8. Committee Direction 2013: As noted a formal discussion of this agenda item was postponed to a future meeting because of the absence of a quorum. However a brief general discussion followed. Trustee Preston asked a question concerning which calendar is used by the committee. As she mentioned, this relates to the difference between the Niles Fiscal Year Calendar (May 1 to April 30 – currently fiscal year 2013) and the conventional Roman calendar; and a general Board interest for common calendars wherever possible. Mike Shields replied that this committee uses the conventional Roman calendar and all activities and actions outlined in the committee’s recommendations such as the implementation timing of objectives and other key actions are based on it. He added that while a calendar change/shift is possible a change by the committee to the Niles fiscal calendar is likely to result in implementation delays because of the difference in each year’s start dates – May vs. January. There was no further discussion or action on this question. The committee and its recommendations will remain with the conventional Roman calendar. Trustee Preston also mentioned that over one year has elapsed since the 2030 long range plan was approved by the Board, asking what has been accomplished since then. Mike Shields replied that some significant actions have occurred: the zoning ordinance review program has been approved along with the recommended hiring program for the Community Development Dept., the planner and economic coordinator positions. Fred  Kudert added that the Storm Water program has also been approved, which is a major objective. 9. Employee Orientation: Chairman Ostman reported that there has been no action to date. He proposed to hold action on this step until January 1, after the new economic planner has been hired with the thinking that this individual would develop and lead the presentation programs to the employees and other organizations. Mike Shields commented from his personal experiences at Abbott Labs involving similar types of high level programs, that it was common place for upper management, Vice Presidents etc., to participate and in general lead presentations related to important major programs, such as 2030 implementation. Mike noted that their leadership and active presence demonstrated commitment and the priority and importance of key programs, with the expectation for all others to follow and participate. He also suggested that Mayor Callero, Village Manager Van Geem, Finance Director Neukirch and 2030 sub-committee Chairman Ostman would represent the individuals with similar levels of responsibility for leading the Niles program. Fred Kudert related to his personal professional experience and supported the importance of upper management’s leadership and participation in programs of this type, and the key need to do so in this program. Regarding a formal presentation, Mike Shields commented that a generic presentation suitable for all departments, employees and possibly other Village organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce could be developed from a combination of John Houseal’s 2011 orientation slides and the committee’s upcoming presentation. This would provide important consistency to the communications. Mike also offered a possible roll out approach, to have an initial orientation session solely for Department Heads to ensure their understanding and confidence in fielding questions, etc. related to the 2030 program after the employee presentations begin. Mid December was suggested as a possible date with an early January start for the direct presentations. Mike Shields offered to participate in the orientation session. 10. Hiring: Chairman Ostman provided the following update on hiring regarding the Economic Coordinator and Planner positions. Approximately eighty (80) inquiries were received for the planner position, which has been narrowed to three (3) candidates. A potential leading candidate is currently a municipal planner for an out of state community with comprehensive plan development experience independently authoring a plan for his municipality. A general discussion followed concerning Mike Shield’s question about the candidate’s perception of Niles and the position, as Niles is not a North Shore community such as Wilmette. Chairman Ostman indicated that the lead candidate believes that the Niles position represents a great individual opportunity. There was an additional general question from Mike Shields. Will politics be an influence on priority and affect the new hires and the speed of implementation of 2030 objectives? Various perspectives were offered. Fred Kudert noted that the candidates should understand and expect the presence of politics in these positions as a part of the job given the general existence of “politics” in many areas of life and business. Trustee Preston offered the view that current political circumstances in Niles are unique, primarily related to the recent discussions and actions concerning the Village Manager and specific job function details. Trustee Preston also stated that the two new positions will not require a Board interview or approval as they are not Director level positions. The hiring decision is a Village Manager responsibility. A question was raised by Monika Kalicki from the Golf Mill Management office about a job function detail of the planner’s position; the relationship with outside organizations. Will the planner interact with the Chamber? Chairman Ostman indicated yes, that one of the position’s job functions is to represent the Village at outside meetings with a goal to develop co- operative events and activities, etc. Chairman Ostman stated that the hiring process for both positions was on schedule for a December 3 start date. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday November 13th at 6:30 PM. The meeting was adjourned at 7:19 PM.