Senior Services Commission

Approved Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Senior Services Commission Village of Northbrook September 10, 2015 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. at the Northbrook Village Hall Terrace Room. Present were Chairman Rosenberg and members Bachrach, Caldwell, Ganitopoulos, Stern, and Vass. Also present was Assistant Director of Finance Betsy Garibaldi, Realty and Mortgage (R&M) Vice President Hugh Rider, Representative Crane, and Recorder Anetsberger. Guests Trustee Robert Israel Chairman's Report See items under Old Business. Review and Approval of Minutes The July 9, 2015 minutes should be corrected as follows: A global change should be made to correct the spelling of Representative Crane within the document. A spelling correction on p. 3 under Hear from the Audience, Rochelle Ogas should be corrected to read Rochelle Ogaz. A spelling correction on p. 3 under Hear from Audience - Mary Jane Maslouski - Dominick's Pizza should be corrected to read Domino' s Pizza. On page 1 under Chairman's Report, paragraph 2, line 8, Manager Crane's name should be deleted, (Chairman Rosenberg conferred with...) A motion to accept the July 9, 2015 Senior Services Commission minutes with corrections was made by Member Vass and seconded by Member Caldwell. The motion was approved by unanimous voice vote. Manager's Report Representative Crane reported that on the east side of the old school entrance the railings are rotting and one railing fell off the sidewalk. Three quotes were obtained. New metal railings will be installed by KDI Ironworks along with all necessary concrete repair work. KDI Ironworks located in Palatine offered the lowest bid at $9,180.00. An $11,000 line item in the budget had been previously approved. Projected cost for the project is under $10,000 and therefore does not need Village Board approval. Public Works is aware of the project. A motion to proceed with railing replacement on Crestwood Place awarding the contract to KDI Ironworks was made by Member Stern and seconded by Member Vass. The motion was approved by unanimous voice vote. Representative Crane stated that one of the rooftop HVAC units is in need of replacement. The Village suggests that the unit be changed to a gas unit as three of the eight units have previously been converted from electric to gas. Representative Crane stated that the replacement is a budgeted line item and that there is always money in the budget for one roof top unit as several of the units are 30 years old. The quote was sent to the Village. Representative Crane reported that the toilet replacement program would be completed within the coming week. “The project has proceeded smoothly with satisfactory results but there were communication issues and lack of communication issues. The Contractor used verbage that manager Crane was not used to and changing the order of the units being worked on and so it was difficult to manage the residents’ expectations.” Representative Crane reports that at the present time Crestwood Place is 100% occupied. Budget and Finance 1) Review of June 2015 Financial Report Chairman Rosenberg questioned income account financials - an unfavorable timing variance on the raise of rents. He questioned if the tenants involved were notified that there would be an increase in rent. Representative Crane replied that only new incoming tenants have received an increase in rent; current tenants' rent has remained static. Chairman Rosenberg questioned unfavorable variance in ground maintenance service in the amount of $1900. Manager Crane reported it was a timing issue and that money had been approved in the budget. Member Ganitopouolos, seconded by Member Bachrach moved to approve the June 2015 Financial Report. On voice vote, the motion passed. 2) Review of July 2015 Financial Report Chairman Rosenberg questioned the July balance sheet. IPTIB rental in June showed $64,524.88. The line item does not show up on the July statement. Realty and Mortgage (R&M) Vice President Hugh Rider will re-examine the statement and will make a report to Chairman Rosenberg and cc Liaison Garibaldi. Member Vass, seconded by Member Ganitopoulos moved to approve the July 2015 Financial Report. On voice vote, the motion passed. Old Business PR Announcement for Toilet Replacement Program at Crestwood Place Member Stern questioned if the Commission still favored a PR announcement for the new toilet installations at Crestwood and the 200,000 gallon anticipated water savings. Village Trustee Israel suggested that a promo piece might be attractive on the conservation side of things. Items Brought Up at the Tenants' Meeting 1) Chairman Rosenberg brought up the fact that at the July 9, 2015 Senior Services Meeting held at Crestwood, Ms. Nina Popovich inquired about the functionality of the stoplight located at Shermer and Waukegan. At that time CFO/Deputy Village Manager Jeff Rowitz stated that he would check into jurisdiction ownership of the stoplight with respect to the pedestrian signal. Liaison Garibaldi at tonight's meeting stated that she will make the determination and report back. Manager Crane will inform Ms. Popovich that she should press the button on the light pole for the pedestrian signal to appear. Member Ganitopoulos offered to make a field test of the site and report back.  2) Chairman Rosenberg requested follow up from the Village on Ms. Mary Jane Maslouski's issue with street lighting from Kiest Avenue towards Domino's Pizza. New Business Member Bachrach reported to those in attendance that it was highly suggested to him when he was first interviewed for the Senior Services Commission that the Commission's duties were not singularly devoted to Crestwood Place. He suggested to the Senior Services Commission that a new initiative might be to look into the implementation of a Senior Connector Transportation Program within the boundaries of the Village of Northbrook. Member Bachrach highlighted information from the City of Highland Park on the free service and offered a handout at tonight's meeting. Senior Connector Free Bus The City of Highland Park Senior Connector operates Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and is available for use by residents 50 years of age and older. The bus is handicapped accessible, and the route is a continuous circuit, with stops at most locations every hour. Riders are asked to follow the guidelines below:  The Senior Connector service can make additional stops, upon request, within its fixed route as long as the location is safe.  The Senior Connector service is a handicapped-accessible bus with complementary assistance provided by City employee to assist seniors with their belongings.  Seniors accompanied by aides for mobility assistance are also welcome to ride along. Member Bachrach stated that 25% of Northbrook's population are seniors and this topic might be worthy of this Commission to investigate further. Northbrook seniors make visits to doctors, movie theaters, park district events, the library etc. The service would help with keeping business within the Village boundaries. Member Bachrach stated that a representative could contact Pace for a cost break out on the handicap and disabled bus service. One option would be for the Village of Northbrook to contract the service with Pace for 1-2 years and re-evaluate. Member Bachrach offered that the current bus contract operating within Northbrook does not offer custom pick-ups and drop-offs. Discussion followed. Members Caldwell and Stern thought it was worthy of investigation. Member Ganitopoulos asked Member Bachrach if he was in possession of any ridership usage statistics from the City of Highland Park. She offered that there is a need but questioned if services were duplicated with the Village of Northbrook Subsidized Taxicab Program. She stated that many churches and faith based organizations offer senior rider assistance and included the fact that this Commission has worked on a comprehensive list of the resources available to seniors in the Northbrook community including those of the North Shore Senior Center. Chairman Rosenberg stated that if the financials made sense for this type of service, he favored to have the service subcontracted out as opposed to the Village incurring the costs of all things that would be relevant to the service. He asked Member Bachrach to take the lead on further investigation. Trustee Israel questioned if it would make more sense if there was an increased presence of Pace within the Village that might not be solely for seniors. He suggested the Commission make a recommendation to the Village to see if there are available resources and to find out if there is a need and the ability to do so. A motion was made by Member Bachrach and seconded by Member Stern that the Senior Services Commission as well as the Transportation Department of the Village of Northbrook conduct a public transit study to serve either the senior population better and the general population of Northbrook at large. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. Hear from the Audience None Adjourn Member Vass moved, seconded by Member Caldwell to adjourn the meeting at 7:40 p.m. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. The next meeting will be held on Thursday, November 12, 2015, at 7 p.m. at the Village Hall Terrace Room. /s/S. Anetsberger Recorder