Senior Services Commission

Approved Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Senior Services Commission Village of Northbrook July 14, 2016 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. at Northbrook Village Hall, DPS Conference Room. Present were Chairman Rosenberg and members Caldwell, Hazaray, Lefkow, Moore, and Stern. Also present was Assistant Director of Finance Betsy Garibaldi, Realty and Mortgage (R&M) Representative Jaworski, Manager Marsha Crane and Recorder Anetsberger. Guests Village Trustee Robert Israel Review and Approval of Minutes A recommendation was made to make the following corrections: Page 3, line 7 'refuge company' should be 'refuse company' and Page 5, Section 3, line 2 'Tagalong' should be 'Tagalog'. A motion was made and seconded to accept the May 12, 2016 Senior Services Commission with two corrections. The motion was approved by unanimous voice vote. Chairman's Report Chairman Rosenberg urged the Commissioners to make an appointment with Manager Crane and tour Crestwood Place at their convenience. He stated that it is very important that Commissioners have a good understanding of the facilities. Chairman Rosenberg announced that Congressman Dold would be visiting Crestwood Place on August 16, 2016 at 1:30 p.m. The Dold Campaign reached out to Village Trustee Karagianis. Crestwood resident, John Koller, will make a presentation at tonight's meeting. The presentation will precede Old Business. Manager's Report Manager Crane reported that the replacement of a HVAC unit approved at the May 2016 meeting was installed with no problems. Manager Crane reported that bed bugs are no longer an issue at Crestwood Place. Manager Crane reported that Crestwood Place has recycling bins on all of the floors and returned to previous recycling guidelines. Manager Crane reported that at the present time Crestwood Place is 100% occupied after losing four tenants since the last meeting. Budget and Finance Chairman Rosenberg inquired if variances found in the statements were a matter of timing issues. Representative Jaworski stated that some items are permanent variances and that the month of May is the end of their fiscal year. Some items are put in the budget for contingency. 1) Review of April 2016 Financial Report Member Lefkow inquired about a charge for legal services. Representative Jaworski stated she had no details as they were authorized by the Village. A favorable variance of $3500 was tied to staff bonuses that were not yet approved. Member Caldwell, seconded by Member Stern moved to approve the April 2016 Financial Report. On voice vote, the motion passed. 2) Review of May 2016 Financial Report There were no issues with the statement. Member Caldwell, seconded by Member Stern moved to approve the May 2016 Financial Report. On voice vote, the motion passed. New Business Doors at Crestwood - ease of opening and closing Crestwood resident John Koller, retired architect, petitioned to make a presentation to the Commission at tonight's meeting. Materials were included in the packet. Mr. Koller stated that Crestwood Place was commissioned before the ADA law went into effect and, legally, the ADA does not apply to the buildings. If we were to apply the guidelines anyway, the door pulls and closers would not be in compliance with the 5 lb. pull limit. Figure A drawing (included in the packet) shows the ADA requirement of a minimum of 18 inches, preferably 24 inches from where the door strikes. Entering and exiting is difficult for those tenants using walkers due to the narrow space between the door and the wall corner. The doors use knobs and not handles. ADA law, again, if it applied, would mandate a lever handle. Mr. Koller feels that it is too expensive to replace the door but perhaps the issue could be resolved with pulls and levers. Mr. Koller stated that many tenants use walkers. Prices for apartment door locks and closers with reasonable prices are included in the packet. Locks, levers, rekeying and labor costs all would have to be sent out for bid. Mr. Koller requests an RFP and hopes that the project could be phased in as other projects have in the past. Manager Crane stated that a very small number of tenants in the past have asked for ADA doors. At that time the tenants had to absorb the cost and very few inquiries were received. Manager Crane stated that because Crestwood is a private building, the cost of the change, was not subsidized. Chairman Rosenberg recommends this is an action item that needs to be sent to Public Works. Public Works will look at the building and determine costs involved and will report back with their recommendation. Old Business 1) Recycling Program Manager Crane reported that the recycling program is back up and running and that the recycling bins are located on all floors within Crestwood. She reported that recycling issues are still a problem. Large signs printed in English from the recycling company are in public view. Manager Crane sends out recycling notices in native languages and displays are in universal signage with verbiage in English. Manager Crane stated that she found a plastic bag stuffed with many plastic bags in the recycling bin. Plastic bags are not recyclable. They need to be returned to a grocery store for recycling. It was suggested that Manager Crane take a picture of the indiscretion, draw a red line through it, and hang it up for display on or near the recycling bin. Some Commission members stated it is a matter of ignorance and lack of education while others believe in taking a harsher stance with punitive action when the person in violation is known. Member Moore stated that some tenants are consistent in their arrogance while others make a mistake. Manager Crane states that she is happy to enforce Crestwood's rules but needs the back up of the Commission. She will not send out any violation letters before the July Newsletter goes out to tenants. Trustee Israel offered that recycling is an educational process and by taking pictures of items that are not recyclable and posting them, will put the tenants on notice and gain advocates for the program. Manager Crane stated that she is trying to keep full size recycling bins in their proper places. She has 32 gallon bins on walls where she cannot place the big bins. 2) Office Hours The rules for office hours are: Crestwood Business Office will be open 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. on a daily basis. A sign will be displayed stating "Back in 1/2 Hour" when needed. If someone is not available for a 1/2 day situation, R&M will supply a substitute office person. If no one is available, Mike will keep the office open with Representative Jaworski's help. 24/7 emergency help is always available. 3) Crestwood Liaison A resident liaison for Crestwood Place is still needed. The position is still open. 4) Staff Evaluations The Commission recognized that the Village of Northbrook does not pay bonuses and no bonuses would be offered in the 2017 budget. The recommendation had been previously made for bonuses for deserving Crestwood staff in the 2016 budget. Member Moore questioned the "history" of paying out bonuses. Previously, the bonus line was not in the budget but R&M decided to include it as a line item. R&M was asked to provide evaluations on four employees. Representative Jaworski provided evaluation on the three current staff members as the fourth staff member recently resigned from his position. Representative Jaworski stated that she spoke with each employee regarding their evaluation. The Commission questioned the evaluations as there were no negative comments included for any position. Representative Jaworski answered that all employees either met or exceeded goals. Member Hazaray suggested a more in-depth evaluation in the future where goals, areas of development, and improvement are outlined. Member Hazaray suggested this year that a bonus should be linked to the employee's performance. Member Hazaray stated that in the future the Commission should still monitor evaluations even though going forward it is R&M's decision whether or not to pay out bonuses. Member Stern stated that the bonuses should be paid for 2016 based on Representative Jaworski's comments that the employees are saving money, performing preventative maintenance and the low vacancy rates, but in the future he feels that the employees need to be aware of expectations. A motion was made to pay the bonuses that were allocated in the 2016 budget by Member Stern and seconded by Member Moore. The motion passed. Going forward, Trustee Israel stated that R&M receives a stipend on a monthly basis and if the performance of the unit is good, they can choose to pay bonuses out of it. It is part of R&M's budget. Adjourn A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 8:05 p.m. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. The next meeting will be held on Thursday, September 08, 2016, at 7 p.m. at the Crestwood Place Activity Room. /s/S. Anetsberger Recorder