President and Board of Trustees

123 Madison Street Village of Oak Park Oak Park, Illinois 60302 www.oak-park.us Meeting Minutes President and Board of Trustees Monday, November 27, 2017 7:00 PM Village Hall I. Call to Order Village President Abu-Taleb called the Meeting to order at 7:02 P.M. II. Roll Call Present: 7- Village Trustee Button, Village Trustee Taglia, Village President Abu-Taleb, Village Trustee Tucker, Village Trustee Moroney, Village Trustee Boutet, and Village Trustee Andrews Absent: 0 III. Agenda Approval It was moved by Village Trustee Tucker, seconded by Village Trustee Button, to approve the Agenda. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. IV. Public Comment Bonita Robinson. Ms. Robinson expressed her dissatisfaction with the Village Board and staff's response to her complaint regarding enforcement of the nuisance code. Cate Readling. Ms. Readling discussed a shooting that occurred just outside of Oak Park this afternoon. V. Consent Agenda Approval of the Consent Agenda It was moved by Village Trustee Tucker, seconded by Village Trustee Andrews, to aqpprove the Items under the Consent Agenda. The motion was approved. The roll call vote was as follows: AYES: 7- Village Trustee Button, Village Trustee Taglia, Village President Abu-Taleb, Village Trustee Tucker, Village Trustee Moroney, Village Trustee Boutet, and Village Trustee Andrews NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 0 A. RES 17-700 A Resolution Approving a Parking Lot License Agreement with Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC and Authorizing Its Execution This Resolution was adopted. Village of Oak Park Page 1 Printed on 12/14/2017 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes November 27, 2017 B. RES 17-701 A Resolution Approving a Parking Lot License Agreement with Pete’s Fresh Market Oak Park Corporation and Authorizing Its Execution This Resolution was adopted. C. ORD 17-312 An Ordinance Approving Changes to Meter Hours for On-Street Parking Spaces on the 800 Block of Lake Street This Ordinance was adopted. D. RES 17-742 A Resolution Approving an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Board of Education of Oak Park Elementary School District No. 97 Related to the Holmes School Addition Project and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. VI. Regular Agenda E. ID 17-722 Presentation on Parking Fund Revenue Increases Village Manager Pavlicek commented that there was direction from the Board to review additional sources of parking income. Director of Development Customer Services Tammie Grossman gave an overview regarding options to increase parking revenues. Currently a deficit in the Parking Fund is anticipated. The Board previously approved a $5 increase to parking permits; staff estimates this will raise revenue $105,000 annually. Ms. Grossman presented six other options for the Board to consider. These include: 1. Charging for parking after 60 minutes in the Holley Court and Lake and Forest garages ($334,000 estimated additional revenue); 2. Charging for the first hour in all three garages, Holley Court, Lake and Forest and Avenue ($175,000 estimated additional revenue); 3. Charging for parking in all three garages on Sundays ($361,000 estimated additional revenue); 4. Charging $1 per hour at all parking meters ($329,000 estimated additional revenue); 5. Charging for parking from 6:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. Mondays through Saturdays ($628,000 estimated additional revenue) and 6. Charging for parking on Sundays at meters until 10:00 P.M. ($390,000 estimated additional revenue). Shanon Williams, Executive Director of Downtown Oak Park. Ms. Williams was opposed to any changes in parking fees. The current discounts have helped balance the stress of construction. Sara Bender, owner of SPENGA. Ms. Bender expressed concern regarding the increase at the Holley Court garage, as the current 90 minutes free parking is essential for her business to remain open. Cindy Summers, owner of Sugar Fixe and Board President of Downtown Oak Park. Ms. Summers stated that eliminating free parking will take away any incentive for using garages versus circling for street parking. Jason Smith, owner of The Book Table. Mr. Smith commented that if the Board wants to help support small businesses, they can leave parking rates as they are for now. However, he did not believe the valet program should continue. Michael Fox. Mr. Fox owns several properties in Oak Park. He asked that the Board Village of Oak Park Page 2 Printed on 12/14/2017 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes November 27, 2017 keep parking as it is. Raising parking costs will negatively affect shoppers' behaviors. Cate Readling. Ms. Readling spoke in favor or keeping valet parking and existing free parking. C.J. with the UPS Store. C.J. commented that lack of parking has hurt her business. Gina Varchetti. Ms. Varchetti suggested that meters be 90 minutes free. She commented that the Village has used the same towing company for 30 years and asked why an RFP has not been issued. Kitty Conklin. Ms. Conklin asked that the Board raise parking fees to ease the burden on taxpayers. Maureen Kleinman. Ms. Kleinman was in favor of ending valet parking. In addition, Divvy has limited usage; the costs need to come down. Cate Readling. Ms. Readling feels that Divvy has not been promoted very well. Usage would be increased if people knew more about it. Village Trustee Moroney acknowledged the significant investment the Village has in the garages. Ms. Grossman commented that these suggestions came forward through discussions at the Finance Committee level. Village President Abu-Taleb referred to the comments tonight from small business owners and agreed that they have been burdened by construction. Village Trustee Tucker stated that now is not the time to increase parking fees that would likely hurt small businesses. Village Trustee Andrews expressed concern regarding the Parking Fund deficit and proposed CIP parking related projects will eventually be a cost that will be a burden to the taxpayers. Village Trustee Button agreed with the sentiment that this is not the right time, given all the construction in Downtown Oak Park. This could always be reassesed. There needs to be a more global conversation with the business owners and consumers and not rush this to try to make a little bit of money at the last minute. Village Trustee Andrews believes it is the responsibility of the Board to do something to raise revenue unless there can be a guarantee that the taxpayers will not end up paying for the garages once the TIF expires. Village Trustee Moroney would support raising meter rates throughout Oak Park. Village Trustee Boutet asked for details regarding the expiration of the Downtown TIF. Village Manager Pavlicek explained that pursuant to the agreement with Districts 97 and 200, principal and interest payments on debt related to some of the parking garages is paid out of the Downtown TIF. When the TIF ends, staff would recommend to the Board to abate those bond issues and pledge parking revenues to pay for that debt service. Village Trustee Boutet supported some of the options, but was not in favor of making a last minute decision about parking so close to budget adoption. She discussed how all of these suggestions will have a ripple effect. She was in favor of raising the meter time to 8:00 instead of 10:00 for extra revenue. She also does not want to disturb the downtown area at this time. Village Trustee Button would like to see a priority list from the community to help make these decisions. Village Trustee Taglia is concerned over the deficit, but thinks it can be revisited at a later time. Village President Abu-Taleb was not in favor of driving prices up in general. He stated that increasing parking meters to $1 per Village of Oak Park Page 3 Printed on 12/14/2017 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes November 27, 2017 hour is the only suggestion he could tolerate. There was additional discussion. Village President Abu-Taleb asked who would be in favor of suggestion number 4, charging $1 per hour at all parking meters. Village Trustees Tucker, Andrews, Taglia and Moroney, as well as Village President Abu-Taleb were supportive. The Board gave direction to staff to move forward. Village President Abu-Taleb asked who would be in favor of keeping the metered parking to 6:00 P.M. All but Trustees Moroney and Andrews were supportive. Village President Abu-Taleb asked who would be in favor of charging for parking on Sundays. Trustees Tucker, Button, Taglia and Boutet, and Village President Abu-Taleb did not support charging for parking on Sundays. There was no support for any changes in garage parking, however Village Trustee Boutet would support charging for parking in garages on Sundays. G. ID 17-714 Presentation on the Valet Program Ms. Grossman discussed changes made to valet station locations in the downtown area. SP Plus, the provider, also agreed to set up an additional four stations, for a total of six, at no extra cost to the Village. She noted the locations. Ms. Grossman stated that staff and businesses have been promoting the valet service. She commented that most of the users are non-residents. Staff is recommending continuing through the next six months to test their promotional tactics and build on the success of the program. Village Trustee Andrews calculated that for a cost of $206,000 a year to the Village, to park an average of 4,341 vehicles, $23,000 in revenue is generated. This means that the Village pays a subsidy of $42 for every vehicle on top of what the customer pays. He commented that no other business districts have valet parking and if the downtown businesses want valet parking, that is something that should be done through Downtown Oak Park and/or Visit Oak Park. He is supportive of ending the valet parking. Village Trustees Boutet, Tucker and Button also agreed. Village Trustee Taglia commented that it served its purpose during construction and there is no reason to keep it. Ms. Grossman noted that the contract does not end until January and it is being promoted heavily for the holiday season. The Board agreed to honor the contract until the end of January. Village Manager Pavlicek stated that staff would appropriate four weeks worth of the service in the budget. F. ID 17-713 Presentation on Divvy Bike Share System Village Trustee Moroney discussed data regarding revenue and expenses from Divvy, noting that it cost the Village $208,000 this past year. There were 12,000 rides, which comes to a cost of $17 per ride to the Village. He does not believe that Oak Park is a prime candidate for Divvy, which is described as a means of travel for the last mile. Most Oak Park residents do not travel that way. In addition, those who are inclined to ride a bike ride their own. He also expressed concern regarding safety and the Village's liability if there is an accident. Village Trustee Boutet commented that Divvy is great for Chicago or Evanston but not Oak Park. Most tourist that come to Oak Park want to walk. She would like to see the money currently going to Divvy to go towards enhancing the Village's bike racks, etc. Village of Oak Park Page 4 Printed on 12/14/2017 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes November 27, 2017 Village Trustee Button disagreed. In regards to the "last mile', the entire northeast section of Oak Park has no access to public transportation. She was in favor of giving the program more time to succeed. Village Trustee Tucker agreed with Village Trustee Moroney regarding the numbers not being sustainable. However, he believes there is value in the program and would support it through next summer. If the numbers do not change by that time, he is in favor of ending the program. Village Trustee Andrews agreed and discussed additional figures pointing to the Village's loss. In order for this to succeed, there needs to be additional stations, but the cost will increase. He is uncomfortable signing a 5-year contract. He also expressed concern that sponsorship that benefits Chicago does not benefit Oak Park, yet Oak Park shares in the loss for theft of bikes. He would be in favor of keeping the program only if the Board agreed to specific benchmarks. Ms. Grossman stated that she has not had any conversations with anyone regarding renegotiating the contract. There is also a possibility that the grant the Village received from the City of Chicago to expand Divvy to Oak Park may have to be paid back if they end the program. There was further discussion regarding possible locations of additional stations and items to ask for in the new contract. For purposes of presenting a budget, Village Manager Pavlicek commented that staff will put in for a full year until a new contract is negotiated. H. ID 17-723 Additional Review of General Fund Expenses Village Trustee Boutet asked Village Clerk Scaman to present her budget requests. Village Clerk Scaman asked that the Records Coordinator position, currently in the Finance Department, be returned to the Clerk's Office, as the Clerk is by State Statute the keeper of records for the Village. She read portions of the Village Code that described duties of the Clerk regarding records. This change would not affect day to day functions at the Village. It would save money, as this position would be combined with the duties of the vacant Administrative Clerk position in charge of coordinating FOIA requests. A temp has been doing this task since June 1. In addition, there is software that specializes in FOIA requests, Gov QA, that she would like to purchase as well as the addition of a Boards and Commissions module in the Granicus software. Village Clerk Scaman discussed what these softwares can do that cannot be done with current technology at the Village. Village Trustee Boutet asked CFO Steven Drazner what the duties of the Record Coordinator are. Mr. Drazner replied that one of his duties is related to special events. There was a discussion regarding the roles of the Clerk and Records Coordinator in regards to special events. Village President Abu-Taleb acknowledged that half of the Record Coordinator's duties are related to the Clerk's Office. Village Trustee Boutet asked how the Gov QA software operates. Village Clerk Scaman stated that the software includes an automatic redaction function, as well as a search function that directs FOIA requesters to the web page containing the information they are seeking, if it is available on the website. She added that by law, all communications regarding each request must be retained. Currently, it is done manually. Village Trustee Village of Oak Park Page 5 Printed on 12/14/2017 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes November 27, 2017 Boutet stated that the software would be a great investment in terms of time and funds. She wants to give the new Clerk the tools she needs to succeed. Village Trustee Button agreed. She commented that over the past five to ten years, the role of the Clerk has been diminished. She would also like to see the Clerk have the tools to succeed. Being involved with FOIAs in her professional life, she acknowledged how difficult that task can be. There was further discussion regarding the volume of FOIA requests and the strict turnaround time. Village Clerk Scaman reiterated that this is all done through a manual process and always has been. She noted that Gov QA can be integrated with Laser Fiche, the software that the Village will be using for records. Village Trustee Button stated that she is a proponent of the software being requested. Village President Abu-Taleb asked Village Attorney Stephanides for his opinion. Village Attorney Stephanides stated that it is his understanding that the Laser Fiche software will do what the Gov QA software does. It will integrate with the other departments and keep the Law Department in the loop, which is crucial; the Law Department must be intimately involved with the FOIAs. Village Trustee Boutet asked if it has the redaction feature. Village Attorney Stephanides stated that the IT Department and the Village Manager are still in the process of setting the software up but the opportunity is there. Village Manager Pavlicek indicated that upgrading technology has been a Board priority. Laser Fiche will digitize and store all old records that are currently paper files. It is staff's intent to create an electronic routing system for FOIAs. She noted that FOIAs has been work performed by a union position, so there are some restrictions. Job descriptions have always been created under the Village Manager and she works directly with the labor unions that do that so the Village cannot just pluck and move things however they want. While Gov QA might be a good product, she is trying to create uniformity throughout the organization. Village Manager Pavlicek stated that it is more appropriate for the Manager and the IT Director to work with the Department Heads that work under the Manager. It becomes difficult when an independent elected official is directing departments how to organize their work. She supervises those Directors and would not get direct information or know whether they are performing their tasks. That becomes problematic. Village Attorney Stephanides added that the Record Coordinator position is governed under a collective bargaining agreement. That employee has to be under the Manager's supervision and that position is under the CFO. Village Trustee Tucker stated that if staff believes the software will perform those other tasks, he was in favor of waiting to see if it works. It can always be approved at a later time if it doesn't. He also fully understands the union side of this and deferred to his Village Manager on that. Village Trustee Andrews agreed to wait to determine if Laser Fiche will do this. However, he wants to make sure that the Clerk has the authority and the tools needed to do her job well. He also doesn't want the Clerk under undue stress to get the information out on time. Village President Abu-Taleb interjected and stated that when something goes wrong, the Village Manager is held accountable; you cannot control an elected official. Village Trustee Andrews commented that it is a challenge to manage people who don't report to you. Village President Abu-Taleb expressed concern that the Village may be exposed to a liability if the Village Attorney does not see the FOIAs before they are issued. Village Trustee Andrews stated that the process is not well defined. He suggested that the Clerk Village of Oak Park Page 6 Printed on 12/14/2017 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes November 27, 2017 and Manager work together to create a process. Village Trustee Moroney asked if a subcommittee of two Trustees, the Clerk and the Manager could be formed to come to a conclusion and come back with a recommendation for the Board. Village Trustee Taglia expressed concern that the Gov QA software hasn't been vetted and would like to know which is better. Village Trustee Boutet stated that there could be a placeholder put in the budget for the software. Every Village Clerk is the FOIA Officer. That person doesn't direct staff, they collect records from staff. The Records Coordinator job description that's been approved by the union has that position in the Clerk's Office. In addition, State Statute indicates that the Clerk is the keeper of all records that don't fall under another officer, not just Board records. She believes Clerk Scaman's request should be approved. Village Clerk Scaman stated that she has seen a demo of Gov QA and provided that information to Village Manager Pavlicek about a month ago. She is waiting for the Manager to set up a meeting with the IT Director to discuss this. She noted that other Clerks she has talked to have both Laser Fiche and Gov QA and that it is common for them to work together. She also discussed the process of preserving and disposing records. HR Director Julia Scott-Valdez described the FOIA process in Rockford, which was overseen by the Legal Department. She acknowledged that it is a complicated procedure and thinks Laser Fiche could provide some of the answers. In any case, the process needs to be improved. In response to Clerk Scaman's request, this does involve two union positions. They would have to work with the union. It also discusses eliminating one union position; they tend to not like to do that. It also discussed removing a position from the Finance Department that includes an important task that someone has to do. The Village has talked to the union regarding shifting that real estate tax task to the clerks in that department and the union put a hefty price tag on it. Village Trustee Boutet suggested a 50-50 budget split. Ms. Scott-Valdez stated that is a conversation they can have. However, perhaps they should see how Laser Fiche works first before making any staffing decisions. She suggested waiting to see the efficiencies gained by a process improvement and the software. Village Trustee Boutet asked when a new Administrative Clerk would be hired for the Clerk's Office. Village Manager Pavlicek commented that they are waiting for the budget to be adopted. The position is part of the memo they reviewed as part of the budget cuts. Village Clerk Scaman stated that if the Administrative Clerk position has been identified as being cut out of the budget, then apparently staff is already willing to have that conversation with the union. Village Manager Pavlicek stated that union conversations belong in Executive Session. Village President Abu-Taleb does not have a problem earmarking funds for Gov QA. However, It seems efficient to see how Laser Fiche operates and if that does not work out, they can revisit this conversation. Village Trustee Button agreed and volunteered to be part of the committee. Village Trustee Boutet volunteered as well. In addition, she did not want to see the Administrative Clerk position cut. Village of Oak Park Page 7 Printed on 12/14/2017 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes November 27, 2017 Village President Abu-Taleb asked for clarification regarding the Administrative Clerk position being cut. Village Manager Pavlicek stated that the Board had asked for $2.5 million in budget cuts; staff listed vacant positions whose workload could be absorbed into other positions. Village Trustee Andrews stated that staff should earmark for everything that the Clerk is asking for and form the committee tonight. There are differences of opinion regarding the role of the Clerk and the committee should establish what that role is. Village Attorney Stephanides stated that they cannot vote to form a committee tonight, as it's not on the agenda. There was further discussion. Village Trustee Moroney commented that there is an appetite in this community to have an active Village Clerk. He encouraged Trustees Boutet and Button to do their best to resolve this. There was direction from the Board to put a vote to form the committee on the next agenda, December 11. VII. Adjourn It was moved by Village Trustee Tucker, seconded by Village Trustee Button, to adjourn. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. Meeting adjourned at 10:00 P.M., Monday, November 27, 2017. Respectfully Submitted, MaryAnn Schoenneman Deputy Village Clerk Village of Oak Park Page 8 Printed on 12/14/2017