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, October 29, 2018 6:30 PM Village Hall I. Call to Order Village President Abu-Taleb called the Meeting to order at 6:31 P.M. II. Roll Call Present: 5- Village Trustee Taglia, Village President Abu-Taleb, Village Trustee Tucker, Village Trustee Boutet, and Village Trustee Andrews Absent: 2- Village Trustee Button, and Village Trustee Moroney III. Consideration of Motion to Adjourn to Executive Session to Discuss Property Aquisition and Sale of Property It was moved by Village Trustee Andrews, seconded by Village Trustee Boutet, to enter into Executive Session pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(5) - acquisition of property and 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(6) - sale of property. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 5- Village Trustee Taglia, Village President Abu-Taleb, Village Trustee Tucker, Village Trustee Boutet, and Village Trustee Andrews NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 2- Village Trustee Button, and Village Trustee Moroney V. Reconvene to Special Meeting in Council Chambers and Call to Order The Special Meeting reconvened at 7:11 P.M. VI. 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 VII. Agenda Approval It was moved by Village Trustee Andrews, seconded by Village Trustee Boutet, to approve the Agenda. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. VIII. Minutes There were no Minutes for approval. Village of Oak Park Page 1 Printed on 11/6/2018 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes October 29, 2018 IX. Public Comment Bonita Robinson. Ms. Robinson spoke in support of the Village Clerk's Office. Chris Donovan. Mr. Donovan discussed the lack of outreach to residents regarding the items on tonight's agenda. Marty Bernstein. Mr. Bernstein noted that there will be a Town Hall Meeting tomorrow at OPRF Hight School regarding their proposed renovations. X. Consent Agenda Approval of the Consent Agenda It was moved by Village Trustee Andrews, seconded by Village Trustee Tucker, to Approve the Consent Agenda. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. A. RES A Resolution Approving a Change Order for the Contract with Norvilla, LLC. 18-1019 for Project 18-14, Bridge Rehabilitation Improvements, and Amendment to the Contract for an Additional Amount not to Exceed $64,790 and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. XI. Regular Agenda B. ID 18-1001 Discussion Regarding the Redevelopment of Madison Street Public Infrastructure also known as the Madison Street Road Diet. Village Manager Pavlicek stated that this Item is a presentation and discussion only. Brian Crawford, representing Bike Walk Oak Park. Mr. Crawford and his organization are supportive of the project. He would like the Bike Plan implemented throughout the Village. Sylvia Schweri, representing Bike Walk Oak Park. Ms. Schweri urged the Board to support the Madison Street Transportation Plan in order to make the street safer for bikers and pedestrians. Carl Wuhlstrom. Mr. Wuhlstrom expressed concern regarding the reduction in parking during construction. Brett Williams. Mr. Williams discussed current safety issues on Madison Street and is supportive of the road diet. Chris Donovan. Mr. Donovan reviewed the history of the project and expressed concern regarding the lack of public participation. Steve Legatzke. Mr. Legatzke is concerned with traffic on Madison but feels it will only be diverted onto side streets. He suggested that the Village get commitments from businesses prior to narrowing the street. Clare McDermott, representing Bike Walk Oak Park. Ms. McDermott gave crash Village of Oak Park Page 2 Printed on 11/6/2018 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes October 29, 2018 statistics for Madison and statistics on road diets and improved safety. Daniel Block. Mr. Block supports the road diet and discussed the difficulty in crossing Madison. Rachel Poretsky. Ms. Poretsky spoke about the success of road diets in other communities. Ian Silber. Mr. Silber discussed the traffic and development on Madison Street in Forest Park. He believes increasing population density rather than diverting traffic would be more successful. Francis Bakalar. Mr. Bakalar stated that this will not solve the lack of business development on Madison. There must be other solutions to slow traffic on Madison. He is strongly against the road diet. Village Engineer Bill McKenna introduced John Mac Manus of consulting group Altamanu. Mr. Mac Manus stated that they have been involved with the project since 2010. Businesses and people want safety and security. He discussed their research and outreach to the community. Mr. McKenna discussed the scope of a streetscaping project and implementation of a road diet as directed by the Board in 2015 and provided a history of what has been addressed as well as past conceptual designs. The project is currently out for bid and staff expects to bring a proposal to the Board for consideration on November 19. Mr. McKenna gave a breakdown of the three phases of the project; street resurfacing and road diet in 2019, streetscape of Oak Park Avenue to East Avenue in 2020 pending Board approval and streetscape of Home Avenue to Oak Park Avenue is yet to be determined. He described the road diet, which will not involve shifting of curblines but will include street resurfacing from Harlem to Austin and a buffered bike lane from Oak Park Avenue to Austin. There will be a bid alternate for resurfacing Oak Park Avenue to East Avenue should the Board decide they want to move forward with the streetscape in that section, as well as a bid alternate for sewer lining. Mr. McKenna presented several illustrations indicating what the proposed changes would be. Construction is expected to commence in April 2019. Estimated cost for the entire project is $5.6 million, with $625,000 related to the road diet. The sewer lining should be approximately $585,000 and the alternate street resurfacing approximately $355,000. Josephine Bellalta of Altamanu explained the process for developing streetscape plans to increase walkability and encourage more use of the space. She clarified that the buffered bike lane will be located between the curb and the parking lane and presented the proposed palettes for each segment of the streetscape. Village Trustee Andrews expressed concern about traffic and asked what has been done to study this as well as the effect on adjacent streets. Mr. McKenna stated that a number of studies have been done on Madison. Cars are traveling fast, and the speed limit would be reduced to 25 - 30 mph. Changing the character of the road will encourage drivers to drive slower. Traffic diversion onto adjacent streets will occur to an extent. Current projections are approximately 5% to 15%. Jackson will increase approximately 400-600 vehicles per day and Washington approximately 400-1300. Mr. McKenna described what staff is looking to do in order to calm traffic. Village Trustee Button asked if staff has gotten any feedback from the schools. Mr. McKenna stated that they have not but they will be engaged as part of the traffic study for Village of Oak Park Page 3 Printed on 11/6/2018 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes October 29, 2018 calming on Jackson and Washington. There will also be traffic studies on Madison once the road diet has been completed and driven on for a time. Village Trustee Taglia asked if the police and fire chiefs have been asked their opinions regarding how this may affect response times and if they anticipate a reduction in accidents. Mr. McKenna stated that he would provide that information at the November 19 meeting. Village Trustee Tucker asked how significant the extra traffic on Jackson on Washington will be compared to what it is currently. Mr. McKenna stated that Jackson currently has between 3,000 and 4,000 vehicles per day; Washington is between 4,000 and 5,300. Typical fluctuation is approximately 10%. Potential diversion will be noticeable during peak hours. Village Trustee Moroney commented on the value of center turn lanes and that the medians are in the way of the most compelling reason to do a road diet. He asked what the cost would be. Mr. McKenna commented that the cost is several million dollars to remove them. Village Trustee Moroney discussed the danger of crossing Madison Street and he is supportive of the road diet for the safety issue. He does not support the streetscaping and wants to remain within the TIF budget. Village Trustee Boutet asked about crash data and how the road diet will address that. Mr. McKenna stated the road diet will create a better viewing opportunity for left turns, which cause the most severe crashes. Crash data is still being studied. Village Trustee Boutet would like to see that. She supports the road diet. She likes the streetscape but it is not a spending priority. Village President Abu-Taleb thanked all who were in attendance for hearing the presentation. He summarized the value of the project. Village Trustee Button supports streetscaping but would be willing to consider compromise including removing medians. Village Trustee Tucker agreed and added that it is a community equity issue. Village Trustee Andrews is ultimately in favor of the road diet but cautioned that undoing a previous streetscape is concerning. He is against Phase II and Phase III. In addition, adding streetscape in just one part of Madison is not fair to rest. Village Manager Pavlicek commented that it is too late to change bid requests. The Board can seek additional change order information once the bids are received. Staff will provide cost information regarding the medians and portions of streetscape. C. MOT 18-403 Motion to Concur with the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation (Oak Park EDC) Recommendation to Name Jupiter Realty Company, LLC (Jupiter) as the Preferred Developer for 700-728 Madison and Direct Staff to Negotiate a Redevelopment Agreement. Peter Nolan, representing Sugar Beet Co-op. Mr. Nolan spoke about the ownership structure of Sugar Beet Co-op. They support development on Madison Street but are concerned that a new large grocery store two blocks away could hurt their business. They would like to be part of this process. Village of Oak Park Page 4 Printed on 11/6/2018 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes October 29, 2018 Bonita Robinson. Ms. Robinson urged the Board to vote no regarding this Item because of the multi-million dollar incentive that will be given to the developer. Chris Donovan. Mr. Donovan apologized to those who submitted bids but were not chosen, as he believes that this was not a level playing field. Ian Silber. Mr. Silber is not supportive of another grocery store on Madison and suggested a restaurant or shops with residential above. Sandy Pederson. Ms. Pederson is opposed to having another Pete's in the area and is concerned with the height of the senior living building. Village Manager Pavlicek gave a history of the Villages' purchase of the properties and an overview of the amended Request For Proposals. John Lynch of the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation discussed the events leading to the OPEDC's recommendation of Jupiter Realty's proposal as well as their rationale. He discussed contributions and financial incentives that Pete's has requested from the Village and their projected benefits to the Village. The OPEDC is also recommending Jupiter's proposal because they are able to provide developments on both sides of the street, Pete's on the north and the proposed senior development on the south. Jerry Ong of Jupiter Realty stated that he and his firm understand the need for something transformative on Madison Street that is significant enough to create a destination. He believes that they will be able to work with staff to coordinate with the road diet. In addition, Pete's has committed to customizing their store to the neighborhood. Village Trustee Moroney referenced the retail component on the site plan and did not want that to get overlooked. He asked what was envisioned for that. Mr. Ong stated that it will be a one-story development with space for two or three retailers; the selection has not taken place yet. A representative of Pete's Fresh Market stated that this will be a neighborhood store and they appreciate having the opportunity to customize their layout to the space. She spoke about some of the possible components and plans for the store. Tom Williams from Paragon discussed the senior development. He stated that the amenities that would be available with Pete's and Jupiter are necessary to support the proposed senior development. Village Trustee Taglia was optimistic regarding the return on the investment in terms of retail and real estate taxes. Village Trustee Boutet expressed concern regarding the large parking lot. Village Trustee Andrews believed this will be a good investment and Pete's will be a great anchor. Village Trustee Moroney acknowledged that the open market has not provided an opportunity without incentive and another type of development with more restaurants or retail has not come forward, even with incentive. He thanked the other respondents and hopes they find another location in Oak Park for their developments, but believes this is Village of Oak Park Page 5 Printed on 11/6/2018 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes October 29, 2018 the best option for this location. Village Trustee Button agreed and asked that Pete's be a good neighbor and encouraged them to work with Sugar Beet. Village Trustee Tucker commented that development on Madison is long overdue and is supportive of Jupiter. Village Trustee Taglia likes the fact that without a residential component, the taxation is at a much better rate. The proposal is compelling and difficult to say no to. In addition, the senior component will contribute $400,000 in property taxes. Village Trustee Boutet is supportive of progress on Madison Street and likes that this proposal covers both sides of the street. Village President Abu-Taleb acknowledged that a project of this size has an impact on the immediate neighborhood. He asked Director of Development Customer Services Tammie Grossman how staff is planning on addressing challenges to the residents. Ms. Grossman stated that there are items that will be worked into the redevelopment agreement to address these concerns and the community will be kept up to date on the process. Village President Abu-Taleb spoke about the length of time that has passed and amount of work that has been put into this and is happy that this project is moving forward. It is creating jobs for the community and will attract more development. He believes Pete's will be a great neighbor and is committed to excellence. He thanked them for wanting to invest in Oak Park again. It was moved by Village Trustee Andrews, seconded by Village Trustee Tucker, that this Motion be approved. The motion was approved. The roll call on the 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 XII. Adjourn It was moved by Village Trustee Andrews, seconded by Village Trustee Button, to adjourn. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. Meeting adjourned at 10:05 P.M., Monday, October 29, 2018. Respectfully Submitted, MaryAnn Schoenneman Deputy Village Clerk Village of Oak Park Page 6 Printed on 11/6/2018