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, January 14, 2019 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 Andrews, to approve the Agenda. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. IV. Minutes There were no Minutes for approval. V. Public Comment Jim Peters. Mr. Peters suggested alternative methods of budgeting for 2020 in order to reduce taxes and spending. Kitty Conklin. Ms. Conklin discussed the importance of intergovernmental collaboration, noting that the e-cigarette discussion is an opportunity for that. She also spoke in favor of priority budgeting. VI. Regular Agenda A. MOT 19-3 A Motion to Receive the Board of Health’s Report and Recommendations Regarding the Use of E-Cigarettes Among Youth Board of Health Chair Florence Miller stated that the commission did an extensive study. The current tobacco ordinance includes prohibiting the sale of e-cigarettes to those under 21. Director of Public Health Mike Charley discussed statistics regarding the use of e-cigarettes by youths in Oak Park and River Forest. Ms. Miller commented that businesses understand the consequences of selling these items to youths. She gave additional recommendations, including signage and placement within a store, as well as alternative packaging and flavors that do not appeal Village of Oak Park Page 1 Printed on 1/29/2019 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes January 14, 2019 to a young audience. She described the concentration of nicotine in each pod as equivalent to a pack of cigarettes. The commission is also recommending that refillable pods be restricted, as they can be filled with other substances. Other recommendations include increased compliance checks and prohibiting the sale of these products from within 500 feet of a school. Ms. Miller referred to sample language from an ordinance in Hawaii. She also suggested collaboration with other organizations to educate parents and children. Village Trustees Andrews and Button expressed support for the recommendations. Village Trustee Button asked about the timing to move this forward. Village Trustee Boutet thanked Village Trustee Taglia for bringing this forward. She wondered how young people were gaining access to these products. Ms. Miller stated that there are a variety of ways. Village Trustee Boutet asked the Village Attorney to look into the legalities of what the Village can add to the ordinance in terms of the language provided. Village Trustee Tucker also thanked Village Trustee Taglia. He discussed the powerful money behind marketing to youth. Village Trustee Taglia thanked Mr. Charley, Ms. Miller and the Board of Health. He described this as a public health emergency and spoke in support of the strategies identified to reduce usage. He would like to see school resource officers supporting these strategies as well as a collaborative effort among all taxing bodies to address this. Village Trustee Moroney thanked the Board of Health, noting it is an excellent example of commission work. He suggested the ordinance should be relevant to both public and private schools and to increase the distance from schools to 1,000 feet. Village President Abu-Taleb asked if these can be treated exactly as cigarettes. Village Attorney Stephanides commented that they are currently addressed the same in the code. Village Manager Pavlicek added that some of the regulations are not specific enough to address the creative marketing tools utilized to attract youth, such as flavored pods. Those details would need to be included. Village Trustee Button would like to amend the motion to approve the recommendations and bring back the necessary actions to move forward. The original motion was amended by Village Trustees Andrews and Tucker. 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 Doris Davenport. Ms. Davenport supports transparency and efficiency in government. She expressed concern regarding the removal of the Village Clerk from the FOIA process. Village of Oak Park Page 2 Printed on 1/29/2019 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes January 14, 2019 She discussed the duties of the Clerk and believes that without an independent elected Clerk reviewing FOIA's, less transparency will become inevitable. She urged the Board to consider returning FOIA requests to the Clerk's Office. B. MOT 19-1 A Motion to Concur with the Staff Recommendations and Approve the 2019 Citizen Commission Work Plans as Amended Joshua Klayman. Mr. Klayman expressed concern that items have been removed from work plans by staff. He discussed the value of advisory commissions versus the cost of a consultant. Village Trustee Andrews commented that it should be easier to get items on a commission work plan. He believes that commissions should be a little more in control of their work plans. Village Trustee Button commented that commissions have healthy work plans and some of the items suggested to be removed are redundant or not specified in their ordinance. She spoke about how much she values commissions and asked for staff to speak of any new projects coming in 2019. Deputy Village Manager Shelley discussed why some of the projects have been removed. Village Trustee Boutet commented that the feedback she has received from commission members are feelings of frustration, being undervalued and not being able to advance initiatives. She feels that the Village is missing an opportunity by not taking advantage of these resources. Commissions should be able to have their own initiatives that coincide with their areas of interest and expertise. She would like status reports every six months from commissions that the Board generally doesn't hear from. She supports citizens engaged in democracy. Village Trustee Tucker reiterated the value of the work of the commissions. Village Trustee Moroney acknowledged the staff commitment to supporting commissions and the value of public input. Village Trustee Taglia suggested a summary of the commissions' previous year's accomplishments when submitting their work plans. Village President Abu-Taleb discussed the workload of the Village Board; they depend on staff and commissions for support. However, it is the Village Board who is accountable to taxpayers and they should be the ones who direct what work is given to commissions. It was moved by Village Trustee Tucker, seconded by Village Trustee Andrews, 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 C. MOT 19-10 A Motion to Amend the Work Plan of the Disability Access Commission to Add a Review of Accessibility Options to Village Hall, Including the Elevator Village of Oak Park Page 3 Printed on 1/29/2019 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes January 14, 2019 at the Southwest Lombard Entrance and the Vertical Platform Lift for Council Chambers Village Manager Pavlicek noted that this was requested by the Board during the FY19 Budget process. Village Trustee Moroney asked that the Disability Access Commission consider the tax burden already included in the Capital Improvement Plan when reviewing the need for two elevators at Village Hall at $1.7 million. Village Trustee Tucker trusts the commission to handle the project responsibly. Village Trustee Button stated that this item has been deferred for many years and Village Hall should be welcoming and accessible to all. Village Trustee Taglia is supportive and glad that the commission is looking into it. Village Trustee Andrews suggested that the commission consider how often the elevator will be used versus the cost. It was moved by Village Trustee Tucker, seconded by Village Trustee Button, 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 D. MOT 19-12 A Motion to Approve Staff’s Recommendation to Present an Ordinance on January 22, 2019 for a Parking Citation Amnesty Program for the Time Period of 2017 and Prior Related to Parking Citation Late Fees Village Manager Pavlicek commented that this will include late fees up to 2017. This was last done in 2004. It will also help to clean up the data system prior to launching the new one. Village Trustee Andrews expressed concern regarding the accumulation of fees to the point of being overwhelming. He suggested a moratorium on booting cars during the amnesty period. Director of Adjudication Robert Anderson confirmed that there will be no booting during that time. Village Trustee Andrews also proposed expanding the amnesty period to one quarter versus one month. Village Trustee Boutet stated that it is a great opportunity to collect old debt. She also supports extending it to three months. Village Trustee Moroney asked how those with outstanding tickets will be notified about the amnesty program. He also asked what the value of the outstanding 180,000 tickets is. Mr. Anderson stated that they will work with the Communications Department to publicize the amnesty period. The value of the tickets is approximately $13 million; however, that includes the late fees. The actual amount would be about 30 percent less. Village of Oak Park Page 4 Printed on 1/29/2019 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes January 14, 2019 It is difficult to predict how much of that will be recovered. Village Trustee Button commented that this will create amnesty for those who really need it. She is also in favor of a three month period. Village Trustees Tucker and Taglia support the program as well as extending the period to three months. Village Trustee Taglia would also like to permanently extend the amount of days allowed to pay a ticket. Village Manager Pavlicek outlined how this will affect the contract with the collector. It was moved by Village Trustee Andrews, seconded by Village Trustee Taglia, 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 VII. 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 8:34 P.M., Monday, January 14, 2019. Respectfully Submitted, MaryAnn Schoenneman Deputy Village Clerk Village of Oak Park Page 5 Printed on 1/29/2019