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 Tuesday, January 21, 2020 7:30 PM Village Hall I. Call to Order Village President Abu-Taleb called the Meeting to order at 7:32 P.M. II. Roll Call Present: 7- Village President Abu-Taleb, Village Trustee Andrews, Village Trustee Boutet, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Moroney, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla Absent: 0 III. 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. IV. Non-Agenda Public Comment Anthony Clark. Mr. Clark discussed an incident regarding a young Black man with a disability who mistook a vehicle as his Lyft ride and was attacked by the driver. He challenged the Board to be more proactive regarding systemic racism. Zerrin Bulut. Ms. Bulut asked if Oak Park is really as welcoming as it claims. She does not think so and asked what the Village is going to do to address racism. Susanne Fairfax. Ms. Fairfax stated that public safety is for all. The Village needs to do a better job addressing racism. Village Trustee Andrews asked Chief of Police La Don Reynolds what has been done regarding this incident. Chief Reynolds stated that he spoke with the victim and was concerned not only with the crime, but how the police handled the situation. He has opened an internal investigation. The subject was arrested at the scene. Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla raised additional concerns regarding people of color who do not feel safe in Oak Park. Village President Abu-Taleb expressed his sympathy to the victim's mother. He also believes that the value of life is priceless. All residents want to feel safe and that they belong. He asked Chief Reynolds what he plans to do if, during the investigation, he discovers that the police involved could've handled this better. Chief Reynolds believes it is his responsibility to correct inappropriate behavior of his staff and will hold them accountable. However, an error made due to insufficient training is different than a conscious decision to make a mistake. Village of Oak Park Page 1 Printed on 1/28/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes January 21, 2020 V. Regular Agenda A. ID 20-029 Presentation and Discussion of the 2019 Village of Oak Park National Citizen Survey Results Village Manager Pavlicek gave an overview. Director of Communications David Powers discussed the background of the survey and how findings are compiled. The same survey is conducted in municipalities across the nation. He noted key conclusions. Residents have a strong sense of community. The image, appearance and Oak Park as a place to raise children exceed national benchmarks. Safety remains a community priority. While respondents felt safe overall, about half felt that crime is a moderate or major problem. There is praise for local economy but concerns about cost of living. Education and enrichment opportunities are also appreciated. Quality of life responses that exceed national benchmarks include ease of walking, travel by bicycle, overall built environment, vibrant downtown/commercial area, place to visit, openness and acceptance, opportunities to participate and opportunities to volunteer. Those lower than national benchmarks are travel by car, public parking and cost of living. Other findings of interest are 79% rated overall quality of services excellent or good; 67% had contact with Village employees, which is higher than the national benchmark; animal control and public information ratings, as well as use of public transportation, walking and biking instead of driving also exceeded national benchmarks. He urged all to look through the entire survey, as these are just some of the highlights. Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla expressed concern that racial demographics do not exist in the survey; a respondent is either white or non-white. Mr. Powers explained that too much of a breakdown would result in too few responses to draw a conclusion. Village President Abu-Taleb discussed the value of the survey as a comparison to other communities across the country. Mr. Powers added that this should be used to look at what has declined over time and needs improvement. Village Trustee Boutet asked what staff will do with this information. Village Manager Pavlicek stated that they will compare the document to board goals. She also addressed the racial awareness aspect and stated that the Board will have the opportunity to decide if this is an effective tool to use in the future during the FY21 or FY22 Budget discussions. B. RES 20-049 A Motion to Concur with the Staff Recommendations and Approve the 2020 Citizen Commission Work Plans as Amended Village Manager Pavlicek described how the commissions create their work plans. She noted that staff has made three modifications. Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla is not supportive of staff making changes to volunteer commission work plans and doesn't understand why items were removed. Jim Downing, Chair of the Citizens Police Oversight Committee (CPOC). Mr. Downing stated that the commission would like to join the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) and are requesting support from the Board. Village Trustee Boutet commented that the Board has not received any reports from CPOC's investigations. Mr. Downing stated that he would provide them. Village of Oak Park Page 2 Printed on 1/28/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes January 21, 2020 Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla stated that the Community Relations Commission (CRC) had planned to host a police forum, but staff removed it from their work plan. She suggested to Mr. Downing that perhaps CPOC could work with CRC regarding that. Village Trustee Taglia is the Trustee Liaison to CPOC and encouraged the Board to support their membership in NACOLE . Chief Reynolds was also supportive of CPOC joining the organization. Village Manager Pavlicek concurred and noted that it is an excellent resource. She suggested that they join for a year and report back on its value. Village President Abu-Taleb mentioned the reports requested by Village Trustee Boutet. Village Manager Pavlicek stated that she will work with the HR Director to supply the reports. Village Trustee Boutet commented that some of the work in the Aging in Place Commission is being done by other organizations and she would prefer to work collaboratively with them instead of creating redundancy. She would like the word "marijuana" changed to "cannabis" in the Board of Health's work plan. Village Trustees Boutet and Walker-Peddakotla requested that the Building Codes Advisory Commission (BCAC) add a review of the International Green Construction Code to their work plan. Director of Development Customer Services Tammie Grossman commented that staff is looking to update all building codes shortly and would add that to their work plan. Village Trustee Boutet asked about the Transportation Commission's recommendations for the Parking Pilot Program. Ms. Grossman stated that this will be presented to the Board shortly. Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla would like CPOC more empowered. She would like them to review the General Orders of the Police. She was also interested in hearing about the Civic Information Systems Commission's 2021 Look Ahead Topic regarding internet providers. Chair David Baker discussed the lack of choice for cable/internet providers in multi-unit buildings. Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla would like this moved up to the 2020 work plan. Village Trustee Boutet asked for an update on the Fiber Project with D-97. Village Manager Pavlicek stated that awarding of the construction contract will be on the February 3 Board Agenda. In addition, with the adoption of the Board Goals, staff will begin working on the Smart City piece. Mr. Baker discussed updating the Village's Privacy Policy. Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla referred to the project regarding an open data proposal. She commented that the Board has discussed using GovQA several times for FOIAs. She asked what the holdup for adopting that is. Mr. Baker stated that the commission has not looked at GovQA. Village Trustee Boutet would like searchable transactions on the website. Mr. Baker stated that the commission feels more comfortable presenting a complete open data proposal instead of several individual components. Village Trustee Boutet mentioned GovQA, Open Gov and Clear Gov for consideration. Village of Oak Park Page 3 Printed on 1/28/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes January 21, 2020 Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla would like to see the CRC's Police Forum remain in their work plan. She also would like the light pollution research to remain on the Energy and Environment Commission's (EEC) work plan. Village Manager Pavlicek stated that this was previously referred to the BCAC at the direction of the Board in response to a neighborhood dispute. If this is in regards to streetlighting, the Board has already adopted the policy and the streetlights are being installed according to that. In fact, most of the town has already been installed. Village Trustee Boutet stated that the priority for EEC should be moving ahead with a plan regarding the use of the Sustainability Fund. Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla would also like to see the Housing Programs Advisory Committee add the Oak Park Regional Housing Center as a resource partner in their work plan. Village Trustee Taglia asked for a response from the Chief regarding a review of General Orders by CPOC. Chief Reynolds was not necessarily opposed, but the department is in the process of moving to Lexipol, which provides policies and procedures to municipalities across the nation. They are reviewed by attorneys and are based on Federal, State and best practices. Village Trustee Boutet is more comfortable with a legal review than a citizen review. Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla asked Chief Reynolds if he would be opposed to the General Orders being published online. He was not, although there are some exceptions. Village Manager Pavlicek explained that Police Forums are held for various reasons at the direction of the Village Board, not citizen commissions. There was consensus to approve the following amendments: Change the word "marijuana" to "cannabis" in the Board of Health's work plan; add a review of the International Green Construction Code to the Building Codes Advisory Commission's work plan; add look into open data capability for website and GovQA for FOIAs in the Civic Information Systems Commission's work plan and add the Regional Housing Center as a partner in the Housing Programs Advisory Committee's work plan. There was not consensus to approve the following: reviewing General Orders by the Citizens Police Oversight Committee, moving 2021 internet/cable provider options for multiple-unit buildings to 2020 by the Civic Information Systems Commission, reinstating a Police Forum to be held by the Community Relations Commission and reinstating light pollution research by the Energy and Environment Commission. It was moved by Village Trustee Andrews, seconded by Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla, that this Resolution be adopted. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 7- Village President Abu-Taleb, Village Trustee Andrews, Village Trustee Boutet, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Moroney, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 0 VI. Adjourn It was moved by Village Trustee Andrews, seconded by Village Trustee Taglia, to adjourn. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. Meeting adjourned at 9:04 P.M., Tuesday, January 21, 2020. Village of Oak Park Page 4 Printed on 1/28/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes January 21, 2020 Respectfully Submitted, MaryAnn Schoenneman Deputy Village Clerk Village of Oak Park Page 5 Printed on 1/28/2020