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 19, 2020 6:30 PM Village Hall I. Call to Order Village President Abu-Taleb called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M. He authorized a statement be read providing that the meeting is being held remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions and that it is not prudent to have people present at the Village Board's regular meeting location due to public health concerns related to that pandemic. 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 Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla requested item C be removed from Consent Agenda. Village Manager Pavlicek also mentioned the request to remove item G from Consent Agenda. It was moved by Village Trustee Moroney and seconded by Village Trustee Boutet to approve the agenda with the removal of agenda items C and G off of consent to regular agenda. A roll call vote was taken. The motion was approved. The voice 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 IV. Minutes A. MOT 20-066 Motion to Approve Minutes from Regular Remote Meeting of October 5, 2020 and Special Remote Meeting of October 12, 2020 of the Village Board. It was moved by Village Trustee Moroney and seconded by VIllage Trustee Boutet to approve the minutes for October 5, 2020 and October 12, 2020 as presented. A roll call vote was taken, The motion was approved. The roll call was as follows: Village of Oak Park Page 1 Printed on 11/9/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes October 19, 2020 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 V. Non-Agenda Public Comment Bryn Thomas: Bryn Thomas provided a written public comment stating the need for the Village Board to listen and honor the stories of young people who do not feel served and protected by the Oak Park Police. Christian Harris (Walk the Walk): Christian provided an essay that corrects the common misunderstanding of Dr. Percy Julian as the first black home owner in Oak Park. Indeed there was an entire black community of Oak Park residents that dates far earlier than Dr. Percy Julian and the horror that those residents were forced out of Oak Park. Christian requests the Village Board support a task force to discuss reparations to support black residents of Oak Park. Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla requested to invite Christian Harris to present the research from “Walk the Walk”, Trustee Boutet agreed with Trustee Walker-Peddakotla . VI. Village Manager Reports Village Manager Pavlicek requested a 5:30pm start for the Monday October 26, 2020 Village Board Meeting to discuss the general fund budget. VII. Village Board Committees VIII. Consent Agenda This was Approved the Consent Agenda. Approval of the Consent Agenda It was moved by Village Trustee Boutet and seconded by Village Trustee Moroney to approve the items under the Consent Agenda. 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 B. ID 20-229 Partner Agency 2019 Year End Reports and 2020 January Through June Village of Oak Park Page 2 Printed on 11/9/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes October 19, 2020 Reports This Report was received and filed. D. RES 20-219 A Resolution Approving an Amendment to the Renewal of an Independent Contractor Agreement with South West Industries, Inc. d/b/a Anderson Elevator Co. to Change the Not to Exceed Amount from $23,656.55 to $28,155.00 for Elevator Repair and Testing Services in 2020 and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. E. RES 20-220 A Resolution Approving an Amendment to the Purchase Price Agreement with SNI Solutions, Inc. for the Purchase of Winter De-icing Materials to Change the Not to Exceed Amount from $25,000 to $28,500.00 in Fiscal Year 2020 and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. F. RES 20-221 A Resolution Approving a Listing and Marketing Commission Agreement with Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus for the Disposal of a 1999 HME SMEAL Fire Engine and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. H. ORD 20-092 An Ordinance Temporarily Waiving and Suspending the Late Payment Penalty for Delinquent Water Charges to Provide Emergency Assistance Due to the Outbreak of COVID-19 Disease This Ordinance was adopted. I. ORD 20-093 An Ordinance Temporarily Suspending Water Service Disconnections for Accounts More Than Thirty Days Past Due After Statement Date This Ordinance was adopted. J. ORD 20-094 An Ordinance Amending Chapter 20 (“Public Health”), Article 1 (“Oak Park Department of Public Health”), Section 20-1-6 (“Authority and duties of the Director”) of the Oak Park Village Code to Permit the Public Health Director to Make Reasonable Rules, Regulations and Orders Due to the Outbreak of COVID-19 Disease This Ordinance was adopted. K. MOT 20-061 A Motion to Approve the September 2020 Monthly Treasurer’s Report for All Funds This Motion was approved. L. MOT 20-062 A Motion to Approve the Bills in the Amount of $9,143,908.30 from September 24, 2020 through October 9, 2020 Village of Oak Park Page 3 Printed on 11/9/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes October 19, 2020 This Motion was approved. IX. Regular Agenda C. RES 20-153 A Resolution Approving a Professional Services Agreement with First Responders Wellness Center, LLC to Provide Mental Wellness Checks for the Village’s Police Department for a One Year Term with An Option to Renew for Two Additional One Year Terms for an Annual Amount Not to Exceed $19,965 and Authorizing its Execution Village Trustee Buchanan wanted to clarify if the program has started. Chief Reynolds confirmed it has not. The Village of Mundelein is participating in the program with all sworn personnel involved. Many of the practitioners with this vendor are former Law Enforcement. If approved by the Village Board, this program is to be begin immediately in the Oak Park Police Department. Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla asked why this service can not be a part of the current health plan provided to employees through Blue Cross Blue Shield. Chief Reynolds responded that he would like to create a culture in the Police Department and remove the stigma behind an officer seeking mental health support. It was moved by Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla and seconded by Village Trustee Boutet to approve the resolution as presented. A roll call vote was taken. The motion was approved. The roll call vote was as follows: AYES: 6- Village President Abu-Taleb, Village Trustee Andrews, Village Trustee Boutet, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Moroney, and Village Trustee Taglia NAYS: 1- Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla ABSENT: 0 G. RES 20-224 A Resolution Approving the 2021 Employee Health, Dental, Vision, Life, Accidental Death and Dismemberment, Accident, Critical Illness, Hospital and Prepaid Legal Insurance Providers’ Plan Designs and Premiums and Authorizing Their Execution Village Trustee Buchanan requested this item be removed from Consent Agenda, inquiring about the increases for families. The Village is self-insured and also is in-market. There are no premium or design changes for the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) products offered. The plan design changes are only at the Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) level. Village Trustee Boutet preferred to table the discussion and see comparisons come back to the Board for reference. Village of Oak Park Page 4 Printed on 11/9/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes October 19, 2020 Village Trustee Buchanan could not support increasing health care costs. Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla believed it to be particularly challenging to raise insurance costs during a pandemic. It was moved by VIllage Trustee Moroney and seconded by VIllage Trustee Buchanan to approve the resolution as presented. A roll call vote was taken. The motion was approved. The roll call vote was as follows: AYES: 4- Village President Abu-Taleb, Village Trustee Andrews, Village Trustee Moroney, and Village Trustee Taglia NAYS: 3- Village Trustee Boutet, Village Trustee Buchanan, and Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla ABSENT: 0 M. ID 20-284 Report on the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus’ Greenest Region Corps Fellow Sustainability Projects: Greenhouse Gas Inventory Update and Energy Benchmarking with Energy Star Portfolio Manager Environmental Sustainability Coordinator Mindy Agnew presented a report on the "Sustainability Projects: Greenhouse Gas Inventory Update and Energy Benchmarking with Energy Star Portfolio Manager". The report was created by the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus’ Greenest Region Corps Fellow, Leslie Hernandez. This report provides top-level examples of the collected data. Recommendations will come at a later time. Village Trustee Boutet, Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla, and Village Trustee Moroney each expressed their appreciation for the Village’s work and look forward to the next steps. N. ID 20-280 An Overview Presentation of the Recommended FY21 Budget Village Manager Cara Pavlicek provided a brief overview of the FY21 Recommended Budget process. On Thursday October 15, 2020, the FY21 budget recommendations were posted to the Village website. On Monday October 26, 2020, a Special Meeting of the Village Board is scheduled for a full review of the Recommended FY21 budget. On Monday November 2, 2020 and November 16, 2020, there will be two public hearings. On Monday December 7, 2020, is the scheduled requested adoption date. Chief Financial Officer Steven Drazner stated the goal of the budget is to adopt it by the first Monday in December. However, can be pushed out to the following week in December, if necessary. Village Trustee Boutet thanked Village Staff for working to bring the FY21 recommended budget from $168 million to $146 million. She requested the Village review funding for Visit Oak Park and the Oak Park River Forest Village of Oak Park Page 5 Printed on 11/9/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes October 19, 2020 Chamber of Commerce to strengthen small businesses in Oak Park. Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla agreed with the support of the Oak Park River Forest Chamber of Commerce. She also requested a brief overview of the FY21 recommended budget. Chief Financial Officer Drazner referred to page 50 of 327 which includes the All Fund summary, and page 58 of 327 where the general fund is broken down by department. CFO Drazner also highlighted the larger budget cuts from the Capital Improvement Projects and the lack of increases for salaries that are not contractually based. Finally, various FY21 expenses were allocated from the General Fund to the Motor Field Tax (MFT) money, which is a state distributed tax. Village Trustee Moroney stated that he values the work Visit Oak Park contributes to increasing tourism, and would be a valuable investment particularly in response to the pandemic. Village Trustee Buchanan requested the Police Department add information into their work plan identifying how the national challenges in policing over the last few months has affected the VOP Police Department. O. ID 20-281 An Overview Presentation of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) Early Retirement Incentive (ERI) Program Village Manager Cara Pavlicek provided a brief overview of this item. The State of Illinois requires that all municipal employees participate in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), unless they are sworn police officers or fire fighters, and as long as they work at least 1,000 hours per year. Employees are required to contribute 4.5% of their salary into the fund. It is a defined benefit pension plan. On an annual basis, the Village makes up the actuarial amount that IMRF advises the Village it needs to contribute so the pensions can be provided to employees upon their retirement. In 2020, the Village's matching contribution to the employee's 4.5% was 8.81%. An Early Retirement Incentive (ERI) program allows employees to retire at age 50, instead of age 55, as long as they have 20 years within the IMRF plan. Employees would have to purchase as many as 5 years based on current salary by paying the 4.5%, and the Village would have 10 years to repay IMRF the liability of the Village’s share of that retirement plan. Challenges in offering an ERI, the Village can not require employees to notify the Village if they would take the ERI program. An estimated summary has been provided to the Village Board which includes the number of employees who would be eligible based on their age and the minimum years of service. The second component Village Manager Pavlicek noted should be considered, the Village of Oak Park is the property tax levying authority for the Oak Park Public Library. The Village is also the agent for the library’s participation in IMRF. The Village’s adoption of the ERI program would also include the Oak Park Public Library and its staff. IMRF Village of Oak Park Page 6 Printed on 11/9/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes October 19, 2020 does not have a way to forgo this process. Fiscal impacts to the Village include, vacancies in the organization which could be held vacant 4-5 years allowing for salary and benefit savings. These vacancies could cause a reduction in services. Other vacancies can not be held vacant. Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla inquired about vacant leadership positions. Village Manager Pavlicek confirmed the Early Retirement Incentive (ERI) program is a supplemental program and the loss of long tenured leadership would come with a loss of institutional knowledge. She also identified the benefit of creating an opportunity for mid-level management to move into the roles with a new set of eyes and experience. Village Trustee Boutet stated her concerns pertaining to the expenses, loss of institutional knowledge and the cost placed on tax payers. Village Trustee Taglia would like to see more data during next week's meeting. Village Trustee Boutet, Village Trustee Moroney and Village Trustee Andrews would not like to have staff spend more time on this item. This item will not be considered or discussed further. X. Regular Agenda for Items Pursuant to Village Code Chapter 3 Alcoholic Liquor Dealers or Related (President Pro-Tem Boutet ) P. ORD 20-095 An Ordinance Amending Chapter 3 (“Alcoholic Liquor Dealers”), Article 8 (“List of Licenses for Each License Class”), Section 3-8-1 (“Number of Licenses Permitted to be Issued Per License Class”), and Section 3-8-2 (“Licenses by Name and Address Per License”) of the Oak Park Village Code for the Issuance of a Hotel Class A-2 Subsidiary Liquor License to La Notte Ventures, Inc., DBA La Notte Ristorante Italiano No discussion. It was moved by VIllage Trustee Andrews and seconded by Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla to approve the ordinance as presented. A roll call vote was taken. The motion was approved. The roll call was as follows: AYES: 6- Village Trustee Andrews, Village Trustee Boutet, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Moroney, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 0 ABSTAINED: 1- Village President Abu-Taleb XI. Call to Board and Clerk Village Trustee Taglia noted it is his wedding anniversary. Village of Oak Park Page 7 Printed on 11/9/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes October 19, 2020 Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla requested follow-up on the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) contract. She also thanked poll workers and volunteers working the current election. She reiterated the request to invite Christian Harris ("Walk the Walk") to present data and information to the Village Board. Village Trustee Buchanan brought attention to the email she sent to the Village Board which provided an update on the work of the ad-hoc Climate Action Plan Committee. The group placed a letter in the Wednesday Journal in support of the Greenhouse Gas Inventory. This group will formulate recommendations for some use of the Sustainability Fund. She also mentioned the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation's (OPEDC) review of their Mission to incorporate more equity proposals. OPEDC Chairwoman Jackie Barlow and Executive Director John Lynch did a beautiful job rewriting the mission which was approved at their last meeting. They have recruited more members for color. There are also five to seven initiatives which OPEDC is going to start, concentrated on working with businesses owned by people of color in Austin and the surrounding areas. Village Trustee Boutet would like to see additional information brought to the Board regarding Oak Park Economic Development Corporation (OPEDC) updates, as this entity is solely funded by the Village of Oak Park. She shed light on the double-murder and the lack of response from the Oak Park Police Department. She also wanted follow-up on the Village’s lack of response to one of the Village patrons. She noted this level of service is not the norm at the Village and would like to know more information. Village Trustee Andrews reminded the public to wear masks. Mayor Abu-Taleb complimented the progression of the Lake Street project and reminded the public that Lake Street businesses are open. He also thanked staff for all of the hard work to make this project happen. Village Clerk Scaman provided information on Early Voting. The Cook County Clerk’s Office is in charge of Early Voting and Village Hall is the host. Staff and volunteers have worked to ensure the safety of voters and staff. The secure ballot box is located in the courtyard to be kept secure by staying in the view of an election judge at all times. She also asked that voters who use wheelchairs and walkers use the Lombard entrance which provides them access to the elevator. XII. Adjourn It was moved by VIllage Trustee Andrews and seconded by Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla to adjourn the meeting. A roll call vote was taken. The motion was approved. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 P.M. AYES: 6- Village President Abu-Taleb, Village Trustee Andrews, Village Trustee Boutet, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla NAYS: 0 Village of Oak Park Page 8 Printed on 11/9/2020 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes October 19, 2020 ABSENT: 1- Village Trustee Moroney Respectfully Submitted, Christina M. Waters, Deputy Village Clerk Village of Oak Park Page 9 Printed on 11/9/2020