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, February 6, 2023 6:30 PM Village Hall I. Call to Order Village President Vicki Scaman called the Regular Meeting to order at 6:34 P.M. II. Roll Call Present: 7- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Wesley Absent: 0 III. Consideration of Motion to Adjourn to Executive Session to Discuss Pending Litigation It was moved by Trustee Enyia, seconded by Trustee Parakkat, to adjourn to Executive Session. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 7- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Wesley NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 0 V. Reconvene to Regular Meeting in Council Chambers and Call to Order The Regular Meeting reconvened at 7:04 P.M. VI. Roll Call Present: 7- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Wesley Absent: 0 VII. Agenda Approval It was moved by Trustee Enyia, seconded by Trustee Wesley, to approve the Agenda. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. VIII. Minutes Village of Oak Park Page 1 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 A. ID 23-107 Motion to Approve Minutes from Regular Meeting of November 7, 2022 of the Village Board. Chief DEI Officer Dr. Danielle Walker gave an opening statement that addressed recent events and called to action to speak power to make things happen. Village Manager Kevin Jackson affirmed the Village's commitment to promoting and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion here in the Village and working collaboratively to do that. President Scaman said she feels grateful for the support of Manager Jackson, Dr. Walker, and her Village Board colleagues. She called for a moment of silence for the senseless murder of Tyre Nichols. It was moved by Trustee Taglia, seconded by Trustee Wesley, to approve the Minutes. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. X. Proclamation B. MOT 23-16 A Motion to Approve a Proclamation for Proclaiming February 2023 as Black History Month. Trustee Enyia read the Proclamation aloud. Kuumba Kids did a dance, song, and music performance. Oak Park Public Library (OPPL) Multicultural Learning Coordinator Juanta Griffin shared information about the Black History Month display and programming at OPPL. Details can be found on OPPL's online calendar. Harambee Producer Donna Callender announced that Harambee will be on the evening of February 24 at Longfellow Elementary School. It was moved by Trustee Wesley, seconded by Trustee Enyia, that this Motion be approved. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 7- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Wesley NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 0 C. MOT 23-17 A Motion to Approve a Proclamation Proclaiming February 6, 2023 as National Gun Violence Survivors Week. Trustee Buchanan read the Proclamation aloud. Lois Thiessen Love, First United Church of Oak Park and Gun Responsibility Advocates of Oak Park: This proclamation shows the Village of Oak Park Page 2 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 Village is highlighting the importance and concerns of gun violence survivors. Shared a proposal with the Village to host gun buy-backs so residents can surrender their guns anonymously and make their homes safer. Asks for support from the Village Board for the concept of a gun buy-back. Jenna Leving Jacobson, Oak Park Austin Moms Demand Action: Shared handouts of survivors' stories. Asks the Village Board to fulfill this commitment with action and urgency. Oak Park's commitment to equity, anti-racism, racial justice intersects with our collective gun violence prevention efforts. This resolution refers to the strategies in our IPLAN which will require real investment of time and resources. We are better and stronger together. It was moved by Trustee Buchanan, seconded by Trustee Wesley, that this Motion be approved. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. IX. Non-Agenda Public Comment IX. Non-Agenda Public Comment Clerk Waters read the following comment aloud: Jane Miller: Mandating battery-powered leaf blowers is privileged and racist. Many lawn businesses in Oak Park are small and minority owned and unable to afford all new battery-powered leaf blowers. Lost time means lost money. They are being pushed out of jobs in Oak Park. Will there be a reimbursement program for residents who cannot afford to replace gas blowers? Banning gas leaf blowers is privileged and racist. XI. Village Manager Reports D. ID 23-106 Review of the Revised Village Board Meeting Calendars for February, March and April 2023 Manager Jackson introduced Police Chief Shatonya Johnson to provide a brief statement on police violence in the wake of the killing of Tyre Nichols by Memphis Police. Chief Johnson said the Village of Oak Park polices differently and has a different police culture than Memphis. We police from a community policing philosophy where we seek to serve first, then protect. We will treat people fairly, with dignity, and respect. Retired Chief Reynolds adopted the Ten Shared Principles authored by the NAACP. OPPD has a response to resistance policy that specifically says you have a duty to intervene and we hold officers accountable. OPPD should have the Active Bystander for Law Enforcement (ABLE) training in place by this Village of Oak Park Page 3 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 summer. We will render aid immediately and not wait for the Fire Department to arrive. We make sure our officers have the tools, resources, and support they need to successfully go out and serve and protect our community. Our department is still learning and there are things that are embedded in the police force. We will collectively work to police according to the community's expectations. Chief Johnson has lived in Oak Park for 23 years. She is visible in the community and the police are there to listen, to be held accountable, and to partner to help our community be one of the safest in the nation. On February 1, OPPD met with Southwest Oak Park residents, the Village Board, and other directors to hear their concerns with Mike's Place in Berwyn and we are working to find the best possible solution. Manager Jackson provided a status update on the request made by Trustees Wesley and Robinson to for a monthly report on field stop data by race and ethnicity, including Latinx individuals. The data is available around the 10th of each month and he said he anticipates reporting out at the February 21 meeting. The Village Board has received updated calendars for February, March, and April. A discussion on Mike's Place may be added in March. We will also schedule an overview of OPPD operations. Trustee Parakkat asked if it is possible to move the April 3 meeting up to March 20. Manager Jackson said the staff can look into it and follow up quickly on whether it would be possible. Trustee Wesley agreed with moving the April 3 meeting to March 20 if possible because April 3 is the day before Election Day. No Trustees indicated having an issue with the schedule change. XII. Village Board Committees & Trustee Liaison Commission Reports There were no comments. XIII. Citizen Commission Vacancies E. ID 23-111 Board & Commission Vacancy Report for February 6, 2023. There were no comments. XIV. Citizen Commission Appointments, Reappointments and Chair Appointments There were no appointments. Village of Oak Park Page 4 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 XV. Consent Agenda Approval of the Consent Agenda It was moved by Trustee Wesley, seconded by Trustee Robinson 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 Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Wesley NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 0 F. RES 23-44 A Resolution Approving a Parking Lot License Agreement with 840 Oak Park, LLC for a One-Year Term with Two Optional One-Year Renewal Terms and Authorizing Its Execution This Resolution was adopted. G. RES 23-47 A Resolution Approving a Lease Agreement with Zoll Medical Corporation for Eight (8) Cardiac Monitors for Ten (10) years in an Amount Not to Exceed $661,516.40, Authorizing Its Execution and Waiving the Village’s Bid Process for the Agreement This Resolution was adopted. H. RES 23-48 A Resolution Approving the Renewal of the Independent Contractor Agreement with CityEscape Garden & Design LLC for Village Wide Container Seasonal Display and Maintenances Services in an Amount Not to Exceed $111,000.00 and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. I. RES 23-49 A Resolution Approving an Independent Contractor Agreement with CityEscape Garden & Design LLC for Village Wide Landscape Maintenance Services in an Amount Not to Exceed $208,000.00 for a One-Year Term with an Option to Renew for Two Additional One-Year Terms and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. J. RES 23-50 A Resolution Approving a Professional Services Agreement with Health Inspection Professionals, Inc. for a Six-Month Term in an Amount Not to Exceed $48,000 and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. K. RES 23-53 A Resolution Approving a Reimbursement Agreement with Harlem Lake Village of Oak Park Page 5 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 Marion Corporation d/b/a Downtown Oak Park for Landscape Maintenance Services in the Downtown Oak Park Business District in 2023 in an Amount Not to Exceed $35,626.00 and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. L. RES 23-54 A Resolution Approving an Independent Contractor Agreement with D Kersey Construction Co. for the Public Works Center Wash Bay Drainage Improvements Project in an Amount Not to Exceed $141,120.00 and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. M. RES 23-59 A Resolution Approving a GIS Consortium Service Provider Contract with Municipal GIS Partners, Incorporated in an Amount Not to Exceed $133,515.00 and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. N. RES 23-61 A Resolution Approving a Three-Year Master Professional Engineering Services Agreement with Cordogan Clark & Associates, Inc. with an Option to Renew the Agreement for up to Two Additional One-Year Periods and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. O. RES 23-62 A Resolution Approving a Three-Year Master Agreement with Kluber, Inc. for Professional Architectural and Engineering Services with an Option to Renew the Agreement for up to Two Additional One Year Periods and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. P. RES 23-63 A Resolution Approving a Three-Year Master Agreement with Studio GC, Inc. for Professional Architectural and Engineering Services with an Option to Renew the Agreement for up to Two Additional One Year Periods and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. Q. RES 23-64 A Resolution Approving a Purchase Price Agreement with PJD Electric Sales, Inc. for Street Light and Traffic Control Materials in Fiscal Year 2023 in an Amount Not to Exceed $40,000.00 and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. R. RES 23-65 A Resolution Approving and Adopting the 2023 Special Event Fees This Resolution was adopted. Village of Oak Park Page 6 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 S. RES 23-67 A Resolution Approving Amendments to Section VII (“Leaves of Absences”), Appendix I (“Job Class and FLSA Status”) and Appendix VII (“Appointee Pay Plan Schedule”) of the Village of Oak Park Personnel Manual This Resolution was adopted. T. RES 23-68 A Resolution Approving a Purchase Price Agreement with Equipment Management, Co. to Purchase Genesis Electric Extrication Tools in an Amount Not to Exceed $38,000, Authorizing its Execution and Waiving the Village’s Bid Process for the Agreement. This Resolution was adopted. U. RES 23-85 A Resolution Approving a Professional Services Agreement with Technical Design Services, Inc. to Design the Village’s Audiovisual Technology Systems within Existing Public Meeting Spaces in an Amount Not To Exceed $48,505, Authorizing its Execution and Waiving the Village’s Bid Process for the Agreement This Resolution was adopted. V. ORD 23-16 An Ordinance Approving the Renewal of the Lease with Greenplan Management, Inc. for the Property Located at 618 South Austin Boulevard for a Two-Year Term and Authorizing its Execution This Ordinance was adopted. XVI. Regular Agenda W. ID 23-101 Presentation by the Oak Park Climate Action Network (OPCAN) Regarding the Village’s Adopted Climate Ready Oak Park (CROP) Plan Manager Jackson introduced the presentation from the Oak Park Climate Action Network (OPCAN) requested by Trustees Taglia and Robinson on OPCAN's interest in allocating additional funding to accelerate implementation of specific priorities in the Climate Ready Oak Park Plan. OPCAN Representative Amy Rosenthal presented on the proposed 2023 budget amendment. Trustee Robinson inquired about the Q1 grant deadlines and how much urgency should be applied to them. Representative Rosenthal responded that some of the infrastructure act deadlines are coming up and will be complete in 2023 for the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Some have passed from the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). Now is when grant-writing capacity is most needed this year and into 2024. There are two in Q1 that we stand the chance of missing. The largest come in the IRA in the latter half of the year and then in 2024. Village of Oak Park Page 7 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 Trustee Parakkat asked if this is in addition to the $5M in ARPA funds that were approved for sustainability in the 2023 budget. Manager Jackson confirmed that this is a new request in addition to what is already budgeted. Trustee Parakkat said he didn't realize there was ARPA funding left to allocate to anything. Trustee Buchanan said her impression is that this was part of the $5.5M for sustainability to go to the CIP. CFO Steve Drazner said the $5.5M budgeted this year to CIP is primarily going toward public safety equipment purchases and is not related to these expenditures, with the exception of $200K for fleet. Trustee Buchanan said it was always labeled in budget discussions as sustainability. CFO Drazner said there was a conversation prior to the adoption of the budget where he clarified that $5.5M was going toward ARPA-eligible public safety projects. Manager Jackson said there is a number in the 2023 budget that relates to the CIP/Sustainability and also the Parking Fund that totals around that amount, but it is not direct ARPA. It is an estimate of lost revenue. It is not yet final but it is included in the budget and staff identified a portion of it to be considered as part of the CIP process as well as integrating sustainability into the CIP process like we did this year. CFO Drazner said there are placeholders in the ARPA funding withdrawals for a little under $6M for 2022 and 2023 so you can have two more years of lost revenue. 2022 will not be finalized for another one to two months and 2023 would be the final year to take lost revenue. He said he can get a better estimate of what it's going to be for the prior year and it looks like we may not have any lost revenue for last year but there would be a significant amount for the Parking Fund. Trustee Parakkat asked if there is ARPA funding for this request. CFO Drazner responded that we don't. The end result would be taking from the Parking Fund. Trustee Parakkat said he thought the Village already had a lot of the electric vehicles in the CIP Plan. CFO Drazner said he believed so and that's why there was an overlap of $200K because some of the vehicles that were budgeted in the Fleet Replacement Fund were electric. Trustee Parakkat asked why the recommendation for some of these expenses is from the general fund and not the sustainability fund. Deputy Village Manager Ahmad Zayyad said the Village staff can evaluate OPCAN's recommendations and provide the Village Board with a memo or report or future meeting and present options. Trustee Taglia said he wanted to focus on the grant writing request because there appears to be outstanding grants we would like to grab if Village of Oak Park Page 8 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 possible. He said his biggest concern with the Climate Action Plan is funding it in the long term. The intersection between climate action and capital investment plays a key role in meeting our goals. An upfront investment in a grant writer could capture grant money to fund projects with high emissions reduction potential. The Village should move to prevent any missed opportunities. Trustee Robinson said she agrees with Trustee Taglia about the grant writer and the looming grant deadlines. She requested confirmation that grant deadlines are on staff's radar and someone is working on them. Deputy Manager Zayyad responded that staff actively prospects for grants which takes great time and effort. For the geothermal grant, the Village partnered with multiple agencies including Argonne Labs. It is a matter of whether the Village has the resources and staff time. Coordinator Keenan added that she tracks and maintains a calendar of grants. Some go through other departments. She said the Village is down to one FTE in the Sustainability Department so she is not on top of all of them. Trustee Robinson said she would like to understand staff's perspective on the grant writer position and on the matching fund piece to OPCAN's proposal. Deputy Manager Zayyad responded that he can consult with Manager Jackson and come back to the Village Board with an evaluation of the recommendations made. Trustee Parakkat asked if it should be included in the budget itself because of the deadlines. Manager Jackson said in the follow-up, staff will be able to show the substantial commitments and millions of dollars being made to Climate Ready Oak Park. What is being considered is adding to that and accelerating it. In the budget process, the staff works to balance all of the Village Board's priorities. Grant support could be used for sustainability as well as other priorities. The Village made a solid commitment through the budget process to sustainability, equity, affordability, vibrant neighborhoods. Trustee Parakkat asked about the current picture of the Sustainability Fund. Coordinator Keenan responded that the Sustainability Fund has three revenue sources--Community Choice Aggregation, Single Use Bag Fee ($150K annually), and a transfer from the Environmental Services Fund. Supporting new staff from one of those is challenging so other sources would make more sense. Trustee Parakkat said he sees the grant writing for a specific outcome and not in perpetuity. If the grant writer cannot bring in the funds in a reasonable timeframe, then the model has failed and we cannot hold onto the grant writer. President Scaman said grant writing can be contracted out. It is a Village of Oak Park Page 9 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 community climate plan and the Village has other partners who can assist with the grant application process. Trustee Buchanan asked what it would take to scale up the recommendation to increase the amount in the energy efficiency rehab program to $1M. Director Grossman responded that the position that currently does that work is also a property maintenance inspector so a dedicated staff person would be needed to just do those rehab projects. Trustee Buchanan said energy efficiency retrofits are incredibly important, especially in a community with old homes. She said she is in favor of all of the recommendations. She noted that the Climate Action Plan was passed in August and this presentation grew out of a strong desire to do everything possible to lower greenhouse gases. She said she wants the Village to use some ARPA funds for sustainability. Deputy Manager Zayyad responded that ARPA funds are being allocated to capital projects that integrate sustainability initiatives. The Village has almost doubled the capital improvement projects and will provide an update to the Village Board on sustainability components. Manager Jackson added that it was a strong effort to find out what CIP activities could comply with ARPA and where we could achieve sustainability goals in our CIP process and still add to our capital improvements. The staff will provide a response to the Village Board about the amount of money added to the CIP process and how much of it went to sustainability-related projects and aligned with the Climate Ready Oak Park Plan. If we back that funding out and apply it to this proposal, it would reduce the outlay toward capital improvements. We asked the Village Board to change the timeline and our approach to the budgeting process to achieve that. Trustee Buchanan said she is envisioning the CIP items to be replacing sewer pipes to help with flooding and planting trees. She said she is much more interested in lowering greenhouse gases as quickly as possible and wants to know what part of the CIP is going to contribute to that. She said an important part of the Climate Action Plan is getting this funding out to the homeowners so they can do the electrification and retrofits. Deputy Manager Zayyad confirmed that replacing water pipes and planting trees are goals. He gave the example of the furnace in the fire station which cost $350K to make it geothermal instead of $40K. He said we have to anticipate a substantial increase in cost to do things in a sustainable manner. It is great to get more allocation but staff should constantly evaluate existing programs to ensure they're running successfully. Village of Oak Park Page 10 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 Trustee Buchanan asked if the energy retrofit program was thought to be a problem. Deputy Manager Zayyad replied that it is not and any new program should be evaluated for opportunities for improvements. Manager Jackson added that part of putting the budget together is to ensure the staff has the capacity to implement whatever it proposes to the Village Board. The Village wants to analyze this request and make sure it can be done, which may require staffing or contractual support in addition to the program funding. Trustee Wesley said he considers spending in terms of investment or expense. To him, grant writing is an investment and something the Village should pursue across all of our Board goals. Manager Jackson agreed that he sees it the same way as a business practice and he supports any request for additional resources to the staff to help us go after funds for sustainability in all of our goals. Trustee Parakkat recommended that the EV charging stations can be delayed because of the complexities associated with it and it being a lower priority than some of the other items. He said the investment is great but if the return on investment does not play out, then we need the ability to curtail that investment; it cannot be a perpetual expense. Trustee Wesley agreed that the Village Board would want metrics on any investments we create. He recommended monetizing EVs. It is not something the Village has to install ourselves. Companies can install charging stations and the Village can probably get revenue sharing. President Scaman said the Village Board looks forward to an update and a response to the entire list from OPCAN and some clarification on the allocations we have currently committed to sustainability in the budget. X. ORD 23-18 An Ordinance Amending Chapter 7 (“Buildings”) of the Oak Park Village Code By Adding a New Article 15 (“Energy and Water Benchmarking”) Manager Jackson said this Item was previously discussed in the January 23 Study Session. He introduced Coordinator Keenan to provide a brief summary of the key provisions that are proposed in the ordinance. Coordinator Keenan presented on the building benchmarking process and the proposed ordinance. Trustee Wesley restated that the Village Board should focus on expanding this to residential buildings as well because homeowners are less aware of their energy usage. Coordinator Keenan asked if he is suggesting including them in the ordinance. Trustee Wesley replied that he is not necessarily suggesting that because he doesn't think the Village has Village of Oak Park Page 11 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 validated that and he would want the Village to do some understanding on the impact but he thinks the Village should consider it. President Scaman asked what that evaluation would look like in a timeline. Coordinator Keenan said she would want to do focus groups with some of the smaller homes. Trustee Wesley asked if it would be possible to opt in to get aggregate information from the utilities themselves. Coordinator Keenan said ComEd sends a weekly benchmark report in relation to your neighbors so the Village could promote that program. Trustee Wesley asked if it would be possible for homeowners to consent to sharing that data with the Village. Coordinator Keenan responded that there are state limitations so she can't get data for tenants for data privacy reasons Trustee Parakkat said the Green Button program makes data available and usage can be analyzed off that so the benchmarking can be done centrally and not by the resident. Coordinator Keenan said she can look into it. Trustee Buchanan asked why a building would be exempt with less than 50% occupancy because they still have to be heated. Coordinator Keenan said that can be taken out but it was the idea that during the pandemic a lot of commercial buildings were effectively mothballed. Trustee Taglia said it is his understanding that the Village will be getting the smart meter technology enabling homeowners to be notified of excessive usage. President Scaman suggested the staff provide a memo to the Village Board in response to some of the additional requests. Trustee Wesley said the Civic Information Systems Commission did a lot of work on smart homes and smart cities and he wondered if there could be a connection to utilize. Coordinator Keenan said she would be happy to talk to them about it. It was moved by Trustee Wesley, seconded by Trustee Buchanan, that this Ordinance be adopted. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 7- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Wesley NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 0 Y. RES 23-1 A Resolution Approving a Professional Services Agreement with the Village of Oak Park Page 12 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 Metropolitan Mayors Caucus to Provide a Comprehensive Housing Study and an Update to the Homes for a Changing Region Report Adopted by the Village Board on April 2, 2012 as Part of the Study in an Amount Not to Exceed $75,000 and Authorizing its Execution Manager Jackson said this Item is for the scope of work for a housing study in Oak Park for which funding was approved in the 2023 budget. He introduced Village Planner Craig Failor, who summarized the request to approve a professional services agreement with the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus (MMC). Trustee Parakkat said one statistic from the previous study was the population of Oak Park was supposed to decline, which is not the case. He said the 2030 projections seem to be off and asked if that reflects on the accuracy of the study and how will it be projected going forward. Planner Failor responded that the projections came from CMAP who has a methodology for population projection. The Village did a plan in 2002 for the downtown business district. CMAP took that plan into consideration along with other developments in the community and looked at a forecast. The Village used that as a guide for the comprehensive plan and will be looking at those calculations again to make sure we are projecting the right amount for the next 5-10 years. Trustee Parakkat asked if it's possible to move up the timeline because Oak Park Regional Housing Center (OPRHC) was just approved for the full year. Planner Failor said the staff looked at that possibility but based on MMC's schedule, the earliest we can work with them is June. Trustee Wesley asked if the outreach will be coordinated with the Village's DEI office, which Planner Failor confirmed is correct. Trustee Wesley said HUD has a motion to require municipalities submit an equity plan to reduce housing and neighborhood segregation. He asked if this will be compatible with that. Manager Jackson responded that is intended to be included in the scope of work. OPRHC has attempted to get at that issue and we are trying to create a new vision for housing and where it intersects with DEI. Some of the housing rehab concepts should dovetail into this as well. Director Grossman added that the Village is working with Cook County Home Consortium to put together a regional assessment of fair housing which the staff will present to the Village Board in the summer. It was moved by Trustee Wesley, seconded by Trustee Taglia, that this Resolution be adopted. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 7- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Wesley Village of Oak Park Page 13 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 0 Z. ORD 23-13 Concur with the Plan Commission’s Recommendation and Adopt an Ordinance Granting Major Modifications to the Planned Development Approved Pursuant to Ordinance Number 18-386 for the Properties Located at 6500-6538 Roosevelt Road (*) Manager Jackson introduced Planner Failor, who provided an update on Turano Bakery's request to make a major amendment to a planned development that was previously approved to expand their parking lot and landscaping. The Plan Commission is in support of the application. Plan Commission Chair Iris Sims and Applicant Anthony Turano were in attendance. There are two ordinances--one ordinance supports the trucks being parked in the location and the other does not. President Scaman read the following public comment aloud: Julie: Turano adds a lot to South Oak Park. The Turano operations are well maintained and the employees are respectful and friendly. Let's be reasonable and support a business who has done an amazing job revitalizing Roosevelt Road. Let them park their eight trucks on their new Oak Park parking area. Trustee Wesley asked why staff are not in support of this allowance. Planner Failor responded that this specific regulation in the zoning code states that vehicles from a building or a use outside the Village should not be parked in the Village. Its purpose was to not allow a business outside the community creating a parking lot in the Village of Oak Park and the Village not receiving any contribution from the business. To main that integrity, staff did not support this allowance. The eight spaces are limited to that planned development. Trustee Wesley asked where the eight spaces are located. Planner Failor responded that they are on the west end of the property near the AC Delco auto repair shop with landscaping to the north and south of the parking rows. Applicant Turano added that directional signage will be added and improve street traffic. President Scaman said she respects why the provision is in the zoning code, though she sees Turano as a good partner to the Village. Trustee Taglia said he agrees with the Plan Commission's recommendation as presented. He noted that the manufacturing facility is just across the street and it is reasonable to allow Turano to park their Village of Oak Park Page 14 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 vehicles on the Oak Park side of the street. President Scaman noted there will be a solar roof over the parking area. Applicant Turano confirmed the plan will have solar car ports over that parking area. Trustee Enyia said he is glad to hear trucks will not be going through that alley. He requested an agreement with Turano to maintain the crosswalk light. Applicant Turano responded that the crosswalk right in front of the bakery is the responsibility of Berwyn. Every time it goes down, Turano reports it to Berwyn. Typically they occur after the first snow don't get resolved until summer. Turano is very open to finding another solution to the crosswalk. Trustee Enyia suggested Village staff talk about it with Berwyn. Manager Jackson said staff can reach out to Berwyn and attempt to work with them on this. Applicant Turano added that he will continue to as well. Trustee Parakkat said he supports it as presented by the Plan Commission. Trustee Buchanan said she is supportive. It was moved by Trustee Taglia, seconded by Trustee Wesley, that this Ordinance be adopted. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 7- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Wesley NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 0 AA. RES 23-60 A Resolution Approving a Funding Grant Agreement Between the Village of Oak Park and the Park District of Oak Park in an Amount Not to Exceed $1,000,000 and Authorizing its Execution Manager Jackson introduced the Item based on the direction from the Village Board on November 29, 2022 in consideration of allocating ARPA funding to the Park District of Oak Park (PDOP) for renovations at Andersen Park. Amy Butler: Shared questions from Black residents. 1. Can the Village require that programming tied to this funding go through the Village's DEI officer? 2. Can the Village wait to release new funds once PDOP hires a DEI professional? 3. Is the Village confident that previous ARPA funds are not responsible for this class? 4. How can the two taxing bodies support Black residents? Asked the Village Board to commit to the R4P framework: Remove the harm; Repair the damage, Remediate so further Village of Oak Park Page 15 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 harm cannot happen; Restructure to eliminate systemic structures that allowed the initial harm. Jodi Walker: Expressed concern with the thoughtless and harmful timing of the allocation of funds to PDOP in light of the atrocious offering that was recently put forth for summer classes. PDOP needs a floor to ceiling overhaul to restructure so that this type of mistake could never happen again. That this is happening in Oak Park during Black History Month is another example of the Village’s disregard for the harm caused to all of us by these oversights. Ana Garcia Doyle: The disbursement of $1M funding to PDOP is not an appropriate measure at this time, given the racial harm perpetuated around their "Transatlantic Slave Trade" cooking class. It would add insult to injury to grant this funding during Black History Month and without knowing what real steps are being taken within PDOP to create healing and repair and formalize staff training around anti-racism. We would do well to put our money where our mouths are and stand actively behind the awareness-raising, educational resources, and conversations we all bear responsibility for engaging in. Meghan Paulas: We cannot allow our publicly-funded entities to escape accountability. The offensive and harmful summer camp course should not have been offered; the "revised" course should not have been substituted. PDOP leadership has not done enough to demonstrate they fully understand the harm of the error. Urged the Village Board to act towards repairing the harm and ensuring that this never happens again. Believes our community can achieve both a well-supported park district and a path towards repair and prevention. Michelle Major: Very concerned about funds being awarded to PDOP without any expectation of their repair of harm done to our community or plan for prevention of future harm. Emailed PDOP who said they recognized the topic would lead to difficult conversations with participants. Feels a topic with this level of sensitivity should not be taught by a white person. Recommends the Village Board award the ARPA funds with stipulations that the funds be partially used for all PDOP staff to participate in anti-racist training and that PDOP leadership present a plan to the Village Board on how they will ensure ongoing training and accountability. Trustee Wesley read a prepared statement. The harm was done by a different governing body and one does not typically respond to another. He had requested this Item be removed from the Consent Agenda as racial equity has no jurisdiction. He said he perceives the values of the Village Board are to walk a path of racial equity which are being done through Village of Oak Park Page 16 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 action--hiring a Chief DEI Officer; funding a community-wide racial equity assessment; implementing a racial equity analysis on future Board policies; and committing time from staff, consultants, Trustees, and funding to build a more racially equitable Oak Park. Diversity, inclusion, racial equity, and racial justice are core values of this Board and this Village. He said it would be inconsistent with our Board goals and actions and his personal values to grant $1M to an organization that has created harm and is out of line with this Board's values. Representation recognizes harm and uses its voice, platform, and power to remedy it. Representation is not afraid to do the right thing, stand in authenticity of the impact, and demand better. He said he is keenly aware that he represents folks who feel marginalized, unwelcome, and have experienced harm in this Village and they depend on his voice to express their pain and outrage and create change to improve their experiences. He said he is justifiably outraged by the actions that make his statement necessary and he still seeks a restorative path forward. Until that happens, he will not vote yes for this Item. Trustee Robinson said she thinks there are parallel issues of addressing the course offering and the appropriate response to the impact it's had on the community, which is within the purview of PDOP; and this ARPA request, which is within the purview of this Village Board. She read from the ARPA report on the White House's website on the purpose of the ARPA funds. She said she thinks it's critical to acknowledge that while we are all facing the same storm, we are not in the same boat. She said she thinks the Village Board needs to take some time with this decision and be really thoughtful in light of the events over the past week, particularly with this ARPA request that was steeped in racial equity language. She said she thinks it makes sense to pause this decision and give space to the community impact and harm; give PDOP some time for further responsiveness if they choose; and spend time as a Village Board assessing what our role may be with our DEI resources in support of PDOP and be collaborative in moving forward with DEI goals which is part of our own work. Trustee Enyia agreed with Trustee Wesley's points based on what he has heard from community members and his own feelings in trying to understand where that statement came from and the double down on it. He said it puts the Village Board in a peculiar situation because it shows organizational missteps and how do you rebound from harming an entire community. In creating its goals, the Village Board put the needs of our Village of Oak Park Page 17 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 community first and agreed that there are equity issues. We are trying to bring everyone together and these incidents make it hard for people to see that the Village is on the same page of equity. Whether or not we are the same organization, we had the same body of voters who expected us to do better. He said he is frustrated by having to explain to his kids why people are continuously messing up. You should be able to admit you messed up but are going to do better. That is what we expect the next time we hear from you. He noted that PDOP is not at this meeting to be able to address them. One of the biggest battles is showing up and facing the scrutiny from the mistake you made. He said this really hurts, it is not the first time, and we need to make sure this doesn't continuously happen. It is mistrust and misleading and makes us feel a certain way when we are being asked for $1M. It makes him have to rethink how well PDOP will manage that $1M and will it be put toward hurting more of our community. He said he is hoping to hear from PDOP the next time they are brought here the thought process and plan for moving forward and how they are going to mitigate harm and be fully committed to our Village goals. Trustee Taglia said the title and description of PDOP's camp sickened him and wondered why PDOP didn't immediately see the harm and insensitivity. He said he felt PDOP's apology fell far short. He said the Village Board needs to take action while listening to community members and hearing from PDOP on their plans to rebuild trust. He said holding up the disbursement of ARPA funds doesn't penalize PDOP; it penalizes current and future residents who count on these services and facilities. He said he agrees with Trustee Robinson in pausing the approval of funds to allow us time to hear from PDOP and their plans to mitigate this insensitive action. Trustee Parakkat said he is here to try to learn from this as an opportunity to understand the harm caused and come together to try and do something about it and learn from each other because we are all vulnerable to making mistakes. He said using our collective strengths and resources to put our best foot forward for the community is the right focus. He said he agrees that taking the time to really think through this and understand where the conversation is headed before making the decision makes sense to him. He said he is conflicted because not giving the funding would penalize community members. Village of Oak Park Page 18 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 Trustee Buchanan said she is heartened by the words of her fellow Trustees. She said she agrees with pausing the decision, which should be seen by PDOP as a measure of how heinous this camp offering was. This is a pause that demands PDOP to do the work we all need to do to proceed on our trajectory toward an anti-racist society and we have a long way to go. President Scaman said she agrees with the pause. She said when the Village Board first reviewed the ARPA funding, she was proud to support the $1M and felt a renewed sense of partnership with PDOP. She said IGOV now uses the term "governmental partners" instead of "governmental bodies." She said that request is separate from the Village's statement in response to the class offered by PDOP. She said it is not customary for one governmental body to respond directly to the work of another, though she sees this as very different. The Village responded in being true to our commitment and investment to DEI and listening and responding to residents who elect us.Once the Village released its statement, the conversation with PDOP stopped. There was time between then and today to be working with PDOP to understand how they say they are aligned with our equity and DEI goals. She said she is hearing from all Trustees that we want to be working in partnership with PDOP and her hope with this pause is to see some commitment to that. It was moved by Trustee Wesley, seconded by Trustee Robinson, that this Resolution be tabled. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 7- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village Trustee Wesley NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 0 XVII. Call to Board and Clerk Trustee Enyia thanked the Kuumba Kids for their dance presentation and Dr. Walker for her continued efforts. Black History Month is important to him and his family. He said it is empowering to look to see faces like you and ancestors who were able to push through adversity. He said he is thankful to our community for recognizing Black History Month so strongly and having such great teachers and leaders to make sure kids are feeling empowered and strengthened and stand up to have their voices heard. He congratulated the Julian Jayhawk basketball team who were Village Cup Tournament Champions. He thanked his fellow Trustees for standing up to injustices. Village of Oak Park Page 19 Printed on 3/7/2023 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 6, 2023 Trustee Taglia thanked Trustees and staff for attending the community meeting last Wednesday at Washington Irving School about the violence on Roosevelt Road. The entire Village Board was in attendance along with Chief Johnson, Manager Jackson, Public Works Director Sproule, Village Engineer McKenna, and most of our senior command staff from the Police Department. Many residents from Oak Park and Berwyn attended and there was good discussion about root causes and what can and cannot be done to mitigate the violence resulting from activities at Mike's Place in Berwyn. The adjacent residents are deeply impacted, tired of the violence, and scared for their safety. He said he made a motion earlier today to bring this discussion back to the Village Board to hear additional staff and community feedback and take action, which residents are counting on us to do. Trustee Robinson announced the Latinx Author Book Cafe hosted by OPPL has resumed and details are on OPPL's website. She encouraged the community to attend. Trustee Wesley said hi to his son who watches the Village Board meetings. President Scaman acknowledged her sincere condolences to the family of Lawrence Msall, President of the Civic Federation, longtime Oak Park resident, and a lifelong commitment to good governance and fiscal responsibility. She thanked Trustees for attending the community meeting last Wednesday and Trustees Taglia and Robinson for working with residents to organize it. She thanked Donna Callender and Melanie McQueen with Kuumba Kids who were a recipient of one of the grants from the Community Relations Commission. XVIII. Adjourn It was moved by Trustee Wesley, seconded by Trustee Buchanan to Adjourn. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. Meeting adjourned at 10:08 P.M., Monday, February 6, 2023. Respectfully Submitted, Deputy Clerk Hansen Village of Oak Park Page 20 Printed on 3/7/2023