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, February 20, 2024 6:30 PM Village Hall II. Call to Order Village President Vicki Scaman called the Regular Meeting to order at 6:36 P.M. III. Roll Call Trustee Straw joined the meeting via remote participation per Village policy Present: 7- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Straw, and Village Trustee Wesley Absent: 0 IV. Agenda Approval It was moved by Trustee Wesley, seconded by Trustee Buchanan, that this be approved. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. V. Minutes B. MOT 24-124 A Motion to Approve Minutes from the February 6, 2024 Regular Meeting of the Village Board It was moved by Trustee Enyia, seconded by Trustee Wesley, that this Motion be approved. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. I. Presentation: Employee Years of Service Awards A. ID 24-165 Presentation of Employee Years of Service Awards Village Manager Kevin Jackson expressed his gratitude to all employees and presented the awards. VI. Non-Agenda Public Comment There was no non-agenda public comment. VII. Village Manager Reports C. ID 24-153 Presentation from Metro Strategies Regarding Grant Process Improvement Village of Oak Park Page 1 Printed on 3/6/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 20, 2024 Deputy Village Manager Ahmad Zayyad introduced the Item and Metro Strategies Group (MSG) Principal Seema Wadia presented the Item. Trustee Parakkat inquired how effectiveness is measured. Principal Wadia said metrics like win rates may be more illustrative in the longer term. He asked if we are considering AI-generated grantwriting. Principal Wadia said they are looking at the use of AI and saving staff time and potentially using templates. Trustee Robinson asked if larger impact is the grant criteria or an assessment from experience. Principal Wadia said it is primarily for all of the new programs and federal funding. It is not necessarily related to population. Trustee Robinson inquired about the next steps with MSG. Manager Jackson said the next steps are to implement this good process. The Village will continue to rely on the technical assistance of MSG to apply for grants. Manager Zayyad said the one-year agreement expires in July. Trustee Robinson asked what other things MSG can provide in that time. Principal Wadia said some of it is moving forward on the bigger opportunities that have come up more recently and helping the Village apply for grants. Manager Jackson agreed with creating a process that can live on that puts the Village in a position of strength to go after grants. Trustee Wesley said he is willing to throw as much money at grantwriting as possible as long as the ROI is positive. President Scaman said she appreciates a process like this to help the Village prepare and be competitive with grants and prioritize our time. Manager Jackson said the emergency declaration is going to expire February 29. Deputy Village Manager Lisa Shelley provided an update on the status of the Village's emergency shelter. Trustee Wesley asked if there are any additional grants outside of this pot of money, which Manager Shelley confirmed there is none at this time. Trustee Robinson asked if the communication to the families is done and translated by the Village's translation services. Manager Shelley confirmed translators will be present during the move and the Village set up individual meetings this week with families, translators, and our DEI office. Trustee Robinson inquired about the families with school-age children that are being moved to St. Edmunds. Manager Shelley confirmed those families will be prioritized so they are at their new location when the children come home from school that day. IX. Regular Agenda Village of Oak Park Page 2 Printed on 3/6/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 20, 2024 I. RES 24-144 A Resolution Approving a Funding Grant Agreement between Oak Park-River Forest Community of Congregations and the Village of Oak Park to Fund a Short-Term Resettlement Program for Asylum Seekers Residing in the Village’s Temporary Shelter Program in the Amount of $150,000 and Authorizing its Execution Manager Jackson introduced the Item. Community of Congregations VP Ayesha Akhtar said the budget is one line item and they are working diligently to maintain this high level of transparency. Trustee Robinson said she has the same concerns she raised previously. She asked if leases were 6 or 12 months. VP Akhtar said the landlords were only interested in 12 month leases. Trustee Robinson asked what happens if the lease is not fulfilled since they are paid for in advance. VP Akhtar said she can have the COC President provide an answer. Trustee Wesley asked if this includes the residents at Grace Episcopal Church. Manager Shelley said there is nothing in the language that excludes them. Village Attorney Paul Stephanides confirmed he wrote it broadly to include anyone residing in temporary housing that is supported by the Village. It was moved by Trustee Enyia, seconded by Trustee Buchanan, that this Resolution be adopted. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 4- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, and Village Trustee Straw NAYS: 3- Village Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, and Village Trustee Wesley ABSENT: 0 H. ORD 24-108 An Ordinance Amending Chapter 12 (“Housing”), Article 7 (“Housing Trust Fund”), Section 12-7-8 (“Source of Funds”) and Chapter 23A (“Taxes”), Article 4 (“Hotel/Motel and Transient Occupancy Rental Unit Tax”) of the Oak Park Village Code to Adopt a Transient Occupancy Rental Unit Tax Surcharge Manager Jackson introduced the Item. Development Services Director Emily Egan and Deputy Director Brandon Crawford presented the Item. Trustee Robinson inquired which agency pulls directly from the Housing Trust Fund (HTF). Management Analyst Noemy Diaz responded it is the Oak Park Housing Authority and the amount is $35K. Trustee Robinson noted the Village is paying for a partner agency relationship out of this fund in addition to housing programs. Trustee Robinson said she supports Village of Oak Park Page 3 Printed on 3/6/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 20, 2024 staff's recommendation of Option A. Trustee Parakkat said the Village's analysis on the ownership structures gives him comfort. Deputy Director Crawford confirmed the majority of multi-licensed operators operate over half of the short-term rentals. Trustee Parakkat said his concern about the increase from 4% to 7.5% at one time and he wonders if the comparables presented are truly comparable and what the impact of the 3.5% will be. Director Egan said she is comfortable with that increase and it helps to illustrate what the peer communities are familiar with for that rate. Trustee Parakkat asked if it better to move the increase into the HTF or route it through the general fund into the HTF. Attorney Stephanides said he has drafted the ordinance so that it goes directly into the HTF, otherwise it gets convoluted. Trustee Parakkat said he still remains skeptical. President Scaman said she was the one who requested this option to be considered. She said she appreciates Option A because the short-term rentals are most directly affecting our affordable housing stock more so than the hotel/motel. She said we are going through a study now and she is willing to revisit the hotel/motel tax in year or so. It is easier to add a tax than to roll it back. We still want to raise how much money is going into the HTF but to take the one piece that would be the logical revenue source for an economic vitality plan and commit it to the HTF when it doesn't directly affect our affordable housing doesn't seem like something we want to commit to at this time and the dollar amount difference is not significant to finish out this year. Director Egan said staff will continue to bring forward additional options to fund this. Trustee Wesley said he supports Option A because he feels the only way to make a dent in affordable housing is to add housing at scale. He said from 2016-2021 the Village added 1,068 housing units but we now have 120 AirBNB licenses. He said it is hard to add scale when we are taking some off and in order to offset that, we need a funding mechanism such as this one that can pull some of that money back and redistribute it. Trustee Buchanan said she supports Option A. Trustee Straw asked if staff did an analysis if we do Option A with the gradual increase. Deputy Director Crawford said staff looked at that and determined it was to be of no value to do a graduated increase on the short-term rentals because the pool is so much larger and the dollars per licensee are so much smaller. Trustee Straw noted that a lot of the folks have two or fewer units and will feel the impact of a doubling of their tax. We don't necessarily know what the impact will be of this significant an increase. These are units that otherwise might be long-term rentals so Village of Oak Park Page 4 Printed on 3/6/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 20, 2024 there is a significant policy argument for a differentiated tax between the hotel/motel tax and short-term rentals. He said he supports whatever the Village Board ends up with and it is worth considering increasing by 150 basis in the first year, 100 basis points in the second year, 100 basis points in the third year so it is more gradual and we have an opportunity to see data to determine whether it is negatively impacting the AirBNB owners. President Scaman asked if the Village has circled back to any of the AirBNB owners who have raised concern about the increase. Director Egan said outreach was done to the short-term rental community and the Village did not receive a lot of response. The response received was just asking for clarification of the tax. President Scaman noted she did not hear from any AirBNB owners once they understood it was a pass through and would not come out of their pockets. Trustee Enyia said he wants to see an opportunity for affordable housing and have units that are available and would like to revisit this and understood if it is something we can do in the future to recoup some dollars into the HTF. He said he is okay with Option A but would like to check back in six months to a year to understand it better. Trustee Wesley agreed with bringing it back in six months to a year. It was moved by Trustee Robinson, seconded by Trustee Wesley, that this Ordinance be adopted. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 6- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Straw, and Village Trustee Wesley NAYS: 1- Village Trustee Parakkat ABSENT: 0 VIII. Consent Agenda Approval of the Consent Agenda It was moved by Trustee Wesley, seconded by Trustee Enyia, 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 Straw, and Village Trustee Wesley NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 0 D. ORD 24-105 Concur with the Farmers Market Commission and Adopt an Ordinance Village of Oak Park Page 5 Printed on 3/6/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 20, 2024 Amending Chapter 18 (“Peddlers And Solicitors”), Article 2 (“Farmers’ Market”), Section 18-2-7 (“Assignment Of Spaces”) of the Oak Park Village Code Regarding the Farmers’ Market Vendor Space Assignments This Ordinance was adopted. E. RES 24-134 A Resolution Authorizing the Submission of a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Direct Technical Assistance (BRIC DTA) Grant Application for a Benefit to Cost Analysis for the Lombard Avenue Relief Sewer Project This Resolution was adopted. F. RES 24-126 A Resolution Approving the Work Plans of the Village of Oak Park’s Boards and Commissions for 2024 This Resolution was adopted. G. RES 24-133 A Resolution Approving a Renewal of the Independent Contractor Agreement with GA Paving, LLC for Village Wide Utility Pavement Patching Services in 2024 in an Amount Not to Exceed $250,000.00 and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. X. Call to Board and Clerk Clerk Waters announced that suburban Cook County can begin early voting on March 4-18. There is no voting at Village Hall on March 19 Election Day. She said she felt the love at the Black History Month celebration and thanked her family for volunteering at the event. Trustee Enyia thanked the Village for the Black History Month celebration and acknowledged the staff for their years of service. Trustee Buchanan thanked Dr. Walker and her staff for a fantastic Black History Month celebration. Trustee Wesley acknowledged the staff for their years of service. Trustee Robinson congratulated the staff who were recognized this evening. She highlighted the spoken word performance at the Black History Month celebration and thanked the artists for performing. Trustee Parakkat congratulated the staff on their awards and Dr. Walker on the Black History Month celebration. He encouraged the community to participate in the first Bite the Burbs restaurant week during the last week of February and Bite Night at the Nineteenth Century Club. He said he served on a panel at OPRF for their Civic Service Day. Village of Oak Park Page 6 Printed on 3/6/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes February 20, 2024 Trustee Straw acknowledged the staff for their years of service and said he very much enjoyed the Black History Month programming. President Scaman thanked the DEI team for an excellent Black History Month celebration and congratulated the staff on their awards. She endorsed Bite Night. She announced Sarah's Inn has a $2K Youth Voice Award due at the end of this month. XI. Adjourn It was moved by Trustee Wesley, seconded by Trustee Straw, to Adjourn. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. Meeting adjourned Tuesday, February 20, 2024 at 8:33 P.M. Village of Oak Park Page 7 Printed on 3/6/2024