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, March 5, 2024 6:00 PM Village Hall I. Call to Order Village President Vicki Scaman called the Regular Meeting to order at 6:05 P.M. II. Roll Call Trustee Enyia joined the Meeting at 6:10 P.M. Trustee Straw joined the Meeting at 6:12 P.M. Present: 6- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Straw, and Village Trustee Wesley Absent: 1- Village Trustee Robinson III. Consideration of Motion to Adjourn to Executive Session to Discuss Collective Bargaining and LItigation It was moved by Village Trustee Wesley, seconded by Village Trustee Buchanan, to adjourn into Executive Session. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 4- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Parakkat, and Village Trustee Wesley NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 3- Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Robinson, and Village Trustee Straw V. Reconvene to Regular Meeting in Council Chambers and Call to Order The Regular Meeting reconvened at 7:41 P.M. VI. Roll Call Trustee Enyia left the Meeting at 7:40 P.M. Present: 5- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Straw, and Village Trustee Wesley Absent: 2- Village Trustee Enyia, and Village Trustee Robinson VII. Agenda Approval Trustee Wesley requested to move Item H from the Consent Agenda to the Regular Agenda. Village of Oak Park Page 1 Printed on 3/20/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 It was moved by Trustee Wesley, seconded by Trustee Buchanan, to approve the Agenda as amended. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. VIII. Minutes A. MOT 24-125 A Motion to Approve Minutes from the February 13, 2024 Regular Meeting, February 15, 2024 Special Meeting and February 20, 2024 Regular Meeting of the Village Board It was moved by Trustee Wesley, seconded by Trustee Straw, to approve the Minutes. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. IX. Non-Agenda Public Comment Jacques Conway: Resident since 1984, former police officer. Expressed concern about the shortage of police officers, which is detrimental to the health and welfare of our village. Kenshata Harris: Lives across the street from Housing Forward where a migrant attacked another person yesterday. Wants to know how many migrants are there, if there is security, and is there a transition to get migrants out of Oak Park permanently because she doesn't feel safe. Police Chief Shatonya Johnson said the incident that occurred yesterday did not involve migrants or the individuals that reside at Wright Inn. X. Proclamation B. MOT 24-127 A Motion to Approve a Proclamation in Honor of Galen L. Gockel Retired Village Clerk Sandra Sokol read the Proclamation into the Record. President Scaman presented a copy of the framed proclamation to Rosemary Gerrans, who gave a few remarks. It was moved by Trustee Straw, seconded by Trustee Buchanan, that this Motion be approved. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. C. MOT 24-128 A Motion to Approve a Proclamation Celebrating the Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest’s “Heart of Our Villages” Award in Honor of Susan and Nicholas Bridge Trustee Buchanan read the Proclamation into the Record. 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. D. MOT 24-129 A Motion to Approve a Proclamation Celebrating National Women’s History Month, March 2024 - Celebrating Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion President Scaman, Trustee Buchanan, and Clerk Waters read the Village of Oak Park Page 2 Printed on 3/20/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 Proclamation into the Record. Chief DEI Officer Dr. Danielle Walker said there will be an event honoring Women's History Month later in March and more details will be forthcoming. It was moved by Village Trustee Wesley, seconded by Village Trustee Straw, that this Motion be approved. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. XI. Village Manager Reports E. ID 24-182 Review of the Village Board Meeting Calendar for March and April 2024 Village Manager Kevin Jackson presented the Board calendars for March and April. Finance Committee meetings will be rescheduled. XII. Village Board Committees & Trustee Liaison Commission Reports President Scaman noted there is a Collaboration for Early Childhood meeting and an IGOV meeting later this month. XIII. Citizen Commission Vacancies F. ID 24-181 Board & Commission Vacancy Report for March 5, 2024 There were no comments. XIV. Citizen Commission Appointments, Reappointments and Chair Appointments G. MOT 24-126 A Motion to Consent to the Village President’s Appointment of: Farmers’ Market Commission - Jessica Green, Reappoint as Member It was moved by Trustee Wesley, seconded by Trustee Straw, that this Motion be approved. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. XV. Consent Agenda Item I. Dave Marshall: Said the intersection at Ridgeland and Division is identified as a Tier 2 intersection of concern. Asked the project team to work with Vision Zero consultants as they're developing design alternatives. Approval of the Consent Agenda It was moved by Trustee Wesley, seconded by Trustee Straw, to approve the items under the Consent Agenda. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 5- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Straw, and Village Trustee Wesley NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 2- Village Trustee Enyia, and Village Trustee Robinson Village of Oak Park Page 3 Printed on 3/20/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 I. RES 24-145 A Resolution Approving a Task Order for Professional Engineering Services with TranSystems Corporation for the Phase 1 Design of the Ridgeland Avenue Resurfacing Project in an Amount Not to Exceed $112,770 and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was approved. J. RES 24-147 A Resolution Approving a Contract with Millennium Contracting Co. for Project 24-7, Austin Boulevard Sewer Improvements in an Amount Not to Exceed $1,166,283 and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. K. RES 24-148 A Resolution Approving a Task Order with Edwin Hancock Engineering Co. for Construction Engineering Services for 2024 Alley Improvement Projects in an Amount Not to Exceed $239,046 and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. L. RES 24-149 A Resolution Authorizing the Submission of an Invest in Cook Grant Application for the 2025 Neighborhood Greenway Construction Project This Resolution was adopted. M. RES 24-150 A Resolution Approving a Task Order with V3 Companies, Ltd. for Construction Engineering Services for Project 24-7, Austin Boulevard Sewer Improvements, in an Amount Not to Exceed $76,493 and Authorizing its Execution This Resolution was adopted. N. RES 24-152 A Resolution Authorizing the Submission of a Grant Application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for an Assistance to Firefighters Grant with a Requested Funding Amount up to $1,000,000 This Resolution was adopted. O. RES 24-156 A Resolution Approving an Extension of an Independent Contractor Agreement with Thrive Counseling Center for an Additional Six-Month Term Through October 31, 2024, in an Amount Not to Exceed $83,000 and Authorizing its Execution. This Resolution was adopted. Q. MOT 24-117 A Motion to Approve the Bills in the Amount of $4,350,640.54 from December 31, 2023, through January 27, 2024 This Motion was approved. XVI. Regular Agenda for Items Pursuant to Village Code Chapter 3 Alcoholic Liquor Dealers or Related Village of Oak Park Page 4 Printed on 3/20/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 R. ORD 24-112 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 Catering Class A-4 Liquor License to Premier Catering & Events, LLC Village Attorney Paul Stephanides introduced the Item and Liquor Control Review Board Chair Sarah Corbin presented the Item. It was moved by Trustee Wesley, seconded by Trustee Straw, that this Ordinance be adopted. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 5- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Straw, and Village Trustee Wesley NAYS: 0 ABSENT: 2- Village Trustee Enyia, and Village Trustee Robinson XVII. Regular Agenda H. RES 24-132 A Resolution Approving and Adopting the Village of Oak Park’s Official Zoning Map Development Services Director Emily Egan presented the Item. Trustee Wesley noted the institutional and systemic legacy of zoning in this country and how it continues to play a part in systemic and institutional racism to this day. He referenced the 1917 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Buchanan v. Warley. Exclusionary zoning laws have a profound impact on social welfare. He quoted from the White House website and said the racial wealth gap is the product of exclusionary zoning in this country and we ignore the underlying creation of systemic inequity. You will never integrate Oak Park with housing prices at $450K and black families making $50K a year. These things are intrinsically connected and we don't talk enough about them. The way to create affordable housing is to create more housing and loosening our zoning so we can build more units and diversify our housing types across our entire village. Trustee Buchanan said she is strongly supportive of us studying the issue of changing the zoning in Oak Park in consideration of getting rid of a lot of our single-family zoning. She suggested that the Village spend the next year looking at this issue and having a study session. Trustee Straw noted the Village Board's study session on March 19 on the housing recommendations that are coming forward. The historical character of our neighborhoods included two-flats and three-flats it has changed because of single-family zoning and upconversion. The missing Village of Oak Park Page 5 Printed on 3/20/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 middle is one of the key issues we see in Oak Park. Re-examining single family housing would go a long way toward creating affordability and providing incentive for small development. Josh Vander Berg: Resident asked the Village Board to consider enacting meaningful zoning reform. We have a zoning map that is a direct descendent of the explicitly racial zoning of the past. This map encodes race and enforces historical patterns of segregation. It was moved by Trustee Wesley, seconded by Trustee Straw, 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 Parakkat, and Village Trustee Straw NAYS: 1- Village Trustee Wesley ABSENT: 2- Village Trustee Enyia, and Village Trustee Robinson S. ORD 24-104 Concur with the Plan Commission and Adopt an Ordinance Amending Article 14 (“Zoning Approvals”), Section 14.1 (“Zoning Text and Map Amendment”), Subsection B (“Initiation”) of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance Regarding Applications for Zoning Ordinance Map and Text Amendments Director Egan presented the Item. Trustee Straw said he is going to vote no and thinks there should be a way in the process for concerned citizens to get a zoning amendment. President Scaman said one of the challenges she had is that the process doesn't allow for the Village Board to hear from the land owner in a way that allowed them to respond to the resident concerns fully. She said she looks forward to the opportunity to have some suggestions on how that early education to neighbors can happen. Director Egan said staff intends to bring a study session forward for review of public engagement for all types of development by right and seek how we can gain public input by reviewing the development processes and options for public engagement. Plan Commission Chair Michael Sturino said the commission's view is that citizens have a number of opportunities to impact the zoning code. This is not meant to foreclose any opportunity for the public to become engaged in aspect of the Village, especially our zoning code. Trustee Wesley said if we allow anyone to allow any zoning amendment on any parcel, we open a door for the creation of systemic inequity by devoted groups of residents in our village against or with the consent of our Village of Oak Park Page 6 Printed on 3/20/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 government. The removal of the ability for community members to propose zoning changes is a step toward removing that discriminatory aspect of our zoning system and that is why he will be voting yes. Trustee Straw referenced a meeting that proposed a text amendment regarding the zoning of Rush Oak Park Hospital. Staff said it was the first time they had seen a property owner seeking a text amendment for a different property. That instance was a community who felt they had not been heard for decades as development grew into their neighborhood. He said he thinks folks coming to the Village Board is a good first step as is having a safety valve for a community group that feels ignored for decades can try to force a public hearing on the issue. He said he will vote no and would change his opinion if we start having many of these instances. Trustee Wesley said the issue with allowing small groups of people to change how we do things as an entire village is that the people who show up do not represent the entirety of the village. They are disproportionately white, male, and affluent. The people who are unheard are not in the room due to systemic issues often caused by people using systems like this to keep them out of the room. He said he would like to see our systems maintain the ability for all of Oak Park to be heard. Trustee Buchanan said she will vote yes primarily because the Plan Commission was a unanimous vote. Trustee Parakkat said he has learned a lot from both perspectives and he plans to vote yes. President Scaman said she will vote yes because the current CEO of Rush Oak Park Hospital did not have an opportunity to really engage fully in that process. She said she looks forward to the study session to address residents' concerns of having an opportunity to be heard in all forms of development processes. It was moved by Trustee Wesley, seconded by Trustee Parakkat, that this Ordinance 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 Parakkat, and Village Trustee Wesley NAYS: 1- Village Trustee Straw ABSENT: 2- Village Trustee Enyia, and Village Trustee Robinson T. ID 24-169 A Presentation and Discussion of Various Transportation Items Including the Traffic Calming Petition Process, the Vision Zero Study, School Safety, Bike Planning, Pedestrian Signals, and Enforcement Village of Oak Park Page 7 Printed on 3/20/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 Mary Pikul: Resident said there are problems with adding bike lanes on Ridgeland, a residential and busy street. It will create a new safety problem for people needing to unload passengers and delivery drivers will park in bike lanes. Sylvia Schweri, representing Bike Walk Oak Park (BWOP): Urged the Village to move away from beg buttons and install audible pedestrian signals. Leading pedestrian intervals are not addressed in this presentation. Concerned the feasibility study is impractical unless it can be given the time and investment required to change an IDOT road. Jack Davidson: Works with advocacy groups to provide safe passage for vulnerable road users. Ridgeland is the best place for a protected north/south bike lane and a simple solution to eliminate vehicular aggression and provide safe passage through our village and adjacent communities. Carolyn Sarnecki: Parent of D97 students and member of BWOP. Encouraged the Village Board to incorporate the suggestions in BWOP’s 2022 bike safety report. The dangerous intersection at Van Buren and Ridgeland can be remedied by a curb bump-out or eliminating parked cars near the intersection. Jennifer Quinlain: Lives across the street from Hatch School where three of the four corners are invisible traffic. Requested that Harvey on that block be made a one-way street and get lighted stop signs on all four corners. Supports traffic controls and studies around the school. Gary Arnold: Resident and member of the disability community. The Disability Access Commission meeting last week shared information about what is being done to improve access at intersections for pedestrians. Supports improved access without linking that access to a beg button. Terrence Smith: Resident who said living along Ridgeland is challenging. Taking parking away would be a hardship. Strongly suggested that formal notice be given to residents along Ridgeland so they are aware of the considerations before taking a formal vote. Josh Vander Berg: Supports Vision Zero and investing in bike infrastructure in Oak Park. A protected bike lane on Ridgeland would increase his children’s safety and improve auto traffic and bikes and vehicles would no longer mix. Let’s do this. President Scaman noted the Village is no longer reading emails aloud Village of Oak Park Page 8 Printed on 3/20/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 from public comment. Five emails were received from concerned residents on Ridgeland and the Village Board has read them. The feasibility study would reach out to residents along Ridgeland and seek their feedback. Manager Jackson and Assistant Public Works Director/Village Engineer Bill McKenna introduced the Vision Zero Item. Sam Schwartz Senior Associate Alex Hanson representing the Vision Zero consultant presented the Item. Trustee Parakkat said the map looks like Ridgeland is not part of the 41% so he wondered why Ridgeland came up as a recommendation. Associate Hanson said some factors that go into this analysis are focused on serious and fatal crashes and looking at the relative risk of streets and intersections. Some recommendations will be specific conceptual design ideas and we will also develop a systemic safety toolbox to deploy throughout the Village and improve safety. Trustee Wesley asked if we are correlating census tracks with high economic hardship to the previous map with the color coding to show the high risk streets. Associate Hanson said they have and are considering overlap with surrounding communities. Trustee Wesley said the Hispanic/Latino population stands out as incredible inequitable outcomes and wondered if the consultant has seen data that looks like this in other communities. Associate Hanson said throughout the country people of color are much more impacted by traffic deaths and fatalities. President Scaman said she has heard that the age and safety features of the vehicle is a factor. Trustee Wesley inquired about the number of respondents, which Associate Hanson said is about 400. Trustee Straw inquired what types of unlawful driving people are perceiving. Associate Hanson said they have heard a lot about cell phones and distracted driving and yielding behavior and compliance. Trustee Straw noted he has seen a lot of passing in parking lanes. Associate Hanson said that is not at the top of the concerns they have been hearing. Trustee Straw inquired what the multiple tracks will look like. Associate Hanson said for the high injury network, they will work with staff to select a subset of those locations to design conceptual designs. The safety toolbox will build out a menu of safety tools proven to reduce speeds and other dangerous driving behaviors and provide a prioritization method to determine where those can be used and be incorporated into street resurfacing projects. Trustee Straw wondered if design techniques around schools and parks should be a separate track. Associate Hanson said they are looking at how that might be a criteria for determining where improvements are prioritized and also looking at a subset of tools that can be deployed around schools and parks. Trustee Straw referenced the slide Village of Oak Park Page 9 Printed on 3/20/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 regarding safety by speed and the life and death difference it makes if a pedestrian is hit at a low versus high speed. He asked how much more vulnerable children are versus adults. Associate Hanson said a national factor is the increasing size of vehicles and height of the hood. Trustee Straw said he is excited to move toward implementation because this cannot happen soon enough. Trustee Parakkat inquired about the costs associated with the safety toolkit and recommendations. Associate Hanson said that will be part of the information provided along with the methods that can deliver a lower cost and faster version of the tool. They will look at funding strategy around the plan overall. The Safe Streets For All federal program can support these types of improvements. Engineer McKenna said staff will work with Sam Schwartz to look at the preliminary recommendations for the study around the time we're developing budgets for 2025 and beyond. Trustee Buchanan asked if the bike plan and Vision Zero are being planned together. Engineer McKenna said they will be running concurrently and findings from Vision Zero will be able to be rolled into the bike plan update. She said she hopes the Village does not prioritize minimizing car congestion. Associate Hanson said they are working on a policy and process review and what policies are driving decision-making and where there are contradictions or opportunities with Vision Zero to enhance those policies to better support the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries. She said she would be very much in favor for minimizing the concern for traffic congestion in our infrastructure plans for Vision Zero. President Scaman noted that the slower Lake Street doesn’t have many accidents. Engineer McKenna said Vision Zero is a safety planning document and needs to look at the movement of traffic throughout the village. We do not want to create congestion in areas that have impacts to the local network. Trustee Parakkat said another concern around congestion is the ability for emergency vehicles to have a path. Trustee Wesley said he supports prioritizing people over cars. Our wide open streets incentivize very fast traffic. Most people in our village don’t have access to parking because we have an overnight parking ban. It's time to switch who we prioritize when we start thinking about traffic and safety. He asked if Ridgeland is considered an arterial street when it is one lane in each direction. Engineer McKenna said in general there are no multi-lane roadways in the interior of the village. We are looking at the streets where we can use federal dollars and align with future grant opportunities. Trustee Wesley wondered if we have inherent conflict with Village of Oak Park Page 10 Printed on 3/20/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 interior streets operating as multi-lane streets. Engineer McKenna said the way a road functions is the organic nature of how people move from local streets to larger streets. Trustee Straw asked what level of service we should be targeting. Associate Hanson said speed is the critical factor so if they are going more slowly it can have positive safety impacts. An important consideration is how creating more congestion can impact other streets. Level of service should not outweigh safety concerns. Engineer McKenna said level of service refers to intersections. Vision Zero will consider what is an acceptable balance between congestion and safety improvements. Trustee Straw said he is in support of prioritizing folks who are biking and walking and their safety over getting people to their destination faster. Manager Jackson said the outcome of the Vision Zero planning process should provide an opportunity for the Board to provide that type of policy direction. It was moved by Trustee Wesley, seconded by Trustee Straw, to continue the meeting past 10:00 P.M. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. Engineer McKenna presented the bike plan Item. Trustee Parakkat asked if the cost is dependent on it being on Ridgeland. Engineer McKenna said it will be similar for any kind of similar north/south street. Most of the cost is centered around the public engagement component. Trustee Parakkat asked how the engagement and results would change the strategy. Engineer McKenna said for Ridgeland, it is about informing the public of what those impacts may be so they have an opportunity to express their concerns. The Village would also be working with the schools to modify their drop-off and pick-up plans. Trustee Buchanan asked if Ridgeland has already been decided or if it is possible for the feasibility study to tell us what street to put protected bike lanes. Engineer McKenna said staff have heard Ridgeland as the desired street for on-street bike facilities. All of the side streets have stop signs. Ridgeland is scheduled for resurfacing from Augusta to North Avenue. Trustee Buchanan wondered about the low usage of the Madison Street bike lanes. Engineer McKenna said that would be part of the conversation on whether to move forward with this project. Trustee Straw said he supports the feasibility study as he is not sure what the outcome should be. He said he hears the parking concerns and noted Ridgeland Avenue is public property. We need to think about deliveries and he does not want to see delivery trucks parked in bike lanes. Bike lanes on high traffic streets have to be protected. He said he is interested in hearing what the considerations with IDOT will be with Ridgeland. Engineer McKenna said IDOT is more concerned about the public Village of Oak Park Page 11 Printed on 3/20/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 engagement process than how a parking lane is managed. The feasibility study will include associated costs or policy changes. Trustee Straw asked if the feasibility study will propose alternatives to Ridgeland. Engineer McKenna said that will be part of the bike plan update. Trustee Wesley inquired about the width of East Avenue. Engineer McKenna said our local streets are 28 feet wide with narrower lanes. Ridgeland is 36 feet wide. Putting a bike lane on a smaller street could require it to be changed from a two-way to a one-way street. Ridgeland has shared lane markings to indicate to drivers they should anticipate cyclists. Trustee Wesley asked if we are considering bike lanes on both sides of the street or one bi-directional bike lane on one side. Engineer McKenna said both options would be considered. Trustee Wesley asked how current disability parking would be accommodated. Engineer McKenna said there would be targeted outreach to everyone with a handicapped parking space on Ridgeland to look at potential options and impacts. Trustee Wesley said he supports the improved pedestrian crossings on Ridgeland and would like to see more of them. Trustee Parakkat said he is not convinced Ridgeland is the best option. He asked if the bike plan will help us identify different options. Engineer McKenna said we will be looking at the system village-wide for on-street bike facilities. Trustee Parakkat asked if it would be better to do that first before spending $86K on a feasibility study for one location. Engineer McKenna said one of the drivers is our federal funds for the 2026 Ridgeland resurfacing project. If we are going to do facilities on Ridgeland, we’ll need to start planning now so it can be incorporated into the project. Trustee Parakkat said his preference would be to do the bike plan before the feasibility study. Trustee Buchanan said she feels strongly we should make a commitment to making this happen. President Scaman said she does not have answers without a feasibility study. We are going to learn things from the study that will help inform if we decide to do bike lanes elsewhere. Trustee Wesley said his understanding is the feasibility study is specific to Ridgeland and will tell us why or why not Ridgeland is a good fit. Engineer McKenna said there will be lessons learned from the feasibility study that will be transferable to future projects. Trustee Parakkat wondered if it would make sense to ask students what route they take and why. Engineer McKenna said engagement would happen during the feasibility study and the bike plan update will coordinate Village of Oak Park Page 12 Printed on 3/20/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 with schools and park districts. President Scaman inquired about the timeline. Engineer McKenna said should the Board desire to move forward with the feasibility study, staff would present an Item at the March 19 Board meeting for the $86K contract for the feasibility study. We would look at conceptual design options. Community engagement would start late spring when we have potential options and impacts to present to the community. Final recommendations would go before the Transportation Commission in late summer/early fall with final recommendations to the Board in the fall. We are starting the preliminary design for the resurfacing project, will incorporate results from the feasibility study, and submit the preliminary engineering report to IDOT in the fall. Construction on Ridgeland between North Avenue and Augusta is planned for 2026 and work could start sooner south of Augusta. Manager Jackson noted that he would look to the neighborhood engagement unit to facilitate the community engagement work. Deputy Chief Roderick Robinson presented a summary of the enforcement of the Item. Trustee Straw inquired how many traffic enforcement tickets are written. Deputy Chief Robinson said traffic stops have returned to pre-pandemic levels and he can get back to him with the number of citations. Trustee Straw said people don’t feel there is a risk in getting a citation. There is a lot of unsafe behavior and he said he hopes we are writing tickets, especially near schools. Deputy Chief Robinson confirmed citations are being written at Julian, Hatch, and Longfellow. Trustee Wesley said he has noticed the uptick in police presence. He said people ignore street signs and asked if there is an automated way to monitor stop signs. Engineer McKenna said there is not a good way without investing in video cameras or embedding equipment in the roads. Attorney Stephanides said it is not legal to write tickets and we cannot install speed cameras because our population is less than 1M. Trustee Parakkat said enforcement has to be part of the solution or it will not work and the culture is shifting to there being no consequences which is becoming a bigger problem as a society. Deputy Chief Robinson agreed we want to write citations for dangerous behaviors. Trustee Straw said he wants to ensure enforcement is neighborhood level and spread throughout the village so our statistics around traffic stops reflect what our village and surrounding communities look like. Deputy Chief Robinson confirmed it is being addressed all across the village. Village of Oak Park Page 13 Printed on 3/20/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 Manager Jackson asked if there is censor technology that can detect how often and where noncompliance happens. Engineer McKenna said there is nothing cheap and easy. Video cameras would have to be set up and a consultant would review the videos. P. RES 24-158 A Resolution Approving a Professional Services Agreement with Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd. to Provide Legal Services for Asylum Seekers Residing in the Village in an Amount Not to Exceed $360,000 and Authorizing its Execution Dr. Walker presented the Item. Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym Partner Kelli Fennell introduced her law firm. Trustee Parakkat asked if we have gone through a process to determine if the population we have is eligible for asylum. Partner Fennell said most people her firm has met with have been issued a notice to appear so they are in deportation proceedings. They are eligible to file for asylum but she can't say everyone has a strong case. Trustee Parakkat asked when would that be known. Partner Fennell said everyone they've met with knows where they stand. Trustee Parakkat said he is supportive of this. Trustee Straw inquired about the timeline for asylum applications. She said when you file the application, the clock which calculates your eligibility for a work permit starts ticking. Once it hits 150 days, you can apply for your work permit. If the applicant does anything like move the court location, that stops the clock until the next court date, which can be one to two years because of the backlog. She said her firm is proposing a limited scope representation which would be filing that asylum application with immigration court, triggering the clock to start to calculate employment authorization eligibility, and then they're able to track their court case up through final adjudication which is probably going to be in several years. Trustee Straw noted this is something we have no control over and registered his disappointment with our federal immigration system. Trustee Wesley said he is supportive of this and thinks it is a great move forward for folks who have been living with a lot of uncertainty in our village. He asked that the Village Board keep this in mind as there are other underserved populations from a legal perspective in our village and ensure that we're funding those needs as well. It was moved by Village Trustee Straw, seconded by Trustee Wesley, that this Resolution be adopted. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 5- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Straw, and Village Trustee Wesley NAYS: 0 Village of Oak Park Page 14 Printed on 3/20/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes March 5, 2024 ABSENT: 2- Village Trustee Enyia, and Village Trustee Robinson XVIII. Call to Board and Clerk Village Clerk Christina Waters said early voting is happening at Village Hall, 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Monday through Saturday, 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Sundays. The final day for early voting at Village Hall is Monday, March 18. Trustee Straw gave a shout out to Mikey and thanked him for watching tonight's meeting. President Scaman said she met with Sen. Dick Durbin with Village staff, Housing Forward, and YMCA to talk about what we've learned from this experience. She thanked Village staff for supporting her that day. XIX. Adjourn It was moved by Trustee Straw, seconded Village Trustee Wesley, to Adjourn. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. Meeting adjourned at 11:34 P.M., Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Respectfully submitted, Deputy Clerk Hansen Village of Oak Park Page 15 Printed on 3/20/2024