City Council Minutes -
February 8, 2006
MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COUNTRYSIDE, ILLINOIS
HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2006
1. After the Pledge of Allegiance to
the Flag, Mayor LeGant called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. City
Clerk Herberts called the Roll which was as follows:
PRESENT: Mayor Carl LeGant, Aldermen
Robert Conrad, Wayne Straza, Karen Michalczyk, John Von Drasek, Michael
Smetana, Robert Pondelicek
ALSO PRESENT: City Clerk Herberts, City Treasurer
Stoffels, City Attorney Robert Peck, City Admin. Bailey, Police Chief
Swanson, City Engineer Fitzgerald, Fin. Director Filinovich, Deputy
Clerk Bartelt, CDD Mark Muenzer, PC/ZBA Member Jasinski
OMNIBUS AGENDA
2. Approval of Minutes of January 25, 2006.
3. Statement of Bills for the period ending
February 8, 2006.
4. From Dominick’s Finer Foods, 6704 Joliet Road,
requesting a special use to erect a temporary garden center tent on
their premises from April 9 – June 24, 2006.
5. Application for a general business license from
Koranda Masonry, 10455 5th Avenue Cutoff. Type: Home
Office. Applicant: James Koranda.
6. Application for a general business license from
No Construction Job’s Too Small, 9800 W. 55th St. Type: Home
Office. Applicant: Jack Laskowski.
7. Special Use application from Douglas Perzan of
the Independent Flea Market Inc., to hold a Craft Show at the Holiday
Inn on April 8, 2006 from 6 am to 3 pm.
8. From the Ideal School PTO applying for a
Charitable Game License to hold a raffle in conjunction with the Fun
Fair, March 10, 2006. Request a waiver of license fee.
9. Ald. Michalczyk noted a correction to the
minutes of January 25, 2006 - page 3, item #24, should read Ald. Smetana
moved, seconded by Ald. Michalczyk. Ald. Michalczyk moved to approve
the minutes as corrected, seconded by Ald. Smetana and carried
unanimously.
ADDITIONS TO AND/OR DELETIONS FROM THE AGENDA
QUESTIONS AND/OR COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE
MAYOR’S REPORT
10. Mayor LeGant noted member changes to various
committees and discussed the creation of a Human Resources Committee.
The new Chairman of the HR Committee is Ald. Pondelicek; Ald. Von Drasek
and Admin. Bailey as committee members. Ald. Von Drasek is the new
Chairman of the License Committee, with Ald. Conrad and Clerk Herberts
as committee members. Ald. Conrad remains Chairman of the Police
Committee with Ald. Smetana and Ald. Pondelicek as committee members.
Ald. Pondelicek leaves the Recreation Committee to be replaced with Ald.
Michalczyk, and Ald. Smetana as committee members, and Ald. Conrad as
Chairman. Ald. Pondelicek will become a member of the Hotel/Motel
Committee.
CITY CLERK’S REPORT
11. City Clerk Herberts sought Council approval
for attendance at the International Institute of Municipal Clerks Annual
Conference May 14-18, 2006 in Anaheim, CA. Estimated expenses are
$1,679 plus travel expenses. Ald. Michalczyk moved to approve the
expenditure, seconded by Ald. Straza and carried unanimously.
TREASURER’S REPORT
12. City Treasurer Stoffels advised that the City
has received a check from Flagg Creek Golf Course for its portion of
2005 profits in the amount of $128,283.70.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
FINANCE COMMITTEE – TRESURER STOFFELS, CHAIRMAN,
presented recommendations from the committee meeting held earlier this
evening.
13. The committee recommends a donation of $250 to
Gurrie PTO for its 2006 Fundraiser. Ald. Conrad moved to approve the
donation, seconded by Ald. Pondelicek and carried unanimously.
14. Mr. Bailey presented the Finance Committee
recommendation to contract the services of Speers Financial to act as
the financial advisor for the water bond issuance and that a competitive
bond sale be conducted. The cost is approximately $5 million over the
next 20 years. Ald. Michalczyk moved, seconded by Ald. Von Drasek to
approve the recommendation; motion carried by unanimous Roll Call vote.
Mayor LeGant stated that the need for this bond issue is to update the
City’s water system.
15. Mr. Bailey also presented the Finance Committee
recommendation to contract with the law firm of McGuire Woods as Bond
Counsel for the water bond issuance. Ald. Smetana moved to approve the
recommendation, seconded by Ald. Von Drasek and carried unanimously.
16. Ald. Von Drasek stated that he attended the
workshop by the Cook County Assessors Office today for instructions on
appealing the property tax assessment. Another workshop is scheduled for
February 22 at 10 a.m. and 5-6 p.m. They will explain the steps
necessary to complete the appeals process.
17. Ald. Pondelicek stated that on February 1
Deputy Chief Mallon and Officer Milsap conducted a session at the Mobile
Park Association regarding the lock box for Seniors, the File for Life
program and Neighborhood Watch Program. He thanked both officers for
their excellent presentations.
LEGAL REPORT
18. City Attorney Robert Peck presented the draft
ordinance rescinding three liquor licenses: two Class E licenses and
one Class S license. These licenses are currently outstanding but no
longer in use. Mayor LeGant requested that they be removed. Ald.
Smetana moved to adopt the ordinance as presented and waive the second
reading, seconded by Ald. Conrad and carried unanimously.
Clerk Herberts declared that this will be known as
ORDINANCE 06-05-O.
19. Attorney Peck presented a Resolution changing
the ICMARC coordinator to Alice Filinovich, Finance Director. Ald.
Smetana moved to adopt the Resolution as presented, seconded by Ald.
Straza and carried unanimously.
Clerk Herberts declared that this will be known as
RESOLUTION 06-02-R.
20. Attorney Peck presented proposed changes for
procedures as set forth in the Zoning Code for PC/ZBA Public Hearings
re: Plats of Subdivision. The PC/ZBA recommended that the City attorney
work with CDD Muenzer and City Engineer Fitzgerald in making those
revisions and put them in ordinance form. Ald. Conrad moved to concur
with the PC/ZBA recommendation, seconded by Ald. Michalczyk and carried
unanimously.
ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
21. City Administrator Bailey stated that
consideration of the City’s proposed purchasing policy has been tabled.
22. Mr. Bailey recommends approval of payment of
$28,897.81 in association with the Final Order and Judgment of the
Primeco Class Action lawsuit. Ald. Smetana moved to approve payment,
seconded by Ald. Conrad and carried unanimously.
STAFF REPORTS
23. Police Chief Swanson stated that the basketball
game between the Police Department and Ideal School will take place
February 22 at 6:30 p.m. He apologized for the fact that it is a
Council Meeting night; the conflict could not be avoided.
OLD AND NEW BUSINESS
Resident Lester Trilla, 10250 5th Ave.
Cutoff, addressed Council re: activity by Hodgkins in proceeding to
construct a heavy commercial zoning district in the area which could
adversely affect property values. He noted that Mr. Novotny is the
engineer for both the City of Countryside and the Village of Hodgkins,
which could result in a conflict of interest. Mayor LeGant stated that
this matter will be discussed in Executive Session immediately following
this meeting. He read a two-page memo from Administrator Bailey
entitled, “ 5th Avenue Cutoff Jurisdictional Transfer Status
Report” into the record as follows:
“As you will recall, negotiations with the Cook
County Bureau of Highways regarding the jurisdictional transfer of 5th
Avenue Cutoff were stalled after the discovery that the roadway, in
certain areas, was constructed on easements versus dedicated right of
way. The City’s concern being potential future legal complications
associated with the roadway location due to the lack of dedicated right
of way. The City’s counter proposal was that the County acquire
dedicated right of way, to replace the easements, at County cost.
“On February 1, 2006, the City Attorney, City
Engineer, Community Development Director and I met with Bureau of
Highways officials to discuss the easement/right of way issue. It
appears that the City can confidently move forward with the
jurisdictional transfer of 5th Avenue Cutoff with the
easements in place. Apparently, there is well-established case law that
allows for a roadway that has been in place for at least 15 years to
remain in place without dedicated right of way. City Attorney Robert
Peck can elaborate on this matter at a later date. 5th
Avenue Cutoff was originally laid out in 1912 and the County has a plat
of survey dated 1927 to give you some idea of its history.
“During the week of February 6, 2006, the Cook
County Bureau of Highways will forward a draft Letter of Understanding
(LOA) to the City which will address the easement issue and all of the
items previously, tentatively agreed to such as the reconstruction of
the roadway to include 4-foot paved shoulders, erection of a gate over
the frontage road where the City’s corporate boundaries meet the Forest
Preserve property, replacement of the paved surface of the frontage road
west of the gate with ‘grass crete’ and a number of other details. The
LOU will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration at the
earliest opportunity.
“The County has indicated that it intends to
undertake the above-referenced construction activities with its Motor
Fuel Tax funds and that the County has programmed the construction
activity for 2009, although there is some possibility that the 5th
Avenue Cutoff project could be moved up on the County’s priority list
depending upon the status of competing projects. Most municipalities
wait until after the agreed-upon improvements are made to their
satisfaction before accepting a jurisdictional transfer.
“The City of Countryside has the option of
accepting an ‘early’ jurisdictional transfer, however, that is not
likely to take place before the second half of 2006. The City would
assume all liability and maintenance responsibility for the roadway (as
is, where is) upon acceptance of the jurisdictional transfer and depend
upon the LOU to deliver the improvements at a later date (2009). With
the jurisdictional transfer, the City would be able to regulate the 5th
Avenue Cutoff as a local street including speed limits and weight
limits.
“The reason that the early jurisdictional transfer
is not likely to take place until later this year is that the frontage
road that is adjacent to I-55 and dead ends near the Woodland Ridge
subdivision, is under the joint maintenance responsibility of the State
and County. The state must transfer its maintenance responsibility to
the County, a painstakingly slow process, before the County can transfer
the maintenance responsibility to the City. The frontage road is
associated with the construction of I-55. Cook County originally
constructed most of the expressway network in the Chicago area before
transferring the roadways to the State.
“It appears that the jurisdictional transfer of 5th
Avenue Cutoff will be presented to the City Council for consideration
and action in the near future.”
25. After Mayor LeGant concluded reading the memo,
Mr. Trilla thanked City Council members for their immediate response to
this matter. Attorney Peck stated that he will be happy to meet with
residents to clarify certain issues. Unidentified residents living on 5th
Avenue Cutoff spoke opposing the continued activity occurring in
Hodgkins re: speculation about building a heavy commercial/ industrial
zoning district in their neighborhood and alluded to possible future
flooding and drainage issues. Mayor LeGant reiterated that the City
Council will meet in Executive Session tonight to discuss options and
recommendations from City Attorney Peck.
ADJOURNMENT
26. There being no further business to discuss, Ald.
Conrad moved to convene into Executive Session under Section 2Ac and 2Ah
of the Open Meetings Act for the purpose of discussing real estate
acquisition and litigation, seconded by Ald. Michalczyk and carried by
unanimous Roll Call vote.
Mayor LeGant declared the meeting adjourned at 9:00
p.m.
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