MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING

CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COUNTRYSIDE, ILLINOIS

HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2015

CALL TO ORDER – Pledge of Allegiance

Mayor Krzeminski called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. City Clerk Sweeney called the Roll of those physically present as follows:

ROLL CALL

Present:Mayor Krzeminski

Alderman Pondelicek Alderman Jasinski

Alderman Michalczyk Alderman Von Drasek

Alderman McDermott Alderman Musillami

City Clerk Sweeney

Acting Treasurer Paul

Also Present: City Admin. Paul, Police Chief Ford, City Attorney Peck, Atty. Stein, Asst. Admin. Peterson, City Eng. Fitzgerald, ESDA Coord. Norman, Police Bd. Chrm. Welsh, Meb. Burdett, PC/ZBA Chrm. Fullmer,

Meb. Benson.

OMNIBUS AGENDA

1. Approval of City Council Meeting minutes of March 25, 2015.

2. Statement of Bills submitted for payment through April 8, 2015: $616,983.12.

3. Ald. McDermott moved to approve the Omnibus Agenda as presented, seconded by Ald. Musillami and carried by unanimous Roll Call vote – 6/0/0.

COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC – none

MAYOR’S REPORT

4.Proclamation for National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week – April 12-18, 2015. Mayor Krzeminski read the Proclamation aloud after which time he signed the document.

5. Mayor Krzeminski congratulated Ald. Sean McDermott on his election as Mayor; also to Ald. James Jasinski and Ald. Scott Musillami on their re-election bids and to Susan Burdett on her election as City Clerk. He looks forward to serving on the City Council in the future. Ald. McDermott thanked the Mayor for his well wishes. Mayor Krzeminski stated that he enjoyed the Easter Egg Hunt, which was well attended by many residents.

CITY CLERK’S REPORT – no report.

TREASURER’S REPORT -no report.

COMMITTEE AND COMMISSION REPORTS FOR DISCUSSION,

CONSIDERATION AND, IF SO DETERMINED, ACTION UPON:

6. Economic Development Committee – Alderman McDermott sought consideration of a Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Countryside and Orput Companies for the redevelopment of 5631 LaGrange Road – the former motel property. The developer will be given the exclusive right to market the property until June 30, 2015. He will bring letters of intent from one or more end users who are acceptable to the City within a 90-day period or the agreement terminates. Ald. Musillami moved to approve, seconded by Ald. Pondelicek and carried by Roll Call vote – 6/0/0.

7. Ald. McDermott thanked everyone who sent condolences to him on the passing of his father; the letters, emails, text messages and mass cards were greatly appreciated. A sincere thank you.

8. Finance Committee – Acting Treasurer Paul stated that a public hearing will take place immediately prior to the Regular City Council meeting on April 22, 2015, for discussion of the budget – at 7:15 p.m.

9. Human Resources Committee – Alderman Pondelicek- no report. FYI – the committee began interviewing for the Finance Director’s position. They completed six interviews so far and have the same number still to go. Determination of second interviews will be made; there are some very good candidates.

Infrastructure Committee – Alderman Michalczyk – no report.

License Committee – Alderman Musillami – no report.

Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals – City Attorney Peck – no report.

Police Committee – Alderman Pondelicek -no report.

10. Recreation Committee – Alderman Jasinski reminded residents that the Concert in the Park Series begins on Thursday, June 4. This is just a reminder for people to earmark those dates.

11.The Easter Egg Hunt was a huge success; there were over 100 children in attendance – the winners were William Johnson, Erica Mindeler, Colin Sweeney, Henry Alvarez, all from Countryside, and Isabella Ruzinski of LaGrange. Many thanks to all the City Staff and the volunteers who showed up; everyone had a great time. Thanks to the Easter Bunny for showing up; we look forward to doing it again next year.

Water Committee – Alderman Von Drasek – no report.

12.Flagg Creek Advisory Board- Alderman Von Drasek sought consideration of the License Agreement between the City of Countryside and Ken Malnar, Golf Instructor. City Staff reviewed the agreement and created a very detailed proposal; they met with Mr. Malnar and discussed the services provided. Mr. Malnar attended the FCGC Advisory Board Meeting. The committee recommended that Mr. Malnar book his own lessons, collect his own fees and pay $8,000 annually for the use of Flagg Creek Golf Course. The Agreement is attached for your review. Ald. McDermott moved to approve the Agreement as presented, seconded by Ald. Jasinski and carried by Roll Call vote – 6/0/0.

13. Ald. Von Drasek stated that the FCGC Food and Beverage Contract will be tabled to the next meeting. The weather is improving; please get out there and play golf.

CITY ATTORNEY’S REPORT- no report.

CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

14. City Admin. Ms. Paul sought consideration of a License Agreement with Jack Phelan Chrysler/Dodge for the use of the North Parking Lot. Ald. Von Drasek moved to approve the Agreement as presented, seconded by Ald. Jasinski and carried by Roll Call vote – 6/0/0.

15. Ms. Paul presented the 2014 Annual Report of City Operations – this is the Third Annual Report including a cover letter that highlights certain noteworthy items. Page 2 reveals General Fund Revenues and Expenditures – indicating that the state sales tax is up to 52% – an increase of 4% in General Fund Revenues. The Home Rule sales tax is also up 4%. The City only relied on property tax for 1% of general revenue; it will be down to zero next year. Building permit revenue doubled this past year, which indicates a growing commercial base with less dependency on property tax. The breakdown of General Fund Expenditures is very similar to last year. The largest expenditure is for public safety – 34% for Police Services.

16. Page 21 notes that two employees have reached longevity milestones – Keith Thompson has 35 years of service with the City of Countryside. Jim Essig, Public Works Superintendent, has 30 years of service. Page 23 shows that there were 307 FOIA requests last year – a significant increase. Considering that there are approximately 250 work days per year, those requests are more than one per workday. Pages 25-26 show that the number of building permits issued has gone up; the value has gone down as the City Center is completed, but residential requests are strong. There have been comments from residents re: people not keeping up their property and signage. The City issued 129 citations, which is a 40% increase this year. All resident concerns are addressed in a timely manner.

17. The City received the EDIE Award, which is a major accomplishment from the Illinois Chamber of Commerce for development of the City Center. The City also received notice of an ITEP Grant for a multiuse path on the east side of Brainard Avenue. Several new businesses have opened – Tony’s Fresh Market, Andy’s Frozen Custard and Outriggers-Flame Restaurant. The City does have bond issues outstanding; the bonds issued were callable so the City had the ability to do an advance refund; that was done this past year and saved approximately $1.5M in sales tax – a major accomplishment. The City also increased its transparency rating to 93.1% and received many favorable comments from prospective Finance Director interviewees.

Public Works was credited with zero accidents in 2014, which is really a great accomplishment that helps keep insurance premiums down. Safe route to school markings and signs were installed along with new sidewalks behind Home Depot. PW did an outstanding job snow plowing during the winter months using 782 tons of salt, a 25% increase over last year. Major water main projects took place in Ward 1 on Rosemary Court, Lorraine, Francis and 9^thAve. A discharge meter was installed at the elevated tank that helps monitor water and should make the accountability rate of 94.5 even higher in the future. Water samples were collected from residents during the year monitoring copper and lead and were found acceptable; water quality continues to be excellent.

19.The transition of administrative duties from Flagg Creek Golf Course is ongoing; the City is completing interviews of seasonal help; hopefully this year will have a great season. The Mayor and City Council members lauded Ms. Paul on an excellent report. Ald. Pondelicek was concerned that no Police Department Committee reports were included. Ms. Paul stated that a separate Operations Report was prepared by the Police Department.

20.City Admin. Ms. Paul stated that School District 105 is requesting that a temporary sign be placed on the hotel site from April 7 to May 18 re: a 5K and a 1.5 mile Race that they are having on May 17, 2015. Council Members agreed. Mayor Krzeminski wished PW Supt. Essig well on his planned surgery today; he will recuperate for a few weeks.

STAFF REPORTS

21. Police Chief Ford presented the Countryside Police Department 2014 Annual Report of Operations. He praised Charity Blackwell, Administrative Assistant, who put this report together in a very short time in her first attempt. Some key points to stress are the commitment to community. Statistically, the calls for service have risen, but 42% of those were for assisting citizens, finding open doors and self-initiated findings in the community. The functions of the Police Committee are mentioned in this report.

22.Page 5 shows a breakdown of Community Service Officers – tracking for a full year of service – most traffic is walk-ins and phone call assists.

23.Page 9, the HIDTA Unit generated $167,954 in 2014 in seizure funds – currency used for continuing investigations and in the police budget to keep officers equipped. One of the items purchased was the Automatic License Plate Reader system that has already resulted in several arrests in a credit card fraud case.

24.Page 11 – Professional Standards – continued training is stressed in the Police Department resulting in 1,429 hours of training by officers including SWAT Training, Firearms, CPR and Overdose Response, as well as Community Policing tactics, plus 400 hours of training by Officer Rojas, and continuing requisite training by Chief Ford and Deputy Chief Novak. Officer Kalker was assigned to the military for the entire year.

25. Page 26 revealscriminal statistics showing an increase in thefts of catalytic converters from vehicles; every community in the area is dealing with the same issue. Some arrests have been made but the crime continues. The biggest increase has been in identity theft which has almost doubled since last year with the trend continuing in the future; it is a major issue. Although the crimes do not occur in Countryside, documentation of thefts for Countryside residents is mandatory for the credit card companies. An initial investigation is made and information is then turned over to other agencies, including federal agencies.

26.Page 36 shows Service Anniversaries -Sergeant Boyd – 20 years; Officer Goluszka – 20 years; Officer Sodt – 20 years; Officers Bisignani, Kalker and Sgt. Klimek – 10 years. Two new employees were added in 2014 – Officer Rojas and Charity Blackwell as Administrative Assistant. It has been a fantastic year; the number of Internal Affairs investigations has decreased; all officers have done a great job and continue to do so; there is a commitment to community service second to none.

27.Chief Ford stated that Monday begins the Police Department’s kick-off for their annual Special Olympics fundraising events. Officers will begin with the 2^ndannual Special Olympics/Blackhawks event. Any officer raising $100 for the charity will have the luxury of growing a beard through the playoffs – in support of the Blackhawks. Last year officers raised $1,400 just on the beard event alone. Officer April Bisignani is working on the female counterpart of that effort. Thank you for the opportunity to present this Operations Report. Mayor Krzeminski stated that all personnel have served the Police Department well. The Police Academy graduation took place recently; residents who participated were very impressed and appreciative of the officers’ efforts. Many thanks to those officers.

28.City Engineer Fitzgerald sought consideration to waive the formal bid process for the purchase of anchors for the City Entry Signs and award the contract to Lyons & Pinner Electric Companies, Inc., in the amount of $4,848. Infinity Signs is the contractor along with IDOT – discussions among the entities resulted in two design changes. IDOT will not allow real brick at the base of the sign so they will be faux panels looking very much like real brick. The next item was break-away devices at the base of the pole, provided in one change order with both items. They will be purchased from Lyons & Pinner but installed by Infinity per the contract. Ald. Von Drasek moved to approve, seconded by Ald. Musillami and carried by Roll Call vote – 6/0/0.

29. Mr. Fitzgerald sought consideration to waive the formal bid process for the purchase of faux brick panel sets for the City entry Signs and award the bid to Replications Unlimited in the amount of $8,500. Ald. Jasinski moved to approve, seconded by Ald. Pondelicek and carried by Roll Call vote – 6/0/0.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

30.Mayor Krzeminski sought a motion to recess to Executive Session under Section 2(c) (21) of the Open Meetings Act for the purpose of reviewing executive session minutes of 3-25-15. Ald. Von Drasek moved to recess to Executive Session, seconded by Ald. Pondelicek and carried by Roll Call vote – 6/0/0.

Mayor Krzeminski declared the meeting recessed at 8:03 p.m.

* * *

The Regular City Council meeting returned to Open Sessionwith the same members present at 8:10 p.m.

Ald. Von Drasek moved to approve the Executive Session minutes of 3-25-15 as corrected, seconded by Ald. Jasinski and carried by Roll Call vote – 6/0/0.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to discuss, Ald. Von Drasek moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Ald. Musillami and carried by Roll Call vote – 6/0/0.

Mayor Krzeminski declared the meeting adjourned at 8:13 p.m.

fp SHARON SWEENEY, CITY CLERK