MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COUNTRYSIDE, ILLINOIS
HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2010

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

PRESENT: Mayor Robert Conrad, Aldermen Wayne Straza, Karen Michalczyk, Robert Pondelicek, Sean McDermott, John Von Drasek, Michael Smetana.

ALSO PRESENT: City Clerk Sweeney, City Treasurer Jasinski, City Attorney Erik Peck, City Admin. Paul, Police Chief Ruth, Deputy Chief Novak, Fin. Dir. Drazner, City. Eng. Fitzgerald, ESDA Coord. Norman.

OMNIBUS AGENDA

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: August 25, 2010.

3. STATEMENT OF BILLS through September 8, 2010: $344,056.62.

4. Request from Inland Bank & Trust to hold a Customer Appreciation Day in the parking lot, 5456 LaGrange Road on October 8, 2010 from 9 am to 5 pm and serve refreshments.

5. Request from Westfield Ford, 6200 LaGrange Road, to hold a concert for Juvenile Diabetes on October 23 from 2 pm to 9 pm with refreshments being served.

6. Application for a one-day special use to hold a Toy Show at Park Place, 6240 Joliet Road on October 17, 2010.

7. Application for a business license from STORE SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY, INC. 5438 Dansher Road. Type: Service and sales. Applicant: David Karlson (relocation from 5336 East Avenue).

8. Application for a business license from COMMUNITY CAR CARE, 9675 W. 55^th St. Type: Service and sales. Applicant: Cosimo Barabba. (new owner).

9. From the Fairhaven Baptist Academy requesting permission to solicit at Jewel on October 30, 2010.

10. From Helping Hand Center, 9649 W. 55^th St. requesting permission to solicit at Jewel on September 11, 2010.

11. Ald. Von Drasek moved to approve the Omnibus Agenda as presented, seconded by Ald. Smetana and carried unanimously.

ADDITIONS TO AND/OR DELETIONS FROM THE AGENDA – none

QUESTIONS AND/OR COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE

11. Angie Riccardone, 10650 W. 67^th St. stated that a fire on August 11, 2010 destroyed a storage shed at the rear of her property. They would like to replace it with the same size structure but the City Code has changed, requiring her to appear at the PC/ZBA at a cost of $500. She is pleading a hardship and asked to have the fee waived. The barn was 19×22 feet with a total loss of contents; insurance will replace it. They have over one acre of property; this barn cannot be seen from the street. Ald. Von Drasek moved to waive the fee and waive the mailing for the PC/ZBA hearing, seconded by Ald. Michalczyk and carried unanimously. Mayor Conrad advised that they still must go before the PC/ZBA.

12. Georgiann Rekash, 5416 – 6^th Avenue asked how many unmarked police cars does the City have; she saw three of them in the parking lot. Deputy Chief Novak stated that they have two unstriped vehicles and the DPW uses one cruiser.

MAYOR’S REPORT

13. Mayor Conrad presented the application for a Class T Liquor License from Circle K, 6101 LaGrange Road, for beer and wine only. Ald. Straza moved to approve the Class T Liquor License, seconded by Ald. Pondelicek and carried unanimously.

Clerk Sweeney declared that this will be known as ORDINANCE 10-44-O.

14. The Village of McCook requests ESDA assistance with their Carnival, September 16-19, 2010, at 4750 S. Vernon, McCook, IL in the parking lot. ESDA has assisted them in the past with traffic and parking. The question of fees will be addressed in the Administrator’s Report.

15. Mayor Conrad presented the CEP Youth Leadership request for ESDA assistance for the Haunted Manor at 40 Countryside Plaza from October 15 – October 31, 2010 from 7-10 pm Wed. Thur. And Sun; and 7 to 11 pm on Fri. and Sat. Ald. McDermott moved to approve, seconded by Ald. Smetana and carried unanimously

16. Mayor Conrad sought formal approval of a Resolution accepting the employment contract of Michael Ruth, Chief of Police. Ald. McDermott moved to approve the contract, seconded by Ald. Pondelicek and carried by Roll Call vote – 6/0.

Clerk Sweeney declared that this will be known as RESOLUTION 10-12-R.

17. Mayor Conrad discussed the blasting done by Material Service Corp. about two weeks ago which caused earth movement in Ward 1. He got several phone calls from residents and forwarded those calls to City Staff. Many thanks for their cooperation. Ald. Smetana stated that he too had a discussion with Material Service Corp.

TREASURER’S REPORT

18. Treasurer Jasinski made one addition to the Omnibus Agenda Statement of Bills for the record, the amount is $344,056.62.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

19. FINANCE COMMITTEE – TREASURER JASINSKI, TREASURER, presented the recommendation to approve ITG Solutions, Inc., invoice of $2,131.33 for power supply, UPS backup, correcting wiring issues and repairing the keypads and panic alarms. Ald. McDermott moved to approve payment, seconded by Ald. Michalczyk and carried by unanimous voice vote.

20. Ald. Pondelicek sought clarification regarding the Tavern on LaGrange – re: parking and the 600 feet distance. Attorney Peck stated that two recommendations were brought to Council. The first was to deny a variance to the requirement due to the property not being under Mr. Arce’s control. Mr. Arce had a contract to purchase the property so the vote to deny wasn’t necessary. The second recommendation to Council was to provide a variance which permits off-street parking at a location more than 600 feet away from the restaurant itself. That item was sent back to the PC/ZBA. They originally approved it for the restaurant only, not for the lower level. The City Council decided to take no action on that matter and sent it back to the PC/ZBA for further consideration. Mr. Arce appeared before the City Council and stated that he didn’t need to have the disco in the basement and would only use it for banquets; that’s the reason it was sent back to the PC/ZBA for further consideration. He was granted conditional approval to use the off-site parking until he gets the variance or it is denied. If it is denied he will not be able to use that location.

21. Ald. Von Drasek reminded everyone to attend the 50^th Anniversary Party in the Park on September 25, 2010.

LEGAL REPORT

22. Attorney Peck sought approval of the Resolution ascertaining the Prevailing Rate of Wages of Employees on Public Works in the City of Countryside. He recommends adoption of the Department of Labor’s recommendation per county. The draft resolution would adopt those rates. Ald. Michalczyk moved to adopt the Resolution as presented, seconded by Ald. Smetana and carried by Roll Call vote – 6/0.

Clerk Sweeney declared that this will be known as RESOLUTION 10-13-R.

CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

23. City Admin. Ms. Paul discussed the Intergovernmental Agreement with the Village of McCook to reciprocate ESDA manpower as needed. ESDA services are requested for neighboring communities in various capacities. Coord. Steve Norman did some research and provided a sample agreement, which has been reviewed by Attorney Peck and City Administrator and it has been put in place for the Village of McCook since they are the first to request services. This agreement includes reimbursement for Staff time from $15 to $20 per hour, depending on the officers assigned, and $25 per hour for each vehicle used. It also has an indemnification provision; the contract expires at the end of the fiscal year to provide an opportunity to review the rate structure as part of the budget process. The Village of Hodgkins has an ESDA unit and the City has a mutual aid agreement with them. Ald. Von Drasek moved to approve the agreement, seconded by Ald. McDermott and carried unanimously.

STAFF REPORTS

24. Police Chief Ruth requests authority to enter into a contract for professional services to audit the evidence room for an amount not to exceed $5,000. He has received three bids and is awaiting a fourth. Ald. Straza suggested that the State Police does this service for municipalities and sometimes it is free. Police Chief Ruth requests a full audit of the evidence and a formal review with recommendations for policies and procedures currently in place. They are not using Sikich. Ald. McDermott moved to approve entering into a contract not to exceed $5,000, seconded by Ald. Von Drasek and carried unanimously.

25. City Engineer Fitzgerald presented the recommendation to award the Sunset Avenue Street Rehabilitation bid (CDBG) at the 5^th Avenue Cutoff to the successful bidder. There are two options – Option A consists of street rehabilitation without drainage improvements; Option B consists of street rehabilitation with drainage. The low bidder for both options is Crowley-Sheppard Asphalt. Mr. Fitzgerald recommends going with Option B and do the full project at one time. They did a City project last year and performed very well. The last time this street was repaved was some time in the late 70s or early 80s. Ald. Von Drasek moved to approve rehabilitation with the drainage, seconded by Ald. Michalczyk and carried unanimously.

26. City Engineer Fitzgerald provided an update to the MFT project. They did get IDOT approval and the project went out for bids. They opened the bids for Sunset today and are awarding the contract tonight. On Monday, September 20 at 2 p.m. they will open bids and the contract will be awarded on September 22 – otherwise we lose two weeks. The streets are 61^st St. from Brainard to Kensington; Kensington, from 61^st to 55^th; NE Court and NW Court from Willow Springs Road to 55^th St. Streets are reviewed and prioritized and the worst streets are done first.

OLD AND NEW BUSINESS

27. Mayor Conrad announced the Special Olympic Bingo Night at 6 p.m. at the William Tell tomorrow night; the scooter will be raffled off. He encouraged Council members and residents to attend and support Karl Rodey in his efforts.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to discuss, Ald. Straza moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Ald. Michalczyk and carried unanimously.

Mayor Conrad declared the meeting adjourned at 7:56 p.m..

SHARON SWEENEY, CITY CLERK