City of Highland Park City Council met July 24.
Here is the minutes provided by the Council:
Call to Order:
At 5:31 p.m., Mayor Rotering called the meeting to order and asked for a roll call.
Roll Call:
Members Present: Mayor Rotering, Councilmen Stolberg, Stone, Blumberg, Knobel, Holleman
Members Absent: Councilman Kaufman
Mayor Rotering declared a quorum was not present.
Staff Present: Ghida Neukirch, Ashley Knaus
Also Present: Assistant Corporation Counsel Hart Passman, Assistant Corporation Counsel Ben Schuster
Approval of Minutes:
A. Regular Meeting of the Committee of the Whole – July 10, 2017
Councilwoman Stone moved to approve the minutes from the regular meeting of the Committee of the Whole held on July 10, 2017, as amended. Councilman Blumberg seconded the motion.
On a voice vote:
Voting Yea: Mayor Rotering, Councilmen Stolberg, Stone, Blumberg, Knobel, Holleman
Voting Nay: None
Absent: Councilman Kaufman
Mayor Rotering declared the motion passed unanimously.
Closed Session:
Councilman Blumberg moved the Committee close its meeting to the public, pursuant to the following cited sections of the Illinois Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120/2(c)), for the purpose of discussing i) approval of closed session minutes (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(21)); ii) employment matters (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1); and iii) purchase or lease of real property (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(5)). Councilwoman Stone seconded the motion.
On a roll call vote:
Voting Yea: Mayor Rotering, Councilmen Stolberg, Stone, Blumberg, Knobel, Holleman
Voting Nay: None
Absent: Councilman Kaufman
Mayor Rotering declared the motion passed unanimously.
At 5:32 p.m., the Committee recessed the public portion of the meeting to meet in Closed Session.
At 5:54 p.m., Mayor Rotering reconvened the open session of the Committee of the Whole Meeting.
Members Present: Mayor Rotering, Councilmen Stolberg, Stone, Blumberg, Knobel, Holleman
Members Absent: Councilman Kaufman
Staff Present: Ghida Neukirch, Ashley Knaus
Also Present: Assistant Corporation Counsel Hart Passman, Assistant Corporation Counsel Ben Schuster
Closed Session:
Councilman Blumberg moved the Committee close its meeting to the public, pursuant to the following cited sections of the Illinois Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120/2(c)), for the purpose of discussing i) setting price to sell or lease property (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(6)). Councilwoman Stone seconded the motion.
On a roll call vote:
Voting Yea: Mayor Rotering, Councilmen Stolberg, Stone, Blumberg, Knobel,
Holleman
Voting Nay: None
Absent: Councilman Kaufman
Mayor Rotering declared the motion passed unanimously.
At 5:54 p.m., the Committee recessed the public portion of the meeting to meet in Closed Session.
At 6:30 p.m., Mayor Rotering reconvened the open session of the Committee of the Whole Meeting.
Members Present: Mayor Rotering, Councilmen Stolberg, Stone, Blumberg, Knobel, Holleman
Members Absent: Councilman Kaufman
Staff Present: Ghida Neukirch, Joel Fontane, Ramesh Kanapareddy, Julie Logan, Rob Sabo, Tim Wilinski, Ashley Knaus
Also Present: Assistant Corporation Counsel Hart Passman, Assistant Corporation Counsel Ben Schuster
Mayor Rotering read a letter from Fred Thomas, Highland Park Resident, thanking City staff for their efforts during the recent flooding.
Scheduled Business:
Budget Workshop – 2017 Mid-Year Financial Review-
City Manager Neukirch provided information about the State’s budget and potential legislation that may impact the City’s budget.
Mayor Rotering and City Manager Neukirch discussed if the State will be using any municipal funds to eliminate their debt and delays in revenue.
Finance Director Logan provided a presentation detailing the mid-year financial review for the City.
Mayor Rotering and Finance Director Logan discussed why the Real Estate Transfer Tax revenue is higher year to date for 2017 versus 2016.
Mayor Rotering thanked staff for preparing the mid-year review and the great impact the pension boards are having on current pension funds.
Mayor Rotering, Councilman Holleman and Finance Director Logan discussed breakdowns and total returns on the pension fund.
Plan and Design Commission (PDC), Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) and Transportation Commission Work Plan Presentations-
Public Works Director Kanapareddy provided highlights of the proposed commission work plan for 2018 for the Transportation Commission.
Community Development Director Fontane provided highlights of the proposed commission work plans for 2018 for PDC.
Mayor Rotering and Community Development Director Fontane discussed PDC’s objective to consider subdivision code amendments to improve clarity. They discussed updating the master plan and measures to make the zoning map easier to read.
Councilman Knobel requested that the student commissioners be added to the commission member list.
The Committee and Community Development Director Fontane discussed the combination of Plan Commission and Design Commission to create the Plan and Design Commission. They discussed the Design Review Guidelines document that was currently being updated.
Community Development Director Fontane provided highlights of the proposed commission work plans for 2018 HPC.
The Committee and Community Development Director Fontane discussed the possibility of insetting brass plaques in the sidewalks by historic sites. They discussed the updating of the historic survey that was completed previously and creating that as part of the HPC’s 2018 objectives.
Councilman Holleman and Community Development Director Fontane discussed the proposed yard signs that would be created to be posted on significantly historic properties.
Councilwoman Stone provided information on the Cultural Arts Commission initiative to have poems written about the City’s public art and how that could be synergistic with the yard signs.
Community Development Director Fontane asked if the Committee would like the HPC to review costs for updating the surveys.
The Committee was in consensus to have HPC move forward in reviewing the costs of updating the surveys.
Community Development Director Fontane explained that an architectural historian would have to be hired and the cost could be between $30,000 and $70,000 but there are grants available that could offset some of the costs.
Councilman Holleman explained the importance of investing in updating the surveys.
Councilman Knobel discussed how the HPC could perform community outreach to the homeowners currently on the registry and educate them about the historical significance their home.
Community Development Director Fontane explained that the work plan was created before the last Committee of the Whole conversation regarding updating the surveys but it is an objective that will be performed by the Commission.
City Manager Neukirch explained that all 2018 work plans will be updated based on Council feedback and changes will be reflected in the proposed budget.
The Committee and Community Development Director Fontane discussed the need to review cost estimates related to the outreach and updating of the survey.
Others Matters:
There was none.
Adjournment:
Councilwoman Stone moved to adjourn. Councilman Holleman seconded the motion.
On a voice vote, the Mayor declared the motion passed unanimously.
The Committee of the Whole adjourned its meeting at 7:24 p.m.
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