City of Highland Park City Council met January 22.
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, Kaufman, Blumberg, Holleman
Members Absent: Councilman Knobel
Mayor Rotering declared a quorum was present.
Staff Present: Ghida Neukirch, Ashley Palbitska
Also Present: Corporation Counsel Steve Elrod, Assistant Corporation Counsel Hart Passman
Approval Of Minutes:
A. Regular Meeting of the Committee of the Whole – January 8, 2018
Councilwoman Stone moved to approve the minutes from the regular meeting of the Committee of the Whole held on January 8, 2018, as amended. Councilman Kaufman seconded the motion.
On a voice vote:
Voting Yea: Mayor Rotering, Councilmen Stolberg, Stone, Kaufman, Blumberg, Holleman
Voting Nay: None
Absent: Councilman Knobel
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 i) approval of closed session minutes (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(21)); ii) pending litigation (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(11)); and iii) setting price for sale of property(5 ILCS 120/2(c)(6)). Councilwoman Stone seconded the motion.
On a roll call vote:
Voting Yea: Mayor Rotering, Councilmen Stolberg, Stone, Kaufman, Blumberg, Holleman
Voting Nay: None
Absent: Councilman Knobel
Mayor Rotering declared the motion passed unanimously.
At 5:48 p.m., the Committee recessed the public portion of the meeting to meet in Closed Session.
At 5:49 pm, Mayor Rotering called for a recess of the Committee of the Whole Meeting
At 6:27 p.m., Mayor Rotering reconvened the open session of the Committee of the Whole Meeting.
Members Present: Mayor Rotering, Councilmen Stolberg, Stone, Kaufman, Blumberg, Knobel (by telephone) Holleman
City Staff Present: Ghida Neukirch, Ramesh Kanapareddy, Ashley Palbitska
Also Present: Corporation Counsel Steve Elrod
Scheduled Business:
Bike Walk 2030 Plan Review-
City Manager Neukirch introduced the BikeWalk HP2030 presentation. City Manager Neukirch referenced her conversation with Councilman Knobel and her request to discuss the importance of reviewing the projects and initiatives that are part of the 5-Year plan.
Public Works Director Kanapareddy provided an overview of the City’s BikeWalk HP2030 Plan and outlined the specific projects that are planned 2018 and included in the 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan.
Councilwoman Stone explained that the images painted on the road are sharrows that remind drivers to share the road with bikers; the images are not specifying bike lanes.
Councilman Stolberg and Public Works Director Kanapareddy discussed the placement of signs and the requirement by the grant to place the number of signs that have been erected.
Councilman Kaufman, Stone and Public Works Director Kanapareddy discussed the City’s potential certification of being named a Bike Friendly City.
Councilman Holleman and Public Works Director Kanapareddy discussed the McClory Bike Path Relocation project.
Councilwoman Stone and Public Works Director Kanapareddy discussed including the amount of grant money the City has received compared to the City’s costs for the 2018 projects.
Mayor Rotering requested that staff maintain a list of linear feet that has been added when reconstructing the City sidewalks in order to review the amount of sidewalk that has been added.
Mayor Rotering and Public Works Director Kanapareddy discussed having staff work with Illinois Department of Transportation (“IDOT”) regarding the safety of the crosswalks that cross over the on ramps and off ramps.
Councilwoman Stone discussed the walk audit that was conducted last year with Mark Fenton and the need to implement a pedestrian crosswalk at the railway crossing on Berkeley Road.
Councilman Knobel discussed the numerous bike sharrows signs that were located on Ridge Road and asked if staff was going to see if some of them can be removed due to them being placed every few feet. She asked if the Bike Walk projects could be prioritized along with the other Capital Improvement projects.
Public Works Director Kanapareddy discussed the reason as to the number of signs that have been posted.
City Manager Neukirch explained that staff met after the last Committee of the Whole meeting and have produced a draft outline of the initiatives that will be undertaken. She stated that the outline will be sent to the Council for their feedback and direction and a meeting will be scheduled in March or April to review next steps and moving forward with projects.
Councilman Stolberg and Public Works Director Kanapareddy discussed how the Sheridan Road project is tied to the IDOT project as well and that it would be beneficial to do the projects simultaneously. They discussed that the maintenance of the bike paths fall under operations.
Clerk’s Office 2018 Strategic Plan-
City Manager Neukirch introduced the City’s first Strategic Plan for the Clerk’s Office.
Deputy Clerk Palbitska presented the Strategic Plan for the Clerk’s Office that included the Office’s mission, vision, an overview of responsibilities and objectives planned for 2018.
Councilman Holleman and Deputy Clerk Palbitska discussed how the expansion of the Administrative Hearing Program will benefit not only other municipalities but the residents as well.
Councilman Kaufman and Deputy Clerk Palbitska discussed the opportunity of cost sharing with other municipalities and the possibility of an increase in the Administrative Hearing fee to help offset some of those incurred costs.
Mayor Rotering, City Manager Neukirch and Deputy Clerk Palbitska discussed the percentage of Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) requests are derived from Community Development and the progress of records management through the City’s Laserfiche program.
Corporation Counsel Elrod provided information on an amendment that needs to occur regarding the appointment of the Deputy Clerk position.
The Committee was in consensus of moving forward with the amendment.
Others Matters:
There was none.
Adjournment:
Councilman Kaufman moved to adjourn. Councilman Stolberg seconded the motion.
On a voice vote, the Mayor declared the motion passed unanimously.
The Committee of the Whole adjourned its meeting at 7:12 p.m.
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