Lake County Gazette

Village of Gurnee Village Hall met July 2.

Here is the minutes provided by the Board:

Call to Order Mayor Kovarik called the meeting to order at 7 p.m.

Other Officials in Attendance

Patrick Muetz, Village Administrator; David Ziegler, Assistant Village Administrator/Community Development Director; Bryan Winter, Village Attorney; Brian Gosnell, Finance Director; Christine Palmieri, Director of Human Resources; Tom Rigwood, Director of Public Works; John Kavanagh, Fire Chief; Jodi Luka, Management Analyst; Kevin Woodside, Police Chief; Brian Smith, Deputy Police Chief; Scott Drabicki, Village Engineer; Jack Linehan, Assistant to the Administrator

Roll Call Present: 5- Jacobs, Ross, Garner, Hood, Thorstenson

Absent: 1- Balmes

Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Kovarik led the Pledge of Allegiance.

A. Public Comment

Jim Hunter992 Ferndale Gurnee, IL

Mr. Hunter stated that he was a victim of an $83,000 money scam involving a call from someone pretending to be his grandson, a lawyer, and CVS Pharmacy Clerk. He wanted the Board to know he almost gave into the scam had it not been for the CVS Pharmacy.

The Mayor thanked Mr. Hunter and proceeded to tell Mr. Hunter and the Board that the same situation happened in her family. She stated Mr. Hunter’s story is one that could be used as an example for other senior citizens via the Warren Township Senior Center.

Jim Eimerman 3978 Blackstone Ave. Gurnee, IL

Mr. Eimerman addressed the Board regarding the Blackstone Ave. situation and stated that he was very impressed with Village response, appreciated police presence, and that the Village stepped up to the plate. He wanted to further ensure the Village is committed to a restoration plan.

Mayor Kovarik stated that she’ll meet with the neighborhood regarding the restoration plan, hopefully sometime in August.

Martin Peters 3924 Blackstone Ave. Gurnee, IL

Mr. Peters addressed the Board regarding the Blackstone Ave. situation and thanked the Board for their efforts. He also handed out a list of questions regarding the restoration plan that he’d like the Board to consider/review.

Syam Thotakura McAlister’s Deli 6557 Grand Avenue Gurnee, IL

Mr. Thotakura, owner of McAlister’s Deli, introduced himself to the Board and stated that he is glad to be a part of the community.

B. Approval Of Consent Agenda

It was moved by Trustee Jacobs, seconded by Trustee Ross to approve the Consent Agenda as presented.

Roll call,

Aye: 5- Jacobs, Ross, Garner, Hood, Thorstenson

Nay: 0- None

Absent: 1- Balmes

Motion Carried.

C. Consent Agenda / Omnibus Vote

The Village Administrator read the consent agenda for an omnibus vote as follows:

1. Approval of the minutes from the June 18, 2018 and June 25, 2018 Village Board meetings.

2. Approval of Ord. 2018-52 approving the plat of easement which grants a utility easement to the Village of Gurnee at 3550 Grand Avenue.

3. Approval of Ord. 2018-53 authorizing the execution of a recreational lease agreement with ComEd for the installation of a paved pedestrian path across the ComEd right-of-way on Knowles Road.

4. Approval of request for Police Officers Dan Ruth, Shawn Torre and Jim Caldwell to attend the 2018 National Law Enforcement Exploring Conference in West Lafayette, Indiana, from July 16 – July 20, 2018 at no cost to the Village.

5. Approval of Payroll for period ending June 22, 2018 in the amount of $820,397.14.

6. Approval of Bills for the period ending July 2, 2018 in the amount of $477,071.98.

It was moved by Trustee Jacobs, seconded by Trustee Garner to approve the Consent Agenda as presented.

Roll call,

Aye: 5- Jacobs, Ross, Garner, Hood Thorstenson

Nay: 0- None

Absent: 1- None

Motion Carried.

D. Petitions And Communications

Mayor Kovarik thanked staff for their assistance with the wonderful Welton Plaza Dedication Ceremony held on Saturday, June 30th.

E. Reports 1. Presentation by Assistant to the Administrator Jack Linehan – Proposal to auction Village-owned monopoles located at 0Brookhaven Road and 1151 Kilbourne Road

Assistant to the Village Administrator Linehan gave the following presentation regarding the Cell Tower Proposal:

Cell Tower Overview

• Leasing agreements on Village water towers

• Fire Station #1 (now a monopole)

• Dilleys Water Tower

• Northwestern Water Tower

• HeatherRidge Water Tower

• Knowles Water Tower (future)

• Cemetery Road Pump Station Tower (future)

• Village monopoles with Village Equipment

• Police Station (attached to building)

• Fire Station #2

• Village tower sites with no Village equipment

• Brookhaven Drive (Police Station)

• 1151 Kilbourne Drive (Public Works Facility)

Police Station Tower

• Built in 2009

• T-Mobile Constructed Tower

• Village Owned

• T-Mobile Received Rent Abatement Unit Value was paid off

• T-Mobile Only Tenant

• 5 Year Lease, Five Renewals After

Public Works Tower

• Built in 2001

• Sprint Constructed Tower

• Village Owned

• Sprint received rent abatement until value was paid off

• Two Tenants

• Sprint – 2001

• T-Mobile – 2004 (amended to 2005)

• Both 5 year leases with 5 renewals

Market Analysis

• Wide variation in deals

• Dealing with large-value capital transactions

• Both a capital and real-estate transaction

• Specialized industry, requires the right connections and market knowledge

• Also requires market speculation

• Cell towers in 50-years: more value than ever, or obsolete?

• Recommendation: Professional consulting expertise could maximize revenue from potential sale and reach additional interested purchasers

Cell At Auction

• Northbrook, IL based firm

• Niche firm, not many others in industry

• Two partners with over 50-years combined in the real-estate and telecommunications fields

• Licensed auctioneers

• Extensive connections in the cellular field

• All auctions proceeded by email notice to a list of over 1,000 contacts in the telecommunications/capital purchasing fields

• Connections beyond the traditional tower companies

• References include private sector and public sector, including City of Markham, City of Peru, City of Wilmington and more

Agreement Structure

• Model offers opportunity for a variety of pricing structures

• Firms can provide offers in a variety of formats:

• 20-year, 30-year, 50-year, or permanent buyouts

• 100% up-front cash, or a hybrid of cash purchase plus a percentage of revenue from additional tenants Example: $750,000 for purchase of lease plus 33% of all additional tenant revenues

Next Steps

• Opinion from the Village Board on selling off

telecommunications capital assets?

• If consensus is favorable, staff will bring a proposal forward at a future meeting to select a firm to facilitate sale of towers

• Staff will negotiate terms with Cell At Auction and present firm as the favorable partner to recommend to the Village Board

Questions/Comments

Trustee Thorstenson asked if there was another community in the Lake County market who has worked with Cell At Auction. Assistant to the Village Administrator Linehan stated that he has been familiar Cell At Auction and their dealings with other municipalities.

Trustee Jacobs questioned the true value of the private sector references of Markham, City of Peru, and City of Wilmington municipalities. Assistant to the Village Administrator Linehan stated that we could market in a way to maximize the deal.

Trustee Hood stated that he has worked with the private side in negotiating these types of transactions and asked to be involved in the process.

Trustee Garner asked what do we know about the buyers, who benefits, why do we want to sell, who buys the monopoles, etc. Assistant to the Village Administrator Linehan gave a history on cell towers and how they are sold and further stated the Village was approached by a private firm to buy-out the leases and monopoles. Tonight’s presentation is an introduction to the concept and to find out how or if the Board would like to move forward.

After much discussion, it was determined that the Board provide more questions to Assistant to the Village Administrator Linehan and circle back around and determine how to move forward. In the meantime, staff will obtain more references from Cell At Auction.

G. New Business 1. Approval of Ord. 2018-54 authorizing a Service Agreement with Andres Medical Billing, Ltd. Village Administrator Muetz gave an overview stating that with the staffing of the new Fire Chief, one of the first tasks assigned was to take a look technology and improvements that could be implemented. The transition to Electronic Patient Reporting was identified as an effective way to eliminate paperwork in exchange for electronic completion and submission. Staff took advantage of this transition, as well as the upcoming expiration of our current ambulance billing contract, to solicit and evaluate proposals from vendors. Staff received proposals from two vendors; Paramedic Billing Services (incumbent provider) and Andres Medical Billing. The evaluation process included staff from the GFD, Administration Department and representatives from the Warren-Waukegan Fire Protection District. Following review of the proposals, staff is recommending the contract be awarded to Andres Medical Billing. Similar to our current contract, Andres would be compensated on a commission basis. The transition from paper to electronic allows the commission rate to decrease from 7% to 4%. This should result in approximately a $30,000 savings to the Village. The target date for the new billing services is September 1st.

Questions/Comments:

Trustee Thorstenson asked a question regarding efficiencies. Chief Kavanagh stated that biggest difference between our current ambulance billing and Andres Medical Billing is that Andres receives electronic patient care information through these portals as soon as the firefighter/paramedic completes the electronic report. It then collects the cloud-based information and has secure access to area hospitals allowing for secure insurance information sharing. This superior technology expedites the whole billing process and provides minimal contact and nuisance for the patient who recently experienced an emergency.

Trustee Ross stated concerns regarding the patient care information and asked if it is secure. Chief Kavanagh stated that he felt very confident the information is secure and that the system, as well as process, met the approval of IS Director Chris Velkover. It was moved by Trustee Garner, seconded by Trustee Jacobs to approve Ord. 2018-54 authorizing a Service Agreement with Andres Medical Billing, Ltd.

Roll call,

Aye: 5- Jacobs, Ross, Garner, Hood, Thorstenson

Nay: 0- None

Absent: 1-Balmes

Motion Carried.

2. Approval of Ord. 2018-55 authorizing execution of a contract with Boller Construction Co. Inc. for the Pressure Zone 5 improvements contingent upon approval of a loan by the IEPA. Village Administrator Muetz gave an overview stating that as a part of the installation of the new water tower on Knowles Road, staff will be creating a new pressure zone west of Hunt Club Road to address low water pressure concerns in the area. Creating this new zone requires various improvements, including the installation of a new pump station (to be located next to the Bittersweet Golf Course maintenance building on Almond Road) and pressure reducing valves. On June 26th the Engineering Division opened bids from six companies for the needed pump station and pressure reducing valves. The low bidder for the improvements is Boller Construction Co. Inc. of Waukegan at $2.05 million. Boller has been an active general contractor in the community for decades including the construction of the Gurnee Police Facility on O’Plaine Road in 2002. They have extensive experience in water and wastewater facilities and staff is confident in their ability to perform quality work.

It was moved by Trustee Hood, seconded by Trustee Ross to approve Ord. 2018-55 authorizing execution of a contract with Boller Construction Co. Inc. for the Pressure Zone 5 improvements contingent upon approval of a loan by the IEPA.

Roll call,

Aye: 5- Jacobs, Ross, Garner, Hood, Thorstenson

Nay: 0- None

Absent: 1- Balmes

Motion Carried.

3. Approval of Res. 2018-07 pledging support and a financial commitment of $10,000.00 to Lake County, Illinois related to continued research of Countywide 911 Consolidation.

Village Administrator Muetz gave an overview stating that Lake County is continuing to work towards 911 Regional Consolidation following the completion of the Phase 2 Study in 2015-2017. The Village of Gurnee continues to participate Regional 911 Consolidation Group via the NLLC-ETSB. In addition, staff is recommending the Village contribute an additional $10,000 to the effort to secure Gurnee standalone votes/representation on the Policy and Operation Committees (vs. simply one vote representing the NLCC-ETSB). The next step in the process will be for group agencies to select a Project Manager and Consulting Firm to continue to move the effort forward. This includes development of an implementation plan for regional consolidation 911 services and to oversee implementation of the plan. Similar to the creation of CLCJAWA, getting involved on the front-end allows the Village to have a say in how the initiative develops, rather than joining later and having no substantial input. Funds are available in the contingency funds.

It was moved by Trustee Ross, seconded by Trustee Thorstenson to approve Res. 2018-07 pledging support and a financial commitment of $10,000.00 to Lake County, Illinois related to continued research of Countywide 911 Consolidation.

Roll call,

Aye: 5- Jacobs, Ross, Garner, Hood, Thorstenson

Nay: 0- None

Absent: 1- Balmes

Motion Carried.

4. Approval of request from the Engineering Division to waive formal bidding requirement (sole source provider) and purchase five 18” StormX Filter Units from Storm Water Systems Inc. at a cost of approximately $22,000.00

Village Administrator Muetz gave an overview stating Village has two drainage system locations that are chronic maintenance issues due to floating debris after large rain events. One of the locations is located in the Gurnee Industrial Park at the northeast corner of Grove and Lee Avenues. The second location is south of Gages Lake Road across from the Lodesky property. Staff has been working to identify what proactive steps can be taken to remediate these situations and reduce employee exposure. Village Engineer Scott Drabicki recently came across a proprietary filter net product that he believes will improve these situations. Once installed the net system catches debris, which can then be emptied on a regular basis.

Trustee Garner asked what the lifespan of the filter unit is. Village Engineer Drabicki stated the lifespan of the netting is three years.

It was moved by Trustee Hood, seconded by Trustee Garner to approve a request from the Engineering Division to waive formal bidding requirement (sole source provider) and purchase five 18” StormX Filter Units from Storm Water Systems Inc. at a cost of approximately $22,000.00 Roll call,

Aye: 5- Jacobs, Ross, Garner, Hood, Thorstenson

Nay: 0- None

AbsenT: 1- Balmes

Motion Carried.

H. Public Comment

Martin Peters

3924 Blackstone Ave. Gurnee, IL

Mr. Peters thanked his neighbors for supporting the concerns on Blackstone Avenue and wished everyone a happy 4th of July.

Closing Comments None.

Adjournment It was moved by Trustee Garner, seconded by Trustee Thorstenson to adjourn the meeting.

Voice Vote: All Aye: Motion Carried.

Mayor Kovarik adjourned the meeting at 8:10 p.m

http://www.gurnee.il.us/docs/default-source/meetings/village-board/minutes/2018/2018-07-02_vb_minutes.pdf?sfvrsn=2