Lake County Gazette

Village of Wauconda License & Administration Committee met Oct. 15.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

1. CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Morino called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.

Committee Attendance:                                  Present                    Absent

Trustee Rich Morino, Chair                                 X

Trustee Tim Howe, Deputy Chair                       X

Trustee Tom Shaw                                             X

Also in Attendance:

Trustee Chuck Black, Trustee Jeff Sode, Mayor Lincoln Knight, Village Administrator Kevin Timony

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

The minutes of the August 27, 2019 meeting were approved.

3. PUBLIC COMMENT

There was no public comment.

4. OLD BUSINESS

a. Draft Ordinance - Sidewalk Snow and Ice Removal Regulations

Village Administrator Timony began the discussion by reviewing the Committee’s previous discussions and work toward drafting the proposed sidewalk snow and ice removal ordinance. He advised that per the Committee’s direction that he and Trustee Howe met with the Main Street Business Group to review the proposed ordinance and to obtain their feedback. Administrator Timony suggested that based on the group’s feedback and in consideration of the ordinance being new to the community that the proposed business zone language be simplified to mirror the residential language that requires removal of snow and ice within 24 hours.

Stacey Stickle of Edward Jones – 121 N. Main Street offered comment and stated that she likes the business zone language as proposed and believes that this will help with weekend retail customers and help ensure sidewalks are cleared.

Deputy Chair Howe stated that this effort by the Village is to help encourage property owners to take care of their sidewalks. He added that through this process the Village has looked at what other communities do to address this issue. He also discussed the future possibility of a downtown business district that could generate revenue for the Village to perform sidewalk snow and ice removal.

Sean Hayden of 105 S. Main Street offered comment on his efforts to clear the snow and ice from the sidewalk adjacent to his property and also sometimes down the west side of Main Street. He asked what the Village’s expectation would be for snow and ice removal in regards to the amount of pathway required. Deputy Chair Howe commented that the expectation would be to make a reasonable effort at a walkable path so that pedestrians may use the sidewalk. He added that the expectation would not be that property owners remove all snow and ice from the sidewalk as there would be no place to pile the snow.

Maria Weisbruch of the Wauconda Area Chamber of Commerce shared various feedback from downtown businesses with the Committee. She shared that Puna Chocolate is opposed to the proposed ordinance and that adding a requirement to clear snow and ice would not work for them and be too expensive. Ms. Weisbruch also shared comments from the Green Bench regarding their odd business hours and that it would be difficult for them to comply with the business zone time restrictions.

Ms. Weisbruch asked about the current arrangement with community volunteer Glenn Starkey and if it were an option to have that continue with a hold harmless agreement with the Village. Deputy Chair Howe explained the functionality of a hold harmless agreement and advised that a hold harmless agreement with the Village would not prevent Mr. Starkey from being sued by a third party.

Ms. Weisbruch asked about the option of having the public works department clear snow and ice from sidewalks. Deputy Chair Howe stated that this is not currently an option and that clearing sidewalks would be a lower priority after clearing streets. Chair Morino proposed the option of considering a Main Street consortium where downtown businesses could pool together to contract for snow and ice removal services.

Chair Morino reviewed the Committee discussion and stated that the options that appear to be available include keeping things status quo, establishing an ordinance, having the Village clear sidewalks, or having volunteers or a consortium clear sidewalks. Deputy Chair Howe stated that he is opposed to Village funds being used to clear sidewalks and that this option would only be considered through a business district. Trustee Black commented that he is OK with the proposed change to the business zone language to have the time limit be 24 hours similar to the residential zone. He added that he does not want to see the Village involved in clearing sidewalks and that he would like to see the business community work together on this issue.

After further discussion, the consensus of the Committee was to modify the proposed ordinance to reflect the 24 hour language in the business zones and to clarify language regarding the clearing of a pedestrian walkway. Chair Morino asked that the amended ordinance be prepared for Village Board approval at the next Village Board meeting. The Committee also directed Administrator Timony to confer with the Village Attorney and the Village’s liability insurance carrier to see what options are available to have the community volunteer option continue.

5. NEW BUSINESS

There was no new business.

6. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 6:37 p.m.

https://wauconda-il.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_10152019-609