City of Highland Park Committee of the Whole met Nov. 12.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
CALL TO ORDER
At 5:01 PM, Mayor Rotering called the meeting to order and asked for a roll call.
ROLL CALL
Members Present: Mayor Rotering, Councilmen Stolberg, Stone, Kaufman, Blumberg, Knobel, Holleman (arrived at 5:04 PM)
Members Absent: None
Mayor Rotering declared a quorum was present.
Staff Present: Ghida Neukirch, Ashley Palbitska
Also Present: Corporation Counsel Steve Elrod, Deputy Corporation Counsel Hart Passman
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A. Regular Meeting of the Committee of the Whole – October 28, 2019
Councilwoman Stone moved to approve the minutes from the regular meeting of the Committee of the Whole held on October 28, 2019. Councilman Kaufman seconded the motion.
On a voice vote:
Voting Yea: Mayor Rotering, Councilmen Stolberg, Stone, Kaufman, Blumberg, Knobel
Voting Nay: None
Absent: Councilman Holleman
Mayor Rotering declared the motion passed.
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 purposes of approval of closed session minutes (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(21)); ii) personnel 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2)); iii) purchase of property (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(5)); iv) pending litigation (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(11)); v) probable litigation (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(11)); vi)semi-annual review of closed session minutes (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(21)); and vii) collective bargaining (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2)). Councilwoman Stone seconded the motion.
On a roll call vote:
Voting Yea: Mayor Rotering, Councilmen Stolberg, Stone, Kaufman, Blumberg, Knobel
Voting Nay: None
Absent: Councilman Holleman
Mayor Rotering declared the motion passed unanimously.
At 5:02 PM, the Committee recessed the public portion of the meeting to meet in Closed Session.
At 5:56 PM, Mayor Rotering reconvened the open session of the Committee of the Whole Meeting.
Members Present: Mayor Rotering, Councilmen Stolberg, Stone, Kaufman, Blumberg, Knobel, Holleman
Members Absent: None
City Staff Present: Ghida Neukirch, Larry Amidei, Joel Fontane, Lou Jogmen, Ramesh Kanapareddy, Julie Logan, Ashley Palbitska
Also Present: Corporation Counsel Steve Elrod, Deputy Corporation Counsel Hart Passman
SCHEDULED BUSINESS
Ethics Guidelines & Code of Conduct
Ethics Guidelines & Code of Conduct
Mayor Rotering thanked Corporation Counsel for their work on updating the Ethics Guidelines and work on the Code of Conduct. She explained that the tone of the Code of Conduct may need to be reviewed.
Corporation Counsel Elrod stated that he believes the mission of the Ethics Guidelines was carried out in regards to taking the regulations that were applicable to only land use commissions and extending them to all commissions. He explained there was a section that was added that gives the ability to remove individuals from office. He noted the changes that were made in the penalty section of the Guidelines as it relates to non-elected officials.
Mayor Rotering noted some minor edits.
Corporation Counsel Elrod explained that there will be a follow-up resolution on future City Council meeting agenda approving the amendments to the Ethics Guidelines.
The Committee was in consensus with the updates proposed in the Ethics Guidelines.
Corporation Counsel Elrod explained that City Manager Neukirch had provided his office a copy of the Code of Conduct from the Village of Buffalo Grove and that was the base that was used for the proposed Code of Conduct for tonight’s discussion. He explained that he reviewed the information and toned down the language that was used by the Village of Buffalo Grove. He spoke about the discussion he had with the Mayor about the proposed document. He explained that some articles are limited to the City Council only instead of being applicable to all City Commissions because each Commission develops their own Code of Conduct in addition to the general Code of Conduct.
Mayor Rotering stated that she believes the intent of the proposed document was to focus on civility, respect, and efficient use of resources in a way that isn’t self-serving but more focused on serving the community. She voiced concern that the document may be a little heavy handed, a little strident and given the tenor of what the Committee was trying to achieve, maybe a different approach can be taken.
Councilman Blumberg noted his discomfort with incorporating this document into any kind of ordinance. He stated that there are effective discussions about a lot of the items among the group in public and when appropriate, in closed session. He explained that there are some good components to strive for. He stated that this document should be structured in the way of guidelines and he noted his opposition to any of the sub numbers which enumerate theoretically specific kinds of instances because they are more than that. He stated that this group has been exemplary over the years. There are issues within other elected governments from time to time but other than taking time on an annual basis, it should not be incorporated into the City Code because it is a bit chilling.
Mayor Rotering agreed that the proposed Code of Conduct seems heavy handed and to that end it should be aspirational and ask everyone to be respectful and treat everyone civilly. She stated that there have been instances where respect was not given but the document should reflect more of what the City, Council and Commissions are aspiring to be.
Corporation Counsel Elrod explained that it did become difficult to work within the parameters of the Village of Buffalo Grove document and hearing the comments from the Committee, a complete revision should be completed.
Mayor Rotering stated that the document does not need to be as long.
Councilman Kaufman agreed with the comments that have been made. He stated that less would be more and some of the items are impractical. He explained that it is too specific for some things and overbroad for what is needed.
Councilman Holleman was in agreement as well and agreed that the document was way too long. She asked what problem is trying to be solved with implementing a Code of Conduct. She stated that there has been a lot of energy spent on a topic where it may have been better spent elsewhere. She asked if this was necessary and noted that she was okay with moving forward with the Ethics Guidelines but not moving forward with the Code of Conduct. She explained that yes, it is aspirational but the group already embodies these items.
Councilman Kaufman stated that he understood what Councilman Holleman stated but it may be a useful tool for a public meeting that may get side tracked by a few residents, to the exclusion of allowing others to speak up.
Councilman Holleman stated that there are Robert’s Rules of Order that are used to run a meeting and an attorney is available to assist. She stated that the document may be created and the next administration may forget about it.
Councilman Blumberg noted that there is annual legal training that addresses some of the items within the proposed document and there is adequate underpinning for direction already within the City’s Code to base the observations and conversations regarding requirements of the Commissions and it may be unnecessary to have this document.
Mayor Rotering and Councilman Kaufman agreed that they would propose a short form of the current proposed document.
Corporation Counsel Elrod stated there is another template that can be used as a starting point. Councilwoman Stone recommended that the document be one page and provided information as to a document that was provided at the High School that may be helpful in creating the Code of Conduct for the City.
Guaranteed Deposits Discussion
The Committee thanked Community Development for their work on recommending the elimination of guaranteed deposits.
The Committee was in consensus with staff recommendations to eliminate guaranteed deposits.
Councilman Knobel stated that this topic was discussed during round table discussions and requested that it be communicated to the development community that the City will be eliminating guaranteed deposits from the permitting process.
OTHERS MATTERS
Omnibus Item #5: Resolution Approving the Preliminary and Final Plat of the 349 Woodland Road Resubdivision at 349 Woodland Road
Councilman Kaufman asked if there were any further updates regarding the resubdivision.
Mayor Rotering and City Manager Neukirch stated that it sounded like it was a private matter and the resident was slated to be at the City Council meeting to voice his concerns.
Omnibus Item #11: A Resolution Authorizing Renewal of a Professional Services agreement with Robert Half International Inc. for the Period starting January 1, 2020 ending December 31, 2020
Mayor Rotering confirmed the item will be pulled from the agenda for review and will be placed on a future meeting agenda for approval.
City Manager Neukirch agreed and stated that staff is working with the staffing company on the language at the suggestion and assistance of Councilman Kaufman.
Corporation Counsel Elrod explained that the item does not have to be pulled from the omnibus agenda and he has reviewed the recommended changes.
City Manager Neukirch explained that staff contacted the staffing agency and requested modifications as a result of recommendations suggested by Councilman Kaufman. It was recommended that the agenda item be pulled from omnibus and considered at the next meeting.
Omnibus Item #12: An Ordinance Amending “The Highland Park Zoning Code of 1997,” as Amended, Establishing the B4-BG Briergate Commercial Zoning District
Councilwoman Stone stated that she was requesting to have this item pulled from the omnibus agenda because of some language changes she is recommending.
ADJOURNMENT
Councilwoman Stone moved to adjourn. Councilman Kaufman seconded the motion. On a voice vote, the Mayor declared the motion passed unanimously.
The Committee of the Whole adjourned its meeting at 6:14 PM.
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