City of Palos Hills City Council Met March 4.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
1) CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Bennett called the City Council Meeting to order at 7:00p.m.
2) PLEDGE TO THE FLAG: Mayor Bennett led everyone in the Pledge to the Flag.
3) ROLL CALL: Upon roll call the following Aldermen responded:
PRESENT: Price, Brachman, Lebarre, Marrotta, O’Connell, Kleefisch, Stratton, Pasek, Abed, Nowak
ABSENT: None
4) QUORUM: Mayor Bennett declared a quorum was present.
5) READING OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES:
Ald. Kleefisch MOVED to approve the City Council Meeting Minutes dated, February 18, 2021 as presented. SECONDED by Ald. Price. Upon roll call the following Ald. voted:
AYE: Brachman, Lebarre, Marrotta, Kleefisch, Stratton, Pasek, Nowak, Price
NAY: None
NO VOTE: O’Connell, Abed MOTION CARRIED
6) CITIZENS PETITION: None this evening.
7) CITIZENS HEARING:
There were no comments or questions from the public; the public portion of the meeting was closed.
At this time Mayor Bennett introduced and welcomed Toni Preckwinkle, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, in joining the meeting.
President Prekwinkle began by discussing the budget for 2021 stating that they had balanced their budget without new taxes including property taxes and put aside $100 million for equity investment. This has been a really challenging year not just for the County but for all local municipal government and thanked all for their collaboration and cooperation as everyone struggled with the pandemic and with the economic collapse that followed. There are a number mass vaccination sites in the southland; the largest being the Tinley Park Convention Center where more than two thousand people are being vaccinated daily. All across the country, not just in Cook County in the state of Illinois we’re challenged by two things: insufficient supply of the vaccine and unpredictability of the supply. President Prekwinkle further stated that the only way we’re going to be able to rebound economically is if people get vaccinated and she encouraged everyone who wants to get vaccinated to also be patient because there’s just not enough vaccine. We are working hard with our local municipal government to address the challenges of the pandemic and we shared some of the money that we received from the federal government in May – the CARES Act money with our local municipal government to help them with PPE, overtime, and sanitation expenses. As new resources become available in this next round of funding we will try our best to support local municipal government as well.
Mayor Bennett inquired about the possibility of administrating vaccinations to those that are homebound. President Prekwinkle stated that there has been discussion of implementing a Strike Team which is a group that will go out to senior sites or congregate living facilities that have not had the vaccine available to them, but is unaware of any plans to visit individual homes. The Department of Public Health will reach out to Mayor Bennett tomorrow to advise of what the plans are in that arena.
8) REPORTS & COMMUNICATIONS FROM MAYOR AND OTHER CITY OFFICIALS:
A. CITY CLERK: No report this evening.
B. CITY ATTORNEY: City Attorney Pappas stated that the final hearing for the racquetball club is scheduled for next Tuesday, March 9, 2021.
C. MAYOR: No report this evening.
9) PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS, COMMUNICATIONS, RESOLUTIONS, AND ORDINANCES BY ALDERMEN:
A. BUILDING & LICENSING:
Ald. Price read the February 2021 Building report and noted that 17 permits were issued for a total of $31,824.00 in permit fees.
B. CITY ADMINISTRATION/GOLF:
Ald. Marrotta announced that Superintendent Frazier intends on opening the Golf course by the end of next week.
C. COMMUNITY RESOURCES:
Ald. Nowak scheduled a Parks & Recreation Committee meeting for Thursday, March 11, 2021 via Zoom at 5:00pm.
D. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:
Ald. O’Connell provided an update from the Economic Development Committee meeting stating that we have started our Channel 4 programs with the local businesses. Ald. O’Connell thanked Ald. Kleefisch for his suggestion of Public Access TV and dialogue which we are still looking into.
Ald. O’Connell stated that the Hills Chamber of Commerce is having an Easter drive-thru Food Drive on Wednesday, March 31st from 9:00am to 12noon at Elsie’s Pantry located at 10040 S. 88th Avenue and it will be a safe contactless drive-thru. Collections will begin tomorrow, March 5th, at six locations: City of Palos Hills, City of Hickory Hills, Strange Brew Café, Les Brothers Restaurant, ByLine Bank, and the Hills Chamber Office.
Ald. O’Connell also announced that the Hills Chamber Street Banner Program has been accepted very well in our community; they have over 32 banners purchased by our small business community and they will be displayed in Palos Hills along Roberts Road. Our Public Works department will start putting them up within approximately the next week and they will be on display until the fall of 2021.
E. FINANCE:
Ald. Lebarre MOVED to authorize the expenditure of a Vendor Warrant dated, March 4, 2021 in the amount of $247,181.16. SECONDED by Ald. Pasek. Upon roll call the following Ald. voted:
AYE: Lebarre, Marrotta, O’Connell, Kleefisch, Stratton, Pasek, Abed, Nowak, Price, Brachman
NAY: None MOTION CARRIED
F. LEGISLATION & ORDINANCES:
Ald. Abed had no report this evening.
G. PARKS:
Ald. Stratton had no report this evening.
H. PLANNING & ZONING:
Ald. Nowak had no report this evening.
I. PUBLIC SAFETY:
Ald. Kleefisch stated that two checks were received; one from Consolidated High School District 230 in the amount of $11,772.23, and the other from Carfax in the amount of $105.00.
Ald. Kleefisch stated that the State passed a Criminal Justice Reform Act recently and provisions of that Act are going to impact our Police Department.
J. PUBLIC WORKS/SEWER & WATER:
Ald. Brachman provided a Public Works update as follows:
· Oak Lawn has informed us that the City of Chicago plans on raising its water rates by the Consumer Price Index this June. This rate is 1.10%; this has already been calculated into this year’s water rate adjustment in January
· Due to hard freeze in February there has been a large fish die off at Pleasure Lake at Bennett Park; this was due to a lack of oxygen in the lake caused by the thick ice cover. Crews will remove the dead fish next week once the ice cover is sufficiently reduced to allow boat access to the lake
· Crews have repaired twelve water breaks over the last two weeks due to the thawing action caused by the warmer weather over the last week
· Operations are normalizing with the milder weather and spring restoration projects have begun
10) REPORTS OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES: None this evening.
11) UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None this evening.
12) MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS: Ald. Pasek asked if placing an aerator in the lake could prevent the fish die off in the future. Mayor Bennett stated it’s something that will be looked into.
13) ADJORNMENT:
No further business, Mayor Bennett entertained a motion to adjourn. SO MOVED by Ald. Stratton. SECONDED by Ald. Brachman. By voice vote, all voted AYE.
The Meeting adjourned at 7:29 p.m.
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