Village of Homewood Village Board met Jan. 26.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
CALL TO ORDER: Village President Hofeld called the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees to order at 7 p.m. The meeting was conducted by President Hofeld from the Boardroom.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: President Hofeld dispensed with the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL: Clerk Marilyn Thomas called the roll. Those present were Village President Richard Hofeld at Village Hall, with Trustee Barbara Dawkins, Trustee Lisa Purcell, Trustee Lauren Roman, Trustee Karen Washington, Trustee Jay Heiferman, Trustee Larry Burnson, and Clerk Thomas via audio conference.
President Hofeld introduced staff: Village Manager Jim Marino, in the board room; Village Attorney Chris Cummings, Director of Economic Development Angela Mesaros, Director of Finance Dennis Bubenik, Marketing Director Jennifer Quirke and Director of Public Works John Schaefer joined via Zoom. Assistant Village Manager Napoleon Haney was managing the Zoom feed from the Manager’s Office.
NOTE: Due to the Governor’s emergency order because of the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing recommendations, and the Village President finding that, pursuant to Public Act 101-0640, an in-person meeting is not prudent, elected officials are permitted to participate via video/audio. The public was invited to listen into the meeting live via audio. The public was invited to submit comments by email before the meeting. All elected officials were able to hear one another and all discussion.
MINUTES: The minutes of the General Board Meeting of January 12, 2021, were reviewed. There were no comments or corrections.
A motion was made by Trustee Burnson and seconded by Trustee Purcell to accept the minutes as presented.
Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Dawkins, Purcell, Washington, Roman, Heiferman and Burnson. NAYS –None. Motion carried.
CLAIMS LIST: The Claims List in the amount of $768,998.60 was reviewed. There were no questions.
A motion was made by Trustee Purcell and seconded by Trustee Dawkins to accept the Claims Report as presented.
Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Dawkins, Purcell, Washington, Roman, Heiferman and Burnson. NAYS –None. Motion carried.
President Hofeld said three items totaled more than 60 percent of the Claims List: $335,947.33 to the City of Harvey for Lake Michigan water; $58,630.17 to IRMA for a quarterly insurance payment; and $74,129.56 to Thorn Creek Basin Sanitary District.
HEAR FROM THE AUDIENCE: Clerk Thomas read a comment from resident Corey Westerhoff who asked the board to address issues with the sewers in the Hillview neighborhood. A copy of Mr. Westerhoff’s comment is attached to these minutes.
President Hofeld asked Manager Marino to direct staff to address Mr. Westerhoff’s concerns.
OMNIBUS VOTE: The board was asked to pass, approve, authorize, accept, or award the following items “A” through “H”:
A. RAFFLE LICENSE/FOUNDATION 153: Authorize the issuance of a raffle license to Foundation 153 for a single raffle and waive the fidelity bond requirement.
B. ORDINANCE MC-1045/CLASS 4A-X LIQUOR LICENSE/SAUCY CRAB HOMEWOOD, INC.: Pass an ordinance amending Section 10-58 of the Municipal Code of the Village of Homewood, Cook County, Illinois, increasing the number of Class 4A-X liquor licenses from zero to one.
C. AGREEMENT/COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT/MAP POLICE UNION: Approve a one-year collective bargaining agreement between the Village of Homewood and the Metropolitan Alliance of Police, Chapter 621 starting May 1, 2020 and ending April 30, 2021.
D. AGREEMENT/CSX RAILROAD FACILITY ENCROACHMENT AGREEMENT: Authorize the Village President to enter into a Railroad Facility Encroachment Agreement with CSX Transportation Inc. (CSX Railroad) of Jacksonville FL., as part of the installation of the new 30-inch water supply main.
E. RESOLUTION R-3070/MOTOR FUEL TAX/STREET RESURFACING PROGRAM: Approve a resolution appropriating $565,000 from the Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) fund to resurface Village streets identified in the 2021 MFT Street Resurfacing Program.
F. ORDINANCE M-2159/SPECIAL USE PERMIT/GODDESS EVOLVING MIND AND BODY STUDIO: Pass an ordinance granting a special use permit to allow a salon/spa establishment at 2023 Ridge Road.
G. ORDINANCE M-2160/PARKING VARIANCE/SEAFOOD BASKET MARKET: Pass an ordinance granting a parking variance to allow carry-out food services at the Seafood Basket at 17943 S, Halsted.
A motion was made by Trustee Burnson and seconded by Trustee Purcell to approve items B through G.
Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Dawkins, Purcell, Roman, Heiferman and Burnson. NAYS – None. Motion carried.
A motion was made by Trustee Purcell and seconded by Trustee Burnson to approve Item A of the Omnibus Report.
Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Purcell, Roman, Heiferman and Burnson. NAYS – None. Trustee Dawkins abstained. Motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS
A. CALUMET COUNTRY CLUB PROPERTY DISCONNECTION SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT:
i. SETTLEMENT AND RELEASE AGREEMENT: Approve a settlement agreement between W & E Ventures, LLC (Diversified Partners) and the Village of Homewood to settle the pending litigation seeking disconnection of the former Calumet Country Club property from the Village of Homewood.
ii. RESOLUTION R-3071/CLASS 8 CLASSIFICATION: Pass a resolution supporting and consenting to a Class 8 Cook County tax classification for the former Calumet Country Club property as provided for in the settlement agreement between W & E Ventures LLC and the Village of Homewood.
iii. BUDGET AMENDMENT: Approve a budget amendment of $500,000 to account number 01-1-125-53-1700 CCC Escrow increasing the 2020-2021 budget from $0 to $500,000 to escrow funds as provided for in the settlement agreement between W & E Ventures LLC and the Village of Homewood.
iv. RESOLUTION R-3072/TIF ELIGIBLE REIMBURSEMENTS: Pass a resolution declaring the Village of Homewood’s official intent to reimburse W & E Ventures LLC, subject to approval of a TIF district, for TIF-eligible expenditures incurred prior to creation of a TIF, as provided for in the settlement agreement between W & E Ventures LLC and the Village of Homewood.
The Board’s discussion started with Attorney Cummings giving an overview of the settlement. He directed the public to the Village website where numerous documents offer a lot of detail.
He outlined the background that the Village was sued by the current owner of the property in mid-2019 after the village tried several times to get him to agree to a development better suited to the community. Calumet Country Club is one of eight golf courses – public and private—in a five-mile radius, and that was one of the reasons the current use of the property is no longer viable. As a result, the previous owners had accumulated a substantial amount of unpaid property taxes.
Conversion of the golf course into a logistics facility is not the type of development favored by the village. Unfortunately, the Village finds itself with no good choices and Trustees recognize the community does not want to see the property converted to this use.
However, the property is surrounded on three sides by the Village of Hazel Crest and if disconnected from Homewood, as the owner proposes, Homewood would have no say in the site’s development. Hazel Crest would annex the property. State law favors the property owner’s right to disconnect if they meet the statutory criteria. Since the owner meets the disconnection requirements imposed by the statute, Homewood is left with no good options.
Attorney Cummings said there are no benefits to the village, and no one likes the trucks, traffic, noise. The reality is that this development will occur, whether in Homewood or Hazel Crest. Trustees instructed Cummings that they wanted it within Homewood and to negotiate to mitigate the negative effects. The village has negotiated a berm along 175th Street across from residences in Governors Park, a driveway location, etc.
The disconnection trial will begin on March 5 unless a settlement is reached. The settlement agreement provides that the village will consider establishing a TIF District for the site, support a Class 8 Cook County tax abatement request, and will advance the developer $1 million in TIF eligible expenses if the TIF is created. This incentive will be repaid from increased real estate taxes as a result of the development. The Village is working for the distribution center to have access to Dixie Highway across property owned by the developer but located within the village of Hazel Crest. Homewood has agreed to reimburse the developer up to $100,000 in legal fees if it has to sue Hazel Crest to gain access to Dixie Highway.
Cummings said the Village has been in court for 18 months. The developer wants this settled. The settlement agreement requires Homewood to re-zone the property, create a TIF, and enter into a redevelopment agreement by May 12, 2021. If all of these steps are not completed by that date, the Village must consent to the disconnection. If the developer disconnects, the village must pay the developer $250,000.
President Hofeld asked staff to help address residents’ concerns received via email. The comments were sorted by topic:
--Roadway concerns: 175th Street and Dixie Highway are state roads. The Village doesn’t have jurisdiction. The Village will look into ways of keeping trucks off of residential streets. The plan now shows an entrance on 175th until an agreement can be reached to get an entrance on Dixie. The Village will work with the state for improvements for traffic flow. The developer will be conducting a traffic study.
--Property Values: The Village has no knowledge that property values will go down. The property assessments are under the jurisdiction of the Cook County Assessor’s Office.
--What does the Village gain?: It maintains control of the property.
--Green space: The Village has some requirements for green space. In this case it could be difficult to try and save the big, old trees due to the layout plans for the facility. Rock crushing will be prohibited. It will enforce the creation of a berm along 175th Street.
--Jobs and benefits: A fulfillment center is a center for e-commerce deliveries. At this time, the Village doesn’t know what firm will be developing the site, and that firm isn’t mandated to hire from the immediate community.
BOARD COMMENTS: Board members said moving forward on this agreement will be one of the hardest decisions they have made, but after months of meetings and negotiations, there is no alternative but to agree to this development because a distribution center is coming. Trustees said they instructed staff to present them with the best options and thanked staff for the tremendous amount of time they spent on this issue.
Trustees said they considered every option, raised dozens of questions and hoped for a better solution, but in the end they realized they had no choice. They empathize with the residents of Governors Park and hope that they will believe that everything was done to try to come to a resolution and that the Board’s actions will cause them as little harm as possible.
A motion was made by Trustee Purcell and seconded by Trustee Heiferman to approve the Calumet Country Club agreement as presented.
Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Dawkins, Purcell, Washington, Roman, Heiferman and Burnson. NAYS –None. Motion carried.
ORDINANCE M-2161/ORDINANCE PROPOSING CREATION OF THE CALUMET TAX INCREMENT FINANCING DISTRICT AND CONVENING JOINT REVIEW BOARD: Pass an ordinance proposing creation of the Calumet Tax Increment Financing District, convening a Joint Review Board, and calling a public hearing regarding the proposed creation of the tax increment financing district, as provided for in the settlement agreement between W & E Ventures LLC and the Village of Homewood.
A motion was made by Trustee Dawkins and seconded by Trustee Burnson to approve the Ordinance as stated above.
Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Dawkins, Purcell, Washington, Roman, Heiferman and Burnson. NAYS –None. Motion carried.
GENERAL BOARD DISCUSSION: Trustee Heiferman said he hoped that future actions from the Calumet Country Club development would be for the benefit of not only the Village, but the Governors Park neighborhood.
A motion was made by Trustee Purcell and seconded by Trustee Roman to adjourn the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees.
Roll Call: AYES—Trustees Dawkins, Purcell, Washington, Roman, Heiferman and Burnson. NAYS –None. Motion carried.
The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
https://www.village.homewood.il.us/Home/ShowDocument?id=2026
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