Village of Alsip Committees Met March 8.
Here is the minutes provided by the committees:
Mayor Ryan called the meeting to order at 7:34 p.m. Clerk Petzel called the roll with the following in attendance: Trustees Dalzell, Zielinski, Juarez, McLawhorn, Murphy, Nava-Esparza and Mayor Ryan.
MAYOR' S REPORT: Mayor Ryan presented: Agenda: 1) Presentation by Abdul Herzallas of 7ez Consulting, Inc, regarding his company' s interest in developing 5399 W. Plattner Road, Alsip, which is owned by MWRD along the Cal Sag Channel. This is an undeveloped wooded parcel that would require access through the Alsip Boat Launch portion of property, where a substantial investment would be necessary to accomplish the need to develop said property and meet building code compliance. Mr. Herzallas was present to propose the development of the vacant lot next to the boat launch. A1 Rugienius was also present. They have discussed with MWRD to see if their project is feasible. They have conducted studies and have plans developed by engineers. MWRD is asking them for a letter of support from the Village of Alsip to continue the process of leasing the land. They want to develop the 20 acres into a truck/trailer parking lot. They are trying to meet all Cook County requirements for water runoff and all requirements from the Village. They are estimating 511 parking spots and will require an easement from the Village on the east side to accommodate large trucks. The minimum requirement would be 27 feet. They are looking for a 1, 200 sqft building right now but that might be expanded. The area is all wooded right now. He will be signing a 40 year lease with MWRD. The Mayor explained that the east parking lot is already spoken for the green space area being developed by the Morton Arboretum. This would be something that would still have to be qualified by the Planning & Zoning Commission if the Board felt it was something they would consider. It was unclear how much space they would actually need until the surveys were completed ( parts of the conversation were inaudible because microphones were not consistently used). Mr. Herzallas pointed out the parking lot is not currently being utilized with how the boats are parking and there is currently not any tax revenue being collected from the vacant lot with MWRD. This development would make them responsible for the property taxes. They are trying to make sure that all involved parties will be satisfied. He presented drawings to show where the sewer and water would tie in so they would be able to have water for the office space. They will have to make sure sanitary lines will not be an issue. Once the wooded area is cleared they will be using asphalt grindings. They were unsure of which direction the lighting would be going at this point. They are looking to invest over a million dollars with the project. The Mayor asked for them to come back for another discussion at next week' s meeting so the Board would have time to digest all the information they were given. Logistically Alsip is a good location because of the easy access for the highways. 2) REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION OF THE VILLAGE OF ALSIP, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS, AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF AN APPLICATION FOR THE 1NVEST IN COOK GRANT PROGRAM.
This is part of the street resurfacing grant program. It will cover Kedvale, Lombard and 126tn Streets over behind Fire Station# 1. The application has to be submitted by March 12th so that will be voted on in the Special Board Meeting following the Committee Meeting.
CLERK' S REPORT: Clerk Petzel presented: 1) Discussion of vehicle sticker fees. Ms. Tucker spoke to the pricing. The pricing index that has been used in the past has not changed so nothing will be adjusted at this time. The vehicle stickers produce about $465,000 in revenue. 2) Presentation of Minutes of the November 25, 2019 Committee Meeting. 3) Presentation of Minutes of the June 29, 2020 Committee Meeting. 4) Presentation of Minutes of the July 27, 2020 Committee Meeting. 5) Presentation of Minutes of the August 31, 2020 Committee Meeting. 6) Presentation of Minutes of the September 14, 2020 Committee Meeting. 7) Presentation of Minutes of the March 1, 2021 Board Meeting.
PUBLIC FORM: 1) Request for consideration for stop signs on 123rd Place from resident Ellen Hanney. She has been a resident for 20 years and has concerns about the cars speeding down the street. She requested two stops signs to be added. There has been several instances where people, have almost been hit. There are no sidewalks in the area and she is concerned someone will be hit. The Mayor spoke with another resident from the area and has spoken to the Police Chief about the area. The Police Chief explained when a traffic study in conducted( usually for a week) they include the count of vehicles, calculates their speed, gives information of the best day and time for enforcement action, gives a percentage of the how many vehicles were above the speed limit. In most cases is it less than 14% that are above the 10 mile an hour threshold. After the study is completed normally a speed sign will be put up and follow up with selective enforcement for approximately one to four weeks. As study was conducted in this location last year from June 24th — July 1st and 2. 5% of vehicles were above the threshold. Trustee Dalzell pointed out that they are mandated by the Manual Uniform Traffic Control Devices with certain warrants/ criteria that is followed from the studies conducted for stop signs. Stop signs do not control speed. Illinois is a Vicarious Liability State. If the Board decides to put in a stop sign that the study did not recommend to be put in and an accident occurs at that stop sign the Village assumes the liability. 2) Kathy Bliss, a 17 year resident, was present to discuss her concern about damage to her public parkway caused by the snow plows. She provided pictures of the damage. She has contacted the Public Works Department. She was unhappy with how the plow driver was driving the truck and how the snow was being distributed. The Mayor and the Superintendent said that it would be fixed with sod as soon as dirt and sod are available and weather permitting.
FINANCE REPORT: Trustee McLawhorn presented: 1) List of payroll and accounts payable. 2) Discussion of the January Finance Report. Joyce Tucker thanked Dan for his assistance with Cognos to help generate reports for revenues and expenses. The reports will be presented each month and will be approved at the next Board Meeting. 3) Discussion of the Reserve Fund Policy.
Ms. Tucker led the discussion. The point is to formalize a method of identifying funds once they are put into a reserve fund. Once something has been put into a reserve fund there are different steps to get it out. Funds that are to be used for emergency purposes and will require the approval of the Board to get the funds out. Generally that amount should be approximately 25% of your expenditures. With approximately 20- 21 million in the General Fund there should be 5 million in the Reserve Fund so that we can operate for 3 months. It doesn't need to be done all at once but it does need to be built. The restricted funds also need to have their share. There should be an assigned reserve for capital funding. Reserve funds can be set up for many different things as needed so they can be built over time. There are different levels of assignment/ reserve that will not need to be approved by the Board. This was a recommendation from the audit. 4) A video was shown for the Time Clock Plus. The proposed approach is a combination approach of Web Clock and the Mobile Clock applications. The mobile clock will have geo- fencing and track where the employees are where they clock in and out. They can be restricted from clocking in if they are not where they should be. The administrator will receive a notification and can approve the clock in if not in the proper location or it can be restricted. Employees will be able to see their schedules, receive messages and request time off from their cell phone. This will be a great way to offer extra shifts for departments like Public Works, Fire or Police by sending them a text alert where they pick or decline the shift. There is a real time PTO approval and tracking. The Web Clock will have all the same features of the Mobile Clock but it is web based. It can be as easy as clicking a single button on their computer to clock in once their employee ID has been entered. There are different nuisances for different employee positions that will be able to get payroll/accounting/HR are getting the most accurate information. On the administrator side of the program there will be an administrator/ manager dashboards. The administrator will be giving them a breakdown of all the key components they are responsible for processing payroll accurately. An example would be a breakdown of managers or employees that have not reviewed or submitted their time sheets. Managers will have a different dashboard geared more towards managing their team of employees.
It can be customized for what tools they want to focus on. The widgets are powered by exceptions that are being tracked all the time and in real time. For example, someone that is getting close to overtime. A notification can be sent on the PC and a text alert to their phone. There are multiple reports that can be run with different breakdowns. Some will be more of a standard payroll report and some can be customized for different needs. Notifications can be sent when an action is needed. This will all integrate with Paylocity who is currently used by the Village. Discussion between Trustee McLawhorn, Ms. Tucker and the Police Chief highlighted several things. This program will have the scheduling flexibility to integrate with both the Fire Department 24 hour shifts and Police Department 12 hour shifts. They have worked out a way to deal with the previous issues of when someone gets called out. The Chief was confident that this system would work where the other previously discussed providers would not. The Time Clock Plus would generate a timesheet off of a schedule as opposed to the clock in and clock out. This is more flexible and then the timesheets could be electronically transmitted and we would no longer have to manually input payrolL Everyone will be on one system that will work for everyone and will not require any additional programming. The rough installation price would be $ 15, 000 and a year maintenance cost of$ 10, 000. Nothing has been negotiated yet but Ms. Tucker would like to work it into the budget for next year. This does not include any costs of the timeclocks because at this point it has not been determined how many will be needed. The next step beyond this is a new an ERP System that works for government. This has been discussed with the auditors to give insight as to what other municipalities are using. BSNA and Harris MSI, which is used by some other governments, can also be interfaced with Time Clock Plus. The implementation would be about 60- 90 days. Other programs that we are currently paying for would be eliminated so the monthly cost for this programs can be supplemented.
FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT: Trustee Murphy presented: 1) No report.
POLICE AND TRAFFIC SAFETY REPORT: Trustee Dalzell presented: 1) Presentation of the Police Department February 2021 Monthly Activity Report. 2) Chief Miller emailed the memo between the Village of Oak Lawn and Tier 1 users because it came in late on Friday. There is no more cost for what are paying for services and for dispatch costs. There is not advance payments or changes to current pay schedules or practices. The Oak Lawn Regional Emergency Communication Board has voted to explore several options over the past year to figure out the best plan of action for the outgrown 911 Center. The decision was made to build a new facility with 14 dispatch terminals. The Village of Oak Lawn is securing the loan project in the amount of approximately 2 million dollars. The MOU is in agreement between Alsip, other users and Oak Lawn to use our capital fee for the next 7 years to pay down a construction loan for the facility to be located at 98t" and Massasoit. There would not be any expected capital costs for about the next 6 years since it will be a new facility. Therefore, the approximate $ 60,000/ yearly currently paid in capital will be used to the repayment of the loan versus raising any fees. Dispatch fees have been approximately $ 440, 000 annually including the capital fee. The MOU states that should we leave OLREC in the next 6 years prior to loan being paid we would still be responsible for the annual payment of$ 60, 000. The MOU has been reviewed by the Village Attorney and has no issues. Both the Police and Fire Chiefs have no service issues with OLREC and in support of the MOU.
PUBLIC WORKS AND BOAT LALJNCH REPORT: Trustee Juarez presented: 1) Request to advertise the Notice to Bidders for the Alsip Boat Launch East Parking Lot Removal. The project will include the removal of the existing parking lot and the ground preparation for the future tree, shrub and other various plantings by the Morton Arboretum. Construction is being paid for through a grant secured by the Morton Arboretum. 2) Presentation of the Public Works Department February 2021 Monthly Activity Report.
SEWER AND WATER: Trustee Nava- Esparza presented: 1) Presentation of the Water Department February 2021 Monthly Activity Report.
BUILDING AND HEALTH REPORT: Trustee Zielinski presented: 1) Presentation of the Health Department February 2021 Monthly Activity Report. There were 29 citations issued and 22 were for garbage cans left out. 2) Presentation of the Building Department February 2021 Monthly Activity Report. There were 39 permits issued and the amount collected was $ 31, 871.
HUMAN RESOURCES AND INSURANCE: Trustee Murphy presented: 1) No report.
REPORTS OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Trustee Nava-Esparza presented: 1) No report.
VILLAGE PROPERTIES: Trustee McLawhorn presented: 1) No report. 2) Trustee Juarez questioned who takes care of Veteran' s Parkway. There is a lawn maintenance company but they only service April thru November. Mr. Early will work with her to address concerns of garbage accumulation during other months.
ORDINANCE AND LEGISLATION: Trustee Zielinski presented: 1) No report.
PLANNING & ZONING AND LICENSES: Trustee Juarez presented: 1) Presentation of a list of licenses dated February 22, 2021 through March O5, 2021.
PRESENTATIONS PETITIONS, COMMLJNICATIONS: Trustee Nava- Esparza presented: 1) Heralma mater, specifically the UIC Chance Program, has invited her to be a guest speaker. There will be a conversation and round table discussion for Woman' s History Month tomorrow at 1pm. She was looking forward to being able to discuss the Village of Alsip.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS: There was none.
NEW BUSINESS: There was none.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Trustee McLawhorn to adjourn and; seconded by Trustee Juarez.
All in favor; none opposed. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 9: 15pm.
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