VILLAGE OF LONG GROVE

MINUTES OF THE VILLAGE BOARD OF LONG GROVE

Tuesday, February 27, 2007 at 8P.M.

Kildeer Countryside School Auditorium, 3100 Old McHenry Road, Long Grove, Illinois  60047

 

                                                                   

CALL TO ORDER:

President Rodriguez called the meeting to order at 8:03 P.M.

 

OFFICIALS IN ATTENDANCE:

Village President:                      Rodriguez

Trustees:                                   Barry, Borawski (teleconference attendance after meeting had begun), Hannon, Klein, Schmitt

Trustees Absent:                       Lazakis

Village Clerk:                            Schultheis

Also Present:                            Village Manager Lothspeich, Village Superintendent Block,
                                    Village Planner Hogue, and Village Counsel Filippini, Village

                                                Engineer Chiczewski

 

President Rodriguez informed the audience that due to time constraints in the Kildeer gym, the

Village Board Meeting’s Open Session would end at 10:50 PM.

 

VISITORS’ BUSINESS/OTHER BUSINESS:

Homeowner Associations:                                  

Creekside – Bobbie O’Reilly. – Karen Schmitt, speaking on behalf of the subdivision told of a coyote

Issue. – No  action was taken.

Eleanora Estates – Dan Rath. – No one was present. No action was taken.

Indian Creek Estates – Helen Dorn. – No one was present. No action was taken.

Mardan Estates – Rachel Kirshman – Stated that she would save her commentary until after the traffic

report.

Mardan Lake – Mike Silver – present. Nothing to report. No action was taken.

Victorian Oaks – David Stacey - No one was present. No action was taken.

                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Annual Spring Welcome (Egg Hunt) – Temporary Sign(s) & Donation.

Resident Carolyn Osuyos stated that this is the most well-attended community event.  She

requested $300 and permission to keep up the signs.

Trustee Hannon moved to approve the Annual Spring Welcome (Egg Hunt)  two

Temporary Signs from Monday, April 2nd thru Saturday, April 7th, 2007 and Remaining

Charity Budget donation money; seconded by Trustee Barry.

ROLL CALL:

Barry – aye; Borawski – absent; Hannon – aye; Klein – aye; Lazakis – absent; Schmitt –

aye. (Motion carried 4 – 0)

 

Temporary Sign Approval: Long Grove Community Church – Annual Sign Permit

Trustee Schmitt moved to approve the request by the Long Grove Community Church

For an annual temporary sign permit for the four (4) events for year 2007 as outlined

In their temporary sign application letter dated January 26, 2007; seconded by Trustee Klein.

VOICE VOTE: All ayes, no nays (Motion carried 4 – 0; Trustees Borawski and Lazakis absent).

 

Sanitary Sewer Connection: Request to Connect 7107 Rte. 83:

Trustee Hannon moved to direct Village Counsel to prepare the necessary documents for 7107 Route 83
 to connect to sanitary sewer conditioned with amended address and based upon the approval of the review letter
and subject to Lake County Public Works agreeing to  amend the existing intergovernmental agreement; seconded by Trustee Barry.

VOICE VOTE: All ayes, no nays (Motion carried 4 – 0; Trustees Borawski and Lazakis absent).

 

ACTION ITEMS:

Item#1:  Report of the February 20, 2007  PC Meeting.

Village Planner Hogue mentioned that the proposed changes to the Zoning regulations will be presented

at the March 13, 2007 Village Board meeting.  Trustee Hannon suggested that any changes to the

existing code should be redlined so that the Trustees will be able to see the changes easily. – No action

was taken.

 

Item #2:    Report Of The February 7, 2007 CSCC Meeting.

Village Planner Hogue stated that items would be deferred.

 - No action was taken.

 

Item #3:    Report of the February 12, 2007 AB Meeting

A) Color Scheme for Buildings 1 & 2 for Long Grove Commons, Victor Construction Company. -

Continued. No action was taken.

B) Exterior Alterations and Landscaping For For Pete’s Sake (A.K.A> “The Stable Shops”), 326

Old McHenry Road, Shinas,  - Approved – No action was taken.

C) Privacy Fence For Secure Vehicle Storage for Mel’s Marathon, 209 Robert Parker Coffin Road,

Within The “B-1” Historic District, Submitted by Mel Towner – Approved – No action was taken.

 

Item #4:  Referral To The April 17, 2007 PC & ZBA Meeting.

A) Rezoning and Amendment to PUD (Sanctuary Creek II), Farahmandpour.

Trustee Hannon moved to refer to the March 6, 2007 Plan Commission & Zoning Board of

Appeals Meeting for Public Hearing an application for re-zoning (From R-2 PUD to R3

PUD) & amendments to an existing R-2 planned unit development for a portion of the

property on the south side of Midlothian Road located immediately to the east of the

Indian Creek Club/Insignia/Forest Edge Subdivision (Sanctuary Creek II),

Farahmandpour; seconded by Trustee Schmitt.

VOICE VOTE: All ayes, no nays (Motion carried 4 – 0; Trustees Borawski and Lazakis absent).

 

B) Amendment to An Existing Plat of Subdivision, Planned Unit Development & Special Use Permit for

Lot #17 of The Fairfield Village Subdivision (Existing Midwest Bank Building) to allow Retail/Office

Mixed Use Development.  – Continued due to lack of complete application – No action was taken.

 

Item #5:    Village Code Text Amendment Re: Stockade Fence Height and Location.

Petitioner Linda Karamitis, told the Trustees that she has 93 Ravenna East signatures (only

needing 82) to put up the fence.  President Rodriguez said that she may need signatures from

Ravenna West residents.  Trustees were concerned about the height of the fence, and the

petitioner offered to  compromise.  Trustee Hannon moved to direct Village Counsel to

prepare (1) a resolution granting approval of a fence in excess of the four feet outside of the

100 foot scenic corridor, not to exceed six (6) feet in the rest of the area with the caveat that

there are signatures from the Ravenna West residents approving the fencing, to be

installed along the southern property line of the 83RV property located at 7101 Route 83

and (2)  an ordinance amending the Village Code to permit fences less than 70% open and

closer than 100’ of a highway or scenic road subject to conditions discussed during

meeting; seconded by Trustee Klein.

ROLL CALL:

Barry – aye; Borawski – absent; Hannon – aye; Klein – aye; Lazakis – absent; Schmitt –

aye. (Motion carried 4 – 0)

 

 

 

Item #6:    Presentation of a Village-Wide Traffic Study Report.

Village Engineer Chiczewski offered a presentation of the traffic study of Long Grove traffic

Patterns, and discussed possible suggestions for traffic calming.  President Rodriguez alerted the

audience that no decisions would be made during this meeting, and that the Village Engineer’s

presentation was informational and to obtain a response from the Community.  Village Engineer

also prefaced his discussion with the comment that the Study did not look at environmental

impact or the impact of the possible Route 53 expansion.

 

At 9:07 PM, Trustee Borawski was teleconferenced in to the Board Meeting in progress.

President Rodriguez notified the Board and the audience that Trustee Borawski had

provided advance written notice to attend the meeting electronically, and that there had

been no Trustee objections.  As there was a quorum physically present, the electronic

teleconferencing met Board approval.

 

Village Engineer Chiczewski concluded that any suggestions made would require Community input and Board prioritization.  He also said that multiple improvements would yield a greater, positive impact than the sum of the parts of any improvement.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION: (Names mentioned wherever possible; and spelled phonetically whenever not spelled out loud)

Barbara Turner wanted to know how pedestrian traffic would be handled at Old McHenry Road if a roundabout were implemented.  Village Engineer Chiczewski stated that studies were mixed regarding pedestrian traffic and roundabouts.

Tobin Fraley wanted to know if there could be a Stop Sign that would be utilized only at certain hours of the day to control traffic flow? Village Engineer Chiczewski stated that unwarranted Stop Signs are known to cause more problems than they solve.

Mr. Stevens (Country Club Estates) – wanted to know why the study was only 24 hours?

Village Engineer Chiczewski said that it was based on diminishing returns; and that the study focused on heavy traffic days (TUES/WED/THURS) while school was in session.  Information was also received from traffic studies done by IDOT and the Lake County Division of Transportation.

Louis Stein wanted to know why a Police car with radar was not used to catch speeders.

 Village Engineer Chiczewski replied that posting radar guns and giving tickets ultimately cost more than permanent traffic calming improvements.  He said that it was more important to have the roads meet the traffic conditions, and that there should not be more than 200 feet of straightaway (to slow down traffic).  He said that the Village needed to have the characteristics of the road be consistent with the behavior that you want in drivers.

Barry Nathanson asked when Old 53 would get traffic lights?

Village Engineer Chiczewski said that there was not enough volume to warrant a light, and even if there were the state has a long list of signals that need to be installed.

Eric Burgess said that residents cannot get out of Route 83 and Promontory on Route 22.  he wanted to know the suggested behavior modification for those areas?

Village Engineer Chiczewski said that these streets were not studied.

Robert Eglun of Country Club Estates said that he also wanted to see squad cars; and wanted to know if the air quality of Robert Parker Coffin and Old McHenry Roads was tested.

Village Engineer Chiczewski said that this was not part of the study.

Mr. Christian of Middlesax spoke of the long delays for ingress and egress from Middlesax.  He said that he did not think a median would resolve the situation and that this should be a priority given the risk

Bob Gross (Fairfield Village Estates) – Wanted to know if a roundabout can exist given the flow of traffic and the semitrucks.

Village Engineer Chiczewski said that there would be an apron for the trucks to turn on that  would not affect the car traffic.

Charles Wachs said that there was a need to use a rent-a-cop for Robert Parker Coffin and Old McHenry Roads.  He stated that a traffic cop would be able to wave through Old McHenry traffic to keep the flow moving, as it had the greatest queue of cars.

Village Engineer Chiczewski said that police enforcement had little impact, and that these costs started to add up quickly.

Village Manager Lothspeich added that the School District was considering a rent-a-cop or gaining around Diamond Lake Road.

Cheryl Weingrad (Country Club Drive) – Said that the Village should go after speeders. She said that she wanted to see the behavior of the speeders changed not the roads.

Camy Gould read a statement regarding (among other points made) that the conclusions of the study dealt with inconveniences of traffic, not safety.  She included the danger of accessing Old 53 as it was a major truck route.  She said that there were nonexistent or inefficient turn lanes; and that IDOT was holding Long Grove “hostage” because of its opposition to the 53 Extension.  She concluded that the discussion of road changes to Country Club Estates and Schaeffer Road took away from the safety issues on Old 53.

George Yaeger (Country Club Estates) – Wanted to know about Speed tables and said that buses might have a problem and speeders might go airborne if they took the too fast.

Village Engineer Chiczewski said that the speed tables were of a gradual design and were made for emergency vehicle traffic; but as for speeders, he said that the Village “Cannot design for stupid.”

Chris Page (Country Club Estates) – Wanted to know about potential studies in other areas.

Athena Marageas – Wanted to know what traffic circles would do?

Village Engineer Chiczewski said that they are all right turns and allow for free flow exit.  He also reminded the audience that the Golf Road traffic circle was not a modern design, and that is not what was intended for Long Grove.

Bob Brady – Wanted to know how safety was evaluated.  He was skeptical about center lanes solving fast traffic issues.

Village Engineer Chiczewski said that there are no models for empirical studies for predicting accidents, although that is being worked on.

Carolyn Denaro  suggested redirecting traffic by changing southbound direction for certain times .Liz Sesso said that Lincolnshire lowered its speed limit, and that Long Grove should get a study to evaluate speed.

President Rodriguez said that the study done on Old 53 suggested that the speed limit should be increased.  Village Manager Lothspeich was familiar with the Lincolnshire situation and said that Lincolnshire had more leverage to the fact that it controlled easements that IDOT needed.

Nancy Mora (Country Club Estates) – said that there needed to be interval increases in the lights to allow traffic to separate.

Village Engineer Chiczewski said that the stretch between the signals was too great, so the intervals did not space the cars.

Unknown resident from Victoria Oaks – spoke of safety and buses.  She said that a median would not add to the safety of the children waiting by Old 53 for a bus.

Mr. Stevens asked what the next step was and how close the Board was to making a decision.

Village Manager Lothspeich said that there were two steps – comments and study would be evaluated and then Budget discussions would begin.

Mary Martin wanted to know if residents would have another opportunity to comment before any final decision was made?

-         No action was taken.

 

Item #7:    Ordinance Extending Commonwealth Edison Franchise.

The current 1957 Commonwealth Edison Franchise Agreement expires on April 29, 2007.

Trustee Barry moved to approve an Ordinance Amending the Ordinance Authorizing

Commonwealth Edison Company (Public Service Company Division), Its Successors and

Assigns, to construct, operate and maintain Electric Light and Power System in and

Through the Village of Long Grove; seconded by Trustee Klein.

Roll Call Vote: 

Barry – aye; Borawski – aye; Hannon – aye; Klein – aye; Lazakis – absent; Schmitt – aye.

(Motion carried 5 – 0)

 

Item #8:    Resolution Supporting New Hospital in Northwest Lake County.

The Village of Round Lake Park Village Clerk Jeanne Kristan circulated a resolution

Requesting that Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board support Advocate Health Care’s plans

to build a 144 bed hospital in Northwest Lake County (Round Lake Park).

– Trustees questioned whether or not this would create an area of high density that would affect

the Village’s position on the 53 Extension.  They also did not see the need to rush to vote on this

issue. - NO MOTION.

 

Item #9:    Resolution to Prepare Report RE: Affordable Housing.

Trustee Schmitt moved to approve a Resolution Requesting the Finance Committee to Compile
Information and Prepare a Report Concerning Affordable Housing Financial Programs; seconded by Trustee Klein.

VOICE VOTE:  All ayes, no nays.  (Motion carried 5 – 0, Trustee Lazakis absent).

 

 

Item #10:  Annual Updates to Zoning Map..

As required by Code, the resolution approves the annual updates to the official Long Grove

Zoning map.

Trustee Schmitt moved to approve a Resolution Approving the Annual Updates to the

Village Zoning Map; seconded by Trustee Barry.

VOICE VOTE:  All ayes, no nays.  (Motion carried 5 – 0, Trustee Lazakis absent).

 

Item #11:  Azavar Technologies Corporation Village Utility Tax Audit Agreement.

During the December 12, 2006 Meeting, the Village Board deferred considering approval of the

Proposal from Azavar and directed Staff to request a proposal from Village auditor Virchow

Krause.

Trustee Hannon moved to approve a Utility Bill Audit Agreement with Azavar Technologies

Corporation; seconded by Trustee Barry.

ROLL CALL:

Barry – aye; Borawski – nay; Hannon – aye; Klein – aye; Lazakis – absent; Schmitt –

nay. (Motion carried 3 - 2)

 

Item #12:  Agreement to Develop Model Competitive Services Agreement.

As franchising authorities, municipalities have expressed many potential concerns of the proposed AT & T
Project Lightspeed. 
Village Counsel Holland & Knight recently determined that they are not able to represent any of their local government
clients due to a conflict of interest in representing AT & T.

Village Manager Lothspeich AT & T wants statewide franchise. The Village is looking at a joint proposal  -
Long Grove and other municipalities for a single AT & T franchise.

Trustee Barry moved to approve an Intergovernmental Agreement to Participate in a Joint Effort to
Develop a Model Competitive Video Services Agreement through Klein, Thorpe and Jenkins Ltd.
 for an amount not to exceed $1000.00; seconded by Trustee Klein.

ROLL CALL:

Barry – aye; Borawski – aye; Hannon – aye; Klein – aye; Lazakis – absent; Schmitt –

aye. (Motion carried 5 – 0)

 

Item #13:  Village President Rodriguez.

A.Treasurer’s Report for January 30, 2007 –

Trustee Hannon moved to approve the approve the Treasurer’s Report for January 30, 2007; seconded by Trustee Barry.

ROLL CALL:

Barry – aye; Borawski – abstain; Hannon – aye; Klein – aye; Lazakis – absent; Schmitt

– absent for vote (10:44PM); Rodriguez - aye

 (Motion carried 4 – 0, with one abstain).

B. Payment of Bills –

Trustee Hannon moved to approve the payment of bills, seconded by Trustee Barry.

ROLL CALL:

Barry – aye; Borawski – abstain; Hannon – aye; Klein – aye; Lazakis – absent; Schmitt

– absent for vote (10:50 PM); Rodriguez - aye

 (Motion carried 4 – 0, with one abstain).

 

At 10:51 PM, Trustee Schmitt reenters the Meeting.

 

 

Item #14:  Village Counsel Filippini.

Village Counsel Filippini noted that Vision Church had paid $11,250.05 to the Village as per Court Order. – No action was taken.

 

Executive Session.

At 10:51 P.M.; Trustee Barry moved to go into  Executive Session to  discuss (1)

Executive Session Minutes; (2) Litigation; (3) Acquisition and Disposition of Property;

seconded by Trustee Hannon.

Roll Call Vote: 

Barry – aye; Borawski – aye; Hannon – aye; Klein – aye; Lazakis – absent; Schmitt – aye.

(Motion carried 5 – 0).

 

THERE WAS NO EXECUTIVE SESSION OPENED.  At 10:55PM, Trustee Barry moved to

go back into Open Session; seconded by Trustee Klein.

VOICE VOTE:  All ayes, no nays.  (Motion carried 5 – 0, Trustee Lazakis absent).

 

Other Business.

A.     President Rodriguez requested that the Trustees tell her of their schedules for the next few meetings,
due to Spring Break.  Trustee Barry will be out March 13, 2007; Trustee Borawski will be out March 27, 2007. – No action was taken.

B.     Village Counsel Filippini told the Board and Staff that, regarding the Barbara Turner Reed
Woodland Tax Exemption status – The County had proposed a settlement before the State Board of
Appeals so that 96% of the property would be tax exempt, and the other 4% would become tax exempt
when it was no longer the residence of the occupant. It was the consensus of the Board to pursue this resolution. – No action was taken.

 

Adjournment.

At 10:57 P.M., Trustee Schmitt moved to adjourn; seconded by Trustee Barry.

VOICE VOTE:  All ayes, no nays.  (Motion carried  5 – 0).