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Minutes COW 11-16-2009Committee of the Whole November 16, 2009 7:00 p.m. A meeting of the Village of Lemont Committee of the Whole was held on Monday November 16, 2009 in the Board Room of the Village Hall at 418 Main Street in Lemont, Illinois. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Reaves called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and acknowledged that the following were present: Trustees Ron Stapleton, Debbie Blatzer, Jeanette Virgilio, Paul Chialdikas, Cliff Miklos and Rick Sniegowski were present. Also present were Village staff members Gary Holmes, Dan Fielding, Randy Earnest, James Brown, Charity Jones, Ben Wehmeier, George Schafer, Jim Cainkar and Ed Buettner. DISCUSSION ITEMS Discussion of Downtown Snow Removal Mr. Schafer stated that in the past the Village had provided snow removal services for the entire downtown. For this year, it was decided at previous meetings that the areas in front of the businesses would be the responsibility of the business owners and tenants. After an informational meeting with staff was held, many downtown merchants requested another meeting to discuss the policy. Issues of coordination were discussed at the meeting, and there would be a monitoring period to examine how it was going to work. Courtyards of Briarcliffe Mr. Brown stated that the proposal has been in front of the Village Board numerous times and the petitioner wanted to discuss some of the changes as the project moves forward. More open space was added to the southwest corner of the project. The project would have 36 town home units. Mayor Reaves stated that he isn't happy with the project but at least something would happen on that particular corner that would produce some financial activity. Trustee Sniegowski was concerned that many of the recommendations from the P&Z Commission were not addressed. Many of the same concerns were discussed, mainly the proximity to heavy industrial that concerned many of the Trustees. The project would need a super majority for approval. Bell Road Utility Extension Mr. Cainkar explained that many entities in the area of 131St Street and the Glens of Connemara have expressed interests in extending and connecting the available utilities that currently exist in the area. The costs associated with the project were discussed and that the First Church of Nazarene was pushing the project. The Village would assist with easements but that no Village money would be given to the project. LED Lighting for Parking Garage The Village recently received bids to retrofit the parking structure with LED lights. A contractor has given the Village some input that the project will not work and will result in the lights burning out. Due to this input and the cost of the project, the Board was supportive to delay the retrofit project until more information can be obtained regarding the lights. Parking on Walker Road near Lemont Center Recently the Village received complaints from the Amberwood Town-homeowners Association regarding parking on Walker near the Lemont Nursing Center. Staff recommendation was to erect no parking signs on the west side of the street. In addition, the facility would be asked to build a parking lot on their property within 24 months to accommodate overflow parking from their employees. The Board was receptive to these recommendations and an ordinance would follow at a future meeting. Truck Enforcement Staff has been reviewing truck weight enforcement policies of the Village. The issues of truck weight enforcement have been escalated by recent state law changes in truck weight enforcement. The need for the ordinance is to maintain safer roadways that do not deteriorate over time. Staff will continue to monitor the situation and bring an ordinance in front of the Village Board at a future meeting. Website/Electronic Notification Update Mr. Schafer went through many of the electronic upgrades to the Village's website. The new website went live on November 6th and offers residents more information and an easier way to interact with the Village. In addition, the Village will be implementing electronic payments shortly, as well as an electronic notification system through Nixle. NEW BUSINESS UNFINISHED BUSINESS The Mayor briefed the Board that the Park District was going to be withdrawing its request for grant funding for the Pedestrian Bridge at 127th Street and Timberline. With the addition of a signal at the location and with increased costs of the bridge, the project is no longer viable. Since the grant was given through the Safe Routes to School Program, the Park District is going to see if the monies could be used for other programs. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Reaves adjourned the meeting at 9:15 PM