Minutes COW 12-20-10Committee of the Whole
December 20, 2010
7:00 p.m.
A meeting of the Village of Lemont Committee of the Whole was held on Monday December 20, 2010 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 Paul Chialdikas, Ron Stapleton, Cliff Miklos, and Rick Sniegowski. Trustees Debbie Blatzer
and Jeanette Virgilio were absent.
Also present were Village staff members Ben Wehmeier, Ralph Pukula, James Brown, Ed Buettner,. Chief
Kevin Shaughnessy, George Schafer and Village Attorneys Dan Blondin and Jeffery Stein.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Discussion of Liquor Text Amendment for Lithuanian World Center
The Village was approached by the Lithuanian World Center to allow alcohol in a small cafe area within
the center. This would not be allowed under the current license and staff is recommending an amendment
to the licenses to allow for this type of use. The main goal is to ensure that the overall responsibility and
liability rests with the center. The Board did not have an issue with the request; it would be in front of the
Village Board at the next meeting for approval.
Discussion of Fence Variation -Glens of Connemara
Owner of property at 13154 Kinsale Court is requesting a variation to place a fence in the required corner
side yard setback. Staff has recommended approval and the P&Z has as well with conditions. The
conditions include the fence being at least 4 feet off the property line, instead of at the line. And the fence
is located five feet north of the SW corner of the house, 15 feet south of the driveway. The petitioner was
amenable to 7 feet from the driveway and is okay with the other condition. After much discussion, the
board was fine with this compromise. The item will be up in front of the Board for approval in the near
future.
Discussion of Miscellaneous Ordinances -Housekeeping Verbal Update
Mr. Wehmeier brought up various items that will need approval from the Village Board in the coming
month. These are inconsistent items staff found when going through the newly codified municipal code.
A couple of these include clarification language on the $1 parking in the Metra lot, abandon vehicles
section, and vehicle stickers. The item would be up for approval at the first meeting in January.
Discussion of By-Laws -SWARM
Mr. Wehmeier brought up the codified bylaws for the Village's health care sub-pool. There is nothing
new in the bylaws, only changes that have been made over the years. Legal Council for SWARM has
recommended each community to pass the codified bylaws. There was not much discussion on the topic;
the item would be up for approval at the next Board Meeting.
IPBC/SWARM 101 (Health Insurance) -With Update
Mr. Schafer gave a brief presentation on the structure of the Village's health insurance pools. The Village
is member of IPBC which is the large pool consisting of 59 public sector entities. The group pools
resources to provide health insurance to the employees of each entity. Within the larger pool, the village
is a part of a sub pool .consisting of 9 communities. SWARM as a sub pool gets 1 vote on the board of
directors for IPBC and is rated as a whole for its premiums, costs, claims etc. Gallagher Benefit Services
is the third party administrator for the entire pool, at IPBC. Gallagher develops the funding sheets, tracks
the premiums, pays all claims and works with the various health care vendors. The main discussion topic
was the Village's pending renewal. The Village's commitment to the 2 pools will be up in July 2011.
The Administrators in SWARM have been discussing alternatives but it is still in the initial phases.
Likely what will happen is that the Village may ask fora 1 year renewal which would give the pool time
to evaluate the effectiveness of Gallagher and the pool in general? Staff will be bringing up the topic
again in the near future.
IRMA - (Risk Manaeementl -With Update
Staff wanted to give a brief update on the Village's risk management insurer, IRMA. Staff has examined
alternatives to the risk pool in an effort to reduce costs, and the results were presented at the meeting.
IRMA is an organization of 73 municipalities and special districts that pool its resources for risk
management services, including general liability, workers comp, property, and other coverage.
Staff went through the methodology of the Village's premium from year to year. It is based on revenue
base, experience modifier, interest income from the pools investments; and an optional deductible credit if
chosen by the municipality. The Village will be seeing a reduction in its premium for the second
consecutive year based on the success of the pool at large, the Village's favorable experience, the interest
income credit, and the Village choosing a higher deductible again this year. Total premium for 2011 will
be $292,000, down from $390,000 in 2010.
The Village received a quote for comparable insurance through a broker and the results were presented at
the meeting. There were some coverage differences with the quote and a possibility that one of the
carriers that quoted the Village would have to pull their quote due to an agreement with IRMA. If all else
was equal, the quote showed an overall savings of approximately l lk for 2011. However, due to
favorable experience, the Village's IRMA premium is set to decrease again in 2012 approximately
another 30-40k. In addition, due to the premium among members being allocated based on revenue base
and not property or payroll audits, the administrative time would continue to be decreased with IRMA.
Due to these factors, the general consensus was that continuing as a member of IRMA will be beneficial
in the near future for the Village.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Discussion of Facade Grant Program - 115 Stephen Street,
Mr. Brown brought up the downtown facade grant program; an item would be coming in front of the
Board in the near future for 115 Stephen Street. The Committee approved the grant and they meet all
requirements. There was minimal discussion on the topic.
AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
No Audience Participation
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Reaves adjourned the meeting at 8:30 PM