Minutes COW 9-21-2009Committee of the Whole
September 21, 2009
7:00 p.m.
A meeting of the Village of Lemont Committee of the Whole was held on Monday September 21, 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 Virgillio, Paul Chialdikas. and Rick Sniegowski were
present. Trustee Miklos was absent.
Also present were Village staff members Gary Holmes, Dan Fielding,-Joe Camodeca, James Brown, Ben
Wehmeier, George Schafer, Ed Buettner, and Charity Jones.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Discussion of Special Use for A~;ricultural in the B-3 Zoning District for Rolling Meadows Commercial
Lot
John Jurnek is requesting a special use to allow agriculture in the B-3 zoning district. The P&Z
Commission and staff are recommending approval, with conditions. Ms. Jones stated that the request
would have a limited impact on the surrounding areas. The Board did not have an issue with the request
and that the recommendations of the P&Z Board are included in the ordinance. These recommendations
include prohibiting livestock operations, limiting farming operations to crops for direct human
consumption, and that the request is re-evaluated every 2 years.
Discussion of Gorski UDO Amendment request
The owners Gorski & Son are requesting that the Village amend the UDO to make the current uses of
their building permitted uses in the Downtown District, so expansion can be allowed. The request could
be a rezoning, a variation or a text amendment. Trustee Virgillio stated that adding this as a use would be
going backwards from what the downtown vision was trying to accomplish. Trustee Stapleton agreed.
Mr. Brown stated that, he would prefer a text amendment, as a variation may be setting precedent. One
recommendation was to make the amendment specific to the bus business and not to the type of tenants
that is currently in the building. The item was up for discussion only; it would have to go through the
process at some point.
Discussion of First Street Improvements
The developer of Woodglen PUD has requested that the Village improve First Street from McCarthy to
Schultz, in order to provide a safer and more appealing entrance to Woodglen. Some of the items
discussed were whether or not to make it one way, and to do a full improvement or just a resurfacing.
Trustee Chialdikas was under the impression that the developer would provide some financial assistance
for the improvements. However, no guarantees were ever put into the PUD ordinance. The Village
Board did not have all of the financial information necessary to make a decision on resurfacing or full
improvement. The costs for a full improvement could be substantial since utilities would have to be
placed underground. These numbers would be presented at a later date.
Discussion of Waiver Request from Cook County Forest Preserve District for Water/Sewer Connection
Fees and Water Usaae
The Cook County Forest Preserve District is requesting a waiver of the tap-on fees and water usage for
their learning facility. Mr. Holmes stated that we have waived impact fees to other taxing bodies in the
past but never water usage. The Board agreed that a waiver of impact fees could be given but no water
usage fees should be waived.
Discussion of Hines Emerald Dragonfly Grant Project at Bambrick Park
Mr. Brown briefly presented a grant opportunity to retrofit of one detention basin at Bambrick Park. -The
majority of the project would be funded through the grant, but the Village would have to assist in the
financing. The Village Board was not receptive to committing funding to the project since the project is
not within the Village of Lemont.
Discussion of Snow Removal Contract for the Downtown
Mr. Schafer stated that during the budget process, the finance committee decided to require downtown
business owners to shovel the area in front of their businesses in an effort to reduce snow removal costs.
In the past, the public works department has provided snow removal for the entire downtown. The
downtown snow removal RFP called for 2 proposals, one with everything and one with areas cut out.
Staff was going to see what the difference was and decide whether or not to make the change or keep the
policy the same as prior years.
Approval of Sale of Park District Outlots in Rolling Meadows/Mayfair Estates Subdivisions
The Lemont Park District has approached the developers of Rolling Meadows and Mayfair concerning the
potential sale of two properties owned by the district. These properties were given to the Park District as
part of the land/cash donation required per the annexation agreement. The Park District has since said
they have no use for the property. Trustee Blatzer stated that the previous park administration was going
to put a park here and know there are none in the area. The developers wanted to make sure they could
place homes on the properties before they negotiate with the Park District. The majority of the Board did
not have an issue with the request.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Reaves adjourned the meeting at 9:05 PM