Minutes COW 2-16-2009~f
Committee of the Whole
Februaxy 1.6, 2009
7:00 p.m.
A meeting of the Village of Lemont Committee of the Whole was held on Monday February 16, 2009 in
the Board Room of the Village~Ha11 at 418 Main Street in Lemont, Illinois.
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Piazza called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. and acknowledged that the following were present:
Trustees Peter Coulee, Ron Stapleton, Cliff Miklos, Debbie Blatzer, Jeanette Virgilio and Brian Reaves
were present. '
Also present were Village staff members Gary Holmes, Kevin Shaughnessy, Dan Tully, Greg Smith,
George Schafer, Ed Buettner, James Brown, Dan Fielding, Joe Camodeca and Jean Nona.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Discussion of Financial Conditions/Strategic Goals for 2009/2010 Bud e~; t Year
The Finance Committee has had initial meetings with Village depa~•tments concerning their initial budget
request. The majority of the funds are balanced already with more meetings to come in the near future.
The purpose of the workshop is to review the strategic goals, financial conditions of the last five years,
review of programs and services of the Village, and policy guidance going forward. After review of the
strategic goals and financial conditions, the full budget will be brought to the Board at the March
Committee of the Whole.
Another topic of discussion was the Village's list of projects for the stimulus package being proposed.
Some of the projects for the stimulus package include the Castle Bowl detention project, 127°i Street
reconstruction, New Avenue water main and reconstruction,~River Street Retaining Wall, I&M Canal
West Pedestrian Bridge, and Main Street Water and Sewer Extension. There are also possibilities that
salaries for new police officers could be funded. Staff will be lookizig into the bill once more is published
about it.
Anuroval of Preliminary Plan/Plat and Final PUD for Prairie Ridge Subdivision Located at 13201 S.
Arche~• Avenue
The 10 home single family subdivision was approved in 2006 and the planned unit development has
expired, hence a new application is required. The Planning & Zoning Commission voted to recommend
approval of the request. Several neighbors attended the meeting and spoke out against the project citing
density and engineering concerns. Mayor Piazza assured the residents that all engineering issues would
have to be resolved before final approval was to be given. The request would be in front of the Village
Board at a future meeting.
Discussion of Status of Downtown Parkin Fg_acility and Public Parking
The downtown parking structure is getting closer to being accepted and open for parking. One issue with
the structure is how to regulate parking. The commuters have begun to use it si~ice there are no
regulations and staff is looking for guidance on the deck. The consensus from the Board was to regulate
the parking structure and Front Street with a four hour restriction to keep the commuter from parking in
these areas. If there are further problems, the Village can revisit in the future.
Another issue brought up was the surety required of the developer on the parking structure. Marquette is
having difficulty obtaining a surety and has asked if a cash escrow of $25,000 would suffice. The Board
mentioned that the Village could place a lien on the TIF increment as well in addition to the cash escrow,
and that an increased amount of the cash escrow is desired.
Update on Special Service Area #1-Main Street Water and Sewer Extension
The Village has been working with bond underwriters on the issuance of the SSA bond. Staff has been
coming up with ways to lessen the burden of the bond on the tax payers. The items include extending the
bond to a 20 year note to reduce debt service, the transferring of reserves from Water and Sewer to fund
the required reserve account, and the pledging of TIF increment to pay debt service. The Board did not
have an issue with these requests, as it would help lessen the burden of the debt service on the taxpayers
in the district.
Presentation ofCommunity Profile Information
Mr. Brown presented the community profile created by the Community Development Department for the
Board's review.- The goal is to put the profile on the website and use it as a general marketing tool for the
Village.
Status of Glens of Connemara Public Improvements
Mr. Buettner gave an update on the Glens of Connemara public improvements. The silt fencing has still
not been done correctly and the Village will be hiring someone in the near future to replace the fencing.
In addition, there needs to be some protection installed for the stoxm sewers to prevent against mud
clogging them up. Since the original letter of credit money was for silt fencing only, more money may
need to be drawn on to add stone to protect the various structures. Mr. Buettner will continue to update
the Board on the status of the improvements.
NEW BUSINESS
The communication tower for the new Police Facility was received, and the bid came in below what was
expected. The special use approval and change order will be up for approval at the next Board Meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Piazza adjourned the meeting at 8:30 PM