Public Safety Minutes 2002 08-22-02 Page 1 of 4
UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE REVISED 11/22/02
PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING
THURSDAY,AUGUST 22,2002
6:30 P.M.
In Attendance: �
Alderwoman Rose Spears Alderman Larry Kot Chief Harold Martin �
Mayor Art Prochaska Alderman Paul James Alderman Mike Anderson It.aD Oa
Guests:
Officer Ron Diederich
APPROVAL/CORRECTION OF MINUTES: MAY 23,2002 AND JUNE 27,2002
Chief Martin stated that in the June 27 Public Safety minutes on page 2 under Update on Palmer Dam
Signs,everywhere the word company is should be changed to the company's name,1DNR Under the same
item Geneva Dam should be changed to Batavia Dam. Also on page 2 line 12 the word revolution should
be changed to resolution.On page 3 line 4 the street McHugh should be changed to it's correct spelling.
Also on page 3,Jim Heinz name needs to be correctly spelled.On page 4 under Walgreens,line 4 the word
waived needs to be spelled correctly. On page 5 under the last item,line 3,it should say Officer Dan
Pleckham and Jumbo the dog.
With the corrections made the committee approved these minutes.
MONTHLY POLICE REPORTS FOR JULY 2002
Alderman Mike Anderson pointed out that the monthly miles of 3374 and the current balances were
incorrect.Chief Martin said that he would check on that to get the correct numbers. Alderman Paul James
commented that the mileage for M3 and M1 were high for replacing them in 2005-2006.Chief Martin
stated that M10 is the DARE car and that it was a projected date that Administrator Graff had given a while
back. There aren't any miles with the month on that car because it primarily goes to DARE shows.
Sergeant Ron Diedrich is currently driving the M3. Chief Martin said that they should be able to get about
20,000 miles out of it and the monthly miles would be around 500 now that it is off the street.Alderman
Kot asked how the Expedition was being used.Chief Martin said that it is being used as truck enforcement
since they now have the scales in the back of it. They had previously put them in the Ford's but they found
it to be too hard on the suspension of the cars. The Expedition is also used to haul equipment that would be
used for certain projects.Chief Martin mentioned that they have received several complaints of car
burglaries and criminal damage to property. They are currently receiving reports a suspected car burglar
that may be involved in as many as 6 car burglaries and maybe more. They do have leads on the criminal
damage of about 15 mailboxes that occurred last week.He commented that the officers are out doing their
best,and feels they are doing a great job.Alderwoman Spears commented that the Police Department is
doing an excellent job on the police reports.
This item will go to COW on September 23,2002.
WEATHER WARNING SIREN ORDINANCE
Chief Martin stated that he and Attorney Dan Kramer had provided a copy that they had put together. The
committee looked over the document and made some corrections.Chief Martin said that he would be
meeting with Kelly Kramer who is also working on it for clarification. Alderman Mike Anderson asked if
the fees had come from Oswego.Chief Martin said that they had. Alderman Anderson asked if the Grand
Reserve of$21,000 is convect.Mayor Prochaska pointed out that it would mean only one siren that would
cover that. Chief Martin said that it costs about$18,000 to put up and installed.Mayor Prochaska felt that it
would be a good idea to have a Public Hearing for this and to get it out to press so people might be aware
of it.He suggested handing out copies of the ordinance to the COW committee and bringing the item back
to the 2nd COW meeting on September 17,2002.Mayor Prochaska felt it would be a good idea to pass out
revised copies of the Weather Warning Siren Ordinance at the September P COW meeting.That way the
item is mentioned and the committee would be aware of it.Alderman Kot pointed out that the last sentence
on the first page might worded be improperly where it mentions the developers shall pay a fee to fund such
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a system upon annexation or plat approval. Mayor Prochaska said that it should be run by Attorney Kramer
for clarification. Chief Martin said that he would take this item to Attorney Kramer for revision.
1
This item will be brought to COW on September 3,2002.
LIQUOR ORDINANCE UPDATE
This item was tabled.
DOG ORDINANCE UPDATE
This item was revised,as there has been problems in the Fox Hill Subdivision with pet owners not properly
disposing their dog's fecal matter.Chief Martin mentioned that they are in the process of combining all of
the amendments related to dog issues into one ordinance. Mayor Prochaska said that they should change
the ordinance to include control of all animals belonging to pet owners and amend it.This would include
updating the ordinance with this regard and put it all into one ordinance. Alderman Anderson said that they
should also repeal all previous dog ordinances and just have one ordinance. Alderwoman Spears asked if
there was anything written which might indicate a limit to how many dogs and/or pets a person could own.
She said that she has received a complaint from a neighbor on the matter.Mayor Prochaska said that there
might be a clause already written in another ordinance and that this should be researched.Alderwoman
Spears said that she has already checked the code-book and didn't find anything on it but that Kendall
County does have one.Chief Martin said that they did not find any ordinances in the surrounding towns on
an ordinance for electric fencing.He said that he suggested to Attorney Kramer that they might want to
make an ordinance,which would say property owners should put up a small sign to indicate that they do
have invisible fencing for their dogs.This item will be considered.
This item will be brought back to the next Public Safety meeting on September 26,2002.
PARING ORDINANCE UPDATE
Chief Martin stated that they would include a citywide two-inch parking rule to the ordinance. This is also
in conjunction with the no parking from la.m.—6a.m. There was concern over several cars being parked in
the streets and especially on Colonial Pkwy.Chief Martin said that it has become a liability hassle with
snow plowing the streets.It is difficult for the snow plow trucks to clean up and maneuver around the
parked cars.For this reason they will try to warn the individuals who are parked in the streets that they need
to move their vehicles. The warning will be given over the radio and they will also try other ways to contact
the individuals to remove their cars from the streets. That way they can try to avoid ticketing the person(s)
and towing their car. Alderman Anderson pointed out in the first paragraph in line 2,they should also
include the Public Works Department along with the Police Department.Mayor Prochaska suggested
taking this item to the September 3rd,COW meeting and also consider getting gublic comment. Alderman
Kot suggested taking this item to the next Public Works meeting on August 26 to get their feed back as
well.Alderman Kot mentioned that there doesn't seem to be anything on prohibiting over-night parking
around City parks. Chief Martin said that the Town Square has just one section that does,but the others do
not.Alderman Kot felt that it was something that needs to be looked into.Mayor Prochaska said that it
might also effect the site lines around the park if there is an unsightly vehicle parked there overnight.
Alderman Kot said that by having this restriction it would give the police reason to check out the vehicle.
They could make it a very reasonable restriction especially in cases where people who live across the park
that might have family staying over.He felt that there isn't any reason why the people couldn't park on the
other side streets instead of the park side. Chief Martin commented that though there isn't a problem with
parking in sub-divisions right now,that with growth problems might come up.He felt that it is something
to look into for the future.Alderman Kot suggested calling the surrounding communities to see if they have
any such parking restrictions.Chief Martin said that he would check into that.
This item will come back to the next Public Safety meeting on September 26,2002.
BIKE TRAIL TRAFFIC CONTROL UPDATE
Chief Martin reported that in Attorney Kramer's letter he stated that there shouldn't be a problem with
installing signs at the Bike Trails. Chief Martin said that most of the trails are privately owned,but that as
long as they are in the City's right of way then it is fine to put the signs up at the end of the trail. It would
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be the same if they decided to paint the road way too. These projects would be up to the City Council.
Alderman Anderson said he would like to see the costs before any decisions were made. Chief Martin
suggested sending this to Public Works to be able to determine how many signs would be needed and
locations since they will be putting them in. Mayor Prochaska asked if they should consider putting bike-
crossing signs in also.Chief Martin said that that was something that had come up earlier and they were
considering.Alderman Paul James said that he would rather see the signs along the roads as opposed to the
bike trails. Alderman Kot asked who would have the right of way.Chief Martin said if it were properly
marked it would give the biker and pedestrian the right of way.It would all depend how it was marked.
Mayor Prochaska suggested talking with Attorney Kramer or Smith Engineering for input on street
markings and who controls the streets. Chief Martin will bring back an update on these items next month.
This item will be brought back to the next Public Safety meeting on September 26,2002.
TRAFFIC/SPEED STUDY
Sergeant Ron Diedrich described how the computer in the trailer works.He said there is a brain box inside
the trailer and it is used independently of the trailer.He said that he has performed a few speed studies
where it wasn't in the speed trailer.He said that people tend to drive more naturally than if they would if
the speed trailer was out. He said that when people see the trailer they slow down and the figures get
skewered that way. It is not a true representation of what the vehicles are doing or how fast they would
normally drive on that road.In one study 62%of the traffic was above the speed limit. Sgt.Diedrich said
that if it hits at 85%then they would have to raise it. Chief Martin said that it is a State Law that residential
areas cannot be any higher than 30 mph. Sgt.Diedrich said that they could also target their patrol by the
studies done. Chief Martin said that the speed trailer is one of the best tools they have ever purchased.It
has helped them a lot with speed control.The study will also tell what kinds of vehicles are used in each
study.Data from these studies will be turned into Smith Engineering so that they can use it for future road
studies. The trailer has multiple purposes and is always being used.
This item will be sent to COW on September 3,2002.
ADDITIONAL BUSINESS
Railroad Crossing Update
Alderman Paul James stated that those who did the railroad crossing did a good job. Chief Martin said that
there were 26 tickets issued with 25 written warning and a handful of verbal warnings.He said an officer
was posted on the north and south sides of town to stop trucks before entering the bridge area. There were a
couple of trucks that had to be backed up and turned around but not without some damage to the edge of
roadway that had already been cut.It was very difficult for both the officer and Steve Klein from IDOT to
help maneuver the trucks around it.The drivers commented that they didn't see the signs. Alderwoman
Spears asked what their fine was. Chief Martin said that it was$75 for disobeying a traffic control device.
He said that they got great response from IDOT with the signage and also from Steve Klein.Alderman
James mentioned that he received positive calls about the truck traffic being less and thought that that's
what it would be like if they had a by-pass.Mayor Prochaska said that he received a call from a woman
who asked of whom she could write about a by-pass.He suggested for her to write to IDOT and for her to
express how pleased she was with that and that they should continue to work with the City to find alternate
routes for the trucks.
School Construction Update
Mayor Prochaska stated that the school,as it begins construction,has requested that the City put in no left-
hand turn signs. It has been posted in the paper and bulletins.He said that they have done no study and
what affect it could have on the traffic.He asked Chief Martin to speak with the schools because he felt that
the schools had no authority to do that. There is nothing to justify or to support doing it.It would cause the
City to take on the liability for it.He said they have tried since June to get together with the schools to deal
with the traffic issues. They just notified the City on Monday and have already ordered the signs for it,and
have already handed out bulletins that stated no left-hand turns.Mayor Prochaska felt that if they are going
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to only allow right turns then they should be going in the north driveway and out of the south driveway.
Normally we would request anyone that were going to do any kind of construction,to have some
engineering and traffic study done before they would start to control the street.The City's response to the
schools was that they would put up the signage when they see the justification for it.Otherwise it is the
City that would be taking on all the liability and they have nothing to back it up with.Chief Martin asked if
it would be the school to pay for the study.Mayor Prochaska said that it would be.He said it should be the
school that provides the City with the justification for that. Alderman Paul James suggested having the
school pay for an officer to be posted out there to over see the traffic.Mayor Prochaska He said that they
would cooperate with them with it being such a large project. Alderman Larry Kot stated that the School
Board has created a pedestrian situation.With students parking behind the City Hall and having to walk
across Game Farm Road,it might be a safety issue. Chief Martin said that there would be crossing guards
there.There will be 2 officers and 2 school liaisons at the crosswalks. Alderman Paul James felt that the
engineers probably would not have anything positive to say to the schools about the situation because of
other design problems and other traffic issues. Chief Martin said that the signs would not be put up until
after a study is done and that study wouldn't be done for a least a month and that would depend on who
would pay for the costs of it. The other issue is getting the kids to cross at the crosswalks. That is another
safety issue. There will be officers there as well as squad cars in the area for enforcement.Mayor
Prochaska suggested speaking with some one with traffic control knowledge on the subject.
Update on Gas Tank Barriers
Alderwoman Spears asked Chief Martin if there was any progress on the gas tank barriers. Chief Martin
said that he would contact a Ford dealer to check out the situation.
Clarification of Dam Signs
Alderman Kot asked about the distance of the signs from the dam and who came up with that distance.
Chief Martin said that the signs are approximately 35ft from the Dam and that it was DNR,Mayor
Prochaska and he that came up with the distance. The decision was based upon where people might see it
best. Since people fish close up to the Dam,they thought the signs should be posted closer to it. Alderman
Kot asked if they were having any problems keeping people out of it. Chief Martin said that as of yet they
have not had any problems. He said that the officers have been advised to check the area and will give out
citations if needed.
Meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
Minutes by Theresa Brady
Corrected by City Clerk Jackie Milschewski