Loading...
COW Minutes 2004 05-18-04 s.t VE, D R COUNCIf UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE COMkaY tter; OF THE WHOLE MEETING YORKVILLE CITY HALL CONFERENCE ROOM TUESDAY, MAY 18, 2004 ATTENDANCE Mayor Art Prochaska; Aldermen Richard Sticka, Wanda O'Hare, Paul James, Marty Munz, Rose Spears, Larry Kot, and Valerie Burd; City Administrator Tony Graff; and Kelly Kramer, representing the City Attorney's office. I GUESTS: Stephen Yas, Michael Auf der heide and Jonathan Fischel, from Yas/Fischel Partnership; Kevin Dubajic; Lynn Dubajic, Yorkville EDC; Laura Brown; library trustees Sandy Lindblom, Kelly Murray, Marianne Wilkinson and Michelle Pfister; library board president Joseph Gruber; Dan Waitt, Beacon News; Kathy Farren, Record Newspapers; and Rob Melekus, WSPY News. Presentations: 1. RFQ for Facilities Master Plan a. Stephen Yas of Yas / Fischel Partnership gave a presentation on what the partnership could provide the city in developing a facilities master plan. Yas, who serves as the project designer and project architect, said the partnership routinely turns in projects on time and on budget and has a low change order percentage. He added the partnership provides small firm advantages with large firm techniques, provides creative innovation and has an emotional connection to each project. i Defining some of the management philosophy, Jonathan Fischel, who serves as the project manager, said they have significant construction experience, they believe in good communication and they blend management with design and coordination of engineering consultants and contractors in a holistic approach. The design philosophy, Yas said, is an inclusive process. He said there are no preconceived notions. Staff would be interviewed one -on -one and there would be a series of listening sessions. The firm also would help to define Yorkville's identity. "What is Yorkville? What does Yorkville want to be and how do we get that," he said. By looking at the community's past identity and historical reference, incorporating the downtown redevelopment plan and the municipal facilities master plan and the community image, the firm will help Yorkville define its identity. He said part of their job is to help Yorkville find its identity. For instance, he said there are a number of new subdivisions planned for the community. The firm will look at what the relationship is between Yorkville and these subdivisions. In devising a plan for the city, the firm also would look at existing architecture and take that into account. Scope of services for a municipal facilities master plan would take about three months /428 hours for data collection/community image /identity. That phase would include a minimum of three town listening sessions. The conceptual design options would take another three months /324 hours. That phase would include developing idealized prototypical facility conceptual designs and space considerations for facilities such as the city hall, library and police department reaching into the future 20 to 30 years. A cost review of the project would take about three weeks /70 hours and a final report would take about three weeks /147 hours. The total fee range would be about $72,000 to $84,000. Yas said they geared the scope of services to the budget and added that the total schedule duration of about 7.5 months depends on timely decision making by the client. Yas went on to show a number of the firm's previous and current projects, which include the Vernon Hills Village Hall, the Park Forest facilities master plan, an Evanston Fire Station and the Glencoe Village Hall/public safety master plan. Mayor Art Prochaska said noticeably missing in the portfolio of past projects is public works, which is a large need in the city. Yas said the firm could add any buildings. He said it's all within the scope of the project and the fee wouldn't change. Estimated fee ranges were $72,000 to $84,000 for the municipal facilities master plan which would take about 7.5 months to complete. For the downtown redevelopment vision plan, the estimated fee range was $42,000 to $53,000 with a completion time of about 5 months. If those two studies were combines, Yas said there would be a discount. The estimated cost then would be $99,000 to $120,000 over an 8 -month period. Alderman Richard Sticka pointed out that the firm seems to have a lot on its plate already. Yas said the presentation basically showed work that was completed or near completion. He said the firm wouldn't be before the C.O.W. if it couldn't handle the project. He added there are a dozen people on staff. b. Charles Burnidge from Burnidge Cassell Associates (BCA) said BCA would work on developing the municipal facilities master plan along with consultants from two other firms. Smith Group, JJR and S.B. Friedman and Company would also work on the project. Representatives from all three companies were on hand for the presentation and to answer questions. Burnidge said he realizes Yorkville was two communities. At one time a trolley car came through to tie the two communities together. He said it might be neat to bring back some of that history. Currently, the Fox Valley River and the dam have a lot to offer the community. i As for BCA's background, Burnidge said they only serve clients such as municipalities, school districts and libraries. They have experience with recreational facilities in Channahon, Niles and Elmhurst and libraries in Alqonquin, New Lennox, and Schaumburg and in Yorkville. Burnidge said the city requested the firm submit an example of a project. They submitted a Lake Zurich project, which features a new promenade. Burnidge added BCA has done quite a bit of work in preservation of historic farm sites. He gave the example of the water quarry in Batavia, which preserves the historic fabric of the community. Among other BCA projects, Burnidge said the renovation of Altgeld Hall at Northern Illinois University will be completed this summer and they're working on a facade program in Elgin. After listening to Mayor Art Prochaska and city staff Burnidge said it's clear that it's important to identify what is unique to Yorkville. He said he doesn't know what that is yet, but it's important to identify. From there, he introduced Paul Wiese, Smith Group JJR, to lead the presentation on the public engagement and consensus gathering process. Wiese said that they have experience working in communities and knowing what has worked for them and what hasn't. Yet, he said they'll all ears to hear what Yorkville residents have to say. Residents will be allowed to have input at town meetings and he said those meetings would be fun as residents try to pinpoint the essence of Yorkville. The firms like to use 3 -D models to help residents get a better idea on ideas such as size and location. The goal of this phase is to see which identity should be developed, Wiese said. In the draft plan phase, the firm would try to put solutions in a detailed manner. Dan Gardner with S.B. Friedman and Company said they would identify a plan that works best for Yorkville. Burnidge concluded the presentation with a summary of the phases and timing. Phase One is the planning phase, which includes community visioning, and a public engagement process to analyze facility needs for each municipal department. Phase Two is the implementation phase where plans for Phase One would be implemented. A market study also would be conducted. Phase Three would be the redevelopment phase, he said. While following through the outline, Burnidge said he's legally not allowed to discuss fees at this time. If the firm is selected, then they would be able to sit down and negotiate fees. The BCA team would coordinate the scope and phases to correspond to the city's timeframe and budget. "When we become a part of your team, we identify with your community. Yorkville becomes us," he said. He added the community is very fortunate to have a river and that the firm would want to respect the whole area. Mayor Prochaska asked what the possible timeline would be. Burnidge said it depends on the depth of research and study the city seeks, but estimated 7 or 8 months for a plan to be completed. Alderwoman Valerie Burd asked if the team would help the city find something unique about itself. It was stated that the BCA team would help the community come up with some ideas. Alderman Larry Kot asked if a fee schedule could be provided. Burnidge said the teams licenses would be in jeopardy if they did so. City Administrator Tony Graff said that right now the city needs to look at the qualifications of the two firms making presentations. Once a firm is selected, then fees can be negotiated, he said. Detail Board Report (Bill List): Kot asked if the bill list for 03 -04 was finalized now. Mayor Prochaska said he believed so. He said bills from last year need to be completed. Once purchase orders are done in April, sometimes they don't come due until May or June. Graff said the city is allowed to post -date those charges so that the purchases fall in the right year. Going through the list, Alderwoman Rose Spears and Alderman. Joe Besco had several questions about expenditures. City staff members answered those questions, explaining the purpose of the expenditures. Mavor's Items: 1. Library referendum Kelly Kramer, representing the city attorney's office, said the Library Board wants the city to place a referendum for building of an addition to the library on the ballot in the next general election. The city needs to decide whether it will support the referendum. The city has all of the information except the amount of the tax levy. Under the Illinois State Statues, the Library Board is allowed to issue a levy with the maximum of .15 percent of the value. It can be increased up to .60 percent through a referendum. But in order to put the referendum to the public, the city council needs to approve a resolution and put a notice in the paper including what will appear on the ballot and the amount of the levy. A representative from the financial service said if you ask for a dollar amount, you're fixed at that amount and the library board wouldn't get any additional money to operate the library. However, if the city asks for dime, the money will grow over time. As the building gets paid off, the operating costs tend to grow. So the money will help operate it. i Right now, she said, the city is waiting for the actual amount. Alderman Larry Kot asked if the language in the resolution could indicate any support on the city's part. Kramer said no. She said the council and anyone affiliated with the city has to remember they wear two hats and are not allowed to indicate they support the referendum or not. Graff said the city staff would be able to answer questions and present facts, but not try to sway the public one way or another. Joseph Gruber, library board president, said the library board will have a citizen's committee to promote the referendum. The mayor asked the council members if they were in consensus to have the city attorney go forward with drafting a resolution. The alderman said yes. Kramer said she would bring the resolution to the next COW meeting on June 1. 2. Coffee with the mayor Mayor Prochaska said a coffee with the mayor is planned for May 22 from 9 to 11 a.m. at Curves for Women. 3. Waste facility consultant to provide technical waste transfer siting services Kevin Dixon, for the past ten years, he's been the solid waste director for DuPage County. He said the county's plan was not to site more landfills but to build more transfer stations. He's since left his job as solid waste director for the county and" is now working as an environmental consultant. He assists municipalities and counties with reviewing applications for transfer station siting applications and critiquing those applications. These types of applications are getting quite lengthy, he said. And he added, every application is different He helps the municipalities in setting up hearings, answering questions and put in conditions for approval. Alderman Paul James asked if one of the conditions could be a certain truck route. Dixon said absolutely. Operation hours are another concern. Kot asked if there were any other costs other than Dixon's hourly rate. Dixon said no. Alderman Rich Sticka asked if Dixon's fee could be paid out of the application fee, if a waster transfer site is applied for. Mayor Prochaska said yes. Sticka added that Dixon's resume is very impressive. Mayor Prochaska said the city was interested in talking to someone now before an actual application is filed. He said it's not something that has to be moved on immediately. Mayor Prochaska asked the council if they would be interested in retaining Dixon on an as needed basis. The city also could talk to some larger firms. The council indicated they would like to hire Dixon on retainer. 4. Employee sick time donation Graff asked the aldermen if they would be interested in amending the city's personnel manual to address the issue of donating sick time. It would allow employees to apply to a pool in case of a catastrophic illness where they've used up all of their time. James said employees would donate one or two days to a bank and ill employees would apply for it. Kot said it's an extremely worthwhile program. Sticka asked how it would be determined who would receive the sick time. Graff said there would be guidelines established. Spears suggest the city look at the policy in place in Sugar Grove for ideas. Mayor Prochaska said he'd also like to look at the state's policy. Graff said there seems to be an immediate need in the city for one. Mayor Prochaska said that such a request should come before the city council until a policy is drafted. Economic Development Committee: 1. Fox Hill PUD Amendment Mayor Prochaska said the aldermen should have received a letter stating that Paul Dresden will not be requesting sales tax. The developer would just like some language in the PUD that says it may be considered in the future. Graff said there might be an economic incentives request to use sales tax � If that verbage is taken out, is the city then comfortable with what is proposed, Prochaska asked. Sticka said that was the main issue. Kelly said the other issue people had questions on is that the developer was seeking reimbursement for costs for engineering costs on Rob Roy Creek flood plain and the realignment of Eldamain Road. Sticka said in his mind, the compensation came in the rezoning itself. The representative from the developer said the only compensation they're now seeking is compensation for the roadway. Mayor Prochaska said the road is now a county road. He added that any improvement on that road required by the county, must be met. Kramer said they have the rough language worked out and a PUD agreement should be revised by Friday. 2. Resolution amending facade program i Kramer said the program has been expanded to include commercial and residential buildings in the entire city built before 1940. Kot asked if the city could include language to give some leeway to include any other buildings that can show unique historical significance. Kramer said that could be added. i Kot also said it needs to be spelled out that disbursement of funds would be awarded on a first come, first serve basis. Mayor Prochaska said that's spelled out in the original ordinance. The alderman agreed to put in the extra language and agreed to put the item on the City Council's consent agenda. 3. Tanglewood Trails annexation Kramer said they wanted to do one last legal review on the language regarding the responsibility of paying for the water service. Mayor Prochaska said on Page 5, paragraph N, he thinks it should say the city will provide police services, library services, and other services as generally provided by the city. In paragraph O, this is something new. In the past is has said the city may pay certain costs as opposed to shall. Kramer said she can talk to the developers to see if they would be agreeable to that. Mayor Prochaska asked if the city has all of the attachments such as landscaping, subdivision plat and the annexation plat. Kramer said the city can get the annexation plat. Mayor Prochaska reminded everyone that this is a county subdivision and that the subdivision is not contiguous with the city yet. He said he'd like to see those changes be looked at. He also wants to make sure that the city has all of the proper exhibits. If so, he said it can move forward to the city council. Road impact fees have been a topic, James said. He wanted to know if the fees would be applicable to this development. Kramer said she could check and see. Mayor Prochaska said the county is looking at the city to collect fees because the county can't do it. He said he has a problem with that. Administration Committee 1. Water works system improvement projects and update radium compliance. James said there are a couple of policy questions to address. One questions is whether the city should wait and apply for an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency loan. They won't know until November if the city will receive it. If the city decides to move forward, what kind of financing would the city try to' use. Tracy Plockham has done some research on the loan process. She said last year, the IEPA budgeted $74 million. This year they've budgeted $67 million. They're doing the public hearings for what municipalities will make the list in July and August. Typically a letter goes out to municipalities in September about what has been awarded, but it isn't formalized until October. The city needs to be proactive and possibly assume it will get money from the program because of timing constraints. Since the city's been on it before, it might have a good chance to get the funding. The cost estimate Engineering Enterprises Inc., was talking about is $20,000 to $30,000 to determine if the city's eligible. If the city were not eligible, it would have to go the route of bonds. Graff said the city has indicated it wants to take the project to 2008. He said the city is okay with the compliance schedule through the IEPA. James asked if the city waits for the IEPA loan and doesn't get it, would the city have to pay higher rates if it issues revenue bonds? The city financial advisor said maybe the city should go down both paths. Seek the revenue bonds and alternate bonds and still apply for the IEPA grant. But James said one of the qualifiers for the IEPA is whether the city has other available funding. However, the advisor said the city wouldn't actually borrow the money. It would just put things in place. Graff said as long as the city isn't making any definitive decisions to award a contract, it would still be eligible. Graff said there are 127 violations in the state and it's unknown how many will apply for the IEPA loan. However, he said a more definitive list of how many municipalities are applying for the loan by September. By October, the city will know if it has made the cut. James asked why the city would want to get the bond process in motion then if the city can't sell the bonds. Mayor Prochaska said it would save some time. The financial advisor said the real problem is whether the city wants to spend $25,000 to see if it eligible for the loan and hope to save $900,000. Kot asked about an alternative rate schedule. The financial advisor said no matter how you look at it, it would always cost more to delay the payment. But it will be more affordable as the city gets more users. Kot said if the city back weighs it too much, it would seem as if the city is pushing it off to some future council to worry about paying it. The benefit is there would be extra money to pay on existing water and sewer debt. The financial advisor said it's a very difficult balancing act. James said there are two questions on the table — does the city apply for an IEPA loan or does it move forward and sell bonds. Mayor Prochaska said he likes the idea of saving $900,000 and applying for the IEPA loan. Also, he said the city should have some good answers by the end of August. He suggested the city apply for the IEPA loan and still proceed on the bond resolution until something is more definite. 2. Grande Reserve SSA ordinances This item was tabled. Park Board: 1. Concession driveway paving contract Laura Brown said they've only received one bid because it is such a small project. Public Works: 1. Institutional agreement for Fox Industrial Park Sticka asked if people who have wells in that area should be concerned. Kramer said it's more of a precautionary measure by the IEPA. Basically, the IEPA wants an assurance the city won't build a water tower in that area or build any new wells while they're doing the remediation at Fox Industrial Park. Mayor Prochaska asked if the city needs to notify landowners in the area. Kramer said she would check and get back to the COW in two weeks. 2. Facility Planning for Proposed Expansion of YBSD Treatment Facility Graff asked if the council wants to see the full -blown presentation to understand the proposed expansion. Basically, the city is doubling the size of the treatment facility. The COW seemed to indicate that wasn't necessary The meeting adjourned at 10:25 p.m. Minutes respectfully submitted by Dina Gipe V-vl -rx tee' -��