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Economic Development Minutes 2009 11-03-09 i APPROVED 12/1/09 Page 1 of 5 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Tuesday, November 3, 2009, 7pm City Conference Room In Attendance: Committee Members Chairman Gary Golinski Alderman Rose Spears Alderman Wally Werderich Alderman Robyn Sutcliff Other Citv Officials Mayor Valerie Burd Assistant City Administrator Bart Olson Community Development Director Travis Miller Building Code Official Paul Zabel Community Relations Officer Glory Spies (arr. 7:15pm) Other Guests Tony Phillips and Rick Cogswell / SAC Wireless for Verizon The meeting was called to order by Chairman Gary Golinski at 7:00pm. Minutes for Correction /Approval October 5, 2009 The minutes were approved as read. New Business 1. EDC 2009 -48 Building Permit Report for September 2009 No discussion. 2. EDC 2009 -49 Monthly Building Departnieitt Inspection Report Summery This report was done at the request of Alderman Spears. She also presented a form that she would like used to show the type of inspections being done, cost, will track time spent and include a fee report. It was noted that ICCI is still doing inspections since their contract is valid through November 9 1h . Travis said that the type of information being requested by Alderman Spears can be tracked through the MSI software, however, it has not been used so far. Mr. Zabel said he will prepare a detailed report in a spreadsheet format at the request of Spears and Werderich. Mr. Zabel said that going forward, all plumbing inspections will be contracted out. Travis clarified that plumbing inspections must be contracted since the City does not have a licensed plumber. Travis said that fire and electrical inspections will also be contracted. Ms. Spears asked that time be tracked and a fee report completed. Hours spent for inspections are typically not tracked according to Zabel because those contractors are paid "per inspection ". Page 2 of 5 3. EDC 2009 -50 Plan Commission Report for October 2009 It was noted there was only 1 item on this report and it will be discussed later in this meeting. 4. EDC 2009 -51 Building Permit Fee Schedule – Update/Discussion Mr. Zabel presented the current permit fee schedule and while he said that it is adequate, he wants to simplify it to make it easier for residents and contractors to understand what is being charged. He modeled his format after that of Montgomery. He changed some of the fees and asked for the committees' input. New commercial will be outsourced. Mr. Zabel said some fees have been increased, while others were reduced. An optional proposed Contractor Licensing Fee, modeled after Montgomery, requires insurance, annual fee and proof of license. If 3 complaints are received on a specific contract, their license is not renewed to do work for Montgomery. He suggested a possible list of licensed contractors to do work in Yorkville. Paul noted that in Montgomery, fees are not required of plumbers and roofers since they are licensed through the State. Ms. Sutcliff noted that in Oswego, residents must use the approved City contractors. Since it would be difficult to track all the renewal dates, Mayor Burd suggested Yorkville should treat contractor licenses like liquor licenses —all renew at the same time each year. Alderman Spears asked if a contractor needed to be bonded to do work for the City. Currently, that is not required. Golinski asked what would happen if a City - licensed contractor had their insurance lapse or had an accident and they were not bonded. Alderman Werderich said each contractor and client would need to sign an indemnification. Bart Olson said this is a fairly common licensing procedure throughout local towns. Rose suggested more information should be obtained from other towns regarding liability, costs, etc. Mayor Burd said perhaps it should be called `registering'. Mr. Zabel reviewed the current fees vs. the proposed fees. He said he would like to use flat fees since it is easier to calculate and understand. Ms. Spears said she would not want huge increases since some communities are actually decreasing fees in an effort to encourage building. A significant decrease is proposed in commercial according to Zabel. He gave examples of costs using 2 recent new constructions and said he would again propose flat fees. Sewer and water connection fees would remain the same. Suggested building fee for buildings up to 5000 sq. ft. would be $1250. Larger buildings similar to Super Target were $38,000 for building fees at the time of construction. He is proposing a new flat fee of $5,000 with the thought of providing incentives to attract businesses. Alderman Sutcliff asked how this compared to other communities and it was noted that formerly 80% was paid to ICCI. The committee asked for a comparison from surrounding towns. Werderich commented that he like the flat fee structures. Paul hopes that Administrative Assistants can become more involved with the fees, processing applications, etc. 5. EDC 2009 -52 Economic Development Committee Meeting Dates for 2010 After a brief discussion, it was decided that this meeting will start at 6pm beginning in January. A Public Notice will be required. i Page 3 of 5 Items Recommended by Plan Commission for Aooroval 1. PC 2009 -14 SAC Wireless Special Use Request for New Telecommunications Tower Travis gave a brief background of this request. Cell towers are governed by Chapter 15 of the Zoning Ordinance and require a Special Use for newly constructed towers. This tower would be located north of the tracks near F.E. Wheaton. This request is the Special Use only and it has been before Plan Commission. It also came before Zoning Board of Appeals regarding a variance for the height of the tower. ZBA recommended approval of the variance in a split vote 4 -3. Tony Phillips, representative of SAC Wireless representing Verizon, gave a presentation of the proposed cell tower. He said the ordinance limits the height to 100 feet, but higher towers are needed to encourage co- location to reduce the number built. The tower height requested is 199 feet including a lightning rod. The project also incorporates a small shelter at the tower base that holds a generator. Mr. Phillips read a statement describing the project. The tower provides telephone service, wireless data and use by Blackberries. A new tower is needed for capacity and coverage. The various locations of other towers in the area were discussed and it was noted that most of the towers were over 100 feet. Golinski suggested that the ordinance needs to be updated. Alderman Sutcliff questioned if the tower could be used in conjunction with KenCom. Mr. Phillips replied that Verizon works closely with State and County Police especially for in -car data. All neighbors within 500 feet of the F.E. Wheaton site were notified of this tower. It was noted that Whispering Meadows is the nearest residential area. Mr. Phillips said his company spoke with ComEd about co- locating on their lines, however, they declined since only Com Ed personnel are allowed to work on the lines. It was noted the contractor who would construct the tower does have liability insurance and is bonded. They are also on a preferred contractor list. Alderman Spears asked if the ordinance requires a removal or maintenance bond. This is covered under Chapter 15. As the landowner, F. E. Wheaton would be responsible if the tower were to be abandoned. Permit fees were briefly discussed and it was noted that Chapter 15 allows for additional consult and review fees. Alderman Spears asked for a comparison of the average rate of fees and liability. She also suggested drafting a separate ordinance. Mr. Phillips said many communities have a separate one and there is also a $5,000 application fee. Many towns also require an escrow fee from which they deduct fees as work progresses. Some towns have a 5 -year review, while others have 10 -year reviews. Mr. Phillips recommended a one -time co- location fee to alleviate expending City time. Page 4of5 Ms. Spears requested the reports and memos of ZBA and Plan Commission pertaining to their discussions, prior to City Council. Golinski suggested that this item be moved forward, however, it was agreed that this committee would look at revising the ordinance. At 8:1 Opm Chairman Golinski turned the meeting over to Ms. Spears. Old Business 1. PC 2009 -44 Building Code Update Discussion — IBC 2006 IBC 2009 Paul Zabel provided an update from the previous EDC meeting regarding questions that were raised. 1) If the new 2009 International Residential Code is adopted, it would not become effective until 2011 and a specific section of that code would require residential sprinklers. ICC hearings were recently held in Baltimore and it j was decided to retain this section. 2) The major changes in the code are, in part, energy code requirements, foundation requirements and automatic sprinklers. Many changes occurred between 2000 and 2006 and are more stringent. 3) Some communities have not adopted the 2009 codes due the fire sprinkler requirements. In an informal survey he conducted, Paul obtained 18 of 35 requested responses. More communities have adopted the 2009 codes than originally thought and Mr. Zabel will research the exact number. Mr. Zabel still recommends adoption of the 2009 codes, but the City can determine if they wish to omit parts of the code. The code is considered the industry -wide standard. He did note that the State mandated the energy code on May 31 The City must start using these guidelines within a year of that date. Travis suggested inviting interested parties to the December EDC meeting such as the Fire Department, Homebuilder's Association and International Code Council reps to participate in this discussion. Ms. Spears also suggested inviting a representative from the Illinois Sprinkler Association. In conclusion, Mr. Zabel said small insurance discounts would be available for having sprinkler systems. 2. EDC 2009 -07 "Shop Yorkville" Campaign — Update/Discussion Glory Spies received information regarding the program Elmhurst uses and she shared this with the committee. She also provided a memo with a potential mission statement and invited input from the committee. She said she feels the statement should inform and educate the citizens and be included on the Shop Yorkville Now website. Alderman Sutcliff said the statement should be more simple and user - friendly. I Page 5of5 Alderman Werderich said he liked the specific facts presented in the Elmhurst program, such as the amount of money that returns to the community for each dollar spent. It was noted it might be difficult to obtain this type of information. He added that jobs are also provided by spending locally. It was determined that other benefits are: provide services, save gas, time and money, helps reduce real estate taxes, helps provide balanced tax base. Glory will revise the mission statement using the committee input and will email it. Alderman Werderich suggested using bullet points. Additional Business There was no further business and the meeting was adjourned at 8:37pm. 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