Sangamon Sun

Village of La Grange Board of Trustees met Oct. 24.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

The Board of Trustees of the Village of La Grange meeting was called to order at 7:36 p.m. by Village Clerk Paul Saladino. On roll call, as read by Clerk Saladino, the following were:

PRESENT: Trustees Augustine, Kotynek, McGee, O'Brien and Peterson, with President Kuchler presiding.

ABSENT: Trustee Gale

OTHERS: Acting Village Manager Charity Jones

Village Attomrney Benjamin Schuster

Public Works Director Richard Colby

Finance Director Lou Cipparrone

Police Chief Robert Wardlaw

Fire Chief Tenance Vavra

President Kuchler welcomed the Village Board and thanked Trustees for attending the meeting. The video of the meeting is available on YouTube, and will also be available on Facebook and posted to the Village website.

President Kuchler asked Village Clerk Saladino to lead the audience in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

2. PRESIDENT'S REPORT

President Kuchler stated that litigation against the Quarry started on October 24. He stated that it has been many years coming, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Trustee Peterson was able to attend the opening arguments of the trial and stated that the Village Attorney, Dan Stanner is very well organized and prepared. She noted that Mr. Stanner was thorough, articulate and utilized visual aids such as a PowerPoint presentation and large maps depicting the location of the Quarry and the flow of water in relevant geographical areas. Trustee Peterson noted that the judge was very engaged, was listening intently and was very informed of the issues involved in the issues surrounding the litigation.

President Kuchler thanked Trustee Peterson for the update and stated thal more updates would be provided at the next meeting'

President Kuchler announced that Congressman Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, joined by Congresswoman Marie Neuman and himself will hold a Town Hall meeting on Wednesday, October 26. President Kuchler noted that both Congressman Garcia and Congresswoman Newman are on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that is very important to the Country and very important to our district. President Kuchler noted that Congressman Garcia has influence and sway throughout the county and having him come to La Grange and listen to our residents is very important. President Kuchler invited residents to come to the Town Hall to fill the room and ask any and all questions. Per Congressman Garcia, he will be present to listen to the residents and what they have to say. President Kuchler thanked Dry Up La Grange for being such an active and engaged organization, as it encourages continued dialogue between residents and their government representatives.

President Kuchler noted that "Skeletober". the month-long display of spooky but friendly, life-sized skeletons, continued throughout the week. He encouraged everyone to visit La Grange businesses and celebrate the fall season.

President Kuchler stated that Trick or Treating hours will be on Halloween, Monday, October 31, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. He stated that drivers need to be more aware as there will be more children out trick or treating during the evening. After Halloween, please consider composting your pumpkin at Pumpkin Smash 2022 "Green Your Halloween" which will be held on Saturday, November 5, from 10 a.m. to noon at the La Grange Park Department of Public Works located at 937 Bamsdale Road. President Kuchler noted that Crain's Chicago Business recently wrote that many communities have copied La Grange and La Grange Park and are now having their own pumpkin smashes. This program was started and sponsored by the La Grange Environmental Quality Commission and the La Grange Park Sustainability Commission.

President Kuchler noted that Dry Up La Grange requested resident leaves be raked out of gutters before rain events. Leaves can clog up the basins or sewer covers inhibiting water drainage, especially during storms. Removing the leaves prior to a rain event will prevent or mitigate some of the effects of flooding. President Kuchler noted that the fall leaf pick-up program continues through November 24. President Kuchler also noted that an environmentally friendly option to dispose of leaves is to compost your leaves and place them in your garden. Leaves can also be mowed over which encourages quicker decomposition and benefits lawns and gardens. The Village website includes additional information on composting options.

J. MANAGER'S REPORT

Acting Village Manager Charity Jones announced that the Indiana Harbor Belt (IHB) Railway, Shawmut Avenue crossing is now open. This project was completed approximately one week ahead of schedule.

Ms. Jones noted that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) coordinated a national effort to collect unwanted, unused and expired medications with the La Grange Police Department as a partner in this effort. The Police Department lobby at 304 W. Burlington Avenue will serve as a regional drop off facility on Saturday, October 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Residents unable to make it on Saturday, October 29 to drop off unused medications, can visit the Police Department at any time, as the Police Department has a permanent collection box located in the lobby that is open to the public. For more information, including a list of acceptable and unacceptable items, please visit the Village website at www.lagrangeil.gov.

Ms. Jones noted that Election Day is Tuesday, November 8. She announced that residents may still register to vote in-person at one of the six Cook County courthouse locations or at any Early Voting location. Early Voting will take place through November 7 at multiple locations in Cook County, including the Hodgkins, Brookfield, and Lyons Village Halls. Any registered suburban Cook County voter may also request a mail-in ballot online at the Cook County Clerk's Office website or pick up a mail-in ballot application at the Village Hall. The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is November 3, 2022. Drop boxes for completed mail-in ballots are located at all Early Voting sites fiom 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., including weekends. Additional information regarding Early Voting, Early Voting sites, Early Voting wait times and Vote by Mail can be found on the County's website at www.cookcountyclerk.com or by calling (3 l2) 603-0906.

Ms. Jones announced that the Village Hall will be closed on Friday, November 11 for the Veteran's Day Holiday. Regular office hours will resume on Monday, November 14. As always, a full complement of public safety personnel will be on call to respond to any emergencies.

4. PUBLIC COMMENT REGARDING AGENDA ITEMS

None.

5. CONSENTAGENDA AND VOTE

A. Resolution - Ratification of Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Village of La Grange and the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council (Police Officers)

B. Award of Contract - Installation of Holiday Lights

Material Purchase - Holiday Lights

C. Minutes of the Village of La Grange Board of Trustees Closed Session,

Monday, Attgusl 22, 2022

D. Minutes of the Village of La Grange Board of Trustees Regular Meeting,

Monday, October 10, 2022

E. Consolidated Voucher 221024

A motion was made by Trustee Kotynek to approve the Consent Agenda, seconded by Trustee McGee.

Trustee Augustine stated that in consideration of her relationship with the Village Prosecutor, she recused herself from each item on the voucher related to the Village Prosecutor.

Approved by a roll call vote:

Ayes: Trustees Augustine, Kotynek, McGee, O'Brien and Peterson

Nays: None

Absent:

Trustee Gale

6. CURRENT BUSINESS

A. Report - 2021 Street Condition Survey

President Kuchler introduced the item and stated that the purpose of the Street Condition Survey is to provide comparative condition data in order to plan for the routine resurfacing and repair of neighborhood streets in a systematic way. In 201 1, the first street condition survey was completed. A key element of the plan was to conduct a new survey on five-year intervals.

ln 2016, the five-year update to the 20ll street condition survey was completed. The updated street condition survey provided for the "next generation" of the street resurfacing program, with the added dimension of having our underground utilities (water and sewer) considered for repairs or replacement at the same time as resurfacing projects. On August 23,2021the Board approved a contract with Baxter and Woodman to update the street condition survey.

Baxter and Woodman has completed that work and was in attendance to provide a presentation to the Board on the outcomes of the updated survey and the trends for consideration in formulating future road programs and maintenance strategies. The report will also be posted on the Village website.

Director of Public Works Rick Colby introduced Ryan Wallace of Baxter & Woodman to present the updated Street condition Survey. Mr. Wallace is a Professional Engineer with 15 years of experience in transportation. Mr. Wallace has done many of these assessments with other municipalities. He has been part of the La Grange assessment process since its inception in 201 1 and was the lead on this street condition survey. Mr. Wallace collected data from the 49 miles of Village owned streets and put that information into a digestible and usable form to present. Mr. Colby thanked Mr. Wallace for the presentation and for helping the Village understand the findings and recommendations of the report.

Ryan Wallace of Baxter & Woodman presented a brief update on the Street Condition Survey.

Trustee Kotynek asked if the Edgewood project will go north bound 47fr Street to the Burlington tracks.

Mr. Colby stated that the Edgewood project is from 47th Street south to 51't Street.

Trustee Kotynek asked if the La Grange Hospital had made any commitment to participate in the Edgewood project south of 51'r Street.

Acting Village Manager Charity Jones stated that while she was not part of the conversation with the Hospital at the time the project was discussed, it was her understanding that the hospital will not financially participate in the Edgewood project at this time.

Trustee Kotynek staled that he's glad the project is being done but is disappointed that the Hospital was reached out to and that they did not make an effort to gain some efficiencies during the Village project.

Trustee Augustine noted that fixing, repairing, or redoing a road when it's unfair condition' is less expensive. She inquired if the Village is doing something different at the 'fair condition' state to extend the life of the street with patching and filling potholes, before the street is categorized as 'poor condition', and what the method is to repair those streets.

Mr. Wallace stated that when a road is in 'fair condition', the street can still most likely be resurfaced, perhaps with some patching of the base required, which is relatively inexpensive. Mr. Wallace noted that once a street is in 'poor condition', the sub-base aggregate materials have begun to degrade in addition to the deterioration of the street asphalt, and that is when the more expensive process of reconstruction becomes necessary.

President Kuchler asked both Mr. Colby and Mr. Wallace for any recommendations to the Board for the future, which have not been done in the past or if the best course of action is to continue with the current methodology.

Mr. Colby stated that Public Works added a new maintenance strategy this year. The new program that was added is known as maintenance patching, which is a higher level of maintenance than the type of street patching, the Village has historically done. Maintenance patching utilizes larger equipment, which helps repair roads at the lower end of the spectrum and enables the Village to get a longer serviceable life out of those streets. This new program the cost was $285,000, and Mr. Colby expressed interest in continuing the program moving forward, as he believes it will help the Village continue to find the right economy and right balance.

Mr. Colby stated that staff is evaluating the outcome of the report. Mr. Colby noted that all the data generated from these studies is available in a GIS database, which staff can utilize in real lime to evaluate street conditions and continually update as repairs are made. He stated that the street condition data ties into the Village strategy of making water and sewer infrastructure improvements in coordination with street resurfacing i reconstruction. The street condition information was available and utilized as part of the water and sewer rate study. This will all feed into the capital project planning that the Village intends to pursue in January.

Trustee Augustine asked what the Pacer rating of Maple, Goodman, and Elm were, since they were recently resurfaced and repaired fairly quickly.

Mr. Wallace noted that he did not have the data for those specific streets on hand, but stated that most municipal streets are not so deteriorated that they require full reconstruction to include removal of all sub-base materials.

Mr. Colby stated that when looking at the life cycle of a street and the more aggressive approaches needed for streets in poorer conditions there are benefits to making repairs to those streets in newer condition, rather than those in poorer condition. By investing in maintenance for newer streets in better condition, there are potentially higher returns on investment than resurfacing streets that are in worse condition. He noted that it is a balance to find the right mix of strategies for our various street types.

President Kuchler noted that Mr. Wallace's report of how performing street maintenance now avoids greater reconstruction costs in the future encourages him to continue with a focus on street maintenance. He speculated that the recently repaved streets Trustee Augustine mentioned were likely worse than 'fair' condition. He thanked all those involved in the study for their hard work.

On behalf of the Village Board, President Kuchler accepted the 2021 Street Condition Survey.

7. PUBLIC COMMENT

Dan Spain, owner of The Elm at 23 W. Harris, commented that he is still concerned about the availability of parking during the months of November and December. He thanked the Village Board for proceeding with the parking study and inquired as to the status of the parking study and what the Village has done to increase available parking.

President Kuchler stated that the teacher parking lot at Cossitt School is available for weekend parking and the Village has continued to advertise the lot. One of the concerns with the Cossitt School playground lot is that it is not striped for parking; there are additional cost factors related to using the playground blacktop as parking area that need to be examined further. President Kuchler noted that the parking study is a major project. He explained that any recommended changes arising from the study need to be done professionally and in the best interest of the Village.

Acting Village Manager Charity Jones stated that in response to some of the questions and concerns raised from local business owners, the Village reached an agreement with the library for the public to utilize the library's parking lot when the library is not open. Once the new signs arrive, Library staff will install the signage.

Ms. Jones noted that the Parking Study is underway and consultant Sam Schwartz Engineering is in the data collection phase. Sam Schwartz staff have communicated one on-one with the Trustees, run various focus groups, and have spoken to some of the leaders of the La Grange Business Association. A public survey is projected to be sent at the end of the month which will be broadly publicized through a number of channels. Sam Schwarz staff is also in the analysis stage, having collected information about the surface parking lots, parking garage, and thousands of parking enforcement citations. At the conclusion of the public and quantitative data gathering, they will provide preliminary findings to both the Village Board and the public. The final report is anticipated near the end of this calendar year.

Mr. Spain thanked the Village Board and staff for their work in exploring various parking solutions and noted that as La Grange is a destination, the demand for parking is high.

8. TRUSTEE COMMENTS

Trustee Augustine stated that some Village Board Trustees previously met with the outgoing Superintendent of La Grange District 102 to discuss the use of the Cossitt School playground lot. Hopefully the ideas previously discussed can still be utilized after the Superintendent retires.

Trustee Augustine followed up on her previous comments regarding Quarry blasting, noting that she contacted the posted number but did not receive a call back until one week later. She noted she is unimpressed regarding the recourse for residents.

Trustee Augustine noted that she had to recuse herself from the leaf hauling discussion that took place on October 14, but expressed her support for composting leaves as an alternative. She cited the rising cost of the leaf hauling program and noted that there are alternative methods to dispose of leaves that are better for the environment and reduce the need for sewer grates to be cleaned before rain events. She stated that it would be good to hear more from the Environmental Quality Commission in regards to alternatives that will be beneficial to the residents and the environment.

9. CLOSED SESSION

None

10. ADJOURNMENT

At 8:21 p.m. Trustee Augustine made a motion to Approved by a roll call vote.