CITY COUNCIL 2017/09/05 MinutesThe City of Lake Forest
CITY COUNCIL
Proceedings of the Tuesday, September 5, 2017
City Council Meeting - City Council Chambers, 6:30pm
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL: Honorable Mayor Lansing called the meeting to order at 6:31pm, and City
Clerk Margaret Boyer called the roll of Council members.
Present: Honorable Mayor Lansing, Alderman Beidler, Alderman Morris, Alderman Newman, Alderman
Rummel, Alderman Tack, Alderman Reisenberg, Alderman Moreno and Alderman Buschmann.
Absent: None.
Also present were: Robert Kiely Jr., City Manager; Victor Filippini, City Attorney; Catherine Czerniak, Director
of Community Development, Elizabeth Holleb, Finance Director; Michael Thomas, Director of Public Works;
Rob Copeland, Deputy Chief of Police; DeSha Kalmar, Director of Human Resources; Sally Swarthout,
Director of Parks & Recreation; Susan Banks, Communications Manager; Mike Strong, Assistant to the City
Manager; along with other members of City Staff.
There were approximately 25 persons present in the Council Chambers.
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 6:31 pm
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was recited by all those present in the Chamber.
REPORTS OF CITY OFFICERS
COMMENTS BY MAYOR
A. Approval of a Resolution in Recognition of the 100th Anniversary of the School of Saint Mary
Mayor Lansing read the Resolution and presented it to David Wieters. Photos were taken.
COUNCIL ACTION: Approve the Resolution
Alderman Buschmann made a motion to approve the Resolution, seconded by Alderman Beidler. Motion
carried unanimously by voice vote.
B. Approval of a Resolution in support of National Voters Registration Day, Tuesday,
September 26, 2017
Mayor Lansing read the Resolution and presented it to Wyn Cain, President of League of Women voters of
Lake Forest and Lake Bluff. Photos were taken.
COUNCIL ACTION: Approve the Resolution
Alderman Moreno made a motion to approve the resolution, seconded by Alderman Rummel. Motion
carried unanimously by voice vote.
C. Report on Vote by Mail Options
Margaret Boyer, City Clerk, reported on options Lake County registered voters have to use, including a Vote
by Mail programs.
COUNCIL ACTION: Informational only
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D. Swear in Firefighter/Paramedic Stephen K. Werchek
Mayor Lansing administered the Oath to Firefighter/Paramedic Stephen K. Werchek. Photos were taken.
E. Swear in Firefighter/Paramedic James V. Gluth
Mayor Lansing administered the Oath to Firefighter/Paramedic James V. Gluth. Photos were taken.
COMMENTS BY CITY MANAGER
City Manager Robert Kiely gave an update on the Middlefork Savannah Trial Connection Bridge and the
following:
A. Upcoming Community Events
1. BMW Championship Golf Tournament at Conway Farms Golf Club September 12-
17, 2017
The City Manager urged the use of public transportation and to visit both the City and the BMW websites
for updated information.
2. Public Forum- City, School District 67 and 115 “A Fiscal Stress Test: How the State’s
Decisions Impact the City and the Schools”
- Co-Sponsored with the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff League of Women Voters on
Tuesday, October 3, 7 pm, Gorton Community Center.
Mr. Kiely reported that the forum will cover the impact of a possible property tax freeze with the
understanding that 90-95% of the revenues schools receive is through property taxes.
3. Freight Train Symposium
- Co-Hosted by the Village of Glenview, Northbrook, Deerfield and
Bannockburn on Wednesday, October 11, 7pm Trinity International
University, Bannockburn, IL
The City Manager reported that the Symposium will be moderated by Dr. Joseph Schweiterman of DePaul
University, to continue the discussion of freight trains and what the future holds.
B. Update on the Rehabilitation of the North and South Beach Access Roads
-Sally Swarthout, Director of Parks & Recreation and Chuck Myers, Superintendent of
Parks, Forestry and Special Facilities
Chuck Myers, Superintendent of Parks, Forestry and Special Facilities, gave an update on the South Beach
access road construction project and timetable, including the expectation of substantial completion of the
road by November 17. Additionally Michael Thomas, Director of Public Works, reported that the North
Beach access road is closed at dusk and reopens at sunrise, consideration of closure through the winter
after the South Beach access road reopens. Both the ravine and north road are in the design and permitting
phase. The budget, estimated start date and construction timeframe are still to be determined.
The City Council asked if the City has applied for any grants, to which Mr. Thomas replied that employees
are constantly looking for funding options.
C. ComEd Annual Report
-James Dudek, External Affairs Manager
Mr. Dudek gave an overview of the annual report that was given to The City of Lake Forest. Mr. Dudek also
updated the Council on the smart meter opt out program that allows residents to opt out of installation
Proceedings of the Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Regular City Council Meeting-
until 2022. He also gave an update on the customer owned facilities on Beverly Place that affects about 31
homes.
The City Council had discussions on options available to the residents on Beverly and reported that ComEd
will be meeting with both City Staff and residents later in September.
3. COMMENTS BY COUNCIL MEMBERS
LAKE FOREST MARKETING COMMITTEE
1. Welcome Home Campaign Update and Status Report
First Ward Alderman Prue Beidler, Susan Banks, Communications Manager and Marketing Advisor Phil
Gaytor presented the new campaign product, a new brochure, and reviewed how it is interactive. The City
Council had discussion on volunteerism and philanthropy. City Manager Kiely noted that real estate sales in
Lake Forest are at their highest over the past six years.
Alderman Newman gave an update on Deerpath Golf Course renovations, reporting more than 800 rounds
played since the massive flooding in July.
4. OPPORTUNITY FOR CITIZENS TO ADDRESS THE CITY COUNCIL ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS
5. ITEMS FOR OMNIBUS VOTE CONSIDERATION
1. Approval of the August 7, 2017 City Council Meeting Minutes
2. Check Register for the period of July 29,- August 25, 2017
3. Approval of an Amendment to the Finance Committee and City Council Meeting Schedule for
2018
4. Resolution of Appreciation for retiring Fire Department Employee Michelle R. Kousins
5. Consideration of a Request to Authorize the City Manager to Enter into a Contract with DP
Consulting, LLC for Business Advocate Services.
6. Approval of a Customer Work Agreement with ComEd for the Relocation of an Electrical Line
under the South Beach Access Road
7. Request for the City Council to Waive the Bidding Process to purchase a computerized
Electronic Citation, Crash and Administrative Hearing platform from Quicket Solutions Inc.,
the winning contractor from a completed RFP by the Lake County Chiefs of Police Association
in conjunction with the Lake County Clerk’s Office
8. Consideration of Ordinances Approving Recommendations from the Building Review Board.
(First Reading and if Desired by the City Council, Final Approval)
9. Consideration of Ordinances Approving Recommendations from the Zoning Board of
Appeals. (First Reading, and if Desired by the City Council, Final Approval)
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10. Consideration of an Ordinance Authorizing the Elawa Farm Spooktacular Event. (First
Reading, and if desired by the City Council, Final Approval)
COUNCIL ACTION: Approval of the ten (10) Omnibus items as presented
Mayor Lansing asked members of the Council if they would like to remove any item or take it separately.
The City Council had discussion on item #5 and heard a brief overview of item #7. Hearing no further
discussion, Mayor Lansing asked for a motion to approve the ten Omnibus items as presented.
Alderman Moreno made a motion to approve the ten omnibus items as presented, seconded by Alderman
Rummel. The following voted “Aye”: Alderman Beidler, Morris, Newman, Rummel, Tack, Reisenberg,
Moreno, and Buschmann. The following voted “Nay”: None. 8-Ayes, 0 Nays, motion carried.
Information such as Purpose and Action Requested, Background/Discussion, Budget/Fiscal Impact,
Recommended Action and a Staff Contact as it relates to the Omnibus items can be found on the agenda.
6. ORDINANCES
7. NEW BUSINESS
1. Approval of an agreement with The University of Illinois at Chicago to provide data and
benchmarking administrative support to the Northern Illinois Benchmarking Cooperative.
Robert Kiely, City Manager, reported in February of 2016, City staff began a conversation with other
Northern Illinois communities about potentially forming a performance management cooperative, what has
since become known as the Northern Illinois Benchmarking Cooperative “NIBC”). The City previously
participated in the ICMA Performance Management Program, but unfortunately due to minimal
participation of communities across the country, the program was terminated in 2016. While the ICMA
program assisted the City in collecting information on a multitude of performance metrics, the lack of
comparable communities and any guidance on application of the data collected made the effort less than
valuable.
Mr. Kiely reported the NIBC was formed on the idea that communities should jointly explore, develop, and
share performance metrics that support the collaborative assessment of trends and operational best
practices in order to improve service levels, create more efficient practices, and innovate government.
Rather than just collecting data for the sake of collecting data, the process starts with first understanding
the key challenges and decisions within selected service areas that we want to explore and then coming up
with the metrics to help address the question. Once the metrics are agreed upon and the data is collected,
cleansed and validated, the participants will meet to discuss what the data is saying and operations can
improve. The core communities responsible for the creation of NIBC include the City of Lake Forest and the
Villages of Schaumburg, Buffalo Grove, and Lake Bluff.
The City Manager stated that through regular meetings, this core group of communities recognized the
need for third party involvement to help the NIBC by providing data and benchmarking administrative
support. This support includes measure development, data collection, data validation, data analysis, and
producing a final data report. In April of 2017 the NIBC conducted a request for qualification process. It was
agreed upon that the cost of this third party data and benchmarking administrative support would be
shared evenly amongst the members of the NIBC.
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Based upon the proposal submitted to NIBC and the interview process, NIBC selected the University of
Illinois at Chicago Department of Public Administration (“UIC”) to provide data and benchmarking
administrative support to the Northern Illinois Benchmarking Cooperative.
Built into the UIC proposal was the option to bring on additional communities to take part in the NIBC. This
also presented an opportunity to lower the cost per municipality for the data and benchmarking
administrative support. The core members of the NIBC and UIC hosted on an open house meeting to invite
other Northern Illinois municipalities to join. Following the meeting the core members of the NIBC received
formal notice that the Villages of Glencoe, Wilmette, River Forest, Lincolnshire, Mount Prospect, Arlington
Heights and Hoffman Estates will be joining the NIBC.
Per this agreement, the City of Lake Forest would hold and execute the master agreement with UIC for the
full $63,594.47 amount. The other NIBC communities have agreed to enter into Memorandums of
Understanding (MOU) with the City of Lake Forest to split the $63,594.47 evenly amongst all members of
the NIBC. Each community would pay a total of $5,781.32. Ultimately, The City of Lake Forest would be
reimbursed $57,813.15.
The City Council had discussion on benchmarking, issue vs. metric, partners who have opted out,the City of
Lake Forest taking the lead role, the expected future structure and the importance of apples to apples
comparison. Mayor Lansing asked if there was anyone from the public who would like to comment on the
issue. Seeing none, he asked for a motion.
COUNCIL ACTION: Approval of an agreement in substantially the form attached hereto with University of
Illinois at Chicago in the amount of $63,594.47 to provide data and benchmarking administrative support
to the Northern Illinois Benchmarking Cooperative.
Alderman Morris made a motion to approve of an agreement in substantially the form attached hereto with
University of Illinois at Chicago in the amount of $63,594.47 to provide data and benchmarking
administrative support to the Northern Illinois Benchmarking Cooperative, seconded by Alderman Beidler.
The following voted “Aye”: Alderman Beidler, Morris, Newman, Rummel, Tack, Reisenberg, Moreno, and
Buschmann. The following voted “Nay”: None. 8-Ayes, 0 Nays, motion carried.
8. ADDITIONAL ITEMS FOR COUNCIL DISCUSSION
9. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business. Alderman Rummel made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Alderman
Newman. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote at 8:24p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
Margaret Boyer, City Clerk
A video of the City Council meeting is available for viewing at the Lake Forest Library and on file in the Clerk’s
office at City Hall. You can also view it on the website by visiting www.cityoflakeforest.com. Click on I Want
To, then click on View, then choose Archived Meetings Videos.