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Home My Public Portal About01-05-2004 Village Meeting VILLAGE OF PLAINFIELD BOARD OF TRUSTEES VILLAGE MEETING MINUTES DATE: JANUARY 5,2004 AT: VILLAGE HALL BOARD PRESENT: RROCK, lWALDORF, M.COLLINS, K.O'CONNELL, P.FAY, RSWALWELL, AND S.THOMSON OTHERS PRESENT: S.JANIK, VILLAGE CLERK; lHARVEY, ATTORNEY; T.L.BURGHARD, ADMINISTRATOR; APERSONS, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR; lTESTIN, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR; C.MINICK, MANAGEMENT SERVICES DIRECTOR; D.BENNETT, CHIEF OF POLICE; S.LARSON, ENGINEER, AND M.GIBAS, RECORDING SECRETARY. Mayor Rock called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Mayor Rock led the pledge to the flag. Roll call was taken, all Trustees were present. There were approximately 20 persons in the audience. PRESIDENTIAL COMMENTS Trustee Waldorf moved to approve the Presidential Appointment of Stephen Calabrese to the Economic Development Commission for the term of 1/1/04 to 1/1/08. Seconded by Trustee Collins. Vote by roll call. O'Connell, yes; Thomson, yes; Fay, yes; Waldorf, yes; Collins, yes; Swalwell, yes. 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried. Mayor Rock thanked Mayor Art Schultz for his vision, cooperation, and leadership. Trustee Thomson moved to approve an amendment to the existing Joliet-Plainfield Boundary Agreement. Seconded by Trustee Waldorf. Vote by roll call. O'Connell, yes; Thomson, yes; Fay, yes; Waldorf, yes; Collins, yes; Swalwell, yes. 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried. TRUSTEE'S COMMENTS Trustee O'Connell thanked the Plainfield Preservation Society for the luminaries that were placed downtown. BUSINESS MEETING Trustee Waldorf moved to approve the Agenda. Seconded by Trustee Collins. Vote by roll call. O'Connell, yes; Thomson, yes; Fay, yes; Waldorf, yes; Collins, yes; Swalwell, yes. 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried. Trustee Collins moved to approve the Consent Agenda to include: Minutes of the Board Meeting of December 15, 2003; Bills Paid Report for January 5, 2004; Bills Payable Report for January 5,2004; Letter of Credit Reduction for Century Trace Subdivision, Unit 4D; Letter of Credit Reduction for Vintage Harvest, Units 1,2 & 3; Letter of Credit Reduction for King's Crossing Unit 1; and Letter of Credit Reduction for Dunmoor Estates. Seconded by Trustee Swalwell. Vote by roll call. O'Connell, yes; Thomson, yes; Fay, yes; Waldorf, yes; Collins, yes; Swalwell, yes. 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried. #3 LINCOLNSHIRE PRELIMINARY AND FINAL PLATS Mr. Jim Testin stated that this is consistent with the site plan approval that was done for Town Square. Trustee Fay expressed concern regarding stacking time, especially with the growth and the number of vehicles that will be in this area. Mr. Testin stated from a planning perspective the point that needs to be identified is to align the access road and that the access permits are currently at IDOT to be reviewed. Trustee Swalwell moved to approve the preliminary plat for the property located on the north side of Lockport Street and east of Van Dyke Road to allow 97.84 feet to be transferred to the Town Square Development subject to the 2 stipulations listed in the staff report. Seconded by Trustee Collins. Vote by roll call. O'Connell, yes; Thomson, yes; Fay, no; Waldorf, yes; Collins, yes; Swalwell, yes. 5 yes, 1 no. Motion carried. Trustee Waldorf moved to approve the Final Plat for the Habinger parcel subject to the 2 stipulations listed in the staff report. Seconded by Trustee Swalwell. Vote by roll call. O'Connell, yes; Thomson, yes; Fay, no; Waldorf, yes; Collins, yes; Swalwell, yes. 5 yes, 1 no. Motion carried. #4 STREAMS UNIT 2 FINAL PLAT Trustee Waldorf moved to approve the final plat for Unit 2 of the Streams Subdivision located west of Route 59 and south of Fraser Road and consisting of 106 single family units subject to the 3 stipulations listed in the staff report. Seconded by Trustee Swalwell. Mr. Testin stated this is not a PUD, it has been designed meeting the criteria of the Village. Vote by roll call. O'Connell, yes; Thomson, yes; Fay, yes; Waldorf, yes; Collins, yes; Swalwell, yes. 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried. #5 VAN DYKE ROAD STREETLIGHTS Mr. Persons explained to the Mayor and the Board that there have been numerous problems with Com Ed. In addition to delaying power for the Van Dyke Road streetlights, simple repairs of existing streetlights can take months. It was the direction of the Board to file a formal complaint with the Illinois Commerce Commission. Trustee Waldorf moved to direct the Administrator to file a formal complaint against Commonwealth Edison to the Illinois Commerce Commission. Seconded by Trustee Swalwell. Vote by roll call. O'Connell, yes; Thomson, yes; Fay, yes; Waldorf, yes; Collins, yes; Swalwell, yes. 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried. #6 EJ&E LICENSE AGREEMENT Trustee Collins moved to authorize the Mayor and the Village Clerk to execute a license agreement between the Village and the EJ&E Railroad to extend a sidewalk/bike path across the south side of Lockport Street east of Settlers' Park. Seconded by Trustee Swalwell. Vote by roll call. 0' Connell, yes; Thomson, yes; Fay, yes; Waldorf, yes; Collins, yes; Swalwell, yes. 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried. ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT Demolition Permits: Administrator Burghard reported that there has been some activity at the southwest corner of Route 126 and Route 59, where some of the land there is being cleared and in the process of clearing, the contractor damaged a house there. Subsequently, questions arose from the elected officials as well as some of the residents whether or not a demolition permit has been issued for that area. Administrator Burghard then informed the Mayor and the Board that a demolition permit has not been issued, but one has been recently applied for. In the Village's municipal code, if someone meets the parameters of that code, then the permit needs to be issued. There have been no plans or formal application submitted in regards to redevelopment. Trustee Fay stated something of this size to be started without any timeline or knowledge of the Village Board is deplorable. We have a Village Board that is not in control of this Village and it's high time that this Board regain some of that authority. To take a portion of this Village and to begin demolishing it is a sad testimony to who is in charge here. Trustee Fay suggested communication in every direction increase/improve/change to prevent such occurrences in the future. So that this does not become a precedent, we need to clearly and specifically look at an ordinance or revising of an ordinance or demolition permitting process. Trustee Swalwell stated that we need a historic preservation ordinance tied to a demolition ordinance and this is the reason we need to do that. Trustee Swalwell questioned whether or not there was a historically significant building on that property, and if so what are our options. As far as the demolition process, the owner is following the existing rules of the Village and has not done anything wrong. Mr. Jim Testin commented that staff is currently reviewing drafts of a historic preservation ordinance and it will be brought to a Workshop at the end of January. Trustee Collins stated he takes great exception to Trustee Fay's comments that the Board is running chaotic. Most of the members of the Board knew that one individual was buying all of the property. It caught people unaware when he started to cut down the trees, but a sign has been on the property for weeks. Trustee O'Connell stated she felt the Board should have seen some sort of redevelopment plans before the demolition actually started. Trustee Thomson stated he too felt the Board should have seen some sort of redevelopment plans and requested a moratorium on demolitions. Mr. Harvey stated that the Village does not have any authority to put property rights in limbo. Demolition permits are in the same section of the ordinance as building permits which are ministerial acts; if people meet the ordinance they are entitled to the permits. If we want to change our ordinance, we need to think about how we want our demolition process to read. We need to set standards and the ordinance needs to contain certain criteria. Mr. Michael Lambert, Arris Architects, stated that when his firm was hired to do the architectural guideline and Teng was asked to do the Master plan, that actual intersection was being considered for being included in the downtown plan. There was a meeting and an agreement between the professionals and Village staff that there were three untouchable buildings on that block. There was the former Quinn House, the brick colonial on the corner of Arnold and Division; the Dutch colonial that the trees have fallen on, and the building at 412 Main Street, which is the historically significant one. The other two are architecturally significant. There is a potential fourth building right behind 412 Main Street that Mr. Lambert stated he argued for but the other professionals did not agree. Mr. John Argoudelis, attorney for the owner, stated his client bought the eight homes in question. The owner entered into a contract to sell those eight homes and per the terms of the contract, the owner is responsible for the demolition. The owner then hired a contractor, while waiting for the demolition permit, the contractor removed some trees on the property. Mr. Argoudelis reassured the Board that they are working with Mr. Michael Lambert to address the historically significant property. Administrator Burghard stated that his office is in the process of reviewing the permit application and asked for Board direction on whether or not he should approve the permit. Trustee O'Connell, Trustee Waldorf, Trustee Collins, Trustee Thomson, and Trustee Swalwell agreed that the Village should abide by its current ordinance and issue the permit. Trustee Fay stated until this Board has an opportunity to revise the ordinance, we should withhold permitting. Train Whistle Regulations: Administrator Burghard reported that the Federal Railroad Administration published the "Interim Final Rule on Use of Locomotive Horns at Highway-Rail Grade Crossing" and reviewed some of the highlights. Chief Bennett stated that there is a public hearing tomorrow at Union Station and the traffic supervisor will be attending. MANAGEMENT SERVICES REPORT No Report. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT REPORT Mr. Jim Testin urged the community to write a letter to: Jeffrey S. Mark, Executive Secretary, Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, 525 West Jefferson Street, 2nd Floor, Springfield, IL 62761, to send a letter to the editor, or visit www.edward.org to show support for Edward Hospital. ENGINEER'S REPORT No Report. PUBLIC WORKS REPORT Trustee Waldorf moved to approve the receiving of bid proposals for the construction of a permanent traffic signal at 135th Street and Van Dyke Road. Seconded by Trustee Swalwell. Vote by roll call. O'Connell, yes; Thomson, yes; Fay, yes; Waldorf, yes; Collins, yes; Swalwell, yes. 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried. POLICE CHIEF'S REPORT Chief Bennett presented the November 2003 Operations Report. Trustee Collins suggested focusing on the thefts occurring at the construction sites. Chief Bennett informed the Board that there were 9 proposals received for the Law Enforcement Facility. Chief Bennett also informed the Board that the Citizen's Police and Fire Academy is scheduled to start on February 5, 2004. ATTORNEY'S REPORT No Report. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mr. Rick Burton, Summit Homes, informed the Board that they will be taking on the Corporation name of Lennar. Mr. John Cherry, 631 Park, urged the Board to do something about demolition. Mayor Rock reminded everyone of Coffee with the Mayor on January 7, the COW Workshop on January 12, and the next Board Meeting on January 19. Trustee Waldorf moved to adjourn. Seconded by Trustee Collins. Vote by roll call. O'Connell, yes; Thomson, yes; Fay, yes; Waldorf, yes; Collins, yes; Swalwell, yes. 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:32 p.m. Michelle Gibas, Recording Secretary Approved: Susan Janik, Village Clerk