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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08_16_04_ccCITY COUNCIL ROLL CALL - PRESENT: A Quorum was present. NOT PRESENT AT ROLL CALL: ABSENT: PRESIDING: Alderman Moran Alderman Tisdahl Alderman Rainey Alderman Wynne Alderman Kent Mayor Lorraine H. Morton August 16, 2004 Alderman Feldman Alderman Newman Alderman Jean -Baptiste Alderman Bernstein The OFFICIAL REGULAR MEETING of the City Council was called to order by Mayor Morton Monday, August 16, 2004, at 5:10 p.m. in the Aldermanic Library. Alderman Rainey moved that Council convene into Closed Session for the purpose of discussing matters related to personnel, litigation and closed session minutes pursuant to 5ILCS Section 120/2 (c) (1), (11) and (21). Seconded by Alderman Jean -Baptiste. (1) The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee to determine its validity. (11) Litigation, when an action against, affecting or on behalf of the particular public body has been filed and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal, or when the public body finds that an action is probable or imminent, in which case the basis for the finding shall be recorded and entered into the minutes of the closed meeting. (21) Discussion of minutes of meetings lawfully closed under this Act, whether for purposes of approval by the body of the minutes or semi-annual review of the minutes as mandated by Section 2.06. Roll call. Voting aye — Moran, Tisdahl, Rainey, Feldman, Newman, Jean -Baptiste, Bernstein. Voting nay — none. Motion carried (7-0). At 6:55 p.m. Alderman Feldman moved that Council reconvene into Open Session and recess. Seconded by Alderman Jean -Baptiste. Motion carried unanimouslv. Mayor Morton reconvened the City Council meeting at 9:10 p.m. in the Council Chamber. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Mayor Morton introduced Mayor David Fonseca and Councilwoman Yasmin Shoman from Sister City Belize City. Mayor Fonseca expressed appreciation for the work of the City Council and the Evanston Sister City Committee on behalf of the people of Belize, who have received technical training and humanitarian exchanges from Evanston. He thanked Evanston for helping to better the lives of Belizean and on behalf of Belizean citizens presented a plaque of appreciation to Mayor Morton for her leadership. Councilwoman Yasmin Shoman said that Evanston was as beautiful as ever; expressed gratitude for all the assistance rendered by Evanston and citizens to Belize City. She presented awards on behalf of the Belize City Mayor and Council to Sam Hunter, Valen Wittaker and Patricia Vance. Mayor Morton commended Outreach Specialist Aracely Canchola for coordinating the fourth community health fair at St. Nicholas Church, the largest to date. Public Works Director David Jennings announced that due to the Labor Day weekend, refuse, recycling and yard waste collection would be one day later the week of September 6. August 16, 2004 Parks/Forestry & Recreation Director Doug Gaynor announced that beach hours had been reduced due to staff shortages. Monday August 30 through Friday September 3, Lighthouse and Greenwood beaches will be open 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Clark Street and South Boulevard beaches will be closed all week; Lee Street Beach will be open 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday -Friday. All beaches will be open Labor Day weekend. Police Chief Frank Kaminski invited all to the CommUNITY Picnic Sunday, August 29, from noon to 5:00 p.m. in Ingraham Park (behind the Civic Center). It will be sponsored by the Evanston Kiwanis Club in conjunction with the City of Evanston Police Department and Human Relations Commission. Interim City Manager Judy Aiello announced that Saturday, September 11, would be non-profit organization day at the Farmers' Market; 41 organizations will provide information about their activities and opportunities to volunteer. Ms. Aiello reported that demolition of the Sherman Avenue Garage had begun that morning. COMMUNICATIONS: None CITIZEN COMMENT: Bettv Ester, 1806 Grey Ave., spoke about the request from the Evanston Development Corporation on July 28 regarding a TIF. She submitted information from the community to the City Clerk to give to the TIF consultant. She asked when the recommended proposal comes back on September 13 that the boundaries suggested by the community be considered. Gail Ettinger, 309 Davis St., 24-year resident, expressed disappointment with the Planning & Development Committee's decision not to support the recommendation of the Preservation Commission to grant landmark status to The Georgian. She found the process followed by the committee left out important points it should have examined before voting on the resolution before the City Council. She urged them not to suspend the rules and vote that evening. At the P&D Committee meeting several said timing of the application for landmark status was suspect and that those who supported landmark status were obstructionists. She was approached by Mary Leary last November, who told her about Mather's proposed project. She responded that they could not tear down The Georgian because it is part of the historic district. Ms. Leary told her it was not a landmark but any resident could apply to make it a landmark. She said the process used by the committee was not indicative of the process Evanston uses for community debate. No time was allowed for debate, cross examination or discussion leading to a better understanding of all sides of the issue. The agenda was tightly timed, which prevented a proper public forum. She did not think this broken process represented Evanston, which has a long history of working through issues. She asked the P&D Committee to investigate further. Jill Wortman, 411 Grove St., spoke on behalf of her family and 57 individuals who support landmark status of The Georgian. She urged them not to suspend the rules to adopt an ordinance introduced that evening; viewed the Georgian as a historic friend in their neighborhood. She stated The Georgian is the gateway to the City, which is becoming newer every day and an integral part of their neighborhood and community of children, elderly and middle-aged. She asked that Council make no decisions that evening and pay attention to what is said about the criteria and the process and to consider that the community surrounding The Georgian cares and will be present for more meetings to work together on something better than what they have now. Jeanne Lindwall, 625 Library Pl., urged Council not to suspend the rules that evening regarding Ordinance 70-0-04. She noted the Preservation Ordinance has a process for land marking and includes specific criteria that the Preservation Commission should consider when making its findings. After a public hearing, the Preservation Commission determined that The Georgian met two of the criteria in Section A, where one was required, along with Integrity Criterion B. The Commission then presented its findings in a report to the City Council. She stated that absent some evidence that the Preservation Commission got it wrong on the criteria, the P&D Committee (at its July 29 meeting) should have recommended approval of the application for landmark status for The Georgian. She noted that since 1994, when the most recent Preservation Ordinance was adopted, the recommendations of the Preservation Commission regarding land marking have never been rejected under circumstances less rigorous than those imposed during The Georgian hearings. This is not what happened despite the fact that no evidence was presented rebutting the commission's findings. Instead, one factor, which the P&D Committee seemed to mistakenly get caught up in, was whether Mather was entitled to an August 16, 2004 economic hardship exception. Whether (or not) The Georgian is entitled to an economic exception is not one of the criteria upon which landmark status can properly be granted or denied. Whether Mather is entitled to an economic exception only becomes relevant after landmark status is granted and requires its own separate process for consideration and challenge. Two broken processes are at issue: the process that requires landmark status for The Georgian if certain criteria are met. Here, the Preservation Commission has concluded that two of the appropriate criteria were met with no evidence rebutting these specific criteria. For the P&D Committee and City Council to ignore the evidence, under these circumstances, makes the process followed largely meaningless. Secondly, there is the process for determining whether a land marked property, such as The Georgian, is nevertheless entitled to be exempted from some or all of the Preservation Ordinance's requirements. She suggested it was this process they believe Mather LifeWays wants to avoid. Why? Because they believe that once the community understands the true financial picture and motivation of Mather, that would change the picture and discussion considerably. Jonathan Fiske, 2319 Sherman Ave., was the most recent 1st Ward alderman prior to Alderman Newman; served on Council when the current Zoning Ordinance was adopted and the current Preservation Ordinance was discussed. He noted there are many references in the Zoning Ordinance and in the Comprehensive General Plan of the important role that preservation plays in maintaining the quality of life and economic viability of Evanston and its neighborhoods. The Preservation Ordinance states that identification and designation of new landmarks should be actively pursued by the Preservation Commission and public. It was obvious to City Council that not all landmarks had been identified at that time. The ordinance does not specify when a landmark nomination should be submitted. He said it was absurd to assert that residents are obstructing the developer's right to tear down The Georgian because they submitted the nomination a month after Mather LifeWays revealed its plans. A specific process was established in the ordinance for consideration of new landmarks that has not been followed. Instead the bar has been raised for these applicants and the ordinance redefined inappropriately. Citizens have attended all meetings and respected the process. They have spoken to the issues and provided expert testimony. They have met the standards that were set and done so at considerable financial cost. The public has a right to rely on the processes established by the Council and ordinances and that the process not be subverted. Regardless of motives, this subversion of process raises questions that must be answered. He urged them to hold onto what is good in Evanston and respect the quality of life and their neighborhoods. Judv Fiske, 2319 Sherman Ave., said if they had read the complete record of the proceedings before the Preservation Commission then they would be aware that nationally recognized architects, such as Tom Rajkovich and Michael Lykoudis, Dean of the School of Architecture at Notre Dame University, consider The Georgian an important building and urged its protection. Legendary architects, Thomas Tallmadge and Dwight Perkins considered The Georgian an important building and featured it in their magazine. She and other have been disappointed with the process. Recently some architectural historians said they were contacted by Mather LifeWays inquiring about Albert Hecht, the Georgian's architect. The historians told Mather LifeWays that Mr. Heckt was well known for buildings he designed in Chicago and that many of his buildings are in historic districts in Chicago, Evanston and throughout the country. Dennis Langley of Weiss Langley Weiss, a respected architect and expert in the field of senior housing and adaptive re -use, inspected The Georgian at the request of a member of the Planning & Development Committee. He testified before the P&D Committee that The Georgian could be rehabbed successfully with parking and a swimming pool, resulting in a better facility with larger better quality units with more natural light and fresh air than the replacement building that Mather proposes to build. Mr. Langley said, "you just don't tear down a building like this." She asked why preservation architects aren't speaking out on behalf of The Georgian. Unfortunately, the reason is that Mather conflicted many of them by contracting for their services and refusing to pay them until they signed confidentiality agreements not to testify about The Georgian. Why? Because these architects told Mather LifeWays the Georgian ought to be preserved, that it is architecturally significant, should be a landmark and meets the criterion for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, a view shared by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. As recently as last week, residents continued to contact neighbors saying they don't want it torn down and support efforts to save The Georgian. It was from a call for help from a Georgian resident last fall that alerted people to Mather's plans to demolish it. If they want to label people as "obstructionists" they should start with residents of The Georgian who love their building and don't want to see it destroyed. Mitchell Harrison, 1519 Judson Ave., said The Georgian should be land marked; asked Council to think about what they are going to do. Look around in Evanston since the Washington National building was torn down and the Whole Foods tower was put up. If it had not been for Aldermen Newman and Wynne, he suggested there would be even more hideous things happening along Chicago Avenue. Once a building is gone, it is gone forever. Evanston has changed dramatically August 16, 2004 and many good things have happened as well as bad things. He thought it a significant building; listened to the architectural experts and is biased because he lives across the street from this beautiful building and garden. It deserves to be preserved and to be adaptively re -used. John Stevan, 1519 Hinman Ave., came to Evanston because he believes it is a unique, exciting and vigorous place to live. He loves his neighbors at The Georgian and respects the greatest generation because none of people's lives would be the same without them. His grandmother lived at The Georgian and someday he will too. He understood the historic district was drawn so that multi -family buildings could not be included due to government rules. He suggested there be a yellow line down the middle of Hinman that says do not pass this line, you are messing with history. Evanston, under the stewardship of this Council, has taken a tremendous leap forward and it is now a fun and invigorated place. He intends to spend the rest of life here. They cannot throw away one of Evanston's best assets and that is the historic district, with The Georgian its gateway. This will keep restaurants full, people shopping in stores and people moving here. The business of Evanston is generating taxes and this will help as will people who make Evanston a destination. He praised Council for turning the City around but is solidly against tearing down The Georgian because that will change the face of Evanston. Will they be happy when their grandchildren ask them if they took part in tearing down history? Jeff Turk. 1519 Hinman Ave., lives in the closest building to the Georgian and the property most affected by this decision. When he came to Evanston he purchased a condominium in an elegant building in an architecturally coherent community. He purchased only weeks before the developer's at the Mather made this potentially destructive announcement to tear down the Georgian. When he came here he thought he had a reasonable expectation that it would not be ripped down, zoning laws would be followed and the expectation that the best interest of neighboring property owners would be respected. He said the inevitable consequences of the destruction of The Georgian are the numerous zoning variations and extremely liberal interpretations that Mather LifeWays has applied for. He asked the aldermen to imagine if their neighbor tore down their 80-year-old home and wanted to put up new building 10-feet from their bedroom window. That is what the developer of the Mather wants to do to him. He no longer expects The Georgian to anchor his neighborhood but has an expectation that zoning laws will be followed. He has a reasonable expectation that neighboring property owners will be kept in mind and a new hope that whatever building takes The Georgian's place will do the neighborhood justice. Matt Wvnia. 2343 Ridge Ave., praised the Human Services Committee for their work on the medical waste incinerator. The effort to eliminate medical waste incineration has taken a great deal of residents' time and is a total grassroots effort. Citizens believe the seriousness with which the committee took this issue and the deliberations that occurred were gratifying. The committee's approach was reasonable, prudent and rapid. The community wants aldermen to recognize that the timeline is important and to keep the process moving. They hope the hospital is using the time to close the incinerator in a rapid fashion. Toward the end of the meeting, questions arose about licensing and permits that are required. They hope the hospital is looking into those issues. Citizens called Illinois EPA and the hospital had made no inquiries about permits. Citizens believe a request for a permit would be met by a rapid response and remain hopeful that medical waste incinerator can be eliminated in Evanston in a timely manner. James Genden. 1213 Noyes St., attended the Administration & Public Works Committee meeting and was pleased to learn of the enthusiasm for fungicide injections of City elm trees. At his home they have four elms and one elm on the parkway. Two elms were marked ten years ago as having the disease and they started having them injected and were saved. Fungicide works. He checked his records and found his cost between tree insurance, trimming and injections was roughly $1,800 a year for the past five -ten years to save the elms. They were told the elm on the parkway is stressed. He will pay between $500-700 to protect the City's elm tree and that may not work unless work is done on his neighbor's tree on the parkway because the trees are too close together. He noted these are large financial burdens to expect individual citizens to take care of that benefit the whole City and add to the quality of life. Once a tree is diseased and removed it cannot ever be replaced. Estimates have been made that, over the long run, not even talking about quality of life, they will come out even or ahead if they take preventative measures. He suggested the City should actively support tree injections, because they cannot expect individuals to take this financial responsibility on their own. CONSENT AGENDA (Any item marked with an Asterisk*) Alderman Feldman moved Council approval of the Consent Agenda with these exceptions: annual excess insurance August 16, 2004 coverage for Workers' Compensation; bid from Gewalt Hamilton Associates for engineering services for water/sewer main improvements; Ordinance 76-0-04 - Motorized/Motor-Assisted Vehicles; Ordinance 78-0-04 - Increase in Class B 1 Liquor Licenses - Bar Louie; Ordinance 79-0-04 - Decrease in Class B Liquor Licenses - Bar Louie; Resolution 44- R-04 - Reject Preservation Commission Recommendation; Ordinance 70-0-04 - The Georgian, 422 Davis St. and Ordinance 65-0-04 — Zoning Planned Development — 801 Chicago/525 Kedzie. Seconded by Alderman Rainey. Roll call. Voting aye — Moran, Tisdahl, Rainey, Feldman, Newman, Jean -Baptiste, Wynne, Bernstein. Voting nay — none. Motion carried (8-0). * ITEMS APPROVED ON CONSENT AGENDA MINUTES: * Approval of Minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting of July 26, 2004. * APPROVED - CONSENT AGENDA MOTION AND ROLL CALL (8-0) ADMINISTRATION & PUBLIC WORKS: * Approval, as recommended, of the City of Evanston payroll for the periods ending July 29, 2004 and August 12, 2004 and City of Evanston bills for the period ending August 17, 2004 authorized and charged to the proper accounts: City of Evanston payroll (through 7/29/04) $2,143,905.05 City of Evanston payroll (through 8/12/04) $2,193,991.15 City of Evanston bills (through 8/17/04) $3,546,536.99 * APPROVED - CONSENT AGENDA MOTION AND ROLL CALL (8-0). * Approval of the sole -source purchase from SIRSI Corporation for the purchase of data software migration services for the Library to join Cooperative Computer Services at a cost of $42,018. (Funded in the Library's operating budget.) APPROVED -CONSENT AGENDA MOTION & ROLL CALL (8-0) * Approval of the lowest responsive and responsible bid from Wachs Utility Services for the Valve Exercise Program at a cost of $27,035. (Funded by Water Fund.) * APPROVED -CONSENT AGENDA MOTION & ROLL CALL (8-0) * Approval of the lowest responsive and responsible bid from Kenny Construction Company for the 2004 Cast in Place Pipe (CIPP) lining contract at a cost of $228,850. (Funded in the Water Fund.) * APPROVED -CONSENT AGENDA MOTION & ROLL CALL (8-0) * Approval of Change Order #4 for Police/Fire Headquarters, increase of $127,287 to Central Lakes Construction's original contract of $3,357,880 and an amended contract price of $3,699,167. (Funded in CIP.) * APPROVED - CONSENT AGENDA MOTION & ROLL CALL (8-0) NONE * Resolution 41-R-04 - Authorizine a Loan to Evanston Township - Consideration of proposed Resolution 41-R-04, which authorizes a loan to Evanston Township with offices located at 1910 Main St. * APPROVED -CONSENT AGENDA MOTION & ROLL CALL (8-0) * Resolution 43-R-04 - Authorizine a Loan to Evanston Township - Consideration of proposed Resolution 43-R-04, which authorizes the Township to enter into an agreement with the City of Evanston and receive the loan when appropriate. * APPROVED -CONSENT AGENDA MOTION & ROLL CALL (8-0) * Resolution 42-R-04 - Authorizine the Citv Manager to sign a lease agreement - Consideration of proposed Resolution 42-R-04, which authorizes the Interim City Manager to enter into a lease agreement for the east apartment in the Municipal Service Center, 2020 Asbury Ave. * APPROVED -CONSENT AGENDA MOTION & ROLL CALL (8-0) August 16, 2004 * Ordinance 86-0-04 - Amendine Section 7-2-9 - Reeulatins Parkwav Use on Central St. for the &h of July Parade - Consideration of proposed Ordinance 86-0-04, which amends Section 7-2-9 of the City Code regulating parkway use on Central Street for the 4`h of July parade. * MARKED INTRODUCED — CONSENT AGENDA * Ordinance 89-0-04 - Amendine 3-5-6(D) to Decrease the Number of Class D Liauor Licenses - Consideration of proposed Ordinance 89-0-04, which amends 3-5-6(D) to decrease the number of Class D liquor licenses from 25 to 24 due to the closing of Blue Sapphire, 1709 Benson Ave. MARKED INTRODUCED — CONSENT AGENDA * Ordinance 36-0-04 - Amendiniz Section 9-6-1 of Title 9, Chanter 6, Pertainine to Curfew - Consideration of proposed Ordinance 36-0-04, introduced July 26, 2004, which amends Section 9-6-1 of Title 9, Chapter 6, pertaining to the City's curfew ordinance to address First Amendment rights in accordance with a Federal Court decision. * ADOPTED CONSENT AGENDA & ROLL CALL (8-0) * Ordinance 74-0-04 - Amending Section 9-5-11 to prohibit public urination and defecation - Consideration of proposed Ordinance 74-0-04, introduced July 26, 2004, which amends Section 9-5- 11 of the City Code to prohibit urinating or defecating in public. * ADOPTED CONSENT AGENDA & ROLL CALL 8-0. PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT: * 540-548 Weslev Ave. Re -subdivision - Consideration of a recommendation by the Site Plan & Appearance Review Committee to grant approval of a re -subdivision plat for property at 540-548 Wesley Ave. * APPROVED -CONSENT AGENDA MOTION & ROLL CALL (8-0) HUMAN SERVICES: * ADDroval of the Julv 2004 Township Monthly Bills - Consideration of a recommendation to approve the Township bills, payroll and medical payments for the month of July 2004 in the amount of $99,874.16. * APPROVED -CONSENT AGENDA MOTION & ROLL CALL (8-0) * Resolution 39-R-04 - Authorizine an Intergovernmental Agreement to Drovide for an Inteerated Information Svstem - Consideration of proposed Resolution 39-R-04, which authorizes the Interim City Manager to sign an Intergovernmental Agreement with Cooperative Computer Services for the Evanston Public Library. * APPROVED -CONSENT AGENDA MOTION & ROLL CALL (8-0) * Ordinance 88-0-04 - Amends Section 4-10-3 (B) to Prohibit Incinerators - Consideration of proposed Ordinance 88-0-04, which amends Section 4-10-3 (B) of the City Code prohibiting the operation of hospital/medical/infectious waste incinerators. * MARKED INTRODUCED — CONSENT AGENDA OTHER COMMITTEES: * The North Shore Convention & Visitors Bureau - Consideration of approval of the recommendation of the Economic Development Committee for funding the North Shore Convention & Visitors Bureau with $60,000 for fiscal year 2004-05. * APPROVED -CONSENT AGENDA MOTION & ROLL CALL (8-0) REPORT OF THE STANDING COMMITTEES ADMINISTRATION & PUBLIC WORKS: August 16, 2004 Alderman Jean -Baptiste explained that $147,646.01 to Pan -Oceanic Engineering Co., was held due to apparent employment discrimination practices and was still being investigated. Alderman Jean -Baptiste reported that the final quote for the annual excess insurance coverage for workers compensation had not been received and was held in committee. Alderman Jean -Baptiste moved approval of the lowest responsive and responsible bid from Gewalt Hamilton Associates, Inc. for engineering services for water and sewer main improvements for $366,715. Seconded by Alderman Feldman. Alderman Moran voted against this recommendation in committee and recommended they not vote in favor of this firm pending further work and clarification on the bids. He said in a ranking, Exhibit 1, indicated according to past performance, that Gewalt Hamilton ranked 6, where another firm ranked 10, the highest and was the third lowest ranked of nine bidders. On organization and completeness of proposal, with a maximum of 15 points, Gewalt Hamilton was ranked significantly below another bidder. Cost to complete services had a ranking weight of 20 points, Gewalt Hamilton received all 20 and another bidder got 7.5. The cumulative total between the two bidders was a difference of 1.5 points, with 86 to Gewalt Hamilton and 84.5 to MWH Americas. He found a lack of an analytical approach in these recommendations. The MWH Americas bid was approximately $100,000 more than Gewalt Hamilton, which was one- third more than Gewalt Hamilton's bid. Presumably on a proportionate basis, that would mean if Gewalt Hamilton got 20 points, MWH Americas would have gotten 15 points and would have made MWH Americas the winner in total ranking by ten or more points. When asked how it was that MWH Americas was awarded 7.5 points, the description was almost impossible to comprehend. One person said the difference should be $10,000 per point but there was no indication that was part of the structure, which seemed to be arbitrary point, and multiplied it by ten. The winning bid is $366,715. Of the nine bids, there were four that were at least $100,000 more than that. It is the Council's duty to award the bid to the best and lowest bidder. He questioned whether the winning bid was the best and lowest bid, which has to be a combination of those two. Somehow half of the bidders bid at a level of $100,000 over that. At least one bidder that has done an incredibly large amount of work on the long-range sewer improvement program has lost in the process through the application of an analysis of the bids that did not make sense. He did not know how they could conclude this is the lowest and best bid. He asked at the committee that there be further explanation but the sense of the committee was not to wait but to discuss the policy in the future. The recommended bidder bid $366,715 with other bids up to $600,000 having to do with water main construction throughout the City and an important public works project. He thought Council was entitled to a better explanation about how this recommendation came forth. He recommended no approval that evening and that Council gather more facts to determine the best bid. Alderman Rainey said both she and Alderman Moran had the same information and her position was diametrically opposed to his. She noted frequently they have issues when too few bids come in or some bidders are not qualified. Here they had nine responses and staff did a tremendous job of analyzing the bids. They have a bidder that staff recommended, Gewalt Hamilton, who was the second lowest bidder. The bidder Alderman Moran spoke of bid $470,902 and Gewalt Hamilton bid $110,000 less. Staff explained in detail how they arrived at the rankings. Alderman Rainey said all on the committee were familiar with Gewalt Hamilton who have been on many projects and are qualified to do this work. The lowest bidder was not qualified to do the job. Gewalt Hamilton had 9 points in qualifications and experience. MWH Americas, who is Harza, has been given jobs to engineer all the sewer jobs and been given millions of dollars a year. MWH Americas came in with a higher bid so this is a simple vote. These are the engineers who will design the sewers and they are more than qualified to do the work; in business since 1981 and they have done work in many other municipalities. She thought this proposal had been presented as clearly as possible and urged Council to vote for this. Alderman Jean -Baptiste said a suggested compromise, since staff told them there were no consistent objective measures to determine what constituted some of the points, created confusion with some alderman who questioned the basis of qualifying the contractor. Gewalt Hamilton has done consistently good work and is why they were the best firm. Staff admitted that some explanations were subjective. Since they don't feel there would be an injustice by having Gewalt Hamilton receive the bid and doing this work for the City, they will go forward with staff s recommendation. This will be a discussion item for the next meeting to determine the basis for choosing the best contractor when they have lowest bidder and other qualifications such as past performance, project manager and staff, organization completeness of proposal, etc., with a certain number of points. These are categories that are not necessarily objective. In the future they could choose a contractor due to lack of objectivity. He urged they vote yes and work through a policy to guide them August 16, 2004 to determine who the best contractor is. Alderman Feldman agreed with the two prior speakers that they should pass this but cautioned them about their desire for objectivity. He said they hire people with a great deal of knowledge of an industry and they look at jobs done by a group of people and determine whether they are pertinent to this experience, and if pertinent, what kind of a job they did and if they did a good job, how many points should that be. He said there is no objectivity to that and that is why they (staff) do the evaluation and he does not. He suggested that people who judge this are experienced in doing that work and there could even be differences among those. He urged them not to ask for mathematical formulas when they are making professional decisions based upon experience and knowledge of the work to be done. Alderman Newman noted that MWH Americas is Harza. He said that staff recommended Harza for seven -eight years, which made millions. In that process, there was never bidding, and now for the first time, Harza goes through a bidding process and are not the low bid. Now that same the staff recommended Gewalt Hamilton. He supported Alderman Rainey's comments. Harza does fine work, but this time had competition. Staff was probably right to give Harza a lot of business. He urged them to move on. Alderman Tisdahl was nervous about changing a process after bids were in and preferred sticking with staff s recommendation. Alderman Moran said this is not like buying paper clips but is a contract for professional services. All understand that with contracts for professional services and significant public works projects such as the sewer renovation, that they get what they pay for. To determine what they are getting for what they pay for, they go through an analysis of the companies that are bidding for the job. It is critically important to make a judgment on the relative merits of the bidders. There are four categories out of seven in which MWH Americas' scores beat Gewalt Hamilton relating to professional competence. MWH Americas rated better on qualifications and experience. They were rated almost twice as good on past performance. He had never heard of Gewalt Hamilton. He noted they have not done work for Evanston as was claimed by Alderman Rainey. On project manager and staff, MWH Americas rated better than GewaltHamilton. On organization and completeness of proposal, MWH Americas was rated better than Gewalt Hamilton was. When they get to cost, Gewalt Hamilton got 20 points on a $366,715 bid compared to MWH Americas' $460,000 bid, which got 7.5 points. Why did they not receive 15 points, which would have given them 7.5 more points and they would have won the bid. He noted in Exhibit 1, 6.5 out of 10 for Gewalt Hamilton and MWH Americas 10 out of 10. When he asked about this, he was told the group that got together had changed their mind, which was not indicated. Nobody said anything until that evening about going from 6.5 out of 10 to 9 out of 10 until that evening. He said if they looked at this on face value, it did not make sense. He did not like awarding a large contract that is based upon unsupportable criteria that they were told applied to this situation. He stated it did not add up. Mayor Morton asked if Gewalt Hamilton had not worked for Evanston how they got a rating for past performance? Other municipalities were called where Gewalt Hamilton had provided services. She asked if all past performances were based upon references? Public Works Director David Jennings said that staff had not made clear how Exhibit 1 fit into the process. H explained that Exhibit 1 was a rating based on the paper proposals of companies that responded to a request for proposal (RFP). Companies send in a presentation and those are ranked to determine who they will interview. They will not interview nine consultants for this job. They look to see who is qualified and go through this process. They took the top four out of those rankings and interviewed them. In that interview they go over their past performance, see how they interact, talk about their past history especially with field people who will observe the work, which is critical in water main work. They give bidders a written test and ask them to figure out how they would design and install a particular water main. They also are asked to bring in examples of their plans to see similar work. Of the four interviewed, Gewalt Hamilton was the best in their minds. There was not a second table that re -ranks after the interviews were done, which was an omission. The interview was with the field people to get an example designed in front of staff and look at plans of other projects. Then after interviewing all, they agreed Gewault Hamilton was the best. Next they called people they had worked for and asked if they had done a good job, finished on time and did quality work. That is what went into the final analysis. August 16, 2004 Roll call. Voting aye — Tisdahl, Rainey, Feldman, Newman, Jean -Baptiste, Wynne, Bernstein. Voting nay — Moran. Motion carried (7-1). Ordinance 76-0-04 - Amending Section 10-1-9-6 Reeardin2 Certain Motorized and Motor- Assisted Vehicles - Consideration of proposed Ordinance 76-0-04, which amends Section 10-1-9-6 of the City Code prohibiting the operation of motorized or motor -assisted skateboards and scooters. Alderman Jean -Baptiste reported that this item was held in committee. There were questions whether this included Segway scooters. Ordinance 78-0-04 — Increase in Class BILiquor Licenses — Consideration of proposed Ordinance 78-0-04, introduced July 12, 2004, which amends Section 3-5-6(B 1) to increase the number of Class B 1 licenses by one from 6 to 7 for Bar Louie, 1520 Sherman Ave. Alderman Jean -Baptiste moved approval. Seconded by Alderman Moran. Alderman Newman asked if there was any discussion of how late they could sell alcohol at their outdoor caf6. Alderman Feldman recalled at the last meeting a discussion about conduct and behavior was suggested. A report was submitted. Alderman Newman was told after the last meeting that liquor cannot be sold after 9:30 p.m. at an outdoor caf6. He wondered if granting Bar Louie a 3:00 a.m. license, would people be inside the establishment? Management & Budget Director Pat Casey explained the current ordinance prohibits serving of alcoholic beverages in outdoor cafes after 9:30 p.m. weekdays and 10:30 p.m. weekends. Alderman Newman asked if this was enforced? Mr. Casey stated the City would look at enforcing this law. Alderman Jean -Baptiste read about the number of police calls for the area in the Council minutes and asked if the calls are reported in the Evanston Review. The Review selects what is reported. He had not received such a report. He suggested that aldermen be provided with the police calls to that area so they know what is going on in order to shape policy to abate problems. Mayor Morton said getting raw data without some analysis was not helpful. The data needs to be synthesized to really understand where complaints come from and if they are true. She noted that aldermen receive police reports. Alderman Jean -Baptiste said that there is no analysis — most are not found guilty before the report comes out. He said the reason for getting the reports is so they can act or shape policy. In the 2nd Ward if he knows certain things are going on, they try to mobilize the neighbors to act on that. He stated he was not only alderman of the 2nd Ward but of the City, so if certain sections of town are being impacted, he wanted to know about it and discuss whether it is isolated or a trend. Alderman Rainey explained she had asked for and received a printout of the calls for service for the 800 block of Grove and the 1500 block of Sherman, which showed raw data. When she gets calls for service, for example, for the 1700 block of Dobson and sees that there were 10 calls within a month to her house because of loud parties, she does not need to see the rate of convictions. She knows that the number of calls to that address means there are problems and she did not need analysis. She noted there were hundreds of calls having to do with the concentration of establishments that sell liquor at that intersection. She found knowing this information has made her more frustrated than before. She said all they could do is refuse to add to the number of 3:00 a.m. liquor license holders. Given the information aldermen have received that should happen and she would vote against giving Bar Louie a 3:00 a.m. license. She did not like discriminating against one versus another and had asked that licenses for renewal come to the A&PW Committee for review about a year ago. Some had to have come up for renewal in that time. It seemed to her that with all the wonderful activity in downtown Evanston, there would be a point at that intersection where police calls go over the boundary and result in a negative impact. People can go into that intersection so many times without seeing police cars. If somebody goes downtown late at night for a drink or for dinner, one is bound to see police cars there. The calls range from people who have had their wallet stolen to somebody lying in front of an establishment bloody from a fight. She asked for the calls to determine what is going on and the impact on their liquor policy. 10 August 16, 2004 Alderman Newman stated that there are 50-60,000 calls for service from police here annually. There is no way aldermen can receive every call. He thought the issue with downtown liquor licenses was that something has happened. Owners think they will get a 3:00 a.m. license and he was not sure what responsibility these establishments feel for dealing with the some of these incidents. He agreed with Alderman Rainey and did not think they should give another 3:00 a.m. license. Based upon the number of calls and the cost to the community, there is an officer on every call. He recalled somebody advocating liberalizing liquor laws so the City could gain revenue and did not think they would end up making more money. More taxes are generated but more service has to be rendered. He thought selling alcohol outside at 3:00 a.m. was even worse but evidently that won't be allowed. He suggested they not expand liquor licenses until they have a handle on the problem. Police calls illustrate that. He reported the 1800 Club plans to build a tent over their outdoor cafe due to concern about noise. He said it was hard to treat Bar Louie differently. He thought establishments could live with 2:00 a.m. licenses until Council gets a handle on problems and, by denying some of these requests, will send a message to these establishments that they must take some responsibility for what is happening. Alderman Feldman spoke about the limited capacity of Council to deal with this issue. They cannot revoke a license or discipline anyone. All they can do is not expand licenses. He said if they have seven licenses out, they cannot reduce the number until somebody gives one up. Alderman Feldman said there are many transfers of licenses and new owners get the licenses transferred. Mr. Casey explained that on a transfer of license, the business follows the same procedure as if they just opened the establishment. He explained that Council has the discretion not to increase the number of licenses. In this case they don't have to increase the number from six to seven. Alderman Feldman said if that is all they can do, they should do that. Alderman Bernstein asked if Council could not alter an existing statute. Mr. Casey said they could change a B1 license to a 2:30 a.m. license but would have to investigate before giving a 100% answer. Alderman Bernstein does not support criminal behavior, but to be fair, he would vote for an extension to Bar Louie because Council has given the 3:00 a.m. license to adjacent owners. He wanted to enforce liquor violations and implored the liquor commissioner to do so. He has disagreed with her on enforcement, where he thought licenses could have been suspended and were not. There is a concentration downtown and they have worked to bring a critical mass of people to that area so it is likely there would be more calls. He wanted to minimize calls but did not want to single out and roll back what was fair to a restaurant where they cannot determine the genesis of police calls. These establishments are in his ward and he has not had a lot of complaints from neighbors. He wants to address problems appropriately and if they are abusing their privilege to sell liquor, yank their tag. They have done this with Type 2 restaurants that don't follow a litter plan. Alderman Rainey said if he had read the 25 pages of police calls, he would have noted that about a quarter of them were from Bar Louie. She pointed out the alternative to not granting the license would be to reward them and did not think rewarding was proper. She suggested they table this for 90-days and look at calls for police service for that time. They would not be in a position to deny their license. She was curious about the hearing by the liquor commissioner to give this new license to Bar Louie. She asked if there was another hearing when they step up a license; did not think they could yank anybody's tag. Mayor Morton explained that the only thing the liquor commissioner does is to examine whether applicants for a liquor license are good citizens and whether or not have a criminal record. The recommendation is based on that and to make sure the managers have been checked out. After the liquor commissioner decides the applicant is okay, that goes before Council and the Council decides if they want that establishment that sells liquor in the area applied for. The commissioner has nothing to do with the place, only with the people. When revoking or suspending a license, there must be evidence that will stand up in court. She recalled 15 restrictions were placed on one establishment that had to report back to the liquor commissioner. Alderman Bernstein was concerned with who gets to keep a liquor license. He recalled an incident in which an establishment served 19 underage persons on a given night; these underaged persons appeared before Administrative Adjudication and admitted they had been served alcohol. The restrictions imposed there were not sufficient to send a message that the holder of a liquor license has responsibilities. He made a reference to the A&PW Committee to Ret Council to see to the extent that Council can invoke themselves in the process. He knew that state statute gives great latitude to the liquor commissioner, but aldermen take the heat and approve the licenses. If it means they roll back all 11 August 16, 2004 licenses, he wants that authority. Mayor Morton asked Alderman Bernstein to review the number of people present and noted that some were there for different reasons. She has the records, which she would share with him. Alderman Jean -Baptiste said with all this confusion aldermen don't know the extent of their powers. They are frustrated because this has gone on. He was not advocating any kind of roll back but suggested they have something they can act on. He agreed that there was something, perhaps, the liquor commission could do. They will get legal advice as to how the commissioner can exercise greater power. He suggested until they get clear on any other power and things begin to improve, that they vote "no" that evening. Alderman Newman said they went through this serious issue at the last meeting; suggested the system was broken. He understood the liquor commissioner deals with conduct and they are legislators who make rules in terms of what the licenses will be. In 13 years on the Council he has never seen one license holder disciplined. So the liquor license holders know that not much happens with the liquor commissioner. He noted they have these police reports and asked who is investigating conduct to see whether a license holder is responsible? He did not know that anybody is. His problem is that this should have been laid out for them. Tell aldermen the powers of the liquor commissioner and powers of the Council. He said they heard a little about outdoor caf6s. Why should they expand a license for Bar Louie until they understand the problem. People in the 1st Ward have called about noise and incidents. He suggested they ask the City Manager's office and not expand a license until they have the answers. Alderman Rainey said when Evanston began issuing liquor licenses, it was drilled into them that issuing a liquor license is a privilege, not a right and a lucrative license to have. To award an hour is a privilege they don't deserve and when a police car is sent to a bar, more than one is sent. When police are at a bar downtown, they are not on Monroe St., where a car got bashed in or in Brummel Park or in the 2°d Ward. They aren't at Church/Dodge they are at Grove/Sherman. Taxpayers can have better use made of their money. Not wanting to stigmatize any business, Alderman Bernstein moved to table the item. Seconded by Alderman Rainey. Motion carried. No nays. Ordinance 79-0-04 — Decrease in Class B Liauor Licenses — Consideration of proposed Ordinance 79-0-04, introduced July 12, 2004, which amends Section 3-5-6(B) to decrease the number of Class B liquor licenses by one from 12 to 11 for Bar Louie, 1520 Sherman Ave. Alderman Newman moved to table this ordinance. Seconded by Alderman Rainey. Motion carried. No nays. PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT: Ordinance 70-0-04 - The Georgian, 422 Davis St. - Consideration of a recommendation and report from the Preservation Commission to nominate The Georgian as a City landmark. Alderman Wynne asked that 70-0-04 be marked introduced. Alderman Wynne moved to Suspend the Rules to adopt Ordinance 70-0-04 at the meeting in which it was introduced. Seconded by Alderman Bernstein. Alderman Wynne explained that members of the P&D Committee voted 5-0 to reject the Preservation Commission's recommendation and thought that sufficient. Corporation Counsel advised them that if they did not accept the ordinance, they would have to take an additional step to reject it. Assistant Corporation Counsel Ellen Szymanski explained that the Preservation Ordinance stands on its own in a rather unique manner when it deals with landmark designation. In ordinary cases, when they have a recommendation from a board or commission such as ZBA to approve a matter and it comes to Council and Council declines to approve, it simply does not get the votes and it is over. In this case, the Preservation Ordinance says that if a landmark designation is to be rejected it must be done by resolution. Council must take a second affirmative step by resolution to reject. Alderman Newman reported taking three hours to read the transcript of the hearing. The P&D Committee met July 29 12 August 16, 2004 on the matter and the consensus was 5-0 to reject the ordinance to landmark The Georgian. There are time limits on acting on the matter. They thought there would be a simple resolution to deny. Legal staff advised that they wanted an introduction and then denial of approval. If somebody wishes to hold it over they may do so. Roll call. Voting aye — Moran, Tisdahl, Rainey, Feldman, Newman, Jean -Baptiste, Wynne, Bernstein. Voting nay — none. Motion carried (8-0). Alderman Wynne moved approval of Ordinance 70-0-04. Seconded by Alderman Bernstein. Alderman Newman explained that the Preservation Commission vote was 4-1, so they were divided. There are many legitimate reasons that The Georgian ought to be a landmark. However, when the standards are examined, there is another viewpoint. Evidence was presented on both sides. After thinking about this for a long time and seeing how this application came about, he did not think The Georgian should be land marked. There was evidence on the architect and the standards and they looked at them. He said it was a similar thing on the Northeast Historic District, where they had extensive hearings at the Preservation Commission. At the committee meeting instead of having everyone repeat everything that was said, they did some time management (otherwise, it made reading the transcript a waste of time). They gave each side an opportunity to summarize their position, gave the public a chance to speak and did it in one evening. When Council voted for the Northeast Historic District they did not have a broken process. This time there was disagreement, so it was alleged the process was broken. He said it was the same process. The Preservation Commission made a recommendation, which was rejected because the committee felt that the proponents had not carried the day. Supporting denial of landmark status was not a vote on the project. He stated there are serious zoning issues that confront the neighborhood on The Georgian and Mather. There will be a lot of discussion about the amount of development being proposed. Who would not understand the community being apprehensive about buildings proposed and being taken down, considering what has gone up downtown where people have had serious disagreements. He understands that the people who came have real concerns. He supported all of the Preservation Commission's recommendations. Reasonable people come to different conclusions. He thought the Northeast Historic District was a tremendous decision, while some thought it a bad one. He said they thought about it, looked at the standards and the process was not broken. The standards were not met. He respects proponents for landmark status. He has been in The Georgian many times with its beautiful lobby. He said when you look at landmarks in downtown Chicago, The Georgian did not make it and was not a landmark. Roll call. Voting aye — none. Voting nay — Moran, Tisdahl, Rainey, Feldman, Newman, Jean -Baptiste, Wynne, Bernstein. Motion failed (0-8). Resolution 44-R-04 - Reiection of Preservation Commission Recommendation - The Georgian, 422 Davis St. - Consideration of a rejection of the recommendation of the Preservation Commission to designate the building at 422 Davis St. as an Evanston landmark. Alderman Wynne moved approval of Resolution 44-R-04. Seconded by Alderman Bernstein. Voice vote. Motion carried. No nays. Ordinance 65-0-04 — Zoning Planned Development: 801 Chicago/525 Kedzie — Consideration of proposed Ordinance 65-0-04, which approves the findings and report of the Plan Commission regarding granting a Planned Development at 801 Chicago/525 Kedzie. Alderman Wynne reported receipt from the applicant's attorney, James Murray, who requested additional time because his client wants to rethink the project. Alderman Wynne asked that this item be tabled until the September 13 Council meeting. Seconded by Alderman Bernstein. HUMAN SERVICES: Alderman Tisdahl announced that the marina proposal would be discussed at the October 4, Human Services Committee meeting. CALL OF THE WARDS: 13 August 16, 2004 6th Ward. Alderman Moran congratulated Nancy Flowers for the great job she does for the City and senior citizens. The fact is the quality of her work has been recognized at the state level. He was pleased to hear of the good work done by Aracely Canchola at the health fair at St. Nick's and congratulated and thanked her. He spoke about an item on the Environment Board's agenda for some time called the Upper North Shore Channel. The Illinois EPA and U.S. EPA are conducting a Use Attainability Analysis for the North Shore. They are looking at the North Shore Channel from Howard Street to the Baha'i Temple. There have been discussions and public meetings about what could be done with that stretch of the channel. He encouraged the Environment Board to come to Council and discuss this issue. He saw a rare opportunity to adopt a policy and planning tool in relation to the environment that they should not pass up. There are some interesting ideas about what could be done. The environment and the North Shore Channel could be enhanced greatly, usage expanded and it could become a true amenity to the City. He asked that the Environment Board continue its work on this and encouraged City Council to consider its potential positive impact. nth Ward. No report. 8th Ward. Alderman Rainey reported a meeting in Brummel Park with about 50 neighbors in attendance. When they talked about Grove/Sherman, she noted the same kind of police power is being pumped into the Brummel Park neighborhood, which costs all a lot of money. She hoped neighbors can turn this around and that parents of children who are governed by curfew will take some responsibility for bringing their children in at night. She reported that Nick Athens has permanently lost his school bus. With the help of some generous community members, he has gone to Athens, Greece with some architectural drawings and hopes to convince the Olympic Committee to build some of his plans. She reported that the Vineyard owns the western part of the former Shure Brothers property. Concord Homes, developer and builder, has come forth with a proposal to build 80 town homes there. She emphasized they will not look like the Dubin project at Chicago/South and have fewer homes per square foot. 91h Ward. No report. I" Ward. Alderman Newman said that it was distressing that they are in a situation where people don't understand that the Preservation Commission is an advisory body to City Council. He stated the process was not broken when the City Council disagreed with the recommendation. He was sure that those commission members who voted for landmark status for The Georgian were good people, but Council was not bound to agree. It does not mean they don't have a good preservation process in Evanston and that they won't have disagreements in the future. In the P&D Committee it seemed they were in a litigation position with the commission and some of the advocates, which was unfortunate. He congratulated the 12-year-old Evanston Little League team that won the North Shore League and their coaches, Greg Klaiber, Brody Gregg and Bill Farrell; noted his son was a member of the team and they played great ball. He said it was rare for Evanston to win the North Shore League and in part was due to the leadership of Ray Boyers and the growth of the league due to expansion of James Park. He said that Levy Center is an integral part of using James Park and all of the Evanston kids are coming back from Skokie to play in Evanston. 2°d Ward. Alderman Jean -Baptiste congratulated Aracely Canchola on organizing the health fair; said he has worked with her to provide services to the growing Latino community. She does great work. He wanted to find a way to offer the kind of services she offers to the Latino community to the diverse ethnic community. He thought a lot could be done and that these communities are hungry and could introduce good values into the mainstream. Alderman Jean -Baptiste reminded all that District 65 would have a picnic Saturday August 21 at district headquarters, 1500 McDaniel Ave., from 1-4 p.m. He noted that District 65 has been responsive to neighbors. He attended an Environment Board meeting where he learned of the North Shore Channel program. He said that the EPA wants to get more fresh water flowing through the channel and that doing so would produce more oxygen to support more water life. Currently there is only carp in the channel. They want to bring greater human use of the channel. An 14 August 16, 2004 individual at that meeting spoke about the odor coming from the channel. He noted that other than at Howard and McCormick there is no odor. If that is the perception, people will hold up their nose at that section, which was not the reality. With this project there may be greater use of the channel. A number of high schools canoe up the channel now. He noted how well Skokie appreciates their side of the canal bank. Evanston has done nothing to beautify the channel banks and hoped in the future to get some paths cut close to it for bird -watchers and nature lovers to take advantage of this resource. He wanted to work with the Environment Board to increase use of the channel and to enhance that part of Evanston. 3'd Ward. No report. 41h Ward. Alderman Bernstein congratulated City Ombudsman Nancy Flowers, 41h ward resident, on being chosen Ombudsman of the Year by a state agency. He cautioned people to have a safe Labor Day holiday. He made a reference to the A&PW Committee to do an analysis of what Council can do reeardine enforcement of lia_uor ordinances. SthWard. No report. Mayor Morton announced a Special City Council meeting on September 1 at 6:00 p.m. for the purpose of considering a program for injecting ehn trees with a fungicide and a closed session on personnel matters. There being no further business to come before Council, Mayor Morton adjourned the meeting at 11:47 p.m. Mary P. Morris, City Clerk A videotape recording of this meetine has been made Dart of the permanent record and is available in the Citv Clerk's office.