HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES-2011-01-31-2011APPROVED
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City of
Evanston
MEETING MINUTES
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Monday, January 31, 2011
7:00 p.m.
City of Evanston, Illinois
Council Chambers
LORRAINE H. MORTON CIVIC CENTER
2100 RIDGE AVENUE, EVANSTON 60201
Members Present:
Members Absent:
Staff Present:
Presiding Member:
Declaration of Quorum
Alderman Fiske
Alderman Jean -Baptiste
Alderman Wilson
Alderman Holmes
Alderman Wynne
Mayor Tisdahl
Alderman Tendam
Alderman Grover
Alderman Rainey
Alderman Burrus
With a quorum present, Mayor Tisdahl called the Special meeting to order at 7.08 p.m.
The City Manager gave an announcement concerning the impending storm approaching
the Evanston area. He also directed everyone's attention to the City's website and the red
banner symbolizing weather warnings that will be updated every time new information is
known. Parking ban and snow removal will be posted and all or most land line phone
numbers will be contacted that are registered in Evanston.
Public Comment:
These persons spoke actainst the 3-1-1 issue:
Kevin O'Connor, 1227 1/2 Isabella stated his concerns with the 3-1-1 program and its
operations. He also asked questions concerning staffing, funding, hours of operation,
and the experienced operators taking responsibility for their functions. He also
requested a detailed report of the remaining budget from the City Manager for the
taxpayers.
Junad Rizki, 2262 Ridge Ave. stated he felt the spending of funds for the 3-1-1 program
was a waste of the tax payers' money. He spoke of the water fund transfer and how
they have dropped due to lower consumption. He finally stated with the cuts from
previous years the financial reserves have been reduced as well.
APPROVED
These persons spoke on the occupancv ordinance:
Ben Berkman, 562 Lincoln Street stated that he had a problem with the ordinance and
that it was prejudice towards poorer students and lower class residents forcing them to ,
be evicted and pushing the students even further from the campus.
Claire Lew, 1012 Garnett Place, also a student at Northwestern and the president of the
Student Body. She stated she had met with the Mayor and City Manager to obtain
clarification on misinformation that was released earlier. She stated she was looking
forward to talking with the Council members and invited them to attend a Student Body
Meeting. She also thanked the City Manager, Mr. Bobkiewicz for sending out a statement
to correct some misinformation that was previously distributed to the Northwestern and
Evanston community.
Susan Besson, 1300 Isabella Street gave an update report of the numerous activities that
the Evanston Environmental Board, and how happy they were with the assistance of Mr.
Carl Caneva, Div. Manager Environmental Health who is a great help to them as well as
the one who take the minutes of the meetings. She also stated they have new members
on the board and their credentials will be attached to the written report that the Council
will receive.
311 Service Level Agreements
Mr. Joe McRae, Assistant City Manager, announced an overview of the presentations that
Council and the viewing public would hear tonight. He then asked that Susan Pontarelli,
Supervisor of the 311 Center as well as the Police Service Desk. She stated the 311
Center would begin on March 1, 2011 (311). It is a Customer Service Center for all non -
emergency issues and will be operational from 7 am until 7 pm every day. The software
in use is Web QA will be accessible 24/7 as well as via the web. The only phone company
that is not capable to work with the system is ATT U-verse, as expressed by Mr. McRae.
Mr. McRae then gave a brief description of the Service Requests by departments which
included the length of time it would take until completed. He also stated this initial list of
140 requests will be updated as other requests evolve. All the suggested time frames are
the time to contact the customer and inform them when the service will be initiated.
Susan Pontarelli came back to report on the Fire and Health Department Service
Requests. The explanations of both Ms. Pontarelli and Mr. McRae gave insights to the
changes in service for the citizens of Evanston and the surrounding communities. They
also answered questions posed to them from the Aldermen with clarity.\
Finally, Mr. McRae spoke of the marketing plan for the 311 project. He stated the
information was included in the January water bill statement. Marketing also included the
following items:
1. PSA on PEG channels & Comcast cable
2. Advertisement in Evanston Round Table & Evanston Sentinel for 6 months
3. City Web: www.citvofevanston.ora/311
4. E-newsletters
5. Social Media
6. Radio PSA
7. Spanish media outreach
8. Banners on City buildings
9. Presentations to local business organizations & community groups
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APPROVED
The Mass Notification Svstem
Mn McRae asked Ms. Adelita Hernandez, Outreach Specialist to come and explain the
Mass Notification System that will be going into effect soon. She gave a report on what
was involved, which are:
1. Improvement of emergency communication
2. Email, text, phone, cell and fax
3. Quick info dissemination by geographic area
4. Residents provide preferred contact info via website
5. Roll out is tomorrow February 1, 2011
6. Priority communications — Level 1 Citywide
a) Health and snow emergencies
7. Priority communications — Level 2 Geographical area
a) Utilities Emergencies
b) Police Emergencies
8. Public Information — Level 3
a) Special Events
b) Programs
c) Services
d) Public/Ward meetings
9. Call down drill — Level 4
a) Call backs/Emergency response
b) CERT Team
c) Volunteers
The City Manager stated about eight to ten phone calls would be directed to each
Evanston residents' home landlines, and probably more in the winter due to snow. This
was in response to a question posed by Alderman Jean -Baptiste.
Ms. Hernanez then demonstrated how to register online to obtain information. She also
stated that the system recognizes twelve languages and could be answered in that
language as well. There are also various options to pick and choose what a resident
would like to be informed of.
City Manager then asked for the Council to approve the 311 proposal and the Mass
Notification System, both with the amendments that were suggested by Council.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was moved and seconded to adjourn. A Roll Call vote was taken and the
motion was approved at 9:00 p.m. Monday, 01/31/2011.
Respectfully Submitted,
Rodney Greene
City Clerk, Clerk's Office
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