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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES-2010-07-19-2010July 19, 2010 �OF EV� s� v ox 00 0 kCo SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING COUNCIL CHAMBERS LORRAINE H. MORTON CIVIC CENTER 2100 RIDGE AVENUE EVANSTON, IL MONDAY, JULY 19, 2010 ROLL CALL: Alderman Burrus Alderman Holmes Alderman Fiske Alderman Tendam Alderman Jean -Baptiste Alderman Grover Alderman Wilson ABSENT: Alderman Rainey, Alderman Wynne At 7:06 P.M. Mayor Tisdahl officially called Special Meeting of the City Council to order. She announced that Alderman Rainey was at a family event and Alderman Wynne was out of town. She also announced the death of James Murray, Evanston's first Corporate Counsel, and stated he would be sorely missed. PUBLIC COMMENT: There were no comments from the Public. Mayor Tisdahl asked the City Manager, Mr. Bobkiewicz if he had any presentations. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM PRESENTATION: The City Manager stated that Mr. Lehman Walker would be leaving the employment of the City to become the next City Manager for University City, Missouri. Mr. Bobkiewicz stated Mr. Walker had served the City of Evanston well for six months, and he wished him well in his new appointment. Mayor Tisdahl also congratulated and thanked Mr. Walker for his fabulous job and stated he would miss him. Mr. Bobkiewicz stated the proceedings will be going out of sequence, the City Special Events Program and then the Youth Programs. Alderman Fiske asked that the discussions of the Lakefront Events be deferred until Alderman Wynne is present for those discussions. Mr. Bobkiewicz stated it was not the intention to delve into the Lakefront or Downtown, because there are other areas to focus on he wanted to know what could we do on Howard Street, on Central, and the Westside. Mr. Doug Gaynor, Director of Parks/Recreation & Community Services, began his presentation with the Special Events Program is to provide residents and visitors with year round events. The criteria for deciding an event meets the recognition are: July 19, 2010 • All outdoor activities on City property. • Events of one hundred participants on Lakefront Parks. • Non -Lakefront Parks consisting of two hundred fifty participants. • Street closers with the exception of block parties. The process is as follows: • Must submit an application, the first page is due by February 28`" • The Special Event Committee reviews all requests Question: Does the Committee apply a certain criteria or use a list of things you check off to get approval? Answer: The only criterion that is used is what was presented earlier, whether it is 100 or 250 participants, other than that it's open to anyone asking. The recommendation is retrieved from the Committee and presented at Council. Question: Why is there a discrepancy between the number of participants for non -Lakefront and Lakefront events? Answer: It was a policy adopted by the Council back in 2003. Application fee is one hundred dollars. Question: Why does the Community Picnic not appear on the list, is it not a special event? Answer: Yes it is a special event that is sponsored by the City. It was an oversight. There is an amount of $24,000.00 in the budget to support the sponsored events. All of the other sponsored events break even and the City recoups all of the funds that were given in support of the events: for example the Custer Street Fair. Some of the limitations that exist is parking accommodations when there are more participants and less parking availability. Question: Is the number of Lakefront events limited? Answer: Yes we do. There are 20 event days and 12 events with 20 event days. Question: For non -Lakefront is unlimited, right? Answer: That is correct. Question: We are not co -sponsoring the baseball, soccer leagues right? Answer: In essence we are, the leagues run the operation and we provide the venue. It's a partnership. Question: What damages do we expect if the fields are used for a concert? Answer: James Park for example, there is no parking so you would be driving on the turf. No let's talk about the damage to the Park. That's what I am trying to explain, we don't have parking in the area and in addition to that we have irrigation for the fields, and the irrigation system will get broken with various people and vehicles going over the sprinklers. 2 July 19, 2010 Question: Do we have enough parking at Northwestern for the games and events? Answer: No. We are looking at new ideas to promote additional events and are open to any suggestions that are presented to the committee. Question: Are there any other corporate sponsor -ships at the level of Northshore Health Care System that would be willing to sponsor an event or the Starlight Concerts? Answer: Yes, but there is not enough visibility to attract the big bucks in the door. Question: What is the availability of Elk Park for special events? Answer: We ran a summer food program there once and after it was over they asked that we don't come back again. Question: Can we have movies in the Park or events on Howard Street. Answer: The last event we had two years ago, was a movie in Dawes Park, but are not considering to repeat the event this year. Statements from Aldermen: 1) Think about an event that will bind the City together like Women Out Walking, and the Riky Byrdsong event and some combination of people out running and walking to create another type of fitness event, that will involve many other areas of the City. 2) Encourage the citizens to use the Ridgeville Park facilities since we do pay taxes and see what they are willing to offer. Question: Where is the discussion concerning the Community Picnic, because there was a mentioning of not having one this year? Answer: There was an internal discussion of moving the picnic to a September date to allow all ages opportunity to participate, but time ran out to implement for this 2010 budget. So the event will take place on August 24, 2010. We will probably try to move it and improve the scope and even move to the month of September when everyone returns to school. Question: We always have to rent stages for the various fairs, but the platform for the Starlight concerts are just about on the ground. Skokie has a truck that has all the equipment attached, have you looked into something like that? Answer: The stages for the fairs cost us $5,000.00, and the equipment you are talking about in Skokie has a cost of $85,000.00 to purchase. Alderman Jean -Baptiste suggested to Mr. Gaynor looking into the purchase Skokie mobile stage equipment, because if the Council decides to move forward on this item we could recoup our money from the many entities who would want to use the stage. Alderman Wilson suggested the possibility of a cycle cross race that would take place on the dirt surface. His suggestions were James Park on the perimeter of the Park. 3 July 19, 2010 Alderman Fiske had three ideas: 1) To engage Northwestern in possible in holding concert events on campus during the summer when it is relatively quite around Morse, 2) Moving the Northwestern Home Coming Parade to Downtown which will draw more residents out to attend and be good for the businesses and 3) She wanted to hear from Caroline De'Llutri, Executive Director of Downtown Evanston, and Lehman Walker about their feeling about more events Downtown and for attracting new business owners and investors to the Downtown area. Mr. Walker stated he supports the idea of increasing more Downtown events. It would be beneficial for the businesses and great for the residents to be in the Downtown area, and it provides for people to come outside of Evanston to see what we have to offer. Ms. De'Llutri added to what Mr. Walker stated her three types of events that should be looked at for Downtown: 1) Retail events, 2) Image building events, 3) Special events and also partnering with businesses to create community involvement. Alderman Holmes wanted to add two other suggestions: 1) In agreement with Alderman Jean - Baptiste concerning the purchase of the $85,000.00 mobile stage which would pay for itself in a very short time, and 2) to think about using a shuttle to move people from the ETHS parking lot as well as Northwestern's lot to the various event's location. Question: Is there a decibel limit for the music and sounds from these special events and do we check it periodically? Answer: Normally we do not unless we get a complaint, and we only had one from the Custer event. Question: Have you looked at the geographical distribution of the special events, and where would you like to put others where there are no events being held? Answer: We want to increase more along the canal and to increase the number. Geographically, we are doing well but Loveless Park could be another location with its amenities. Mr. Gaynor then reported on the Youth presentation whose focus is on the following aspects: 1) Promote healthy life styles, 2) Provide support for families, 3) To teach positive life skills, such as team work and 4) The value of persistence in hard work. Depending on what programs are initiated are dependent on trends of the neighborhoods. Included in the Programs are Physical activities, Cultural Arts, Enrichment, and Volunteer opportunities. Question: What are the types of special inclusion services the City provides? Answer: We have a staff person who evaluates each individual who would like to participate in our regular program. This person will meet with the family to discover what the special needs are and if at all possible will provide assistance to get that student in the regular program. Question: For those students that we do not accommodate in our recreation programs what do we do then, do we refer them a special needs program? Answer: No, we have a special needs program for kids who can not be placed in he regular program, we have a special needs program for them. 0 July 19, 2010 Question: Of the 200 persons in the program, how many are in the special inclusions program and the regular program? Answer: Two Hundred and Two Hundred. Mr. Gaynor talked about the various training courses they have for the youth such as, CPR, cooking etc. The Youth Engagement Initiatives Goals are: recreation, restorative justice, and job training and placement. He also mentioned the four youth summits that have been successful to develop the best teen center to meet their needs. Question; Mayor Tisdahl asked Mr. Gaynor about the Youth Voice and who is that voice directed to, because when she asked to meet with them she has not yet met them and who are they talking to. Answer: He stated he did not know if she had asked to meet with the Youth Council, and he started with the Council this March and they meet once a month. He then stated he was not aware of her request to meet with them. Mayor Tisdahl then stated she was formally putting it out there that she would like to attend their meetings. Mr. Gaynor replied they would invite her to the September meeting. Alderman Jean -Baptiste asked Mr. Gaynor to repeat the 4 goals of the Youth Engagement Initiative. After hearing them again he stated the purpose of the Youth Engagement Initiative in the beginning was to intervene in the lives of the youth who were falling through the cracks. He wanted to know how the youth would sum up their relationship to the Youth Engagement . Program. We need to be able to engage in some discussion to get answers so we will have proper directions. Mr. Gaynor stated the Youth Coordinator was not to focus on the programming of a program that was not in place, but to act more of an adviser on Recreation. The Restorative Justice re-entry program is working with those youth ages fourteen to twenty-five, who are coming out of jail to assist them before they are released. This program has been in effect for the past sixty days. Alderman Jean -Baptiste stated that all youth who maybe falling through the cracks are not in jail. Mr. Gaynor stated, his idea of youth falling through the cracks, are those who have not graduated from High School, don't want to stay in school, or those who have graduated and not going on to college. Those are the ones we are focusing on now since I took over that aspect of the program. He stated as well they have internal and external training to get youths in jobs. There is an annual Fee Assistance Program offered which will be provided if you meet certain criteria to get into the programs at least 50% reduction. Question: Do you have to fill out a form? Answer: Yes you do. Alderman Holmes stated we are starting out with a deficit of $3,850,606.00 and how does it break out with the centers, or programs. Will we get that during the budget session? Answer: We can certainly provide you with the information and the centers. The 3 million dollars you are talking about is the salaries of mine and the staff. Most of the programs that are operated are operating self-sustaining. July 19, 2010 Alderman Rainey's proxy question concerned the Fee Assistance Program, was anyone ever turned away, or is there sufficient funds to meet the demand for scholarships? Answer: No one is turned away. If someone comes in and meet the criteria they will be registered at 50%. Alderman Jean -Baptiste cautions the Council not to look at what the deficit cost is to the City. We and the parents pay taxes for the services and the cost is what we set. Alderman Holmes' response was to look at all of the programs that we offer to reevaluate them so that the taxpayers are not paying any more taxes for them. Question: The word criteria keeps coming up but what are the criteria for these kids to achieve in order to get the funds to participate in these programs? Answer: We use the Federal guidelines. Alderman Burrus asked is there a place on the form to say I want to sponsor a child? Answer: We do encourage it and when people come in to purchase beach tokens we ask, would you like to make a donation for those who can't afford to purchase beach tokens (it has been working). City Manager stated if there were no other questions Mr. Lehman Walker, Director Community & Economic Development, presented his power -point presentation on the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). This included youth from the ages of 14-18. The mission of the program is to provide meaningful entry-level job and essential soft skills training. Each participant must take the SYEP pledge and maintain the core values of Confidence, Pride and Respect. The program was able to partnership with the YMCA, Northwestern University, Salvation Army and other private sector entities. There were 75% of the participants were Evanston residents. There is an orientation for the parents and participants to acquire the expectations of the program for all participants. At the end of the program all of the youth receive an evaluation of their participation. He then stated he really appreciated working here and that he will miss Evanston very much. Mayor Tisdahl responded that we will miss you as well. Police Chief Eddington he introduced two of his staff Commander Hartley and Ms. Quales who were with him tonight. His presentation involved in dealing with the youth. Detective Right has been assigned to ETHS and he teaches introductory criminal classes. Youth Services Bureaus Officers actively work with at risk youth by assisting them in filling out job applications and various other activities. He mentioned the formation of the Victim Services Bureau, where all of the services were under the direction of one boss to create a cohesive unit within the Police Department. Alderman Grover stated when she took the Citizen Police Academy course she discovered there was a social service agency within the Police department. Her question to Chief Eddington was "Do you have social workers on the team you've gathered?" Answer: Yes, all four persons in the units have their social work degrees. Alderman Jean -Baptiste stated the Community Services have taken on a negative image, so his question was "Has the Police Department taken any steps to engage some of the businesses in Evanston to hire some of these youths to give them something to do? When they go to these Community Service units they are not engaged and they fall through the cracks because they are usually just doing time. So what are you doing? G July 19, 2010 1 Answer: We try to avail ourselves with private partners in the community and other businesses and we place the youth in areas like the soup kitchens, auto shops and other private partnerships to provide a positive influence and to take the connotation of punishment out of the process. Alderman Burrus and Mayor Tisdahl agreed that the person in the Youth division do a wonderful job in their interactions with the youth and the public. Ms. Mary Johns, Director of the Library Services, stated "they envision themselves as affecting individuals from the cradle to the grave". They offer a lifelong learning experience and they have the first shoot to the kids. They offer a lot of story -times for all ages and they also partner with District 65 and the Foundation. They also employ a number of the SYEP student and they have been doing very well. This summer they have added a new stop for the summer reading game at the Evanston Plaza, and there will be computers and some adult materials as well at this stop. She also mentioned the loft where they can discover their own story and its relationship to them as individually. She then spoke of some of the other programs they supply for the youth to keep them directed in a positive way. City Manager stated he believed the City has a very well organized system to deal with the youth and the focuses for the youth. Also he stated the City has their comment to continue working with the youth. The meeting was adjourned at 9:34 P.M. after the motion was made and seconded and the Roll Call netted a 7-0 vote. Respectfully submitted, Rodney Greene, City Clerk A CD RECORDING WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE FOUR (4) DAYS AFTER COUNCIL APPROVES THE MINUTES ON MAY 24, 2010. 7 1 1