HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES-2010-05-17-2010May 17, 2010
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SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
LORRAINE H. MORTON CIVIC CENTER
ROLL CALL:
ABSENT:
2100 RIDGE AVENUE
EVANSTON, IL
MONDAY, MAY 179 2010
Alderman Holmes
Alderman Tendam
Alderman Grover
Alderman Rainey
Alderman Burrus
Alderman Fiske
Alderman Wynne
Alderman Wilson
Alderman Jean -Baptiste (is in Washington, D.C. as stated
by Mayor Tisdahl)
At 7:41 P.M. Mayor Tisdahl officially called the meeting to order. She then read her
letter dated April 21, 2010, requesting the reasons for the special meeting. The reasons
were: 1) For Public Comment and 2) Capital Improvement Program Presentation.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Junad Rizki, 2267 Ridge Ave. gave his concerns about how the various projects were
staffed and which departments were handling them. He questioned the efficiency of funds
being used for projects, if the projects have been completed or not, if funds are an excess
left over from a project, and if so where are these funds being held.
Jeanne Lindwall, 625 Library Place she stated an unabated bond sale is actually a
property tax. She asked the Council to consider whether Evanston would be better off
moving into a Capital Maintenance Fund to be included in the General Fund Budget
every year. This would aid in finding small projects to avoid long interests costs. She
asked if some of the resurfacing projects could be deferred and how is the City doing in
completing these projects.
Cal Bova, 1322 Rosalie Street spoke of his concerns of the relevance of the proposed
projects and if they are good investments, and when completed do they generate revenue.
He questioned the consideration of the life cycle of the projects and if they exceed the
term of the debt. He asked the Council to take their time in considering the projects and
to consider pay-as-you-go, as Alderman Drummer suggested years ago.
May 17, 2010
Mayor Tisdahl called upon City Manager, Wally Bobkiewicz to make his presentation.
Mr. Bobkiewicz stated Ms. Joellen Daley, Director of Administration, and Martin Lyons,
Assistant City Manager had presentation concerning the Capital Improvement Program.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM PRESENTATION:
Ms. Daley stated she would be giving an overview of the program and then she would
turn the mike over to Steven Drazner, Division Manager of Finance -Accounting,
regarding the specifics of the Capital Improvement Plan. She stated the mailings on
Friday and electronic submissions of the projects on a map of the City and the project's
location. Ms. Daley also pointed out the attendance of Department Directors who were
here to answer any specific questions as it related to their department.
Mr. Drazner stated the presentation is a follow-up from last February, but did not have
enough time to devote to the presentation due to the budget preparations. The criteria
used for the CIP projects were:
(a) Was the project already funded or in progress at start of FY 10/11?
(b) Was project funded by revenues other than general obligation bonds?
(c) Was project critical to the success of other projects or operations?
(d) Was project part of a multi year maintenance program, and if interrupted, would
result in higher costs later?
Concerns from Aldermen:
Give definitions for the various abbreviations and wordage.
1. GO Debt = General Obligation of the City to guarantee the payment of those Bonds.
2. Abated Debt = It is still a GO Debt, but another fund pays for the Bond. These do not
appear on the tax payers' property tax bill.
3. Unabated Debt = It's paid by the City's General Obligation Fund. These funds will
appear on the property tax form.
4. CIP = Capital Improvement Plan covers all of the projects the City has chosen to
promote.
Mr. Drazner stated the total of all of the proposed projects equal $34,146,773.00. The
Capital Improvement Plan is funded through many sources, and should not be confused
with the Capital Improvement Fund which is one fund the City has which is generally for
Obligation Bonds (Unabated Debt).
Questions:
1. What is IEPA?
Answer: Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
2. How do we get the Motor Fuel Tax Revenue?
Answer: The State gives that to the City on a monthly basis.
3. What is the basis for the City to get it?
Answer: It's on a per capital basis.
4. Does it have to do with the number of gas stations?
Answer: No it has nothing to do with the number. The City has its own local tax.
5. Does the Evanston local tax go into the General Fund or the Road?
Answer: No it does not it goes into the General Fund.
6. Does the City have a corresponding matching dollar amount for the grant?
Answer: Each grant is different it could be 50150, 100%, or 75/25 depending on the
grant itself.
7. Is there a better way to understand what the City is obligated to?
Answer: The data can be supplied at a later day.
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May 17, 2010
The top GO Funded Proiects under Facilities Management:
1. Civic Center Roof $1.7 million.
2. Police Headquarters Parapet Walls $570,000.
3. Police Firing Range $460,000.
4. Civic Center Renovation (General) $300,000.
5. Fleetwood-Jourdain Gym Roof $193,093.
Information Technology:
1. Accela Software Lease $250,000 (second to last payment)
2. Infrastructure — Servers, network and systems $400,000.
Ouestions & Concerns:
1. What is the reasoning for paying for .a lease with GO Bonds?
Answer: It's the amount of the lease. Mr. Lyons stated the City is proposing for this
year not to do long term GO Debt. The City would prefer to do pay-as-you-go but the
current revenue will not permit it.
2. What is ACCELA?
Answer: ACCELA is the permit system used by Building & Planning, Health, Public
Works Department
3. Is the Lease a term the City pays for and then really own, or is it a license fee?
Answer: It is a term and a bundle of all the things you asked.
4. How many installments has the City paid, and what is the total cost?
Answer: $1.6 million, the last installment will be in 2011. At that time the City will
have a multi -department payment system the City owns and would then only have to
pay maintenance fees for that system.
5. Are there break -downs and separations for the various projects?
Answer: Most of the projects or all of the projects have not begun or are in the initial
process of beginning soon this year. Some monies have been spent on the projects that
the Council had given direction to proceed on, but until this meeting tonight only the
large projects would be initiated with anticipation that the Council will agree to move
forward. This additional meeting was to allow Council another chance to either change
direction or continue with what has been initiated.
6. We need to have the Clerk go back to the budget discussion notes to acquire the exact
wordage during the discussions, because by no means did we approve any of these
projects on this list it was a dollar amount.
7. There is only one private donation to the Animal Shelter and can the City take out the
$100,000 it says it will donate to the shelter? What percentage of debt does Evanston have
compared to other Municipalities with similar budgets?
8. This is not all new spending some has already been spent on earlier projects. Some of
the projects were approved but not this whole list as a unit and the City is locked into
some contracts. The data is there but hard to extract.
9. The City has a contract with CARE and had agreed to match funds to build a section
onto the existing building.
The building at 1817 Church Street should be removed from the list.
Mr. Bobkiewicz suggested that Council allow staff to come back at the first meeting in
June to finish the discussions. Staff could peal back those projects that could be funded
next year, to allow Council the option to have more narrow discussions about those
proj ects.
May 17, 2010
10. How much time would you (City Manager) need to supply in-depth details of the
status of each project.
Mr. Bobkiewicz stated he would like to come back in June to continue the discussions,
and he asked Council for clear directions from a funding source perspective before
leaving tonight.
11. How did the ranking decide which project would be considered first?
The Police Firing Range has been discussed for some time, what is the progression?
Answer: The work on the Firing Range has been under construction, but a
substantial less amount of money has been spent on the project, as
stated by Mr. Gaynor. This project was earmarked well over a million dollars, but the
City has spent way less.
Mr. Drazner continued with his presentation and stated the following costs for the
following department projects:
total amount
Parks, Forestry, Recreation $6,150,000
Water/Sewer Projects $6,321,472
CEP Projects $3,150,000
Mr. Bobkiewicz asked the Council to look at the projects and if there need to be more
scrutiny from staff it would be very helpful. Secondly, he asked for the level of detail
Council wanted concerning the non -General Fund projects. His understanding is
Council wanting additional control on how monies are being spent.
Other Concerns and Ouestions:
1. The City should not stop the projects that are already going on.
2. The City should not borrow any more than absolutely essential.
3. The idea of swapping out should not be an option.
4. Need to bring debt amount down.
5. What is under contract?
6. Need detailed information on each and every project, where they are, cost, etc.
7. Need to obtain a risk assessment in order to keep the City's liability cost low.
Mary Johns, Library Director, came forward to answer question concerning the Chiller
Replacement. She stated the Chiller is working about 25% capacity. The Chiller's has a
useful life span of 15-18 years and have been working for 16 years. Maintenance is
becoming very expensive. Over one hundred fifty thousand patrons visited the Main
Library in June, July and August in 2009. Newer units will be more cost effective and
beneficial for people. There will be a long lead time before installation
8. The plan is 2011 to replace the chiller, is that right?
Answer: Staff would come back to the Council for next years budget consideration.
9. The Lagoon Suction Pit Replacement: Doug Gaynor, Director of Parks/Recreation and
Community Services, stated it is very dangerous for employees to go in and perform
repairs.
10. What is the suction pit and where is it located?
Answer: It's half -way between the north and south on the Westside, and it filters the
water.
11. Can you turn it off manually?
Answer: Yes it is mechanical and it can be turned on and off, but it is on a timer.
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May 17, 2010
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What makes it dangerous?
Answer: It is a very small space for an employee to work in alone and it has to be
excavated out to increase the size of the area for maintenance purposes.
13.
Were bonds issued to cover the debt of ERI (early retirement incentives)?
Answer: This was a discussion as part of the operation budget for cost saving
measures to reduce that debt.
14.
Why was James Park's ranking demoted?
Answer: There were two projects to be funded at James' Park (a) a watering system to
accommodate the new sod that was placed for the soccer and baseball fields; and (b)
was for the settling of the field -house where a corner of the building sank.
15.
When will the replacement of the fire truck occur?
Answer: This is the ladder truck to replace one of the 16 year old ones from the grant
that the Fire Department received. Mayor Tisdahl suggested thank you notes to
Senator Durbin and Congresswoman Schakowsky for their assistance in obtaining the
grant for Evanston. This item was suggested to have it moved up to a priority one
status because of the time r and the available funds.
16.
What about the other older ladder truck?
Answer: At some time it too will need to be refurbished, but not during this budget
year.
17.
Are there any other change orders to move from one status to another?
18.
Are people taking advantage of the Alley Paving Program?
Answer: There has been a decline in the number of petitions and the
number of returns.
Mayor Tisdahl asked City Manager if he had received clear directions from the
Council after hearing all of the discussions.
City Manager, Bobkiewicz stated he would like to come back to Council with an
altered priority one list, and to come up with a new sheet for those projects that are
under way so there will be a clear understanding of how much money has been placed
into them in prior years. He stated he would ask the Council at the next meeting to
consider a revised priority one list and then have that be the Capital Budget for fiscal
year 2010-2011.
A motion for adjournment was made by Alderman Wilson and seconded by Alderman
Holmes. A Roll Call vote was taken with an 8-0 result.
Respectfully submitted,
Rodney Greene, City Clerk
A CD RECORDING WILL BECOME AVAILABLE FOUR (4) DAYS
AFTER COUNCIL APPROVES THE MINUTES ON MAY 249 2010 IN
THE CLERK'S OFFICE.
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