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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES-2002-01-26-2002202 CITY COUNCIL .-III OF E Oti p�k CO. 1V�`t' ROLL CALL - PRESENT: January 26, 2002 Alderman Wynne Alderman Engelman Alderman Bernstein Alderman Rainey Alderman Kent Alderman Feldman Alderman Moran Alderman Newman Alderman Jean -Baptiste A Quorum was present. ABSENT: None PRESIDING: Mayor Lorraine H. Morton A SPECIAL MEETING of the City Council was called to order by Mayor Morton on Saturday, January 26 2002 at 9:29 p.m. in the Council Chamber for the purpose of conducting a budget workshop. Mayor Morton announced the agenda did not have the library on it, an oversight. Alderman Wynne moved to remove discussion of closing branch libraries from the agenda and to instruct the CityManager to remove that item from the budget package. Seconded by Alderman Moran. Motion carried unanimously. Alderman Jean -Baptiste moved to remove discussion of the Summer Youth Employment Program from the agenda and take it off the list of programs targeted for cutting. Seconded by Alderman Kent. Motion carried unanimously. Alderman Feldman moved that Council convene into Committee of the Whole. Seconded by Alderman Rainey. Motion carried. No nays. City Manager Roger Crum stated the Council is facing a major budget problem and just removed $500,000 from consideration from a $4 million problem. They have been trying to solve a $3.6 million problem since the beginning and State revenues worsened recently, so they are closer to a $4 million problem. The Council asked the manager to put together a budget with cuts in such a circumstance. Staff did that and included many unpopular choices. He stated the agenda was to include discussion of cuts of library branches, Summer Youth Employment Program and police -related issues. With the library and summer youth program off the table that left police related issues and the Capital Improvement Program (CIP), a $6 million indebtedness for the year. He emphasized the City is in a situation where cuts must be made or face large property tax increases. Each department was asked to identify priorities and what could be cut. In the Police Department, the youth/victim witness program proposed to cut 1.5 positions; eliminate school liaison officers at three middle schools, retain an officer at ETHS with half of cost paid by District 202 and reduce one full time position in animal control. Police Chief Frank Kaminski summarized how the proposed cuts would impact services. Alderman Rainey related that people are confused about cutting the three liaison officers and putting them on the streets. They don't understand that the proposal is to cut three sworn officers budgeted this year next year — going from 161 to 158 officers. Chief Kaminski confirmed that was correct. Other than cutting money, she asked how he could recommend cutting three sworn officers? He stated it cuts officers from this program but not from patrol duties. She understood sworn officers would be cut from 161 to 158. He stated if they are to save money and do what they have to do at the dD3 2 January 26, 2002 Police Department these were the only cuts he could make. He did not want to cut anything but in this circumstance, these are the programs he would have to look at. She stated there was a struggle to have all these officers hired and the City has never had a full complement of officers, which results in exorbitant overtime. Animal control discussion. She did not understand numbers in the animal control budget; understood there is the animal warden, assistant warden and two part-time aids. Page 138 in the budget, category 454, she did not see the part- time employees. Chief Kaminski stated they are in element 107. Two people make $13,000 with one working mornings, and the other afternoons. One is a youth who is paid a minimal amount. She said that staff response was not helpful about cutting the full-time person to part time. She reported a person left a bequest of $36,700 to the animal shelter, which is in a reserve fund and unspent. Alderman Rainey moved that Council move that sum into this year's budget for the animal warden (unrestricted gift) and remove the cut for the animal warden from the list. Seconded by Alderman Kent. Alderman Rainey suggested the part time person's hours be adjusted downward; was advised the part-time employee works about 20 hours a week, receives full-time employee benefits except for health insurance, and also is a full-time employee of the Cook County Sheriffs department so this person's main livelihood would not be taken away. She thought that job should be targeted, rather than the long-term, assistant warden. Alderman Feldman moved to amend the motion to use the bequest for enhancement of the animal shelter. Seconded by Alderman Moran. Alderman Rainey noted the bequest could not be used until put into the budget because it is in a reserve fund. Management & Budget Director Pat Casey recommended putting it into the capital account of the animal shelter. Alderman Feldman asked to include that recommendation in the amendment. Alderman Moran asked for clarification. Mr. Casey explained this is a donation, which won't come again next year, so they will increase the animal shelter budget's capital line item and add the donation to General Fund revenue and it would not be budgeted in the following year. Alderman Moran's concern was how bequests for a specified purpose are handled. If this person left money to enhance the animal shelter operations as an ongoing effort, he thought it should go into an account and earn interest. Finance Director Bill Stafford explained that the bequest from Ms. Swanson to the animal shelter was an unrestricted gift. Bequests are unrestricted or restricted and this one has been earning interest in a reserve fund and can be used however they choose. Alderman Moran thought if somebody makes a bequest, he assumed the intention of long-term assistance to the program. Alderman Bernstein said this is a bequest that would generate pennies in interest and Mr. Stafford noted there is no economy of scale. Alderman Rainey people give to the shelter openly and willingly; noted the budget for food at the animal shelter is $1,500 and the rest is paid for by CARE. Alderman Newman called the question. Motion carried. Voice vote on amendment, motion carried. Voice vote on main motion, motion carried. School Liaison Officers. Alderman Kent referred to page 137 budget, noting an objective to increase street patrol time to increase capture of stray dogs. He said there are many stray dogs and many are used for illegal purposes such as dogfights that involve school children. He asked for clarification on how the street patrol will be increased and a more active role by police officers in squad cars plus clarification on reporting of stray dogs and dogs used in illegal activities. Alderman Engelman asked if there has been conversation with the school district regarding school liaison officers? Mr. Crum stated there was and District 65 prefers to keep the program and not pay for it. Alderman Moran reported the District 65 representative suggested at the City/School Liaison committee meeting was rather than having officers in the schools, that the officers be sent to the area intermittently and swing by regularly to signify a presence. If these positions are eliminated he suggested that should be done, but in doing so, it would be hard to realize the goal of regular W-A 3 January 26, 2002 visits. Once officers leave the schools they will deal with situations outside the school and he thought it would be an illusory hope to have officers at the schools. Alderman Engelman asked if liaison officers were reduced to one, what could one officer accomplish — liaison with children in the school and drug education? Chief Kaminski stated with three officers they have a quality program; two officers a good program; one officer would mean they would do as much as they can. He will give a commitment to the schools no matter what decision Council makes because he believed there must be a connection. Mayor Morton asked how liaison officers are budgeted when school is not in session? Chief Kaminski stated during the school year they are committed to the schools and in summer months reassigned to patrol operations, the problem - solving team or put into special summer programs in recreation, depending on how many people he has. Alderman Rainey noted that in justifying the cut of the three liaison officers, the chief said they were working on taking officers now on the desk, putting them on the street and civilians on the desk and asked the status on that? Chief Kaminski stated the jobs have been posted and they are interviewing applicants. She thought they were always advertising for this. He stated they advertise regularly for police telecommunicators. Chief Kaminski explained the department had returned to splitting the service desk and telecommunicators into two bureaus. Previously they were cross -trained to work on the service desk and as telecommunicators, but experience showed this did not work. They found when they cross -trained personnel, who went on the service desk and then back to the 911 center, their efficiency went down. In a few months the service desk should be all civilians. In response to concerns from Alderman Rainey, Chief Kaminski said it all depends on training and a learning curve. He noted officers on the desk have a lot of experience that civilians don't have. He wants to make sure that will not be a problem for the Police Department. He pointed out those two areas are where they have the most hirebacks. He said they would have nine people to do what they wanted twelve for. If he has to keep extra cops there, he will. He predicted the next year would be a learning curve on managing those two areas. Alderman Rainey said it seemed that desk officers would not be put on the street this year; thought with large overtime, cutting back on three police officers was foolhardy. She asked for a comparison of police calls this year versus last year and were statistics based on the fiscal year or calendar year? Chief Kaminski stated the police report is on a calendar year with this year at about the same at 55-60,000 calls for police service. Crime is down about 14-15% on both violent and property crime. Alderman Rainey stated a decrease in crime was not a reason to cut police officers. Alderman Newman had suggested earlier that one police officer be added back; was sympathetic to points raised by Alderman Rainey. He believed funds would be available to pay for three liaison officers and supported that. It was the wrong time to ask District 65 to pick up costs due to their $4 million budget problem, but to ask sometime in 2009 when the downtown TIF would generate $2-3 million. Alderman Feldman said they were struggling with sorting out priorities and community values for this budget. He noted cuts to animal control, branch libraries or summer youth program were not accepted by the community or Council and they will have to make up that money. He thought the police liaison officers were part of those and that there is a special feeling people have knowing police officers are in the schools, which benefits order, safety and familiarity of youth with the officers. He noted they could respond to calls even during school hours and believed there was no support for this cut. Alderman Feldman moved to eliminate the cut of three police liaison officers. Seconded by Alderman Rainey. Alderman Engelman appreciated the concern for the need for this program and its impact on the school system. His remarks were directed to the process. He noted a prior speaker had said the money could be found but he did not know where. He stated the city manager had proposed $4 million in revenue generation and services reductions to make up a $4 million shortfall. He said all have special interest in certain revenue generators and service cuts, which range from totally unacceptable to "do it if they have to." He was concerned if they take each one and eliminate a cut, they would have nothing left if they look at everything one-on-one instead of looking at the whole. Based on conversations with other aldermen, saving branch libraries was high on everybody's list. He was concerned with the snowball effect on Council; noted in the past they got all ideas out on the board, then picked and chose. He stated they still have to come up with $3.5 million. If all feel they want to keep the liaison officers under any circumstances, they will vote. He urged Council to begin to have the discussion but withhold motions until later in the process. He supported the library and a large group was present to protest the cut; Council knew they were going to remove it from consideration and allay fears. He urged Council to defeat the motion so they can look at the whole picture. zDs 4 January 26, 2002 Alderman Feldman said the motion was looking at the whole picture with significant support on Council for the motion. He was sure they would find money for them. Whether or not there is a group present for this, its merits were evident. Alderman Rainey stated retention of branch libraries brought out many because people realize with a new state-of-the-art library that branches are extra, so it was important to show community support for their retention. She stated residents expect police services and public safety; thought it would be outrageous to force a large community response about providing safety services. Alderman Newman agreed the big picture was being considered and thought those officers were a high priority. Alderman Moran praised Alderman Engelman for raising the point about process but was skeptical about removing the officers from the schools. He thought they need to look at these things within the entire context so they understand what is at stake and if they kept taking items off rapidly, they will create a situation where people will start rapid-fire proposals to make up the gap on issues not anticipated or discussed. They will be in February having gotten rid of various cuts and more will be proposed. People in the community will not be aware of new proposals and they would be approaching them on an ad hoc basis. Alderman Jean -Baptiste suggested last week that they let the process play out, hear all arguments and consider the entire budget, but the majority has deviated from that. This morning people put priorities on the table and it was consistent to consider the school liaison officers so he supported the motion. He said Evanston has been lucky and has had no incidents like those that have occurred elsewhere and was not sure whether the presence of officers prevented those. The City needs police services and 2"d Ward constituents have complained there is not enough police response/follow-up. Alderman Wynne believed they should have three officers in the schools and thought Alderman Engelman raised a good point; noted that people observing this meeting have a sense of how aldermen feel. She stated that Alderman Newman earlier had said money would be found to cover the costs. She agreed that it will be found but those watching do not know where it will come from. She stated when everything is put on the board, as they've done in the past, the entire package is there and all can see it. She said this is a package and balancing of one cost versus another. If something is eliminated, what then will they agree on to cover that cost. She preferred the past process where everything is put up. Alderman Kent also supported the motion and agreed with Alderman Engelman that they need to know where the money is coming from. He wanted a response in writing if the officers have to be eliminated, other things come into play and one is retention of the officer at the high school. He thought some of the same problems that occur in the high school occur in the middle schools where there is no security staff. The high school is looking at paying half the cost of a police officer there but what if they concluded they could not afford one? Alderman Bernstein thought they were in the process and would vote to keep the three officers in the middle schools. He thought the priorities of Council had been established. He said the three officers in the schools are available for calls elsewhere depending on the priority. His problem is the extensive amount of overtime. He thought it more prudent to keep police officers in place. The 4`h Ward also would like more police officers. He thought they will find the money but did not know where and would rate police officers as the number one priority. Alderman Engelman pointed out a number of issues were forthcoming for future Saturday workshops. He said if they do things as they come up on the agenda by February 9, when they address community purchased services, they might not have "wiggle room." When he votes "no" on this motion, it will not be because he supports eliminating three police -officers but because he was not ready to make that decision. Alderman Rainey called the question. Seconded by Alderman Newman. Voice vote on elimination of three liaison officers in the schools. Motion carried. Alderman Feldman had never participated in a budget with so many suggested cuts. These were on the agenda and if one is reasonably sure Council would accept those cuts, they were also responsible to find money to pay for them; January 26, 2002 suggested they never looked at the whole until the last day. He said some proposed cuts would have a dramatic impact on the community and a significant number of Council felt those cuts should not take place and assumed that if they were unacceptable, they would let people know. He stated these actions were not haphazard, but were thought out. Alderman Bernstein asked Chief Kaminski regarding the youth/victim witness program an expected increase in after hour's crisis response of more than 60%. He understood people were available 7-days a week, 24-hours a day. How will the proposed cut impact that and how many people will be on call? Chief Kaminski said three people will be available. They will have to evaluate the kind of crises they respond to or people will maintain the same level but be overworked. There will be three people carrying pagers rather than five people. Alderman Rainey stated on numerous occasions the bills list shows a social worker not employed by the City. She has asked what that charge was for and was told it was for a contract crisis worker who handles cases off -hours. Chief Kaminski stated victim witness and youth services are separate and when victim witness is short now, they use the contractual employee to cover the weekends. CITIZEN COMMENT: Natasia Kasurzvk, 1532 Crain St., block captain with St. John's neighbors, liaison to the Police Department and graduate of the Citizens Police Academy, stated she was amazed at the quality and quantity of work done by police here. She thought they were stretched to the limits and asked what would happen if they lose experienced officers and cannot procure new ones? If the cuts go through she will have to tell neighbors that they don't have a patrol officer and won't know whom to turn to for help. She said the 50 annual graduates of the police academy cannot replace seasoned professionals protecting citizens round the clock. A middle school teacher, she was against cutting officers in middle schools, noting those are formative years for children and it was crucial that students have a safe community connection. She said the proposed cut was a grave mistake. Alderman Feldman appreciated citizens speaking and noted that to urge an action that Council has taken sends a mixed message. The action she asked for was granted. He urged validating an action rather than advocating for it. Mimi Peterson, 1008 Ashland Ave., represented Crown Park Neighbors, said most of Beat #74 contains St. John's Neighbors, Crown Park Neighbors and Dewey Darrow Neighbors bounded by Dempster, Main, Asbury and Dodge. She listened to the process and felt preempted from it, but was grateful that they were given what they asked for -- not cutting the three liaison officers in the schools. Her argument would be for more police officers. She showed a map of the neighborhood; spoke about the positive aspects of the DARE program. She said the City has reported that crime rates are down, but that has not been the experience in their neighborhood. Michele Milian, 1212 Wesley Ave., spoke for St. John's Neighborhood (watch group), bounded by Asbury, Florence, Dempster and Greenleaf with 117 members. This group has worked hard this past year to prevent crime. She was pleased they would not lose police officers. They distributed hundreds of cards and, in a short time, received 60 back in opposition to the cuts. This group and others believed the police budget should not be cut and that any cuts would affect police services they receive. She stated that if people don't feel safe, they might not want to remain here. Rev. John F. Norwood, 1403 Fowler Ave., pastor, Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, stated his attention was caught by the fact that diversity is highly valued by the City in the budget, yet the programs that impact poor people were recommended to be cut. He said that tore their hearts because they are the cause of much of the money the City receives (CDBG). The victim/witness program and those who volunteer with the police provide services. They need to look at whether they are worth saving and give them another place in moral values of keeping the community, loving its poor people and diversity. He suggested they are doing the best they can. But there is a difference in trying to be real and go through this year after year. He suggested they start looking at the administration and show them a budget in which salaries are put in dollars and cents so they can understand it. He said people don't know what the City has, only what is suggested to be cut. He asked them not to assume people are not as interested in saving as Council members are. w1i 6 January 26, 2002 Chrosciel, 1102 Dempster St., supported the decision to keep both animal -control officers and suggested that more animal control was needed. Judith Treadway, 612 Mulford St., reminded Council that citizen groups came up with suggested revenue enhancements to offset certain cuts in the Police Department. She stated that citizens were not allowed to comment about the cuts, which diminished work done in the groups. She reported her group spent its time talking about revenue enhancements and wanted to provide more information to Council about proposed cuts. Her priorities were services and safety. She noted as Evanston tries to be all things to all people, the City provides social services that other communities do not. She suggested social services should be within the purview of the professional staff of social service agencies who are currently participating in either intra-agency agreements with the City or in child/adolescent network. She stated non- profit agencies provide these services through the schools. She was concerned about duplication of services and service delivery by appropriate staff in these settings. She stated that more than half of the agencies that receive funds from the City are in the schools providing drug education, after -school programs, outreach during lunchtime and coordinating services with the social worker at the school. All have collaborative agreements that have little impact on the schools' budget with salaries and benefits. She noted that the social services agencies do referrals and receive funds through community purchased services and the Mental Health Board. She said that District 202 is in better financial shape than District 65 and can handle 50% payment for a police officer. She stated that police officers needed to be on the street. Bennett Johnson, 708 Washington St., president, NAACP, was concerned about the budget process. He congratulated Alderman Engelman on his caution and said what they had done was truncated and subverted the budget process and citizen involvement. He formerly was a schoolteacher and a probation officer dealing with juveniles in the criminal justice system. He stated that police officers have no place in a school, which is an educational institution, not a penitentiary or detention center. Children who cannot handle themselves in a classroom go to those places. He stated the teacher has responsibility for control in the classroom and, when they defer it to anyone, they lose control of the classroom. He stated police officers are needed on the street when children arrive, when classes change, lunchtime and when school ends. He noted ETHS has a security staff, so does not need police officers in the school. Putting a police officer in the classroom to occasionally teach was fine, but stationing a police officer in a classroom was a waste of funds and a deterrent to children's development. He pointed out that Evanston is supposed to be the "Athens of the West," not the "Wild West," and talk of police officers on every corner is ridiculous. He stated what reduces crime is an enlightened citizenry, not a detained citizenry. He advised them to develop more consciousness within children to respect the law as well as adults. He said that libraries are an important deterrent to crime because children have an alternative to the street. He said the West Side library must come back on the table as an alternative to police officers. Harry Schubart, 1218 Elmwood Ave., suggested that cost effectiveness of branch libraries could be addressed by relocation to the middle schools, which would save rent for the City and personnel costs for District 65 with access to parking, which is now limited at both branches. Most important would be decent libraries in the schools, which would encourage youth to read. Separate access to the outside and doubling the stacks would be necessary. He stated in speaking with retail business owners, the key to greater sales is convenient street parking and is not available because employees in downtown Evanston feed meters. Over the years nothing has been done to deal with this problem. He suggested Troy Thiel's suggestion for lower garage rates for employees could alleviate this problem or with more effective strategies by parking enforcement. He pointed out that Public Works Director David Jennings has added much street parking, which was the most important key to help the budget by increasing sales tax revenue. He noted that since 1995, the number of authorized full-time employees has risen from 793 to 863 and those 70 employees alone could explain the budget deficit and why additional grass was suggested to be paved for additional parking. Some departments, such as police have not risen, while others have. The present goal is to bring the number to 835 employees, still about 42 more than in 1995. Karl Gromelski. 2727 Broadway Ave., had a hard time figuring out some things in the budget. He noted 240 citations were issued last year under animal control and asked if a fine was associated with that? He could not find revenues on fines. On page 133, budget, traffic bureau, non-moving violations, moving violations and vehicles towed, he thought there would be revenues. Under vehicles towed, last year showed revenue of $8 but the budget says 4,000 vehicles were towed. In next year's budget $50,000 is projected in towing charges, yet no charges last year. He suggested one way z6'3 7 January 26, 2002 to increase police presence without increasing the budget would be to require that employees live in Evanston. Elgin requires all employees to become residents within 18 months of hire. He knows that many staff do not live in Evanston. He recommended a one -week mandatory furlough (without pay) for employees, which would save around $800,000. He knew that the City has unions, but has seen this work in the automotive and airline industries both highly unionized. Bettv Ester, 2100 Lake St., presented 298 "thank you" signatures from parents/citizens concerned about the proposed cut of the Summer Youth Employment Program. She noted last week Alderman Newman had proposed saving the branch libraries and this morning the summer youth program was removed from cuts. She said people came because they were not sure what would happen. Communication has been unclear to citizens. She was concerned that when things are removed from the budget, where will they find needed funds and, if there is no money, what will happen to those programs? She thought some would still debate whether the police program in the community is good or not, the community is divided. She suggested that program needs to be examined as to what police officers do in the middle schools; that there are numerous programs that police officers want to be involved in after school that would be more effective in keeping children in line. She pointed to the Explorers, an after -school program that they would ask an officer to do on his/her own time and wear the uniform. Since Council decided not to cut the three officers in the middle schools, she urged them to take a good look at that program and listen to people in the community, because they may find many people don't want police officers in the schools. Council Discussion. Alderman Feldman responded to comments about participation and the subverting comment. In his years on Council he has never witnessed a budget process that was participated in by so many people with such depth and understanding as this one. It was difficult for him to agree that this Council has not encouraged and sought out the interest of residents. If some people don't agree with Council actions, that was one thing. He has received enormous amounts of ■ communication on every issue they voted on and that is another way for citizens to participate. He felt it unfortunate that people feel they have been subverted. There was clear support for these actions by Council. Alderman Rainey referred Mr. Gromelski to page 30 in the budget, where it states ticket fines for this year are $2.2 million revenue. Boot release fees provide $92,500 in revenues. Rev. Norwood stated they had cut short the process and when they moved something off the table, people who came to speak did not have the opportunity and were denied, while others communicated with the aldermen. He advised them to stick to the process. He read in the Evanston Review that something was taken off the table because aldermen had heard enough, which was unfair, and asked them to do the right thing. Alderman Jean -Baptiste acknowledged Rev. Norwood's call to recognize that those with the most need should receive attention. He thought they had to be careful not to be defensive after an issue has been taken off the table. Some aldermen advocate to hear all comments and look at the whole picture. Sentiments of others manifest so they make advances on issues of importance. He thought the process was inconsistent and at times everybody is heard and other times Council takes action before hearing everybody's comments. In Council's defense, he said there has been a process led by Alderman Engelman to involve as many citizens as possible and did not think the community had been excluded from interacting with Council. He stated decisions can be made, but that does not mean the community was ignored. Alderman Rainey stated that aldermen were in a position of "damned if you do and damned if you don't." She was told there would be hundreds of people there that day demanding that the Summer Youth Employment Program be retained. Aldermen talked among themselves and it appeared that program should not be cut at this time. Would it have been better not to save it? She asked why not declare a victory and move on? If people wanted to do the community a favor, they would improve that program. She could give a list of concerns she has about it, which was worth saving in concept. Library advocates wanted the branches saved and Council agreed not to cut them. They announced a victory and left. Why drag this out? She stated since 1983, this Council has considered the budget in the same way. Priorities were made known immediately during the process. She said never before in Evanston's history has there been more citizen participation in the budget process; has tried to drag people to the budget process in the past with little success. She noted that Alderman Engelman, with Council support, was able to accomplish citizen participation on this budget. She ONE 8 January 26, 2002 said decisions will be made that people like and don't like and they will find money to fund priorities. She hoped there would be no turning around from the decisions made that morning. Mayor Morton suggested the City needed to inform the public more about the police liaison officers and how they are used. She was familiar with the program and never knew of police liaison officers being used in ways mentioned by a citizen. When the program was instituted she taught at Chute School. Later, the Junior High School Association of Illinois endorsed it. At Haven School there was one liaison police officer and the program was eliminated for a period of time. Officers are not disciplinarians and, if they are, they need to speak to the school superintendent. Capital Improvement Program presentation Assistant City Manager Judith Aiello stated the City prepares a five-year capital program and has done so for more than 20 years. It serves the City well when going to the bond houses to see that the City is looking long-term and determining capital needs and a financing program to achieve them. The five-year plan identifies the City's infrastructure needs. Various funding sources are looked at and all funding sources are used to prepare the five-year plan. The indebtedness is $6 million through General Obligation bonds and also current capital projects eligible for funding by the CDBG Committee; Motor Fuel Tax Funds; special assessments; TIF funds; Water and Sewer Funds; parking revenue; fleet service funds and any private sources. The focus is on projects funded through GO debt. At the direction of the Budget Committee and Council, the GO debt is $6 million, which represents an increase in indebtedness annually. Last year $3.5 million was funded through GO debt. She said the $6 million is an improvement but does not meet the City's needs. She recalled last year a summary of all capital needs of the City was presented and amounted to roughly $240 million. In preparing the five-year plan they looked at all capital needs and determined critical projects that need to be addressed; noted adoption of this plan will continue many objectives and commitments made by Council in the past. Although not funded by GO debt, the 10-year sewer improvement program continues and the end of that program is near. This plan will also continue implementation of the seven-year park enrichment program, which was approved by Council last year. It expands annual street improvement and addresses needs of several city buildings. Staff wishes to discuss the Civic Center, Recycling Center and Arts Center because strategic planning is needed for them. She stated they would highlight projects and not go over every one. Public Buildings. Facilities Management Director Max Rubin highlighted needs for three buildings: Recycling Center, Arts Center and Civic Center. $800,000 is allocated for the roof at the Civic Center because it is failing. Slate is falling, which is dangerous and there is water infiltration into finance and city manager's offices. They cannot repair and need to replace the roof, which was done about 15 years ago. The slate is good but the installation may have been questionable. Other problems at the Civic Center are the 106 heat pumps, which takes an employee almost full time to keep operating. This equipment provides air conditioning in the summer and heat to the Health Department in winter. These units are no longer manufactured. They purchased used heat pumps for spare parts to keep the system operating. Staff is getting a design for a new fire alarm system at the Civic Center. He stated that this building will continue to cost more money down the road. An architectural review was done in 1998 that recommended vacating the fourth floor and plan is needed to either stay or move. The recycling center is in the mix of several buildings. The City needs storage space and ECMC needs a site. He noted the City pays around $40,000 in fees for storage on Dewey. They are trying to move spaces around and currently believe bringing ECMC to the recycling center would be an excellent use as it leaves a large part of the building for other uses. The Evanston Arts Center on Sheridan Rd. has fog houses that will be rehabbed and two apartments in the coach house, vacant for over a year, that need extensive remodeling if they are to be rented for revenue and if used by the arts center, remodeled differently. He noted the City has many buildings that must be maintained or face larger costs in the future. Ms. Aiello reported they hope that the assessment of the recycling center will be completed next month and brought to the A&PW Committee in March with recommended uses and timing. Alderman Feldman inquired whether there had been discussion with ECMC regarding a move. Yes. Mr. Rubin said ECMC initiated a look at the recycling center and an architect donated time to do a schematic design. ECMC is interested in reducing their overhead and favor that location. Mr. Rubin stated the ECMC fundraiser produced $2,070. 9 January 26, 2002 Ms. Aiello reported a meeting coming up about the Arts Center relating to the fog house and coach house. The organization wants to remain in the main house and staff wants confirmation from City Council and long-range strategic planning for that area. She noted Alderman Newman had referred the Civic Center roof to A&PW Committee. Alderman Bernstein noted $898,000 is allocated to the Civic Center and that its present site is not a wonderful location. He recalled that $17 million was projected to renovate the building and asked if the City is committed to this location or could the Civic Center be relocated? He suggested moving the Civic Center downtown and putting this property on the tax rolls; wanted a long-term plan to move the city offices from 2100 Ridge and was reticent to spend to restore it. Alderman Rainey commented on the frequent references to move the Civic Center to downtown. She pointed out the Civic Center is in a place that would be replaced by an enormous property; said if they think the 1930 Ridge discussion has been difficult, when they speak of closing 2100 Ridge, selling it to a developer and moving downtown to a taxed property she would be involved in the debate. She stated the Civic Center is in a fine location. Evanston has no money to build a new building or pay rent. She stated the roof needs to be replaced and it should be done. She termed it a "gem" of a building that needs to be saved. She knows people who will produce a cost/benefit analysis that would show the City could get lots of money for the Civic Center and that was not the point. She says this is a good-sized building with parking; going downtown would be a mistake and predicted immediate neighbors would be up in arms. People think there is a lot of traffic here now, but she asked them to imagine 500 condominium units here. She said the discussion is a waste of time and they should take care of the buildings they have. Alderman Moran said in Council's dealing with the Civic Center, it has less to do with where the Civic Center is and more to do with having a program and financial plan for dealing with wherever the Civic Center is. He referred to the analysis done almost four years ago and the document recommended whatever they do, they would spend millions of dollars to deal with this situation. It has not been dealt with. The fact they are dealing with over $900,000 capital item takes away from monies for other programs. He said it was clear from that analysis that without a comprehensive plan to deal with the situation, that figure will only grow. What Council has to do with the infrastructure needs, which have not been handled comprehensively, is to tackle the project and develop a program. Mayor Morton stated the Civic Center is a marvelous building with character; pointed out there has been a great deal of renovation. When she came here nine years ago, she was dismayed by the condition of the building, but since then has seen many improvements. She expressed appreciation to Max Rubin and his staff for their work. Ms. Aiello stated that staff would agree with all that was said and that was why they want it brought up again so they can decide what to do. Developers have approached the City from time to time about this building. She acknowledged density and neighbors would be issues, but staying here has issues as well. She noted the real estate portion has been referred to the A&PW Committee so the Civic Center could be addressed. Mayor Morton stated roofs have to be replaced due to normal wear and tear,and that Mr. Rubin has used staff to do much of the work here, which would not be the case with the roof. Alderman Newman noted cuts to the Facilities Management budget would impair Rubin's ability to get things done. Parks/Forestry & Recreation. Director Doug Gaynor reported projects approved in the strategic plan, which is in its first year, are on schedule due to exceptional weather and two excellent contractors. Alderman Jean -Baptiste asked about irrigation for Crown Park fields, noting inquiries from citizens on Crain about dust generated from the park. Mr. Gaynor explained that irrigation does not eliminate dust as it comes from in -fields and only grassy areas are irrigated. Prior to use, staff waters down fields to reduce dust. In response to Alderman Jean -Baptiste, Mr. Gaynor stated the Crown softball, soccer, baseball fields renovation/irrigation is out in 2006-07. He noted the study would be on the next Council agenda for review so they have time to know what they will do with all Crown Park land. Mayor Morton asked how they ascertained costs, specifically the Merrick Rose Garden improvements? Mr. Gaynor 10 January 26, 2002 stated they have accumulated data of actual costs to do various tasks. Projects funded in recent years are in a database. When it is time to do an estimate, they go to the database, sometimes bring in specialists to help and all projects are done through an RFP or bid process with Council approval. He explained the rose garden needs considerable work. They propose installing an irrigation system, fencing and redoing retaining walls. Alderman Feldman asked if the improvements to the rose garden would result in an improved appearance. Mr. Gaynor stated it will diminish the need for so much maintenance but not change the appearance. Alderman Feldman asked for information on what has been spent on the rose garden for the past 10 years. Alderman Jean, -Baptiste asked for information on outstanding work for Canal Park. He understood the renovation started several years ago and was not completed. Transportation. Public Works Director David Jennings stated the five-year street improvement plan, street lighting and Chicago Avenue Streetscape improvement plan were highlighted. In October, Mr. Jennings presented a plan on the needs of the streets; traditionally street resurfacing has been funded with the Motor Fuel Tax of about $1.2 million annually and that would continue. The consultant report showed the City needs about $4 million a year to maintain the current level of streets. Staff looked at alternative funding sources and recommended adding $500,000 to the CIP. He said with that and what is done in the sewer area will give them about $2.7 million. Council approved the Motor Fuel Tax 2002 plan at the $1.2 million level. Staff proposes to come back in March with a plan that allocates $500,000 in several ways. One is to accelerate the plan and look at some of the state routes. The City does not program money for state routes. State improvements are funded through a program called Jurisdictional Transfer, where state/federal monies are used to improve the roadways then turned over to the City. A current example is McCormick Blvd., which will be a jurisdictional transfer after the $3 million project is complete. Because they cannot do jurisdictional transfer on every street simultaneously, they will have to program money in an intermediate fashion to fix some of the state routes. This was done in the past. Dempster is a state route and was resurfaced by the City. He will bring the plan back in March with the $500,000 and a five-year plan at the $1.7 million level. Alderman Feldman asked about a memo on money spent due to sewer improvements to resurface streets that said some streets that are resurfaced really don't need it. Mr. Jennings confirmed that; said when they do sewer work they want to do more than trenching and resurfacing the top of the trench. As long as they are in making an improvement the goal has been to incorporate street resurfacing into that. In some cases it is done early and if they don't do it, they will have to go back because the street has been disturbed, so it is better to do curb -to -curb resurfacing when they do major trenching. He explained that street might not be selected in the "condition survey." Alderman Feldman asked what the actual application of funds would be on streets that really need resurfacing? Mr. Jennings said one way would be to look at the condition rating of streets where sewer work is done. The street will be resurfaced eventually and sewer work forces it to be done earlier. When presenting the five-year plan, he will show aldermen resurfacing that is sewer -related. In response to Mayor Morton, Mr. Jennings stated the City is getting federal funds channeled through the state for McCormick Blvd., which includes funds for drainage. Street Lighting. Mr. Jennings said $630,000 is an aggregate number for street lighting and comes from several sources over time. He noted if CDBG recommendations are approved in 2002, they will have $600,000 for streetlight improvements, of which $130,000 is from CDBG and the remainder from CIP. Using $600,000 as a base number, this would be a five-year program to upgrade streetlights. They are starting with this level and after a year of experience will come back to Council with the cost to make these improvements in two, three or four years. They are hesitant to put out numbers because this is all new. No other community is using this approach, which is retrofitting recent technology into an existing system. They cannot go to a comparable community for cost and do it in one year. Cost will be $3 million minimum for this changeover. This funding allows a good start, then staff will bring back a multi -year plan with costs. Alderman Newman thanked Chief Kaminski for a good memo on the importance of street lighting in deterring crime. He read that ballasts deteriorate and must be replaced every 15 years. This system is almost 20 years old, so these bulbs are already obsolete by five years. He recalled an extensive discussion in 1997 to move lighting up but additional money was not put into the CIP. He said there is no funding plan for street lighting and that means some neighborhoods will Dl2 11 January 26, 2002 have lighting that is obsolete by 10 years. He thought additional money needed to be expended to have a more realistic time to complete this improvement. He said induction lighting throws off 20% more light than the current system. Alderman Feldman asked Mr. Jennings to explain induction lighting. Mr. Jennings stated that induction lighting is new to the United States but not to Europe. He said a bulb is used without a filament and an antenna is charged using a generator, which induces phosphorus inside the bulb to light up. Induction lighting is used on bridges and clock towers, places where they do not want to change bulbs often. The life is in the 100,000-hour range versus 10,000 hours for mercury vapor bulbs. Alderman Feldman asked if the induction bulb could be fitted into the same receptacle? No. Mr. Jennings explained inside the head now there is a cylindrical device called the "can" where the socket is and the ballast is underneath. Ballasts are needed for mercury vapor bulbs. There is a connector that takes it down to the power source. This project involves changing the can inside the fixture, which will retain its historic look and one cannot tell the difference from the outside. The can will be replaced. A generator and antenna will be placed inside the unit, then cleaned and closed. Alderman Feldman asked it this kind of lighting degrades as does mercury vapor? Mr. Jennings stated yes, but not to the same extent. All bulbs degrade. Mr. Jennings confirmed replacement would occur much less often. Alderman Feldman asked the increase in lighting when old bulbs are replaced? Mr. Jennings did not have an answer. He explained the condition of the ballast has as much to do with the light emission as does the bulb. A new ballast and bulb means the light would go back to the lumen output of 1981-82. He said it would be brighter. Alderman Feldman asked for a comparison of brightness between a new ballast and bulb and induction lighting. Mr. Jennings said he would get numbers. Alderman Feldman thought if the old ballastfbulbs were replaced with induction lighting, they would see a dramatic increase in light — perhaps up to 40%. Chicago Avenue Streetscape. Mr. Jennings said recommended funding is at $280,000 in the coming year. He reported staff had gone through an extensive neighborhood planning process; hired a consultant to lead through that process and developed a concept plan for the Chicago Avenue Streetscape. A presentation will be made to Council in March and they have had one public information meeting. Preliminary indications show this plan will cost about $8 million. The $280,000 gets them started on the design, a little less than half of what the design phase will cost. The project will have to be phased. Another part is the need to look for alternative funding sources, such as a special service district, whatever there is to help do this such as MFT funds for traffic signals or possibly CMAQ (federal money) which was used on Ridge Avenue to improve signals. They are looking at what could be done to get this built. He said that they will have to do a land survey to begin the design and start phasing. Alderman Feldman asked if Chicago Avenue, with its different character from Howard Street to Sheridan Road, is being considered? Will the approach be uniform or suited to particular sections? Mr. Jennings stated the design would be fitted to the character of particular areas, which was recognized in the design process. Alderman Newman recalled when the downtown Streetscape was done a special service district was formed. He said the cost would have been prohibitive without one and wanted to know if they would have a special service district on Chicago Avenue before expending money? Alderman Wynne stated the streetscape project is part of a project started in 1997, the cost is large and noted that Chicago Avenue is a major corridor; alternative funding sources were discussed including a special service district. Chicago Avenue is being redeveloped and there are possible impact fees by developers because there are significant changes in uses which impacts infrastructure. Alderman Newman recalled before the downtown streetscape began there was an extensive campaign by Evmark to get owners on board and they did not go forward -until owners agreed because a special service district is paid for by owners. The City matched funds in downtown. He wanted to hear owners' responses before spending. Alderman Jean -Baptiste asked if allocation for street improvements was to take care of the list of priorities presented to Council? Yes. Mr. Jennings affirmed the list for 2002 was approved. The $500,000 is to accelerate in the next year, pull some out and look at some of the state routes that cannot wait for jurisdictional transfer. If this is funded it would include the list plus additional streets to be presented in March. Streets would be picked that don't need anything else. W 3 12 January 26, 2002 Alderman Engelman asked for a memo on Neighborhood Traffic Calming for $100,000 and what that entails? Alderman Rainey, who has been involved with the Howard Street Streetscape project for years, asked if this was the first time there was the sewer project on Howard Street. Mr. Jennings apologized and said that was a typographical error; the $300,000 was to repair all sewers on streets before they resurface for catch basin repair where they televise sewers ahead of time — the spot sewer repair program. He explained the Howard Street improvement was done in 2001. Mr. Jennings explained $300,000 is allocated annually to repair sewers on streets they are getting ready to resurface. Alderman Bernstein asked if the main had been replaced on Maple Avenue? Mr. Jennings would report on that. Ms. Aiello pointed out they need a project numbering system and the City's software does not allow them to change project numbers easily. Information Systems. Management & Budget Director Pat Casey stated there are four projects. The first is to complete the financial/human resources software system budgeted at $490,000. He pointed out the City has a 20-year financial system that needs to be replaced and this would complete funding for replacement of that system. Alderman Newman asked for total dollars — noted this is funded in two places. There is $1 million under the Water Fund and $890,000 under financial/human resources. Then they received a budget memo for around $3 million. He thought they were now at $5 million put away for financial software and suggested they need to find out what the City is doing. Finance Director Bill Stafford stated the total cost of the financial/human resources software is $4 million. Budget memo #19 asked for $3.5 million and they are asking for another $500,000. The water billing system is included. Alderman Newman thought some money to fund this was set aside for the meter system about three years ago. Mr. Stafford stated none of this comes from meter money. Alderman Newman stated part of the $3.5 million in budget memo #19, comes from the Water Fund that was money, intended in part, to pay for the new meter system, not software. In response to Mayor Morton, Mr. Casey stated this software interfaces with other programs. He explained a financial system needs to be linked to other systems such as permit tracking, recreation and databases. Mayor Morton asked who would use this? Mr. Casey stated virtually all staff would use it; core users would need about a year to get comfortable with it. Alderman Newman wanted to have a meeting about this in December, noting the firm selected does business with companies with 50,000 employees. He asked what other municipalities are spending on software and other options including leasing? He wanted to invite people in the community with expertise to be involved. He wondered what communities with 830 plus employees are spending to replace software systems and what options they have to phase in over time. He was not ready for the $4 million; said they need more education and to hear alternatives. Mr. Stafford said staff would respond and provide the system within the parameters of financing Council chooses. He stated the City has a 20-year-old system, which has structural and integrity issues and all held their breath as they processed W-2s this year. The system must be replaced and the $500,000 will not make/break it. The plan is to come back to the A&PW Committee this spring with a proposal. Alderman Newman was ready for a special meeting on this matter within the next 14-21 days to ask questions and get the cost right. Alderman Feldman also wanted to see options and asked the parameters? He wanted to know the meaning of the funding levels and if this could be done in phases. All they have now is a recommendation for $4 million, which they assume solves the problem. Mr. Stafford will provide information and they can talk about phases. Alderman Jean -Baptiste also supported the call for more information on this purchase. He thought it crucial that they have comparables and to know where a system is in place and working. He noted that often systems are put in that don't work and many institutions have had to eat costs. They need assurance that the system they buy will work. Mayor Morton supported having a meeting on this with the entire Council. She asked where they could go to see the system in operation? Mr. Stafford stated Cook County has the system and it cost $20 million. Several comparable cities have ay 13 January 26, 2002 the system in California, Colorado and Florida. Alderman Newman noted Cook County has 5.3 million people and Evanston has 73,000. He did not think they would be at 20% of that and more like $2 million. Mayor Morton suggested this be put on hold and studied for a year. Ms. Aiello stated they cannot wait another year because the various systems need to be integrated so better services can be provided and staff can work better together. She pointed out a lot of information asked for had to be produced manually and took many hours to do. With a financial upgrade many of those reports could have been done in half the time. She said the $500,000 needed to stay in the CIP. Because funds are in the CIP does not mean they will go out March 1 and spend it. The capital budget does not get to the financial markets until summer/fall, so there is opportunity for study and change. Mayor Morton asked how this will help the public? Ms. Aiello stated citizens could register for recreation programs online, pay bills and fines; would help staff identify those who have obligations before they are issued permits/licenses -- better service could be provided. Alderman Newman needed to be convinced that they need $3 million for this software. He said there is a commitment to this project, but it has to be worked out in terms of other priorities. Mr. Crum stated this is an extremely important project and staff cannot devote a meeting to this in the next 30 days considering the amount of work on the budget. There is no commitment to spend this in the next 30 days. They needed to recognize that the CIP has to allow for this if they decide to go ahead after Council's discussion. He noted they may be able to find a system for less than $3.5 million, but they have to find something. Mayor Morton stated the elected officials have to justify expenditures to the electorate; supported upgrading systems, but in a time of budget constraints, she thought it appropriate for aldermen to ask questions. Ms. Aiello stated the discussion needs to happen but not in a panic, even if money is in the CIP, it would not be spent until after a full discussion by Council. Whether the $500,000 is in or not, they need to focus on getting a system because these things keep getting put off so they cost more. Alderman Jean -Baptiste stated aldermen need to be fully convinced to make the allocations for software due to the many needs such as alley paving and street lighting, because the amount set aside for software affects other needs. He thought that technology gets cheaper as they go along and did not think time was against them. He suggested time may be against them in terms of the effectiveness staff wants to have in producing documents, managing the budget and making sure that finances are properly monitored. When they speak of comparables and presentations by different companies, those are important because this is such a large expenditure. When they have to justify this expense to the public, they may find that bill paying online may not be important to the majority of residents and street lighting may be important. He thought Council should be fully informed to go forward and it was important to have a special meeting when staff is ready. If staff is not ready, they have to work with what they have and make a decision to allocate the amount of money based on other priorities. Alderman Newman stated in 1997 when staff was asked about upgrading street lighting the price was $1.5 million and now is $3 million. He thought they were acting in haste when they were told of the $3.4 million bid at an October A&PW Committee meeting and then told that company did not meet financial standards. He stated no aldermen objects to dramatic improvements in the software, but the number is significant and puts other needs in the community back several years. They need to know what they are doing. He suggested they meet in the 30 days after February ends. Alderman Feldman said in spite of repeated statements by staff, he did not have an urgent case for spending this kind of money. He wants to understand the case. He noted that Mr. Rubin has told them the roof is leaking at the Civic Center so it has to be fixed. If they have leaky roofs in the computer system, Council has to know what those are. He has a sense of what integrity means but would like to know more. He reiterated that a case must be made for this software and a compelling one to spend this kind of money. The reticence is due to not understanding why it is needed. If they can understand the need they can work comfortably with staff on this. Economic Development. Ms. Aiello reported the main project is the Sherman Avenue Garage redevelopment at $25 million, which was in last year's capital budget. The City was not ready and did not bond for it. Sherman Plaza Ventures will be back to the Economic Development Committee in March/April with final designs, financial analysis and final numbers to determine whether they are ready to go to the bond market. 1s 14 January 26, 2002 The final area is commercial districts. Ms. Aiello reported a new initiative to put funds into neighborhood commercial districts. Over the years they have done things with TIF money, special service districts and projects with the City of Chicago. They want to go back to these districts and make sure there is a comprehensive streetscape and infrastructure program. They are in the early planning stages on the West Side, which will be continued; money has been allocated to Central Street and allocated for other neighborhood districts Council may want them to look at. She said part of that are the policy issues that have been identified for the Chicago Avenue Streetscape that they wish to discuss with Council before they go to bid on any of the projects. She stated this is an opportunity to improve infrastructure in commercial districts that have not been improved for many years. Alderman Rainey asked Council to consider reformulating the food/beverage tax concept to a food/non-alcoholic beverage tax. She found the staff memo on the alcohol tax history interesting and thought it was presented in a way to not retain the 2% tax on restaurants. She quoted from the memo, "since 1987-88 when we imposed liquor taxes, there was an average increase of 8.62% between then and 2000-01 an average increase of 8.62% in revenue." She said in reality in looking at the numbers between those years, there was a 182% increase in revenue from liquor tax, which puts a different perspective on it. She noted some of the largest increases were in the year when the liquor tax was increased. She argued to leave that alone. Staff also indicated they have to attribute some of the increase to an increased number of vendors. She thought that would indicate the liquor tax has not been a detriment to business. She noted a reference to automotive/filling stations and asked if that was the gasoline tax? There was a 24.5% increase this year on that tax. It is a sales tax. Mr. Stafford responded that that is state sales taxes generated from that category of taxation. That is what the City gets on the 1% sales tax. The increase was due to the high price of gasoline. Mr. Stafford would analyze that to see what was included. There was discussion among Mayor Morton, aldermen Feldman, Engelman, Rainey, Newman and Mr. Crum about holding the next meeting, citizen commentary, deferring any votes and meeting as scheduled. Council voted to reject not holding the February 2 budget workshop. Alderman Rainey asked questions about leasehold taxes on properties on the scavenger sale list, which have been on for many years. She received an explanation of how the scavenger sale works. She knows how it works and her concern is about the hundreds of thousands of dollars of unpaid leasehold taxes; will staff give a copy from the Evanston Review. There being no further business to come before Council, Mayor Morton asked for a motion to adjourn. The Council so moved at 1:30 p.m. Mary P. Morris, City Clerk A videotape recording of this meeting has been made part of the permanent record and is available in the Citv Clerk's office.