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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.24.16 Minutes CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING CITY OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS LORRAINE H. MORTON CIVIC CENTER JAMES C. LYTLE COUNCIL CHAMBERS Monday, October 24, 2016 Roll Call: Alderman Rainey Alderman Wilson Alderman Miller Alderman Holmes Alderman Fiske Alderman Tendam Alderman Braithwaite Alderman Revelle Alderman Wynne Presiding: Mayor Elizabeth D. Tisdahl Mayor Tisdahl called the Regular Meeting of the City Council to order at 7:10 PM Mayor Public Announcements and Proclamations The Mayor announced the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History Day to be October 24, 2016. She also announced the cancellation of various meetings due to Cubs games Economic Development’s Wednesday meeting has been cancelled. There will be watch parties held at Chandler/Newberry; Fleetwood/Jourdaine; Levy Center; and Robert Crown. Locations may change dependent of attendees. Block Party applications are being accepted, and when the Cubs win the Evanston alert sirens will be activated By Alderman Braithwaite. City Manager Public Announcements The Great Pumpkin Compost Event – November 5, 2016 was presented by Susie Hall describing the procedure of collecting used pumpkins. You can deliver these pumpkins at the Civic Center, but the pumpkins cannot have sparkles, glitter, or wax in or on the pumpkins. Communications: City Clerk City Clerk announced the first day of early voting netted 1,171 voters by the end of the day. The time frame for next week will be from 9 am until 7 pm Monday-Friday, and 9-5 Saturday, 9-3 on Sunday. He also announced the birth of Deputy Clerk Blackman of a boy 8 lbs. 14ounce & 21 inches long. Clerk Greene also read a letter from resident Bonnie Kustner in opposition to the bike lanes in Evanston. Also mentioned was the online survey received from Steuart Kipness supporting the bike lanes. Public Comment Junad Rizki commented on the change order for Howard Street, he stated there is no control over staff and Council doesn’t know what they are doing. He stated the Council has a duty to protect the citizen’s money and they are not doing it. City Council Agenda October 24, 2016 Page 2 of 10 Fred Wittinberg stated he was in great support of what Clerk Greene read and he read a letter concerning his complaints of the City and CTA not following the requirements of ADA POLICES. Jim Lautoback stated the Northwestern Students are no different from the other schools and they are sleep deprived and changing the speed limit to accommodate them will not accomplish much. Carl Bova recommended the bike lanes to be designated in one direction. He stated a lot of people come out in opposition and that should be a sign. Make bike lanes southbound only. He also suggested once every 2 weeks recycling collection. Dan Josephs retired CTA driver and supervisor spoke of the proposal for Dodge Ave and he approves and suggested to eliminate all flag stops. This will not eliminate traffic, but there will be well designated standardized stops. Hubert Fincher is CTA driver and he stated the stop signs should be well posted, and these signs are posted at night during your sleep. He requested for all signs to be posted visibly for the driver and safety of the passengers. Nancy Sherman spoke in support of the bike lanes, and Evanston should get rid of flag stops. She also suggested for the Aldermen to go into Chicago, to Washington Street and use their bus stops as an example. Linda Bins came to address the Sheridan Road project and to erect wrote iron fences to provide safety for the students and employees as well. Joan Dokia came to thank the Mayor and Council for passing the proclamation of the LGBT community. Ben Powell a student government senator at NWU came to speak on closing Sheridan Rd. and consider it as a public use, and to limit truck traffic and send them on other streets in Evanston, and to reduce the speed limit. Patricia Giles complained of the traffic congestion as she traveled attempting to arrive at her destination Kristina Salinka is the President of NWU’s student government she announced the handing out of 330 bike helmets to students and faculty. She suggested to decrease the speed limit to 20 miles around the campus, and reduce to 3 three lanes. Emily Glem designed the document for lowering the speed limit on Sheridan Rd. to include NWU as part of the other school zones. Bonnie Kustner stated she felt the South Evanston citizens are not being heard. She stated the ballard should come down and the same proposals should be recognized the same as the Northshore and northeast. Dave Jackson thanked Ann Rainey and he complained of the problems attempting to turn from Brummell south on Dodge. He suggested cutting 2 spaces back to accommodate visibility and to decrease speed limits. He then passed out some documents to the dias. Leo Sherman stated that staff did not do enough investigation before presenting their proposal. He suggested adding speed bumps to slow traffic down on Dodge. He spoke of and showed a picture of the pipes on Dodge Ave. and cancer agents in Southwest Evanston resident’s water due to the contaminated insides of the pipes. Stewart Kipness spoke of making biking safely, and he thanked the students at Nichols School and he is supporting the use of bike lanes to improve and not remove. Ed Signature came to speak against the proposed bike lanes. City Council Agenda October 24, 2016 Page 3 of 10 Mary Signature she spoke against the configuration on Dodge and she felt there was not enough community input. Annie Gibbison born in France and believes in bike lanes. She did her own survey by walking up and down Dodge and then sitting in James Park all day watching traffic. She was extremely surprised how few people were using the bike lanes Dr. Archi spoke on her concerns of the safety on Sheridan Rd. and she promotes a slowing down with greenways and no cars and look to the future for safer alternatives. Mayor asked the City Manager to allow the Fire and Police Chiefs to comment on the Dodge Ave corridor. Police Chief Eddington (who is also the acting Fire Chief) stated the removal of the ballards have improved somewhat, but the continuation of parking s paces moved out from the curb makes it difficult when spaces are full for drivers to yield to Emergency Vehicles, that is the crux of the issue from the Public Safety Department. SPECIAL ORDERS OF BUSINESS (SP1) Dodge Avenue Bike Lane Update Staff will update Council with findings from analysis regarding parking and improvement of traffic flow on Dodge Avenue. For Discussion Laura Biggs, City Engineer gave a power- point presentation that showed a follow-up analysis for the bike lanes (this presentation maybe located on the City’s website). Some of the Aldermen’s concerns were as follows:  How many spaces would be lost? (11 spaces will be lost).  How are the spaces distributed? (1 space on each side, it’s evenly distributed)  Are the visibility zones where there are no bus stops? The answer was yes, so there is an 80 ft. with the bus pull-off and 60 ft. visibility without a bus pull-off.  There could be additional spaces added on alternate streets for the loss on Dodge.  Emergency Vehicles going down Dodge during rush hour is impossible and very dangerous, and the lanes are not wide enough.  All bikers are not the same and all are not disrespectful.  Buses and trucks cannot be eliminated on Dodge.  Contact Northwestern or entity to perform a computer model of the bus pullout and the 60 ft. visibility and to look at a one-way bike lane, as well as the elimination of the flag stops. (SP2) FY2017 Proposed Budget – Debt, Capital, and Other Funds Staff will provide a presentation regarding the FY2017 Proposed Budget. No formal action will be taken regarding the FY2017 Budget. Budget documents are available here: http://www.cityofevanston.org/city-budget/. For Discussion City Manager announced due to the lateness of the hour they will walk through the CIP portion of the presentation and leave the debt and pensions for further input. Laura Biggs showed the power-point on the projects over a million dollars for the 5 year period, with Sheridan Rd. being the biggest project in 2017. Main Street will be started City Council Agenda October 24, 2016 Page 4 of 10 in 2017, as well as traffic and pedestrian study of Main S treet near Sam’s Club; Howard Street to Custer Project; Chicago Ave from Howard up to Main Street (bike lanes along this corridor) looking to obtain CMAC funding. ( for the full power-point presentation please visit the City’s website for the Council meeti ng on 10/24/2016 agendas and minutes and click on video). Directions for staff and the City Manager were expressed by the Aldermen for further information and clarification. Items not approved on Consent Agenda: (A3.3) Change Order #1 to the Contract with Ross Barney Architects for Design and Architecture Services for the Proposed Howard Street Theatre Staff recommends that City Council authorize the City Manager to execute Change Order No. 1 to the contract for Design and Architecture Services for the Proposed Howard Street Theatre with Ross Barney Architects, (10 W Hubbard St. Chicago, IL) in the amount of $12,505. This will increase the total contract amount from the original contract price of $39,865 to $52,370. Funding for this work will be from the Howard Ridge TIF District which has $1,000,000 budgeted in the Amended 2016 Budget for this project. For Action CONSENT AGENDA (M1) Approval of Minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting October 10, 2016 and October 17, 2016. For Action ADMINISTRATION & PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE (A1) Payroll – through October 3, 2016 $ 2,779,982.54 (A2) FY2016 City of Evanston Bills – October 25, 2016 $ 3,400,759.33 For Action (A3.1) Purchase of Parking Enforcement Vehicle from Currie Motors Staff recommends City Council approval for the following vehicle replacement purchases for the Administrative Services Department (Parking Enforcement). This purchase consists of one (1) replacement vehicle from Currie Motors (9423 W. Lincoln Highway, Frankfort, IL 60423) in the amount of $20,224. The vehicle purchased will replace Parking Enforcement division vehicle #110 that was totaled on September 17, 2016. Funding for one (1) vehicle will be from the Equipment Replacement Fund (Account 601.19.7780.65550) in the amount of $20,224. Insurance claims have been filed for the replacement cost with USAA Insurance group, holder of striking vehicle policy. Payment for the new vehicle will be forthcoming with an approximate totaled value of $20,091.50. For Action City Council Agenda October 24, 2016 Page 5 of 10 (A3.2) Purchase of Cisco Hardware and Software from Heartland Business Systems and Rental of Equipment from CentricsIT Staff recommends City Council authorize the purchase of Cisco networking equipment and software from Heartland Business Systems (1700 Stephen Street, Little Chute, WI ) in the amount of $40,887.60 and the rental of networking hardware from CentricsIT (3140 Northwoods Parkway, Norcross, GA) in the amount of $5,500 to complete the core networking replacement project. Total cost of this project is $46,387.60. Funding is provided through Capital Improvement Fund 4150.65515. The 2016 Budget included a $500,000 transfer to the Capital Improvement Fund. Although this transfer was allocated to the FY2016 Capital Improvement Plan, not all projects will be completed by year end. Staff will adjust the 2016 and 2017 Capital Improvement Fund to pay for this expense. For Action (A3.4) Contract for Phase III Construction Engineering Services with Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. For Sheridan Road – Chicago Avenue Project Staff recommends that City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a contract with Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. (9575 W. Higgins Road, Suite 600, Rosemont, Illinois 60018) in the not -to-exceed amount of $980,000 to provide the Phase III construction engineering services for Sheridan Road – Chicago Avenue Project. Funding for this project is as follows: $500,000 from the CIP Fund (2017 GO Bond) – Account 415.40.4150.65515-416450; $280,000 from the CIP Fund (2018 GO Bond) – Account 415.40.4150.65515-416450; and $200,000 from the Water Fund (2018) – Account 513.40.7330.65515-416450. For Action (A4) Resolution 68-R-16, Local Public Agency Agreement for Federal Participation with IDOT to Fund the Sheridan Road – Chicago Avenue Project Staff recommends adoption of Resolution 68-R-16 authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Local Public Agency Agreement for Federal Participation required for the Sheridan Road - Chicago Avenue Project. Execution of the Agreement will allow Evanston to receive $1,992,400 in Illinois Transportation Enhancement Grant (ITEP) funding, $1,700,000 in Illinois Jurisdiction Transfer Funds and obligate Evanston to pay IDOT the local share cost of this project totaling $9,492,514 ($8,512,514 for construction and $980,000 for engineering) by the completion of the project. The total proposed funding for this project totals $13,627,400, which is $442,486 over the estimated cost of the project. The various funding sources being used for this project can be found on the corresponding transmittal memorandum. For Action (A5) Resolution 63-R-16, Lease Agreements with United States Postal Service for Parking in City Parking Garage, 1800 Maple Avenue Staff recommends that the City Council adopt Resolution 63-R-16, authorizing City Council Agenda October 24, 2016 Page 6 of 10 the City Manager to enter into a lease renewal with the United States Postal Service (USPS) Facilities Real Estate Division (7029 Albert Pick Road, Greensboro, N.C., 27498-1103) for the parking of Postal Service Vehicles in the Maple Avenue Self Park, 1800 Maple Avenue. Projected total revenue for the period from 11/1/2016 – 10/31/2018 is $121,440. For Action (A6) Resolution 67-R-16 - Approving Settlement in Rattray v. City, et al. Staff recommends City Council adoption of Resolution 67 -R-16 authorizing the City execute a settlement agreement in Sean Rattray v. City of Evanston, et al. (Case No. 14-cv-08735). The funding source for the settlement will be from the Insurance Fund (Settlement Costs – Liability). For Action (A7) Ordinance 110-O-16, Amending Sections of the Evanston City Code Related to Removing Requirements for Certain Businesses Staff recommends City Council adoption of Ordinance 110-O-16, amending sections of the City Code related to removing requirements for certain businesses. Functions related to motor vehicle repair shops and price stating for retail establishments are no longer performed by the City of Evanston. Therefore, they are no longer regulated by the City. This Ordinance removes related portions of the City Code to accurately reflect the City’s current business regulation practices. For Introduction (A8) Ordinance 125-O-16, Amend City Code Section 7-2-5 Regulating Personal Wireless Telecommunication Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way Staff recommends City Council adopt Ordinance 125-O-16, regulating personal wireless telecommunications facilities. While the City currently has a general right-of-way permit application, the City should adopt a supplemental permit application specific to small cell towers delineating the City’s requirements, as well as to address issues and minimize the risk of litigation specific to small cell towers. Furthermore, implementing Ordinance 125-O-16 will ensure that the City treats all providers equally as required under state and federal law. For Introduction (A9) Ordinance 140-O-16, Amending Title 10, Chapter 11 “Traffic Schedules” of the City Code, Removing Parking Meters in Various Locations Throughout the City of Evanston The Transportation/Parking Committee and staff recommend City Council adoption of Ordinance 140-O-16, reallocating or removing parking meters in designated areas of the City. During the past couple years, staff has assessed parking meter usage throughout the City and determined that there are some areas in which parking meters are underutilized when compared to the expenses related to the installation and ongoing maintenance of the equipment. City staff recommends that the following conversions be adopted with respect to meter location removal or reallocation. For Introduction City Council Agenda October 24, 2016 Page 7 of 10 (A10) Ordinance 130-O-16, Amending City Code Title 10-11-1, Schedule 1, Reducing the Speed Limit on Sheridan Road from 30 MPH to 25 MPH Staff recommends City Council adopt Ordinance 130-O-16, reducing the speed limit on Sheridan Road from 30 MPH to 25 MPH. The Sheridan Road route through Evanston requires motorist to travel not only on Sheridan Road, bu t also on Main Street, Forest Avenue, Burnham Place and Forest Place. In order to have the speed limit reduced to 25 MPH through the entire route, the proposed ordinance reduces the speed limit on Burnham Place and as well as Sheridan Road. The other sections of roadway along the Sheridan Road route already have a 25 MPH speed limit. For Introduction (A11) Ordinance 129-O-16, Decreasing the Number of Class D Liquor Licenses for Red Robin Express Staff recommends City Council adoption of Ordinance 129-O-16, decreasing the number of Class D Liquor Licenses for Red Robin Express, LLC d/b/a Red Robin Burger Works at 1700 Maple Avenue. Staff recommends suspension of the rules for Introduction and Action at the October 24, 2016 City Council meeting. For Introduction and Action (A12) Ordinance 131-O-16, Increasing the Number of Class D Liquor Licenses for Asian Cajun Too Local Liquor Commissioner recommends City Council adoption of Ordinance 131-O-16, amending City Code Subsection 3-4-6-(D) to increase the number of authorized Class D liquor licenses from fifty-four (54) to fifty-five (55) and permit issuance of a Class D license to Asian Cajun Too Corporation d/b/a Asian Cajun Too located at 1322 Chicago Avenue. For Introduction (A13) Approval of Ordinance 132-O-16, Increasing the Number of Class T Liquor Licenses for The Caterist Local Liquor Commissioner recommends City Council adoption of Ordinance 132-O-16, amending City Code Subsection 3-4-6-(T) to increase the number of authorized Class T liquor licenses from two (2) to three (3) and permit issuance of a Class T license to Rent A Chef, Inc. d/b/a The Caterist located at 940 Pitner Avenue, Suite 5. For Introduction (A14) Ordinance 133-O-16, Increasing the Number of Class P-4 Liquor Licenses for North Shore Cider Local Liquor Commissioner recommends City Council adoption of Ordinance 133-O-16 amending City Code Subsection 3-4-6-(P-4) to increase the number of authorized Class P-4 liquor licenses from zero (0) to one (1) and permit issuance of a Class P-4 license to North Shore Cider Company, LLC d/b/a North Shore Cider located at 707 Howard Street. For Introduction City Council Agenda October 24, 2016 Page 8 of 10 (A15) Ordinance 134-O-16, Increasing the Number of Class U Liquor Licenses for Studio 5 Local Liquor Commissioner recommends City Council adoption of Ordinance 134-O-16 amending City Code Subsection 3-4-6-(U) to increase the number of authorized Class U liquor licenses from zero (0) to one (1) and permit issuance of a Class U license to Dance Center Evanston, Inc. d/b/a Studio 5 located at 1934 Dempster Street. Alderman Braithwaite recommends suspension of the rules for Introduction and Action at the October 24, 2016 City Council meeting. For Introduction and Action (A16) Ordinance 135-O-16, Increasing the Number of Class D Liquor Licenses for Sam’s Chicken & Ribs, Local Liquor Commissioner recommends City Council adoption of Ordinance 135-O-16 amending City Code Subsection 3-4-6-(D) to increase the number of authorized Class D liquor licenses from fifty-five (55) to fifty-six (56) and permit issuance of a Class D license to TMC Foods, Inc. d/b/a Sam’s Chicken & Ribs located at 1639 Orrington Avenue. For Introduction (A17) Ordinance 136-O-16, Increasing the Number of Class P-3 Liquor Licenses for Meta Wine Local Liquor Commissioner recommends City Council adoption of Ordinance 136-O-16 amending City Code Subsection 3-4-6-(P-3) to increase the number of authorized Class P-3 liquor licenses from zero (0) to one (1) and permit issuance of a Class P-3 license to VSWC, LLC d/b/a Meta Wine located at 600 Main Street. For Introduction (A18) Ordinance 137-O-16, Amending City Code Section 3-4-6 By Creating the New Class W Liquor License Local Liquor Commissioner recommends to City Council for adoption Ordinance 137-O-16, amending City Code Subsection 3-4-6 by creating a new Class W Liquor License. The City of Evanston currently does not have an annual liquor license tailored to commercial indoor recreation facilities allowing the sale of beer and wine for on-site consumption. Bill Kindra and Randall Mayne, representatives for Quad Indoor Sports, approached the City of Evanston’s Liquor Control Review Board requesting the addition of a new annual liquor license for commercial indoor recreation facilities. For Introduction (A19) Ordinance 120-O-16, Authorizing the Sale of a Surplus Fleet Vehicles/ Equipment Owned by the City of Evanston Staff recommends that City Council adopt Ordinance 120 -O-16 which directs the City Manager to offer the sale of vehicles owned by the City through public auction at the special Northwest Municipal Vehicle Auction being sponsored by America’s Auto Auctions on or around Tuesday, November 8, 2016 or any other subsequent America’s Online Auction as these vehicles become available, on a City Council Agenda October 24, 2016 Page 9 of 10 timely basis, as a result of new vehicle replacements being placed into service. For Action (A20) Ordinance 127-O-16, Dissolving Howard Hartrey Tax Increment Finance District Staff recommends City Council adopt Ordinance 127-O-16 dissolving the Howard Hartrey Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District effective December 31, 2016. As a part of this closure the City is required to officially notify all taxing districts regarding the dissolution and any distribution thereof from remaining funds in the TIF. For Action Alderman Rainey motioned for approval of the Consent Agenda and 2nd by Alderman Wilson and the Consent Agenda passed with a 9-0 Roll Call Vote. Items for discussion: (A3.3) Change Order #1 to the Contract with Ross Barney Architects for Design and Architecture Services for the Proposed Howard Street Theatre Staff recommends that City Council authorize the City Manager to execute Change Order No. 1 to the contract for Design and Architecture Services for the Proposed Howard Street Theatre with Ross Barney Architects, (10 W Hubbard St. Chicago, IL) in the amount of $12,505. This will increase the total contract amount from the original contract price of $39,865 to $52,370. Funding for this work will be from the Howard Ridge TIF District which has $1,000,000 budgeted in the Amended 2016 Budget for this project. For Action Alderman Braithwaite motioned for approval and 2 nd by Alderman Rainey. With a Roll Call Vote was 5-4 the motion passed (Aldermen Miller, Fiske, Wilson, Tendam voted nay) Call of the Wards: Ward 8, Alderman Rainey had no report. Ward 9, Alderman Miller had no report. Ward 1, Alderman Fiske wanted the school zone around NWU and what times would be more acceptable during our discussions. Ward 2, Alderman Braithwaite had no report. Ward 3, Alderman Wynne stated the Mayor and her cut the ribbon at Main and Chicago. Ward 4, Alderman Wilson had no report. Ward 5, Alderman Holmes had no report. City Council Agenda October 24, 2016 Page 10 of 10 Ward 6, Alderman Tendam had no report. Ward 7, Alderman Revelle she postponed her meeting to November 3rd. The Mayor asked for a motion to adjourn it was made by Alderman Braithwaite and 2nd By many Aldermen, with a Voice Vote the meeting of the Regular Council ended at 10:10 PM. Submitted, Rodney Greene, MMC City Clerk