MINUTES

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING

VILLAGE OF VERNON HILLS

APRIL 18, 2000 

 

 

IN ATTENDANCE: President Byrne called the meeting to order at 8:30 p.m. The following Trustees were present: Black, Cashman, Henley, Ryg, Koch and Hebda.

 

Also present were Manager Allison, Assistant Manager Kalmar, Finance Director Nakrin, Building Commissioner Gerth, Chief Fleischhauer, Public Works Director Laudenslager, Assistant to the Manager Teich, Corporation Counsel Citron, and Village Clerk Schwartz.

 

1.       MINUTES

Motion by Trustee Ryg, second by Trustee Hebda to approve the 3/21/2000 Committee Minutes. Roll call vote:

AYES: 6 – Black, Cashman, Hebda, Henley, Koch, Ryg

NAYS: 0 – None

Motion declared carried.

 

2.  PARK DISTRICT DONATION

The Park District Board requested the continuance of $150,000/annually for capital improvements as noted in Park Commissioner Skidmore’s letter dated March 17, 2000. Trustee Cashman asked Corporation Counsel Citron to respond to Steve Klein’s allegations of the intergovernmental agreement being violated because the pool that was proposed was $1.152 million and the pool to be built now is over $4 million. Corporation Counsel Citron stated that the plan was conceptual in nature, therefore it was not violated.

 

Trustee Ryg asked Finance Director Nakrin what the options are to continue the donation. He stated that it could be taken from general funds or tied to sales tax. At the present time $450,000/yr is needed though to pay the debt service on the Vernon Hills Athletic Complex development of playing fields and recreational uses for the residents. The hotel/motel tax will generate $180,000/year and the municipal tax will generate $125,000/year. A $145,000 deficit is left which would come from general revenue. Trustee Henley added that the bond for the Vernon Hills Athletic Complex is $5.2 million and the cost to construct Fairway Drive is $10 million with a bond needed by the Village for their cost of about $4 million. A $9 million bond payment for 10 years is approximately $902,000 year.

 

Trustee Koch stated that the Village is working on many projects now and he is uncomfortable with agreeing to donate more money to the Park District at the present time for the pool expansion. He also noted that the children he talked with are anxious to have a diving pool, the one major item that was deferred from the plan.

 

President Byrne asked if the Park District budgeted any money for the development of the Vernon Hills Athletic Complex. Park Commissioner Peterson replied that they have not.

 

Trustee Ryg stated the donation to the Park District should come before giving CDW a tax rebate or donating money to the YMCA. Trustee Henley stated that the $1.5 million from CDW is funding a lot of these projects and is better than CDW not being in town and receiving nothing. He also noted that the YMCA is another amenity for the residents to enjoy.

 

Steve Klein of Stonefence Farms stated his objection to the pool expansion and said the agreement may have been vague but the intent was violated. Trustee Koch disagreed.

 

Trustee Cashman stated the intent was to earmark dollars for the young adults yet the plunge pool was cut. Why couldn’t the lazy river be deferred instead? Commissioner Skidmore stated that the plunge pool gets the least amount of use and does not generate revenue.

 

President Byrne reiterated that the Village is spending money on the Vernon Hills Athletic Complex park project for the Park District, along with development of a park in Gregg’s Landing.

 

Lorraine Best of 212 Arcadia stated that the #1 choice on the Park District survey was the deep water. She believes the Park District is out of touch with the residents noting the 1300 signatures on a petition against the expansion as planned.

 

Motion by Trustee Ryg, second by Trustee Black to approve $150,000/year for a 10-year term to the Park District with benchmarks built in per Finance Director Nakrin. Roll call vote:

AYES: 3 –Hebda, Ryg, Black

NAYS: 4 – Cashman, Henley, Koch, Byrne

Motion declared failed.

 

3.     PRESENTATION OF CONCEPT PLANS FOR 3 OFFICE/WAREHOUSE BUILDINGS TO BE LOCATED AT 330 AND 380 CORPORATE WOODS PARKWAY AND 770 HICKORY HILLS

Robert Peron of Van Vlissingen & Company gave an overview of the buildings to be constructed. The 770 Hickory Hills building will be approximately 35,000 sq. ft. and the new home of Monnex. Staff stated they just received a response to technical review but that there are no outstanding issues at this time.

 

The 330 building will be a one-story 40,419 sq. ft. spec building with 4 loading docks. Trustee Cashman requested architectural relief on the west wall and more landscaping. The 380 building will be a one-story 23,644 sq. ft. spec office building. The Board requested architectural relief and more landscaping. Corporation Counsel Citron stated to the petitioner that concept approval does not constitute Board action.

 

4.  PROPOSED ZONING CODE AMENDMENTS – ARTICLES 3, 4, AND 19

Building Commissioner Gerth proposed amendments to various sections of the Zoning Ordinance. Planning and Zoning unanimously recommended approval of the changes contingent upon “treehouses” being subject to the same location, size, and height restrictions as “playhouses”. Those changes have been made and are included in what was presented to the Board. The Board agreed with the changes.

 

5. CAP

Motion by Trustee Ryg, second by Trustee Black to approve the CAP request for $3000. Roll call vote:

AYES: 6 – Hebda, Henley, Koch, Ryg, Black, Cashman

NAYS: 0 – None

Motion declared carried.

 

6. ADJOURNMENT

Motion by Trustee Hebda, second by Trustee Black to adjourn the Committee of the Whole meeting. Roll call vote:

AYES: 6 – Henley, Koch, Ryg, Black, Cashman, Hebda

NAYS: 0 – None

Motion declared carried.   

 

Meeting adjourned at 10:30 p.m.

 

__________________________________          ______________________________________

Jeanne M. Schwartz, Village Clerk                    Roger L. Byrne, Village President