Village of Berkeley Village Board met June 2

By Michael Abella

Jul 22, 2020

Village of Berkeley Village Board met June 2.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

1 President Lee called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

2 Pledge of Allegiance

3 Roll Call

Present: Trustees Hammar, Salemi, Grenier, Graf-Stone, Washington, Perez and President Lee

Also Present: Village Administrator Rudy Espiritu, Assistant to the Village Administrator Justyn Miller, Fire Chief Michael Kuryla, Police Chief Timothy Larem, Public Works Superintendent Joseph Wagner, Assistant Attorney Liz Brogan and Village Attorney Greg Smith

4 Presentations and Appointment – No Presentations or Appointments.

5 Public Hearings – No Public Hearing.

6 Public Comments and Questions (Consent Agenda Items Only)

No Public Comments or Questions.

7 Consent Agenda

The matters listed for consideration on the Consent Agenda are routine in nature or have all been discussed by the Board of Trustees previously and are matters on which there was unanimity for placement on the Consent Agenda at this meeting.

7.1 Village Board Meeting Minutes from May 19, 2020

Trustee	Motion	Second	Ayes	Nays	Absent	Abstain
Larry Hammar			X
Diane Salemi	X		X
Raymond Grenier		X	X
Sherry Graf-Stone			X
Herb Washington			X
Jerry Perez			X

MOTION CARRIED

8 Claims Ordinance

8.1 Motion to Approve Claims Ordinance #1440 in the amount of $39,181.77

Trustee

Motion

Second

Ayes

Nays

Absent

Abstain

Diane Salemi

Raymond Grenier

Sherry Graf-Stone

Herb Washington

Jerry Perez

Larry Hammar

MOTION CARRIED

9 Committee Reports

9.1 Administration, Zoning and Technology (Chair –Trustee Graf-Stone; Co-Chair Trustee Washington)

9.1.1 Trustee Liaison Report – Trustee Graf-Stone informed the Board that

the Administrative Team has been working very hard with all the Department Heads on their continued efforts to work with changes and processes as it relates to Coronavirus Pandemic. The team is also working on the Village’s reopening plan and continue to work on the Tollway Project. They are also working on the amended budget which will be presented to the Board as soon as they can. Trustee Graf-Stone also informed that the residents of Berkeley are completing their 2020 Census. As of May 28th, 72.7% have been completed.

9.1.2 Motion to Approve a Resolution of the Village of Berkeley, Cook County, Illinois Adopting Amendments to the Village’s Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual

Trustee	Motion	Second	Ayes	Nays	Absent	Abstain
Raymond Grenier			X
Sherry Graf-Stone	X		X
Herb Washington			X
Jerry Perez		X	X
Larry Hammar			X
Diane Salemi			X

MOTION CARRIED

9.1.3 Motion to Approve an Ordinance of the Village of Berkeley, Cook County, Illinois Adopting and Approving the Outdoor Dining Regulations in Executive Order 20-2 Issued by the Village President Under a Declaration of a State of Emergency (Covid-19 – May 29, 2020)

Trustee

Motion

Second

Ayes

Nays

Absent

Abstain

Sherry Graf-Stone

Herb Washington

Jerry Perez

Larry Hammar

Diane Salemi

Raymond Grenier

MOTION CARRIED

9.1.4 Village Hall Reopening Plan – Village Administrator Espiritu and Assistant to the Village Administrator Miller presented together the Village Hall reopening plan. Village Administrator Espiritu started the presentation stating that now that the Governor’s Phase 3 reopening is approaching, the Village also wants to reopen the Village Hall by phases. The main reason for this plan is because the Village has only one entrance/exit. They will need to limit how many residents are in the lobby since some come to the Police Department, others have to pay their bills or have other business in the Village. The Village Hall will not be open to the public for about two or more weeks. At this time Office Staff will reintegrate into the Village Hall. They will have time to get settled, get use to working together again. Staff will be staggered to maintain as much social distancing as possible. Staff will still work from home some days and other days in the office. At the end of each work day, Staff will have to clean their work stations, copiers, and common things that they touch (like doorknobs & counters). This will be a regular routine that will have to be incorporated. Everyone will have to wear a mask. Once residents are allowed to come into the Village Hall, there will be some hours in the morning for our Seniors and vulnerable population.

Assistant to the Village Administrator Miller gave a broad overview of Phase 1 that started yesterday, 6/1/20. At this time Village Hall remains closed, and they continue to encourage residents to use the dropbox for any kind of business that has to do with the Village. Any other business (for example building permit) to be emailed. A modified work schedule for Staff will begin so that Staff can get use to coming back to work. They are also preparing for allowing public entry (the earliest would be June 15) with signage being posted and getting cautionary measures in place. Village Hall will reopen to the public with restrictions. More specifically, only two parties will be allowed in the Village Hall lobby at one time, parties will be required to adhere to social distancing and face covering guidance, an appointment will be required for any Village business (people will have to call to schedule an appointment) beside paying a water bill, and designation of senior hours from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. everyday. A wireless intercom will be used to buzz people into the Village Hall.

President Lee spoke about future Board meetings, as they begin to reopen. Everyone must respect each other’s position to move forward as a whole. Board Members can come to Village Hall if they like, or they can attend remotely.

Trustee Graf-Stone – attend meeting at the Village Hall practicing Social Distancing

Trustee Hammar – attend meeting at the Village Hall

Trustee Salemi – attend meeting at the Village Hall

Trustee Washington - attend meeting at the Village Hall

Trustee Grenier - attend meeting at the Village Hall

Trustee Perez – attend meeting at the Village Hall

Village Clerk Rivera – prefers at this time to attend meetings remotely.

Trustee Washington had questions about how they will reopen the meetings with the audience and practice social distancing. President Lee responded that the room will be positioned to keep all participants at least 6 feet apart.

Attorney Smith informed the Board the Illinois General Assembly last week during their special session in Springfield had Senate Bill 2135 which is a waiting action by the governor. This bill contains many provisions. In regards to the Open Meetings Act, since mid-March the Village Bard has met remotely under the governor’s executive orders. The Senate Bill 2135 amends the Open Meetings Act to incorporate elements of what the Village has been doing under the Governor’s Executive Orders with some changes. The Open Meetings Act will be amended once the governor signs this bill that if the Governor or the Director of Illinois Department Public Health issues a Disaster Declaration delaying the Public Heath that touches any part of the Village (they usually do this by county or state wide basis), than remote meetings may occur if the head of the public body (which is the mayor), determines that an in-person meeting or meeting conducted under the Open Meetings Act is not practical or prudent because of the disaster. Under this revised legislation all members of the public body shall be verified, meaning you can tell who it is and must be able to hear one another in all discussions and testimonies that occurs. Also, at least one member of the public body, the Chief Legal Counsel or Chief Administrator Officer (which would be the Village Administrator), has to be physically present at the regular meeting location unless not feasible due to the emergency. All votes will be conducted by a roll call vote, so each member can vote on each issue and be identified and recorded. No voice votes allowed. Another requirement that the Village of Berkeley is already doing, is that they have to keep a verbatim recording of any remote meetings. This is an operational change and something similar to the “GoTo Meeting” functionality where you hear “this meeting is being recoded” has to be made and kept in compliance with your local Records Act Document Retention Policy. These are the major changes, this law is not yet on the books, they are still operating under the Governor’s Executive Orders, but this will be signed into law. The Governor has 60 days to sign it.

9.2 Finance and Economic Development (Chair – Trustee Washington; Co- Chair Trustee Salemi)

9.2.1 Trustee Liaison Report – No report.

9.2.2 FY 19-20 Fourth Quarter Financial Dashboard – Fiscal year ended

Village Administrator Espiritu gave a brief presentation regarding the FY 19-20 Fourth Qtr. Financial Dashboard. The Fiscal Year ended April 30th and was closed during the month of May. The unaudited Q4 Financial Report - Revenue – In total they did not make what they budgeted for revenues by $125,000. However, they still came in within 10% of what they budgeted for revenues. They also budgeted $333,000 for red light cameras, which the Village chose not to proceed with for various reasons. What this shows is that they have vary conservative budgeting for revenues over the last few fiscal years, which helped the Village of Berkeley. Now expenditures, they came in under budget as well, about $230,000. He commended all of the departments, each department came under budget. This means that they have a balanced budget for the previous fiscal year, which is a positive.

One that he mentioned that is not seen, but that will be reflected as part of the upcoming audit and just in journal entry is that they pay IRMA annually for their property liability insurance. That amount is $200,000. So, the expenditures are going up by that much. So, what that means is that in total, (revenues and expenditures) they still have a balance budget. Trustee Washington said to the Board that this 4th Qtr. Report is one of the best that has been presented to the Board. It shows a balance budget even minus the $200,000 there is still a $100,000 surplus. The stronger point is the strength of the projection – both revenues projections and expenditure projection fall under 5% variance. It is rare, and it shows the strength not only of the budget planning process, but it also shows the strength of the Staff and Board in maintaining this strong performance. Team management cannot be overstated. Great work from all departments.

9.3 Police and Property Maintenance (Chair – Trustee Salemi; Co-Chair Trustee Hammar)

9.3.1 Trustee Liaison Report – Trustee Salemi reported that Police and Property Maintenance, Chief Larem and all full force are out tonight in Elmhurst.

Village Administrator Espiritu informed the Board that Police Chief Larm could not join us because the City of Elmhurst called and asked for assistance. A protest was planned at 4:30 today in regards to Police brutality, then they received some intel that basically said an element was not really planning a protest but to do other things. The protest was canceled and rescheduled for next week but some elements still came into town and according to Chief Larem these elements have weapons and other things that could cause harm. City of Elmhurst closed the West bound lanes of St Charles road going into Elmhurst. That was a concern to Chief Larem because now everyone will come East on St. Charles Rd. into the Village of Berkeley. So, they had to close the East Bound Rd of St. Charles to help avoid that issue.

Robo Call went out to all residents regarding the closure of the East Bound Rd on St. Charles Rd during the Board meeting. There will be updates on Social Media.

Three full time vacancies in the Police Department.

The Village of Berkeley plan to fill two positions. One is in the Police Academy and the other will be a lateral hire as a PT employee. As part of that, they will be giving President Lee an Executive Order for him to sign.

Police Chief Larem reported that at this point everything is going fairly smooth. Update – It started as a small gathering on York and North and an additional gathering in the downtown. Elmhurst requested some additional manpower. Chief Larem sent three officers, two patrol cars, and commander Brenham. It’s been fairly quiet. There were reports of outside agitators making a point to come to Elmhurst. However, that has not happened. Elmhurst made the call to close Westbound from 290 into their town (St. Charles, York and North Ave). However, that concerned Chief Larem that it would direct all traffic into Berkeley. Berkeley would not allow that and so on St. Charles Rd, from 290 East Bound was closed with the help of Public Works. So far so good. Businesses were informed.

9.4 Fire and Health (Chair – Trustee Grenier; Co-Chair Trustee Perez)

9.4.1 Trustee Liaison Report – Chief Dravo will be retiring from the Fire Department. Please send him your good wishes. Chief Kruyla informed the Board that they are on alert and they are in good shape.

9.5 Public Works and Utilities (Chair – Trustee Hammar; Co-Chair Trustee Grenier)

9.5.1 Trustee Liaison Report – Trustee Hammar reported that they started the Alley restoration checks in the three locations. Public Works also has a retirement coming up on the 10th of June and that is Gary Kaczmarek who has been with the Village for many years. Hard working guy, very dedicated, always a guy you can depend on. They all appreciate his service and wish him well. He will be missed.

9.6 Community and Intergovernmental Relations (Chair – Trustee Perez; Co- Chair Trustee Graf-Stone)

9.6.1 Trustee Liaison Report – Trustee Perez met with the Lions Club. The Hearing Bus will be here in the Village of Berkeley. Free Hearing Test. As soon as the date is confirmed, it will be announced to the residents.

10 Village President

10.1 President’s Report

10.1.1 6/16/2020 Village Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m. (electronically) President Lee congratulates and thanks Chief Dravo and Gary Kaczmarek for their many years of service. Berkeley will be different without them.

President Lee thanks all the department heads, thanks the Board and Justyn for all the hard work.

Community Round table was held last week. District 87, Public Berkeley Park Dist. and Berkeley Library was in attended. Everyone shared their reopening plans and plans for 2020. It was a good meeting.

Tollway Project update – they are working on that. President Lee and Director will meet sometime this week.

11 Village Administrator – Covid-19 update – 86 positive confirmations, 458 tested. As of today, infection rate is 18% which is lower than in March.

12 Village Attorney – Village Smith updated the Board on another part of Senate Bill 1235 which is the Covid response bill from the abbreviated General Assembly last week. Amendment to the municipal code annual budget requirements. Going forward, if a disaster state of emergency or National Emergency is declared within 60 days of the end of your fiscal year and the disaster emergency or declaration affects the Village, you have an additional time to adopt your budget appropriation ordinance, you get to wait till after the declared disaster is over and get up to 60 days afterwards to approve your budget appropriation ordinance. Previously you had to adopt it prior to the next fiscal year beginning, otherwise if you had no budget in place, you had no legal authority to spend money without a valid budget appropriation in place. Now there is this additional relief, if you can’t get together, if staff can’t finish assembling the budget and presenting it because of an emergency, you get a little more relief.

13 Public Comments and Questions

No Public comments or Questions.

Public Comments and Questions can be through the remote call number or sent to respiritu@berkeley.il.us to be shared with the Village Board during the meeting

14 Executive Session – No Executive Session held.

14.1 Motion to enter into Executive Session to consider the:

a. Appointment, Employment, Compensation, Discipline, Performance or Dismissal of Specific Employee(s) 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(1)

b. Collective Bargaining, Salary Schedules; categorically 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(2)

c. Appointment/Removal for Public Office or Attorney 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(3)

d. Consideration to Purchase, Lease (Buy), or Acquire Specific Real Estate Property 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(5)

e. Setting Price for Sale/Lease Specific Real Estate Property 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(6)

f. Security Procedures and the use of personnel and equipment to respond to an actual, a threatened, or a reasonably potential danger to the safety of employees, students, staff, the public, or public property. 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(8)

g. Probable or Imminent and Pending Litigation 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(11)

h. Establish Reserves or Settle Claims (Tort) 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(12)

i. Consideration of Release of Executive Session Minutes 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(21)

15 Action to be Taken as a Result of Executive Session – None.

16 President Lee adjourned the meeting at 7:44 pm