West Cook News

Village of Berkeley Village Board met Nov. 2.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

1 President Lee called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm

2 Pledge of Allegiance

3 Roll Call

Present at Roll Call: Trustees Hammar, Salemi, Mathews, Graf-Stone, Perez, Village President Lee, Village Clerk Nowak

Also present: Village Administrator Espiritu, Attorney Kaitlyn Culbertson (filling in for Attorney Smith), Assistant to the Village Administrator Miller, Police Chief Larem, Fire Chief Grenier

4 Presentations and Appointment

4.1 Oath of Office for Public Works Laborer Matthew Garcia (postponed future meeting)

4.2 Oath of Office for Firefighter/Paramedic Chris Sorenson- Congratulations! President Lee welcomes Chris Sorenson who comes from the City of Chicago with 14 years of experience.

4.3 Certificate of Appreciation for Fire Lt. Chris Soda- Congratulations! President Lee comments on Lt Soda’s outstanding contributions and commitment to the Village of Berkeley and also thanks him for bringing new members to the team.

5 Public Hearings

6 Public Comments and Questions (Consent Agenda Items Only) Please limit comments to five (5) minutes in length, unless further granted by the Board.

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 Minutes from October 19, 2021

7.2 Executive Session Meeting Minutes from October 19, 2021 (Not for public release)

7.3 Motion to Approve a Resolution Approving and Authorizing the Execution of an Intergovernmental Agreement for the Provision of Environmental Health Inspection Services between Cook County and the Village of Berkeley, Cook County, Illinois

Trustee	Motion	Second	Ayes	Nays	Absent	Abstain
Larry Hammar			X
Diane Salemi	X		X
Jerry Perez			X
Sherry Graf-Stone		X	X
Jason Mathews			X

MOTION CARRIED

8 Claims Ordinance

8.1 Motion to Approve Claims Ordinance #1474 in the amount of $236,703.47

Trustee	Motion	Second	Ayes	Nays	Absent	Abstain
Larry Hammar			X
Diane Salemi	X		X
Jerry Perez		X	X
Sherry Graf-Stone			X
Jason Mathews			X

MOTION CARRIED

9 Committee Reports

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

Trustee Graf-Stone stated the team is finishing up audit and will have draft soon. The team will also start working on new budget as well. Trustee Graf-Stone informs all Berkeley village is in single digits with positive COVID cases and vaccination rate in Berkeley is at 67.16%.

9.1.1 Trustee Liaison Report

9.1.2 Motion to Approve an Ordinance of the Village of Berkeley, Cook County, Illinois Adopting Cable Television Consumer Protection and Customer Service Provisions

Trustee	Motion	Second	Ayes	Nays	Absent	Abstain
Larry Hammar			X
Diane Salemi		X	X
Jerry Perez			X
Sherry Graf-Stone	X		X
Jason Mathews			X

MOTION CARRIED

9.1.3 Motion to Approve a Resolution Approving and Authorizing the Execution of a Cable Television Franchise Agreement Between the Village of Berkeley, Illinois and Comcast of Illinois VI, LLC

Trustee	Motion	Second	Ayes	Nays	Absent	Abstain
Larry Hammar			X
Diane Salemi		X	X
Jerry Perez			X
Sherry Graf-Stone	X		X
Jason Mathews			X

MOTION CARRIED

9.1.4 Police and Fire Dispatch Services Discussion

Assistant to the Administrator Miller presented 3 different service options for dispatching. Reviews spreadsheet. Police Chief Larem’s recommendation is to stay with Cook County for Police dispatch services at this time. Fire Chief Grenier’s recommendation is to obtain Fire dispatch services from Village of Hillside. Village Administrator Espiritu added that these recommendations also are most cost effective for the Village. Village Board directed staff to return with IGAs with Cook County and Hillside for Police and Fire dispatch services, respectively.

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

9.2.1 Trustee Liaison Report

9.2.2 Motion to Approve a Resolution of the Village of Berkeley, Illinois Establishing an Estimated Annual Tax Levy for Tax Year 2021

Trustee	Motion	Second	Ayes	Nays	Absent	Abstain
Larry Hammar			X
Diane Salemi	X		X
Jerry Perez		X	X
Sherry Graf-Stone			X
Jason Mathews			X

MOTION CARRIED

Administrator Espiritu explains the Levy and the maximum amount. Village Board adopted an estimated levy of $5,461,454.

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

9.3.1 Trustee Liaison Report

Trustee Salemi give floor to Chief Larem who advises all of a report last night that came in of shots fired between 1 am and 2 am. The incident was at Hawthorne and Birch. Chief Larem also advises all that his officers have recently busted up a team that were robbing catalytic converters in the community.

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

9.4.1 Trustee Liaison Report

Trustee Mathews met with library board and stated how much they appreciate the collaborative efforts of working with the Village.

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

9.5.1 Trustee Liaison Report

Trustee Hammar attended the ad hoc committee on 11/04/21 at 6:30 p.m. He informed all construction of the Public Works Storage Facility had stalled due to permits that had not been approved so work should begin soon. Also, the Prairie Path lighting project is advancing and he hopes it is ready for the holidays.

9.5.2 Motion to Approve a Resolution to Waive Competitive Bidding and Authorize Execution of a Purchase Agreement between the Village of Berkeley, Cook County, Illinois and Morton Salt, Inc. for the Purchase of 525 Tons of Road Salt at an Amount Not to Exceed $71.73 Per Ton

Trustee	Motion	Second	Ayes	Nays	Absent	Abstain
Larry Hammar	X		X
Diane Salemi		X	X
Jerry Perez			X
Sherry Graf-Stone			X
Jason Mathews			X

MOTION CARRIED

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

9.6.1 Trustee Liaison Report

Trustee Perez met with Lions club. Next Tuesday at noon State of Village Address.

10 Village President

10.1Appointment of Village Trustee

10.2 11/4/21 Joint Village/Park District Meeting at 6:30 p.m.

10.3 11/16/21 Village Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m.

President Lee thanked the park district for a nice event held 10/31/21 hosting 100 kids with parents. The lightning project should bring many more events. Berkeley baseball is moving forward with Joe Romano, they all met with Hillside Village. They will be forming a commission. Berkeley ad hoc is moving forward. President Lee received a thank you from

Rosemarie Johnson’s family. President Lee states the plan is to get everyone a corrected printed copy of ”From Oats to Roses”. President Lee also states he has asked former Police Chief Tim Griffin to write the next 50 years of Berkeley history. President Lee advises all that the community round table will start next year. President Lee asked everyone to check with their liaison group. He alerts all that he has completed all seven interviews for potential trustee and he is recommending Shafi Mohammed for trustee. President Lee states he received great candidates who are interested in getting involved with the Village. Hillside Veterans parade this Saturday and will be recognizing Larry Zully.

11 Village Administrator

Village administrator Espiritu states Berkeley population has grown by 130 folks will increase revenue received as well. New population is 5,338. Assistant to the Administrator Miller advised that Berkeley has received an outstanding achievement award from GFOA.

12 Village Attorney

Attorney Kaitlyn Culbertson advises all the push tax ordinance has passed.

13 Public Comments and Questions

Please limit comments to five (5) minutes in length, unless further granted by the Board

14 Executive Session

15 Action to be Taken as a Result of Executive Session

16 Meeting adjourn at 7:17

Trustee	Motion	Second	Ayes	Nays	Absent	Abstain
Larry Hammar			X
Diane Salemi	X		X
Jerry Perez			X
Sherry Graf-Stone		X	X
Jason Mathews			X

VOICE VOTE

https://www.berkeley.il.us/vertical/Sites/%7BB4877CC9-5533-47FA-94DE-B3C09F1665AB%7D/uploads/November_16_2021_Agenda_Packet_-_Revised.pdf