West Cook News

City of Countryside City Council met July 17.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

1. CALL TO ORDER –The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Mayor McDermott. Emily Lovelace, BSA Troop 69, led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

Roll Call: City Clerk Kmet called the Roll of those physically present as follows:

Present: Mayor McDermott, Alderman Finn, Alderman Von Drasek, Alderman Benson, Alderman Mikolyzk, Alderman Musillami, Alderman Frohlich, City Clerk Kmet, Treasurer Bolt

Also Present: City Administrator Paul, Police Chief Klimek, City Attorney Hess, Finance Director Schutter, City Engineer Fitzgerald, Deputy Clerk Saucedo, Recording Secretary Prokop

2. OMNIBUS AGENDA

a. Approval of the City Council Meeting Minutes of June 14, 2023.

b. Statement of Bills submitted for payment through June 14, 2023 in the amount of $364,108.51.

A motion was made by Alderman Musillami, seconded by Alderman Frohlich that this matter be APPROVED as presented; motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 6 Alderman Musillami, Alderman Von Drasek, Alderman Finn, Alderman Mikolyzk, Alderman Benson, Alderman Frohlich

Nay: 0

3. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC

a. Beatrice Sutkus, 9501 W. 56 St., seeks clarification re: the Ordinance approving No Right Turn from East Avenue onto 56th, 57th and 58th Streets. The problem is really speeding down these streets from west to east, ignoring the stop sign; that is the greater concern. She hopes the City is gathering more data in this regard.

b. Jan Smid, 705 Longview Drive, traffic on 700 block of Longview; nothing has been done re: speeding, ignoring stop sign; don’t need police parked at stop signs.

c. Lorene Lovelace, 7011 Golfview Drive, is impressed with how well the City came together; the Police and the Public Works were excellent; awesome to see how the community worked together in the wake of Wednesday’s tornado. Audience agreed.

d. Sandy Sa’id, 9722 W. 57 St., re: Ordinance on 56th, 57th and 58th Streets. Residents don’t know about these matters; the City is not transparent enough on getting resident input. Why is Ald. Benson proposing this Ordinance instead of the Aldermen from Ward 1? They should be talking to the residents of their Ward. Squads sit on 57th St. in plain view; who will speed in front of the cops. They should be out there during rush hour, not at 11 a.m. They are too visible. Who will enforce the new Ordinance; signs don’t mean anything to rush-hour drivers. Mayor McDermott stated that all the issues raised were discussed at an Infrastructure Committee Meeting when these items were put on the agenda. They will be discussed again later tonight.

e. Carol Lippert, 10746 Crestview – she and her husband Joe are touched by the outpouring of help they received after the tornado tore up their yard very badly; couldn’t walk through the yard. On Saturday Ald. Von Drasek and two other Aldermen came, along with other alerted residents; they all worked to clean up the yard, which was accomplished in a few hours. She is amazed how everyone helped one another out. She especially wants to thank Roger, who came with his chainsaw; others brought water and other items; she thanked everyone for all their help.

f. Donna Miller, Ward 1 – thanks to the Police and Public Works for their handling of the tornado aftermath; that was a valiant effort. She asked why an Alderman from another Ward proposed this Ordinance when their own Alderman did not. Mayor McDermott stated that Alderman Benson is the Chairman of the Infrastructure Committee. Resident complaints were heard by that committee and they were researching possible solutions to mitigate the speeding in the neighborhood. That’s the only reason his name is on the Ordinance.

g. Rosemary Dostal, 9521 W. 56 St., has traffic concerns – 56 St. is basically a speedway. She suggested having no right turns from LaGrange Road down 56th, 57th and 58th Streets temporarily. That would ease traffic issues. Drivers are making short cuts; it’s as simple as that.

h. Ross Vondrak, 57th & Ashland, Congratulations to the Chief and Deputy Chief. He wonders why the drone costs so much; he found one for $1,499 on line; what extra value is the City getting from this particular drone? Mayor McDermott stated that will be addressed in the agenda later tonight.

4. MAYOR’S REPORT

a. Mayor McDermott stated that the City of Countryside is just one big family. During times of need, residents come together to help their neighbor. He was moved on Wednesday evening noting the outpouring of support from residents who came out to help during a really difficult time in our community. He thanked everyone who participated – all the residents who assisted in removing debris. Many thanks to our First Responders; Police were heading for the funnel cloud; their bravery is outstanding. Thanks to our Public Works Department; their response was unbelievable; roads were cleared in under an hour; they got emergency vehicles in to assess damage; thank God there were no injuries. Thanks to our neighboring communities who called and sent help immediately – Willow Springs, Lyons, Bridgeview, Lyons Township, La Grange and LaGrange Park – they worked for days. We have young people here tonight who came forward to help and show what caring for your community is all about. Alderman Von Drasek invited a number of them to come here tonight to receive a Certificate of Appreciation and a gift card from Chick Fil-A as a token of appreciation.

b. Alderman Von Drasek stated there are many to thank. He is so grateful no one was injured. Ward 2 was hit and he didn’t know what to expect. He and Courtney began making rounds. Mrs. Novak’s house took the worst hit; homes on Parkside were hit as well, plus many other homes. The amount of people who came out to help and clean up was amazing; the roadways were cleaned in no time. Thanks to some of the adults here – Roger, from 5th Avenue Cutoff, is always there; you can count on him. John O’Mahoney is known by all; he took over on Sunset; Keith Smentek and son Clayton were involved. The Schwartz’ were all out – what an asset to our community. Thanks to Public Works and to the Mayor who was able to get things in action so quickly. Colleagues on the City Council – texts would go out and an army of people would show up to help. Courtney, what a real asset and public servant, don’t get in her way; her family Mike and kids pitched in. Thanks to the Police who protected folks from downed live wires and tree branches all over. The Parkside, Willow Springs Road and Sunset neighborhoods are changed forever; south end of Golfview – will never see trees that size in our lifetime. Everyone came out to rally for the cause. He couldn’t be prouder of this community; he is truly grateful for everyone.

c. Alderman Von Drasek presented Service Awards to all the kids who worked in the aftermath of the Wednesday tornado. They are all from Pleasantdale School or LT Students. Their names are:

Cub Scouts – Pack 68, Evan and Madeline Engel, Michael Pintaro, Vito Bruno-Gallo and big brothers Giovanni and Dominic Bruno-Gallo.

BSA Troop 69 – Dylan Lovelace and family; Egan Payne, Emily Lovelace, Gabi Casabal, Sophia Rodriguez, Zac Walsh, Conner Schwartz.

Friends Group – Connor’s idea to call and organize friends – Conner Schwartz, Ajeet Kapur, Alex Kobylarczyk, Caden Schwartz, Flip Radecki, Isaiah Garcia-Enriquez, Maddox Lee, Michael Natale, Owen Webb, Ryan Schwartz, and a special thank you to Beth Schwartz. Many others were there – the Lysinskis, Malinek family – and others – now we have to heal. In order to do that, people need to come together to make this City the best. We are a true team in every sense of the word. A lot of hard work went into this past weekend; that’s the best feeling you get when you’re helping others; you can’t put a price on it; there’s nothing like it. Kids, keep on doing what you’re doing. Thanks for EVERYTHING!

d. Mayor McDermott praised all the volunteers. Thanks to our Building Commissioner and his Staff who inspected about 288 homes of which 100 were damaged. They went door to door and checked on every home. The City has that data. Mayor McDermott signed a PROCLAMATION declaring the CITY OF COUNTRYSIDE A DISASTER AREA. Cook County Emergency Management is taking the information along with Hodgkins and Indian Head Park; that will be submitted to the State of Illinois seeking assistance. There may be an opportunity for low-interest loans for some of the damaged homes; we need to wait and see. Police Chief Klimek sent in all the paperwork and is waiting to hear back from them

5. CITY CLERK’S REPORT

a. City Clerk Kmet sought consideration to amend the Schedule of City Council and Committee Meetings. There is a change to the Flagg Creek Advisory Board Schedule meeting date – from the third Wednesday of the month to the third Tuesday of the month due to schedule conflicts. A motion was made by Alderman Finn, seconded by Alderman Frohlich that this matter be APPROVED as presented; motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 6 Alderman Musillami, Alderman Von Drasek, Alderman Finn, Alderman Mikolyzk, Alderman Benson, Alderman Frohlich

Nay: 0

6. TREASURER’S REPORT

a. The City of Countryside was awarded a CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT, for the 17th year in a row -- the highest form of recognition in the area of government accounting and financial reporting. It represents a significant accomplishment by a governmental body in its fiscal management. Hats off to Dave Schutter and the Finance Department for doing an excellent job.

b. Treasurer Bolt stated that as a long-time Ward 2 resident, it’s just amazing how everyone came out to help. Like Alderman Von Drasek said it warms your heart to see everyone come together. Thank you so much for helping in time of need. I appreciate that, as does my family. Thank you.

7. COMMITTEE AND COMMISSION REPORTS FOR DISCUSSION, CONSIDERATION AND, IF SO DETERMINED ACTION UPON:

a. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – no report

b. FINANCE COMMITTEE - no report

c. HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE

1. Alderman Mikolyzk sought consideration to hire Molly Rodriguez for the Office Assistant position in the Clerk’s Office.

A motion was made by Alderman Musillami, seconded by Alderman Frohlich that this matter be APPROVED as presented; motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 6 Alderman Musillami, Alderman Von Drasek, Alderman Finn, Alderman Mikolyzk, Alderman Benson, Alderman Frohlich

Nay: 0

d. INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE

1. Alderman Benson sought consideration of an Ordinance Approving No Right Turn from East Avenue onto 56th, 57th, and 58th Streets. He stated that the Infrastructure Committee had several lengthy meetings that are always advertised and open to the public – residents can attend. The Police Department and City Engineer did hours and days of work on this project, timing vehicle speeds and vehicle counts, both ways, eastbound and westbound on those streets. Please come to the meetings; City Council meeting is not the only meeting taking place in the City. Decisions are usually made at committee meetings and then voted on in the City Council. Alderman Finn stated that the speed signs collect data; there were multiple meetings discussing that data. The City Engineer came up with various scenarios. We are still continuing to collect more data.

A motion was made by Alderman Finn, seconded by Alderman Frohlich that this matter be APPROVED as presented; motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 6 Alderman Musillami, Alderman Von Drasek, Alderman Finn, Alderman Mikolyzk, Alderman Benson, Alderman Frohlich

Nay: 0

Clerk Kmet declared that this will be known as ORDINANCE 23-17-O.

2. Alderman Benson sought consideration to waive the formal bidding process and purchase three Radar Speed Displays from All Traffic Solutions in an amount not to exceed $16,000. These will be identical to the ones already in place. The City is adding another radar sign to each one of these streets gathering data from the other direction - - all in the process of gathering more data. The Mayor added that these signs are portable; one of them will be moving to 57th & Longview at the appropriate time. A motion was made by Alderman Finn, seconded by Alderman Frohlich that this matter be APPROVED as presented; motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 6 Alderman Musillami, Alderman Von Drasek, Alderman Finn, Alderman Mikolyzk, Alderman Benson, Alderman Frohlich

Nay: 0

e. PLAN COMMISSION/ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS - no report

f. SPECIAL EVENTS COMMITTEE – no report

1. Alderman Musillami – FYI - Thanks to Ald. John Von Drasek for his tireless efforts on behalf of the residents of Countryside.

g. SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE - no report

h. FLAGG CREEK ADVISORY BOARD

1. Alderman Frohlich sought consideration to enter into a contract with ANR Construction in the amount of $11,928.00 to repair and restore the Club House Deck.

A motion was made by Alderman Benson, seconded by Alderman Finn that this matter be APPROVED as presented; motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 6 Alderman Musillami, Alderman Von Drasek, Alderman Finn, Alderman Mikolyzk, Alderman Benson, Alderman Frohlich

Nay: 0

2. Alderman Frohlich sought consideration to approve the Profit Sharing Distribution for Fiscal Year 2023 in the amount of $250,000. Mayor McDermott complimented the Staff on the management changes made at Flagg Creek that resulted in the highest profit sharing ever attained during his tenure.

A motion was made by Alderman Mikolyzk, seconded by Alderman Von Drasek that this matter be APPROVED as presented; motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 6 Alderman Musillami, Alderman Von Drasek, Alderman Finn, Alderman Mikolyzk, Alderman Benson, Alderman Frohlich

Nay: 0

8. LEGAL REPORT

9. CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

a. Ms. Paul sought consideration of Payment Request #35 in the amount of $23,327.00 under the Project Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) to Frederick Quinn Corporation (FQC). This request covers the final payment and retention to Hy-Power Electric Co. A motion was made by Alderman Musillami, seconded by Alderman Finn that this matter be APPROVED as presented; motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 6 Alderman Musillami, Alderman Von Drasek, Alderman Finn, Alderman Mikolyzk, Alderman Benson, Alderman Frohlich

Nay: 0

b. Ms. Paul sought consideration of an Agreement between GW Countryside, LLC and the City for an Annual Payment in Lieu of Sales Tax for the Property Commonly Known as 800 W. Plainfield Road – former Speedway Gas Station. This Agreement was negotiated by Staff; the initial payment of $12,000 annually with Escalators at the greater of 3% or the Change in the CPI index. Staff recommends approval of the attached Agreement. A motion was made by Alderman Benson, seconded by Alderman Musillami that this matter be APPROVED as presented; motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 6 Alderman Musillami, Alderman Von Drasek, Alderman Finn, Alderman Mikolyzk, Alderman Benson, Alderman Frohlich

Nay: 0

10. STAFF REPORTS

a. Police Chief Klimek

1. Chief Klimek sought a request to waive the formal bidding process and approve the repair of the camera system at Ideal Park using Pace Systems, Inc., in the amount of $20,742.00. That system was installed about ten years ago; it was expanded in 2018. Over the past two years there have been recurrent maintenance issues; the system is using older technology and showing its age. The cameras go down and the system is not functioning when needed. Repairs have been needed seven times in the past two years at a cost over $4K. Due to these problems, Pace Systems was asked to provide a long term solution to repair these cameras. Their proposal is before you tonight.

A motion was made by Alderman Finn, seconded by Alderman Frohlich that this matter be APPROVED as presented; motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 6 Alderman Musillami, Alderman Von Drasek, Alderman Finn, Alderman Mikolyzk, Alderman Benson, Alderman Frohlich

Nay: 0

2. Chief Klimek sought a request to waive the formal bid process and purchase a DJI M30T Unmanned Aerial System (UAS or ‘drone’) and accessories from Aerial Influence LLC in the amount of $19,026.99. This item was budgeted for FY’24. The use of drones is becoming increasingly more common in law enforcement. The State of Illinois has passed legislation expanding the use of those devices. The UAS would be used for traffic crash reconstruction, searches for missing persons and fleeing offenders, to direct First responders to dispatched calls and to monitor conditions at events with large gatherings of people.

Countryside currently has a state-certified traffic crash reconstruction expert – that is Officer Alonzo. He must get accurate measurements at the scene and uses survey equipment to do that; it is an hours-long process that involves multiple people, setting up equipment and measuring almost every inch of an intersection so he can do his calculations. With a drone, the area will be shut down and the drone deployed to take photos of the scene; those photos are uploaded into software which does all the calculations accurately. This saves man-hours and alleviates traffic problems caused by shutting down an intersection for several hours.

The drone is helpful in locating missing persons, including suspects; it is highly portable and easily deployed in the field and could be used to assist in locating individuals. We have requested drones to assist us from other departments. Air support (helicopters from Chicago) has limited availability. If a victim is in the forest preserve calling for help, the drone can be deployed to try to find them. An alternative use is checking damage on people’s roofs after the tornado, looking for downed wires. The final use is to help monitor large planned events – St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Concerts in the Park --any type of festival could be monitored for safety conditions.

A resident had a question re: price – this drone may be expensive but it is not a toy. It is a commercial level drone; the primary issues are battery life. This drone has a longer lasting battery; it comes with a thermal camera allowing for night vision; it is equipped with a spotlight; it can operate in rainy weather and sustain higher wind velocity. The battery lasts 20- 45 minutes depending on the temperature on a single battery charge; we have 6-8 batteries and heaters for those batteries. Mayor McDermott believes that a drone is an excellent additional crime-fighting tool that will help to keep our officers and residents safe.

A motion was made by Alderman Benson, seconded by Alderman Mikolyzk that this matter be APPROVED as presented; motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 6 Alderman Musillami, Alderman Von Drasek, Alderman Finn,

Alderman Mikolyzk, Alderman Benson, Alderman Frohlich

Nay: 0

b. City Engineer Fitzgerald

1. Mr. Fitzgerald sought consideration of Change Order #1 for the Countryside Parking Lots -- Permeable Paver Installation Project. The City received a Route 66 sign through the Heritage Corridor Convention & Visitors Bureau for free but must pay for installation. There is one open contract and that contractor was contacted for the installation cost. The sign was reviewed by Mr. Fitzgerald and the DPW Superintendent. MYS has submitted a proposal in the amount of $16,250.00 to install the sign and the necessary concrete foundations, pavements and sidewalks. They recommend that this work be added to the project by Change Order #1. The sign will be in front of Chariot Automotive, 6402 Joliet Road on Route 66.

A motion was made by Alderman Von Drasek, seconded by Alderman Mikolyzk that this matter be APPROVED as presented; motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 6 Alderman Musillami, Alderman Von Drasek, Alderman Finn, Alderman Mikolyzk, Alderman Benson, Alderman Frohlich

Nay: 0

11. BUSINESS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL FOR DISCUSSION, CONSIDERATION AND, IF DETERMINED, ACTION UPON:

a. Alderman Von Drasek asked about the start of the water main project on Sunset. Mr. Fitzgerald spoke to Suburban General; they provided a tentative start date of mid to late August. The completion date is November 30, 2023.

b. The garbage pickup for items landing in back yards – Groot will come around on Wednesday in the affected area to pick up broken items, chairs, etc. Keep things cleaned up.

12. ADJOURNMENT

A motion was made by Alderman Mikolyzk, seconded by Alderman Frohlich that this meeting be ADJOURNED; motion carried by the following vote:

Aye: 6 Alderman Musillami, Alderman Von Drasek, Alderman Finn, Alderman Mikolyzk, Alderman Benson, Alderman Frohlich

Nay: 0

Mayor McDermott declared the meeting adjourned at 8:28 p.m.

https://www.countryside-il.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/7-17-23-COUNCIL-minutes.pdf