West Cook News

Village of Berkeley Village Board met Oct. 15

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

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

2 Pledge of Allegiance

3 Roll Call

Trustees Thomas, Hammar, Salemi, Perez, Graf-Stone, Matthews, Village President Lee, Village Clerk Nowak

Also present: Village Administrator Espiritu, Village Attorney Courtney Willits, Deputy Police Chief Bresnahan, Public Works Director Wagner, Assistant Administrator Miller

4 Presentations and Appointment

4.1 Progress Center for Intendent Living Presentation – Nafia Khan

Thank you Nafia coming and for your information.

5 Public Hearings

6 Consent Agenda

6.1 Village Board Minutes from October 1, 2024

6.2 Executive Session Minutes from October 1, 2024 (not for public release)

7 Claims Ordinance

7.1 Motion to Approve Claims Ordinance #1539 in the amount of $220,890.69

8 Committee Reports

8.1 Administration, Finance and Technology (Chair – Trustee Graf-Stone; CoChair – Trustee Mathews)

8.1.1 Trustee Liaison Report

8.1.2 Monthly Report

Trustee Graf-Stone informs all the Wellness Event is due to be held on 10/25/24 for village employees. Also stated the audit is being finalized and the team has met with a bond advisor.

8.1.3 Motion to Approve a Resolution Authorizing the Execution of a Contract between the Village of Berkeley, Cook County, Illinois and Municipal GIS Partners Inc. for GIS Services

8.1.4 Discussion on Amending the Village-Wide Funeral/Wake Protocol Village Administrator Espiritu stated the Village-Wide Funeral/Wake Protocol was amended to include a letter from the Village President expressing condolences from the Village of Berkeley

8.2 Community and Economic Development (Chair – Trustee Salemi; Co-Chair – Trustee Thomas)

8.2.1 Trustee Liaison Report-no report

8.2.2 Monthly Report

8.3 Public Safety (Chair – Trustee Mathews; Co-Chair – Trustee Hammar)

8.3.1 Trustee Liaison Report-Trustee Mathews wants to commend the fire and police departments for all their resident support.

8.3.2 Monthly Reports

8.4 Public Works and Utilities (Chair – Trustee Hammar; Co-Chair – Trustee Salemi)

8.4.1 Trustee Liaison Report-Trustee Hammer gives the floor to Public

Works Director Wagner who informs all 600 hundred residents have been notified of their existing lead water piping. Timeline to begin replacing lead piping is in 2027. The water in Berkeley Village is safe.

8.4.2 Monthly Report

8.5 Intergovernmental Relations (Chair – Trustee Thomas; Co-Chair – Trustee Perez)

8.5.1 Trustee Liaison Report-Below Thanks you Trustee Thomas for providing the update report below.

• From now until November 11th, the Library is partnering with Hines VA Hospital for a donation drive to support local veterans. In addition to the Library, the Village of Berkeley, Berkeley Park District, and Republic Bank have been gracious enough to also serve as donation drop-off points. Personal care items, individually wrapped snacks, and gift cards are among requested items.

• The Library is again hosting a Fall Puzzle Exchange on Saturday, October 19th. This is an opportunity for people to trade in jigsaw puzzles they’ve already done for new-to-them puzzles before the cold weather. Puzzles can be dropped off in advance at the library for vouchers to select puzzles on (or after) the exchange day.

• The Library is excited to partner with Berkeley Public Works for an upcoming community art project: on Friday, November 9 from 4:00 to 7:00 all ages are invited to the Library to decorate luminaries that will be incorporated into the Village’s holiday lighting display.

• The Library is hosting its annual Holiday Open House on Saturday, December 7th. In addition to a Santa Claus photo op there will be crafts, community groups, hot cocoa and cookies.

8.5.2 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

8.5.3 Motion to Approve a Resolution Approving and Authorizing the Execution of a Community Development Block Grant Program Subrecipient Agreement Between Cook County, Illinois and the Village of Berkeley, Cook County, Illinois for the Southwest Sanitary Lining Project – Project Number 2407-014 

8.5.4 Motion to Approve a Resolution Approving Agreements with the Illinois Department of Transportation and Edwin Hancock Engineering Co. Related to the Installation of Sidewalks in the Eastside of the Village of Berkeley

8.6 Community Events (Chair – Trustee Perez; Co-Chair – Trustee Graf-Stone)

8.6.1 Trustee Liaison Report-Trustee Perez wants to thank everyone who participated in the Vietnam Memorial Wall. He states there is a Neighborhood Watch meeting on October 17 regarding bullying.

9 Village President

9.1 Village President Report-President Lee states the Centennial Event of bringing the Vietnam Memorial Wall to Berkeley Village was a very sober event. Also, the Jerele family was very appreciative of the Village for their part in the repatriation of former resident and veteran Harry Jerele. Harry was a prisoner of WWII in 1944. His final resting place is in Abraham Lincoln Memorial cemetery.

9.2 10/22/24 Planning & Zoning Commission at 6:30 p.m.

9.3 10/23/24 Police Pension Board Meeting at 4:30 p.m.

9.4 10/31/24 Halloween Trick-or-Treat Hours 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

9.5 11/5/24 Village Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m.

10 Village Administrator-no report

11 Village Attorney-no report

12 Public Comments and Questions

Please limit comments to three (3) minutes in length, unless further granted by the Board

Mark Johnson-resident from 1942 Arthur concern about noise level from the construction of I-294 states unable to use his yard since no barrier is there and wondering when construction will be complete

Itza Seoane—resident from 1926 Arthur concern about noise, traffic and contamination cause by all the construction

Maureen Valdes-resident from 1512 Atwood concern about the lighting by Dollar General the lot is dark

John Brandner-resident from 5812 Kouba states a dead-end sign is needed on Kouba street, folks simply don’t know and there are constant turn arounds. Also, alert and flashing signs are needed at Taft Ave to make everyone aware of bike and foot traffic.

John would like to join meetings on line.

Bonnie Routen-Provides a housing update, informs all there are eight homes currently on the market in Berkeley five homes on a contingent sale. There have been twenty-seven homes sold from January through October with the medium home cost of $275,000.

13 Executive Session

14 Action After Executive Session

15 Meeting Adjourned at 7:33 p.m.

https://www.berkeley.il.us/vertical/Sites/%7BB4877CC9-5533-47FA-94DE-B3C09F1665AB%7D/uploads/November_5_2024_Agenda_Packet-Reduced.pdf