REVISED MINUTES OF TOWER LAKES

BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING

 

Date:                July 15, 2002

 

Location:          Village Office

 

Time:                7:30 pm

 

1. PLEDGE: President Kuskowski called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance.  Sign in sheet circulated.

 

ROLL CALL: Present: Village President Kuskowski, Trustees Cantieri, Filippell, Rigali, Village Clerk Leitner, and Village Treasurer Gidley. Absent: Trustees Adams, Aitken, and Parro.

Also in attendance:  Dorothy Pratt, Deputy Village Clerk and newsletter correspondent.  

 

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes of the June 17, 2002 and the Special Meeting held June 26, 2002 were approved with corrections.

 

3. PUBLIC COMMENTS:

Resident Michelle Gumtow, North Lake Shore Drive, reported on a rabid raccoon in her yard.  She was concerned because telephone calls to Wauconda and Lake County authorities were not responded to –she was told the request must come from the Tower lakes Police directly.  The TL Police were not yet on duty, so Ms. Gumtow had to wait 11/2 hours to be able to leave her home.  Chief Sinacore said he would correct this administrative snafu.

Resident Paul Kliment, South Lake, registered a complaint/concern over the deer population in the area.  He has them coming up to his house from Devil’s Island, destroying fenced-in gardens. He asked the Board to consider this increasing problem.

 

4. WATER SYSTEM REPORT: Pres Kuskowski reported that the Village monthly water consumption was quite high –raising concerns of a leak.  Turns out it was extremely high consumption, which decreased as the weather cooled.

 

5. ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS: Consideration of ZBA’s recommendation for approval of the Lashen’s two-foot height variance request postponed until next month’s meeting.

 

6. BUILDING AND ZONING:  Trustee Cantieri reported that four permits were issued.  Drew Mack has petitioned for a ZBA hearing. The BACOG Impact Fee Committee has hired attorneys, who are meeting with the BACOG villages to learn how each village views this issue. They will work toward building a consensus.

 

7. TREASURER’S REPORT AND FINANCE REPORT: Treas Gidley distributed the monthly expenditures summary, profit and Loss statement, YTD budget expenditures, bank statement balances.  He compared the Income/Expenses for the first six weeks of the fiscal year, May 1-July 15, 2002.  While they indicate that both property tax revenues and state revenues are slow to come in this year, there will be no decrease in income from property taxes, but state revenues will probably be down about 5%. Please watch expenses.

 

Monthly Bills:   Motion to approve the bills was made by Trustee Filippell and seconded by Trustee Rigali. VOTE:  AYES: Pres Kuskowski, Trustees Cantieri, Filippell, Rigali. NAYES: None.

 

8. POLICE REPORT:  Pres Kuskowski presented the 547 monthly activities report, on file at the Village office.

 

9. STORM WATER MANAGEMENT: Trustee Rigali reported that resident John Johnson is mapping the Village’s drainage system, noting areas that need cleaning In addition, Community Sewer and Septic has been hired to clean the drains. Resident Sherry Van Ochten noted the clogged drains at the foot of Bridge Lane.

 

10. ROADS: The Village thanked Tom Gooch and Cuba Township for a good job on shoulders and patching.

 

11. HEALTH AND SANITATION: Pres Kuskowski attended the SWALCO meeting, where it was reported that 30 tons of electronics was collected in June. Another collection event is scheduled for September 14. Tr Rigali reported on the REFUSE CONTRACT: since the Village does not have the funds to pay for more than the basic package, no special committee meeting is necessary to consider options.  Our representative from Alliance-Browning Ferris was in attendance.  Pres Kuskowski thanked him for years of wonderful service, but the Village is forced to accept the lower bid. Motion to accept Waste Management’s bid on a three-year contract with option to renew for an additional three years, saving $10,672 overall was made by Tr Rigali, seconded by Tr Filippell and followed by a roll call vote: VOTE:  AYES: Pres Kuskowski, Trustees Cantieri, Filippell, Rigali. NAYES: None.

 

12. URBAN FORESTRY:  Village Arborist Rich Bergland has made a list of dead trees throughout the Village, and marked them accordingly. Trustees Adams and Parro will ascertain which are on Village property.  The question was raised whether the Village had any insurance liability if such trees are not removed.

 

14. OLD BUSINESS:

Codification: Village Clerk Leitner told “two more weeks” on revisions.

 

15. NEW BUSINESS: Pres Kuskowski presented a proposed ordinance change prepared by Village Attorney Jim Bateman amending the Peddlers and Solicitors Ordinance in light of the recent Supreme Court decision which determined that municipalities cannot require religious groups to pay for a permit to discuss their beliefs in the neighborhood. Motion to approve the amended  Peddlers and Solicitors Ordinance was made by Tr Rigali, seconded by Tr Filippell and followed by a roll call vote: VOTE:  AYES: Pres Kuskowski, Trustees Cantieri, Filippell, Rigali. NAYES: None.

 

Resident George Covek was thanked and commended for the new Bulletin Board outside the Village office door.

 

Motion was made to go into Executive Session by Pres Kuskowski and seconded by Tr Cantieri and followed by a roll call vote: VOTE:  AYES: Pres Kuskowski, Trustees Cantieri, Filippell, Rigali. NAYES: None.

 

 

MEETING ADJOURNED:  Motion to adjourn the Board meeting made by Tr Rigali and seconded by Tr Cantieri and followed by unanimous voice vote.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

 

Kathleen Leitner

Village Clerk

08-09-02