VILLAGE OF TOWER LAKES

BOARD MEETING

 

Date: January 19, 2009

Time: 7:30 pm

Location: Village Hall

 

1) Roll Call, Pledge and Sign-In: Meeting called to order at 7:55. President Leitner, Trustees M. Rolfs, D. Parro, deVries (late 7:58). Absent: Trustees Merkle, Bolger, Baggett

 

Also attending: Treasurer C. Rolfs, Building Inspector Cantieri, Village Clerk M. Parro, Chief Sinacore, ZBA Chair Gold, ZBA members Spies, Crimmins and residents Boutross and Skiba.

 

2) Building and Zoning: ZBA member Bob Crimmins summarized the ZBA hearing held on January 8th re the variance sought by the Village to install a warning siren on Village lot on east side of Rt. 59 at Indian Trail. The ZBA recommended that the Village Board pass the variation ordinance. Discussion took place of nearby resident concerns. The monthly testing of the siren can be done silently. President Leitner tabled the vote until next month in order to have more discussion with TLIA on alternate sites.

 

Plan Commission Report: was given by Dan Spies. 4 items were discussed.

1.      Public Hearing was held on Jan 8, 2009 on a proposed ordinance to clarify existing rules on setback calculation methods for irregular shaped lots, including an illustration. The PC recommended the Village Board approve the draft ordinance. A motion to pass the Ordinance amending the Village Code re: Amendments to Section 10-1-3, “Definitions”, and Section 10-6-4, “Minimum Setbacks from Road or Street, and Bodies of Water, and Front Yard, Side Yard and Rear Yard Setback”, of Title 10, “Zoning Regulations” was made by Tr. Parro and seconded by Tr. Rolfs followed by unanimous vote.

2.        Report on “Impervious Surface” recommendation. The preliminary information on the impervious surface issue and “best practices” that the PC is using in evaluating the issue has been forwarded to the building inspector and Trustees Bolger and Rolfs for comment and input. PC will continue discussion and with input from the above and will draft a recommendation to the Village Board.

3.      A report on Comprehensive Plan Survey results is being constructed. PC will present the results to the Village Board at a future meeting and with the Board’s consent will publish these results in the Village/ TLIA newsletter.

4.   Land Use section of the Comprehensive Plan is being reviewed and several additional elements are being considered. PC will share a draft section with the Village Board as it is completed for input.    

 

Bldg Inspector Cantieri’s report: 3 permits issued in December and inspections ongoing. One violation was noted for an out building. A letter is being drafted to notify the resident.

 

Discussion took place about the burden of requiring a full set of stamped architectural drawings at time of permit/ variance application. It was proposed to consider only requiring minimum information such as site plan, building elevation views, plat, setbacks, septic plan and County approvals until a determination is made on variances, if any. President Leitner will consult with V.A. and request draft ordinance if one is required.  Discussion also took place that majority of zoning district A-2 are substandard lots (less than 20,000 sq ft.) which causes nuisance variance hearings and Board members felt that with the recent changes to setbacks and lot coverage ratios that this situation should be reviewed. Pres. Leitner will discuss with V. A. to start work on a draft ordinance for the PC to review.

 

3) Police Report: (i) Chief’s report is on file. (ii) Chief Sinacore has been invited to join “Fight Crime: Invest in Kids”, an organization of Police Chiefs looking to prevent crimes and violence through early childhood education, parent coaching, after school programs and interventions for troubled youths.(iii) “Alive 25” drivers ed. program is now being offered at Harper College. This is an interactive course designed to help young drivers prevent the causes of dangerous driving conditions. (iv) Tower Lakes Police will be hosting Crime Prevention and Safety Classes (including CPR, Drug Recognition for Parents and Senior Citizens Beware of Scams) throughout the year of 2009. Feb. CPR class details will be posted on web and in newsletter. (v) New “Ignition Interlock” law for first time DUI offenders has taken effect Jan 1, 2009. (vi) Saturday Jan 17 during the early am hours 7 TL cars were broken into. Various items were stolen including a toll transponder, GPS units and radar detectors. Port Barrington was also hit. Investigations are in progress in cooperation with other agencies. TL Police are extending evening patrol hours for weekend evenings with the Chief also patrolling.

4) Approval of Minutes: A motion to approve the December 2008 minutes with no changes was made by Tr. Rolfs and seconded by Tr. Parro followed by unanimous vote.

5) Treasurer’s Report and Payment of Bills: (i) A motion to approve the payment of monthly bills was made by Tr. deVries and seconded by Tr. Parro and followed by unanimous vote. (ii) Treasurer Rolfs asked for approval to open a money market account for any balances over $200,000 in the General Fund. A motion to authorize the Village Treasurer to open a money market account for any balances in the General Fund exceeding $200,000 was made by Tr. Parro and seconded by Tr. deVries followed by unanimous vote.

6) Budget and Finance: A Finance subcommittee meeting will be held Feb 10, 2009. Treas. Rolfs asked all Trustees to start working on their 2009/10 budgets.

7) Utilities: (i) Manhard has completed a study of billing vs. usage. They found a 22% discrepancy. A discrepancy of 4-10% would be considered average. Our higher % could be due to old meters that typically read lower, as well as leakage. A meter replacement program is in effect that will replace roughly 50 old meters per year. Also a 5-10 year plan is in place to replace all old 2-4” water pipes. (ii) Pres. Leitner asked the Board for approval for Manhard to put together information to apply for federal grant money. A motion to approve the expenditure of $4,000 to go toward the application, development of proposal and lobbyist cost for federal grant money was made by Tr. Parro and seconded by Tr. Rolfs followed by unanimous vote. (iii) Wednesday Jan 14, the power failed in Well #3 resulting in 4” of water in well house.

8) Urban Forestry: Tr. Parro asked that the Tree Commission make a recommendation on drafting a tree preservation ordinance, similar to North Barrington and Lake Barrington, which would apply to private property.   

9) Grounds: Some entrance lights are shorted out again. Tr. Parro authorized a handyman to order the replacement parts and perform the modifications necessary to get them permanently fixed.

10) Roads: (i) One block of Oxford Rd was closed for 2 days due to flooding/ ice. (ii) Village received a salt bill for $16,000 for 132 tons used and 12 applications just through Dec 25. This extraordinary cost is due to the almost tripling of salt price as well as the large number of applications. Our subcontractor, Cuba Township Hwy Dept, is continuing to use advanced technology to minimize the amount of salt used.

11) Administration: Pres. Leitner and Village Clerk Parro will compile all information from 2002 to current in order to update the Village Code. Information will be sent to Codifiers with request for a new PDF file so we can update website.

12) Old Business: None

13) New Business: None

 

A motion to adjourn at 9:50 pm was made by Tr. Rolfs and seconded by Tr. deVries and followed by unanimous vote.

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Marilyn Parro, Village Clerk