VILLAGE OF TOWER LAKES

BOARD MEETING

Date: October 18, 2010

Time: 7:35 pm

Location: Village Hall

1) Roll Call, Pledge, and Sign-In: Meeting called to order at 7:35 pm. President Leitner, Trustees Bolger, Rolfs, deVries and Parro present. Trustees Merkle and Baggett absent. Also attending: Treasurer Rolfs, Building Inspector Cantieri and Police Chief Sinacore present.  Village Clerk Parro absent.

2) Public Comments: none.

3)  Approval of Minutes: A motion to approve the September 2010 minutes with no changes was made by Tr. Rolfs and seconded by Tr. Bolger, followed by: AYES: Bolger, Rolfs, deVries, Leitner. ABSTAIN: Parro.

4) Treasurer’s Report and Payment of Bills: (i) A motion to pay monthly bills was made by Tr. Bolger and seconded by Tr. deVries, followed by a roll call vote: AYES: Trs Bolger,  Rolfs, deVries Parro and Pres Leitner. (ii) The State remains behind in its disbursements of the Village’s share of income tax, but recently made two payments so we are not as far behind as we have been.

(iii) As approved by the Village Board at the September meeting, Treas. Rolfs has transferred $100,000.00 from the water system general checking fund to the water system money market account to take advantage of a slightly better interest rate. Treas. Rolfs would like to transfer additional assets from the Wayne Hummer money market account(s) at BBT to regular money market accounts The regular money market accounts are not backed by the FDIC but they would be required to be fully collateralized by BBT with government backed securities for the Village. Specifically, Treas. Rolfs requested authority to transfer:

-$305,000 from the general fund and $181,000 from the general reserve fund : Motion to approve transfer of these assets from the Wayne Hummer money market accounts at BBT to BBT regular money market accounts at the same bank to take advantage of better interest rates (from .11% to .3%). made by Tr. Bolger, seconded by Tr. deVries and followed by a roll call vote: AYES: Bolger, Rolfs, deVries, Parro and Leitner.

-$100,000 from the general fund IL Funds account into a BBT regular money market account to an increased interest rate of .3%: Motion to approve transfer of these assets from the Wayne Hummer money market accounts at BBT to BBT regular money market accounts  made by Tr. Rolfs, seconded by Tr. Bolger and followed by a roll call vote: AYES: Parro, deVries, Rolfs, Bolger and Leitner.

-          Change the SSA account from a BBT regular checking account to a BBT money market account to increase the interest rate from .18% to .3%: Motion to approve transfer of these assets from the BBT checking account to BBT money market account  made by Tr. Bolger, seconded by Tr. deVries and followed by a roll call vote: AYES: Bolger, Rolfs, deVries, Parro and Pres. Leitner.

 (iv) The Audit is in and the Village Board has had the opportunity to review it.  The auditors noted that one charge of $2000 for a water hookup was incorrectly deposited into the general fund. Treas. Rolfs seeks approval to move that amount to the water fund: Motion to approve the transfer of $2000 from the general fund to the water fund was made by Tr. Bolger, seconded by Tr. deVries and followed by a roll call vote: AYES: Bolger, Rolfs, deVries, Parro, Pres. Leitner.

(v) Treas Rolfs will look into if/whether there is a mandatory tax rate ceiling for the Village. As the County EAV rate goes down, our Village tax rate goes up to counterbalance the EAV drop. If there is a ceiling to the Village tax rate, we may not be able to compensate for continued EAV falls.  Tax Levy Ordinance: Motion to approve the annual Tax Levy Ordinance made by Tr. Rolfs seconded by Tr. Bolger and followed by a roll call vote: AYES: Tr. Bolger, Rolfs, deVries, Parro and Pres. Leitner.

5) Planning, Building and Zoning: (i) B.I. Cantieri reported on month’s activities, including inspecting a property complaint on Devonshire. He has had an opportunity to inspect the property at 410 N. Rte 59 and found it to be sound but noted that the intended use of the property ultimately determines whether it is in satisfactory condition.

(ii) Comprehensive Plan Ordinance: motion to adopt the ordinance amending the Village Code to include the revised Official Comprehensive Plan as recommended by the Plan Commission and including the Future Land Use Plan added by the Village Board was made  by Tr. Rolfs, seconded by Tr. Bolger and followed by a unanimous vote.

(iii) PC member Barb Kolasinski reported from the Plan Commission’s recent meeting.  Now that the Comp Plan has been adopted, the PC will archive the work they have done.  At Pres Leitner’s request, the PC members were asked to nominate one or two of its members to an advisory committee for the short term and long term use of 410 N. Rte 59.  Members Jacquie Skurla and Randy Young have volunteered. Now that the Comp Plan work is nearly complete, the PC is looking ahead to other projects. On their list are the following: review the Village’s building permit process from ordinances to online forms, to identify efficiencies and clarifications for the system; explore technology in Tower Lakes, including WIFI accessibility; look for ways to further improve/expand communication.  PC requests the Village Board consider if other projects require attention at this time.  Village Board members unanimously agreed with the three projects the PC had identified.

(iv) Barclay Woods update: the Barrington Area Conservation Trust did not receive a grant to purchase this property, and other explored avenues have not produced funds to buy this property from existing owner Jack Lageschulte. The Barclay Woods Annexation Agreement expires in 2012. The agreement has to be reviewed to determine what happens at that time.

6) Stormwater Management: Tr. Bolger reported that the Village is wrapping up this year’s projects and planning for next year.

7) Health and Sanitation: No Report.

8) Roads: see police report on additional stop sign installations being considered.

9) Grounds: (i) Brush Pickup was scheduled for October 4 with Cuba Township Highway Department. Cuba Township did not come and has not rescheduled. Please contact Cuba Township with questions 847-382-1224. (ii) Contract with SK Landscaping now includes mowing the property at 410 N Rte 59. Additionally, Tr. Parro authorized them to do clearing at Paddock and restore road shoulders.

10) Police and Public Safety: Chief Sinacore reported on the subcommittee meeting of September 29, 2010 from Tr. Baggett’s minutes. Retired Commander Fred Kubas is returning to assist in evening and weekend coverage.  Parking Passes/permitted parking is still being reviewed to come up with an enforceable program. Stop or yield signs are being considered on WLSD where both Summit and Bridge intersect. The electric cart no longer works, and the village has asked TLIA if they would like to assume ownership of it. EMA event held October 16, 2010 was very professionally put together and was fun and informative for those who attended. Chief also reported on the list of activities for the month.

11) Water System/Utilities: Homes with outstanding balances avoided shutoff with last minute payments. Tr. deVries to follow up with Tower Lakes office and Manhard to confirm that hookup charges are properly billed.

12) Urban Forestry:  No report.

13) Intergovernmental:  Pres. Leitner reported that she has attended the second meeting as the  BACOG representative to a newly formed group,  Northwest Water Planning Area Alliance, a committee which plans to coordinate use and policies of the water aquifers upon which we all rely.

14) Old Business: 90210 texting service has begun.  Pres. Leitner is waiting to hear from TLIA to see if they will be using the second keyword of this system.  Pres. Leitner will follow up on sidewalk repair.

15) New Business: REMINDER- four Village Board positions are up for (re)election next spring. Filing petitions are available from the Village Clerk. Positions up for election are currently held by President Leitner, Trs. Parro, Baggett and Merkle.

A motion to adjourn at 8:50 pm was made by Tr. Rolfs and seconded by Tr. Bolger, followed by unanimous vote.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathleen Leitner, Village President