123 Madison Street

Oak Park, Illinois 60302

www.oak-park.us

Village of Oak Park

Meeting Minutes

President and Board of Trustees

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

6:00 PM

Village Hall

I. Call to Order

Village President Vicki Scaman called the Regular Meeting to order at

6:03 P.M.

II. Roll Call

Trustee Wesley arrived late.

7 -

Present:

Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village

Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Straw, and Village

Trustee Wesley

Absent:

III. Agenda Approval

It was moved by Trustee Straw, seconded by Trustee Robinson, to approve the

Agenda. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved.

IV. Minutes

MOT 24-266

A Motion to Approve Minutes from the October 1, 2024 Regular Meeting

of the Village Board

It was moved by Trustee Robinson, seconded by Trustee Straw, to approve the

Minutes. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved.

V. Non-Agenda Public Comment

Valerie Michalik: Lives in Opera House condominiums on the corner of

Marion and North Blvd. Joined by her husband and neighbors. Concerned

about the increase in vagrant men and women that have inundated the

streets, parks, and train stations over the past six months.

Bill Bower: Lives in Opera House condominiums. Progressive

deterioration of what is happening in and around South Marion and the

train station, with threatening behavior, abusive language, nudity,

defecation, panhandling, drug use, littering, and assault. Wants to know if

there is a plan for dealing with it other than calling the police.

VI. Proclamation

MOT 24-265

A Motion to Approve a Proclamation Recognizing National Hunger and

Homelessness Awareness Week, November 17-23, 2024

Village President Vicki Scaman read the Proclamation into the record.

Beyond Hunger CEO Michele Zurakowski accepted the Proclamation and

expressed her gratitude.

Representatives from Housing Forward accepted the Proclamation and

expressed her gratitude.

It was moved by Trustee Wesley, seconded by Trustee Straw, to approve the

Proclamation. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved.

MOT 24-268

A Motion to Approve a Proclamation Recognizing Native American

Heritage Month Annually in the Month of November

President Scaman read the Proclamation in a pre-recorded video

available on the Village website.

It was moved by Trustee Straw, seconded by Trustee Enyia, to approve the

Proclamation. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved.

VII. Village Manager Reports

Public Works Director Rob Sproule presented an update on the leaf

bagging program.

Trustee Robinson said she will email Village Manager Kevin Jackson to

request a motion to reconsider the resident refuse credit. Trustee Wesley

said he will second it.

Manager Jackson presented a STAR Award (Service Together Achieves

Results) to David Ikeemeka. David accepted the award and expressed his

gratitude.

VIII. Village Board Committees & Trustee Liaison Commission Reports

Trustee Straw reported the Transportation Commission meeting discussed

the Vision Zero plan which will be coming back to the commission on

December 2. He encouraged the community to give public input on the

draft plan.

Village Clerk Christina Waters reported on behalf of the Citizen

Involvement Commission that the volunteer appreciation celebration is

November 14. She gave a sincere apology for the scheduling conflict that

evening with the Historic Preservation Commission, Civic Information

Systems Commission, and Aging in Communities Commission.

IX. Citizen Commission Vacancies

ID 24-544

Board and Commission Vacancy Report for November 12, 2024

There were no comments.

XI. First Reading

ORD 24-165

First Reading of an Ordinance Amending Chapter 18 (“Business Licensing”),

Article 2 (“Fee Schedule”), Section 8-2-1 (“License Fee Schedule”) of the

Oak Park Village Code

Development Services Director Emily Egan presented the Item.

President Scaman inquired about outreach. Director Egan said

conversations are happening with prospective and existing businesses. A

second reading will be brought back to the Village Board on November 21.

Trustee Parakkat asked if this will be looked at as part of the overall

economic vitality planning process, which Director Egan confirmed it will

occur on a yearly basis. Manager Jackson said all fees will be reviewed as

part of the long-term financial planning process.

ORD 24-166

First Reading of an Ordinance Establishing the Annual Building and

Construction Permit Fees and the Zoning Application Fees of the Village of

Oak Park

Development Services Director Emily Egan presented the Item.

XII. Consent Agenda

Approval of the Consent Agenda

It was moved by Trustee Robinson, seconded by Trustee Straw to approve the

items under the Consent Agenda. The motion was approved. The roll call on the

vote was as follows:

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AYES:

Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village

Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Straw, and Village

Trustee Wesley

NAYS:

ABSENT:

ORD 24-173

An Ordinance Amending the Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Budget

This Ordinance was adopted.

MOT 24-258

A Motion to Approve the Bills in the Amount of $13,601,791.68 from

September 29, 2024, through November 2, 2024

This Motion was approved.

ORD 24-134

An Ordinance Updating and Replacing the Map Codified as Part of Section

15-1-26 of the Village Code to Reflect the Village’s Current Time

Restrictions, Time Limits, and Prohibited Parking Areas

This Ordinance was adopted.

RES 24-312

RES 24-316

A Resolution Approving an Amendment to the Independent Contractor

Agreement with Cerniglia, Co. for 2024 Emergency Water and Sewer Repair

Work to Increase the Not to Exceed Amount from $40,000.00 to $82,026.63

and Authorizing its Execution

This Resolution was adopted.

A Resolution Authorizing the Purchase of One 2025 Falcon 8-Ton Hot Patch

Truck from Falcon Road Maintenance Equipment, LLC. of Freeland,

Michigan through the NASPO ValuePoint Joint Purchasing Program in an

Amount not to Exceed $267,524.00 and Waiving the Village’s Bid Process

for the Purchase

This Resolution was adopted.

RES 24-317

RES 24-320

A Resolution Approving the Purchase of 2,000 Tons of Rock Salt from

Morton Salt, Inc. at $62.98 Per Ton For the 2024/2025 Snow Season in an

Amount Not to Exceed $200,000.00 per the State of Illinois Joint Purchasing

Program and Waiving the Village’s Bidding Process for the Purchase

This Resolution was adopted.

A Resolution Approving an Amendment to the Contractor Services

Agreement with ADO Professional Solutions, Inc., DBA Lee Hecht Harrison

Recruitment Solutions, to Change the Not to Exceed Amount from

$50,000.00 to $60,000.00, and to Extend the Agreement to February 21,

2025 and Authorizing its Execution

This Resolution was adopted.

RES 24-331

RES 24-332

RES 24-333

A Resolution Approving an Intergovernmental Agreement between the

Villages of River Forest, Forest Park, and Oak Park for the Phase I

Engineering Study of the Harlem Avenue Viaduct Project and Authorizing

its Execution

This Resolution was adopted.

A Resolution Approving an Independent Contractor Agreement with

National Power Rodding Corporation for the 2024 Ridgeland Ave Sewer

Siphon Cleaning & Inspection Project, in an Amount not to Exceed

$252,610 and Authorizing its Execution

This Resolution was adopted.

A Resolution Approving an Independent Contractor Agreement with ABM

Industry Groups, LLC to Provide Building Maintenance Services at

Village-owned Facilities in 2025 in an Amount Not to Exceed $855,000.00

for 2025 and Authorizing its Execution

This Resolution was adopted.

XIII. Regular Agenda

ID 24-507

A Presentation and Discussion of Alternative Response to Calls for Service

Phase 2

Assistant Village Manager/HR Director Kira Tchang presented the Item.

Thrive Counseling Center Executive Director Jennifer Rook provided

additional information.

President Scaman inquired what overnight staffing looks like. Director

Tchang said a number of positions throughout the village have overnight

on-call responsibilities. They would be dispatched through WESTCOMM

and are part of the social working community team. All of the mental and

behavioral health related staffing would be operating out of the Village's

Neighborhood Services Department.

Trustee Parakkat asked if calls to 988 get routed to Thrive and paid by the

state. Director Tchang said the intent is for people to know their options

and call the one appropriate to their need. The state does fund the area

590 providers. He inquired about the timeline and if a reduce in 911 call

volumes is expected. Director Tchang said the Community Emergency

Services and Support Act (CESSA) was signed into law in 2021. Now it is

supposed to be implemented in July 1, 2025. Director Rook said the

state's requirements for mobile crisis responders for any calls is 60

minutes. Thrive is hyper local and can guarantee a response time of 15

minutes for Oak Park.

Trustee Parakkat asked what costs are included in the $600K. Director

Tchang said it is all of the programming budget which includes training and

external support, vehicle purchases, salary, benefits, and contributions. He

inquired about call volume and Director Tchang said about 10,000 calls

(20%) would have been a good fit for an alternative response. He asked if

we are constrained with any of the models to adapt. Director Tchang said if

the Village Board is interested in making adjustments to the model, staff

would make recommendations.

Trustee Parakkat inquired about the legal risk and liability. Director Tchang

said Thrive would be an additional party to any suit that involves Thrive

staff. Village Attorney Smith confirmed the Village includes fair

indemnification and insurance requirements in service agreements so risk

is properly allocated to the service provider if there is a claim.

Trustee Robinson asked if the budgeted amount for the Thrive-led program

is for models A and B, which Director Tchang confirmed. Trustee Robinson

asked what staff will propose in the 2025 budget. Director Tchang said

there is a $600K placeholder in the Neighborhood Services budget.

Trustee Robinson asked if once CESSA is rolled out, Thrive's response

time will come down to be more in line with the Village's response time.

Director Tchang said that is the general intent and they are trying to present

a response time similar to the Village's response time now. Trustee

Robinson asked how the transition would work with the Village-led model

given that it is dependent on hiring. Director Tchang said the Village has an

existing model with Thrive and staff will recommend renewing it for a

6-month period as staffing up would happen.

Trustee Robinson said she will rely heavily on the task force's input and is

less inclined to go with the Thrive-led model because the response time

piece is very important to her. Director Rook said at least low level risk

calls should be implemented in July 2025. The only change in response

time for Thrive would be the calls coming directly from dispatch instead of

from the police. The two proposed scheduling models would expand

Thrive's business hours.

Trustee Straw inquired about the experience with hiring. Director Tchang

said the Village is actively recruiting for program manager and two care

coordinators. The Village has a set schedule with strong benefits including

a pension. Director Rook said Thrive is a full-scale mental health service

organization with clinician supervisors and peers. He asked about the pros

and cons with the two different models. Director Rook said Thrive wanted

to provide options and will respond to whatever call times are needed. He

asked if there are particular times of the day when these types of mental

health calls are more prevalent. Director Tchang said WESTCOMM is not

able to pull more specific data. He said he would be interested in a 7 day a

week type of response.

Trustee Straw said he leans toward the Thrive-based program and

appreciates it being an outside social service provider. The CESSA

implementation is very important to him. He asked what kind of data Thrive

will be able to provide back to the Village. Director Rook said they will look

at types of calls and outcomes. The biggest challenge is to align Thrive's

data with the Village's data.

Trustee Buchanan requested clarification between Thrive's Tiers 1 and 2

when it's the same team. Director Tchang said the Village requested that

Thrive create a proposal modeled after what the Village was proposing. In

both models, the low and high risk calls for services are responded to by

teams. In low risk, first responders will respond and then peel away if they

are not needed. Trustee Buchanan asked if we would still need to hire

Village staff if we choose the Thrive model. Director Tchang said the

Village is already hiring those positions for Phase 1. The community care

navigation piece is case management and connecting people to services

and respond to unhoused issues. Trustee Buchanan said she is leaning

toward the Thrive-led program because of the embedded expertise and

experience.

Trustee Enyia asked how many clinicians work on a typical shift. Director

Rook said they have a therapist and engagement specialist during

business hours and a secondary therapist available at all times. They do

tend to get multiple calls at once and rely on back-up staff. He said he is

leaning more heavily on a Thrive-led model until there is more stability and

infrastructure in what the Village-led one can be.

Trustee Parakkat said he is also leaning toward the Thrive-led model and

noted that Neighborhood Services is a new department.

Trustee Wesley asked how many calls can be tackled based on the

estimated staffing models. Director Tchang said the intent would be to

tackle most if not all of them. We are looking to provide coverage over the

program's operating hours. He asked if police will be dispatched on all

calls. Director Tchang said it doesn't happen on all calls currently. Police do

not go out on EMS calls. He asked how quickly police can respond. Police

Chief Shatonya Johnson said the response time is 3-10 minutes.

Director Tchang said the hiring process takes about six weeks and she

thinks it is feasible to have a program manager by January 1. Director

Rook said hiring a therapist position takes 1-2 months.

Trustee Wesley inquired about the mental health services billable to

Medicaid for some patients. Director Rook said Thrive is certified by the

state to bill for crisis services. The state provides a large portion of funding

for mobile crisis responders. He said he sees merits in both programs.

Public safety is a core municipal service so he sees a large draw toward

the Village program.

Manager Jackson noted this is one-time dollars. He said he would assign

the contract management with Thrive to the Neighborhood Services

department.

President Scaman said she is interested in the hybrid model. Director

Tchang said under the hybrid co-response model, the Village implements

Phase 1 with our community care navigation and maintains a contract with

Thrive. No one is going out on those low risk calls for service. Within 48

hours someone from the Village's care navigation team will call them as a

follow-up. In the full-service model, someone from the Village would

respond to the low risk call directly, go out with the officer or EMS, and

provide the service in real-time at the point of call. The purpose of the

community service officers (CSOs) is to respond to low risk calls for

service that do not have a mental or behavioral health component.

MOT 24-264

A Motion to Adopt the Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan (2025-2029) as

Reviewed and Discussed by the Village Board’s Finance Committee on

September 10, 2024, September 26, 2024 and October 15, 2024

Sylvia Schweri: Represented Bike Walk Oak Park. Recommended the

Village-wide traffic signal re-timing study be invested in 2025 and not

postponed to 2026.

Interim CFO Donna Gayden presented the Item.

Trustee Robinson asked what is included in the cost of the bonds. CFO

Gayden said it is the closing costs, attorney fees, and filing fees. The first

interest payment would be due November 2025.

Trustee Buchanan asked why the Village would need to borrow from the

fund balance. CFO Gayden said $20M is needed to fund the Oak Park

streetscape. Trustee Buchanan asked why we would borrow for that

instead of paying for it. CFO Gayden said the Village is also building up the

fund balance for the police station. President Scaman said she would

support borrowing from ourselves and being able to pay it back to keep all

options open for the police station.

Trustee Wesley said he does not like using lost revenue for capital

improvements. ARPA funds were not given to us to build a streetscape

project. He would rather bond it all. CFO Gayden clarified the ARPA funds

are not for streetscape. It is for projects that have no funding within the

capital project. He said we are going to have a new administration in D.C.

and he would like to have a lot of cash on hand and not do anything to

reduce that.

Trustee Robinson said she is in favor of Scenario 1. She does not want to

pay interest on money we are not using and she is a little concerned about

the 3-year timeframe. CFO Gayden said she doesn't recommended

borrowing all of the money at once. You would only bond what you need for

the streetscape.

Trustee Straw said he is in favor of Scenario 1 and preserving the

optionality around the money.

Trustee Parakkat said he prefers Scenario 1. He said he wants to see the

lost revenue applied as an investment to the community so the capital

expenditure would be more appropriate.

Trustee Enyia said he is in favor of Scenario 1.

Public Works Director Rob Sproule presented changes to the capital

improvement project (CIP) since the last Finance Committee meeting.

Trustee Straw inquired about the signal re-timing project. Assistant Public

Works Director/Village Engineer Bill McKenna said it is a project to collect

traffic data to develop a signal model for the Village's traffic signal system

to implement pedestrian improvements at those signals. Trustee Straw

asked how leading pedestrian intervals act to reduce injury risk and

increase visibility. Engineer McKenna said it gives the walk signal ahead of

the green light which increases pedestrian visibility. Some signals would

need to be upgraded.

Trustee Straw said this is a vital part of pedestrian safety along our high

injury network. It will be a recommendation in the draft plan. Staff support

the recommendation. It is a short-term high priority item that will have a

significant impact on pedestrian safety in our Village. He said he does not

want to postpone those safety improvements.

Trustee Robinson clarified that all Finance Committee members were in

support of the signal re-timing item. She asked why it was on the list to

postpone. Engineer McKenna said staff were trying to come up with $7M in

deferrals and cuts to meet budget goals. Engineer McKenna confirmed it is

feasible to do the local street network in 2025. Data collection would be in

the spring and the model would be developed over the summer.

Conversations with IDOT can happen at any time. The project would be

consultant-led and they have the capacity to do this. She said she wants to

make sure we are making decisions that are impactful. She said she is still

leaning towards staff's original recommendation.

President Scaman asked why it was put into the original budget. Engineer

McKenna said staff knew the leading pedestrian intervals were going to be

a Vision Zero recommendation and there is a lot of desire from the

community about improving pedestrian accessibility at traffic signals.

Trustee Parakkat agreed with Trustee Robinson and recommended

waiting for the Vision Zero recommendations and use 2025 to make sure

we have the right conversations with IDOT and implement in 2026.

Trustee Wesley said this is $300K to increase pedestrian safety and we

have a fund balance of $45,878,206. This is not a resource question. He

said he wholeheartedly endorses spending the $300K on this without

further argument.

Trustee Buchanan said it makes her nervous if we go to the fund balance

every time we have a personal interest in the project. CFO Gayden said her

recommendation would be to leave the budget as is, allow staff to talk to

IDOT, and do a budget amendment once we know it is a go.

Trustee Straw inquired about the high injury network. Engineer McKenna

said those networks are used for the Vision Zero plan. It is the arterial

street network in general where we have the most accidents and

opportunities for accidents. Perimeter streets include Harlem, North,

Austin, and Roosevelt. Internal streets include Chicago, Oak Park,

Madison, Ridgeland, and portions of Jackson. Trustee Straw said this is an

urgent public safety need. Delaying it to do a budget amendment after we

have conversations with IDOT could mean that we are postponing making

changes at the intersections we control that are on the high injury network.

Trustee Straw inquired about the intersection at Garfield and Oak Park

Avenue. Engineer McKenna said improvements have been designed. The

Village could go out for bid for that project in early 2025 for construction in

summer 2025.

Trustee Enyia said he supports doing the low priority streets in 2025.

Trustee Wesley said he would like to see the Percy Julian item upgraded

from a D to at least a B-level priority. President Scaman said she is fine

with that.

Trustee Straw made a friendly amendment to add in the signal re-timing

line item and Oak Park and Garfield intersection and elevate the Percy

Julian priority from a D to a B, which was seconded by Trustee Wesley.

It was moved by Trustee Straw, seconded by Trustee Wesley, that this Motion be

approved. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows:

7 -

AYES:

Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village

Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Straw, and Village

Trustee Wesley

NAYS:

ABSENT:

MOT 24-267

A Motion by Trustees Robinson and Wesley to Discuss Village Board

Support of the Oak Park River Forest Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 First

Friday Street Festival Series and the Chamber’s Creation of the Oak Park

Black and Latine Business Support Network

Oak Park River Forest Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Darien

Marion-Burton presented the Item.

Trustee Parakkat asked if engaging the broader business community is a

next step. Director Marion-Burton said the BAC would work with partners

like DTOP and Visit Oak Park. Trustee Parakkat asked if this is envisioned

as a one-time expense that will be self-sufficient in subsequent years.

Director Marion-Burton said the ask now is for one time and the goal is to

find ways to subsidize some of these costs through sponsorship and other

foundation partnerships. Trustee Parakkat asked if it is possible to pilot a

business district and then expand. Director Marion-Burton said that would

be inefficient to create one with branding which is a significant investment.

Trustee Parakkat asked how the BIPOC affinity group's work is feeding

into what is recommended here. Director Marion-Burton said their goal is

to replace the BIPOC affinity group with this program.

It was moved by Trustee Robinson, seconded by Trustee Wesley, to extend the

meeting past 10:00 P.M. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved.

Manager Jackson said he would be happy to have a community-based

group take this on and have the Village be a partner.

Trustee Buchanan said she loves both of these ideas but wonders why the

Village should pay for them. Director Marion-Burton clarified that not all of

Madison Street would be closed and ideally it would only be two blocks or

do something in the Fenwick or Pete's parking lot.

Trustee Straw said he fully supports both programs. He asked if it would be

possible to use Village space to save the $4K venue rental fee. Director

Marion-Burton said he thinks that is a possibility.

Trustee Wesley said he thinks both of these are amazing and have been

put into words in a way that will attract people. He read from the Village's

diversity statement. This program is actively rejecting any barriers that

prevent the full participation of marginalized groups. Voting for this is an

active and intentional way to live our values.

Trustee Enyia said this answers the question of why a business should join

the Chamber.

Trustee Robinson said she likes these programs because they provide

some holistic support in different ways. She said she thinks these could

supplement the findings of the economic vitality consultant.

President Scaman said more discussions need to happen between he

Village and the Chamber to determine next steps and deliverables.

Manager Jackson inquired if this Item should be added to the FY2025

budget. Trustee Wesley requested a timeframe for when this will come

back to the Board. Manager Jackson said staff can be prepared to come

back early in the new year. The economic vitality strategic plan will have

considerations for minority and women-owned businesses which could

coalesce with this proposal.

President Scaman requested staff to connect with Growing Communities

Media to get more information on their holiday gift guide. Manager Jackson

said that can be put on the November 21 agenda.

No vote was taken on this Item.

XIV. Call to Board and Clerk

Trustee Enyia expressed gratitude to the election workers and Village staff.

Trustee Buchanan read a prepared statement about the outcome of the

presidential election and her difficulties dealing with the outcome and her

concern about the future of women in our country.

Trustee Wesley addressed the public comments about the homeless

situation on Marion and said no one should be living the way those photos

illustrated people are living and we are not doing anything about it. We

didn't let the migrants live like that. This is a situation we allow and we treat

them as less than human and throw their belongings in the trash.

Manager Jackson clarified the claims on social media that staff are being

directed to throw away personal belongings are false. He recommended a

public study session on the Village's response to the unhoused.

President Scaman said we are working for additional solutions and it is

never fast enough and she is here to continue to work hard.

XV. Adjourn

It was moved by Trustee Straw, seconded by Trustee Wesley, to Adjourn. A voice

vote was taken and the motion was approved. Meeting adjourned at 10:31 P.M.,

Tuesday, November 12, 2024.

Respectfully submitted,

Deputy Clerk Hansen