123 Madison Street  
Oak Park, Illinois 60302  
www.oak-park.us  
Village of Oak Park  
Meeting Minutes  
Finance Committee  
Thursday, September 29, 2022  
6:30 PM  
Remote  
1. Call To Order  
Village President Scaman called the meeting to order at 6:33 P.M. She  
authorized a statement be read providing that the meeting is being held  
remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines and that it is not  
prudent to have people present at the Village Board's regular meeting  
location due to public health concerns related to that pandemic.  
2. Roll Call  
Present: Village Trustees Enyia , Parakkat, Taglia, and President Scaman  
Absent: 0  
3. Public Comment  
There was no Public Comment.  
4. Approval of Minutes  
ID 22-297  
A.  
Minutes from the September 12, 2022 Meeting of the Finance Committee  
It was moved by Village Trustee Taglia, seconded by Village Trustee Parakkat, to  
approve the Minutes of the September 12, 2022 Meeting of the Finance  
Committee. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows:  
AYES: 4 - Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee  
Parakkat, and Village Trustee Taglia  
NAYS: 0  
ABSENT: 0  
5. New Business  
ID 22-138  
B.  
Presentation and Discussion of the Recommended Five Year Capital  
Improvement Plan (CIP) 2023-2027 for the Main Capital Fund, Community  
Development Block Grant (CDBG) Fund, and Building Improvement Fund  
Village Manager Kevin Jackson introduced the Item.  
Chief Financial Officer Steve Drazner gave an overview of the  
presentations for the evening.  
Village Engineer Bill McKenna then gave an overview of the six larger  
projects of the main Capital Improvement Fund that are over $1 Million, and  
then reviewed the smaller dollar projects.  
Director of Development Customer Services, Tammie Grossman, then  
gave an overview of the CDBG allocation for the Community Restroom  
Project.  
Trustee Robinson requested that the overview CFO Drazner reviewed be  
sent to the Board for their reference.  
Trustee Enyia requested clarification if a rideshare tax will be a future  
revenue source.  
Village Attorney Paul Stephanides responded currently there are legal  
challenges to implementing that.  
Village Trustee Enyia requested clarification on the distribution of the  
Cannabis line item in the Home Rule Tax.  
CFO Drazner responded the Cannabis Tax is strictly the local portion of the  
tax. The village also receives a state distribution which goes to the General  
Fund.  
Trustee Robinson requested clarification on the reason the Public  
Bathroom project is given an "A" code when the Board has yet to decide if  
they want to pursue the project.  
Director Grossman responded it is staff's recommendation to go forward  
with the project, and the Board will still have the opportunity to review the  
request.  
Village Manager Jackson added staff did receive initial direction from the  
Board to move forward with considerations for the project and to use  
CDBG funding for it.  
President Scaman requested clarification on the when the funding period is  
for CDBG.  
Director Grossman responded the CDBG Grant period runs from Oct 1  
through Sept 30 of each year. The village could carry over funds to the next  
year but there is a timeliness requirement where you have to spend the  
CDBG funds within a certain period of time.  
Trustee Parakkat commented he would like to see both the cost and the  
funding sources for the maintenance of the public restroom.  
Trustee Parakkat requested clarification on the funding sources for the  
Forrest and Ontario street calming and landscaping.  
Village Engineer McKenna responded the project is funded through a  
number of funding sources. The village has received the revenues from the  
Albion Development that have been incorporated into the village reserves,  
as well as streetscaping and street resurfacing funds, and CDBG funds.  
Trustee Parakkat requested a synopsis of the total of expenditures and  
sources of funding.  
Rob Sproule, the Director of Public Works, then gave an overview of the  
Building Improvement Fund requests.  
Trustee Taglia requested clarification on the deferred $400,000 for the  
Police Station.  
Director Sproule responded the $400,000 associated with the potential  
deferral is for the second stage design of the new police station.  
Trustee Taglia requested clarification on if they move the design out one  
year will that move the project out one year.  
Director Sproule responded that is potentially the impact.  
Trustee Taglia requested clarification on the Village Hall entrance upgrade  
and the what $100,000 of the $450,000 proposed cost would be used for if  
the $350,000 is to be deferred.  
Director Sproule responded staff is proposing to move forward with the  
engineering and design of the entry way and vestibule in 2023, and move  
forward with the engineering and construction in 2024.  
Trustee Taglia requested clarification on if the property condition  
assessment report addresses security at the village facilities or is that  
something separate.  
Director Sproule responded it is something separate.  
Trustee Taglia commented he would like to see a payback calculation  
related to the salt brine device as is shows promise to reduce costs.  
Trustee Buchanan requested more information regarding using permeable  
surfaces for street resurfacing.  
Village Engineer McKenna responded that was related to Parking Lot 10.  
Staff has applied for a grant to make it a permeable paver parking lot as it  
sits on top of sandy soil and is planned for resurfacing due to its current  
condition. Currently there are no streets that are permeable, although there  
are some streets that are brick, but those are traditional brick pavers and  
not permeable installations.  
President Scaman called for a 5-minute recess.  
The meeting went into recess at 8:50 P.M.  
The meeting returned to session at 9:00 P.M.  
CFO Drazner gave an overview of the four different funding options.  
Trustee Parakkat requested a full village-wide view of the debt servicing  
schedule to better understand the impact of taking on more debt and to  
better inform on the options presented.  
CFO Drazner responded he does have schedules on the debt services and  
has a separate one that is splits out the parking debt - so all the information  
is available.  
Trustee Robinson requested clarification on spending ARPA funds on the  
police body cams when they thought that would be covered by grants.  
CFO Drazner responded he is not familiar with that grant but he was trying  
to justify enough to transfer into the CIP fund to cover the necessary  
projects. As long as he can report they are spending it on equipment, all of  
the funds are co-mingled together in the end.  
Trustee Robinson requested clarification on what the deadline is to allocate  
ARPA dollars.  
CFO Drazner responded they have until the end of 2024 to obligate the  
ARPA dollars, and then two years after that to actually spend it.  
Trustee Robinson requested clarification on if staff is looking for general  
guidance on which projects should be deferred or something else.  
CFO Drazner responded it would be good if they can narrow down on  
where the CIP stands so they can start to incorporate that into the  
Operating Budget. There is still flexibility with the CIP until the Board adopts  
the Operating Budget in December.  
Trustee Taglia requested clarification on what is projected to be the  
General Fund balance with the $3.9 Million in lost revenue that has been  
added.  
CFO Drazner responded he is projecting a little over $32 Million as a  
balance at the end of the year.  
Trustee Taglia commented he is leaning on focusing on Options Two and  
Four right now, but needs more time to get input from other Board  
members.  
Trustee Buchanan requested clarification on what the drawbacks are to  
using ARPA funds.  
CFO Drazner responded using ARPA funds for CIP projects is a good use  
of those funds.  
Trustee Buchanan requested clarification on if the new Infrastructure Bill  
could contribute to any of these projects.  
Village Manager Jackson responded staff can research that as an option.  
Director Sproule added the bill is too new and the level of detail is not  
available yet, but opportunities may present themselves in the future.  
Trustee Buchanan commented she agrees with Trustee Taglia on striking  
out Options One and Three, and she supports using ARPA funds. She  
prefers to not defer any of the projects as they seem to keep showing up  
every year, so with the large fund balance and the ARPA funds she hopes  
they can get a lot of these projects done.  
The Board and staff then reviewed the project deferrals listed under Option  
4.  
President Scaman requested clarification on the $400,000 deferral for the  
police station.  
Director Sproule responded staff is in the process of engaging FGM to  
evaluate one or two additional potential options for locations for the police  
station. The timeline is expected to be to develop a high level schematic  
design first, sometime in 2023, and if the Board were satisfied with the  
schematic design, the next phase would be engaging engineering to  
develop a detailed blueprint design which is what the $400,000 would be  
used for. That portion is anticipated to be in 2024.  
Trustee Robinson commented they would not be comfortable with deferring  
the police station funds without the BerryDunn report first.  
Village Manager Jackson responded there is consistency with what the  
Board committed to a few years ago and what has been found with the  
BerryDunn report. What is seen here is what we think is needed in order to  
continue the work with enough resources for now, and looking at updated  
numbers and options and direction from the Board in the future.  
Trustee Robinson requested clarification if Village Manager Jackson was  
indicating if we left the police station in here with deferrals, timing wise it  
may coordinate well with the rollout of the recommendations of the  
BerryDunn report, and the timing of that may push it out of 2023 anyway.  
Village Manager Jackson responded in the affirmative.  
President Scaman requested clarification on if they cut one alley will that  
impact their track for alley improvements.  
Engineer McKenna responded ideally they would not defer any alley  
improvements. They would still be replacing 14 alleys, which is a robust  
number, and it is reasonable to cut one alley to meet the Board's goal of  
not issuing additional taxes or additional debt.  
The Board then reviewed the remaining line Items:  
Augusta Street Calming  
Engineer McKenna commented it's not a deferral - staff believes it can be  
absorbed in the 2023 street resurfacing project.  
Bicycle Improvements  
Engineer McKenna commented is also not a deferral. Staff now has a  
more realistic dollar amount than what was shown in the budget based on a  
range of costs given in the Bike Boulevard Study.  
Chicago Avenue Resurfacing & Streetscape  
Engineer McKenna commented it is also not a deferral - there are sufficient  
funds in the MFT fund to cover the past costs, which will be used instead of  
CIP funds for that expense. It is a past project that we are waiting on  
receiving an invoice from the state for.  
Historic Sidewalks  
Engineer McKenna commented a deferral is a realistic way to approach  
this project while staff works with the Historic Preservation Commission to  
prioritize the repairs and how to best manage that system.  
Madison Street Traffic Calming  
Engineer McKenna commented staff is just starting to collect the data and  
are keeping an eye on any increase in traffic on the parallel streets. Staff  
does not see an immediacy for this project and thinks there is enough time  
to review the data in 2023 to see what really needs to get done, and then  
look at construction in 2024.  
Marion Street Crosswalk  
Engineer McKenna commented staff believes this can be done in-house  
without using contractor services.  
North Marion Street Streetscape  
Engineer McKenna commented this project is a large dollar amount so to  
meet the Board's goals they put this on the deferral list. They have the  
design done and would like to move forward with this project at some point,  
but can certainly pause the work for now.  
Pavement Preservation Treatments  
Engineer McKenna commented this project was already re-bid out so this  
deferral represents the $100,000 in savings for the project, which will come  
to the Board at the next meeting for consideration.  
Resurfacing Various Streets  
Engineer McKenna commented this deferral does have some impact to the  
overall performance of the roadways in the village, but staff believes the  
impact is tolerable if looking to trying to save money from what was  
proposed in the initial budget.  
There was consensus from the Board to remove $500,000 deferral from  
this item and keep it in the budget at this time.  
Roosevelt Road Pedestrian Safety Improvements  
Engineer McKenna commented this is to basically replace the in-road  
lights at the crosswalk. The units were under a five-year warranty and were  
replaced in year four or five, and have degraded since then. IDOT will be  
resurfacing the road and will be removing these units which were originally  
installed at the urging of the village; if the village would like to have them  
reinstalled it would need to be at the village's expense.  
Sidewalk Replacement  
Engineer McKenna commented this is less a deferral and more of a  
realistic dollar amount based on the anticipated CDBG funding for this  
project.  
Street Furniture  
Engineer McKenna commented staff believes they can use existing  
inventory for any replacement needs in 2023.  
Traffic Signal Automation  
Engineer McKenna commented the project initially would have added more  
equipment at intersections that would allow the signals to be mostly  
automatic based on data collection. After speaking with vendors, staff is  
recommending eliminating this project until technologies catch up a little  
more.  
Traffic Signal Controller Equipment  
Engineer McKenna commented this is for upgrades to exiting traffic  
controllers and detection equipment. Staff has not gotten to this work yet in  
2022, and is recommending deferring the 2022 work to 2023, so this is a  
more realistic look at what our expenditures will be.  
Washington and Oak Park Intersection  
Engineer McKenna commented this is to not go forward with traffic signal  
designs at the intersection next year while they are in discussion with IDOT  
on transferring jurisdiction of Washington from IDOT to the village. Staff  
believes the village could design it for 1/3rd the cost if the village owned  
that roadway.  
Replacement of the Police Station  
President Scaman requested clarification if deferring this dollar amount  
would defer any of the work for the design of a new police station.  
Village Manager Jackson responded he did not think so, but understands  
the point of view if it were to be put back and there is an opportunity to  
access the funding in 2023.  
There was consensus from the Board to remove the $400,000 deferral for  
this line item and keep it in the budget at this time.  
LED Lighting Upgrades Public Works Center  
Director Sproule commented this project is a desire to upgrade the LED  
upgrades to move forward with sustainable options that improve energy  
efficiency, and there is not an immediate need for this project at this time.  
As Public Works does not pay for electricity associated with lighting at  
Public works, there is no financial payback associated with this project.  
Staff will continue to research rebates available from ComEd to fund this  
project.  
Locker Room Upgrades Public Works Center  
There was consensus from the Board to remove the $100,000 deferral for  
this line item and keep it in the budget at this time.  
New Office Furniture Public Works Center/ Furniture/ Workstation  
Replacements Village Hall  
Director Sproule commented the current furniture is still usable and staff  
have been purchasing replacement items, such as sit to stand desks and  
chairs, using their Operating Budget. It is not ideal to do this piecemeal, but  
could be deferred.  
There was consensus from the Board to remove the $25,000 deferral for  
the Public Works furniture and the $25,000 deferral for Village Hall  
Furniture and keep it in the budget at this time.  
Salt Brine Maker Public Works Center  
Director Sproule commented he has been able to do some research and  
they are looking at a return on investment within 4 to 6 years of the initial  
cost. The village currently has a lot of the equipment in place but not the  
storage space to facilitate the purchase of brine and holding it from an  
outside source. He will continue to research the data more and report back  
to the Board.  
There was consensus from the Board to remove the $175,000 deferral for  
this item and keep it in the budget at this time.  
New Entranceway and Pneumatic Control Replacement at Village Hall  
Director Sproule commented with the proposed implementation of the  
energy audits and updates to the PCA, one of them being at Village Hall,  
there may be alternative recommendations to do this work. There could be  
benefits in delaying these projects as there may be other energy  
efficiencies that should be taken into consideration that may impact  
implementation. The Board could also defer the entire New Village Hall  
Entryway project, inclusive of the engineering and construction portions, for  
a total deferral of $425,000 versus the $350,000 for that project.  
There was consensus from the Board to defer $425,000 for the New  
Entryway at Village Hall.  
CFO Drazner then confirmed $1,150,000.00 in funds would be removed  
from the deferred list and put back in to the budget based on the  
discussion: $500,000 from Streets, $400,000 from the Police Station,  
$100,000 for the Locker Room, $50,000 for Furniture, $175,000 for the  
Brine Machine, and then adding $75,000 in deferral for the Entryway  
Project.  
There was consensus for staff to utilize ARPA Funds and Lost Revenue or  
General Fund Reserves to cover the $1,150,000.00. CFO Drazner will  
determine which projects qualify to be covered under the ARPA Funds and  
then any overages to be covered by Lost Revenue or the General Fund  
Reserves.  
6. Adjournment  
It was moved by Village Trustee Parakkat, seconded by Village Trustee Enyia, to  
adjourn. The Motion was approved. The meeting adjourned at 10:37 P.M.,  
Monday, September 29, 2022.  
Respectfully Submitted,  
Deputy Clerk DeViller  
AYES: 4 - Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee  
Parakkat, and Village Trustee Taglia  
NAYS: 0  
ABSENT: 0