123 Madison Street

Oak Park, Illinois 60302

www.oak-park.us

Village of Oak Park

Meeting Minutes

President and Board of Trustees

Monday, May 9, 2022

7:00 PM

Remote

I. Call to Order

Village President Scaman called the meeting to order at 7:02 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.

II. Roll Call

7 -

Present:

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

Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village

Trustee Walker-Peddakotla

Absent:

III. Agenda Approval

It was moved by Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla, seconded by Village Trustee

Parakkat, to approve the Agenda. 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 Taglia, and Village

Trustee Walker-Peddakotla

NAYS:

ABSENT:

IV. Non-Agenda Public Comment

The following person spoke their Non-Agenda Public Comment aloud:

Alicia Chastain: Alicia Chastain spoke their public comment expressing

their concern with the increase in Covid-19 outbreaks in the schools. They

urged the Board to empower the Public Health Department to protect the

children and collaborate with District 97 to keep the kids safe.

V. Regular Agenda

ID 22-131

Review and Discussion of Current Parking Fees Structure

Village Manager Kevin Jackson introduced the Item.

Tammie Grossman, Director of Development Customer Services, then

gave background and an overview of the Item.

Sean Keane, Parking and Mobility Services Manager, then gave a

presentation of the Item.

Village Trustee Taglia requested clarification regarding on the out of

pocket loss for the village regarding the lease agreement with Calvary

Church and parking lot 16.

Manager Keane responded it is operating at a loss and staff will report

back to the Board with the actual number.

Village Trustee Robinson requested clarification if the comparison

communities (Forest Park and Evanston) also offer any amount of free

parking.

Manager Keane responded staff did not look into that for this meeting.

Director Grossman added the comparisons were just on parking meters,

not garages, but staff can get that information to the Board.

Village Trustee Robinson requested clarification if the other parking lot

leasing agreements will also be evaluated to determine if they are

operating at a loss.

Manager Keane responded Lot 16 needed to be addressed immediately,

and staff can do further analysis on the other 13 lots.

Village Trustee Taglia requested clarification regarding what the average

operating deficit is during a normal time (outside of the pandemic).

Manager Keane responded staff will provide that information during the

2023 budget discussions.

Village Trustee Taglia requested clarification regarding if the

standardization of parking to 8:00 P.M. would be implemented

village-wide.

Manager Keane responded it would be, with the exceptions for the

permitted lots where permit parking begins at 6 P.M. - those lots would be

grandfathered in.

Village Trustee Taglia requested clarification regarding the breakdown of

the changes proposed to the parking garages.

Manager Keane responded the proposals include reducing the amount of

time to park for free as well as increasing the fee from $3 to $4 for parking

up to 3.5 hours in the garages.

Village Trustee Taglia requested clarification regarding if Parking Lot 16

and the Housing Choice Voucher numbers were factored in to the

calculations.

Manager Keane responded they were not.

Village Trustee Parakkat requested clarification regarding, if all the

assumptions hold true, is it anticipated that this fund will move from a deficit

to a surplus in 2023, and how would the ARPA funds play into this as far as

covering the lost revenue.

Village Manager Keane responded if the assumptions hold true then the

fund should see a surplus in 2023 - but the missing piece is the capital

funding which staff should have more clarity on going into the budget

process.

Village Trustee Buchanan requested clarification regarding if the goal is for

the parking fund to be cost neutral, or is it assumed that other revenues will

always have to support the parking fund somewhat.

Director Grossman responded the idea has always been that the parking

fund should be self-sustaining.

Village Trustee Buchanan commented a $25 increase for garage permit

holders seems like a lot and requested clarification on how staff came to

that proposal versus raising the hourly parking fee to $1.25.

Manager Keane responded it was based on Board direction from February

14 and looking at the garage permits and the debt associated with the

parking fund.

Director Grossman added they have not raised the rates in the garages

since 2017. Going forward there should be a conversation about annual

rate increases.

Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla would like to see what the options

would be in the future to expand the access to the reduced permit fee

program to ensure they are reaching as many people as possible that need

that type of assistance.

Staff was directed to end the sublease agreement for Lot 16 and to look at

the other subleased parking lots for their cost/ loss analysis, moving the

parking fee times from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M, to bring back an analysis on

reducing the free parking in garages to 60 minutes and 45 minutes, bring

back an analysis on raising the garage permit fee to $20 dollars a quarter

vs $25 as well as a step increase in the fee structure, and looking at how

other community organizations are identifying low income families as a way

to expand the parking voucher program in the future.

ID 22-136

Presentation and Discussion of the Draft 2022 Comprehensive

Sustainability, Climate Action, and Resiliency Plan for the Village of Oak

Park

Village Manager Jackson introduced the Item.

Deputy Village Manager Ahmad Zayyad then introduced Marcella Bondie

Keenan, the Sustainability Coordinator, and Brianna Fiorillo and Stephanie

Hacker, from the consulting group GRAEF, who gave a presentation on the

Item and next steps.

Village Trustee Buchanan requested clarification regarding the ComEd

grid renewable energy.

Brianna Fiorillo responded they used the ComEd environmental disclosure

statement which tells indicates what their energy mix is and the source of

their renewable energy.

Village Trustee Taglia requested clarification on how the village can

improve our water figures and water loss performance though the Climate

Action Plan beyond what is already being done currently.

Marcella Bondie Keenan responded it goes along with general efficiency

improvements, regular capital improvement planning and maintenance

operations and being proactive about the drinking water infrastructure. You

can also perform water benchmarking to help identify when there is an

unusual spike and see which buildings are using an unusual amount of

water.

Village Trustee Parakkat requested clarification regarding if they had

engaged any of the small businesses or landlords.

Marcella Bondie Keenan responded they spoke with the OPRF Chamber

of Commerce and are planning on co-hosting a meeting with the small

business owners once the draft plan goes out. They have also spoken with

ResCorp and David Pope who is assisting with a tenant survey.

Village Trustee Parakkat requested clarification regarding the cost and

funding options and what debt will be incurred.

Stephanie Hacker responded the idea is to have a matrix with actions

listed in the goal area with the cost range with the funding strategies or

funding type listed.

Village Trustee Parakkat requested clarification regarding if they were

looking at the most aggressive path to reach a 60% reduction by 2030?

Brianna Fiorillo responded they tried to include a mix of more aggressive

and less aggressive options in the draft scenarios which may change as

they finalize the draft actions and get a sense of the community and what

they are indicating is most appropriate.

Village Trustee Robinson suggested creating an incentive program that

encourages a switch from gas to electric leaf blowers. They feel a program

that creates an incentive and includes an educational component would

encourage compliance rather than punishing noncompliance.

Village Trustee Walker-Peddakotla commented in order to really get to a

climate plan that reaches everyone in Oak Park it has to be centered on a

lens of racial equity and that is not seen in this plan. They also think that it is

past time to encourage people to do the right thing and recommended to

mandate what needs to be done.

Marcella Bondie Keenan responded there is a vulnerability assessment

that was not included tonight that looks at factors like poverty level,

disability, and limited English proficiency as documented in the census and

mapped out against things like tree canopy cover, and the distribution of

resources can be guided by the vulnerability assessment. When they

publish the public document, they will connect the stats to people to say

action here plus vulnerability map here means distribution of resources in a

particular manner.

VI. Adjourn

It was moved by Village Trustee Parakkat, seconded by Village Trustee

Robinson, to Adjourn. The motion was approved. The Meeting adjourned at 9:19

P.M., Monday, May 9, 2022.

Respectfully Submitted,

Deputy Clerk DeViller

7 -

AYES:

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

Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Taglia, and Village

Trustee Walker-Peddakotla

NAYS:

ABSENT: