Will County Board met March 17.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
I. CALL TO ORDER
Executive Bertino-Tarrant called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m.
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
Member Parker led the Pledge of Allegiance.
III. INVOCATION
Member Parker introduced the Clergy, Pastor Herb Brooks from St. John's Missionary Baptist Church in Joliet, Illinois.
IV. ROLL CALL
| Attendee Name | Title | Status | Arrived |
| Sherry Newquist | District 1 (D - Steger) | Present | |
| Judy Ogalla | District 1 (R - Monee) | Present | |
| Amanda Koch | District 2 (D - Frankfort) | Present | |
| Jim Moustis | District 2 (R - Frankfort) | Present | |
| Raquel M. Mitchell | District 3 (R - Bolingbrook) | Present | |
| Margaret Tyson | District 3 (D - Bolingbrook) | Present | |
| Saud Gazanfer | District 4 (D - Bolingbrook) | Present | |
| Jacqueline Traynere | District 4 (D - Bolingbrook) | Present | |
| Gretchen Fritz | District 5 (R - Plainfield) | Present | |
| Meta Mueller | District 5 (D - Aurora) | Present | |
| Donald Gould | District 6 (R - Shorewood) | Present | |
| Joe VanDuyne | District 6 (D - Wilmington) | Present | |
| Steve Balich | District 7 (R - Homer Glen) | Present | |
| Mike Fricilone | District 7 (R - Homer Glen) | Present | |
| Herbert Brooks Jr. | District 8 (D - Joliet) | Present | |
| Denise E. Winfrey | District 8 (D - Joliet) | Present | |
| Annette Parker | District 9 (R - Crest Hill) | Present | |
| Rachel Ventura | District 9 (D - Joliet) | Present | |
| Natalie Coleman | District 10 (D - Plainfield) | Present | |
| Tyler Marcum | District 10 (D - Joliet) | Present | |
| Julie Berkowicz | District 11 (R - Naperville) | Present | |
| Mimi Cowan | Speaker, District 11 (D - Naperville) | Present | |
| Frankie Pretzel | District 12 (R - New Lenox) | Present | |
| Tom Weigel | District 12 (R - New Lenox) | Present | |
| Mica Freeman | District 13 (D - Plainfield) | Present | |
| Debbie Kraulidis | District 13 (R - Joliet) | Present |
VI. MOTION TO PLACE ON FILE CERTIFICATE OF PUBLICATION
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Meta Mueller, District 5 (D - Aurora) SECONDER: Mimi Cowan, Speaker, District 11 (D - Naperville) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
1. Will County Board - Recessed Meeting - Feb 25, 2022 9:30 AM
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mica Freeman, District 13 (D - Plainfield) SECONDER: Meta Mueller, District 5 (D - Aurora) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Joe VanDuyne, District 6 (D - Wilmington) SECONDER: Mica Freeman, District 13 (D - Plainfield) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Jacqueline Traynere, District 4 (D - Bolingbrook) SECONDER: Amanda Koch, District 2 (D - Frankfort) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
Elected officials present: County Executive, Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant; Cororner, Laurie Summers; Recorder of Deeds, Karen Stukel
Media present: Alex Ortiz, Herald News; Gary Middendorf, Herald News
IX. HONORARY RESOLUTIONS / PROCLAMATIONS
1. Recognizing Harold Damron on his Retirement from Will County Emergency Management Agency
Member Gould read the Proclamation honoring Mr. Harold Damron.
Executive Bertino-Tarrant stated I, too, would like to say a few words and offer my appreciation and gratitude. A couple things, when I was sworn in on December 7th, you were right there, and that meant a lot to me, so thank you. Obviously, Harold has done numerous things over the last couple of decades, but we all remember the present. When we were hit with this pandemic, Harold and his team were our rocks. I am grateful, and I know the County Board is grateful, and I am very confident that Will County is grateful for your service now, and how you helped lead us through this. I wish you the very best on your retirement. You deserve some relaxation.
Mr. Harold Damron stated thank you Executive Bertino-Tarrant, and thank you to the County Board for the recognition. I truly appreciate it. I hope you'll allow me to talk for a couple of minutes, I know we have an agenda to get through. My employees (inaudible) and I'm going to say it now because it may be a little humorous, but it also tells a story. A very wise person told me a very long time ago that when you retire they say great things about you, and three weeks later you're just a trivia question. Before I'm a trivia question I just want to share a few quick thoughts with you. First and foremost, it's been a privilege to serve the citizens of Will County; the county that I've lived in my whole life. Sometimes in government, I think you might (inaudible) lose sight of that. I am guilty more often than I'd like to admit. It is true privilege to serve the citizens, and I'm glad that I have that opportunity. I am very grateful for the staff that we have at EMA. You'll never understand or know most of what they do, when they do it and how they do it, but they're a great, dedicated small group of people. Our job is to be problem solvers; often without much history about the problem or without too many answers and they adapt all the time. The members we have now and the members we had in the past are phenomenal. We also have a great group of volunteers. Our agency has a lot of volunteers and I've worked with hundreds of them over the years. I think you might find it interesting to know that despite the fact that I am leaving after over 31 years, we have two volunteers that have seniority over me and the agency. That's the kind of dedication we've seen out of the volunteers. The last thing I want to say is that I could stand here all week, and I would name names of people that have helped me and have been good friends and good supporters. If I did that, I would be here all week and you don't want that and I would probably forget lots of people and I don't want to slight anyone. That being said, I want to mention three people in particular. First of all, my wife, Barbara, who is back in the gallery. There were many times where the job ended up coming in front of her, and for that I'm sorry, but that's the job. Another person who is not here today that I would like to recognize is former County Executive Larry Walsh, who gave me the privilege of being the Director in 2007. He knew me a little bit, but maybe not as well as he might have liked to when you put somebody into a position like this, but he gave me that opportunity back then. Last, and certainly not least...I interviewed for my job in June 1990, about two months before the Plainfield tornado. The Plainfield tornado being my first big event. I interviewed with former director Donald Gould, Member Gould's father. I couldn't have asked for a better boss and I miss him. I hope some of him rubbed off from him to me, and that I've rubbed off to others in the agency. Thank you very much.
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Donald Gould, District 6 (R - Shorewood) SECONDER: Jim Moustis, District 2 (R - Frankfort) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
Member Fritz stated both my father and my fiance were involved in Vietnam, so although I brought this forward, there's a good chance I won't be able to get through it, so Member Ogalla is going to read it for us. Thank you.
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Judy Ogalla, District 1 (R - Monee) SECONDER: Gretchen Fritz, District 5 (R - Plainfield) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
XI. OLD BUSINESS
Status of February 25, 2022 Resolutions/Ordinances
Executive Bertino-Tarrant stated all resolutions from the February 25, 2022 Board meeting have been returned.
XII. NEW BUSINESS
XIII. LAND USE & DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE - T. MARCUM, CHAIR
Member Marcum stated good morning everybody.
Open Public Hearing for all Land Use Cases
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Tyler Marcum, District 10 (D - Joliet) SECONDER: Rachel Ventura, District 9 (D - Joliet) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
Mr. Nathaniel Washburn stated he is available for questions for case ZC-21-074.
Ms. Joyce Nelson expressed concern over the keeping of goats on property for case ZC-21-082.
Mr. Paul Fazzini expressed concern over the keeping of goats on property for case ZC-21-082.
Mr. Gerald Murrie expressed concern over the keeping of goats on property for case ZC-21-082.
Ms. Donna Murrie expressed concern over the keeping of goats on property for case ZC-21-082.
Close Public Hearing for all Land Use Cases
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Tyler Marcum, District 10 (D - Joliet) SECONDER: Mica Freeman, District 13 (D - Plainfield) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
Member Ventura stated this is dividing into 15 properties, one of which is a little bit shy of the variance. There is some concern brought up by the size of properties being elongated. I don't know if there's staff here that can talk about this particular one and why they feel they need to put 15, because one of the objections on the staff report was that they don’t create this hardship duly to make money and the staff said that does seem to be the case. They could make less properties and not have this variance need. So, my question is why even 14 that they recommend, why not seven? That would make the variances of building that a lot wider than what is being presented in our packet.
Member Marcum stated the division of properties like that, the applicant’s following the Plat Act, so that’s out of our hands, that’s state law that they’re following. When I had talked to staff about it last week, this comes up pretty much every so often that people want to change it in Springfield but it runs into a lot of resistance. So, if we don’t like the bowling alley lots, as they have been described (inaudible) our only recourse is to deny the map amendment. We don’t control the lots. It’s just not our jurisdiction.
Member Fritz stated my question was about the internal streets. The packet mentioned that they don’t want to let every single property have access to the state highway. It’s a state law, apparently. I’m wondering, Member Marcum, have they addressed the internal roadway question so that they can all access one or two access points?
Mr. Brian Radner stated with this development there are no new streets planned. The applicant was looking at recording some easements for shared driveways for access to the property. That’s how they would handle that.
Member Berkowicz stated I noticed these parcels have sewer and they’ll have septic. So with a narrow property like that, are there any issues with the drain field and where it’s placed? I know that’s really important.
Mr. Brian Radner stated these lots are five acres in size, so that’s plenty of room to meet the Health Department’s standards for a septic field and well. They’ll review each proposal (inaudible) for a home if this project is approved. Five acres is plenty of room to locate wells and septics.
Member Berkowicz stated would you typically put that at the back of the property?
Mr. Brian Radner stated they’re going to determine where the best location would be based on the soil conditions. There’s plenty of room to either locate it in the front or back, but that’s going to be determined on a case-by-case basis with each permit that comes in.
Member Berkowicz stated I know occasionally when they have to have the pumps maintained or cleaned or the tanks drained, so you have to allocate an access back to that area as well.
Mr. Brian Radner stated presumably there would have to be a spot to get to that location, but we’re talking about lots that are 165 feet wide. Those are pretty wide lots when you think about a lot in a subdivision if you were looking at most suburban developments.
Member Berkowicz stated if they do put in shared driveways, I can anticipate down the road there may be a crisis or two coming up. Are they prepared for that?
Mr. Brian Radner stated yes.
Member Berkowicz stated do we have anything like that now, shared driveways?
Mr. Brian Radner stated it does occur from time to time based on conditions of the property and the ability to access certain roads. I wouldn’t say it’s the most desirable situation, but with this development, the County Board, what’s before you today, is a rezoning request for the residential zoning district. The division of land is going to be done by the applicant through the recorder’s office. The department won’t even be involved in that division of land. They’ll send it over and let us know that it has been done. We can object to it, but it’s going to be done regardless because under the Plat Act I think they can divide lots that are five acres or greater without any approvals.
Member Traynere stated can you remind me, how many feet wide is it for the five acre lots? I’m trying to pull it up.
Mr. Brian Radner stated for this zoning district the regulation is 165 feet. There was some reference to a smaller lot. There is one lot that’s already existing that’s part of this rezoning request. It came up about an inch short and the Planning and Zoning Commission approved a variance for that particular lot, not for all the other lots that we created.
Member Traynere stated what’s the largest required setback in our ordinances for this type of zoning for sheds, for garages, pools, any of those things?
Mr. Brian Radner stated I don’t have that R-1 zoning district setback off the top of my head.
Member Traynere stated so it all depends, obviously, on which direction their front door faces, I would guess, whether or not you would consider the left or the right if you’re just looking at the lot, the front or the back or the sides. If in fact it was the front, let’s just say the narrowest part, right? You have 50 feet on one side and 50 feet on the other, that still leaves you a house or a building, or whatever that could be another 50 feet in depth or length or what have you.
Mr. Brian Radner stated it’s 15 feet on the sides, at least the way this is laid out. Each lot is going to have frontage on one of two roads. There will be a front yard setback of 57 feet, meaning no building can be established in that setback, and then the side setback is 15 feet. A minimum of 57 from the right-of-way, and a minimum of 15 from each property line.
Member Ogalla stated I am not a fan of bowling alley lots myself. One thing that we’re going to talk about, and Member Marcum is going to put on our agenda, is to discuss the size of the lots that we can have that we put in our ordinance. That’s something that we can look at. Kankakee County doesn’t allow any lots less than 10 acres in certain (inaudible). That’s the only way we can address this bowling alley lot situation. We’ll look at that in Land Use.
Member Van Duyne stated I respect what Member Ogalla has suggested, but I believe at this time this process is a little bit farther along, and I see that we are just trying to amend the map from A-1 to R-1 and they’re looking for a variance for four thousandths of an inch. This is the district that I represent, and I would ask everyone to go ahead and approve this for us. Thank you.
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Tyler Marcum, District 10 (D - Joliet) SECONDER: Donald Gould, District 6 (R - Shorewood) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
PZC: 6-0 Appr Var for Min Lot Frontage from 165 ft to 164.96 ft LUD: 5-0 Appr Map Amendment from A-1 to R-1
Motion to Amend ZC-21-082
Member Weigel stated the plat that we have shown in our report shows a pen on the west side of the property and the village asked for a pen behind the garage. I would like to clarify that I talked to the neighbors and the petitioner and put in a condition that the pen be located near the rear of the lot, in the center of the lot. It would be 100 feet from all residents around this property. Let me read the new condition number five: “The goat pen shall be located in the center near the south end of the backyard of the property.” The Village Board did approve this, but the residents are not in favor of it. We put this in there to clarify where this pen should be located. I make that motion to amend to add this condition.
Member Ventura stated Member Weigel does it say the size of the pen? It said solid fence, but does that mean a chain-link fence, a wood fence…is there any more information about that in the condition?
Member Weigel stated the village recommended a solid fence, but the county didn’t necessarily specify what type of fence. It would have to be some type of fence which would be able to contain the goats.
Member Ventura stated my concern is about the size of the pen, and if it’s chainlinked whether the goats could get through it or not. It sounds like some of the neighbors don’t want to see the animals, so I guess I’m not sure why we’re not putting in the condition to have a solid wood fence all the way around the property since they have multiple animals. Would that not be a better amendment to make instead of just one pen in the middle of their yard?
Member Weigel stated I don’t know if it’s necessary all the way around the yard. Maybe just around the pen would be appropriate.
Member Mitchell stated I would also recommend that proper fencing be installed around the property so as to make the situation better for the neighbors. I would feel more comfortable with that. It seems that based on what I’m hearing, I just think it would be proper to have better fencing, as well as what Member Weigel suggested as an amendment.
Member Moustis stated I would support the condition, even though I’m still going to vote “no.” Let me be clear, I am supporting the condition, not the request. The problem with conditions is people ignore them. And then it’s incumbent on our Land Use Department to go out there and try to enforce it, and then if they still don’t do it, then they go through our judication process which can take some time. The problem with conditions is if they don’t meet the conditions, it’s quite a process to enforce them and it can go on for years for them trying to enforce the conditions. That would be my concern, but I’ll support your condition, Member Weigel but I’m going to vote “no” on the special use.
Member Fritz stated I agree with Member Moustis. I would support the condition but still “no” for the whole thing. One of my concerns is, they have a swimming pool, and it seems like the fence isn’t really high enough to protect the swimming pool. It’s a state law, if I’m not mistaken, that you have to have a certain type of fence for a swimming pool in your backyard. The first two situations that the staff said they look at, one is that it will not affect others in the area, and I think it will. It sounds like it will. The first two I don’t think they qualify, and the staff recommended approval. I disagree with this pretty much from the word go.
Member Berkowicz stated in the New Lenox letter, they indicate that they are voting not to object. However, they specify if you look at letter “D” “the goats shall be kept in a fenced-in area with a solid fence with a minimum of four feet in height.” They’re indicating that they’re expecting a solid fence, and I don’t see anything here, especially from the property owner, that assures us that they would comply with that. It would be nice to see what type of material that solid fence would be and when it would be installed, but I don’t see that. It also specifies that the area should be behind the existing garage and not located in the side or rear yard easements. They are pretty clear in this, so I don’t know why we’re not having this discussion on the county level, and I’m not seeing the assurance from the property owner that they have made the accommodations for these requirements. That’s a big concern for me as well. I am also wondering; they’re coming forward specifically for requesting two Nigerian dwarf goats. Does that prevent them from adding any additional animals, like pigs? In this case, I believe if they did want to add additional animals, they would be expected to go through this process with any new animals, is that correct?
Member Marcum stated this is only applicable to two Nigerian dwarf goats. If they want to bring the ducks back they would have to reapply for another special use permit, so it's a whole separate process.
Member Berkowicz stated and I haven't overlooked the confirmation from the homeowner to comply with the New Lenox requirements, have I? Is it there and
I'm not seeing it?
Member Marcum stated New Lenox doesn't have jurisdiction to require it, that's our jurisdiction. New Lenox was just recommending that as a condition. If we want to add that as a condition, that's up to us. New Lenox doesn't have the jurisdiction to require the applicants to perform anything since they're incorporated. New Lenox can only make recommendations for us to add things, they can’t do it themselves. I don't want to speak for Member Weigel, but Member Weigel's amendment solidifies New Lenox's concerns to move the pen further away from all the residential. I think ours is 25 feet from the other residents and Member Weigel's puts it 100 feet from the neighbor’s residences, so it moves it further away and more isolated compared to what the current request is.
Member Berkowicz stated would you mind reading the proposed amendment again?
Member Weigel stated "The goat pen shall be located in the center near the south end of the backyard of the property."
Member Pretzel stated I've had a change of heart on this over the last 24 hours. This falls into my district and I want to thank all the residents who sent emails and came out to talk on this. Originally, the property owner reached out to let me know that she has children that struggle with anxiety and the animals help. But, after hearing all the phone calls and reading all the emails from the other residents of the subdivision, they have concerns and they have rights, too. I have a hard time allowing these quarter acre lots turn into petting zoos or mini farms, and rightly said, if you want to have farm animals, you need to move somewhere where you have the property to properly accommodate these farm animals. I am going to be a "no" on this. The petitioner is probably going to hate me for it, but I just wanted to voice my opinion on this. Thank you to all the residents in the subdivision for coming in and sending emails.
Member Mitchell stated initially I thought as a property owner you should be able to have an animal if you want an animal on your property, but when it interferes with the rights of others, that's when I get uncomfortable. In this case I'm going to be a "no."
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Tom Weigel, District 12 (R - New Lenox) SECONDER: Frankie Pretzel, District 12 (R - New Lenox) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
Speaker Cowan stated I am with Member Moustis on this. I think people move to unincorporated areas to have more freedom with what they want to do, but as this is a special use, I think we have to look at the special circumstances. Member Weigel's district has a lot of smaller, unincorporated lots that are interspersed with incorporated neighborhoods, and I don't feel this is someplace...this isn't Member Ogalla's farm, so I will be a "no" on the goats.
Member Van Duyne stated it's very apparent to me that this is a residential area and I agree with most of the folks here. There's just way too much opposition from the neighbors for me to vote "yes" so I will be a "no" as well.
Member Ventura stated I would like to echo what Speaker Cowan said about this being a special use. We have special uses so we can look at these on a case-by case basis. I think the residential area should allow animals such as chickens and goats, however, the one condition is as long as it doesn't impede on the neighbors. That's why I think it's super important to have special uses so we can look at this. Based on the comments today, it appears that the upkeep of the animals is questionable, and it is impacting the neighbors. I will be a "no" vote on this today, but I would encourage the petitioners to work with their neighbors so it’s not impacting their lives and I would suggest putting a large, wooden fence around your property. I'll be a "no" on this.
Executive Bertino-Tarrant stated I need a motion to approve the ordinance as amended with the additional condition.
| RESULT: FAILED [2 TO 24]
MOVER: Tyler Marcum, District 10 (D - Joliet) SECONDER: Meta Mueller, District 5 (D - Aurora) AYES: Mueller, Marcum NAYS: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
LUD: 4-1 Appr SUP for Keeping of Farm Animals (Goats) w/4 Conditions
3. Ordinance Amending the Will County, Illinois Zoning Ordinance Adopted and Approved September 9, 1947 as Amended for Zoning Case ZC-21-095, Ronald D. Schabes Trust #11383 dated August 14, 1990, Owner of Record, (Ronald D. Schabes, 100% Beneficiary), Kyle Isek and Mike Fazio; Agents, Requesting (S-21- 024) Special Use Permit for an Outdoor Storage Yard and (V-21-131) Variance for Fence Height within Street Setback from 4 feet to 8 feet, for PIn #15-08-26- 402-007-0000, in New Lenox Township, Commonly Known as 22043 Howell Dr., New Lenox, IL, County Board District #12
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Tyler Marcum, District 10 (D - Joliet) SECONDER: Judy Ogalla, District 1 (R - Monee) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
PZC: 6-0 Appr Var for Fence Heigth within Street Setback from 4 ft to 8 ft
LUD: 5-0 Appr SUP for Outdoor Storage Yard w/9 Conditions
XIV. LAND USE & DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE RESOLUTIONS
Next Land Use & Development Committee Meeting is Scheduled for April 12, 2022 @ 10:30 a.m.
XV. FINANCE COMMITTEE - J. TRAYNERE, CHAIR
Good morning everyone, thank you Executive Bertino-Tarrant.
1. Monthly Financial Reports to be Placed on File
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Jacqueline Traynere, District 4 (D - Bolingbrook) SECONDER: Meta Mueller, District 5 (D - Aurora) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Jacqueline Traynere, District 4 (D - Bolingbrook) SECONDER: Meta Mueller, District 5 (D - Aurora) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould,VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Jacqueline Traynere, District 4 (D - Bolingbrook) SECONDER: Rachel Ventura, District 9 (D - Joliet) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Jacqueline Traynere, District 4 (D - Bolingbrook) SECONDER: Meta Mueller, District 5 (D - Aurora) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Jacqueline Traynere, District 4 (D - Bolingbrook) SECONDER: Meta Mueller, District 5 (D - Aurora) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
XVI. PUBLIC WORKS & TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE - J. VANDUYNE CHAIR
Member Van Duyne stated thank you Executive Bertino-Tarrant and good morning, everyone.
1. 22-53 Confirming Award of Contract to Northern Contracting, Inc. ($227,433.00), Let on February 16, 2022, Countywide Guardrail Maintenance (Various County Highways), All County Board Districts
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Joe VanDuyne, District 6 (D - Wilmington) SECONDER: Donald Gould, District 6 (R - Shorewood) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Joe VanDuyne, District 6 (D - Wilmington) SECONDER: Mica Freeman, District 13 (D - Plainfield) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Joe VanDuyne, District 6 (D - Wilmington) SECONDER: Meta Mueller, District 5 (D - Aurora) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould,VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
XVII. DIVERSITY & INCLUSION COMMITTEE - M. TYSON, CHAIR
Member Tyson stated thank you Executive Bertino-Tarrant, hello everyone. The Diversity & Inclusion Committee has no resolutions to bring forth.
Next Diversity & Inclusion Committee Meeting is Scheduled for April 6, 2022 @ 10:00 a.m.
XVIII. PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE - R. VENTURA, CHAIR
Member Ventura stated good morning. The Public Health & Safety Committee met but we do not have anything to bring forward at this time.
Next Public Health & Safety Committee Meeting is Scheduled for April 5, 2022 @ 1:00 p.m.
Member Traynere stated we transferred the funds for the call center. I was just testing things last week, made a couple of calls, and still got the automated people. I didn't quite understand why we were still getting automated people. I thought we still had the call center in place. Do you know?
Member Ventura stated that is my understanding, although I was going to bring it up with Ms. Susan Olenek at the next Public Health & Safety meeting.
Ms. Susan Olenek stated good morning everyone. These things take time. This is a process where we're looking at people who answer calls in five different divisions coming together to have one call center for the entire agency, which includes making appointments for our community health center patients, our dental clinic patients, our behavioral health patients, our medicated assistant treatment patients, environmental health, administration, family health services, WICK clients...this is an extremely large endeavor and it's going to take some time. We're still on the automated system. (Inaudible) is our operations coordinator who is working on this and she has 20 plus years of experience doing this. She is an operations manager by trade and is really diving into this, so we're going to have a really great system, it just takes some time.
Member Traynere stated maybe I wasn't clear. I called the COVID-19 number and I thought that was still on the automated system, and those were the funds that we're moving over to do the other. I may be a little off on what's actually happening because I'm not on the Public Health & Safety Committee.
Ms. Susan Olenek stated the COVID-19 call center has had the same phone number since the beginning is still operating and that is a live person.
Member Traynere stated I didn't get one and I called twice.
Ms. Susan Olenek stated what number did you call?
Member Traynere stated it's the one that's on the email that we get and it talks about the COVID-19 vaccine and everything. Maybe it was just bad timing because I thought that was still in place and it was those monies that were being moved over to have a real call center for the rest of the Health Department.
Ms. Susan Olenek stated it's not those monies, that's separate funding. That's why we had the appropriate new funding for the actual call center.
Member Traynere stated it says the COVID-19 Crisis Grant.
Ms. Susan Olenek stated yes we've had multiple grants. The funding for the call center right now is different than the funding for the entire agency call center moving forward. That's the grant that we're talking about here and the appropriation that we're asking to be made here for the agency-wide call center.
Member Traynere stated it says COVID-19 Crisis Grant moving it in to the Health Department budget. I assume that's COVID-19 money being moved in with the regular Health Department. The way I remember it, that's what's being used to create this new call center.
Ms. Susan Olenek stated what I'm saying is that the funding that was used for the call center that we have now for COVID-19, that will be gone, so that's why we had to appropriate new money. There's a lot of COVID-19 grants going on.
Member Traynere stated I know, that's why I wanted some clarity and I wanted to make sure...I thought we still had the COVID-19 hotline going, and when I got an automated person I was kind of surprised.
Ms. Susan Olenek stated every once in a while if they're in a meeting or on lunch where there's call loss, they do go to automated, but 99% of the time you get a real person.
Member Fricilone stated you mentioned in the beginning all the different WICK appointments and all of those appointments would be going to this new call center. Do you mean they were all automated beforehand?
Ms. Susan Olenek stated yes the entire system was automated.
Member Fricilone stated you mentioned at the beginning that all the different WICK appointments and all those appointments would be going to this new call center. Do you mean they were all automated before? We had nobody answering the phones for any of those calls?
Ms. Susan Olenek stated when you made a call to the Health Department, like it is in many other institutions, you received an automated message.
Member Fricilone stated how is it going to be different now?
Ms. Susan Olenek stated you get an actual live person on every single call. It won't be automated.
Member Fricilone stated how many people do we need for that? Ms. Susan Olenek stated seven.
Member Fricilone stated seven people just to say, "What do you want? I want a WICK Appointment." And then they're going to transfer them to WICK?
Ms. Susan Olenek stated seven people to make appointments, we also have to staff for people when calling in sick, taking vacations...
Member Fricilone stated I understand people taking vacations. Right now you go to an automated system and it says press one for a WICK appointment and then somebody answers that phone. Who is that person now?
Ms. Susan Olenek stated that person...that's part of problem. We're not seeing a lot of people properly picking up in a lot of the departments. It's going to phones where somebody is supposed to be there, but maybe they're helping a client, so the phone goes unanswered. So, that's why we're going to make sure everybody talks to a real person. Seven people is five people answering phones; a lead and then a manager.
Member Fricilone stated but we know we need that many?
Ms. Susan Olenek stated yes. We have four in the COVID-19 call center. Sometimes we get 500-600 to 2,000 calls in a day.
Member Fricilone stated on COVID-19?
Ms. Susan Olenek stated yes.
Member Fricilone stated how many calls are we getting on the other stuff?
Ms. Susan Olenek stated we are guessing because we don't have any kind of telephone management system to pull that data out, but we're guessing we probably get about 400-500 calls a day.
Member Fricilone stated it just seems like when we don't have a lot of information, hiring seven people from the start seems like a lot of people until we know what we need, because you're not going to hire them and say we really only need five people, you two are gone.
Ms. Susan Olenek stated they're not going to all be hired at the same time. We'll bring them on and monitor the system as we do that. As part of the project we purchased software that will help us manage the system. It will help tell us how many phone calls are we getting, how many are dropped calls, how long are the phone calls taking, where are they coming from, and who are they going to. When they are going to the call center to WICK, when is it getting picked up? How long before it gets picked up? It will give us all that data because we don't have a phone management system.
Member Fricilone stated I get that but were people calling in and saying, "I can't get through. I can't make an appointment."
Ms. Susan Olenek stated yes. We get a lot of complaints. People can't find me if they need to talk to me, people can't find the right people in the department. If somebody is calling and they need a behavioral health appointment for their child, they really need to make sure they're talking to the right person and make the right appointment. We need dedicated staff, trained staff to do that. I don't want their phone calls going unanswered.
Member Fricilone stated I get that. I just don't know why we didn't know that until now.
Executive Bertino-Tarrant stated that information goes to the Will County Health Board. You have two members that represent them on that Board. There's a lot going on and I assure you they would be happy to share that information.
Member Ventura stated this has already been approved, so I am going to invite everybody who has comments about this particular thing to come to our next meeting on April 5th. We can go into details there with Ms. Susan Olenek, we don't have to do it at this meeting. I will say that our taxes are for services. If anyone has ever called, especially in the health care field, an automated system can be entirely aggravating. I think a lot of our constituents really do want someone picking up the phone when it has to do with your health, mental health especially. You need someone on that phone to walk you through the care you need whether it's WICK, whether it's to make an appointment, a dental scan, an eye scan, this is so important. We are really excited about this. The reason why Member Traynere brought it up is because we were still getting the automated system. If you have continued questions about this, I invite you to come and talk to Ms. Susan Olenek about it between now and April 5th is our meeting, but I think generally we are excited to see this. Thank you.
Member Moustis stated the Health Department has always done a great job at grant type positions. When the grant goes away, you'll reduce the position. Some of this has been done with grant money, and moving forward, sustaining it and doing appropriations, without necessarily increasing your overall levy, is sometimes a challenge. The question I would have is how we're planning for this going forward, and is it going to fit into our budget? You can never count on the County Board to give you additional money. You may ask, and more often than that you would get additional appropriation, but I also see our revenue streams and budget tightening up and you may not get those appropriations, so how would you account for this going forward without any subsidies or grants?
Ms. Susan Olenek stated right now we have staff throughout the whole department that are answering phones and that's part of their job...not their only job. We also have customer service representatives that are in the call center for COVID-19 right now. We also have switch board operators in our community health center and this is what they do, but it's only for community health center. We have a couple of people in behavioral health that this is all that they do, but it's only in behavioral health. What will happen is that those individuals are going to meld into this call center, and those people are already funded. The majority of this funding is going for the start-up for the software, hardware, we need some up-to-date consoles. It will also go for the manager and the lead. We have a healthy fund balance and we will be able to fund those positions moving forward. There will not be a need for any additional requests for this.
Member Moustis stated I would agree that there's nothing like talking to a person.
Ms. Susan Olenek stated I made a call and I can't remember who I was calling...you call State Farm, you call a hospital, you call anywhere, and I was in the loop. I said to myself, "I'm so glad we're doing this." I didn't have a crisis, I didn't have a serious situation, but I can only imagine the people that are calling that do have that situation. It might be a WICK mom who just lost her job, just lost her husband, and it's important to her and her family. Everybody has their own serious issues, so this will help that.
XIX. LEGISLATIVE & JUDICIAL COMMITTEE - D. WINFREY, CHAIR
Member Winfrey stated the Legislative Committee has no resolutions to bring forward today. We continue to work on SB1015 and look for opportunities to collaborate and compromise on that and have sent a letter to that affect.
Next Legislative & Judicial Committee Meeting is Scheduled for April 12, 2022 @ 9:00 a.m.
XX. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS COMMITTEE - H. BROOKS, CHAIR
Member Brooks stated I have no resolutions to bring forth.
1. Update on Capital Improvements Projects
Next Capital Improvements Committee Meeting is Scheduled for April 5, 2022 @ 10:00 a.m.
XXI. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE - M. COWAN, CHAIR
Speaker Cowan stated good morning.
1. 22-56 Authorizing Contribution to United Way
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mimi Cowan, Speaker, District 11 (D - Naperville) SECONDER: Mike Fricilone, District 7 (R - Homer Glen) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mimi Cowan, Speaker, District 11 (D - Naperville) SECONDER: Rachel Ventura, District 9 (D - Joliet) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mimi Cowan, Speaker, District 11 (D - Naperville) SECONDER: Mica Freeman, District 13 (D - Plainfield) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mimi Cowan, Speaker, District 11 (D - Naperville) SECONDER: Meta Mueller, District 5 (D - Aurora) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mimi Cowan, Speaker, District 11 (D - Naperville) SECONDER: Mica Freeman, District 13 (D - Plainfield) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mimi Cowan, Speaker, District 11 (D - Naperville) SECONDER: Meta Mueller, District 5 (D - Aurora) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mimi Cowan, Speaker, District 11 (D - Naperville) SECONDER: Mica Freeman, District 13 (D - Plainfield) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
XXII. APPOINTMENTS BY THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE
1. Executive Appointments
Member Parker stated I just have a comment about the cemetery appointment. There is a small typo for Mr. Gerald Adelman. I just wanted to let you know.
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Mimi Cowan, Speaker, District 11 (D - Naperville) SECONDER: Jacqueline Traynere, District 4 (D - Bolingbrook) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
XXIV. COMMENTS BY COUNTY BOARD MEMBERS
Member Fricilone stated when you go back to "Old Business" on the resolutions and ordinances, the County Executive always says they've been signed and returned. Are they not signed?
Executive Bertino-Tarrant stated they have been returned. There was one that was not signed.
Member Fricilone stated are you vetoing it?
Executive Bertino-Tarrant stated no I'm not vetoing anything. You may proceed as you wish. It just passes.
Member Ventura stated I wanted to wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day. Thank you, Member Fricilone, for the carnations. I hope you will be enjoying some fish and chips and corned beef and cabbage, or some delicious soda bread this evening. This weekend, our own Bicentennial Park here in Joliet will be hosting a brand new show called "A Gnome and a Leprechaun Walk into a Bar." It is a $5.00 comedy show, it is rated "R" for language, so please do not bring your children. There will be drinks available there for purchase and I hope to see you all Friday or Saturday night at Bicentennial Park at 7:00 p.m.
Member Pretzel stated inflation continues to hurt the middle and lower class. Gas prices are on top of goods and services have increased 10, 20, even 50 percent in the last 12 months. The residents of Will County are getting hit with an additional tax on top of all the other taxes every time they fill up their gas tanks. We can't do anything about the increased cost of groceries or heating their homes, but we can do something about the cost of gasoline. The Will County motor fuel tax impacts the lowest income residents the most, as well as small business owners. I am calling for each of you to join me in April to help stop paying at the pump for Will County residents and small businesses by repealing the Will County motor fuel tax.
Member Balich stated I want to tell everyone Happy St. Joseph's Day if you're Italian or Polish. If you're Irish, God bless you, too. Everybody's Irish on St. Patrick's Day, but Italians are still Italians. Going back to what Member Pretzel just said, just talking about stuff isn't going to make it happen. I'd like to see the Finance Committee take this up or the Executive Committee actually do something about removing that gas tax right now. The state of Illinois is talking about doing it, other places are talking about doing it. Maybe we'll do it when it hits $10.00 a gallon, but right now it's time to do it too. How much does it cost to drive your car to the grocery store? Someone's got to give a little bit and it's pretty much our duty to try to get rid of that gas tax for at least the time being and we can reconsider reinstating it later if things get better. Thank you. God bless you.
Member Traynere stated we have over $72 million of road projects in Will County and I will tell you, they're not in my district. My district is fully developed and municipalized, or however you would put that. We have roads, and we do have issues. Obviously, the Weber Road interchange, the Route 53 interchange could use some improvement, but basically our area is fully developed and is very populous with lots of gas stations and we are doing our utmost to contribute to the Will County gas tax program so that we have the money to build the roads for the rest of our county. We do not wish to cripple our road building. As someone that is not benefiting directly from this gas tax, I am 100% in favor of this for my district. Thank you.
Member Moustis stated Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone. We hear these days in relation to energy and windfall profit. Will County has a windfall profit here too, and it's not the gas tax, it's the sales tax. On every gallon of gas, we're collecting a sales tax, and I consider that a windfall tax. So, we should look at trying to do something in relation to these additional sales taxes we're collecting just because of the cost of gasoline. You may not want us to spend gas taxes, but what can we do to give some relief because we're getting this windfall revenue? It can be a number of different things, including getting some relief on real estate taxes perhaps, or taking that windfall revenue, determining how much that is, and how we might put that into programming into some other kind of relief for folks. That's my thought on increasing gasoline taxes. It's hard just to say we're going to suspend gas taxes, but I would suggest our finance people at some point maybe can say, here was the additional revenue because of the increase in gasoline cost. So, we would just have an idea of how much additional money we got just because of the inflation on gas. How much we got on sales tax. Something that perhaps the Board can look at and consider. I just don't know how you would necessarily put a program together to give some relief, but we can talk about that later also. Thank you.
Member Ogalla stated back when the county passed the gas tax, it was a partisan vote and I voted against it because I believe the people who get hurt the most with that are the lower income people when they try to fill up their car. They're trying to get to work, trying to get their kids to activities and things like that. That's why I was a "no" vote at that time. I think that we should take the suggestions that Member Moustis made and really consider something to benefit our residents. We had the advantage with the ARP funds to have revenue recovery loss. Our residents haven't had that and any increases in pay that they have gotten. The increase in minimum wage has totally been eliminated at this time. I think it's something we should look at. It could be for a period of time, and if things change in the future, change it back to the way it is now, but it's something we should really consider to be responsible to our constituents. Thank you.
Member Fritz stated this morning I was honored to be asked to give the invocation and it makes me sad that you cannot wait a minute or two. I apologize, I was in the ladies room. I had a good one for all of the people who have recently suffered the losses in their families of loved ones. That makes me very sad. In tribute to St. Patrick's Day, and the Fitzgerald's and Larkin's in my family, "Here's to a long life and a merry one. A quick death and an easy one. A pretty girl and an honest one. A cold beer and another one."
Member Coleman stated I just have some thoughts about the ARPA funds and the length of time it is taking to reach the community. There are a lot of non-profits that are doing good work in Will County. The last time we received funds...I believe the maximum amount was $2,500. I'm just asking, and perhaps I need to get some more information on what the delay is. Not only that, but when we do have the application process similar to the previous one, that there's actually a strategy to reach the entire community and not just certain areas. There's $18 million listed under "unmet," and I really hope that is going towards something proactive, long-term chess moves and not just checkers. To me, that would be education, improving the Will County Health Department, mental health experts are going to the schools, we're going to be paying for rehab centers for adults for years to come, and other situations like that. I hope we can actually put these dollars out into the community. I think we're a year in, or close to a year. I know we funded the County Clerk's need for the automated voting system, which is very important for the election. But other than that, I'm not sure where any of the other funds have been distributed. Three years might seem like a long time, but it's not.
Member Gould stated my understanding is that the state sales tax revenue is increasing at a good rate and I'd be interested to know, in terms of what is remitted to Will County, what percentage of that revenue is from traditional brick and mortar retailers and what is online. I heard that the online has resulted in a great increase in revenue. I'd be curious just in terms of our county how much is received online. Maybe we don't know that and we can find it from the Illinois Department of Revenue and they would have those figures.
Member Berkowicz stated I have the same questions and comments as Member Coleman. I apologize, Mr. Mitch Schaben and I were playing telephone tag. I had reached out to him to inquire about these same issues. We have small businesses in my district, and I'm sure in our other districts that are really struggling right now. The long term affect of COVID-19 impact has had on their revenues, and then with this inflation that we never expected. They're asking for some help. I did sit through the meeting where we had the presentation with the consultant, but we need some direction on what we can tell our constituents. I'd also like to know that we are going to have some funding available for them. We really want to support them. We want them to thrive. We don't want to see them to close and lose their businesses. They're a big part of our communities. I'm looking for a little bit of guidance as well and also something we can tell our constituents. Thank you.
Executive Bertino-Tarrant stated I'm sure Speaker Cowan will address these questions because everything is going to be going through the Executive Committee.
XXV. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE MAJORITY LEADER, MINORITY LEADER AND COUNTY BOARD SPEAKER
Announcements by County Board Majority Leader, Meta Mueller
Member Mueller stated thanks for all of the St. Patrick's Day wishes. I am a fourth generation off the boat from Ireland, so I appreciate everyone celebrating my holiday. I wanted to just take a minute to thank everyone for being here today, and who has gone through loss in their family for the last two years. We haven't been able to be together and support each other in that way, but I'm glad we're all here together now. Hopefully we'll get to stay this way for awhile. I think all of the Board members' comments have covered everything that I could possibly talk about today, so I am going to go ahead and wrap it up. Have a great weekend, everyone.
Announcements by County Board Minority Leader, Mike Fricilone
Member Fricilone stated first I would like to say congratulations to Mr. Harold Damron. I'll be doing the retirement thing in another month. I don't know Ms. Allison Anderson, but I have every confidence in her because I know Harold trained her and we know if Harold trains you, you know what you're doing. Congratulations Ms. Allison Anderson, we look forward to working with you. St. Patrick's, St. Joseph's, we also have Spring coming on Sunday. A lot of kids will be out, it's spring break...let's make sure we're aware of all the kids out there. I want to give a "thank you" to everyone on the County Board, the leadership team and the staff for our County Board. As most of you know, but some of you don't, because we haven't been here to talk about this stuff, leadership goes out to Washington, D.C. every year to lobby our legislative members, talk about our needs. That's where when we take our federal agenda and talk to them about it. Both present and past have done that. Last year we did it virtually. We talk about the needs that we have out here, constantly pressing for more dollars. As you saw, there's half a million dollars coming to Will County for the Joliet sanitary district improvements, $300,000 for behavioral health, Workforce project, and $175,000 for the Narcan project. All of that money is a direct result of the hard work the leadership team does going out there and the Board does calling on their legislators and constantly pressing to get more money. We cannot let up because there is still a lot of money out there. We have to continue to talk to our legislators, especially if you have a good relationship with them and see them on a regular basis. Always ask, "What can I get?" and they'll tell you. We also get all of our grant information out of our lobbyists, which is good for us to continue to look at. We know there's money out there and we need to get our fair share. Last year we had to do the virtual and I had to talk to my congressional opponent that I lost to and I told her she was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I don't care who it is, I'm here to get money for us. I don't care who it is or what side of the aisle you're on, it's how much money can we get for Will County. Thanks to those on our Board, and certainly our leadership team, and the staff that does all the behind the scenes work and gets us all the information so we can actually look intelligent when we talk to those people. So, remember those spring breakers are going to be out there. The kids are going crazy in the park running around and they may not be looking when they cross the street, so we need to watch for them. Have a nice weekend.
Announcements by County Board Speaker, Mimi Cowan
Speaker Cowan stated just reiterating happy spring, happy equinox, and Member Fricilone thank you for the flowers, that's always very kind of you. Just a reminder that Member Parker did a lot of the leg work to set up this collection for the folks in Ukraine. They'll be taking collections at the Lockport City Hall next week during work hours. I know that Member Parker and Member Ventura are hosting a similar collection in Joliet Township that will be fed into the same stream. Myself and Member Berkowicz will be hosting a collection this weekend up in Naperville. If you have stuff let us know and we'll get it to the Ukrainian church in Palos. On the topic of ARPA, I know everyone is anxious to get the money rolling. The first thing I would say to Board members, if you have questions the best place to bring those to, or to express your concerns, is at Executive Committee. We are aggressively discussing these topics in Executive Committee. You will recall, we gave Executive Committee the authority to make these decisions. That's where the conversation is going to happen. If you have questions, bring it to Executive Committee. If you can't bring it to Executive Committee, the next best stop is your caucus leader. The plan is, what we are doing here, we've set our pillars, our broad priorities and how we're going to be allocating the money, and now we have to drill down on each of those categories. Some of the weight was because some of the federal rules were changing. Yes, there were some counties that went out and in two months sent out all their money. I will tell you what those counties did. They gave it to large organizations. They gave large chunks to large organizations who then could disperse it to smaller organizations. That's one way to go about it. I know this Board and I know they want a little bit more control over how the money is going to be allocated. For that reason we really needed to wait until those federal guidelines were a little bit more secure, and until we had a consultant on board who is an expert in this to make sure we're not doing things that would end up in money getting taken back, that we're adequately following the rules and guidelines on these things. Definitely, I agree with you, we need to move as fast as possible at this point, but with as much prudence as possible as that speed allows us. I think we still have a lot of work to do in these areas and it's going to be a tiered process. It's not like we're going to have one meeting where we decide where all the money goes and it's out the door. We have identified a couple of larger things, especially needs for our Health Department, and get those rolling; big public works projects that we can get rolling to do some of those foundational changes. I think we are all committed to helping our residents in the best way possible with this money, and getting it out there in as prudent manner as possible with expediency as well. I invite you to come to the Executive Committee meetings if you want to engage in that conversation further. Finally, I'd like to wish everybody "Happy Larry Walsh, Sr. Day." Some of you may know it as St. Patrick's Day. You might go for corned beef and cabbage, but from my time in Ireland, that is a uniquely American thing. The Irish do not eat corned beef and cabbage. In fact, when I lived there during St. Patrick's Day, my friends opted for Chinese food on St. Patrick's Day, so you'll know where to find me tonight, Happy St. Patrick's Day. Welcome back in person...it's been two years to the date from our last in-person meeting. Thank you very much.
XXVI. EXECUTIVE SESSION
Motion to go into Executive Session
| RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Meta Mueller, District 5 (D - Aurora) SECONDER: Sherry Newquist, District 1 (D - Steger) AYES: Newquist, Ogalla, Koch, Moustis, Mitchell, Tyson, Gazanfer, Traynere, Fritz, Mueller, Gould, VanDuyne, Balich, Fricilone, Brooks Jr., Winfrey, Parker, Ventura, Coleman, Marcum, Berkowicz, Cowan, Pretzel, Weigel, Freeman, Kraulidis |
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