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2008-04-28 - Finance Committee - Minutes Board or Commission: ❑ Finance Committee Document Type: ❑A e g nda 0 Minutes Meeting ate: 04/28/2008 Type of Meeting: ❑ Regular Meeting The meeting was convened at 6:1 Opm in the lower level conference room. Present were President Hartstein, Trustees Jeff Braiman, DeAnn Glover, Jeff Berman, Bruce Kahn, Steve Trilling, Brian Rubin, Village Clerk Jan Sirabian, and Treasurer Joseph Tenerelli. Staff present were- Village Manager William Brimm, Deputy Village Manager Ghida Neukirch, Finance Director Scott Anderson, Public Works Director Greg Boysen, Information Technology Director Robert Giddens, Fire Chief Vavra, Deputy Building Commissioner Brian Sheehan, and Assistant Finance Director Katie Skibbe. Guests included Cook County Highway Department representatives Ted George and John Beissel. A presentation from the Cook County Highway Department was provided by guests Ted George and John Beissel. Currently, the Cook County Highway Department is commencing with Phase 1 study of Lake Cook Road, West of Buffalo Grove Road and East of Lexington Drive. Based upon the village's work with Civiltech on the Weiland Road Corridor study, the Cook County Highway Department could gain some efficiencies in using Civiltech to review the intersections and the roadway along Lake Cook Road. The Phase 1 Study will determine what construction efforts would be necessary to increase capacity. Beissel stated that they have done everything possible, short of lane expansion, to help the flow of traffic on Lake Cook Road. As part of the process, input would be sought from residents and motorists. Initial thoughts are that six lanes may be necessary. The total cost of the Phase 1 Study will be paid by the Cook County Highway Department and an intergovernmental agreement will be drafted between the Village and the Cook County Highway Department. Bill Brimm presented information concerning Public Service Center Improvement and asked the trustees whether they were interested in having Sente, Rubel, Bosman& Lee (SRBL)refine a building program that can be translated into specifications that can be authorized for bidding. SRBL had previously presented a recommendation to the board with a projected cost of$12 million and staff was asked to go back and prioritize space needs. Staff is now providing a recommendation for the most critical updates and additions in order to decrease costs to $4.3-4.6 million. Questions were asked as to whether staff had looked at alternate existing sites available for rent or alternate sites available for build-out. Brimm said that Public Works Superintendent Rick Kuhl did an in-depth search and found very little usage space available. The space that was available did not have appropriate drive through capacity. Additionally, the rental costs were high and he felt it was more appropriate to expand on our own campus. The suggestion was made to lump several projects together for financing as now might be a good time to borrow due to interest rates and the village's strong credit rating. Current debt service is approximately $8.9 million. Trustees agreed that SRBL should be brought back with a formal presentation. Fire Chief Vavra then made a presentation regarding the improvements at Station #26. The improvements would add space for a bunk area expansion, gender specific locker rooms, and storage. The current dorm area would be moved to increase living space and provide 9x8 cubes to allow for increased staffing demands. Storage is currently scattered throughout the three fire stations and this would provide storage for administrative records. Additionally, renovations on windows, kitchen cabinets, and doors are included in this proposal. Currently there is $350,000 in the Capital Improvement Plan for Station #26 improvements. Concerns were raised by the trustees regarding whether these improvements were for comfort or for function. Chief Vavra responded that the new design will help get the firefighters out the door faster. A minimum of six people are assigned to the station at any time and there are only three showers available. The trustees responded that it would be helpful to compare the square footages between stations and their functionality. Chief Vavra said he would prepare this information and bring it back to the board at another time. Information Technology Work Plan was presented by Robert Giddens. A great deal of discussion took place regarding the Village's agreement with the Park District and how much time and resources were spent regarding this initiative. Giddens stated that the Park District pays approximately $2,100 per month for support services, some of which are automated and some require staff time. Approximately eight hours per week are spent on Park District work requests by IT staff. A detailed follow-up report could be provided in this regard. Giddens provided an overview of operations and methodologies for database management. Questions were raised regarding village processes and why other software modules are not utilized. Giddens stated that the back end support required for these applications make them cost prohibitive. Trustees expressed concerns that the Village is no longer on the cutting edge of technology. Best practices should be used and the Board should be making decisions about whether to proceed with new technology. Staff was directed to provide the Board with innovative technological initiatives. Specifically, Trustees wanted to see information about voice streaming, video streaming, interactive functionality, and remote access. Giddens said that they are currently working on a Building and Zoning handheld device to use in the field. This device would wirelessly sync to printers and connect back to the village network. The trustees did state that the Channel 6 cable access channel has improved significantly in quality after Giddens worked with Comcast to integrate fiber optics. Residental Rental Property Licensing Initiative was presented by Brian Sheehan. To move forward with this project a list would be created of who owns rental property and a database would slowly be built. An additional inspector would have to be hired to cover all of the needed inspections. To cover the costs of employing an additional inspector a licensing fee of$100 per dwelling is suggested. Comments were made about the safety component and whether we could get Police Chief Balinski's opinion on Schaumburg's requirement for a Residental Rental License. Bill Brimm stated that staff would confer with Police Chief Balinski and bring the information to the board at a later date. Local Motor Fuel Tax initiative was presented by Bill Brimm. Currently, the costs of street maintenance are escalating, there are an increasing number of streets that need to be maintained, and costs are far exceeding the income. As of today, 20% of all Home Rule Sales Tax is allocated to street maintenance. We have a choice to change the street maintenance standard from 15 years to 20 years or find alternate revenue sources. A local motor fuel tax is one alternate revenue source. Based on information gathered by Scott Anderson and Anne Marin, a one cent tax will raise $190,000 per year. Staff is proposing a three cent tax to add approximately $570,000 to the program annually. Comments were made about the poor timing of this initiative due to the recent gas price increases, but the trustees were not interested in raising property taxes to cover costs. Other comments were made about this tax being based on usage and including non-residents passing through Buffalo Grove. Trustees Glover, Trilling, and Kahn were in favor of this initiative and Bill Brimm said we would bring forward the recommendation when Dick Kuenkler has the 2009 Street Plan completed. The status of the Storm Water Risk Reduction Assessment was presented by Bill Brimm. Based on two public meetings and a series of recommendations, Christopher Burke Ltd. is ready to present their findings. The trustees wanted this presentation to occur when all were present and it was agreed that the presentation will happen at the 6/2/08 meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:35pm.