1979-09-10 - Village Board Committee of the Whole - Minutes SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE OF THE PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF
THE VILLAGE OF BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS, HELD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1979, AT
THE MUNICIPAL BUILDING, 50 RAUPP BOULEVARD, BUFFALO GROVE, ILLINOIS.
President Clayton called the meeting to order at 7:40 P.M.
Roll call indicated the following present: President Clayton; Trustees Marienthal ,
Stone, O'Reilly, Hartstein, Kavitt, Gerschefske. Also present were William Balling,
Village Manager; and William Sommer, Assistant Village Manager.
FIRE SERVICE STUDY
Mr. Sommer briefly explained the process in putting together the Fire Service
Study. He said that first they documented the need for a fire service plan for
the community. Although regional studies for the communities showed that a
municipal fire department would probably be the way to go for fire services in
the Village, they needed to wait until the population of the Village reached a
point which mandated such services. The next step was to review the systems of
both fire departments which is done in detail in the Fire Service Study. This
report is on file in the Clerk's office.
Mr. Dave Grupp of the Long Grove Fire Protection District stated that his depart-
ment does not have any full-time employees. He explained that, as alarm frequency
increases, the availability of volunteers becomes less and less. When the number
of calls reaches between 800 and 1 ,000 per year, the volunteers will not be able
to answer that volume of calls; therefore, some full-time personnel will be needed.
Mr. Grupp stated that Long Grove has not reached that number yet, but he feels they
might require some full-time personnel toward the end of 1981 . However, if Buffalo
Grove establishes its own fire protection district, Long Grove probably would fall
into a lower call category, so that they would not need full-time personnel for
a while longer. At present the area covered by the Long Grove Fire Protection
District is slightly less than 20 square miles.
Mr. Grupp explained the events that take place when a fire or accident occurs. He
said it is vital to have a fire station centrally located, that is, no more than
4 1/2 to 5 minutes to the farthest point of coverage. He said that a 4 minute
time is the best, and therefore, there should be a fire station located somewhere
around Busch Road. At this point, Mr. Grupp said that he is well satisfied with
the response time. However, with the rapid development taking place along Route 83,
Mr. Grupp stated that, during peak traffic periods, it would probably take at least
6 minutes to reach that area. Since 4 minutes is generally accepted as the break-
point between minor and major damage, both in fire calls and accident or illness
calls, this response time would not be at all satisfactory. The department relies
heavily on self-employed people in the community for volunteers. As alarm fre-
quency increases, it is difficult to find volunteers that can spare that much time
away from their jobs or places of business. At present, 5 out of 33 volunteers in
the Long Grove Fire Protection District reside in Buffalo Grove; approximately 30 -
35% of Long Grove's calls are in Buffalo Grove.
In answer to a question on whether or not Long Grove would consider putting on any
full-time personnel now, Mr. Grupp stated that he does not feel that the trustees
would approve that. Mr. Grupp said that there is no way that there will be a
complete full-time fire department. What there will be is some full-time personnel ,
with the rest being "paid on-call" personnel . The most important thing is the
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
SEPTEMBER- 10, 1979
PAGE TWO
"first out" response to hold the line until the others get there. This can be
accomplished by a combination of full-time and volunteer personnel .
Mr. Wayne Winter of the Buffalo Grove Fire Department stated that Wheeling will
probably pull out of the district in January of 1980. He said there will be no
significant financial change as a result of that because, although there will be
less revenue, there will also be fewer calls. He stated that right now he has
six men from the Buffalo Grove station and six men from Arlington Heights available.
He said that this arrangement has a saving of $190,000 per year. Mr. Winter said
that they contemplate seventeen full-time personnel if a municipal fire department
is approved. He gave examples of how his men are constantly being trained. Mr.
Winter stated that a new building is anticipated to cost somewhere between $300,000
and $350,000.
Mr. Grupp stated that he does not think that the proposed ambulatory care center
will have an effect on the need for full-time personnel .
Mr. Winter pointed out that having only seven full-time men on duty for 23,000 or
24,000 residents is a very conservative figure.
President Clayton asked if the trustees felt another workshop session is necessary.
A polling showed that another workshop would not be necessary.
Mr. Balling stated that he would tentatively schedule the subject for the
October 2, 1979 Regular Meeting.
President Clayton declared a break from 9:25 to 9:35 P.M.
AMENDMENT TO ORDINANCE #77-72
Mr. Richard Raysa stated that he and Mr. William Raysa feel that the Village
can proceed with this amendment. They do not feel that the Village will be
questioned regarding these donations.
Mr. Raysa stated that, although he personally feels the Village can require
these donations, he would not guarantee that a developer would not question them.
Mr. Raysa feels that setting aside land for things which are economically attribut-
able to the new development can be extended to the library and fire protection
districts. The Annexation Agreement presently states that the developer will
abide by these donations as long as other developers also abide by them.
Mr. Kenneth Swanson, Administrative Librarian for the Indian Trails Library
District, presented some comments from the library. The discussion then centered
around establishing a criteria for these donations. Mr. Swanson suggested it
could be a cash donation based on the number of households in the new development.
Mr. Sommer stated that the land or cash donation must be for capital expenditures.
Mr,.Swanson stated that the library standard is 3.5 books per capita at roughly
$20 per book. He said the cash donation could make up for the first year when
there is no revenue from taxes. It was stated that the donation cannot be used
to cover operating expenses, but must be a capital expenditure.
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
SEPTEMBER 10, 1979
PAGE THREE
President Clayton stated that the Board seems to be receptive to this amendment,
so we must now decide on criteria for establishing these donations. Mrs. Clayton
said we should have all justification necessary in the event that we are challenged.
The representatives from the library stated that they will work with the Village
in order to come up with figures for capital expenditures.
Mr. Grupp stated that he does not have a figure yet, but he will have it to the
staff within the next week to ten days.
President Clayton stated that the Park District was in favor of changing the
$25,000 figure. They propose that the figure used be a fair market value of
the particular area, which would involve appraisals. Mr. Richard Raysa stated
that there can be great difficulties with appraisals because of the differences
in figures even with reputable appraisers.
President Clayton polled the Board: "Yes" indicates favor of staying with a
fixed amount; "No" indicates opposition.
YES - Marienthal , Stone, O'Reilly, Hartstein, Kavitt, Gerschefske
NO None
President Clayton polled the Board: "Yes" indicates favor of including the
Library Districts in the Public Land Donation Ordinance if justifiable figures
can be shown; "No" indicates opposition.
YES - Marienthal , Stone, O'Reilly, Hartstein, Kavitt, Gerschefske
NO - None
President Clayton polled the Board: "Yes" indicates favor of including the Fire
Districts in the Public Land Donation Ordinance if justifiable figures can be
shown; "No" indicates opposition.
YES - Marienthal , Stone, O'Reilly, Hartstein, Kavitt, Gerschefske
NO - None
Discussion followed on the fixed amount that should be put into the ordinance.
Mr. Balling said that he will bring a figure back to the Board at the Regular
Meeting. President Clayton asked Mr. Balling to contact Mr. Crosland regarding
the Park District's opinion.
COMPREHENSIVE AMENDMENT TO MUNICIPAL BUILDING CODES
Mr. rrank Hruby explained the changes in the codes , and he also briefly explained
the report and how it was prepared. Mr. Hruby stated that the word "repeal"
should be used instead of the word "delete", and also "may be published in
pamphlet form" should be used instead of "is published in pamphlet form". Mr.
Hruby stated that these changes will provide a professional and updated code
for Buffalo Grove.
`.1 The entire Board commended Mr. Hruby on the excellent job that we done on these
codes, and acknowledged the amount of time that was spent in putting this report
together.
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
SEPTEMBER 10, 1979
PAGE FOUR
The report is one file in the Clerk's office.
Mr. Balling stated that this would be put on the Consent Agenda for the
September 17, 1979 Regular Meeting.
President Clayton adjourned the meeting at 10:55 P.M.
Jane . Sirabian, Village Clerk