Barrington Area Council of Governments

Minutes of October 23, 2007
Barrington Area Council of Governments Executive Board Meeting
at the Village Offices of Deer Park.

Members present were K. Darch, Barrington; R. Abboud, Barrington Hills; G. Dawson, Barrington Township; D. Nelson, Cuba Township; S. Gifford, Deer Park; B. Sauer, N. Barrington; F. Munao, South Barrington; K. Leitner, Tower Lakes; and C. Martin representing Lake Barrington.  Staff present were: J. Agnoletti and L. Peterson.  Others present: Senator Pamela Althoff, Representative Mark Beaubien, R. Blankhorn, G. Schueppert, B. Battle, and D. Peterson.

The Board meeting was called to order by Chairperson Dawson at 7:09 P.M.  

Minutes

Minutes of the September 25, 2007 meeting were distributed with the packet.  Gifford moved and Nelson seconded to approve the Minutes of the September 25, 2007 meeting.  Motion passed unanimously. 

Treasurer’s Report

The October 2007 Treasurer’s Report was distributed with the packet.  Motion to approve the October 23, 2007 Treasurer’s Report was unanimously approved by roll call vote following a motion by Gifford and second by Nelson.

Public Comment/Community Reports

CUSD 220:  Board President Brian Battle reported parents were notified regarding a student diagnosed with tuberculosis, Grove Avenue Elementary School earned a Blue Ribbon Medal, the district is hosting an open house for area realtors to help promote schools with prospective home buyers, and the Enrollment Monitoring Committee is having its first preliminary hearing on October 30^th.  Battle gave a PowerPoint presentation in response to Dawson’s question from last month regarding a local newspaper’s series on School Finance 101.  Battle gave his perspective and presented an analysis of CUSD 220 based on each part of the series. 

Conversation with State Legislators – Emerging Issues for 2008

Representative Mark H. Beaubien and Senator Pamela Althoff gave their perspective on the 2007 legislative session and highlighted current and emerging bills and issues.  Beaubien expects the the 2008 legislative session to be a classic budget year and doesn’t expect as much focus on legislation.  Althoff agreed agenda issues would not be a main focus in the next session and advised the board to be more vigilant with priority concerns rather than work on expanding the platform issues.  She recommended BACOG have diaglogue with more legislators who serve areas outside of the Barrington region, get involved in negotiations, and to educate legislators and neighbors about legislation that is harmful to taxpayers.  Agnoletti stated the BACOG Legislative Committee decided to narrow the 2008 platform to existing issues.  She thanked Senator Althoff and Representative Beaubien for sponsoring the BACOG bills and noted her wish for their continuing support of the BACOG initiatives in the coming session.   Althoff advised on timing of presenting an initiative to the Local Government Caucus.

CMAP Regional Comprehensive Plan

Randall Blankenhorn, Executive Director, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) explained the agency plans for the 7 county Chicago metropolitan region and was created two years ago by the General Assembly by merging Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) and the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC).  He spoke about the regional comprehensive plan and its importance to planning for the future.  CMAP is investigating new ways to communicate and gather input and will focus more on implementation of the regional plan in the future.  He emphasized local elected officials are critical to the development and implementation of the regional plan and encouraged BACOG members to be involved and engaged in the CMAP regional planning process.  A number of issues and topics important to the BACOG area, including disconnection, were discussed with Blankenhorn. 

Legislative Committee – Status Report on 2008 Initiatives

Sauer reported to the board that the Legislative Committee met prior to this evening’s meeting.  The committee discussed the Canadian National acquisition of EJ&E.  This will not be a BACOG action but will be addressed by a broad group of municipalities.  Sauer reviewed items considered for the platform and stated the committee decided no new issues will be brought forward in the 2008 legislative session.

Director’s and Committee Reports

Agnoletti distributed her draft report.  She will email the final report for distribution to member boards tomorrow.  She highlighted the following from her report:

• BACOG Annual Dinner – November 3rd:  Agnoletti thanked Darch for her assistance in planning the event. 
• Legislative Issues
• BAGIS:  The expansion and update of the data contained in BAGIS was completed by Connie Pokorny, GIS Analyst.  The new data has been incorporated in the IMS webpage and may be reviewed by member officials and staff next week.
• Flint Creek – Recharge:  Public comments for the draft plan will be taken at their next meeting on November 28^th.  BACOG provided comments on mapping. 
• Water Resources Initiative:  Agnoletti attended several water supply planning meetings.
• Programs/Workshops:  BACOG is hosting a site for the University of Illinois Extension Service “Legislative Update” teleconference is on October 25^th at 3:30 pm.  Contact Peterson to attend.

• Next Executive Board meeting is on at 7:00 p.m.  November 27th at the Village of Tower Lakes Village Hall.  The Flint Creek Watershed Partnership Draft Plan and Fox River Ecosystem Partnership Management Plan will be presented by their respective groups.

Presidents’ and Supervisors’ Reports

South Barrington:  No report.

Lake Barrington:  Village Administrator Chris Martin reported the village completed acquisition of the Frier Farm and that the house on the property will be available for lease.  The house can be used as employee assisted housing.  Cuba Township is using the shed on the farm in exchange for maintenance services to the village.  Community events are being proposed for the farm.  Martin described the multi-sport center planned for the Northpointe development that was approved.  A traffic light will be installed at Rt. 14 and Pepper Road through an annexation agreement with the developer.

Barrington:  Darch reported the village adopted its NIMS compliant emergency operations plan. There will be a Veterans Day presentation on Saturday, November 10th at Veterans Memorial at 10 a.m.  Darch gave status and reviewed the village’s actions regarding the Canadian National acquisition of EJ&E.

Barrington Hills:  No report.

Deer Park:  Gifford welcomed the board to the newly renovated Vehe Barn.  The 50^th Anniversary celebration had a large attendance.  The village is reviewing a few development proposals and is placing a ½% sales tax increase referendum for roads and infrastructure on the February ballot.

Tower Lakes:  Leitner reported the village switched to new operating companies for its water system.  The village used the rapid response calling system to notify residents of a water system breakdown.  The Plan Commission is finalizing a survey to be distributed to residents as part of the comprehensive plan update process. 

Cuba Township:  Nelson congratulated Deer Park on the barn renovation.  The Fall Festival was a success.

Barrington Township:  Dawson reported the county board confirmed property in a portion of unincorporated township is wetlands.  Dawson gave details on the Feb. 9, 2008 Have a Heart Food Drive.  The Cuba Township Highway Department will pick up food donations from individual village halls if they would like to be a drop off site.  He asked members to announce the food drive in their newsletters.

Adjournment

The Executive Board meeting was adjourned at 8:56 p.m. after a motion by Abboud and second by Gifford.  Motion passed unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,

Loretta Peterson
Secretary