North Cook News

The village of Northbrook Senior Services Commission met Jan. 12 to review financial reports.

Here are the meeting's minutes, as provided by the commission:

The Senior Services Commission is a nine member group of residents appointed by the President and Board of Trustees. The Commission is concerned with all financial and operational senior citizen housing matters relating to Crestwood Place, a village-owned senior citizen housing development. One of the Commissioners must live at Crestwood Place. The group conducts hearings as necessary in the event that a resident has a concern with the operation or condition of any village-owned senior housing as well.

Besides senior housing, the Commission is also responsible for making recommendations to the board of trustees for the adoption and amendment of ordinances relating to senior citizens, which may include the development of programs and services, possibly in cooperation with other public and private agencies, for the benefit of senior citizens here in Northbrook.

Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the

Senior Services Commission

Village of Northbrook

January 12, 2017

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. at the Village Hall, Terrace Room. Present were Chairman

Rosenberg and Members Caldwell, Ganitopoulos, Hazaray, Stern, Whitmore and Malin. Members

Lefkow and Moore were absent. Also present was Assistant Director of Finance Betsy Garibaldi, Realty

and Mortgage (R&M) Representative Aggie Jaworski, Manager Dave Vaicaitis, and Recorder

Anetsberger.

Guests

Jim Butler, Ifaat Bosse

Review and Approval of Minutes

A recommendation was made to make the following correction: Page 3, first paragraph, line 3, spelling

correction should read: "Representative Jaworski."

A motion was made by Member Ganitopoulos and seconded by Member Hazaray to accept the

November 3, 2016 Senior Services Commission minutes as amended with one correction. The motion

was approved by unanimous voice vote.

Chairman's Report

Chairman Rosenberg introduced Joan Malin as the new representative from Crestwood Place to join the

Senior Services Commission.

Chairman Rosenberg stated he will be meeting in the near future with the Evanston Commission on

Aging and will share his findings with the Commission.

Manager's Report

C-Building Emergency Exit Door - will be addressed under New Business.

One unit was vacated by former maintenance supervisor Michael Beverly but is in the process of being

re-rented.

There is no sign of any bed bug infestation.

Budget and Finance

1) Review of October 2016 Financial Report

Member Ganitopoulos questioned the charge from Com Ed. R&M Representative Jaworski

stated that the bill was an estimated bill due to the fact that smart readers had been installed

and that billing should be back on track. There were no other issues with the statement.

Member Caldwell, seconded by Member Stern moved to approve the October 2016 Financial

Report. On voice vote, the motion passed.

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2) Review of November 2016 Financial Report

There were no issues with the statement. Member Ganitopoulos, seconded by Member Hazaray

moved to approve the November 2016 Financial Report. On voice vote, the motion passed.

4) Management Contract with Realty & Mortgage (R&M)

The current three year contract will expire on April 30, 2017. At a joint meeting between Realty

& Mortgage (R&M) and the Village, the current contract would be extended four years with

modifications; 1) The office at Crestwood will be staffed 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday-Friday with no

exceptions other than unforeseen emergencies; 2) Salary increases for Crestwood employees will follow

the same guidelines for Village non-union staff; 3)The Village of Northbrook will not be responsible for

any bonuses; 4) R&M will pursue additional programming for residents' benefit; 5) Management fee

increases will be in the following amounts: May 2017 - 0%, May 2018 - 2%, May 2019 - 2%, May 2020 -

2.5%.

The Commission questioned the length of the contract and whether the Village went out for bid. Liaison

Garibaldi stated that the Village was satisfied with the terms and conditions of the new contract.

Member Ganitopoulos asked if there was an exit clause in the contract if things were not mutually

satisfactory. A motion was made by Member Caldwell and seconded by Member Ganitopoulos to

recommend to the Village to accept the contract as presented to the Commission. The motion passed by

unanimous voice vote.

New Business

Manager's Report

C-Building Emergency Door Access

A few of the residents are using the emergency exit on the south side of C-Building to enter and egress.

A small number of tenants have keys to the door. Other tenants have complained about the noise and

the unfairness of the situation. Manager Vaicaitis would like permission to have the door rekeyed so it

reverts back to the original intent of emergency exit use only. A motion to rekey the emergency exit

door on the southwest side of the building was made by Member Caldwell and seconded by Member

Malin. The motion passed.

Budget and Finance

3) Review of Draft Budget for Crestwood Place FY17/18

Interest Income - A motion was made to accept Section 1 - Interest Income by Member Stern and

seconded by Member Ganitopoulos. The motion passed.

Rental Income - Member Whitmore questioned the decrease in Tenant Assistance Payments for FY18. It

was determined that the number of tenants with public aid have decreased. The tenants' rent portion

will make up the difference. A motion was made to accept Section 2 - Rental Income by Member

Hazaray and seconded by Member Whitmore. The motion passed.

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Miscellaneous (application fees, nonrefundable) - A motion was made to accept Section 3 -

Miscellaneous by Member Caldwell and seconded by Member Hazaray. The motion passed.

Miscellaneous Income (Non-Recurring) - A motion was made to accept Section 4 - Miscellaneous

Income (Non Recurring) by Member Caldwell and seconded by Member Ganitopoulos. The motion

passed.

Maintenance Equipment – With regard to the Fire Protection line item, the invoice for the annual fire

alarm inspection which is done by World Security for FY 17 has not been received per Representative

Jaworski. The cost of the inspection is $800.00. In addition, FY18 takes into account the replenishing of

fire extinguishers. A motion was made to accept Section 5 - Miscellaneous Equipment by Member

Caldwell and seconded by Member Stern. The motion passed.

Building Repairs (Travel expense, Auto Allowance, Decorating and Apartment Refurbishing) - A motion

was made to accept Section 6 - Building Repairs by Member Ganitopoulos and seconded by Member

Stern. The motion passed.

Building Repairs - A motion was made to accept Section 7 - Building Repairs by Member Caldwell and

seconded by Member Whitmore. The motion passed.

HVAC, Grounds, General Exterior Maintenance - A motion was made to accept Section 8 - HVAC

Maintenance, Grounds Maintenance Service, General Exterior Maintenance by Member Hazaray and

seconded by Member Stern. The motion passed.

Administrative Services, Water, Transfer to Self-Insurance - A motion was made to accept Section 9 -

Administrative Services, Water, Transfer to Self-Insurance by Member Stern and seconded by Member

Caldwell. The motion passed.

Telephone Services, Electricity, Natural Gas, Legal Services - A motion was made to accept Section 10 -

Telephone Services, Electricity, Natural Gas, Legal Services by Member Whitmore and seconded by

Member Stern. The motion passed.

Other Professional Services (Manager Payroll, Payroll Taxes, Health Insurance) - R&M Representative

Aggie Jaworski provided exact figures for FY18 payroll taxes ($13,100) and exact figures for Health

Insurance ($13,700). A motion was made to accept Section 11 - Other Professional Services by

Member Ganitopoulos and seconded by Member Whitmore. The motion passed.

Custodial Services (Maintenance Payroll) - A motion was made to accept Section 12 - Custodial Services

by Member Hazaray and seconded by Member Ganitopoulos, The motion passed.

Solid Waste Management & Senior Citizens Programs - A motion was made to accept Section 13 - Solid

Waste Management & Senior Citizens Programs by Member Caldwell and seconded by Member Stern.

The motion passed.

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Miscellaneous - Members favored moving Payroll Service to Section 11 (Vendors) and move Accounting

Service to Section 14 (Employees). A motion was made to accept Section 14 - Miscellaneous by Member

Stern and seconded by Member Hazaray. The motion passed.

Office Supplies, Maintenance Parts & Supplies - A motion was made to accept Section 15 - Office

Supplies , Maintenance Parts & Supplies by Member Whitmore and seconded by Member Hazaray, The

motion passed.

Building & Permanent Improvements - Membership favored moving Cap Imp Bldg - Equipment in the

amount of $2,000 to Maintenance. A motion was made to accept Section 16 - Building & Permanent

Parts & Supplies by Member Caldwell and seconded by Member Stern. The motion passed.

Department Equipment - Chairman Rosenberg reported that the capabilities of AC units within the

individual apartments are being questioned as their age is nearing 20 years in some cases and that the

AC units are not sufficiently cooling the entire apartment. Public Works recommended the investigation

of the following; installing ceiling fans in the units, and/or new air conditioners within the tenants' units.

Membership suggested adding the usage of window film to the investigation. Member Ganitopoulos

asked if all of the apartments were involved or only the west and southwest facing apartments.

Chairman Rosenberg stated that the Commission may be asked to give a recommendation. Membership

favored increasing the line item Cap Imp Apts - HVAC from $10K to $30K. A motion was made by

Member Stern and seconded by Member Caldwell to increase Cap Imp Apts - HVAC from $10K to $30K

to fund a study to have the HVAC evaluated for a select number of units with completion of the study by

fall and set aside some funds for a phased in replacement program, if necessary. The motion passed. A

motion was made to accept Section 17 - Department Equipment by Member Stern and seconded by

Member Whitmore. The motion passed.

Principal on Mortgage, Principal on Note Payable, Interest on Mortgage, Interest on Note Payable - A

motion was made and seconded to accept Section 18 - Principal on Mortgage, Principal on Note Payable,

Interest on Mortgage, Interest on Note Payable. The motion passed.

A motion was made by Member Stern, seconded by Member Caldwell of the Senior Services

Commission to recommend approval of the Amended FY18 Budget to the Village Board. The motion

passed.

Hear from the Audience

Ifaat Bosse is a volunteer at North Shore Village. She asked that a link be placed for this resource on the

Village Website Senior Page. Liaison Garibaldi stated that a link exists on the Village’s website.

Old Business

Update from Subcommittee in charge of Identifying Senior Services & Activities - Sunil Hazaray, Jolene

Moore & Sandra Whitmore

Member Hazaray recapped the findings of the Sub-Commission's report on Village Services available to

Seniors. The Senior Service Commission recommends adding and reorganizing links on the Senior

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Services webpage of the new Village Website and will make a request to Cheryl Fayne Depersio,

Communications Manager. Member Hazaray concluded that Seniors wish to stay in their own homes but

need information on social services, technical help, maintenance help. Member Whitmore suggested a

Village roundtable to meet and discuss senior issues. Chairman Rosenberg and Liaison Garibaldi will

explore this suggestion with President Frum, Trustee Israel, and Jeff Rowitz, Deputy Village Manager and

CFO and will report back to the Commission.

Adjourn

A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 8:50 p.m. The motion passed by

unanimous voice vote. The next meeting will be held on Thursday, March 9, 2017, at 7 p.m. at

Crestwood Place Apartments - Activity Room.