City of Park Ridge Mayor's Advisory Board met March 12.
Here is the minutes provided by the Board:
I. Call to order
Chairman Mazzuca called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. Chairman Mazzuca, Ald. Melidosian and Ald. Wilkening were present. Ald. Moran arrived at 6:04 p.m.
Deputy Clerk Peterson recorded the minutes. One student and two members of the Bike Task Force were also present.
II. Approval of the Minutes
A. January 8, 2018 Moved by Ald. Mazzuca. Seconded by Ald. Wilkening. Motion carried; voice vote.
III. Interviews - Bike Task Force (1 vacancy) Deputy Clerk Peterson explained that the vacancy is due to a termination of a member of the Bike Task Force (BTF). She also indicated that the appointment is for an unspecified amount of time since it is a task force which can be dis-banned anytime by the Mayor.
6:00 p.m. David Cashman Chairman Mazzuca read a written statement submitted by David Cashman since he was out of the country and unable to attend the interview. In his written statement, he did not anticipate that work travel would interfere with meeting dates. Mr. Cashman indicated that he resides in Park Ridge with his family. He believes he has a creative approach to problem solving, collegiality, focus on outcomes and progress and the ability to present and inspire actions in individuals. He has a long history of commuting to work by bike from various areas surrounding the City. He currently rides 52 miles round trip to and from work during daylight savings time months. It is also something he enjoys doing with his children. He discussed his desire to get more involved with Ald. Shubert. He would like to demonstrate to his daughters the value of civic involvement.
6:10 p.m. Dr. Craig Morse Chairman Mazzuca welcomed the applicant and briefly explained the process. Dr. Morse explained that he has lived in Park Ridge for over 20 years. He recalls his initial visit to the community which reminded him of a Norman Rockwell painting. He resides here with his wife and son and has been a chiropractor in the City for the last fourteen years. He was appointed to the Health Community Partnership by former Mayor Wietecha and served for 20 year; he also served on a student health Board for Maine East. He has been a cyclist and athlete all his life. He believes it is a good position for him to serve. He was referred to the position by a member of the BTF. He read through some of the minutes. He would define success if more awareness and cyclist safety was achieved.
6:20 p.m. Tim Kirkby Chairman Mazzuca welcomed the applicant and briefly explained the process. Mr. Kirkby has been interested in issues related to bike safety. Professionally, he is an architect, planner and neighborhood designer. He previously served on the City’s Planning and Zoning Commission. He looks for ways to improve the streets. He rides his bike daily in the summer evenings with his son. He shared some of his ideas with Mr. Brown and Mr. Branham in the CP&D Department; they directed him to share the ideas with the BTF. He learned about the opportunity through a member. He shared a before/after rendering of Dee Road which he believes could easily be made safer by simply restriping and adding a continuous middle turn lane. He holds the knowledge of how streets are designed which he believes would be an asset to the BTF for planning. He would have no problem attending meetings. He would define success by seeing certain main streets connect and having the City become more cyclist and pedestrian safe, even if its fifteen years down the road.
6:30 p.m. Mark Kleinschmit Chairman Mazzuca welcomed the applicant and briefly explained the process. Mr. Kleinschmit has been a resident for 13 years and has always been an enthusiastic bicyclist. He likes riding with his kids. He wants to make the streets safer for new and experienced riders. He found that bike lanes are fairly well respected by motorists. He worked for 13 years at Avery Dennison in its Traffic Safety Division and met people from IDOT and learned about various regulations. A friend alerted him to the news release which prompted him to apply for this position. He recently attended a BTF meeting and reviewed the minutes. He found the report for the Plan and has digested much of the proposal. He would define success as giving reasonable consideration and implementation of the BTF Plan.
6:40 p.m. Keith Krause Chairman Mazzuca welcomed the applicant and briefly explained the process. Mr. Krause provided a mini-resume. He is a long-time resident who grew up in the City and currently resides by the 7-Eleven near Devon with his wife and three children. He referred to it as a high-accident area. He met Ald. Shubert at the St. Paul Men’s Club. He rides to the train station most days in addition to taking his children to school daily in a bike trailer. He would like to see the community welcome cyclists more, making residents lives less congested. Professionally, he owns a money management business and has been self-employed since 2006. He currently serves on two Boards; a Trustee for a Boarding School in Indiana and also a Sail Boating Club. He is passionate about bettering the community in which his family lives. From his personal experience, he would like a detailed bike map created that also includes notes about street lighting for safety reasons. He reviewed some of the minutes. He did not believe travel would hinder his meeting attendance. He would define success by seeing the profile of Park Ridge as a cycling friendly community elevated. Better safety protocol would also help. He would like to see better access from the core community to the Busse Woods.
6:50 p.m. Dan Thorne Chairman Mazzuca welcomed the applicant and briefly explained the process. Mr. Thorne explained that he applied originally when the BTF was formed. He was excited to learn about the vacancy from a member of the BTF. He believes he has two important attributes that he could contribute; he is a writer and an advertiser and is also an avid bike rider. He can make people see things in a different manner. He started biking seven years ago during bike to work week. With implementation of infrastructure, biking can be done safely by all members of the community. He has reviewed the plan and is glad to see access to the paths on the City’s west side. He believes the perception of safety is paramount. The ability to make those who are not bikers, become bikers, would be a goal. He also proposed the City offer bike destinations, business’ offer incentives, or community run biking events to get more people involved. He believes the BTF Plan set a high bar; reaching any of the certifications would be an admirable goal and one that would attract more people to reside in the community.
IV. Deliberations / Recommendations Interviews were completed at 6:57 p.m. Ald. Melidosian asked the two member of the BTF present (Chairman and member) to share their thoughts and comments about the interviews. Chairman Mazzuca preferred they we sent to Cheryl who would share with the Board members. Deliberations were postponed until the next meeting, 6:30 p.m. on February 19.
V. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m.
https://docs.google.com/gview?url=https%3A%2F%2Fparkridge.granicus.com%2FDocumentViewer.php%3Ffile%3Dparkridge_4383fb2a7bd140de7656863b88f7e1a6.pdf%26view%3D1&embedded=true
Alerts Sign-up