Village of Bartlett Committee of the Whole met Nov. 19
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
1. CALL TO ORDER
President Wallace called the Committee of the Whole meeting of November 19, 2024, of the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Bartlett to order on the above date at 7:54 p.m.
2. ROLL CALL
PRESENT: Chairmen Deyne, Gandsey, Gunsteen, Hopkins, LaPorte, Suwanski, President Wallace
ABSENT: None
ALSO PRESENT: Village Administrator Paula Schumacher, Assistant Village Administrator Scott Skrycki, Assistant to the Village Administrator Sam Hughes, Economic and Development Coordinator Tony Fradin, Human Resources Director Janelle Terrance, Finance Director Todd Dowden, Assistant Finance Director Matt Coulter, Director of Public Works Dan Dinges, Assistant Public Works Director Tyler Isham, Planning & Development Director Kristy Stone, Matt Giermak, Grounds Superintendent, Chief Pretkelis, Deputy Chief Will Naydenoff, Deputy Chief Sweeney, Attorney Adam Simon, and Village Clerk Lorna Giless.
3. TOWN HALL: None
4. STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS
A. BUILDING AND ZONING COMMITTEE, CHAIRMAN GUNSTEEN
1. Impact Fee Review
Trustee Gunsteen stated that as directed by the Committee of the Whole, Planning Staff contacted surrounding communities to compare their impact fees collected during the building permit process. Bartlett is the only community that includes the impact fee/donation chart within their municipal code.
Planning and Development Services Director Kristy Stone stated it was difficult to complete a fair comparison between all the communities. She went on to say that some of them do not set a fair market value for land and require each developer to turn in their own appraisal. She stated that if you look at the ordinance, it says the reason why fees are established is because there’s a 2-year delay in getting the taxes from the properties for new construction. She went on to say that our rates seem to be equal with what other communities are similar in size to the Village of Bartlett.
Trustee Hopkins stated that one of the things he was trying to get as seeing what our neighboring communities donate to their actual taxing districts. He went on to ask if the Village of Bartlett gives the same as the Village of Streamwood and the Village of Hanover Park does to U-46.
Planning and Development Services Director Kristy Stone stated that it is all very similar and the schools get the biggest percentage just like on our tax bill. She stated that it’s all a very similar fee structure when it comes to the percentages.
Trustee Suwanski asked a question regarding the second page of the memorandum. She asked about the impact fee for a four-bedroom home where Bartlett is listed and then Carol Stream and Geneva. Planning and Development Services Director Kristy Stone stated it would be comparable to the two years of property taxes for that house.
Trustee Hopkins wanted to verify that Bartlett would be giving more to their taxing districts. Planning and Development Services Director Kristy Stone stated that it was correct. Trustee Gunsteen stated that the impact fee percentage is about the same, it’s just the overall cost that was listed. Trustee Hopkins stated that he thinks we need to take a closer look since Public Works Director Dan Dinges referenced some potential construction costs for sewer mains and water projects. He went on to say that maybe the Village of Bartlett should be keeping some of it to cover some of the infrastructure costs that we’re going to incur in the future.
Attorney Adam Simon stated that the impact fees that are collected are designed to offset the impact from new residents on school and the parks. He went on to say that if we’re collecting impact fees specifically to offset the impact on parks, then it would have to go to pay for parks.
Trustee Hopkins stated he understood that, however he referenced Carol Stream being in U-46 and only collected $1500 on a two bedroom while Bartlett is collecting $7800. He went on to say that Carol Stream is also only giving 20% of 1500 to U-46 which doesn’t seem right.
Trustee Gunsteen stated that he believes Trustee Hopkins is asking if we can change the percentage ratio and put more into the Village. Trustee Hopkins stated that was what he is asking and went on to say that we should be looking at what other communities are giving to their taxing districts, not the percentage but the actual dollar amount.
President Wallace stated that it would probably be more accurate if we did per capita student from particular areas because he believes just a small percentage of Carol Stream attends U-46 schools.
Planning and Development Services Director Kristy Stone stated that the criteria other communities might be using for how they’re determining what they’re distributing and what they’re collecting may be different than ours, which is why it’s very hard to make a comparison. She went on to say that ours is strictly based on per capita.
Trustee Hopkins wanted to clarify and asked if Planning and Development Services Director Kristy Stone said that Streamwood, Carol Stream, and Hanover Park are all on a two-bedroom two bath house, giving U-46 the same dollar amount that we are.
Planning and Development Services Director Kristy Stone stated that it’s not the same dollar amount. She went on to say that what she was saying is that the criteria that we use may be different than the criteria that they use and that they may not be looking at a per capita whereas we are. She stated again that it’s very hard to make comparisons when everyone’s code is different.
Trustee Hopkins stated that he didn’t think it was fair that we’re giving more than the other communities to park districts, school districts etc. when we have our own needs here. He went on to say that he does not want to raise taxes on our residents.
Trustee Gunsteen stated that every municipality is different. He went on to say that some have their own park district, some have their own first department, which makes it hard to make the comparison.
Trustee Hopkins stated that’s why he brought it up in January, to try to get a fair comparison.
President Wallace stated that a raw dollar amount wouldn’t make much sense unless we knew what their capita was. Trustee Hopkins stated that is what he is looking to do.
Attorney Adam Simon stated he wanted to clarify and make sure people didn’t think this was a tax. He stated the amount we’re paying in impact fees is designed to offset the actual impact new residents have on those taxing bodies and that it’s not a revenue generating tool. He went on to say that it’s designed to offset the specific impact a new resident has, so that there’s a proportionality to it whereas a tax just raises money for the sake of raising money.
B. LICENSE AND ORDINANCE COMMITTEE, CHAIRMAN HOPKINS
1. 2025 Annual Meeting Schedule
Trustee Hopkins stated that the attached meeting schedule was for discussion. He stated that it is the Board’s custom to cancel the first meeting in August for attendance at National Night Out which will be held on August 5, 2025. He stated this is the exception to the regular meeting schedule. Also, for discussion, the Board is asked to provide input on a Strategic Plan/Board Development meeting date. He stated the Board will need to discuss whether they prefer a stand-alone meeting or to meet before a regular meeting to assist staff in scheduling.
Village Administrator Paula Schumacher stated that the clerk publishes these dates well ahead of time. She stated that the only exception was the Police Pension Board as they were still working on clarifying their schedule. She went on to say that if there are any changes, we can make those amendments. She asked the Board one question which was regarding the Strategic Planning and Board Development activity. She stated that sometimes they were done on a Saturday stand alone and they’ve also been done before a board meeting on a Tuesday. She asked the board if they had a preference regarding scheduling those meetings moving forward.
Trustee Gandsey stated that she would like a stand-alone meeting since they have a lot to go through in and meeting before a board meeting isn’t enough time. Trustee Suwanski agreed and asked for a stand alone as well. Trustee Gunsteen asked if it would be after April 1st to accommodate the election.
Trustee Gunsteen and President Wallace agreed that a stand-alone meeting is better and allow everyone to focus.
Village Administrator Paula Schumacher stated that we're in the first year of the three-year plan now, so there's not a whole lot of strategic planning, but there are some things about board and board governance that she would like to spend some time doing. She stated that she would like to use a facilitator, meaning that she did not want to do that herself. She went on to say that for the Board Development and governance part, that she would prefer to have a consultant come in for that portion not the strategic planning portion.
C. POLICE AND HEALTH COMMITTEE, CHAIRMAN SUWANSKI
1. Noise Ordinance Review
Trustee Suwanski stated that in July 2024, the Village board approved amendments to three sections of the Village Code that pertained to noise limitations. Section 4-3-4 “Excessive Noise,” Section 3-22-2 “Amplifier Regulations,” and Section 1-15-4 “Complaints and Notices of Hearing Procedures.”
The amendments to Section 4-3-4 added residential to the areas the excessive noise ordinance would apply. The amendments to Section 3-22-2 modified the time and distance requirements for the operation of an amplifier within the Village and added a penalty section in which a fine of not less than seventy-five dollars ($75.00) nor more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00) could be imposed on violators for each offense.
The amendments to Section 1-15-4 added Section 4-3-4 and Section 3-22-2 to the list of offenses which allow first time violators the option of avoiding an in-person appearance at an administrative hearing by paying a fine of one hundred dollars ($100.00) within ten (10) days after service of the notice of violation.
The amended ordinances have been effective in reducing the number of repeated calls for service at the same location. Many of the complainants understand and appreciate that the police officers can issue a citation for violations but can also use discretion in determining the best course of action depending on the circumstances of the situation.
Deputy Chief Rob Sweeney stated that this is a four-month update to the ordinance that was amended in July of 2024. He stated that since that time they have noticed an impactful ability to abate noise in lieu of violations and that up to this point, they've not issued any citations. He went on to say that since July, Patrol Officers have responded to 123 noise complaints. Of those complaints, 63 of them were loud music complaints, 37 were loud parties, and 23 were loud vehicles. He stated that 54 complaints were made during the nighttime hours of 11:00 PM to 8:00 AM and 69 of the complaints occurred during the daytime hours of 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM. Out of those complaints, 64 times there was a noise violation that was observed by officers. He stated that those noise violations were able to be abated prior to a citation being issued 59 times, Officers did not locate a noise violation and were able to speak with a complaint regarding the noise violation.
Deputy Chief Rob Sweeney referenced Deer Park Circle which was a focus of amending this ordinance. He stated that the officers during the busiest time of year that we use to respond, noise compliance the summer months and early fall, they have only received 19 complaints of noise violations since the ordinance was amended. He went on to say that we recently had an issue with mixed use-building and the Police Department’s ability to enforce violations there. He stated that upon speaking with Village Attorney Kurt Asprooth, they were informed that the section that they believe to apply to businesses which required them to use the Environmental Code Act only applied to basically machinery, noise type violations, and that it was still enforceable since it was a mixed-use build. He went on to say that they’ve also looked at other means of trying to abate these noise violations and make it a more livable situation both to the residents and the business owners.
He stated that the noticeable difference that they’ve seen is a lack of repeated noise violation offenders within the village and educating residents of the noise ordinances. He stated that when they go out to these complaints and violatorsto inform them of the noise ordinances, it’s been impactful in helping abate these complaints.
Trustee Suwanski thanked Deputy Chief Sweeney for putting this together.
President Wallace stated that what was adjusted and changed sounds like it’s getting the job done. He stated that it would be helpful to get updated quarterly just to continue to see how it’s working and if any adjustments may be needed.
Chief Pretkelis thanked the Board for their time and stated that the biggest obstacle in this is that the revisions didn’t’ include residential, so they had no ability to try to abate or resolve those complaints. He went on to say that the biggest challenge was educating staff about these changes which they do at the roll call meetings and at monthly staff meetings.
Truste LaPorte asked if we were going to try to keep Issa’s in the Village of Bartlett. Planning and Development Director Kristy Stone stated that the other location they’re looking in to is also in the Village of Bartlett. She stated that their goal will be to keep both locations open.
5. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Wallace moved to adjourn the Committee of the Whole Meeting. Trustee Deyne moved to approve; the motion was seconded by Trustee Gandsey.
ROLL CALL VOTE TO ADJOURN
AYES: Chairmen Deyne, Gandsey, Gunsteen, Hopkins, LaPorte, Suwanski NAYS: None
ABSENT: None
MOTION CARRIED
The Committee of the Whole meeting was adjourned at 8:16 p.m.
https://www.bartlettil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/15057/638690879209769631
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