[5:03] Good evening everyone. I'd like to call

[5:05] to order the regular meeting of the

[5:06] Elmer City Council for Monday, April 20,

[5:09] 2026. At this point, I'd ask you all to

[5:12] rise and join me for the pledge of

[5:14] allegiance.

[5:16] I aliance to the flag of the United

[5:19] States of America and to the republic

[5:21] for which it stands. One nation under

[5:24] God, indivisible, with liberty and

[5:27] justice for all.

[5:29] >> We're all here.

[5:32] >> Thank you. Clerk Chamer, please call the

[5:34] role.

[5:35] >> Nuda

[5:36] >> here.

[5:36] >> Virgil

[5:37] >> here.

[5:38] >> Nardini

[5:38] >> here.

[5:39] >> Basto

[5:40] >> here.

[5:40] >> Herby

[5:41] >> here.

[5:42] >> Brennan

[5:42] >> here. Vimis

[5:44] >> here.

[5:45] >> Bellinger

[5:45] >> here.

[5:46] >> Shenko

[5:47] >> here.

[5:47] >> Hill

[5:48] >> here.

[5:49] >> Bram

[5:50] >> here.

[5:50] >> Jensen

[5:51] >> here.

[5:52] >> Toudo

[5:52] >> here.

[5:53] >> Baker

[5:54] >> here.

[5:55] >> 14 present, zero absent.

[5:57] We have a

[5:58] quorum. Um, we'll move on to item two,

[6:01] receipt of written communications from

[6:02] the public. Is there anyone in the

[6:04] public that has a written communication

[6:06] that he or she would like to deliver to

[6:08] the council? If so, please raise your

[6:10] hand. See none, we'll move on to public

[6:12] forum. Has anyone signed in for public

[6:14] forum this evening?

[6:16] >> Yes, Mayor. Dr. John Jevitz.

[6:17] >> All right. So, for public forum, we'll

[6:19] use the back microphone. Um, when you

[6:23] approach the microphone, feel free to

[6:24] adjust it. You have three minutes to

[6:26] talk about whatever is of concern to

[6:28] you. Uh, we'll give you a gentle

[6:30] reminder when you get close to 3

[6:32] minutes. Um, and I also want to point

[6:34] out this is your opportunity to tell the

[6:36] council anything that you would like to

[6:39] tell us, but uh, we don't respond. If

[6:41] you state your address, which is

[6:42] optional, we may be able to get back to

[6:44] you. Um, so don't feel offended if we

[6:47] don't engage in debate with you from the

[6:49] dis. Dr. Jevitz,

[6:56] well, you know why Elmer is ranked

[6:57] number one, don't you? Because of you

[6:59] guys. So, uh, character, I'm the

[7:02] president of character counts in

[7:03] Elmharst. Character is doing the right

[7:05] thing when no one is watching. That's

[7:07] the definition of everybody here tonight

[7:08] as well as the mayor and also police

[7:11] chief, fire chief, everyone else. So,

[7:12] thank you all. God bless. This is to

[7:14] honor somebody who used to have black

[7:16] hair from Manuka. So, I'm going to bring

[7:18] this up so you see. So,

[7:21] this is a presidential award from

[7:23] Character Counts. This is for Jim

[7:24] Grabhoffer for his years of assistance.

[7:29] I never thought after Tom Borscher was

[7:31] here, I thought, uhoh, no way could

[7:33] somebody follow Tom's steps. I couldn't

[7:35] be more proud of you, John. This is an

[7:37] award to honor him. Our presidential

[7:39] award for character counts. I'm going to

[7:41] have to pull this out quick, John. I'm

[7:43] sorry. This is for you. So, number one,

[7:46] congratulations on retirement.

[7:48] Congratulations on a great career.

[7:50] Congratulations to all of you for doing

[7:52] a great job. I want to get this real

[7:53] quick for you, Darren.

[7:57] » Very good. Thank you.

[7:58] >> Feel like I'm interfering with the

[8:00] picture here.

[8:02] >> So anyway, congratulations all you. God

[8:04] bless and thank you for the great work

[8:05] you all do.

[8:14] » Um All right. Any has anyone else signed

[8:17] in for public forum?

[8:18] >> No, mayor.

[8:19] >> All right. Is there anyone who did not

[8:20] have the opportunity to sign in for

[8:22] public comment that would like to do so?

[8:24] If so, please raise your hand. Seeing

[8:26] none, we'll move on. closed public

[8:28] forum. Are there any announcements from

[8:30] the disman?

[8:34] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, just a a quick

[8:37] heads up. We all know that uh the spring

[8:41] cleanup is ongoing as of now. Uh, cool.

[8:44] Elmer's cool cities is taken up the task

[8:47] of working with wings, which is about uh

[8:49] preventing domestic violence and

[8:51] supporting those who have uh been in a

[8:54] part of any type of domestic violence.

[8:58] Um, collecting furniture. So, instead of

[9:00] throwing your furniture to the curb, uh,

[9:02] go to the Elmer's Cool City Cities

[9:04] website and they have a link in regards

[9:06] to what the process would be to donate

[9:08] your furniture there instead of having

[9:11] it go to the landfill. Thank you.

[9:13] >> Thank you. Any other announcements? All

[9:15] right, we'll move on to the consent

[9:17] agenda. Clerk Tamer, please read the

[9:18] consent agenda.

[9:24] 5.1 minutes of the regular meeting of

[9:26] the Elmer City Council on March 16th,

[9:28] 2026.

[9:30] 5.2 minutes of the regular meeting of

[9:32] the Elmer City Council on April 6, 2026.

[9:35] 5.3 accounts payable April 20th, 2026.

[9:40] 2,886,431.14

[9:44] 5.4 report case number 26PO6

[9:48] amended plan unit development with site

[9:50] development allowances subdivision and

[9:52] annexation 188 West Butterfield Road 5.5

[9:56] report intergovernmental agreement for

[9:58] school resource officers 5.6 Six report

[10:00] DWP page county ETSB continued PRMS

[10:03] participation letter of intent. 5.7

[10:06] report 2026 explore Elmer's community

[10:09] grant program. 5.8 report Indiana Street

[10:12] sidewalk project construction

[10:13] engineering services. 5.9 report Indiana

[10:16] Street Sidewalk Project construction bids. 5.10 report Plunket

[10:21] Park temporary construction easement

[10:23] agreement. 5.11

[10:26] an ordinance to amend section 14.09 09

[10:29] entitled residential storm water

[10:31] management of chapter 14 entitled storm

[10:33] water and flood planes of the Elmer's

[10:35] municipal code. 5.12 an ordinance waving

[10:37] bid and authorizing the issuance of a

[10:39] notice of award purchase order for the

[10:41] purchase of concrete street light poles.

[10:43] 5.13 an ordinance waving bid and

[10:45] authorizing the execution of an

[10:47] agreement with Deep Walk Research Inc.

[10:48] for ADA sidewalk evaluation software.

[10:51] 5.14 an ordinance reserving and

[10:53] authorizing the transfer of volume cap

[10:55] in connection with private activity bond

[10:57] issues and related matters. 5.15 an

[11:00] ordinance approving and authorizing the

[11:02] execution of a non-exclusive license

[11:04] agreement by between DUP page cycling

[11:06] Foundation and the city of Elmherst

[11:08] DuPage and Cook Counties, Illinois. 5.16

[11:11] a resolution approving an extension of

[11:13] services agreement between Watersmart

[11:15] Software Inc. and the city of Elmerst

[11:16] Illinois. 5.17 a resolution approving

[11:19] and authorizing the purchase and

[11:21] planting of Parkway trees for the 2026

[11:23] tree purchase and planting program in

[11:25] the city of Elmerst Illinois. 5.18 a

[11:27] resolution approving and authorizing

[11:29] execution of a professional engineering

[11:31] services agreement between the city of

[11:33] Elmerst Illinois and Baxter and Woodman

[11:34] Inc. for the 2026 wastewater flow

[11:37] monitoring assistance program project

[11:40] 5.19 a resolution to approve and

[11:42] authorize the execution of a

[11:43] professional engineering services

[11:45] agreement by between Clark deeds Inc. in

[11:47] the city of Elmherst for the Berkeley

[11:48] Adams pump station rehabilitation

[11:50] project. 5.20. A resolution to approve

[11:53] and adopt the classification and

[11:55] compensation study prepared by MG MGT

[11:58] Impact Solutions Inc. 5.21. A resolution

[12:01] authorizing the application for a

[12:03] general working permit for the

[12:04] construction operation maintenance of

[12:05] city infrastructure located within

[12:07] stateowned rights of way within the city

[12:10] of Elmherst, Illinois.

[12:11] >> Thank you. Is there any item on the

[12:13] consent agenda that any alderman would

[12:15] like to remove either for further

[12:17] discussion or to vote against? Alman

[12:19] Brennan

[12:20] >> 5.9

[12:33] was just going to

[12:34] >> so 5.9.

[12:35] >> Yeah.

[12:35] >> All right.

[12:37] Any Alderman Hill?

[12:40] >> Thank you. Uh just I don't know if it

[12:41] needs to be pulled. I guess it does.

[12:43] There's a my name is wrong in 5.1

[12:48] » in several places.

[12:49] >> I think that's a scrier error that we

[12:51] can fix. What's your name?

[12:53] >> All right.

[12:55] Dera.

[12:56] >> All right. We have a motion. Do we have

[12:58] a motion to pass?

[12:59] >> What part on 5.1? And is it on the where

[13:02] is it on?

[13:02] >> I just every time it's mentioned it's

[13:04] under the dimminative and not

[13:06] >> Jacob Jacob. Yeah.

[13:08] >> I'm sorry.

[13:09] >> Okay. Okay.

[13:10] >> It's only been that way for three years,

[13:12] but we're going to we're going to fix

[13:13] it. All right.

[13:14] >> Uh so I'd ask for a motion to approve

[13:17] the consent agenda minus item 5.9.

[13:20] >> Alman Shank with a motion. Alderman Bran

[13:22] with a second. Clerk Tammer, please call

[13:24] the role.

[13:26] >> Nera,

[13:27] >> I

[13:28] >> Virgil

[13:29] >> I.

[13:29] >> Nardini.

[13:30] >> I

[13:33] » Brennan.

[13:34] >> I

[13:35] >> Vere.

[13:36] >> Hi.

[13:36] >> Bellinger.

[13:37] >> I

[13:38] >> Hill. I

[13:39] >> Shenko

[13:40] >> I

[13:40] >> Bram

[13:41] >> I

[13:42] >> Jensen

[13:43] >> I

[13:43] >> Toledo

[13:44] >> I

[13:45] >> Baker

[13:46] >> I

[13:46] >> 14 I's zero nays the consent agenda minus 5.9 passes clammer please

[13:54] read the report on 5.9

[13:56] >> it is therefore the recommendation of

[13:57] the public works and buildings committee

[13:59] to accept the unit price bid from the

[14:01] low bidder Nardulli construction company

[14:04] Inc. of Chicago, Illinois for the

[14:06] Indiana Street sidewalk project in the

[14:08] amount not to exceed $343,993.35.

[14:13] Additionally, the city attorney is

[14:14] authorized to prepare the appropriate

[14:16] documentation for city council approval.

[14:18] Signed, Alderman Emily Bastto, chair,

[14:20] Alderman Michael J. Bram, vice chair,

[14:22] and Alderman Mike Baker, and Alderman

[14:24] Rex Irby.

[14:25] >> Have a motion to put 5.94 before the

[14:28] council for approval. Motion, Alderman

[14:29] Bastto, second, Alderman Bram. Alderman

[14:31] Bastto. Uh, no. I have no further

[14:34] comment. I'll give the floor to Chair

[14:36] Brennan.

[14:36] >> Well, we'll see. Alman Brennan.

[14:39] >> Thank you, Mayor. Uh, I pulled this

[14:41] report uh to highlight a couple of what

[14:44] I think are are pretty great uh things

[14:46] going on with uh with the city. Um the

[14:49] public works and building committee did

[14:52] uh a great job with with this report and

[14:55] future reports, I'm sure, will come our

[14:57] direction. Uh Elmherst staff has done a

[15:00] fabulous job. As most of you know, uh

[15:03] last year we approved a 40-year uh

[15:06] sidewalk master plan. Uh first up was Crest View and uh from from York to the the park. Um next up is this

[15:18] report Indiana Street. um project

[15:22] construction bids as the report states,

[15:24] you know, uh this project is came in

[15:27] bid-wise lower than expected. Um in

[15:31] addition to that, staff has secured and

[15:33] aligned $650, uh dollars, yeah, $650,000

[15:39] of state grants, you know, to the

[15:41] Indiana street and and van sidewalk

[15:44] projects. uh the combination of both

[15:47] these, you know, uh favorable the

[15:50] favorable construction bid as as well as

[15:52] the grants will allow the city to

[15:54] complete the Indiana street project and

[15:57] accelerate the Van Hawken project. Um,

[16:00] so I simply pulled it to to share, you

[16:03] know, kudos with with the the city

[16:06] staff, the public works and building

[16:08] committee and congratulate, you know,

[16:11] all the kids in Northeast Elmherst uh

[16:13] that will have a safer uh walk to school

[16:17] uh going to Conrad Fiser andor uh Church

[16:21] Churchville schools. Um, this report

[16:24] clearly has my full support and I I want

[16:27] to thank again everybody that was behind

[16:30] it and look forward to the projects to

[16:32] be completed in the near future. Thank

[16:34] you. Thank you. You know, I do want to

[16:36] add one thing. Um, these things the

[16:38] grants just don't happen. Uh, if you go

[16:40] back to when we were doing our sidewalk

[16:43] plan um and people are saying where are

[16:45] we going to get the funds? Uh, our

[16:47] former state rep. Jen Ladish Douglas

[16:51] contacted me and said and city manager

[16:54] and said, "What projects do do you have

[16:57] that you might want some assistance

[16:58] for?" And because the sidewalk program

[17:01] was a hot topic and there was a concern

[17:03] of where would the funds come from and I

[17:06] think Senator Gloria Hilton may have had

[17:08] a piece of that too. So we identified

[17:10] those um from my office to say these are

[17:13] the ones that would be a priority if we

[17:14] can get funding. And so even though

[17:16] she's no longer our state rep, Senator

[17:19] Glowak is still our senator. They came

[17:20] through these with these funds that will

[17:22] help advance this very important

[17:25] project. Any other comments?

[17:29] All right. Call the RO on 5.9, please.

[17:32] >> Nuda,

[17:33] >> I.

[17:34] >> Virgil,

[17:35] >> I.

[17:35] >> Nardini,

[17:36] >> I

[17:39] » Brennan,

[17:40] >> I

[17:42] >> Bellinger.

[17:42] >> Hi,

[17:43] >> Hill. I

[17:44] >> Shenko

[17:45] >> I

[17:46] >> Bram

[17:46] >> I

[17:47] >> Jensen

[17:48] >> I

[17:48] >> Toledo

[17:49] >> I

[17:50] >> Baker

[17:50] >> I

[17:51] >> 14 I's zero nays 5.9 passes on to

[17:56] reports and recommendations of appointed

[17:58] and elect officials mayor 11 um there's

[18:02] a topic I want to cover for a few

[18:04] minutes this evening um

[18:07] uh with starting with the governor's

[18:10] address back in January he proposed a

[18:13] piece piece of legislation called build

[18:14] which stands for build up Illinois

[18:17] development and um it's uh I wasn't

[18:21] quite sure if it was going to advance

[18:23] but it is moving along handily. there's

[18:26] one House bill uh and then on the Senate

[18:29] size there are five bills that say in

[18:32] total exactly the same thing as the

[18:34] House bill and I think it's kind of

[18:37] radical and I think our residents and

[18:39] you need to be aware of what this bill

[18:42] provides. Um the goal is laudable. It's

[18:46] to address affordability of housing and

[18:49] affordability is probably the biggest

[18:51] political buzzword we have today in

[18:53] 2026.

[18:54] But I want to give you a few pieces of

[18:57] how this legislation would work if

[19:01] passed. And um I would say the

[19:03] legislation has legs. It has the

[19:06] potential u to go through. So the first

[19:09] one is that it provides that a

[19:12] municipality shall um and by the way

[19:15] when I say shall we're home rule but

[19:17] this would uh overrule home rule

[19:19] provisions on any lot located in the

[19:22] zoning districts that has single family

[19:25] dwellings if and it has you know there's

[19:28] four different sizes but I'm just going

[19:30] to pick the one that is um 7500 square

[19:34] ft. So, if a lot is 7,500 square ft,

[19:37] which is 50 by 150, not particularly out

[19:40] of line with what there is in Elmherst,

[19:43] it would permit uh someone to build an 8

[19:47] unit

[19:49] development

[19:51] uh on the property. Um, so if you think

[19:54] about that, if my lot uh is 50x 150 and

[19:57] I sell it, it's right in the middle of a

[19:59] residential block, it would allow the

[20:01] purchaser to then put up an 8-unit

[20:06] apartment building right in the middle

[20:07] of the block. Um, and as you'll see,

[20:10] part of the theme I'm developing here is

[20:12] part of the essence of local government,

[20:14] local control is controlling the

[20:15] development of your municipality and how

[20:19] things are laid out and what your

[20:20] municipality design is. Um,

[20:25] so um

[20:27] you can't impose additional uh

[20:30] requirements for lot sizes, setbacks or

[20:32] aesthetic requirements on this. Um so

[20:36] it's a it's a big change. So if you

[20:38] think about this on your own block, it

[20:41] would be kind of a interesting

[20:42] development. Um it further provides that

[20:45] if we fail or any municipality fails to

[20:48] complete our plan review within a

[20:50] deadline established by this act that

[20:54] the um applicant can retain a qualified

[20:58] third-party appraise uh um um plan

[21:01] reviewer to go out and do it. uh and

[21:04] that it would be at our cost I believe

[21:06] but so we kind of lose the control which

[21:09] is so important to us to know that when

[21:12] development occurs in Elmer's that's

[21:14] done with the review of our building

[21:17] officials. Um same thing if we don't

[21:20] conduct a required inspection within uh

[21:23] two business days then the applicant can

[21:26] go out and hire their own qualified

[21:28] third party inspector. qualified meaning

[21:30] with credentials but it doesn't mean

[21:32] they understand what's happening in

[21:34] Elmharst. Um

[21:38] so any impact fees have to be calculated

[21:41] for any project using a formula that

[21:43] would be approved by the department of

[21:45] commerce and economic development. Uh so

[21:48] again taking away the local control. Um

[21:53] it also provides that uh municipality

[21:55] shall not establish minimum automobile

[21:57] parking requirements for and we have a

[22:00] number of these uh you know in our

[22:02] downtown developments um but for

[22:05] residential developments of less than

[22:07] 1500 square ft you know if you're

[22:08] talking about condos or apartments

[22:10] affordable housing projects um and a

[22:13] number of other areas

[22:15] um and I don't know if it's directly

[22:18] responsible but one of the key

[22:20] provisions is that uh no building code

[22:23] may prohibit a residential building from

[22:25] having a single stairway serving as an

[22:28] exit for all units in the bu in the

[22:30] building. Meaning like you could have a

[22:33] six-unit apartment and instead of having

[22:36] a main entrance in some required

[22:38] secondary exit, which seems important

[22:41] for safety purposes, you can no longer

[22:44] impose those requirements. Um, and I

[22:48] don't see it in here, but my

[22:49] recollection is the bill also says that

[22:51] instead of having your municipal

[22:54] building code that the state will

[22:55] provide a statewide building code and

[22:58] everyone will adhere to that building

[23:00] code. Um, we have very few structure

[23:02] fires in Elmherst. Um, we have very few

[23:06] problems with our buildings because we

[23:07] are stringent in making sure that our

[23:09] buildings are up to a code that requires

[23:12] a lot of the building to make sure it's

[23:15] safe both from the structure itself and

[23:17] from fire problems. So, this is a

[23:21] complete usurppation of local control.

[23:24] Um, something that's very important to

[23:26] us. Um, there are other factors which I

[23:28] don't know if they're if they're

[23:30] important, but they might be. So, um,

[23:31] and I should say, by the way, one of the

[23:33] things that's a topic of our, uh, new

[23:37] zoning code is whether we're going to

[23:38] allow accessory dwelling units or ADUs.

[23:42] Um, and it was specifically left out of

[23:45] this current version because people on

[23:47] the our committee felt that it needs

[23:49] more time to talk about that specific

[23:52] topic. under this state law, the Build

[23:54] Act, um you're required to have AD use

[23:57] with granny flats units behind the main

[24:00] structure. Um which may be a good idea,

[24:04] it may not be, but my my issue is it's

[24:06] not us deciding what we want in

[24:08] Elmharst, it's the state telling you you

[24:11] have to allow them. Um it doesn't this

[24:15] act doesn't address things such as um

[24:18] what if and maybe it's not a problem for

[24:20] Elmer, maybe it is. if you start putting

[24:21] up these additional units, do we have

[24:23] the water and sewer service to uh

[24:27] provide what these buildings need? And

[24:30] if it's not there, are we paying for it?

[24:33] Uh or the state's not paying for it. I

[24:35] can pretty much assure you that. So,

[24:38] there's a lot here. Um and um I think

[24:41] it's very dangerous. And the reason I'm

[24:43] talking about this publicly is um I

[24:46] don't think in my time as mayor I've

[24:49] ever said, you know, here's something

[24:50] happening on the state level that's so

[24:53] drastic, so radical that we need to let

[24:56] you know, for those of you who are

[24:58] social media hounds, unlike me, but this

[25:00] might be one where I'll actually post

[25:02] now to let people in Elmer's know what's

[25:04] being proposed because, and I say this

[25:08] with a little caution because I don't

[25:09] know this to be true, but I don't want

[25:12] our elected representatives who may feel

[25:15] entirely as I have just spoken but feel

[25:19] that they're under some political

[25:20] pressure to do otherwise and they need

[25:22] to know that this is not what we want in

[25:25] Elmer's and we're not the only

[25:27] municipality who's ringing this alarm

[25:30] from my role in on DMMC the DUP page

[25:33] mayors and managers a lot of other

[25:35] mayors are ringing the same alarm but

[25:37] our state elected officials reps and

[25:41] senators must know that and hear from

[25:44] our residents that this is not what they

[25:46] want so that they can respond to any

[25:48] pressure from the governor's office

[25:50] saying I'm sorry I just can't back this.

[25:53] There are other ways to

[25:56] uh you address affordability. If you

[25:58] want to provide incentives, if the state

[26:00] wants to give us money and say we will

[26:03] as and do page county has offered some

[26:05] incentives, financial incentives if you

[26:07] build some affordable housing. Um maybe

[26:10] that's a good way to do it. Um the

[26:12] problem with these proposals, it's to me

[26:15] I liken it to the grocery tax. Um the

[26:18] governor said a year ago uh in 25 we're

[26:22] eliminating the grocery tax. Um no one

[26:25] heard about it. It came on fast and it

[26:27] went through fast and I think because it

[26:29] was his signature bill and uh it looked

[26:34] great. I'd say 90% of the municipalities

[26:37] who uh well was eliminated for everyone

[26:40] but uh the option was there to impose a

[26:45] local grocery tax which we did as 90% of

[26:48] the municipalities did because it would

[26:50] have been a a shortfall for our uh

[26:53] municipal revenues of a million and a

[26:55] half or $2 million. So, it sounds great,

[26:58] eliminate the statewide grocery tax

[27:00] statewide, but then we had to just plug

[27:02] the hole anyway. Uh, this is another

[27:05] kind of kind of radical present uh

[27:09] proposal that came out of nowhere and

[27:11] you know, things go fast in the general

[27:13] assembly and here we are April 20th. Uh,

[27:17] they will adjourn in about

[27:20] five weeks and so it's going to happen

[27:22] or not going to happen. And so, this is

[27:24] our call to action.

[27:26] Um,

[27:28] now I've also up import um I don't think

[27:33] the the public's going to understand it

[27:35] as well, but I think people on the

[27:36] council and I think most of you have

[27:38] gone down to Springfield with um DMMC at

[27:41] one point or another is the LGDF, the

[27:44] local government distributive fund. Um

[27:47] we've been fighting to get back up to

[27:50] the 10% it used to be. We had a

[27:52] commitment maybe we'll get up to eight.

[27:54] And this year for the first time I was

[27:57] really kind of surprised to see that the

[27:59] governor's budget proposes

[28:01] um knocking it down just a little bit.

[28:04] Um so there should be no negative

[28:06] momentum. This is a sharing of the uh

[28:10] income tax which is collected by the

[28:13] state that's then delivered to the local

[28:15] government. um the constitution when it

[28:18] was passed in 1970

[28:20] uh sort of a I'm sorry it wasn't put in

[28:22] the constitution but the idea was that

[28:25] we would share the the constitution does

[28:28] not allow a municipality to impose an

[28:30] income tax. So the idea was the state

[28:33] would share what it collects and um the

[28:37] fact that it would be knocked down even

[28:38] a fraction of a percent where it's only

[28:40] gone up a fraction of of a percent over

[28:43] the past few years is kind of a slap in

[28:45] the p face face for local government. It

[28:48] would cost us I would estimate $250,000

[28:51] if this goes through. Not a fortune, but

[28:53] I say to you and those of you who are

[28:55] students of politics, if you start

[28:57] taking it back again, I don't know which

[28:58] direction we're going. Um, but I will be

[29:01] talking to our state elected officials

[29:03] and tell them that it's unacceptable. We

[29:05] understand how dire things are for the

[29:08] state and its budget. We have our own

[29:10] budget problems as we've talked about,

[29:12] but the idea of starting to take money

[29:14] back is completely unacceptable. So, I

[29:17] want to make the council aware of those

[29:19] two legislative initiatives which affect

[29:22] us directly. There are other ones which

[29:25] may be important but um they they go

[29:28] through in the usual course and they

[29:29] seem to be getting worked out but these

[29:32] are ones particularly the build act or

[29:34] the build legislation needs to be out

[29:36] there for all of our residents to be

[29:39] aware of. It's a call to action.

[29:42] Every one of you I hope will contact our

[29:45] elected reps. encourage all of your

[29:48] neighbors to also get out there contact

[29:51] so that there is a ground swell of

[29:53] people saying this is not what the

[29:55] municipalities want. Uh any questions?

[30:00] Alderman Irby.

[30:01] >> Thank you, mayor. Do you have a house

[30:02] bill or Senate bill number on on the

[30:04] build act as you quoted it here?

[30:07] >> I I don't have it in front of me. I will

[30:09] send it out. I think it's 516. I'm not

[30:11] going to guess.

[30:12] >> Yeah, we'll send it out to council um

[30:14] along with mayor's comments. And I'll

[30:16] send the Senate bills out, too. But it's

[30:18] really the House bill that seems to be

[30:20] the one that's moving forward.

[30:22] Um, and if you don't know who your our

[30:24] elected reps are, we can provide that

[30:26] information as well. I plan on putting

[30:28] that in our newsletter, the bill number,

[30:31] contact information for our um state

[30:34] elected officials. Okay. So, with that,

[30:38] um, Mayor

[30:40] Alderman Nardini,

[30:42] >> thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, I appreciate

[30:44] you bringing that up and I think for uh

[30:47] not for council but for the public

[30:49] listening, um, Chair Jensen's uh,

[30:52] committee, DPNZ, the committee that the

[30:54] three of us are on right now are in the

[30:56] process of doing a zoning rewrite that

[31:00] started before COVID and has been

[31:01] delayed. And now I think it's worth

[31:04] saying that irrespective of what we are

[31:07] going to face from the state, we're

[31:08] obliged to be rewriting a zoning code

[31:11] based on our uh zoning and whatever the

[31:15] state imposes upon us, we should not be

[31:18] changing what we are trying to do

[31:21] because what what is imposed upon us by

[31:25] the state may or may not occur. We

[31:27] started a process some years ago and I

[31:30] think we're obliged to finish it. um

[31:32] with the assumption that home rule

[31:34] zoning stays home rule zoning. What

[31:36] affects us afterwards is uh in the lap

[31:40] of the gods. Well, for the timeline of

[31:43] your committee uh and the state's

[31:46] legislation, they're kind of running

[31:47] parallel. So, you may feel you're going

[31:49] to wrap up by the end of May, and I

[31:51] think the legislature adjourns May 31st.

[31:54] So we'll uh but I agree the committee's

[31:56] work must continue as if we are going to

[31:58] be successful in opposition of the

[32:00] bill's legislation. Alderman Ramos. No.

[32:04] All right.

[32:06] Alderman Brennan.

[32:07] >> So just a quick question about parking.

[32:10] Uh your your interpretation. I don't

[32:12] know if I totally followed it. Um what

[32:15] would I mean a a building of this nature

[32:20] in the middle of a residential area? I

[32:23] mean, uh, would would that force us to

[32:26] rethink our street parking ordinances?

[32:29] >> I think it could because, you know, and I I want Well, let me answer your

[32:33] question first. Yes. If there are eight

[32:35] units and you can't have a parking

[32:38] restriction. Um,

[32:41] uh, I don't know what the answer is

[32:42] because it seems like if we can't

[32:44] regulate it and we don't allow street

[32:46] parking, um, it doesn't solve a problem

[32:48] for people who have vehicles. And I also

[32:50] want to say that, and this is just my

[32:52] own personal opinion, the goal is

[32:53] affordability, but if I were to sell my

[32:56] lot and someone put up eight units, I

[32:59] don't think those units are going to

[33:00] necessarily be particularly affordable.

[33:03] Um, they might be, you know, it's I, you

[33:05] know, it's a great block and people

[33:07] would want to live there. And maybe

[33:08] those condos will be, you know,

[33:10] $800,000. That doesn't really achieve

[33:13] the goal of affordability because this

[33:15] is Elmherst and a pro. there' be a lot

[33:17] of people would say, "Yeah, I'd like to

[33:19] downsize. Every time we put up a condo,

[33:22] um, they sell for a less than affordable

[33:24] amount." So, um, there are a lot of

[33:28] aspects of this that like at the parking

[33:30] I hadn't thought of, but it's a good

[33:32] point. I don't know if it's well thought

[33:33] out, and the problem is it's rolling

[33:35] kind of quickly.

[33:37] >> Okay. Um, that's the end of my report,

[33:39] city manager.

[33:40] >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, first, let me

[33:43] thank uh Dr. Jevitz for this. Uh it was

[33:46] completely unexpected and very humbling.

[33:48] So I appreciate it. I I'm I know he

[33:50] couldn't stay but on behalf uh let me

[33:52] say for

[33:53] >> behalf of yourself

[33:55] >> for what I meant to say was for

[33:58] character counts and the organization

[34:00] that he represents I sincerely

[34:02] appreciate uh the acknowledgement. Um,

[34:05] other things that I have, uh, the, um,

[34:08] spring cleanup continues. As Alderman

[34:10] Bram said, uh, this past weekend was the

[34:13] south end of town. Um, this Saturday

[34:16] will be residents with the Friday

[34:18] collection. So that's the north side of

[34:19] town. And then Saturday, May 2nd would

[34:21] be the final collection uh, for those

[34:23] with Wednesday uh, collections. And in

[34:27] addition to that, uh this weekend

[34:31] the uh public works uh facility will

[34:34] host an electronics and textile

[34:37] recycling

[34:38] uh collection. That's a quarterly event.

[34:41] and the uh police and uh our um our

[34:47] partners at the state's attorney's

[34:48] office will host a drug collection,

[34:51] prescription drug collection at the

[34:53] public at excuse me at uh the police

[34:56] facility from 8 to noon. Uh so you can

[34:59] uh drive up I'm sorry that's from 10 to

[35:01] 2. The electronics and textile recycling

[35:04] is 8 to noon. Drug takeback is 10 to 2.

[35:08] So you can stop at the public works

[35:09] facility first, then drive over to the

[35:11] police station and drop off everything

[35:13] that you need.

[35:14] >> Thank you.

[35:15] >> Management.

[35:16] >> All right. Um

[35:19] any other reports of elected officials?

[35:22] >> All right.

[35:23] >> I I have one.

[35:24] >> Yes.

[35:24] >> Um I just want to say that we had the

[35:26] youth commission youth advisory

[35:28] committee hosted their very first bunny

[35:29] hop run this past Sunday and Chief Man

[35:33] uh ran in the run. Thank you for being

[35:35] there and attending and running with the

[35:37] kids. It was great having you. And um a

[35:40] battalion chief Lazowski and a couple

[35:42] firemen showed up and it was really

[35:44] great. Uh the kids had bunny ears. Some

[35:46] of the adults had bunny ears. The youth

[35:48] advisory committee really got into it.

[35:49] Um and it was a really great first time

[35:51] event for these kids. Did they literally

[35:53] planned this all by themselves, you

[35:55] know, um and we were proud of them. They

[35:56] came up with the idea. They came up with

[35:59] the um uh the posters and the uh the

[36:02] design of it and everything. And we had

[36:04] a few sponsors that they went out and

[36:06] got. So, just really commend the kids.

[36:08] So, thank you.

[36:09] >> Ronald McDonald House.

[36:10] >> That's right. Thank you. It benefited

[36:11] Ronald McDonald House. Thank you very

[36:13] much.

[36:13] >> Did the Oh, and uh donations are open

[36:16] till May 1st for Ronald McDonald House.

[36:17] You can find it online.

[36:19] >> Did the chief let the kids win?

[36:21] >> I don't know.

[36:22] >> He did. All right.

[36:25] >> That's character counts already.

[36:26] >> Thank you again.

[36:27] >> All right. Um any other business to be

[36:30] brought before the council? Seeing none,

[36:32] I'd ask for a motion to adjurnn. Motion

[36:35] by Alderman Bastto, second by alderman

[36:37] Bellinger. All in favor say I.

[36:39] >> I. Any oppose say nay. We are adjourned.

[36:41] Thank you all.

2026-04-20 Elmhurst City Council Meeting

Transcript