City Council Actions - August 9, 2010
Administration and Public Works
(A3.7) Approval of March 1, 2010 Police and Firefighter Pension Actuarial Report
(PASS 7-2)
Ald. received information about other municipalities comparable to Evanston as well as changes in the assumptions made by actuary requested on 7/26/2010.
Concerns included the gravity of the growing unfunded pension debt, the impact of upcoming decisions in Springfield, and the reliability of various assumptions made in actuarial calculations.
Ald. encouraged citizens to contact legislators in Springfield and requested that contact information for Illinois senators be posted on the City of Evanston website.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A5) Ordinance 52-O10 Regarding Taxicab Regulation
(Introduction Denied- Held in Committee- On September Agenda)
Ordinance was held in committee in order to develop a plan for implementation of the law and to clarify the impact of the law. Ald. concerned about limitations on an individual’s choice of taxi service.
A representative from the Taxi Cab Advisory Board offered to work with the Council in finding solutions to the above concerns. Ald. requested a report from the Taxi Cab Advisory Board and the Law Department to clarify the law in the next Council packet.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A6) Ordinance 65-O-10 Providing for the Issuance of General Obligation Bonds, Series 2010
(Suspension of the Rules and PASS 9-0)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A.7) Ordinance 55-O-10, Enacting a New Subsection 3-5-6-F1 of the City Code, “Classification and License Fees,” Class F1 Liquor License
(PASS 9-0 with Amendment)
Ald. amended the ordinance, adding a requirement that the Mayor inform the Alderman of the ward in which the liquor license will be issued as well as the location of the event.
=============================================================
Planning & Development
(P4) Major Variation Application for 1408 Dempster Street
(Held in Committee - Off Consent Agenda)
Comments included concern about the difficulty of the property which has no apparent solution and Ald. requested that the applicant attend the next meeting.
=============================================================
Human Services
(H2) Ordinance 64-O-10 Amending Title 8 of the City Code to add Chapter 26, “Mobile Food Vehicle Vendors”
(Suspension of the Rules Denied, INTRO ONLY 8-1)
Ald. requested more information about how the food truck license will impact single family neighborhoods and about the economic impact on other businesses. Ald. were also concerned that this business will not be able to operate because of the delay in obtaining the license.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(H3) Ordinance 23-O10 Amending Various Sections of Title 9, “Public Safety,” Chapter 4, “Dogs, Cats, Animals, and Fowl,” of the City Code
(INTRODUCED ONLY, 9-0)
============================================================
Other Committees
(O4) Ordinance 58-O-10 Granting Extension until September 12, 2015 of the Electric ordinance to Commonwealth Edison
(PASS 8-1)
Ald. requested firmer language and specifics about the services ComEd provides in the future.
============================================================
Rules Committee References
Ald. proposed holding 2 meetings in August.
Ald. proposed rule that City cannot alter property tax without a public hearing.
Alderman would like to review rules governing decorum in the City of Evanston Council Chamber.
Citizen Comment
• A representative from American Taxi spoke against the Taxi Cab Ordinance indicating that it limited an individual’s choice of service.
• A representative of the Backyard Chicken Committee spoke in favor of the Chicken ordinance indicating that having back yard chickens is important to having local healthy food.
• A citizen voiced concerns over the amount being spent on the city credit cards and would like controls in place as well as a central authority to keep track of credit card expenditures.
• A citizen spoke in support of the proposed water main and street resurfacing project and pointed out the an economic downturn is an opportunity to move forward with the project.
• Several citizens spoke both in favor and against the decision recently made by the Evanston Public Library Board of Trustees to invoke the Illinois Local Library Act allowing library to set up a Library Fund. Those speaking n favor described a transparent and deliberative process and the desire to work with the City Council. Citizens against oppose any new taxing entity in the City of Evanston.