Minutes – September 5, 2017
September 5, 2017 ELVN Meeting Minutes
19th District Police Station
In attendance:
Michael Zink
Jim Spencer
Beth Murphy
Kit Welch
Tom Rothschild
Patrick Nagle
Aileen Tien
Maggie Koehler
Terie Kata
Heather Way-Kitzes
Patrick Carlson
Mark Lundgren
Jean O’Neill
Marty Wallace
Absent:
Chester Kropidlowski
Bruce Handler
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.
46th Ward
Alderman Cappleman was present to give the report.
The water main construction on the streets are to be done by the Chicago Marathon in October. There will be acorn lighting on the 3600 and 3700 blocks of Broadway thanks to Maureen Martino. His office is working with the local synagogues about parking plans for the upcoming Jewish holy days.
The ward has funds for a sculpture to be located at the Clarendon and Broadway intersection for a year. After that something a little more grander can be placed there. He will give a list of potential sculptures and allow ELVN to decide. Terie asks if we can do it as part of this year’s art program, to which Ald. Cappleman replied that we could not.
Patrick Nagle asks about Ald. Cappleman’s Facebook post suggesting that Gill Park will be completed soon. Ald. Capplemen says that there is no news on Gill Park. He also says that the Clarendon-Montrose TIF, the park district, and JDF Construction are contributing money for the Clarendon Playhouse.
44th Ward
Bennett Lawson was present to give the report.
The water main work itself is done, so now the street must be repaved from south to north. There will be a paper shred event on September 23 from 9 a.m.-12:00 p.m., with a limit of 2 boxes. The event is usually busy, so people should arrive early. In response to Marty’s question of when repaving will begin, Bennett says that the concrete work will start tomorrow September 6.
Mark asks about the meeting that aldermen held with JDF Construction about its multiple pending projects that are causing problems in many communities. Bennett says that after the meeting, JDF’s behavior has improved markedly, but that the aldermen will continue monitoring it to ensure that no further actions are necessary by City Hall.
Terie asks if there is any intention to address the rideshare prevalence in East Lakeview. Bennett says that there are more rideshare vehicles than cabs and that he was aware of rideshare issues around Wrigley Field near the marquee. He is not aware of a cap/maximum of rideshare vehicles in any area or that any law requires labeling of rideshare vehicles. He says that the 44th Ward office received complaints about certain drivers, but it is harder to identify particular rideshare drivers than particular drivers of buses or cabs, so the state and city need better mechanisms to deal with problematic rideshare drivers.
Cubs
September 6 will be the makeup night viewing of the Jungle Book. That will be the last movie of the summer at the Park. It starts early, with the gates open at 6 p.m. and the movie starting at 7 p.m. The last Wiggleworms session was today, and the fitness programs will take place through October.
The Cubs game on Friday September 8 is now a night game. There will be a back-to-school party on the Park on September 11 from 4 p.m-6 p.m. with live music, face painting, and games.
Chamber of Commerce
Maggie was present to give the report.
The Festival for the Arts will take place September 9-10. Due to construction, there will be no Friday night preview. There will be 2 stages, a children’s area, great artists, Joffrey youth dancers, and martial arts performances among many other features. There is a $5 suggested donation for entry. It will be located on Broadway from Belmont to the Best Western hotel.
Legislative Updates
Robert, Chief of Staff for Sara Feigenholtz, was present. He reported that the annual senior health fair will take place at Weiss Hospital on October 6 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. There is also a new law about motorcycle noise that allows the city to install noise monitoring on Lake Shore Drive. This technology will also generate more concrete data about motorcycle speed also. The legislature passed legislation reforming the funding formula for K-12 education. It allows the city on its own (without aldermanic vote) to pass a property tax increase up from .03 percent to .04 percent.
Mike Quigley’s community liaison was present. Congressman Quigley is upset about President Trump’s announced DACA termination. The debt ceiling also needs to be raised. Congressman Quigley will be working on these and many other issues in the coming months.
Marty Malone from Bridget Gainer’s office was present. He lives locally in East Lakeview. Property tax appeals are among their services, and he encouraged the community to contact the office with questions.
New Business
Jim says that Oktoberfest will take place September 24 at Murphy’s Bleachers. There will be flyers and tickets. We are seeking donations for silent auction items. We are pushing for more balance with fewer sports-related items and more arts-related items. Brian and Jaime Murphy are here with any questions. Brian says that posters and donation letters are available. It will be a pig roast again. This is the 19th annual Oktoberfest.
Tom mentions that the 3901 Broadway building is going up quickly, but that the David Gasman building across the street seems stalled. Ald. Cappleman says that the Gasman project right now is doing foundation work, so it is difficult to see. Tom says that he heard about a possible store with a liquor license will go into the Gasman building, but is concerned with a day care across the street. Ald. Cappleman said that he has not heard about liquor license entity there, but he will monitor the situation.
Bylaw Discussion
The Board and community members present discussed the proposed bylaws in detail as presented by the Bylaw Committee, which included Heather, Terie, Chester, and Michael. There were 2 motions advanced during the discussion. Jim moved to amend the definition of a quorum in Article 6, Section 6. Two people present opposed the motion, and the motion passed.
With respect to Article 6, Section 8, Jim moved to strike the provision allowing for proxies. The motion carried without objection.
Patrick moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:28 p.m.