MINUTES OF BOARD MEETING
TRUSTEES OF BARTON HILLS VILLAGE
November 14, 2022
The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees was called to order by President Pro Tem Conlin at 6:00 PM at Walter Esch Hall plus online video/phone conference. New Trustees Marcus Darden and Randolph Perry, and returning Trustees Mostafa Haitam and Robert Hensinger took the oath of office and were seated on the Board.
ROLL CALL Present: Trustees Al-Awar, Conlin, Darden, Haitam, Hensinger, Holmes, Perry, Popp, and Smith. Absent: None.
Others attending: ZA Capozza, Asst. Treasurer Carey, Supt. Hnatow, ZH ADarden, BHMC President David, two project representatives and nine residents.
ORGANIZATION Howard Holmes was nominated for the office of President. There being no additional nominations, Mr. Holmes was elected. (Smith/Haitam/P) Mr. Holmes assumed chair of the meeting.
Chris Conlin was nominated for the office of President Pro Tem. There being no further nominations, Mr. Conlin was elected. (Holmes/Hensinger/P)
Robert Hensinger was nominated for the office of Clerk. There being no further nominations, Mr. Hensinger was elected and took the oath of office. (Holmes/Conlin/P)
The following appointments were made by the President: Treasurer Carla Smith, Assistant Treasurer Laurie Carey and Deputy Clerk Jan Esch. Attorney Scott Munzel will continue to be consulted on an as-needed basis. The presidential appointments were ratified by the Trustees. (Perry/Conlin/P)
Committee chairs were assigned:
Community Activities — Smith
Environment — Hensinger
Climate Resilience subcommittee — Popp
Finance — Smith
Human Resources — Conlin
Long Range Planning — Darden
Roads & Vehicles — Al-Awar
Security — Holmes
Water — Perry
TRUSTEE RESOLUTION The following resolutions were adopted. (Smith/Darden/P)
BE IT RESOLVED that since LINDA BENSON has served as a Barton Hills Village
Trustee since 2009, and whereas she has brought enthusiasm, skill and wisdom to
this volunteer position, serving as President and committee chair along with other duties,
the members of the Board of Trustees wish to thank Mrs. Benson wholeheartedly for her contributions to the Board and her loyalty and dedication to the Barton Hills community,
and extend their best wishes to her.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution be recorded in the minutes of the
Barton Hills Village Board of Trustees.
BE IT RESOLVED that since ANDREA DARDEN has served as a Barton Hills Village
Trustee since 2021, and whereas she has brought enthusiasm, skill and wisdom to
this volunteer position, serving as Clerk and committee chair along with other duties,
the members of the Board of Trustees wish to thank Mrs. Darden wholeheartedly for her contributions to the Board and her loyalty and dedication to the Barton Hills community,
and extend their best wishes to her.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution be recorded in the minutes of the
Barton Hills Village Board of Trustees.
WALL PERMIT Application for construction of retaining walls at 490 Barton Shore Drive (Janice Englesbe, contractor Reid Hollowell present).
The property survey provided by the applicant verified the setback of 20 feet on both the east and west sides of the property so no variance is required. The signed engineer’s letter did verify the structural integrity of the walls, but did not address the Board’s request regarding potential stormwater flow and drainage that may impact the neighboring properties. Due to the miscommunication, the applicant was again requested to provide this information.
Motion The application to construct retaining walls at 490 Barton Shore Drive was approved contingent on the Zoning Administrator receiving a signed/stamped letter from a certified engineer stating that construction of the walls will not result in any additional drainage/stormwater runoff on any neighboring properties. (Perry/Smith/P)
415 BARTON NORTH DOGS Mr. Rothman, owner of the dogs, was present. He referred to the letter he received, stating the dog that was most aggressive had been put down. His current dogs, a chocolate and a silver Labrador Retriever, do bark, but are not aggressive. The dogs did get out on occasion, due to significant water flow issues that resulted in damage to the electric fence. Mr. Rothman offered documentation about the repairs and the improvement of the electric fence system, including retraining of the dogs. President Holmes reviewed the content of the letter sent to the Rothmans, noting that vaccination records were received and other items carried out. Supt. Hnatow stated there were some discrepancies in the list of citations/fines, adding there has been one incident after the letter was sent, where a resident was approached and frightened by the dogs running loose.
Motion The Trustees approved the following actions:
- The invoice of fines included with the October 13, 2022 letter from the Board of Trustees to Ed and Wendy Rothman was withdrawn and replaced with a fine of $75.00 for one incident of their dogs running loose/frightening a resident on the street that occurred on Friday, October 21, 2022.
- Village services will be reinstated provided that the dogs are not outside on the property when BHV staff are present.
- If the dogs are loose and off the property and another incident occurs, there will be a fine. (Haitam/Al-Awar/P)
Mr. Rothman understood the motion and agreed with it. Appreciation was expressed to him for attending the meeting and bringing information to help resolve the issue.
MINUTES Minutes of the October 10, 2022 Trustees meeting were approved as printed. (Smith/Conlin/P)
PUBLIC COMMENT
–One resident spoke about the 320 Juniper Lane construction project, voicing their unhappiness about the wall situation and the dust. A second speaker was also concerned both about the construction, and about health issues surrounding the dust that has been created during construction.
–BHMC President David provided comment from the BHMC Board of Directors on several topics.
FINANCE/FINANCE COMMITTEE (Smith/Carey) The October 2022 Budget to Actual and Cash Balances reports were noted. The Cash Disbursements for October 2022 were approved as printed (Aux. Book I G(8)). (Al-Alawar/Haitam/P)
Updates were provided regarding the recent sale of the fire truck and the progress status of the audit.
STANDING REPORTS
Zoning Administrator (Capozza) ZA Capozza gave an update on several projects. Following discussion of the 320 Juniper Lane issue, the Trustees directed Mr. Capozza as Zoning Administrator to make a decision concerning the request for a change in plans. Applicants always have the option of appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
STANDING REPORTS
Planning Commission (Hensinger) Master Plan 2022 was approved by the Planning Commission on October 11, 2022, distributed and posted on the BHV website. This completes the five year review.
Superintendent No report.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Roads (Al-Awar) No report.
Security (Holmes) No report.
Water (Popp) No report
Community Activities (Smith) No report.
Environment (Hensinger)
–113 responses for the recycle survey have been received. A full report will be presented at the December meeting.
Climate Resilience Subcommittee (Popp) No report.
Human Resources (Smith)
All approved work to update the employee housing has either been completed or scheduled for completion. New Clerk’s office employee Tiffani Roland was welcomed to the staff.
Long Range Planning (Darden) No report.
Roads (Al-Awar) No report.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Regarding the matter of golf carts on the road, BHMC responded no comment. The proposed resolution to allow golf carts on the road was not supported (Conlin/Hensinger/F with Conlin, Darden, Haitam, and Hensinger voting yes; Al-Awar, Holmes, Perry, Popp, and Smith voting no) It is illegal under state law to drive golf carts on village roads.
NEW BUSINESS None.
There being no further business or objections, the meeting was adjourned at 8:47 PM.
Janice K. Esch, Deputy Clerk Approved 12.12.22