MINUTES
Moraine Township Board of Trustees
Thursday, September 14, 2006 5:00 PM
Township Office

MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING
September 14, 2006

The meeting was called to order at 5:04 PM, and upon roll call the following members were present: Supervisor Mari Barnes and Trustees Bryna Gamson, Margoth Moreno, Jeffery Zaluda, and Cynthia Plouché via phone. Also Present: Chief Deputy Assessor Trish Lenzini, Director of General Assistance Tracy Coleman; community members Janet Freed, Patricia Powers and Shelia Platt. Assessor Pete Koukos and Clerk Ellen Gussin were absent.

Approval of Minutes
Trustee Moreno asked that a correction be made to the August 24, 2006 minutes to read "Trustee" not "Trustees" at the Ravinia Festival on August 20, 2006. So noted, and the Regular Meeting Minutes of August 24, 2006 stand as corrected.

Approval of Bills
Trustee Zaluda moved, seconded by Trustee Gamson, approval of the bills. Upon roll call, motion carried.

Public Comment
None

Assessor's Report
Chief Deputy Assessor Trish Lenzini reported that the Assessor's Office books were closed yesterday, September 13, 2006, and the (blue cards) should be published by September 28th. The Deputy Chief Assessor also commented that the closing of the books has been the earliest in twenty years.

Trustee Zaluda commented that the county board approved the restricted value instead of the true market values for the Community Land Trust properties.

Supervisor's Report
•  Grants: We are booked through the end of the year for two agencies to speak at each Thursday evening meeting
•  Employee Manual: Tabled until next month's meeting for trustees to look over some of the proposed amendments.
•  Annual Supervisors Dinner: This year’s dinner will be hosted by Shields Township.
•  A Safe Place: October is A Safe Place awareness month.
•  Transportation: Next Wednesday evening, September 20th, is the transportation summit for LCTA; Supervisor cannot attend and asked for a trustee to go in her place.
•  Pantry Plants Garden: Vegetables are now ripe for harvest. Peppers and tomatoes were picked and brought back to the Food Pantry for distribution. Supervisor Barnes stated that we are still in need of volunteers for weeding, watering and the harvesting of the garden, and invites the public to join the effort.

Committee Reports
•  Food Pantry:  Supervisor Barnes noted the pantry is well stocked and there will be a group of volunteers next week
•  Transportation: Supervisor Barnes reported that our Moraine Door-to-Door van is very busy. Also, the City of Highland Park approved the amendments to the taxi ordinance suggested by the Township's Transportation committee. Taxi companies will have all restrictions on senior fares removed, and the expectation is that competition among cab companies will drive the overall rates for seniors down.
•  Grants: Trustee Gamson said that last year's grant application guidelines could use some editing, now that we've experienced the whole process. She hopes to have suggestions for the Board and from the Board very soon, so that the 2007 process will be in place earlier than last year.
•  Holiday charitable activities: Supervisor Barnes would like to set up a meeting with the various committees in the Township who conduct charitable drives, as was done last year. One suggestion was to bring in families who are the recipients of these programs and have them be part of a committee.
•  Newsletter: Trustee Gamson reported we are on target for a mid-fall newsletter. She has been working on the mailing list, which is somewhat problematic due to irregular municipal boundaries; she is projecting a mailing to over 11,000 households. Trustees were asked to make suggestions for the newsletter content.

Old Business
None

New Business
Supervisor Barnes received a call from the Northern Illinois Food Bank stating that we need to be recognized as a 501(c)(3) entity in order for us to receive goods from them regardless of our governmental-agency status. Trustees expressed surprise and disbelief at this assertion. Supervisor Barnes said she would look into the matter, including the possibility of having other townships that have food pantry nonprofit status sponsor us.

Adjournment
With no further business to conduct, Trustee Zaluda moved, seconded by Trustee Moreno, the meeting be adjourned at 5:52 PM. Motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,

_______________________
Tracy Coleman, substituting for Clerk Gussin

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