MINUTES
Moraine Township Board of Trustees
Thursday, December 13, 2007 7:30 PM
Highwood City Hall, Council Chambers

MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING
December 13, 2007

The meeting was called to order at 7:35 PM, and upon roll call the following members were present: Supervisor Mari Barnes; Trustees Bryna Gamson, Margoth Moreno, Cynthia Plouché, and Jeff Zaluda. Also Present: Assessor Peter Koukos; Clerk Ellen Gussin; Director General Assistance Tracy Coleman; community members Janet Freed, David Neiman, Virginia Anderson, Peggy Orloff, and Harry Crane.

Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the Regular Meeting of November 15, 2007 stand approved as written.

Approval of Bills
Trustee Plouché moved, seconded by Trustee Gamson, approval of the bills for November 16 through 30. Upon roll call, motion carried.

Public Comment
None

Agency Presentations
Links – Virginia Anderson, Executive Director, and Peggy Orloff, Links Board member and long-time, clinic volunteer, passed out materials to the Board. Relationship Readiness is their program conducted in junior high school classrooms. Two other programs include Risky Business and Keeping in Balance. There have been some changes in the clinics particularly for young women, who are served through age 25. The clinic also serves young men through age 25 on a different night than women. HIV testing is now offered for anyone who requests; service receives cooperative governmental funding and is particularly needed because Evanston Board of Health discontinued the service. Deficit Reduction Act at Federal Government level has impacted the cost of birth control pills; what used to cost $20 is now up to $45. Links is working with Congressman Kirk’s office to try to get the funding reinstated, but in the meantime have switched to generic pills. The Pride Youth program provided for adolescents questioning their sexual orientation as well as for gays that have already come out offers group discussion, education, and leadership opportunities. Moraine Township is well-served by the Links clinic and counseling services as per the statistical sheet distributed. Ms. Orloff spoke about her volunteer experience, how fulfilling it is for her as a case worker, and what a valuable service Links provides to so many very apprehensive young women in need. Doctors and social workers provide a very safe environment for the women. Links’ focus this year is on fundraising, trying a variety of events. Trustee Zaluda asked about the coordination with Response Center and although serving different populations there is interaction; Trustee Gamson asked about transportation issues for Moraine residents which could be a continuing problem for some clients; and Trustee Moreno asked about bilingual programming of which there is none.

PADS Crisis Services, Inc. – David Neiman, Director of Development, passed out brochures. Supervisor Barnes said how pleased the Township is to have PADS present to the Board for the first time. David explained that most volunteers to PADS are Moraine Township residents. The primary focus of the organization is on the emergency rotating shelter, which operates on a seasonal basis from October 1 thru April. PADS continues to provide 12-month wrap-around services as well as its Beyond Shelter program to help clients avoid a relapse toward homelessness. Meals are provided year-round, including a bag lunch, hot breakfast, and hot dinner; 183,000 meals served last year. Unaccompanied minors and sex offenders are excluded. There is always on overflow, but no one is turned away. PADS operates a 42-bed facility in Waukegan where people can leave their belongings; this facility always experiences an overflow and clients are served on a rotating basis. Volunteers number 2,400 individuals each year, serving meals, making sure people are safe during the night, and offering client-advocacy (50% are former PADS clients.) Most clients suffer from alcoholism or drug addiction; PADS also does outreach to find clients on the street and try to bring them in, partnering with police and other governmental agencies. PADS was started as a crisis hotline on Christmas eve 1972, and it has evolved ever since. When shelters are not open during the summer months the day resource center serves a small group of clients upstairs of the administrative offices; this facility is called Safe Haven, and 24 chronically ill patients are given therapy, medication, and a place to be. Some clients come and go; many are people who have been on the street for 10 to 15 years. Gaining trust is an enormous challenge. Staff is extremely dedicated, and the Latino population has grown rapidly. Typically there is a 60/40% male to female ratio, but the number of women has spiked to almost 50%. One of the major tangibles that PADS provides is an address for homeless to receive mail, their link to society. Administrative costs for the organization are held to no more than 11%. "Pennies for PADS" is a program for school children to raise money; they just received a check for $900 from Deerfield High School.

Public Hearing for Tax Levy Year 2007 (to be collected in 2008 based upon 2007 assessment)
Supervisor Barnes asked for a roll call to be taken, and will all Board members present called for public comment on the tax levy. Hearing no speakers, Trustee Plouché moved, and Trustee Moreno seconded, closing of the public hearing.

Supervisor Barnes then led discussion among Board advising that a woman, who had seen the ad in the Pioneer Press, had called the office asking what the assessment meant to her taxes. Assessor Koukos commented that the two calls received were the first ever that he knew of since becoming Assessor and explained how minimal the effect of the increased levy is on individual tax bills. The levy to be requested for Moraine Township is 9.7%, but Assessor Koukos explained that the actual increase will be closer to 4%. Using his tax bill as an example the increase represents a $4 increase from approximately $100 to $104. Non home-rule units of government are virtually obligated to ask for the maximum. Supervisor Barnes asked if there were any questions and entertained a motion to approve the tax levy. Trustee Zaluda moved, seconded by Trustee Plouché, that the levy be approved. Upon roll call, motion passed.

Assessor’s Report
Assessor Koukos reported that 1,377 appeals were filed. The office has been extremely busy meeting client schedules, and has worked weekends and evenings as necessary. Assessor Koukos has met with attorneys prior to the appeal meeting date and attended most of the hearings. Board of Review has been exemplary -- even better than last year -- exhibiting extreme consideration, in the Assessor’s view. Appeals for both residential and commercial properties will probably go through February 8 or 13. Over 13,000 properties are assessed each year, and the approximate 10% appeal rate represents a vast reduction over past years. Assessments are based on a rolling average of the past three years of home sales. Assessor Koukos also reported that there were no bids on the property on 3500 Western that had been for sale on auction earlier this month; the owner is interested in any bids from the Township.

Supervisor’s Report
Supervisor Barnes advised that she will pursue consideration of the 3500 Western property after the holidays, exploring whether the building is worthy of consideration for the Township to purchase for relocation of the Township offices. There will need to be a special meeting; also consideration should be given to potential rental-income from other agencies. Trustee Gamson suggested the Township must first address the prudence of the Township’s potential purchase of a building.

Supervisor Barnes suggested a meeting to discuss the upcoming budget process, which will be held on Wednesday, January 9, at 4:00 PM in the Township offices. This meeting will replace the January 10 previously-scheduled meeting.

Office has been very busy getting the Phyllis Santullano drive ready for distribution next week, December 20-22 at Trinity Church on Thursday at 2 PM, Friday, 3 to 7 PM, and Saturday, 9 to 1 PM. Volunteers are needed to help with organization and the processing of the 600 gifts that are to come in as donations.

Committee Reports
Talk of the Township(sm) Newsletter went out November 30th and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. The cost per issue is $6,500. Distribution includes all property owners, and the Township continues to address to individual renters as thoroughly as possible. Township Web statistics reveal a spike during the period that people were trying to check their property assessments; also a lot of old minutes are being read.

Food Pantry – school food drives have helped keep shelves stocked. Trustee Moreno did some reorganization with volunteers yesterday.

Clothes Closet – steady flow in and out

Grant Committee is addressing whether there should be a policy recommended to the Board eliminating grants to sectarian organizations. Trustee Zaluda expressed his strong objection to such a recommendation because of the support the Township receives from many sectarian organizations.

Human Relations Commission – Trustee Plouché attended the mandatory commissioner training offered by the City of Highland Park, which she thought was quite informative and well-conducted, mostly by the City Manager. Among other improvements, the City is moving toward electronic transmission of documents to become Greener.

Old Business
Trustee Gamson spoke to the Volunteer Pool about the previously-tabled Mentoring Project discussed by the Board. She also commented that Big Brothers and Sisters operates in Lake County and has a good model that could be used to provide similar services to older people. She will continue to speak to Volunteer Pool about the possibilities of developing such a program.

New Business
Moraine Township will defer its holiday party to Friday, January 11. The Clerk announced the upcoming voting dates, available on the Township and Lake County websites.

Adjournment
With no further business to conduct, Trustee Zaluda moved, seconded by Trustee Plouché, the meeting be adjourned at 9:15 PM. Motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,

_______________________
Ellen S. Gussin, Moraine Township Clerk

 

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