Minutes - 06/06/2005 - Board of TrusteesMINUTES OF THE JUNE 6, 2005 SPECIAL MEETING
OF THE PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF
THE VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK APPROVED AS
WRITTEN ON JUNE 285 2005.
1. CALL TO ORDER:
The Special Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees was called to order by
President Quinlan in the Samuel E. Dean Board Room of the Butler
Government Center at 6:05 p.m. as requested by President Quinlan. Pledge of
Allegiance was given.
2. ROLL CALL:
Deputy Village Clerk Carol Harty called the roll:
PRESENT: Trustees Stelios Aktipis, John W. Craig, Jeffrey Kennedy, Kathryn
Manofsky, Robert Sanford and Asif Yusuf.
ABSENT: None.
IN ATTENDANCE: Richard Boehm, Village Manager; Robert Kallien,
Director of Community Development and Darrell J. Langlois, Finance Director.
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES — None presented.
4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
A. OAK BROOK PROMENADE REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT
President Quinlan announced that the public hearing on the Oak Brook
Promenade Redevelopment Project had been held according to State Statutes. A
joint review has been held and the public hearing was held on May 10, 2005.
He complimented the Board for their efforts in addressing this important issue
as the Board has asked for expert opinions on the matter and received them
accordingly. He explained the Board has asked for an opportunity, when the
vote is taken, to discuss why they voted on the matter as presented. He
indicated that this is the biggest decision the Board of Trustees has faced for
fifteen to twenty years. He offered that he is confident that regardless of the
outcome of the meeting that the Board will make the right decision based upon
the amount of research and due diligence of the Board.
1) Discussion and Possible Passage of An Ordinance Approving the Village of
Oak Brook TIF #1 Butterfield- Meyers Road Redevelopment Plan and Project
Trustee Aktipis asked to make a brief comment at this time. He indicated that it
his intention at the meeting to recuse himself from the discussion of the
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4. A. 1)
particular ordinances that would be presented to the Board. He has been the
beneficiary of a TIF in another community. Although the outcome of this
particular TIF will have no bearing at all in terms of any financial interest or
financial benefit that may or may not occur to him, he believes that a matter of
at least appearances, he does not want to give the slightest notion that he would
have any benefit from the manner in which this matter would be disposed at the
meeting. This is the main reason why he would like to recuse himself from the
discussion and from the vote. He, however, stated that he has at the last Board
meeting made a minor contribution to the process by suggesting to the Board
members, based on his experience, the manner by which they could best inform
themselves and how best they could proceed with the evaluation of the project
and the need of the TIF. His urging at that time was that they would need to
engage an independent consultant that is experienced in the area of appraisals
that has an appraiser on the staff and would develop numbers independently
that could be used to evaluate the need for a TIF. With that, Trustee Aktipis
left the table.
President Quinlan indicated that Trustee Atkipis did not need to leave the table
in recusing himself from the vote as this is not required. Trustee Aktipis stated
that he would rather do this.
President Quinlan asked for a motion for the passage of Ordinance 2005 -TX-
TIF -EX4 -S -1120, "An Ordinance Approving the Village of Oak Brook TIF #1
Butterfield- Meyers Road Redevelopment Plan and Project."
Motion by Trustee Manofsky, seconded by Trustee Kennedy, for passage of
Ordinance 2005 -TX- TIF -EX4 -S -1120, An Ordinance Approving the Village of
Oak Brook TIF #1 Butterfield- Meyers Road Redevelopment Plan and Project."
Trustee Sanford explained what process he went through in reviewing a TIF.
He indicated that when Oak Brook was considered blighted in an area his first
reaction was that this was not correct. He felt for himself and residents of Oak
Brook to make sure that any decision that he made was going to be a correct
decision based on facts. He went through a checklist of items he addressed
which are as follows: the word "blight" is a legal term, which means a very
specific hardship for a specific property in a community. Lake Forest,
Barrington and Highland Park have all had TIF's without any adverse affects.
He considered the term "blight" as an economic tool. He questioned if NAI
Hiffman is paying too much for the land. Trustees Yusuf and Kennedy with
Manager Boehm researched for an independent appraisal resulting in that the
numbers that were presented to the Board of Trustees were rational. He
indicated this is only the first proposal that has been presented on this property
and why not wait to see what the next developer may offer but they might not
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4. A. 1)
want a TIF. He met with Mr. Hiffman and discussed the alternative of letting
the property be used as an office building, lower the rents and see what the
market does at some point in the future. What is the best and highest use of that
property today? Residents mentioned to him if the Village needs more traffic
on 22p Street. A mall compared to an office building would be preferential.
As an office building has peek traffic in the morning and at night while there is
diluted traffic all day at a mall. He noted that the hardships described by the
Hiffman organization were known ahead of time, why should they be reflected
in the price. The price of the land should be reduced due to the hardships. The
hardships are caused by the retention pond, the easements and restrictions on
that property that make the property unique and those hardships are very
specific to that property in terms of how it can be used. The extensive cost in
removing the buildings in order to save the underground garages, which also
will be enlarged. Another area of concern for him was Dr. Martin's comments
from the Downers Grove School District is why should the Village reduce the
taxes for the school districts and park district. If the buildings were to stay as
office buildings, the assessment would go down while at least this will stabilize
the taxes, which will not hurt those entities from this standpoint. Another
concern of his was Oak Brook's lack of a property tax, which should be a great
incentive for a developer without a need for a TIF. However, when he studied
this, the high standards of the complex being developed meets and exceeds Oak
Brook's standards. With these standards, there are more expensive buildings to
build. Another concern discussed by the Board was why have a competitor for
the Oak Brook Shopping Center. The Oak Brook Shopping Center does not
have a problem with this and would even like it closer. His last concern was
would the Village receive an avalanche of TIF's even though it is an economic
tool to be used. He does not believe this will happen as the constraints on the
property are so narrow and unique to that property. He expressed his
satisfaction that the standards of a TIF are met in terms of hardship and he
wanted to explain his process of accepting the proposal.
Trustee Craig also commented on Trustee Sanford's comment of an avalanche
of TIF's being presented to the Village. He remarked that he had a business in
Chicago that had to support a TIF in the area of his business as it did affect his
prices and taxes paid. He asked what would happen if this were to occur in
School District 53, where he is a resident, of a possible TIF where an entity
could prove that due to high vacancies in buildings they have a blighted area. If
it is granted here, then it could be granted to someone in School District 53
which would increase his school taxes.
President Quinlan explained in this particular situation that this is an extremely
unique situation as it addresses this property. For that situation to be re- created
is extremely unlikely. The (EAV) equalized assessed valuation has continued
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4. A. 1)
to decline. The projections for that are to either continue decline or best remain
flat. Approving a TIF in this situation does not hurt the school district based on
the projections. In this situation, the school district will be kept whole or even
made better by this project. If the EAV continues to decline, so does their tax
base. If it holds flat, then it is nothing different that what the Board is doing by
enacting the TIF. On the long term, fifteen years from now, the school district
will receive a significant incremental income which will be received as long as
the project is operating that will benefit them greatly. If that would occur in the
Butler School District or Salt Creek School District, he would treat them all the
same. He would expect the Board would go through the same due diligence on
a case by case basis that was done on this project.
Trustee Yusuf offered that it doesn't matter which school district it is located
in, that the Board has the same obligation to evaluate the need for this and the
affect. The impact of the school districts is that they don't receive a wind fall
that would have resulted from this development taking place but if the
assistance is necessary to make it happen, then they wouldn't get the windfall
anyway. This is the key question, if this project isn't done, will this
development go forward and yield benefits to the school districts, park district,
the county and the Village in terms of sales tax. The school district is giving up
something that they could have potentially received if the development would
have happened without the TIF District. If the answer is no it wouldn't have
happened, then again the value is going to continue to slide, the current building
is obsolete which meets the statutory requirements for "blighted" after thorough
review. This value will keep going down.
President Quinlan, noted for the record, that all of the taxing bodies were
invited to participate in the Joint Review Board and 80% voted in favor of this.
Trustee Kennedy indicated that he has spoken with other local officials in
communities and he believes that Oak Brook has put the developer through one
of the most highest and rigorous burdens of proof that any community around
has done. He agrees that due diligence was done by this Board as they hired a
highly respected financial expert of community development that has worked
on both municipal and the developer side. The Board hired a highly
recommended real estate appraiser from Oak Brook to view comparables.
Trustee Sanford and he took a tour of the site reviewing the buildings and the
various factors that rendered the buildings obsolete. Due diligence has been
done and therefore the Board can make a very confident decision. He believes
that this is a uniquely disadvantaged property. Previously at a Village Board
meeting he had asked Director of Community Development Kallien and Village
Engineer Durfey if there were other properties in Oak Brook that are so
substantially consumed by an on -line water detention pond, or other
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK Minutes Page 4 of 9 June 6, 2005
4. A. 1)
commercial properties that has underground parking garages that may have to
preserve if the buildings were demolished. The answer was no to these
questions as this property is unique. That retention pond consumes almost 25%
of the site and if the site is redeveloped, regardless of residential, retail or
commercial, from his reading of the eligibility study and his tour of the
buildings that site to become a productive part of this community is going to
have to be redeveloped by demolition of those buildings and reconstruction.
When redevelopment occurs, that retention pond automatically becomes subject
to new requirements. It will have to be increased by approximately a 6 -acre
feet capacity or 15% of its present capacity. It will have to be enlarged laterally
or deepened which is expensive. That pond handles stormwater run -off from
400 acres to the north. The property is substantially 'devoted to the public
interest as it is an important part of regional stormwater control. The expansion
of the pond is an extraordinary cost to this project that would occur virtually
never again in Oak Brook. The parking realistically is less than 55% buildable
once the retention pond is taken out, the substantial easements of
Commonwealth Edison and Northern Illinois Gas and the Village's set back
requirements. A commercially realistic shopping center requires underground
parking on that site in order to comply with the Village Code and ordinances.
The underground parking garages must be preserved and doubled in size.
These are unique factors to this property, which will not occur in any other
properties in Oak Brook. He believes that this property is uniquely burdened
with governmental responsibility and regulation because of the retention pond
as the property cannot be expanded due to the Tollway, Meyers Road,
Butterfield Road and the electrical substation for Commonwealth Edison. He
agrees with Trustee Sanford and President Quinlan that those properties today
are highly underutilized, non - productive and they will not become productive
unless they are redeveloped. The equalized assessed valuation (EAV) of them
has gone down 7% in the last three years. This year, when the property was
reassessed, the decline was 6 %. The assessed evaluation of those properties is
beginning to nose dive which impacts the school districts, park district, etc.
which will not be reversed unless those properties are redeveloped. He believes
that the properties will not be redeveloped because of the unique limitations
they have without some kind of financial assistance from government. He
thinks the TIF will better protect the school districts as only one taxing
jurisdiction out of twelve had an objection to this. He indicated that the school
districts will be better off with this project and this project is totally consistent
with the class and elegance of Oak Brook. It will fit perfectly with the
community and if successful it could produce potentially $1,000,000 annually
in sales tax revenue to this Village. This would be a 8% to 9% of our current
sales tax stream. He has studied this proposal before he was even elected,
having gone through the analysis, having asked many questions of Attorney
Mary Reardon and the Hiffman group and had them answered, asked questions
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK Minutes Page 5 of 9 June 6, 2005
4. A. 1)
of the Village's staff as he then suggested that this was a "no brainer"
Trustee Manofsky explained that when she was a candidate, she had stated that
she would not vote on this issue as her family and her are also recipients of TIF
funds. Her husband is a partner with Mr. Hiffman on approximately twenty
buildings but she did want the record to show that they are not involved in this
project at all. The buildings they own with Mr. Hiffman are all industrial
properties and most of them are in South Carolina. She wanted to be on the
record for having said this and she will excuse herself from voting.
ROLL CALL VOTE:
Ayes: 4 - Trustee Craig, Kennedy, Sanford and Yusuf.
Nays: 0 - None.
Absent: 0 -None.
Trustees Aktipis and Manofsky recused themselves from voting.
2) Discussion and Possible Passage of An Ordinance Designating the Village
of Oak Brook TIF #1 Butterfield - Meyers Road Redevelopment Project Area
President requested a motion for passage of Ordinance 2005- TIF -EX4 -S -1121,
"An Ordinance Designating the Village of Oak Brook TIF #1 Butterfield -
Meyers Road Redevelopment Project Area "
Motion by Trustee Kennedy, seconded by Trustee Yusuf, to approve passage of
Ordinance 2005- TIF -EX4 -S -1121, "An Ordinance Designating the Village of
Oak Brook TIF #1 Butterfield- Meyers Road Redevelopment Project Area."
ROLL CALL VOTE:
Ayes. 4 - Trustee Craig, Kennedy, Sanford and Yusuf.
Nays: 0 - None.
Absent: 0 -None.
Trustees Aktipis and Manofsky recused themselves from voting.
3) Discussion and Possible Passage of An Ordinance Adopting Tax Increment
Financing for the Village of Oak Brook, Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois, in
Connection with the Designation of the Village of Oak Brook TIF # 1
Butterfield- Meyers Road Redevelopment Project Area
President Quinlan sought a motion for passage of Ordinance 2005- TIF- EX3 -S-
1122, "An Ordinance Adopting Tax Increment Financing for the Village of Oak
Brook, Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois, in Connection witht Designation of
the Village of Oak Brook TIF # 1 Butterfield- Meyers Road Redevelopment
Project Area."
Motion by Trustee Kennedy, seconded by Trustee Yusuf, to approve passage of
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK Minutes Page 6 of 9 June 6, 2005
4. A. 3)
Ordinance 2005 - TIF -EX3 -S -1122, "An Ordinance Adopting Tax Increment
Financing for the Village of Oak Brook, Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois, in
Connection with Designation of the Village of Oak Brook TIF #1 Butterfield -
Meyers Road Redevelopment Project Area."
ROLL CALL VOTE:
Ayes: 4 - Trustee Craig, Kennedy, Sanford and Yusuf.
Nays: 0 - None.
Absent: 0 -None.
Trustees Aktipis and Manofsky recused themselves from voting.
4) Discussion and Possible Passage of An Ordinance of the Village of Oak
Brook, Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois, Providing for the Issuance of a
Not -to- Exceed $4,250,000 Tax Increment Revenue Note Oak Brook
Promenade Redevelopment Project, Series 2005, and Pledging Certain
Incremental Property Tax Revenues to the Payment Thereof.
President Quinlan sought a motion for passage of Ordinance 2005- TIF - EX2 -S-
1123, "An Ordinance of the Village of Oak Brook, Cook and DuPage Counties,
Illinois, Providing for the Issuance of a Not -to- Exceed $4,250,000 Tax
Increment Revenue Note Oak Brook Promenade Redevelopment Project, Series
2005, and Pledging Certain Incremental Property Tax Revenues to the Payment
Thereof."
Motion by Trustee Manofsky, seconded by Trustee Yusuf, to approve passage
of Ordinance 2005- TIF -EX2 -S -1123, "An Ordinance of the Village of Oak
Brook, Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois, Providing for the Issuance of a
Not -to- Exceed $4,250,000 Tax Increment Revenue Note Oak Brook
Promenade Redevelopment Project, Series 2005, and Pledging Certain
Incremental Property Tax Revenues to the Payment Thereof."
Trustee Sanford asked that the Village give the highest set of standards and
greatest propriety when dealing with the TIF. One of the important things is
that the Board is excluded from participating in the TIF financially or any way
benefiting from it. One area included in Section 4 refers to designated officers
being designated to approve the bills submitted by NAI Hiffman. The
designated officers would be the Village President, the Clerk or Treasurer or
designees or signs He proposed that this would be amended to include not
only the designee from the Village of Oak Brook but also a member of the
Board of Trustees. He recommended that Trustee Kennedy be given that
designation if the Board concurred with this as being prudent.
President Quinlan suggested that rather than designating Trustee Kennedy; he
recommended the liaison Trustee. It would include the Village President, the
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4. A. 4)
Planning Liaison Trustee and the Village Treasurer. Trustee Manofsky
accepted the friendly amendment as well as Trustee Yusuf.
Motion by Trustee Manofsky, seconded by Trustee Yusuf, to approve passage
of Ordinance 2005- TIF -EX2 -S -1123, "An Ordinance of the Village of Oak
Brook, Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois, Providing for the Issuance of a
Not -to- Exceed $4,250,000 Tax Increment Revenue Note Oak Brook
Promenade Redevelopment Project, Series 2005, and Pledging Certain
Incremental Property Tax Revenues to the Payment Thereof' and amend
Section 4 designated officers to include the Village President, Village Treasurer
and the Planning Liaison Trustee.
ROLL CALL VOTE:
Ayes: 4 - Trustee Craig, Kennedy, Sanford and Yusuf.
Nays: 0 - None.
Absent: 0 -None.
Trustees Aktipis and Manofsky recused themselves from voting.
5) Consideration and Passage of An Ordinance of the Village of Oak Brook,
Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois, Authorizing the Negotiation and
Execution of a Redevelopment Agreement for the Oak Brook Promenade
Redevelopment Project
President Quinlan sought a motion for passage of Ordinance 2005-AG- EXI -S-
1124, "An Ordinance of the Village of Oak Brook, Cook and DuPage Counties,
Illinois, Authorizing the Negotiation and Execution of a Redevelopment
Agreement for the Oak Brook Promenade Redevelopment Project."
Motion by Trustee Kennedy, seconded by Trustee Yusuf, to approve passage of
Ordinance 2005 -AG- EXI -S -1124, "An Ordinance of the Village of Oak Brook,
Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois, Authorizing the Negotiation and
Execution of a Redevelopment Agreement for the Oak Brook Promenade
Redevelopment Project."
Trustee Kennedy explained that he has discussed with Village Attorney
Kubiesa and Hiffman Attorney Mary Reardon that the proposed development
agreement is subject to some future changes. His motion is to approve in
concept and form subject to negotiation between the Village Attorney, the
Attorney for NAI Hiffman, etc.
Motion by Trustee Kennedy, seconded by Trustee Yusuf, to approve in concept
and form Ordinance 2005 -AG -EXI -S -1124, "An Ordinance of the Village of
Oak Brook, Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois, Authorizing the Negotiation
and Execution of a Redevelopment Agreement for the Oak Brook Promenade
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK Minutes Page 8 of 9 June 6, 2005
4. A. 5)
Redevelopment Project" subject to negotiation between the Village Attorney,
the Attorney for NAI Hiffman, etc.
ROLL CALL VOTE:
Ayes: 4 - Trustee Craig, Kennedy, Sanford and Yusuf.
Nays: 0 - None.
Absent: 0 -None.
Trustees Aktipis and Manofsky recused themselves from voting
Attorney Mary Reardon, on behalf of NAI Hiffman, thanked the Board of
Trustees for their vote and confidence in the proposed project. President
Quinlan also, on behalf of the Village Board, acknowledged appreciating
working with the developer and her and looked forward to continue working in
years to come.
5. NEW BUSINESS: - None presented
6. ADJOURNMENT:
Motion by Trustee Craig, seconded by Trustee Kennedy, to adjourn the special
meeting at 6:40 p.m. VOICE VOTE: Motion carried.
ATTEST:
s /Carol L. Harty
Carol Harty
Deputy Village Clerk
VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK Minutes Page 9 of 9 June 6, 2005