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Minutes - 01/23/2012 - Streetscape Committee y�e OF 0A1r MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 23, 2012 MEETING OF THE OAK BROOK STREETSCAPE COMMITTEE OF THE VILLAGE OF OAK ® d BROOK APPROVED AS WRITTEN APRIL 24, 2012. 9 b� v FCOUN.T4, 1. CALL TO ORDER: The special meeting of the Oak Brook Streetscape Committee of the Village of Oak Brook was held in the West Wing Conference Room of the Butler Government Center and officially called to order by Chairman Jeff Kennedy at 3:06 pm. 2. ROLL CALL: Executive Secretary Donna Bettin called the roll with the following persons: PRESENT: Chairman Jeff Kennedy, Chuck Fleming, Linda Hunt (arrived at 3:07), Harry Peters, and Dan Wagner ABSENT: Linda Gonnella, Kathy Manofsky, Jeff Shay IN ATTENDANCE: Gopal Lalmalani, Village President; David Niemeyer, Village Manager; Donna Bettin, Executive Secretary; Robert Kallien, Community Development Director; Michael Hullihan, Public Works Director; Tim King and Rich Hitchcock from Hitchcock Design Group. Chairman Kennedy welcomed everyone to the meeting and had everyone in attendance introduce themselves. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES -NONE 4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS -NONE 5. NEW BUSINESS A. Overview—Purpose of Committee Chairman Kennedy gave an overview of the different streetscape improvements, and explained that the Committee has been in hiatus for a number of different reasons for the past three years. He explained that they are going to pick up where they left off, and that there are a number of different projects to discuss. He then introduced Rich Hitchcock and Tim King from Hitchcock Design Group and welcomed them to the meeting. B. Election of Vice Chairman Chairman Kennedy explained that the committee needs to elect a Vice Chairman. Chuck Fleming nominated Dan Wagner for Vice Chairman of this Committee. Motion by C. Fleming, seconded by H. Peters to elect Dan Wagner as Vice Chairman of the Streetscape Committee. ROLL CALL VOTE: Ayes: 4—Jeff Kennedy, Dan Wagner, Linda Hunt and Harry Peters Nays: 0—None Abstain: 1 —Chuck Fleming Absent: 3 —Linda Gonnella, Kathy Manofsky, and Jeff Shay. Motion carried. OAK BROOK STREETSCAPE COMMITTEE Minutes Page 1 of 5 Mtg.of January 23,2012 6. PENDING PROJECTS A. Spring Rd. to Salt Creek Public Works Director Mike Hullihan stated that 22nd St. from Spring Road to Salt Creek is the first streetscape project. He explained that some of the features have already been completed for this project including the light standards with the taller light poles and the period looking luminaries that were done as part of I-88 bridge widening project. He stated that the remaining portions are funded by Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program which includes installation of concrete planters in the median and the installation of shrubs and landscaping. He stated that the construction begins about June and should be finished this season. Chairman Kennedy stated this project is a committed project and was already approved by the Board. Mike Hullihan explained the next part of the project takes place from Salt Creek to I- 294 and north, and south on York Rd. It involves the replacement of the shoebox lights with the taller luminary lights. He explained the project would also include raised textured concrete medians with irrigation included. All this work is taking place in the IDOT right-of- way and includes drainage and street lighting as well. IDOT has certain standards that have to be met. One submission has been made to IDOT already. B. Other Designed Projects, Upcoming ITEP Grant Process Mike Hullihan explained that possible projects include; 22"d St. - Spring Rd. west to Rt. 83 also on 22"d Street, making lighting more uniform from I-294 west to Rt. 83. Spring Road north off of 22nd to 16th Street then over to Rt. 83 for replacement of the existing shoebox luminaries with similar appearing luminaries that incorporate LED lighting. Public Works proposed this type of lighting which is energy efficient and low maintenance. He explained that there is a difference between these lights and other lights in the Village. At 22nd St. and York Rd. a project entry sign had been designed and bid out but placed on hold. Up-lighting and landscaping were included in the entryway sign project. Chairman Kennedy explained to the Committee that when the Committee was revived, the Village Board indicated that they want the Committee to move forward and get things done. He explained that there is $1.9 million in the 2% streetscape fund in the budget for projects. The two projects that are ready to move forward are the monument sign and median work/right-of-way improvements from Salt Creek to I-294. This project has already been designed. If the Village applies for the ITEP grant, this project would have to be redesigned; how much time and money would the ITEP Grant funding process cost the Village? Tim King stated that the Salt Creek to Spring Road project was taken off the original plans to apply for ITEP grant, and that the entire process took 1.5 years from beginning to end. He explained that to redesign the plans to receive the ITEP funding would be minimum costs but could add to the length of the project. If the Village went through the permit route as the documents are now, it would be quicker. If the Village did do the ITEP process the project would probably not start until 2014. David Niemeyer explained that with or without the grant money the actual money is currently there and if the committee decides to go on with the projects in the future the $1.3 million is in the budget for 2012. The Hotel general managers would like to see more improvements closer to their properties within the Hotel District. Chairman Kennedy explained that when he spoke to the current Village Attorney the consensus was that the Village can complete work on streets in Oak Brook that lead to the hotels and use the hotel fund tax money. OAK BROOK STREETSCAPE COMMITTEE Minutes Page 2 of 5 Mtg.of January 23,2012 Mike Hullihan handed out a map that represents the hotel/motel district based on the Village Code and shows the corporate limits. He explained that if the boundary of something has changed in real time then it can be changed on the map. Jorie Blvd is in the hotel district, and McDonalds takes care of a lot of the maintenance on Jorie around their property. He explained they need to get a legal opinion that the map can be expanded to include more streets that may be part of the hotel district. Chairman Kennedy stated that the Committee wants to recommend to the Village to spend their money on the roadways in terms of streetscape design. He explained that as the Village begins to do streetscape improvements the improvements need to be done contiguously, so that it is continuous throughout. Mike Hullihan stated that it is important to create an atmosphere of unification, and that the streetscapes create a path to the mall or hotels. Dave Niemeyer explained that there is nothing in the budget allocated to residential streetscape because nothing specific had been discussed. He stated that ultimately they would like some direction in terms of what the priorities are. Chairman Kennedy stated in terms of actually doing projects, there are two on the table currently. One is East on 22nd St. from Salt Creek to I-294 and the other project is the gateway sign. He asked what the feelings were on terms of priorities. He stated that he believes that the Committee should lead with the median project, instead of the gateway sign because the gateway sign is somewhat more politicized. Village President Gopal Lalmalani stated that he does not believe they should be held hostage by the belief of a few people. Chuck Fleming stated that the next project should be the 22nd street streetscape beautification. Chairman Kennedy agreed with Chuck Fleming. Tim King stated that they can begin the process for another ITEP grant while they work on the 22nd street project. Harry Peters stated that the Village should apply for the ITEP grant for the additional designs. Chairman Kennedy stated that now two people agreed that the Committee should move forward while seeking an ITEP grant. Chairman Kennedy stated that he believe they should go forward with the ITEP grant because the reward is greater than the risk. Harry Peters explained that there are other things the Committee could do to move forward in order to make an impression in the Village. Chairman Kennedy asked what the Committee thought of Mike Hullihan's proposal to put LED bulbs in the existing shoebox lights. Discussion amongst the Committee ensued. Mike Hullihan stated that the Village would not have to meet state standards on Spring and 16th St. because those are Village streets and have more flexibility in choosing the different light fixtures. He stated that the lighting should be uniform throughout the mall area. Chairman Kennedy stated that he believes this is not something that they should rush into at this point and that they need a few more years of study in regards to how to achieve some unity. He believes that it would be premature to start a project on 16th and Spring Road around the shopping center without knowing what the center is going to do in terms of new lighting. The committee agreed to defer the subject of LED lighting. OAK BROOK STREETSCAPE COMMITTEE Minutes Page 3 of 5 Mtg.of January 23,2012 C. Walkway Discussion Chairman Kennedy explained that the Committee does need to look at the options for the east and south side of the shopping center and what they can do about the medians. He asked if it made sense to have the Hitchcock Group look at design possibilities there. Tim King stated that in the past the committee had talked about creating pedestrian walkways and lighted corners. Linda Hunt agreed and stated that she would love to see walkways to and from the mall and the hotels. Tim King explained that there were some brainstorming sessions for these areas and the ideas of continuing the sidewalk and light connections along with clearly defined crosswalks. He stated that because the Village is not going to reconstruct the medians, it would be hard to get a center area in the middle. Linda Hunt stated that anything that will help the Residence Inn, Doubletree and Marriott hotel guests from a safety standpoint would be a big help. Chairman Kennedy proposed that they recommend hiring the Hitchcock Design Group to make these walkways, and then perhaps they would get more support. He asked Linda Hunt to consult with her fellow hotel managers about their interest in better pedestrian connections to the shopping center. Mike Hullihan stated that the biggest obstacle will be building the sidewalks on private properties. Rich Hitchcock stated that the Village has the opportunity to start making progress on smaller projects and he urges the Committee to get started relatively soon in order to build momentum for their larger goals. Jeff Kennedy explained that the next step in the walkway discussion is to find out what the hotels input is on the issue. Harry Peters stated that he believes the tollway bridge is another issue to look into and that it should have more landscaping around it and more aggressive lighting inside the tunnel. 7. OTHER A. Disclosure of Interest Chairman Kennedy stated that if the Committee is discussing a project that benefits a particular member, then that must be disclosed to the Chairman. B. Date/Time of Future Meeting Chairman Kennedy asked the group if this was a good time for everyone to meet. The consensus is that afternoons at 3pm work for everyone. David Niemeyer asked if there was a desire to apply for a second ITEP grant. Chairman Kennedy stated that he would be concerned that we would dilute our efforts if we add a second project to the mix and believes we should concentrate on just one ITEP grant project at a time. OAK BROOK STREETSCAPE COMMITTEE Minutes Page 4 of 5 Mtg.of January 23,2012 ADJOURNMENT Motion by C. Flemming, seconded by H. Peters to adjourn the Special Meeting of the Streetscape Committee at 4:41 pm. ATTEST: rE David J. Niemeyer Village Manager Date OAK BROOK STREETSCAPE COMMITTEE Minutes Page 5 of 5 Mtg.of January 23,2012