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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 07/24/2012 - Board of Trustees (2) MINUTES OF THE JULY 24, 2012 REGULAR CLOSED MEETING OF THE PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK APPROVED AS WRITTEN OR AMENDED ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2012. 1. CALL TO ORDER The Closed Meeting of July 24, 2012 of the Village Board of Trustees was called to order by President Gopal G. Lalmalani in the Upper Level Conference Room of the Butler Government Center at 10:01 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL: The Village Clerk Charlotte Pruss called the roll with the following persons PRESENT: President Gopal G. Lalmalani, Trustee Stelios Aktipis, Trustee Michael Manzo, Trustee Mark Moy, Trustee Gerald Wolin, Trustee Asif Yusuf, Trustee Elaine Zannis ABSENT: IN ATTENDANCE: Village Manager Dave Niemeyer, Village Attorney Peter Friedman 3. TO DISCUSS APPOINTMENT, EMPLOYMENT, COMPENSATION, DISCIPLINE, PERFORMANCE, OR DISMISSAL OF SPECIFIC EMPLOYEES OF THE PUBLIC BODY PURSUANT TO SECTION 2C(1) OF THE ILLINOIS OPEN MEETINGS ACT, RESPECTIVELY Village Manager Niemeyer and Village Attorney Friedman briefly exited the meeting at approximately 10:06 p.m. A. Manager’s Evaluation and Goals Trustee Zannis discussed the evaluation form and stated that she would like to see more quantitative measurable results as well as qualitative and also some professional development be included. She stated that she is not really in favor of the format and stated that she had no input in this and Trustee Manzo replied to this and said that this was only half of the evaluation. It was stated that there are five tentative goals suggested by Village Manager Niemeyer, including customer service with very measurable structured goals. The Baldrige Award was discussed and also professional development of staff and reduction of legal bills as goals. It was also discussed whether to include residents in this process and it was decided not to do so and also to change the evaluation team to Trustees Wolin and Yusuf. Village Manager Niemeyer re-entered the meeting at approximately 10:30 p.m. Village Attorney Friedman re-entered the meeting at approximately 10:31 p.m. President Lalmalani summarized the discussion above and Trustee Wolin stated that the first step is figure out the format, perhaps obtaining five appraisal forms from comparable communities. It was suggested getting back to the Board with goals and a format within thirty to sixty days. 4. TO CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING PENDING, PROBABLE, OR IMMINENT LITIGATION MATTERS PURSUANT TO SECTION 2C(11) OF THE ILLINOIS OPEN MEETINGS ACT, RESPECTIVELY A. Westmont 35th & Cass Litigation Update Village Attorney Friedman reviewed the discussion at the last meeting regarding this matter and his concern with the “covenant” language. He stated that Attorney Kubiesa has now agreed to Not Released - 5/13/14 Village of Oak Brook Regular Closed Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 3 July 24, 2012 remove that language and the text now reads: “The parties acknowledge that the deed restriction runs with the land, is enforceable and restricts the use of the subject property to passive park purposes.” He also discussed the executive director’s letter and that he feels it should not be included because it is more political in nature. He stated that if the previous text is amended and the letter is not included, he would agree to the settlement terms. In response to a previous question about the Butlers assigning their rights to the Village, Village Attorney Friedman stated that this probably could only have been done at the time of the signing of the covenant. No objections were expressed regarding settlement per the above. B. New Peterson Litigation Update Village Attorney Friedman updated the Board on the litigation recently filed and stated that it does not appear that it is an overly strong case. He affirmed that there is no coverage for punitive damages against the defendants. There was discussion regarding why the other two BFPC Commissioners were not named as defendants or the BFPC as a whole. C. SLEP Investigation Village Manager Niemeyer discussed that there are two issues regarding the investigation – one being finalizing the scope of the investigation and the second is to determine what investigators to interview. He suggested bringing all the Trustees’ concerns to the investigator hired and having them provide an estimate, a maximum scope which could be narrowed due to difficulty and cost. Trustee Wolin suggested that some questions may need to be passed by because of pending litigation. Patrick Collins’ fees were discussed, as well as Skinner’s and Seith’s rates and that a flat rate would be desirable. Trustee Zannis expressed her concerns about perceptions and not wanting to recuse herself from the process. Trustee Aktipis stated that the most important question is whether there has been any unethical behavior on the part of the Trustees at that time. Trustees Moy and Yusuf suggested capping the investigation at $20,000 to $25,000 and not tainting the public view. Trustee Manzo suggested saving on the costs by having staff extract excerpts from board meeting tapes and explained his reasons for believing the Trustees involved at the time should recuse themselves. President Lalmalani stressed the importance of harmony and functioning as a team. Trustee Aktipis responded to comments made and stated that he does not want to recuse himself. Trustee Zannis requested that the Board not talk about the investigation in open forum until it is completed and not casting aspersions about each other. Opinions were expressed about this and conflicts of interest. General consensus on conduct during the meetings. Village Manager Niemeyer suggested going through the interviews and determining the scope from the investigators’ responses and then negotiating the costs of the investigation after the investigator is selected. He stated he would determine categories of the suggested questions and eliminate the redundancies and then provide the Board with a redline list of questions. 5. DISCUSSION OF MINUTES OF MEETINGS LAWFULLY CLOSED UNDER THIS ACT, PURSUANT TO SECTION 2c(1) OF THE ILLINOIS OPEN MEETINGS ACT, RESPECTIVELY A. Approval of Closed Meeting Minutes Some discussion ensued regarding the content of the Minutes and statements made about Trustees’ investigator questions that were not included and were not reflected in the Minutes. 6. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Trustee Wolin, seconded by Trustee Manzo, to adjourn the Closed Meeting and Reconvene the Special Board of Trustees Meeting. VOICE VOTE: Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 11:29 p.m. Village of Oak Brook Regular Closed Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 3 July 24, 2012 ATTEST: Charlotte K. Pruss Village Clerk Village of Oak Brook Regular Closed Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 3 July 24, 2012