Summary of ordinances, resolutions, and non-routine matters considered by the Board of Trustees from the meeting minutes of October 20, November 3, 17 and December 1.

December 1

Police Report
Chief Dayno listed the department activity since the November 17, 2009 Board of Trustees meeting. There were two 911 hang ups, ten accidents, 17 alarms, one complaint about animals, 17 fire assists, four other agency assists, two burglaries, one child safety seat installation, two crime prevention notices, one criminal damage to property, three driving complaints, one DUI, two fraudulent activities, one juvenile problem, two vehicle or residential lockouts, nine motorist assists, one open burning, one parking complaint, 12 suspicious circumstances, one theft, eight case reports, one crime prevention notice, four consumption of alcohol and one well being check. There were 69 traffic stops with 38 citations issued to 32 persons. There were four consumption of alcohol by a minor arrests and one telephone threat arrest. There are eight houses currently on the House Watch list that are regularly checked.

Fire Department Report
Assistant Chief Ugaste reported the call volume within the Village through November 30, 2009. There were three fire calls, 22 paramedic calls and ten other calls for a total of 35 calls in November. There were 434 fire department calls year to date.

Aproval of General Fund Transfer to Police, Water and Sewer Funds
Before the end of each fiscal year, as specified in the Village Appropriations Ordinance, and according to strict auditing standards, funds should be transferred from the Village's General Fund to replenish the Police, Water and Sewer Funds. The Board approved the transfer of $190,000 from the General Fund to the Sewer Fund, $170,000 to the Water Fund and $110,000 to the Police Fund.

Aproval of Tax Levy Ordinance
Mayor Pro Tem Svatik explained that the Board of Trustees approved the Appropriations Ordinance in March of this year and approved the Police budget at the last Board meeting. The amount of the tax levy is calculated by combining the total taxes minus the amount needed to meet Ordinance requirements. Village Attorney Jack Siegel explained that a Public Hearing was not required because the amount of the tax levy is less than five percent.

Building/Zoning
Trustee Graditor presented the Building Department Report. She stated the total construction value from November 1, 2008 thru November 30, 2008 was $126,300, generating fees of $7,079. There was one commercial remodel, one single family remodel, one home addition and miscellaneous other projects. The total construction value from November 1, 2009 through November 30, 2009 was $50,800, which generated fees of $1,054.

Drain/Solid Waste/Environmental
SWALCO puts forth a five-year plan update every four years. In 2004, it included a recommendation to include incineration as a possible means of solid waste disposal. The Lake County Board chose to delete that recommendation from the plan update. SWALCO's Executive Director believes land fills have capacity for only eight to ten years and wants to consider alternatives. In 2009, SWALCO put forth their plan update to investigate three alternatives including incineration, additional transfer stations and emerging technologies. The plan was adopted by the SWALCO Board and will go before the Lake County Board on December 8, 2009.

November 17

Urban Forest Management
Village Forester Chuck Stewart discussed five bids that were received for the removal of diseased elms on Village right-of-way and Village property and for the pruning or removal of hazardous trees on Village right-of-way. He recommended awarding the contract to Trees R Us, who submitted the lowest total bid for the requested work. The Board approved the bid and added that it was not to exceed $2,370.00.

Plan Commission Report on the Fencing Ordinance
Plan Commission Chairman David Niedelman stated that the Plan Commission has deliberated over four meetings and public hearings concerning a fencing ordinance. All meetings and public hearings were attended by the Board and many interested residents. Chairman Niedelman was comfortable in stating that everyone had the opportunity to speak. He stated that a big portion of the proposed draft Ordinance concerns deer fences. There was a lot of input from both sides of the issue and he believes the Commission did their best to come up with a fair compromise for the residents. He stated that not all residents would be happy because some wanted fences while others did not. Ch. Niedelman explained the Commission was driven by testimony from the DNR, which wants to see movement areas for deer. He noted many residents have spent a lot of money on their yards and feel there is a great sensitivity to protect the woodlands. Ch. Niedelman noted the Commissioners wanted the Board to strongly consider improving financial aid with respect to buckthorn and garlic mustard removal, and that the RPC also came up with a lot of strong suggestions to preserve the woodlands. Ch. Niedelman explained one of the big discussions concerned deer, specifically, culling the deer. This is an emotional issue and the Plan Commission believes every option should be looked at. He noted that a letter was written by the Riverwoods Environmental Committee which stated that the Plan Commission was not charged with considering the deer issue. Ch. Niedelman stated that was incorrect; however, culling deer was outside of the Plan Commission's charge.

Police Report
Chief Dayno listed the police activity since the November 3, 2009 Board of Trustees meeting. He explained there were two 911 hang ups, ten accidents, ten alarms, one assault, three complaints about animals, 15 fire department assists, five other agency assists, one child safety seat install, one dispute, two domestics, two driving complaints, one fingerprint, one found property, one juvenile problem, three vehicular or residential lock outs, one major crash assist, seven motorist assists, three open burning, four parking complaints, four suspicious circumstances, one theft, one threatening phone call, eight case reports and one crime prevention notice. There were also 78 traffic stops with 47 citations issued to 40 people. There are currently nine houses on the House Watch list and are checked regularly.

2010 Police Budget
The Board approved the 2010 proposed Riverwoods Police Department Budget which is an increase of 1.5%.

Fire Department Report
Assistant Chief Ugaste listed the call volume within the Village of Riverwoods through November 15, 2009. There were 12 paramedic calls and five other calls totaling 17 calls during the first half of the month and 416 calls for the year.

Ordinance for the Amendment of the Agr eement establishing the Solid Waste Ag ency Of Lake County (SWALCO ), IL.
The motion passed unanimously for a Second Reading and adoption of the Ordinance.

Proposed Ordinance Regulating Fences
Although the Board stated they had no intention of passing any ordinance immediately, the topic alone drew quite a crowd and much discussion to this evening's Board Meeting. For all of the details please read the full account of comments and concerns of residents in the Board Notes on the Village website.

November 3

Building/Zoning
Trustee Graditor mentioned there were no houses started in the Village in October 2008 or October 2009. The total construction value in 2008 was $125,894 generating $1583 in construction fees. The total construction value in 2009 was $95,130 generating $800 in fees.

October 20

Engineer's Report
The 2009 roadway maintenance project at Indian Trails and Hiawatha Woods construction is complete. The final plans, specifications and estimates were submitted to IDOT for the 2010 Roadway Maintenance project for Saunders Road (ARRA Stimulus). The current estimate is $494,000. The Village is approved for up to $331,000 in ARRA funds.

The Army Corps of Engineers/Reservoir 27 project has been awarded in the amount of $574,000.

Police Report
Commander Tyler reported that the Riverwoods Police Department along with the Lincolnshire Fire Protection District and the Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Protection District have started a Premise Alert Program in support of individuals living with disabilities or special needs as well as police and emergency medical personnel responding to calls at a related address.

Fire Department Report
Assistant Chief Ugaste reported the call volume within the Village through October 15, 2009 included one fire call, four car accidents, 17 paramedic calls and four other calls for a total of 26 calls so far this month.

Mike Ford Apointed as New Village Clerk
The Board approved the appointment of Mike Ford to fill the position of Village Clerk left vacant by Nancy Morten. As Village Clerk, and under Illinois statute, Mr. Ford is "keeper of the records" and responsible for overseeing minute taking at each Board of Trustees meeting.

Woodland Health Study
On behalf of the Riverwoods Preservation Council, Laurie Brietkopf thanked the Village for sharing the cost of the Woodland Health Study and reported on the findings. Phase I was to conduct an assessment of the status of the woodland environment and provide a baseline understanding of woodland health in Riverwoods. Phase II was to meet with professional arborists and ecologists to evaluate factors changing the character of the woodlands and to design management practices that will improve these factors. Ms. Brietkopf reminded the Board that a healthy woodland consists of four layers; canopy (tallest trees), subcanopy (lower layer of trees), shrubs and understory. The woodland health study revealed a stressed and disturbed woodland ecosystem. Lively discussion on where to go from here followed and will be continued through committee reports at the next meeting.

Center for Enriched Living
As the Village has for the past five years the Board has voted once again to give a grant of $5,000 to the Center for Enriched Living.