October Regular Board meeting

Click here to watch the Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees held Thursday, October 19, 2023 at 6:30pm.

Agenda

10.19.23_regular_board_meeting_agenda_.pdf
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​Shields Township
906 W. Muir Avenue, Lake Bluff, IL 60044
 
Regular Meeting of the Shields Township Board of Trustees
Thursday October 19, 2023, at 6:30p.m.
 
AGENDA
 

1. Call to Order & Roll Call
2. Pledge of Allegiance
3. Public Comment – Three (3) minutes per speaker
4. Reports

1. Supervisor
2. Trustees
3. Assessor's Office
4. Community Service Committee
5. Road & Bridge Committee

1. Approval of Bills
2. New Business

1. Approval of Regular Meeting Minutes of September 21, 2023
2. Consideration of Purchase of Highway Department Truck
3. Consideration of Shields Township Social Services Grants

1. Old Business
2. Executive Session
3. Adjournment

 
 
 
 
Serving our communities since 1850

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MINUTES

10.19.23_regular_meeting_minutes.pdf
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 Minutes – Shields Township Board of Trustees
Regular Meeting October 19, 2023
­­­­­­­­­­_________________________________________________________________________
STATE OF ILLINOIS,)
Lake County,               )
Town of Shields          )
 
            THE TOWN BOARD OF SHIELDS TOWNSHIP held its regular monthly meeting on Thursday October 19, 2023, at 6:30 p.m.
 
PRESENT      
                        Lisette Rothing             Deputy Clerk
                        Jeff Urso                         Supervisor      
                        Brady Andersen           Town Trustee
                        Matt Garrity                  Town Trustee
                        Michael Machnicki      Town Trustee
                        David Weil                    Town Trustee
                       

1. Call to Order & Roll Call – Supervisor Urso called the meeting to order at 6:30pm. Deputy Clerk Rothing took a roll call. All trustees were present.
2. Pledge of Allegiance – Supervisor Urso opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.
3. Public Comment – Three (3) minutes per speaker

1. Janice Schnobrich – Says On September 21, during public comment, Carl Kitzerow read a letter on behalf of Heather Aldridge. Ms. Aldridge attended a township meeting on Thursday August 17. She expressed her concern over “interference from individuals who do not reside within the unincorporated Shields Township known as Knollwood, and from individuals who do reside in Knollwood but have personal agendas that do no favor our newly appointed Highway Supervisor.” Further, she stated “I firmly believe that those who do not live with in Shields Township should not have unrestricted access to our office, provisions and the ability to impede the positive changes we are striving for.” Jan Schnobrich expressed her own concern over the comments made by Ms. Aldridge stating Shields Township encompasses Lake Bluff, Lake Forest and North Chicago who also pay taxes and support their own municipal roads. Jan feels that though Ms. Aldridge is a respected Civil Servant, she is shocked to see where she is coming from and feels she is confused about the position and title given to the recently hired Road Representative.

1. Reports
2. Supervisor – Supervisor Urso talks about how FOIA requests are on the rise in our office. He then shows each trustee one FOIA about 2 inches thick with documents. He was very unsettled by the fact that some of these FOIAs do not always seem legitimate, however still costs money to fulfil them. Supervisor Urso wanted to make the Board aware that one recent FOIA cost the township a legal bill of $9,419.11. These things can be burdensome to the Township Community and Taxpayers Dollars. Supervisor Urso also wanted the community to know that we are going to try and move all committee meetings on one day in an effort to be as open and transparent with the community as possible.  
3. Trustees – Trustee Weil and Trustee Garrity grabbed the large FOIA document that has been printed for them in complete shock. Trustee Weil asked Deputy Clerk Rothing if the document was one day of FOIA’s? Deputy Clerk Rothing responded that it is solely one FOIA not one day of FOIA’s. Now all trustees seemed shocked as well. Trustee Weil then asked about the speed humps and what they are thinking of doing going forward with the west side of Knollwood. Supervisor Urso has suggested to hold off on the speed humps and/or other traffic mitigation devices until next spring. He wants to see how the winter goes with the ones we have.
4. Assessor's Office – Carl Kitzerow reads a report on behalf of Assessor Helton. He stated that the office has been diligently working with our residents regarding their 2023 quadrennial reassessment. Our office has explained the process and assisted them with our assessment review procedure that Shields Township implemented last year. This has given the taxpayers a better understanding of our valuation methodology and how to properly file an appeal at the Lake County Board of Review, if it is warranted. In most of the reviews we have completed, the property owners agree that our newly revised 2023 assessment is accurate, and no complaint should be filed. Initially, we were anticipating more Board of Review filings, however it appears as of right now, this will not be the case. Taxpayers still have until October 30th to file. I also want to congratulate my staff Carl Kitzerow and Lisette Rothing for their great work. Also, AccuBase deserves credit for their accuracy of their work and understanding of the current real estate market in Shields Township.
5. Community Service Committee – Committee Chair Blahunka talked about reviewing three grants with the Shields Township Community Service Committee and wants to act on providing these grants for the same three grant recipients from the previous year. Mothers Trust Foundation, Dickinson Hall (Senior Center) and Waukegan Township (Patricia A. Jones Senior Center).
6. Road & Bridge Committee – Supervisor Urso stated that the Roads Department may need some support with the purchase of a new truck since our trucks are extremely old and in disrepair. The Board will touch upon that agenda item in New Business.
7. Approval of Bills

1. Town Fund – Supervisor Urso motioned to approve the Town Fund Expenses of $32,464.69. Trustee Anderson motioned and Trustee Garrity Second.
2. General Assistance Fund - Supervisor Urso motioned to approve the General Assistance Fund Expenses of $1,123.95. Trustee Weil motioned and Trustee Machnicki second.
3. Road and Bridge Fund - Supervisor Urso motioned to approve the Road and Bridge Expenses of $18,271.96. Trustee Anderson motioned and Trustee Garrity second.

1. New Business

1. Approval of Regular Meeting Minutes of September 21, 2023 - Supervisor Urso motioned to approve the Regular Meeting Minutes of September 21, 2023. Trustee Weil motioned, Trustee Machnicki Second.
2. Consideration of Purchase of Highway Department Truck – Supervisor Urso talked about the Roads Department eventually needing a new plow truck for the upcoming winters since the current trucks are over 15+ years old and need constant maintenance. Though we may need to eventually buy a new truck we wanted to make sure that the Township does their due diligence first and check to see if any other surrounding townships (Lake Bluff, Lake Forest and Libertyville Township) would want to enter an Intergovernmental Agreement for winter snow plowing. If the entities that we reached out to do not want to do business with us, then we will look into further consideration of purchasing a new truck. This could cost somewhere around $120,000.  
3. Consideration of Shields Township Social Services Grants – Supervisor Urso motioned to table line item XI.c. until next meeting. Trustee Garrity motioned, Trustee Anderson second.

1. Old Business
2. Executive Session
3. Adjournment – Meeting adjourned at 7:00pm.