Minutes of the Barrington Hills Village

Communications Committee Meeting

April 21, 2008

Time: 5:30 P.M.
Location: Training Room
VILLAGE HALL
112 Algonquin Road

 
Final

1. Call to Order

Chairman Nikki Panos called the meeting to orderr when a quorum was reached on March 17, 2008 at 5:3640 p.m. in the Barrington Hills Village Hall.

2. Roll Call of Members

Present:

Nikki Panos, Chairman

Vicki Kelly Vice Chairman

Barbara Kemp, Recording Secretary

Pamela Cools, Member

Maureen Prettyman, Member, arrived 5:41

Linda Fox, Member, left at 7:00 p.m.

Laura Ekstrom, Member, arrived at 5:40 p.m., arrived 5:45

Beth Mallen, Village Trustee, Sponsor

Bob Kosin, Village Administrator, Sponsor

Todd Borck, Sergeant for Police ForceAbsent:

Representative of the Police Force

.

3. Reports from Village

Trustee Beth Mallen

Barns and Horses

Barn sizing and operation remain open issues.

Roads and Pot Holes

The village ban on heavy loads on the roads is still in effect. No exact date is know for removing the restriction which depends on the sun drying out the moisture which makes the roads vulnerable to heavy loads. Pot hole repairs are temporary and will have to be redone once the asphalt plants start back into operation. Notices of Pot hole repairs and Road improvements for 2008 will be broadcast via the .info site when they are known.

Heritage Tree Violations

The Village is taking action to protect the Heritage Trees per the new Ordinance. Otis and Old Sutton Roads had wholesale tree removal. The important thing to note is the kind of trees being removed. Residents who observe improper cutting activity should call the Police while the cutting is in progress. After the fact tree replacement leaves the Village with loss of large of important old growth trees. The Village Government website has the Ordinance links and references and the Newsletter will carry information regarding this Ordinance.

Health

McHenry County Department of Health opened a Breast and Cervical Cancer Testing Clinic in April.

Citizens for Conservation received a Grant to help preserve and restore the Flint Creek Watershed. They are petitioning the Village to Partner in this effort. The topic will be presented to the Trustees in their April 28 meeting.

Mr. Robert Kosin

More on Heritage Trees

Bob Kosin sent the Committee a Chart showing which trees are covered in the Ordinance to be added to the website. Pines are not covered for example. The .gov link to the Arbor Day Association provides free help with identification of tree types so residents will know if they are in compliance before they remove live trees.

CTY (reverse 911)

Bob Kosin shared a copy of the CTY Summary for the March 14 notification called Burglaries-Info Only message. Total Contacts Selected: 2,348. Total Unique Deliveries: 2,426. “Unique Deliveries” were defined.

Summary: 15.1% of deliveries (366) were unsuccessful due to bad phone numbers, busy, fax/modem, and the largest amount No Answer. Of the deliveries only 115 were sent to email addresses. When a resident loads their email, it is held private in the CTY system and the village cannot see it so it remains private.

Bob asked that we remind residents via website and newsletter of the statistics and the fact that there is a need to review personal status and provide an update at least annually. The Village is encouraging the use of Email as a secondary communication since so many people are not home all the time and a call phone call that ends up in England or another country or state is not going to help much if there is important emergency at home. The system can be used to notify a secondary contact who is temporarily house-sitting. In general an average change rate for reach numbers and email service providers is at least 8% a year per realtors. Bottom line: 12.5% of the residents could not be reached at any number.

To update the CTY, the .info site has an article posted with a link to the CTY access on the Barrington Hills Village Website. Residents update their information directly from the Village site. Because a resident receives some notifications does not mean they loaded their information. CTY came preloaded from files they initially had available for the Village. Utility records show there are 1800 contacts in the Village.

Print Vendor

The Village is subject to the Prevailing Wage Act when selecting printers. The village is also subject to an in depth audit for more than cash flow. Auditors look at the vendors and policies and determine if they have been implemented per Ordinances and Laws. This applies to the use of Dundee Press; they are the primary vendor for all of the Village’s Printing services and they meet the laws.

It was suggested that Linda Fox set up a face to face meeting with Dundee Press for herself and Pam Cools to go over expectations for the Newsletter in terms of time lines processes. The last Newsletter was late due in part to postage delays after Neal Waltmire left the Village. There was a request by the Communications Committee Newsletter team to change the paper used for the publication and that may have contributed to the delays.

Linda and Pam will report back to Nikki and Beth after their meeting. The next Newsletter deadline is April 16 for information receipt and May for publication.

Village Stickers

Remind residents Village Stickers are coming soon.

Winter “Drops”

Utilities often cannot bury their lines or “drops” in winter months due to frozen ground. Residents who find they need spring “drop” burial service should contact the utility directly. If residents need added help getting their restoration done because the utility seems to have lost their information, they can contact the Village Clerk for assistance. It is good to walk our properties to see if lines have heaved during the winter months before beginning mowing or maintenance service.

JULIE

It is also recommended to call “JULIE,” the utility Hotline for free marking services before proceeding with any digging or maintenance work on personal property. The resident is liable for the cost of restoration if they have directly or indirectly allowed digging to interrupt service to themselves or others. Vacation Services

Remind residents to obtain a Form from the Police Department, open 24 hours a day, and file it prior to vacation and/or lengthy time away from home so the Police Department can assign a Home Watch number and can locate a resident or their designate should anything appear out of the ordinary. This can help with Public Safety for people and animals.

Trustee Beth Mallen

Barns and Horses

Barn sizing and operation remain open issues. The ZBA is meeting after the Comm. Comm. meeting to address an individual Resident’s violations.

The Equestrian Committee defined the terms for the Equestrian and Barn related regulations. This will go to the Trustees March 24, to be reviewed and if appropriate sent to the Zoning Commission to assist them in administering zoning requests from applicants. There will be Open Public Meetings before any changes to regulations are recommended.

Some of the current issues relate to manure disposal and the weight of the trucks on the fragile road systems, and general noise and traffic created by boarding.

Beth noted that 15% of the residents are involved directly in Equestrian activities and for the most part they are doing their best to respect the rules and their neighbors in their home boarding endeavors.

When new information is agreed upon the Communications Committee will provide updates via the .info Website and the Newsletter.

Roads and Pot Holes

The village is over budget due to Snow Plowing and Officer Overtime for assisting with emergencies caused by winter weather. Fritz Gohl is handling the road plans for 2008 which are being modified due to emergency Pot Hole Repairs. Notices of Pot Hole Repairs and Road improvements for 2008 will be broadcast via the .info site when they are known and published in the next Newsletter.

Heritage Tree Violations

The Village is already taking action to protect the Heritage Trees per the new Ordinance. Several builders have recently Clear Cut properties. It is important to be sure Residents and future Residents and Property owners are aware of the changes, and know that they to go to the Village Engineer to get approval before starting any work on their properties. Again, the website has the Ordinance links and references and the Newsletter will carry information regarding this Ordinance.

Police Department

There was no representative at the meeting. The website team needs prompt information from the Police Department to complete the website design and launch. Vicki Kelly will contact the Chief tomorrow to ask for information.Sgt. Todd Borck

Sergeant Borck attended his first meeting. He addressed the Website and the information the Police Department wants to add to the current site and the new site in a timely manner. The Police Department will be included in Website Training and will post Police News. Sergeant Borck will provide the Village Police Logo to Barbara and Vicky for the new site. Vicki will be contacted when news needs to be posted on the existing site immediately; it can be added almost the same day. The Village Clerk has the reach information for all Committee members.

There have been break-ins near Old Dundee Road. Persons of Interest were arrested in the Roundstone robberies which was a different type of robbery.

Sgt. Borck encouraged use of the forms for the Police to do the vacation/away Home Watch. He will provide electronic access for the Website.

There was a new Illinois Bicyclist Law passed for 2008. No specifics were made discussed, but a note to Residents was suggested.

4. Approve Minutes

The Commission Members reviewed the minutes from the March 17February 25, 2008 Meeting. Pam CoolsLinda Fox motioned and Maureen Prettyman seconded. Motion passed to approve as amended. (6-0-16-0-1)

5. Old Business

Newsletter – Pamela CoolsLinda Fox and Linda Fox

The Newsletter input dDeadline wasis April 16 with a plan for publication mid May 2-3 2008. All articles are ready except the article from the President. The Newsletter is 9 pages long and the team is trying to get to 8 pages.

Linda Fox and Pam Cools will meet with Dundee Press and document the process and time lines before the next publication as noted above.

Technology Committee – Linda Fox

Linda had to leave at 7:00 p.m. Report deferred to next meeting.

There is no public agenda for the next meeting and nothing to report again this month. Nikki Panos shared the Technology memo Barbara Kemp sent to Kevin Colosia (as a citizen) regarding E911 services and the need to remind residents to test to be sure that their 911 service works as anticipated when residents change services providers, go to Comcast or another VoIP Provider for phones or network access, change Wireless Carriers and/ or change addresses or locations within the village.

Not all Carriers provide 911access the same way and many provide specific warnings/exceptions related to 911 when changing to their service. Testing is still needed even if the telephone numbers remain the same.

The residents need to be encouraged to dial 911 from each access device, making a test to ensure the number and address or long/lat are showing up with the call at the right location in the Village Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP.) Residents need to verify they are indeed routed to the Village PSAP no matter what access device they are calling from within the Village.

In order to avoid overload at the PSAP, the Police non emergency number needs to be used (1) to agree upon the testing time, and (2) to agree upon parameters before beginning the 911 test calls.

Website – Vicki Kelly and Barbara Kemp

The Website update was provided. This topic consumed the majority of the meeting schedule. e contract was signed. Estimated completion date is May 15 assuming the Website team gets information ready for Tim Evans the Developer on schedule.

A draft of several alternatives for style and color using the Village Photos was displayed at the meeting. Bob Kosin suggested we choose a native flower/plant since Long Grove uses daffodils to distinguish itself. He suggested the McHenry County Conservation Department’s Website.

The team iwas enthusiastic about the look and feel of the .info website. Beth Mallen complimented Vicki on her additions of the Crane articles and conservation news to the existing site to maintain its beauty and timeliness.

A lengthy discussion ensued regarding photos and the layout of the Main and Sub Pages. Issues were raised about Color Contrast to be sure the site is easy to read. Sgt. Borck will provide a Police insignia appropriate for the Village. Vicki will get added pictures from Beth since some of the JPEG Photos they selected were on a damaged CD. Changes were agreed upon to the Main Page sequence and wording, which are different than the RFP Requirements. These changes are based on interactive dialog with the Developer using the experience and recommendations of various Committee members.

Vicki and Barbara will meet soon and Vicki will give Tim feedback so the project stays on schedule.

Vicki is continuing to update the current site and add relevant information. Barbara and Vicki are creating an Architecture mapping process to move data from the old site to the new site seamlessly. Tim Evans is providing a temporary site for us to use to make the transition go smoothly. This is the same status as the last meeting. The final due dates for photos and architecture were April 21. Vicki and Barbara need to iron out differences to give Tim a unified response or risk delays in project timing and costs.

The Police Department needs to provide their input and responses to draft suggestions to meet deadlines. The team members agreed on helping to provide content for Evans to load to the initial site, all relevant to the May 15 launch. Training will most likely take place after launch since we are behind on providing Evans with final details of requirements.

Commitments

• Patty Meroni will provide History Content.

• Beth Mallen will provide new Meroni barn photo.

• Laura Ekstrom and Maureen Prettyman will provide Resident Info.

• Vicki Kelly will follow up with the Chief.

• Laura Ekstrom and Pam Cools have access to and will provide content for the upcoming Garden Faire, some of which was shared for the Newsletter.

• Nikki Panos will contact Dan Lundmark about Equestrian News and get permission to link to the Village DVD on the Equestrian lifestyle.

• Barbara Kemp requested content from Lou Anne Majewski, Elaine Ramesh and Kevin Colosia.

• Linda Fox had to leave at 7:00 p.m.; she may be able to provide content from the Technology Committee. (Asked after meeting. BK)

• Laura Ekstrom agreed to contact Mary Bradford-White to get information on the Barrington Conservation Trust and the 2008 Concours D’ Elegance Dates.

• Vicki Kelly has some excellent sources from the Pony Club, and various conservation groups to share ongoing and for the content deadline.

• All team members are to get content information from their sources and provide what is newsworthy in any format to Barbara and Vicki who will edit and forward to Evans for inclusion.

• Linda Fox and Pam Cools – approved Newsletter to be used for Newsletter most recent page to Barbara and Vicki (after approved by Trustees.)

• Police Department Photo and Content to be finalized before April 25. Sub Pages to be submitted April 22 to Evans for their Main Page.

• Barbara Kemp – Initial Living Green Quote or Tip to get started (caution avoid political statement) – Laura Ekstrom can provide a link on the Resident Info to quality “Green” websites.

Critical Path Dates

April 18 – Photo Decisions Due – Late.

April 21 - Main and Sub Pages for Architecture – Draft from this meeting attached. Vicki needs to review and concur with the goal to send April 22 to Evans, one day late.

April 25 – Content draft material as promised to Vicki AND Barbara.

April 28 – Content edited jointly by Vicki AND Barbara and forwarded to Evans for launch version of document.

Interim site up for review by all at Evans location before cutover

May 15 – Launch.

TBD Training on new site; Village needs DreamWorks license.

Sgt. Borck needs to know when to start sending timely articles to Barbara and Vicki for the May launch. (Question shared with Tim Evans post meeting.)

Welcome to the Village Communications –Maureen Prettyman and Laura Ekstrom

Initial information will be posted to the Website and maintained via updates to Vicki and Barbara until a print medium can be funded.

No activity has taken place this past month...

Living Green in Barrington Hills - Nikki Panos

os

The Committee Members discussed using the Newsletter and Website to regularly share information on Living Green. It was agreed than the new Website will carry a regularly updatedweekly Living Green tip on the Home page. All members are encouraged to send short topics and tips to be posted regularly by Barbara and Vicki starting in May.

Such other business as may be properly presented for consideration of the Committee

Nothing new was added.

6. Adjournment

Nikki Panos entertained a motion for dismissal at 7:204 p.m. The next meeting is on Monday, MayApril 21 19, 2008, at 5:30 p.m. Vicki Kelly Maureen Prettyman motioned and Pam CoolsVicki Kelly seconded. Motion Approved (6-0-1)

Meeting Adjourned

Attached: Website Presentation April 21, 2008 and Draft Page Arrangements as understood post meeting for Vicki and Nikki to review and agree before sending to Evans 4/22/08.

Minutes Approved as amended May 19, 2008.