Minutes of the Barrington Hills Village
Communications Committee Meeting
May 19, 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 order May 19, 2008 at 5:39 p.m. in the Barrington Hills Village Hall. Nikki brought food and drink to celebrate the Newsletter and Website. Chief Murphy joined us briefly to thank everyone for the fine work.
2. Roll Call
Present
Nikki Panos, Chairperson
Vicki Kelly, Vice Chairperson
Barbara Kemp, Recording Secretary
Maureen Prettyman, Member
Linda Fox, Member, arrived 5:44 p.m.
Pamela Cools, Member
Beth Mallen, Trustee Advisor
Bob Kosin, Village Advisor
Lt. Joe Colditz, Police Department
Guest Speaker: Patti Meroni
Absent
Laura Ekstrom, Member
3. Reports from the Village
Bob Kosin
• Bob congratulated the team on the launch of the www.vbhcomm.info website. He tested using PC and Apple computers, with Blackberry and multiple browsers.
• The change of the fiscal year, January to December, caused several shifts in Village requirements; an audit is being completed next month.
• Vehicle Sticker due dates remain the same. There is a 25% non compliance in the Village Sticker purchases with only a few days to go. The fine for non compliance is $50.
• The 2010 Census may not be automated as planned; that means the census takers will make door to door visits to obtain the information.
• CTY is being used for area alerts; the most recent “no response” rate was 30%. We need to encourage residents to sign up for voice mail in addition to other forms of notification. There can be five accounts per resident and TTY users and all need to understand that their information is private.
Lt. Joe Colditz
• There are no specific new newsworthy events; the Identity Theft problem is recurring. Residents should refrain putting anything into mail boxes that could facilitate Identity Theft. Incoming mail should be removed promptly.
• The word “Sample” was added on top of the Vehicle Sticker on the Website to prevent theft.
• Vehicle stickers must be displayed on the windshield of each vehicle per Ordinance. There are commercially available products to make the display easier to add and remove.
Beth Mallen
• Beth thanked Vicki, Nikki and Barbara and all the contributing team members for valuable contributions to the upgraded website. Beth said, “We have turned a corner in our ability to get timely and valuable information to the residents.” She referenced Bob Kosin’s comments that the site shows “great class.” The site is helping to brand the village and adding to village pride.
• The topic of Horse Boarding has entered a new phase. The ZBA is putting hard numbers together for change recommendations to the zoning code.
• Four properties in the village need clean up. Residents who see properties that have problems need to bring them to the attention of the Village Board. On May 19 officers were in traffic court supported by Trustees with evidence of problem sites that require cleanup. The matters involve issues of health and safety and the police should be called if there are problems similar to this and the village will take action.
• Last Board meeting the Trustees agreed to add stricter language to the Burning Ordinance. It will be addressed at the May Trustee meeting. Wording is under consideration for ember burning and to allow a neighbor who is being inundated with smoke or debris to call and have the fire stopped even if it is meeting the current specifications.
• Pony Club had a great event over the weekend. Jump judges are needed.
Patty Meroni – Public Comments
The committee members thanked Patty for her History website contribution. Patty shared the book, “A Club in the Country.” The book is on display at the Barrington Historical Society. She reported that Patty Dowd Schmitt who is an editor of Quintessential Barrington is writing a history of the village using material from Patty, references and archives from various sources.
Patty sent much of the village’s 50th anniversary material including photos and articles to Kinko’s and they changed management and inadvertently eliminated the files. She is working to recreate material. Patty will provide added photos and material for History and the Photo Gallery. She agreed to send added photos in JPEG format to Barbara Kemp for use on the website and articles she may have in summary format so we can add that to a 50th Anniversary.
Patty shared interesting information about the barn on her property. The Van Hagen family built the barn and it was used by the Iowa State Agricultural School as a prototype for barns throughout the country. There were many features that were new: indoor plumbing and electricity, piped in music for the cows, acres of cement for cleaner areas around the barn, 15 inch cork floors and more. The barn photo we published does not show the entire barn. We may wish to obtain added photos and information to publish.
4. Approval of Minutes
The April minutes were approved as amended. Motion by Maureen Prettyman and seconded by Linda Fox. 6-0-1
5. Status Newsletter - Linda Fox and Pamela Cools
The Newsletter came out on time and on budget. Comments ranged from
“excellent” to “beautiful.” Nikki Panos reported a call from a resident asking
about costs since tax bills were just received. She told the person (1) the price has gone down, (2) it is printed on recycled paper, (3) it uses organic ink, (4) and if a resident wants to accept a softcopy he/she can save the village postage, paper and printing costs.
6. Status Community Forum Website – Barbara Kemp and Vicki Kelly
• Launch May 15 2008! Thanks to Everyone!
• Thank you notes were sent to those who submitted information.
• RFP had a Requirement for 6 pages: We have 14 Pages at no extra charge – Tim was flexible and professional.
• Old site has not been completely archived or moved. Work in Progress. Open for Training.
• Need Trainee List and available dates due to Tim Evans now to next 8 work days. Open: Panos, Kemp, Mallen, Kelly, Police Dept Reps (2).
• Software needs to be updated and on laptops of trainees. – Open Kosin and Evans.
• Open items: Photo Gallery, Organization Page and a few items in progress. Evans and Kemp.
• There will always be a need for timely content – Commitments. Panos. To be finalized in a future meeting.
• Tim suggested if we want the “Four Seasons” photos for headers, we need to gather them and designate them per season per page. That means a total of 56 headers. We can build them: Cost: $750.00 once we have the material and financial approval. Part of the service is to allow us to create the files and change seasonally in a matter of minutes from folders he will develop for us. Commitment: Mallen and Panos.
• When we launched, Search and Weather were “in progress” and there were some articles that needed to be loaded. Tim agreed to complete by noon May 16 (not possible due to access.
• Tim will train us to load available content from the old site and anything new. Open: Software and Access Issues: Kosin, Mallen and Evans.
• Nomination process for the Resident Spotlight. Open: Mallen and Panos Plan: Add to future meeting topic.
• Comments and Suggestions: Ideas, suggestions, and change requests are being acted upon. Tim is making corrections and completing his part with the limits imposed upon him. Many new items and changes are going to wait until training.
7. Adjournment
Nikki Panos entertained a motion for dismissal at 7:02 p.m. The next meeting is on Monday, June 16, 2008. Motion to adjourn made by Pamela Cools and seconded by Linda Fox. 6-0-1.
Meeting Adjourned