August 24, 2021 Approved Minutes

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE OAK PARK TOWNSHIP BOARD OF TRUSTEES CONDUCTED IN-PERSON AND VIRTUALLY, TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2021.

CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

Supervisor Keenan called the meeting to order at 7:09pm. On the call of the roll the following participated in the meeting: Trustees Margaret Trybus, Ade Onayemi, Tim Thomas, and Supervisor Clarmarie Keenan. Township Manager Gavin Morgan, Attorney John Garofalo, and Communications Specialist, Wendy Senger, were also present. Director of Senior Services Pamela Mahn attended virtually.

Trustee Davis joined the meeting by videoconference at 7:10pm.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

There were no public comments.

APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA

Trustee Onayemi moved Approval of the Consent Agenda including the Minutes from the meeting of July 27, 2021, and the Audit of Bills from August 13, 2021.  Trustee Trybus seconded. The Consent Agenda was approved unanimously.

BUSINESS ITEM:

The Board discussed the proposed Public Comment Rules and made additional changes to add a requirement that participants state whether they are or are not residents of Oak Park, and to clarify the expectation for responses from Board or staff. The Board also directed staff to create a sign-in template to record participants names, topic of interest, and residency. Trustee Thomas moved to approve the Rules as amended. Trustee Onayemi seconded the motion. The Rules were approved unanimously.

DISCUSSION ITEM:

Manager Morgan provided responses to the Board’s questions and concerns about the Community Needs Survey. The Board directed Manager Morgan to move forward on this project.

Township Assessor, Ali ElSaffar and Manager Morgan brought to the Board’s attention that the 2020 Property Tax Levy report came back from County Clerk’s office with a total tax levy of more than was expected. Assessor ElSaffar explained the reason for  the unexpected amount, and the Board discussed a public statement explaining that this had happened and that the Board intends to adjust the 2021 Levy to compensate for the unexpected additional taxes. The Board directed the Manager to publish such a statement.

EXECUTIVE SESSION:

At 8:07pm, Trustee Davis moved to go into Executive session to discuss the appointment of a candidate to fill the vacant Township Clerk position. The Board approved the motion unanimously. Executive Session ended at 8:37pm.

ADJOURNMENT:

Trustee Onayemi moved to adjourn at 8:38pm.   Trustee Davis seconded the motion which passed unanimously.

NEXT MEETING:

The next meeting of Oak Park Township will be the regular Board of Trustees Meeting at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 14, 2021, at Township Hall, 105 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL.

Respectfully submitted by

And recorded in the office of the Township Clerk.

_________________________________

Gavin W. Morgan, Township Manager

Approved: September 14, 2021