Village of Oswego Committee of the Whole met April 19

By Philip Gonzales

Aug 2, 2022

Village of Oswego Committee of the Whole met April 19.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

CALL TO ORDER

President Troy Parlier called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m.

ROLL CALL

Board Members Physically Present: President Troy Parlier; Trustees Tom Guist, Kit Kuhrt, James Marter II, Terry Olson, Jennifer Jones Sinnott, and Brian Thomas.

Staff Physically Present: Dan Di Santo, Village Administrator; Tina Touchette, Village Clerk; Jeff Burgner, Police Chief; Mark Horton, Finance Director; Jennifer Hughes, Public Works Director; Rod Zenner, Development Services Director; Joe Renzetti, IG/GIS Director; Bridget Bittman, Community Engagement Coordinator Marketing; Russ Garcia, Grounds Operations Supervisor; and Bill Thomas, Village Attorney.

PUBLIC FORUM

Public Forum was opened at 6:02 p.m. There was no one who requested to speak. The public forum was closed at 6:02 p.m.

OLD BUSINESS

There was no old business.

NEW BUSINESS

G.1 Discussion of Callery Pear Tree Management Program

Phil Graf, Urban Forestry Consultant for Great Lakes Urban Forestry Management, and Russ Garcia addressed the Board regarding the Callery Pear tree survey that was conducted in October 2021.

• According to past tree inventory data, there are approximately 1,600 Callery Pear trees on Oswego parkways

General Observations on Tree Condition

• Fire blight

⮚ Internal bacterial disease of the vascular system

⮚ Preventative treatments are somewhat effective, but there are no curative treatments

• Monoculture plantings and low diversity

⮚ Tree population is as much of a problem of low diversity as it is with the fire blight

• Poor structure and branch architecture

⮚ Weak branch unions

⮚ Included trunks

⮚ Unbalanced crowns

⮚ Lack of central leader

⮚ Susceptible to storm damage

• Tree age

⮚ Estimated 12” DPH average

⮚ Doesn’t age well

⮚ 20 years and older

⮚ Average lifespan of 30-35 years, in good conditions

• Invasive nature of the species

⮚ Escaped cultivation

⮚ 152 counties in 25 states

⮚ Unmanaged areas are rapidly becoming a large-scale problem

⮚ Close to being named as an invasive species

Recommendations and Future Considerations

• Update tree inventory

• Begin a strategic and measured tree removal program

• Begin a strategic and measured reforestation program

Board and staff discussion focused on life span of other tree species; oaks are typically more expensive; Fields of Caton Farm have thirteen types of trees all at the same contract price with planting for the Village; Village plants 100-120 trees in the Spring and around the same in the Fall; no longer plant ornamental trees; planting maples, oaks and hackberry; tree would need to be young and in early stages of fire blight to treat; treating can be cost prohibitive; more cost effective to remove and replace; will be noticeable when all the trees are removed; balancing the number of diverse types of trees; currently have thirteen different types; 20/10/5 rule when choosing tree types; what the next type of tree will be affected; nervous about maples; Village has a 50/50 program for tree replacement; educating homeowners; if tree is damaged by a storm, it is replaced for free; whether the Board wants a 50/50 program for replacing Callery Pear trees. There was no further discussion.

G.2 Oswego Police Department - 2021 Annual Report Overview

Chief Burgner addressed the Board regarding the 2021annual report. He thanked D.C. Delphey, D.C. Norwood, Commander Bastin, Executive Assistant, Denise Lawrence and Accreditation Manager, Cathy Nevara for all their work on the report.

• 20,139 incidents last year with five complaints that were found unfounded

• Increase in training

• New online training by insurance carrier is very useful and up to date

• Reduction in crime rate

• Majority of the traffic stops are from the Village

• 18% result in violations

• No complaints

• Seven incidents

• Six with arrests

• Arrests are reviewed by the Police Chief

• Received 6th accreditation award thanks to all of the staff and Cathy Nevara

• Two testing periods in May and October

Citizen Volunteer Groups

• Community Service Officer & Cadet Program

• Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association

• Police Explorer Post

Board and staff discussion focused on the PD should be commended; how much weight does CALEA put into complaints; because of the standards the PD follows is why the complaints are low; very specific guidelines have to be followed. Chief Burgner thanked the Board for their support to the PD. There was no further discussion.

CLOSED SESSION

A motion was made by Trustee Jones Sinnott and seconded by Trustee Olson to enter Closed Session for the purposes of discussing the following:

• Pending and Probable Litigation [5 ILCS 120/2(c)(11)]

• Appointment, Employment, Compensation, Discipline, Performance, or Dismissal of Personnel [5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1)]

• Collective Bargaining, Collective Negotiating Matters, Deliberations Concerning Salary Schedules [5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2)]

• Sale, Lease, and/or Acquisition of Property [5 ILCS 120/2(c)(5) & (6)]

Aye: Tom Guist Kit Kuhrt

James Marter II Terry Olson

Jennifer Jones Sinnott Brian Thomas

Nay: None

The motion was declared carried by a roll call vote with six (6) aye votes and zero (0) nay votes.

The Board adjourned to Closed Session at 6:38 p.m.