I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay, Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Trustee Estrada Volpe? Here. Trustee Zavaznovic? Here. Trustee Conte? Here. Trustee Sargent? Here. Trustee Kaminsky? Here. Trustee Lolino? Here. President Saviano? Here. Okay, we'll open up for public comment. Hello, my name is Meredith Zanani, Village President Saviano. I'm speaking today with concerns regarding your government official Facebook page, and I'm raising this issue in public comment in case it applies. to other Elmwood Park officials as well. As you may know, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in 2024, Linkey v. Freed, regarding government officials' use of social media and the First Amendment because social media posts are considered speech. I'm not a First Amendment scholar, but my understanding is that by labeling your page a government official page and based on the contents... most of the contents of that page post to your government official page our official speech uh... it on behalf of the government of elmwood park that binds you to the first amendment and brings with it certain responsibilities including not blocking people from that page or deleting critical comments I also question whether it is appropriate for you to be endorsing candidates and promoting misinformation about Elmwood Park residents on your government official page, because as Village President, you represent all of your constituents. To be sure, as a private citizen and a candidate in the upcoming election, you are free to express your views and endorse candidates, including stating in your endorsement that you are the Village President. But I would ask you to be mindful about the distinction of speaking as an individual who is Village President and in your official capacity as Village President out of respect for the First Amendment, something I believe we all value. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Hi, Catherine Acosta. This is an item that was discussed... probably a year, well over a year ago. It was, there was something put out. They wanted us to take pictures of where the water pipes came into the house and to the meter or to that thing to take pictures, which I did, but I haven't heard anything more about it. I know there was a little discussion shortly thereafter, but I haven't heard anything. I mean, are they... changing these pipes or what? I mean, I know the water, we supposedly have a very high rating on our water, but I don't know, it's just a curiosity. Yeah, we're required by the Illinois EPA to do a survey, and we had to go in and inventory all the lines, and we had to report back to them what we found. Are we done with it now? The inventory is complete, but the... changing of those lead lines will be multiple years. Oh, I figured as much, but I didn't hear anything more going, oh, you know, did it get lost? Okay. The first step was completing this inventory so that we could see what we have out there. Just out of curiosity, can you reveal any of the information, how many people, I mean, I know my pipes are probably back from about the 20s. We've got to be over 80% lead in this town. Yeah, I would think. Okay. All right, thank you. Hi, I'm Julia Bell. I just wanted to thank you, Mr. Volpe, for responding to, I came a couple months ago to express some concern about the traffic with the closure or the cul-de-sac at 75th Avenue. Thank you for putting no parking signs on the west side of 76th Avenue. When I come back from dropping my kids, I see just the one line of traffic, which it still goes all the way to Wabanzia, but it's much better because there are no cars on the west side. So thank you. The police must be enforcing that. And I'm sure you know there's still a problem at that alleyway where there is a house on the east side. As someone's trying to go into the alley from 76, someone's trying to come out, and it's going to continue to create a backup. I know you're working on that house. I think we addressed that last time when you came here. Yeah. We have them in court. And eventually we'll get the house. I know that's the more than any house you need that. I just wanted to thank Mr. Volpe because he reached out and those signs were up quickly and the police are enforcing them. And then additionally, I just want to say Meredith is my neighbor and I've lived here 23 years. I have so many, I love Elmwood Park. My kids were all raised here. I remember when Mr. Silvestri was... had your job and i dropped my keys in the sewer outside my house in public works came with the stick in a big bag it and they fish my keys out and i'm like i can't believe they did that they found my keys it's a great place to live it's hard to run against an incumbent in this town and i want to give a lot of credit to the people who are running for school board and library board against you guys and the place you've endorsed i am disappointed with the website that the that is sort of, it's called library facts or something, which characterizes people running against incumbents as outsiders, as recent arrivals, very incendiary language that unless you've been living under a rock, we know what that's trying to say. She's been here 11 years, another candidate's been here 10 years. One of the people running for a position is a new guy, only been here seven years. We all have a seat at the table. We all have something to say, and I just, In Elmwood Park, I would like that someone who comes with a differing viewpoint not be viewed as a troublemaker or a clown. You have a great ground game, and I have no reason, you know, I don't know who's going to win the election. I think everybody wants good for the library, for this town, and I would just like us all to be nice. There are like... There are like surrogates who are nameless on Facebook or have fake names and they're casting aspersions on the candidate forum that happened in February. Everyone was invited to that. No incumbents came from either the school board or library board. I think that's a huge missed opportunity. And did it mean that, hey, my name's on the sign. I don't have to show up. I don't know. I guess I have to just internment for myself why they didn't come. No one got questions in advance. The League of Women Voters just welcomed people. asked people to write questions down, they asked questions one at a time, no one got the questions in advance, no one had to answer the same, no one got to answer the question first every time, it was very ordered, no one mentioned the people who weren't there or cast aspersions on them for not being there. And so I would just like, that was a missed opportunity, I would like the incumbents to have showed up. I really would. I would like to have heard from them what they've done well, what their vision is for the future. The library is great. The library is going to be fine no matter what. Everybody wants good things for the library in this town. So thanks for listening. And my house is going to be paid off in just another few years, and my kids are going to be in college, so I'm probably going to die here. Don't make that too soon, please, Julie. We try not to address politics in this boardroom. That's why I have an office down there and everybody's willing to make an appointment, come and talk to me. And that's why I have it because I don't have political meetings here. I don't speak politics here. As far as the Facebook page, I don't maintain that. But when you, that's, Facebook page has been in existence a pretty long time, even when it was state rep. And they label you government official. I don't call, I don't put that on there. So we'll figure out the law on that. And if anybody's being deleted, I apologize for that. But I'm not on Facebook personally either because it's too much of a distraction for me. It's bad enough I'm getting a million emails and texts every day to keep up with those aren't enough. BUT I APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE. AND LISTEN, I THINK IT'S HEALTHY FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO RUN FOR OFFICE. I'M VERY, VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE AMOUNT OF PARTICIPATION, BECAUSE I THINK EVERY COMMUNITY NEEDS THAT NOW AND THEN, OTHERWISE IT GETS STALE. WE HERE IN THE VILLAGE, AS FAR AS OUR PUBLIC WORKS, OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT, WE NEVER GET STAGNANT. WE'RE ALWAYS THINKING OF NEW THINGS. YOU SAW THE ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE PICKLE BALL COURTS. NOW WE'RE ABLE TO GET A GRAND THANKS FOR YOUR BROTHER HELPING US OUT. and all the other elected officials in the state. So we'll look into it. I guarantee you, I can't control everybody on Facebook. I don't know who people are on Facebook. And again, I'm not on Facebook, so I can't even try to detect who it is. But we'll try to address as much as we can. Thanks. Okay, reports? Anybody else? Okay. I just have a couple things. I failed to put the garage sale dates in the... consent agenda. So let me just read those off. The 2025 garage sale dates are going to be June 6th to the 8th, July 11th to the 13th, August 1st to the 3rd, and September 5th to the 7th. I'd also like to remind everybody that early voting for this year's municipal consolidated election will begin March 17th, Monday at the Parks and Recreation Center across the street. Hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays from 10 to 4 p.m., So that'll run every day up through Monday, March 31st, with Election Day happening Tuesday, April 1st at your local polling place. And last night, I had a really, really nice conversation with the resident, Christine Egan, who's lived here for just a little bit over four years. She lived in Brookfield for over 30 years. And she just wanted to offer praise to the village as a whole, but to our public works department for all their beautiful Christmas decorations this year. She says every year we keep making them bigger and better, and she's all for it. She just loved it. She praised all the village services, especially the girls in the front office of Village Hall, and she just really enjoys living here. So I thought that was really nice. Thank you. And that's all I have. President Saviano, our youth commission met on February 24th, and I want to thank Tim Lockheed. He did a great job with the floor hockey. The last day was March 2nd, and we'll start again next year. Bocce with the Bunny event is on Good Friday from 10 to 12. There'll be craft games, photos with the bunny, and Easter egg hunt. And lastly, our bike rides will start on April 23rd at 6 p.m. We'll meet at Parks and Recs, and there will be seven more bike rides throughout the year. Great, thank you. Mr. President, exciting news. We have another business, a long-time family-owned business that's announced that they have intentions of relocating here to Elmwood Park. Wicklansky's Bakery, located on Belmont and Austin, has been there for decades. It's currently under contract to move where the old abandoned kitchen and bath store is on Belmont Avenue next to the sports bar. Good news is our zoning and development board met here last Monday, heard the special use request, also coupled with last month's special hearing to change our map for a map amendment. and unanimously made them recommendation to grant them that approval to open up there. It's gonna be a great addition to Belmont Avenue. It's the anchor that we need to bring new people in town. They have a great following. So we're hoping that by adding that business to our business district, it'll help supplement everything around it. And secondly, for those of you who haven't seen the social media posts, that this coming Friday at Alma Park Parks and Rec is our senior luau. SO IF YOU'RE IN OUR SENIOR GROUP, YOU CAN COME OUT, GET YOUR GRASS SKIRT ON AND DANCE. AND THEN ON MARCH 17TH, WE'RE EXCITED TO OFFER ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS, WHETHER 55 AND OLD OR COMPLEMENTARY, ST. PATRICK'S DAY CELEBRATION RIGHT HERE IN THE SAME PARKS AND REC CENTER. SO IT'S GOING TO BE A BUSY MONTH IF YOU'RE AN ELMWOOD PARK SENIOR. THANK YOU. GOOD THINGS HAPPENING IN OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT. MANY AWARDS WERE GIVEN OUT AT OUR LAST SCHOOL BOARD MEETING. THE DISTRICT SPELLING BEE WINNER WAS PRESENTED. I THINK SHE WENT 34 OR 43, I CAN'T REMEMBER, ROUNDS BEFORE WINNING. SCOTTY AWARDS WERE GIVEN OUT IN THAT SCHOOL CITIZEN OF THE YEAR FOR MULTIPLE BUILDINGS IN THE DISTRICT. MUSICIANS, ILLINOIS MUSIC EDUCATION ASSOCIATION GAVE THEM SOME GREAT AWARDS. AND OUR TEACHERS, THE RECIPIENTS OF THOSE WHO EXCEL WERE RECOGNIZED, AND THOSE ARE THOSE TEACHERS THAT GO ABOVE AND BEYOND. SO WE HAD MANY OF THOSE AS WELL. AS FAR AS THE ASSESSOR'S OFFICE FOR YOUR PROPERTY TAX BILL. SENIOR FREEZE RENEWAL APPLICATIONS WILL BE OUT IN A WEEK OR SO, AS WILL VETERANS WITH DISABILITY RENEWALS. CONGRATULATIONS IF YOU'RE BORN IN 1959. YOU CAN APPLY FOR SENIOR THIS YEAR. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. NEW REPORT, MR. PRESIDENT. MR. PRESIDENT, I'D LIKE TO REPORT THAT THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MET THIS EVENING AT 5 30 PM, REVIEWED THE BILLS AND VOUCHERS FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY, AND UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDING FOR GOOGLE TONIGHT, AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO COMMEND YOURSELF AND THE ADMINISTRATION ON THE FIGHT NIGHT EVENT. IT WAS ANOTHER FINE SOCIAL EVENT, AND IT WAS VERY ENJOYABLE. NO REPORT, MR. PRESIDENT. MR. DURKIN. YES, PICKING UP ON WHAT JONATHAN WAS SAYING, TRUSTEE ZAVAJNEVIC, WE HAVE an ordinance granting a special use on the agenda under new business for Weklanski's Bakery. But preceding that is also a text amendment ordinance. Previous to last Monday's PZD meeting, bakeries with processing on premises were not permitted in a B1 district. The village had this opportunity to draw in a bakery. Similar to the process, if you're familiar with Reuters in Chicago on the other side of Harlem, they make their bakery products on premises, but it's for sale only in that establishment. So the PZD approved the village's request to amend the zoning ordinance to provide that Bakeries with on-premises processing for sale in that establishment only would now be a special use, which requires a public hearing notice to the surrounding property owners. And the one thing I wanted to point out is Elmwood Park has a very limited number of B1 districts. Belmont Avenue right now is the only place that in the village that has commercial B1 districts. We have one more which is located across from Central Park, but those are where the town homes were built 20 years ago. The village granted a planned unit development to allow the construction of those on the underlying zoning districts that were not changed. So the only place you can have these bakeries will be along Belmont Avenue. And ironically, Belmont has B1 districts and then a B2 district in which those bakeries are permitted. So it was just felt like make it uniform, but especially with the B1 district, rather than changing the zoning and making those permitted uses, they still are going to be required to advance through the special use process. So you have two ordinances under new business. The first is approving that text amendment to make those B1 districts able to have the special use. And then immediately following that, you're going to approve the first such bakery. Thank you. Well, you know what? It's funny because there was a bakery just east of there that closed. And that was there for years. We lost all our bakeries. We had Albano Bakery on North Avenue. We had Claudio Bakery on North Avenue. And then we had a bakery here in the Circle. So it's kind of exciting to get a bakery back. Mr. Bolte? I'm excited because I like baked goods. Great rye bread. Who doesn't? Mr. President, the board will consider a marketing campaign from iHeartMedia tonight. The campaign will run from June through August and will target adults from 25 to 54 years old, as well as parents and families. The campaign is to help promote the car shows, the concerts, and other village events throughout the summer. The events will be promoted via radio and streaming audio programs. Various radio personalities will attend the car shows in the 4th of July parade. The total cost is $12,450. The board will consider a resolution adopting the qualification-based solution, or QBS, policies and procedures that the village will follow when we receive federal funds for consultant-related engineering services. This will, of course, be useful and applicable to the Grand Gateway Underpass project. And lastly, the board will consider a resolution authorizing President Saviano to execute the required documents associated with the recently awarded ASLOD grant. As you know, the state recently awarded the village a grant to help fund pickleball courts at the Village Circle. We expect that construction will begin at the end of summer once the pool has closed for the season. Great, thanks. In my report, I just want to say that on February 15th, in this room, we had a press conference with Our Congresswoman, President, Senate, all elected officials announcing the $13.1 million grant that we received from the Federal Railroad Administration going towards the underpass project. It was well attended, and we're about halfway there, so we've got to keep working at it. I think we're going back to Washington one in October. So I think we've got some momentum now where... they know the project's real. And once you get that, from my experience, when we did the Grand Avenue one in Franklin Park, once you started getting up there in those dollars, they take notice. So that was a nice day for us here. Okay, let's move on to the consent agenda. This evening on the consent agenda, we have approval of the minutes of the meeting of the President and Board of Trustees held on February 3rd, 2025. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE PUBLIC HEARING HELD FEBRUARY 4, 2025. RECEIVE AND FILE MINUTES OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING HELD JANUARY 6, 2025. RECEIVE AND FILE MINUTES OF THE PLAN, ZONING, AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETINGS HELD SEPTEMBER 23, 2024, AND JANUARY 27, 2025. A MOTION TO APPROVE PAYMENT OF THE BILLS AND VOUCHERS FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2025 IN THE AMOUNT OF $3,828,992.95. Various license applications received and processed by the village clerk's office. An ordinance authorizing the acceptance of a proposal from iHeart Media for marketing and advertising services. Motion to approve 2025 garage sale dates in the village of Elmwood Park. A resolution authorizing the execution of a grant agreement between the state of Illinois and the village of Elmwood Park for the development of the Conti Circle Pickleball and Park Improvements Project. and a resolution approving and adopting qualifications-based selection policies and procedures for the village of Elmwood Park. Motion to approve. Second. Any discussion? Seeing none. Clerk, please call the roll. Trustee Estrada-Volpe? Yes. Trustee Zavazimic? Yes. Trustee Conte? Yes. Trustee Sargent? Yes. Trustee Kaminsky? Yes. Trustee Lolino? Yes. President Saviano? Yes. 7-0. Our first communication, we have an Arbor Day proclamation, which I'm going to read this evening. The proclamation recognizing April 25, 2025, as Arbor Day in the village of Elmwood Park, Cook County, Illinois. Whereas in 1872, the Nebraska Board of Agriculture established a special day to be set aside for the planting of trees, and whereas the holiday, called Arbor Day, was first observed with the planting of more than a million trees in Nebraska. Whereas Arbor Day is now observed throughout the nation and the world, and whereas trees can be a solution to combating climate change by reducing the erosion of our precious topsoil by wind and water, cutting heating and cooling costs, moderate the temperature, cleaning the air, produce life-giving oxygen, and provide a habitat for wildlife. And whereas trees are a renewable resource, giving us paper, wood for our homes, fuel for our fires, and countless other wood products. And whereas trees in our village increase property values, enhance the economic vitality of our business areas, and beautify our community. And whereas trees, wherever they are planted, are a source of joy and spiritual renewal. Now, therefore, I, Angelo Skip Saviano, President of the Village of Elmwood Park, do hereby proclaim April 25, 2025 as Arbor Day in the Village of Elmwood Park. AND I URGE ALL CITIZENS TO CELEBRATE ARBOR DAY AND TO SUPPORT THE EFFORTS TO PROTECT OUR TREES AND WOODLANDS. AND FURTHER, I URGE ALL CITIZENS TO PLANT TREES TO GLADDEN THE HEART AND PROMOTE THE WELL-BEING OF THIS AND FUTURE GENERATIONS. PROCLAIM THIS THIRD DAY OF MARCH, 2025. VERY NICE. DID A NICE JOB. HOW MANY TREES DID WE PLANT LAST YEAR? 300. 300. LOTS. GOOD. Next thing we have is permission for Misericordia. This was submitted by Lois Gates, Misericordia Executive Director. They do this every year. Permission to sell Jelly Belly Candy Days April 25th to the 26th, various locations throughout the village. Motion to approve. Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Next we have a recommendation of approval for a text amendment to the zoning code and a special use application for a bakery at 7717-19, West Belmont Avenue submitted by Marissa Maschioni, Plan Zoning and Development Secretary. Motion to receive and file, Mr. President. Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. There being no old business, we move on to new business. We have an ordinance amending section 1407.03 entitled Permitted and Special Uses in Business, Commercial, and Mixed Use Districts of the Zoning Code of the Village of Elmwood Park. Motion to approve, Mr. President. I'll second. Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Trustee Estrada Volpe? Yes. Trustee Zavagevic? Yes. Trustee Conte? Yes. Trustee Sargent? Yes. Trustee Kaminsky? Yes. Trustee Lolino? Yes. President Saviano? Yes. 7-0. And next we have an ordinance to approve and grant a special use permit to operate a bakery with processing for on-premises sales only at the property commonly known as 7717 to 7719 Belmont Avenue, Elmwood Park, Illinois. Motion to approve. Second. Trustee Estrada-Volpe? Yes. Trustee Zavaznovic? Yes. Trustee Conte? Yes. Trustee Sargent? Yes. Trustee Kaminsky? Yes. Trustee Lolino? Yes. President Saviano? Yes. Okay, is there any other business that we brought before the board tonight? If not, I'll entertain a motion to adjourn. I'll make that motion. Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Meeting adjourned. Have a great evening.