City of Lasalle-Peru Shared Police Services Committee met Oct. 30.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was held Tuesday, October 30, 2018 at the Peru Municipal Building, 1901 4th Street, Peru, Illinois. Rob Uranich called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.m. Melissa Carruthers took roll call.
ROLL CALL
Voting & Quorum Members Present:
Present: Jeff Grove, Tom Ptak, Chairman Rob Uranich, John Duncan, Brian Brown, Scott Samolinski, Andy Bacidore, Dave Margis, Scott Harl, Dave Potthoff, Doug Bernabei, Justin Miller, Eric Carls, Vice Chairman Art Smith, Melissa Carruthers, Joe Hogan.
MINUTES
Chairman Uranich presented the minutes of the LPSS meeting of September 25, 2018. Doug Bernabei made a motion that the minutes be received and placed on file. Tom Ptak seconded the motion. All in favor; motion carried.
PUBLIC FORUM (CITIZEN COMMENT)
None
NEW BUSINESS
• Chairman Uranich initiated discussion of the 2019 meeting schedule. Jeff Grove made a motion to put the 2019 meeting schedule on the November agenda. Doug Bernabei seconded the motion. All in favor; motion carried
LIAISON REPORTS
POLICE OPERATIONS PROJECT LIAISON REPORT
o Doug Bernabei reported he, Rob Uranich, John Duncan, Justin Miller and Kim Reese, along with labor attorney Tom Melody, held a joint meeting with the bargaining units of the LaSalle supervisors, the LaSalle patrolmen and Peru patrolmen which are all FOP members. He stated he believes it was a good, productive conversation. There are still more questions than answers and they tried to answer what they knew. There will be another meeting in the next couple weeks to continue the dialogue.
BUILDING & GROUNDS PROJECT LIAISON REPORT
o Scott Harl stated he brought up the topic of the potential police station site in the IVRD meeting because it was in the IVRD minutes. Scott Harl stated as everyone can see, the site is now clear and ready to build. Scott Harl noted in the IVRD minutes it was stated by Jeff Grove and John Duncan that a shovel will not be put in the ground until a contract is in place. Scott Harl asked when that is going to be and stated we need to start looking at what we’re doing in Peru because there are developers interested in that piece of property. Scott Harl said if we are not going to move forward with this building as a shared services facility, we have other things to do with this piece of ground. Scott Harl said we need to know a certain date as the property is ready to build. Scott Harl asked Basalay, Cary and Alstadt architects Matt Lamps and Angela Kalsto if it had been on the agenda and the committee decided to send it to the architects today, what would the time frame be on the building. Matt Lamps responded it would be 9-12 months. Scott Harl said there is nothing on today’s agenda and he is frustrated that we are not moving forward. Jeff Grove stated he disagrees and believes the committee is making some good strides. Jeff Grove said a lot of it is the relationship with our police department and making sure everyone is on board. Jeff Grove said it is the foundation of the whole thing and he thinks everyone wants to do their due diligence. Jeff Grove said we are not ready to vote on it, but believes we are getting very close. Jeff Grove asked Peru Officer Amy Sines if she agrees they are moving in the right direction with the FOP. Officer Sines said she does not feel comfortable speaking for both the LaSalle and Peru union members as they have not had additional meetings to know everyone’s feelings on the subject. Jeff Grove said he believes they will be pretty close to having an idea if everyone’s all in or not. Scott Harl said he needs to bring something back to Peru City Council. Dave Potthoff stated that he hopes that it is just part of the process and not controlling the process. Jeff Grove said it is controlling the process because LaSalle cannot do it if the FOP is not on board. Dave Potthoff said he can’t imagine the FOP controlling a shared services agreement between the two cities and asked what the residents would say to that. Jeff Grove asked what the residents would say if we were not doing our due diligence and that a vote is being forced on this when we are taking our time to make sure we are doing the right thing. Jeff Grove said he believes the process is moving pretty fast. Andy Bacidore said it was very important before that commitment was made to the location, which was done, and now all of the sudden we have to hurry again. Scott Harl said that piece of property in the city of Peru is very valuable whether it’s shared facility, a Peru facility or a retail or commercial facility. Scott Harl said Peru has $550,000 invested in the property and cannot sit on it. Scott Harl said we need a time frame that he can take to the Peru City Council. Jeff Grove asked Eric Carls if anyone has visited the sites yet. Eric Carls stated they are working with the architects and on scheduling. Jeff Grove asked if site visits are important to conduct. Scott Harl said site visits are important once its determined when and if the site is going to be a shared services facility or something different. Scott Harl said Peru has a $550,000.00 investment and we need to move forward with something. Jeff Grove asked that the Peru City Council come up with a deadline date. Dave Potthoff stated he hopes that it is part of the process and not to determine the process. Jeff Grove stated it is the process for LaSalle. Jeff Grove said LaSalle was not building a police station unless it was part of shared services. Jeff Grove said Peru was planning on building a police station no matter what and he is hearing that more and more. Jeff Grove stated he believes we are moving pretty fast and they can have more special meetings if necessary, to get the process going sooner. Jeff Grove stated they are going to follow up with the FOP’s again and can go from there. Dave Potthoff asked if it is part of the process or is it going to determine the cooperative agreement with the city of Peru, meaning is the FOP controlling the shared services or is it just part of the process. Dave Potthoff asked if they have the ability to say yes or no. Jeff Grove said LaSalle would like to get a buy in as much as possible from their folks and this is the process to get that buy in. Jeff Grove said if we feel we have 80% buy in, then obviously we would go with it. Jeff Grove said we need to make sure it works with contracts and if it is legal to do this with our bargaining agreements. Jeff Grove said he feels pretty comfortable that we can but can’t commit until we are sure it is going to work. Dave Potthoff said he is sorry to hear that the FOP would determine a yes or no. Dave Potthoff said he would imagine that the process would go full speed ahead and to negotiate with the FOP in good favor. Dave Potthoff said he does not believe the FOP has the ability to say yes or no to a shared services agreement, at least from our standpoint. Jeff Grove said that is what we need to find out for sure. Dave Potthoff said LaSalle’s standpoint may be different, but this is at least from the city of Peru’s contractual standpoint. Jeff Grove said if Peru wants to come up with a deadline date, LaSalle will obtain and come back with as much information as possible in that time frame. Jeff Grove said by no means will we be forced into a decision if an extra month or two can’t be taken. Jeff Grove said a timetable can be given and can be put on the agenda. John Duncan said the steps we are taking have been identified and he was not aware there was any type of deadline. John Duncan said it is important to successfully complete each step of the process before moving on. John Duncan said there are two committees and two things occurring simultaneously and we talked about not getting too far and going all the way with the building before knowing if we were going to get labor contracts in place. John Duncan said we recognized that we had to determine a location for the building to know who was in or out based upon that location. John Duncan stated we are now making some progress with labor contracts that will morph into negotiations. John Duncan said if we can’t successfully do those things, there is no reason in getting too far with the building. John Duncan said each side of that is making a step up the ladder, but he did not realize there was any type of deadline. John Duncan said the savings to the taxpayers should be the motivation behind both city councils to successfully complete the process rather than having it being done by a certain time. Scott Harl stated Peru has opportunities there as it is a valuable piece of property. Scott Harl said he asked PSAP Manager Fisher during the IVRD meeting where she is located at the Peru Police Department. Scott Harl said he found that PSAP Manager Fisher is located in what used to serve as the sergeants’ office and the sergeants have relocated to a closet, which is a nice closet, but still a closet. Scott Harl said the police department is pretty cramped and we need to move forward. Scott Harl said he will ask the Peru City Council for a timeline. Andy Bacidore said he believes we were waiting on IVRD for some information before a decision could be made. Scott Harl said there’s no information to be given until the architects can come up with a plan for the room and what it would cost. John Duncan said we are working toward the goal and that site was chosen as the optimal site. Jeff Grove asked if the architects would be able to use a standard square foot cost to give to IVRD. Jeff Grove asked if a police station would not be built if it is not with shared services. Scott Harl stated Peru has options. Jeff Grove asked if there was another site that could be looked at so as not to hold up someone that is interested in developing the current proposed site. Scott Harl said we will leave it at the current site for now. Jeff Grove said we wouldn’t be here now if we didn’t all think it would be worth it.
FINANCE REPORT
John Duncan reviewed the finance report including the invoice report, the revenues with comparison to budget report and the expenditures with comparison to budget report. Dave Potthoff made a motion to receive and place on file the finance report and to approve and pay bills in the usual manner. Justin Miller seconded the motion. Melissa Carruthers called the roll with Grove, Ptak, Uranich, Duncan, Brown, Samolinski, Bacidore, Margis, Harl, Potthoff, Bernabei, Miller, Carls, Smith, Carruthers and Hogan voting aye; motion carried.
PUBLIC FORUM (CITIZEN COMMENT)
Julie Ajster said she does not have the actual contract between CVS and the city of Peru, but she was told that one of the conditions of selling the site to the city of Peru was that it was going to be used for the new police station and that the city of Peru was restricted from developing that piece of property, otherwise CVS could have done that themselves. Julie Ajster asked if Mayor Harl would be willing to say whether or not it is possible for the city to develop it or if there is a condition that the city cannot develop it. Mayor Harl said he knows the answer; however he does not want to make an incorrect statement and Julie Ajster can FOIA the contract to review the information. Julie Ajster said it seems like either Peru wants LaSalle out so the city can develop the property or Peru is misrepresenting to them that you have to push to get some sort of answer from LaSalle right away. Dave Potthoff commented that it was a good attempt to end the process, but he believes Peru is still committed to shared services from what he’s seen from council and there is real progress in working toward it.
NEXT MEETING DATE
Chairman Uranich reported the next meeting date will be at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, November 27, 2018.
MOTION TO ADJOURN
Doug Bernabei made a motion to adjourn. Art Smith seconded. All in favor; motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 11:22 a.m.
https://www.lasalle-il.gov/sites/default/files/agendas-minutes/2018-11/LP%20Shared%20Services%20Committee%20Minutes%20103018.pdf
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