Homewood Board of Trustee meeting: 9/14/2 (Homewood, IL) – The Homewood Board of Trustees meeting was promptly called to order at 7 p.m. Sept. 14 by Mayor Rich Hofeld.

Trustees Vivian Harris-Jones, Jay Heiferman, Barbara Dawkins, Lisa Purcell, Lauren Roman and Karen Washington were all in attendance. The meeting was held at the Village Hall Board Room at 2020 Chestnut Road, Homewood IL.

After a roll call, the pledge of allegiance, an introduction of staff, the trustees approved meeting minutes from Aug. 24. The board went on to approve a claims list in the amount of $1,601,006.10. Hofeld said four items comprised 83% of that list. They include the following:

A partial payment to the villages engineering company for its new water line amounting to $617,000
A payment to the city of Harvey for one month was $381,000
One months employee health insurance was $240,000
A payment to Thorn Creek Sanitary District was $94,000.

The board then approved the reappointment of Dexter Johnson to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a 5-year term ending on Sept. 14, 2026 and Hofeld issued a proclamation declaring Sept. 2021 as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in the village.

The board made an omnibus vote, passing, approving, accepting and awarding the following items:

A budget amendment in the amount of $29,000 for Thornton Revenue Sharing, which increases the approved FY2021-2022 budget from $66,673 to $95,673. According to village documents, the approval of the amendment allows the village to meet its obligation to the Village of Thornton for sales tax revenue generated by Menards during the past 12 months. The agreement between the two municipalities was to accommodate the 2017 store expansion of the Menards at 17545 Halsted Street. Homewood agreed to enter into a sales tax sharing agreement with Thornton. In return, Thornton agreed to vacate the portion of Brown Derby Road that allowed Menards to expand their development footprint.
An intergovernmental agreement with the Illinois Department of Health Care and Family Services for reimbursement of unrecovered costs of ambulance transports through Medicaid. The agreement allows the village to participate in a program called Ground Emergency Medical Transportation (GEMT). It provides supplemental payments to publicly owned or operated GEMT providers. Those payments cover the funding gap between a provider’s actual cost per GEMT transport and allowable amount received from Medicaid and other reimbursement sources. Revenue from this program is expected to be received starting April 2022. The village anticipates $200,000 will be reimbursed in the first year of the program.
An ordinance adopting revised standards for small wireless installation applications received by the village after June 3. The ordinance is needed because of changes to the Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act. That law allows cell phone companies to install “small wireless” telecommunications devices to utility poles, light poles and other structures in the public right-of-way that enable carriers the ability to implement 5G technology and enhance cellular transmission and communication.
A resolution supporting and consenting to the renewal of a Class 8 Cook County tax classification for a vacant property at 2138 183rd Street, owned by Excel Investments. The Class 8 tax incentive is a 12-year program designed to encourage industrial and commercial development in areas experiencing economic stagnation. Qualified properties given the incentive are assessed at 10% of market value for the first 10 years, 15% the 11th year and 20% in the 12th year. The resolution renews the designation for the property which was given in 2009. With the incentive the property owner will save over $70,000. Hofeld said the property owner intends for that space to be a gas station.
Authorization for the Village president to enter into a Master Pole Attachment agreement with Chicago SMSA Limited Partnership, which is doing business as Verizon Wireless. The agreement gives Verizon Wireless the ability to install small wireless facilities in locations around Homewood.

Homewood Board of Trustee meeting: 9/14/2

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