By Dee Longfellow
For The Elmhurst Independent
The regular City Council meeting was held Monday, Nov. 2, which some aldermen attended live in-person, while others attended virtually. Every official was in attendance with one absent (3rd Ward Alderman Michael Bram) and there is a vacant seat in Ward 2, due to the retirement of Alderman Norm Leader.
During the consent agenda, a liquor license was approved for the Brewpoint Coffee Workshop and Roastery facility located at 617 North York. It is a Class “SPR” liquor license, which allows the company to incorporate liquor into their business plan. They’re planning to offer five to 12 alcoholic beverage items, including beer, wine and craft cocktails, while offering a mix of everyday favorites and season varieties. All state and local laws and ordinances will be enforced and staff who serve alcohol will be required to attend Bassett training.
Alderman Michael Honquest (6th Ward) pulled the item from the consent agenda in order to vote ‘No,’ but offered no explanation why. The vote was taken and the measure passed 11-1 with one absent and one vacant seat.
When Mayor Steve Morley offered his report, he said he had recently invoked his authority and imposed an executive order, which aldermen had been made aware of.
“As soon as Governor Pritzker announced [additional mitigations], we received numerous phone calls from several businesses, who were trying to figure out what they can and can’t do, what is and isn’t allowed,” he said. “The executive order was issued to suspend the collection of some of the fees that the City charges. In the not too distance past, when restaurants were shut down, liquor license fees were not required for a two-month period. I thought the best we could do was suspend those fees. It will be up to City Council and the Public Affairs and Safety (PAS) Committee to decide how long we do this.”
Committee-Of-The-Whole begins budget talks with library
Following the regular meeting, the Council adjourned and reconvened for a Committee-Of-The-Whole meeting about City budgets. It began with Sue Sedowski, president of the Library Board, and executive director Mary Beth Harper, who presented the 2021 budget for the Elmhurst Public Library.
“The year 2020 has forced us to rethink everything we do for the community,” Sedowski said. “We once had up to 1500 people a day, but on March 11, we abruptly closed through June 15. What we did was to increase our virtual offerings, then we offered drive-up pick-up. Once we began that, we filled more than 700 requests. Now that the library is open again, we are welcoming about 500 people a day.”
Harper said staff have been shifting between working from home and working at the library.
“Our patrons are still using the library in a fashion that suits the current situation,” Harper said. “People can actually order things on the web site and come by and pick them up.”
Harper said one person was glad to be able to see her 3-year-old daughter during storytime with Miss Katie.
“Meeting rooms have been an incredible service to community – people really like that,” Harper said. “There is a way to use virtual rooms, so people can host meetings through the library’s web site.”
She also said there is now an Internet connection on the roof of the library, which means, people can now have free high-speed Internet service in the parking lot, which allows people to use their cars as a mobile service office.
“We are grateful to be able to still serve the public,” Sedowski said. “We will take each step one at a time, always taking into account the health and safety of our staff.”
Sedowski added that the budget is working on paying down the building bonds.
“We will not ask the taxpayer for any additional dollars this year,” she said. “I never thought I’d be able to sit here and say ‘zero levy,’ but we’re able to do that right now.”
Alderman Scott Levin (5th Ward) asked about the library no longer collecting fines for overdue materials.
“It is becoming more of a practice with the pandemic and many libraries [have stopped collecting fines],” Harper said. “This year, we added automatic renewals. … It’s kind of a gesture of good will and not a major income line, but fines can be a major annoyance to most people.”
“I’ll bring my books back then!” Levin quipped.
Harper said certain social services are now available through the library, that hiring a social worker is another new trend in libraries.
“The person holds no actual clinical hours, so she is not actually treating anyone, but rather, she’s directing people to other services, helping them fill out forms, find housing, either permanent or just a bed for the evening,” she said.
The person is also helping people find jobs, Harper said, especially for those who are trying to get back into the job market.
Alderman Mike Brennan (7th Ward) said his family now had a Cricut® machine that they checked out from the library’s “Makery.”
“I have a question that maybe others on the dais may be wondering about as well,” said Mayor Morley. “What’s a Cricut?”
The comment drew a laugh, but Sedowski explained it was a machine that could cut materials in a variety of shapes, primarily used for craft projects.
Discussion shifts to History Museum, Heritage Foundation
Heritage Foundation president Rob Butler and Elmhurst History Museum executive director Dave Oberg then appeared before Council, noting how much the museum is managing to carry on quite well, despite the pandemic, thanks to virtual programs.
“We still had three major exhibitions this year – ‘On The Right Track,’ ‘The Great American Road Trip,’ and the current Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit,” Butler said. “The staff did a great job, creating virtual programs as well as an actual ‘miniature’ bike tours of the city’s past.”
Three more exhibits are planned, Oberg said, adding that the Foundation hopes to bring back the Craft Beer Fest next summer.
“With a serious shift toward virtual programming, we’ve managed to serve 166,883 people as of this afternoon,” Oberg said.
“We owe a big thanks to the City, major donors, the director and staff of the museum,” Butler said. “Exhibits are nice and the documentaries are fun to watch. The people are the key.
Elmhurst is indeed fortunate. Thanks for the ongoing support.”
