HomeMy WebLinkAboutJPZ - 12/01/1997 - WIRELESS 911 SURCHARGE/TRICK OR TREAT HOURS ELK GROVE VILLAGE
JPZ COMMITTEE MEETING
DECEMBER 1, 1997
JPZ Committee: Sam Lissner, Chairperson
Nancy Czarnik, Village Trustee
Chris Prochno, Village Trustee
Staff: George Knickerbocker, Village Attorney
James MacArthur, Fire Chief
Scott Niehaus, Assistant to the Village Manager
Greg Riddle, Deputy Fire Chief
Steve Schmidt, Deputy Police Chief
Others: Wendy Cohen, AT&T
Steve Dorfman,Altheimer& Gray (Cellular One)
Chris Dunn, AT&T
Kim Fritz,Nextel
Amy Kurson, Katten Muchin& Zavis (Ameritech)
Jim Leahy, Riley & Associates (AT&T)
Michael Stern,Nextel
Wireless 9-1-1 Surcharee Legislation
Chairperson Lissner opened the meeting at 8:10 p.m. and asked the Village
Attorney, George Knickerbocker, to summarize the wireless 9-1-1 surcharge legislation
issue.
Knickerbocker explained that the Village Board was concerned over the status of
funding for the implementation of enhanced 9-1-1 service for wireless telephones.
Knickerbocker stated that the Village, through Northwest Central Dispatch(NWCD),
would be required to pay for equipment and personnel costs related to handling 9-1-1
calls originated by wireless telephones. The total amount of these costs was unknown,
however, NWCD anticipates it being a substantial capital expense. Therefore, the JPZ
Committee was currently discussing the possibility of adopting 9-1-1 surcharge ordinance
for wireless telephones, similar to legislation already adopted by the City of Chicago.
Deputy Chief Greg Riddle also provided information on the history on the efforts
of public safety officials to have statewide legislation adopted providing a surcharge for
9-1-1 wireless service. Riddle stated that a bill was introduced in the fall session of the
Illinois General Assembly, however, due to concerns of the wireless telecommunications
industry,the proposed legislation was not approved.
Following a review of the issue, the JPZ Committee opened up the meeting for
comments and input from representatives of the wireless telecommunications industry.
The industry confrimed that they were aware of the Village's concerns regarding the
funding of 9-1-1 service for wireless telephones. In addition, they were aware of the
concerns voiced by public safety officials regarding how the funding would be
administered. It was the consensus of the industry that they were committed to the
passage of 9-1-1 surcharge legislation and that they were hopeful that it could be passed
in the Spring 1998 session of the General Assembly. In addition,the industry noted that
the implementation of an enhanced 9-1-1 system was a motivating factor in terms of their
marketing strategy. Therefore, they were very interested in seeing the 9-1-1 surcharge
legislation being approved as soon as possible.
Discussion was also held regarding the possibility of addressing the surcharge
issue through the issuance of special use permits and/or lease agreements. It was the
feeling of the industry that taking such action may not be conducive to the statewide
legislation effort because it did not address the problem in a comprehensive manner. In
addition, it was noted that similar actions taken by other communities had been met with
legal opposition on behalf of impacted telecommunications companies.
Upon further discussion,the consensus of the JPZ Committee was to recommend
that the following actions be taken by the Village Board:
• to not pursue the passage of a wireless 9-1-1 surcharge ordinance at this time;
• to allow the antenna/tower requests currently before the Village to proceed;
• to draft a letter to all wireless telecommunications companies operating in Elk
Grove formally notifying them of the Village's concern over 9-1-1 funding
and the Village's expectation that the issue will be addressed by the General
Assembly in the Spring of 1998;
• to draft a letter to all local State Senators and Representatives requesting that
legislation providing a surcharge for wireless 9-1-1 be passed by the General
Assembly in the Spring of 1998; and
• to draft a letter to all NWCD communities informing them of the Village's
action and requesting that they do the same.
Halloween Trick-or-Treat Hours
The JPZ Committee reviewed information on Halloween Trick-or-Treat hours
from a survey conducted of Northwest Municipal Conference (NWMC) communities. Of
27 communities responding to the survey, 26 have trick-or-treat hours on October 31.
The hours of trick-or-treating range from 1 to 8 p.m. Morton Grove, Prospect Heights
and Schaumburg are the only communities that do not regulate trick-or-treating hours.
It was the general feeling of the JPZ Committee that the hours for trick-or-treating
should be be extended to 8 p.m. In addition, the JPZ felt that there was sufficient time to
conduct a survey through local schools and parent teacher organizations (PTO)to
determine if their was any interest in changing the trick-or-treat day to the Sunday before
Halloween.
Upon futher discussion,the consensus of the JPZ Committee was as follows:
• to recommend that trick-or-treating be extended by one (1) hour to 8 p.m.;
and
• to recommend that a survey be taken in local schools to determine if there
is sufficient interest in having trick-or-treating on the Sunday before
Halloween as opposed to on Halloween itself.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
C: Chairman and Members Plan Commission,President and Board of Trustees, Village
Clerk,Village Manager,Assistant Village Manager,Assistant to the Village Manager,
Administrative Intern, Director of Engineering/Community Development,Director of
Public Works, Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chief(2),Assistant Fire Chief, Village
Attorney, Chairman and Members Zoning Board of Appeals