City of Monmouth City Council met December 1.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
I. CALL TO ORDER & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
   Mayor Rod Davies called the meeting to order in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 100 East Broadway at 6:00 p.m. and led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
II. ROLL CALL
   City Clerk Melissa Teel called the roll and those answering Present were: Aldermen Roger Teel, Brad Bone, Scott Weber, Brian Daw, Jim Conard, Juan Pinedo and John VanVleet Absent: Alderman Kevin Ferry Also Present: Mayor Rod Davies, City Clerk Melissa Teel, City Administrator Lew Steinbrecher, City Attorney Marcum Spears, Communications Director Ken Helms, MFD Chief Casey Rexroat, MPD Chief Joe Switzer, Public Works Director Brayden Bledsoe and Building and Zoning Director Joe Clark
III. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
   A. Approval of the November 17, 2025 Council Meeting Minutes as presented It was moved by Alderman Teel and seconded by Alderman Conard to approve the minutes. AYE: Alderman Teel, Bone, Weber, Daw, Conard, Pinedo and VanVleet
       NAY: None
       MOTION CARRIED.
IV. PRESENTATIONS
   A. Monmouth Fire Department Chief Casey Rexroat stated that there have been a couple of promotions in the fire department and that we have a swearing in on the agenda. City Clerk Melissa Teel swore in Paul Mangieri as Captain.
V. CONSENT AGENDA
   A. Approval of the Bills
      It was moved by Alderman Daw and seconded by Alderman Pinedo to approve the bills as presented. AYE: Aldermen Bone, Weber, Daw, Conard, Pinedo, VanVleet, and Teel.
       MOTION CARRIED.
VI. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
   A. Zoning Director Joe Clark presented the November monthly zoning report. The zoning department continued to issue permits, notices for junk and debris, rental inspections, unsafe structures and followed up on all open projects and citizen inquiries. The completed projects included: OSF Holy Family Project 2503- Sleep Lab is completed and received an occupancy permit. Open projects included: Monmouth College- 815 East Broadway house renovation and soon will move to 903 E Broadway as well for additional student housing, and the former Banker’s  Life building on West 1st Ave., Ameren is footing the expense for getting rid of the high lines on the back side of the building.
   B. Public Works Director Brayden Bledsoe presented the October monthly report for Woodard and Curran. Director Bledsoe stated that the water department continues to replace water meters throughout town and are in the process of completing a lot of maintenance at the water treatment plant. The wastewater department has gotten the lagoon cleared of sludge and is currently completing the winterization of systems out there. He explained that the report was slightly outdated but that it stated that the street department will continue to pick up leaves through December as weather permits and will do their very best as it is not permitting now. He stated the street department has also repaired several water main breaks and will patch the roads above those breaks as weather allows. He stated that the past month, they completed the training on cold weather preparedness. Alderman VanVleet asks if there is a copy of the landscaping contract yet for the aldermen to see and Lew responds that there is no contract between the City and McVey Landscaping and that the contract would be with MCAP. He explained that they are working through it right now and he will provide it as soon as the contract is complete. Alderman Bone asked when the 100 days is up for the Harlem project. Director Bledsoe explained that the state has engineers there and they are very involved and that he will find out where they are in the count of days. Mayor Davies stated that they have charged 50 and a half working days and have 59 and a half days remaining. He explained that they have an engineer from IDOT and one from IMEG and they watch that very closely.
   C. Mayor Davies stated that we need to approve the council meeting schedule for 2026. Alderman Pinedo stated that he wasn’t sure if anyone else noticed but that the first meeting in April and the first meeting in May were the wrong dates. City Clerk Melissa Teel stated she would make the corrections to the schedule. It was moved by Alderman Bone and seconded by Alderman VanVleet to approve the schedule for the 2026 City Council meetings with the corrections. AYE: Aldermen Weber, Daw, Conard, Pinedo, VanVleet, Teel and Bone. NAY: None
       MOTION CARRIED.
VII. RESOLUTIONS
   A. 25-007 2026 Joint Animal Control Contract- Mayor Davies explained that the joint animal control contract was the same every year and is with Warren County. He stated that the contract was for the City and the County sharing the cost of operating the animal shelter. It was moved by Alderman Conard and seconded by Alderman Teel to approve the Joint Animal Control Contract for 2026. AYE: Aldermen Conard, Pinedo, VanVleet, Teel, Bone, Weber and Daw. NAY: None
      MOTION CARRIED.
   B. 25-008 Resolution Authorizing a Representative to Sign Loan DocumentsMayor Davies explained that the resolution was for the Lead Service Line Replacement loan. Administrator Steinbrecher explained that the resolution was tied to letter B under ordinances and that it authorizes the Mayor to sign the loan documents associated with the project. Lew explained that the City is in the process of applying for a $3,027,000 loan from the Illinois EPA under their lead service line replacement program. Of that amount, they have indicated that $2,465,000 of that  loan will be forgiven. The balance of $562,000 will need to be repaid over 40 years at 0% interest. He explained that it would equate to about $1100 a month. He also explained that there was also potential that if more funds became available, they could increase that up to 3.4 million, which would be about another $375,000 and would be forgivable. It was moved by Alderman Daw and seconded by Alderman Pinedo to approve the resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign the loan documents. AYE: Aldermen Conard, Pinedo, VanVleet, Teel, Bone, Weber and Daw. NAY: None
       MOTION CARRIED.
VIII. ORDINANCES
   A. 25-020 Tax Levy Ordinance- Administrator Steinbrecher explained that the levy is for $3,048,028 and is a 6.8% increase which is offset by the 9.7% increase in the assessed value of properties therefore, most of the people in the community will see a slight decrease in the City’s portion of their property taxes. It was moved by Alderman Conard and seconded by Alderman Teel to approve the Tax Levy Ordinance. AYE: Aldermen Pinedo, VanVleet, Teel, Bone, Weber, Daw, and Conard. NAY: None
      MOTION CARRIED
   B. 25-021 IEPA Lead Service Line Replacement Loan Ordinance- Administrator Steinbrecher explained that it is an ordinance authorizing the City to apply for a loan for $3,027,000 and only $562,000 will need to be repaid and it is to help finance a non-funded mandate by the state to replace lead service lines. It was moved by Alderman Pinedo and seconded by Alderman Bone to approve the Lead Service Line Replacement Loan Ordinance. AYE: Aldermen VanVleet, Teel, Bone, Weber, Daw, Conard and Pinedo. NAY: None
       MOTION CARRIED
IX. EXECUTIVE SESSION
   A. It was moved by Alderman Daw and seconded by Alderman Teel to go into executive session at 6:21 p.m. AYE: Alderman Teel, Bone, Weber, Daw, Conard, Pinedo and VanVleet NAY: None
      MOTION CARRIED.
X. REGULAR SESSION
   A. It was moved by Alderman Teel and seconded by Alderman Weber to return to regular session at 6:36 p.m.
       AYE: Aldermen Teel, Bone, Weber, Daw, Conard, Pinedo and VanVleet NAY: None
       MOTION CARRIED.
XI. ADJOURNMENT
   A. Alderman Daw moved to adjourn the December 1st meeting at 6:37 p.m. and Alderman Teel seconded the motion. MOTION CARRIED by unanimous voice vote with the exception of Alderman Ferry who was absent.
https://www.cityofmonmouth.com/sites/g/files/vyhlif7191/f/agendas/december_1_2025_council_meeting_minutes.pdf
