City of Monmouth City Council met March 4.
Here is the agenda as provided by the coincil:
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 Susan S. Trevor called the roll and those answering Present were: Aldermen Justin Thomas, Dave Rutledge, Alderwoman Susan Twomey, Aldermen Brian Daw, Bob Wells, Juan Pinedo and Dan Heatherly Also Present: Mayor Rod Davies, City Administrator Lew Steinbrecher, City Clerk Susan S. Trevor, City Attorney Marcum Spears, MFD Chief Casey Rexroat, MPD Chief Joe Switzer, IT Director Ken Helms and Building and Zoning Director Joe Clark. Absent: Woodard and Curran Public Works Director Andy Jackson
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A. Approval of the February 18, 2019 Council Meeting Minutes
It was moved by Alderman Daw and seconded by Alderman Wells to approve the February 18, 2019 Council Meeting Minutes as presented. AYE: Aldermen Thomas, Rutledge, Daw, Wells, Pinedo and Heatherly NAY: none PASS: Alderwoman Twomey MOTION CARRIED.
IV. PRESENTATION TO THE COUNCIL
A. Presentations or Citizen Inquiries (all inquiries are limited to 3 minutes per City Ordinance) There were none to be considered.
B. Consent Agenda
1. Approval of Bills (Items on Consent Agenda will not be discussed unless a request is made to remove an item for discussion)
It was moved by Alderman Heatherly and seconded by Alderman Rutledge to approve the Bills as presented. AYE: Alderman Rutledge, Alderwoman Twomey, Aldermen Daw, Wells, Pinedo, Heatherly and Thomas NAY: none MOTION CARRIED.
V. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
A. Building and Zoning February Report – Director Joe Clark
February was busy month contending with frozen pipes at the airport and several gas leaks at City Hall.
Fareway Foods has finished with their insulation and the roof membrane and are working on their infrastructure.
The Smithfield Procurement Building’s block walls are completed.
Estimates have been received for the buildings at 226 and 230 South Main for correcting the water infiltration. MBWI owns the properties.
Received estimate for LED lighting at the airport, but any action on this has been put on hold.
The department is continuing work on the sign registry and rental inspections.
B. Woodard and Curran January Report – Director Andy Jackson
Due to Director Jackson’s absence, the report will be presented at the March 18th meeting.
C. Approval of 353 Court LLC Agreement – Administrator Steinbrecher
353 Court LLC of Pekin, Illinois is a firm that specializes in revitalizing downtowns particularly in smaller communities. It was discovered through recommendations from other communities such as Pekin, Normal, Havana and currently Aledo that have had successful downtown revitalizations through working with this firm. The company outlined their strategy as follows:
The company will contact existing businesses to help encourage business expansion and retention.
The firm will produce a “market ready inventory” of buildings that would be used to identify areas where investments can be made to encourage new business development.
353 Court’s strategy is one of long-term, sustainable investment in the community and sharing strategies to help Monmouth succeed in their revitalization of their downtown.
A vital aspect of 353 Court LLC is their ability to discuss and coach entrepreneurs on the more technical aspects of developing, running and growing a business.
Mayor Davies added that 353 Court LLC is not buying buildings or leaving a report for us to do, but will be actively involved in the downtown revitalization process. After further discussion, it was decided to postpone any action on the agreement until the next Council Meeting to allow for further review of the proposal.
D. Approval of Public Square Beautification Project Engineering Agreement
Administrator Steinbrecher explained that last year the City applied for an ITEP grant to beautify the square with roadway improvement, green spaces and other natural improvements in the amount of $1,000,000. The City was denied due to the fact that the project was not shovel ready. Hutchinson Engineering was previously selected by the Council as the preferred engineering firm to design the project. The fee for their services to design the streetscape and present to IDOT is not to exceed $130,000 and funding will come from the restricted use of T.I.F. revenues. It was moved by Alderman Wells and seconded by Alderman Rutledge to authorize Administrator Steinbrecher to execute an agreement with Hutchinson Engineering to design the Streetscape for the beautification of the Public Square area with the fee not to exceed $130,000. AYE: Alderwoman Twomey, Aldermen Daw, Wells, Pinedo, Heatherly, Thomas and Rutledge NAY: none MOTION CARRIED.
E. Approval of WIPFLI Auditor’s 2019 Letter of Engagement
Administrator Steinbrecher explained that each year the City hires an independent firm to audit their finances. WIPFLI conducted last year’s audit. The Administration is recommending retention of WIPFLI for the 2019 fiscal audit for a fee of $28,000. It was moved by Alderman Heatherly and seconded by Alderwoman Twomey to retain WIPFLI for the 2019 fiscal audit. AYE: Aldermen Daw, Wells, Pinedo, Heatherly, Thomas, Rutledge and Alderwoman Twomey. NAY: none MOTION CARRIED.
F. Authorization to Approve Natural Gas Contract
The City’s natural gas purchasing agreement is set to expire soon and Administrator Steinbrecher would like authorization to investigate other recognized resellers to be able to negotiate pricing at or below what the City currently is paying. It was moved by Alderman Wells and seconded by Alderman Daw to authorize Administrator Steinbrecher and Mayor Davies along with assistance from Michael Ellis to negotiate with recognized resellers for natural gas prices at or below what the City is currently paying. AYE: Alderman Wells, Pinedo, Heatherly, Thomas, Rutledge, Alderwoman Twomey and Alderman Daw NAY: none MOTION CARRIED.
G. W.C. History Museum Magic Fest Street Closure Request – Director Henrichsen
Kellen Henrichsen, Executive Director of the W. C. History Museum, explained that on the 26th and 27th of April the Museum is holding their 2nd annual Magic Festival and has expanded to two venues this year. The second venue is the Knights of Columbus building, which is two doors away from the museum and to ensure safe passage of people between the two venues, the committee is requesting a portion of South Sunnylane be closed between W. 1st Avenue and W. 2nd Avenue from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on April 27th. The closure has been reviewed by Chief Switzer and approved by him. It was moved by Alderwoman Twomey and seconded by Alderman Heatherly to approve the closure of the above-name portion of South Sunnylane on April 27th between 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. AYE: Aldermen Pinedo, Heatherly, Thomas, Rutledge, Alderwoman Twomey, Aldermen Daw and Wells NAY: none MOTION CARRIED.
H. Discussion on Applying for 2019 CDBG Grant – Jared Dexter from WIRC
Two years ago, the City applied for and received a grant to improve water mains in the south area of town. Due to funding delays, the project is just now going out for bid on March 13th
. The State is also going to offer the program again in 2020. Some of the criteria that must be met is as follows:
Public infrastructure must be a threat to health and safety.
Request limit of $500,000.
Improvement must be in neighborhoods that are low to moderate income and an underserved area.
Applications are due by the end of August.
Mr. Dexter also explained that any monies from previous grants must be spent down or it will count as points against another grant.
The Council took no action at this time.
VI. ORDINANCES
A. 1st Reading
1. 19-005, Request of Change of Zoning from Public Service to R-2 Consideration of this Ordinance was removed from the Agenda to be considered at a later date.
VII. EXECUTIVE SESSION
A. Per Illinois Statute 5ILCS 120/2 to consider possible sale of Real Estate and Employee Compensation
1. It was moved by Alderman Daw and seconded by Alderman Heatherly to go into Executive Session at 7:20 p.m. AYE: Alderman Heatherly, Thomas, Rutledge, Alderwoman Twomey, Aldermen Daw, Wells and Pinedo NAY: none MOTION CARRIED.
2. It was moved by Alderman Daw and seconded by Alderman Heatherly to return to Regular Session at 7:40 p.m. AYE: Alderman Thomas, Rutledge, Alderwoman Twomey, Aldermen Daw, Wells, Pinedo and Heatherly NAY: none MOTION CARRIED.
VIII. OTHER BUSINESS
There was none to be considered.
IX. ADJOURNMENT
It was moved by Alderman Heatherly and seconded by Alderman Rutledge to adjourn the March 4, 2019 meeting at 7:40 p.m. MOTION CARRIED by unanimous voice vote.
http://www.cityofmonmouth.com/attachments/article/713/March%204,%202019%20Council%20Meeting%20Minutes.pdf
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