Galesburg Reporter

City of Monmouth City Council met Aug. 5.

Here is the agenda 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 Susan S. Trevor called the roll and those answering Present were: Aldermen

Justin Thomas, Tony Cook, Alderwoman Susan Twomey, Aldermen Daw, Wells, Pinedo, Heatherly and Alderwoman Mary Kelly 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, Woodard and Curran Director Andy Jackson, IT Director Ken Helms and Building and Zoning Director Joe Clark.

III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

A. Approval of the July 15, 2019 Council Meeting Minutes

It was moved by Alderwoman Daw and seconded by Alderman Pinedo to approve the July 15, 2019 Council Meeting Minutes. AYE: Alderman Thomas, Cook, Alderwoman Twomey, Aldermen Daw, Wells, Pinedo, Heatherly and Alderwoman Kelly NAY: none MOTION CARRIED.

IV. PRESENTATION TO THE COUNCIL

A. Administration of Oath of Office – MPD Lt. Jerry Kinney to Captain

City Clerk Susan Trevor administered the Oath of Office of Captain to MPD Lt. Jerry Kinney. After being sworn in, Captain Kinney thanked the Council and Administration for their support.

B. Presentations or Citizen Inquiries (all inquiries are limited to 3 minutes per City Ordinance)

There were none to consider.

C. Consent Agenda

1. Approval of Bills

It was moved by Alderman Heatherly and seconded by Alderwoman Kelly to approve the payment of the bills as presented. AYE: Alderman Cook, Alderwoman Twomey, Aldermen Daw, Wells, Pinedo, Heatherly, Alderwoman Kelly and Alderman Thomas NAY: none MOTION CARRIED

V. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

A. Building and Zoning July Report – Director Clark

 Fareway Foods is finished and had grand opening on July 31st

 Smithfield has completed construction of their cooler.

 Parkins Trucking has completed dock and building footings and has begun work on the roof.

 The parapet wall at 226 S. Main is completed and work has moved to the West wall to grout and tuck point.

 Midwest Pet Foods is re-purposing a building to use as a meat cooler.

 Warren County Housing is continuing with providing more parking at Lincoln Homes and updates at Costello and Oak Terraces.

 Work is continuing on the Y.M.C.A.’s pool.

 Our department is continuing work at developing licensing requirements and applications for all contractors getting permits within the City.

B. Community Engagement July Report – IT Director Helms

Car show went great with no problems. 353 LLC was here to gain insight into the kinds of events that Monmouth has and were impressed with the large turnout for the show. They shared that they had gained some ideas for possible economic development.

The radio station has invited City department heads along with numerous other people to participate in discussions regarding mental health services in this area. The emergency notification system has received a great response with several thousand numbers already signed up. A banner will be put up on the square as well for a limited promotion.

C. Woodard and Curran June Report – Director Jackson

 The department is finally being able to catch up on some projects delayed by the large amounts of rain earlier in the season.

 The County seal coated Kimberly Drive for us.

 Our crews repaired several areas on North Main Street.

 The intersection on N. 6th and E. 3rd Avenue was re-built last week.

 All the water mains have been tied in on the water main project along East 9th Avenue and South 5th Street.

 The goal is to have the project completed before the deadline to send in the application for the grant for the East Euclid water main project.

 The plans and specifications for the NWWTP project have been sent to the IEPA.

 CSO Phase II plans have also been submitted to the IEPA.

 In July, the City received the draft permit for the WWTP. The City has been exempt from disinfection for 20 years or so, but the EPA is now asserting that the discharge from the WWTP is contributing to fecal chloroform in Cedar Creek. The EPA will then probably require the City to disinfect our discharge from the WWTP. The City will appeal and produce studies to show that it is not our discharge that is contributing to this problem. Hopefully the studies will at least allow for the City to receive a modified schedule, which would minimize the cost.

D. MFT Bid Explanation – Director Jackson

The 2019 MFT Project was budgeted for $750,000; however the lowest bid came in at $955,187.50 by Brandt Construction. Therefore, it will be necessary to scale back the project to $790,000.00. The State requires approval of the low bid, but as long as the City is able to stay within 75% of the low bid it won’t be necessary to re-bid the project. A special resolution will need to be passed providing for $700,000 to be spent out of the MFT fund and $90,000 out of the local fuel tax fund.

E. Hutchinson Engineering Presentation-Downtown Public Square Streetscape Plan

Shane Larson from Hutchinson Engineering gave a power point on the proposed downtown Public Square Streetscape Plan. He explained that it is Phase I Engineering Study to submit as part of an application for a federal grant program that is administered by IDOT. The deadline is December 5th. The maximum Federal funding is 2 million dollars with a 20% local match that can come from MFT, TIF or Local Fuel Tax funds. Most of the grants are awarded for streetscapes or bike trails. Some of the improvements to the public square include: additional green space, more parking, traffic features to improve pedestrian safety, rainwater gardens to help in mandated EPA regulations; additional sidewalk space, and a boulevard will be created to accommodate the reduction of two lanes of traffic in the 100 blocks coming into the square to one lane. There are drawings of the proposed project on display in the lobby of City Hall.

F. MFT Bid Approval

Prior to the approval of the MFT bid, Director Jackson explained to the Council that Brandt Construction has stated in writing that they have agreed to scaling back the MFT project and will keep within the budget. It was moved by Alderman Wells and seconded by Alderwoman Twomey to approve the low bid by Brandt Construction for the 2019 MFT Project. AYE: Alderwoman Twomey, Aldermen Daw, Wells, Pinedo, Heatherly, Alderwoman Kelly, Aldermen Thomas and Cook NAY: none MOTION CARRIED.

G. Amendment to Sidewalk Café Ordinance Discussion

Administrator Steinbrecher explained that a local business has asked for permission to have seating in a fenced in area in front of their business for their customers; however, they do not meet the requirement of being a restaurant, which is necessary to have a sidewalk café, as they do not derive 50% of their revenue from food sales. The Administration believes that this would fit into the City’s plan to improve the attractiveness of the downtown area and is therefore proposing an amendment to the Sidewalk Café Ordinance to create a new definition for a “Lounge” where food sales are less than 50% of the business revenues. Hours would be restricted with a mandatory closing at 7:00 p.m. During discussion there were concerns expressed that limiting this to just one business is not equitable and should apply to all restaurants. It was also felt that the restricted hours should be expanded. Mayor Davies said that the Administration will review the requested changes and bring the issue back for consideration at a future Council meeting.

VI. RESOLUTIONS

A. Resolution 19-005, Approving the Downtown Public Square Streetscape Project It was moved by Alderman Heatherly and seconded by Alderman Wells to approve the Downtown Streetscape Project. AYE: Aldermen Daw, Wells, Pinedo, Heatherly, Alderwoman Kelly, Aldermen Thomas, Cook and Alderwoman Twomey NAY: none MOTION CARRIED.

B. Resolution 19-006, CDBG Grant

Mayor Davies explained that this Resolution would be considered at the next Council Meeting.

C. Resolution 19-007, MFT Supplemental Resolution

It was moved by Alderman Heatherly and seconded by Alderman Daw to approve the MFT Supplemental Resolution in the amount of $100,000 for the 2019 MFT Project. AYE: Aldermen Pinedo, Heatherly, Alderwoman Kelly, Aldermen Thomas, Cook, Alderwoman Twomey, Aldermen Daw and Wells NAY: none MOTION CARRIED.

VII. OTHER BUSINESS

There was none to consider.

VIII. ADJOURNMENT

It was moved by Alderman Heatherly and seconded by Alderman Cook to adjourn the August 5, 2019 meeting at 7:00 p.m. MOTION CARRIED by unanimous voice vote.

https://www.cityofmonmouth.com/attachments/article/706/August%205,%202019%20Council%20Meeting%20Minutes.pdf