Galesburg Reporter

City of Monmouth City Council Met May 17.

Here is 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 Susan S. Trevor called the roll and those answering Present were: Alderman Tony Cook, Alderwoman Susan Twomey, Aldermen Jim Conard, Juan Pinedo, Alderwoman Mary Kelly and Alderman John VanVleet Absent: Aldermen Thomas and Daw Also Present: Mayor Rod Davies, City Clerk Susan S. Trevor, City Attorney Marcum Spears, Woodard and Curran Public Works Director Andy Jackson, Communications Director Ken Helms, Building and Zoning Director Joe Clark, MFD Chief Casey Rexroat and MPD Chief Joe Switzer Also Absent: City Administrator Lew Steinbrecher Members of the Press: Jane Carlson, Register Mail

III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

A. Approval of May 3, 2021 Council Meeting Minutes

It was moved by Alderman Cook and seconded by Alderwoman Twomey to approve the May 3, 2021 Council Meeting Minutes as presented. AYE: Alderman Cook, Alderwoman Twomey, Aldermen Conard, Pinedo, Alderwoman Kelly and Alderman VanVleet NAY: none ABSENT: Aldermen Thomas and Daw MOTION CARRIED.

IV. PRESENTATION TO THE COUNCIL

A. Presentations or Citizen Inquiries

1. Chaillon Stacker, 122 N. C Street expressed concerns regarding the permanent closure of the 200 block of West Archer. She felt that it would divert more traffic in front of her house and neighborhood.

2. Leanne Brower, 307 W. Broadway, said that she was in favor of closing the 200 block of West Archer for the safety of the students. She has children at ICS and she has not observed that the closing of the 200 block of West Archer during school hours has caused too much inconvenience for traffic.

3. Mark Richardson, 112 North B Street, stated that he was definitely against the permanent closing of the 200 block of West Archer. Along with perhaps decreasing property values, he felt that the increased traffic will get diverted into close neighborhoods. He has observed from his home in the last few days, a great number of cars turning right onto West Archer from North B Street. He does not see that this closure would be of any benefit to the community and he asked the Council to put aside any biases and vote on what is in the best interest of the community.

4. Tim and Ann Fancher, 212 North B Street, also expressed their concerns about increased traffic on North B Street. There is parking on only one side of B Street and they were concerned that due to the increased traffic there would be more accidents in the neighborhood.

Mayor Davies thanked the above people for expressing their concerns and said that the Council and the Administration would take these concerns under consideration when making a decision; however, the Council would have to first approve at this meeting to have the City Attorney draft an Ordinance permanently closing the 200 block of West Archer, which would then be brought back to the next meeting for a vote on approving that Ordinance.

B. Consent Agenda

1. Approval of Bills

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

V. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

A. Maple City Street Machines Car Show Request – Larry Mills

Maple City Street Machines members Larry Mills and Clifford Adams explained the details of the 2021 car show due to concerns about COVID-19 restrictions. It will be held on Friday, August 6th from Noon to 8:00 p.m., which are shorter hours than previous car shows. There will be no band and more limited parking such as only two blocks on South Main Street and only extending on North Main to East Euclid. There will be fewer food vendors and after concerns were voiced by Alderwoman Kelly and Alderman VanVleet, they said they will definitely reach out to local vendors. It was moved by Alderman Cook and seconded by Alderman Pinedo to approve the request by the Maple City Street Machines to hold their car show on August 6th according to the details above-stated. AYE: Aldermen Cook, Pinedo, Alderwoman Kelly, Aldermen VanVleet, Cook and Alderwoman Twomey NAY: none ABSENT: Aldermen Thomas and Daw MOTION CARRIED.

B. Fields Mobile Food Vendor Request – Dave Schonfelder

Dave Schonfelder of Fields, presented a request to place a mobile food cart at various locations (to be determined) in the downtown area to sell quality hot dogs and accoutrements. He is a trained chef and has previously held a mobile food vendor license in the City. City Attorney Spears stated that the current Mobile Food Vendor ordinance might need to be amended to allow for the pushcart and said that he would review the ordinance to bring it back to Council for consideration.

C. ICS Request for Permanent West Archer Street Closure – Principal Frakes Principal Frakes explained that the plans for the new gymnasium are in the beginning stages, but before the school can move forward it needs to know if it will be possible to permanently close the 200 block of West Archer. He feels confident that the teachers can keep the students safe, but if would be most desirable to permanently close the street in order to minimize the student’s exposure to traffic. The main entrance and parking will be on the East side onto North A Street. It has been the hope of the ICS community to enhance the value of homes in the neighborhood with the new design of the school and the landscaping around it. Chris Gavin, a member of the ICS design committee said that the school has an agreement with the County to provide 20 parking spaces to the County since they are purchasing the land on North A from the County to provide for the new entrance and parking for the addition to the school. Mayor Davies said that it would be necessary to pass a resolution authorizing City

Attorney Spears to draft an ordinance allowing for the permanent closure of the 200 block of West Archer as well as requesting easements for the City’s infrastructure. Alderman Cook said that he would vote no on a permanent closure due to the concerns of the citizens in his Ward. City Attorney Spears asked if the City wanted compensation for the closure of the street included in the ordinance. Alderwoman Twomey and Alderman Conard both expressed their opinion that compensation should be included. It was moved by Alderman Conard and seconded by Alderman VanVleet to authorize City Attorney Spears to draft an ordinance providing for the permanent closure of the 200 block of West Archer with compensation from ICS for the closure of the street to be included. AYE: Aldermen Conard, Pinedo and VanVleet NAY: Alderwoman Kelly, Aldermen Cook and Alderwoman Twomey ABSENT: Aldermen Thomas and Daw To break the tie vote, Mayor Davies voted AYE. MOTION CARRIED.

D. BCCA Request for Use of Central Park – Kristyne Gilbert

Kristyne Gilbert, Director of BCCA, said that Buchanan Center for the Arts had four or five artists that wanted to set up easels in Central Park to paint downtown scenes, which will then be donated to the BCCA for an online auction. The artists would be present from on Saturday, June 26th from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. It was moved by Alderwoman Twomey and seconded by Alderwoman Kelly to approve the above-stated request. AYE: Alderman Pinedo, Alderwoman Kelly, Aldermen VanVleet, Cook, Alderwoman Twomey and Alderman Conard NAY: none ABSENT: Aldermen Thomas and Daw MOTION CARRIED.

E. 4th of July Fireworks Discussion

Mayor Davies explained to the Council that since the State has moved to the Bridge phase of COVID-19, the City can go ahead with a 4th of July fireworks display if the Council wished to do so, but he also wanted the Council’s input as to whether they wanted the display on Saturday, July 3rd or Sunday, July 4th at Citizens Lake Recreation Area. It was moved by Alderman Cook and seconded by Alderman VanVleet to have the fireworks display on Sunday, July 4th. AYE: Alderwoman Kelly, Aldermen VanVleet, Cook, Alderwoman Twomey, Aldermen Conard and Pinedo NAY: none ABSENT: Aldermen Thomas and Daw MOTION CARRIED.

F. MFD April Report – Chief Rexroat

There were 125 Calls in April

There was a significant fire on April 29th at Smithfield Foods. The department did a good job of knocking it down quickly.

There was also a house fire in the 400 block of N. 10th Street. The people and one dog escaped safely, but the other dog had to be rescued and resuscitated with the dog mask that had been previously been donated to the department.

The Department hosted a class on new car technology that gave information on how cars are currently being made and the challenges that a firefighter might face when trying to rescue a victim from a car accident.

Hydrant flushing has been completed and hydrants tops are currently being painted with color coding to indicate when responding to a fire the amount of water pressure available from each hydrant.

G. MPD April Report – Chief Switzer

• There were 60 arrests in the month of April.

• MPD, Bridgeway and OSF partnered together for “drug take backs”. Fifty-three pounds of pills were collected and taken to the OSF Pharmacy to dispose of.

• MPD along with the FBI, the Warren County Sheriff’s department and the Knox County Sheriff’s Department, conducted search warrants and seized $99,000 in cash, several vehicles and numerous open vehicle titles. There is still an ongoing drug investigation.

• Several Safety Committee Meetings were held comprised of City staff, MPD and MFD to develop a “Slip, Trip and Fall” program, which has been completed. It will be used City-wide.

• A department wide meeting with officers and dispatchers was held for the first time in one and a half years due to COVID-19.

• The “Watchguard System failed and the department now has I-Cloud storage for transferring video from squad cars.

H. LRS Letter of Intent

Mayor Davies said there will be a motion made concerning this Letter of Intent following the Executive Session.

I. Truck Lease Renewal – Director Jackson

Andy explained that Enterprise had contacted him with the opportunity to trade in five 2020 pickup trucks for five 2021 pickup trucks. This opportunity closes by the 1st of June. He would like to add an additional pickup to replace the 2006 pickup at the water department due to the rising maintenance costs on that vehicle. It will add around $192 per month to the budget. There is a 7 to 8-month lead time; therefore, delivery and new payments won’t start until some time in January or February of 2022. It was moved by Alderwoman Twomey and seconded by Alderman Conard to approve the trade-in of five 2020 pickups and one 2006 pickup for six 2021 pickups with Enterprise. AYE: Aldermen VanVleet, Cook, Alderwoman Twomey, Aldermen Conard, Pinedo and Alderwoman Kelly NAY: none ABSENT: Aldermen Thomas and Daw MOTION CARRIED.

J. Rotary BBQ

City Attorney Spears as Chairman of the 2021 Rotary BBQ requested to use the parking lane of the South side of the 100 block of West Broadway on June 8th from 4:30 until 6:30 p.m. for a drive-through pickup of their BBQ dinner. There is no cost, but donations are accepted. It was moved by Alderman Cook and seconded by Alderman Pinedo to approve the above stated request. AYE: Alderman Cook, Alderwoman Twomey, Alderman Conard, Pinedo, Alderwoman Kelly and Alderman VanVleet NAY: none ABSENT: Aldermen Thomas and Daw MOTION CARRIED.

VI. ORDINANCES

A. 1st Reading

1. 21-010 – Updated Floodplain

Mayor Davies removed this item from the agenda for further study.

VII. EXECUTIVE SESSION

A. Per Illinois Statute 5ILCS 120/2 to consider sale of Real Estate with possible action upon return to Regular Session.

1. It was moved by Alderwoman Kelly and seconded by Alderwoman Twomey to go into Executive Session at 7:10 to consider sale of Real Estate. AYE: Alderman Cook, Alderwoman Twomey, Aldermen Conard, Pinedo, Alderwoman Kelly and Alderman VanVleet NAY: none ABSENT: Aldermen Thomas and Daw MOTION CARRIED.

2. It was moved by Alderwoman Kelly and seconded by Alderman Cook to return to Regular Session at 7:30 p.m. AYE: Alderwoman Twomey, Aldermen Conard, Pinedo, Alderwoman Kelly, Aldermen VanVleet and Cook NAY: none ABSENT: Aldermen Thomas and Daw MOTION CARRIED.

VIII. OTHER BUSINESS

A. LRS Letter of Intent

Mayor Davies explained that Lakeshore Recycling Systems has submitted a non binding Letter of Intent to purchase the City of Monmouth’s Transfer Station. LRS is agreeing to purchase the Transfer Station and surrounding property for $2,250,000. They will also pay $1.25 per ton tipping fees to the City as well as acquiring all existing operating equipment. In addition, they also propose to look for prospective shop terminal locations within City limits. Prior to close LRS will perform a certified survey. The Administration is looking for approval to enter into the Letter of Intent agreement with LRS. It was moved by Alderwoman Twomey and seconded by Alderwoman Kelly to approve entering into a non binding Letter of Intent with LRS. AYE: Aldermen Conard, Pinedo, Alderwoman Kelly, Aldermen VanVleet, Cook and Alderwoman Twomey NAY: none ABSENT: Aldermen Thomas and Daw MOTION CARRIED.

B. Resolution to Sell

It was moved by Alderwoman Twomey and seconded by Alderman Conard to authorize City Attorney Spears to draw up a Resolution to Sell the City Transfer Station to LRS. AYE: Aldermen Conard, Pinedo, Alderwoman Kelly, Aldermen VanVleet, Cook and Alderwoman Twomey NAY: none ABSENT: Aldermen Thomas and Daw MOTION CARRIED.

IX. ADJOURNMENT

It was moved by Alderman Cook and seconded by Alderman Pinedo to adjourn the May 17, 2021 meeting at 7:35 p.m. MOTION CARRIED by unanimous voice vote with the exception of Aldermen Thomas and Daw, who were absent.

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