Pastor Weinhold of St. John Lutheran Church gave the invocation.

Transcription

1 SYCAMORE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 19, 2013 ROLL CALL Mayor Ken Mundy called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and City Clerk Candy Smith called the roll. Those Alderpersons present were: Alan Bauer, Steven Braser, Rick Spider Kramer, Pete Paulsen, Chuck Stowe, Gregory Taylor, and Janice Tripp. INVOCATION Pastor Weinhold of St. John Lutheran Church gave the invocation. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE APPROVAL OF AGENDA Alderperson Kramer moved to approve the agenda and Alderperson Taylor seconded the motion. Mayor Mundy called for a voice vote to approve the motion. All Alderpersons voted aye. carried 7-0. APPOINTMENTS Appointment of Curtis Lang to fill the vacant Aldermanic seat in Ward 1. Mayor Mundy recommended appointing Curt Lang as Ward One Alderperson to hold that office until the first meeting in May, Alderperson Stowe moved to approve the appointment of Curt Lang and Alderperson Kramer seconded the motion. Mayor Mundy called for a voice vote to approve the motion. All Alderpersons voted aye. carried 7-0. Curt Lang was sworn in as Ward One Alderperson by City Clerk Candy Smith. Mayor Mundy appointed Alderperson Lang to Finance and Public Works Committees. Alderperson Bauer moved to approve the committee appointments and Alderperson Tripp seconded the motion. Mayor Mundy called for a voice vote to approve the motion. All Alderpersons voted aye. carried 7-0. AUDIENCE TO VISITORS 1

2 CONSENT AGENDA A. Approval of the Minutes for the City Council Meeting of August 5, B. Payment of the Bills for August 19, Alderperson Bauer moved to approve the Consent Agenda and Alderperson Kramer seconded the motion. Mayor Mundy called for a voice vote to approve the motion. All Alderpersons voted aye. carried 8-0. PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS, COMMUNICATIONS, AND BILLS. Alderperson Paulsen said he received an from a resident in Heron Creek expressing concern about the ComEd route. Mayor Mundy distributed a letter he received from the County regarding the safe house the City worked with the County on in 2010 thanking the City, but announcing its closing because they are not able to secure house parents. He noted that school will open soon and there will be more traffic. Mayor Mundy announced there will be a Sycamore kids work day on October 5 to clean up the parade route. He said that Olivia Cloat, a student from Southeast School, said she really liked working at the Park District s Pride Day and thought the City should have one so the City in conjunction with local service organizations will supervise the cleanup. REPORT OF OFFICERS City Manager Brian Gregory reported the total amount of the bills Council agreed to pay was $389, He said the ComEd Grand Prairie Gateway will be a 345 kilovolt transmission line from Byron substation to Wayne substation and they have identified three corridors north of Sycamore with the southern most just north of North Grove Crossing and Heron Creek Phase 6. He said he raised concerns with ComEd and has a meeting scheduled with them. He thanked the YMCA for their work on August Tuesdays on the Town and noted there was a watermain break at Main and Elm that same night. Engineer John Brady, Sycamore Municipal Engineering, reported he is getting bid documents out for the 2013 Tree Program and will receive bids on September 16. Building & Engineering Director, John Sauter reported the Opportunity House began excavation for a group home at 203 Center Cross, the building shell is complete at the Casey s site at Route 23 and Plank Road and work continues on the exterior façade and interior mechanicals, and Little Caesar s at 265 W. Peace Road passed final inspection and will be open for business tomorrow. Fire Chief Pete Polarek reserved his time for an agenda item. Treasurer/Asst. to the City Manager Adam Orton distributed the July Treasurer s Report and explained the benchmark was 25% and weighted revenues were at 25.7% while expenditures were at 23%. He noted the Sewer Fund expenditures were high because of operating transfers and both Pension Funds showed decent growth. 2

3 Police Chief Don Thomas reported that a new hiring list was recently established and the top 10 list will be posted shortly. He said there were 75 applicants of which 60 tested, 29 passed with an 80% or above and 14 were interviewed. Director of Public Works Fred Busse reported that Public Works rehabbed 4 spreaders over the summer and three go on existing trucks and the 4 th will go on the new truck. He said it saved the City about $4,200 for the purchase of a new spreader. City Engineer John Laskowski reported the City participates in the CRS (Community Ratings System) program which is part of the National Flood Insurance Program which is part of FEMA s program to encourage communities to make the effort to reduce flooding. He said that currently the City receives a 15% discount for all residents required to have flood insurance and the Engineering Dept. will report to FEMA that the City is participating in the program. REPORT OF STANDING COMMITTEES Finance no report Public Safety no report Public Works no report PUBLIC HEARING ORDINANCES - None RESOLUTIONS A. Resolution No A Resolution Adopting the 2013 DeKalb County All Hazards Mitigation Plan. City Manager Gregory explained that the plan was first created in and last year representatives of the Fire Department participated with other municipalities in the County to review that plan. He said that plan was submitted to and approved by both FEMA and IEMA. He said the plan addresses action to reduce or eliminate risk to life and property from a hazardous event, plus, it makes DeKalb County compliant for hazard mitigation grants. He said as time and resources allow the City will implement parts of this plan and the City is working on our emergency operations plan. Alderperson Braser moved to approve Resolution 583 and Alderperson Taylor seconded the motion. Roll call vote Mayor Mundy called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Bauer, Braser, Kramer, Lang, Paulsen, Stowe, Taylor, and Tripp voted aye. carried 8-0. CONSIDERATIONS 3

4 A. Consideration of a Recommendation from the Building & Engineering Department Regarding the Award of the Bid for the MFT Portion of the 2013 Street Maintenance Program. City Manager Gregory said this project included portions of Meadow Lane, Lincolnshire Drive, Greenleaf Street and W. Stonehenge Drive. He said four bids were submitted and the low bid came from Curran Contracting in the amount of $284, and the engineer s estimate was $332, He said because they are MFT funds IDOT will have to approve this, too. Alderperson Bauer moved to award the bid to Curran Contracting for $284, and Alderperson Tripp seconded the motion. Alderperson Tripp asked how long it would take IDOT to respond. City Engineer Laskowski said there is a mandatory 8-day waiting period and the City has a good relationship with IDOT so he felt there would be a timely response. He said once it is approved, then the contractor needs time for their bonding company to do their part and then they will hold a meeting to determine the schedule. Roll call vote Mayor Mundy called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Bauer, Braser, Kramer, Lang, Paulsen, Stowe, Taylor, and Tripp voted aye. carried 8-0. B. Consideration of a Staff Recommendation for Changes to Section 4-3, Nuisances. City Manager Gregory explained the first of the two changes clarifies the language and creates one reference to the keeping of animals. Alderperson Tripp said she has a neighbor that has a certified therapy duck. Alderperson Tripp said she had a goose for 25 years that served as a watch dog. Alderperson Braser asked if this prohibited sales of those animals in the City limits because he said there was a local place that sells ducks and chicks at Easter. Mr. Gregory said it does not appear they could sell them at least to a resident inside the corporate limits. He said he would reach out to Farm & Fleet. Alderperson Taylor said there may need to be a process for keeping therapy animals and he had concern about a possible loop hole in the language regarding pens, hives, and enclosures. Alderperson Tripp said she would support a City tag for therapy animals. Alderperson Lang said he did not know why there would be exceptions. Police Chief Thomas said an exception was not required for the duck because there is already case law for service animals. 4

5 Mr. Gregory said the other proposed nuisance revision addresses grass and weed abatement for occupied lots, improved sites, and sites under construction. He said the proposal was to define occupied, reduce the standard of grass and weed height from 12 to 9 inches in occupied lots, and to assess a penalty at the time of notification or abatement of property. Mayor Mundy said he was pleased with the tightening up of this ordinance because once a resident registers a complaint it is already a big issue with them. He said the City s Community Service Officer does a great job, but his hands are tied somewhat because of the process. Consensus of Council was to move forward with the revisions. C. Consideration of the Sycamore Fire Department s FY13 Annual Report. Fire Chief Polarek distributed and reviewed the annual report and identified that the EMS requests were increasing as the baby-boomer group ( ) ages and by in 5 Americans will be 60 to 65 years old. Alderperson Taylor asked how the programs through Kish Hospital and the State Comptroller were working to recoup revenue. City Manager Gregory said the State Comptroller program is unfolding and right now the City is working with parking debt, but HIPPA has prevented the collection of ambulance billing so far. He said that we are seeing a lot more collections with the Hospital doing the processing and payments are more timely. D. Consideration of a Public Works Department Recommendation to Award the Bid for a Dump Truck Body and Equipment to Bonnell Industries of Dixon, Illinois. City Manager Gregory reminded Council of the purchase in June of a single axle chassis and noted that this purchase would outfit that chassis. He said that 4 bids were received and it was determined that the two lowest bids from Monroe Truck Center and Henderson Truck Equipment did not meet the minimum specifications and recommended awarding the bid to Bonnell Industries for $50,998. Public Works Director Busse explained that three trucks ago the City allowed Monroe to build a plow that did not hold up like the Bonnell plow did. He said Bonnell not only builds a better plow, but also has a truck in the area once a week to pick up and return parts. Alderperson Bauer moved to award the bid to Bonnell Industries for $50,998 and Alderperson Paulsen seconded the motion. Roll call vote Mayor Mundy called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Bauer, Braser, Kramer, Lang, Paulsen, Stowe, Taylor, and Tripp voted aye. carried 8-0. OTHER NEW BUSINESS 5

6 ADJOURNMENT Alderperson Stowe moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:05 p.m. and Alderperson Paulsen seconded the motion. Mayor Mundy called for a voice vote to approve the motion. All Alderpersons voted aye. carried 8-0. Approve: Mayor Ken Mundy Attest: City Clerk Candy Smith 6