Chambana Sun

City of Danville City Council met January 16. 

Here is the minutes as provided by the council:

#1...The Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Danville was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Mayor Scott Eisenhauer at the Robert E. Jones Municipal Building, 17 W. Main Street, Danville, Illinois.

       The Roll Call was answered by Mayor Scott Eisenhauer, Vice Mayor Brenda Brown, Aldermen Jon Cooper, R.J. Davis, Dan Duncheon, Steve Foster, Sharon McMahon, Steve Nichols, Michael O'Kane, Sherry Pickering, Michael Puhr, Lloyd Randle, Rick Strebing, and Rickey Williams, Jr. Absent was Alderman Tom Stone. A quorum was present. Alderman Stone arrived at 6:03 p.m.

Staff Members Present: Budget Director Gayle Lewis, City Clerk Lisa Monson, City Comptroller Shelley Scott, Corporation Counsel Dave Wesner, Engineering & Urban Services Manager David Schnelle, Human Relations Administrator Sandra Finch, Public Safety Director Larry Thomason, Public Transportation Director Lisa Beith, and Public Works Deputy Director Ray Garcia.

       There were also 5 audience members and 3 news media in attendance.

#2...Invocation was given by Rev. Fred Cowen, Pastor, New Hope #3 Church of God in Christ, followed by #3...The Pledge of Allegiance led by Alderman Duncheon.

[Alderman Stone arrived at 6:03 p.m. before presentation of the next item and took his seat at the dais.]

#4...The Minutes of the regular meeting held, December 19, 2017, having been published and distributed, were presented. Alderman Cooper moved for approval as presented, seconded by Alderman Davis. On the voice vote, the motion so ordered

#5...The Agenda for the evening was presented. Alderman Cooper moved for approval as presented, seconded by Alderman McMahon. On the voice vote, all ayes, no nays; the motion so ordered.

#6...Mayor's Report

#6-A...Proclamations – None 

#6-B...Board/Committee Appointments – None

#6-C...Reports of Boards, Agencies, Commissions 

Human Relations Administrator Finch thanked Mayor Eisenhauer, Council, and staff members for their participation and support of another successful Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration. Mayor Eisenhauer congratulated Administrator Finch and the MLK Committee for all of the great festivities over the two-day event and reported a $4,000.00 scholarship was awarded to Elijah Davis. He also stated Reverend Don Ferrill was recognized for his support of the two-day event and for offering the use of St. James United Methodist Church for a place to hold the service on Martin Luther King Day. He was one of the original members of the MLK Committee and it was also his idea to have a Community Day. He voiced appreciation to Deputy Director Garcia and the Public Works crew for their work in getting the snow cleared off of the streets for the march.

#6-D... Items of Information 

Mayor Eisenhauer announced staff reorganization as follows:

• Public Affairs: Code Enforcement Inspectors are now reporting to the Legal Division and are housed on the second floor at City Hall. 

• Engineering & Urban Services Department is now called Community Development which houses Engineering and Community Development staff. There is a need for a part-time Fire Code Inspector position that is being discussed. The planners report to Christopher Milliken. Steve Lane will have interaction with Community Development in planning tasks as well. Eric Childers will oversee the Engineering Division. Director David Schnelle will oversee the entire Department. 

• Public Works: The Public Works staff currently reports directly to Mayor Eisenhauer. The leadership team within Public Works is Ray Garcia, Deputy Director of Public Works, Steve Lane, Superintendent of Community Development Planning, Brock Burton, Superintendent of Grounds Maintenance, Cindy Parson, Superintendent of Recreation & Park Maintenance, David Ruwe, Superintendent of Streets & Sewers, and Carl Carpenter, Superintendent of Solid Waste, Central Vehicle Maintenance, and Demolitions. 

Mayor Eisenhauer stated organizational charts will be e-mailed to the Aldermen as soon as they are completed. He stated he will be splitting his time between the Voorhees Street building and Municipal Building, but will be available by e-mail or phone.

• There will be a swearing-in ceremony for five probationary police officers tomorrow morning at 9:00 am in the City Council Chambers. 

• Mayor Eisenhauer wished Alderman Stone a “Happy Birthday" as he will be celebrating a birthday on Saturday, January 20th.

#7...Petitions, Communications, Audience Comments

Mayor Eisenhauer opened the public hearing for Petition to Vacation Alleyway near 702 S. Gilbert Street for Dennis Ballinger at 6:17 p.m. and asked for audience comments in support of or opposition to the alley vacation. There being no comments, either for or against the petition, Mayor Eisenhauer closed the public hearing at 6:18 p.m. 

#8...Zoning Petitions - None

#9...Payroll

Mayor Eisenhauer presented Payrolls for December 22, 2017, of $524,538.79, for December 29, 2017, of $63,409.29, for January 5, 2018, of $685,766.48, and for January 12, 2018, of $61,941.72. Alderman Foster moved to dispense with the readings and asked for approval as presented, seconded by Alderman Pickering. There being no questions, the roll call vote being: 

Ayes: Aldermen Duncheon, Davis, McMahon, Stone, Williams, Strebing, Pickering, O'Kane, Randle, 

          Cooper, Puhr, Nichols, Foster, Brown 

Nays: None 

Motion carried 14 to 0.

#10...Schedule of Vouchers Payable 

Mayor Eisenhauer presented the Schedule of Vouchers Payable, having been published, posted, and distributed, for December 27, 2017, of $205,695.62, for January 2, 2018, of $115,062.39, for January 9, 2018 for $375,501.45, and for January 16, 2018 of $852,776.70. Alderman Cooper moved to dispense with the readings and asked for approval as presented, seconded by Alderman Duncheon. After all questions were addressed, the roll call vote being: 

Ayes: Aldermen Davis, McMahon, Stone, Williams, Strebing, Pickering, O'Kane, Randle, Cooper,

          Puhr, Nichols, Foster, Brown, Duncheon 

Nays: None City Council

Motion carried 14 to 0.

#11... Public Works Committee Report

#11-A...Chairman Puhr presented RESOLUTION NO. 2018-1 amending Bid 578 to Owens Excavating & Trucking LLC for the Cleveland/Delaware Sewer Improvement by $14,174.29 to a total contract amount of $138,969.29, to be paid from Sanitary Sewer Replacement Fund-infrastructure Improvement budget, moved to dispense with the reading and asked for approval as recommended by Committee, seconded by Alderman Cooper. There being no questions or discussion, the roll call vote being: 

Ayes: Aldermen McMahon, Stone, Williams, Strebing, Pickering, O'Kane, Randle, Cooper, Puhr,

          Nichols, Foster, Brown, Duncheon, Davis 

Nays: None 

Motion carried 14 to 0.

#11-B...Chairman Puhr presented RESOLUTION NO. 2018-2 authorizing Funding for English/Jackson Intersection Improvement, to align a sub-standard intersection and complete the DHS (Danville High School) and Lincoln Park Shared Use Path link, with the work to be paid from MET Section 12-00348-01-BT, line item number 103-6348C-12, with $600,000.00 in Federal STU funds available for the project, moved to dispense with the reading and asked for approval as recommended by Committee, seconded by Alderman Strebing. Alderman Pickering questioned the need for a roundabout and Director Schnelle responded this goes back to 2007 when we started interacting with the public on the Jackson Street corridor and during those meetings various improvements were identified with this being one of them. The corridor started at the high school area near Williams Street and extended all the way north up to Liberty Lane and we have been working since 2007 to implement that vision the community gave us. Two of the deficiencies that were identified were Voorhees/Jackson and Jackson/English as being the offset intersections and of particular concerns were these two due to the amount of school traffic and the two irregular intersections posed some concerns for citizens especially for visitors not familiar with the area. At that point what we heard from the community was to proceed with a roundabout design and we did look at an all-way stop at both intersections and have presented that publicly a couple of times and this is the final vote for the funding of such. Alderman Pickering questioned the cost in the past as far as accidents and injuries at that intersection. Director Schnelle responded there are accidents at every intersection in the community, but as far as assigning a cost benefit analysis to it, we did not do it in this case as we were not seeking highway safety funding. Alderman Pickering asked what constitutes a federal route as Jackson is a federal route and Director Schnelle responded that means when the route was established with federal funds to begin with such as Jackson, Fairchild, and portions of Gilbert. He also stated IDOT categorizes those routes and keeps them on a map on their website. Alderman Pickering questioned the single lane roundabout and if there is a vehicle turning and a pedestrian has the right-of-way, then the cars following will have to stop so how is that different from a four-way stop. Mayor Eisenhauer asked Director Schnelle to explain why the cross walks are located where they are and why that provides a safer travel than a traditional intersection. Director Schnelle explained each cross walk goes through a median at the end of each leg of the roundabout and within the median there is a location where a pedestrian can stand and wait so the pedestrian and motorist only has one location to look. Alderman Pickering feels there is too much tax money spent on a roundabout and she has had several citizens approach her about it so she will not be able to support it. Alderman Puhr stated the inner circle gives a better turning radius for larger vehicles. He also questioned if the intersection were a traditional four-way stop the construction costs would be about the same, but it would require additional right-of-way purchases and Director Schnelle responded "yes". Alderman Duncheon questioned future plans for the Jackson and Voorhees intersection and Director Schnelle responded there is a roundabout design done for that intersection and that was again was a result of the community dialogue as well as available funding in 2010 due to the federal stimulus program. It was determined Jackson and Voorhees was not the ideal location for the first roundabout in Danville and just so the community could be adjusted to one and so English and Jackson was a lower volume intersection so it was a better location for the first roundabout in Danville. If there is acceptance of the first roundabout and the City Council so determines we can look i higher traffic volumes. Mayor Eisenhauer stated we are going to eventually have to do something at that intersection as well as it is a federal route and does not meet federal standards, but rather than start with the decision making at that intersection we really came back and came back and decided to try the low traffic intersection. After all questions were addressed and there being no further discussion, the roll call vote being: 

Ayes: Aldermen Stone, Williams, Strebing, O'Kane, Randle, Cooper, Puhr, Foster, Brown,

          Duncheon 

Nays: Aldermen Pickering, Nichols, Davis, McMahon 

Motion carried 10 to 4.

There being no objections to taking Items C through E together, Chairman Puhr moved to dispense with the readings and asked for approval, seconded by Alderman Williams. Those items being:

 #11-C...RESOLUTION NO. 2018-3 authorizing Funding for Voorhees Street Bridge Replacement, for an agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to access funds, with the work to be paid from MFT Section 08-00330-02-PV, line item number 103-103-6330B-08; 

#11-D...RESOLUTION NO. 2018-4 approving Construction Engineering Services for Voorhees Bridge Replacement Project with Hutchison Engineering on a time and material basis totaling $248,500.00, with work to be paid from Motor Fuel Tax Section 08-00330-02-PV, line item number 103-103-6330B-08; and 

#11-E...RESOLUTION NO. 2018-5 approving Additional Engineering Services for Voorhees Street Bridge with Hutchison Engineers, in the amount of $19,500.00, for a total amount of $267,500.00, with work to be paid from Motor Fuel Tax Section 08-00330-02-PV, line item number 103-103-6330B-08. 

After all questions were addressed and there being no further discussion, the roll call vote being: 

Ayes: Aldermen Williams, Strebing, Pickering, O'Kane, Randle, Cooper, Puhr, Nichols, Foster,

          Brown, Duncheon, Davis, McMahon, Stone 

Nays: None 

Motion carried 14 to 0.

#11-F...Chairman Puhr presented ORDINANCE NO. 9134 authorizing Vacation of an EastWest Alleyway near 702 S. Gilbert Street for Dennis Ballinger and accepting transfer of property commonly known as 404 E. Main Street, moved to dispense with the reading and asked for approval without recommendation by Committee, seconded by Alderman Strebing. Director Schnelle explained Mr. Ballinger is trading a vacant lot at 404 E. Main Street to the City and the City is forgiving almost $3,000.00 in small claims court cases, in exchange for the alleyway. The legal department has agreed to waive balances due in three Small Claims cases filed against the Petitioner and Magna Tax Services Inc. in the Vermilion County Circuit Court so we can make this transaction happen so this is one of those that is mutually beneficial to both parties. The parcel on Main Street is adjacent to other parcels the City owns and if the City receives another Brownfields grant we have applied for, the grant funds can be applied to those properties. After all questions were addressed and there being no further discussion, the roll call vote being: 

Ayes: Aldermen Strebing, Pickering, O'Kane, Randle, Cooper, Puhr, Nichols, Foster, Brown,

          Duncheon, Davis McMahon, Stone, Williams 

Nays: None 

Motion carried 14 to 0.

#11-G... Items of Information 

[The next Public Works Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 13, 2018 at 6:00 p.m.]

#12... Public Services Committee Report

#12-A...Items of Information Chairman Nichols announced the next Public Services Committee will be held January 23, 2018 at 6:00 p.m.

#13...Closed Session was not needed.

#14... Items of Information

• Alderman Williams stated recently he has heard from some young people who were in favor of the roundabout and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said roundabouts are safer.

• Vice Mayor Brown stated she supported the roundabout as she thought it was better for future Councils and voiced concern of comments recently shared with her that were made on Facebook by another Alderman in regards to eliminating the Human Relations Administrator position that was voted on at the December 5, 2017 City Council meeting. Since she is a part of the Council she apologized to Sandra Finch, Human Relations Administrator for the comments. 

• Alderman Puhr stated the hopes are there are enough funds leftover to connect the sidewalk with the Voorhees Street Shared Use Path, which will connect to Lincoln Park Shared Use Path and will tie in to bicycle paths with eventual tie-in to Rail to Trail path. 

• Alderman Davis voiced appreciation to the Public Works crews for a great job on the streets during the recent snow event. 

• Alderman Williams voiced appreciation to Budget Director Lewis for everything she taught him and assisted him with when he first joined the City Council. He congratulated Director Lewis on her retirement as her last day with the City will be January 30, 2018 and looks forward to working with Comptroller Scott.

#15...Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned by acclamation at 6:52 p.m. following a motion by Alderman Randle and a second by Alderman Williams.

 http://www.cityofdanville.org/uploads/6/7/5/0/6750232/min_cc_01_16_18.pdf