Chambana Sun

City of Paxton Council met April 10.

Here is the minutes provided by the Council:

Mayor Ingold called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.

Roll call showed the following aldermen in attendance: Evans, Flesner, Glad, Pacey, Satterlee, and Wylie. Also, in attendance were: Mayor Ingold, Treasurer/Comptroller Tammy Jensen, Public Works Director Mark LeClair, EMA Director Ed Hanson, Chief of Police Coy Cornett, and members of the audience and press.

Mayor Ingold led everyone in saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

Minutes:

Mayor Ingold asked if there were any changes, corrections or additions that needed made to the minutes from the March Council meeting. Alderman Evans made a motion to approve the minutes of the March Council meeting. Aldermen Wylie seconded the motion. All ayes, motion carried on a voice vote.

List Of Claims:

Alderman Wylie made a motion to approve the lists of claims. Alderman Pacey seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Aldermen Evans, Flesner, Glad, Pacey, Satterlee, and Wylie. All ayes, motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report And Investment Register:

The reports had been emailed to all Aldermen. Alderman Wylie noted that he is very pleased with Treasurer/Comptroller Tammy Jensen’s work. Alderman Evans made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report and Investment Register. Alderman Pacey seconded the motion. All ayes - motion carried on a voice vote.

Finance/Budget:

There were no committee meetings.

There will be an adjourned meeting on April 24 to amend the Appropriation Ordinance. This is a yearly event.

May 1 is the beginning of the City’s fiscal year. Non-Union raises were discussed. Alderman Wylie recommends that these salaries should be increased by 3%. This will cost an extra $8,800 for the year. Alderman Wylie made a motion to increase the wages of non-union employees by 3% for the next fiscal year. Alderman Evans seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Aldermen Evans, Flesner, Glad, Pacey, Satterlee, and Wylie. All ayes, motion carried.

A raise for the City Clerk and the Mayor were discussed. Alderman Wylie noted that the positions are grossly underpaid. The raise for the Mayor will not take effect until after the next election. The City Clerk raise would be effective May 1. Alderman Wylie recommended a 3% raise. This would be an additional $335. Alderman Wylie made a motion to increase the wages of the City Clerk and the Mayor by 3%. Alderman Evans seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Aldermen Evans, Flesner, Glad, Pacey, Satterlee, and Wylie. All ayes, motion carried.

Alderman Pacey spoke on behalf of P.R.I.D.E. request for a $2000 donation. There were some concerns with how early the flowers were taken out last year, but Alderman Pacey is confident that this issue could be resolved. Mayor Ingold spoke with Teri Hancock about this issue as well. P.R.I.D.E will work with the Council to take the flowers out at a mutual date. The flowers are purchased thru PBL FFA. Alderman Wylie made a motion to approve a $2000 donation to P.R.I.D.E. for the downtown flower pots. Alderman Pacey seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Aldermen Evans, Flesner, Glad, Pacey, Satterlee, and Wylie. All ayes, motion carried.

Public Works:

There were no committee meetings.

Alderman Wylie spoke on behalf of Alderman Steiger for Public Works items.

Public Works Director LeClair let the Council know that the proposed ordinance will prohibit storm water connections to sanitary sewer, as was discussed at the last City Council meeting. Alderman Wylie made a motion to Approve Ordinance 18-06 An Ordinance Amending Chapter 51 Section 51.06 To Prohibit Storm Water Connections To Sanitary Sewer. Alderman Flesner seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Aldermen Evans, Flesner, Glad, Pacey, Satterlee, and Wylie. All ayes, motion carried.

The policy for dealing with pumping drainage water on private property was presented to the Council. Alderman Wylie made a motion to approve the Policy for Dealing with the Pumping of Drainage Water on Private Property. Alderman Flesner seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Aldermen Evans, Flesner, Glad, Pacey, Satterlee, and Wylie. All ayes, motion carried.

Public Works Director LeClair would like to hire two additional ICE students for the summer and two ICE students in the fall. He assured Alderman Wylie that he has plenty of work to keep the students busy. This will cost an additional $18,000. Alderman Wylie commended Public Works Director LeClair for the productivity of his employees.

Public Works Director LeClair and the Mayor sat down and talked about some upcoming projects. The biggest are cutting trees, mowing grass, and putting in curbs. The ICE students will be very valuable in assisting with these tasks. Alderman Wylie made a motion to approve the hiring of two additional ICE students in the summer, and two ICE students in the fall. Alderman Flesner seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Aldermen Evans, Flesner, Glad, Satterlee, and Wylie. Abstain – Alderman Pacey. Five ayes, one abstain, motion carried.

The Council has received a list of potential MFT road repairs. Treasurer/Comptroller Tammy Jensen said the City has approximately $143,000 to spend. Public Works Director LeClair asked the Council to look at these streets and come back next meeting with some decisions on what work they would like completed.

Our water towers are coming up for inspection. Any time the towers are painted, you must have an inspection the following year. The water has to be tested. There will be more information, including pricing, at the May City Council meeting.

Public Safety:

There were no committee meetings.

The Title VII Ordinance 06-45, was put in about 15 years ago, when there was a restaurant in place. Parking was limited to 8 hours. The City now has some different businesses in place, and they need additional parking time. The Mayor spoke with the neighbors, and there were no issues with this. Alderman Flesner made a motion to Repeal Title VII: Traffic Code; Chapter 79; Section VIII (A). Alderman Wylie seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Aldermen Evans, Flesner, Glad, Pacey, Satterlee, and Wylie. All ayes, motion carried.

Audrey Bloomquist spoke, in Kaila Christensen’s stead, to the Council about raising money for a Habitat for Humanity trip. They are a group of PBL alumni students who are looking to return to Clarksdale, Mississippi for a Habitat for Humanity build. It costs around $200 per student. They would like permission to collect donations at the intersections of Patton/Market and Pells/Market Sts on Saturday, April 21st, 2018, from 9 a.m. to Noon. Alderman Flesner made a motion to approve the collection of donations at the intersections of Patton/Market and Pells/Market Sts on Saturday, April 21st, from 9 a.m. to Noon. Alderman Wylie seconded the motion. All ayes, motion carried on a voice vote.

P.R.I.D.E. collect funds for Christmas parade. This is an annual event. It is the only thing they directly do to collect funds, other than sponsorships. Alderman Flesner made a motion to approve the collection of donations for the Paxton Christmas Parade on Saturday, July 28th, 2018, from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m., at the intersections of Pells/Market and Pells/Patton Sts. Alderman Pacey seconded the motion. All ayes, motion carried on a voice vote.

EMS Director Hanson gave an update on the NIMS training. Alderman Evans spoke with a representative regarding the four potential NIMS classes for Council members. The classes are strongly recommended, but not required for all Council members. EMS Director Hanson said that he thinks all of the council members should have the 700 training class. EMS Director Hanson also has concerns about the training for the chain of command. He thinks that the City should have at least four people complete more of the NIMS training so that there are plenty of training people in case of an emergency.

EMS Director Hanson let the Council know that the City getting EMA accredited is about five years down the road. One issue though, is that Ford County is not accredited. It was recommended that the City work with the Council to complete the County’s accreditation.

EMS Director Hanson updated the Council on the siren installation. The siren test for this month ran quite a bit longer this month due to a glitch. The new siren is up and running.

City Property:

There were no committee meetings.

There was discussion regarding the contract for the sale of the Paxton Municipal Airport. This is still in progress. Michael Streff spoke to the Council regarding the status with the EPA. The EPA wants us to put in another water monitoring well, but Mike Streff was able to argue that was not necessary. The City can apply for the Certification for Post Closure Care. The City will need to sample all monitoring wells and do some additional work. If the wells are in good condition, the water can be sampled. Once that info is in, there will need to be a ground water assessment report. The report can be completed, but it will be at least another three months for the EPA to respond. It will cost between $33,000 and 36,000. This item was tabled until May.

Public Works Director LeClair and the Mayor spoke with Kodi Smith, a representative from Ameren, about the easement. She is looking into the financial aspect of this. Regarding the concerns previously brought up by the Council, City Attorney Miller let the Council know that granting an easement is the same as selling property. The easement can be approved with a 3⁄4 vote of those sitting in office. City Attorney Miller also let the Council know that the easement does not need to go through the variance process, in his opinion, if it is just power lines. There is a Public Utilities Act that trumps the City’s authority in this instance. This item was tabled until May.

License, Permit, Zoning & Insurance:

There were no committee meetings.

Alderman Evans spoke about the UTV permits. He spoke with Chief Cornett, and both of them spoke with Gibson City and Arthur. They are having no issues with their UTVs.

Chief Cornett said that the City’s existing ordinance covers neighborhood vehicles, but it is not clear what is considered a neighborhood vehicle. City Attorney Miller recommends using the Illinois State statute on what the UTV definition is. Chief Cornett also recommends a 20 m.p.h. speed limit. City Attorney Miller will have an ordinance ready for the May City Council meeting.

Community:

There were no committee meetings.

Treasurer/Comptroller Jensen spoke to the Council regarding the credit card payment system. It will cost $1875 for the initial set up and approximately $800.00 per year in annual fees. There is no credit card terminal, only online processing. There will be a 2.75% fee, plus $0.50 if the charge is under $100, which is passed on to the customer. There is also a $1 fee for online check processing. Treasurer/Comptroller Jensen has talked with Locis and Payment Services Network (PSN) and there should be no compatibility issues.

There was discussion regarding the possible website redesign. CivicPlus works with PSN, so there should be no compatibility issues. This will need to be worked into the new budget. The City currently has received around $18,000 from the Motel/Hotel tax. City Attorney Miller said it is okay to use the Motel/Hotel tax money for this redesign, since it will help attract tourists. There was discussion on website pricing. The annual fee after the 5 years will be $2000. Alderman Pacey made a motion to approve hiring CivicPlus for a website redesign, at a rate not to exceed $4000 per year for the first four years and $2100 for year five. Alderman Evans seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Aldermen Evans, Flesner, Pacey, Satterlee, and Wylie. Nay – Glad. Five ayes, one nay, motion carried.

Mayor Ingold is working with Public Works Director LeClair on some phone issues in the department.

Economic Development:

There were no committee meetings and nothing on the agenda.

Mayor Ingold asked Alderman Satterlee to set a committee meeting to discuss the StreetScape plans.

Long Term Planning:

There were no committee meetings and nothing on the agenda.

Other:

Mayor Ingold let the Council know that Ameren is working with the City to hold a Brighten the Block event that will be happening in May or June.

Market Street Tap will be hosting the book signing of Jodi Barth on May 8th, at 3:00 p.m.

The Central Illinois Municipal Officer’s Association (CIMOA) meeting is April 19th.

Representative John Shimkus is having a community meeting at City Hall on May 18th, from 2:30 – 4:00 p.m.

At 8:25 p.m. Alderman Wylie made a motion to adjourn tonight’s regular meeting of the Mayor and City Council to April 24th at 7 p.m., in City Hall. Alderman Evans seconded the motion. All ayes, motion carried on a voice vote.

http://www.cityofpaxton.com/docs/minutes/4-10-18%20Council%20Meeting%20Minutes.pdf