Chambana Sun

City of Paxton City Council met March 12.

Here is the minutes provided by the council:

Mayor Ingold called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Roll call showed the following aldermen in attendance: Evans, Glad, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Withers, and Wylie. Alderman Wilson was absent. Also, in attendance were: Mayor Ingold, Treasurer/Comptroller Tammy Jensen, Public Works Director Mark LeClair, Chief of Police Coy Cornett, City Attorney Marc Miller, 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 February Council meeting. Alderman Evans made a motion to approve the minutes of the February Council meeting. Aldermen Withers 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 Steiger seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Aldermen Evans, Glad, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Withers and Wylie. All ayes, motion carried.

TREASURER’S REPORT AND INVESTMENT REGISTER

The reports have been emailed to all Aldermen. Alderman Wylie 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.

Mike Frictl spoke regarding the donation request to Pheasants Forever. Alderman Wylie made a motion to approve a donation of $250 to Pheasants Forever. Alderman Evans seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Aldermen Evans, Glad, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Withers and Wylie. All ayes, motion carried.

Alderman Wylie spoke regarding the donation request to Show Bus. This is a service that provides rides for people in Ford County, and other counties, that do not have reliable transportation. This item was tabled until April when the Council can hear more about the service.

Mayor Ingold spoke about the contract with Credit Collection Partners. They collect bad debts. For the City, this would be Ordinance violations that have not been paid. Credit Collection Partners collects the debts, along with a service charge for the collection. The Circuit Clerk’s office uses this company as well and has seen good results with it. Alderman Wylie made a motion to APPROVE ORDINANCE 19-02 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF PAXTON AND CREDIT COLLECTIONS PARTNERS, DEBT COLLECTION AGREEMENT. Alderman Pacey seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Aldermen Evans, Glad, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Withers and Wylie. All ayes, motion carried.

Alderman Wylie noted that the City is on track to finish within budget.

Treasurer/Comptroller Jensen let the Council know that she has been working with Frederick Bank to re-do some of the City’s Certificate of Deposits so that they will earn significantly more interest, around $1500 per month.

PUBLIC WORKS

There were no committee meetings.

Alderman Steiger spoke about the repairs to Holmes Street. This is just part of the continuation of fixing this street. This has been budgeted for and planned. The 500 block will end up being about two feet narrower than the 400 block. This will finish up the work on West Holmes Street. Alderman Steiger made a motion to approve the repairs to Holmes Street, with costs not to exceed $46,200. Alderman Evans seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Aldermen Evans, Glad, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Withers and Wylie. All ayes, motion carried.

Alderman Steiger called a Public Works Committee Meeting for 7:00 p.m. on March 26th, to discuss MFT road projects. Alderman Steiger asked for the Alderman to send any needed road repairs that they might know of to Public Works Director LeClair.

Mayor Ingold gave an update on the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center. They were very impressed with how clean and how well-maintained the equipment was. They provided the Mayor and Mark a list of potential improvements that could help with energy usage.

PUBLIC SAFETY

There were no committee meetings.

A representative from the American Legion spoke to the Council about the Gold Star Mission. This provides benefits families that have lost service members. They would like permission to collect donations for this fund. Alderman Steiger made a motion to approve the American Legion Riders collecting donations at the intersections of Patton and Market Streets and Pells and Market Streets on Saturday, April 27th, form 8:00 a.m. to Noon. Alderman Evans seconded the motion. All ayes, motion carried on a voice vote.

Alderman Pacey asked about vehicle seizures and the recent Supreme Court ruling. Nothing has trickled down to the City yet. Chief Cornett and City Attorney Miller will discuss this issue further.

Mayor Ingold and Chief Cornett will be attending a meeting with other county officials to discuss dispatching and other issues.

CITY PROPERTY

There were no committee meetings.

Alderman Evans made a motion to APPROVE ORDINANCE 19-03 AN ORDINANCE VACATION A PORTION OF AN EASEMENT LOCATED ADJACENT TO 118 S. MAPLE STREET. Alderman Satterlee seconding the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Aldermen Evans, Glad, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Withers and Wylie. All ayes, motion carried. This easement does not compromise the City’s ability to work in the area, if needed.

Terry Hancock spoke with the Council regarding the donation to P.R.I.D.E. in Paxton for flowers and new banners. P.R.I.D.E. would like to work towards improving downtown. Ms. Hancock acknowledged there were some issues with the flowers last year. She said that this year the flowers would be left in until the City asks for them to be removed. Ms. Hancock also spoke about renewing the P.R.I.D.E. in Paxton week. She talked about P.R.I.D.E.’s success in fundraising and the need for new banners. They would like to replace banners and are looking at ways to make the banners more durable. They are very interested in partnering with the City on any StreetScape plans.

Alderman Pacey would like to wait on replacing the banners once there is more information regarding the StreetScape project. Alderman Evans made a motion to approve the donation of $2000 to P.R.I.D.E. in Paxton for flowers. Alderman Withers seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Aldermen Evans, Glad, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Withers and Wylie. All ayes, motion carried.

Alderman Evans and the Mayor talked about the StreetScape project last week. They solicited from four firms on this project. They heard back from three. Fredi Beth Schmutte agreed that Farnsworth is the best company to go with for this. They have a head-start on the project, based on past work that they have completed for the City. This is not a go on the project, but an opening of negotiations on StreetScape costs. Alderman Pacey made a motion to approve selecting Farnsworth as the engineering firm to negotiate StreetScape costs. Alderman Evans seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Aldermen Evans, Glad, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Withers and Wylie. All ayes, motion carried.

The Mayor discussed the large flag project that is in the works on the west side of town. There will likely be a need for a height variance for that to be installed.

The helicopter has been removed from the airport.

LICENSE, PERMIT, ZONING & INSURANCE

There were no committee meetings and nothing on the agenda.

Mayor Ingold sent out a potential solar ordinance for review. The Mayor and Public Works Director LeClair have some concerns regarding installation methods that they’d like worked out in the ordinance.

COMMUNITY

There were no committee meetings and nothing on the agenda.

Alderman Pacey let the Council know that the Chamber’s Spring meeting is on April 16th. The railroad project is still in the works, along with the Farmer’s Market for this year.

The Mayor let the Council know that website development in in progress. He and Treasurer/Comptroller Jensen are scheduled for two full days of training, the 20th and 21st of March, for the new website.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

There were no committee meetings and nothing on the agenda.

Alderman Satterlee asked if the Council could get an update from the TIF Attorney. Mayor Ingold will get that set up.

LONG TERM PLANNING

There were no committee meetings and nothing on the agenda.

OTHER

Mayor Ingold let everyone know that the 2020 Census is looking for employees. April 2nd is the City’s election. Please vote!

At 7:46 p.m. Alderman Steiger made a motion to enter into Executive Session for the limited purpose of discussing pending litigation involving the City pursuant to 5 ICS 120/2 (c) (11). Alderman Evans seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Aldermen Evans, Glad, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Withers and Wylie. All ayes, motion carried.

Regular session resumed at 7:56 p.m.

At 7:57 p.m. Alderman Evans made a motion to adjourn tonight’s regular meeting of the Mayor and City Council. Alderman Withers seconded the motion. All ayes - motion carried on a voice vote.

https://www.cityofpaxton.com/DocumentCenter/View/258/03-12-2019-City-Council-Meeting-Minutes-PDF