Chambana Sun

City of Paxton City Council met June 11.

Here is the minutes provided by the council:

The monthly meeting of the Paxton City Council was held beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

Mayor Ingold called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.

Roll call showed the following aldermen in attendance: Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson, and Withers. Also, in attendance were: Mayor Ingold, Treasurer/Comptroller Tammy Jensen, Public Works Director Mark LeClair, Chief of Police Coy Cornett, City Attorney Marc Miller, ERS Director Ed Hanson, 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 May Council meeting. Alderman Johnson Anderson made a motion to approve the minutes of the May Council meeting. Aldermen Wilson seconded the motion. All ayes, motion carried on a voice vote.

LIST OF CLAIMS

Alderman Wilson made a motion to approve the lists of claims. Alderman Withers seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson, and Withers. All ayes, motion carried.

Alderman Steiger made a motion to approve the EIEC bill. Alderman Withers seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson, and Withers. Alderman Wilson abstained. Seven ayes, one abstain, motion carried.

TREASURER’S REPORT AND INVESTMENT REGISTER

The reports have been emailed to all Aldermen. Alderman Wilson made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report and Investment Register. Alderman Evans seconded the motion. All ayes - motion carried on a voice vote.

FINANCE/BUDGET

There were no committee meetings.

The Teamster contract will be discussed in Executive Session at the end of the meeting.

The tax levy was approved in December. Now that the City has official numbers from the County, the City need to adjust its tax levy ordinance. The adjusted tax levy keeps the City under 105% of last year’s budget. Alderman Wilson made a motion to APPROVE ORDINANCE 19-07 ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PAXTON, ILLINOIS CLARIFYING THE 2018-2019 LEVY. Alderman Steiger seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson, and Withers. All ayes, motion carried.

Treasurer/Comptroller Jensen is working on the appropriation ordinance for July.

TIF Attorney Dan Schuering could not be at tonight’s meeting due to health reasons. Mayor Ingold will ask him to attend July’s City Council meeting to provide an update on the TIF.

PUBLIC WORKS

There were no committee meetings.

Alderman Steiger welcomed the new aldermen to the Council.

The water way in discussion is not in a drainage district. The bid was $12,500 to clean this water way. This includes grinding stumps down and cleaning out the bottom edge of ditch. Leaving the stump roots helps to maintain the integrity of the ditch. Public Works Director LeClair said that clearing this out will be helpful to the City. Alderman Johnson Anderson asked if there is a problem with this area not draining well. There is a problem with water backing up in the first part of the ditch. There was discussion on a dollar amount to donate. Alderman Evans made a motion to approve paying half of the bill to clean out the water way. Alderman Steiger seconded the motion. There was discussion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson, and Withers. All ayes, motion carried.

MFT bids were discussed. The Cross Construction bid was $167,279. The Iroquois Paving bid was $131,613.26. This includes all the streets in the top listed to be done. There are $14,477.46 for engineering costs. Alderman Steiger made a motion to approve accepting the bid from Iroquois Paving for $131,613.26. Alderman Evans seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, and Withers. Nays – Alderman Wilson. Seven ayes, one nay, motion carried.

Public Works Director LeClair discussed street repair and patching by United Paving. These repairs come out of the general funds and are not required to have engineering done. The total cost is $70,650. Discussion followed. Alderman Pacey made a motion to approve $70,650 for street repair and patching. Alderman Evans seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, and Withers. Nay – Alderman Wilson. Seven ayes, one nay, motion carried. Alderman Wilson let the Council know that he voted no on these motions because he did not have the current numbers and hadn’t had a chance to think them over. He is in full support of road repairs. Alderman Steiger and Public Works Director LeClair corrected him and let Alderman Wilson know that these figures had been sent out in month of March.

Alderman Steiger spoke to the difference of rebuilding the pump and purchasing a new pump. There is a small difference in the dollar amounts of the options. A new pump is $26,000. It would cost $12,000 for a rebuild of the pump. This pump is something that must be fixed.

There are some other repairs that need to happen as well. Alderman Steiger made a motion to replace the pump for $26,529. Alderman Wilson seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson, and Withers. All ayes, motion carried.

Alderman Steiger made a motion to give the Mayor authority to proceed with the repairs of the impellors, not to exceed $14,000. Alderman Evans seconded the motion. Discussion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, and Withers. Nays – Alderman Wilson. Seven ayes, one nay, motion carried.

There was some discussion on future maintenance needs.

Public Works Director LeClair gave an update on the landfill. All the test wells and vents were pulled. Drain pipes were plugged. Manholes were filled. Mike Streff has the paperwork that he needed from the Ford County Health Department, and now is gathering the paperwork to send off to the Illinois EPA.

In May, all Public Works and City Hall employees were trained and certified in the AED machines and CPR.

PUBLIC SAFETY

There were no committee meetings.

There was discussion on the stop sign ordinance. Alderman Wilson made a motion to

APPROVE ORDINANCE 19-08 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE VII, CHAPTER 78 OF THE CODE OF PAXTON TO PROVIDE FOR STOP SIGNS AT N. MAPLE, W. PELLS, W. ORLEANS, E. OTTAWA, & S. UNION. Alderman Geiken seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson, and Withers. All ayes, motion carried.

Renae Walters spoke to request a sign be installed on Union Street, between Ottawa and Fulton Streets, letting people know there are children at play.

Tom Herman and Debi Chapman-Herman asked about no thru trucks coming down Market Street. Mr. Herman asked what can be done about this, especially with the potential StreetScape investment. This is a GPS issue for the truck drivers. Alderman Steiger spoke of the need for better signage on this issue. Public Works Director LeClair and Mayor Ingold have talked to all the local trucks, but they could talk to them again as the traffic is starting to creep back up. Mayor Ingold will also talk to IDOT again about this.

CITY PROPERTY

There were no committee meetings.

Alderman Evans made a motion to approve P.R.I.D.E. in Paxton’s request to collect donations at the corner of Patton and Market and Pells and Market Streets, from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., on July 27, 2019. This is their only fundraiser of the year. Alderman Pacey seconded the motion. All approved on a voice vote.

Allie Loeschen, with Novel Energy, gave a presentation regarding a solar energy savings program. This is an off-site solar garden that would not be located on city property. This is no cost to the City for this. This is for City buildings, not residential homes. This is not a guaranteed participation item, the City would be in the mix for selection into this program. Alderman Evans made a motion to authorize the Mayor to submit the City’s interest in participating in the Illinois Solar for All program. Alderman Steiger seconded the motion. All ayes, motion carried on a voice vote.

Reg Ankrom was not able to attend tonight’s meeting to discuss electric aggregation rates.

Mr. Herman spoke regarding abuse of the brush pile. Mayor Ingold reiterated again that if this abuse continues, it will be closed for public use. Treasurer/Comptroller Jensen will check and make sure the hours and rules for the brush pile are on the website. The signage will be checked also.

Alderman Evans spoke regarding the expenditures for the airport last month. There was a fitting that broke, water got into the gas tank and the tank had to be drained and refilled. This is not an expense that should be re-occurring.

Alderman Evans gave an update on the work on Pells Park Pavilion. The work should be done, hopefully, by next week.

LICENSE, PERMIT, ZONING & INSURANCE

There were no committee meetings and nothing on the agenda.

Alderman Steiger received a couple of complaints on the destruction of the hospital. All of the appropriate permits have been filed and destruction is being completed appropriately.

COMMUNITY

There were no committee meetings and nothing on the agenda.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

There were no committee meetings and nothing on the agenda.

LONG TERM PLANNING

There were no committee meetings and nothing on the agenda.

OTHER

Renae Walters read a letter to the Council regarding saving Eastlawn School from demolition.

At 8:43 p.m. Alderman Wilson made a motion to enter into Executive Session for the limited purposes of discussing the employment, performance, and compensation of one or more City employees pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2 (c) (1) collective negotiating matters between the City and its employees pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2 (c) (2) and to discuss the purchase of real property for the use of the city pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2 (c) (5). Alderman Steiger seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson, and Withers. All ayes, motion carried.

Regular session resumed at 9:26 p.m.

At 9:26 p.m. Alderman Wilson made a motion to adjourn tonight’s regular meeting of the Mayor and City Council. Alderman Johnson Anderson seconded the motion. All ayes - motion carried on a voice vote.

https://www.cityofpaxton.com/DocumentCenter/View/297/06-11-19-City-Council-Meeting-Minutes-PDF