Chambana Sun

City of Paxton City Council met Aug. 13.

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, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson and Withers. Alderman Pacey was absent. Also, in attendance were: Mayor Bill Ingold, Treasurer/Comptroller Tammy Jensen, Public Works Director Mark LeClair, Police Chief Coy Cornett, City Attorney Marc Miller, EMA 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 July Council meeting. Alderman Steiger made a motion to approve the minutes of the July Council meeting. Aldermen Johnson Anderson 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, except for EIEC bill. Alderman Withers seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, 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, Satterlee, Steiger, and Withers. Alderman Wilson abstained. Six ayes, one abstain, motion carried.

Alderman Pacey entered the meeting at 7:03 p.m.

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 Steiger 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.

PUBLIC WORKS

There were no committee meetings.

Greg Cook was here from Farnsworth to discuss the MFT road work. Mr. Cook introduced Mike Friend, who will be taking the place of Mike Streff.

Mr. Cook spoke regarding the MFT roadwork. A contract was awarded to Iroquois Paving for $131,613.26. The value ended up at $127,713.48. This reduction in cost was based on actual measurements versus estimated costs. Alderman Steiger made a motion to authorize the Mayor to sign off on the final MFT work. Alderman Johnson Anderson 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 authorize the Mayor to approve the change in plans to the MFT work. Alderman Geiken seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson and Withers. All ayes, motion carried.

A letter was delivered from the Ford County Health Department. They are revising a nuisance ordinance that is on file. They are looking at concerns, including burning. The City of Paxton currently has a burn pile and needs to start looking at alternatives to burning. Public Works Director LeClair and Mayor Ingold are going to start investigating solutions.

Bill Wylie spoke in hopes that the progress that has been made working towards the closure of the landfill will not stall with the change in engineers. Mr. Friend spoke and relayed his extensive experience in this area and reassured the Council that he’s confident it will not be delayed.

PUBLIC SAFETY

There were no committee meetings.

Alderman Pacey shared that evaluations for the police officers have been completed, and he will be reviewing those with the Mayor soon.

Chief Cornett relayed info on the 2011 squad car that has been up for sale. It has been available for a couple of weeks, but there has been limited interest. They have received one offer for $10,500. The Council had a consensus to sell the car at this price.

CITY PROPERTY

There were no committee meetings.

There was some discussion on the dimensions of the lot at 332 W. Franklin. Alderman Evans made a motion to APPROVE ORDINANCE 19-14 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF A PURCHASE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE CITY OF PAXTON AND FORD COUNTY FOR 332 W. FRANKLIN. Alderman Geiken seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson and Withers. All ayes, motion carried.

EMA Director Hanson passed out bids for repairs to the EMA building. He received two bids for the work. Brust Tuckpointing bid $5,500. Rick Adkins Masonry bid $12,400. The bid from Rick Adkins Masonry includes some work that wasn’t bid on the Brust Tuckpointing bid. Brust was contacted to see what they would charge for the same work. It would add $1,000 more to the Brust bid, at least. Brust was unable to provide hard costs on some of the additional work that the Rick Adkins Masonry bid includes. Rick Adkins Masonry has worked on the building in the past. $3,000 was budgeted for the repair. EMA Director Hanson is worried that by not completing these repairs this year, the damage from this winter could result in even more repairs

next year. EMA Director Hanson will work on getting a similar bid from Brust Tuckpointing. This item will be tabled until next month.

Chief Cornett will take care of the street closure for the demolition of Eastlawn school and the Knights of Columbus raising money on City streets.

City Attorney Miller is working on creating a form that can be used by City Hall and the Police Department.

LICENSE, PERMIT, ZONING & INSURANCE

There was a committee meeting.

Alderman Satterlee let City Attorney Miller know that the committee recommended April 1 – November 1 as dates available for outdoor dining. There will be no fee charged for this license. City Attorney Miller cleared up some of the details for this license to the Council. There was discussion on whether all businesses in town would be able to take advantage of this. As long as they can maintain ADA compliance, yes. Sidewalks need to be five feet clear to be ADA compliant. Mr. Tyger McClure had some questions on the ADA compliance and there was discussion on this. The proposed ordinance was clarified to have these items, to change the description of the furniture to remove wrought iron and include a more general description of furniture designed for outdoor dining use, and to include a minimum of $500,000 in liability insurance needed. Alderman Steiger made a motion to APPROVE ORDINANCE 19-15 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE REVISED CODE OF ORDINANCES TO PROVIDE FOR A SIDEWALK CAFÉ LICENSE. Alderman Geiken seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson and Withers. Nays – Evans. Seven ayes, one nay, motion carried.

Alderman Satterlee discussed the proposed solar ordinance. The only changes needed were with the permits and fees. Smaller than 2 kw, no permit no fee, 2 kw -10 kw, $50 permit fee, 11 kw – 100 kw, $100 permit feet, 101 kw – and up, $200 permit fee. City Attorney Miller will be creating this ordinance, and it will go to the Planning Commission for review and then come back to the Council for approval if recommended.

Alderman Satterlee discussed the potential ordinance to tax cannabis sales in the City of Paxton. Alderman Evans made a motion to APPROVE ORDINANCE 19-16 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF PAXTON BY THE ADDITION OF TITLE III, CHAPTER 36, SECTION 36.37 IMPOSING A MUNICIPAL CANNABIS RETAILER’S OCCUPATION TAX. Alderman Withers seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson and Withers. Nays – Johnson Anderson. Seven ayes, one nay, motion carried.

Mayor Ingold let the Council know that he received an email asking questions on the State’s changes to its Video Gaming Licensing. The Council will be looking into this as the changes are finalized.

COMMUNITY

There were no committee meetings and nothing on the agenda.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

There were no committee meetings.

Jonas Hoedebecke, Administrator of Paxton Senior Living, was present and spoke to the Council about adding 44 beds for assisted living in their Fulton St. facility. This would give them the full range of care options, independent living, assisted living, and skilled nursing. He wanted the Council’s opinion on this item. Mr. Hoedebecke answered questions regarding this potential venture. Mr. Hoedebecke asked for anyone that would be interested in the assisted living facility to please contact him or Mayor Ingold. There was some discussion on the property on the east side of town. There was also discussion on the issue of parking. This would add approximately 5 – 10 jobs.

LONG TERM PLANNING

There was a committee meeting and nothing on the agenda.

The committee meeting was on recreational cannabis use. The meeting had attendees and ended up turning the issue over to the License, Permit, Zoning and Insurance Committee.

Alderman Johnson Anderson will be working with the schools and the Police Department on her walking initiatives.

OTHER

Corrine Bretz has left town, Mayor Ingold recommended Steve Sample as her replacement on the Planning Commission. Alderman Steiger made a motion to approve the Mayor’s appointment of Steve Sample to the Planning Commission. Alderman Wilson seconded the motion. All ayes, motion carried on a voice vote.

At 8:21 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) and the collective negotiating matters between the city and its employees pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2). Alderman Pacey 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 8:36 p.m.

Alderman Wilson made a motion to APPROVE ORDINANCE 19-17 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF PAXTON AND THE TEAMSTERS LOCAL 26 FOR WATER, SEWAGE AND STREET DEPARTMENTS AND GRANTING THE MAYOR CERTAIN POWERS REGARDING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ADOPTED BY MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF PAXTON, FORD COUNTY, ILLINOIS. Alderman Pacey seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson and Withers. All ayes, motion carried.

At 8:37 p.m. Alderman Steiger made a motion to adjourn tonight’s regular meeting of the Mayor and City Council. Alderman Wilson seconded the motion. All ayes - motion carried on a voice vote.

https://www.cityofpaxton.com/DocumentCenter/View/303/08-13-19-City-Council-Meeting-Minutes-PDF