Chambana Sun

City of Paxton City Council met Nov. 12.

Here is the minutes provided by the council:

The monthly meeting of the Paxton City Council was held on Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

Mayor Ingold called the meeting to order at 7:00 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 Bill Ingold, Treasurer/Comptroller Tammy Jensen, Public Works Director Mark LeClair, Police Chief 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 October Council meeting. Alderman Johnson Anderson made a motion to approve the minutes of the October Council meeting. Aldermen Withers 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 Pacey 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 Johnson Anderson seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, 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 Pacey seconded the motion. All ayes - motion carried on a voice vote.

FINANCE/BUDGET

There were no committee meetings.

The Tax Levy Ordinance had been sent to the Council for review. Alderman Wilson made a motion to APPROVE ORDINANCE 19-19 A TAX LEVY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PAXTON, ILLINOIS FOR 2019-2020. Alderman Evans seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson and Withers. All ayes, motion carried.

The Library Maintenance Tax Resolution was before the Council for approval. This is for the maintenance of the library that the City collects for the library. Alderman Wilson made a motion to APPROVE RESOLUTION 19-20 RESOLUTION RE LIBRARY MAINTENANCE TAX. 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 Wilson discussed the ordinance for Abating the Levy for General Obligation Waterworks and Sewerage Refunding Bonds. We don’t want to collect these funds via tax as we have a bond collecting funds for this purpose. Alderman Wilson made a motion to APPROVE ORDINANCE 19-21 AN ORDINANCE ABATING LEVY FOR GENERAL OBLIGATION WATERWORKS AND SEWERAGE REFUNDING BONDS (ALTERNATE REVENUE SOURCE), SERIES 2011. Alderman Pacey seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson and Withers. All ayes, motion carried.

Mr. Reg Ankrom spoke to the Council regarding the electrical aggregation for the City of Paxton. A large subsidy was pulled out of the funding for their company. Aggregation rates then went up due to this lack of subsidy. However, they have been working with a different company and the current rate is $0.0458, which is very low right now, lower than Ameren. This rate is good for 24 months. There was discussion on how consumers will know if they are using the electrical aggregation. There was discussion on how homeowners will know if someone at their door is legitimate or a scam.

PUBLIC WORKS

There was a committee meeting that discussed the burning ordinance.

Alderman Steiger spoke regarding the burning ordinance. The recommendation from the committee was to allow burning every day, except holidays, from dawn to dusk. Alderman Evans did hear some feedback that they would like to see burning restricted to certain days. Alderman Geiken heard from some residents that restricting burning on holidays seems like over-legislating. There was some additional discussion. Alderman Johnson Anderson wanted to make sure that the community knows that the City doesn’t have the funds or manpower to buy a leaf vacuum or the ability to burn leaves at the brush pile. Mr. Ralph Kile thinks that restricting the days that you can burn is a bad idea. Mr. Larry Alsip has concerns that restricting the burning hours is prohibitive if someone works eight hours a day. Mr. Daiven Emling asked if the City had looked into composting the leaves. Alderman Pacey made a motion to APPROVE ORDINANCE 19-22 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 92 OF THE CODE OF PAXTON TO PROHIBIT BURNING. Steiger seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Johnson Anderson. Nays – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson and Withers. One ayes, seven nays, motion failed.

PUBLIC SAFETY

There were no committee meetings.

Alderman Pacey gave an update from EMS Director Ed Hanson. The work on the EMS building has been completed.

The Interagency User Agreement with the Illinois State Police (ISP) helps to facilitate liquor licensing. Alderman Pacey made a motion to authorize the Mayor to sign the Interagency User Agreement with the Illinois State Police. Alderman Withers seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson and Withers. All ayes, motion carried.

Chief Cornett said that the new officer is working out very well.

Mayor Ingold let the Council know that a letter has been sent out letting Mr. Schertz know that the City will begin the process of selling the Airport to Mr. Hrupsa in two weeks.

CITY PROPERTY

There were no committee meetings.

The Paxton Area Chamber of Commerce and P.R.I.D.E. are going to donate funds towards the StreetScape project. The Chamber is donating $10,000 and P.R.I.D.E. is donating $12,000.

LICENSE, PERMIT, ZONING & INSURANCE

There were no committee meetings.

The IMLRMA Minimum/Maximum agreement states that the City will pay no more than $64,258, unless claims go over this amount. The City pays a percentage if they go over that amount. This typically saves the City $10,000 - $12,000 a year. Alderman Satterlee made a motion to APPROVE ORDINANCE 19-23 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF THE IMLRMA MINIMUM/MAXIMUM CONTRIBUTION AGREEMENT. Alderman Geiken seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson and Withers. All ayes, motion carried.

COMMUNITY

There were no committee meetings and nothing on the agenda.

The Christmas Parade will be November 30th, and the Tree Lighting will be on November 29th.

The Johnson Light Display will be starting on Thanksgiving Day.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

There were no committee meetings.

The Paxton Inn has been recently purchased by a new owner.

There was discussion on the TIF authorizations for reimbursement of redevelopers. The Mayor said that Humble Hog could be reimbursed $5,736.41, and the funds are there to complete this. Alderman Geiken made a motion to reimburse Food Fight Enterprises, LLC $5,736.41. Alderman Steiger seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson and Withers. All ayes, motion carried.

Paxton Hotel Group’s eligible expenses for reimbursement are $39,028.76. Alderman Steiger made a motion to reimburse the Paxton Hotel Group $39,028.76. Alderman Wilson seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Steiger, Wilson and Withers. All ayes, motion carried.

Scaggs Properties has an issue with the EAV, and the Mayor is still looking into this item before reimbursement can be made.

Mayor Ingold updated the Council on a meeting with Representative Bennett. He’ll be providing more information to the Council later.

LONG TERM PLANNING

There were no committee meetings and nothing on the agenda.

Alderman Johnson Anderson is working with Chief Cornett to get an updated map of the City of Paxton to show where the stop signs and yield signs are located. This could help with the decision-making process when there are complaints regarding traffic issues.

Mayor Ingold spoke about Diamond Maps. This shows where all the mains, fire hydrants, etc., are in town.

On November 19th, Mr. Daiven Emling will be hosting a cannabis awareness night in Watseka. This will be in their City Hall at 6:00 p.m. He’d like to do something here or he’d like to have Paxton attend the event to see if they’d be interested in having a business in town.

OTHER

Paxton Library Board is losing a member and a replacement is needed. This will be on the agenda for approval on December’s City Council meeting.

Mayor Ingold spoke about all the hard work that Dorothy Engdahl, Nancy Dewey, Sandy Ashmore, Pam Reber, and Bob Reber do to keep Majestic Park looking great.

With this snow, Public Works Director LeClair and his staff have been doing a great job keeping the roads clear while dealing with a few water breaks.

The tower at EIEC fell down yesterday. Internet services are down at PBL. WPXN is off the air. They are still streaming through their app and online.

At 8:10 p.m. Alderman Johnson Anderson made a motion to adjourn tonight’s regular meeting of the Mayor and City Council. Alderman Steiger seconded the motion. All ayes - motion carried on a voice vote.

https://www.cityofpaxton.com/DocumentCenter/View/314/11-12-2019-City-Council-Meeting-Minutes