Chambana Sun

City of Champaign City Council met June 2.

Here is the minutes provided by the council:

Pursuant to Governor Pritzker’s Executive Order 2020-07 (COVID-19 Executive Order No. 5) which suspends the requirement of the Illinois Open Meetings Act requiring in- person attendance by members of a public body during the duration of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation, attendance by all Council Members, the City Manager, the City Clerk and other City staff members will be electronic via an online meeting platform.

The members of the City Council were not physically present for the Regular City of Champaign City Council Meeting but instead participated in the meeting through audio or audio/video access using a virtual meeting platform.

There being a quorum present, Mayor Feinen called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

ROLL-CALL: Present: Tom Bruno, Matthew Gladney, William Kyles Vanna Pianfetti, Greg Stock, Alicia Beck Angie Brix, Mayor Feinen

Absent: Clarissa Fourman

Mayor Feinen noted Attorney Stavins would make an announcement in relation the City’s Emergency Order.

Attorney Stavins noted on Sunday, May 31, 2020, the Mayor declared an emergency and imposed a curfew from 8:30 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. the next morning. As part of the declaration, the Mayor called for a Special Meeting to occur tonight at 7:00 p.m. The Declaration of Emergency, curfew, and the Mayor’s statement were posted on the City’s website and sent to all the news media. By Ordinance, the only topic for discussion is the City’s response to the emergency on Sunday. It is recommended that the City Council take up this matter during the time for City Council comments. As a matter of procedure for the subject matter of the Special Meeting to occur, it can occur during Council comments as it was too late to amend the agenda before now.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION: None

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

CM Stock, seconded by CM Gladney, moved to approve the following minutes:

February 25, 2020 Regular Study Session 

April 14, 2020 Regular Stuey Session

A voice vote was taken by a show of hands on approval of the minutes; all voted yes.

CORRESPONDENCE:

Deputy Mayor Bruno noted two members of the public provided comments to the City Council. He clarified that one citizen used the standardized format at 5:04 p.m. Another citizen sent an email at 6:48 p.m. to all Council Members. 

5:04 p.m., email from Denise Barry, general public comment, and her email was read in relation to the events involving protestors and police across the country, potential for Champaign Police to cross the line into heavy handed violence, and to enact police policies in the interest of public safety relating to tear gas, officer identification, and thin blue line patches. 

6:48 p.m. from Kathleen Fuller, wrote regarding use of force policies of police and the need to update the policies (via Police Use of Force Project). 

7:14 p.m. from Brian Dunn, general public comment, regarding policing the community; minimal funding and police presence in the community; and the need to focus on programs that nurture and care, to address root cause of issues.

(All public comments received for electronic City Council Meetings are available from the City’s web site at https://champaignil.gov/council/publiccomment/.)

City Clerk Banks noted no other correspondence was received via web submission, nor submitted through the drop box at the City building.

CM Stock, seconded by CM Gladney, moved to acknowledge the correspondence and have it placed on file. A voice vote by a show of hands was taken; all voted yes.

PUBLIC HEARINGS:

Proposed FY 20/21 Annual Budget – After a brief explanation of the public hearing by Mayor Feinen, Mayor Feinen opened the public hearing and asked for any comments submitted in relation to the public hearing. Deputy Mayor Bruno noted as of 7:21 p.m., no comments had been received in relation to the public hearing. Mayor Feinen closed the public hearing at 7:21 p.m. and noted any comments in relation to the FY 20/21 Annual Budget could be emailed to financedept@champaignil.gov or by calling the Finance Department staff at 217-403-8940 on or before June 3, 2020. The City Council will act upon the FY 20/21 Annual Budget on Tuesday, June 16, 2020 at the Regular Council Meeting.

ACTION ON COUNCIL BILLS

ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS:

Passed     

CB-2020-058, “A Resolution Approving A Change Order With Carle Health Care Inc. D/B/A Carle Physician Group”

Change Order No. 1 Amount $69,954 

New Contract Amount $227,317

CM Stock, seconded by CM Gladney, moved to adopt the Resolution. After a brief explanation of the Council Bill by Mayor Feinen, Deputy Mayor Bruno noted no public comments had been submitted. A roll-call vote was taken; all voted yes.

Passed 

CB-2020-059, “A Resolution Approving The FY 20/21 Annual Budget For The Champaign-Urbana Solid Waste Disposal System (City Of Champaign Public Works Department – City Of Urbana)”

CM Stock, seconded by CM Gladney, moved to adopt the Resolution. After a brief explanation of the Council Bill by Mayor Feinen, Deputy Mayor Bruno noted no public comments had been submitted. A roll-call vote was taken, all voted yes.

Mayor Feinen asked Attorney Stavins to address CB-2020-060. Attorney Stavins noted the Council Bill will renew the Emergency Ordinance and approve the existing COVID related Emergency Orders. He noted a listing attached to the Council Bill (Emergency Orders 1-18), and that some orders fulfilled are date related. The last Emergency Order, 20-18, relates to the opening of food and beverage establishments this past Friday. The order was entered by the Mayor on Thursday. It was later discovered that classes of liquor licensees had been omitted, thus the Mayor enacted an amendment to Emergency Order 20-18 which added a group of liquor licensees. The Council agenda, with the order and list, had already been published when the amendment was made. Staff is requesting Council amend, as amendment No. 1 to the list of emergency orders, for Emergency Order 20-18.

Passed 

CB-2020-060, “An Ordinance ApprovingEmergency Orders And Extending Council Bill 2020-022 Relating To The COVID-19 Emergency (COVID-19 Emergency)”

CM Stock, seconded by CM Gladney, moved to adopt the Ordinance. After a brief explanation of the Council Bill by Mayor Feinen, CM Stock, seconded by CM Gladney, moved to amend the list attached to the Council Bill to add Amendment No. 1 to Emergency Order 20-18. CM Beck questioned whether the amendment would include the HB-2682 recently signed by the Governor involving cocktails for pickup and delivery sales. Deputy Mayor Bruno noted no public comments had been submitted in relation to the amendment. Mayor Feinen called for a voice vote in acceptance of the amendment. A voice vote was taken by a show of hands on approval of the amendment; all voted yes. Mayor Feinen called for any technical questions regarding the amended Ordinance. CM Stock questioned ending emergency orders; and returning to in-person Council meetings.

Staff indicated orders are evaluated to determine their impact on health conditions, and information provided by the State and local health department. Re-evaluation will be done in July. As for in-person meetings, health emergencies of the governor dictate electronic attendance at meetings. Deputy Mayor Bruno noted no public comments had been submitted. A roll-call vote was taken, all voted yes.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION:

Deputy Mayor Bruno noted that as of 7:38 p.m. no general public comments had been submitted.

Mayor Feinen requested Police Chief Cobb address the City Council and the community. Chief Cobb briefly addressed the unfortunate incidents (looting and vandalizing businesses, leading to citizen unrest) that occurred on Sunday, May 31, 2020 at Market Place Mall and throughout the community, that began around 3:00 p.m. and lasted until approximately 2:00 a.m. June 1, 2020. The Police Department and Mutual Aid Agencies responded. He thanked those agencies, and commended officers for their de-escalation tactics used. Chief Cobb noted no major injuries were reported, and that approximately 50 businesses reported damages from the event; various public members (pastors, community leaders, and elected officials) responded and assisted with de-escalation; and that the investigation continues with 27 arrests having been made. In addition, he briefly addressed commitment of the Police Department to protect peaceful demonstrations and lawful protest to foster community dialogue and meaningful progress; sharing in the frustration regarding recent law enforcement injustices, noting the tragic incident involving George Floyd’s tragic death; Sunday’s events not being the way forward, and that violent acts toward community members and businesses cannot be allowed; intent to support and help facilitate safe gatherings; and that the department will join in community conversations to promote progress and continue community policing.

COUNCIL AMD MANAGER COMMENTS:

CM Kyles thanked the community and the Police Department for their efforts to allow peaceful protesting; and for the leadership of Chief Cobb, officers, and the community during the civil unrest, and the community working together during clean-up efforts. He also thanked the City Council for their leadership and noted the need for upcoming discussions in relation to the community, policing, and economic development. He expressed it is time to focus on areas of improvement, and not rioting and looting.

Mayor Feinen thanked police and community members that helped de-escalate and listen during the events on Sunday; and for the peaceful protests that have taken place. She noted the community needs an opportunity to be heard, and the upcoming Special Community Coalition meeting next Wednesday at 3:30 via a Zoom link is an opportunity to add their voice to help make a difference.

City Manager David noted the need for a Closed Session, following the Post-Council Study Session, to discuss Collective Negotiating Matters.

VOUCHERS:

CM Bruno, seconded by CM Gladney, moved to adopt Vendor Payments dated May 9, 2020 through May 22, 2020 in the amount of $1,841,024.04. A voice vote by a show of hands was taken; all voted yes.

PAYROLL:

CM Bruno, seconded by CM Gladney, moved to approve payroll dated May 15, 2020 in the amount of $1,793,058.33. A voice vote by a show of hands was taken; all voted yes.

INVESTMENTS: None

SPECIAL EMERGENCY ORDER DECLARATION:

CM Beck noted the Emergency Order of Sunday was in response to the looting and implemented a curfew of the community. She expressed the following reasons for not supporting the curfew: 1) curfews do not curtail looting; 2) they violate the ability of non- looting citizens to be out and about without punishment; 3) curfews are seen as an authoritarian tool; and 4) noted social media post of some indicated people were going out because they were told they could not. She expressed hope for things to remain calm. Later she commented on limiting curfew to the commercial areas and enforcement concerns; need to consider past enforcement tools and how they are working; need to consider how our law enforcement and policing has been structured and what needs to be done; and the use of other systems, such as a notification system, versus curfews.

CM Stock noted the curfew helped curtail looting and reduced the number of spectators, which may have allowed a faster response by police, emergency responders, and protected people.

CM Gladney expressed he was not in favor of the curfew but understood why it was done; non-support of the looting that took place; and that curfews are used as a tool to deal with certain situations, and that some tools used are not working. He expressed appreciation of the efforts of all police, and questioned what impact the curfew had; concerns that have been expressed with the handling of this and other situations feeling authoritative; and expressed the need to have considered a curfew limited to commercial areas.

CM Bruno expressed concern with curfew aspects, respect of the fact of the need for decisions in times of crisis, and respect of his colleagues. He expressed people do not like authoritarianism, vandalism and looting, restriction of freedoms, the need to be mindful of all these things and personal freedoms, and that notifications sometimes backfire. He expressed the need to consider current policing and what methods need modification; and the need for a captain to lead in an emergency.

CM Kyles expressed appreciation for diversity in the conversation, and noted curfews present a situation where you have to reduce the amount of people on the streets as much as possible. He expressed the deeper issue, to be discussed in the future, is people causing the criminal activity, why they are involved, and the history behind it; and the need to consider economic development, and the need to develop job opportunities, particularly for youth. He noted he supported the curfew action as an immediate action that was needed.

Mayor Feinen thanked everyone for the discussion noting this as a unique situation which required Council support to proceed; and looking forward to the opportunity to discuss in more detail, as well as discussing as a community how to move forward regarding many issues in relation to policing and making the community safe. She noted the need for budget reductions because of COVID and the need to make a difference in the community; and how the child and family program could help families in need and could make a long-term difference. She expressed funding as an issue for this and other programs; and the need to make a difference for the lives of those in our community in order for things to be different.

ADJOURNMENT:

Council Members did not adjourn but proceeded into the Post-Council Study Session agenda items.

The meeting ended at 7:57 p.m.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kaDz_h_p9cnWlBDeLf-lVc6fj_vxbbpl/view