Chambana Sun

City of Paxton City Council met July 9.

Here is the minutes provided by the council:

The monthly meeting of the Paxton City Council was held 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, Hoedebecke, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, 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, EMA Director Ed Hanson, and members of the audience and press.

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, except for EIEC bill. Alderman Evans seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Hoedebecke, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Wilson and Withers. Eight ayes, motion carried.

Alderman Withers made a motion to approve the EIEC bill. Alderman Johnson Anderson seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Hoedebecke, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, 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 Geiken seconded the motion. All ayes, motion carried on a voice vote.

FINANCE/BUDGET

There were no committee meetings.

Alderman Wilson is working on the budget with Public Works Director LeClair and Treasurer /Comptroller Jensen but without the tax levy information that is difficult. They are continuing to work as best they can. Treasurer /Comptroller Jensen has been working with IML regarding where declines can be anticipated. It’s not as dire as she would have expected. Income tax and MFT are both declining. She is trying to be very conservative with the budget. Tax Levy approvals should be done in a month or so according to the Ford County Clerk. Treasurer /Comptroller Jensen is hoping to get those numbers before the City has to pass the appropriation ordinance.

The annual audit is happening at the end of this month.

Mayor Ingold spoke about the Build Illinois program from IDOT. The City has already received the first installment payment. They will receive about $50,000 every 6 months for the next 3 years. Greg Cook, with Farnsworth, is working on figuring out what can be done with these funds.

The Gift Card program from the Chamber of Commerce was a huge success. They raised over $70,000 that will be spent within Paxton. Mayor Ingold is interested in the City being involved if they decide to do another round of this.

PUBLIC WORKS

There were no committee meetings and nothing on the agenda.

The building fire damaged many items. The snow box push box, stump augers, mosquito mister, and two-ton dump truck were all lost. The snow fencing, air diffusers, and two bucket trucks (one may be salvageable) were all lost. Snowplows were saved. The new salt building was lost.

The City does have some bids for a new mister. Mayor Ingold has been working with insurance on this issue.

Mayor Ingold asked the Council how they want to move forward on some of these purchases. He asked if Alderman Evans, Alderman Withers, Mayor Ingold, and Assistant Public Works Director Carleton or Public Works Director LeClair could have the authority to replace these items without a full council meeting vote. There was further discussion about this topic. Alderman Johnson Anderson made a motion to authorize the Mayor and Public Works Director LeClair to spend up to $35,000 on equipment and incidentals related to replacing fire damaged items until July’s City Council meeting. Alderman Evans seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Hoedebecke, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Wilson and Withers. Eight ayes, motion carried.

Visitor Bill Wylie asked what the cause of the fire was. According to the Fire Marshall, it was undetermined. Videos show that no one was in the vicinity of the building when the fire started.

Public Works Director LeClair spoke regarding MFT bids. These will be held on June 16th, at City Hall. Sludge permit will be done soon.

Mayor Ingold let the Council know that he had lots of support the night of the fire – Street Employees, Paxon Police Dept, and the State Police all helped. Their support was greatly appreciated!

PUBLIC SAFETY

There were no committee meetings.

EMA Director Ed Hanson spoke regarding his request to change the name of Paxton EMA to Paxton ERS. The county is well on their way to being accredited. There is not a lot of sense in having a County EMA and a City EMA, in his opinion. The City will be able to request help from the County EMA as long as the City has an Emergency Operating Plan (EOP). There will be some costs in changing decals on vehicles and the building, along with modifying the ordinance related to EMA. There was some discussion on funding. Alderman Pacey made a motion to change the name of Paxton EMA to Paxton ERS and to modify the appropriate ordinance. Alderman Johnson Anderson seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Hoedebecke, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Wilson and Withers. Eight ayes, motion carried.

Alderman Satterlee is going to work with the Health Department regarding the feeding of varmints.

Mr. Don Ragan spoke and asked the Council to not allow invisible fencing that people have installed. Mr. Ragan was bitten while walking on a public sidewalk and the owner claimed that he had an invisible fence.

Alderman Johnson Anderson spoke about J turns. Chief Cornett put an article in the paper. Alderman Johnson Anderson hears from businesses downtown that it still happens a lot. She appreciated Chief Cornett’s work on this item.

CITY PROPERTY

There were no committee meetings.

The property damage agenda item was covered in Public Works.

LICENSE, PERMIT, ZONING & INSURANCE

There were no committee meetings.

Alderman Satterlee would like to schedule a committee meeting for 6:30 p.m., on July 14th.

Alderman Satterlee asked if anyone had received an input on allowing chickens in City limits. There was no interest in moving forward on this item.

COMMUNITY

There were no committee meetings.

Alderman Hoedebecke spoke regarding the fireworks and the 4th of July Celebration. IML said that if the City contradicts the Governor’s orders, and something adverse happened, IML would not cover the City. Firework tubing was also damaged in the building fire. There will be no fireworks or 4th of July Celebration on City property this year.

Alderman Hoedebecke spoke regarding the City’s Facebook page and utilizing it more in putting out information to residents. There was discussion on this item. There was discussion on who would manage this page. Alderman Geiken volunteered to work with Alderman Hoedebecke to moderate and update the City’s Facebook page.

Alderman Hoedebecke spoke regarding Tyger McClure’s request for a parade. This has been changed from a parade to a Black Lives Matter protest. The City would need information regarding the protest. Chief Cornett worked on a similar protest in Gibson City. He said that it went smoothly, and he feels that it would work the same way here. A question was raised who is responsible if someone gets hurt on City property during this event. Alderman Wilson feels that trying to stop this event would be a mistake. Chief Cornett agreed. Treasurer /Comptroller Jensen will get in touch with her contacts regarding the insurance question.

Mr. Wylie expressed concern for groups demanding justice and concern for justice for the merchants in Champaign that were damaged.

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

City Clerk Gwen Smith spoke to the Council regarding renumber ordinances from 2018. Alderman Wilson made a motion to approve changing Ordinance 18-05 AN ORDINANCE APPROVING VARIANCE FOR 455 WEST ORLEANS STREET to 18-05A, Ordinance 18-06 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 51 SECTION 51.06 TO PROHIBIT STORM WATER CONNECTIONS TO SANITARY SEWER to 18-06A, and Ordinance 18-07 AN ORDINANCE APPROVING A REDEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF PAXTON AND DUANE SHEILDS FOR NEXSTEP COMMERCIAL to 18- 07A. Alderman Johnson Anderson seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Hoedebecke, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Wilson and Withers. Eight ayes, motion carried.

At 7:58 p.m. Alderman Pacey made a motion to go into Executive session for the purpose of discussing the sale of real estate. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Hoedebecke, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Wilson and Withers. Eight ayes, motion carried.

Regular session resumed at 8:18 p.m.

Mayor Ingold let the Council know that the person who owns the dogs that bit Mr. Ragan has taken full responsibility for his dogs and is taking responsibility for Mr. Ragan’s medical care.

At 8:20 p.m. Alderman Wilson made a motion to adjourn tonight’s regular meeting of the Mayor and City Council. Alderman Withers seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Hoedebecke, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Wilson and Withers. Eight ayes, motion carried.

https://www.cityofpaxton.com/DocumentCenter/View/366/06-09-2020-City-Council-Meeting-Minutes-PDF