Chambana Sun

City of Paxton City Council met Sept. 8.

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 City Council Chambers.

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, Wilson and Withers. Alderman Hoedebecke was absent. Also, in attendance were: Mayor Bill Ingold, Treasurer/Comptroller Tammy Jensen, Assistant Public Works Director Bob Carleton, Police Chief Coy Cornett, 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 August Council meeting. Alderman Johnson Anderson made a motion to approve the minutes of the August Council meeting. Aldermen Wilson seconded the motion. All approved on a voice vote.

LIST OF CLAIMS

Alderman Wilson made a motion to approve the lists of claims, except for the EIEC and Shaff Implement bills. Alderman Withers seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Wilson and Withers. Seven ayes, motion carried.

Alderman Withers made a motion to approve the EIEC and Shaff bill. Alderman Pacey seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, and Withers. Abstain – Evans and Wilson. Five ayes, two abstains, 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 approved on a voice vote.

Mayor Ingold spoke regarding Mark LeClair. Mark worked for the City for 42 years and done many jobs during that time. He’s been named Water Plant Operator of the Year and Wastewater Plant Operator of the Year, twice. Mark has a great memory when it comes to where things are located, whether that’s a tree that’s been down for 5 years or a sewer line. He’s had to be a mathematician to figure out holiday schedules. He’s been a weatherman, predicting forecasts to ensure there are plenty of workers to cover things when the weather takes a bad turn. He’s been a genie to figure out how much salt to order for the upcoming winter. He’s also been a magician to make things run as smoothly as they do. Mark’s work for the City has been greatly appreciated. The Mayor presented Mark with several retirement gifts. There was a brief recess while refreshments were served.

City Attorney Marc Miller joined the meeting at 7:20 p.m.

FINANCE/BUDGET

There were no committee meetings and nothing on the agenda.

Comptroller/Treasurer Jensen let the Council know that the min/max insurance bill was in the list of claims.

Manish Puri is the new owner of The Paxton Hotel. He was in attendance for tonight’s meeting. He let the Council know how helpful Mayor Ingold has been. He stated that Paxton is a great community, and everyone has been very kind. He is working with Mayor Ingold on a potential TIF agreement to work on improving the hotel.

PUBLIC WORKS

There were no committee meetings.

Alderman Withers noted that there is about $40,000 in the budget for curbs and sidewalks every year. Mayor Ingold sent out some info on these repairs as well. The City just does not have the manpower to work on all of these. Alderman Geiken is in agreement that work needs to be done. Alderman Johnson Anderson spoke in agreement as well but would also like some work done on alleyways around town. There was some discussion on this topic. Alderman Pacey asked Mayor Ingold for a list of some curb, sidewalk, and alley work that needs to be done. There was discussion on the sidewalk reimbursement program. Alderman Withers made a motion to authorize the Mayor to work with Comptroller/Treasurer Jensen and spend up to $32,000 on repairing sidewalks. No second was found. Mayor Ingold will work on providing some more specific pricing, and this item will be on next month’s agenda. He will get bids prepared for October.

Alderman Wilson asked the Mayor to look into some of the worst alleys to move up repairs on. Mayor Ingold and Assistant Public Works Director Bob Carleton said they would look into it. There is a potential to use millings to make some of these repairs.

Alderman Withers relayed that there has been a problem getting new water meters to replace old ones. Hopefully the City will be getting 300-400 new meter heads a month, and then the employees will start replacing them. There was further discussion on this.

Alderman Johnson Anderson asked what happens when you notice a non-Paxton roadway that’s starting to have issues. Mayor Ingold has notified the proper people regarding this specific road.

PUBLIC SAFETY

There were no committee meetings.

Alderman Pacey spoke regarding the ordinance changes to include cats running at large, removal of cat waste, and making it illegal to abandon a cat. There was discussion on this topic. Carl Richardson spoke regarding the futility of asking a police officer to enforce this ordinance. He thinks the cats should be impounded like dogs. Alderman Pacey made a motion to add the word cats to ordinances 96.01, 96.02, 96.08, and 96.09. Alderman Evans seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Pacey, and Satterlee. Nays – Alderman Johnson Anderson, Wilson, and Withers. Four ayes, three nays, motion carried. There was discussion of increasing the fines for animals that are picked up without a tag.

There was discussion on the potential ordinance for underground electric fencing. Alderman Johnson Anderson made a motion to look further into an ordinance restricting underground electric fencing. There was no second.

Chief Cornett had an arrest that led to 60 – 80 Xanax pills, 1⁄2 pound of cannabis, and money being confiscated. Officers are doing good work!

CITY PROPERTY

There was a committee meeting that updated the Aldermen on the fire. Mayor Ingold updated everyone on this information as well. The timeframe for the building repairs has been pushed back because supplies are not available. Currently the prices are almost double what was initially estimated. Mayor Ingold also updated the Council on equipment pick up. The building and concrete are gone.

The clock tower needs to be painted. Mayor Ingold wants to put this out for bid.

Alderman Evans asked if there has been any thought to updating the playground equipment at Pells Park. Assistant Public Works Director Bob Carleton stated that there have been some repairs lately. Greg Gustafson let the Council know that 10-15 years ago the City looked at grants to replace equipment. Since the City had so many parks in relationship to its residents, that put the City at a disadvantage. Greg will look at this again and see what he can find out.

Alderman Johnson Anderson brought up a concern with the bus routes on Taft Street. A resident was concerned that there are no crosswalks for the kids to get across the street. The Mayor and Alderman Johnson Anderson talked, and the Mayor brought in Chief Cornett. Chief Cornett spoke with the school and then went to monitor the crossing. There were 11 kids crossing at that intersection, all junior high kids or above. Assistant Public Works Director Bob Carleton said that he’ll have someone go put crosswalks down to increase visibility of the crossing area.

LICENSE, PERMIT, ZONING & INSURANCE

There was a committee meeting. Work is still progressing in the committee on updating the zoning ordinances. There will be another committee meeting at 6:30 p.m. on October 13th.

Alderman Satterlee made a motion to APPROVE ORDINANCE 20-23 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE XV, CHAPTER 151, SECTION 151.009 “ACCESSORY BUILDINGS” OF THE ZONING CODE OF THE REVISED CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF PAXTON. Alderman Geiken seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Wilson and Withers. Seven ayes, motion carried.

COMMUNITY

There were no committee meetings and nothing on the agenda.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

There were no committee meetings and nothing on the agenda.

Alderman Pacey asked when the TIF Review Board meeting will be scheduled. It will be later this month.

LONG TERM PLANNING

There were no committee meetings and nothing on the agenda.

OTHER

At 8:39 p.m., Alderman Johnson Anderson made a motion to enter into Executive Session for the limited purpose of discussing the setting of a price and possible sale of City owned real estate pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(6). Alderman Withers seconded the motion. Roll Call: ayes – Alderman Evans, Geiken, Johnson Anderson, Pacey, Satterlee, Wilson and Withers. Seven ayes, motion carried.

Open session resumed at 8:56 p.m.

At 8:57 p.m. Alderman Wilson made a motion to adjourn tonight’s regular meeting of the Mayor and City Council. Alderman Withers seconded the motion. All approved on a voice vote.

https://www.cityofpaxton.com/DocumentCenter/View/378/09-08-2020-City-Council-Meeting-Minutes-PDF