Chambana Sun

City of Urbana City Council Met April 12.

Here is the minutes provided by the council:

The City Council of the City of Urbana, Illinois, met in regular session at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom. Urbana City Council Chambers, 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, IL 61801

ELECTED OFFICIALS PHYSICALLY PRESENT: Diane Wolfe Marlin, Mayor; Phyllis D. Clark, City Clerk

ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT VIA ZOOM: City Council Members (CM) Bill Brown, Bill Colbrook, Shirese Hursey, Jared Miller, Dennis Roberts, Erik Sacks, Maryalice Wu

ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT: None

STAFF PRESENT VIRTUALLY: Wendy Hundley, Jason Liggett, Carol Mitten, Lorrie Pearson, Marcus Ricci, Bryant Seraphin, Katherine Trotter, Dave Wesner

OTHERS PRESENT VIA ZOOM: Anthony Allegretti, Allan Max Axelrod, Norman Baxley, Tracy Chong, Scott Dossett, Christopher Hansen, Monica Huang, Emily Klose, Brandi McCoy, Sarah Nixon, Eddie Pratt Jr.,

A. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

There being a quorum virtually present, Mayor Marlin called the meeting of the Urbana City Council to order at 7:19pm, following a Cunningham Township Board meeting.

B. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

CM Miller made a motion to approve minutes from the March 8, 2021, March 22, 2021, and April 5, 2021 (Public Hearing), seconded by CM Hursey and carried by roll call vote as follows:

Aye: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Miller, Roberts, Sacks, Wu

Nay: None

C. PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLIC INPUT

1. Elimination of CPRB Membership Restriction Based on Felony Conviction – CPRB Members Dossett and Allegretti

Mayor Marlin relinquished the chair to Mayor Pro-tem Dennis Roberts, while she stepped away to sign some documents.

Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB) Member Anthony Allegretti began by saying that the CPRB members are asking the ordinance language about felony conviction or plea be eliminated from Section 19-22 (c) that reads as follows: “No person with a criminal felony conviction or plea shall be eligible to serve on the CPRB”. Scott Dossett joined the conversation and added that this is the first step of many changes that need to happen in the Ordinance, at this time the board is only recommending the removal of the mentioned section.

After the presentation, Allegretti and Dossett addressed questions from council.

2. Public input via zoom comments included: in support of removing language from the CPRB ordinance about felony convictions; people affected by injustice should be encourage on the board due to their experience with the legal system; remove background checks; not in support of having law enforcement on the CPRB; no one addressed the retaliation by City Administrator Mitten when she published personal information about a resident’s complaint; ongoing Open Meeting Act violations by city staff; disappointment by City attorney’s dishonest legal advice just to support the restrictions Mayor Marlin wanted during public input; be unbiased when it comes to addressing police brutality; ongoing utility shutoffs concerns; in support of Resolution No. 2021- 04-017R; do better and stop making excuses; Mayor cannot stop council from speaking about any topic; in support of Montessori school location; scholarship to minority and single parents to attend Montessori should be encouraged by the city; concerns about Request for Proposals (RFP) transparency process; having a contract with the Fraternal Order of Police(FOP) cannot negate or violate the city’s human rights ordinance; strike section 2(b) that reads: no city employee may be appointed to the board, nor shall any member be a current employee of, contracted by or have any official affiliation, whether current or former, with a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency; to eliminate any type of discrimination.

Mayor Marlin said legal counsel advised them not to comment on alleged violations of the Open Meetings Act as it is the subject of ongoing litigation, and they do not discuss ongoing litigation. No Public Input received via email.

D. COUNCIL INPUT AND COMMUNICATIONS

CM Miller said that CPRB reminded council that selection of member should not be based on their felony conviction.

CM Hursey agreed with Christopher Hansen that someone’s affiliation should not be grounds for disqualification to serve on the CPRB.

E. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA

There were none.

F. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

There was none

G. REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES

Committee Of The Whole – (Council Member Maryalice Wu)

1. CONSENT AGENDA

All matters listed under the CONSENT AGENDA are considered to be routine and non-controversial by the City Council and will be enacted by one motion and roll call vote. There will be no individual discussion of these items. If discussion is desired by the Mayor, Council members, or a member of the public, the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and discussed immediately after approval of the remaining items in the Consent Agenda

2. CONSENT AGENDA

a. Resolution No. 2021-04-015R: A Resolution Approving the Transfer of Volume Cap in Connection with Private Activity Bond Issues, Single-Family Mortgage Revenue Bonds, and Related Matters (Private Bond Cap Allocation – Assist Programs, Series 2021)

b. Resolution No. 2021-04-016R: A Resolution Approving the Transfer of Volume Cap in Connection with Private Activity Bond Issues, Single-Family Mortgage Revenue Bonds, and Related Matters (Private Bond Cap Allocation – IHDA, Series 2021)

CM Wu made a motion to approve the consent agenda in omnibus fashion as forwarded from committee. Seconded by CM Miller and carried by roll call vote as follows:

Ayes: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Miller, Roberts, Sacks, Wu

Nays: None

3. REGULAR AGENDA

a. Ordinance No. 2021-04-013: An Ordinance Approving a Special Use Permit (121 Goose Alley / Plan Case 2416-SU-21 – Norman Baxley / Montessori School of Champaign-Urbana)

CM Wu made a motion to approve Ordinance No. 2021-04-013 as forwarded from committee. Seconded by CM Roberts. Additional discussion followed.

City Staff addressed questions from council about parking issues and resolutions. CM Roberts read the conditions from the ordinance.

Monica Huang and Norman Baxley were available for questions.

After discussion, CM Roberts made a motion to amend the ordinance to eliminate additional parking spaces. Seconded by CM Colbrook. Upon additional discussion, Community Development Lorrie Pearson suggested the following language as a compromise: “If, upon operation, it is determined by the City Engineer that the school’s pick-up/drop-off plan creates safety or traffic issue, the Zoning Administrator may require the school to alter its pick-up/drop off plan to mitigate the issues.to drop the requirement of additional spaces and leave at three.”

CM Roberts and Colbrook concurred with suggested language. The motion to amend Ordinance No. 2021-04-013 carried by roll call vote as follows:

Ayes: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Miller, Roberts, Sacks, Wu

Nays: None

After amendment, the motion to approve Ordinance No. 2021-04-013 as amended was approved by roll call vote as follows:

Ayes: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Miller, Roberts, Sacks, Wu

Nays: None

b. Ordinance No. 2021-04-014: An Ordinance Amending City Code Chapter 2, Section 2-5, Electronic Virtual Public Meetings (Public Input During Virtual Meetings)

CM Wu made a motion to approve Ordinance No. 2021-04-014 as forwarded from committee. Seconded by CM Miller and carried by roll call vote as follows:

Ayes: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Miller, Roberts, Sacks, Wu

Nays: None

c. Resolution No. 2021-04-017R: A Resolution Declaring Continued Utility Disconnections in Illinois to be a Pandemic Safety Risk

CM Wu made a motion to approve Ordinance No. 2021-04-014 as forwarded from committee. Seconded by CM Miller. Discussion followed.

After discussion, CM Roberts made a motion to amend section 5 to read as follows: That the City of Urbana calls on the Illinois Governor to enact a 30 day mandatory moratorium on utility disconnections for non-payment. The moratorium should be without means-testing. Seconded by CM Wu and carried by roll call vote as follows:

Aye: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Miller, Roberts, Sacks, Wu

Nay: None

Final motion was to approve Resolution No. 2021-04-017R as amended. The motion carried by roll call vote as follows:

Aye: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Miller, Roberts, Sacks, Wu

Nay: None

H. REPORTS OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES

There were none

I. REPORTS OF OFFICERS

Police Chief Bryant Seraphin gave updates about recent shootings that occurred in Urbana over the weekend. He addressed questions from council. The number to call with any tips or leads were given as follows: 217-384-2320 or 217-373-TIPS (8477).

Mayor Marlin said that gun violence has become an issue nationwide and should be handled by the community.

She thanked city staff who volunteered Saturday to help with the building project for Habitat for Humanity, sponsored by Savoy United Methodist Church.

J. NEW BUSINESS

1. Resolution No. 2021-04-018R: A Resolution of Protest against a Proposed Zoning Map Amendment to the Champaign County Zoning Ordinance (3804 Cunningham Ave. / CCZBA-002- AM-21)

Planner Katherine Trotter Resolution No. 2021-04-018R with recommendation to defeat. The petitioners Ryan and Amanda Donaldson submitted a petition to the Champaign County Department of Planning and Zoning (CCDPZ) to amend the zoning map for 3804 Cunningham Avenue from the AG-2 Agriculture Zoning District to the B-4 General Business Zoning District, to allow them to construct two buildings on the property. First building will house the Illini Fire Services, LLC and the second building will have an office and warehouse space for another constructions space. Discussion ensued.

City Council were given the following options: a request to amend the zoning map for 3804 Cunningham Avenue from AG-2 Agriculture to B-4 General Business, to allow the applicants to establish and operate the Illini Fire Services, LLC:

→ Vote ‘Yes” to protest and to require a super-majority vote at the County Board to rezone the property

→ Vote “No” to not protest and to require a simple majority vote at the County Board to rezone the property

After presentation and discussion, CM Brown made a motion to approve Resolution No. 2021-04- 018R as directed per staff. CM Miller seconded and carried by roll call vote as follows:

Aye: Sacks

Nay: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Miller, Roberts, Wu

K. ADJOURNMENT

With no further business to come before the council, Mayor Marlin adjourned the virtual meeting at 9:18 p.m.

http://urbanaillinois.us/sites/default/files/attachments/04-12-2021_Minutes.pdf