Chambana Sun

City of Urbana City Council Committee of the Whole met Nov. 1.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

The City Council Committee of The Whole of the City of Urbana, Illinois, met in regular session at 7:00pm virtually via ZOOM.

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

ELECETED OFFICIALS VIRTUALLY PRESENT: CM Maryalice Wu, CM Christopher Evans, CM Shirese Hursey, CM Jaya Kolisetty, CM Chaundra Bishop, CM Grace Wilken, CM James Quisenberry

ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT: None

STAFF PRESENT: Jason Liggett, Darcy Sandefur, Carol Mitten, Bourema Ouedraogo, Scott Tess, Carla Boyd, Dave Wesner, Sheila Dodd, Bryant Seraphin.

OTHERS PRESENT: Executive Director of Ella Baker center Zachary Norris, CBRB Chair Ricardo Diaz, CBRPB member Colum Wilson

1. Call to Order and Roll Call

With a quorum virtually present, Mayor Marlin called the meeting of the Committee of the Whole to order at 7:19 PM following a public hearing.

2. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting

October 18th Minutes. Motion to approve by CM Wilken and seconded by CM Wu. Vote by roll call:

AYE: Wu, Evans, Hursey, Kolisetty, Quisenberry, Wilken, Bishop

NAY: None

3. Additions to the Agenda

CM Evans motioned to add a 10 minute presentation on ALPR by Zachary Norris after CPRB presentation. Seconded by CM Wilken.

Vote by roll call:

AYE: Wu, Evans, Hursey, Kolisetty, Wilken, Bishop, Quisenberry

NAY: None

CM Wilken proposed we switch discussion order. No action was taken.

Mayor Marlin expressed condolences for the passing of former alderman Eric Jakobsson.

4. Public Input and Presentations

a. Civilian Police Review Board 5-year Report by Ricardo Diaz, CPRB Chair and Colum Wilson, CPRB Member

Presented by Ricardo Diaz CPRB chair and member Colum Wilson on the last 5 years of CBRB cases report. Provided statistics on review case outcomes and trends. Questions and discussion ensued.

b. ALPR Presentation from Zachary Norris

Presented by Zachary Norris the executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. Human rights and safety are reinforcing. Shared a story of a traffic stop in which he and his family were wrongfully stopped due to a mistake with ALPR technology. Questions and discussion ensued.

c. Public Input

Carol Ammons highly encouraged council to read “locking up our own” a book used by other legislatures. Provided a legislative update on state level efforts to address the gun violence public health crisis. Spoke in opposition to ALPR. Allan Max Axelrod spoke in opposition to ALPR. Donald Owen spoke in opposition to ALPR. Expressed that ALPR data may be subject to FOIA. Tracy Chong expressed concerns about the formatting for public input at the ALPR town halls. Expressed concerns about pictometry. Urged council to look into Taser review incident. Chris Hanson expressed concerns about the Taser review process and ALPR budget amendment. Theresa Michelson spoke in support of ALPR being one tool. Brandi McCoy spoke in opposition to ALPR. Eddie Pratt Jr. spoke in opposition to ALPR. Julie Watkins spoke in opposition to ALPR. Emmett Sanders provided 4 reasons why he opposes ALPR. Ben Theobald spoke in opposition to ALPR. Phyllis Clark as a resident of ward 3 spoke in support of ALPR.

*Motion to extend public input for 30 minutes by CM Kolisetty. Seconded by CM Wu.

Vote by roll call:

AYE: Wu, Evans, Hursey, Kolisetty, Bishop, Quisenberry, Wilken

NAY: Nay

Sarah Nixon spoke in support of alternatives to ALPR. James Kilgore spoke in favor of investing in community needs based solutions instead of ALPR. Eldress Melinda Carr spoke in support of other alternatives to ALPR to address violence. Angel Johnson asked for alternative investments for the community like infrastructure and a community center. Tanya Parker spoke in opposition to ALPR and echoed support for community based solutions. Kanittha Fay spoke in support of both investigative tools and community programs. CM Kolisetty read a letter on behalf of Peggy Patton. CM Kolisetty read a statement on behalf of Mr and Mrs Fellers. CM Kolisetty read a letter from multiple individuals. CM Kolisetty read a statement by Kelly Wiggin. CMs agreed to send all remaining letters to be included in the record to the clerk due to time being exceeded for public input.

5. Staff Report

Carol Mitten announced Dec 2nd and Dec 3rd for tentative council sessions from 5:30 -7:30. Provided an update on equity and quality of life project.

Diane Marlin announced governor made gun violence a public health crisis and the state will be making funds available for solutions

6. Ordinance No. 2021-10-046: An Ordinance Authorizing Sale of City-Owned Real Estate: 1407 Wiley Drive (92-21-16-352-006), 809 South Glover Avenue (92-21-16-181-007), 1811 East Florida Avenue (92-21-16-481-061), 1106 North Wright Street (91-21-07-251-002)– PW

Presented by Scott Tess of public works. Following presentation council discussion lead to the removal of the Wright street property from the ordinance.

Motion to approve to send to City Council minus the Wright street property by CM Wu and seconded by CM Hursey. Further discussion ensued.

Vote by roll call:

AYE: Wu, Evans, Hursey, Quisenberry, Bishop, Kolisetty

NAY: Wilken

7. Ordinance No. 2021-09-044: An Ordinance Revising the FY2022 Annual Budget (Budget Amendment #3) – HR/Finance

Presented by Chief Bryant Seraphin. Discussion and questions ensued.

Following discussion council decided more time was needed to decide.

*Motion to extend meeting to 11 PM by CM Quisenberry and seconded by CM Hursey. Vote by roll call:

AYE: Wu, Evans, Hursey, Kolisetty, Quisenberry, Wilken, Bishop

NAY: None

Motion to keep item in committee for further discussion by CM Wu and seconded by CM Evan. Vote by roll call:

AYE: Wu, Evans, Hursey, Kolisetty, Quisenberry, Wilken, Bishop

NAY: None.

8. Discussion*

a. Procedures Related to Action Items by Council (Continued from October 18) – CMs Bishop and Kolisetty

b. Public Safety Evaluation: Scope of Work Discussion – CM Bishop

* Due to the lateness of the hour the discussion items were sent to a special Committee of the Whole meeting on 11/8/2021.

9. Adjournment

Having decided to resume business in a special meeting following the next scheduled City Council meeting on Monday November 8th Mayor Marlin adjourned the meeting at 10:57 PM.