Chambana Sun

City of Urbana City Council met Aug. 12

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

ELECTED OFFICIALS PHYSICALLY PRESENT: Diane Wolfe Marlin, Mayor; Darcy Sandefur, City Clerk; CM Maryalice Wu, CM Christopher Evans, CM Jaya Kolisetty, CM Chaundra Bishop, CM James Quisenberry

ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT: CM Shirese Hursey, CM Grace Wilken

STAFF PRESENT: Bourema Ouedraogo, Will Kolschowsky, Tarek Azim, Carol Mitten, Matt Roeschley, Larry Boone, Lisa Curtiss, Matt Bain, Zachery Mikalik

OTHERS PRESENT: None.

1. Call to Order and Roll Call

With a quorum present, Mayor Marlin called the meeting of the Urbana City Council to order at 7:07p.m.

2. Approval of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting

a. 07-15-2024 Committee of the Whole Minutes

b. 08-05-2024 Rescheduled City Council Minutes

c. 08-05-2024 Committee of the Whole Minutes

Motion to approve by CM Quisenberry, seconded by CM Wu.

Voice Vote:

AYE: Wu, Evans, Kolisetty, Bishop, Quisenberry

NAY: None.

3. Additions to the Agenda

CM Wu motioned to move item b. Ordinance No. 2024-08-28 to the Regular Agenda from the Consent Agenda.

4. Presentations and Public Input

a. Public Input

None.

5. Council Input and Communications

CM Quisenberry requested an update on the U-Cycle program. City Administrator Carol Mitten stated the multi-family and residential U-Cycle collection services have been suspended due to the contractor being out of compliance with the contract. Stated the contractor has 2 days to return to compliance and City Staff are currently working on an emergency procurement for replacement services potentially by next week. Requested residents who need to dispose of their recycling to drop it off at 420 Paul Avenue Champaign, Illinois with Illini Recycling. Noted that the recycling needs to be separated into different types and that they do not accept any glass or plastic bags. Shared that further information can be found on the City of Urbana’s website and social media.

6. Reports of Standing Committees

None.

7. Committee of the Whole (Council Member Christopher Evans, Ward 2)

1. Consent Agenda

a. Ordinance No. 2024-08-027: An Ordinance Authorizing a First Amendment to Option to Lease Agreement – Landfill Solar Lease – PW

The ordinance seeks to allow TotalEnergies Distributed Generation USA, LLC (Total) to lease 24 acres of land known as the “Urbana Landfill Complex” to construct solar power generating facilities on that property.

Motion to approve by CM Evans, seconded by CM Bishop.

Roll Call Vote:

AYE: Wu, Evans, Kolisetty, Bishop, Quisenberry

NAY: None.

b. Ordinance No. 2024-08-28: An Ordinance Amending the Urbana Zoning Ordinance - Replace B-3U with CMU Zoning District and Update Development Regulations / Plan Case No. 2485-T-24 – CD

Moved to the Regular Agenda by CM Wu.

2. Regular Agenda

a. Ordinance No. 2024-08-28: An Ordinance Amending the Urbana Zoning Ordinance - Replace B-3U with CMU Zoning District and Update Development Regulations / Plan Case No. 2485-T-24 – CD

The ordinance seeks to replace the B-3U (General Business, University) zoning district with the CMU (Campus Mixed-Use) zoning district, and update the development regulations of the new district to better align with the Comprehensive Plan.

Motion to approve by CM Evans, seconded by CM Kolisetty. Discussion followed.

Roll Call Vote:

AYE: Evans, Kolisetty, Bishop, Quisenberry

NAY: Wu

8. Reports of Special Committees

None.

9. Reports of Officers

a. Police Department Update – PD

Presented by Lisa Curtiss, Executive Assistant; Larry Boone, Chief of Police; Matthew Bain, Interim Deputy Chief of Police; Zachery Mikalik, Services Lieutenant. Larry Boone provided an outline of the topics being presented on tonight and introduced the presenters. Shared intent to provide yearly financial reviews toward the end of every fiscal year to provide transparency on the use of funds within the police department. Presented a map displaying gun activity in Urbana between 1-1-2024 to 8-10-2024 and provided information on each category of gun activity recorded. Stated the mapping of gun activity in Urbana is to establish an understanding of how guns travel within and through Urbana. Opened the presentation for questions. Questions and discussion followed.

Shared a graph detailing shooting incidents in 2023, YTD 2023, and YTD 2024. Shared concern for the likely potential to exceed the total number of shootings in 2023 due to the number of firearms being seized and come into contact with this year. Stated the level of shooting within Urbana are highly concerning to the City’s health. Shared suspicion for the potential source of firearms within the City of Urbana through smuggling from surrounding states as the State of Illinois has strong regulations on firearms, but the surrounding states do not. Stated that once that understanding is established, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) must be brought in to investigate sources of firearms distribution based on data gathered.

Matthew Bain shared the year-to-date crime data, displaying a table detailing the data between violent crime and property crime in addition to comparing the year-to-date data for 2023 and 2024. Shared a map plotting the locations of 2024 year-to-date recorded violent crimes. Displayed another map plotting the locations of 2024 year-to-date recorded property crimes. Noted that the recorded property crimes are lower than they were in 2023 at this year-to-date. Shared a map that illustrates the hot spots for violent crime, noting that the Vawter Street and Silver Street intersection area is identified as a hot spot in addition to Aspen Court near Hunter Street, Ivanhoe Way, and Lierman Avenue. Shared that the Vawter Street and Silver Street area contains 30% of all year-to-date violent crime in Urbana for 2024. Opened the presentation for questions. Questions and discussion followed.

Lisa Curtiss spoke on the overtime budget and expenditures for the fiscal years of 2022, 2023, and 2024 across the patrol, criminal investigations (CID), and services division. Stated the overtime expenditures in FY22 exceeded the budget by 26.3%, 33.6% in FY23, and 43.6% in FY24. Detailed the approved above budget asks for FY24 for additional training funds for the patrol division ($40,000), additional training funds for CID ($10,000), wellness funds ($2,000), and body-worn camera replacements ($100,000) which totaled $152,000. Shared that the training funds for the patrol division and CID totaled $104,470 and spent $103,811 of those funds. Spoke on the state-mandated and additional trainings officers have been able to attend with the increased training funds. Shared a graph detailing the body-worn camera replacement funds totaling to $482,036 with $264,980 from the original budget, $100,000 in Council approved funds, and $117,056 from reallocation of internal funds. Zachery Mikalik spoke on the use of Wellness funds to provide officers with mental health wellness courses and an application designed to provide police officers with wellness resources, peer support, and additional training.

Larry Boone spoke on the recent budget approvals from City Council. Noted that there is currently an RFP for a contracted social worker and that there are 2 offers currently out for September’s Police Training Institute class, filling 2 of 4 of the new FTE positions. Elaborated on the Digital Forensic Examiner’s work with the CIA to identify and analyze trends in gun violence. Stated three officers will be leaving the department in the next few weeks, mostly impacting efforts for community engagement. Shared the currently budgeted new staffing positions compared to the recommended staffing increases from BerryDunn.

Questions and discussion ensued. Following questions and discussion, Council provided direction to staff to gather and present further information on officer-initiated gun activity emerging from traffic stops and stop-and-frisks; also provided direction to present information on if guns were seized inside a person’s residence and how many firearms were seized from a person’s clothes. Council further provided direction to display relevant arrests within the firearm activity map.

10. Mayoral Appointments

a. Mayoral Reappointment to Boards and Commissions

Urbana Arts & Culture Commission

– Lori Fuller (term ending June 30, 2027)

Mayor Marlin read a statement of interest from the applicant.

Motion to approve by CM Wu, seconded by CM Quisenberry.

Roll Call Vote:

AYE: Wu, Evans, Kolisetty, Bishop, Quisenberry

NAY: None.

11. Adjournment

Noting that it is CM Wu’s birthday and with no further business before the Urbana City Council, Mayor Marlin adjourned the meeting at 7:51p.m.

https://mccmeetings.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/urbanail-pubu/MEET-Minutes-f85e4cc4efc8401b986452d059c545b7.pdf