DeKalb Times

City of Sycamore City Council met Oct. 15.

Here is the minutes provided by the council:

ROLL CALL

Mayor Lang called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and City Clerk Mary Kalk called the roll. Those Alderpersons present were: Pete Paulsen, Virginia Sherrod, David Stouffer, Chuck Stowe, Alan Bauer, Steve Braser, and Nancy Copple. Alderman Rick Kramer was absent. City Attorney Keith Foster was also present.

INVOCATION – Laura Fairfield, Bible Study Fellowship, gave the invocation.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Led by North Grove Elementary Students Lily Jones, Faith Heil, Inae Kim, Liam Berry, Layla

Janisch and Cal Hogland.

Mayor Lang recognized North Grove Elementary School Principal, Ryan Janisch, from the audience.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

MOTION

Alderperson Braser moved to approve the agenda and Alderperson Copple seconded the motion.

VOICE VOTE

Mayor Lang called for a voice vote to approve the motion. All Alderpersons voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.

APPOINTMENTS

A. Appointment of Alan Zantout to the Planning Commission.

Mayor Lang thanked Marvin Barnes for his years of service and appointed Alan Zantout to the Plan Commission effective November 1st.

MOTION

Alderperson Stowe moved to approve the appointment and Alderperson Paulsen seconded the motion.

VOICE VOTE

Mayor Lang called for a voice vote to approve the motion. All Alderpersons voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.

AUDIENCE TO VISITORS

Kevin Kostuchowski, 504 Home Street addressed the Council regarding his attempt and any resolution in obtaining a fence permit without a plat of resubdivision.

CONSENT AGENDA

A. Approval of the Minutes for the Regular City Council Meeting of October 1, 2018. B. Payment of the Bills for October 15, 2018 in the amount of $638,419.89.

MOTION

Alderperson Bauer moved to approve the Consent Agenda and Alderperson Stouffer seconded the motion.

ROLL CALL VOTE

Mayor Lang called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Paulsen, Sherrod, Stouffer, Stowe, Bauer, Braser, and Copple voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.

PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS, COMMUNICATIONS, AND BILLS

REPORT OF OFFICERS

City Manager – Brian Gregory said that Kids Work Day that was Saturday, October 13th and they had about 60 kids who helped clean up the streets in and around downtown. He thanked everyone involved including Mayor Curt Lang, Director of Human Resources, Maggie Peck, and City Clerk, Mary Kalk. Tonight will be a presentation of the FY18 Financial Audit. FY18 actuals and the FY19 budget amendments will be the presented at the next meeting. He reported that there are bus shelters being installed at Grant Street, Maple Street, and one near the county jail. This project is coming from the DeKalb Sycamore Area Transportation Study (DSATS) so it’s funded through DSATS dollars. He said that East side improvements continue. The landscaping at County Liquors will be completed tomorrow, the Best Tire and Auto repainted their building to improve the look, and the old Marathon station is being repaved, and improvements done on the inside as they look to lease that property for another commercial tenant.

Mayor Lang recognized that the community restaurants provided kids meal coupons for the children who participated in the Kid’s Work Day. He said it is nice to have the community support as the kids clean up before the big Pumpkin Festival weekend.

Police Chief – Jim Winters welcomed Alex Morfin, one of the night shift officers that made a goal and was able to attend the Council meeting tonight. He updated that the radios that were approved back in May, are progressing as the County gets the FCC approvals and necessary steps to put that system into place. They are still on track for January or February. He said they are working with city departments and other agencies on the traffic and safety plan preparing for Pumpkin Festival. He invited the Council and the Mayor to the briefings on Sunday, October 28th at 7:45 and at 11 am at the public works building.

Fire Chief – Pete Polarek said that Fire Prevention Week kicks off Fire Prevention Month for the fire department. The public educators have been out to the elementary schools for the older kids and the younger ones come to the fire station. Saturday, October 20th is the Open House at Fire Station #2 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Director of Public Works – Fred Busse said the Council will be considering the Capacity, Management, Operations and Maintenance (CMOM) plan later in the agenda. He acknowledged Street Superintendent Jake Keck and Treatment Plant Superintendent Matt Anderson for providing the pertinent data to help streamline the legwork for the information needed for the CMOM program.

Treasurer/Asst. to the City Manager – Adam Orton said tonight will be the auditor’s report for the City’s financials. He thanked Jamie Wilkey, Wes Levy, Jen Martinson, and their team for their hard work and professionalism. He thanked all the departments for their contribution throughout the process and most importantly, thanked the finance staff. A clean audit reflects their diligent work year round. For the September Treasurer’s report, on a cash-basis, the benchmark is 42%. They have received five of the six property tax payments and will receive the next one in November. The Home-Rule and State Sales Tax are both at 41% and the Income Tax is at 42%. Overall revenues are at 47.5% but when weighted, it drops to 41%. The General Fund Expenditures are at 39-40%. Both pension funds saw small positives.

Building & Engineering Director – John Sauter said they began the final inspection process at Suter Foods addition on Bethany Road which will be a multi-step process due to the unique nature of their business. Everything is good so far and they hope to begin testing the equipment in November. They issued a permit for an interior and exterior upgrade of the Taco Bell on Plaza Drive and they have been reviewing submittals for the proposed Old Mill Park subdivision. Progress is being made and they hope to bring that to the November Plan Commission agenda.

Director of Human Resources – Maggie Peck said due to a couple of retirements, the City has two new employees. She said there is also currently a part-time position available, which is listed on the City’s website. Later in the meeting, the renewal for Worker’s Compensation and Liability Coverage will be discussed.

City Engineer – Mark Bushnell said as the weather is cooperating, crack sealing will be done on State Street beginning tomorrow at 2 a.m. Public Works will then sweep the streets to remove any debris left behind. He thanked the Police Department for bagging the meters and making sure there are no cars parked where the crack sealing will take place.

REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES

Finance – Alan Bauer - no report

Public Safety – Pete Paulsen - no report Public Works – Chuck Stowe - no report

PUBLIC HEARINGS - None ORDINANCES – None

RESOLUTIONS

A. Resolution 765—A Resolution Authorizing the Execution of the Worker’s Compensation and Liability Coverage for City Employees with Corkill Insurance.

City Manager Brian Gregory said in looking to be more cost effective, Director of Human Resources Maggie Peck put out a Request for Proposal for the City’s Worker’s Compensation and Liability Coverage insurance. This yielded the four quotes below, of which the City has worked with ICMRT and IMLRMA in the past.

He said the low quote from Corkill Insurance, came in at $496,917, which is over $100,000 lower than last fiscal year. He said they interviewed all four companies and although each could provide the service, they looked at the overall cost and recommends Corkill Insurance with Liberty Mutual as the Liability Carrier and Illinois Public Risk Fund as the Worker’s Compensation. He thanks Maggie Peck for her work on this.

Mayor Lang thanked both Maggie Peck and Brian Gregory for their efforts resulting in such a savings.

MOTION

Alderperson Stouffer moved to approve Resolution 765 and Alderperson Stowe seconded the motion.

ROLL CALL VOTE

Mayor Lang called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Paulsen, Sherrod, Stouffer, Stowe, Bauer, Braser, and Copple voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.

B. Resolution 766—A Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Enter Into an Agreement with MC Squared to Match or Return Residents to the ComEd Benchmark Electric Rate for the City’s Municipal Aggregation Program.

City Manager Brian Gregory said that in March of 2012, voters approved a referendum which authorized the City Council to enact an Electric Aggregation Program. Through membership in the Northern Illinois Municipal Electric Collaborative (NIMEC), the City solicited bids and entered into a two-year contract with First Energy for a fixed rate for electricity of 4.81 cents/kWh. Throughout those first two years, participating households saved an average of $300 in electric supply costs, for a cumulative City-wide savings of over $1,500,000. They looked at that program in 2014-2017 to see if the private market could beat the ComEd benchmark rate and each of those years did not. Therefore, that program was suspended. This year, when ComEd’s rates were released, it was anticipated 7.395¢kWh and go up 7.941¢ kWh in October or a blended rate of 7.759¢ kWh. So the council entered into the aggregation with MC Squared for 7.35¢ kWh set rate for twelve months. Since that time, the Illinois Commerce Commission has settled an ongoing dispute that ultimately led to a reduction to rate payers. The favorable finding for northern Illinois residents led to a shifting of expenses away from Illinois and toward eastern states, along with a one- time refund. As a result, the non-summer rate that was released in the spring of 7.941¢ was dropped to 7.292¢; slightly below the municipal aggregated rate. He said they worked with NIMEC and MC Squared to ensure that the residents would be paying the same as the benchmark rate. This action would authorize the City Manager to enter into an agreement that would terminate the 7.35¢ kWh contract and enter into a new agreement that would go out to August of 2020, that will ensure residents are either moved back to ComEd or those that are retained by MC Squared will be billed at the same rate and PEA as the ComEd rate. To achieve this, MC Squared requires that the program be extended an additional year. Residents continue to have the ability to opt-out of the program at any time if they choose to enter an agreement with an alternative supplier on their own. He said that letters will be mailed to residents. He reminded everyone that the goal of the program is to save residents money and when they can’t you want to go back to the benchmark rate.

Alderman Stouffer asked if we opted to go with MC Squared but the ComEd rate goes lower, could residents opt out of MC Squared and go with ComEd.

City Manager Brian Gregory said MC Squared has agreed to match the benchmark rate as part of the new agreement which will take us through August, 2020. An individual can opt out and go to the market to see if you can beat that rate.

Alderman Bauer confirmed that it will not be more than ComEd.

City Manager Brian Gregory said that is correct. This new agreement would match the benchmark rate so residents would pay the same rather they are with ComEd or MC Squared.

Mayor Lang reiterated that if a resident opted out of MC Squared and went with another carrier, that carrier would not have any involvement with the City.

City Manager Brian Gregory said any time there is an aggregation discussion, it seems that third party vendors solicit residents taking advantage of potential confusion. Again, residents will not need to do anything.

MOTION

Alderperson Paulsen moved to approve Resolution 766 and Alderperson Sherrod seconded the motion.

ROLL CALL VOTE

Mayor Lang called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Paulsen, Sherrod, Stouffer, Stowe, Bauer, Braser, and Copple voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.

Mayor Lang said kudos to the staff for doing what is right.

CONSIDERATIONS

A. Consideration of the City of Sycamore’s Financial Statements for Fiscal Year 2017-2018, Including the Independent Auditor’s Report.

City Manager Brian Gregory introduced Wes Levy, a Principal at Lauterbach and Amen, who walked the Council through the audit.

Wes Levy said this is the second year that they have prepared the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). He reviewed the introduction, the financials, and the statistics and said it was a clean report and there were no findings. He pointed out the very prestigious award, Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association and said they will be submitting to them again for the 2018 audit. He reported that Sycamore received the highest level of opinion for the Independent Audit Report.

B. Consideration of the Draft Capacity, Management, Operations and Maintenance (CMOM) Plan for the City’s Sanitary Sewer Collection System.

City Manager Brian Gregory said it is an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) requirement for the city to complete a Capacity Management, Operations, and Maintenance (CMOM) for the sanitary sewer collection system. He said that Director of Public Works Fred Busse, City Engineer Mark Bushnell, Street Superintendent Jake Keck, and Treatment Plant Superintendent Matt Anderson played key roles in working with the consultant, Strand Associates, in getting this draft ready to submit to the IEPA.

City Engineer Mark Bushnell said that it is a two-step process that Strand Associates is completing. The first is the CMOM which is mandated by the IEPA to know how the city is taking care of the sanitary sewer system, documenting over-flows, and what maintenance is being done. The second phase is a short presentation on the city’s sewer system specifically and will happen in about 30 days.

OTHER NEW BUSINESS

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION

Alderperson Stowe moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:55 p.m. and Alderperson Paulsen seconded the motion. VOICE VOTE

Mayor Lang called for a voice vote to approve the motion. All Alderpersons voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.

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