DeKalb Times

City of Genoa City Council met June 4.

Here is the minutes provided by the council:

In Mayor Vicary’s absence, City Attorney Jack Slingerland called the regular meeting of the City Council to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll call was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Carroll, Di Guido, Cravatta, Brust and Lang were present. Mayor Vicary and Aldermen Stevenson and Winter were absent.

City Clerk Winker led the Pledge of Allegiance.

City Attorney Slingerland stated that due to Mayor Vicary being absent, there must be a motion and second made to nominate one of the Aldermen to be Mayor Pro Tem. Alderman Lang nominated Alderman Di Guido to be Mayor Pro Tem, seconded by Alderman Brust. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Carroll, Cravatta, Brust and Lang voted yes. Alderman Di Guido abstained. Motion carried.

Guest Speaker –None

Motion made by Alderman Brust to approve the minutes of the May 21, 2019 regular City Council meeting, seconded by Alderman Lang. Voice vote was taken. All voted yes. Motion carried.

Motion made by Alderman Lang to approve payment of the accounts payables for the second half of May 2019 in the amount of $135,678.10, seconded by Alderman Brust. Alderman Brust asked if there were any updates regarding line item #14 to DeKalb County Dispatch. Chief Smith responded that now that we have the new radios, it may open up dispatch more options for us. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Lang, Wesner, Carroll, Cravatta and Brust voted yes. Mayor Pro Tem Di Guido abstained. Motion carried.

ITEMS FROM INDIVIDUALS IN ATTENDANCE – None

OLD BUSINESS – None

NEW BUSINESS

CONSIDER THE PURCHASE OF PUBLIC WORKS EQUIPMENT:

 Motion made by Alderman Cravatta to approve the purchase of a sweeper accessory for the Bobcat Skidsteer, not to exceed $3,635.25 seconded by Alderman Brust. Alderman Wesner asked if this sweeper accessory is replacing an old one. Public Works Supervisor, Janice Melton responded no; we don’t currently have an attachment. She stated that the accessory will be used to sweep asphalt instead of using the sweeper used for sweeping the streets. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Cravatta, Brust, Lang, Wesner, Carroll and Mayor Pro Tem Di Guido voted yes. Motion carried.

 Motion made by Alderman Cravatta to approve the purchase of a tilt-tach accessory for the Bobcat Skidsteer, not to exceed $1,992.75, seconded by Alderman Lang.

Alderman Brust stated that the memo from Public Works states that this accessory will be used for re-cutting ditches and creating swales. He asked if those are things we do all the time or just once in a while. Public Works Supervisor, Janice Melton responded that this accessory will assist in creating positive drainage and since it tilts, it will be more effective and efficient. Supervisor Melton was then asked if this accessory was budgeted for. She responded yes. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Cravatta, Brust, Lang, Wesner, Carroll and Mayor Pro Tem Di Guido voted yes. Motion carried.

CONSIDER THE PURCHASE OF TWO NEW STREET LIGHT POLES AND FIXTURES FOR SOUTH HADSALL STREET: 

Motion made by Alderman Lang to approve the purchase of two new street poles and fixtures for South Hadsall Street, not to exceed $10,000, seconded by Alderman Cravatta. Alderman Carroll asked if these items have been budgeted for. City Administrator, Art Osten Jr. responded yes and we actually have the funds available for the items now. Alderman Brust asked if the $55 monthly fee is just added on to an existing contract or if it is a separate contract. Supervisor Melton responded that she believes it is added on to an existing contract. Alderman Brust expressed that he feels the $55 fee per month seems steep. City Administrator, Art Osten Jr. responded that he will check with the Finance Office Manager, Jan Tures for a better understanding of what is included in the monthly fee. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Lang, Wesner, Carroll, Cravatta, Brust and Mayor Pro Tem Di Guido voted yes. Motion carried.

CONSIDER A LEASE AGREEMENT WITH DEKALB COUNTY COMMUNITY GARDENS TO PLACE A SHED ON CITY PROPERTY: 

Motion made by Alderman Wesner to approve a Lease Agreement with the DeKalb County Community Gardens for a terminable license to permit a shed, seconded by Alderman Cravatta. Susan Colgan, a representative from the DCCG, stated that she is in charge of the Genoa gardens. She was asked if they would be maintaining the shed and if they chose to leave would they take the shed with them. Susan responded yes to both questions. Alderman Carroll expressed concern regarding the gardens being in disarray by mid-summer in previous years. Ms. Colgan responded that they are requesting the shed for that reason; they want to store a lawn mower, string trimmer and other gardening tools in the on premises shed to take better care of the gardens. Susan then stated that there are 50 garden plots available and they are trying to get volunteers from the Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and 4H to help out. Also, some of the plots will be dedicated to the Food Pantry. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Carroll, Cravatta, Brust, Lang and Mayor Pro Tem Di Guido voted yes. Motion carried.

CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE REDUCING THE NUMBER OF LIQUOR LICENSES:

Motion made by Alderman Brust to approve an Ordinance amending Title 3, Chapter 3, Liquor Control, Section 8 of the Municipal Code, seconded by Alderman Lang. Alderman Wesner questioned why Council wasn’t informed about changing the number of liquor licenses prior to being on the agenda. City Administrator, Art Osten Jr. explained that the City currently has an extra liquor license available due to a business closing down. He stated that we would like to remove it, so if someone comes in wanting a liquor license, they would have to come to Council for approval. Consensus amongst Council was that removing the extra license at this time was a good call. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Brust, Lang, Wesner, Carroll, Cravatta and Mayor Pro Tem Di Guido voted yes. Motion carried.

CONSIDER AMENDMENTS TO THE PERSONNEL POLICY MANUAL: 

Motion made by Alderman Brust to approve amendments to the Personnel Policy Manual as recommended in the memo dated May 28, 2019, seconded by Alderman Cravatta. City Administrator, Art Osten Jr. went over the bullet points of the proposed changes. After a lengthy discussion, Council decided to amend the original motions to remove sections 2.03 and 8.02 from the vote. These 2 sections pertain to Supervisors & Sergeants being allowed to cash out compensatory time and raising the spending limits on purchases before Council approval is needed. Alderman Brust stated that he would not vote yes on section 2.03 due to not fully understanding the compensatory time process. Other Aldermen were not comfortable raising the purchasing limits due to wanting to know what equipment the City and Police Department are purchasing. It was brought up that the limits were lowered previously due to abuse. Consensus amongst Council was that they did not want the limits raised. The amended motion to remove sections 2.03 & 8.02 was made by Alderman Brust and seconded by Alderman Cravatta. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Brust, Lang, Wesner, Carroll, Cravatta and Mayor Pro Tem Di Guido voted yes. Motion carried.

RECESS INTO CLOSED SESSION: 

Motion made by Alderman Wesner to enter into Closed Session for the purpose of approving the minutes of the previous Closed Session and for the purpose of discussing Collective Bargaining, the appointment, employment, dismissal, compensation, discipline and/or performance of specific employees, seconded by Alderman Lang. Roll call vote was taken. Alderman Wesner, Carroll, Cravatta, Brust, Lang and Mayor Pro Tem Di Guido voted yes. Motion carried.

RECONVENE INTO OPEN SESSION: 

Motion made by Alderman Wesner to reconvene into Open Session, seconded by Alderman Lang. Voice vote was taken. All voted yes. Motion carried.

In the closed session, the City Council accepted the minutes of the May 7, 2019 closed session. 

FUTURE BUSINESS - None

DEPARTMENT REPORTS

Administrative Report – City Administrator, Art Osten Jr. reported that he has met with 4 of the Aldermen so far and meetings with the remaining Aldermen are scheduled. Once those meetings have all taken place, he will be putting together a list of goals. He also stated that he is assembling a library of reference materials in the Aldermen office and encouraged the Aldermen to browse. Mr. Osten then had a handout regarding the States of Illinois and New Jersey being most prone to recession. He indicated that federal aid might not be as generous and there is no guarantee that the State will be able to bail us out if we do go into recession. Mr. Osten stated that the City of Genoa currently has reserves for these reasons. Lastly Mr. Osten reported that the State has passed to legalize marijuana as of January 1, 2020. He indicated that he and staff will be working with Chief Smith to come up with some guidelines to regulate it within the City. Chief Smith elaborated more on the subject; stating that although it will be legal to possess marijuana, it will not be allowed to be smoked wherever people want. The City will be able to set up our own regulations, so the current Ordinance will need to be amended. It was also determined that if a dispensary is put in town, the City would receive 3% sales tax from the sales.

Public Works – Public Works Supervisor, Janice Melton reported that they are currently hot patching and trying to get mowing done, but it has been a struggle with all of the rain. She indicated that the Lorraine Street water main project is wrapping up. Clarke Mosquito will be spraying for Genoa Days and notification is on social media. Alderman Lang questioned the emergency purchase for a furnace and air conditioner. She was concerned as to why the cost was $8,350 as opposed to approximately $4,000. Assistant City Administrator, Alyssa Seguss stated that in speaking with Rich, she believes he said that since the equipment was so old, additional adaptors or special parts needed to be purchased. Supervisor Melton added that there may have been venting issues that needed to be resolved as well, but she wasn’t sure. Alderman Lang asked how long the tenant was out of air and if we were charged an emergency fee. Supervisor Melton did not know how long the air was out before it was repaired and didn’t believe that we were charged an emergency fee. Assistant City Administrator, Alyssa Seguss agreed that we were not charged an emergency fee. Supervisor Melton was asked if we got a quote or just went straight to Service Concepts. She responded that Service Concepts is our go to. It was suggested that we check with other heating and air conditioning companies in town before just going to Service Concepts. Mr. Osten Jr. stated that he would follow up with Director Gentile to address Council’s concerns.

Police Department – Chief Smith reported that they are preparing for Genoa Days; the roads are closed down. He then stated that a road rage incident occurred the night before and rolled over to today. They received a call that a resident on the 200 block of Railroad Ave pulled a gun on someone. The police pulled him over, checked his car and found an explosive device in his glove box. Chief Smith then contacted the Rockford Bomb Squad, who obtained a search warrant for the home. He then stated that several more explosive devices were found in the home. The resident is currently in custody.

Mayor’s Report – None

ANNOUNCEMENTS – Genoa Days is this weekend. The parade will be Saturday at 1 p.m.

Motion to adjourn the regular meeting of the City Council was made by Alderman Wesner, seconded by Alderman Brust. Voice vote was taken. All voted yes. Motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m.

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