DeKalb Times

City of Genoa City Council met July 9.

Here is the minutes provided by the council:

Mayor Vicary called the Special City Council meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Roll call was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Carroll, Stevenson, Winter, Cravatta, Brust and Lang were present. Alderman Di Guido was absent.

Mayor Vicary led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Guest Speaker – Orrin Merritt of the Kishwaukee Valley Heritage Society has lent the City of Genoa some items pertaining to the History of Genoa that are currently displayed around the City Council Chambers. He provided some brief history of Genoa, including our first Mayor was Horatio Perkins, Genoa had a baseball team back in the day and stated that on display are a few books with handwritten meeting minutes in them. Mayor Vicary added that he is our 23rd Mayor.

Motion made by Alderman Lang to approve the minutes of the June 18, 2019 regular City Council meeting, seconded by Alderman Stevenson. Voice vote was taken. All voted yes. Motion carried.

Motion made by Alderman Wesner to approve payment of the accounts payables for the second half of June 2019 in the amount of $101,289.82, seconded by Alderman Carroll. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Carroll, Stevenson, Winter, Cravatta, Brust and Lang voted yes. Motion carried.

ITEMS FROM INDIVIDUALS IN ATTENDANCE – None

NEW BUSINESS

CONSIDER A RESOLUTION DESIGNATING THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR AS A SIGNATORY: Motion made by Alderman Stevenson to approve a Resolution designating the City Administrator as a signatory for the City of Genoa, seconded by Alderman Brust. Alderman Wesner asked why there are so many designated signatories. City Administrator, Art Osten Jr. responded that most of the checks have automatic signatures, but if there is a manual check that is needed, it will require 2 actual signatures. Administrator Osten stated that the Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, Finance Office Manager, Alderman Lang and himself if approved, would all be the designated signatories, so there shouldn’t be any difficulty with getting a check signed. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Stevenson, Winter, Cravatta, Brust, Lang and Carroll voted yes. Alderman Wesner abstained. Motion carried.

CONSIDER DESIGNATING AND APPOINTING THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR AS THE BUDGET OFFICER: Motion made by Alderman Brust to approve an Ordinance amending Title 1, Chapter 14, Budget Officer, Section 1 of the City Code of the City of Genoa and appointing the City Administrator as Budget Officer, seconded by Alderman Lang. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Brust, Lang, Wesner, Carroll, Stevenson, Winter and Cravatta voted yes. Motion carried.

CONSIDER APPOINTING THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR AS THE DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATOR AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR: Motion made by Alderman Lang to appoint the City Administrator as the Development Administrator and Community Development Director, seconded by Alderman Brust. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Lang, Wesner, Carroll, Stevenson, Winter, Cravatta and Brust voted yes. Motion carried.

CONSIDER THE FIRST AMENDMENT FOR A SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH BAXTER AND WOODMAN FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR THE GENOA STREET PROJECT: Motion made by Alderman Stevenson to approve an amendment to the Agreement with Baxter and Woodman for engineering services for the Genoa Street Project, seconded by Alderman Lang. The amendment is due to the original project cost going from $260,000 to $830,000 due to core samples determining there is no sub-base underneath the concrete on Genoa Street. The new amended plan will provide significant improvements to the water system. The cost of the revisions is anticipated to be equal to or less than the original budgeted cost.

OTHER BUSINESS: (ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION):

Personnel Policy Changes – City Administrator, Art Osten Jr. began by providing an overview of 2 proposed options regarding the purchasing policy. Option 1 would be purchases under $2,500, a Department Head can approve; $2,500 to $4,999 can be approved by a Department Head and City Administrator and $5,000+ would need City Council approval. Option 2 would be under $5,000 a Department Head can approve; $5,000 - $9,999 can be approved by a Department Head and City Administrator and $10,000+ would need City Council approval. He stated that a new proposal to both options is to allow Supervisors and Sergeants to approve purchases under $200. There was some discussion regarding what the $200 purchase would be comprised of; various items; 1 item; per project, etc. The concern was policy abuse. Director Gentile responded that it could be various items purchased for a specific project or 1 item. If the cost is over the $200, the Supervisor would be required to contact the Department Head for approval. After further discussion, consensus amongst Council was to leave the current policy intact; just add the City Administrator verbiage, the preferred vendor list and the emergency purchases portion to it.

8.01 PURCHASING POLICY: After the above discussion a motion was made by Alderman Brust to accept Option 1 of the purchasing policy proposal with the following amendments:

 Purchases are defined as a single item or a group of items purchased for a single use

 Purchases may not be aggravated to circumvent this policy

 Purchases between $2,500 and $4,999 require City Administrator approval only

 Strike Option 2

Alderman Lang seconded the motion. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Brust, Lang, Wesner, Stevenson, Winter and Cravatta voted yes. Alderman Carroll abstained. Motion carried.

NO PARKING ON PORTIONS OF 2ND STREET AND MONROE STREET: Chief Smith stated that he received a complaint about cars being parked on both sides of the street, in the parkways and in the grass in this area. Ron Perry & Nate Dutton of the church addressed

Council and explained that they have an annual Mission meeting for 4 to 5 days. They used to use the old Davenport School for parking, but the building is now leased by Camelot and they had school in session, so they were unable to park there. Mr. Perry also stated that they would also use the Middle School parking lot, but it was under construction. Chief Smith told Mr. Perry and Mr. Dutton to let the Police Department know when they have large events and we will coordinate with them.

EXPIRED REGISTRATION MUNICIPAL CODE AMENDMENT: Chief Smith stated that as of July 1, 2019, many state fines have increased. The state fine for expired registration is now $164. Chief Smith proposed keeping the City fine for expired registration at $20. Consensus amongst Council was to leave it at $20 at this point.

DEPARTMENT REPORTS

Administrative Report – City Administrator, Art Osten Jr. reported that he and Assistant City Administrator, Alyssa Seguss are working on video gaming license requirements and will be working on property maintenance issues. He is also working with Rich, Alyssa, the City Engineer and possibly the City Attorney, Jack Slingerland regarding demolition bid specifications. He also indicated that Alyssa is in the process of finishing the Façade Program information and will be mailing it out to the businesses in the TIF District. Mr. Osten then reported that Finance Office Manager, Jan Tures received an award from the Illinois Municipal Treasurer Association for obtaining her certification. He stated that Jan has attended several trainings and gave her kudos for continuing her education. Lastly, he stated that Bill Ganek has him up to speed with current issues going on in Genoa.

Public Works – Public Works Director, Rich Gentile, reported that he will be hiring a new full time employee to replace the 1 part time employee and 2 full time employees that were laid off a few years ago. This person will be working in the sewer, streets and forestry areas. This position has been budgeted for and the job posting will be going up on our website. Rich was asked whose responsibility it is when debris backs up the river. He responded that it would be the Highway Department. Lastly, Rich was asked if the trees by the alley of Evans Ave and Prairie Street can be trimmed; residents are complaining. He responded yes, he will get it taken care of.

Police Department – Chief Smith reported that a few of our staff members assisted with the Kirkland parade and fireworks. He reiterated that a lot of state fines increased as of 7/1/19. Also, the age of purchasing tobacco has increased from 18 years old to 21 years old. He indicated that we will need to check our Ordinance regarding this because you can possess it at 18, but can’t purchase it until 21.

Mayor’s Report – Mayor Vicary asked everyone to please let us know as soon as possible if they are unable to attend a meeting to ensure we have a quorum.

ANNOUNCEMENTS – None

Motion to adjourn the regular meeting of the City Council was made by Alderman Wesner, seconded by Alderman Winter. Voice vote was taken. All voted yes. Motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m.

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