DeKalb Times

City of Sycamore City Council met Oct. 7.

Here is the minutes provided by the Council:

Roll Call

Mayor Lang called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. and Deputy City Clerk Laura Herrmann called the roll. Those Alderpersons present were: Josh Huseman, Pete Paulsen, Virginia Sherrod, Chuck Stowe, Alan Bauer, Steve Braser, and Nancy Copple. Alderperson Rick Kramer was absent. City Attorney Keith Foster was also present.

Invocation – Pastor Preston Fields, Salem Lutheran Church, gave the invocation.

Pledge of Allegiance

Approval of Agenda

Motion

Alderperson Braser motioned to move item 14C after item 11 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.

Motion

Alderperson Bauer motioned to approve the Agenda as amended 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-None

Audience to Visitors

Attorney Keith Foster did a swearing in of audience members wanting to address the Council.

Consent Agenda

A. Approval of the Minutes for the Regular City Council Meeting of September 16, 2019.

B. Payment of the Bills for October 7, 2019 in the amount of $365,483.30.

Motion

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

Roll Call Vote

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

Presentation of Petitions, Communications, and Bills

A. A Proclamation Declaring the Week of October 6-12, 2019 as Fire Prevention Week in the City of Sycamore, Illinois.

B. A Proclamation Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the DeKalb/Sycamore Altrusa Community Spelling Bee.

Joy Golatta, President of the Sycamore/DeKalb Altrusa, addressed the Council. She stated the Spelling Bee is a community wide event and is for all ages ranging from Junior High up to Senior Citizens.

C. A Proclamation Declaring October 2019 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in The City of Sycamore, Illinois.

D. A Presentation by members of the Turning Back Time Car Show committee including the Distribution of Proceeds from this year’s event to Local Non-profit Organizations.

Mike Tritle addressed the Council. He was pleased to announce that the 2019 20th Anniversary Car Show distributed $19,300.00 to local organizations and is on track to distribute a total of $20,630.00 before the year end. Donations were up almost $10,000.00 from 2018.

Report of Officers

City Manager – Brian Gregory reminded the Council that there will not be a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting in October. Comprehensive Plan update; the City has a Request for Proposals out for services to help with the Plan process. The process will be complete some time in 2020. The Plan helps guide our decisions and what the Community wants to look like 25 years from now. It is something we update every 5 years.

Police Chief – Jim Winters said the radios purchased for the Police Department to integrate to the County’s new 800 radio system are now in use. There have been a few issues, but for the most part, coverage is good. There will be an adjustment period in learning the functionality of the radios and getting accustomed to the audio which has more digitized sound to the user’s voice. The Department was awarded a grant to supplement the purchase of ballistic vests that have a 5-year service life. Fifty percent was received or approximately $3,800.00, which will supplement the purchase of approximately 18 vests at a replacement cost of around $400.00 each.

Fire Chief – Pete Polarek thanked the Mayor for the Fire Prevention Week Proclamation. Firemen have been educating the Elementary Schools with fire prevention skills. The Fire Department Open House is October 19, 2019 from 11:00 – 2:00 at Fire station # 2 on Frantum Road. The Fire Department has had a lot of activity. Last year at this time there was just under an 8% increase in calls. This year there has been anywhere from 150 – 200 call increase. If things continue to play out, we will see about a 7% increase over the previous year.

Director of Public Works – Fred Busse passed out flyers for the 2019 Fall Leaf Pick Up Program. Leaf pick up will start on October 21, 2019 and will run through November 27, 2019. The area of pick-up remains the same, split into two sections. Waste Management will continue to pick up leaves until the end of November provided they are in paper bags. The roll out dumpster will be in front of Public Works the weeks of December 2, thru December 15, 2019.

Treasurer/Asst. to the City Manager – Adam Orton presented the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report from the Auditor, Lauterbach & Amen. The Auditors are in contact throughout the year so when audit time comes, things go smoothly. He thanked other departments for their help reminding us that this is a team effort. He also thanked his finance staff.

Building and Engineering Director – John Sauter Absent

Director of Human and Administrative Resources (DHAR) – Maggie Peck reminded the Council that Kids Work Day is this Saturday from 9 – 11.

City Engineer – Mark Bushnell said smoke testing of sanitary sewers was postponed due to recent wet weather. It is scheduled to start next Monday the 14th, with door hangers being distributed this Friday. The Treatment Plant construction work has moved forward steadily, despite the wet September. So far, $3.9 million worth of work has been completed and the contractor is still on pace for completion in late 2020. Drone videos of progress are posted to YouTube each month under Sycamore WWTP for Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Reports of Standing Committees

Finance – Alan Bauer - no report

Public Safety – Pete Paulsen - no report

Public Works – Chuck Stowe - no report

Public Hearings – On Adult Use Recreational Cannabis Dispensaries in the City of Sycamore, Illinois. City

Manager Brian Gregory provided a brief background of the Council’s discussion. In September, Council started introductory conversations about Adult Use Cannabis as it relates to the new Illinois State Law effective January 1, 2020. After some discussion, the council requested a public hearing prior to providing direction to staff. Several items need to be considered through different ordinances and planning mechanisms. There is some confusion about what municipalities can and cannot do. The laws allow possession of certain amounts of cannabis for recreational purposes, up to 30 grams based on certain types of uses. Municipalities cannot prohibit the use of recreational cannabis. State law makes it legal as of January 1, 2020. The City can have discussions and consider dispensaries or retail sales in the community allowing for on premises consumption. Council needs to consider if retail sales will be allowed. Based on public hearing and Council direction, staff will bring back an Ordinance one way or another allowing or prohibiting retail sales at our next meeting on October 21st. Council can use its zoning authority to cite or help cite where a dispensary may locate. Our permitting process and our Special Use process would require the applicant to go through a Public Hearing. The dispensary would have to be in a special zoning site to be determined by the Planning and Zoning Commission and by the City Council. If the Council allows Cannabis, then staff would work on zoning regulations to bring to the Planning and Zoning Commission for consideration.

There has been a lot of questions about impact, which is unknown at this point. However, this impact will happen whether or not dispensaries are permitted in Sycamore. Our regular sales tax rate applies and dispensaries can be taxed up to an additional 3 percent. If passed, staff would allow for imposing that tax.

There are 56 medical cannabis dispensaries in Illinois that have been approved. There is not one in the DeKalb County area. Those 56 will automatically allow sales for both medical and recreational cannabis. It is anticipated that 45 more dispensaries will come about by the first of the year. In 2020 there will be a ramping up of dispensaries and the state will have roughly 500 dispensaries. Will Sycamore get a dispensary if one was allowed? Initially we may not, but as we move forward it is possible.

Mayor Lang asked any audience members who want to address the Council to please come forward.

Steve Kuhn, 1119 Daniel Ct., Sycamore – Said Sycamore is a great place to live and we don’t need this in our town.

Cindy Lumpkin, 1413 John St. Sycamore – She thanked the council for their work. She mentioned a study that was done in Colorado after 5 years of having legal recreational cannabis. Traffic accidents are up, ER visits are up, transients are up, home invasions are up, crime is up, and police calls are up. After mentioning how a family member struggled with cannabis use, she asked the Council to choose wisely with their decision.

Father Carl Beekman, St. Mary’s Church, Sycamore – Said he just got back from Denver. The economics of this do not play out. We need to think of the long term. We are opening a door to numbing our citizens for their family and responsibilities for one another. If it starts with marijuana, it’s not going to stop there. This is a great community where people want to come and raise a family.

Candy Smith, 820 Albert Ave. Sycamore – Said she is glad they are legalizing pot and that we should get the revenue. She hopes Council will consider cannabis.

Jeannine Fair, 116 W. Lincoln St., Sycamore – Said she has contacted the Aldermen, Mayor and Police Chief about this topic. She has relatives in Colorado and says the moral decline there is significant. We should not back decisions just based on money. This is telling our kids that we embrace cannabis because we want the money. That is not the value we hold here in Sycamore.

Adrian Fair, 725 E. Cloverlane Rd., Sycamore – Said that she does not want cannabis in Sycamore. She has three small children and wants to keep Sycamore as it is.

Lillian Harbecke, 17535 Mt. Hunger Rd. Sycamore – Asked that the Council make the right choice. Do you want to sacrifice our young people for money? Sycamore should take a stand. We are a good, family-oriented town.

William Mills, 627 Emmert Dr., Sycamore – Said he is a Pastor at Bethel Assembly of God in Sycamore. We need to decide who we want to be as a community. This is a great town, and let’s keep moving in that direction.

Jan Loomer, 1511 Bradley Dr., Sycamore – Said that you don’t have to buy the stuff. If you don’t want to do it, don’t buy it. This is for adults, not kids. It’s adults making a decision and if Sycamore can make money off of it, what the hey! She doesn’t think it’s as serious as what we are hearing tonight.

Elizabeth Helton, 2419 Boynton St., Sycamore - She said she’s been to Colorado and watched their taxes get lowered, but she’s also seen all the homeless people. It’s my job to make sure my kids are both physically and mentally healthy. I am advocating for the tax income, but not for the morality of marijuana.

Jeff Lewis, 785 Fairway Lane, Sycamore - He and his wife encourage the City to opt out. He feels Sycamore is not the right place to put marijuana stores. He would like the Council to consider the cost to the community well beyond the tax money it would raise. He asks that more research go into bringing a dispensary into Sycamore. States that Sycamore doesn’t need it.

Mayor Lang closed the Public Hearing thanking the citizens for coming and speaking up. The Council wanted to hear what others thought and tonight we heard some heartfelt good advice.

Considerations

C. Consideration of an Administration Request for Discussion Regarding Adult Use Recreational Cannabis Dispensaries in the City of Sycamore.

City Manager Brian Gregory stated that if dispensaries are allowed, there are multiple layers that have to be addressed; on premise consumption, certain taxes, and the zoning piece. We want to keep the process moving forward with the January 1, 2020 deadline when the new law goes into effect. Tonight, we are looking for direction from the Council whether to proceed towards preparing for the Planning/Zoning Commission in November or how we bring back an Ordinance if it’s to allow or prohibit for your consideration. No vote is taken tonight, we are looking for direction so that staff can continue to put information together.

Alderperson Huseman – Says he recommends not yet. There is no reason to be an early adopter. There are two waves the Governor will distribute these licenses. The last one being 2021 or 2022. Let’s watch other communities and see what the revenue is. It allows us to know what we are considering. We are not going to be missing out if we take the “not yet” approach. We have a balanced budget. There is no compelling reason and our backs are not against the wall.

Alderperson Bauer – Said he didn’t think voting against it would change very much. If you’re going to have this available to the people you might as well get the tax revenue from it.

Alderperson Paulsen – Said when marijuana is legal for adult consumption, we are going to have to address the impacts of that whether we have revenue from it or not. There is no guarantee from the State we will get a permit for medical or recreational. We should proceed to have that as an available option.

Alderperson Stowe – Said Sycamore likes to do things right. Anything we do here is not going to affect anyone’s ability to get cannabis. We need to do a good job regulating it, doing it the Sycamore way. Let’s find zoning areas where this would be acceptable. Downtown is probably not the spot. We haven’t had much discussion about use on site. He would like to see what others are doing about that before we jump into it as that could create problems. He would like to see more research for on-site use before we jump into it.

Alderperson Braser – Said he has heard all arguments for and against cannabis. It’s like Chuck said, they are going to get it if they want it. We’ve done a good job of regulating everything else here. We have to keep making all the right decisions to keep going forward.

Alderperson Copple – Says that she is against it personally, but decided to ask people around town to see how they felt and she got overwhelming no’s from everyone she talked to.

Alderperson Sherrod – Says she was impressed to find out how well guarded dispensaries are. She states the council is not there to judge and be moral police. We are to do what’s best for our town. She has not made a decision yet, but is leaning towards yes. It is a big decision and she is glad we are not making a decision tonight. More time is needed.

Alderperson Copple and Sherrod asked if this was an item we could bring up for election and have the community vote, similar to a referendum. Brian Gregory stated signatures would be needed for this to be on a ballot.

Brian said that we will bring back an Ordinance at the next meeting.

Ordinances

A. Ordinance No. 2019.26—An Ordinance Amending Title 6, “Motor Vehicles and Traffic,” Chapter 1, “General Traffic Provisions,” Section 7, “Distracted Driving” of the City Code of the City of Sycamore, Illinois. First and Second Reading.

The City Manager Brian Gregory stated that this is to align our City code with State Law.

Motion

Alderperson Paulson moved to waive First Reading on Ordinance 2019.26 and Alderperson Stowe seconded the motion.

Voice Vote

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

Motion

Alderperson Paulson moved to approve Ordinance 2019.26 and Alderperson Stowe seconded the motion.

Roll Call Vote

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

B. Ordinance No. 2019.27—An Ordinance Amending Title 3, “Business and License Regulations,” Chapter 19, “Hospital Hospitality Homes,” Section 7, “Fire Prevention and Safety Requirements,” Subsection H, “Miscellaneous,” of the City Code of the City of Sycamore, Illinois. First and Second Reading.

City Manager Brain Gregory said this is a modification of our current code that states induction cooktops are not allowed in a Hospitality Home per our Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). This request came from Pay-it-Forward House. Building & Engineering and Fire have no concerns in allowing this. Pay-it-Forward house just wanted to do the right thing and make sure they were in compliance with the code. The City Manager recommends approval.

Motion

Alderperson Stowe moved to waive First Reading on Ordinance 2019.27 and Alderperson Sherrod seconded the motion.

Voice Vote

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

Motion

Alderperson Stowe moved to approve Ordinance 2019.27 and Alderperson Sherrod seconded the motion.

Roll Call Vote

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

C. Ordinance No. 2019.28—An Ordinance Amending the Property Tax Abatement Qualifying Criteria and Definitions in the DeKalb County Enterprise Zone. First and Second Reading.

The City participates in the DeKalb County Enterprise Zone that was approved by Council several years back. This is an amendment to the Enterprise Zone criteria as is impacts Sycamore’s portion. Highlighting some of the changes are Speculative (Spec) buildings; those built in the hope of attracting new business to our community would be included in the job creation criteria. Currently, the jobs creation performance is two years and would extend out to four years. Data Centers would be added as knowledge-based industries making Data Centers more attractive in Illinois and minimum wage would be regulated within the Enterprise Zone. The City Manager recommends approval.

Mayor Lang asked if this percent of waging competes with other Enterprise Zones. We have standards that have to be met for those abatements to be available to prospective businesses maybe more so than other communities. Enterprise Zone has helped us get in the discussion phase with certain projects. It helped enterprises either come to DeKalb County or expand their businesses. Mayor Land asked if other municipalities are on board with what we are recommending.

City Manager Brian Gregory said the Enterprise Zone Advisory Board unanimously approves the recommended changes.

Alderperson Braser asked what the impact of the Enterprise Zone was in our area.

City Manager Brian Gregory said it has been significant in many ways. There was a DeKalb County economic development corporation meeting today where it was reported that the investment that has come through the Enterprise Zone was over $40 million.

Motion

Alderperson Braser moved to waive First Reading on Ordinance 2019.28 and Alderperson Huseman seconded the motion.

Voice Vote

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

Motion

Alderperson Braser moved to approve Ordinance 2019.28 and Alderperson Huseman seconded the motion.

Roll Call Vote

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

Resolutions - None

Considerations

A. Consideration of the City of Sycamore’s Financial Statements for Fiscal Year 2018-2019, Including the Independent Auditor’s Report.

City Manager Brian Gregory introduced Jamie Wilkey with Lauterbach and Amen who said that the audit was very positive and that there were no red flags for processes. The City of Sycamore received a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. The City’s procedures are in place and there were no instances of non-compliance. The financial statement presented are materially correct. Revenues came in over budget and expenditures had line items that were underbudget for the fiscal year. A Management Letter is the firm’s opportunity to bring forth findings, and best practices. City staff has fully implemented the recommendations from the previous management letter so a new one was not issued. She said it was a clean process overall and thanked the team here for all of their efforts.

City Manager Brian Gregory said it’s a large book with a lot of numbers but it really tells a story. That story is everything that we do collectively. He thanked Jamie for their work and willingness to communicate throughout the year and thanked City Treasurer Adam Orton and his team for all their efforts.

B. Consideration of a Fire Department Recommendation to Award a bid to Roesch Ford Commercial Vehicle Center of Bensenville, Illinois for the Purchase of a 2020 Ford Expedition Command Vehicle in the amount of $38,131.00.

City Manager Brian Gregory said that this bid is below the provision of the local 5 percent policy and recommends to award the bid to Roesch Ford.

Alderperson Braser asked if we ever consider a low mileage used car.

Brain Gregory said they have, but this vehicle has a package that is more robust and they cannot find a low mileage used vehicle with those features.

Motion

Pete Paulsen moved to award the bid to Roesch Ford Commercial Vehicle Center for $38,131.00 and Alderperson Sherrod seconded the motion.

Roll Call Vote

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

Other New Business

Adjournment

Motion

Alderperson Stowe moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:07 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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