DeKalb Times

City of Sycamore City Council met Oct. 21.

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, Chuck Stowe, Alan Bauer, Steve Braser, Nancy Copple, and Josh Huseman. Alderperson 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 the students from Southeast Elementary School

Approval of Agenda

Mayor Lang added a proclamation and appointments to the agenda

Motion

Alderperson Braser motioned to approve the agenda as amended 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.

Appointments

Mayor Lang said that Jesus Romero and Pat Balentyne can no longer serve on the Architectural Review Committee and thanked them for their service. In their places, he asked David Stouffer and Doug Stice to serve on the committee.

Motion

Alderperson Braser motioned to approve the appointments 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

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 October 7, 2019.

B. Payment of the Bills for October 21, 2019 in the amount of $845,411.01.

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

Mayor Lang explained that the Council and Staff is all dressed in the T-shirts to honor Alderman Rick “Spider” Kramer and encourage him in his struggles. He wished him well.

A. Proclamation Declaring Wednesday, October 23, 2019 as Jerry Malmassari Day in the City of Sycamore, Illinois.

Jerry Malmassari thanked everyone and said that his involvement in the Lion’s Club and the Pumpkin Festival Committee has little to do with him but with everybody that he works with. It starts with the group that is present tonight, with the assistance of the City, and the hundreds of people that he works with from different divisions and clubs that all participate to make it a fabulous event. He thanked everyone and said that he is very honored.

B. Proclamation Declaring October 24, 2019 as World Polio Day in the City of Sycamore, Illinois.

Mayor Lang presented Pat Schaffer, Rotary Club President, with the proclamation.

Report of Officers

City Manager – Brian Gregory thanked everyone for wearing the Spider shirts tonight in support of Alderman Kramer as he fights through his battle with cancer. Spider was hoping to come to the meeting tonight but was unable to but he has expressed his appreciation for all the support the community has provided. Brian said the City came up with the mission statement; “preserving the past, enhancing today, and preparing for our future”. He thinks that Pumpkin Festival really highlights several of those things. Preserving the past is 50 plus years of tradition that we are able to build upon each year with people like Mr. Malmassari and his team who step up and make Pumpkin Festival what it is. Enhancing today is what our team does working with the committee and the community to ensure that the Pumpkin Festival remains a safe, family-fun event. In planning for the future, we are planting seeds. A grown woman recently told him that she still carves pumpkins each year for the Pumpkin Festival and has been doing it for over forty years. He said that there is a little girl who will be entering her first pumpkin this year and hopefully will be entering pumpkins for the next forty years supporting our community. This fits with a lot of what Pumpkin Fest and what Sycamore is. He said we really want to remember who we are, enhance what we can today, and make sure that we are ready for tomorrow. He congratulated Jerry Malmassari and the Pumpkin Festival Committee. He continued that the city just finished the FY19 budget, is at the half-way point of the FY20 budget, and is in the process of starting the FY21 budget. There will be more in the coming months. There will be a Planning and Zoning Committee meeting in November for a Special Use for a veterinary clinic inside the Meijer store, zoning perspective for recreational cannabis, and a second concept plan for the St. Albans property.

Police Chief – Jim Winters said he has just a few statistics about the police department through the first three quarters of 2019. There have been 168 Uniform Crime Report (UCR) Part I Index offenses as compared to 166 last year at this time. As a reminder, Part I Index offenses are the most serious crimes that mostly include crimes against persons or thefts. In terms of calls for service, they are at 6,537 this year as opposed to 6,661 at this time last year. For the most part, crime reporting and activity is fairly similar to last year at this point. As with all the city departments, final planning continues for the Pumpkin Festival activities, which for the PD is coordinated by Deputy Chief Steve Cook. He wanted to thank him as he the point person for this. As you know, we rely on the other law enforcement agencies in DeKalb County to provide assistance for the Race and Parade.

Fire Chief – Pete Polarek said that the Fire Department Open House was Saturday and it was successful as it was well attended. The department is gearing up for Pumpkin Festival and he is hoping the weather will hold out to be a great day. He acknowledged the Firefighters Local 3046 who was the mastermind behind the T-shirt fundraiser for Alderman Rick Spider Kramer. He was told they have raised $5,000-$6,000 in sales. Kudos to the firefighters’s union and all the people that are wearing the t-shirts in support of Spider.

Director of Public Works – Fred Busse said the pricing for rock salt for this year’s winter season is $72.14 per ton for the request that was made last spring. They were able to renew the contract from last year, but with the “kicker” that it could go up as much as 10%. It did increase, but said they will still stay within their budget. There are other communities that are paying $89 per ton. The City is required to take 80% of the 2,000 ton request or 1,600 tons which is what they normally use in a year’s time. He also said that the Public Works Department is busy and is well prepared for Pumpkin Festival

Treasurer/Asst. to the City Manager – Adam Orton said the September’s Treasurer’s report, on a cash-basis, has a benchmark of 42%. They have received five of the six property tax payments. The Home Rule and State Sales Tax are 41% and 43% respectively. Service Charges and investments are above the benchmarks, however, the telecommunications tax continues to struggle. The overall revenues sit at 51% or 45% when weighted with the property taxes. General Fund Expenditures are at 39-40% and both pensions rebounded with some small positive gains.

Building & Engineering Director – John Sauter said they received submittals for a couple new projects; a new 30,000 square foot storage building for Seymour of Sycamore on Crosby Avenue and a new laundry mat in the front tenant space of Keep Rentals on East State Street. They will begin those plan reviews this week and work is expected to begin this fall. The new Meijer store is making progress. The underground work inside the main store is almost complete and they’ve started pouring the finished floor. Grading and paving work on the exterior started late last week and they still hope to have the outside work complete before winter. 

Director of Human and Administrative Resources (DHAR) – Maggie Peck said the November Give Back Campaign will include Feed My Starving Children on November 14th from 4 pm to 6 pm. The November drive will be collecting paper products for the Pay-it-Forward House. They have the second round mechanic interviews this week, they have a laborer position open, and they recently filled a parking officer enforcement position. She is excited to announce that they promoted the fourth foreman today in Public Works and congratulated Vince Ormond.

City Engineer – Mark Bushnell said with the end of the construction season, developers are anxiously testing water and sewer systems. Meijer has successfully passed all of the underground infrastructure inspections and Old Mill Park completed water main pressure testing today. Curran placed the final lift of asphalt on the last potion of North Grove Crossings and Landmark Construction is completing concrete work at Townsend Woods Unit 5, in preparation of final paving.

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

A. Ordinance 2019.29—An Ordinance Amending the Combined Annual Budget and Appropriation Ordinance for the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 in the City of Sycamore, Illinois. First and Second Reading.

The City Manager Brian Gregory said this ordinance involves an amendment to the current year budget updating it to show actuals from FY19. It can be viewed on the City’s website or at the Sycamore Public Library. This is done twice a year to reflect the actual cost of projects and grant revenue along with the corresponding expenditures. The City is taking an opportunity with this ordinance to contribute an additional $30,000 to each of the pension funds on top of the minimum contribution. The City has just under $6.4 million in reserves which is about 37% of the operating expenses. If able, they put more toward those pension obligations. The Council has firmly been committed to meeting the obligations and exceeding them if we can and said this is something that should be applauded.

Mayor Lang said that transparency is one of the reasons we get the high auditor awards. He thanked Brian Gregory and Adam Orton for maintaining that transparency policy in the city.

Motion

Alderperson Braser moved to waive First Reading on Ordinance 2019.29 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 Braser moved to approve Ordinance 2019.29 and Alderperson Copple 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 2019.30—An Ordinance Amending Title 5, “Police Regulations,” Chapter 4, “Miscellaneous Offenses,” Section 14, “Controlled Substances and Cannabis,” of the City Code of the City of Sycamore, Illinois. First Reading.

Ron Floit, 421 Somonauk St, Sycamore said he appreciates that the council appreciates what a serious decision this is whether Sycamore will sell marijuana for recreational purposes. He thinks it’s so important because how the Council decides will determine a lot of the culture and character of Sycamore going forward. He loves Sycamore. It’s a great town and he knows because he has lived here for 69 years. He wants us to continue to be a great town, a better town, and a town that rises above the decisions of other towns and above law makers down state. He rhetorically asked the Council if they would like Sycamore to be the town that sells marijuana, for recreational purposes, to their children or to their grandchildren, or to their spouse, or extended family. “If you don’t want someone to sell it to your own family, why would we want to sell it to someone else’s?” He doesn’t imply any moral judgement. He just thinks Sycamore is a better town without it and he trusts the Council to make the right decision for Sycamore.

Lillian Harbecke 17535 Mt. Hunger Road, Sycamore said that she loves Sycamore, too and has lived here for over 55 years. Her kids, grandkids, and great grandkids were all raised in Sycamore. They are involved, love Sycamore, use the park, and feel safe. If someone is getting high on marijuana, who stops them as their mind is not in their full control? She would like Sycamore Park to stay the way it is for her and her grandchildren. She asked, when these children become adults, if it will cost us money for these people to spend time in rehab places because of drugs. What message are we giving our young people selling this gateway drug? She asked for the Council to consider saying no. “Take a stand.” “Have a backbone and say no!” “We are going to be a clean family town. “

City Manager Brian Gregory outlines what the ordinance would do as specified in the agenda. There is no decision tonight as it is only on First Reading. He did emphasize that the State of Illinois changed the law to be effective January 1, 2020 to allow the use of recreational cannabis and that Sycamore cannot weigh in on that piece. There are restrictions of how much cannabis a person can possess so the first piece of this ordinance brings our local ordinances in line with the State law. The second piece, based on discussion at the September 16 th and October 7th meetings, would allow dispensaries. According to the State law, the default position is that if you do not prohibit it, you are essentially allowing it. Based on the City Council discussions, the staff’s position, and working with the City Attorneys, we should take a position and not just a default position. The discussion is focused on the affirmative, allowing the dispensaries. Another piece of the ordinance defines adult use dispensaries and also defines the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (CRTA). It will prohibit on-premises consumption which is something that municipalities have to decide. The ordinance, that would go into effect January 1, 2020 also outlines that there would be certain zoning regulations on it that would be in effect on or before January 1, 2020. Those would be decided after moving through Planning and Zoning Commission and back to the City Council. This will come back at the November 4th meeting for action.

C. Ordinance 2019.31—An Ordinance Amending Title 3, “Business and License Regulations,” Chapter 13, “Occupation Taxes,” of the City Code of the City of Sycamore to Create a New Section 4, “Municipal Cannabis Retailers’ Occupation Tax”. First Reading.

City Manager Brian Gregory said the CRTA allows for a municipal tax of 3%, which was discussed as a consideration at the last meeting. That tax would assume there is a dispensary in Sycamore, so this ordinance would be contingent on the passing of ordinance 2019.30. Currently, that act calls for that tax to take effect September 1, 2020, however this ordinance calls for it to be effective January 1, 2020, or the soonest it can be imposed by the Illinois Department of Revenue, in the event the Act is amended. This is First Reading and no action is required tonight.

Resolutions - None

Considerations

A. Consideration of an Administration Request for a Closed Session to Discuss Collective Bargaining and Pending Litigation.

Motion

Alderman Huseman moved to enter into Closed Session at 7:45 p.m. and Alderperson Braser 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

Alderman Stow moved to enter back into Open Session at 8:00 p.m. 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.

Other New Business

Adjournment

Motion

Alderperson Stowe moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:01 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

https://cityofsycamore.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/cc20191021mins.pdf