DeKalb Times

City of Genoa City Council met Jan. 7.

Here is the minutes provided by the council:

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

Mayor Vicary led the Pledge of Allegiance. Guest Speaker: None

Motion made by Alderman Lang approve the minutes of the December 17, 2019 City Council meeting, seconded by Alderman Winter. 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 December 2019, in the amount of $349,953.25, seconded by Alderman Stevenson. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Carroll, Di Guido, Stevenson, Winter, Cravatta, Brust and Lang voted yes. Motion carried.

ITEMS FROM INDIVIDUALS IN ATTENDANCE

 Gordon Jones addressed Council and asked that the agenda be amended to include a proposal to put a 6 foot fence around the deteriorating property at 131 South Sycamore Street to ensure safety. Mayor Vicary responded that action is currently being taken and recommended not amending the agenda; Council agreed.

 J.T. Anesi addressed Council to thank Chief Smith for removing the abandoned car at 131 South Sycamore Street.

NEW BUSINESS

CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE FOR THE SALE OF K-9 OFFICER KANE:

 Mayor Vicary announced that Officer Kane is retiring. He thanked Officer Kane for his 7 years of service and dedication and recognized him with a proclamation.

 Motion made by Alderman Di Guido to approve an Ordinance authorizing the City of Genoa, DeKalb County Illinois to declare certain property as surplus and approving the sale of said property, seconded by Alderman Wesner. Voice vote was taken. All voted yes. Motion carried.

CONSIDER A RESOLUTION TO PAY BOND PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST WITH MFT FUNDS INSTEAD OF PROPERTY TAX FUNDS: Motion made by Alderman Wesner to approve a Resolution providing for the retirement of certain municipal indebtedness by the use of motor fuel tax funds, seconded by Alderman Lang. Treasurer Jan Tures stated that December 15, 2020 will be our final payment on the bond. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Carroll, Di Guido, Stevenson, Winter, Cravatta, Brust and Lang voted yes. Motion carried.

CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE REDUCING PERMIT FEES FOR NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION: Motion made by Alderman Winter to approve an Ordinance providing a one year extension of the limited temporary reduction in certain fees as an incentive for new home construction in 2020, seconded by Alderman Lang. Oak Creek Subdivision Developer, Rick Hoffman addressed Council as an advocate for waiving the impact fees. He indicated that it provides incentive to draw more people to Genoa. He also indicated that he attended the School Board meeting and they are not opposed to waiving the one time impact fee, as they will receive approximately $3,500 in revenue annually from each home that is built. There was discussion amongst Council and consensus was split. Some Aldermen expressed that the program was created years ago as incentive to encourage growth in Genoa when the economy was low, but the economy has bounced back and they believe the program is no longer needed. Other Aldermen expressed that the fees should be waived to continue to draw people to Genoa and provide on-going tax revenue. There was additional discussion of possibly reducing the number of homes from 15 to 10 or 5, or waiving the school impact fees, but not the park district impact fees. There was no consensus amongst Council. Mayor Vicary stated that roll call vote will be based strictly on continuing the program with no amendments to waiving the impact fees for the first 15 homes built in 2020. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Brust and Lang voted yes. Aldermen Winter, Cravatta, Wesner, Carroll, Di Guido and Stevenson voted no. Motion failed.

Alderman Brust proposed making a motion to re-open this subject to propose an amendment to the Ordinance as opposed to discontinuing the program completely, due to some confusion after the lengthy discussion. Alderman Stevenson made a motion to re-open the discussion, seconded by Alderman Lang. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Stevenson, Winter, Brust and Lang voted yes. Aldermen Wesner, Carroll, Di Guido and Cravatta voted no. Mayor Vicary abstained from voting. Motion failed.

DEPARTMENT REPORTS

Administrative Report – Administrative Director, Alyssa Seguss reported that the Liquor Commission met to discuss granting Sib’s Corner Grill a liquor license. They also discussed granting a pour liquor license for gas stations, which they were not in favor of. Alyssa then reported that the new Building Inspector, Dave Eggleston will be presenting to Council his findings during the inspection of the property located at 131 South Sycamore Street. Lastly, she reported that the movie “All the Kings Horses” will be shown after the next Council meeting.

Finance Report – Finance Office Manager & Treasurer, Jan Tures reported that staff is currently working on the new budget for fiscal year 2020/2021.

Public Works – Public Works Director, Rich Gentile reported that with the mild weather, maintenance costs are down due to not having to plow and salt. He also reported that Public Works is doing some storm work as well as working on the budget.

Police Department – Chief Smith reported that the abandoned car located at 131 South Sycamore Street has been removed. He indicated that he also put a notice on the door listing violations and the new building inspector will go into additional details at the next City Council meeting. He then reported that people do not understand the new marijuana laws as they are smoking it in their vehicles. The Police Department will continue to educate people and begin issuing citations in the near future. Lastly, he reported that he would like to continue the K-9 program.

Mayor’s Report – None 

ANNOUNCEMENTS – None

RECESS INTO CLOSED SESSION: Motion made by Alderman Di Guido to go into closed session for the purpose of approving the minutes of the previous closed session and for the purpose of discussing Collective Bargaining and the appointment, employment, dismissal, compensation, discipline and/or performance of specific employees as provided for in 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(2), seconded by Alderman Stevenson. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Di Guido, Stevenson, Winter, Cravatta, Brust, Lang, Wesner and Carroll voted yes. Motion carried.

RECONVENE INTO REGULAR SESSION: Motion made by Alderman Di Guido to reconvene into the regular session, seconded by Alderman Stevenson. Voice vote was taken. All voted yes. Motion carried.

In Closed Session, the minutes of the November 5, 2019 closed session were accepted.

CONSIDER AN AGREEMENT WITH THE METROPOLITAN ALLIANCE OF POLICE: Motion made by Alderman Cravatta to approve and authorize the execution of a collective bargaining agreement with the Metropolitan Alliance of Police for May 1, 2019 through April 30, 2022, seconded by Alderman Wesner. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Cravatta, Brust, Lang, Wesner, Carroll, Di Guido, Stevenson and Winter voted yes. Motion carried.

Motion to adjourn the regular meeting of the City Council was made by Alderman Stevenson, seconded by Alderman Di Guido. Voice vote was taken. All voted yes. Motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 7:58 p.m.

https://www.genoa-il.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Meeting-Minutes-20200107.pdf