City of DeKalb Committee of the Whole met Jan. 13.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
The City Council of DeKalb, Illinois held a Committee of the Whole meeting on January 13, 2020, in the City Council Chambers of the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois.
A. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
Mayor Smith called the meeting to order at 5 p.m.
City Clerk Lynn Fazekas called the roll, and the following members of the City Council were present: Alderman Carolyn Morris, Alderman Bill Finucane, Alderman Tracy Smith, Alderman Greg Perkins, Alderman Scott McAdams, Alderman Mike Verbic, Alderman Tony Faivre, and Mayor Jerry Smith.
Also present were: City Manager Bill Nicklas, Airport Manager Tom Cleveland, Assistant City Manager Ray Munch, Transit Manager Marcus Cox, and City Attorney John Donahue.
B. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
MOTION
Alderman Morris moved to approve the agenda. Alderman Verbic seconded.
VOTE
Motion carried 8-0 on roll call vote. Aye: Morris, Finucane, Smith, Perkins, McAdams, Verbic, Faivre, Mayor Smith. Nay: none.
C. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
There was none.
D. CONSIDERATIONS
1. Consideration of the Annual “State of the City Address” by the Hon. Mayor Jerry Smith.
Mayor Smith included a slide show with comments that covered improvements and developments in the north, east, south, west, and center of the city. These included:
• Sycamore Road commercial redevelopment (i.e., Aldi and Planet Fitness).
• Northwestern Medicine’s new wellness facility.
• Resurfacing of North First Street.
• Increased shuttle service to the Metro West Line in Elburn.
• A new bike path planned for Fairview Street from Seventh Street to Peace Road.
• Approval for a possible new cannabis dispensary this year.
• Possible new employer locating in Chicago West development at Route 23 and Gurler Road.
• Progress in the Annie Glidden North neighborhood, including better lighting, the Safe Streets Initiative, redevelopment plans for Welsh Park, and a food hub.
• Expected development of the $22.9 million Northern Illinois Center for Sustainability.
• Ongoing construction of Home2Suites hotel development.
• Current and completed downtown redevelopment and renovation projects including Cornerstone, Plaza DeKalb, Egyptian Theatre, and Agora Tower.
• DeKalb’s anticipated move of its city hall to downtown.
Mayor Smith also had accolades for DeKalb Park District, Northern Illinois University, City boards and commissions, improvements made to public safety, and the city manager; and he stated that progress is now being made between the City and its largest landlord on housing issues.
Mayor Smith then introduced Patty Daley for the next consideration.
2. Consideration of a Presentation from the Daley Policy Group Regarding Federal Support for the City’s Airport Transportation Improvement Program.
Patty Daley provided an update of the activities of the Daley Policy Group on behalf of the City. As concerns the funding of the Airport Improvement Program, she said, the group is working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) headquarters, the regional FAA involved in the state, and legislators whom she characterized as strongly supportive and willing to put that support in writing for the fiscal year 2021 budget. Ms. Daley said there will quite probably be additional budget dollars put toward infrastructure that includes airports and roads, and she anticipates the funding process will probably take the form of a phased approach stretching into 2021 and 2022.
Ms. Daley called the proposed mass transit center “a very interesting concept” and an intermodal initiative, which she said is something the Department of Transportation (DOT) finds appealing. She said she’s met with DOT and will apply for its discretionary grant called a BUILD grant. A second program called INFRA (also a DOT grant) could be applied for in the spring, she said, and INFRA would offer more latitude in definition and scope of projects; including, for example, ability to apply for funding a project that complements airport services with surface transportation along the perimeter of the airport. There is also a third grant possibility in a transit grant that is a rolling application. Ms. Daley said the City can apply for all three in the same year.
Another project, a proposed food hub, Ms. Daley called “wonderful” and said is scalable for communities of different sizes and particularly those having university relationships. She said issues of hunger, homelessness, education, and nutrition are prominent needs and subject to increased attention and funding recently, so the timing is good.
Ms. Daley also discussed other general trends, saying there have been shifts over the past few years such as BUILD grants tending to go to smaller and more rural communities, and that projects tend to receive funding more quickly than in the past.
Lastly, Ms. Daley said working on the census is very important to reaching a different level of competition for the grants.
E. EXECUTIVE SESSION PURSUANT TO 5 ILCS (120/2)
No executive session was authorized during this meeting.
F. ADJOURNMENT
Following Ms. Daley’s presentation, Mayor Smith said he would entertain a motion to adjourn the Committee of the Whole.
MOTION
Alderman Faivre moved to adjourn the meeting. Alderman McAdams seconded.
VOTE
Motion carried on majority voice vote. Mayor Smith declared the Committee of the Whole meeting adjourned at 5:44 p.m.
https://www.cityofdekalb.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_01132020-1749
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