DeKalb Times

City of Sycamore City Council met March 2.

Here is the agenda provided by the council:

1. CALL TO ORDER

2. INVOCATION

3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Led by Sycamore Troop 82 Girl Scout Juniors from West and Southeast Elementary Schools.

4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

5. APPOINTMENTS

6. AUDIENCE TO VISITORS

7. CONSENT AGENDA

A. Approval of the Minutes for the Regular City Council Meeting of February 17, 2020.

B. Payment of the Bills for March 2, 2020.

8. PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS, COMMUNICATIONS, AND BILLS

9. REPORTS OF OFFICERS

10. REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES

11. PUBLIC HEARINGS

12. ORDINANCES

A. Ordinance 2019.52 – An Ordinance Amending Title 5, “Police Regulations,” Chapter 4, “Miscellaneous Offenses,” Section 3-1, “Video Gaming,” of the City Code of the City of Sycamore, Illinois. First and Second Reading.

In 2012, the City Council voted to allow video gaming and established the initial annual license fee at $100 per video gaming terminal. In order to cover the increasing costs of administering the video gaming licenses, ordinance 2019.52 would increase the license fee for each video gaming terminal from $100 to $250. Recently, the State of Illinois increased the allowable number of video gaming terminals from five to six per establishment.

An increase to the video gaming terminal fee was discussed during the general fund budget discussion in January. Typically, code changes are brought with the budget appropriation ordinance in April. However, annual licenses renewal letters are being circulated by the City Clerk’s Office later this month and will reflect any action taken by the City Council.

City Council approval is recommended.

13. RESOLUTIONS

A. Resolution No. 811—A Resolution Authorizing the Mayor to Execute a Revised DeKalb- Sycamore Area Transportation Study Intergovernmental Cooperative Agreement.

The DeKalb Sycamore Area Transportation Study (DSATS) was established in 2003 through an Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement including DeKalb County, the City of Sycamore, the City of DeKalb, the Town of Cortland, Northern Illinois University and the Illinois Department of Transportation. DSATS is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the DeKalb Sycamore-Cortland Area. DeKalb County is the lead agency and provides staff support for DSATS.

Over the past two years, the member organizations have worked toward modifications to the organization’s by-laws and intergovernmental agreement (IGA). The modifications were aimed at streamlining processes and removed the by-laws from the IGA to allow the Policy Committee to make occasional changes to the operating structure as needed. The IGA was last modified in late 2018 to reflect the change of the lead agency from the City of DeKalb to DeKalb County. That change was the first step toward arriving at the proposed streamlined agreement. Legal counsel for the respective member organizations have reviewed the language and the Policy Committee voted 7-0 on February 19th to forward the agreement to the respective governing bodies for approval.

City Council approval is recommended.

B. Resolution No. 812—A Resolution Approving and Accepting Certain Public Improvements in the North Grove Crossings Subdivision.

Youssi Real Estate and Development recently completed the final surface on the streets identified as Phase III in the development agreement for the North Grove Crossings subdivision. The agreement was approved by the City Council in May of 2013.

The scope of work included leveling binder, reflective crack control and final surface for the streets identified in this phase. According to section 4.7.10-6 of the City’s UDO the City Engineer shall forward a recommendation to the City Council if the improvements are acceptable.

City Engineer Mark Bushnell was present at the time of paving and has conducted an inspection of the final surface application and recommends the City Council accept the roadway improvements as shown in this resolution. Once the improvements are accepted, the City will reduce the letter of credit requirement, as appropriate, for this portion of the project.

As part of the annexation agreement, the developer is required to guarantee the improvements for a period of one year. This resolution does not apply to any other public improvements or phases.

City Council approval is recommended.

C. Resolution No. 813—A Resolution Authorizing Disposal of Certain City Property.

According to the City’s Purchasing Manual and Accounting Guidelines, property determined by the City Manager or department head to be no longer usable for City operations, and of greater value than $500.00 will be submitted for public or on-line auction or via trade-in. All appraisals of aforesaid equipment shall be made by the department head. Resolution 813 authorizes the disposal of the following property:

• Truck #41: 1996 International single axle dump truck.

Truck has 38,418 miles and 4,392 hours of operation and is in poor condition and will be advertised as a tow-a-way. The dump body is heavily rusted and is in need of a push-button shift selector. Only the truck will be disposed of. The truck’s plow has been used as a parts donor, to repair plows currently in service.

• Truck #44: 1999 International single axle dump truck

Truck has 43,821 miles and 4,265 hours of operation and is in poor condition and will be advertised as a tow-a-way. Transmission has major issues and dump body is heavily rusted with no tailgate. Some parts have been swapped and used on current trucks in service. Only the truck will be disposed of. The truck’s plow has been used as a parts donor, to repair plows currently in service.

The trucks will be advertised on the Wisconsin Surplus auction site and will be taken to the salvage yard if no bids are made.

City Council approval is recommended.

14. CONSIDERATIONS

A. Consideration of an Administration Presentation of the FY21 Special and Bond Funds.

Since January, staff has presented preliminary budget assumptions for the general operating fund and the enterprise and capital funds. The remaining funds are categorized into Special Funds and Bond and Loan Funds.

Special Funds

The Special Funds are comprised of connection fee funds, fire and police pension funds, funds for specific fees, taxes and escrows and funds for obligations such as radium removal decommissioning or accrued leave payments. These funds total $11,399,201 in combined expenditures. Over 65% of the expenditures are attributed to the final portion of Phase III of the treatment plant expansion. The majority of the project has been funded by an IEPA low interest loan; however, a combination of sewer fund reserves and sewer connection fees will be used toward the project. Both water and sewer connection fees are accounted for as special funds.

Combined, police and fire pension funds are anticipated to expend $2,026,401, primarily pension disbursements. The funds are expected to have $35 million in assets as of the start of FY21. Each year the City’s actuary calculates an amount needed to meet funding guidelines set by the State of Illinois.

Other smaller specialized funds such as the hotel/motel tax fund, the radium decommission fund, the transfer tax fund, the foreign fire insurance fund, the employee benefit assistance fund and public improvement escrow fund receive revenue dedicated for a specific purpose.

No major changes are planned in any of the Special Funds in FY21.

Debt Service Funds

The Debt Service Funds are made up of general obligation bond issues and loans to support water and sewer operations. In FY21, the debt service obligations are as follows:

2003 EPA Loan $49,737.00

2005 EPA Loan $55,022.00

2006 EPA Loan $66,697.00

2009 EPA Loan $194,852.00

2012 Refunding $262,350.00

2017 Refunding $327,760.00

The 2019 IEPA Loan Fund receives low-interest loan funds from the Illinois EPA for Phase III improvements at the Waste Water Treatment Plant. The debt on the improvements will be paid using the current user fee schedule and repayment will begin at the end of FY21 or early FY22. Once the repayment schedule is established, the 2019 IEPA Loan Fund will be amended to reflect the repayment amount.

Staff continues to monitor debt obligations to review opportunities to refinance and save on repayment costs. No new general obligation borrowing is planned in the near future.

City Council direction is requested.

B. Consideration of a Contract with Weaver Construction for Fire Station #1 Improvements.

In 2017, the City had Kluber Architects and Engineers perform a study to review the condition of Fire Station 1 and identify deferred maintenance issues on the sixty-year old building. The City dedicated $100,000 in FY21 to begin addressing some of the maintenance issues. Last summer, Weaver Construction was selected to perform exterior masonry work around the building.

The next project is to make repairs and improvements to the living quarters. Parts of the living quarters including the main bathroom are original to the building and the kitchen and bunkroom areas were remodeled close to 20 years ago. The condition of the bathroom facilities and kitchen continue to deteriorate and are used on a daily basis for with twenty-four shifts. Replacing the existing fixtures, cabinets, flooring and carpet are among the improvements planned for the second floor living quarters.

Staff believes it would be difficult and costly to attempt a competitive bidding process for this project as an architect or engineer would be needed to develop extremely detailed bid specifications. The Fire Department staff does not have expertise in construction projects and therefore a single source to oversee the project and coordinate the various trades will add the desired level of efficiency to the project. Given that Weaver Construction has worked on the building in the recent past, staff contacted the company to obtain a quote and a remodeling plan that meets the needs of the fire department at a reasonable cost. Staff, led by Deputy Chief Art Zern, worked with the contractor to identify cost savings and efficiencies throughout the

preparation of the quote for services.

All of the various interior and exterior projects will be completed under the allocated budget for FY20.

Staff recommends approval of a contract with Weaver Construction for the remodeling and improvements in the living quarters at Station #1 in the amount of $78,353.50.

City Council approval is recommended.

C. Consideration to Award a Contract for the Construction of a Storage Building on the Public Works Campus.

The City of Sycamore recently sold two surplus buildings to DeKalb County with the intent to use the proceeds from this sale to replicate the storage space to house equipment and vehicles on the Public Works Campus. Given that all City Public Works personnel are now located at one location, it is operationally efficient to consolidate Public Works equipment and storage in one central location for easy access and to share between all three divisions; Water, Sewer and Streets.

Bid opening for this project will be on Friday, February 28 at 10:00 A.M. Staff will review the bids and make a recommendation at the Council meeting.

D. Consideration of a Presentation of the 2019 Police Department Annual Report.

Police Chief Jim Winters will present the Police Department’s Annual Report. The report highlights the Department’s activity over the past year and offers a statistical comparison with prior years. The report will be available at the Police Department and on the City’s website.

15. OTHER NEW BUSINESS

16. ADJOURNMENT

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