City of Sycamore City Council met March 2.
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: Virginia Sherrod, Chuck Stowe, Alan Bauer, Steve Braser, Nancy Copple, Josh Huseman, and Pete Paulsen. Aldermen, Rick Kramer was absent. City Attorney Keith Foster was also present.
INVOCATION – Sister Judy Herrmann, St. Mary’s Church, gave the invocation.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Led by Paula, Sarah, Kara, Lucy, Madalyn, and Natalia, Sycamore Troop 82 Girl Scout Juniors
from West and Southeast Elementary Schools.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION
Alderperson Sherrod motioned to approve the agenda 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.
APPOINTMENTS
AUDIENCE TO VISITORS
1. Marilyn Hrymak, 472 E. Elm Street, representing CASES, Citizen Advocates for a Sustainable Environment- Sycamore, spoke on their focus and said their meetings are the second Tuesday at the month at 7 p.m. at Blumen Gardens and upcoming events.
2. Dan Stovall, 729 W. State Street, expressed his concerns about all the exposed wires installed above ground and what the City’s plan is for the COVID-19 virus.
City Manager Brian Gregory said he and speaking for the Council prefer to have the wires underground. They are fiber optic telecommunications wires and as each of the carriers come in, they are protected by Federal law for the ability to provide those fiber connections. They follow where the electricity is so if it’s underground, they will go underground, but if the electricity is on the poles, then they install them above ground. He said there are three or four companies installing now. The City has asked if they could work together and use one line, however, each company has their own independent lines.
Alderman Stowe said that this would be a good subject to bring up during one of the Comprehensive Plan public meetings.
Regarding the coronavirus, City Manager Brian Gregory said the City defers to the County Health Department for them to lead. They would be one of the first places to get information as different governmental units pass it along.
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 in the amount of $1,368,638.03.
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 Sherrod, Stowe, Bauer, Braser, Copple, Huseman, and Paulsen voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.
PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS, COMMUNICATIONS, AND BILLS
Alderman Braser said he has been approached regarding dog tags and if this is something the Council can look at.
City Manager Brian Gregory said it’s possible to create efficiencies where we have allowed residents to buy the Park District’s dog park tag in the City Clerk’s office when they buy their City tag as a convenience. There may be some confusion with that.
REPORT OF OFFICERS
City Manager – Brian Gregory said there will be no Planning and Zoning Committee meeting in March. The Comprehensive Plan process is ongoing. The next step is for the consultants from NIU and Egret + Ox to distribute a business survey. There will be a resident survey and other public forums held later in the process. The electrical aggregation will expire this summer, so they are gathering data for municipal aggregation rates. The goal will be to bring real-time live pricing to the Council in May and see if there is a savings or not. Everyone will receive a postcard this month from the Census Bureau for the Census 2020 advising residents how to go online or mail in responses. It’s really important to be counted for representation for State shared tax for fuel tax and use tax. These funds go to the state and come back to the municipalities based on the number of people in that community.
Police Chief – Jim Winters said he would defer his comments to the annual report.
Fire Chief – Pete Polarek said regarding the coronavirus, they are watching three sources, The Center for Disease Control, The Illinois Department of Public Health, and the DeKalb County Health Department, for taking their cue for appropriate response. He said, at this time, the facemask is not the answer but are for patients that are coughing etc. He said to be judicious, do a lot of handwashing, and keep hands out of face and eyes. He said the risk is low and is much higher for other diseases such as the flu. He said they are monitoring it and will let the lead agencies lead. He also said that with the rivers and ponds melting, the department is practicing ice rescue techniques.
Director of Public Works – Fred Busse absent
Director of Human and Administrative Resources (DHAR) – Maggie Peck said there are a lot of job openings at the city and are currently doing interviews. She reported that the downtown hanging flower baskets will be going out to our provider next week to be seeded and planted.
Treasurer/Asst. to the City Manager – Adam Orton said that auditors will be here on May 19th for preliminary field work and will be here the week of July 6th for the full fieldwork. An auditor from the Illinois Department of Transportation will be here Tuesday doing a compliance audit. He will bring the initial report back to the City Council once it’s complete.
Building & Engineering Director – John Sauter – said they’ve issued six single family permits as of the end of February. Last year at this time they had issued four. They issued permits last week for Pet IQ and Starbucks, both of which will be located inside the new Meijer store. They’ll also be witnessing life-safety testing, testing and certification of all alarm and extinguishment systems at Meijer on March 18th. That is a positive step toward the store opening.
City Engineer – Mark Bushnell absent
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 2019.52 – 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.
City Manager Brian Gregory said one of the items that was discussed when they talked about the General Fund budget was a modification of the video gaming terminal fee. Currently, a licensee pays $100 per terminal per year but it was proposed that it be increased to $250 per terminal per year. This fee falls in the middle of where they see fees as some go up to $2,500 per terminal per year. The increase is to cover the administration of the program which includes questions and challenges of the code. This would go into effect May 1st but is coming forward now because letters are being sent for renewal by the Clerk’s office this month and need to reflect the most accurate information.
Alderman Braser said he is in line with it to increase to $250, but feels it is a tremendous jump for increasing that much in one year as that is 150% increase. He would be ok with increasing it $75 this year and $75 next year.
Mayor Lang said they have studied it with the other communities and this would still be as low as they are at $250.
Alderman Braser said but the existing businesses have only been paying $100. He is aware of that the fees are higher in other towns but it seems excessive to jump that high in one year.
Alderman Bauer said it is a pretty good jump but he wonders of the feedback or if the licensees are aware of this. He said maybe the Council should hold this on First Reading and allow for some feedback.
Mayor Lang said the State has passed a law allowing a sixth terminal instead of five so the terminal owners have called him several times and is shocked that it is only $100. This fee is shared by the terminal owner and the licensee.
Alderman Huseman asked who administers this program for us in terms of City resources.
City Manager Brian Gregory said most of the cost is going to be legal services associated with implementing or modifying our language.
Alderman Bauer asked how many terminals are in the City now and how many would there be if they went up to the limit of six terminals.
Mayor Lang said there are currently three establishments that have six terminals but a lot of them are limited on space.
City Manager Brian Gregory said it is around 60 terminals but clarified that the Mayor was saying that there are three establishments that have gone from the maximum of five terminals to adding the sixth terminal.
Alderman Josh Huseman said he is generally in favor of it.
MOTION
Alderperson Stowe motioned to waive First Reading of Ordinance 2019.52 and Alderperson Huseman seconded the motion.
VOICE VOTE and ROLL CALL VOTE.
Mayor Lang called for a voice vote to approve the motion. Then, he called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Huseman and Paulsen voted aye while Alderpersons Sherrod, Stowe, Bauer, Braser, and Copple voted nay. Motion failed 2-5.
RESOLUTIONS
A. Resolution No. 811—A Resolution Authorizing the Mayor to Execute a Revised DeKalb-Sycamore Area Transportation Study Intergovernmental Cooperative Agreement.
City Manager Brian Gregory said this is good news as the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) that governs the DeKalb Sycamore Area Transportation Study (DSATS) has been in the process of being modified for close to two years. 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. The biggest change since December 2018 are that 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. 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.
MOTION
Alderperson Huseman motioned to approve Resolution 811 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.
B. Resolution No. 812—A Resolution Approving and Accepting Certain Public Improvements in the North Grove Crossings Subdivision.
City Manager Brian Gregory said that this will accept the Youssi Real Estate and Development final paving of the streets in the Phase III of the North Grove Crossings subdivision as described in the agenda. City Engineer Mark Bushnell has inspected and recommends the City Council accept the improvements to become become public streets. Once they are accepted, the developer will warranty it for a period of one year.
MOTION
Alderperson Paulsen motioned to approve the agenda 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.
C. Resolution No. 813—A Resolution Authorizing Disposal of Certain City Property.
City Manager Brian Gregory said that per the City’s Purchasing Manual and Accounting Guidelines, property determined to be no longer usable and is of greater value than $500 will be submitted for public or online auction. Per the agenda, Truck #41, a 1996 International single axle dump truck and Truck #44, a 1999 International single axle dump truck will be advertised on the Wisconsin Surplus auction site and will be taken to the salvage yard if no bids are made.
MOTION
Alderperson Stowe motioned to approve the agenda and Alderperson Paulsen seconded the motion.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Mayor Lang called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Sherrod, Stowe, Bauer, Braser, Copple, Huseman, and Paulsen voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.
CONSIDERATIONS
A. Consideration of an Administration Presentation of the FY21 Special and Bond Funds.
Special Funds
City Manager Brian Gregory said this is the final meeting discussing Special Fund and Bond categories in anticipation of presenting the entire budget at the March 16th meeting. The Special Funds that are comprised of the 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, total about $11.4 million with over 65% of the expenditures attributed to the final portion of the Phase III of the treatment plant expansion. About $1 million or under 10% will go towards Water Tower #1. There is $35 million in combined assets in the police and fire pension funds. Those funds have to be 90% funded by year 2040 per guidelines set by the State of Illinois. Combined, police and fire pension funds are anticipated to expend $2,026,401, primarily pension disbursements.
Debt Service Funds
City Manager Brian Gregory said 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
He referenced the handout showing General Obligation debt for the next several years until FY2029, Water Fund debt until FY28. He reiterated that the City is keeping property taxes in check, meeting General Obligations, funding pensions, paying down current debt, and investing in infrastructure to not just look at today, but to look at tomorrow. 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. He said none of this includes any new increases in taxes as it’s all being born through different funds where funds are set aside for this debt service.
B. Consideration of a Contract with Weaver Construction for Fire Station #1 Improvements.
City Manager Brian Gregory said per the 2017 Kluber Architects and Engineers study of the condition of Fire Station #1 for deferred maintenance, they have started to work towards that list of improvements. The next issue to be addressed is the living quarters as the kitchen and bathrooms are original to the building and haven’t been updated in many years. The City set aside $100,000 in FY21 to address those maintenance issues. A portion has been used for some exterior improvements, but this project is estimated at $78,353.50. Painting is not included as the Firefighters are going to do the painting. 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. He reminded that the City does have an obligation to meet these deferred maintenance needs but that the City doesn’t have the revenues to knock the building down and build a new one without taking on new debt. They are trying to utilize the money efficiently.
Alderperson Copple asked about the ladies bathroom sink for $2,300 and the men’s bathroom has three sinks for less than that.
City Manager Brian Gregory said that he is not sure on the specifics but said it may have to do with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. He also added that this is funded 100% through the Public Buildings Fund which is funded by rental
MOTION
Alderperson Bauer moved to approve the Consideration to Weaver Construction for $78,353.50 and to waive the bidding process and Alderperson Huseman seconded the motion.
Alderman Braser questioned why they would include that if it’s not in the motion.
Attorney Keith Foster said it can be done as a separate motion or it can be combined.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Mayor Lang called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Sherrod, Stowe, Bauer, Braser, Huseman, and Paulsen voted aye while Alderperson Copple voted nay. Motion carried 6-1.
C. Consideration to Award a Contract for the Construction of a Storage Building on the Public Works Campus.
City Manager Brian Gregory said a bid opening was held on February 28th at 10 am for a 12,000 square foot building on the Public Works campus to replace the two buildings that were recently sold to DeKalb County. There were three bidders:
| Contractor | Not Insulated | Insulated | Price/Ton for CA-6 |
| Leander Construction | $612,000.00 | $705,000.00 | $25/ton |
| Larson & Larson Builders | $599,900.00 | $705,900.00 | $13.20/ton |
| Swedberg & Associates | $484,000.00 | $578,000.00 | $14/ton |
Alderman Bauer asked what the cost would be to insulate.
City Manager Brian Gregory said that he doesn’t know exactly how much but that Director Fred Busse thinks that we can insulate the building for much less than that difference and save on the labor by having city workers do the job.
MOTION
Alderperson Bauer moved to award the contract to Swedberg & Associates for an amount not to exceed $524,400 and Alderperson Stowe seconded the motion.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Mayor Lang called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Sherrod, Stowe, Bauer, Braser, Copple, Huseman, and Paulsen voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.
D. Consideration of a Presentation of the 2019 Police Department Annual Report.
Police Chief Jim Winters thanked Deputy Chief Steve Cook who compiles all the information for this report and puts it together. He covered the following highlights:
Pg. 7 – Coming, Going, and Promotions
Pg. 11 – Total Training Hours
Pg. 13 – Total Dispatch Events
Pg. 15 – Community Engagement
Pg. 21 – Special Projects and Programs
Pg. 22 – Reaccreditation with ILEAP
Pg. 24 – Evidence Management
Pg. 29 – Uniform Crime Reporting – Index Offenses
Pg. 35 – Noteworthy Cases
He also noted that the department has zero “at-fault” officer crashes out of 212,747 miles driven in 2019. There were only 2 days missed for work-related injuries which shows how conscientious they are about work safety.
Alderman Bauer said this report is well-organized and easy to read. Chief Winters gave the credit to Steve Cook.
OTHER NEW BUSINESS
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION
Alderperson Stowe moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:17 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/2020/03/cc20200302m.pdf
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