City of Sycamore City Council met May 18.
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: Rick Kramer, Pete Paulsen, Chuck Stowe, Steve Braser, Nancy Copple, and Josh Huseman. Alderperson Virginia Sherrod arrived after roll call at 7:13 p.m. Alderperson Alan Bauer was absent. City Attorney Keith Foster was also present.
INVOCATION- Led by David Dosier
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Led by Alderman Rick Spider Kramer
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION
Alderperson Kramer motioned to approve the agenda and Alderperson Copple seconded the motion.
VOICE VOTE
Mayor Lang called for a voice vote to approve the motion. All Alderpersons voted aye. Motion carried 6-0.
AUDIENCE TO VISITORS - None
CONSENT AGENDA
A. Approval of the Minutes for the Regular City Council Meeting of May 4, 2020. B. Approval of the Minutes for the Special City Council Meeting of May 11, 2020. C. Payment of the Bills for May 18, 2020 in the amount of $675,641.25.
MOTION
Alderperson Stowe moved to approve the Consent Agenda and Alderperson Kramer seconded the motion.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Mayor Lang called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Kramer, Paulsen, Stowe, Braser, Copple, and Huseman voted aye. Motion carried 6-0.
PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS, COMMUNICATIONS, AND BILLS
A. A Proclamation Declaring May 17th through May 23rd, 2020 as Emergency Medical Services Week in the City of Sycamore, Illinois.
Alderman Kramer announced that his last treatment will be tomorrow, May 19th. He thanked everyone for supporting him through this time.
Alderman Stowe said he received a call from a resident on Stratford Lane concerned that the retention was overflowing. He did speak with City Manager Brian Gregory about it and it is being looked into, but he wanted to put it out there [on the record] and asked if the City Manager or City Engineer wanted to add to it.
City Manager Brian Gregory said that there was some flooding around town and that most of it was a quantity issue. He said that we do have the capacity in our systems. But there was runoff from the farm fields where corn cobs and other debris washed into the developed areas clogging the storm basins. There were multiple places that Public Works cleaned up and he thanked them for their work. He asked that residents help keep the storm drains clear but said if anyone had questions, they could call Public Works.
(Alderperson Copple’s connection was breaking up)
City Manager Brian Gregory said that Alderperson Copple and Alderman Braser received calls from a gentleman who encountered some groups of people at Sycamore Lake and she is thanking Chief Winters and the police department for responding to that.
REPORT OF OFFICERS
City Manager – Brian Gregory said in following up on EMS Week, the city appreciates everything our first responders do with all the extra layers of precaution wearing the PPE (personal protective equipment). The City continues to do everything they can to address the COVID-19 situation locally for the safety of employees and residents. They continue to watch the Governor’s phased-in approach in the Restore Illinois plan and how that impacts our businesses and opening our city buildings. There is no date, but they want to be prepared. He thanked Public Works and Public Safety for their help with the flooding. The response was swift and strong and the residents appreciated that. He said in reference to the impact of COVID- 19, FY20 that just ended on April 30th was impacted the last six weeks, but since we were having a strong year, it appears that we should achieve a balanced budget. That is good news for these times but we recognize that the depth and length of the impact is unknown moving forward, so the City is looking at a delayed revenue structure. Sales Tax lags about three months and the Restaurant & Bar, Hotel/Motel Tax, and other licenses and fees have been extended appropriately. It’s hard to gauge what those numbers may look like until they come in. They are aiming for as much financial flexibility in freezing new hires, reconsidering replacement hires, shifting resources in personnel, and deferring most of the capital purchases to be as flexible as possible. They should be able to assess later this summer and make any adjustments but he appreciates everyone’s patience, understanding, and willingness to work together in preparing for the most flexible position possible while still providing the level of services that they expect.
Mayor Lang asked if we will move to Phase III at the end of the month.
City Manager Brian Gregory said yes, there is some criteria that will be applied to determine the phase, but the indication is that DeKalb County and the region is moving toward Phase III.
Police Chief – Jim Winters said he will defer comments to agenda item.
Fire Chief – Pete Polarek thanked the Mayor for the proclamation and said the celebration for EMS Week is subdued and will defer some of the traditional things to later months ahead. He said it is nice to have their front line workers be recognized as there have been lots of challenges with the COVID-19 response in having to treat a lot of traditionally benign symptoms as COVID-like just to be safe. He said that thankfully they are managing well and hope to continue. He acknowledged and expressed appreciation to the community in general for certificates, meals, pizzas, and other things they have received.
Director of Public Works – Fred Busse recapped that Public Works got an early start on Friday morning cleaning up the debris and flooding using snow removal equipment. The amount of rain in the short amount of time was the biggest impact as they were receiving 6.5 inches of rain an hour during 15 minute periods which complicated matters. He’s happy to report that all the areas have been cleaned up. He noted that at the treatment plant, the general contractor didn’t shut down the lift station as planned as they ran into a few problems with their pumps and decided to wait based on the weather. He’s glad they did because that could have led to catastrophic backups if their equipment would have failed. It also gave an example of the flow rates. At one time on Friday morning, there was a flow rate of 38 million gallons coming into the treatment plant and are currently still receiving 14-16 million gallons a day. He hopes to be back to the normal 6-7 million gallons a day by the end of the week. He invited anyone to stop down and look at the bypass pumping and pipes. He said they have a good team.
Treasurer/Asst. to the City Manager – Adam Orton said the April Treasurer’s Report is the end of the fiscal year and reflects all the budget transfers. They are carefully watching the Sales Tax numbers and said with this being a cash-basis report, the numbers reflect January’s sales. While they are positive and have surpassed the budgeted benchmarks, he is waiting to see what impact February, March, and April’s numbers have on the overall revenue picture. The Restaurant & Bar Tax represents mostly March sales, which is, not surprisingly, down. All the other revenue sources are near where they will end up after the fiscal year closes, but is at a 105% on a cash-basis. The expenditures are 96.5% including operating transfers but some entries will still need to be made during the audit. He said that they are cautiously optimistic about the budget as we were looking strong up to COVID-19 but will hopefully carry to a balanced budget. Fire and Police pensions closed out a rollercoaster ride. A strong year and the positive fund growth in April are not enough to overcome the decline in value that February and March brought. It appears that each fund will be down 1.5% to 2% but will wait to see the final numbers. The auditors will start preliminary field work Tuesday, May 19th and the full field work will be in early July.
City Manager explained that that cash-basis means that the funds come into the city for that month, however, they are really for several months back. We budget on a modified accrual basis which means the numbers before you tonight have February, March, and April numbers for Sales and Use Tax from 2019, making up twelve months. When we do the audit and do the budget actuals, those months will come off and be replaced with February, March, and April of 2020. That is the difference between the cash-basis and accrual basis.
Alderman Huseman asked the City Manager to talk about the timing of income tax with collections not being done until later in the year and if that impacts the timing as it relates to what he is talking about or if it’s purely when those revenues are recorded.
City Manager Brian Gregory said the timing is within roughly 90 days of any fiscal year close. They do a lot of trend analysis year on year and month on month to try to determine what the revenue picture looks like to control any anomalies and he said that there is going to be a tremendous number of anomalies. The biggest impact will be trying to do the month on month trend. Everything is delayed and deferred making it more challenging to make educated decisions based on what the City’s position looks like. As they start to talk about FY22 at the end of the calendar year, they will start to look at month on month for the last several years to make educated decisions for the budget. They will have to control for the 2020 calendar year. This is why they are trying to be flexible and they don’t want to overreact or underreact.
Building & Engineering Director – John Sauter said they did a final inspection of Seymour’s new building and they were granted a temporary certificate of occupancy pending completion of the grading and landscaping. Along with Public Works, they’ve been busy responding to flooding concerns the last couple days and they’re working their way through them. Some involve quick fixes and others will require more coordination and action, but he feels like they’ve got a good handle on what needs to be addressed.
Director of Human and Administrative Resources (DHAR) – Maggie Peck said there have been a lot of residents calling in with flooding in the yards, homes, and vehicles and said a lot of times they believe the city is responsible for that in some way. She gave a kudos to Corkill Insurance, the risk management company they have been working closely with on some hail damage to some city buildings five weeks ago. They received three Request for Proposals for medical insurance renewal of which her and the City Manager are reviewing. She hopes to bring them to the next council meeting.
City Engineer – Mark Bushnell said the bypass pumping is set up at the treatment plant. Drone videos from last week are posted on the city’s website. The video shows the layout and the scope of the project but the scope and magnitude of the project is better in person.
REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES
Finance – Alan Bauer - no report
Public Safety – Pete Paulsen - no report
Public Works – Chuck Stowe - no report
PUBLIC HEARINGS
ORDINANCES
A. Ordinance 2020.02—An Ordinance Approving a Non-Exclusive Cable Television Franchise Agreement
Between the City of Sycamore, Illinois and Comcast of California/Colorado/Illinois/Indiana/Michigan, LLC. First and Second Reading.
City Manager Brian Gregory first acknowledged that Joan Sage from Comcast is on the call tonight to answer any questions. He gave a brief background per the agenda and how MetroNet has also secured a non-exclusive franchise agreement. This agreement lays out the provisions by which the business is conducted. It allows the franchisee to utilize the right-of-way for their transmission lines for the services they provide. The terms of this ten-year extension are referenced in the agenda.
Joan Sage said that they appreciate their partnership with Sycamore. She said that although the Federal Communications Commission requires this franchise, the most important thing to her is that she can be contacted directly for any concerns for the residents or to answer any questions.
Attorney Kevin Buick added that paragraph 10.6 will be supplemented showing that it will be DeKalb County.
MOTION
Alderperson Huseman motioned to waive First Reading of Ordinance 2020.02 and Alderperson Kramer 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 Huseman motioned to approve Ordinance 2020.02 and Alderperson Kramer seconded the motion.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Mayor Lang called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Kramer, Paulsen, Sherrod, Stowe, Braser, Copple, and Huseman, voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.
RESOLUTIONS
A. Resolution No. 832—A Resolution Approving and Accepting Certain Public Improvements in the Old Mill Park Subdivision.
City Manager Brian Gregory said this is a requirement of the Unified Development Ordinance and involves the public sewer and public watermain at the Old Mill Park Subdivision. Our engineer has witnessed and checked on the improvements and finds them satisfactory.
City Engineer Mark Bushnell thanked the Public Works team for their help in testing and inspecting the improvements and noted that warranty is two years.
MOTION
Alderperson Stowe motioned to approve Resolution 832 and Alderperson Paulsen seconded the motion.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Mayor Lang called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Kramer, Paulsen, Sherrod, Stowe, Braser, Copple, and Huseman, voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.
CONSIDERATIONS
A. Consideration of a Recommendation from the Public Works Department Regarding the Award of the Bid for the 2020 Street Program.
City Manager Brian Gregory said this involves the use of local funds as well as Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) unds so there are Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) requirements that need to be met. The City received five bids with the lowest bidder being Schroeder Asphalt Services for $742,688.69 with the engineer’s estimate being $795,000. He said that this is good news and added that they did scale back on the program taking out the microsurfasing portion and the concrete ADA ramp replacements in Reston Ponds Subdivision. This was over half a million dollars removed the program that they will reassess later in the year. He thanked City Engineer Mark Bushnell and the Public Works Department for their work on this. He added that the competitive bidding process ensures aggressive pricing.
Mayor Lang asked if the number of bids was attributed to the removal of local preference.
City Manager Brian Gregory said they didn’t pull local preference out but that it is an IDOT rule that because this project is funded by a combination of MFT and local funds, it essentially negates the ability of have a local preference. It does seem that the IDOT rules of not having local preference has added to the number of bids.
Alderman Huseman asked in recognizing the impact on our budget due to COVID and still needing to invest in the city, if there are funds that are already set aside.
City Manager Brian Gregory said that council made a commitment to infrastructure 10 years ago where a certain portion of sales tax goes into the local Street Maintenance Fund. Those funds were not tapped even during the 2008, 2009 recession as it was a commitment that councils have honored. Sales tax dollars are volatile and subject to the impact of the closure of businesses and limited operation of businesses, so they pulled back on those numbers with about $575,000 of the $800,000 portion of the program being funded by MFT. He said they will bring back a robust crack filling program later in the year budgeted at $75,000 to do preventative maintenance. He said that these dollars are not competing with the general operations.
MOTION
Alderperson Stowe motioned to approve the bid for $742.688.69 to Schroeder Asphalt Services and Alderperson Huseman seconded the motion.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Mayor Lang called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Kramer, Paulsen, Sherrod, Stowe, Braser, Copple, and Huseman, voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.
B. Consideration of a Recommendation from the Police Department regarding the Award of a Contract for Replacement of the In-Car Video System to WatchGuard 4RE in the Amount of $59,511.00.
City Manager Brian Gregory said as they try to contain and defer capital costs, this expenditure comes as part of the capital budget and is potentially a grant-reimbursed expenditure but more importantly, it is a critical piece of equipment that protects the residents and employees as the camera doesn’t lie. It is a vital piece of what we do as we provide police services. Chief Winters and Deputy Chief Cook led the process to get quotes. The two quotes that were vetted through the state bid process are below with the low bidder being WatchGuard 4R#. He noted again, that they are pursuing grant funds that may be available depending on the COVID situation.
| System | Vendor | Quote |
| Panasonic Arbitrator | CDS Office Technologies | $70,464 |
| WatchGuard 4RE | WatchGuard | $59,511 |
Deputy Chief agreed that it is an expectation by both the courts and by society that we have it and the one they currently have is at the end of its life.
Mayor Lang asked if we had eight vehicles using these.
Chief Winters said yes, these eight are to make sure that all the patrol vehicles are equipped.
Alderman Kramer asked if this also included upgraded software.
Chief Winters said yes, it comes with a wireless download updates right onto the server. It is a highly technical system and was priced out with a 16 terabyte server which will support a body camera if they do that in the future.
MOTION
Alderperson Kramer moved to approve $59,511 to WatchGuard 4RE and Alderperson Paulsen seconded the motion.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Mayor Lang called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Kramer, Paulsen, Sherrod, Stowe, Braser, Copple, and Huseman, voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.
C. Consideration of a Request to Fund a Safety Screen COVID-19 Program for Local Businesses.
City Manager Brian Gregory said several aldermen and alderwomen have called asking what we can do to help businesses. They get calls from people that think Illinois should open and calls from people that think reopening should wait and safety should be the number one priority. Alderman Huseman brought the idea for something that will help meet the needs of residents and encourage commerce as we look to reopen. The idea was to offer one safety shield, made by Upstaging here in Sycamore, to each of our businesses. The shields are available for under $80 apiece. The first one is free but businesses could order more directly through Upstaging. They are proposing to defer FY21 Downtown Façade program to take those dollars and reallocate them towards creating the Safety Shield Program for our businesses to allow businesses to open, when allowed, in a safe manner protecting our residents and all their customers. It aims to meet the needs of all the people. He noted that if the program is approved, they would install Sycamore Strong, made by our Public Works Department, on the shield so that visitors from both inside and outside of our community, will see a uniform look acknowledging that we are all in this together and are Sycamore Strong. This is a small way that the city could help, in a universal way, helping all of our businesses and residents as well.
Alderman Huseman said that there are a ton of ways that we could offer support to our local businesses and said that anything they can do incrementally to grease the wheels of commerce whenever people feel safe to do it, is just one example or idea that he offered to the City Manager in the midst of others. He said that there will continue to be conversations around how we can support our community.
Mayor Lang said that DeKalb County Chairman Pietrowski is sending a letter to the Governor tomorrow with some ideas on how we can support our businesses.
City Manager Brian Gregory emphasized that they are foregoing something else (Downtown Façade Grant Program) that may not be utilized this summer and reallocating those funds. These funds are in an account that are separate from the General Operating Fund.
Alderman Braser asked if there is a limit, how broad this will be, and will this be a requirement or a request.
City Manager Brian Gregory said they would start with one shield per business. He doesn’t recommend it be capped, but to start with any business that has contact with the public. He can report back on numbers and resources at the next meeting and make adjustments as we go. We would not require anyone, and he would say it’s for any private business that operates in Sycamore.
Alderman Stowe said that he agreed that it should be private businesses. He said to “give it a shot and see how it works out” but he thinks it’s a great idea and the unified look will be nice. He thinks the word will spread quickly.
Mayor Lang asked if we will work through the Chamber or how businesses be notified.
City Manager Brian Gregory said he hopes that Scott Zak, WLBK, who is on the meeting, will help. They will reach out to the Daily Chronicle, Sycamore Chamber, as well as all their contacts but want to make sure it is for all businesses whether they are a Chamber member or not.
MOTION
Alderperson Stowe made a motion to approve funding the Safety Screen COVID-19 Program and Alderperson Huseman seconded the motion.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Mayor Lang called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Kramer, Paulsen, Sherrod, Stowe, Braser, Copple, and Huseman, voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.
D. Consideration of an Administration Request for a Closed Session to Discuss the Appointment, Employment, Compensation, Discipline, Performance, or Dismissal of a Specific Employee or Legal Counsel for the Public Body and Collective Negotiating Matters or Deliberations Concerning Salary Schedules for One or More Classes of Employees.
MOTION
Alderperson Kramer made a motion to enter Closed Session at 8:14 p.m per subsection 1 & 2 of section 2(c) of the Illinois Open Meetings Act and Alderperson Huseman seconded the motion.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Mayor Lang called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Kramer, Paulsen, Sherrod, Stowe, Braser, Copple, and Huseman, voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.
City Manager Brian Gregory explained that anyone that is on the call will be put in the virtual waiting room and will be brought back after the Closed Session.
MOTION
Alderperson Braser made a motion to enter back into Open Session at 8:23 p.m. 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.
OTHER NEW BUSINESS
APPOINTMENTS
Mayor Lang appointed Jim Buck to the Police Pension Board for a two-year term to replace Nick Lee.
MOTION
Alderperson Kramer motioned to approve the appointment 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.
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION
Alderperson Stowe moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:25 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/2020/05/cc20200518m.pdf
Alerts Sign-up