DeKalb Times

City of Sandwich Committee of the Whole met May 18.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

Mayor Robinson called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

Roll call was taken:

Present: Mayor Robinson, City Clerk Ii, Aldermen Redden & Surratt, & EMA Director Ciciora

Present via WebEx teleconference call: Aldermen Chmielewski, Dell, Killey, Kelleher, & Kreinbrink; City Attorney Harrill, Department of Public Works Horak, Chief Bianchi, & Building Official Steffens

Absent: City Treasurer Webber

Mayor Robinson briefed the Council on the proposed amendment to the DeKalb County Enterprise Zone Intergovernmental Agreement. The purpose for the amendment is for an add-territory comprising of a 24-acre building site within an 88-acre parcel and a 96,000 square foot campus consisting of office space, laboratories, greenhouses and warehousing. The selected site is at the northeast corner of Route 38 and Willrett Road in unincorporated DeKalb County. An Ordinance will be presented next week for passage.

Mayor Robinson said the City participated in correspondence to Governor Pritzker on behalf of Kendall and DeKalb Counties requesting that small businesses be allowed to reopen prior to Phase 3 of Pritzker’s Restore Illinois Plan. Also noted in the letter was that local government is not receiving any direct federal or state funding to support residents.

On behalf of the City, Mayor Robinson congratulated the 2020 graduates noting that the high school distributed diplomas to students without the formality of a graduation ceremony due to COVID-19.

Foster, Buick, Conklin & Lundgren Law Group: No report

City Clerk Ii: No report

Director of Public Works / City Engineer Horak reported that funds have been received under the Rebuild Illinois Installment #1 in the amount of $81,512.18. Funding can be applied toward transportation projects.

City of Sandwich, Illinois City Hall Annex •128 East Railroad Street

Committee-of-the-Whole Council Meeting May 18th, 2020 @ 7:00 PM

An email has been received from the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity advising that a 2014 grant awarded for the Center / Lisbon Street project in the amount of $300,000 has been suspended. The City can appeal the decision. The City had received approximately $102,000 of the grant and had applied $40,000 - 60,000 toward engineering for a water main extension, storm sewer upgrade and a multi-use pathway. The State is requesting any unused monies be returned. At the time, during a period when the State of Illinois was operating without a budget, additional funding for the grant had been frozen by the State. Both Aldermen Kelleher and Kreinbrink want to appeal the decision to benefit the community. Should the City be able to move forward on the project, Engineer Horak said an additional $140,000.00 would be required to be funded by the City.

Engineer Horak provided an update on the Latham Street reconstruction project and the awarding of grants. The City had requested $97,500.00 for engineering from Kane/Kendall County of Mayors (KKCOM) and was awarded $92,525.00. A second grant request for construction was $204,512.00, and the City will receive $194,287.00. The project calls for repairing the roadway and re-establishing the ditch lines for drainage. Although additional storm sewer options were not included in the original plans, Council would like to pursue further as recommended by EEI (Engineering Enterprises, Inc) in their study of 2018.

Chief Bianchi: No report

EMA Director Ciciora: No report

Aldermen Reports:

Alderman Dell reported that application deadline under the DeKalb County Community Foundation (DCCF) COVID-19 Response Grant program is May 26th. The program is open to nonprofit and public sector service organizations addressing preparedness, response, recovery and/or rebuilding efforts due to COVID-19. Application information can be found at www.dekalbccf.org.

Alderman Kelleher gave an update on the IT replacement. He and Alderman Kreinbrink have been working on an RFP (request for proposal) that has now been forwarded to the Sandwich Record for publication. He expects results in the next two weeks.

Alderman Redden reported that another squad car has been sold at auction netting $1,900.00.

Alderman Robinson advised that Joe Severson has requested 40 hours carryover of unused vacation hours. No action is required of the Council.

Alderman Surratt asked why the City’s weather sirens were not activated Thursday evening when neighboring towns sounded their alarms. EMA Ciciora said Lake Holiday and Hinckley activated their alarms around midnight that could be heard in Sandwich. The storm path was north of Sandwich covering an area from Hinckley to Sugar Grove.

He also questioned the protocol for sewer backups. He and other aldermen were contacted over the weekend about a sewer backup on Vale Street. The homeowner is responsible for the sewer line from the main to the house. Itemized receipts should be submitted to the City’s insurance carrier for processing of a claim.

Announcements: The Finance Committee Meeting will meet immediately following the Committee- of-the-Whole Meeting.

Audience Comments: WSPY Correspondent, Jim Wyman, inquired if the City had received an estimate of lost tax revenue due to COVID-19. Additionally, he requested clarification on the amount of refund due the State on the suspended grant for the Center / Lisbon Street project.

Adjournment: There being no further business to come before the Council, motion made by Alderman Surratt and seconded by Alderman Redden to adjourn the Committee-of-the-Whole Council meeting at 7:28 PM.

http://www.sandwich.il.us/MINUTES/cw051820.pdf