City of Sycamore City Council met Oct. 5.
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. Alderman Rick Kramer was absent. City Attorney Keith Foster was also present.
INVOCATION- Led by Father Beekman, St. Mary’s Church
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Led by Alderman Steve Braser
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION
Alderperson Braser motioned to approve the agenda and Alderperson Huseman 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.
AUDIENCE TO VISITORS –
City Attorney Keith Foster swore in those who wanted to speak.
Jennifer Campbell, 440 Edward Street, spoke on behalf of herself and to represent the group Citizens for Clean Water for Sycamore, Illinois. She reported that her test results from September 28th came back indicating 64 ppb of lead and wants to bring back water levels in compliance with the Clean Water Act. The group has retained legal representation and requested points of contact for city departments be emailed to cleanwater4sycamore@gmail.com. She said a petition for residents to sign remains at www.change.org.
Amber Quitno, Sterling Drive and owner of a Crescent Drive home, voiced concerns about the safety of the water. She questioned why the 30 houses and elementary schools’ levels came back different from the independent tests from EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Certified labs and called for action for an independent investigation. She added that the water on Crescent is repulsive and was told by the water department that it was her responsibility.
Sean Finn, 623 Edward Street, read his prepared statement regarding all the levels in various areas and even in the elementary schools of which two were built after the 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act which prohibited anything plumbing-wise going into buildings that contained lead. He said it is time that Sycamore looks into handing off the management of the water department to an outside entity such as American Water Works.
Lori Strain, 303 East Elm Street, spoke of her concern with not only the low water pressure, faint smells, and light staining, but didn’t think it was anything hazardous. Although she has replaced her entire house with copper piping, her independent test came back at 27.9 ppb. She said this is alarming and important as the city has been putting this off for way too long.
Vanessa Horn-Bafia, 120 Mason Court, said she was really taken aback at the pour water quality and the newest schools, where her children attended, have reported the highest levels. She stated that the city needs to look at firms that can handle this and asked how is it that it’s still only 30 homes that are tested when our town has grown.
Jeremy Pennington, 622 Park Avenue, said he believes in transparency and feels they have been denied that from the water department as they have voiced their issues to the department since 2016 where he felt the responses were smug. He hopes they see some change in the department and somebody steps up.
Rich Calligan, 1874 Thurow Street, voiced that he has never really had any water issues at their house, but said even if he had the most perfect water, his tax dollars are supposed to have perfect water for everybody in the city. He fully supports with his tax dollars any expense needed to rectify the situation for everybody.
Theresa Hove, 222 South Main Street, said that she is experiencing the odor and brown color. She won’t drink the water unless it has gone through the reverse-osmosis filter and the refrigerator filter which end up brown and clogged. She also expressed her concerns back in 2013 and said answers she received were smug and that the mains were old.
Megan Smith, 616 South Cross Street, who originally posted this issue on Facebook in 2016 which has now been added to the Citizens for Clean Water group, said her daughter actually kept testing positive for lead. She is collecting all those reports and said this has been an issue for a long time. When reported to the city, she was told she was the only one experiencing the issues. She has a whole-house filter that has mucous-y buildup and is demanding for something to be done as change is absolutely necessary at this point.
Ben Kraus, 221 East Lincoln Street, noticed the same issues when he bought his house in 2004 and said they have tried to do everything inside their house to mitigate the issues. They did a major remodel in 2014 replacing all the pipes inside the house and the water line going out to the street but all the issues have been constant. This leads him to believe that it’s not just one location and that it is coming another source. The lead levels are the most alarming and said that the cost factor for what other towns pay for water is not off base. It’s just the water quality received doesn’t match the surrounding cities quality.
CONSENT AGENDA
A. Approval of the Minutes for the Regular City Council Meeting of September 21, 2020. B. Payment of the Bills for October 5, 2020 in the amount of $507,493.15.
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
A. A Proclamation Declaring the Week of October 4-10, 2020 as Fire Prevention Week in the City of Sycamore, Illinois.
B. A Proclamation Declaring October 2020 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the City of Sycamore, Illinois.
C. A Proclamation Declaring October 2020 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the City of Sycamore, Illinois.
D. Introduction of the New Sycamore Park District Executive Director Jonelle Bailey. Jonelle Bailey will be brought back to formally introduce her to the Council.
E. Introduction of the New Sycamore Public Library Executive Director Kim Halsey.
Kim Halsey is the New Executive Director of the Sycamore Public Library and has been with the Library since 2016, has most recently served as Adult Services Manager, is active in the community, participated in The Sycamore Chamber’s Leadership Academy, is a member of Lion’s Club, has a Bachelor’s Degree in History from NIU, and has a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science from University of Illinois.
Kim Halsey said that she is grateful to be appointed to this dream job and is very excited. She has three teen boys that came up through Sycamore Schools and said she is passionate about insuring that the library continues to be a place of exploration, learning and enrichment for all ages. She looks forward to strengthening the partnerships they already have.
REPORT OF OFFICERS
City Manager – Brian Gregory clarified that the police department does not have enforcement authority over the Region 1 enhanced mitigation procedures as the DeKalb County Health Department (DCHD) does. Questions or complaints should be directed to the health department. The entire Public Works leadership team is on the call to help provide some clarifications and said that they have developed a page on the Public Works page of the city’s website where they will be able to answer questions, provide information, and provide resources. Right now, there is information on lead and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) historical results and they will continue to put questions and answers on the page. He reported that the auditors will be at the next meeting to present the city’s financials for the fiscal year ending April 30, 2020 which looks like promising news of having a surplus or fund balance of over $800,000. They have made modifications and with deferments, the expenditures are keeping up with revenues for a balanced position on a cash-basis for this fiscal year. He announced that City Treasurer Adam Orton, who started as an intern and has been with the city for 14 years is taking an opportunity at the City of Crystal Lake. He thanked him and said that he could trust the numbers that were always transparent and fair. He brought the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and the Popular Annual Financial Report that he created to the Government Finance Officers Association which were recognized for excellence in reporting. They appreciate everything that Adam has done and wish him well. He showed the image of fire blight on the trees downtown and said that they are in the process of removing and replacing them with maple and elm trees. He announced that trick-or-treating will be 4pm to 8pm on Halloween and they encourage all participants to follow Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and DCHD guidance. Lastly, there will be no Planning and Zoning Commission meeting next week.
Police Chief – Jim Winters reported that they received the camera grant from the State for just under $40,000 to pay for the in-car camera system that was just installed last month. They were happy to receive those funds as the source of that fund being the traffic and criminal fund has been depleted over the last couple of years. They also received $6,000 in funding for the academy training for which they thought they would not receive. In regards to their initiatives to support people that need mental health resources, he reported that they has 22 calls last year that were documented as crisis-intervention calls and so far this year, they have had 81 calls. The relationship that they have established with Northwestern, their behavioral services program, and their assigned social worker has really helped some people. They are very optimistic that the program can continue.
Fire Chief – Pete Polarek said this is the first day of Fire Prevention Week themed “Serve up Fire Safety in the Kitchen” as cooking is the number one cause of home fires and home-fire injuries. Usually, this time of the year is Fire Education time in the grade schools, but since COVID-19, Public Educator Firefighter Ian Wheeler produced three videos aimed at young children that will be available via YouTube. The link will be on the Fire Department’s Facebook page.
Director of Public Works – Fred Busse said forecasting in March for the amount of salt purchases is difficult but he is glad to report pricing is $44.48 per ton which is reduced 38% over last year’s pricing. Pending this year’s winter conditions, they will be able to spend 120% or 2,400 tons, still saving about $43,000 of what was originally budgeted. The Leaf Pick-Up program that was extended for the week after Thanksgiving will begin October 19th through December 4th depending on weather. The dumpster for paper-bagged leaves will be at the Public Works Department from December 1st – 13th. This information will be on the website and with the news media. He reported that public works crews will be painting the crosswalks on Tuesday morning along State Street and the side streets. Some traffic will be adjusted to allow for painting and the side streets will be closed for painting.
Assistant Director Matt Anderson added that he hears the resident’s concerns. They have been working diligently in the last year and a half to try to understand why and where these issues are happening and working on the steps to be taken that were highlighted in the previous presentation. He highlighted that the water testing water quality reporting is on the city’s website including the samples for lead that are collected by residents to determine the effectiveness of the corrosion control treatment program. Historically, they have passed. He said he is happy talk to the residents and is happy to come to the resident’s homes to look at what they are experiencing and try to determine if it is a city issue or an owner issue. He said to call the water division at 815-895-4516
Treasurer/Asst. to the City Manager – Adam Orton said they have done 156 transfer tax transactions and are prepared to transfer $99,000 to the school district which brings the year to date total to $354,923 for 2020. The audit is being finalized and auditors will be on the Zoom call at the next meeting. As tonight is his last City Council meeting with Sycamore, he said it has been an absolute honor to serve the City of Sycamore and the residents these last 14 years. He is so thankful to get to have worked alongside of such wonderful dedicated professionals and public servants. He thanked everyone for their friendship and support throughout the years and said he will still be a Sycamore resident.
Director of Community Development – John Sauter said they have issued 29 single family permits as of the end of September and last year at this time, they had issued 35. He thinks that’s still a respectable number in light of the current events. They did a final inspection at the new Polka Dot Bakery location and everything looked good. She plans on re- opening on Thursday, October 8th.
Director of Human and Administrative Resources (DHAR) – Maggie Peck said they did a business survey for the Comprehensive Plan, that the city has partnered with NIU on, of which they received over 60 responses. The resident survey is on the city’s website and she encouraged residents to take it to help guide them for the next several years. This month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and many of us have been affected by a family member or friend who has been diagnosed or lost their lives to cancer so employees are wearing pink lapel pins in honor of those loved one.
City Engineer Mark Bushnell said road work is winding down and they are putting together final numbers. At this point, it looks like our MFT Project, the paving of South Main Street, asphalt stamping of crosswalks, cracksealing, and the cost-share of Mercantile and IDOT work will all come in under budget.
REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES
Finance – Alan Bauer - no report - Alderman Bauer thanked Adam Orton saying that the monthly reports have been valuable and wished him all the best.
Public Safety – Pete Paulsen - no report
Public Works – Chuck Stowe – no report
PUBLIC HEARINGS - None
ORDINANCES-
A. Ordinance No. 2020.11—An Ordinance Establishing and Fixing Compensation for Elected Officials of the City of Sycamore, Illinois. First and Second Reading.
City Manager Brian Gregory this was discussed at the last council meeting and is here for action tonight for terms starting May 1, 2021 through April 30, 2025. This will maintain the salaries where they are.
MOTION
Alderperson Copple motioned to waive First Reading on Ordinance 2020.11 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.
MOTION
Alderperson Copple motioned to adopt Ordinance 2020.11 and Alderperson Sherrod 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.
RESOLUTIONS - None
CONSIDERATIONS
A. Consideration of a Public Works Department Recommendation to Approve a Change Order to Leander Construction for the Sycamore Wastewater Treatment Plant for Electrical Work Relative to a Powered Electrical Gate and Painting of Influent Piping on a Time and Material Price not to Exceed $2,511.50 and $4,498.20.
City Manager Brian Gregory said these expenditures are well within the administrative spending authority but wanted to have them in the record. It includes work on the electrical gate and painting of the influent piping for a total of not to exceed $7,009.70.
MOTION
Alderperson Stowe motioned to approve the consideration 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.
B. Consideration of an Implementation Plan for Water System Infrastructure Improvements.
City Manager Brian Gregory said that Director Fred Busse, Assistant Directors Matt Anderson and Jake Keck and City Engineer Mark Bushnell are on the call. Scott Trotter, Principle of Trotter & Associates, who performed the Water Master Plan, is also on the call. This is not for action, but for direction. He covered some background from the agenda which included how they were creating a plan to replace infrastructure in the water system that was outlined as the best recommendations for the next twenty years from the 2019 Water Master Plan. In February, discussions started for a capital infrastructure fee of $3.50 which would generate $350,000 a year to replace about 1,000 linear feet of water main per year. When the pandemic hit in March, the Council made a decision to defer many fees including the implementation of this capital infrastructure fee. With increased complaints on water quality, the Public Works Committee met in September for a workshop that included the water system, master planning, and the dedicated revenue source. He said that the IEPA has low- interest loans so they would take whatever fee is generated and put toward some pretty immediate impact improvements based on recommendations. However, it must be understood that whatever the generation is, you are pledging those dollars for each year of the next 20 years. The focus tonight is to focus on the seven improvements bolded below:
| Construction
Costs | Construction
and Engineering Costs | *Total Cost of Projects
Effecting Water Age or Quality | ||
| 1 | California Brickville and Main | $1,243,752 | $1,430,284 | $1,430,284 |
| 2 | Sycamore High School | $592,297 | $681,142 | $681,142 |
| 3 | Lincoln and Locust | $1,219,179 | $1,402,056 | $1,402,056 |
| 4 | Elm and DeKalb | $853,121 | $981,089 | $981,089 |
| 5 | Sabin and Exchange | $1,824,537 | $2,098,217 | $2,098,217 |
| 6 | North Grove School | $240,527 | $276,606 | |
| 7 | Somonauk | $3,303,277 | $3,798,768 | $3,798,768 |
| 8 | Electric Park | $749,361 | $861,765 | $861,765 |
| 9 | Mercantile | $217,802 | $250,472 | |
| 10 | Bethany | $497,212 | $571,794 | |
| $10,741,065 | $12,352,193 | $11,253,321 |
He pointed out that these seven are not necessarily the ones that will be completed or completed in that order as each year projects are reevaluated. Factors of water age, stale water, or water odor can be input in the system for a recommendation that is different then what is on paper today. The plan would be to make some of the larger impact improvements on some of the more main distribution systems but look at the Master Plan and see if prioritization needs to change. This would all happen at public meetings. He asked what the appropriate fee the Council would like to implement to get this dedicated revenue source. What each fee level means is reflected in the chart below:
| IEPA Borrowed Amount | $4,800,000.00 | $7,200,000.00 | $10,200,000.00 |
| Internal Borrowing | $1,053,321.00 | $1,053,321.00 | $1,053,321.00 |
| Total Project Cost | $5,853,321.00 | $8,253,321.00 | $11,253,321.00 |
| Total Per Year | $352,666.05 | $502,666.05 | $690,166.05 |
| Per Month Fee | $3.53 | $5.03 | $6.90 |
| Cost of Priority Projects | $11,253,321.00 | $11,253,321.00 | $11,253,321.00 |
| Percent of Priority Projects | 52.0% | 73.3% | 100.0% |
Alderman Huseman asked to confirm that these funds are replacing old mains that are cast, ductile iron and not lead.
City Manager Brian Gregory said that is correct. He shared that the city owns the main and any service lines from that are the responsibility of the homeowner. There are properties that are still serviced by lead service lines but have submitted to the IEPA for a grant to help assist residents in replacing those lead service lines.
Jennifer Campbell asked for explanation of what the mains are put together with asking if it was lead solder.
Matt Anderson said he assumed that the cast iron main would have leadite or leaded joints.
Scott Trotter said yes, some of the older mains have lead joints and a lot of the mains have gaskets, but it depends on the age of the mains.
Alderman Huseman asked what best practices are when replacing joints in 2020 compared with 1920.
Scott Trotter said they will be modern gasket material with respect to the joints. He wants to be clear that the joint material hasn’t’ traditionally been an issue. He clarified that most of the issue has been historically related to services, in the piping and material within the buildings, and the fittings used. He said he is interested in the data on where the tests were taken and what those results were. Based on the information provided by the city so far, and the testing taken place so far, they haven’t seen issues similar to that. There is a testing procedure and said he would like the city to consider resampling in those locations to validate the results being reported. It would help in the long term to identify what is causing the issues.
Alderman Huseman said safety with the lead levels and IEPA regulations is one side and the other side is with the quality of the water with odor or visual issues. In terms of capital improvement, he asked how it may improve the quality when safety isn’t of concern.
Assistant Director Matt Anderson said part of the projects identified by the Master Plan was water age or how long the water sits in the pipes. These projects were identified to be better able to facilitate flows. During the valve operation program, they have found valves that were off which possible creates dead-end areas. They need to maintain their diligence in that program to better assess these areas as well as continue the hydrant flushing program.
The residents continued to question the city on testing procedures, testing results, and closed valves.
Assistant Director Matt Anderson said he has only been here since 2018-2019 but said it is possible that a valve is shut as they found one on South Cross Street earlier this year. It’s also possible with the amount of water supply in that area that he would want further testing on efficiency of that auto-flusher and where in that area do they need to flush. It is possible that a valve off a couple blocks away could affect her area.
Alderman Bauer said in looking at the agenda items in regards to Lincoln, Elm, and Main Streets, he is wondering if replacing these mains are truly the right fix. He wants to make sure what they do is going to have an impact, make a difference, and fix some of these things.
City Manager Brian Gregory said that the model suggests that it would help. He said that some steps have been taken in the last two years to identify and ensure that all the valves are open and operating. He said that the modeling can make a recommendation but if there is something in the system that is closed, the model may suggest that this will be the perfect answer. If there is something blocking or making an ending, it’s not necessarily going to solve that problem. All the steps work together in concert and we have to know that the system is operating the way it is designed to. Then the very impressive dynamic modeling they have can really drill down and answer what’s the best impact to solve an issue on any point of the system. They have to know that everything within the system is operating to ensure that the recommendations that are being put out will have the impacts that are suggested.
Alderman Stowe said that having a fee to do the upkeep and taking an IEPA loan is great but his worry is that he wants to be sure that we identify what is causing the odor issues. He said spending this will probably improve things but he’s worried that we need to find some way to narrow in on what is causing the odors. He’s been on the council long enough to know that in the past, these issues had to do with flow and then they started using the phosphates. As far as a recommendation, he said he can go with the fees, but said he would rather stay toward the middle fee.
The residents continued to question the council.
Attorney Keith Foster interrupted to say that this is a meeting of the council and not to respond.
C. Consideration of an Administrative Request for a Closed Session to Discuss Collective Bargaining under 5 ILCS 120/2(c) (5).
MOTION
Alderperson Huseman motioned to go into Closed Session at 8:51 p.m. and Alderperson Sherrod 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.
MOTION
Alderperson Huseman motioned to return to Open Session at 9:01 p.m. 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.
OTHER NEW BUSINESS APPOINTMENTS
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION
Alderperson Stowe moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:02 p.m. and Alderperson Paulsen seconded the motion.
VOICE 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.
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