DeKalb Times

City of Sycamore City Council met Aug. 17.

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: Josh Huseman, Rick Kramer, Pete Paulsen, Virginia Sherrod, Chuck Stowe, Alan Bauer, Steve Braser, and Nancy Copple. City Attorney Keith Foster was also present.

INVOCATION- Led by Ray Tilstra

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Led by Director Fred Busse

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

MOTION

Alderperson Kramer motioned to approve the agenda and Alderperson Braser seconded the motion.

ROLL CALL VOTE

Mayor Lang called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Huseman, Kramer, Paulsen, Sherrod, Bauer, Braser, Copple, and Stowe voted aye. Motion carried 8-0.

AUDIENCE TO VISITORS –

Jennifer Campbell, 440 Edwards Street, spoke to bring awareness to the smell and poor quality of the water on Edward Street and other streets in town and asked for a permanent solution.

Debra Rossiter, 187 McLaren Drive North reported that her water, at times, is golden color and smells like raw sewage. It clears up and smells of chlorine or bleach and noted that sometimes the water is gummy on your skin.

Director Fred Busse asked for the detailed list of locations in town so that they can place it in the mapping system to see any correlation in the mains and flow of water as they come and go from the different wells sites. They do get water complaints when a well is taken offline for maintenance. He encouraged residents to contact the Water Department instead of just making comments on social media.

Jennifer Campbell added that she found that her water mains were placed back in 1905.

City Manager Brian Gregory said that the Council was presented a Water Master Plan last year which looked at all the valves, mains, and towers, to help determine where to make investment in the infrastructure. Entering the FY21 budget, there were discussions in the Water and Sewer Funds to add a dedicated revenue source for the infrastructure however, it was deferred given the uncertainty of COVID-19. They will review in the fall because that is a very significant planning piece that our community will use to make investments in our water system. He said, all he has heard and seen from the Public Works Department, is reassuring as far as the safety of the water. Safety is paramount.

Lori Strain, Elm & Walnut Street, spoke to report more of a metallic smell and taste of the water as well as low pressure, even though she had her entire house re-plumbed with copper. She said there is a lot of work that needs to be done in the structure of the water system.

Alyssa Force, Edward Street, concurred with Jennifer Campbell that the last four years have been really bad and added that they can’t get clothes clean or use the water to brush their teeth. She is hoping for more transparency as she continues to talk with the Water Department and said that she is awaiting the results of her own independent test through a private company for the reassurance that the water is clean to drink.

Alderman Josh Huseman thanked the residents for speaking and said perhaps we could talk about it at the next council meeting where they would have more details at the council level.

Alderperson Virginia Sherrod thanked Mrs. Campbell for bringing this to her and said hopefully they can come to a resolution and everyone can be satisfied. She thanked the rest of the resident speakers.

ONSENT AGENDA

A. Approval of the Minutes for the Regular City Council Meeting of August 3, 2020. 

B. Payment of the Bills for August 17, 2020 in the amount of $1,181,578.81.

C. Downtown Façade Grant Close-out for PJ’s Courthouse Tavern.

D. Gateway Improvement Grant Close-out for Kar-Fre Flowers.

MOTION

Alderperson Bauer moved to approve the Consent Agenda making note that the minutes in the packet should be labeled August 3, 2020 as corrected and Alderperson Stowe seconded the motion.

ROLL CALL VOTE

Mayor Lang called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Huseman, Kramer, Paulsen, Sherrod, Stowe, Bauer, Braser, and Copple voted aye. Motion carried 8-0.

PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS, COMMUNICATIONS, AND BILLS

A. A Proclamation Declaring September 2020 as Suicide Prevention Month in the City of Sycamore, Illinois.

REPORT OF OFFICERS

City Manager – Brian Gregory said he echoes Alderpersons Huseman’s and Sherrod’s comments and said that he appreciates the participant’s comments. He said they will get over to Edward Street before the next council meeting to be able to share some information. He thanked DeKalb County Health Department as they have been instrumental in guiding our city organization and other organizations throughout COVID-19 making sure safety precautions and guidance are taken and followed. They stay up on the guidance as it changes and he appreciates their time, patience, and effort. For some positive news, April and May’s numbers have been received which reflects the trend actually going down. Although, it is still off from last year, April is at 6.5% down for Home Rule, and 7% down for the State Sales Tax. For May, the Home Rule Tax was flat against last year and State Sales Tax was down 3.75% over last year, so the trend is lessoning. He’s hoping that the trend on the general merchandise tax and home rule tax continues but said that other sources, such as Hotel/Motel Tax, Restaurant & Bar Tax, and Gas Tax continue to lag significantly. He reported that although there are a few vacancies downtown, it’s good news that there has been interest in some of those spaces. The Planning & Zoning Commission will meet in September to consider a Special Use request for a medical and recreational cannabis dispensary.

Police Chief – Jim Winters said after a review of the preliminary crime statistics for the first six months of this year as compared to the first 6 months of last year, it appears they are at the same level of Part I crimes for this year as they were last year. Last Tuesday, the Police Department (PD) partnered with Jeff Keicher and held a prescription drug take-back for two hours in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. Approximately 100-125 cars came through the drive-through drop-off point outside the PD. After removing most of the packaging, the raw weight of the items collected was 127.5 pounds. It appeared to be very well received and they were thankful to be able to partner with the representative’s office and provide the service to the community.

Fire Chief – Pete Polarek said as they continue to deal with COVID-19, with all the challenges and frustrations, they are also seeing an increased comfort level and asked everyone to stay the course and remain vigilant with handwashing, social distancing, and the mask wearing to minimize the spread.

Director of Public Works – Fred Busse reported that Schroeder Asphalt has paved Roosevelt Court, Fairway Lane, Cloverlane Drive, and Cambridge Place. Nicor has finished up their work on Orchard Lane so the concrete work along the curb lines will take place in the next 10 days. After that, they will mill Parker Street, Croatian Court, and Orchard Lane. He said that Route 23 is being milled off. Work for Sycamore downtown is scheduled for August 24th and will take place after 6:00 p.m. This year’s smoke testing of the sanitary sewer systems is scheduled to start September 14th from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and will run six working days dependent on the weather. They have scheduled 43,000 linear feet of sanitary sewer which will focus around the golf course and along Somonauk Street from Park Avenue east to Commercial Street. Mailings including a map of the affected areas will be sent to residents on August 31st. Three days before the work, door hangers will be placed letting residents know what to expect. He noted that this information will also be on the City’s website. He hopes to have updates at the next Council meeting.

Treasurer/Asst. to the City Manager – Adam Orton said the July Treasurer’s Report that is on a cash basis and included the first quarter of the budgeted transfers, has a benchmark of 25%. The third installment of property taxes was received for 53% of the total expected for FY21. The State and Sales Taxes are trending behind their benchmarks at 23% and 21% respectively. The income tax is right at 25%. The overall revenues sit at 27% but are at 23.5% when weighted with property taxes. Overall expenditures are at 24%. He noted that they received the second installment of the Rebuild Illinois Grant for $192,000 and said they expect to see six of these installments over the course of three years. This is listed in the Motor/Fuel Tax Fund. The pensions showed a third straight month of positive gains.

Alderman Huseman asked if any of the businesses were successful in being awarded the Downstate Small Business Stabilization Grant.

Treasurer Adam Orton said unfortunately, the first batch did not have any successful applicants and that they are still waiting on news for the second group of applicants.

Director of Human and Administrative Resources (DHAR) – Maggie Peck said it is open enrollment right now with the effective date being September 1st so she is hoping to have that wrapped up by the end of next week.

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- None

RESOLUTIONS

A. Resolution No. 842—A Resolution Approving a Grant of $33,000 to the Voluntary Action Center for Direct Services to the Citizens of the City of Sycamore and for Support of the Blue Line Flexible Bus Service (Route 21).

City Manager Brian Gregory said that each year, for a number of years, the City Council has supported the Voluntary Action Center (VAC) and the work that they do with Trans Vac, Meals on Wheels, Med Vac, and other services that are provided directly to Sycamore residents. Typically there are two separate resolutions for this and the Blue Line (recently renamed Route 21) as they come from different funding sources. Generally, in the past, they have provided $17,000 from the Hotel/Motel Tax Fund which has been impacted significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is same source that the Sycamore Chamber contribution comes from of which was a reduction of about 24%. He spoke with Ellen Rogers, VAC Director, who is on the call, about providing $13,000 this year for general services which is the same reduction. They will still meet the $20,000 commitment from the Sales Tax Distributive Fund for Route 21, which is a fund that has a relatively significant fund balance from the airline fuel sold through Sycamore. This proposes one larger grant totaling $33,000 and this action would allow the VAC to allocate the funds internally as they see best fit as they have also been hit by COVID-19. Each of these grants are matched from other agencies so they can maximize those funds. As the city looks at revenues later in the year and if those numbers look better, they can come back and reconsider funds that are being reduced at this point.

Director Ellen Rogers said that they are appreciative of this grant and the past support from the city. They have been impacted by COVID in two ways. First the ridership numbers have decreased but they continue to run the routes, adding those to Meijer’s. Second, for the waiting list for Meals on Wheels, they were able, with CARES Act funding, to eliminate that list. They are running out of the federal funds that enabled them to grow so this will be very important for them to continue to serve those that are most vulnerable and said they are extremely grateful for the support of the city.

Alderperson Nancy Copple asked if they came back to revisit this if it would be an amendment to this resolution.

City Manager Brian Gregory said no that it would be a separate resolution in the future to enhance the grant. It would be at the end of the fiscal year when they will get a strong sense of where the revenue sources are going to be.

MOTION

Alderperson Copple motioned to approve Resolution 842 and Alderperson Braser seconded the motion.

ROLL CALL VOTE

Mayor Lang called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Huseman, Kramer, Paulsen, Sherrod, Stowe, Bauer, Braser, and Copple voted aye. Motion carried 8-0.

CONSIDERATIONS

A. Consideration of a Staff Recommendation to Purchase the Property at 258 Lucas Street in the City of Sycamore, Illinois (PIN 06-32-203-003) in the Amount of $815.00.

City Manager Brian Gregory shared a picture of the subject property and said they started addressing this property back in 2017 with the property maintenance program as it has been vacant and is deteriorating. The Community Development and Police Departments have been working on this with DeKalb County on the long and tough process. The property has reached a point with the County that the City would be able to acquire it for $815 which is the minimum the County can charge to transfer it to the city. The plan for the M-1 zoned property is to raze it and either sell it or work on an arrangement where it is sold with an agreement requiring it to be demolished. Demolition costs are estimated at $20,000 to $25,000 including any abatement, remediation, and termination of water and sewer lines.

Alderman Stowe said that he is glad to get this taken care of.

MOTION

Alderperson Stowe motioned to approve the consideration in the amount of $815.00 and Alderperson Paulsen seconded the motion.

Mayor Lange said it is a blessing to finally get this resolved.

ROLL CALL VOTE

Mayor Lang called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Huseman, Kramer, Paulsen, Sherrod, Stowe, Bauer, Braser, and Copple voted aye. Motion carried 8-0.

OTHER NEW BUSINESS APPOINTMENTS

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION

Alderperson Stowe moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:03 p.m. and Alderperson Paulsen seconded the motion.

VOICE VOTE

Mayor Lang called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Huseman, Kramer, Paulsen, Sherrod, Stowe, Bauer, Braser, and Copple voted aye. Motion carried 8-0.

https://cityofsycamore.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cc20200817-mins.pdf