City of Sycamore City Council met Aug. 16.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
ROLL CALL
Mayor Braser called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and City Clerk Mary Kalk called the roll. Those Alderpersons present were: David Stouffer, Chuck Stowe, Alan Bauer, Nancy Copple, Jeff Fischer, Josh Huseman, and Pete Paulsen. Alderperson Virginia Sherrod arrived after roll call at 7:40 pm during Closed Session. City Attorney Keith Foster was also present.
INVOCATION
Mayor Braser asked for a moment of silence to be grateful to be living in the city that we do and the country that we do.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Led by Alderperson Al Bauer
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION
Alderperson Stouffer motioned to approve the agenda and Alderperson Fischer seconded the motion. VOICE VOTE
Mayor Braser called for a voice vote to approve the motion. All Alderpersons voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.
AUDIENCE TO VISITORS
Rod Moyer, 2020 NIU Honors graduate of the College of Education, told the council of an experience that he had with former NIU Instructor, Michele Duffy that involved many filed reports. He highlighted Chief Winters and Officer Wojcik as they were very professional. He gave the website niucaring.com to learn more.
Joan Lowe, 616 Roosevelt Court, (Wade Lowe), reported that they have a water leak and told the events leading up to it and now they are being told they are responsible for it. She said they are not responsible to fix a water leak that they did not break and that she doesn’t need the $2,000 credit on her water bill, she needs it to pay the contractor.
CONSENT AGENDA
A. Approval of the Minutes for the Regular City Council Meeting of August 2, 2021.
B. Payment of the Bills for August 16, 2021 in the amount of $753,898.70
MOTION
Alderperson Bauer motioned to approve the Consent Agenda and Alderperson Stowe seconded the motion.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Mayor Braser called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Stouffer, Stowe, Bauer, Copple, Fischer, Huseman, and Paulsen voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.
PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS, COMMUNICATIONS, AND BILLS
A. Proclamation Honoring the Service and Dedication of Jesus and Stephanie Romero to the City of Sycamore, Illinois.
Jesus Romero thanked the City of Sycamore for all the support over the years and for the support for Cinco de Mayo. B. Proclamation Declaring September as Suicide Prevention Month in the City of Sycamore, Illinois.
Alderperson Bauer said that Elder Bridgewater, who would come and say prayer at the council meetings, passed away. He wanted to recognize him for his commitment to the City Council and City and said that we lost a good man.
REPORT OF OFFICERS
Acting City Manager (ACM) – Maggie Peck reported that the Back2School Bash had a good turnout as she said the city had partnered with the school district, park district, and library and hopes that this will become an annual event. They are in the process of completing open enrollment forms for the insurance renewal. They submitted for the CARES relief funds on Friday and upon receipt of that, they will make those decisions and keep the council posted. They are in the process of finishing up the audit and hopes to have some good news to them in the future.
Police Chief – Jim Winters said that they are partnering with Jeff Keicher’s office for a prescription drug drop off tomorrow, at the Police Department from 9a–11a and from 5p-6p. Unwanted prescription medication can be dropped off so it can be disposed of properly and also reduce the chance of if being used improperly. With students returning to school on Wednesday, he reminded drivers to use extra caution during the morning and afternoon hours. They are asking everyone to be extra cautious and patient as everyone gets re-acclimated to the school year. Lastly, the thanked Public Works (PW) for all they did to clear the streets during the storms of last week.
Fire Chief – Pete Polarek said that as we all experienced the storms last week, they were pretty spectacular, however, very, very lucky as no injuries were reported. There was some property damage on the southeast end of the town in the country as well as some tree damage to power lines and some homes.
Director of Community Development John Sauter said that they have a final inspection scheduled at the NICOR site next Wednesday, August 25th so it sounds like that project should be winding up soon. Painting of the south and west facades of the Community Development building will start this weekend and will run through the end of next week. The contractor will start with the overhead doors and move to the walls and man doors early next week.
Director of Public Works Matt Anderson thanked the PW staff (Steve, Kurt, Greg and Randy) that came in and thanks to the Police Department (PD) for the communication and assistance with identifying downed trees and limbs. He reminded that residents can leave brush from the storm events on the curb and PW staff will pick it up. They will have the chipper out through Wednesday. If anyone has brush that needs to be picked up, they can call the PW line and leave a message. He reported that PW repaired two main breaks at W. Brickville Road on Wednesday and E. Page Street. The yearly totals through 8/15/21 are: 20 in 2021, 23 in 2020, and 25 in 2019. Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is planning on pouring concrete and repairing the damaged road on 500-600 W State Street doing the west-bound lane on Wednesday, the east-bound lane on Thursday/Friday, and the middle section next week. IDOT will have traffic control setup. Lastly, road construction on N. Cross Street should be completed later this week. Curran (Contractor) has ensured the City that construction equipment will not interfere with Cornerstone drop-off on Wednesday.
REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES
Finance – Alan Bauer said no report.
Public Safety – Pete Paulsen said no report.
Public Works – Chuck Stowe said no report.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
ORDINANCES
A. Ordinance 2021.11—An Ordinance Amending Title 1, “Administration,” Chapter 10, “Personnel Rules,” of the City Code of the City of Sycamore to Authorize Non-Elective Positions for the City of Sycamore, Illinois. Second Reading.
Acting City Manager Maggie Peck said since approving the FY22 budget that outlined the positions, they have seen some changes in a number of key positions. This ordinance would update the authorized positions and provide some flexibility within the organization including an Assistant City Manager, a Finance Director, and a Human Resources (HR) Generalist. The total number of positions remain the same and this is planned for and will not necessitate any changes to the overall budget for the current year.
Alderman Stouffer said he appreciated her putting this all together but his question is based off all the changes that have been happening. He asked if the suggested additional jobs will be enough to get us through to the next City Manager and that they are being put into place to help things move a little more smoothly.
ACM Maggie Peck said, absolutely and that’s the changes in the org chart. When people leave positions, it gives you time to reflect to determine the best needs of the organization.
Alderman Huseman said this makes Maggie’s job title a lot easier during reports as Assistant City Manager seems a lot easier.
MOTION
Alderperson Bauer motioned to approve Ordinance 2021.11 and Alderperson Huseman seconded the motion.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Mayor Braser called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Stouffer, Stowe, Bauer, Fischer, Huseman, and Paulsen voted aye and Alderperson Copple voted nay. Motion carried 6-1.
B. Ordinance 2021.12—An Ordinance Establishing Offices and Fixing the Compensation of Certain Appointed Officers of the City of Sycamore, Illinois, County of DeKalb, State of Illinois for the Fiscal Year Commencing on the First Day of May 2021 and Ending on the Thirtieth Day of April, 2022. Second Reading.
Acting City Manager Maggie Peck said this goes with the first ordinance and just establishes the salary range for the positions including the addition for Staff Engineer to offer a more competitive salary. They have had that job posted for quite some time and haven’t been able to fill that position so this would make us more competitive with current recruitment.
MOTION
Alderperson Stowe motioned to approve Ordinance 2021.12 and Alderperson Bauer seconded the motion.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Mayor Braser called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Stouffer, Stowe, Bauer, Fischer, Huseman, and Paulsen voted aye and Alderperson Copple voted nay. Motion carried 6-1.
RESOLUTIONS
A. Resolution No. 882—A Resolution Requesting a Permit from the Illinois Department of Transportation to Allow for the Construction of a Pre-cast Planter Box at the Intersection of IL Route 64 (State Street) and Somonauk Street.
Acting City Manager Maggie Peck said that this is something that has been part of their plan for the past two years and during COVID, they put a halt on any additional spending for projects. IDOT owns that corner so they require a resolution to be passed to put the planter in, which is part of the Comprehensive Plan and goes with their current plan for the logo and signage for downtown Sycamore’s branding. Additionally, it offers a safety piece at the T-intersection. IDOT requests this resolution saying we hold them harmless and that the city will do all the maintenance on the planter. The plans for the planter are in the agenda packet. Plans are to begin in the next couple of weeks and the plan is to have the planter complete before Pumpkin Fest.
Alderperson Copple asked if there is a price on it or the cost to do.
ACM Maggie Peck said it’s in stages and that they have gotten some of the stuff already that they had in stock that was previously purchased. They have a quote for the planter itself but doesn’t have that number with her but thought it was in the packet. She said she could get that exact number but asked PW Director Matt Anderson. She said it is roughly $8,000- $9.000.
PW Director Matt Anderson said they can check the emails.
MOTION
Alderperson Huseman motioned to approve Resolution 882 and Alderperson Fischer seconded the motion.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Mayor Braser called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Stouffer, Stowe, Bauer, Copple, Fischer, Huseman, and Paulsen voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.
CONSIDERATIONS
A. Consideration of the FY22 City of Sycamore Employee Handbook.
Acting City Manager Maggie Peck said this is the handbook given to every employee on their first day of employment and said they don’t usually make drastic changes but it’s a guide of the expectations, benefits, and resources. The two biggest changes are page 17 FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) and what the policy number is. The second change is that they are now required by law to have a “whistleblower” policy where their rights and what that whistleblower policy looks like was added to the handbook this year and notification went to all employees. After this evening, she will distribute it to all employees.
Alderperson Copple asked if Maggie is going to modify the organizational chart for the changes today. ACM Maggie Peck said that she would actually do that next year in May.
B. Consideration to Approve the 2021 Sanitary Sewer Manhole Project within Various Locations to IHC Construction Companies of Elgin, IL in the Amount of $ 64,660.00.
Acting City Manager Maggie Peck said as part of the IEPA (Illinois Environmental Protection Agency) approval of the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) expansion, the city is required to do some annual testing (smoke testing the last two years). This is a product coming out of that smoke testing. To date, the city has invested in equipment, smoke testing, and the flow monitoring. Over that time, the 14 miles of sewer revealed that we have some leaking sanitary manholes so this would replace those. There are currently 24 identified structures.
Bid results are as follows:
| IHC Construction | $64,660.00 |
| Microsurfacing Contractors | $71,400.00 |
| Elliott and Wood | $82,000.00 |
ACM Maggie Peck said that is correct.
MOTION
Alderperson Bauer motioned to approve the consideration for $64,660 to IHC Construction Companies and Alderperson Huseman seconded the motion.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Mayor Braser called for a roll call vote to approve the motion. Alderpersons Stouffer, Stowe, Bauer, Copple, Fischer, Huseman, and Paulsen voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.
C. 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.
MOTION
Alderperson Stouffer motioned to enter into Closed Session at 7:37 p.m. and Alderperson Huseman seconded the motion.
VOICE VOTE
Mayor Braser called for a voice vote to approve the motion. All Alderpersons voted aye. Motion carried 7-0.
MOTION
Alderperson Stowe motioned to enter back into Open Session at 7:48 p.m. and Alderperson Paulsen seconded the motion.
VOICE VOTE
Mayor Braser called for a voice vote to approve the motion. All Alderpersons voted aye. Motion carried 8-0. D. Consideration and Authorization to Enter into a Professional Services Agreement.
OTHER NEW BUSINESS
APPOINTMENTS
A. Appointment of Michelle Schulz to the Economic Development Commission.
MOTION
Alderperson Bauer motioned to approve the appointment and Alderperson Huseman seconded the motion.
VOICE VOTE
Mayor Braser called for a voice vote to approve the motion. All Alderpersons voted aye. Motion carried 8-0.
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION
Alderperson Stowe motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:50 p.m. and Alderperson Paulsen seconded the motion.
VOICE VOTE
https://cityofsycamore.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/cc20210816.pdf
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