DeKalb Times

City of Genoa City Council met June 1.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Mayor Brust called the meeting of the City Council to order at 7:02 p.m. Roll call was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Cravatta, Holcomb and Hughes were present. Quorum present.

Mayor Brust led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Guest Speakers – Proclamation recognizing Elaine Lin, Genoa-Kingston High School Graduate Nick Escobar, Com Ed Annual Report

Motion made by Alderman Wesner to accept the minutes from the May 18, 2022 City Council meeting, seconded by Alderman Freund. Voice vote was taken. All voted yes. Motion carried.

Motion made by Alderman Wesner to approve the account’s payables for May 31, 2022, seconded by Alderman Pulley. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Cravatta, Hughes and Holcomb voted yes. Motion carried.

ITEMS FROM INDIVIDUALS IN ATTENDANCE – None

OLD BUSINESS - None

NEW BUSINESS 

APPROVE AN ORDINANCE DESCRIBING AND ESTABLISHING WARD BOUNDARIES AND AMENDING TITLE 1, ADMINISTRATION, CHAPTER 16, MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS, SECTION 1-16-1, WARDS, OF THE CITY CODE OF THE CITY OF GENOA: Motion made by Alderman Pulley to approve an ordinance describing and establishing ward boundaries and amending Title 1, Administration, Chapter 16, Miscellaneous provisions, Section 1-16-1, wards, of the city code of the City of Genoa, seconded by Alderman Holcomb. Due to the recent 2020 Census results, Genoa's ward populations were shown to have shifted. The city is required by the U.S. Constitution to adopt an updated ward map so that no ward populations deviate by more than 10%. The City of Genoa was provided a draft of a new ward map from the DeKalb County GIS Coordinator that minimizes the shift in ward boundaries, while also following census blocks, and more evenly distributing updated population numbers. There was no further discussion. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Cravatta, Hughes and Holcomb voted yes.

APPROVE AN ORDINANCE AMENDING VARIOUS SECTIONS OF THE CITY CODE OF THE CITY OF GENOA: Motion made by Alderman Winter to approve an ordinance amending various sections of the city code of the City of Genoa, seconded by Alderman Cravatta. The State of Illinois recently changed what police departments can write ordinance citations for. The Possession of Cannabis and Drug Paraphernalia, which includes not being in an odor proof container for adults must be written under the Illinois Vehicle Code (IVC) moving forward. In addition, no seat belts by a driver or passenger and uninsured motor vehicles are now a moving violation. These citations must also be written under the IVC and not ordinance.

The Chief is recommend removing these sections from the municipal code, which includes any associated fine structure located within section 1-4-1:

5-4-13-B - Use of Cannabis by Driver of Motor Vehicle. (Adults)

5-4-13-D – Possession of Cannabis not sealed in odor proof container. (Adult)

5-4-12-B - Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. (Adults)

6-1-2-5/12-603.1 – Seat Belts, required to use.

6-1-2-5/3-707 – Operation of Uninsured motor vehicle. (Business Offense)

Police Departments are still allowed to continue to cite those under 21 years of age for possession of both cannabis and drug paraphernalia. Please contact the Chief of Police with any questions. No further discussion. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Cravatta, Hughes and Holcomb voted yes.

APPROVE AN ORDINANCE CREATING TITLE 2, CHAPTER 11, FINANCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, OF THE CITY CODE OF THE CITY OF GENOA: Motion made by Alderman Cravatta to approve an ordinance creating Title 2, Chapter 11, Finance Advisory Committee, of the city code of the City of Genoa, seconded by Alderman Winter. This Ordinance creates a Finance Advisory Committee to assist the Mayor and Staff in advising in drafting of the city’s budget by providing feedback on priorities for capital expenditures and public improvements. The Committee will also receive no less than quarterly updates from staff regarding the City’s budget expenditures as compared to budgets for each fund. Upcoming discussions for the Committee include expenditures of grant funds received and advising Staff in the creation of an investment and fund balance policy. Appointments of Committee members will take place at a future meeting. No further discussion. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Cravatta, Hughes and Holcomb voted yes.

CLOSED SESSION: Motion made by Alderman Wesner to move to closed session for the purpose of discussing the appointment, employment, dismissal, compensation, discipline and /or performance of specific employees as provided for in 5 ILCS 120/2(c), seconded by Alderman Stage.

Motion made by Alderman Freund to reconvene regular session, seconded by Alderman Stage. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Cravatta, Hughes and Holcomb voted yes.

APPROVE AND AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF GENOA AND EMPLOYEE ROBERT SMITH: Motion made by Alderman Cravatta to approve and authorize the mayor to execute an agreement between the City of Genoa and employee Robert Smith, seconded by Alderman Wesner. There was no further discussion. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Cravatta, Hughes and Holcomb voted yes.

DEPARTMENT REPORTS 

Finance Report – Treasurer & Finance Director, Jan Tures stated that they are continuing to work on the audit and she is excited to start the finance advisory committee.

Public Works – Public Works Director, Janice Melton stated that baskets of flowers in the downtown area are up, crack fill is completed. Alderman Cravatta stated that he has had some complaints about the new road on Railroad Ave being wavy, Janice stated that the road originally held quite a bit of water and that was a major concern when they redid the road. Janice stated that she will talk to the Engineer about the road.

Police Department – Chief Smith reported that in the last 2 weeks they have sent our 20+ lawn notices in which most people complied, there are 3 lots in town that public works will be mowing; they have also sent out 30+ notices in regards to junk vehicles. This Sunday June 5th there is a block party in the 600 block of Stern Drive that a permit has been issued for. Genoa Days is next week and the police department is planning for that; there has also been a permit issued for a band at someone’s house that Saturday night, they have done this for the past 3 years. Memorial Day the Chief and Mayor met in DeKalb at 6:45 am at the Elks Club in DeKalb for breakfast then they came back to town for the parade and ceremony. There were some juveniles from out of town that came through and did some vandalizing, broke the window at mobile and have gone through other surrounding areas. There was an elderly gentleman that jumped the curb and hit a building. Cruzin’ is putting in a garage door that is not vandalizing. Alderman Stage asked the Chief if everyone is trained in rapid response to prevent what happened in Texas. Chief stated that what happened in Texas would not happen here, they are trained that if there is a shooter they would not wait for swat, our officers would move in.

Administrative Report – City Administrator, Alyssa Seguss reported that the Rural Surface Transportation Grant was submitted with 119 letters of support. Touched base with CES who is the engineering firm who completed the grant for the downtown revitalization and they stated that as of now they have not heard anything yet but are hopeful to hear something back within the next 4 weeks or so. The staff is also working on wrapping up the building code update, hoping to share this information soon with the council. Alderman Wesner asked about the building where Dunkin Donut’s is going and the progress, Alyssa stated that she believes that they have other projects also going but will be talking to the owner and can get an update.

Mayor’s Report – Mayor Brust stated that Memorial Day was great, had a wonderful turnout at both the parade and ceremony. Mayor Brust also stated that he was looking at the vacancy’s downtown, we only have 1 building downtown for rent, every other building is either full, rented or owned.

ANNOUNCEMENTS – Genoa Days starts next Wednesday June 8th and goes till Saturday June 11th, St. Catherine’s of Genoa has a Taco Dinner this Saturday June 4th, there will hopefully be a ribbon cutting for the Riverbend Park but it is pending sidewalk installation on Tuesday June 7th .

Motion to adjourn the meeting of the City Council was made by Alderman Wesner, seconded by Alderman Pulley. Voice vote was taken. All voted yes. Motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.

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