DeKalb Times

City of Genoa City Council met May 4

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Mayor Brust called the meeting of the City Council to order at 7:25 p.m. Roll call was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Stage and Cravatta were present. Alderman Freund, Winter and Holcomb were absent. Quorum present.

Mayor Brust led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Guest Speakers – None

Motion made by Alderman Pulley to accept the minutes of the April 20, 2022 City Council meeting, seconded by Alderman Stage. Voice vote was taken. All voted yes. Motion carried.

Motion made by Alderman Wesner to approve revised version of payment of the account’s payables for April 30, 2022, seconded by Alderman Cravatta. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Stage, Mayor Brust and Cravatta voted yes. Motion carried.

ITEMS FROM INDIVIDUALS IN ATTENDANCE – None

OLD BUSINESS - None

NEW BUSINESS

APPROVAL OF THE APPOINTMENT OF GREGG HUGHES, WARD 4 ALDERMAN: Motion made by Alderman Cravatta to approve the appointment of Gregg Hughes, Ward 4 Alderman, seconded by Alderman Stage. There was no further discussion. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Stage Mayor Brust and Cravatta voted yes.

SWEARING IN OF GREGG HUGHES, WARD 4 ALDERMAN

APPOINTMENT OF STAFF, BOARDS, AND COMMISSIONS AS STATED IN THE MEMO FROM MAYOR JONATHON BRUST DATED MAY 1, 2022: Motion made by Alderman Pulley for the appointment of staff, boards and commissions as stated in the memo from Mayor Jonathon Brust Dated May 1, 2022, seconded by Alderman Stage. There was no further discussion. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Stage, Cravatta and Hughes voted yes.

AUTHORIZE THE USE OF THE MUNICIPAL PARKING SPACES ON BOTH SIDES OF ROUTE 72 FROM MONROE STREET TO SYCAMORE STREET, PARKING SPACES ON THE EAST SIDE OF MONROE STREET, AND THE MUNICIPAL PARKING LOT FOR CRUISIN’ FROM 9 AM TO 3 PM FOR A CAR SHOW ON JUNE 19, 2022: Motion made by Alderman Wesner to authorize the use of the municipal parking spaces on both sides of Route 72 from Monroe Street to Sycamore Street, parking spaces on the East side of Monroe Street, and the municipal parking lot for Cruisin’ from 9am to 3pm for a car show on June 19, 2022, seconded by Alderman Stage. There was no further discussion. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Stage, Cravatta and Hughes voted yes.

APPROVE CHIP AND SEAL WORK BY HELM CIVIL, NOT TO EXCEED $29,910: Motion made by Alderman Cravatta to approve chip and seal work by Helm Civil, not to exceed $29,910, seconded by Alderman Hughes. The City of Genoa is partnering with the DeKalb County Highway Department to help reduce the unit pricing for chip and seal work. Bids were received by DeKalb County and the lowest responsible bidder for the work was Helm Civil. This work was budgeted for in the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 budget, however, the project is nearly $10,000 over the anticipated cost because of the increased costs (supplies, labor, demand) of the chip and seal process. Typically, Staff would recommend cutting back on the work to be done but there are sufficient funds in the City’s Motor Fuel Tax Fund, which is for street improvements, to cover the overage for the much-needed work. In the packet is a map that shows the areas to be chip and sealed in yellow. Alderman Cravatta asked Public Works Director Janice Melton that since this cost is now $10,000 over the anticipated cost if this is still a better option then waiting and having the road asphalted? Janice reported that even though it is more money than originally anticipated it is still a better option at this time as the road is in need of repair at this time, and this will buy us time until it can get new asphalt. Alderman Hughes asked how long the expected life of the chip and seal was, Janice informed the council that it is approximately 5-8 years where asphalt is 15-20 years. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Stage, Cravatta and Hughes voted yes. Motion carried.

APPROVE AN ORDINANCE CREATING TITLE 2, CHAPTER 10, WASTEWATER TREATMENT COMMITTEE, OF THE CITY CODE OF THE CITY OF GENOA: Motion made by Alderman Pulley to approve an ordinance creating Title 2, Chapter 10, Wastewater Treatment Committee, of The City Code of the City of Genoa, seconded by Alderman Stage. The purpose of the Wastewater Treatment Committee is to evaluate the solutions to increasing the City of Genoa’s wastewater capacity, including expanding its own Wastewater Treatment Plant or connecting to the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District. The duties of the Committee are as follows:

A. To provide updates to the City Council regarding meetings and information on increasing the City’s wastewater treatment capacity.

B. To act as a liaison between the residents of Genoa and the City Council regarding the wastewater treatment project and provide information to either as it is received.

C. To request, receive, and utilize staff assistance to enable the Committee to critically analyze future wastewater treatment options.

There was no further discussion. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Stage, Cravatta and Hughes voted yes.

APPOINTMENT OF THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Motion made by Alderman Pulley for the appointment of the Wastewater Treatment Committee Members, seconded by Alderman Hughes. Mayor Brust is appointing Alderman Wesner, Alderman Stage and Nick Braddock to the committee for wastewater treatment. There was no further discussion. Roll call vote was taken. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Stage, Cravatta and Hughes voted yes.

DEPARTMENT REPORTS

Finance Report – Treasurer & Finance Director, Jan Tures was absent tonight, City Administrator, Alyssa Seguss reported that they have had preliminary meetings for the audit and working on getting all the final information in for the final budget that just ended April 30, 2022.

Public Works – Public Works Director, Janice Melton stated that she has nothing new to report at this time.

Police Department – Chief Smith reported that Officer Stevenson is in his second week of training and they went and visited Nick Garvey who recently got home, he was in good spirits and they were able to give him his gift from the department at that time. Gregg Edwards, Ryan Baxa and a few others went and built a ramp for him at his home.

Administrative Report – City Administrator, Alyssa Seguss reported that at the last council meeting the alderman received a letter from a county resident who asked for a walking path in the new Oak Creek Estates Subdivision and the subdivision at this time is already platted, Alyssa will put a memo into the file so that when the subdivision comes in for final approval, we can ask the developer at that time if they are interested in putting in a walking path. Another county resident that owns property along the Kishwaukee River has had issues with people coming onto his property while being in the water and making fires and leaving their garbage; the city is going to put up signs at the Carroll Memorial Park asking people to be respectful with a map showing where they have access to enter and exit the river. I Pads have been ordered and once they are in and set up Alyssa will contact everyone to set up a time to sign in and create a log in on the I Pads; they are hoping that the next meeting will be paperless. The staff has been discussing the issues and ways to address the brush pick up with Flood Brothers, they are discussing creating a couple of annual pickups that public works will do, one in the Spring and one in the Fall; once dates are set, they will announce them and let residents know. The city applied for a Safe Route to School Grant in which the city was informed that we did not receive this grant; the mayor has contacted our state representatives and has received a response from IDOT to set up a call to find out why we did not receive this grant. We have received information from our engineering firm that we had a stronger point ranking then some of the other communities that received the grant money. The city also submitted a Grant to the DeKalb County Community Foundation for a comprehensive plan grant, our current plan is from 2003. The cost of the process is about $40,000 by the NIU Center for Governmental Studies, this is a $20,000 grant. We have also applied for a Rise Grant for the Economic Development Plan to help cover some of the costs for the comprehensive plan. Another grant that the city is looking at is a Federal Transportation Grant to create a sidewalk along RT 72 from Lloyds Landscaping to Kingston and hopefully widen the railroad bridge to create more of a walking path. Mayor Brust and Alyssa attended the DECE Dinner and learned a lot about what’s going on in DeKalb County; Genoa was mentioned quite a bit and there was a lot of discussion about developments that are going on in our community, it seems that growth is going on all around us. The Economic Development Commission is meeting on Monday May 9th at 3:30pm for anyone that would like to attend. We have two business that are looking at properties in the downtown area, at this time there are more businesses looking for property than there are buildings available. Sweet DeLights is having their grand opening at 113A W Main St Street from 9am to 12pm on Saturday May 14th.

Mayor’s Report – Mayor Brust stated that he has nothing new to report at this time

ANNOUNCEMENTS – On 5/14/22 Grand Opening of Sweet Delights and there was a great turn out at the Home and Business Expo.

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 8:12 p.m.

https://www.genoa-il.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Meeting-Minutes-05042022.pdf