DeKalb Times

City of Genoa City Council met July 6.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Mayor Brust called the meeting of the City Council to order at 7:04 p.m. Roll call was taken. Aldermen Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Hughes and Holcomb were present. Alderman Wesner was absent. Quorum present.

Mayor Brust asked for a motion to have Alderman Cravatta be remote, motion made by Alderman Holcomb, seconded by Alderman Freund. Voice vote was taken. All voted yes. Motion carried.

Guest Speakers –

BASICS DEKALB COUNTY: Courtney Hill and Katie Rich from Basics of DeKalb County spoke to the council about this program for children 0-3 years old. They explained how this organization has grown throughout DeKalb County and helps the littles grow and become Kindergarten ready; they have different activities throughout Genoa and DeKalb County for parents, caregivers and grandparents to do with young children; they also explained about basics for everyday with young children help them grow to be happy and smart. More information on this can be found at their website basicsdekalbcounty.org

Motion made by Alderman Pulley to accept the minutes from the June 15, 2022 City Council meeting, seconded by Alderman Hughes. Voice vote was taken. All voted yes. Motion carried.

Motion made by Alderman Winter to approve the account’s payables for June 30, 2022, seconded by Alderman Hughes. Roll call vote was taken. Alderman Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Cravatta, Hughes and Holcomb voted yes. Motion carried.

ITEMS FROM INDIVIDUALS IN ATTENDANCE – None

OLD BUSINESS - None

NEW BUSINESS

APPROVE THE APPOINTMENT OF ALDERMAN CHUCK CRAVATTA, TED ARETOS AND MELISSA DAVIDSON TO THE CITY OF GENOA FINANCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Motion made by Alderman Hughes to approve the appointment of Alderman Chuck Cravatta, Ted Aretos and Melissa Davidson to the City of Genoa Finance Advisory Committee, seconded by Alderman Winter. There was no further discussion. Roll call vote was taken. Alderman Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Cravatta, Hughes and Holcomb voted yes.

APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF A KABOTA MOWER FROM BOBCAT OF ROCKFORD, NOT TO EXCEED $11,956.00: Motion made by Alderman Pulley for the approval to purchase a Kabota mower from Bobcat of Rockford, not to exceed $11,956.00, seconded by Alderman Holcomb. No further discussion. Roll call vote was taken. Alderman Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Cravatta, Hughes and Holcomb voted yes.

UPDATE FROM THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT COMMITTEE: Mayor Brust stated that the Wastewater Treatment Committee has been meeting over the last few months before the city council meeting; the committee has done a great job at taking a step back and looking at all the options, where are the gaps in the questions and having great discussions. Alderman Stage spoke to the council about what has been discussed and what has been done over the last few months. The committee at this time is looking where our limiting factors are currently such as can we expand our current facility a little bit more to get the outcome that is needed. The committee toured Kishwaukee Water Reclamation to see how the facility works and what they can offer Genoa. Mayor Brust stated that our city engineer was at today’s Wastewater Treatment Committee meeting and going to be looking into what our limiting factors are and if we can expand the current treatment facility to get us to the mgd levels that is targeted; she will also be looking at some plant alternatives.

CLOSED SESSION: Motion made by Alderman Pulley to move to closed session for the purpose of approving the minutes of the previous closed session and for the purpose of discussing land acquisition, seconded by Alderman Stage. Roll call vote was taken. Alderman Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Cravatta, Hughes and Holcomb voted yes.

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

DEPARTMENT REPORTS

Finance Report – Treasurer & Finance Director, Jan Tures stated that no amendment on budget this year; she is excited to work with finance advisory committee. They are finishing up work for audit which auditor will be at city hall all next week. Mayor Brust announced that the City of Genoa received the Award for Excellence Finance and Reporting for 15 years in a row.

Public Works – Public Works Director Janice Melton stated that they were busy today cleaning up from the storm last night there were a lot of trees down. Prairie Street main is good to go paperwork has been sent in and the Fire Hydrants are active. Still working on patching and storm drain repairs.

Police Department – Chief Smith reported that he was invited to the school board meeting on 6/28/22 to talk about school safety; earlier that day Chief went to Camelot to oversee the active shooting training, they did very well. July 4th weekend there were some fireworks calls however not as many as in years past.

Administrative Report – City Administrator, Alyssa Seguss reported that Custom Aluminum is expanding their building and adding on painting and anodizing area that is about 2.7 million dollars investment, it will create 10 new jobs and they did get approval for property tax abatement.

Mayor’s Report – Mayor Brust reported that the city is focusing heavily on grants. We have interviewed with another engineering firm that the mayor got connected with at a meet up that he went to earlier in the year who helped Freeport get millions of dollars for led service line replacement that is on the city’s horizon here in the near future. Met with a grant writer recently to help with improving our success to getting approved when we do apply for grants, they are looking at a C Block Grant which City of DeKalb takes advantage of each year. The downtown grant we are still waiting for a response, however, the committee is reconvening to discuss some design features. They will be posting on the city’s Facebook page some questions to get some feedback from the residents about parking, expansion and design. Open Door Coffee opened a few weeks ago. Prairie State Winery won an award for first place Best in State on Yelp Review. Alderman Hughes asked about the progress of Dunkin Donuts, the Mayor reported that it is moving along just slowly, Dunkin Donuts is for sure going in, they are currently working on design plans. Alderman Hughes also asked about expansion of McDonald’s, City Administrator Seguss stated that they are looking into expanding their parking lot but there is no talk of expanding the building.

ANNOUNCEMENTS – This Friday July 8th is the annual Chamber Golf Outing and the Mayor needs a partner if anyone would like to attend.

Motion to adjourn the meeting of the City Council was made by Alderman Pulley, seconded by Alderman Winter. Voice vote was taken. All voted yes. Motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 8:16 p.m.

https://www.genoa-il.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Meeting-Minutes-07062022.pdf