DeKalb Times

City of Genoa City Council met June 21.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Mayor Brust called the meeting of the City Council to order at 7:00pm followed by roll call. Alderman Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca were present. Alderman Stage was absent. Quorum present.

GUEST SPEAKERS – None

Motion made by Alderman Pulley to accept the minutes from the June 7, 2023, City Council meeting, seconded by Alderman Freund. Voice vote was taken, all voted yes. Motion carried.

Motion made by Alderman Wesner to approve payment of the accounts payable for June 15, 2023, seconded by Alderman Braheny. Alderman Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

ITEMS FROM INDIVIDUALS IN ATTENDANCE – Lynn Romke of 1403 Sir Barton Drive came before the council to speak on the response she received regarding her concerns that were expressed during the meeting on June 7, 2023.

OLD BUSINESS – None

FUTURE ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION – None

NEW BUSINESS:

MOTION TO APPOINT ALDERMAN CHRIS PULLEY AS DEPUTY MAYOR

Alderman Wesner made a motion to appoint Alderman Chris Pulley as Deputy Mayor of Genoa, seconded by Alderman Roca. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Freund, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

MOTION TO APPROVE A RESOLUTION DESIGNATING SIGNATORIES FOR THE CITY OF GENOA

Alderman Hughes made a motion to approve a resolution designating signatories for the City of Genoa, seconded by Alderman Braheny. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

APPROVE AN AGREEMENT BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF GENOA AND AMPLER DEVELOPMENT LLC

Alderman Wesner made a motion to approve the agreement by and between the City of Genoa and Ampler Development LLC, seconded by Alderman Pulley. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

CLOSED SESSION

Motion made by Alderman Braheny to move into a closed session for the purpose of approving the minutes from the previous closed session and for the purpose of discussing land acquisition, seconded by Alderman Roca. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

RECONVENE REGULAR SESSION

Motion made by Alderman Braheny to reconvene regular session seconded by Alderman Pulley. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

MOTION TO APPROVE A VACANT LAND SALES CONTRACT AND A RIDER TO VACANT LAND SALES CONTRACT WITH HEARTLAND BANK AND TRUST COMPANY, NOT TO EXCEED $10,000, WITH MODIFICATION TO THE RIDER AS DISCUSSED

Alderman Wesner made a motion to approve of the vacant land sales contract and rider with Heartland Bank and Trust Company, seconded by Alderman Roca. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

DEPARTMENT REPORTS

FINANCE

Jan Tures explained to the council that they are working on the meter size update for the billing and doing research to ensure they have all accounts that need the larger meters. The launch of Invoice Cloud is going to be delayed a week or two due to the main point of contact, Kim Winker, going on vacation. The exact date for the new launch is TBD. Tures informed the council that the Treasurer’s Reports and Fund Balance Reports from May that are in the packet may change due to the audit work being done and said that there will be updated ones given out once everything is finalized for the audit. She also announced that everything for the audit work is on schedule and will be done by July 6th in preparation for fieldwork the week of the 10th.

PUBLIC WORKS

Janice Melton updated the council on the work that the water and sewer departments have been doing including hooking up copper in preparation for roadwork, collecting and sending out samples from the filtration plant, and gathering information in the sewer department for a new permit. She explained that three manholes will be corrected this year and they have found their top selection of which ones need correcting. Flows are extremely low at the moment as we are now in a heightened drought, which also means that they have been working extra hard to keep all of the newly planted trees watered. The public works department is also gearing up for street striping within town but the timeline for street striping from IDOT along 72 is unknown.

POLICE DEPARTMENT

Police Chief Robert Smith reported that Genoa Days this year went fairly smooth. There were a couple of minor altercations at bar closings but no arrests due to those. On Saturday, 6/10, one resident came out as they were closing everything down and got into an argument with one of the carnival workers about the noise being made. He then came out and was believed to be holding a long gun. Officers were dispatched and arrested the man for aggravated assault and the weapon was found to be an air rifle. On Thursday 6/15 officers were dispatched to a fire downtown in the second story above the smoke shop. The tenant living there was brought in and confessed to starting the fire because of an issue with the landlord. He was arrested for arson and transported to the jail. Smith said they are at 57 stickers for golf carts and UTV’s which is down from last year, but he expects more throughout the rest of the summer. He also announced that Deputy Chief Greg Edwards is retiring after 26 years of service and will be honored at the next City Council meeting. They do have a lateral interview in place with an experienced officer to fulfill Edwards position and will be accepting applications until mid-July.

ADMINISTRATIVE

Alyssa Seguss told the council that the Riverbend central park surveys are in which went out to all Riverbend residents to gather information on what they would like to see within the central park. The downtown revitalization program engineering is almost complete and will be sent out for approval once it is completed. She also announced that the strategic plan is still underway with the next step being action items to put the goals that were outlined into action. The comp plan had their 3rd task force meeting to discuss land use planning and there is a planning commission meeting happening 6/22 to discuss an amendment regarding the building being built on the IBEW property. Lastly Seguss explained that there will be six property maintenance cases going out on Monday the 26th, most of which deal with painting and house maintenance as opposed to weeds or tall grass.

COMMITTEES/BOARDS

The economic development commission met last week to discuss some of the goals that they have with the Dekalb County Opportunity Unbound Executive Director. They looked at some of the goals that they had already outlined and things they did such as a marketing plan and analysis of Dekalb county. The commission used this as a good starting point and used the Opportunity Unbound goals but tailored them to Genoa and will further develop these goals and ideas at the next meeting. The tree board is making progress with the grant and focusing on planting and watering the trees that have come from that grant. The downtown committee is meeting later this week to finalize the details of the downtown beautification project and how funds should be allocated.

MAYOR

Mayor Brust attended the ribbon cutting ceremony for Manny Pena which was a long overdue success. He announced that Dunkin is officially open and there are two more restaurants coming into Genoa, one in the same building as Dunkin and one where the old Corner Grill was. He also informed the council that IBEW is hosting the US Secretary of Commerce and a few other government officials for a tour and networking event. Alderman Wesner mentioned to Mayor Brust that there have already been some troubles with traffic backing up onto 72 from Dunkin in

the mornings and other Alderman agreed. Mayor Brust and City Administrator Alyssa Seguss said they would look into it and try to find a way to prevent this from happening.

ANNOUNCEMENTS – None

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 was carried. Meeting adjourned at 7:46pm.

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