DeKalb Times

City of Dekalb City Council met Feb. 26.

Here is the agenda provided by the council:

A. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

B. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

C. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

D. PRESENTATIONS

1. Hope for the Day’s Proactive Mental Health Awareness Proclamation.

2. DeKalb Public Library 2023 Annual Report.

E. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

F. APPOINTMENTS

1. Appointing DeKalb County Administrator Brian Gregory to the Airport Advisory Board as per Chapter 45 “Airport Advisory Board”, Section 45.03 “Membership”.

2. Appointing Nick Newman to the Citizens’ Environmental Commission as an Ex Officio Member as per Chapter 50 “Citizens’ Environmental Commission”, Section 50.02-b) “Membership”.

G. CONSENT AGENDA

1. Minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting of February 12, 2024.

2. Accounts Payable and Payroll through February 26, 2024, in the Amount of $3,935,460.59.

3. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Report – January 2024.

H. PUBLIC HEARINGS

1. Public Hearing Regarding a Lead Replacement Project Plan and Related Application to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for Loan Assistance.

The purpose of this Public Hearing is to invite public comment on the City of DeKalb’s application for Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) assistance to complete lead service line replacements in the City of DeKalb. The IEPA requires a determination of the community impact resulting from such remediation. The issuance of loans would follow the guidelines in Section 662.330 of the Illinois Procedures for issuing loans for the Public Water Supply Loan Program (35 Ill. Admin. Code 662.330).

In the past several years, the DeKalb Water Division has supervised and provided grant assistance to private contractors for the replacement of 80 lead service lines around the City. Approximately $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds have been allocated to underwrite such replacements. Based on residential responses to Water Division polls over the past several years, it appears that there are about 100 known lead service lines remaining, although the Division cannot confirm about 278 properties that have not responded to City surveys.

The proposed replacement project would complete approximately 200 additional lead service lines in phase one, with the possibility of additional remediation if further lead service lines are identified and IEPA funding remains available at favorable terms. (click here for additional information)

I. CONSIDERATIONS

None.

J. RESOLUTIONS

1. Resolution 2024-023 Awarding a Sponsorship Grant of $5,000 to the DeKalb Wrestling Club for the 2024 Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) State Wrestling Tournament on March 8-9, 2024.

City Manager’s Summary: From Friday, March 8 through Saturday, March 9, the Northern Illinois University (NIU) Convocation Center will host the IESA Boys State Wrestling Tournament. The NIU Convocation Center has hosted the annual event every year since 2003.

About 5,000 fans descend on DeKalb for this popular event and spend an estimated $500,000 in DeKalb’s hotels, motels and restaurants during the two-day tournament which features boys in grades 5-8.

The DeKalb Wrestling Club is the local host and provides the greater share of the many local volunteers who spend two days supporting the needs of competitors and their families, IESA officials and administrators, and visiting school officials. More important, the Club provides the organizational framework for the local wrestlers who annually compete in a schedule of meets and, hopefully, qualify for the sectional and state championships.

The Club has requested a $5,000 grant from the City of DeKalb to offset some of their seasonal costs including those associated with the upcoming state tournament. If agreeable to the Council, this funding can come from a miscellaneous line item in the City Manager’s Administration budget (100-15-12-69700)

City Council approval is recommended. (click here for additional information)

2. Resolution 2024-024 Authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement with the State of Illinois Department of Transportation for the State Fiscal Year 2025 Downstate Operating Assistance Agreement in the Amount of $6,911,080.

City Manager’s Summary: The City of DeKalb is designated as the grant recipient of all federal and state grants to support public transit in the DeKalb Urbanized Area. The City has been party to a Downstate Operating Assistance Program (DOAP) agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) since July 1, 2005. The City currently contracts with Transdev Services Inc. (Transdev) to provide transit services within the DeKalb urbanized area.

The approval of this resolution authorizes the Transit Manager to execute a new DOAP agreement with IDOT to provide transit operating funds for State Fiscal Year 2025 (July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025). The attached resolution also designates the Transit Manager, Mike Neuenkirchen, to execute the grant agreement and provide required documentation. The most common types of documentation are requisitions and monthly reports. Designating the Transit Manager to execute the application and other required documentation follows normal City protocol when dealing with State and Federal transit funding.

The Illinois DOAP grant provides 65% of eligible expenses toward the maximum amount of the contract, which is $6,911,080 for the 2025 State fiscal year. DOAP funding is the primary source of reimbursement for the Transit program’s expenses, with Federal 5307 funds and NIU funding providing the primary sources of matching funds.

The funds provided under the DOAP agreement provide reimbursement for transit operating costs for the City of DeKalb’s Public Transit program, which includes services in DeKalb, Sycamore, Cortland, Northern Illinois University, and access to the Elburn METRA Station. The SFY 2025 funding amount of $6,911,080 represents a 10% funding increase over previous DOAP allocations. The Transit staff have secured this increase with IDOT approval to address expanded transit services.

City Council approval is recommended. (click here for additional information)

3. Resolution 2024-025 Authorizing an Update to the City of DeKalb Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan.

City Manager’s Summary: On December 14, 2020, the Council approved Resolution 2020-127, establishing a Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) for the City of DeKalb Public Transit program. The PTASP implements a risk-based Safety Management System (SMS) for transit systems and is a requirement for all recipients of Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Urbanized Area Formula Program (49 U.S.C. § Section 5307) funding. In accordance with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), all State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) were required to draft and certify the Agency Safety Plan on behalf of small public transportation providers within a State that receives Section 5307 funds and meets certain criteria, including:

▪ Operation of 100 or fewer vehicles in revenue service during peak regular service across all fixed route modes;

▪ Operation of 100 or fewer vehicles in revenue service during peak regular service in each non- fixed route mode; and

▪ No operation of rail-fixed public transportation.

Since initial approval in 2020, the City’s Transit staff have implemented updates to the PTASP. In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 5329(d)(1)(A), § 67.11 (a)(1), each Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan, and any updates thereto, must be approved by the Transit agency’s Board of Directors, or an equivalent authority which is the City Council in DeKalb.

The PTASP “Rule” is a performance-based approach to improving transit safety founded on Safety Management System (SMS) principles. The SMS is a comprehensive approach to managing safety, which brings labor and management together to better control risk, detect and correct safety problems earlier, share and analyze safety data more effectively, and measure safety performance more precisely. The SMS implementation provides the agency leadership with a better understanding of the safety risks within the organization.

Since the initial plan was adopted, the DeKalb Transit have made the following revisions:

▪ Updates to address staffing changes in the accountable Executive and Safety Officer positions.

▪ Language to address Infectious Disease Mitigation.

▪ Appointment of the Transdev General Manager as Chief Safety Officer and Frontline Employee representative to the City staff.

As the FTA grant recipient, the City of DeKalb is responsible to ensure compliance with the plan and to ensure compliance of the City’s contractor, Transdev Services Inc., for fixed route, paratransit, and deviated flex route services.

City Council approval is recommended. (click here for additional information)

4. Resolution 2024-026 Approving a Body Art Establishment (Tattooing) License for Randi Kay LLC, Doing Business as Séance at Tiffany’s, 150 E. Lincoln Highway.

City Manager’s Summary: At the last regular City Council meeting of February 12, a public hearing was held to determine whether Randi Lockhart, the proprietor of Séance at Tiffany’s at 150 E. Lincoln Highway, could operate a body art establishment in the downtown business area, bounded on the west by First Street, on the east by Seventh Street, to the north by Locust Street, and to the south by Grove Street. There are currently three body art businesses within the geographical area noted above: Out On A Whim Tattoo at 127 E. Lincoln Highway; Mindful Tattoo at 625 E. Lincoln Highway; and Proton Tattoo Studio at 125 S. Fourth Street.

Chapter 67, Section 67.03, of the City’s Municipal Code currently states there shall be no more than three (3) body art establishments in the downtown business area and that there shall be no less than 500 feet, measured from property line to property line, between any two establishments, wherever they may be located within the City. There is only 125 feet between the property line of the proposed business and the property line of Out On A Whim Tattoo.

The Municipal Code describes body art as the practice of body adornment including, but not limited to, body piercing, tattooing, cosmetic tattooing, branding, microblading, and scarification. Ms. Lockhart requested a license for an additional body art establishment as described in the Municipal Code in the downtown business area. Her application was denied at the City staff level in conformance with the Municipal Code restrictions on the allowable number in the downtown area and the minimum distance between them. The Municipal Code provides an appeal process for body art license applicants, and Ms. Lockhart requested such an appeal, which was held before the City Council on February 12.

After hearing testimony on February 12, the Council directed the City Manager to prepare an action item for the next Council agenda, which establishes a fourth licensed body art establishment in the downtown business area. Such a resolution has been prepared and is attached for City Council review and action. In order to ensure that the intended Council action does not create a non-conforming use, a companion ordinance (Ordinance 2024-012) revises

Section 67.03 of the Municipal Code to permit a fourth body art establishment and reduces the allowable distance between body art establishments from 500 feet to 125 feet.

City Council approval is recommended. (click here for additional information)

K. ORDINANCES – SECOND READING

None.

L. ORDINANCES – FIRST READING

1. Ordinance 2024-011 Authorizing Boundary Modifications to the Area Known as the DeKalb County Enterprise Zone, Amendment 4 (ChicagoWest Business Center).

City Manager’s Summary: The attached ordinance amends the current DeKalb County Enterprise Zone boundaries to include Regions II and III of the ChicagoWest Business Center.

From its inception in 2016 through 2023, the DeKalb County Enterprise Zone has administered 58 projects with a cumulative capital investment to date of $2,637,131,907. DeKalb County’s Enterprise Zone (EZ) is administered by the DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation in behalf of the following designating units of government: the County of DeKalb, the City of DeKalb, the Town of Cortland, the City of Sycamore, the City of Genoa, the City of Sandwich, and the Village of Waterman. As signatories, these public bodies have agreed to provide the Enterprise Zone benefits to prospective businesses that qualify for one of several local property tax abatement packages, along with state-level benefits.

The Illinois state legislature has allocated a maximum of 20 square miles for inclusion in the DeKalb County Enterprise Zone. With the inclusion of Region II and Region III of the ChicagoWest Business Center, DeKalb’s share of the overall state allocation will include approximately 11 square miles (7,040 acres) or 55%. The map on the following page identifies the general location of Region II and Region III:

There are 14 separate parcels in Regions II and III that have been assembled by the ChicagoWest Business Center for planned industrial development, as shown in the following exhibit:

To assist in the planned development of the roughly 794.24 acres in Regions II and III, the Governor’s Megasites Development Program awarded ChicagoWest a $2.5 million grant in August 2023, to be administered through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

On December 21, 2023, the City of DeKalb and the other participating governmental bodies represented on the DeKalb County Enterprise Zone Advisory Board concurred in the expansion of the DeKalb County Enterprise Zone boundaries to include Regions II and III of the ChicagoWest Business Center. As Mark Williams, the Enterprise Zone administrator, writes in the attached letter to Mayor Barnes and the City Council, this ordinance formally amends the Enterprise Zone boundaries to include Regions II and III. The other participating municipal bodies and DeKalb County will soon take action in approving the attached amendment as well.

City Council approval is recommended. (click here for additional information)

2. Ordinance 2024-012 Amending Chapter 67, “Body Art Establishments (Tattooing), Section 67.03, “Qualifications for Body Art Establishment License,” Section 67.05, “Public Hearing on Application for Body Art Establishment License,” and Section 67.06, “Issuance of Body Art Establishment License.”

City Manager’s Summary: The attached ordinance revises Chapter 67 as follows: a. It removes the unusual public hearing before the Council;

b. It increases the allowable number of body art establishments in the downtown area from three to four; and

c. It reduces the minimum distance between body art establishments from 500 feet to 125 feet.

City Council approval is recommended. (click here for additional information)

3. Ordinance 2024-013 Amending Chapter 38 “Intoxicating Liquors”.

City Manager’s Summary: The several proposed amendments to Chapter 38 of the City’s Municipal Code will accomplish the following:

a. Video Gaming Establishment Liquor License. The addition of this classification will better define the different requirements of a Bar liquor license with supplemental gaming compared to those of a Video Gaming Establishment (VGE). The amendment also references Chapter 23, “Unified Development Ordinance” (UDO), Article 3.01 “Definitions

– Video Gaming Establishment” (see agenda background).

b. Various other “housekeeping” amendments to clean up language regarding video gaming.

c. Central Business District “Free Range” Drinking. Subject to certain restrictions, this amendment would allow “free range” drinking within a new “Entertainment District.” During the evening hours from 5:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m., on Fridays and Saturdays, persons 21 years of age or older will be allowed to drink from special cups provided by participating, licensed bars or restaurants in the downtown core bounded by First Street on the west, Fourth Street on the east, Locust Street on the north, and the south line of the buildings with frontage on the south side of Lincoln Highway.

The map of the proposed “Entertainment District” is shown on the following page:

The hatched area indicates the proposed “Entertainment District.”

City Council approval is recommended. (click here for additional information)

4. Ordinance 2024-014 Amending Chapter 52 “Offenses Against the Public Peace, Safety, and Morals”, Section 52.411 “Nuisance Gathering”.

City Manager’s Summary: A concerning practice has developed in downtown parking locations that is alarming to adults and, in particular, parents of children going to and from several dance studios, the Egyptian Theatre, and other family-centered venues in the downtown area. When the weather is more moderate, younger adults are gathering around vehicles – sometimes not their own – and drinking while talking and standing in the driving lanes. Beyond the sometimes intimidating behavior, the practice often involves littering the parking areas with empty plastic alcohol bottles (e.g., “shorties” that contain an ounce of alcohol) and fast food wrappers, among other things.

Current City code language (Section 52.411) identifies “nuisance gatherings” of various descriptions, including uninvited “pop-up” parties involving a large number of vehicles that might obstruct the flow of traffic on public streets as well as resident or customer traffic in private parking areas. In this case, the concern is unreasonable behavior influenced by alcohol or other drugs that annoys or threatens persons trying to peacefully navigate a parking area to, or from, a downtown location.

The attached ordinance gives the Police Department a tool in situations where at least one person may be disruptively intoxicated and belligerent.

City Council approval is recommended. (click here for additional information) 5. Ordinance 2024-015 Amending the Fiscal Year-End December 31, 2024, Budget.

City Manager’s Summary: The attached ordinance addresses some minor discrepancies between budgeted capital allocations and actual capital costs, but also proposes a one-time General Fund reserve transfer to several capital and special funds to address circumstances of much interest to the City Council.

a. GEMT Fund (Fund 130) Budget.

▪ Increase the FY2024 Line Item 130-00-00-62300 “Architect/Engineering Services” by $176,125. Most of the billing for construction drawings for Fire Station #4 will occur in FY2024 rather than FY2023, as budgeted. A separate FY2023 Budget amendment will decrease the FY2023 year-end total for 400-00-00-86100 expenditures but the FY2023 updates will not be brought to the Council until the FY2023 audit field work is complete in April. The total contract price will remain $286,125.

▪ Increase the FY2024 Line Item 130-00-00-87000 “Vehicles” by $135,000. The purchase of two staff vehicles in FY2024 could not be completed in 2023.

▪ Decrease the “live burn” training allowance in the FY2024 Line item 130-00-00- 66200 “Training/Travel” from $100,000 to “0.” The FY2023 Budget will be revised to reflect an equivalent transfer to the General Fund to reimburse such personnel expenses for training at the regional fire training facility in Burlington in 2023.

Net Change for FY2024: +$211,125.

b. One-Time Transfer of General Fund Reserve Monies. The City Manager proposes a $1 million dollar, one-time transfer from the City’s General Fund Reserve to the following funds:

aa. Capital Projects Fund (Fund 400).

▪ Increase the FY 2024 Line Item 400-00-00-83050 “Street Maintenance” by $900,000. The two bridge projects were not completed in FY2023 as anticipated because of a variety of utility delays. A substantial amount of state motor fuel tax monies are still reserved for final payouts, so the City will fall about $500,000 short of its annual goal in recent years of about $2.5 million of asphalt street re-surfacing. The one-time transfer covers that budgeted shortfall and also allows for an additional $400,000 that can be used to re-surface and enhance some of the key side streets in the vicinity of the 2024 Lucinda Avenue project, such as Garden and Russell Roads. The final re-surfacing commitments will depend on bid pricing, as always. Net Change: +$900,000.

▪ Increase the FY 2024 Line Item 400-00-00-83000 “Street Improvements” by $50,000 as a contingency to expedite utility crossings at the Lucinda bridge project. Net Change: +$50,000.

▪ Increase FY2024 Line Item 400-00-00-86100 “Technology Equipment” by $101,147. A separate FY2023 Budget amendment will decrease the FY2023 year-end total for 400-00-00-86100 by $101,147, but the FY2023 updates will not be brought to the Council until the FY2023 audit field work is complete. Software updates and third party archiving were not completed in FY2023 but will be completed in FY2024. Net Change: $0.00.

bb. New “Emergency Assistance Program Fund” (Fund 140).

▪ Create a new “Emergency Assistance Fund” (Fund 140) with a $50,000 grant to assist local social service agencies in serving asylum seekers with legal status who are seeking emergency housing, food, and other essential services. Net Change: $50,000.

Summary of Transferred General Fund Reserve monies:

$900,000—street maintenance (Fund 400)

$ 50,000—utility crossings (Fund 400)

$ 50,000—aid to asylum seekers (new Fund 140)

City Council approval is recommended. (click here for additional information)

6. Ordinance 2024-016 Approving the Rezoning of Property Located at 530 Charter Street from the “MFR1” Multi-Family Residential District to the “SFR2” Single Family Residential District and Approving a Special Use Permit for a “Community Residence – Large” Facility (DeKalb Community Unit School District 428).

City Manager’s Summary: The applicant, the DeKalb Community Unit School District No. 428, is requesting approval of the rezoning of the site at 530 Charter Street from the “MFR1” Multi Family Residential District to the “SFR2” Single-Family Residential District and approving a special use permit for a “Community Residence – Large” facility. A Community Residence is defined in the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) as a specialized residential care home servicing unrelated persons with disabilities. A “Community Residence – Large” facility has more than eight (8) persons and a “Community Residence – Small” has eight (8) or fewer people. A small Community Residence is a permitted use in the “SFR2” District, and a large Community Residence is a special use in the “SFR2” District. In 1994 the subject site was rezoned to the “MFR1” Multiple-Family Residential District and a special use permit was approved for a child care center. Prior to the child-care center, a church occupied the building.

The proposed facility will accommodate the School District’s Transition Program for 10-13 students aged 18-22 who have intellectual or developmental disabilities. There will be no overnight stays at the facility and there will be a staff of 3-7 people. The School District has provided a more detailed summary of the program which is provided in the background materials. The facility will operate with typical school-day hours with staff arriving around 7:00 a.m. and working until 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Students would arrive around 7:30 a.m. and would leave around 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The program will also operate during the District’s Summer School schedule which is typically four (4) weeks with operating hours of 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The facility will be licensed by the State of Illinois and all building permits will go through the DeKalb County Regional Office of Education which will also conduct annual inspections. The School District’s Maintenance, Grounds and Custodial Department will maintain the building and property.

The building on the site is approximately 4,800 sq. ft. and has a parking lot in the rear yard. In nearly all cases, the 10-13 students will not be driving themselves to the facility. Students will arrive by School District vehicles (bus, van, etc.), on other public transit such as TransVac, or the personal vehicle of a parent or guardian. When compared to a child-care center, the proposed program will generate far less traffic and noise. The UDO does not have a specific parking formula for this type of use. There are 18 standard parking spaces and two handicap spaces behind the facility. There will be a maximum of seven (7) staff members so 18 parking spaces is adequate for the proposed special use.

An existing six (6) foot high chain-link fence stretches along the rear lot line and a portion of the two side lot lines. The Planning Director has recommended the establishment of a 6-foot high privacy fence along the south lot line as well, which has parking spaces as close as 2.5 feet to the property line. The School District can add slats to the current chain link fence or construct a new six (6) foot high privacy fence. Other conditions in the staff recommendation to the Planning & Zoning Commission are noted below.

The Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing regarding the rezoning and special use at their meeting on February 20, 2024. By a vote of 6-0 (Commissioner Maxwell was absent), the Commission recommended City Council approval of the rezoning of the subject site at 530 Charter St. from the “MFR1” Multi-Family Residential District to the “SFR2” Single-Family Residential District and approval of a special use permit for a “Community

Residence – Large” facility per the site plan labeled as Exhibit A of the staff report and subject to the following conditions.

1. The establishment of a 6-foot high privacy fence along the south lot line prior to the occupancy of the structure and with the approval of the Chief Building Official.

2. Prior to occupancy of the structure, the parking lot shall be brought up to the current standards in the UDO including striping and handicap accessible spaces with associated signage.

3. There shall be no overnight stays and the maximum number of students in the facility enrolled in the transition program shall be 13.

4. The special use permit approved by Ordinance 94-136 for a child-care center shall expire once occupancy of the Community Residence is established.

City Council approval of the Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation is requested. (click here for additional information)

M. REPORTS AND COMMUNICATIONS

1. Council Member Reports.

2. City Manager Report.

N. EXECUTIVE SESSION

None.

O. ADJOURNMENT

https://www.cityofdekalb.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02262024-2493