DeKalb Times

City of Dekalb City Council met Jan.13.

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. Members of the Public Who Unselfishly Donated Their Time in Recent Weeks to Help the Victims of the December 22, 2024, Fire at 1024 Hillcrest Have Been Invited to Take a Bow.

E. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

F. APPOINTMENTS

None.

G. CONSENT AGENDA

1. Minutes of the Special City Council Meeting of December 2, 2024.

2. Minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting of December 9, 2024.

3. Accounts Payable and Payroll through December 23, 2024, in the Amount of $3,153,504.12.

4. Accounts Payable and Payroll through January 13, 2025, in the Amount of $2,995,215.29.

5. Investment and Bank Balance Summary through November 2024.

6. Year-to-Date Revenues and Expenditures through November 2024.

7. Freedom of Information Act Report – November 2024.

8. Crime Free Housing Bureau Report – December 2024.

Assistive services, including hearing assistance devices, available upon request.

H. PUBLIC HEARINGS

None.

I. CONSIDERATIONS

None.

J. RESOLUTIONS

1. Resolution 2025-001 Authorizing an FY2025 Funding Agreement with the DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau in the Amount of $50,000 for Tourism Activities from January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025.

City Manager’s Summary: The FY2025 City Budget that was approved on December 9, 2024, set aside $50,000 (Community Development: 100-40-41-63700) in support of the DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

It should be noted that each municipal dollar is matched by a dollar from the Illinois Office of Tourism. In recent years, such events have included the IESA state wrestling championships. The CVB markets these and other events in DeKalb County through a variety of media, including the annual DeKalb County CVB Guide.

The City of DeKalb is a key beneficiary of the CVB marketing, but at the same time contributes disproportionately as compared to the 14 municipalities in the county. From 2010 through 2024, the City of DeKalb contributed $655,000 to the CVB. On an annual basis, the City’s contribution exceeds the combined contributions of all other DeKalb County political entities.

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

2. Resolution 2025-002 Authorizing an FY2025 Funding Agreement with the DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation (DCEDC) in the Amount of $35,000 for Economic Development Services Beginning January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025.

City Manager’s Summary: The FY2025 City Budget that was approved on December 9, 2024, also set aside $35,000 (Community Development: 100-40-41-63700) in support of the DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation. The City of DeKalb was a founding member of the DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation in the late 1980s and has significantly benefited from the agency’s business attraction and retention efforts ever since. DCEDC is the strategic planning arm of the DeKalb County government and continues to be a vital clearinghouse for business prospects and commercial brokers interested in development sites in our community and our planning area. The DeKalb City Manager is automatically a member of the agency’s executive committee, and the DeKalb Mayor is an ex-officio member of the board of directors.

The corporation’s role as an initial point of contact for industrial and commercial prospects is very valuable, as in the case of the recent Ferrara, Meta, Amazon, Kraft Heinz, Karis and Project Midwest projects. The organization’s ongoing administration of the DeKalb County Enterprise Zone and its surveys of DeKalb County’s labor market and business activity are also very important. Long-range planning in concert with all county communities continues (the DeKalb County Thriving and Branding initiatives) and the City substantially benefits from the comprehensive data it generates.

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

3. Resolution 2025-003 Authorizing an FY2025 Funding Agreement with the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce in the Amount of $35,000 for the Purpose of Facilitating Community Events Beginning January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025.

City Manager’s Summary: The City Manager is an ex-officio member of the Chamber Board of Directors. For 25 years, the City government has supported Chamber events management. In 2000 the City of DeKalb allocated $15,000 to the Chamber for this purpose and to promote local tourism. This allocation became an annual grant and was accompanied by grants to the former Mainstreet DeKalb and Renew DeKalb as shown in the following table:

Year	Chamber Tourism	Mainstreet DeKalb	Renew DeKalb	Chamber Events Mgt.
2000	$15,000
2001	$20,000
2002	$20,000
2003	$20,000	$25,000
2004	$50,000	$25,000
2005	$50,000	$25,000
2006	$50,000		$50,000
2007	$50,000		$50,000
2008	$50,000		$50,000
2009	$50,000		$45,000
2010			$45,000
2011			$45,000*
2012			$45,000*
2013				$45,000
2014				$45,000
2015				$45,000
2016.5				$22,500
2017				$45,000
2018				$45,000
2019				$35,000
2020				$35,000
2021				$35,000
2022				$35,000
2023				$35,000
2024				$35,000
Total	$375,000	$75,000	$330,000	$457,500

*Indicates TIF funding.

In recent years, the annual grant in support of Chamber programming has included the Farmer’s Market, Santa’s arrival, and other downtown events.

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

4. Resolution 2025-004 Authorizing a Payment to the DeKalb County Community Foundation on Behalf of the DeKalb Municipal Band for Services Beginning January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025, in the Amount of $41,088.

City Manager’s Summary: The Legislative budget in the City’s FY2025 Annual Budget contains an allocation of $41,088 for the DeKalb Municipal Band, founded in 1854. The Band has performed continuously for a longer period than any other municipal band in the State of Illinois. In 2022, the Band established a pass-through fund with the DeKalb County Community Foundation to encourage private donations. This pass-through fund is the vessel for annual contributions – either public or private. The City’s FY2025 contribution will cover the expenses of the band during the summer of 2025.

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

5. Resolution 2025-005 Authorizing Agreements for Aviation and Storage Tank Liability Insurance Coverage Effective January 1, 2025, through January 1, 2026, in the Amount of $39,215.

City Manager’s Summary: At the November 25, 2024, Council meeting, the Council approved the core elements of the City’s annual liability and workers compensation coverages. The attached resolution deals with Airport and underground storage tank liabilities that grow out of the City’s airport and fueling operations. In 2012, the City moved from a position of full self funding to pursuing outside insurance coverage. After receiving competitive proposals from a number of insurance companies, the City settled on a comprehensive package of insurance that provided coverage for a wide array of conditions but maintained some City responsibility for self-insured retention and deductibles. This insurance package has been very successful for the City in terms of managing potential liabilities and costs for the past several years.

Crum-Halsted has prepared the following renewal for Aviation and Storage Tank Liability insurance:

Summary of Aviation and Storage Tank Coverage

Coverage Period January 1, 2025 – January 1, 2026

Type of Coverage	Annual Premium
Aviation Policy	$31,650
Storage Tank Liability Policy	$ 7,565
Total Annual Premium	$39,215

City Council approval of the Crum-Halsted proposals is recommended. (click here for additional information)

6. Resolution 2025-006 Authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the DeKalb-Sycamore Area Transportation Study (DSATS) for the Purpose of Determining Mutual Responsibilities in the Metropolitan Planning Process.

City Manager’s Summary: During a June 5, 2024, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) review of the City of DeKalb’s public transit program, the FTA staff stipulated that the existing intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between the City of DeKalb, DSATS, and IDOT on the sharing of financial information needed to be updated. While the three parties have continuously participated in these financial planning activities through annual updates to the City’s Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) and the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP), we are informed that these ongoing collaborative efforts need to be encompassed by a refreshed IGA.

The key language codifying this reporting is revised in Article 1.01, “General Responsibilities of Parties,” of the attached IGA. The City of DeKalb, as transit provider, is responsible for the items listed in Section 1.02 as outlined below:

▪ The City will work in consultation with the DSATS MPO in developing short-range and long range plans for public transit for inclusion in the master plan.

▪ The City will develop and share information with DSATS MPO and participate, as necessary, in the development of financial plans for the MTP and TIP process.

▪ The City will provide DSATS MPO an annual 5307 Program of Projects for inclusion within the metropolitan TIP.

▪ The City will provide the DSATS MPO with an annual list of obligated public transit projects.

▪ The City will notify the DSATS MPO of changes to projects that would affect the MTP or TIP.

▪ The City will establish performance targets and share the targets and associated data with the DSATS MPO and other interested parties.

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

7. Resolution 2025-007 Accepting the Qualification Based Selection of Wills, Burke, Kelsey Associates (WBK) to Perform Design Engineering Services for the Intersection Reconstruction Project Impacting N. First Street and Sycamore Road and Authorizing the City Engineer to Provide Approvals on All Standard Department of Transportation Selection Documents.

City Manager’s Summary: City Engineers and other Public Works officials planning the design or construction of state-funded or federal-funded projects must follow a selection system based on professional qualifications as well as criteria such as pricing. The federal Brooks Act (Public Law 92-582) and Illinois Public Act 85-854 (known as the Local Government Professional Services Selection Act) and other law drawn from state and federal procurement codes define the manner in which projects are announced and engineering firms are selected according to past competence and qualifications.

Qualifications-Based Selection or “QBS” has applied to DeKalb’s pre-qualification of engineering services for decades. The list of qualified firms is drawn from evaluations performed by the City Engineer in concert with other City executive team members to identify the relevant experience, performance, workload and past conformance to relevant procurement codes. For specific projects, firms are ranked by the City Engineer in order of preference and negotiations follow, beginning with the top-ranked firm and conducted relative to the actual project scope, fee payment schedule, and contract requirements. This process may be suspended in emergencies or when projects are expected to cost than $25,000.

The first QBS project for 2025 and the City’s new fiscal year is the design engineering for the reconfiguration of the troublesome intersection of North First Street and Sycamore Road, just south of the entrances to the Clinton Rosette Middle School and across from the Ellwood House. As shown in the following graphic, the reconfiguration will feature a roundabout that will “cure” the contested merger of northbound traffic at N. First Street and Sycamore Road, which was installed several decades ago.

As City Engineer Zac Gill writes in his background memorandum, the consensus choice of a three-person selection committee is Wills, Burke, Kelsey for the conceptual and grant application stages. Federal grant support through the Illinois Department of Transportation will be the principal funding source. The resolution (Resolution 2025-008) that follows addresses the specific contract terms.

City Council approval of Wills, Burke, Kelsey Associates as the QBS selection for this significant intersection reconstruction project is recommended. (click here for additional information)

8. Resolution 2025-008 Authorizing an Agreement for Services with Wills, Burke, Kelsey Associates to Perform Design Engineering Services for the Intersection Reconstruction Project Impacting N. First Street and Sycamore Road for $420,000 and Appropriating $42,000 of Local Funds.

City Manager’s Summary: As briefly described above, the City Engineer is proposing a multi agency commitment to the reconfiguration of the contested intersection at N. First Street and Sycamore Road. The City’s ultimate share of the engineering and construction costs will hopefully be approximately 10% or, in the case of the preliminary engineering, an estimated $42,000. Such local funds will be drawn from the City’s Capital Projects Fund (400-00-00- 62300). The lion’s share of the cost will come from state and federal grants, but conceptual engineering is initially needed for submittal to the potential grant-issuing agency (IDOT) for preliminary review and, ultimately, approval.

City Council approval of the attached engineering services agreement is recommended. (click here for additional information)

K. ORDINANCES – SECOND READING

None.

L. ORDINANCES – FIRST READING

1. Ordinance 2025-001 Approving a Special Use Permit for Antennas and Associated Communication Equipment for the Property at 1500 S. Seventh Street (MasTec for AT&T Mobility).

City Manager’s Summary: The petitioner, MasTec (for AT&T Mobility), represented by Matthew Fitzgibbon, is requesting approval of a special use permit for antennas and associated communications equipment on the existing lattice tower at 1500 S. 7th Street. The zoning of the site is “LI” Light Industrial District and antennas and associated communications equipment on existing towers are a special use. The site already contains a 300-foot-tall AT&T tower.

A total of nine antennas are proposed and will be located on the existing tower about 200 feet above the ground. Associated ground equipment is also proposed in a 15-foot x 30-foot lease area. The proposed lease area will be located just south of the existing tower. The existing 20-foot-wide access drive to S. 7th Street that AT&T uses will be maintained and slightly extended to the new lease area. AT&T Mobility will establish access and utility easements over the drive and other areas to allow access to the property and to extend the necessary utilities to their equipment. The new ground equipment will include cabinets, a generator, and ice bridge and will be surrounded by a six-foot high chain link fence, which will include three strands of barbed wire on top of the fence. Landscape plantings around the fence are also proposed to meet the requirements in the UDO. A total of nine, six-foot high Emerald Green Arborvitae plants are planned around the southern and eastern portions of the lease area just outside the fence. The applicant has provided supporting information regarding the conditions for a special use for cell antennas as described in Article 7.08.08 of the UDO.

In 2020 the City approved a special use permit to allow Verizon Wireless to place antennas on the existing tower with supporting ground equipment. In 2023, at the request of Verizon, the City Council approved an ordinance revoking the special use permit.

The Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing regarding the special use petition at their regular meeting on December 16, 2024. By a vote of 4 to 0 (Commissioners Maxwell and Pena-Graham were absent), the Commission recommended City Council approval of a special use permit for antennas and associated communications equipment on the existing tower at 1500 S. 7th Street for AT&T Mobility as shown on Exhibit A of the staff report.

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

2. Ordinance 2025-002 Approving a Plat of Easement Vacation and a Plat of Roadway Dedication for the Property Located at 1240 Normal Road (Dr. Leroy Mitchell Elementary School).

City Manager’s Summary: When the Roberts Elementary School was established in the early 1970s, a 30-foot wide utility easement was created, which connected the school site to utilities on Garden Road in the Rolling Meadows subdivision.

When the property was purchased by Northern Illinois University (NIU), the easement passed to the University. Now that the DeKalb Community Unit School District No. 428 has purchased the property from NIU, the easement is once again controlled by the School District. As construction continues on the new Mitchell Elementary School, a number of site details need to be resolved. The preliminary plan approved by the Council calls for a “relief” exit for cars from the site through the area of the easement to Garden and Kimberly Roads. The attached ordinance would dedicate an area of about 4,609 square feet (or 1/10th of an acre) at the southeast corner of the site for public road purposes. This area is shaded in grey in the foregoing exhibit.

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

3. Ordinance 2025-003 Adopting a Second Amendment to the Land Lease and Solar Agreement with DeKalb Taylor Solar, LLC.

City Manager’s Summary: Since 2021, SunVest Solar has had an option to lease land owned by the City of DeKalb on property next to the main terminal complex of the DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport. Their intention has been to build a +/- 5 MW community-scale solar farm and their original intention was to construct the facility in 2023 with full ComEd service in March 2024.

Despite the firm’s due diligence, SunVest was not selected in the June 2023 Community Solar procurement plan administered by the Illinois Power Agency. Accordingly, the Council extended their land lease and solar easement to December 31, 2024. Because the development period including construction still awaited final State of Illinois approval, the Council again revised the effective date of the lease from May 13, 2024, until the date of actual operation or June 30, 2025, whichever is earlier.

The second amendment to the lease (see attached) concerns a required State of Illinois appraisal of the City land. The petitioner hired an appraiser to investigate the capitalized terms of the property. The resulting report determined that the land in question should return a rent of $1,900 per month rather than the $1,800 incorporated in the original lease. DeKalb Taylor Solar has agreed to this modification, so the attached land lease and solar easement has been amended to reflect the higher estimate of value, in the City’s favor.

City Council approval is recommended. (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/_01132025-2646