City of Kewanee City Council met Feb. 23.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
The February 23, 2026, Council Meeting was called to order at 7:00pm in the Council Chambers. Councilmembers Cernovich, Baker, and Komnick were present along with City Attorney Zac Lessard and City Clerk Kasey Mitchell. Mayor Moore and Councilmember Colomer were absent.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, followed by a moment of silence for our troops.
The Consent Agenda was presented with the following items:
A. Payroll for the pay period ending February 7th in the amount of $245,485.32.
B. Staff Reports
C. Bock Report
A motion to approve the consent agenda was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Motion passed 3-0.
Bills for February 23 Council Meeting were presented in the amount of $232,732.08. A motion to approve payment of the bills was made by Councilmember Komnick and seconded by Councilmember Cernovich. Discussion: Councilmember Cernovich wants to make sure that Staff is purchasing items locally, when possible, rather than through Amazon. For larger projects, it would be beneficial to have a system that shows the percentage of budget used/remaining verses completion of the project. The MICA charge was for a public works accident and a police accident. A motion to remove the MGT payment due to the invoice being incorrect was made by Councilmember Cernovich and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Motion to exclude that payment passed 3-0. Motion to approve the remaining payments passed 3-0.
Public Comments: None
New Business:
A. Bill 26-13: Ordinance approving amendments to Chapter 99 of the Kewanee City Code of Ordinances regarding Tianeptine and Kratom.
A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Discussion: No Staff or Councilmember was contacted by a resident regarding this. Council feels there is no need for this to be available locally. Council decided on Option B. Motion passed 3-0.
B. Bill 26-17: Ordinance amending Section 160.170 Permits Required for Large Solar Energy Systems established in the City of Kewanee Code of Ordinances.
A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Komnick and seconded by Councilmember Cernovich. Discussion: Councilmember Cernovich wasn’t sure he wanted to change the Code but after reading the Plan Commission minutes, he understood the need for it. He would like to have standard set of rules for solar when being placed next to a residential area. Director of Building and Zoning Keith Edwards and agreed and said he would look into it. Motion passed 3-0.
C. Bill 26-18: Ordinance granting a special use permit to Indigo Solar, LLC for property located South of 1051 W South St.
A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Discussion: Council heard from Kiersten Sheets, Senior Project Development Manager with Trajectory Energy Partners, about the project and the updates they have made to it. She also discussed how the project will benefit OSF and the community. When the project is approved and online, they will be making a $25,000 donation to the Police Department’s DAART program. Council also heard from a representative from OSF who stated that the Sisters give them the funds to take care of the building and they try to be the best stewards possible for them and the community. This will be very beneficial to OSF. They will be allowed to use 40% of what the solar array produces. The other neighbors to the solar array, the Andersons, spoke to Council about their concerns. After some questioning, Council felt that their concerns had all been addressed. Joel Hasse, a member of the Planning Commission, told Council that he would have liked to see a few stipulations added to the Special Use Permit. Council discussed those. A motion to amend the Special Use Permit to remove “and assigns” from Stipulation 1 and add “staggered” to Stipulation 6 was made by Councilmember Cernovich and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Motion to amend passed 3-0. Motion to approve the Special Use Permit as amended passed 3-0.
D. Bill 26-19: Ordinance directing the sale of excess real estate located at W Fifth St. A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Cernovich and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Discussion: None. Motion passed 3-0.
E. Discussion Only: Chapter 52: Waterworks
Public Works Director Chris Berry walked the Council through changes to Chapter 52. He is proposing small changes to some sections and complete rewrites of others. This will help this Chapter be more compliant and consistent with best practices. There was discussion about different nuances. Council was urged to keep looking at the updates and make suggestions. This will be an ongoing discussion until everything is updated and everyone is in agreement.
Council Communications:
Komnick: none
Cernovich: Residents are anxious to see plans for the roads and subsurface infrastructure. He wants to make sure Staff is staying on top of this and that this year’s road program is handled earlier in the Spring/Summer than it has the last few years. Baker: none
Announcements: A reminder to residents that burn days will not begin until April and that is when landscape pickup will resume.
The monthly outdoor warning siren testing will resume in March. Testing is done on the first Tuesday of each month at 10am. Also, Welcome Home to Wrenly and the Colomer Family.
A motion to adjourn was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Motion passed 3-0 and the meeting was adjourned at 9:04pm.
https://cms5.revize.com/revize/kewaneeillinois/Minutes%202-23-26.pdf?t=202603201502180&t=202603201502180
