Rock Island City Council met November 6.
Here is the minutes provided by the Council:
1.Call to Order
Mayor Thoms called the meeting to order at 6:47 p.m.
2. Roll Call
Mayor Thoms asked the City Clerk to call the roll.
Present: Mayor Mike Thoms, Alderman Joshua Schipp, Alderman Dave Geenen, Alderman Ivory D. Clark, Alderman Virgil J. Mayberry, Alderman Stephen L. Tollenaer, and Alderman Dylan Parker
Alderman James Spurgetis arrived at 6:48 p.m.
Absent: None
Staff: City Manager Randy Tweet, Hector Lareau for City Attorney Dave Morrison, City Clerk Judith Gilbert, and other City staff
3. Pledge of Allegiance
Mayor Thoms led in the saying of the Pledge of Allegiance.
4. Moment of Silence
Mayor Thoms asked for a moment of silence.
5. Minutes of the October 23, 2017 meeting.
Motion:
Alderman Schipp moved to approve the Minutes as printed; Alderman Clark seconded.
Vote:
Motion passed on a 7-0-0 voice vote. Aye: Schipp, Geenen, Clark, Mayberry, Spurgetis, Tollenaer, and Parker. Nay: None. Absent: None.
6. Minutes of the Executive Session of October 23, 2017.
Motion:
Alderman Schipp moved to approve the Executive Session minutes; Alderman Parker seconded.
Vote:
Motion passed on a 7-0-0 voice vote. Aye: Schipp, Geenen, Clark, Mayberry, Spurgetis, Tollenaer, and Parker. Nay: None. Absent: None.
7. Update Rock Island by Mayor Thoms
Sewer Smoke Testing - The City of Rock Island and personnel from Veenstra & Kimm Inc. conducted smoke testing on the sanitary sewer lines in the area bounded by 30th Street to 38th Street and 18th Avenue to 23rd Avenue on October 16 and October 17, 2017. There will be an informational meeting to discuss those results on Wednesday, November 8, 2017, at 6:00 P.M., at the Rock Island Police Department Community Room, 1212 5th Avenue, Rock Island.
Career Information Day - John Deere is having a Career Information Day at the Martin Luther King Jr., Community Center on Saturday November 11, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. John Deere leaders will be on hand to discuss careers in Information Technology, Skill Trades, Engineering, Accounting and Human Resources. This event is open to the public, but high school students and young adults are encouraged to attend. The King Center is located at 630 9th Street in Rock Island. For more information, please contact (309) 732-2999.
Holiday Refuse Collection – Refuse, recycling and yard waste collection schedule will be on the normal schedule during the week of Veteran’s Day holiday. The Drop-Off Center located at Millennium Waste, 1360 Knoxville Road in Milan will be open on Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The City of Rock Island offices will be open.
How To Feed Your Winter Birds – On Saturday, November 18, 2017 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., naturalist Bob Motz will help you identify birds common to our winter feeders and show the types of foods that attract a variety of winter birds. Binoculars will be provided. The event will be held at the Singing Bird Center in Black Hawk State Park. The event is free and for more information please call (309) 788-9536.
8. Presentation of the Financial Management Report for the Third Quarter 2017.
Finance Director Stephanie Masson presented the Financial Management Report for the Third Quarter 2017. Ms. Masson said the report is for the period ending September 30, so the benchmark is 75% of revenues and expenditures. General Fund revenues are at 68% of budget and General Fund expenditures are at 72% of budget. She noted that any funds that rely heavily on property tax revenues such as the General Fund, the TIFs, the Library and Parks are near the 75% of revenues as the third installment of property taxes was due September 8. The final property tax installment is due November 8. TIF expenditures are low at 6% of budget due to the timing of distributions of debt service payments and payments for redevelopment agreements. Debt service expenditures are lower than 75% due to the timing of payments. Interest payments are due June 1 and principal and interest payments are due December 1.
Ms. Masson next reviewed the status of proprietary funds and fiduciary funds. Waterworks and Wastewater Treatment funds are significantly below budget. The proceeds from the IEPA loans are not in yet. However, if that is removed from the equation, she has reviewed the funds and they are on track at this point. Ms. Masson reported the Pension Trust funds are doing well with their revenues; Fire has a 10% return and Police has an 8.5% return for the year.
Ms. Masson stated that government-wide, all funds are reporting 61% of revenues and 51% of expenditures. Revenues exceed expenditures by $6.5 million and there is $32 million cash available. A new schedule of the General Fund with a breakdown by department has been added. Expenditures are running at 72% of budget overall.
Ms. Masson provided an analysis of state and local income tax revenue. The schedules are broken out by month with five-year averages presented. Income tax revenue dipped below budget as expected in July when the state reduced distributions by 10% which will only be for the state's FY 2018. This equates to $500,000 less than budgeted. Replacement tax is paid in eight installments to the city and will be reduced by 23%. Ms. Masson expects the City to meet budget on this tax revenue. The state overpaid the City $300,000 in replacement tax, but that the City was notified they will not have to repay it.
Sales tax is running below budget due to the closure of Kmart and to an overpayment of sales tax discovered during a taxpayer's audit. There is now a 2% administrative fee the state is charging for distribution of sales tax which began July 1. Use tax is running over budget and should continue. Municipal utility tax continues to decline, but is running close to budget. The Telecom tax (excise tax) also continues to decline and it probably won't make budget even though the budget was lowered. The Food and Beverage tax is tracking on budget and close to the five-year average. Gaming tax trends indicate total annual receipts will be $4.4 million which is below the five-year average.
Ms. Masson discussed the City's cash investment. Across all funds there is $32 million in cash. She noted that November 2016 and September 2017 were months when bond proceeds were received. In December, debt service payments are made. Interest rates are slowly creeping up. She presented a pie chart of the distribution of the City's investments.
Ms. Masson presented a Capital and Major Project Expenditure Status report which lists projects by funds. Projects are 81.8% complete. The majority of the projects are Pubic Works projects with $38.9 million in projects mostly due to the Water Treatment Filter Facility project and sewer projects.
There were no questions from Council for Ms. Masson.
9. Claims
a. Report from the Human Resources Department regarding payment in the amount of $17,960.54 to Dave Morrison of Rock Island, IL for legal services rendered for the period of September 27, 2017 through October 23, 2017.
b. Report from the Public Works Department regarding payment #1 in the amount of $244,566.90 to Civil Constructors Inc. of East Moline, IL for the Water Filtration Facility Project for services provided from July 17, 2017 through October 13, 2017.
c. Report from the Public Works Department regarding payment #4 in the amount of $131,976.19 to Centennial Contractors of the Quad Cities Inc. of Moline, IL for the 2017 Sidewalk and Pavement Patching Program for services provided from September 7, 2017 through September 29, 2017.
d. Report from the Public Works Department regarding payment #2 in the amount of $183.781.54 to Miller Trucking & Excavating of Silvis, IL for the Lincoln Court Reconstruction, 17th to 20th Streets Project for services provided from September 8, 2017 through October 6, 2017.
e. Report from the Public Works Department regarding payment in the amount of $27,300.00 to Stack Test Group Inc. of Ottawa, IL for annual emission testing of the natural gas engines at the Wet Weather Treatment Facility.
Motion:
Alderman Clark moved to accept the reports and authorize payments for Claims items a through e as recommended; Alderman Tollenaer seconded.
Alderman Mayberry said that with the exception of "a," all of the other businesses are not located in Rock Island. He has a problem with that and wants the money to stay in Rock Island. Mayor Thoms said projects are typically awarded to the lowest bid.
Vote:
Motion passed on a 7-0-0 roll call vote. Aye: Schipp, Geenen, Clark, Mayberry, Spurgetis, Tollenaer, and Parker. Nay: None. Absent: None.
10. Claims for the weeks of October 20 through October 26 in the amount of $982,960.87 and October 27 through November 2 in the amount of $711,394.72; and payroll for the weeks of October 9 through October 22 in the amount of $1,455,772.17.
Motion:
Alderman Spurgetis moved to allow the claims and payroll; Alderman Clark seconded.
Vote:
Motion passed on a 7-0-0 roll call vote. Aye: Schipp, Geenen, Clark, Mayberry, Spurgetis, Tollenaer, and Parker. Nay: None. Absent: None.
11. Report from General Administration regarding a Special Ordinance amending Chapter 2, Article VI, Division 2, Section 2-216 of the Code of Ordinances as it relates to appointments and removals to boards and commissions.
Note: This item was deferred from the October 23, 2017 Council meeting.
Alderman Clark moved to consider, suspend the rules, and pass the ordinance and strike from part (b) the words "infamous crime" and "felony;" Alderman Tollenaer seconded.
Alderman Schipp asked Alderman Clark to confirm that he was leaving in bribery and perjury. Alderman Clark said yes.
Mr. Lareau said Council must first vote on the amendment change and then vote on the actual ordinance.
Motion:
Alderman Clark moved to amend the text of the ordinance removing the words "infamous crime" and "felony" in part (b); Alderman Tollenaer seconded.
Vote:
Motion passed on a 7-0-0 roll call vote. Aye: Schipp, Geenen, Clark, Mayberry, Spurgetis, Tollenaer, and Parker. Nay: None. Absent: None.
Motion:
Alderman Clark moved to consider, suspend the rules, and pass the ordinance with the amendment; Alderman Tollenaer seconded.
Vote:
Motion passed on a 7-0-0 roll call vote. Aye: Schipp, Geenen, Clark, Mayberry, Spurgetis, Tollenaer, and Parker. Nay: None. Absent: None.
12. Report from the City Clerk regarding a Special Ordinance amending Chapter 7, Article IV, Section 7-60 (a), (a)(1) ,(a)(2), and (a)(3) of the Code of the Ordinances as it relates to Recreational Vehicle Park licenses.
Motion:
Alderman Parker moved to consider, suspend the rules, and pass the ordinance; Alderman Mayberry seconded.
Vote:
Motion passed on a 7-0-0 roll call vote. Aye: Schipp, Geenen, Clark, Mayberry, Spurgetis, Tollenaer, and Parker. Nay: None. Absent: None.
13. Report from the City Clerk regarding a Special Ordinance amending Chapter 8, Article I, Section 8-2 and 8-8; Chapter 8, Article III, Division 1, Section 8-82 and 8-84; Chapter 8, Article VIII, Section 8-273 and Section 8-274; and Chapter 8, Article XVIII, Section 8-488 of the Code of Ordinances as it relates to licenses and business regulations.
Motion:
Alderman Parker moved to consider, suspend the rules, and pass the ordinance; Alderman Clark seconded.
Vote:
Motion passed on a 7-0-0 roll call vote. Aye: Schipp, Geenen, Clark, Mayberry, Spurgetis, Tollenaer, and Parker. Nay: None. Absent: None.
14. Report from the Community and Economic Development Department regarding the Citizens Advisory Committee's recommendations for CY 2018 Gaming Grant Fund allocations.
Motion:
Alderman Parker moved to approve the allocations as recommended and authorize the City Manager to execute the contract documents; Alderman Tollenaer seconded.
Mayor Thoms asked if they would like to hear from the committee. Discussion followed. Alderman Schipp would like to see the Community Caring Conference fully funded for their
Mayor Thoms asked if they would like to hear from the committee. Discussion followed. Alderman Schipp would like to see the Community Caring Conference fully funded for their request of $8,000 for staffing costs instead of the $1,500 recommendation. Committee chair Linda Mohr explained the committee did not fully fund the request from Community Caring Conference because it was a staff position; the committee was funding more projects. Alderman Geenen commented projects can't be run without staff. Ms. Mohr said the focus was funding projects that helped kids. Only one project was fully funded; Habitat for Humanity was fully funded because it was for a new house in Rock Island that would bring in a new family and would generate property taxes. She said Community Caring Conference was not funded last year as it was just starting up. The Community Caring Conference was recommended to receive $1,500. It was the decision of the committee not to fund staffing, but to fund programs.
Alderman Schipp said the Community Caring Conference needs to be funded from somewhere else then to fully fund their request. Alderman Clark added that could be looked at, getting the funds from somewhere else, but not part of this recommendation. Alderman Mayberry asked where the money would come from. He requested Ms. Masson to come back up. Ms. Mohr noted that there is a cap with the Gaming Grant of $50,000 overall. Alderman Geenen said the advisory committee reviews all of the applications; it is a difficult job; and he commended them for their recommendations. Ms. Mohr introduced Bill Anderson, a member of the committee, and Ms. Colleen Small-Vollman of the Community and Economic Development Department who facilitated the work of the committee. Ms. Masson said last year, the Community Caring Conference received CIP funds. She said at next week's study session, she will be reviewing other funds for neighborhood organizations; the intent is to assist Community Caring Conference with those funds.
Alderman Parker noted there were four public meetings and asked how they were published. Ms. Small-Vollman said the meetings are open to the public, but there are no requirements for publishing. Alderman Clark asked how does the public know about the meetings then. Ms. Small-Vollman said press releases were sent out. Alderman Geenen asked how many applications were received. Ms. Small-Vollman said twenty-four (24) applications were received with a total request of $125,000. There is only $50,000 to allocate and that is by ordinance. Alderman Parker encouraged all City staff to utilize every outlet to give public notice of all meetings and to use the City's Facebook pages to get the word out.
Vote:
Motion passed on a 7-0-0 roll call vote. Aye: Schipp, Geenen, Clark, Mayberry, Spurgetis, Tollenaer, and Parker. Nay: None. Absent: None.
15. Report from the Traffic Engineering Committee regarding a request for the installation of a handicapped parking space at 2837 9th Avenue.
Motion:
Alderman Tollenaer moved to approve the request as recommended and refer to the City Attorney for an ordinance; Alderman Mayberry seconded.
Vote:
Motion passed on a 7-0-0 voice vote. Aye: Schipp, Geenen, Clark, Mayberry, Spurgetis, Tollenaer, and Parker. Nay: None. Absent: None.
16. Report from the Mayor regarding an appointment to the Fire Pension Board.
Motion:
Alderman Clark moved to approve the appointment as recommended; Alderman Geenen seconded.
Mayor Thoms said he was recommending Steven Pressly of Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home. Alderman Parker asked about the specialized training noted in the memo. Mayor Thoms said the position requires certification with thirty-two (32) hours of training in Chicago and continuing education on an annual basis.
Vote:
Motion passed on a 7-0-0 voice vote. Aye: Schipp, Geenen, Clark, Mayberry, Spurgetis, Tollenaer, and Parker. Nay: None. Absent: None.
17. Other Business
Alderman Geenen reminded the audience that the 7th Ward meeting will be on Thursday, November 9 at 6:00 p.m. at Denkmann Elementary School in the cafeteria. The Mayor and department heads will be present. Quad Cities Ballet will be providing fun activities for children in the school gym during the meeting.
Alderman Schipp announced that the Keystone Neighborhood Association will be having a general meeting on Thursday, November 9 at 6:00 p.m. at St. John's Lutheran Church on 7th Avenue. He said Community and Economic Development Director Chandler Poole will be in attendance
Alderman Parker reported that No Parking signs have been installed on 15th Avenue to prohibit parking before the stop sign at the intersection. He reported that people were purposely parking there to slow traffic. He asked that the item regarding the installation of additional stop signs at the intersection be brought back at the next meeting.
Alderman Mayberry stated the newspaper published a headline: Rock Island Man Slain in Davenport. Alderman Mayberry said there is no evidence the young man ever lived in Rock Island. Alderman Mayberry feels the newspaper continues to slam Rock Island in negative ways; there will be no retraction by the newspaper. Mayor Thoms and City Manager Randy Tweet reported they will be meeting with Dispatch-Argus editor Roger Ruthhart later in the week and will discuss the matter.
Alderman Schipp said this Friday (November 10) is the observance of Veterans Day and Saturday (November 11) is the actual Veterans Day. He noted the City Manager is a veteran. Alderman Schipp thanked all Rock Island employees and residents of Rock Island who are veterans for their service. Mayor Thoms said he will be serving breakfast to veterans at HyVee this weekend.
Alderman Tollenaer announced that Friendship Manor with assistance from the Community and Economic Development Department is removing urban blight from the neighborhood at 21st Avenue and 11th Street. Mayor Thoms said it will be a parklike setting with signage.
Alderman Parker announced he will be hosting an event at the World War I memorial on 18th Avenue on Saturday, November 11 at 11:00 a.m. He noted that Veterans Day was originally Armistice Day which commemorated the end of World War I. He will read a list of local veterans from World War I. It is at Reservoir Park. All are invited.
Max Saintfolt, a senior at Rock Island High School, said he is looking forward to the library expansion with a space for teens to hang out and work together. He said the Rock Island Library
Max Saintfolt, a senior at Rock Island High School, said he is looking forward to the library expansion with a space for teens to hang out and work together. He said the Rock Island Library is a great place to get books, but the Moline Library is better suited for hanging out at their cafe. There is a need in Rock Island for space to study and for tutoring.
Grant Florence said the library offers a great anchor for the local community for all students. He saw the same process ten years ago in Moline. He encouraged Council to make the investment in the city with the library's great plan. Alderman Mayberry asked him if he was an ambassador for Rock Island; Mr Florence said yes. Alderman Parker said he is working with Rock Island Switchyard to make makerspace available at the downtown library which would give students a place to collaborate. He encouraged the young people present to get involved and get in touch with him through his Facebook page.
18. Executive Session: 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(12) The establishment of reserves or settlement of claims as provided in the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act.
Motion:
Alderman Geenen moved to go into Executive Session for the exception cited; Alderman Spurgetis seconded.
Vote:
Motion passed on a 7-0-0 roll call vote. Aye: Schipp, Geenen, Clark, Mayberry, Spurgetis, Tollenaer, and Parker. Nay: None. Absent: None.
19. Motion to Adjourn
Motion:
Alderman Parker moved to adjourn; Alderman Schipp seconded.
Vote:
Motion passed on a 7-0-0 voice vote. Aye: Schipp, Geenen, Clark, Mayberry, Spurgetis, Tollenaer, and Parker. Nay: None. Absent: None.
The meeting adjourned at 7:38 p.m.
http://www.rigov.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_11062017-76
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