City of Kewanee City Council met December 10.
Here is the minutes as provided by the council:
The City Council met in Council Chambers at 6:00 pm with the Mayor calling the meeting to order and the following answering to roll call:
Steve Faber Council Member
Chris Colomer Council Member
Michael Yaklich Council Member
Andy Koehler Council Member
Steve Looney Mayor
Council Member Colomer made a motion to adjourn to executive session pursuant to Section 2(C)(2) of the Open Meetings Act to discuss collective bargaining. Council Member Faber seconded the motion. Roll call showed 5 ayes, no nays. The motion passed.
The executive session adjourned at 6:16 pm on a motion made by Council Member Faber and seconded by Council Member Yaklich. Roll call showed 5 ayes, no nays. The motion passed.
The Council held a work session regarding the automation of trash collection immediately following the closed session.
Mayor Looney called the open meeting to order at 7:00 pm stating that the Council is reconvening following a closed session pursuant to Section 2(C) (2) of the Open Meetings Act to discuss collective bargaining.
News media present was as follows:
Mike Helenthal Star Courier
Shawn Kernan WKEI
The Pledge of Allegiance was said.
Mayor Looney asked for a moment of silence for our troops still fighting overseas.
Mayor Looney explained that the next items were placed on the consent agenda and were considered to be routine in nature to be passed as a whole with one vote of the Council. Mayor Looney requested that any member of the Council or the audience wishing to have an item removed from the consent agenda for individual consideration to make the request and the item would be removed and considered following the approval of the remaining consent items. The consent agenda included minutes from the November 26, 2018 Council Meeting, payroll for the pay period ending December 8, 2018 in the amount of $210,016.19, reports from Community Development, Water Loss Report, Finance & Administration, and the Police Department. The consent agenda items were approved on a motion made by Council Member Colomer and seconded by Council Member Yaklich. Roll call showed 5 ayes, no nays. The motion passed.
Bills submitted for approval totaling $1,296,569.65 were approved on a motion made by Council Member Yaklich and seconded by Council Member Colomer. Council Member Colomer questioned the payment to Core & Main. Operations Manager Johnson explained that the bills are split evenly between water and sewer. Council Member Yaklich questioned if the Med-Tech Resource was the same as Med-Tech Sweden. Fire Chief Shook reported that they were not the same company and Med-Tech Resource was based in Oregon. Council Member Yaklich asked how many additional invoices would be coming from IMEG for the East Street project. City Manager Bradley stated he would get additional information from the City Engineer. Council Member Yaklich also received confirmation that the pound had been insulated and the drafts around the overhead door had been covered, which should help lower the heating bill. Roll call showed 5 ayes, no nays. The motion passed.
New Business
Ordinance #3949 abating the property tax levy for the General Obligation Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source) Series 2012 was approved on a motion made by Council Member Colomer and seconded by Council Member Faber. City Manager Bradley explained that we have another source of revenue that is sufficient to pay the bond so the levy is not needed. Roll call showed 5 ayes, no nays. The motion passed.
Citizen Participation
Mayor Looney then asked if anyone wished to speak regarding a non-agenda item. There being no such requests Mayor Looney moved back to new business.
New Business
Ordinance #3950 abating the property tax for the Series 2013 General Obligation Waterworks and Sewerage Refunding Bonds, Alternate Revenue Source was approved on a motion made by Council Member Colomer and seconded by Council Member Koehler. Roll call showed 5 ayes, no nays. The motion passed.
Ordinance #3951 abating the property tax levy for the General Obligation Waterworks and Sewerage Refunding Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source), Series 2015 was approved on a motion made by Council Member Yaklich and seconded by Council Member Faber. Roll call showed 5 ayes, no nays. The motion passed.
Ordinance #3952 establishing the 2018 property tax levy, payable in 2019 was tabled on a motion made by Council Member Colomer and seconded by Council Member Faber. City Manager Bradley noted that the Council could levy up to 4.99% increase without a truth in taxation hearing. He explained that Director of Finance Johnson had put together the levy which provided for a substantial increase in pension funds, and therefore would require the city to tighten spending more. Council Member Yaklich questioned the plan for increasing the percentage funded for the pension plans. Mr. Bradley suggested that pension reform would be necessary to assist all municipalities in that regard. Council Member Yaklich questioned if it was a sound practice to not increase practice. City Manager Bradley explained that the levy included a cut in liability insurance levy because the enterprise funds should pay their portion of the expense. Director of Finance Johnson suggested that pension reform at the state level would be needed. Council Members asked Mrs. Johnson for the numbers needed to increase the levy up to 4.99%. She went back to her office to get the figures. Roll call showed 5 ayes, no nays. The motion passed.
Resolution #5133 establishing the meeting dates for the City Council Meetings in 2019 was approved on a motion made by Council Member Colomer and seconded by Council Member Koehler. Mayor Looney noted that there would be three meetings held on Tuesdays. Roll call showed 5 ayes, no nays. The motion passed.
Resolution #5134 authorizing the City Manager to execute a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 233 was approved on a motion made by Council Member Colomer and seconded by Council Member Faber. Roll call showed 5 ayes, no nays. The motion passed.
Resolution #5135 awarding the demolition of 730 Gilbert Street to Dana Construction was approved on a motion made by Council Member Faber and seconded by Council Member Colomer. Roll call showed 5 ayes, no nays. The motion passed.
Announcements
City Clerk Edwards announced that City Hall offices would be closed on Monday, December 24 and Tuesday, December 25 in observance of Christmas. Trash collection will be moved back one day with Tuesday to Wednesday, Wednesday to Thursday, and Thursday to Friday. The next City Council meeting would be held on Friday, December 21 at 4:00 pm. Residents would be allowed five extra bags of trash the week of December 24. Operations Manager Johnson noted that everything should be set out in trash bags and not loose at the curb.
New Business
Ordinance #3952 establishing the 2018 property tax levy, payable in 2019 was amended on a motion made by Council Member Yaklich and seconded by Council Member Faber to increase the levy by 4.8% with a total levy of $2,173,217. Roll call showed 5 ayes, no nays. The motion passed.
Ordinance #3952 establishing the 2018 property tax levy, payable in 2019 was approved as amended on a motion made by Council Member Colomer and seconded by Council Member Yaklich. Roll call showed 5 ayes, no nays. The motion passed.
Other Business
Council Member Faber urged residents to shop in town when possible. He also noted a pictures with Santa for pets that would be held on December 15 from 2-4 pm at the City Pound.
Council Member Colomer thanked the volunteers for the lighting at Windmont and Northeast Parks.
Council Member Koehler thanked Mark Mikenas for his work with the events that draw people to town, including Windmont Park lighting. He also suggested that there would not be a primary election. City Clerk Edwards noted that a primary would still be held if there were to be a writein candidate.
Council Member Yaklich again requested more information about the City’s involvement in the repair of the street after a new home was built on East Division Street. He noted that he had completed a FOI Request, but the information was not yet filled. City Manager Bradley stated that the City had billed the contractor as we normally do for any other project. The information for the FOI request was being gathered and would be forthcoming the following Monday.
Mayor Looney thanked the volunteers for their work on the lighted parade and Windmont lighting. He also thanked the Council for the tough decisions that evening.
There being no further business, Council Member Colomer moved to adjourn the meeting and Council Member Faber seconded the motion. Roll call showed 5 ayes, no nays. The meeting adjourned at 8:01 pm.
http://www.cityofkewanee.com/COUNCIL%20MEETING%2018-23.pdf
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