City of Aledo City Council met Aug. 19.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
The City Council of the City of Aledo met in Regular Session in the Council Chambers of the City Hall building on August 19, 2019. MAYOR HAGLOCH called the meeting to order at 6:43 P.M. The roll was called, whereupon the following answered present:
Aldermen ILA BERTRAND, TERRY BEWLEY, MICHAEL CHAUSSE, BARRY COOPER, DENNIS DIXON, JIM HOLMES, CHRIS KOPP, and LINDA SARABASA. Mayor CHRISTOPHER HAGLOCH.
Also present were CHRIS SULLIVAN, Interim Administrator / Chief of Police, JUSTIN BLASER, Director of Public Works & Utilities, and JAROD DALE, City Clerk.
An attendance sheet has been marked Exhibit “A”, attached hereto and made a part of these minutes. The media was represented by Cala Smoldt, Aledo Times Record & Rock Island Argus, and Jim Taylor, WRMJ.
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
The meeting was opened in prayer by Pastor Daren Dietmeier, Trinity Presbyterian Church.
Appearances: CHIEF Sullivan presented the Aledo Police Benevolent Association #200 Scholarship to Gracie Olson as the 2019 Richard Smith Memorial essay winner. CHIEF noted the presentation would typically be made held during National Night Out but that event was postponed this year due to the downtown street/sidewalk reconstruction project. Gracie plans to attend LaJames College in the fall.
Communication & Correspondence: No Report.
Requests & Petitions: Cemetery Transfer Request: Petition of Judy M. Hofer, Roger W. Hofmann, Shirley A. Clarke, William B. Hofmann, Donald E. Hofmann to transfer Lot No. 182-D in the Third (3rd) Addition to the Aledo Cemetery, situated in the City of Aledo, County of Mercer and State of Illinois to John W. & Frances Blick.
Public Works Activity Report:
Streets: street patching continues; re-striped the downtown parking stalls and stop bars; finished clean-up of stumps from tree removals.
Water: JULIE’s; finals.
Gas: JULIE’s; read meters; work on task list for USDI & the ICC; update isolated service lists; deliver shut-off notices; assist the W/S Division with valve maintenance; locating water & sewer in the Industrial Park; assisted the Street Division with storm sewer repair at the Public Works garage; painted interpretive panel stands for the RMA site and installed panels.
Cemetery: Two (2) funerals occurred. Mowing and weed eating.
DPW: nuisance abatement preparation for four (4) properties with case files being prepped and sent to the attorney for court preparation. Attended a pre-bid meeting for the Public Works garage floor repair project, Antique Days meeting, and Network @ Noon. Also, attended a safety committee meeting as well.
Aledo Police Department Activity Report: CHIEF Sullivan reported all employees of the Police Department will be directly involved in running the car show portion of Antique Days. The Department has been selling 50/50 raffle tickets. A $5,000 minimum drawing winner will be determined during the awards ceremony portion of the car show. Additionally, a motor that was built by students at Mercer County High School will be raffled off and the winning ticket for the Chevrolet Nova raffle will be drawn.
Officer Nicholas Thorndike takes the entrance examination for the Basic Police Officer Academy at Macon County Law Enforcement Training Center on Sunday, August 18th, and begins his training Monday.
The Department is having discussions with the Mercer County School District about possible changes to the School Resource Officer program. We are currently operating under the multi-year contract the Council and the District approved in 2018. That agreement amended a previous agreement by increasing the hours officers would spend at Mercer County High School and adjusting the amount of payment by the District to the City.
The first day of school for all public school students in Aledo was Thursday, August 15th. Officers will be spending more time in and around the schools and the school zones. The mobile radar sign should be moved again in the near future. We will be looking for a new location in an area where school children are likely to be walking to and from school.
Lt. Seefeld is home from surgery and is recuperating. He will remain off duty for at least the next several months. Sgt. Adam Baker has a surgery scheduled for Monday, August 20th. He will be off work for a minimum of 4 to 6 weeks, possibly longer. During the period when both Lt. Seefeld and Sgt. Baker are off work, Chief will be the only supervisor, the only investigator, the only officer certified to deal with sexual assault and abuse reports, the only crime tech, and the evidence officer.
Administration Report: CITY CLERK Dale reported 353 Court to hold the “Are you an Entrepreneur?” workshop at Aledo BankOrion 2nd floor conference room beginning August 28th at 6:00 o’clock p.m. and should last an hour or so each evening. The program will run thru October 2nd, 2019. 353 will help the participants think more like an entrepreneur and also assist with things like accounting, legal, marketing, what space is needed for the business, etc. There, participants will be able to put their business ideas on the path to success. Sign-up is thru facebook.com/AledoMainStreet or email michael@353court.com.
Klingner & Associates assisted with the public works building concrete floor repair advertisement. The City will be receiving bids until August 23, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. at City Hall. Klingner & Associates, P.C. held a non-mandatory meeting on August 6th at 10:00 a.m. on-site at the PW Garage, to review the project with the prospective bidders.
CITY CLERK reported the Aledo Park District met on August 11th for their monthly meeting, and the board issued a check to the City regarding the remainder of the funds in the amount of $40,000. All check books have been turned over to the City as well for holding. New deposit stamps were created for F/Y 2020 regarding deposits from the pool, baseball, and concessions to be deposited on behalf of the Aledo Park District into City accounts going forward.
The board approved an engineering agreement with Hutchison Engineering to switch the ball diamond to the NE in an amount not to exceed $8,500. The plan will be to utilize Community Projects of Mercer County to pay for the additional engineering that was completed last year for the ball diamond to switch the direction the diamond faces. The Park District requested verification by DPW Blaser before beginning to provide an aerial photo to verify the position of the diamond that the park board is wanting.
City Hall will be closed in observance of Labor Day on Monday, September 2nd. City Hall will resume normal hours of operation on Tuesday, September 3rd between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
City Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer’s Report has been marked exhibit “B”, attached hereto and made a part of these minutes.
Mayor’s Report: MAYOR HAGLOCH reported there will be a Historic Preservation Commission meeting on Tuesday, an Economic Development Advisory Committee meeting on Wednesday, and the Y.M.C.A. Community Kick-off event on Thursday, this week. Antique Days & Car Show will be this coming Saturday and invited the elected officials to volunteer for that event and contact Dana Murphy at Aledo Main Street. The Aledo Fire Department will hold their annual pancake breakfast in the morning, and Mercer County Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1571 will have a Rib-Cook off at the V.F.W. during the event as well. The Galva/Tri-County Pullers will also be at the event beginning at Noon.
Committee Report: ALD. Sarabasa reported the TIF Committee met on August 7th to review a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) application submitted by Mercer County Family Y.M.C.A. Presentation was made by Y.M.C.A. C.E.O. Sarah Brown.
REGULAR COUNCIL SESSION
Following the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag,
ACTION ITEMS
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Motion was made by ALDERMAN SARABASA and seconded by ALDERMAN HOLMES to approve the meeting minutes of August 05, 2019 as presented. A Roll call vote was recorded as follows:
YES: Bertrand, Bewley, Chausse, Cooper, Dixon, Holmes, Kopp, and Sarabasa.
NO: None.
Motion carried. 8 yeas, 0 nays.
FINANCE: INVOICE LIST:
Motion was made by ALDERMAN BERTRAND and seconded by ALDERMAN SARABASA that the Invoice Listing, which has been marked Exhibit “C”, attached hereto and made a part of these minutes, be authorized and checks issued. A Roll call vote was recorded as follows:
YES: Bewley, Chausse, Cooper, Dixon, Holmes, Sarabasa, and Bertrand.
NO: None.
ABSTAIN: Kopp.
Motion carried. 7 yeas, 0 nays, 1 abstention.
RESOLUTION NO. 26R, SERIES OF 2019; APPROVING AGREEMENT FOR ELECTRONIC CRASH REPORTING:
Motion was made by ALDERMAN CHAUSSE and seconded by ALDERMAN HOLMES to approve Resolution No. 26R, Series of 2019; Approving Agreement for Electronic Crash Reporting & the Chief of Police hereby authorized to sign and accept LexisNexis Coplogic Solutions Inc. Law Enforcement Agreement. A Roll call vote was recorded as follows:
YES: Chausse, Cooper, Dixon, Holmes, Kopp, Sarabasa, Bertrand, and Bewley
NO: None.
Motion carried. 8 yeas, 0 nays.
MOTION APPROVING CHANGE ORDER NO. FIVE (005) REGARDING CITY HALL INTERIOR RENOVATION PROJECT – PHASE I:
Motion was made by ALDERMAN BERTRAND and seconded by ALDERMAN CHAUSSE to approve Change Order No. Five (005) regarding City Hall Interior Renovation Project – Phase I in the amount of $1,925.80. A Roll call vote was recorded as follows:
YES: Cooper, Dixon, Holmes, Kopp, Sarabasa, Bertrand, Bewley, and Chausse.
NO: None.
Motion carried. 8 yeas, 0 nays.
MOTION APPROVING THE PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF WASTE VALVE WITH ACTUATOR FOR THE WATER TREATMENT PLANT:
Motion was made by ALDERMAN KOPP and seconded by ALDERMAN DIXON to approve the Installation of Waste Valve with Actuator for the Water Treatment Plant in the amount of $6,300.00 submitted by Britton Electronics & Automation Inc. A Roll call vote was recorded as follows:
YES: Dixon, Holmes, Kopp, Sarabasa, Bertrand, Bewley, Chausse, and Cooper.
NO: None.
Motion carried. 8 yeas, 0 nays.
CEMETERY TRANSFER REQUEST: PETITION OF JUDY M. HOFER, ROGER W. HOFMANN, SHIRLEY A. CLARK, WILLIAM B. HOFMANN, DONALD E. HOFMANN TO TRANSFER LOT NO. 182-D IN THE THIRD (3RD) ADDITION TO THE ALEDO CEMETERY, SITUATED IN THE CITY OF ALEDO, COUNTY OF MERCER AND STATE OF ILLINOIS TO JOHN W. & FRANCES BLICK:
Motion was made by ALDERMAN KOPP and seconded by ALDERMAN BEWLEY to approve the cemetery transfer request as presented. A Roll call vote was recorded as follows:
YES: Holmes, Kopp, Sarabasa, Bertrand, Bewley, Chausse, Cooper, and Dixon.
NO: None.
Motion carried. 8 yeas, 0 nays.
STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:
A Water, Sewer & Storm Drain Committee meeting to be held on Monday, August 26th at 6:15 o’clock p.m. in the City Council Chambers.
A Finance Committee meeting to be held on Monday, August 26th at 6:30 o’clock p.m. in the City Council Chambers.
A Gas Committee meeting to be held on Monday, August 26th at 6:45 o’clock p.m. in the City Council Chambers.
OLD BUSINESS: DPW Blaser reported he recently met with Todd Thompson, 353 Court, LLC to review and generate the advertisement regarding repairs to the roof, gutters, and soffit at the Button Building. Per DPW Blaser, the advertisement will be posted soon.
NEW BUSINESS: Discussion on the Fiscal Year 2020 Budget & 5-year Capital Improvement Project(s) Approval Process:
CITY CLERK
Dale reported the City Staff is commencing on preparation of the FY 2020 Budget and seeks City Council input on the timeline for budget review and approval. On August 7th, 2019, the City Clerk & Finance Director issued out copies of the Departmental Budget Sheets and the Five Year CIP Budget to commence the review of the F/Y 2020 Budget. It was requested the Departments review the Budget Sheets and return with their Department/Division budget requests by Friday, September 13, 2019. They are to include any additional line items, as may be necessary, to address their Department/Division needs. Each department was also requested to identify new and/or to revise the existing CIP projects for years 2020-2024.
City Council Budget Hearings were scheduled for October 22nd & October 24th beginning at 6:00 o’clock p.m. in the City Council Chambers.
CLOSED SESSION:
Motion was made by ALDERMAN CHAUSSE and seconded by ALDERMAN COOPER to adjourn to closed session to discuss:
A. Personnel Section 2(c)(1) Open Meetings Act
A Roll call vote was recorded as follows:
YEAS: Kopp, Sarabasa, Bertrand, Bewley, Chausse, Cooper, Dixon, and Holmes.
NO: None.
Motion carried. 8 yeas, 0 nays. The meeting was recessed to closed session at 7:00 P.M.
RECONVENE IN OPEN SESSION:
Council reconvened in open session at 7:42 P.M. Roll call was taken with the following answering present: ALDERMEN BERTRAND, BEWLEY, CHAUSSE, COOPER, DIXON, HOLMES, KOPP, and SARABASA, MAYOR HAGLOCH, as well as, CHIEF SULLIVAN, DPW BLASER, and CITY CLERK DALE.
MOTION AUTHORIZING THE CHIEF OF POLICE TO ENTER INTO NEGOTITATIONS WITH THE MERCER COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 404 REGARDING THE POSITION OF SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER:
Motion was made by ALDERMAN CHAUSSE and seconded by ALDERMAN HOLMES to approve the motion as presented. A Roll call vote was recorded as follows:
YES: Sarabasa, Bertrand, Bewley, Chausse, Cooper, Dixon, Holmes, and Kopp.
NO: None.
Motion carried. 8 yeas, 0 nays.
DISCUSSION ON WAGES AND BACKPAY FOR ALEDO POLICE OFFICERS:
CHIEF Sullivan reported the current police union contract expired on 12/31/18 and the police officers and Local 150 have parted ways. City Staff is planning to issue the police officers back-pay regarding COLA at 2% for 2018, 2% for 2019. CHIEF noted the City’s pay scale is low to moderately-low in comparison in pay for other police departments. In the area, CHIEF reported the City is considerably low.
Consensus by the CITY COUNCIL to move forward issuing the COLA increases as presented by the CHIEF to the police officers.
ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, motion was made by ALDERMAN KOPP and seconded by ALDERMAN SARABASA that the meeting be adjourned. A Unanimous voice vote followed in agreement.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:49 P.M.
https://aledoil.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_08192019-193
Alerts Sign-up