City of East Moline Committee of the Whole met July 6.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
ROLL CALL
Mayor Freeman called the meeting to order and directed City Clerk Wanda Roberts to call the roll. The following Aldermen were present: Larry Toppert, Gary Almblade, Nancy Mulcahey, Jayne O’Brien, Rhea Oakes, Maria Tapia and Jose Rico. 7:04 p.m.
ADDITIONS/CORRECTIONS TO AGENDA
None.
LANDFILL ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES CONTRACT (Mr. Kammler – Director of Engineering)
As part of the updated landfill host agreement and the cooperative efforts between Republic Services and the City of East Moline, Republic has agreed to reimburse the city up to $65,000 per year for the environmental consulting and testing services required for post-closure care of the city's old landfill. With this arrangement, the city agreed to give consideration to utilizing Republic's environmental consultant, Andrews Engineering, who is already performing similar services at the adjoining Upper Rock Island County Landfill. Andrews Engineering is a well known and respected environmental engineering firm, headquartered in Springfield, IL with offices located around the Midwest. Staff has met with representatives from Andrews, reviewed their Statement of Qualifications (available at Engineering for review), and obtained a professional services agreement for the post-closure care work required by IEPA. A copy of the Andrews PSA is attached for review and consideration. Staff has discussed this matter with EnviroNET, Inc. who has been performing these services for the city for a number of years and will coordinate with both firms to transition this work moving forward. Lab testing services will remain with PDC Labs under separate agreement. Moving Andrews into this role would be one more step in the process toward Republic eventually taking over ownership and responsibility of the East Moline landfill.
FINANCIAL:
This is a budgeted item.
Line Item # 022-4200-300.2 Title: Landfill Host – Professional Services Amount Budgeted: $65,000.00 (Reimbursed by Republic)
Actual Cost: Time & Materials
Funding Sources: Landfill Host Fees
Departments: Engineering
This is not a CIP.
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve professional services contract with Andrews Engineering for environmental and post-closure care services at the East Moline Landfill.
A motion was made by Alderman Almblade, seconded by Alderman O’Brien to concur with the recommendation as presented. Upon roll call the following voted in favor: Tapia, Rico, Toppert, Almblade, Mulcahey, O’Brien and Oakes. Motion carried.
BUDGET AMENDMENT - ADDITION OF MAINTENANCE WORKER (1.00 FTE) (Doug Maxeiner – City Administrator)
During budget preparation and approval, Maintenance Services authorized staffing level was reduced by one equipment operator position (1.00 FTE). After operating for six months with this smaller field crew, it has become apparent that this position is needed to address ongoing operations in street right-of-way and parks maintenance. This position will also occasionally be assigned to drainage, water distribution, and sewer collection system maintenance as the need arises and is a Grade 4 in the AFSCME collective bargaining agreement with a starting wage in 2021 of $28.35 per hour. Wages and benefits for the half year could amount to approximately $41,600.00 depending on health insurance coverage. The cost for the position for a full year is approximately $83,000.00 with family medical coverage.
The approved FY '21Budget included a reduction of $200,000.00 in income tax revenue due to Governor Pritzker's recommended state budget that would have reduced the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) by 10%. The final state budget kept LGDF intact suggesting that revenues can be increased approximately $200,000 to more than offset the additional expense.
FINANCIAL:
This is not a budgeted item.
Line Item # 021-4100-1101 Title: Non-Home Rule Sales Tax
Amount Budgeted: $85,985.00
Actual Cost: $127,585.00
Under/(Over): $41,600.00 Over
Funding Sources: LGDF and General Revenues
Departments: Maintenance Services
This is not a CIP.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the request.
A motion was made by Alderman O’Brien seconded by Alderman Almblade to concur with the recommendation as presented. Upon roll call the following voted in favor: Tapia, Rico, Toppert, Almblade, Mulcahey, O’Brien and Oakes. Motion carried.
AXON BODY CAMERA PURCHASE/CONTRACT (Chief Ramsey, EMPD) The East Moline Police Department has obtained a sole source bid for a body camera system through AXON Enterprise, Inc. The AXON body camera system is used by the law enforcement agencies in Silvis, Moline, Rock Island, Milan, and Rock Island County. The Rock Island County States Attorney's Office also uses the evidence.com cloud service through AXON for agencies to submit their videos along with other discovery items for courtroom prosecution (see attached letter). Thus, making this the only viable option for us to pursue. We have looked at some other systems and AXON appeared superior to those with the cost of those systems being similar. Body cameras will be mandated for our agency in 2025 per the new law enforcement reform bill (HB3653) that passed earlier this year. The benefits of having body cameras far outweigh the cost as they can actually save cities significant money in court overtime and lawsuit defense to name a few (see attached document for other benefits).
We have worked with AXON to develop the most cost-effective program for the East Moline Police Department. The attached contract is for 5 years with an overall cost of $189,060.68. The first-year cost is $65,486.40 that includes all the initial cost of the equipment, insurance program, evidence.com with cloud storage, redaction assistant, among other features. The following 4 years cost $30,893.57 per year that includes the insurance program, evidence.com with cloud storage, redaction assistant, among other features. With the insurance program (Tech Assurance Plan: TAP) all body cameras are also replaced with the newest version at the 3-year mark and 5-year mark, with no initial equipment cost occurring again with a new contract renewal. There is also a grant opportunity through the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILESTB) for reimbursement of the initial equipment cost that comes available every spring and requires the body camera system already be implemented and operational before eligibility for this grant. This is a grant we will apply for when it comes available. I am proposing purchasing the first-year cost of $65,486.40 by using Federal Drug Asset Forfeiture Funds, with the following years being absorbed into the police department budget moving forward.
FINANCIAL:
This is not a budgeted item.
Line Item # 037-4200-740.1 Title: Public Safety Equipment
Amount Budgeted: $0
Actual Cost: $65,486.40 (This Budget Year)
Under/(Over): ($65.486.40)
Funding Sources: Federal Drug Asset Forfeiture Fund
Departments: East Moline Police Department
This is not a CIP.
RECOMMENDATION:
To approve the 5-year contract with AXON Enterprise, Inc.
A motion was made by Alderman Toppert, seconded by Alderman Oakes to concur with the recommendation as presented. Upon roll call the following voted in favor: Tapia, Rico, Toppert, Almblade, Mulcahey, O’Brien and Oakes. Motion carried.
REQUEST TO MOVE FORWARD WITH ENGINEERING SERVICES BY V & K FOR BASIN 3 CIP (Brianna Huber, Interim Director of Water Filtration) Due to the age of our WTP, and the typical useful life for similar structures being approximately 50 years (without extensive maintenance and repairs), an observational analysis of the WTP concrete structures (sedimentation basins 1 and 2, filter basins 1-4, recarb basins 1 and 2, construction approximately 1955; sedimentation basins 3 and 4, filter basins 5-8, recarb basins 3 and 4, constructed approximately 1966) was conducted in 2019 by V&K to determine the condition of the basins and the feasibility of extending the useful life of said structures via rehab and repair. At that time, it was determined that the structures are lacking sufficient concrete reinforcement in exterior walls and that this deficiency, paired with normal use and the constant expansion and contraction that occurs naturally as seasons and temperatures change, has contributed to the amount and severity of cracks and leaching in the basins. As a result of V&K's analysis, they recommended an initial significant rehab and repair of all structures, followed by continuous rehab and repair to address individual cracks as they continue to emerge. It is estimated that implementing rehab and repairs as suggested may extend the useful life of the basin structures by 10-20 years. Basin 4 initial rehab and repair was conducted in 2020, and Basin 3 initial rehab and repair was included in the 2021 CIP. I have included a copy of the Engineering Services Agreement provided by V&K for basin 3 rehab and repair for your review. Staff recommends moving forward with V&K for engineering services for basin 3 rehab and repairs.
FINANCIAL:
This is a budgeted item.
Line Item # 200.4522.743.0 Title: Capital Purchases
Amount Budgeted: $120,000.00
Actual Cost: $8,988.00
Under/(Over): $111,012.00
Departments: Water Treatment Plant
This is a CIP. CIP Project Number: 200-20-003
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends moving forward with engineering services with V&K for Basin 3 CIP.
A motion was made by Alderman Almblade, seconded by Alderman Oakes to concur with the recommendation as presented. Upon roll call the following voted in favor: Tapia, Rico, Toppert, Almblade, Mulcahey, O’Brien and Oakes. Motion carried.
8-8-27 NOTICE OF DELINQUENCY ORDINANCE UPDATE (Ms. Whiting, Finance Director)
Currently when a customer is delinquent on a utility bill, a warning notice, also referred to as a red tag is issued by the Finance Department and hand delivered by Maintenance Services staff. In some cases, staff is pulled away from various duties in order to complete the notices. Due to the City's ability to provide correspondence via e-mail, our online payment system, and mail, hand delivery of red tag notices is no longer necessary, and the new method will increase efficiency and customer service. However, our current Ordinance specifically calls out the "...delivery of a seventy two (72) hour warning notice...", this language needs to be updated to remove the "seventy two (72) hour" language and state "a charge of ten dollars ($10) will be made upon the issuance or delivery of a warning notice (red tag) for the disconnection of water service." This will allow for flexibility of up to a 10-dayperiod for customers to pay their outstanding utility bill or set up a payment arrangement to avoid shut off, and a deadline will be clearly stated in the new letter notice. This flexibility also always the Finance Office to make adjustments internally to account for varying calendar dates and coordination with Maintenance Services for shut offs.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends removing and updating this language in Ordinance 8-8-27.
A motion was made by Alderman Almblade, seconded by Alderman O’Brien to concur with the recommendation as presented. Upon roll call the following voted in favor: Tapia, Rico, Toppert, Almblade, Mulcahey, O’Brien and Oakes. Motion carried.
SUPPORT AND COMMITMENT OF LOCAL FUNDS RESOLUTION (Ms. Whiting, Finance Director)
The City is applying for a grant for a CDBG Public Infrastructure grant through DCEO. The maximum grant is $550,000.00, and our project would be for the Babcock-Meersman area to assist with drainage improvements to address their localized flooding. This is part of a larger project that was presented to Council in 2019. As part of the application process the City is required to approve a resolution in support of the grant application, as well as its commitment of local funds to the project. The total cost estimate for this project is $619,930.00, plus $30,000.00 for project delivery (required by the grant), a commitment of $99,930.00 from the City's Drainage Fund is required to meet the grant application eligibility and move forward with this application. If awarded, grant funds are not expected to be received until Spring 2022 and the committed funds by the City would be included with the FY 2022 budget.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approving the support and Commitment of Local Funds to apply for the CDBG infrastructure grant through the State.
A motion was made by Alderman Toppert, seconded by Alderman Rico to concur with the recommendation as presented. Upon roll call the following voted in favor: Tapia, Rico, Toppert, Almblade, Mulcahey, O’Brien and Oakes. Motion carried.
FAIR HOUSING RESOLUTION (Annaka Whiting, Finance Director) The City is applying for a grant for a CDBG Public Infrastructure grant through DCEO. The maximum grant is $550,000.00, and our project would be for the Babcock-Meersman area to assist with drainage improvements to address their localized flooding. Thisis part of a larger project that was presented to Council in 2019. As part of the application process the City is required to adopt a Fair Housing Resolution. This is a requirement under Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, known as the Fair Housing Act, and requires HUD and recipients of federal funds from HUD to affirmatively further the policies and purposes of the Fair Housing Act, also known as "affirmatively further fair housing" or "AFFH."The obligation to affirmatively further fair housing requires recipients of HUD funds to take meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics, which are: Race, Color, National origin, Religion, Sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), Familial status, and Disability.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approving a Fair Housing Resolution.
A motion was made by Alderman Rico, seconded by Alderman Tapia to concur with the recommendation as presented. Upon roll call the following voted in favor: Tapia, Rico, Toppert, Almblade, Mulcahey, O’Brien and Oakes. Motion carried.
ADJOURMENT:
A motion was made by Alderman Almblade, seconded by Alderman O’Brien to adjourn the Committee-of-the-Whole meeting. Upon roll call the following voted in favor: Tapia, Rico, Toppert, Almblade, Mulcahey, O’Brien and Oakes. Motion carried. 7:42 p.m.
https://www.eastmoline.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_07062021-739
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