City of Kewanee City Council met Jan. 9.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
The January 9th, 2023, Council Meeting was called to order at 7:00pm. Councilmembers Colomer, Baker, and Komnick were present along with Mayor Moore. Councilmember Faber was absent.
The Consent agenda included the following items:
A. Minutes from the Council Meeting on December 27th
B. Payroll for the pay period ending December 31st in the amount of $229,982.45
C. Staff Reports.
D. Bock Report
A motion to approve the consent agenda items was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Motion passed 4-0.
Bills for Council Meeting of January 9th, 2023 were presented in the amount of $635,844.66. A motion to approve the bills was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Discussion: Finance Director James Webb approached the Council to let them know that two last-minute changes were made. There was a duplicate payment that was removed, and one payment amount was adjusted. This brought the new total to $635,071.54. Motion passed 4-0.
Public Comments:
• Pastor Justin Rumley of the Kewanee First Congregational Church spoke to the Council about his concerns for the planned Kewanee Pride Fest to be held later this year. He feels that it would be unwise to have this event to celebrate or promote acceptance of homosexuality or transgenderism. He thanked the Council for their work in leading the community. He also wanted to make it known that this was not coming from hate or bad feelings but out of Biblical concerns. Mayor Moore responded by letting him know that this event comes by way of the Commission on Human Relations which he reinstated last year. The purpose of the Commission is to promote understanding of the differences in our cultures. He is not willing to exclude any lifestyle and that we should represent all lifestyles within our community.
New Business:
A. Presentation by Chamber of Commerce Mark Mikenas updated the Council on events that the Chamber held over the last year as well as updates on the economic climate in Kewanee and surrounding areas. He also mentioned upcoming events including a Comedy Night to be held on March 11, 2023.
B. Consideration of Resolution #5383 authorizing the City Manager to award façade improvement incentives to Wager Trust for improvements already made at 120 S Chestnut St. A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Komnick and seconded by Councilmember Colomer. Discussion: City Manager Bradley stated the reason this is being brought to the Council is that normally the application is done before the work is completed. At that time, he has authorization to approve the incentives. However, this time the application was turned in after they completed the work. Therefore, Council would need to approve the application. Councilmembers had concerns about setting a precedent for people doing the work then asking for the money. They wanted to know if there were other programs that might be able to help them. Bradley mentioned that the work may qualify for the TIF program if the correct paperwork was completed. Council would like to see if that can be looked into before considering this Façade Resolution. Therefore, Councilmembers Komnick and Colomer withdrew their motions and a motion to table this discussion was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Motion passed 4-0.
C. Development and implementation of new incentive programs Corey Chandler, Mitchell Armstrong, and Emma Norman spoke before the Council. Between them they own and operate over a dozen mobile home parks across the country. They have recently taken over the mobile home parks in town which include the parks on W 6th St, Lake St, and Cole St. They have started making capital and cosmetic improvements to the parks already. There are many more improvements to be made. Their vision is to bring affordable home ownership to the community. They would also like to include a 55+ community. They work with communities, businesses, and lenders to bring affordable housing to citizens. They hope to be able to work with the City to improve the parks and the infrastructure.
Les Cohen of Cohen Development also spoke to the Council about future goals for the Midland Plaza as well as updates on the recent Arby’s addition. There is much more he would like to accomplish there but would need assistance from the City to do so. He spoke about programs implemented with other cities at his other locations and how those might be helpful here.
City Manager Bradley asked the Council if there was interest in creating new incentive programs that might assist in improvement to the properties in question. The City Council expressed their support for the development of new programs. With their approval, he will begin working on creating such documents to present to the Council in the future.
D. Downtown TIF District – Midland Plaza City Manager Bradley and Les Cohen spoke more about the recent Arby’s addition to Midland Plaza and the desire to enter into a TIF agreement with the City of Kewanee for reimbursement of some of the costs associated with the addition. While the costs that appear to be eligible for reimbursement total approximately $1.4 million, the incremental revenue to be generated over the remaining life of the TIF is estimated to be approximately $480,000. The Council agreed that they were interested in a TIF agreement and therefore the papers will be drawn up and presented to the Council in the future.
E. Resolution #5384 authorizing the Mayor, City Manager, and City Clerk to execute documents that are necessary and proper to provide a loan to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Colomer. Discussion: Anything we loan them will get a lot more exposure at the ALPL than it will at Francis Park. This may also bring attention and therefore people to Francis Park and the City of Kewanee. Motion passed 4-0
Council Communications:
Councilmember Komnick: It is exciting to hear all the possibilities coming for the City of Kewanee. There are people that want to invest in the area and that is great.
Councilmember Colomer: He agrees with Councilmember Komnick. It’s a good time to be a resident of Kewanee with all of these additions and possibilities. It is great to see people coming from outside of town to see the possibilities for growth in all areas including housing.
Councilmember Baker: Agrees with the other Councilmembers. Kewanee needs to get back on the map and he appreciates everything that all of these people are doing to further our community.
Mayor’s Communications: Offered condolences to the family of James and Kara Powell after the loss of their young daughter, Brycelyn. All residents are encouraged to wear pink on Tuesday January 10th in honor of Brycelyn as it was her favorite color. Someone recently reached out to find out what decisions were made about Elmwood Ave (Nelson Ave). No action will be taken as it was determined that the level and speed of traffic in the area did not warrant a change. Next, Kewanee High School Theater Program will be presenting Anastasia this weekend at 7pm on Saturday and 2pm on Sunday at Petersen Auditorium. Kewanee has some very talented students and he encourages everyone to see their performance. Kewanee Chamber will be hosting their Comedy Night on March 11th. More information can be found at the Chamber. We also learned of another passing during the meeting that affects our employees and we want to offer condolences to them as well.
Announcements: City Hall and the Transfer Station will be CLOSED Monday January 16th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. There are no changes to the trash schedule. The final Christmas tree pick up will be Monday January 23rd. Trees need to be curbside and free of decorations, lights, tinsel, plastic, and stands.
A Motion to adjourn was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Motion passed 4-0. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15pm.
http://cms5.revize.com/revize/kewanee/Minutes%201-9-2023.pdf
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