City of East Moline Committee of the Whole met July 17.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
ROLL CALL
Mayor Freeman called the meeting to order and directed City Clerk Wanda Roberts-Bontz to call the roll. The following Alderpersons were present: Olivia Dorothy, Jeffrey Deppe, Adam Guthrie, Rhea Oakes, Lynn Segura and Jose Rico. Absent: Nancy Mulcahey 7:18 p.m.
ADDITIONS/CORRECTIONS TO AGENDA
None.
AUDIT PRESENTATION – LAUTERBACH AND AMEN (Annaka Whiting, Finance Director)
Lauterbach & Amen, LLC will be presenting the City's annual audit for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022.
Brad Porter – Lauterbach & Amen presented a 6–minute presentation regarding the City’s Annual Audit for fiscal year ending December 31, 2022.
RECOMMENDATION:
Formal action is not required, GFOA requires that the audit be presented to Council within ninety days of final Consolidated Annual Financial Report submittal.
FISCAL HEALTH PRESENTATION (Annaka Whiting, Finance Director)
This presentation provides an overview of the City's fiscal health as of 12/31/22, it also provides information on what is impacting our fiscal health, ways to improve, and next steps as we continue to focus on financial sustainability and accountability.
Annaka Whiting presented a presentation regarding the City’s Fiscal Health.
RECOMMENDATION:
Discussion purposes only.
WATERMAIN EXTENSION TO CARBON CLIFF – AUTHORIZATION TO BID (Tim Kammler, Director of Engineering)
The Village of Carbon Cliff had planned on significant improvements to their water plant when a second option was presented that would allow them to purchase their water supply from East Moline in a more cost-effective manner. Carbon Cliff found the option to be more attractive and as such, had their consultant (IMEG) prepare construction plans & specifications for the required 2,200' extension of East Moline's water main to Carbon Cliff. With this connection, East Moline will be the sole supplier of Carbon Cliff's water. This extension will also allow Silvis to have a reliable backup connection, and they have indicated they will participate in the project. An Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) has been approved by all parties, and specifies the terms of construction, operation and payment. A map showing the extent of the proposed improvements is attached for reference.
In a recent meeting with Carbon Cliff, it was determined that East Moline would be best suited to take the lead in facilitating the bidding and construction administration for this project. Please see attached memo from Administrator Maxeiner dated July 7, 2023 which summarizes this discussion.
At this time, Staff are requesting authorization to conduct a bid letting for the project, using plans and specifications prepared by Carbon Cliff's Engineer.
FINANCIAL:
This is not a budgeted item.
Line Item#
Title: Water Distribution
Amount Budgeted: $116,667.00 (per IGA, 1/3 of construction cost)
Actual Cost: TBD
Funding Sources: Water Distribution
Departments: Engineering
Maintenance Services
This is not a CIP.
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve staff request for bid letting.
A motion was made by Alderperson Dorothy, seconded by Alderperson Guthrie to concur with the recommendation as presented. Upon roll call the following voted in favor: Oakes, Segura, Rico, Dorothy, Deppe, and Guthrie. Motion carried.
2023 SEWER LINING PROJECT – AUTHORIZATION TO BID (Tim Kammler, Director of Engineering)
Per the 2023 CIP, the East Moline Engineering Department has prepared recommendations for this year's cured-in-place-pipe (CIPP) sewer lining program. Based on the CIP budget of $250,000 of sewer capital improvement funds, approximately 7,025 LF (1.3 miles) of sewers are recommended for cleaning and/or lining. Recommendations continue to be based upon prior citywide robotic inspection and recommendations from maintenance services staff.
Hoerr Construction has served as the city's contractor for this program for more than 10 years and has provided valuable service and favorable pricing for the city. East Moline has historically offered an annual contract extension with a large footage of sewer lining, for which Hoerr has provided better than-market pricing. Staff continues to recommend this approach as the most cost effective for the city, with a consistently good work product. A letter from Hoerr Construction with breakdown of unit pricing for 2023 and the past five (5) years is attached for review and reference, as is a map of the proposed 2023 lining areas.
Pending approval of the City Council, work quantities and mapping will be provided to the contractor. Staff will coordinate execution of contract and receipt of customary bonds and insurance certificates. As with all unit-price construction contracts, the final amount paid will be dependent upon field measurements of the actual work performed during construction.
FINANCIAL:
This is a budgeted item.
Line Item#250-4036-29-259.0
Title: Sewer Collection Improvements
Amount Budgeted: $250,000.00
Actual Cost: Not to exceed $250K
Funding Sources: Sewer Capital Improvement
Departments: Engineering
This is a CIP.
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve 2023 Sewer Lining Program and negotiated unit price contract with Hoerr Construction, Inc. (Peoria, IL) with the cost of work not to exceed $250,000.
A motion was made by Alderperson Deppe, seconded by Alderperson Segura to concur with the recommendations. Upon roll call the following voted in favor: Oakes, Segura, Rico, Dorothy, Deppe, and Guthrie. Motion carried.
LIFT STATION EASEMENT – CARPENTER COURT (Tim Kammler, Director of Engineering)
A sanitary sewer lift station was constructed as part of the public infrastructure for the Carpenters & Millwrights development along 4th Avenue at IL 5. A portion of the lift station facility and security fence extends outside of the city's existing right-of-way and utility easement boundary. As such, additional city easement is required. Staff have been coordinating with representatives from the Carpenters and their consultant (IMEG) on this matter and have requested an easement plat for this purpose. A copy of the easement plat and legal description is attached for review and reference. Pending formal approval by City Council, the City Attorney can record the easement with the County Recorder's Office.
FINANCIAL:
Actual Cost: $0
Funding Sources: N/A
Departments: Engineering
Wastewater Treatment Plant
RECOMMENDATION:
Accept easement as presented, forward to City Council for final approval.
A motion was made by Alderperson Oakes, seconded by Alderperson Segura to concur with the recommendation as presented. Upon roll call the following voted in favor: Oakes, Segura, Rico, Dorothy, Deppe, and Guthrie. Motion carried.
AUTHORIZATION TO HIRE AN ADDITIONAL FIREFIGHTER (Rob De France, Fire Chief)
The fire department currently operates with thirty-three (33) personnel assigned to suppression instead of the required thirty-four (34) personnel. This is due to a probationary employee who has been on "Leave of Absence" without pay since March 29, 2023, due to a medical condition. It is unknown if the employee will be able to return to duty before the expiration of the "Leave of Absence" in March of 2024.
The absence of a firefighter affects our staffing and requires frequent overtime to maintain contractual minimum staffing levels. Additionally, the fire department has employees who are qualified for retirement, which could result in additional vacancies.
It is my recommendation to hire a new firefighter recruit by the last week of August to allow attendance of the Fall Fire Academy commencing on September 11, 2023.
The entry level firefighter salary is $52,944.48 or $19.33 an hour. To date the department has saved $14,207.55 in salary over seven (7) pay periods due to the employee on "Leave of Absence". The current department budget will support the
salary and benefits of a new hire.
FINANCIAL:
This is not a budgeted item.
Line Item#010-4220-20-110.1
Title: Salaries
Amount Budgeted: $52,944.48
Actual Cost: $38,792.48 – plus benefits
Under/(Over): $14,207.55
Funding Sources: General Fund Fire Department Salaries
Departments:
This is not a CIP.
RECOMMENDATION:
Direct the East Moline Fire & Police Commission to hire the next most qualified candidate from the current eligibility list, and make all necessary preparations for the Fall Fire Academy commencing on September 11, 2023.
A motion was made by Alderperson Oakes, seconded by Alderperson Guthrie to concur with the recommendations. Upon roll call the following voted in favor: Oakes, Segura, Rico, Dorothy, Deppe, and Guthrie. Motion carried.
AUTHORIZATION TO HIRE TWO POLICE OFFICERS (Jeff Ramsey, Police Chief)
The East Moline Police Department has two slots reserved for the Police Training Institute in Champaign, IL that begins September 4th, 2023. One of the slots is anticipated to be filled with a budgeted officer replacement due to a pending officer resignation who is seeking a transfer out of the area. I am requesting to fill the second slot with an addition of a new officer hire due to an injured officer who is anticipated to be going out on disability at the end of the year. With it taking approximately 8 months to train a new officer before they can be on their own and count for manpower, this would still not fill the upcoming vacancy in time, but it would give us a head start and cut the time in half. This initially would put us one above our budgeted staffing of 38 for approximately 4 months.
With the addition of another officer, we would temporarily be staffed at 39 officers beginning in September of this year. Out of these 39 Officers, initially only 32 will account for our manpower as 2 would be in the police academy, 3 in the field training program, along with 2 out on long-term injuries. I feel we must take the approach to plan for replacements due to the training time it takes before they count for actual manpower, as well as the very small numbers of police officer applicants we have been seeing recently. This proactive approach is to keep staffing at an adequate level to reduce overtime cost risk along with the risk of overworking current officers.
There has been savings in the salaries budget for the police department due to delayed hires along with some workman compensation reimbursement as well. The reduced cost of a starting salary is also a factor. Finance will provide information on this at the meeting.
FINANCIAL:
This is not a budgeted item.
Line Item#10-4260-20-110.1
Title: Salaries – Police Protection
Amount Budgeted: $0
Actual Cost: N/A
Under/(Over): N/A
Funding Sources: Salaries – Police Protection
Departments: Police Department
This is not a CIP.
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the addition of one additional new police officer hire, to fill an upcoming vacancy.
A motion was made by Alderperson Segura, seconded by Alderperson Dorothy to concur with the recommendations. Upon roll call the following voted in favor: Oakes, Segura, Rico, Dorothy, Deppe, and Guthrie. Motion carried.
ADJOURMENT:
A motion was made by Alderperson Segura, seconded by Alderperson Guthrie to adjourn the Committee-of-the-Whole meeting. Upon roll call the following voted in favor: Oakes, Rico, Dorothy, Deppe, Segura and Guthrie. Motion carried. 8:00 p.m.
https://www.eastmoline.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_07172023-940
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