Rock Island Today

City of Kewanee City Council met Feb. 12.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

The February 12th, 2024, Council Meeting was called to order at 6:30pm. Councilmembers Baker and Komnick were present along with Mayor Moore, City Manager Gary Bradley, City Attorney Justin Raver, and City Clerk Kasey Mitchell. Councilmembers Colomer and Faber were absent.

A motion to go into Closed Session to discuss Sale or Lease of Real Estate Section 2(c)(5) and Discussion of Closed Meeting Minutes Section 2(c)(21) was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Motion passed 3-0.

A motion to adjourn to regular session was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Motion passed 3-0 and Closed Session was adjourned at 6:45pm.

The February 12th, 2024, Council Meeting was called to order at 7:00pm. Councilmembers Baker and Komnick were present in Council Chambers, along with Mayor Moore, City Manager Gary Bradley, City Attorney Justin Raver, and City Clerk Kasey Mitchell. Councilmembers Colomer and Faber were absent.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, followed by a moment of silence for our troops.

The Consent Agenda with the following items was presented:

A. Minutes from the Council Meeting on January 22nd

B. Payroll for the pay period ending February 10th in the amount of $225,063.09.

C. Staff Reports

D. Approval of January 22nd Closed Session Minutes

E. Bock Report

A motion to approve the consent agenda items was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Motion passed 3-0.

Bills for February 12th were presented in the amount of $475,193.76. A motion to approve payment of the bills was made by Councilmember Komnick and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Discussion: None. Motion passed 3-0.

Public Comments:

Adam Cernovich lives on Chestnut St and the condition of that street is not great. The chip and seal that was done this last summer, did not take well. There are pieces all over the road that end up in people’s yards. He would like the Council to consider keeping that road on the maintenance plan and possibly redoing it the next time around.

Joseph Dodroe proposed an idea to the Council. He would like to take the downed trees from Francis Park and turn them into useable lumber to then donate it to the local high schools for woodworking projects. He gave his information to the Mayor who will follow up with him.

New Business:

A. Parade Route Request Esmeralda Cardoso asked the Council for use of City Streets on Saturday August 10th from Noon to 1pm, from her residence on Walnut to the church on W Central Blvd. It would be approximately 35 people. Police Chief Kijanowski said he didn’t have any problems with it. He is just unsure at this time what staffing will look like and who might be available to do that. He said he would be willing to come in and do it if needed. A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Komnick and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Motion passed 3-0.

B. Consideration of Bill 24-10 Ordinance to amend Sections 111.02 Definitions, 111.18 Classification of Licenses, Fees and Hours of Sale of the Kewanee City Code and establishing Section 111.27 Limitation on Number of Video Gaming Terminals. A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Discussion: John Cernovich shared some concerns with the Council. He started doing some research and stated that the new prices put these prices higher than most of the municipalities he looked at. He also thought there would be a discussion on the Special Event licenses and prices. He feels those are too high. Often that means they are not making much money on sales because of the license and then donating proceeds to the organization. City Staff explained that the last time rates had been increased was 2012 and it was a 10% increase overall, and with 10% difference between each class. The City currently has 10 classes of licenses available and many of them aren’t being utilized. Staff wanted to simplify the classes as well as add an option for those offering “pour service” to be able to also offer retail/packaged liquor as well. The current lowest priced option was given a 10% increase and became the new “lowest class.” From there, each class went up 10% with a new “highest class” being created. Staff did not look at changing the Special Event licenses but are willing and able to bring some options to Council if they would like. Staff believes that the original prices were created due to the work that went into events such as renting barricades and barrels as well as extra staff for the event. Because no changes were being made to those Special Event classes, and because of the Stay of licenses previous passed with a date certain, the Council could decide to pass this and have another “discussion only” to possibly change those prices. Resident Adam Cernovich also mentioned that the City could be charging more for the videogaming machines than they are proposing. The City was not looking to make money from those but limit them which means administrative costs to monitor. Adam also asked about the limit of 150 video gaming machines. The Mayor responded that we took the number of facilities currently in town and multiplied that by the maximum number of terminals, per location, by the State. The City is still looking at options regarding zoning and gaming facilities. Motion passed 3-0.

C. Consideration of Bill 24-11 Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute an agreement with Crawford, Murphy, & Tilly, Inc for the development of a Water Distribution Unidirectional Flushing Program. A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Discussion: Because we do not have this program in place, we get docked on our IEPA inspection. Normally, when flushing a municipal water system, you begin at the tower and radiate outwards to clear the sediments. However, we have two towers which means we need a more precise system of flushing so that we don’t simply stir things up, we actually flush it out. This often takes an engineer to devise a more precise plan of opening valves in a certain order to ensure proper flushing. CMT is the company that conducted our hydraulic model, so they already have a good understanding of our infrastructure. They will create the program and then pass it on to the City for implementation. Motion passed 3-0.

D. Discussion Only: Body/Squad Cameras Police Chief Kijanowski and Deputy Police Chief Minx explained to the Council that the current body and squad car cameras and their database are quickly becoming obsolete. They have been having issues with them and it is time to upgrade so that we do not fall out of compliance with law enforcement regulations. This will be a larger purchase; however, the company is honoring their original offer of a lower setup fee. The company has a two-month timeline from purchase to implementation, so the sooner they can purchase, the sooner we will be able to safeguard our equipment and the backup system. The Council agreed that this is a necessary and time-sensitive purchase, and they would like to see it brought back for a vote.

E. Discussion Only: Use of TIF City Manager Gary Bradley stated that the TIF guidelines that we currently have are silent as to the ability for a location to use TIF more than once. For example, if a previous owner used TIF or if the current owner used it for something smaller but now needs to use it for something more expensive. The Mayor stated that he was ok with them making a second request, however they must show that it will increase business or create more jobs. He does not want it to be used multiple times for cosmetic reasons. Councilmember Komnick said that if it falls within the guidelines of the program, he doesn’t have an issue. The Council agreed that an owner should factor cosmetics and upgrades into their budget and not rely on the City to fund those projects.

Council Communications:

Baker: He said he has had people ask him how they can be notified of boil orders, etc. There is a place on the website where people can subscribe to notices like that. They can also follow the City on Facebook to receive updates.

Komnick: Nothing at this time.

Mayor’s Communications:

He has nothing at this time.

Announcements: City Hall and the Transfer Station will be CLOSED on Monday February 19th. There are no changes to the trash schedule for that week.

A motion to adjourn was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Motion passed 3-0 and the meeting was adjourned at 7:59pm.

https://cms5.revize.com/revize/kewaneeillinois/Minutes%202-12-2024.pdf