Rock Island Today

City of Moline Committee of the Whole/Council met Dec. 10.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Committee-of-the-Whole Call to Order

PRESENT: Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati (Chair)

Alderperson Debbie Murphy (Ward 1)

Alderperson Alvaro Macias (Ward 2)

Alderperson Abdur Razzaque (Ward 3)

Alderperson Matt Timion (Ward 4)

Alderperson Jessica Finch (Ward 5)

Alderperson Daniel McNeil (Ward 6)

Alderperson Anna Castro (Ward 7)

Alderperson James Patrick Schmidt (Alderperson At-Large)

ABSENT: None.

STAFF: Bob Vitas, City Administrator

Barry Dykhuizen, Assistant City Administrator

Stephanie Murphy, City Clerk

David Dryer, Director of Engineering

Chris Mathias, Director of Community & Economic Development

Jennifer Bizarri, Assistant Director of Community and Economic Development

Denver Schmitt, Director of Public Works

Andrew Raya, Deputy Chief of Police

David Rowatt, Information Technology Manager

OTHERS: Margaret Kostopulos, Corporation Counsel

Joshua Shimkus, Dispatch/Argus

Jacob Foote, Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce

Alexandra Elias, Renew Moline

Kirk Marske, Moline Centre

Tony Altenhofen, Shive Hattery

Dick Potter, Historic Preservation Commission

Barb Sandberg, Historic Preservation Commission

Mayor Rayapati called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Committee-of-the-Whole Conference Room.

Pledge of Allegiance

Invocation

There was no invocation.

Roll Call

Roll call was taken with Mayor Rayapati, Alderpersons Murphy, Macias, Razzaque, Timion, Finch, McNeil, Castro, and Schmidt present. Absent: None.

Questions on the Agenda

None.

Public Comment

The City Clerk read aloud a public comment sent via email from Jonathan Jones requesting a ceasefire and freeing of Palestine. Andrew DeFrees, Rachel Welke, Ajooni Sethi, and Ahmad Affeh each spoke requesting the City Council to pass a resolution for a permanent cease fire for arms embargo in Israel.

Miscellaneous Business

Alderperson Schmidt, seconded by Alderperson Finch, made a motion to move Miscellaneous Business after Item 9.3. Motion passed unanimously.

Roundtable Discussion

9.1 Discussion Regarding Chapter 8 “DEMOLITION OF PRINCIPAL STRUCTURES 50 YEARS OR OLDER”. Chris Mathias, Director of Community and Economic Development, informed Council that since 2019, this item has been brought forward for review on several occasions. Revisions to Chapter 8 include allowing for demolition permits to be reviewed and delayed for 30 days with the possible extension of 60 days. The reason for the extension would be to complete research on the location, find out more about the historic significance of a building, to inspect the building and complete documentation, and to pull artifacts from the building. There is also a possibility that someone may want to landmark a property after it has been inspected. Mathias voiced concerns about losing buildings and the City losing its historic architecture as the City does have old housing and commercial stock. Mathias reviewed the suggested changes in the ordinance, including exceptions where in an emergency situation, the Building Official could deem the building unsafe and it would have to be demolished. Someone could also apply to the City Council for an economic exemption. Historic Preservation Commissioner Barb Sandberg shared the history of the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) ordinance. The HPC is requesting that if Council votes to have staff complete the review of a property, they would place the HPC as a referral. Dick Potter, HPC member, reported that the HPC is an advisory commission. HPC members are not in favor of the ordinance changes. Potter stated that the HPC only has the ability to pause something, not to stop something. The HPC advised that the proposed wording for the ordinance as provided by the HPC be part of the ordinance and not the wording as brought forward for discussion. Discussion held. The consensus of Council was to see shared responsibility between the HPC and the City of Moline. Margaret Kostopulos, Corporation Counsel, suggested creating a policy by resolution. The policy would still maintain the authority of the City Council but create a document which would articulate the need to work collaboratively which could not be altered due to change of staff. The days of involvement and procedure for involvement are the two things holding up the Council from making a decision. Kostopulos recommended creating a policy that City Council can review and determine if it is the right mechanism. The majority of Council was in favor of having a policy created to review. Council was in consensus to ask staff not to exceed 50 days total for the demolition process.

9.2 Parking Ramp Assessments for Centre Station, Heritage Place, and Midtowne. David Dryer, Director of Engineering, reported that Shive Hattery has completed a parking ramp assessment and identified maintenance needs to be addressed. Tony Altenhofen, Shive Hattery, presented Shive Hattery’s findings. Altenhofen shared with Council the three primary goals: maintain safe conditions for the users, reduce long term and short term costs for the City, and defer replacement of the parking facilities.

Altenhofen stated that having a regular maintenance program is critical to preserving the City’s investment in the aforementioned facilities. Altenhofen reviewed the Executive Summary for Centre Station Parking Ramp located at 1200 River Drive, the Heritage Place Parking Ramp located at 1502 4th Avenue, and the Midtowne Parking Ramp located at 1601 6th Avenue. Discussion held. Council proposed that taxing bodies who use the parking garages be approached to contribute financially to the maintenance of the parking garages. Council requested that staff review the definition language for the agreements with those who lease parking spaces in the parking ramps. In closing, Altenhofen stated that Shive Hattery’s recommendation to the City is to implement a capital improvement plan for the purpose of funding the parking ramp maintenance projects.

9.3 Parking Management Plan David Dryer, Director of Engineering, prepared an inventory of parking spaces. See Attachment No. 1. Dryer reported that there are 2,100+ on and off-street parking spaces under the City of Moline’s operation and management. The average age of a parking ramp in the City of Moline is 27 years. The upper level of Centre Station is leased out to John Deere, and MetroLINK is located on the lower level. Heritage Place is the oldest ramp at 34 years old. It is leased to Samco Properties. Midtowne is the youngest ramp at 19 years old. The ramp has both an upper level and lower level with 215 spaces leased. The Axis Hotel leases 105 spaces, 76 spaces are leased to the United States Postal Service, 27 spaces are leased to Bozeman, Neighbour, Patton & Noe, LLP, and seven spaces are leased to Churchill & Churchill, P.C. Dryer then shared the 2025 work which will be completed with Shive Hattery. The total amount of the work, including engineering, is $301,485. Bob Vitas, City Administrator, recommended bringing in an expert in parking management to prepare a scope of work. Discussion held. Mayor Rayapati requested information on what other cities in Moline’s general region have instituted as far as parking meters, etc.

Miscellaneous Business

Alderperson Timion thanked the Public Works department for completing another round of leaf vacuuming.

Alderperson Schmidt expressed thanks to the members of the community for speaking on issues that are important and that matter. The City Council has not enacted a proclamation or nonbinding resolutions as they relate to issues that are not related to the City of Moline. The City is focused on roads and infrastructure here and caring for the local community. The better venues for receiving and making the sorts of comments that were spoken during public comment are for those are federal governments and other locations.

Mayor Rayapati reported that there was a discussion at the December 3, 2024 Council meeting related to sharing information on water bills, specifically related to parking enforcement during inclement weather. Alderperson Castro had requested more information on parking enforcement and Mayor shared that information with Council via email. Denver Schmitt, Director of Public Works, reported the release of the Snow Angel Program prompted a resident to request information regarding snow removal in alleys in the City of Moline. Public Works will focus on alleys during large snowfalls after the main routes and hills have been cleared.

Adjournment of City Council

Upon motion of Alderperson Macias, seconded by Alderperson Finch, the Council meeting adjourned at 7:49 p.m.

The next regularly scheduled City Council meeting is on December 17, 2024. View recorded meetings at http://www.moline.il.us/remotecouncil

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