Rock Island Today

City of Kewanee City Council met March 24.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

The March 24th, 2025, Council Meeting was called to order at 6:02pm. Councilmembers Faber, Baker, and Komnick were present along with Mayor Moore, City Manager Gary Bradley, City Attorney Zac Lessard, and City Clerk Kasey Mitchell. Councilmember Colomer was absent.

A motion to go into Closed Session to discuss Personnel Section 2(c)(1), Collective Bargaining Section 2(c)(2), Sale or Lease of Real Estate Section 2(c)(6), Litigation Section 2(c)(11), and Discussion of Closed Meeting Minutes Section 2(c)(21) was made by Councilmember Komnick and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Discussion: None. Motion passed 4-0.

A motion to adjourn to Regular Session was made by Councilmember Faber and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Discussion: None. Motion passed 4-0 and Closed Session was adjourned at 6:59pm.

The March 24th, 2025, Council Meeting was called to order at 7:03pm in the Council Chambers. Councilmembers Faber, Baker, and Komnick were present along with Mayor Moore, City Manager Gary Bradley, City Attorney Zac Lessard, and City Clerk Kasey Mitchell. Councilmember Colomer was absent.

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

The Consent Agenda was presented with the following items:

A. Minutes from the Council Meeting on March 10, 2025, and minutes from Closed Meetings on March 10, 2025.

B. Payroll for the pay period ending March 8th in the amount of $227,878.15.

C. Staff Reports

D. Bock Report

A motion to approve the consent agenda items was made by Councilmember Komnick and seconded by Councilmember Faber. Motion passed 4-0.

Bills for the Council Meeting of March 24th were presented in the amount of $286,741.77. A motion to approve payment of the bills was made by Councilmember Faber and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Discussion: Councilmember Faber asked why there continues to be purchases from Amazon. City Clerk Ms. Mitchell stated that staff always tries to purchase locally but sometimes items aren’t available locally. Also, the local item might be three times what it is on Amazon and staff tries to be fiscally responsible.

Public Comments:

Jeff Daniel approached the Council about a property that recently had a court-ordered demolition. He was interested in purchasing the property. He was told that the City does not take ownership of a property when we do a demolition. After researching the property, he was informed that it was taken over by the Henry County Trustee who then sold it to someone in Chicago. Next, Mr. Daniel stated that there is a drainage ditch on/near his property that is falling apart and needs attention. City staff will be directed to handle the issue.

New Business:

A. Discussion Only: KMHP Water Bills

Discussion Only: This is a discussion on mobile home parks within city limits. There is an outstanding water bill which will be the main subject of discussion, but discussion is not limited to the water bill.

Robert Dawidiuk, the lawyer representing the bank who holds the mortgage for the properties, addressed the Council regarding the history of the property and its owner to this point of time. They are already underwater with what is owed and what they have had to put into the properties. Between all the water accounts, just shy of $500,000 is owed. The bank made an offer to settle the accounts for $100,000. The Council told them that they are working on a counteroffer would get back to them within a week.

B. Discussion Only: Kewanee Park District Request

The Kewanee Park District will be constructing a splash pad soon. They have requested assistance with the water bill to help defer their costs.

Andrew Dwyer, President of the Kewanee Park District Board, addressed the Council regarding the splash pad that is to be installed at West/Liberty Park. They are requesting an Intergovernmental Agreement with the City where they would pay less for the water bill for the splash pad than normal rates. The Council said they would be interested in working with them to come to an agreement that would benefit all parties.

C. Bill 25-20: Ordinance amending Chapter 158: Fence Regulations established in the City of Kewanee Code of Ordinances.

This bill was a discussion item at our last meeting. If passed the bill will update current ordinances involving fence regulations.

A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Komnick and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Discussion: None. Motion passed 4-0.

D. Bill 25-21 Ordinance amending Chapter 159: Swimming Pool Regulations established in the City of Kewanee Code of Ordinances.

This was also a discussion item at our last meeting. It has been proposed to update ordinances involving swimming pool regulations.

A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Faber. Discussion: None. Motion passed 4-0.

E. Bill 25-22 Ordinance amending Chapter 160: Solar Energy System Regulations established in the City of Kewanee Code of Ordinances.

This was our third discussion item at our last meeting. Again, if passed, will update ordinances involving solar energy systems regulations.

A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Faber and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Discussion: None. Motion passed 4-0.

F. Bill 25-23 Resolution declaring the City’s intent to use Tax Increment Financing as an inducement for development by ABB Properties, LLC.

This is a proposed regulation that will show the city’s intent to use Tax Increment Financing to possibly assist ABB Properties, LLC. ABB Properties is the organization that will be constructing the cannabis grow facility in the Kewanee Business Park near Railroad Ave. and Cole St.

A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Discussion: Councilmember Faber asked how much ABB was asking for in TIF monies. They have not yet asked for money; this Resolution is saying that we plan to have TIF available for them. Motion passed 4-0.

G. Bill 25-24 Resolution designating the office newspaper of record for the City of Kewanee. We are required by law to designate an official printed newspaper for the city. We have always used the Star Courier. Because the Star Courier is no longer published locally and has proven not to serve Kewanee’s best interest. It is our hopes we will be better served moving to another publication that has been available in Kewanee for many years, has lower publication costs, and greater circulation.

A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Faber and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Discussion: Mayor Moore clarified that the Paper of Record will now be the Quad City Times. Motion passed 4-0.

H. Discussion Only: Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant Operations This is a discussion item only. Because the City’s contract with Bock, Inc. for the operation of the water treatment plants and wastewater treatment plant expires at the end of next month, the City issued a Request for Proposals for those services. Two of the proposals received were like the existing agreements, while a third proposed a potential sale of assets to Illinois American Water. We are aware that this topic has generated a lot of attention on social media. We will have a discussion on water and wastewater treatment plant operations. Both staff and the City Council need an opportunity to fully review each of the three proposals to determine their respective advantages and disadvantages. The city of Kewanee has taken no action to privatize water distribution, other than collect information about the option. We are not here to argue. We ask that any comments made in support of or in opposition to any proposal not be overly repetitive of comments that have already been made. Our only goal at this point is to explore all our options. Many residents came to the meeting to express their opposition to the privatization of water. They feel if it is privatized, the City would no longer have control over rates and that they could skyrocket. Others were concerned about the jobs of current employees. Council reassured that they would not be in favor of any offer that meant layoffs. The Council was appreciative of everyone that came to speak and support Public Works. It is nice to hear from them about things like this. Council stated that they would not be voting without more research into the proposals and further discussions with the public.

Mayor’s Communications:

I would like to open with some good news. Last week we received an update from the Dept of Revenue. Retail sales in the 4th quarter were up 8.7% when compared to 2023 4th quarter numbers. The report showed increases of 26% in the Food category, 13% in Lumber and Building Supplies, 23% in Small Retail, 2.8% in Drinking and Eating Places and General Merchandise was up 1.6%. This 4th quarter information, when added to the previous reports for 2024, showed Kewanee with a 4.1% increase in retail sales over 2023, with $271 million of sales. and once again set a record for the 7th consecutive year. 2024 overall showed increases in General Merchandise 8%, Food 7.6%, Apparel 3.3%, Small Retail 11%. Downstate Illinois saw an increase of 3.6%, so we are ahead of the downstate average by a half percent. Some of this can be contributed to inflation, but it still beats the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index of 2.8%.

On behalf of the city, I would like to offer condolences to the family and friends of John Bachinsky. John was a huge member of our community and not many people did not know him; from his work at Kewanee High School and all the sporting events, to serving for years as Kewanee’s city attorney. Even in retirement, John was sought out for his expertise in municipal law, not just here, but from many other communities around the state. We are going to miss you, John.

Bill Breedlove was recently named Kewanee’s Outstanding Citizen of the year. Congratulations Bill, a well-deserved honor.

Kewanee High School has another state winner. Kalleigh Gale brought home a state championship in FFA in the Food Service Entrepreneurship category. Congratulations Kalleigh. A job well done.

Council Communications:

Faber: Congratulations to all the wrestlers who placed at Sectionals and made it to State. He also asked residents to be mindful as the weather becomes nicer and people are out grilling or having other outside events, that they do not burn landscape waste at the same time.

Baker: Nothing

Komnick: He said it was great to see so many people come and speak tonight. He knew that not everyone wants to speak at a meeting like this but at least they showed up. It can be frustrating to see people get so involved in National politics, but they do no get as involved in local politics that directly affect them.

Announcements:

* Landscape waste pickup will begin on April 7th. Residents are reminded that an LRS sticker must be placed on each bag. They are $1.50 each and can be purchased at City Hall, both Beck’s Locations, JoJo’s, Farm King, and Wal-Mart.

* Another reminder to residents, burning of landscape is not allowed until April. Burn days will be Wednesdays and Saturdays, weather permitting as determined by the Fire Department. To know if it is a burn day, you can check the City’s website or call 309-852-2611 and press option 6.

A motion to adjourn was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Discussion: None. Motion passed 4-0 and the meeting adjourned at 8:59pm.

https://cms5.revize.com/revize/kewaneeillinois/Minutes%203-24-25.pdf