Rock Island Today

City of Kewanee City Council met April 14.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

The April 14th, 2025, Council Meeting was called to order at 6:00pm. Councilmembers Baker, Komnick, Colomer, and Faber were present along with Mayor Moore, City Manager Gary Bradley, City Attorney Zac Lessard, and City Clerk Kasey Mitchell.

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 Faber and seconded by Councilmember Colomer. Discussion: None. Motion passed 5-0.

A motion to adjourn to Regular Session was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Discussion: None. Motion passed 5-0 and Closed Session was adjourned at 7:12pm.

The April 14th, 2025, Council Meeting was called to order at 7:15pm in the Council Chambers. Councilmembers Faber, Baker, Komnick, and Colomer were present along with Mayor Moore, City Manager Gary Bradley, City Attorney Zac Lessard, and City Clerk Kasey Mitchell.

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 24, 2025, and minutes from Closed Meetings on March 24, 2025.

B. Payroll for the pay period ending March 22nd in the amount of $227,464.51 and for the pay period ending April 5th in the amount of $226,366.43.

C. Staff Reports

D. Step Ladder Tag Days

A motion to approve the consent agenda items was made by Councilmember Faber and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Motion passed 5-0.

Bills for April 14th Council Meeting were presented in the amount of $685,912.54.

A motion to approve payment of the bills was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Discussion: None. Motion passed 5-0.

Public Comments:

Collin Riley is a co-owner of a fireworks vendor that set up in Kewanee last year. They would like to request that the Council approve extended days for the sale of fireworks. They feel that they are missing on out sales because of our ordinance. Council discussed the options and asked Staff to bring an Ordinance for vote at the next Council Meeting.

New Business:

A. Street Closure Request: Kewanee Public Library

We have a street closure request. The Kewanee Public Library is requesting a small portion of South Tremont St, in front of the library, to be shut down for a block party that will allow for the family kick off of their summer reading program. The request is for Saturday, May 17, from 9am until noon. It will affect approximately 12 to 15 parking places on that date during those hours.

A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Discussion: The Mayor said he was excited to see this and hopes that the library will continue to do things like this. Motion passed 5-0.

B. Bill 25-25: Resolution to affirm the Mayor’s recommendations for appointments to various boards and commissions.

This is a resolution to affirm my recommendations for the Planning Commission and Zoning Board. We are filling four seats. Two are reappointments while two are new appointments. A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Komnick and seconded by Councilmember Faber. Discussion: None. Motion passed 5-0.

C. Bill 25-26 Resolution to award demolition at 618 N Jackson to NRE Land Solutions, LLC.

This resolution is to award demolition of a dilapidated house located at 618 N. Jackson St. Keith Edwards has worked very hard to identify buildings and houses that are beyond rehabilitation. To acquire a court order to demolish dilapidated buildings is most often a long, drawn-out process. I want to commend Keith for all his hard a diligent work. Removing blighted structures aids in the value of entire neighborhoods.

A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Faber. Discussion: Councilmember Colomer noted that the remaining grant funds would not be enough to cover the cost of this demo.

Community Development Director Keith Edwards affirmed that. He is hoping to receive more grant funds but is unsure if and when those funds would be available. Motion passed 5-0.

D. Bill 25-27 Resolution to authorize the City Manager to execute a three-year collective bargaining agreement with International Association of Fire Fighters Local 513. We have a working contract with the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 513 that will soon expire. This resolution will allow the city to enter into an agreement with our fire department members for the next three years.

A motion to table this and the next two resolutions was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Discussion: The Council stated they would like to see the financial break down of each contract and how they will affect each fund. There are no major issues with any of the details. They would just like to see the numbers before agreeing to the contracts. Motion to table all three resolutions passed 5-0.

E. Bill 25-28 Resolution to authorize the City Manager to execute a three-year collective bargaining agreement with Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 233.

Tabled

F. Bill 25-29 Resolution to authorize the City Manager to execute a three-year collective bargaining agreement with American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 764.

Tabled

G. Bill 25-30 Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute an agreement with Hutchison Engineering for professional services related to transportation improvements and maintenance funded through Motor Fuel Tax and other eligible sources of funding. The city uses an engineering firm to assist with recognizing streets that will require work; from complete resurfacing to seal coating. We requested bids and received responses from several firms. Hutchison Engineering is very familiar with Kewanee, and they have extensive experience in this area; from street projects in very towns to major rebuilds like John Deere Road in the Quad Cities. They will not only assist with current expenditures coming from Motor Fuel Taxes but have the experience and knowledge to begin building a plan that will lead us into the future with street repairs and a street maintenance program. A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Komnick and seconded by Councilmember Colomer. Discussion: The Mayor stated that he had a conversation with the City Manager asking if there was any benefit to having the same engineering company for both the roads and the water/wastewater systems. The City Manager explained that you don’t want to go into an RFQ process with minds made up. It is best to look at qualifications individually. Hutchison and CMT have previously worked together on other projects and feel they would easily be able to coordinate on our projects as well. Hutchison is very reputable and already has knowledge about our City as they have helped us with various other projects. Hutchison will evaluate all roads and devise short- and long-term plans based on needs. They will also factor in our MFT funds and other available sources.

H. Bill 25-31 Resolution awarding the contract for operation of the Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants to Bock Wastewater Treatment Contracting/ION Environmental Solutions for a period of five years.

We received three bids to continue with how the city contracts for the operation of our water and wastewater treatment plants. One of those bids was from Illinois American Water whose proposal was to purchase our entire water system. It is more than evident the citizens of Kewanee do not trust IAW. From information given to me by several residents and what I have found from my own research, I cannot disagree. Unless one of my fellow council members feels the need to include IAW in this discussion, I would like to open a discussion on the two remaining bidders, Bock Wastewater Treatment Contracting and ION Environmental Solutions, and following the discussion, if one of our council members will move to accept the bid of one of these companies for term of five years.

Discussion: There is a tremendous amount to consider with this. Since these facilities were built, Bock is the only company that has operated them. They have the experience and knowledge of our entire system. However, their bid was $400,000 more than the bid from ION. The owner of ION was present and told the Council that they are familiar with how our system works and he feels they are more than capable of handling it. They would even be willing to hire/retain Bock employees to continue to work at the facility. With what he knows of their current salaries, he would be able to offer a significant raise. Councilmember Colomer asked him what he would do if he was not able to get staff. He replied that with his current staff, they would be able to cover things without interruption and that again, he would be interested in hiring staff that already works at the facility. Ryan Bockewitz then spoke to the Council. His company has been working with the City since the facility was built. He feels that they are the best option for Kewanee even though their bid was higher than ION. Ultimately, the Council was in favor of “keeping it local.”

A motion to amend the resolution to state only “Bock Wastewater Treatment Contracting” was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Colomer. Motion passed 5-0. A motion to approve the resolution as amended was made by Councilmember Komnick and seconded by Councilmember Colomer. Motion passed 5-0.

I. Bill 25-32 Resolution to authorize the execution of documents that are necessary and proper to sell real property located in the Kewanee Northeast Industrial Park. We recently established the Northeast Industrial Park. It sits on the southeast corner of Burlington Ave and Cole St. The city is in the process of having the industrial park plated so it can be subdivided and sold to companies that have already expressed an interest. One such company is Great Dane. Great Dane wishes to extend property they use to park completed trailers.

A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Komnick and seconded by Councilmember Faber. Discussion: None. Motion passed 5-0.

J. Kewanee Mobile Home Parks

The bank that is currently in charge of the mobile home parks made the City a best and final offer regarding their outstanding $400,000 plus water bill. They are only willing to pay $100,000. The stated that if the City did not accept that, they would consider walking away from the parks and not complete any further clean up. The Council feels that is unacceptable as it is not their fault that the bank made a bad business decision. They are not willing to take such a hit for something like this. They discussed various options for the situation including shutting the water off to all the parks. This would lead to many residents being displaced as turning off the water supply would in turn condemn the properties. Ron Lund, Chief Operating Officer of Project Now, spoke to the Council and told them they are interested in working with the City to help the residents of the parks find new places to live. It is unlikely they could find homes/places for all of them but would do whatever they could. While this is not an easy decision, the Council feels that this is the only viable option in dealing with the bank. The Council has asked Staff to prepare a Resolution for vote at the next meeting that would give the bank a 48-hour notice of water termination for all of the parks.

K. Discussion Only: Range Building

Police Chief Kijanowski addressed the Council concerning the current state of the Range Building. There is a significant mold issue that needs to be remedied as well as various upgrades to prevent future issues. He has already figured these costs into the next fiscal budget. However, because that has not yet been approved, he would like Council permission to move forward on completing the project. The bills for the services would be paid in the next fiscal year but work could start immediately. The Council agreed that these items need addressed and gave him permission to move forward.

Council Communications:

Faber: This will most likely be his last “council communications” so he took the time to thank all his supporters over the years. He has been a part of government for almost 49 years but is looking forward to the break. He has enjoyed serving the residents of Kewanee in his time as a Councilmember.

All the other Councilmembers used their time to thank Councilmember Faber for his service, guidance, and teaching throughout his years on the Council.

Mayor’s Communications:

The Mayor added a final thank you to Steve Faber. It has been a joy working with him. Not only were they fellow Councilmen, but they became very close friends.

He congratulated the KHS music department on their second consecutive State Championship. It can be hard to win one, let alone back-to-back. Well done to the students, instructors, and families for all their hard work.

He and his wife recently attended the Chamber of Commerce Comedy Night. It was well attended and a fun evening. He thanks Mark and his team for the hard work in putting the event on. He also thanked Mark Eilers and his team for the great food.

WHS recently had a theatrical performance. While the Mayor was unable to attend, he heard great things about it and congratulated them for putting it on.

Announcements:

* City Hall front office will be closed this Wednesday April 16th from 10am - 12:30pm to allow for our staff to attend meetings.

*City Hall and the Transfer Station will be closed this Friday April 18th for the holiday. There are no changes to the trash or recycling schedule.

*The Transfer Station will begin Saturday hours on April 26th and will be open each 2nd and 4th Saturdays from 7am to Noon.

A motion to adjourn was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Faber. Motion passed 5-0 and the meeting adjourned at 9:14pm.

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