Rock Island Today

City of Kewanee City Council met Sept. 22.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

The September 22nd, 2025, Council Meeting was called to order at 7:00pm in the Council Chambers. Councilmembers Colomer, Cernovich, Baker, and Komnick 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 September 8, 2025.

B. Payroll for the pay period ending September 6th in the amount of $271,075.46.

C. Staff Reports

D. Bock Report

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

Bills for the Council Meeting of September 22nd were presented in the amount of $245,691.40. A Motion to approve the bills was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Discussion: Councilmember Colomer asked about the Entec bill. That was due to a lightning strike that fried some of the equipment. Councilmember Cernovich asked for more details regarding the Hutchison charges. Motion passed 5-0.

Public Comments: None

Swearing In: Tyler Harker, the Kewanee Fire Department’s newest Fireman, was sworn in by City Clerk Mitchell and pinned by Captain Stout.

New Business:

A. Public Hearing: Appropriations

State law requires a “Public Hearing” for any and all residents wishing to offer an opinion on the subject of appropriations. In laymen’s terms, this subject matter will set the maximum expenditure amount for each line in the budget for the fiscal year.

Joel Hasse mentioned that this is supposed to be done in the first quarter of the fiscal year and that he did not see the notice published. Finance Director James Webb stated that the budget was approved later than normal and due to that and the notice timeline, we missed that deadline but that it still has to be done. The notice was posted at City Hall, on our website, and in the Quad City Times.

B. Bill 25-87 Ordinance establishing appropriations for the Fiscal Year beginning May 1, 2025, and ending April 30, 2026.

Having closed the public hearing on appropriations, we will now vote on appropriations for the fiscal year May 1, 2025, through April 30, 2026.

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

C. Bill 25-88 Ordinance implementing a Non-Home Rule Municipal Retailers’ Occupation Tax and a Non-Home Rule Municipal Service Occupation Tax for the City of Kewanee. There was a recent change by state legislators authorizing cities to enact additional sales tax for infrastructure improvements. This ordinance, if passed, will add a ½ cent sales tax, known as a Non-Home Rule Municipal Retailers’ Occupation Tax. The additional revenue generated by this sales tax will be used, by ordinance, for city streets and roads, sidewalks, storm water drainage and retention facilities. What you will see on your sales tax receipt is an increase of 50 cents for every $100 spent.

A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Cernovich. Discussion: There was a presentation from Hutchison Engineering regarding the street paver index process and the timeline for the project. Councilmember Cernovich stated that he did not want to pass a tax until there was a concrete plan of how the money would be used. Motion passed 4-1 with Councilmember Cernovich being the sole Nay vote.

D. Reconsideration of Bill 25-83 Ordinance granting a Special Use Permit to Larry Neels for property located at 324 East Second St.

There has been a request to reconsider Bill 25-83 that was presented to the council at the last meeting. This was a request for a special use permit by Larry Neels for property he owns at 324 E. 2nd St. If granted, Mr. Neels will be allowed to park currently owned equipment on his property, so long as the equipment is current with city ordinances. There is also a stipulation that would allow Mr. Neels to store scrap on trailers on the property on a temporary basis.

A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Cernovich and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Discussion: Councilmember Cernovich had asked for a reconsideration on this bill. He believed that there could have been a compromise rather than denying it all. Councilmember Colomer stated his views on the SUP since he was not in attendance at the previous meeting. Discussion ensued. A motion to amend the ordinance to include “All scrap metal or other debris shall be removed from the site within Five (5) business days of receiving it.” was made by Councilmember Komnick and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Motion to amend passed 4-1 with Councilmember Cernovich being the sole Nay vote. Motion to approve as amended passed 4-1 with Councilmember Cernovich being the sole Nay vote.

Council Communications:

Colomer: None

Cernovich: He enjoyed attending the IML conference. He spoke with our TIF Attorney, Nic Nelson, and would like to invite him here to discuss TIFs with the Council. Baker: He also enjoyed attending the IML conference. He asked Keith to look into a “perpetual garage sale” located at 704 S Chestnut St.

Komnick: He encouraged residents to keep supporting local events like the upcoming Bakersville and Pumpkin Festival.

Mayor’s Communications: He offered condolences to city employee, Dan Holtschult and his family. Dan’s father passed away this past Sunday. The entire city, is very sorry for his loss. He gave congratulations to the Annawan/Wethersfield Junior High girls softball team. They competed at the IESA State Tournament this past weekend and took away a fourth-place trophy. Each year, thousands of school-aged athletes dream of competing at the state level, and only a very small percentage get that opportunity. Congratulations to all the girls and their coaches on a fantastic season.

Also, this past weekend, the Kewanee High School Marching Band took 1st place in class 2A at the Grey Ghost Classic in Chillicothe. While he has not seen it personally, he has heard this is a very large competition and not easy to win. It’s nice to see the band is continuing with their winning ways. Congratulations. This coming Saturday, September 27, from 4 to 11pm, the annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration will take place. They always have great food venders and booths, as well as some very good entertainment. It is well worth the trip to downtown Kewanee for this event. On Saturday, October 4th, from 7pm to midnight, the annual Bakersville Haunted Hayrack ride will take place. This is always a big event and enjoyed by people both young and old.

Announcements: None

A motion to adjourn to go into Closed Session to discuss Personnel Section 2(c)(1), Purchase or Lease of Real Estate Section 2(c)(5), and Litigation Section 2(c)(11) was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Cernovich. Motion passed 5-0.

The Regular Meeting was adjourned at 8:51pm.

Closed Session was called to order at 8:55pm. Councilmembers Colomer, Cernovich, Baker, and Komnick were present along with Mayor Moore, City Manager Gary Bradley, City Attorney Zac Lessard, and City Clerk Kasey Mitchell.

A motion to adjourn was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Motion passed 5-0 and the Closed Session adjourned at 9:55pm.

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