City of Lexington City Council met May 13.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
The regular meeting of the Lexington City Council was called to order at 7:00 P. M. by Mayor Spencer Johansen in the City Council Chambers at City Hall.
Mayor Johansen led the council in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Roll call was taken to find the following physically present: Mayor Johansen, Alderman Schreiber, Alderman Stover, Alderman Franklin, Alderman Richard, Alderman Colclasure and Alderwoman Wilson. Members of the staff and public present were: Chief Belvery, Kenneth Sours and Dottie Pignotti.
It was moved by Alderman Colclasure and seconded by Alderman Franklin to approve the minutes of the April 22, 2019 regular City Council meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
It was moved by Alderman Stover and seconded by Alderwoman Wilson to approve the Treasurer’s Report for the bills in last year’s budget in the amount of $69,798.78 Motion carried unanimously.
It was moved by Alderman Stover and seconded by Alderman Franklin to approve the Treasurer’s Report for the bills in this year’s budget in the amount of $12,465.78. Motion carried unanimously.
Public Input: Dottie Pignotti attended the meeting to voice her opinion. She has been reading the newspaper articles and hearing discussion regarding having chickens in Lexington. She grew up in Weston and her job was to gather the eggs and it is a lovely farm occupation but she does not think it is so lovely in the city. Most people move to the city to get away from the farm. The way she understands it there has been no negative input and she would like to be that negative input.
Old Business:
Discussion/Vote Approving 2019-2020 Budget
Alderman Stover started the discussion by explaining that there were no major changes to the budget from the last meeting other than some more was added to the TIF, site acquisition is the line item. That is the line item for the road. We had to make sure we had it covered and there was enough money there if it was needed.
The question was asked as to what was the total money that we were going to spend this year. The amount we are going to spend this year in total expenses is $2,649,984.83. Income is projected by departments. Alderman Stover again stated that these budget amounts are not approvals for spending and all large expenditures must be brought before the council for approval.
Mayor Johansen told about the IDS that was submitted to the County for the road that is going in for Casey’s. They are requiring a right turn lane be put in out there. We had to redo the IDS, put in the right turn lane, widen P. J. Keller Hwy. and we are required to pay for half of that. The total cost of the lane is $50,000.
We are able to get all of our fill dirt from the City of Fairbury and all we will need to pay for it is the trucking fee.
Alderman Stover went on to say that the Water and Sewer Funds are self-sustaining.
Next he explained the capital replacement plan. Star removed the line item amounts to the capital replacement account from their current line item account. There is a total of $253,750.00 taken out of the line items for the Police and Street accounts and moved to the capital replacement plan for 2019. Those items are all long term replacement items such as vehicles, mowers, generators, backhoe and the Water Tower project. These line items are projected out 2028 showing how much will be budgeted each year in replacement dollars and the total amount accrued each year. It also shows payout when a vehicle is purchased. This gets us a lot closer to where we need to be to have the funds available when it is time to purchase a new vehicle. Alderman Stover plans to move the money in the capital replacement plan in the general ledger into an interest earning account. The benefit replacement cost less salvage value divided by the.number of years is how the planned annual reserve is figured. The amount moved in 2019 is around $250,000.
The Water Tower project has been shorted this year to pay for the new meters but will be back on next year. Once that project is complete it will drop off.
Motion was made by Alderman Stover and seconded by Alderman Schreiber to approve 2019- 2020 budget as printed. Motion carried unanimously.
New Business:
Committee Assignments
Mayor Johansen has made new committee assignments for the new year. He would like to see the committees meet more often. At least twice a year.
Discussion/Vote Flashing Stop Signs for Route 66 and Main Street.
Due to the large number of accidents at the Route 66 and Main Street intersection Mayor Johansen feels flashing stop signs are needed. He knows that this is not our responsibility but he has been working with IDOT and they did come in last summer and upgraded to 48 inch stop signs. They put up larger “stop ahead” signs with reflector tape and that is all they are going to do. He approached them about putting up the rumble strips, but they would not consider them as they prove to be too noisy for the houses that are close by. Unfortunately, it is going to take a serious accident with injuries to get them to do anything further. He is recommending the council approve funding for two BlinkerStop Flashing LED Stop Signs. At a cost of $3,720.00 for the two. These are similar to what is in place at Chenoa. He has also reached out to the Route 66 Associate to see if they are able to put more safety tips in their magazine next year.
Motion was made by Alderman Franklin and seconded by Alderman Richard to purchase two Flashing Stop Signs for Route 66 and Main Street. Motion carried with five yes and one no.
Committee Reports:
Mayors Report: Mayor Johansen has received the concept plan for Casey’s and what they need to do out there and they have approved moving forward out there.
There needs to be a right turn lane coming from Lexington put in at a cost of $50,000. The County will pay for half of this, and P. J. Keller Hwy. will also be widened. We will be able to get all of our fill dirt from the City of Fairbury and will need to only pay for the trucking.
Red Carpet Corridor was a huge success. Over 350 people were served at the picnic. The vendors all did well as did the businesses. The local restaurants donated the sides and the Chenoa Locker donated the hot dogs. He would like to see more Council participation.
Rail Road quiet zone takes effect June 1st. The No Horn signs they required are erected and covered up until that morning. Mayor Johansen has had some negative comments over this and feels the aldermen should reach out to educate their constituents as this cannot be the first time they have heard about it. It was on the agenda three times before it was approved.
It will be a fried chicken chain going in to replace McDonalds. It is down to two chicken places coming into replace McDonalds. Not sure which one yet. BP was waiting until McDonalds had all of their equipment out before making a decision.
Police: Chief Belvery commented on the crash reenactment that was done the end of April before Prom. It went very well.
Officer Schultz graduated from the Academy on May 4th.
They are offering the bike rodeo and safety program again in July. It has been three years since they have offered this program. They go around to the businesses and ask for donations with the grand prize being a bicycle from True Value. Other prizes helmets, reflectors, etc. We register their bikes and give safety tips. The winner gets to “shop with a cop” to go and pick out his new bike.
Mayor Johansen commended the Police Department on their work with the school.
Building/Insurance
None
Finance/TIF: Alderman Stover is starting to work on the Appropriation Ordinance.
Water/Sewer/Sanitation: Alderwoman Wilson commented on sanitation awareness. That on the windy days some of the garbage cans were falling over, the garbage men were stopping and putting the garbage back in the cans. If they start to charge us for this, we all need to be aware of this and watch to see that this does not happen.
Mayor Johansen met with the recycle pick up this week as he has had requests for weekly recycle pick up. The garbage company is losing money on the recycling. Our contract is up next year and there will be an increase. We will put it out for bids and also try to get more services such as twice a year electric recycle pick up, two dumpsters a year for our use, such as carnival and recycling containers for the school.
Street/Alley: None
There being no further business, motion was made by Alderwoman Wilson to adjourn at 7:50
P.M. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.
https://www.lexingtonillinois.org/images/May132019.pdf
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