City of Leroy City Council met May 18.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM by Mayor Dean via live stream access. Council members in remote access were Dawn Hanafin, Rick Kline, Kyle Merkle, Brad Poindexter, Ron Legner, and Matt Steffen.
Staff members in remote session were Chief Williamson, Scott Bryant, Dan Lush, Perry Mayer, Nathan Wilkins, Samantha Walley and Vicki Moreland. Included on the consent agenda were Regular Meeting Minutes from May 4, 2020, Invoices from May 18, 2020 in the amount of $137,813.32 and payroll from May 8, 2020 in the amount of $42,228.65. Motion was made by Rick and seconded by Kyle for approval of the consent agenda. Roll call: Dawn Hanafin-yes, Rick Kline-yes, Kyle Merkle-yes, Brad Poindexteryes, Ron Legner-yes, Matt Steffen-yes. Motion carried 6 yeas, 0 nays.
Kelly arrived at 7:08 PM.
Scott stated that he had power issues last week at the sewer plant.
Ameren said one of the 3 phase legs was low on voltage and the generator was working on emergency power. Cummins said it was a bad voltage cord and would rebuild. Also, there was a sink hole in the detention basin at IGA apparently caused from an old main that had been filled in with grout during construction. The basin is the property of the IGA.
Perry stated that he had certified the emergency response plan with IEPA.
He also reported that the Consumer Confidence report was on the City website.
Vicki reported that the Read Center Software had been replaced by Beacon for the reading input from the remote read meters.
Samantha stated that Frontier Communication was going through bankruptcy and since they have communication with the water wells she was hoping their debt would be resolved or they would be bought out by another provider for continuity of service.
Greg connected at 7:15 PM.
Council entered discussion for the consideration of waiver of Title 4, Chapter 9, Sections 6 & 4, and waiver of Title 10, Chapter 7a, Section 2 of the Le Roy City Code as it relates to property identified by parcel identification number 30-21-303-015 (118 East Center Street) as requested by Eric Hail, who was present via remote access. Officer Taylor had inspected the downtown apartment owned by Hail earlier this year finding several code violations. After asked by Greg what prompted the inspections, Samantha stated that downtown properties are inspected on a rotating basis. Taylor stated that this particular apartment was the last on his list. Taylor will re-visit and write up violations to be addressed by Hail with an agreed upon timeline.
The council entered discussion regarding drainage work done in the City of Le Roy right-of-way at 801 E. Center Street. Owner Marshella Goben was present via remote access with concerns regarding parking issues she felt were the cause of the drainage work. The ditch on the West side of her property was graded at a slope to allow for water to drain to the South through a culvert which impedes her ability to park there. She stated that she could not park on Center Street in winter due to the snow route parking restrictions. She was informed that the snow route did not include that section of Center Street. Rick stated that it was not the responsibility of the City to provide a flat surface for homeowners to park.
The removal of the code compliance officer position from the Le Roy Police Department to a civilian position within the Administrative Department at City Hall was discussed by council and Officer Taylor. Greg does not feel that an officer in uniform should be doing building inspections and code enforcement. He and Rick feel that it is intimidating for a uniformed police officer to show up at a residence for building or code enforcement. Greg also expressed concern of the time and expense for training and testing. Officer Taylor is in the process of training Officer Facer as a replacement. Taylor stated that the testing and certifications were not expensive or difficult. He also stated that while patrolling he sees things that others might not see. Sergeant Wilkins reminded the council that the code compliance position was contractual through the ICOP union contract. He also stated that he was working on a job description which could include requiring appointments for inspections and officers showing up in plain clothes. The council was reminded that a change in the position was not budgeted in the current fiscal year. The council would like to find out what other communities do as far as inspections and code enforcement. Motion was made by Rick and seconded by Kelly to table the removal of the code compliance officer position from the Le Roy Police Department to a civilian position within the Administrative Department at City Hall. Roll call: Dawn Hanafin-yes, Rick Kline-yes, Kyle Merkle-yes, Brad Poindexter-yes, Kelly Lay-yes, Ron Legner-yes, Matt Steffen-yes, Greg Steffen-yes. Motion carried 8 yeas, 0 nays.
Motion was made by Greg and seconded by Rick for the Acceptance of Chandler Concrete and Excavation as lowest responsible bidder for City of Le Roy Sanitary Sewer Improvements Project. Roll call: Dawn Hanafinyes, Rick Kline-yes, Kyle Merkle-yes, Brad Poindexter-abstain, Kelly Layyes, Ron Legner-yes, Matt Steffen-yes, Greg Steffen-yes. Motion carried 7 yeas, 0 nays, 1 abstain.
The Council discussed the allocation of capitalized interest funds from 2019 bonds for water and sewer upgrades. The funds cannot be removed and used to pay down interest, but there were three possible options.
One option, a FDIC secured note at no risk, another a low risk money market or the third option to allow the money to sit and collect minimal interest. Greg made the motion and Dawn seconded to allocate the capitalized interest funds from the 2019 bonds into the option with the highest interest rate. Roll call: Dawn Hanafin-yes, Rick Kline-yes, Kyle Merkle-yes, Brad Poindexter-yes, Kelly Lay-yes, Ron Legner-yes, Matt Steffen-yes, Greg Steffen-yes. Motion carried 8 yeas, 0 nays.
The policy regarding vacated alleyways and utility easements was discussed in regard to the direction to follow for enforcement. There are fences and buildings that have been built in easements all over the City making it difficult for utility maintenance or repair. The consensus of the council is to enforce the regulations for new permits, but for existing issues to be dealt with only if they becomes an issue.
Mayor Dean supplied a letter from Mc Lean County Mayors to be presented to Governor Pritzker regarding the acceptance and adoption of Restore Illinois Staged Implementation Plan for the Heart of Illinois SubRegion of the North-Central Health Region and asked for council input. Kyle and Kelly were not in favor, but the consensus of the majority of the council was in agreement to proceed.
In Old and New Business Dawn asked how people buying downtown property would find out about ordinance and code regulations. Officer Taylor stated that he usually visits with new owners to inform them of the regulations, but that was after the purchase. The council felt that that issue was between the realtor and purchaser and that it is the due diligence of the buyer, not the City to check regulations before purchase.
Motion was made by Rick and seconded by Matt to adjourn the regular council meeting at 8:54 PM. Roll call: Dawn Hanafin-yes, Rick Kline-yes, Kyle Merkle-yes, Brad Poindexter-yes, Kelly Lay-yes, Ron Legner-yes, Matt Steffen-yes, Greg Steffen-yes. Motion carried 8 yeas, 0 nays.
https://www.leroy.org/file/2085/20200605112440827.pdf
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