City of Lexington City Council Met Dec. 14.
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 Stover, Alderman Franklin, Alderman Richard, Alderman Colclasure and Alderwoman Wilson. Alderman Schreiber was attending remotely. Members of the staff and public present were: Kenneth Sours, Luke Smucker, Mike Cotter and Dave Belvery.
It was moved by Alderwoman Wilson and seconded by Alderman Colclasure to approve the minutes of the November 9, 2020 regular City Council meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
It was moved by Alderman Stover and seconded by Alderman Franklin to approve the Treasurer’s Report in the amount of $128,521.84. This was $29,194.42 for the end of November and $99,327.42 for the first of December and also included a UMB Bank bond payment. Motion carried unanimously.
Public Input: Mike Cotter, president of the Fire Board, spoke on behalf of the Lexington Fire Protection District. He was there to ask the council for help on the matter of the purchase of the Brandt property. They have been interested in the property for many years. Much discussion has been held recently at the Fire Station and they have decided they would like to make a written offer on the full property between the railroad tracks and the Fire Station. They are not sure on the asking price because they have been told several prices, so they need to know what the asking price is.
They feel there are plenty of locations in Lexington for businesses but only one location that borders the Fire Department. They are in need of expansion now, and they would use the existing office building for offices for the Fire Department immediately, and in the future they will be doing an expansion on the firehouse which would probably face Main Street with some truck bays where they would pull right out onto Main Street. This is something they have been talking about a lot, and with them being landlocked, we need to act now on this property or it will be too late.
He appreciates our help with this matter. The Fire Department should be the most important for the city. He thanks us for our help solving this matter.
The question was asked about them originally only wanting the back part of the land parcel. For years they have wanted the whole amount. We were offered the back part, we wanted it for sure. We said we possibly would be interested in the other, but after several meetings we decided we needed to act on it now. This is the only time we are going to have.
Old Business:
Discussion/Vote Ordinance 2020-6: Brandt Property
This is the ordinance for the purchase of the Brandt Property and the property exchange agreement. Alderman Stover believes that this final document is fair to everyone.
It was moved by Alderman Stover and seconded by Alderwoman Wilson to approve Ordinance 2020-6: Approving the Exchange of Real Estate by the City of Lexington with Brandt Agronomic Services, LLC and the Leasing of Certain Real Estate to Brandt Agronomic Services, LLC From the City of Lexington and the leasing by the City of Lexington from Brandt Agronomic Services, LLC
all pursuant to the property exchange agreement and Leases. Motion carried with Aldermen Stover, Wilson, Colclasure, Richard and Franklin voting yes and Alderman Schrieber voting no.
New Business:
Discussion/Vote Ordinance 2020-7: Levy
Alderman Stover put together the levy and there was an increase of $2,500 this year. It amounts to a 0.015% of an increase in our rate. The reason behind is we ran a $14,000 shortfall this year. We have always had TIF Funds to help out and had a significant balance in the General Fund. We have been using both sides and now it is time for us to get things back in line and start moving toward where we need to be. Twelve years from now the TIF will expire and we will not have that backup at that point. If we kept the rate where we are at we will not be where we need to be to continue working on growth and development. With the limits on how much we can raise, he thinks we should gradually take these steps. On a $250,000 home the increase would be $12.50.
It was moved by Alderman Stover and seconded by Alderman Richard to approve Ordinance 2020-7: Levy. Motion carried unanimously.
Discussion/Vote Ordinance 2020-8: Abatement
Alderman Stover explained that this is something that we do every year. We need to approve the abatement of our ability to levy for the bonds.
Motion was made by Alderman Stover and seconded by Alderman Richard to approve Ordinance 2020-8: Abating the Tax hereto levied for the year 2020 to pay the Principal of and Interest on General Obligation Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source), Series 2013, of the City of Lexington, Illinois. Motion carried unanimously.
Discussion/Vote TIF Request
This was a request from Bob Brown regarding the property on Main Street. Alderman Stover reported that there are no funds remaining in the current year from the TIF fund. This will be tabled until the next budget year and look at it then.
Motion was made by Alderman Stover and seconded by Alderman Franklin to table this TIF request till the next budget year. Motion carried unanimously.
Discussion/Vote 2021 Calendar
The calendar for the next year needs to be approved every year. The calendar lists the dates of the council meetings and approved holidays.
Motion was made by Alderwoman Wilson and seconded by Alderman Franklin to approve the 2021 calendar. Motion carried unanimously.
Committee Reports:
Mayors Report: Mayor Johansen reported on the following items:
Casey’s ribbon cutting is Friday, December 18th at 10:00 a.m. They will open at 5:00 a.m. on Friday and will be open 24 hours.
Koch’s building on Main Street has a new owner. He has already started some repairs to restore it.
We have someone interested in the Lockenvitz property. There was some confusion whether we had to put it out for public auction, but since we obtained it on a court order and not for city use we do not need to.
We are still talking about the Orange Street subdivision. Some issues came up with the cost of construction so we are looking at some different approaches. The cost of the infrastructure would bring the cost of the lots pretty high.
The hotel is still pending. They are doing their due diligence and moving back a little.
The CURES program that the state came up with has reimbursed all COVID expenses that any municipalities had. We qualified for $85,000. He and Star put together a package and sent in and put in for new billing and payroll software so Star could work from home and do the payroll. We also requested reimbursement for the tent and porta potties, all the cost we had on that. We got approved somewhere around $65,000.
The wind turbans are up and running and we should be getting our check before the end of the year on our portion of around $28,000.
We did a condensed version of Christmas on the Prairie. Usually we have around 100 vendors and this year we had 30 scattered around different locations. Santa and his elf went around town in the horse and carriage waving at the kids in a two hour parade. Star did an excellent job organizing and nothing but good reviews.
Police: Alderman Richard reported that they are still waiting on the new squad car.
Our newest officer will graduate the academy in March 2021 and Chief Belvery hopes she is working by May.
Building/Insurance Alderman Franklin reported that the commercial insurance has been renewed. More advanced notice was required if we wanted to switch carriers for the other. They required 90 day notice.
Finance/TIF: None
Water/Sewer/Sanitation: None
Street/Alley: Waiting till it snows. There is plenty of salt.
There being no further business, motion was made by Alderman Franklin to adjourn at 7:24 P.M. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.
https://www.lexingtonillinois.org/images/Minutes_December_14_2020.pdf
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