City of Lexington City Council met April 11.
Here are 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 Franklin, Alderman Richard, Alderman Stover, Alderwoman Wilson, Alderman Little and Alderman Mattingly. Members of the staff and public present were: Kenneth Sours and Chief Belvery.
It was moved by Alderman Mattingly and seconded by Alderman Franklin to approve the minutes of the March 14, 2022 regular city council meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
It was moved by Alderman Stover and seconded by Alderwoman Wilson to approve the Treasurer’s Report and paying of the bills in the amount of $29,168.21. Motion carried unanimously.
Public Input: None
Old Business:
Discussion 2022-2023 Budget
There was a good work session held on Friday where we went through expenses. Topics discussed were what is upcoming and what would be coming off. The figures need to be put in and we will see where we are at. Salaries will be discussed later.
Alderman Franklin wanted to start a conversation around sales tax figures and where we are in relation to our neighbors. It was felt that if we could raise the sales tax on food and beverage we would be able to increase our revenue to cover an increase in salaries. He had prepared a spreadsheet of what surrounding towns' sales taxes were with Lexington being one of the lowest 6.75% and the city receiving .50% and the county receiving 1.50%. In comparison Chenoa and LeRoy each charged 7.75% with 1.50% coming back to the city and 2.00% going to the county. If we raise the sales tax we would not need to raise taxes but he felt we needed to raise our revenue in some way.
This then led to a discussion on home rule versus non-home rule communities. In order to become a home rule community a referendum would need to be voted on by the voters of the community.
It was also noted that there was an issue with the new squad car that was ordered as to when or if they will get it.
New Business:
Discussion/Vote: Resolution 2022-2: Regarding the Release of Executive Session Minutes
Alderman Franklin and Alderman Richard conducted a Closed Meeting Review on February 28, 2022. They released minutes from January 18, 2022 and August 17, 2022 and left the remaining minutes closed.
Motion was made by Alderman Franklin and seconded by Alderman Richard to approve Resolution 2022-2: Regarding the Release of Executive Session Minutes. Motion carried unanimously.
Discussion/Vote: Resolution 2022-1: Requesting that the General Assembly Revisit and Modify Changes Made to the Statement of Economic Interests Form as a Result of Public Act 102-0664
The Statement of Economic Interests Form has been changed this year to reflect new questions. Question number one seems to be the one that is bothering individuals. It is perceived as intrusive and they are concerned about filling it out wrong. IML is working to get the General Assembly to re-address this and get a six month extension to filing it. Mayor Johansen will take this resolution before the Mayor’s Association.
He has had two people from the Planning Commission say they are not going to serve on the Planning Commission any longer. It is hard to get people to serve on the committees.
If this is approved he will take it to Dan Brady’s office to see what help he is able to give. Kathy Michael’s office will not give any legal advice.
He knows it is to help stop corruption in office but everyone takes an oath of office to uphold the U. S. Constitution of the Constitution of the State of Illinois.
Motion was made by Alderwoman Wilson and seconded by Alderman Stover to approve Resolution 2022-1: Requesting that the General Assembly Revisit and Modify Changes Made to the Statement of Economic Interests Form as a Result of Public Act 102-0664. Motion carried unanimously.
Discussion/Vote to Go Into Closed Session to Discuss Salaries at 7:18 PM
Motion was made by Alderman Mattingly and seconded by Alderman Franklin to go into closed session to discuss salaries at 7:18 P.M. Motion carried unanimously
Vote to Go Back Into Open Session at 8:36 P.M.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Mayor’s Report: Mayor Johansen reported on the following items:
He has met with someone who wants to build a new restaurant in town. He showed them some parcels in town. They ran into some issues with the frontage road. That parcel called for a frontage road in front of Dollar General but there is a 25 foot easement off of Douglas Drive that is made to get back into that second lot. The 25 foot easement is probably too close to the county road and he feels it will be too congested out there. He contacted Dollar General but they lease from a company in California, they are willing to work with them and Zak is working out some kind of a proposal. He thinks they will need to redo the easement and add about 15 feet. As long as we are 50-75 feet from the county road they are good out there. A more buildable approach would be getting an easement from Cheney but he did not want to drive behind Dollar General. Cheney recently listed that property with Jacqui Miller at $20,000 per acre.
The open house for the Airbnb, Lexington House, is April 2, 2022 from 4-7 P.M. The public is invited. Everything looks good out there.
He wants to look into doing the tent in the parking lot again but not the port-a-potties. The majority comes from Kemp’s so they can use his rest rooms or City Hall. It’s a good draw for Lexington and looks nice. We will use it for the Red Carpet Corridor and Farmer’s Market.
A question was asked about whether handicap parking was an issue for the doctor’s office. There were no complaints about there not being a handicap spot. They have a ramp but most people use the steps. We can provide two spots out front. He would like to add money to the budget for that and in the future put up a small permanent structure there. We can run power to it and have six tables, that would save the rental of the tent. The nice thing about the tent is they do all the maintenance. The price is around $1,200 a month and maybe Kemp’s would share in the cost.
Mike Beard has given his letter as to when he will retire. It is not clear in the employee handbook. Mike has a lot of time banked now. He thinks we need to put a notice out for job applications and hire someone sooner rather than later. Pencil someone in the budget incase Mike decides to retire early.
Police: Alderman Richard reported that they had 14 applications for the patrol officer position and the cutoff date is Friday, April 1, 2022. They have so many applicants due to the fact that they are wanting to come to a small town because it is safer.
The Police Committee will meet to interview the applicants.
Registration for the golf carts starts Friday and Saturday.
Building/Insurance None
Finance /TIF None
Water/Sewer/Sanitation Alderwoman Wilson has not looked into the landlord issue yet. The lawyer at ISU cannot guide her but Normal does have procedures. She will follow this up.
Bloomington does require an emergency contact.
Street/Alley: None
There being no further business, a motion was made by Alderman Franklin to adjourn at 8:53 P.M. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.
https://www.lexingtonillinois.org/images/_Minutes_March_28_2022_1.pdf
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