City of Lexington City Council met Oct. 10.
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, Alderwoman Wilson, Alderman Mattingly, Alderman Franklin and Alderman Little. Alderman Richard and Alderman Stover were absent.
Motion was made by Alderman Mattingly and seconded by Alderman Franklin to include the closed session minutes with the regular session minutes for approval. Motion carried unanimously.
It was moved by Alderman Mattingly and seconded by Alderwoman Wilson to approve the minutes of the September 12, 2022 regular and closed sessions of the City Council meetings. There was one small correction to be made to the regular session minutes. Motion carried unanimously.
It was moved by Alderman Franklin and seconded by Alderwoman Wilson to approve the Treasurer’s Report and paying of the bills in the amount of $107,721.04. Motion carried unanimously.
Public Input: None
Old Business:
Discussion/Vote for Extension of Coffee Hound Agreement
Mayor Johansen has met with April Fritzen of the Coffee Hound and she wants to continue to move forward but at a slower pace. They have added a year to the original proposal. If approved they will sign and add it to the TIF file.
Motion was made by Alderman Mattingly and seconded by Alderwoman Wilson to approve the amendment to extend the Coffee Hound Agreement. Motion carried unanimously.
New Business:
Discussion/Vote for Proposed Change Order for Water Tower Repair
Everything is in the packet to explain what repairs are needed. This was an oversight on the engineer’s part and increased the repair by $14,850.00.
It is a kind of sealant protection paint that would have had to have been done anyway. This should have been included in the bid the first time but was not. There should not be a charge from Farnsworth to write up this change order but Mayor Johansen did not want to sign off on this large of an increase without council approval. This brings the total repair to $261,750.00, still a lot less expensive than what we all anticipated, and we have $250,000 in grant money from the county to help pay for this.
Motion was made by Alderman Franklin and seconded by Alderman Mattingly to approve the proposed change order for Water Tower Repair. Motion carried unanimously.
Discussion/Vote to Proceed with the Bidding Process for Solar Power for the Water and Sewer Plants
Alderman Franklin led this discussion and stated that both the Water and Sewer Plants are situated in open ground that will accommodate solar power. The Water Plant Ameren bill is running around $2,500 a month and the Sewer Plant is on Corn Belt Electric and running around $3,300 a month. With the Inflation Reduction Act there are many incentives to switch to green energy and he believes that the payback will be just over four years. The cost would be ¾ of a million dollars but incentives would cover about 70% of that. We would still be out of pocket about $250,000 but if we can save $4,500-$5,000 a month it pays for itself in less than five years. They have a life of approximately 20-25 years.
Discussion centered around what type of power did they generate during the winter months? What happened if they generated more electricity than was used in the summer months? Alderman Franklin explained that you built up a credit something like budget billing. There was some discussion about the type of panels, such as self-cleaning panels for snow. Also, thoughts about wear and tear on the panels such as storms and animals.
They would still need to go through Ameren and Corn Belt Electric to set things up. Billy will go ahead and make the calls to get things going.
Motion was made by Alderman Mattingly and seconded by Alderman Little to proceed with the bidding process for the solar power for the Water and Sewer Plants. Motion carried unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Mayor’s Report: Mayor Johansen reported on the following items:
Merchants on Main was a huge success with over 1,000 people in attendance. Some of the vendors had their best day ever and we had many compliments on the town.
We have had many compliments on how nice the city’s properties look and it would be nice to get the city logo on them.
Since we have been awarding the “Garden of the Month”, more people have been landscaping their yards.
This week we had two parades, one welcoming Kasey Well’s Eagle and another for Addison Young for her prize heifer.
There was an email from Zach about the leaky water valves where they are trying to rehab the Water Tower. They are trying to fix them but are still having sand dropping to the bottom of the tower. There will be another change order to remove the old valves.
Carey Davis has not heard from Farnsworth regarding the numbers on how much water and sewer lines they are going to need. He would like to see that before we commit to any numbers. Things are still progressing out there. We need housing and apartment complexes.
He asked Alderman Franklin if it would be a problem to bring his mower and mow in front of Dollar General between P. J. Keller Highway and their parking lot? Their front office is dragging their feet.
The big Oak tree down by the elephant will need to come down. It has a big crack down the center of it. It is too big for us to take down and Becker wants $6,000 to take it down. It is not on our property, Freedom Oil owns that piece of property. He is afraid if we say anything to them, they will make us move everything. That may be the oldest tree in Lexington.
We have had a lot of complaints about the streetlights. We are billed through Ameren and it is just a flat fee. Alderman Mattingly offered to have a text sent to him and he would take care of it. The police officer on duty at night used to write down the ones that were out and give it to
Star to call in. Some have been out quite a while. Star will check to see which ones have not been fixed.
Police: Alderman Richard texted that the speed sign is in town and the Chief has been moving it around. It belongs to the Rural Police Chiefs Association.
Officer Kolat is doing great at the academy.
Building/Insurance Alderman Franklin reported that it is time for the annual renewal of the insurance policies. They decided last year to do a review only every other year so he will renew with the current carriers this year.
Finance /TIF Alderman Stover will get with Star and go over the appropriations. There were a couple of big expenditures. One was the tile on North Street and that needs to be adjusted on the appropriations report. We are waiting on the final numbers.
Carlos has worked well as a translator and they would like to continue to use him through the winter months.
Mayor Johansen sat in on the health inspection for Essential Coffee as he felt sometimes they were a little intimidating. She passed with flying colors and now has her beverage and full food license.
Water/Sewer/Sanitation None
Street/Alley: None
There being no further business, a motion was made by Alderman Franklin to adjourn at 7:41 P.M. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.
https://www.lexingtonillinois.org/images/_Minutes_October_10_2022.pdf
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