McLean County Times

City of Le Roy City Council met Feb. 19.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Steve Dean at 7:00 PM at Le Roy City Hall, 207 S East Street, Le Roy. Council members present were Matt Steffen, Ron Legner, Patti Welander, Justin Morfey, Kyle Merkle, and Kelly Lay. Dawn Hanafin and Sarah Welte were absent.

Staff members present were Dan Lush, Jason Williamson, Scott Bryant, Perry Mayer, Dave Jenkins, Brad Frankovich and Anita Corso.

There were no comments from the public.

Included on the consent agenda were Regular Meeting Minutes 2/5/2024, Special Projects Committee Minutes 2/5/24, invoices from 2/19/2024 totaling $ 95,371.87 and, payroll for the period of 2/9/2024 in the amount of $ 47,590.22.

The items of the consent agenda were voted on separately.

Motion was made by Matt and seconded by Kelly for approval of the Regular Meeting Minutes and Special Projects Committee Minutes. Roll call: Matt Steffen-yes, Patti Welander-yes, Ron Legner-yes, Kyle Merkle- yes, Justin Morfey-yes, Kelly Lay-yes. Motion carried 6 yeas, 0 nays.

Motion was made by Kyle and seconded by Matt for approval of the invoices and payroll. Roll call: Matt Steffen-yes, Patti Welander-yes, Ron Legner-abstain, Kyle Merkle- yes, Justin Morfey yes, Kelly Lay-yes. Motion carried 5 yeas, 0 nays, 1 abstain.

Dawn Hanafin was seated at 7:05 p.m.

Staff Reports began with Scott giving an overview of the issues with the rented transfer switch operation and installation.

Perry gave an overview of the upcoming IEPA requirements for testing and service line replacements along with funding issues. He reported Le Roy will be getting help from the Rural Community Assistant Program to complete the service line inventory and minimize the number of ‘unknown’ locations.

Motion by Patti was seconded by Kelly for approval of Hotel/Motel funds of the not-to-exceed total of $4,000 to purchase a “lighted Jack-in-the-Box”, extra commercial grade Christmas grade lights, light cords, spotlights and supplies for both our Downtown street side and parks. Discussion included a request for more bows to have one on each decorative lamppost. Roll call: Matt Steffen-yes, Patti Welander-yes, Ron Legner-yes, Kyle Merkle- yes, Justin Morfey-yes, Kelly Lay-yes, Dawn Hanafin-yes. Motion carried 7 yeas, 0 nays.

Motion by Justin, seconded by Matt, for approval of the quote totaling $ 35,265.97 from Axon Enterprise, Inc.( 8) eight) Bundle – Taser 7 Certification. Discussion reviewed details of the five year contract including insurance and training as well as disposal of current units. Roll call: Matt Steffen-yes, Patti Welander-yes, Ron Legner-yes, Kyle Merkle- yes, Justin Morfey-yes, Kelly Lay-yes, Dawn Hanafin-yes. Motion carried 7 yeas, 0 nays.

ORD 24-02-02-50 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 9-1-3 BUILDING CODE.

Motion to approve by Kelly was seconded by Kyle. Discussion explained how this is clarifying a confusing section regarding building permit fees. Roll call: Matt Steffen-yes, Patti Welander-yes, Ron Legner-yes, Kyle Merkle- yes, Justin Morfey-yes, Kelly Lay-yes, Dawn Hanafin-yes. Motion carried 7 yeas, 0 nays.

Motion by Kyle was seconded by Patti for approval of the EV Charging Stations Installment and Services Agreement from Envirospark Networks, Inc. Discussion covered details of the charging stations including location and cost. Questions were raised for the attorney. Kyle and Patti agreed to table the motion until the contract could be reviewed by the attorney. Roll call: Matt Steffen-yes, Patti Welander-yes, Ron Legner-yes, Kyle Merkle- yes, Justin Morfey-yes, Kelly Lay yes, Dawn Hanafin-yes. Motion to table carried 7 yeas, 0 nays.

Motion by Patti was seconded by Ron for approval of the annual adjustment in Water/Sewer Rates to reflect the CPI-U index as described within Chapter 8-1-7 Article E of the City of Le Roy Municipal Code as an increase of 4.5 % in water/sewer rates. Discussion included the necessity due to rising costs and the increased required testing. Roll call: Matt Steffen-yes, Patti Welander-yes, Ron Legner-yes, Kyle Merkle- yes, Justin Morfey-yes, Kelly Lay-yes, Dawn Hanafin-yes. Motion carried 7 yeas, 0 nays.

In Old and New Business Dave gave an update on the new Dollar General to open next to Caseys. He also said engineers are working to have the sewer plant improvement plan in place for the next budget year.

The Mayor presented a request from a resident to waive late fees for January utility bills since the assumption was City Hall was closed for the 1/15 holiday. Since the utility bills clearly read “we are open 1/15/24” the consensus of council was not to waive late fees.

Mayor Dean also invite everyone to his Birthday Fundraiser at Burbon Hall on March 3, 2024 from 1-4pm. Donations will support Eagle Scout projects and bring Shakespeare for Young People to Le Roy for a third year.

Dave will be sending a memo outlining a rental certification and inspection program for future discussion.

Motion by Kelly was seconded by Kyle to adjourn the regular council meeting. Roll call: Matt Steffen-yes, Patti Welander-yes, Ron Legner-yes, Kyle Merkle- yes, Justin Morfey-yes, Kelly Lay yes, Dawn Hanafin-yes. Motion carried 7 yeas, 0 nays.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:15 PM.

https://www.leroy.org/file/2617/2024%20reg%20mtg%20Feb%2019.pdf