Monmouth City Council Meeting Minutes – 7-3-18

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City Council Meeting Summary 07.02.2018

Next City Council Meeting – July 16th, 2018 at 6:00 PM

Official Minutes available at www.cityofmonmouth.com

1– Presentations Or Citizen Inquiries – No citizen inquiries or presentations tonight.

2- Building And Zoning Monthly Report – Director Woodward • Smithfield’s new rendering building is making significant progress at approximately 11 weeks ahead of schedule. The sprinkler system and internal production equipment will be completed next. • Neiman Foods (County Market) is looking to build a set of gas pumps on the North West side of their property to provide petroleum product for their customers. • Fareway Foods has submitted final plans for their new building, and they have been approved. Fareway will likely begin demolition of the old K-mart building on North 6th street at the end of July.

3- Community Engagement Report – Director Helms

• A new ice cream shop opened up at 202 South Main. The store’s name is El Dulce Helago, and they may also be found on Facebook. They have a focus on Hispanic desserts and snacks. This business was started by a Galesburg resident by the name of Sonia Woolsey. • The United Way announced their 211 service was coming to the community. The service allows residents to dial 211 for informational needs and also communicates with non-native speakers. • Champ’s Chicken also had a ribbon cutting at their location at 1150 N 6th St. Champ’s is additional offering that is part of the Yummy Yogurt Café. They have a variety of Chicken and Fish offerings. • LMP Agency (Formerly known as Fred Jenks Insurance) had a cutting last month as well. Fred Jenks decided last year that he wanted to retire and the owners of Land Management Partners agreed to take over. LMP offers all the same services that Fred Jenks Insurance did before as well. • The new mass notification system is ready for rollout and will be advertised to sign up this month.

El Dulce Helago, located at 202 South Main Street

Champ’s Chicken, Located at 1150 North 6th Street

4- Woodard and Curran Report – Director Jackson

• The CDBG grant award to the City for the water main replacement project is awaiting actual distribution of funds from the State. • The North Plant Clarifier project is about 80% completed through June which is well ahead of schedule.

• The removal of the BNSF rail crossing on north main is nearing resolution as the agreement is currently with BNSF legal. • Two weeks ago two 12 inch mains failed in Monmouth during the high heat. Workers were able to repair the mains quickly. Director Jackson commended the workers for their fast service in tough conditions. Director Jackson’s full report is available on the cityofmonmouth.com website.

5- Approval of Armory Lease Agreement with Crossing Church – The Crossing Church ( www.thecrossing.net ) has been in talks with Administrator Steinbrecher on a potential lease for the 1st Street Armory which the City currently owns. The lease includes: • A term of 60 months with the right to extend an additional two terms. • Rent of $1,000 a month with step increases if the occupant decides to extend the term past 60 months. • The lessee is responsible for ordinary maintenance of the building. A copy of the full lease will be available on the cityofmonmouth.com website.

• A motion for approval of the lease was made and was approved.

6- Award Painting Contract – 200-202 South Main Street (Vaughn Building) – The “Vaughn Jeweler” building that the City currently owns has been part of a long-term which aims to stabilize the property and make the building attractive to potential developers. The first stage of the building was to repair and restore the north facing exterior wall which had a become a significant structural liability to the building. After the wall was stabilized, the roof was repaired as the state was one of severe disrepair.

The next stage of the building is to repair and repaint the exterior of the building. Two cost estimates were solicited from Thompson Brother’s Painting in Roseville and Spectrum Painting in Monmouth. Spectrum Painting out of Monmouth has submitted a bid for services for $21,050. The proposal is made at prevailing wage rates. This bid includes scraping, caulking, priming, and painting. Since this building resides in Monmouth’s Downtown TIF district, TIF funding may be used to fund this project. TIF funds are highly restricted funds that may only be used for projects that are eligible as per the State Of Illinois municipal code. • A motion to approve the bid was made and was approved.

7- Memo of understanding with YMCA – The YMCA wishes to engage in a Memorandum Of Understanding with the City involving the 1st Street Armory that the City currently owns. The M.O.U. states that if the Crossing Church ever chooses to vacate the property that the right of first refusal for a potential lease goes to the YMCA. • A motion for approval was made and was approved.

8- Sign revision regulations discussion – City Staff and Alderpersons have been involved in discussions over the last few months about revisions to the City’s current sign regulations. The baseline for the changes is rooted in the International Zoning Code as this code has been proven to be useful in a large number of communities. The current discussions center around the revisions as there are a few items that would not apply to Monmouth or may be in conflict with economic development initiatives. A couple of restrictions that were discussed are feather banner restrictions and animated signs being prohibited during nighttime hours. • No action was taken tonight on this issue tonight and the matter will come before Council again for final action.

9- Ordinances A. Stop Sign – East 5th Avenue and South 8th Street – City residents and Alderpersons have expressed concern to staff about potential safety issues at East 5th Avenue and South 8th Street. The intersection has a high volume of “close calls” which can be addressed by introducing a stop sign at the intersection. • A motion to approve the placement of a stop sign was made and was approved.

B. Adding Chapter 125, Entitled “Utility Taxes” – The need for additional revenue has been a topic of conversation for several months, and this particular tax was discussed at length at our last City Council meeting. Details are available for review in both the official City minutes and in the May 18th Council Summary. As a quick recap: • Monmouth City finances have a serious revenue problem. • 2 staff positions were eliminated through attrition this year. • $168,000 in department expenditure requests were eliminated this year. • A spending freeze was instituted before the end of last fiscal year as revenues were much lower than anticipated. • If a new revenue source is not secured soon, there will be issues with paying vendors and meeting payroll obligations without depleting reserves. • Illinois state law allows home rule cities to establish a 5% utility tax rate. However, a 1.25% tax rate would generate sufficient revenues for the general fund to assure a long-term solution to the deficit. • The City would generate about $362,000 annually. Most residential gas/electric customers would experience about a $3.20 to $4.00 increase in their monthly utility bill. • Local energy aggregation saved Monmouth utility customers 3.9% on their electric utility rates this month as a member of a local governmental aggregation group; This savings is substantially higher than the suggested 1.25% utility tax needed to solve the General Fund revenue shortfall.

A motion was made for approval and was approved.

C. Declaration of surplus property, MPD Squad Car – The Police Department has retired an aging squad car from their fleet due to the increasing cost of ownership. This unit will be put up for sale at Burn’s auction service shortly. • A motion for approval was made and was approved.

D. Prevailing wage for 2018 – Annually, the City passes an ordinance setting the prevailing wage for services. This ordinance is mandated by the State Of Illinois, and the rates are also set by State statute. • A motion for approval was made and was approved.

E. Variance for 707 North 11th Street, Roger Davis – The resident is requesting a variance to allow for the construction of a garage. The proposed garage will replace an existing smaller structure. Due to the garage’s proximity to a property line, the building requires a variance. This item went before the Zoning Board in mid-june and was passed unanimously.

This variance required a second reading as there were not enough votes in attendance to pass on the first reading last City Council meeting. • A motion to follow the Zoning Board’s recommendation was made and was approved.

10. Resolution – City Letter of Agreement – Hale Solar LLC Farm Hale Solar, LLC is proposing to build a community solar project in Hale Township (within 1.5 miles of Monmouth) that could generate up to four (4) megawatts of energy. The production is enough to potentially power close to 900 homes. The proposed area is not within City limits. However, it does require a special use permit and is immediately adjacent to Monmouth. This resolution states that the City will send a letter of support on behalf of the City Council to Hale Solar LLC for inclusion in its application to Warren County. This letter will be submitted as long as the final form is consistent with the request for Special Use Exemption which was provided by Hale Solar, LLC to the Warren County Zoning Department on June 11, 2018.

This project is still in the preliminary planning stages and is in the early stages of permitting with Warren County. • A motion was made for approval and was approved

7- Executive Session – An executive session was held as per Illinois Statute 5/ILCS 120/2 to consider pending litigation. • No action was held after returning to normal session

8 – Other Business – No other business was discussed.

***Report courtesy of City of Monmouth***

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