Monmouth City Council Meeting Minutes – 8-8-18

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City Council Meeting Summary 08.06.2018
Next City Council Meeting – August, 20th 2018 at 6:00 PM
Official Minutes available at www.cityofmonmouth.com

1– Presentations or Citizen Inquiries No presentations were held tonight.

2- Committee Re-appointments
Four members were considered for re-appointment as per 40 ILCS 5/3-128, Sec. 3-128

A motion was made to re-appoint the committee members. The motion was approved.

3- Liability Insurance Broker approval City Administration has recommended changing from Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services to Molyneaux Insurance. Both firms are competent in soliciting insurance quotes for liability and property coverage. Molyneaux however, can provide additional services in areas such as workplace safety, human resources, claims administration and third-party liability review. Molyneaux will also be able to represent the City’s interests in administrating workers compensation and in airport insurance coverages which are an area where broker support is needed. Molyneaux also does not charge annual broker fees which will result in financial savings. A motion for approval to change brokers was made and was approved.

4- Building and Zoning monthly report – Director Woodward
• County Market’s new gas terminal is nearing completion. The concrete is all poured and the tank is in the ground. They are awaiting EPA permits at the current time and should be operational within a month.
• Smithfield has a new air scrubber installed on their facility. This is the large blue device on the west end of the plant. The new rendering building now has the specialized trade workers on-site installing the equipment required for its operation.
• Monmouth College’s Greer Hall now has the 3rd floor trimmed out and painted. Workers are currently working on hanging fixtures at the moment. The project was estimated to be completed in September but the contractors have made substantial time gains are now on target for completion before Labor Day.
• Fareway has almost completed demolition of the old building and plans to start in the middle of this month on the new construction.
• Over $700,000 dollars was invested in by the community last month in various building repairs to residential households.

5- Community Engagement monthly report – Director Helms
The City has begun the early planning stages of putting together a marketing package for Monmouth. This package would be used to help promote the city to potential developers for both business attraction and housing investment. After initial input from Elected Officials, City Staff and the Chamber Of Commerce, there will be focus groups to gather additional information that will be used in the creation of a marketing piece.

This project will come to Council multiple times before the final piece is published at the end of the year.

City Staff have also been working closely with the Chamber Of Commerce and the Workforce Development Board to conduct interviews of local manufacturers. The interviews are intended to gather information that may help to improve the economic draw to the area both in infrastructure and worker talent.
6- Woodard & Curran monthly report – Director Jackson
• 8 water main repairs were necessary last month. The hot and dry weather caused a higher than normal breakage for the month.
• The north plant clarifier project is 95% completed and is well ahead of schedule. The clarifier is online and is awaiting safety rail installation.
• The water treatment plants produced 85 million gallons of clean water last month and used 166 tons of salt during the water treatment process.

7- Selection of Airport Engineering Consultant State and Federal law require airports to undertake a procurement solicitation process to select an engineering consultant every five years, to remain eligible for grant funds for airport improvements. This process began in April, and two firms responded. The statement of qualifications from both consultants were reviewed by a committee comprised of City Officials and City Staff. The committee unanimously recommends the selection of Hutchinson Engineering to perform professional services for qualified airport improvement grant projects.

A motion for approval was made and was approved.

6- Ordinances A. Amending Chapter 152, Entitled “Signs”
Last year City Staff and Officials began researching what changes would be necessary to update the existing sign ordinances. These potential changes would be to reflect the image better that residents and local stakeholders wish the town to present. Current ordinances from neighboring cities as well as the International Zoning Code were used as a blueprint for the proposed changes.

After many internal discussions and 4 City Council meetings where the topics of signs were discussed, the proposed highlights of the ordinance amendment are as follows: Existing non-conforming signs will be grandfathered and are permitted until the sign becomes destroyed or otherwise requires replacement.

• Animated and Dynamic Display signs shall be permitted in any non-residential zoning district, subject to the following limitations:
(A) All animated and dynamic display signs shall have a minimum dwell time of ten (10) seconds.
(B) All animated and dynamic display signs shall be incorporated into a static sign and shall not be larger (greater square footage) than the accompanying static sign.
(C) The square footage of all animated and dynamic display signs shall be included in the calculation of the total maximum square footage allowed for that non-residential property.
(D) Any animated or dynamic display sign located on a non-residential property located within 100 feet of any residential zoning district, shall not flash, blink, scroll, or animate between the hours of 10:00 PM in the evening to 7:00 AM the following morning, provided, however, that they may be allowed to constantly illuminate during this daily 9-hour period of time.
(E) No animated sign, which flash or blink text or graphics, for advertising purposes that are digital in character with LED neon lights or other bright lighting characteristics, shall be allowed within 75 feet of residentially zoned properties or erected in any manner or commercial location so as to create an appearance of traffic signals, other official traffic control devices, or law enforcement/emergency vehicle lighting mechanisms.
• Temporary signs that consist of feather banners, pennants, ribbons, streamers, spinners or similar devices, except those temporarily displayed as part of a special sale, promotion or community event. For purposes of this subsection, “temporarily” means no more than 30 days in any calendar year. The entire ordinance amendment may be found on the www.cityofmonmouth.com webpage under “files for council meetings.” Additional inquiries or requests for clarification may also be made to the Zoning Department at City Hall. A motion was made for approval and was approved.

B. Amending Article 15, Section 8, Entitled “Signs” of the Zoning Code Signs are regulated in both local ordinances and the zoning code. The changes to the zoning code are as follows:

• No sign may contain or consist of feather banners, pennants, ribbons, streamers, spinners, or similar devices.
• The gross area in square feet of all signs on a non-residential zoned lot shall not exceed two (2) square feet for every lineal foot of frontage of such lot, and the height shall not exceed twenty-five (25) feet, where the posted speed limit is 35 miles per hour or less. On nonresidentially zoned lots where the posted speed limit is greater than 35 miles per hour, the total area of all signs shall not exceed two and twenty-five hundredths (2.25) square feet for every lineal foot of frontage of such lot, and the height shall not exceed forty-five (45) feet.
• Signs displaying advertising copy and/or graphics may be placed on a banner comprised of a flexible substrate and attached to the exterior wall of a non-residential building, but the total square footage of all permanent and banner signs shall not exceed the maximum allowed in accordance with paragraph C.1. Above.
• Manufacturing Districts – The area in square feet of all signs on a zoning lot shall not exceed four (4) times the lineal feet of frontage of such zoning lot, provided the area of flashing signs shall not exceed three (3) times the lineal feet of frontage of such lot. The entire ordinance amendment can be found on the www.cityofmonmouth.com webpage under “files for council meetings.” Additional inquiries or requests for clarification may also be made to the Zoning Department at City Hall. A motion was made for approval and was approved.

C. Amending Chapter 126, Motor Fuel Tax The primary funding mechanism to repair roads is derived from what is called Motor Fuel Tax. M.F.T. is a small tax that is imposed by the State Of Illinois on consumers at the fuel pump. After the State collects this tax, it is then broken up to the various governmental units. M.F.T. funds are desperately needed for road repair, however, for decades the majority of this revenue has stayed with the State.
• Monmouth’s share of the taxes has not had any increases in over 12 years despite the climbing costs of road repair.
• Monmouth has never had a local fuel tax ordinance.
• Most surrounding municipalities have local fuel tax ordinances in place.
• These funds would be deposited into a restricted fund specifically marked for road surface replacement.
• State statute allows for a City to impose up to a $.05 fuel tax on every gallon.
• Based on prior projects, the average road repair and resurfacing is $50,000 to $75,000 per block. This proposed ordinance would impose a $.02 fuel tax on every gallon pumped. The local tax is estimated to bring an additional forty-four thousand in revenue annually to aid in road repair. A motion was made for approval and was approved.

7- Executive Session No executive session was held.
8- Other business No other business was discussed.

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

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