Next City Council Meeting – October 29th, 2018 at 6:00 PM
Official Minutes available at www.cityofmonmouth.com
1– Presentations Or Citizen Inquiries
No presentations were made to Council tonight.
2- MFD Monthly Report – Chief Rexroat
• Staff conducted Emergency Medical training on the subject of legal and ethical issues as well as their annual bloodborne pathogen refresher.
• The department also acquired three damaged cars from Berg’s Towing in Monmouth and practiced extrication techniques.
• Firefighters participated in ALICE drills that were conducted by the police department at various Monmouth schools.
• The fire department assisted with various activities at the Prime Beef Festival including a stand-by for the races and demo-derby.
• The second annual Riley and Ryder blood drive were held at the north station with Jana Cozadd from Eagle View Community Health Systems. The Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center was at the station and was able to collect donations from approximately 27 people.
The Fire Department had 99 calls for service during the month.
3- MPD Monthly Report – Chief Switzer
• Officers assisted with the Prime Beef Festival events that were able to be held between weather events. No incidents were reported at the beer tent.
• The department chaplain program held a family day cookout for department employees and their families.
• Officers attended training for Mental Health Awareness and dealing with Sexual Assault reports.
• Officers also went to Basic Truck Enforcement training for overweight truck enforcement. The department is currently coordinating with the State Police to conduct enforcement of overweight trucks around Monmouth.
The Police Department had 1290 calls for service which is down from 1810 in 2017.
4- Engineering Design for North Pre-Treatment Plant Improvements
Our North Pre-treatment Plant handles the processing of specific waste product that Smithfield Foods produces before it enters our main facility. This pre-treatment is a requirement by the EPA. This plant has been in constant operation since the early 1970s and has well exceeded it’s designed operational life for many years. This plant is owned and maintained by the City, however, an agreement exists with Smithfield Foods to facilitate the funding of upgrades and operations. The plant improvements have been part of a multi-stage project which was Council approved last year and has already seen the completion of a clarifier, force main project, and a biogas feasibility study.
This item is a “notice to proceed” with the engineering design of the remaining improvements which are required to bring the plant into a modern, compliant facility. Woodard & Curran is currently handling the design and implementation of the improvements.
A motion for approval was made and was approved.
5- Monmouth Chamber Tourism Committee Request for Christmas Event
The Monmouth Area Chamber Of Commerce would like to host an event in partnership with local businesses on the square. Their request is to block off the town square road traffic for one evening. The event will have carriage rides, carolers, walking street performers, reindeer in a pen, children activities and adult beverages in restricted areas.
A motion was made for approval and was approved.
6- Ordinances
1. 18-034 – Extending Limitation on number of Liquor Licenses (1st reading)
At the last City Council meeting, Council directed the City Attorney to draft an ordinance extending the number of available Liquor Licenses by one. The Italian Village would like to be able to serve alcohol to their evening customers along with their dinner. The business feels that this will allow them to stay competitive in their market.
A motion was made for approval and was approved. This motion did not obtain the minimum amount of votes that are required to pass the item on a first reading. This item will come back to Council for a second reading.
2. Amending Utility Tax Ordinance 18-021 to insert language omitted from the original ordinance (1st reading)
A utility tax was passed by City Council a few months ago that would allow for a small 1.25% tax on electric and natural gas in the City. The idea behind this tax was to stem the borrowing that is necessary from the corporate water and sewer fund due to a decline in revenues. After the passing of the ordinance, it was noted that an omission was made which does not allow for the taxation of natural gas which is not bought directly from the local energy company, Ameren IP. This ordinance amendment clarifies the language and allows for the same tax rate to be applied to natural gas which is purchased from an external party.
A motion was made for approval and was approved. This motion did not obtain the minimum amount of votes that are required to pass an item on a first reading. This item will come back to Council for a second reading.
7- Executive Session
Per Illinois Statute ILCS 5 120/2 an Executive Session was held to consider ongoing litigation.
A motion was made upon return to regular session to authorize the Mayor, City Administrator and City Staff to pay an outstanding invoice from Williams Brothers. This outstanding invoice stems from a multi-year litigation suit involving work at the waste water treatment facility.
8- Other Business
Alderman resignation and approval Of Employment Contract for Building Official and Zoning Director Position.
7 candidates initially applied for this position after the City’s former official left to pursue out of state employment prospects. Upon review of the potential candidates, Administrator Steinbrecher has decided to appoint Joe Clark of Monmouth Illinois to the position. This item is for the Council confirmation of the appointment.
Joe was selected based on the following qualifications:
• Experience working in Monmouth for 27 years
• Familiarity with many downtown buildings and other commercial properties
• The previous owner of residential rental property in Monmouth
• Knowledge of interacting with both tenants and property owners
• Small business owner with numerous years of experience as an HVAC contractor
• In-depth knowledge of local Monmouth culture and established relationships with many local residents
• Extensive knowledge of the condition of the existing Monmouth residential housing stock
The full 5-page Building Official and Zoning Director employment contract may be found on our website at www.cityofmonmouth.com under files for Council meetings.
Since Mr. Clark is also an Alderman, he will not be serving on the City Council while employed with the City.
A motion was made to approve Alderman Clark’s resignation and acceptance of his employment contract. The motion was approved.
***Report Courtesy of the City of Monmouth***
