Next City Council Meeting – November 19th, 2018 at 6:00 PM
Official minutes and supporting public documents may be found on the www.cityofmonmouth.com website under “files for council meetings”.
Proclamation – Veteran’s Day
Mayor Davies read a proclamation honoring Veterans and recognizing November 11th as Veteran’s Day.
1– Presentations Or Citizen Inquiries
Two presentations were made to Council tonight. The local Boy scout group was in attendance to observe the City Council Meeting for a merit badge. They also spoke with City Council regarding the burning of leaves and the potential restriction of their burning. The scouts voiced a few reasons why restriction would be positive to the community including respiratory benefits and the like. Council and Mayor thanked them for their input and will discuss the proposition further with staff.
Justin Lipes of Warren County also addressed Council regarding the granting of a liquor license to the Italian Village. Lipes spoke to Council regarding the additional revenue to the City from electronic gaming and the proliferation of the gaming machines in other communities. Mayor Davies thanked Mr. Lipes for his input.
2- Building and Zoning Monthly Report – Director Clark
• Fareway infrastructure has been completed and the parking lot has begun pouring.
• Monmouth College’s Greer Hall has had numerous inspections following the renovations and a final inspection is due later this month.
• Rental registration letters have been sent out to landlords for the annual registration. The registration has already had a large number pre-register this year. 3-
Woodard and Curran Monthly Report – Director Jackson
• A large distribution water main broke early Monday morning at the intersection of East Euclid and North 5th. Since this was a major artery in very close proximity to the main production facility, we were forced to shut down the North Water Plant to safely make the required repairs. In doing so it caused a significant drop in system pressure which required public notification of a city-wide boil order to go into effect. Once the plant was shut down, the main break was repaired in less than an hour with no injuries to our employees. The plant then resumed operation and the system was restored to full capacity. Samples were collected and analyzed per IEPA regulations Monday after the break was repaired. All the sample results indicated there were no contaminants present and we were able to lift the boil order around 10 am on Tuesday morning.
• As autumn has now fully arrived, leaf pickup has gotten underway. Yard waste bags will continue to be picked up through November 30th if residents choose to not wait for the machine.
4- Community Engagement Report – Technology Director Helms
• The mass notification system for texting in the event of a public emergency has been completed. This system will allow the City to send a direct text message to those resident’s who opt-in for the service. It is available at no charge and will be used for emergencies that include boil orders, natural disasters, and other public safety-related events. Residents may opt-in for this service at City Hall or on our website at http://bit.ly/Monmouthalerts
• The annual Halloween event at the fire station was very successful with about 700 kids in attendance. The Fire Department, Police Department, Warren County 911, OSF Healthcare, GHAS, and the Warren County Sheriff’s Office were present to interact with the kids as they collected candy and toured the various apparatus.
5- Approval of Engineering Consultant Agreement – CSO Phase II
Monmouth, like many towns in the Midwest, has a combined stormwater and sanitary sewer system. The Federal E.P.A. has imposed an unfunded mandate that all towns which have combined systems in place have a plan for the remediation of excess flow during storm events. Monmouth’s plan was approved in 2015 and called for the project to be completed in separate phases. Phase one was completed last year. Phase two is scheduled for completion in late 2020.
This item is for the approval of engineering for phase two design of the long-term control plan bidding and construction.
The contract includes:
1. Design for the replacement of the Lagoon Dewatering Pump Station (DWPS) and a new electric service
2. Design a new Force Main from the DWPS to the consolidated plant lift station
3. Design improvements to the Chlorine (CL) Room and CL contact tank
4. Develop plans to clean the lagoon
5. Bid Phase Assistance 6. Construction Phase Assistance
The contract is for a total of $253,000 and the consulting services will cover the entire length of CSO phase 2 during design, bidding, and construction. This contract would be with Woodard & Curran who has performed the first phase of the mandate already.
A motion for approval was made and was approved.
6- Ordinances
1. Amending Ordinance 18-001, Sexual Harassment Policy
The Illinois General Assembly recently enacted Public Act 100-0554, an Act concerning government, which prohibits sexual harassment. This ordinance adopts official language concerning the act. A section of the ordinance is as follows:
A motion for approval was made and was approved.
2. Amending Chapter 115, Section 115.24 Entitled Limitation On Number of Liquor Licenses (2nd reading)
At a prior 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.
This was approved at the last Council Meeting but due to the number of votes, a secondary vote is now required. A motion was made for approval and was approved.
3. Amending Utility Tax Ordinance 18-021, Adding Chapter 125, Utility Tax, to insert language omitted from the original ordinance. (2nd 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.
8- Resolution 18-011 – City’s Intent to Designate a Business District
The City would like to establish a business district pursuant to the Illinois Business District Development and Redevelopment Law, 65 ILCS 11-74.3-3.1 in the area of West 11th Avenue and US highway 67.
The intent of this resolution is to designate the area a business district, impose a business district sales tax (only within the particular district and not throughout the entire municipality) and to encourage development interest within. The City will also conduct an eligibility analysis to determine whether findings may be made which will allow the area to be designated as a business district and confirm the qualifications of the district as a “blighted area”, as defined in the Business District Law.
The City wishes to encourage Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, Inc. to pursue plans for the development within the proposed Business District into a travel stop, convenience store and possibly a restaurant. Love’s is anticipated to invest approximately $9 Million in the business district if the City designates this area a business district.
The City will be expending certain funds to determine if the proposed Business District can meet the definition of a blighted area and to prepare and implement the development plan. The implementation of the plan will include the reconstruction of 11th avenue and the buildout of water and sewer infrastructure to accommodate the additional service load to the area. The additional sales tax within the confined business district will be used to recover planning and implementation expenses. This resolution does not constitute a financial obligation of the City with respect to Love’s or the proposed project, but rather an expression of intent at this time.
A motion was made for approval of the resolution and was approved. A full copy of the resolution may be found on our website at www.cityofmonmouth.com
8- Executive Session
Per Illinois Statute ILCS 5 120/2 an Executive Session was held to consider a possible sale of City owned real estate.
9- Other Business
No other business was discussed.
