City of Byron Council met Sept. 5.
Here is the minutes provided by the Council:
City of Byron
Minutes of the Regular Council Meeting
Wednesday, September 5th, 2018
Byron City Hall Council Chambers
1. Call to Order – Clerk Caryn Huber Called the Meeting to Order At 6:30 p.m.
2. Pledge of Allegiance – Led By Attorney Krahenbuhl
3. Roll Call – Aldermen present: *Todd Isaacs, Emily Gerdes, Mittzi Fulrath, Dan Reilly, John Rickard, Michael Gyorkos, Christy Hanlin. Seven members present by
Roll Call Vote. Quorum established.
* - denotes start of the roll call vote
Present: City Clerk Caryn Huber
City Attorney Kim Krahenbuhl
Chief of Police Todd Murray
Econ. Dev. Dir. Larry Hewitt
City Engineer Jason Stoll
Dir. Public Works Aaron Vincer
Citizens Bill Pirnat, Pam Kultgen
Vito Iozzo, Debby Rickard,
Stacey Reedy, Ann Macias, Saro Costa,
Sarah Snider, Byron Chamber of Commerce
With the absence of the Mayor, Clerk Huber opened nominations to elect a Mayor Pro Tem. Alderman Isaacs nominated Alderman Rickard to serve as Mayor Pro Tem, seconded by Alderman Reilly. Role call vote: Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, AYE; Rickard, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE; Gerdes, AYE. Motion passed; AYE, 7; ABS, 0; NAY 0. Alderman Rickard thanked members of the council for their prayers and support during his recent surgery.
4. Reverence Period – Alderman Rickard led the Council in prayer.
5. Approval/Amendments to Agenda – Attorney Krahenbuhl added Election of Acting Mayor under Item 10, Mayor’s Report, and Turkey Testicle Festival as item c. under New Business. Motion made by Alderman Gyorkos to approve, as amended, the September 5, 2018, Agenda, seconded by Alderman Fulrath. Roll call vote: Reilly, AYE; Rickard, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE; Gerdes, AYE; Fulrath, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 7; ABS, 0; NAY 0.
6. Minutes –
a. May 2, 2018 Regular Council Minutes
b. May 16, 2018 Regular Council Minutes - None
c. June 6, 2018 Regular Council Minutes - None
d. August 15, 2018 Regular Council Minutes - Attorney Krahenbuhl referred to Item 11, City Attorney’s Report, and asked to change wording on line 5 from “since the term is more than 28 months old” to “since the term has more than 28 months remaining.” Alderman Hanlin motioned to approve, as amended, the August 15, 2018, Regular Council Meeting minutes, seconded by Alderman Gerdes. Roll call vote: Rickard, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE; Gerdes, AYE; Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 7; ABS, 0; NAY, 0.
7. Public Comment – None
8. Treasurer’s Report – No Report.
9. List of Bills – The tentative bills for the City of Byron were presented to the Council for discussion. Motion made by Alderman Isaacs to approve the payment of bills, dated September 5, 2018, as presented, in the amount of $151,931.59, seconded by Alderman Fulrath. Roll call vote: Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE; Gerdes, AYE; Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, AYE; Rickard, AYE; Motion passed: AYE, 7; ABS, 0; NAY, 0.
10. Mayor’s Report – Attorney Krahenbuhl explained that, because there is a vacancy in the office of Mayor, the council must elect an Acting Mayor from the seven serving aldermen. The Acting Mayor will fill the vacancy until the next election in April, 2019. The Acting Mayor has the option of resigning as an alderman and voting as the mayor, or may continue as an alderman for voting purposes and serve as Acting Mayor. Alderman Isaacs motioned to elect Alderman Rickard as Acting Mayor, seconded by Alderman Fulrath. Roll call vote: Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE; Gerdes, AYE; Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, AYE; Rickard, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 7; ABS, 0; NAY, 0.
Clerk Huber swore in Alderman Rickard as Acting Mayor. Mayor Rickard thanked the council for the honor and privilege of serving as Mayor.
He shared a communication from the EPA regarding a water system inspection that was made. There were some items of non-compliance: small 4” water mains are not up to standard and we have a 35% unaccounted for water loss. We have 45 days to report back to EPA that we are working on items, along with a timeframe to get them done.
11. City Attorney’s Report – No Report.
12. City Engineer’s Project Status – 3rd Street – Infrastructure work by Public Works is nearing completion. Williams Charles started saw cuts today. They expect to have paving done by the end of October. Plans are being made for improvements to Municipal Lot 2. Engineer Stoll will be getting quotes for demolition of the existing building on the property, and hopes to have those available by next council meeting. Work on Headworks is nearing completion. The water conditioner is online, and the heater will be operational soon. He hopes to have all work done by the end of September.
13. Report of Director Of Economic Development – Director Hewitt reported that Hairy Cow Brewery is requested a variance on their outdoor fencing. They expect to have their occupancy permit by October 1, and plan to open a few weeks after that. An engineering group from Exelon will be cleaning the railroad tracks and painting the viaducts. The city will be putting a push on compliance issues throughout town, including violations of grass/weeds, buildings, vehicles, etc. A sub-committee of Council will possibly be formed to identify issues and address them.
14. Committee Reports
a. Community Services – Alderman Rickard reported that the committee met this evening, and that, as Director Hewitt mentioned, Hairy Cow Brewery will be asking for a variance on their outdoor fencing. The committee will be making the recommendation that council accept the variance to add a 4ft. wrought iron fence around the back of their building. The Public Works Department is looking into purchasing or leasing plows and trucks, and it looks like they are leaning towards purchasing.
b. Emergency Services – No report.
c. Administrative – Alderman Isaacs reported that his committee met earlier this evening but they
currently have no recommendations to bring to council.
15. Old Business - None
16. New Business –
a. Century Tap outdoor fundraising request – Stacy Reedy and Ann Macias, owners of Century Tap, appeared before the council. They are holding a fundraiser on September 15, 2018, to benefit Ann’s 8 year old granddaughter who has been diagnosed with brain cancer. The event will be a Bike Run, with registration beginning at 11am. They will depart at Noon and return at 5pm. The event is anticipated to be over by 8:30pm when the band is scheduled to stop. They are expecting a large turnout and are requesting that they be allowed to have overflow outside of the building in a fenced area that would include a tent with fundraiser items. Security will be present at the entrance, and they are requesting to allow patrons to go into the fenced area with drinks or have a bartender in the outside area serving cans only. They have spoken with Chief Murray and he again confirmed hours of the event. Two options for fencing were presented, with option 1 fencing off the back and sides of the property, and option 2 fencing the back of the property only. Alderman Fulrath motioned to approve the fundraiser and Option 1 fencing request, and to allow cooler sales in the outside fenced area, if necessary. Seconded by Alderman Gyorkos. Alderman Gerdes requested that the Mayor be given the authority to answer questions or make last minute decisions about the fundraiser, if needed. Roll call vote: Isaacs, AYE; Gerdes, AYE; Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, AYE; Rickard, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 7; ABS, 0; NAY, 0.
b. Chilifest Layout Approval – Sarah Downs, Byron Chamber of Commerce. Sarah is asking to host the ChiliFest event on September 29, 2018, in Municipal Lot 1. The electrical conduit that runs down the middle of the lot allows the teams to be positioned in one area. The entrance will be at the Classic Look end, with hard fencing on the opposite end. Patrons will also be allowed to enter through Aero, Weezy’s and Uptown Lanes. The restaurants will be responsible for their own security (no alcohol in or out of the fest) and for selling wristbands into the festival. Alderman Fulrath asked if there were any problems with this during ByronFest, and Sarah explained that any issues that arose were quickly taken care of after a discussion with the owner. Alderman Hanlin questioned possible parking issues with Turkey Testicle Festival being held a block away. ChiliFest is from noon-4pm, and Sarah expects clean up to be complete and the parking lot back open by 5-530pm. Saro Costa asked for a noon set up for Turkey Testicle Festival with the festival starting at 3pm. He anticipates his patrons will park in Municipal Lot
2, and he has also requested fencing up to the monument to allow for bike parking. In addition, St. Mary’s church will allow event parking. Alderman Gyorkos motioned to approve the 2018 ChiliFest layout, seconded by Alderman Hanlin. Roll call vote: Gerdes, AYE; Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, AYE; Rickard, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 7; ABS, 0; NAY, 0.
c. Turkey Testicle Festival – Saro Costa asked for approval of Turkey Testicle Festival, to be held Saturday, September 29, 2018. He asked that the street be blocked off starting Friday, September 28 to allow for set up. Neighbors that would be affected by this have consented. Mayor Rickard asked if Chief Murray had any questions or concerns, and he did not. Alderman Hanlin motioned to approve the Turkey Testicle Festival proposal, seconded by Alderman Gerdes. Roll call vote: Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, AYE; Rickard, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE; Gerdes, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 7; ABS, 0; NAY, 0.
17. Executive Session
a. Section 2(c)11 – Pending, probable or imminent litigation
b. Section 2(c)1 – Personne
c. Section 2(c)(5)(6) – Purchase/Sale of City Owned Real Property
d. Section 2(c)(21) – Review/Approval of Closed Meeting Minutes
e. Section 2(c)(2) – Collective Bargaining Negotiations
Mayor Rickard advised there was no need for an Executive Session.
18. Communication
a. Next Regular City Council Meeting – Wednesday, September 19, 2018 @ 6:30 pm.
Mayor Rickard adjourned the City Council meeting at 7:01 p.m
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