City of Byron City Council met October 17.
Here is the minutes as provided by the council:
1. Call to Order – Mayor Rickard called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
2. Pledge of Allegiance – Led by Mayor Rickard
3. Roll Call – Aldermen present: *Todd Isaacs, Emily Gerdes, Mittzi Fulrath, Dan Reilly, Mayor John Rickard, Andy Gramer, Michael Gyorkos, Christy Hanlin. Eight 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 Larry Myers, Pam Kultgen, Bill Pirnat
4. Reverence Period – Mayor Rickard led the Council in prayer.
5. Approval/Amendments to Agenda – Motion by Alderman Hanlin to approve, as presented, the October 17, 2018, Agenda, seconded by Alderman Gyorkos. Roll call vote: Gerdes, AYE; Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, AYE; Rickard, AYE; Gramer, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 8; ABS, 0; NAY 0.
6. Minutes –
a. October 3, 2018, Regular Council Minutes – Motion made by Alderman Hanlin to approve, as presented, the October 3, 2018 Regular Council minutes, seconded by Alderman Fulrath. Roll call vote: Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, AYE; Rickard, AYE; Gramer, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE; Gerdes, AYE. Motion passed: AYE 8; ABS 0; NAY 0.
7. Public Comment – Pamela Kultgen, 527 Mill Ridge, stated she was not opposed to the garbage rate increase, however, in Creekside last year, they paid over $17,000 for garbage pickup. This year the cost will be over $18,000. With 84 units, the $.50 increase adds up to about $500/year. At Creekside owner’s meetings, it has repeatedly been asked why they do not get the $.25 senior discount that others receive. 64% of the owners (54 residents) are seniors. It’s not a large amount of money (approximately $162/year), however, they feel discriminated against as citizens of Byron. With recent increases for water, the Creekside water, sewer and garbage bill is over $52,000/year. She has spoken with her Aldermen and the Mayor asking if there is some way to pass on this discount, or receive an end of the year rebate so the citizens can feel included with other city seniors.
8. Treasurer's Report – Treasurer’s Report was included in council packets. Alderman Reilly asked about the entry for Refuse Revenue Transfer, under checks received, for $2,441.94. Alderman Isaacs explained this is the difference between what we collect and what we pay out, and the entry is the transfer to the general fund.
9. List of Bills – The tentative bills for the City of Byron were presented to the Council for discussion. Alderman Isaacs asked if MFT funds are being used to purchase the Chevy Silverado for public works. Yes per Director Vincer. Alderman Gerdes asked Engineer Stoll about the entry for the Downtown Parking Lot under the Fehr Graham account. She questioned the charge since work has not yet begun on the project. Engineer Stoll explained that the $5,404.40 charge is for the plans for the lot. He said the plans can be found in the Dropbox engineering folder, contracts, 2018 street projects. It includes the engineering costs as well as the construction engineering costs. Alderman Reilly asked about the $677.50 charge by Engel Electric for boat dock repair. Director Vincer stated they did not repair the boat dock, but did repair the three lights at the boat dock that they are converting to LED.
Motion made by Alderman Hanlin to approve the payment of bills, dated October 17, 2018, as presented, in the amount of $210,929.14, seconded by Alderman Gerdes. Roll call vote: Reilly, AYE; Rickard, AYE; Gramer, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE; Gerdes, AYE; Fulrath, AYE; Motion passed: AYE, 8; ABS, 0; NAY, 0.
10. Mayor's Report – The mayor attended the recent Loomis International Ribbon Cutting. ● He met with a representative from Exelon in order to reestablish the relationship we have had with them in the past. ● He also met with the Rotary Club and was able to attend the Ogle County Economic Development partnership. ● The Park District has been having issues with Frontier regarding the large main trunk lines across the river and the poles in Hamas Park. They are asking to bring the lines underground in order to get rid of the poles, but so far Frontier has been unwilling to do so. The mayor does support efforts to do this, and, unless council objects, will write a letter to Frontier stating the City’s position. There is no evidence found so far of an easement that allows them to be there.
The mayor has received a request from David Wiesner and the downtown Class A bar owners to extend closing hours by an hour (until 2:00AM) on the following dates:
Saturday, October 27, 2018 – Halloween
Wednesday, November 21, 2018 – Thanksgiving Eve
Friday and Saturday, November 23-24, 2018 – Thanksgiving
Saturday, December 15, 2018 – Christmas Pub Crawl
Friday and Saturday, December 21-22, 2018 – Christmas
Saturday, March 16, 2018 – St. Patrick’s Day Eve
Saturday, May 4, 2018 – Cinco de Mayo
Friday and Saturday, July 12-13, 2019 – ByronFest
Saturday, September 28, 2019 – Chili Cook off/Turkey Testicle Festival
September 9-September 28, 2019 – Request to open at 5am during the Exelon outage.
Chief Murray also recommends allowing the bars to stay open until midnight on Super Bowl Sunday, as he expects this request to be added to the list at some point.
The Mayor also received a request from Kelly Williamson to put in video gaming slots at the Mobil gas station. They would be extending the parking lot and building a separate gaming area. They are also requesting to serve alcohol. Unless Council feels differently, Mayor Rickard will be denying the request.
Regarding Committee restructuring, Community Services would remain somewhat the same, but would add Community Events to their list of responsibilities. The Emergency Services Committee would be renamed the Public Safety Committee, and would be responsible for Police, Emergency & Disaster Procedures and Ordinance Compliance. The Administrative Committee would be responsible for Finance & Budget, Personnel, and Ordinance Maintenance. Meetings for Community Services and Administration would be the first Wednesday of the month, and Public Safety would meet on the third Wednesday of the month. Alderman Gerdes noted that she is on two committees that meet at the same time – Mayor Rickard will revise. Alderman Isaacs will stay on as Budget Officer, and Alderman Hanlin will chair the Administrative Committee. Most aldermen are on two committees, except for the Aldermen that are chairing committees. This will be the first read on an Ordinance making these changes.
11. City Attorney’s Report – No Report.
12. City Engineer’s Project Status – Engineer Stoll reported that test results for the water conditioner at Headworks are good, and everything seems to be in working order. The next step is to have Tobin, the plumbing subcontractor, back to restart the water heater. At that point, water will be back on at Headworks and the project will be near completion.
3rd Street – Curb removals are almost done, and curb installation is scheduled for Friday (north side of the street), and middle of next week for the south side of the street. Paving should be done the first part of November.
13. Report of Director of Economic Development – Director Hewitt has been talking to IDOT about the Route 2 overlay project from Chestnut for 2/10th of a mile which would be just past the bridge. As part of this project the city will be looking at incidental projects, including possible base failures in that area. Also, at the curve by Public Works, there is an area on the north side of the road where the shoulder is broke off and there is about a 12” drop off. They will ask IDOT to include gutter in that area to control drainage there.
On Kysor Drive, on the Jim McKnight property, which is 110 acres that fronts the river, there is a contract to purchase the land for mining and river dredging. The Corp of Engineers is already involved in permitting.
Director Hewitt has had a resident ask him about building a “tiny home” on a lot in Brighton Ridge. The home is a 420 sq. ft. metal pre-fab A frame house. At this time, the City does not have an ordinance that disallows this. Most of the subdivisions have restrictive covenances that require a minimum square footage, however, Blackhawk Bank now owns Brighton Ridge, and the covenances that were once in place are no longer valid. Director Hewitt recommends that committee take a look at this trend that he expects to see more of in the future. He does anticipate “push back” from other Brighton Ridge homeowners, similar to what occurred when Contry Homes built several homes that were smaller than the original developers (Three Hammer).
14. Committee Reports
a. Community Services – No report.
b. Emergency Services – No report.
c. Administrative – No report.
15. Continuing Business – None
16. New Business –
a. Ordinance regarding committee restructuring – will look at next meeting after revisions are made.
17. Executive Session
a. Section 2(c)11 – Pending, probable or imminent litigation
b. Section 2(c)1 – Personnel
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, November 7, 2018 @ 6:30 pm.
Mayor Rickard adjourned the City Council meeting at 6:55 p.m.
https://www.cityofbyron.com/vertical/sites/%7B67304C08-5FC3-4329-8F07-4786D33EE040%7D/uploads/Minutes_-_2018-10-17_approved.pdf
Alerts Sign-up