City of Fulton City Council met Oct. 29.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
Mayor Ottens called the meeting to order at 6:01 PM and directed the City Clerk to call roll. On roll call Mayor Ottens, Ald. Mike VanZuiden, Mike VanZuiden, Gene Field, Dan Nederhoff, Sue VanKampen, Barb Mask, Keith King and Paul Banker. Dan Nederhoff was absent. Also in attendance Randy Boonstra, Tammy Garibay, Dave Bartels, Dan Clark, Debi Ervin.
Visitors at the meeting included; John Rohlf and Chuck Dykstra.
The pledge of allegiance was recited.
Ald. Mask motioned, seconded by Ald. VanZuiden to adjourn to the Committee of the Whole. Roll call vote (7 yes, 1 absent). The council entered the Committee of the Whole at 6:02 PM.
Mayor Ottens requests to adjourn meeting at 8 PM. We can always finish up later, get as much done as possible. Want to let citizens know what we are planning on doing next year and what the order will be. Will have short term and long term goals for the future.
1. Review of last two years- Admin Boonstra is using Cleargov to compare Fulton to other nearby cities. Population of Fulton is 3455, median home value is $109,400 and median household income is $48,221. This also allows you to breakdown the city budget; those numbers were included in the handout.
2. SWOT
a. Strengths- volunteer base, donor base, retail development, location (river, tourism, distance), attractions to offer, marina, strong school district, churches,
b. Weaknesses- river front (do more), land locked for growth, pride in exterior of home, generation gap in volunteers, population down, no grocery or drug store, public transportation, child care,
c. Opportunities- tourism, land to sell, senior assisted living and memory care,
d. Threats- opioid epidemic (gateway community), less funding from state for schools, people changing address to avoid IL income tax,
3. Presentation of possible objectives
a. General Administration- staff using two different systems, not have servers but instead use the cloud. Would save money in the long run and files would be accessible on all computers instead of different ones like they are currently.
b. Rock Falls FiberNet- started 3-4 years ago, receiving 3-4 M yearly. Have website with all of the information on FiberNet. No add on packages just internet. Rock Falls was able to complete project in less than 2 years. The estimated cost for Rock Falls was 4.4 M but larger town and bigger population than Fulton.
c. Current Committee Structure- No schedules for monthly meetings, no minutes are being typed up just verbal reports. Need to change meeting structures or address these points. Boonstra- Would prefer to meet with committees instead of just a couple people. Need to continue using city email.
d. Boiler heating system in city hall- Needed more repairs, will need to address again on next budget.
e. Police Vehicle Replacement Plan- Bartels and Boonstra to discuss future vehicles. Come up with officer rank and service plan, no way to be recognized currently. Working on active shooter plan with businesses.
f. Street Repair Plan- 3rd and 4th Street ($146,000), 1st Ave ($115,000), 6th Street, 8th Street (use from revolving loan fund), Drives Park Rd, 19th Ave (King suggested)
g. Sidewalk Plan- included in agenda
h. Roundabout- 50/50 like/hate them, slows people down to keep speed down. Can dress them up with grass, landscaping, fountain, etc.
i. Fishing dock- Debi brought pictures back of possible dock, we don’t have anything like this, river town but no good places to access or use. Corp of Engineers shut down idea of putting in dock in past but will try again.
j. Splash pad- video of splash pad, how to pay for it and who will take care of it? Admin Boonstra talked with Dan Clark and the city could take care of the Splash pad.
k. Drives Park- 2 new fields, adding parking would be land owned by Timken which they do no currently use. If they expand it would not be in the direction of the fields or parking.
l. Wayfinding signs- point you in direction of attractions, food, business, services in town. Look at costs for next year include in budget, new welcome signs in town current signs are looking old, need a fresh look.
m. Community Calendar- Put on website for people to use and citizens/visitors to see what is going on in town on any given day. Would be easy to access.
n. Partner with Clinton on MyBike- Bikes to rent with debit/credit card, ride them and leave at different station around town. Advertising would be used to travel to Fulton, connection between towns.
o. Promotional Videos- to put on website, example played about Washington DC
p. Single operator garbage pickup- by having single operator would save money, have one person running with boom to pick up garbage like Clinton. Would need special garbage bins for each citizen, who pays for the garbage bins?
q. Kayak Launch- Video of possible kayak launch, it is a very popular sport in this area right now.
r. Covered Slips for inner marina- Have renters interested in covered boat slips where majority of pontoon boats rent, still looking at costs of adding covers. Also looking at landscaping on road side of marina to look inviting.
s. Combination Sewer Cleaner- Currently have a 1977 machine which is on its last leg. Current machine just jetting to remove blocks. New machine would jet lines and clean out. Would be able to use machine to clean catch basins as well, instead of hiring out to another company. The cost on one of these new is $320,000, instead could purchase a used one or lease to own.
4. Additional Objectives
a. Ald. Mask has noticed less focus on taking care of property, if you drive around town you notice many yards needing some TLC. Can we provide incentives to encourage people to take care of property, this affects the value of surrounding properties. Mayor Ottens suggested monthly curb appeal award and put sign in yard and winner would receive small reward such as gift card. There is a need to change ordinances. What can we do to help the hotel here in town? Tourism Coordinator Debi is with Tyler at hotel to get things going. Ald. Mask like to know end result on arrests, what percentage lead to prosecutions. Going to be adding a personnel committee to the standing committees, change of ordinance must be done to make changes.
b. Chuck Dykstra- David James looking to purchase building in near future. Also talked to Anderson Land Co about property for sale, has been lowered and potential restaurant to go in but need more parking.
c. Ottens believes we need to take care of needs and put wants off until later. A lot of times it comes down to budget.
With no further discussion Ald. King motioned, seconded by Ald. Banker to adjourn. With voice agreement the council adjourned at 7:35 PM.
https://www.cityoffulton.us/government/city-council/city-council-meeting-minutes/city-council-special-minutes-october-29-2018.html
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