City of Byron City Council met May 1.
Here is the minutes 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, John Rickard, Michael Gyorkos, Christy Hanlin. Absent: Andy Gramer. 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
Dir. Of Econ. Dev. Larry Hewitt
Public Works Aaron Vincer
City Engineer Jason Stoll
Chief of Police Todd Murray
Citizens: Pam Kultgen, Bill Pirnat, Lou Ann Millard, Josh Gerdes, Cooper Gerdes, Collins Gerdes, Zeke Hobbie, Amber Dach, Debby Rickard
4. REVERENCE PERIOD – Mayor Rickard led the Council in prayer.
5. APPROVAL/AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA – Motion by Alderman Gerdes to approve, as presented, the May 1, 2019, Agenda, seconded by Alderman Fulrath. Roll call vote: Gerdes, AYE; Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, AYE; Rickard, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 7; NAY, 0; ABS 0.
6. MINUTES –
a. April 17, 2019, Regular Council Meeting Minutes – Motion made by Alderman Reilly to approve, as presented, the April 17, 2019, Regular Council minutes, seconded by Alderman Fulrath. Roll call vote: Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, AYE; Rickard, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE; Gerdes, AYE. Motion passed: AYE 7; NAY 0; ABSTAIN 0.
7. PUBLIC COMMENT – None
8. TREASURER’S REPORT – No Treasurer’s report available.
9. LIST OF BILLS - The tentative bills for the City of Byron were presented to the Council for discussion. Motion made by Alderman Hanlin to approve the payment of bills dated May 1, 2019, in the amount of $52,990.95. Motion 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; NAY, 0; ABSTAIN, 0.
10. MAYOR’S REPORT –
a. Swear in Mayor – The 2019 Consolidated Election has been certified by the County Clerk, and City Clerk Huber administered the Oath of Office to Mayor John Rickard.
b. Appointment-Aldermen Ward 2 – Mayor Rickard appointed two people to fill the two vacant Ward 2 Aldermen positions. They are Zeke Hobbie (4 year term) and Amber Dach (2 year term).
c. Swear in Elected Officials – Mayor Rickard administered the Oath of Office to the following: City Clerk – Caryn Huber; Alderwoman Ward 1 – Emily Gerdes; Alderman Ward 1 – Daniel Reilly; Alderman Ward 2 – Zeke Hobbie; Alderwoman Ward 2 - Amber Dach; Alderman Ward 3 – Michael Gyorkos; Alderwoman Ward 4 – Christy Hanlin.
d. IML Conference – The mayor proposed adopting a resolution, as we do every year, allowing elected officials to attend the Illinois Municipal Conference from September 19-21. Alderman Fulrath motioned to pass a resolution authorizing elected officials and employees to attend the IML Conference in September. Seconded by Alderman Hanlin. Roll call vote: Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE; Gerdes, AYE; Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, AYE; Hobbie, AYE; Dach, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 8; NAY, 0; ABSTAIN, 0.
e. Mower/Truck Driver – Mayor Rickard has approved the hiring of Chris Logston as a mower/truck driver.
f. Committee Assignments – Mayor Rickard announced he is appointing Alderman Hobbie to the Community Services and Public Safety Committees. Alderman Dach is appointed to the Administrative Committee.
11. CITY ATTORNEY’S REPORT – No report.
12. CITY ENGINEER’S PROJECT STATUS – Engineer Stoll reported that the demolition behind the China King Restaurant is underway. The storage units and covered patio are down. They are in the process of breaking up and hauling away the concrete. If the weather is good, they hope to have the parking lot paved by Memorial Day. • A bid opening was held today for the 2019 Street projects.
13. REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – Director Hewitt reported that there are about four lots left in the Brighton Ridge subdivision. Blackhawk Bank owns the lots and is willing to sell them at a discount. • Clerk Huber has developed a press release regarding building permits and the confusion that sometimes arises regarding city and county residency. If no one has any comments or changes, we will send that out as a press release, and also put on our website. • The Administrative Committee is looking at developing design guidelines for the downtown area. Larry invited Aldermen to share any ideas they have regarding design, color scheme, etc. with the committee.
14. COMMITTEE REPORTS
a. Community Services – The committee discussed the Headworks project. We are currently holding a $46,000 check as final payment. The committee recommends that we release that payment, and it should appear on the list of bills at the next meeting. • A discussion about the 2019 Street Projects appears later on the agenda.
b. Public Safety – The chicken ordinance will be discussed further at the next Public Safety meeting in two weeks.
c. Administrative – The Administrative Committee continued discussion about the unmetered/unbilled water accounts. It is the committee’s recommendation that all accounts moving forward will be billed at the normal rate, and that a letter should be sent to these accounts explaining this. • The committee invited Aldermen to share suggestions and ideas about downtown design. • O’Hare’s Hairport submitted a TIF Application for painting of their façade and for new awnings. The committee has several questions and will continue discussing before approving. They also have several questions regarding The Cave Inn and the construction and fencing of their beer garden. • The committee is discussing social media links for the city, and they have asked Director Hewitt to invite an expert or two to share more information with the committee.
15. CONTINUING BUSINESS –
a. School Resource Officer/School agreement – Nothing new. The Police Department needs to be fully staffed in order to provide an officer to serve at the schools. Once we are closer to getting the department staffed, the contract with the school will be finalized. Discussion on the agreement will continue at the next Public Safety Committee meeting.
b. Intergovernmental Agreement with Byron Township – An agreement has been proposed to the Byron Township Board. Director Vincer has a meeting scheduled with Township Director Ron Gibson tomorrow morning, and hopes to have more information to share with council at the next meeting.
c. Ordinance 6.08.080 Chickens – Nothing new. It will be discussed at the Public Safety Committee meeting on May 15.
d. Sean Adams Pre-Annexation Agreement – Attorney Krahenbuhl has made changes to the Pre-Annexation Agreement and the information will be distributed to the Community Services Committee next month to discuss further.
e. COLA Increase – Alderman Isaacs said that the cost of living adjustment calculation is 1.86%. This applies to all employees except police officers, who fall under the union agreement. The COLA is calculated from the time period of March 2018 to March 2019. Discussion ensued regarding what to do with employees that were bumped above the pay scale or started above the bottom of the pay scale. The original payroll study did not take this into consideration, and Alderman Hanlin felt we should carefully consider this to avoid problems in the future. Chief Murray added that the study took COLA adjustments into account in order to keep the wages current. Alderman Gyorkos stated that all employees should be treated equally. Alderman Reilly suggested taking a look at the original pay study to review. Two employees specifically were hired above the pay scale, because they were able to take on additional duties above and beyond their job description. Alderman Fulrath does not think it is fair to single these two employees out and hold their wages while others catch up. Mayor Rickard added that he does not feel the study took into account skill sets and experience, and questioned whether the scale is figured accurately. Alderman Isaacs motioned that council approve the COLA increase, effective next payroll, for all employees who are eligible now. The council will continue discussion next month regarding the two employees whose anniversary date has not yet been reached. Motion seconded by Alderman Reilly. Roll call vote: Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE; Gerdes, AYE; Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, AYE; Hobbie, AYE; Dach, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 8; NAY, 0; ABSTAIN, 0.
16. NEW BUSINESS –
a. Cave Inn Outdoor Fence Variance Approval – The committee will discuss further at their June meeting.
b. O’Hare Hairport’s TIF Application – The committee will discuss further at their June meeting. There were questions regarding awning colors and building painting. Director Hewitt will visit with the owners to discuss prior to the next committee meeting.
c. Agenda items C and D combined: 2019 Street-Crestview and 2019 Street Bid Award – Alderman Fulrath directed the Council’s attention to the bid summary in the engineering folder in Dropbox. The Engineer’s Estimate on the project was $436,914.80. Engineer Stoll reminded council that this bid covers Walnut Street from 5th to 7th Street, and parts of the Edge-Of-Town Subdivision. The low bid was submitted by N-TRAK at $357,933.62. Alderman Fulrath reported that the committee recommends waiving the first read and awarding the 2019 Street bid to N-TRAK. No second needed with committee recommendation. Roll call vote: Isaacs, AYE; Gerdes, AYE; Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, AYE; Hobbie, AYE; Dach, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 8; NAY, 0; ABSTAIN, 0.
Engineer Stoll pointed out that with this bid, we are approximately $60,000 under budget. He asked council members to advise him of other projects that might be done with the savings. Mayor Rickard asked that Colfax, approximately 75 ft. off of Route 2, be considered. Alderman Fulrath added that we also have between $150,000 and $200,000 that was being held in the event repairs were needed after the harsh winter. It does not appear there are major repairs needed, so this money would be available also for other road repairs.
17. COUNCIL TALK – Council members and staff introduced themselves to the new aldermen.
18. 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.
19. COMMUNICATION
a. Next Regular City Council Meeting – Wednesday, May 15, 2019 @ 6:30 pm.
Mayor Rickard adjourned the City Council meeting at 7:19 p.m.
https://www.cityofbyron.com/vertical/sites/%7B67304C08-5FC3-4329-8F07-4786D33EE040%7D/uploads/Minutes_-_2019-05-01-Approved.pdf
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