City of Byron City Council met June 19.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
1. CALL TO ORDER – Mayor Rickard called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Led by Mayor Rickard
3. ROLL CALL – Aldermen present: *Emily Gerdes, Mittzi Fulrath, Dan Reilly, Zeke Hobbie, Amber Dach (by telephone), Michael Gyorkos, Christy Hanlin. Seven members present by Roll Call Vote. Quorum established. Absent: Todd Isaacs
PRESENT: City Clerk Caryn Huber
City Attorney Kim Krahenbuhl
Treasurer Kim Gouker
Public Works Aaron Vincer
City Engineer Jason Stoll
Chief of Police Todd Murray
Citizens Pam Kultgen, Ann Derocher, Bill Pirnat, Drew
Hogan, Rick Snodgrass
4. REVERENCE PERIOD – Mayor Rickard led the Council in prayer.
5. APPROVAL/AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA – Motion by Alderman Hanlin to approve, as presented, the June 19, 2019, Agenda, seconded by Alderman Fulrath. Roll call vote: Gerdes, AYE; Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, AYE; Hobbie, AYE; Dach, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 7; NAY, 0; ABS 0.
6. MINUTES –
a. June 5, 2019, Regular Council Meeting Minutes – Motion made by Alderman Hanlin to approve, as presented, the June 5, 2019, Regular Council minutes, seconded by Alderman Hobbie. Roll call vote: Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, ABSTAIN; Hobbie, AYE; Dach, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Gerdes, AYE. Motion passed: AYE 6; NAY 0; ABSTAIN 1.
7. PUBLIC COMMENT – Drew Hogan spoke about the School Resource Officer. He was born and raised in Byron, moved away 10 years ago, and moved back to Byron three years ago. Over the last year, he has been working closely with School Superintendent Buster Barton and his staff in ensuring that the schools are safe. He established a Safety Task Force that prioritized a list of improvements for physical security, training for staff and students, and primarily, a school resource officer. This was brought to the attention of the School Board and then City Council and the Chief of Police, and it has been on the Council agenda since November 2018. He is encouraged that the Sheriff’s Department will be filling the position this school year, and that Byron Police will be taking over at some point in the near future. As a parent, it is discouraging that this has gone unresolved. Stillman Valley, Oregon and Rochelle already have SROs in place. He has spoken to the Chief and several Alderman, and wanted to go on record before council. The consequences of not having a SRO could be dire, and he encouraged Council to act with a sense of urgency.
8. TREASURER’S REPORT – Report is in Dropbox. Nothing new to report.
9. LIST OF BILLS - The tentative bills for the City of Byron were presented to the Council for discussion. Alderman Fulrath asked about the separate payment to Robeson for $6,000. This was for the start of siding China King. There is also a $6,250 final bill for Robeson in the regular list of bills. They will be voted on separately. Motion made by Alderman Hanlin to approve the payment of bills dated June 19, 2019, in the amount of $297,390.90. Motion seconded by Alderman Fulrath. Roll call vote: Reilly, AYE; Hobbie, AYE; Dach, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Gerdes, AYE; Fulrath, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 7; NAY, 0; ABSTAIN, 0. • Alderman Hobbie motioned to approve the $6,000 down payment to Robeson Construction. Motion seconded by Alderman Hanlin. Roll call vote: Hobbie, AYE; Dach, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Gerdes, AYE; Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 7; NAY, 0; ABSTAIN, 0.
10. MAYOR’S REPORT –
a. IML Conference Registration – Mayor Rickard reported that this year’s IML
Conference is September 19-21 and registration is open. The rooms fill up quickly, and the mayor invited aldermen to let him or the clerk know, by the end of the month, if they wish to attend.
b. July 3 Council Meeting – The regularly scheduled Council meeting, plus two committee meetings, are scheduled for July 3. Mayor Rickard asked if anyone planned to be out of town due to the 4th of July holiday. Most aldermen should be available to attend, so the meeting will remain scheduled on July 3.
11. CITY ATTORNEY’S REPORT – No report.
12. CITY ENGINEER’S PROJECT STATUS – Engineer Stoll reported that the work on 3rd Street is wrapping up and they are working on the final punch list and pay estimate. • N-trak has requested a pre-construction meeting after the 4th of July to discuss the 2019 Street Program. Work should begin the beginning of August. The job is relatively small, so there are no concerns that the work won’t be completed this summer.
13. REPORT OF DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – No report.
14. COMMITTEE REPORTS
a. Community Services – No report.
b. Public Safety – Alderman Reilly reported that the Public Safety Committee held a
Special meeting prior to the City Council meeting. They discussed the Rush property on Peru Street, which has fallen into disrepair. The bank is considering forgiving the liens and signing it over to the City for us to demolish. Photos of the property are in Dropox. • Chief Murray has two new recruits going through psych evaluations. • Ann Derocher from Fehr- Graham discussed assisting the city with developing a social media presence. • Chief Murray added that he met with representatives from the Fire Department and the Firemen’s Association and they have agreed to fund the purchase of a ballistic shield for the Police Department.
c. Administrative – No report.
15. CONTINUING BUSINESS –
a. School Resource Officer/School agreement – Alderman Reilly reported that, as of right now, we do not have the personnel in place to fill the SRO position at the schools.
The Ogle County Sheriff’s Department will likely fill the position for the first year, and once we are fully staffed, we will be able to place an officer there.
b. Intergovernmental Agreement with Byron Township – Attorney Krahenbuhl reported that the agreement has been revised. Director Vincer will review, then return the agreement to the Township for review by their committee.
c. 2019-2020 Budget – The proposed budget is included in Dropbox. The mayor reported that we are waiting for appropriations, and since we have to schedule a Public Hearing for the appropriations, will likely vote on the budget at the second meeting in July.
d. O’Hare Hairport’s TIF Application – Alderman Hanlin reported that she spoke with Lynn O’Hare and she is getting more information, possibly pictures, of what she is proposing for their awning.
e. Snodgrass Special Use Permit – The Zoning Board of Appeals voted to grant the special use permit on Mineral St. to Rick Snodgrass and Custom Concrete. Roll call vote: Dach, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, ABSTAIN; Gerdes, AYE; Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, AYE; Hobbie, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 6; NAY, 0; ABSTAIN, 1.
f. Unmetered/Unbilled Water Accounts – A recommendation was made by committee to begin billing a list of water accounts that have not been previously billed. A letter will be sent to these accounts in July, with billing beginning in August. Roll call vote: Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Gerdes, AYE; Fulrath, AYE; Reilly, AYE; Hobbie, AYE; Dach, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 7; NAY, 0; ABSTAIN, 0.
g. Cub Cadet TIF Grant – Nothing new. Item is still in committee.
h. Peddler’s Permit – Nothing new. Item is still in committee.
16. NEW BUSINESS –
a. Rush Property – Discussed under Public Safety Committee Report. Chief Murray
invited alderman to call him with questions. He will send a summary of the committee discussion to Alderman Fulrath, Alderman Isaacs, and Alderman Dach so they have all of the information that was discussed. Alderman Reilly added that there has been some discussion about the city providing a dumpster at Ryan Rush’s 2nd Street house. Mayor Rickard said there is nothing to vote on now, but they wanted to provide council members with the information so they are ready to act on it when the time comes.
17. COUNCIL TALK – Mayor Rickard has shirt samples for the Aldermen to look at. We will not use the official logo since the name of our city is so small on the logo. We will put the words “City of Byron”, along with City Council, Mayor, Clerk, etc. • Alderman Gerdes spoke with Chief Murray about the 4th of July fireworks, and he has been contacting other organizations to see if they would like to continue running the event in upcoming years. She asked that if anyone has an organization in mind to please let him know. Alderman Hobbie asked what the main concern is for this year. Chief Murray said that BJ Vangsness at the Dragstrip is concerned that people will be arriving for the race weekend in addition to the fireworks audience, and safety would be an issue. We need to make sure the cancellation information is sent to the media. • Alderman Dach had a clarifying question regarding the SRO. Do we have any idea what the timeline is to provide an SRO? She asked if there has been communication with the school. Chief Murray said he is in touch with Buster Barton several times a week, and both have spoken with the Sheriff’s Department about providing an SRO until Byron has enough personnel to fill the position.
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, July 3, 2019 @ 6:30 pm.
Mayor Rickard adjourned the City Council meeting at 6:57 p.m.
https://www.cityofbyron.com/vertical/sites/%7B67304C08-5FC3-4329-8F07-4786D33EE040%7D/uploads/Minutes_-_2019-06-19_Approved.pdf
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