City of Sterling City Council Met March 1.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
Mayor Charles L. “Skip” Lee called a virtual meeting of the Sterling City Council to order at 6:30 pm. Roll call. Present: Aldermen Retha Elston, Josh Johnson, Joe Martin, John Stauter, Christine Wilen, and Jim Wise. Absent: None.
Also attending were City Attorney Tim Zollinger, City Manager Scott Shumard, Finance Director Cindy Von Holten, Superintendent of Building and Zoning Amanda Schmidt, Police Chief Alex Chavira, Deputy Fire Chief Michael Dettman and City Clerk Teri Sathoff.
City Manager Shumard, Police Chief Chavira, Alderman Johnson, and City Clerk Sathoff were present in the council chambers, everyone else attended via Zoom. The meeting was recorded and will be kept on the city hard drive. All members in attendance could hear the other members in attendance.
Alderman Elston made a motion to approve the following items on the Consent Agenda:
A. Approval of Minutes.
B. Approval of Bills and Payroll.
C. Resolution 2021-3-5 MFT Supplemental Resolution for 2020.
D. Resolution No. R2021-03-06 providing for the abatement of general real property taxes for Taxable General Obligation Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source), Series 2021A.
E. Resolution No. R2021-03-07 providing for the abatement of general real property taxes for General Obligation Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source), Series 2021B.
Motion seconded by Alderman Stauter. Voting: Ayes – Aldermen Elston, Stauter, Johnson, Martin, Wilen and Wise. Nayes – None. Motion carried.
Lori A. Cortez, Dean of Institutional Advancement at Sauk Valley Community College shared information about the college’s Impact Program. The SVCC Impact Program is intended to harness the collective power of Sauk Valley partners and communities to create an effective, supportive, sustainable path for students to pursue a college education and achieve career success through lifelong learning, public service and economic advancement. This program focuses on community service for earned tuition.
Chris Pilling stated that this program is currently in the silent phase, the public phase will start in two years. They are looking for commitments in 2022 with enrollment in 2026. There will not be a GPA or grade requirement. Participants will be asked to complete 100 hours of community service (25 hours for each high school year), graduate on time, apply for one other scholarship and fill out the FAFSA. By completing these items, students will be automatically enrolled. Cortez asked the Council to promote the program as well as share the information with friends and family. The website for this program is https://www.svcc.edu/impact/.
Alderman Elston made a motion to approve Ordinance No. 2021-3-3 to Deny a request to classify from CB to CB with special use for installation of a cell tower on property owned by Sterling Moose Lodge 726; seconded by Alderman Johnson. Voting: Ayes – Aldermen Elston, Johnson, Martin, Stauter, Wilen and Wise. Nayes – None. Motion carried.
Alderman Wise made a motion to award the contract to Gehrke Construction of DeKalb, Illinois with the low bid in the amount of $234,500 for the Former National Training Building Demolition and Renovation Project; seconded by Alderman Stauter. Voting: Ayes – Aldermen Elston, Johnson, Martin, Stauter, Wilen and Wise. Nayes – None. Motion carried.
Alderman Elston stated she had several members of the public contact her with praise for Public Works and the wonderful job they have done with the snow removal this season. Alderman Elston stated she received a call in reference to property maintenance issues at the old Schmitt/Lee Wayne property at 2317 East Lincolnway. Superintendent of Building and Zoning Amanda Schmidt stated that since the new owner has taken over there have been issues with lack of maintenance. The tenants of the building have been contacting the Building department with complaints. Different units have been condemned. Alderman Elston asked if there was anything the City could be doing to assist the tenants. Attorney Zollinger stated that it is important that each unit be evaluated individually. There are things that can be done to work with the owner, however, the owner is not willing to work with the City on this property.
Mayor Lee reported that the City Clerk’s office will be looking into the licenses and fee structures. There seem to be some inconsistencies with the fees. Monique Castillo and City Clerk Sathoff have combined the invoices for the fees into one, they have also condensed the licenses into one as well. They have streamlined the process and made it more efficient. Mayor Lee commended Monique Castillo and City Clerk Teri Sathoff for the work they have done.
Meeting adjourned to a budget study session at 7:10 pm.
City Manager Shumard reviewed the following funds:
∙ Motor Fuel Tax Fund – This fund was expected to go down with the lack of travel due to COVID-19 it actually went up, it is believed to have gone up because of the 19 cent motor fuel tax the State passed in July of 2020. The Rebuild Illinois money that came in this year totaled over $300,000. This money has the same stipulation as the regular MFT money. The City will have to submit projects for approval to IDOT. This money would be a good source of funds to continue LeFevre east of Locust Street or if the ITEP Grant is awarded to the City we could use these funds to finish out the 2nd Street project. Summer 2022 is the timeline for the LeFevre project. This fund is up 67.8%, the projected balance is $492,695
∙ Municipal Band Commission - Allen Lee was present to answer any questions. COVID-19 severely impacted the band, there were no ticket sales and the donations were down significantly. The expenses were down. The fund balance is at $183,000 however this will come down with equipment purchases. Allen Lee stated there were some online concerts in place of in person concerts. There was a fund raising letter that went out in the fall of 2020 that had some success. The percussion instruments are very old and will need to be replaced. Alderman Stauter asked if repairs were done to the band shell. Lee stated the only repair that was required this year was the heating unit had to be replaced, the roof will be evaluated with the spring thaw.
∙ Coliseum Board and Coliseum Bond – the Coliseum collects its own levy that is used for the maintenance of the building. The revenues and expenses came in where they were expected. The fund has an overall negative balance that is owed to the general fund for the remodel of the building. Superintendent of Building and Zoning Amanda Schmidt stated there may need to be a new roof. Alderman Stauter asked if the elevator would need to be replaced. Schmidt stated this will need to be replaced, it is in the capital fund.
∙ IMRF – this is the retirement fund for the employees that are not sworn police officers or sworn firefighters. IMRF submits a new rate to the City every calendar year. This fund has been overfunded for quite a few years, we continue to draw the balance down.
∙ Social Security – there is a surplus in this fund as well, this will be drawn down in another year or two, to where it should be.
∙ Health Insurance - We have had a decline in claims on the health insurance, a few years ago we had over $2.3 million in claims. This last year we had less than $1 million in claims. This downward trend coincides with the health check program. There has not been significant claims from the employee group as a whole. The premiums will be froze for another year and the City will look into rebating some of the premiums to the employees.
City Manager Shumard stated that the next meeting will have the budgets for the Library, Capital fund and the General fund. The General fund will include Police, Fire, Public Works, Clerk’s office, Waste Water, Finance and Building and Zoning.
The meeting adjourned at 7:27 pm.
https://www.sterling-il.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_03012021-165
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