City of Byron City Council Met July 21.
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, Mittzi Fulrath, Cheryl Metz, Zeke Hobbie, Jessica Nehring, Michael Gyorkos, Christy Hanlin. Seven members present. Quorum established.
Aldermen Absent: Emily Gerdes
PRESENT: Mayor John Rickard
City Clerk Caryn Huber
City Attorney Aaron Szeto
Police Chief Todd Murray
Dir. of Econ. Dev. Larry Hewitt
Dir. of Public Works Aaron Vincer
City Engineer Jason Stoll, Matt Johnson (Fehr-Graham Engineer) Citizens 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 July 21, 2021, agenda. Seconded by Alderman Nehring. Roll call vote: Fulrath, AYE; Metz, AYE; Hobbie, AYE; Nehring, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 7; NAY, 0; ABS 0.
6. MINUTES –
a. July 7, 2021 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes – Motion by Alderman Hanlin to approve, as presented, the July 7, 2021, City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. Seconded by Alderman Isaacs. Roll call vote: Metz, AYE; Hobbie, ABSTAIN; Nehring, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE; Fulrath, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 6; NAY, 0; ABS 1.
7. PUBLIC COMMENT – None
8. TREASURER’S REPORT – Treasurer Huber stated that the treasurer’s report for the month of June was presented at the July 7 meeting.
9. LIST OF BILLS – Item held until later in the meeting to allow time to enter on Dropbox.
10. MAYOR’S REPORT – Mayor Rickard reported that State Sen. Stewart will be in the Community Room from Noon until 1pm on Wednesday, July 28.
11. CITY ATTORNEY’S REPORT – Attorney Szeto reported that he is in the process of getting signatures from two heirs on the Rush property.
12. CITY ENGINEER’S PROJECT STATUS – Engineer Stoll reported that Struck & Irwin began slurry seal in Brighton Ridge. They will complete the slurry seal in Fawn Ridge, Brighton Ridge and Belair Dr. in Rose Meadows in several weeks. Work on Sumner St. should begin next week for two to three weeks, and then work on Union St. will begin.
• Engineer Stoll thanked Engineer Johnson for his presentation on the Waste Water Treatment Plant. He will get the exhibit materials to Clerk Huber for distribution to aldermen.
13. DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT STATUS – Director Hewitt reported that we are waiting for the structural report for Spanky’s. Structural Engineers were there earlier this week.
• We are waiting for an appraisal on the remaining part of Sunshine Park.
• The property in Fawn Ridge that was discussed regarding compliance issues at an earlier meeting has been cleaned up sufficiently.
• There is no tenant yet for half of the new building being constructed on Route 2.
• The Family Video building has not been sold and is not for sale. A tenant is interested in leasing the space, but rising construction costs are delaying a necessary addition.
• Alderman Isaacs asked if the appraiser for Sunshine Park is appraising as residential or commercial. Concerns were raised over having adequate parking for additional commercial business in that location.
14. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS REPORT – Director Vincer reported that the department has been crack sealing and completed Brighton Ridge prior to the new slurry seal.
• The water line to the Rush property has been abandoned.
• For many years, we have done a water and sewer rate increase based on the CPI (by ordinance). There will be a 4% increase this year, which is lower than the utility index of 6.7 and overall 5.4. The last five years, we have implemented a 3% increase.
• Discussions are continuing regarding the possibility of Quality Metal discharging into our sanitary sewer system.
• Installation of 7th Street water main and hydrants are still being discussed. We are hoping the Fire Department will assist with funding particularly due to the recent chemical fire in Roscoe.
15. POLICE CHIEF REPORT – Chief Murray reported that ByronFest was relatively uneventful and only minor incidents were reported.
• Chief Murray encouraged the council and staff to meet with Sen. Stewart. He has been helpful to our community as a whole and to law enforcement.
16. COMMITTEE REPORTS
a. Community Services – No report.
b. Public Safety – The public safety committee met earlier this evening. In addition to what Chief Murray reported, Alderman Hobbie noted that we have approximately 1,300 followers on the city’s Facebook account. He encouraged the council members to share the city’s Facebook posts on personal pages.
c. Administrative – No report.
17. CONTINUING BUSINESS
a. Approval of Permit Fee Schedule – Item is still being discussed in committee.
b. Resolution to Pay IML Dues - A first read on this resolution was held last week, but was not discussed in committee. The resolution number is 2021-03. Motion by Alderman Isaacs to approve resolution 2021-03, authorizing the annual payment of $450.00 for IML dues. Motion seconded by Alderman Fulrath. Roll call vote: Hobbie, AYE; Nehring, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE; Fulrath, AYE; Metz, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 7; NAY, 0; ABS 0.
c. Ordinance Amending Public Works Employee Expenditures – Ordinance is in Dropbox. This item was discussed at last month’s Community Services Committee, but no recommendation was made. Since this matter is not urgent, the committee will discuss at their August meeting and make a recommendation to council following.
d. Mill Road Rec Path – Nothing new to report.
18. NEW BUSINESS – None
LIST OF BILLS – Alderman Isaacs asked about the $5,000 charge from Rockvale Township (backhoe mulcher/mower) and the $4,536.71 charge from Sherwin Industries (crack sealer). Alderman Gyorkos motioned to approve the list of bills as presented. Motion seconded by Alderman Fulrath. Roll call vote: Nehring, AYE; Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE; Fulrath, AYE; Metz, AYE; Hobbie, AYE. Motion passed: AYE, 7; NAY, 0; ABS 0.
19. COUNCIL TALK – Alderman Nehring is on the ByronFest Steering Committee and wanted to thank everyone who participated in, volunteered for, and sponsored ByronFest. She also thanked the Byron Police Department and the Ogle County Sheriff’s office for their assistance during the festival. She especially noted their friendliness to patrons while at the same time keeping their focus on the festival grounds. She also noted that the Police and Fire Departments will participate in National Night Out on Tuesday, August 3, from 5-8 pm in B.J. Way Park. It is a family friendly event and helps build relationships between law enforcement and residents.
• Alderman Gyorkos noted quite a bit of social media activity surrounding the use of golf carts and ATV’s in town. Chief Murray stated that golf carts will never be legal on city streets, however, many private communities use them. Director Hewitt has been researching this subject, and has received a petition of 3,000 signatures asking to allow side by sides in town. Quite a few cities and towns within our area allow side by sides. While this would be relatively simple for Byron to pass, there are Township, County and State roads that would need to be crossed in order to get to city streets, and their presence on these roads has not been approved. The state did give permission to allow these vehicles to travel across the bridge, however, there are no roads presently legal to get them there on the opposite side of the river. There are also 8,000 residents who live outside of city limits that would need to use county roads to enter the city. The county is currently in conversations about this. The Byron Township has a new road commissioner but should discuss soon. Discussion followed regarding concerns about policing, registration of the vehicles and parking. Attorney Szeto has witnessed these same conversations in other communities. He noted the difficulty in regulating snow mobiles, and questioned how hard it would be to police ATVs. Larger communities, such as Rockton and S. Beloit, have decided not to allow. Larry compared the side by sides to a Jeep Renegade, which are currently allowed just like any other vehicle. Discussion will continue at the Administrative Committee meeting on August 4.
20. COMMUNICATION –
a. Next Regular City Council Meeting – Wednesday, August 4, 2021, 6:30 pm.
21. ADJOURN – Alderman Isaacs motioned to adjourn. Seconded by Alderman Gyorkos. Roll call vote: Gyorkos, AYE; Hanlin, AYE; Isaacs, AYE; Fulrath, AYE; Metz, AYE; Hobbie, AYE, Nehring, AYE. Motion passed: AYE 7; NAY 0; ABS 0.
Mayor Rickard adjourned the City Council meeting at 7:12 pm.
https://www.cityofbyron.com/vertical/sites/%7B67304C08-5FC3-4329-8F07-4786D33EE040%7D/uploads/Minutes_-_2021-07-21-Approved.pdf
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