City of Polo City Council met Feb. 20.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
1. Invocation.
2. Pledge of Allegiance.
3. Call to order- Mayor Knapp called the meeting to order.
4. Mayor Knapp called roll call and the following members of the Council answered present: Alderman Thomas Bardell, Alderman Busser, Alderman Joseph Kochsmeier, Alderwoman Beth Sundman, and Alderman Randy Schoon.
Absent: Alderman Keith Chesnut.
5. Motion to approve the Consent Agenda
Motion made by Alderman Schoon, second by Alderwoman Sundman to approve the following items on the Consent Agenda:
A. Minutes from the February 06, 2023 Council Meeting as amended.
B. List of Bills as amended. Alderman Busser added a bill from Constellation for $2,264.65 for the street department, Alderman Kochsmeier added bills from the Economic Development Group for $4,834.76 and Jacob & Klein for $772.10 for TIF department, Alderwoman Sundman added a bill for Legacy Prints for $165.00 for the administration department.
C. Treasurer’s Report
Motion carried 5-0. Yes- Bardell, Busser, Kochsmeier, Sundman, Schoon.
6. Mayor Knapp opened Public Comment and the following persons provided comments: Members of the public are welcome to speak at this time but are limited to only 3 minutes.
7. Committee Reports
➢ Alderman Bardell-First Park board meeting of 2023 was held last week. They are looking to possibly hire a concession stand manager. The jobs will be posted for manager, assistant manager, and concession stand manager later this week.
➢ Alderman Busser- Building permits were issued for a fence.
➢ Alderman Chesnut- None.
➢ Alderwoman Sundman- None.
➢ Alderman Schoon- Willett Hofmann & Associates have submitted an application to the IEPA to see where we would go with projects that are on route 26. There are 19 lead services on Route 26. We are hoping we will get the grant funds similar to the ones that we have received for the new water plant. Turning in the application does not commit ourselves to the project.
➢ Police Chief Troy Randall- None.
➢ City Clerk Bartelt- None.
➢ Public Works Director Kendall Kyker- Thank you to Randy for repairing two garage doors at our shop. There were two springs that blew up. Randy did all the work for free. Kendall spoke to Mr. Dearborn. Mr. Dearborn is willing to buy another container and put a gate in between the two containers.
Discussion was held regarding Mr. Dearborn applying for a special use permit to allow for his business to continue at that location. Kendall will have Mr. Dearborn come in to talk to Sydney about the process.
8. Items Removed from Consent Agenda
NONE
9. Old Business- Discussion/Action Items
A. Consideration & Possible Action on the fire department’s parking lot storm sewer pipe. The Franklin Avenue storm sewer needs to be fixed and the City of Polo is proposing to split the cost with the fire department. The cost of the project is $55,300.00. There is an additional cost of $10,000 to put in a manhole in the fire department’s parking lot. If the City of Polo and the fire department split the costs evenly, each entity would pay $32,650 providing that there are no other costs. The City of Polo is waiting to hear from the fire department.
B. Consideration & Possible Action on giving ARPA funds to Sauk Valley Community College’s Impact Program.
After some discussion, this item will be postponed until some members of the council can attend a meeting at Sauk Valley Community College on March 10th.
10. New Business- Discussion/Action Items
A. Consideration & Possible Action on purchasing a Neptune MRX920 Mobile Data Collector for reading water meters.
What we currently have is not compatible with our current system. We have tried out the mobile data collector which was loaned from Oregon. It currently takes 4-5 hours with our current reader and our guys were able to collect all the data in 30 minutes. One of the reasons for testing the mobile data collector was to detect a leak faster. Motion made by Alderman Kochsmeier to purchase the Neptune MRX920 mobile data collector in the amount of $9,629.63, seconded by Alderman Bardell. Motion carried 5-0. Yes- Busser, Kochsmeier, Sundman, Schoon, Bardell.
B. Consideration & Possible Action on a forgivable loan to Next Landscaping from the Polo TIF district.
The consensus of the council is to move forward with the forgivable loan in the amount of $30,000 with a 5-year forgiveness. Our TIF attorneys will draft an ordinance for the City Council to review.
C. Consideration & Possible Action on closing down Mason Street from Division Ave to Franklin Ave on May 13th.
Alderman Bardell stated that 4U Charities would like the road shut down starting at 1PM. The consensus of the council is to allow this. Motion carried 5-0. Yes- Kochsmeier, Sundman, Schoon, Bardell, Busser.
D. Consideration & Possible Action on writing a letter of opposition to House Bill 4412. The consensus of the council is to write the letter in opposition. Motion carried 5-0. Yes- Sundman, Schoon, Bardell, Busser, Kochsmeier.
11. Other Items for Discussion & Information
None.
12. Adjournment
Motion by Alderman Bardell, second by Alderwoman Sundman to adjourn from regular session at 8:03 p.m. Motion carried 5-0.
https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/3619/Polo/2832858/02202023_Minutes_of_the_Regular_City_Council_Meeting.pdf