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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-14-1992 Clerical Clerical Committee City Council Chambers July 14, 1992 6:30 P.M. Members Present: Larry Sarff, Jerry Bohler, Bob Molleck, Kevin Meade Others Present: Don Edwards, Clif O'Brien, Gary Orwig, Ray McKinney George Spahn, Mike Elam, Chris Spears, Harry Steck, James Elson, Jr., Bob DeRenzy, Will Taggart, Jim P~1ay, Ross Gardiner, Gladys Young, Don Hopper, Finance Committee Larry Sarff, Chairman The first item was a request from Clif O'Brien to have the air compressor repaired. He stated that several companies had looked at the unit and Best-Aire of Peoria has determined that it needed a low valve piston. The cost of the repairs is anticipated to be between $500 and $800. A motion was made by Bob Molleck and seconded by Jerry Bohler recommending approval of $500-800 for the repair of the compressor. Voice vote. Motion carried. George Spahn addressed the Corm~ittee concerning the electrical update in Jones Park. He stated that if pedestals are installed at a cost of $194 each and the updating is completed, the total cost would be $4500. George stated that if a 200 amp panel is installed, this would get the city by for awhile. This installation would cost approximately $1200 and would have had to be done with the larger project. Harry Steck stated that he feels the city should be charging for the concessions to be in Jones Park during the Scenic Drive with the funds to be used for the upgrading. Mayor Edwards stated that he would like to see continued encouragement for the drive and would eventually like to see the vendors expand to other areas. A motion was made by Jerry Bohler and seconded by Kevin Meade to allow the $1200 expenditure for the updating of the electric service in Jones Park. Voice vote. Motion carried. The next item was a request from Gary Orwig to purchase a 4X4 truck. He stated that this was delayed in March due to the budget. He informed the Committee that Pat Wright has indicated that the funds are available from the water and sewer account for the budgeted item. Gary anticipated 10-12 weeks between the time of the bids and the receipt of the truck. It was mentioned that the old truck would not be traded in but sold at the next auction. A motion was made by Bob Molleck and seconded by Kevin Pvleade to allow Gary to go out for bids for the truck. Voice vote. Motion carried. 1 The placement of a drop box for water bills was next. Ray McKinney stated that he is waiting for a commitment from the bank board on the possibility and a location for the drop box. Once they have indicated the location, Ray stated he would have the Committee decided between the two locations. This item was tabled at this time. The steel main on Chestnut Street was next. Ray McKinney requested this item be carried over to next months' meeting. Committee agreed. Ray McKinney requested permission to have areas of the lake road oil and chipped during the city's Motor Fuel Tax work. He stated that the three areas, campground, around the plant and past the beach, would cost approximately $4,312 with the funds to come from the lake Development and Water accounts. A motion was made by Jerry Bohler and seconded by Kevin Meade to allow the $4312 expenditure for oil and chip work at the lake. Voice vote. Motion carried. Vdhen asked how the campground and beach were doing, Ray stated that the campground has taken in over $5,000 to date and the beach is averaging approximately 100 persons per day, when the beach is opened. The next item was the opening of the bids for the sale of the rescue truck. Two bids were received: Ernest Ferrell - $700.00; and Buckheart Township Fire Protection District - $5,000. A motion was made by Bob ~Jlolleck and seconded by Kevin Meade to accept the $5,000 bid from Buckheart Township Fire Protection District. Voice vote. Motion carried. Bills were next. One change was noted. Under Mater Department -77; it should be Martin Equipment, not Morton. A motion was made by Bob Molleck and seconded by Kevin Meade recommending approval of the bills. Voice vote. Pdlotion carried. Bob DeRenzy requested permission to advertise for bids for a new telesquirt. He stated that it would be approximately 14-15 months before the unit was received following the advertisement of bids. Chris stated that there was approximately $75,000 to date in surcharge funds and the council had agreed to set aside $120,000 for the telesquirt. Discussion followed. Larry Sarff stated that he would like to have Pat VVright's input on the discussion. Committee agreed and referred the matter to the council for further discussion. Bob stated that he has been putting brakes on the aerial unit and has found that due to the age of the equipment, parts are getting harder to find. No further business was discussed and the Finance Committee was adjourned. 2 Negotiations, Grievance and Personnel Committee Bob Molleck, Chairman The first item was the drug testing. No new information on this item and the item was tabled. The next item was the discussion of the elected officials salaries. The current salaries for the positions are: P~layor - $12,000; Clerk - $17,500; and Treasurer - $13,000. Bob asked the Committee's direction on the salaries. Larry asked the amounts if they were given a one time 4;'o raise. Bob provided those figures and stated that he did not feel that was sufficient. Kevin Meade stated that four years ago these positions were given substantial increases and due to the budget he does not feel large raises are justified. Mayor Edwards noted that under IN'RF retirement, the pension is based on the last four years salaries. Bob stated he felt that 4°'0 over four years was not enough. Jerry Bohler agreed. Larry Sarff stated that these are elected positions. If an employee were hired for them, the new employee would be started at a lower rate. Kevin Meade stated he felt 4% was enough. The matter was tabled to the next meeting for further discussion. The next item was a request from Gary Orwig to fill the vacant sewer plant operator's position. He stated that this was put on hold last March due to budget problems. Gary stated it will take several months to go through the process. He stated he had talked with Pat Wright and she feels there is no problem in filling this position since the funds are paid from the water and sewer account. A motion was made by Larry Sarff and seconded by Jerry Bohler recommending Gary be allowed to post the operator's position and start the process. Discussion. It was determined by the Committee that since the time period between the last posting and now, that the vacancy be re-posted. Voice vote. Motion carried. George Spahn requested the filling of the vacancy in the Maintenance Department. He stated that he had discussed the matter with the Mayor and Pat Wright and the position has been budgeted, and appropriated. He stated that he would like to see the part time person, working 35 hours per week, brought to full time. Larry Sarff stated that he does not disagree that the position is needed but feels that the city can not afford it. Kevin Meade stated that for an extra five hours at an added cost of salary and benefits, the city is only gaining five hours. He stated he would rather hire an additional part time person to help out. Mayor Edwards stated that the city is looking at a $600-700,000 over budget now. He suggested the Committee work with Pat Wright. No further business was discussed and the Negotiations, Grievance and Personnel Committee was adjourned. 3 Corm~unity and Industrial Development Committee Kevin Meade, Chairman The first item of discussion was the Director's report. Chris informed the Committee of the following items: A) Basement De-Watering is requesting suspension of their payments until June 1993 and that no penalties be assessed on the account. Jerry Bohler stated that he felt the penalties should continue. Larry agreed. A motion was made by Jerry Bohler and seconded by Larry Sarff to suspend payments till 1993 but penalties be assessed on the Basement De-Watering account. Voice vote. Motion carried. B) Energy Services has offered to review the city's utility bills to determine if the city is being properly charged. There is no fee but if a recommendation is put into place by the city, the firm would receive 40% per month of the savings. Larry Sarff stated that he is leery but not opposed, and asked if Chris had checked any of the references. Chris stated he had not. Mayor Edwards suggested that the city may want to run this by CIPS also. Committee instructed Chris to check the references prior to further discussion. C) Chris presented a list of recommendations to bring the city building, public safety building and the comfort station into compliance with the ADA regulations. Chris suggested that the city building may qualify for the historical register and would take at least two months to get it on the list. Discussion followed concerning the alternates for each building. Committee requested George Spahn to look at the changes to be made to the public safety building and to come back to the Committee with an estimate of the material and in-house labor to complete the upgrading. Mayor Edwards stated that there is a tax for the comfort station and the funds should be available for the upgrading there. A motion was made by Larry Sarff and seconded by Bob Molleck recommending acceptance of Alternate 1 for the city building, the public safety building and the comfort station. Voice vote. Motion carried. At this time Lynn Eich, 334 f`Jew Salem Drive, addressed the Committee concerning the placement of a walking trail along 4th Avenue from Birch Street to Ingersoll Boulevard. He stated that he has talked to some people to get volunteer labor and equipment for the trail. He stated that his proposal is to have the trail six feet wide which will require a three inch rock base with oil and chip over the rock. Mr. Eich stated that he had considered possibly having a fund raiser to raise the $3500 needed for the project. He asked if the city would be interested in participating. Clif O'Brien stated that the city could use some rock from the !t?1=T allotment along the road. He stated that Ray Daley has agreed to grade the area for the trail. 4 Larry Sarff commended Mr. Eich for his work and encourages other community projects throughout the town. Harry Steck commended Mr. Eich also and wanted to contribute to the project. Mayor Edwards expressed his pleasure and encouragement on the project and recommended the Committee accept the concept. A motion was made by Larry Sarff and seconded by Jerry Bohler recorrrnending to the City Council the acceptance of the concept of the walking trail from Birch Street to Ingersoll Boulevard. Voice vote. Motion carried. The next item was a presentation from Alan Hansen of A-Z Consultants. He stated that they are the purchasers of the CIC stock and had acquired it approximately thirty days ago, sight unseen. The company plans on locating a tire recycling facility in the plant and according to the five year plan, should be recycling 10 million tires per year. He stated that they may be leasing part of the facility out to other businesses and will be bringing in small businesses, possibly light manufacturing. Mr. Hansen stated that the new CIC does not want any money from the City. They would like the city to consider tax abatement and possibly entertain the idea of being a sponsor for Industrial Revenue Bonds for the company. Mayor Edwards asked if they had looked at the present agreements with CIC and the City and what the status of those agreements will be. Mr. Hansen stated that he understands that for a $400,000 loan there is an agreement of payments in cash or stock and he is not familiar with how that would be handled since that is not his field. On the 17 lots which were to deeded to the city, he did not know why that had not been done possibly due to past taxes. It is his understanding the agreements will be honored. On the status of the equipment, Mr. Hansen stated that it is his understanding the equipment is being sold to Abbott under a sales agreement. Mr. Hansen stated they are negotiating with three corporations to merge with CIC and two have given verbal commitments. One of the corporations has equipment which he anticipates being here in 90 days for a crumb rubber plant. fv1r. Hansen stated that the first phase should employ 50-60 people and ultimately 300-400 people. The company wants to hire everyone from the top to the bottom from the local area. He stated that through the tire recycling facility, the company will not be using heat but friction. This results in nothing being discharged into the air. Mr. Hansen stated there is nothing in a tire that the company can not resell. For instance, Illinois Power is presently using a 2% rubber chip mix to operate their facility. The company would use a 20% mix if the product were more readily available. The A-Z company is a consulting firm who helps companies work out their problems. They presently have companies producing products such as auto repairs, framing, art prints, and manufacturing. They contact troubled public companies. In this case the company acquired the controlling interest of stock. They are in the process of raising capital for equipment. P~.layor Edwards stated that this plant is an emotional item for this town and is a part of the heritage of the 5 stated he feels that if the company were to open up to the public, they would be more readily accepted. f~1r. Hansen stated that the company would like to form a community group from the citizenry to gather input and suggestions for the plant and its operations. Mayor Edwards stated that Larry Sarff had worked at the plant and asked if he would serve on the committee on behalf of the city. Larry Sarff agreed. No action was necessary on this matter by the Committee. No further business was discussed and the Community and Industrial Development Committee was adjourned. Legal and Ordinance Committee Jerry Bohler, Chairman The first item was the affirmative action plan. No additional information v~ras presented and the item was tabled at this time. Mobile homes/mobile home parks was next on the agenda. Jerry Bohler stated that this was originally brought up for discussion concerning a request to replace a mobile home. Jerry stated that if the Committee did not want to consider revising the present ordinance, a motion would be in order to remove it from the agenda. A motion was made by Larry Sarff and seconded by Bob Molleck to remove the mobile homes/mobile home parks from the agenda. Voice vote. (1 nay) Motion carried. The next item was the handicap parking ordinance. Mayor Edwards stated that an ordinance is needed for enforcement of the handicap parking areas in the downtown. Mike Elam stated that the parking had not been changed formally from the center to the curb. Discussion. A motion was made by Larry Sarff and seconded by Kevin Meade directing the city attorney to draw an ordinance for the location of the handicap parking and to change the parking on the west side of the square from center to curb parking. Voice vote. Motion carried. The sale of the 5th and Oak Street house was next. Mayor Edwards stated that the house had been acquired by the city and should be sold as soon as possible. He suggested the city may want to look at negotiating a deal on the Spruce Street house since that property is adjacent to the public safety building. He suggested a payoff and possible trade. A motion was made by Kevin Meade to have Chris explore that option and to have the ordinance drawn for its sale to start the process. Seconded by Bob Molleck. Voice vote. PJlotion carried. 6 The next item was a review of the building contractor's ordinance. Mayor Edwards stated this was developed to protect the citizens of Canton. There are several contractors who live outside the city limits who are spending money in Canton, paying taxes in Canton, and building new homes in Canton. Discussion followed concerning the registration of contractors who no fee to be paid. A motion was made by Bob Molleck and seconded by Larry Sarff recommending to the City Council the nullification of this ordinance as it presently stands. Voice vote. Motion carried. The last item on the agenda was the weed ordinance. James Elson stated that this is a rewrite of Peoria's ordinance. This allows the city to place liens on property mowed by the city. A motion was made by Larry Sarff and seconded by Bob Molleck to refer the ordinance to the City Council with consideration of passage on the first reading. Voice vote. Motion carried. At this time a motion was made by Kevin Meade and seconded by Larry Sarff to convene in executive session for the purpose of personnel. Voice vote. Motion carried. The Committee reconvened in open session. No further business was discussed and the Legal and Ordinance Committee was adjourned. Kayma Duncan - Committee Secretary 7