Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-09-1991 Clerical Clerical Committee City Council Chambers April 9, 1991 6:30 P.M. Members Present: Kevin Meade, Larry Sarff, Vic Kovachevich Others Present: Don Edwards, Chris Spears, Bob Molleck, Bob DeRenzy, Clif O'Brien, Gary Orwig, Harry Steck, Will Taggart, Ray McKinney, Cliff Sagaser, Don Hopper, Ross Gardiner, Finance Committee Vic Kovachevich, Chairman The first item was the discussion of purchasing a roller for the street department. Clif O'Brien stated that he had received two prices. They were: Eighmy Equipment - $2,550, and Portable Tool - $2,200. Clif stated that he has not seen the roller available through Portable Tool but has seen the other roller. Committee asked Clif if he could make arrangements to see the roller before the next City Council meeting. He stated he could. A motion was made by Larry Sarff and seconded by Kevin Meade to have Clif O'Brien look at the roller, have a recommendation at the next City Council meeting for approval with the cost to be reimbursed from motor fuel tax funds. Voice vote. Motion carried. Clif O'Brien addressed the Committee concerning several trees which need to be put out for bids. He informed the Committee that he has six trees on the list and would like to have the aldermen contact him if there are any trees in their ward that need to be removed. Committee agreed. The Committee discussed a request from Bob DeRenzy to release part of the 2% fund for the fire department. Bob stated that he would like to see the fire department given the same percentage they have received in the past, leaving the balance of the foreign fire tax funds in the escrow account until the settlement of the lawsuit. Discussion. Larry Sarff stated that he would like to know what the percentage of the fund that would be. It was stated that the City Treasurer would be able to provide the percentage. A motion was made by Larry Sarff and seconded by Kevin Meade recommending the release of part of the foreign fire tax fund with Pat Wright to present the percentage. Voice vote. Motion carried. Ray McKinney requested permission to purchase sand for the beach. He stated that approximately 2,000 tons would be needed. He and Cliff Sagaser had been to Otto Creek in Havana and to Duck Island Sand and Gravel to check quality and price of sand. He stated that the City could get the sand for $1.50 per ton. Duck Island's normal price is $3.30 but if the city prepaid, they could get it for $1.50 per ton. Ray stated that Duck Island is much closer than Otto Creek. Discussion followed concerning the cost to haul the sand, the availability of manpower, trucks and cost for the city to haul the sand, the possibility of hauling sludge to the area and bringing back the sand, and the time frame involved. A motion was made by Larry Sarff and seconded by Kevin Meade recommending the purchase of 1500 tons of sand from Duck Island Sand and Gravel and to work out the hauling of the sand whichever is most advantageous. Voice vote. Motion carried. Bills were next. Vic Kovachevich stated that Gary Orwig would like to hold the bills for SEM, Inc. in the amount of $957.41 for further review. Mayor Edwards stated that before Berry Excavating is paid, he would like to have the lien waivers from the subcontractors. Discussion. A motion was made by Larry Sarff and seconded by Kevin Meade recommending approval of the bills but to hold the SEM, Inc. bill for further review and to hold Berry Excavating check until lien waivers are received from the subcontractors. Voice vote. Motion carried. Chris Spears addressed the Committee concerning the city's insurance premium with SAFEOO. He stated that Pat Wright had been informed that the premium will raise 47% if the deductible for health and life insurance is left at $32,000 per person. If the deductible is raise to $35,000 the increase will be 36%. At this time this is informational. Bill Naff will be checking with another company about coverage and price. No further business was discussed and the Finance Committee was adjourned. Negotiations, Grievance and Personnel Committee Larry Sarff, Chairman The first item of discussion was the volunteer firemen's salary. Bob DeRenzy stated that the pay for the volunteers vas $4.00 per hour. Bob stated that even though minimum wage is $4.25 he would like to recommend a raise to $6.00 per hour. He stated that the volunteers are only paid when the city needs them. Last year, approximately $300 was spent on volunteer assistance. A motion was made by Kevin Meade and seconded by Vic Kovachevich to increase the volunteer firemen's salary to $6.00 per hour. Discussion. Voice vote. (1 nay) Motion carried. 2 As an informational item, Bob DeRenzy informed the Committee that the gas tank under the water tower was pulled today, inspected and approved. The two tanks at the city garage will be pulled Tuesday, April 16th. Bob stated he anticipates no problem with these two tanks. Kevin Meade requested an executive session at the end of the meeting for the purposes of personnel. Committee agreed. No further business was discussed and the Negotiations, Grievance and Personnel Committee was adjourned. Corm~unity and Industrial Development Corrrnittee Kevin Meade, Chairman The first item of discussion was the Director's Report. Chris informed the Committee that he had received the gazebo plans, they are being reviewed by prison personnel and he expects an answer by late this week. The next item was the downtown discussion. Chris stated that the Small Business Development Center of Spoon River College and the Chamber of Commerce had held two meetings to discuss the upcoming opening of Wal-Mart and the expansion of K-Mart and what the merchants in the downtown area can do to attract shoppers. During those metings several items concerning the city were discussed. Chris invited the merchants to discuss these things with city personnel. The first item of discussion was the two hour parking limit in front of Melgreens on Elm Street and on South Main Street. It was stated that either the city needs to enforce the parking or take the signs down. Bob Molleck stated that Howard Williams patrols the downtown and is not always available. Bob stated they try to average two to three days per week to patrol the downtown area. He stated he has received some complaints from different areas and/or businesses in the downtown area and staggering Howard's schedule has been discussed. Chris stated that at the two prior meetings, some wanted loose enforcement and a few wanted stricter parking enforcement. Kathy Douglas stated that there is an ongoing problem with bicycles and skateboards in the downtown areas on the sidewalks and in Jones Park. Bob Molleck stated that with bicycles, a warning is issued the first tune the bicyclist is caught; the second time the parents are called; and a third time the parents are issued a ticket. He stated that skateboards are not illegal. He stated he felt an ordinance is needed for skateboards. The problem with both of these is that it is hard to catch the kids. If the police officer comes in on the east side, the kids go out 3 the west and vice versa. Bob stated that if the merchants call the office, they will send someone out, but, the department has to prioritize their calls and the skateboarders would be a low priority. Kathy Douglas also asked about the possibility of making Jones Park "round" and putting a drive through in front of Spurgeons. Cliff Sagaser stated that opening the street in front of Spurgeons had been discussed several years ago. He had looked at the area and it would be wide enough for one lane directional traffic moving east. Charlie Wright stated that the buildings in the downtown area needed to be repaired. Broken glass, plywood on the windows and some burnt businesses are unsightly. He stated that he would like to see the city use its influence to get the buildings fixed up. Making the buildings more presentable may entice shoppers. On opening the square, he stted that Rader plan as developed but not used. Chris Spears stated that the city had talked about using TIF funds for low interest loans but it had been apparent that there was more concern for better sidewalks rather than business loans. Eric Mathews stated that the $2500 cap was not enough. He stated that you could not hire a union contractor to do the framework that $2500 much less buy material. Lighting in the downtown and the alleys were discussed next. Prior discussions had centered around the alleys not being in the best of shape and having inadequate lighting and prevented some employees from using the city lots. Cliff Sagaser presented a sketch of an alley and how it could be lighted. He informed those present that he feels the businesses should help in the cost of the sidewalks which would stretch the money further. This would then extend the possibility of having enough money for the enhancement of the alleys so that employees could use them to get to the city lots, therefore, making more space on the square available for shoppers. John Prather stated that on the south side of Penneys there is ample parking and he feels that the merchants are too lazy to walk from parking areas to their businesses. On the lighting, he stated that the businesses are not open at night so why are they concerned with the lighting. He stated that he has had some problems with the kids in the Fulton Square Lot before his store is closed and suggested the time be changed to 8:30 p.m. before they are allowed to park there. Discussion followed concerning the problems with kids parking in other lots, such as Hardees and Hy-Vee, affecting the businesses and what can be done. 4 Mayor Edwards addressed the items discussed. He stated that the $2500 loans were intended to be "seed" money for bank loans and were not meant to be used to remodel the buildings in the downtown area. He stated that there are two buildings in the downtown area that are available for $1.00, with the city being the pass through agent, to any person ho would want to remodel/renovate the buildings. On using the city's influence, Mayor Edwards stated that if the city uses code enforcement, all buildings would be inspected and enforcement would not be discriminatory. On opening the square, Mayor Edwards stated that the "Rader" plan was not accepted. It showed the closing of Jones Park, not opening up the downtown areas. This plan was amended in 1983. He stated that the north end of Jones Park could be opened up but the park will not be "round". He also stated that his personal opinion is that parks are for people and we should not be running adults or kids out of the park. Mayor Edwards also stated that many of the lots around the square have been enlarged and/or added as well as the lighting in the downtown areas have been changed to illuminate more area. No further com°rients were heard. The merchants were thanked for attending the meeting and bringing their comments to the Committee. The next item was addressed by Mayor Edwards. He stated that the Committee should think about an interim engineer for the time between Cliff Sagaser's retiring and the hiring of a replacement and has invited Bob Anderson here to discuss the possibility of using his firm in the interim period. This is due to the fact that three large projects are in the works. These are the Wal-Mart and K-Mart streets and the Chestnut Street FAU project. Cliff Sagaser stated that he will be meeting with representatives of IDOT Thursday at 10:00 A.M. concerning the K-Mart road. Discussion followed. Bob Anderson stated that he felt an hourly fee for the time being would be the most equitable. He stated he would have that breakdown for the Council in writing for their next meeting. Discussion. A motion was made by Larry Sarff and seconded by Vic Kovachevich recommending to the City Council that Anderson and Associates be hired for the interim period for engineering services. Voice vote. Motion carried. No further business was discussed and the Community and Industrial Development Committee was adjourned. Legal and Ordinance Committee Jerry Bohler, Chairman 5 The first item was the discussion of the rear lot requirements. Mayor Edwards stated that this ordinance has had first reading. Cliff Sagaser stated there is one sentence that should be deleted concerning the abutment to a side yard. Discussion. A motion was made by Kevin Meade and seconded by Vic Kovachevich to refer the ordinance to the City Council with the amendment to remove the sentence concerning abutment to side yards. Voice vote. Motion carried. The next item was the affirmative action plan. No further information was available and this item was tabled to the next meeting. The bed and breakfast ordinance was next. No additional information was available at this time. This item vas tabled. The updating of the code book was next on the agenda. Alderman Bohler had prepared a memorandum on the findings of the research into the possibility of updating the books. The secretary read the memo to the Committee. Harry Steck stated that the list of suggested changes had been received and he thought there was a deadline on making those changes. Mayor Edwards stated he would talk to the City Attorney about the changes. A motion was made by Vic Kovachevich and seconded by Kevin Meade to refer the matter to the City Council for consideration. Voice vote. Motion carried. The ordinance concerning city contracts and officers separation and/or retirement was next. Mayor Edwards suggested this item be laid over to the next meeting. Conmittee agreed. Kevin Meade stated that he had been out of town but had received several complaints concerning the odor from the sewer plant. Clif O'Brien stated that it will get better. At this time a motion was made by Larry Sarff and seconded by Kevin Meade to convene in executive session for the purpose of personnel. Voice vote. Motion carried. Executive session minutes are on file for review. The Committee reconvened in open session. No action was taken at this time. No further business was discussed and the Legal and Ordinance Committee was adjourned. Kayma Duncan - Committee Secretary 6