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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 12/18/2017 - City CouncilREGULAR MEETING December 18, 2017 Mayor Wayne Jett called the regularly scheduled December 18, 2017 meeting of the McHenry City Council to order at 7:00 pm in the McHenry City Council Chambers, 333 S. Green Street, McHenry, IL. In attendance were the following Councilmembers: Mihevc, Glab, Schaefer, Condon, Devine, Curry, and Santi. Also in attendance: City Administrator Morefield, Director of Parks and Recreation Hobson, Director of Economic Development Martin, Chief of Police Birk, Director of Public Works Schmitt, Director of Community Development Polerecky, Director of Finance Lynch, City Attorney McArdle, and City Clerk Nevitt. PRESENTATION: GARDEN QUARTER NEIGHBORHOOD RESOURCE CENTER PRESENTED BY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GUADALUPE ORTIZ. Board of Directors member Gina Swinney provided the Council with a brief history of the Garden Quarter Resource Center and introduced Executive Director Guadalupe Ortiz. Executive Director Guadalupe Ortiz reported she has been with Garden Quarter for three years and began as a Youth Program Manager. She informed the Council about the benefits children receive through their participation with the center. She announced that seven students who are graduating from high school this year have participated in the center since first grade. The Youth Program is open for all McHenry County kids in first grade through 12. This school year, 136 students are participating in the center. Executive Director Ortiz provided a summary of the various services, adult and youth programs provided by the center. She also announced that the center will be relocating to a larger space and will change its name to Youth and Family Center. Executive Director Ortiz concluded her presentation by reporting that the City of McHenry is the only community that supports a successful Resource Center and she thanked the city for its support. Alderwoman Condon stated she was on the Council when the center was formed and she expressed her appreciation for what the center does for the community. Mayor Jett thanked Executive Director Ortiz and Ms. Swinney for addressing the Council. PUBLIC COMMENT None. CONSENT AGENDA A. Resolution establishing the 2018 City Council Meeting Schedule; B. Resolution adopting an Anti -Harassment Policy; C. Parking Lot Lease Agreement with McHenry Savings Bank for the Parking Lot associated with 1209 N. Green Street; D. Ordinance amending certain sections of the Traffic & Motor Vehicle Code to a Regular City Council Meeting Page 2 December 18, 2017 standardize four-hour parking within the Downtown Business District; E. Ordinance authorizing the execution of an Intergovernmental Agreement for Mutual Aid with Village of Prairie Grove; F. Authorization to publicly bid for the Municipal Mowing Contract; G. Pay Application #21 to Williams Brothers Construction in the am At Alderman Curry's request, Mayor Jett announced Item F was pulled from the Consent Agenda. Motion by Alderwoman Condon, second by Alderman Santi approving Consent Agenda Items A, B, C, D, E, G, H, I, and J. Alderman Glab said that five parking spaces behind the Riverwalk Center were omitted from Item D. Director Martin stated the city has an agreement in place for those spaces whereby the person who purchases a license to park in one of those spots pays the city for parking privileges. Alderman Glab requested a copy of the agreement. Alderman Curry asked if staff had determined why two-hour parking was establishment on certain areas of Park Street. Police Chief reported in 2014, at the request of the downtown business district, the Council approved an amendment to create four-hour parking in the downtown business district. Previously to that, the entire downtown district was two-hour parking. A small section of Park Street and Court Street were not addressed at that time. Voting Aye: Condon, Santi, Mihevc, Glab, Schaefer, Curry, Devine. Voting Nay: None. Absent: None. Motion carried. Consent Item F• Authorization to publicly bid for the Municipal Mowing Contract Motion by Alderman Santi, second by Alderman Mihevc to authorize the public bid for the Municipal Mowing Contract. Alderman Curry asked what other critical projects and priorities will be pursued by Parks Maintenance Staff that will justify the increased cost of this contract. Mayor Jett addressed Alderman Curry's question and stated he is a proponent of this contract. He reported that he met with City Administrator Morefield, Director Schmitt and Director Hobson to discuss cost saving options, and how the city can better utilize its skilled labor than sitting on a lawnmower. There are many projects that should be done however, there just is Regular City Council Meeting 'Page 3 December 18, 2017 not enough time or staff such as replacing the brick pavers in the downtown areas, new roofs on all the building in Knox Park, and maintenance of Petersen Ballfields, drain tiles in the Lakeland park ballfield. All light poles on Riverside Drive need to be tightened and cleaned, major landscape renovations in the Riverwalk planning areas, painting bathrooms and the gazebo in Veterans Memorial Park and much more. These projects need to be done in the months when staff is mowing grass. We have five parks maintenance workers who are skilled and can complete these projects if they have the time. Superintendent Gorniak and Assistant Superintendent Friedle are also performing this work. This contract would enable staff to get the projects mentioned and more completed. Alderman Curry asked if cost comparisons were done to justify the increased cost of this contract. Mayor Jett said it is difficult to put a price tag on these projects. There are so many things that maintenance staff observes throughout the day that need their attention. Mayor Jett asked the Council to trust staff's judgment that much progress will be made to improving parks if this contract increase is approved. Alderman Glab asked if we have a dry summer, can we cancel mowing. Director Schmitt answered yes; it has been done in the past. Alderwoman Condon said this discussion has taken place several time in the past few year. While it would be nice if we had the cost comparison, it is fairly easy to assume that there will be cost savings because our staff with expertise in a variety of skills are not just mowing grass and stated she supports outsourcing the mowing and utilizing staff to complete needed maintenance and projects. Alderman Glab proposed the Finance and Personnel Committee review the possible cost savings prior to approving a bid for mowing services. Director Schmitt said he could produce some raw numbers at this time noting when looking at the current contract, conservatively he believes the city's savings will increase with the new proposed plan. The city's cost to contract mowing overall is $19.80/acre. Staff figured labor only for mowing Petersen Park, which takes two fulltime employees and a summer helper at a cost of $26/acre and does not include equipment cost and fuel. The additional 100 acres proposed in the bid would conservatively equal approximately $620/week of savings for the additional 100 acres proposed. The city mows approximately 21 times per year, which equals a little over $13,000 that would be saved contracting out the additional 100 acres and again this is a conservative number. Voting Aye: Santi, Mihevc, Schaefer, Devine, Curry, Glab, Condon. Voting Nay: None. Absent: None. Motion carried. INDIVIDUAL ACTION ITEM AGENDA Regular City Council Meeting Page 4 December 18, 2017 A. Motion to approve an application for a Class A Liquor License from Anthem Real Estate LLC d/b/a Smith's Central Garage located at 3315 Pearl Street and adoption of an Ordinance amending Municipal Code Chapter 4 increasing the number of Class A liquor licenses in effect from thirty (30) to thirty-one (31). Mayor Jett announced he and City Administrator Morefield met with the applicant John Smith. Alderman Curry asked if the business is rented for a private party, there could be no public sales of alcohol. Mayor Jett stated that was correct. Alderman Curry asked Mr. Smith if he intended to pursue video gaming. Mr. Smith answered no, not at this time. The business is only open on weekends and for special events so it does not make sense at this time to offer gaming. Alderwoman Condon asked if this license was just for beer and wine. Mr. Smith answered it is for all alcohol. Alderman Santi asked prior to this request, were temporary permits issues for the facility and the answer was yes. Motion by Alderman Schaefer, second by Alderman Santi to approve an application for a Class A Liquor License from Anthem Real Estate LLC d/b/a Smith's Central Garage located at 3315 Pearl Street and adoption of an Ordinance amending Municipal Code Chapter 4 increasing the number of Class A liquor licenses in effect from thirty (30) to thirty-one (31). Alderman Schaefer stated this request is not unusual for this type of business and makes sense to approve the request. Voting Aye: Schaefer, Santi, Devine, Condon, Glab, Mihevc, Curry. Voting Nay: None. Absent: None. Motion carried. B. Motion to approve the application submitted by Barkin Bath Haus, LLC located at 1126 N. Green Street fora Revolving Loan in the amount of $20,000 as recommended by the Finance and Personnel Committee. Director Martin announced the applicant Kimberly A. Kolodzik was present to address any question the Council may have about the application. Alderman Santi asked the applicant to confirm that no dog training will be Regular City Council Meeting Page 5 December 18, 2017 conducted as part of the business and asked what type of items would be sold. Ms. Kolodzik confirmed no dog training would be conducted —the business is mainly self - serve and only frozen natural -type dog treats will be sold. Alderman Schaefer asked the applicant to clarify the dollar amount shown in the application. Ms. Kolodzik stated the $100,000-$120,000 is mainly what she has invested. When the application was submitted, the final cost of the machines was not available. Today she received the final cost of $52,000-55,000 for what she needs at the store and the rest will pay for kitchen equipment and labor for the buildout. Alderman Schaefer asked the applicant if her goal is still to have three machines at the location. Ms. Kolodzik said if she were to expand to another location, this application would not have any part of that. She added the terms of the lease have been finalized and other than permits for the buildout, she is ready to begin. Alderman Schaefer asked if this would be a self -serve service and the applicant answered yes, with set hours. The applicant did mention that in the future, she might consider keycard access to the store. Alderman Santi asked the applicant what attracted her to this location. She stated her business would be a good fit with the surrounding businesses in the area. Alderman Glab expressed his support for the business. Motion by Alderman Santi, second by Alderman Curry to approve the application submitted by Barkin Bath HaUs, LLC located at 1126 N. Green Street for a Revolving Loan in the amount of $20,000 as recommended by the Finance and Personnel Committee. Voting Aye: Santi, Curry, Glab, Schaefer, Mihevc, Devine, Condon. Voting Nay: None. Absent: None. Motion carried. C. Motion to approve a partnership in the Pace Suburban Bus Dial -a - DOA e Voucher Program with McHenry Township for the term of one (1) year for $4,800. Director Martin stated he would like to clarify the recommendation from the Finance and Personnel Committee indicated in the agenda supplement. The committee chose to partner with McHenry Township for one year and purchase the $1.00 per ride vouchers for $0.50 per ride assuming 20 riders and 40 rides per month, the cost to the city would be $4,800 for 2018. If approved, the Finance and Personnel Committee recommended that staff mail a letter in Regular City Council Meeting Page 6 December 18, 2017 January to current voucher users stating the city would provide up to 40 vouchers or rides per months to qualified seniors, which would be provided through McHenry Township until December 3, 2018. The free vouchers may only be picked up at the McHenry Municipal Center. City Administrator Morefield stated the clarification from the Committee is to review the agreement after the first year to determine how the city should move forward. Motion by Alderman Mihevc, second by Alderman Santi to approve a partnership in the Pace Suburban Bus Diaka-Ride Voucher Program with McHenry Township for the term of one (1) year for $4,800. Voting Aye: Mihevc, Santi, Condon, Devine, Curry, Schaefer, Glab. Voting Nay: None. Absent: None. Motion carried. STAFF REPORTS None. MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS Mayor Jett wished everyone Happy Holidays, commended the Council and Staff for their 2017 accomplishments, and stated he was looking forward to 2018. Alderman Schaefer thanked Director Hobson for providing the Council with a copy of the 2017 National Parks and Recreation Association survey and recommended the Council review the summary page of the document, as it is pertinent to recent discussions. Alderman Devine noted the recent passing of McHenry resident Curt Bremer stating everyone involved in McHenry youth baseball over the past 40 years was aware of Curt's service to the community. EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion by Alderman Schaefer, seconded by Alderman Curry to enter into Executive Session for the purpose of 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(5) to discuss the purchase or lease of real property for use of the public body. Voting Aye: Schaefer, Curry, Glab, Santi, Condon, Devine, Mihevc. Voting Nay: None. Absent: None. Regular City Council Meeting Page 7 December 18, 2017 Motion carried. Mayor Jett called Executive Session to order at 7:54 pm. Motion by Santi, seconded by Condon to return to Open Session. VotingSanti, Condon, Devine, Mihevc, Curry, Schaefer, Glab. Voting Nay: None. Absent: None. Motion carried. Council returned to Open Session at 8:10 pm. /e1�aL�I�J7►��� Motion by Alderman Curry, second by Alderman Santi to adjourn the meeting. Voting Aye: Curry, Santi, Condon, Glab, Devine, Schaefer, Mihevc. Voting Nay: None Absent: None. Motion Carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:10 PM. Mayor � � Deputy City Clerk