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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 01/29/2018 - City CouncilMEETING OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE January 29, 2019 Mayor Wayne Jett called the regularly scheduled January 29, 2018 meeting of the Committee of the Whole 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, Deputy Chief of Police Walsh, Project Engineer Strange, Streets Superintendent Schweda, and Deputy Clerk Geraghty. PUBLIC COMMENT None. CONSENT AGENDA A. Issuance of Checks in the amount of $1,769,970.11, and B. Payment of Bills in the amount of $81,196.92. Motion by Alderwoman Condon, second by Alderman Schaefer, approving the Consent Agenda as presented. Voting Aye: Condon, Schaefer, Devine, Mihevc, Curry, Santi, Glab Voting Nay: None Absent: None Motion Carried. DISCUSSION ONLY ITEM: A. FY 18/19 – FY 22/23 General Fund Capital Improvement Program. City Administrator Morefield announced Council was asked to review, discuss and prioritize the General Fund capital improvement and capital equipment projects prior to the completion of the CIP document. In addition, proj ects for inclusion in the FY 18/19 budget could be identified prior to the start of the budgeting process. City Administrator Morefield provided the Council with an overview of the proposed projects submitted for consideration. The projects were prioritized as Priority A Urgent, Priority B Necessary, Priority C Desirable, and Priority D Deferrable. Committee of the Whole Page 2 January 29, 2018 There were 29 projects identified for FY 18/19 with a total estimated cost of $15,654,414. While the street program is included on Line 86 of the FY 18/19 spreadsheet for an estimated $8,493,314, no funding was currently identified or included in the totals. Alderman Curry stated he would prefer that project priorities were included in each of the project description sheets. City Administrator Morefield said projects ranked urgent were listed first in the sheets and the priorities would be reassigned after meeting with each department head. Alderwoman Condon stated the department heads are the experts and she would prefer that Council was aware of their recommendations and asked that all five years of the CIP be included in future spreadsheets. At this time, Mayor Jett called on city property owner Mr. Ned Neumann who address the Council regarding his desire for the city to dredge the Boone Lagoon from Green Street to Freund Field. Facilities Projects: Alderwoman Condon asked if there was a specific reason why carpeting was not scheduled for replacement in the Council Chambers. Alderman Glab asked if the carpeting is cleaned regularly and Director Hobson said it is steam cleaned annually. Alderman Schaefer inquired about the proposed Municipal Center boiler replacement and suggested it might be less expensive to replace the boilers at the same time. Director Polerecky stated the boilers have been re-tubed once and are growing increasingly inefficient. During times of extreme cold, it is difficult for the boilers to heat all areas of the building. Alderman Curry stated he would prefer replacing the boiler instead of carpeting. Public Works Facility Improvements: Alderman Schaefer asked if the proposed fuel station at the Public Works facility would be used for all city vehicles. Director Schmitt answered yes; in addition, he will propose a possible partnership or use agreement with the school districts. Alderman Schaefer asked if the tanks would be underground and Director Schmitt said no, they would be installed aboveground. Alderman Glab asked if there would be enough of a savings from the fueling station to Committee of the Whole Page 3 January 29, 2018 offset the initial expense to construct and maintain the site. Director Schmitt answered purchasing bulk fuel is cheaper and noted the cost of fuel fluctuates with the market. Alderman Santi asked if the storage of fuel was regulated and Director Schmitt answered the fueling station would require a State Fire Marshal permit. Alderman Devine asked when the fueling station on Main Street was out of service, where did the fire district obtained fuel and Director Schmitt said from a private station. Chief Birk said the police had an agreement with the Shell station in town. Director Schmitt noted that during a citywide power outage, an emergency generator would power the proposed fuel station. Alderman Curry said the fuel station could be a considerable savings for the city and suggested it remain in the CIP until the cost had been determined. Public Safety Projects: Alderman Schaefer inquired about the proposed police speed trailer replacement for $20,000 and noted the new speed signs seem to be effective. A discussion ensued on the effectiveness and placement of the speed signs . Chief Birk noted the signs are rotated every 30-60 days. Alderman Glab suggested permanent locations be determined for the signs. Regarding requested replacement police vehicles, Alderman Curry asked if staff had performed a survey for mileage, maintenance costs, etc. Chief Birk answered yes; when the vehicles cost more to maintain than they are worth, staff looks to replace them. Older squads are decommissioned and used by other department staff, or sold at auction and added equipment costs were included in the replacement estimate. Alderman Santi asked if there were restrictions on how seizure dollars could be used and Chief Birk stated the funds could not be used to replace or supplement funds normally provided by the city; only in addition to what the city provides and by law must directly benefit the police department. In the CIP, police are requesting the purchase of four new vehicles from which one would be purchased with seizure fund dollars. Motor Pool: Regarding the request for a new public works dump truck, Alderman Santi stated the mileage on the truck seemed low. Director Schmitt stated the condition of dump trucks is based more on snow plowing hours rather than miles. The truck is rusty, leaking oil, the transmission is slipping and the dump box has holes in it. Alderwoman Condon asked for the priority ranking for the six vehicles requested and Committee of the Whole Page 4 January 29, 2018 Streets Superintendent Schweda answered four of the replacements are ranked urgent. Alderman Santi asked if the parks vehicle request included a plow and Director Hobson answered yes, it would be used to clear snow from parking lots and cul-de-sacs. Parks Projects: Referring to the removal of Line 46, Veterans Memorial Park Shelter Expansion, Alderman Schaefer asked if bathroom renovations at the park where also removed. City Administrator Morefield answered the bathroom project would be funded by the Developer Donation Fund. Alderman Glab said he would not like to see other services diminished by park projects. Alderman Curry noted he would not support expansion of the shelter at Veterans Park but would support renovating the restrooms adding this should be a priority. Alderman Glab inquired about the allocation of Park Developer Donations for the recreation center and park projects stating he did not recall agreeing to stop the transfer of 50% of developer donations in parks revenue to the recreation center fund. Director Lynch stated the transfers were stopped in 2011 however; this could change at Council’s discretion. Alderman Devine asked if the Knox Park pool heater would la st another season and Director Hobson answered the heater and pool liner will last one more year. Streets/Sidewalks/Signals: Alderman Glab asked if the tree replacement program was part of the grant funding received for trees. City Administrator answered no, the grant money was expended. Alderman Glab stated he would prefer $50,000 for the sidewalk program instead of continuing with the tree replacement program. Alderwoman Condon agreed with the importance of funding the sidewalk replacement program and said the project should be funded at a minimum of $50,000. Alderman Santi said he was opposed to any reduction for sidewalk replacement. Alderman Schaefer said he agreed with Alderwoman Condon about funding sidewalk replacement and asked about the cost-share tree program. Director Schmitt stated the city did not have a cost-share for trees; the city plants trees in parkways at no cost to residents. Committee of the Whole Page 5 January 29, 2018 Alderman Curry said currently, the CIP is proposing $500,000 for Streets however with the exception of Timothy and Clover, the city still does not have local street money assigned. Alderwoman Condon stated her support for including the road program as a separate line item in the CIP and encouraged a flat amount be allocated annually. Alderman Schaefer asked that major projects such as Timothy and Clover also be presented in the CIP as separate line items. Alderman Glab remarked other than earmarking $500,000 for the road program this year, he would rather it be carried over to the next year because there would be a cost savings if more streets were included in the bid. Alderwoman Condon stated she would like staff’s opinion about the possibility of a cost savings if the road program were postponed to next year. Director Schmitt recommended seeking bids this year to test the market. Alderman Curry asked if the Green Street Bridge Rehab project was needed this year. Director Schmitt answered the sidewalk is a hazard and is part of the bridge. Stormwater/Drainage: Alderman Santi asked if staff had received any news about the Lakeland Park drainage grant request. Director Schmitt said the city would know this spring if the application was approved. City Administrator Morefield noted staff is planning for its approval and if denied, the city’s share in the cost of the project will increase from $1.5M to $2.3M, adding in either case, staff will go before the Council for approval prior to moving forward with the project. Mayor Jett thanked Staff and the Council for their input and called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Alderman Schaefer requested that the police parking analysis be presented to the Council at a future meeting. Alderman Glab suggested the analysis be conducted again during the summer months. Alderman Curry thanked staff for putting the CIP together and stated this year’s process was well developed and organized. City Administrator Morefield announced the next time the CIP is presented to the Council, all other funds will be included and any changes made to the General Fund projects will be noted. Committee of the Whole Page 6 January 29, 2018 ADJOURNMENT Motion by Alderwoman Condon, second by Alderman Curry to adjourn the meeting. Voting Aye: Condon, Curry, Santi, Devine, Glab, Mihevc, Schaefer. Voting Nay: None Absent: None. Motion Carried. The meeting adjourned at 9:40 PM. ____________________________________ ____________________________________ Mayor Deputy City Clerk