The Harrisburg City Council met Oct. 20 to discuss the demolition of buildings.
Here are the meeting's minutes, as provided by the council:
Harrisburg City Council Meeting
Council Room, City Hall
Harrisburg, Illinois
Regular Meeting
October 20, 2016
6:00 PM
The Harrisburg City Council met on October 20, 2016 at 6:00 pm in the Council Room, City Hall, Harrisburg,
Illinois.
Mayor Dale Fowler presided over the meeting with Commissioners John McPeek, Natalie Miller, Beth
Montfort and Richard Harper answering roll call.
Pastor Biff Moore from the First Christian Church led the group in prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Commissioner McPeek made a motion to approve the following items under the Consent Agenda:
1. Minutes of the Regular Meeting of October 6, 2016.
2. Circuit Clerk’s Court Fee Disbursements in the amount of $3,790.64.
3. Bill from Brown & Roberts for Harrisburg Lake dam inspection in the amount of $400.00.
4. Bill from Moran Economic Development for TIF administration in the amount of $1,330.00 to be
taken out of TIF Escrow.
5. Harrisburg Lake:
Lease Renewal:
Enos Paris - First Addition, Block 1, Lot 12
Commissioner Harper seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Attorney Todd Bittle stated Council had previously accepted bids on property at 711 W. Elm and Cummins
Subdivision Lot 5. He was presenting the ordinance to complete the transaction. Commissioner McPeek
moved to pass Ordinance 1720 an Ordinance Authorizing the Sale of Certain Surplus Real Estate Owned by
The City of Harrisburg. Commissioner Harper seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner McPeek moved to authorize Mayor Fowler to sign the deeds for the above mentioned
properties. Commissioner Harper seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Mike Roberts of Brown & Roberts stated the packets contained an engineering agreement and resolution for
the Ron Crank Drive extension. He stated IDOT had been consulted and they had confirmed that it would be
eligible for MFT funds. Commissioner Harper asked if the City owned the property for the proposed road.
Commissioner McPeek stated the City did not own it and he thought the property should be deeded to the
City. Commissioner Harper stated, since MFT funds were restricted, the City really needs to own the property.
Roberts stated that had been discussed with IDOT which can fund design studies even without the City owing
the property. He stated he would not know exactly what was needed until the design was done and different
options were considered. Commissioner Montfort stated she was concerned about building a road on private
property. Mayor Fowler stated the owners had stated they were going to give an easement. Commissioner
Montfort thought any agreement should be in writing before Council proceeds. Mayor Fowler agreed and
Commissioner McPeek stated again it should be deeded to the City. Commissioner Montfort asked if it was in
the flood plain. Roberts stated it was, but until a study was done, it could not be determined what would need
to be done because it may or may not be required to build it up. Commissioner Harper asked if the design was
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for water and sewer also. Roberts stated that it was just for the road. Mayor Fowler stated the necessary
paperwork should be done and then Council could proceed with the project.
Roberts wanted Council to be aware of new IDOT Engineering Agreement guidelines for federal funds. In
part, it involves soliciting for qualifications of selection for projects which can be complicated and time
consuming. The process would have to be done for each project which could hinder the progress of some
projects. There is an option whereby the City could enter into a five year agreement with one firm, if a list of
prospective projects and list of solutions were compiled. Then the solicitation process would only have to be
done once and those projects could move forward more quickly.
Commissioner McPeek stated the Azavar contract in Council packets was not something that he thought
would be of benefit to the City at this time but he asked Attorney Bittle to review the contract.
Commissioner McPeek stated the employees have done an excellent job of curtailing health care expenses and
have done everything asked of them. He was suggesting to add a dental and vision coverage for the
employees. The funding would cost about $40.00 per employee per month for a total of $26,400.00 per year.
Commissioner Montfort asked if that amount was in the budget and Commissioner McPeek stated not as of
yet. Commissioner Harper wanted to know if this would then be considered part of the insurance plan,
wondered if the City would be assessed a fee and was concerned how this might be affected by Obamacare.
Commissioner McPeek suggested trying it for a year. Commissioner Montfort was concerned that the
elections outcome might result in changes the City may have to make. Commissioner McPeek stated this
benefit would be for the employee only, not any dependents. Commissioner McPeek asked Treasurer Linda
George to review for Council the plans’ coverage. She explained that it was a very basic coverage and that, if
every employee used every aspect of the plans, which was unlikely, the cost would be approximately
$16,500.00 from General Fund and approximately $5,000.00 each from water and sewer, but that amount
would not necessarily be the same every year. She explained that the coverage would be through the City’s
current insurer, IPMG. The health insurance account had built up to where this would be a possibility.
Commissioner Harper asked about the time frame. Treasurer George stated it would start January 1 and be a
calendar year. Commissioner McPeek moved to add additional dental and vision insurance for the employees.
Commissioner Miller seconded. By roll call vote, Commissioners McPeek, Miller and Montfort and Mayor
Fowler voted yes. Commissioner Harper abstained. Motion carried.
Commissioner McPeek stated the 2016 audit was finished and would be presented at another meeting.
Commissioner Montfort stated the Police would be participating in an active shooter drill next week.
Commissioner Montfort reminded the public about Trick or Treat on October 31 and the Scare on the Square
on October 27.
Commissioner Montfort stated a Video Gaming Report showed that over $6 million had been put in the
gaming machines in Harrisburg since the first of the year, which produced almost $87,000.00 for the City.
Commissioner Montfort asked Fire Chief John Gunning to address Council regarding the City’s ISO ratings.
Chief Gunning wanted to also inform Council that he had performed 207 rental inspections year to date. He
stated that he had seven dangerous buildings that were still going through the process but there were five
buildings that he would like Council to approve legal action for demolition. One has a lien and 1 East Poplar is
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possibly sold, so he is working with that prospective buyer. He would like to proceed with legal action on 218
South Granger, 919 South Granger, 211 West O’Gara garage only and 616 West Sloan. Mayor Fowler moved
to authorize Attorney Bittle to proceed with necessary paperwork. Commissioner McPeek seconded. By roll
call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Chief Gunning informed Council that there are three dangerous buildings that the City has liens on which are
owned by Saline County. He is going to work with the County on those. There are some additional County
properties in need of demolition and he will work on those also with the County to get them torn down.
Chief Gunning stated the Fire Department and the Water Department make up most of the ISO rating for the
City. The Dispatch area had some incorrect information which he had corrected. The Fire Department is at
67.5 and the Water Department is at 74.0. With the new Dorrisville watermain project and other infrastructure
improvements, the difference will get greater, but, through Community Risk Reduction meetings, he has taken
a very proactive stance to improve the Fire Department number. He stated the staffing and training are major
issues for the Fire Department. He is working on the training portion, but the staffing would continue to be an
issue. The current rating makes the City one of only 750 fire departments in the United States. The rating
currently benefits businesses which can get an insurance rate reduction by getting a copy of the ISO rating and
taking it to their agent. When a Class 2 rating is acquired, both businesses and residents will benefit.
Commissioner Harper asked Ben Davis to give Council his proposal for tree service for the City. Davis stated
he was offering free tree cutting for the City in exchange for use of the leaf and limb site to dispose of trees
cut on the property of his customers who live in Harrisburg. Commissioner McPeek wanted to know how he
would dispose of the trees the City would have him cut. Davis said he would just cut the tree and City would
take it to the site. Commissioner McPeek verified with Superintendent Rick Brown that, when the pile gets big
enough, leaves and other yard waste is added and then burned. Mayor Fowler thought that Superintendent
Kelly Hefner would also have a roll in the process and Commissioner Harper agreed. He suggested that
Superintendent Hefner address Council at the next meeting to provide his opinion. Commissioner McPeek
read from the information Superintendent Hefner had provided Council regarding possible costs. Both Mayor
Fowler and Commissioner Harper liked the idea and thought it might be worth trying for one year. Davis
stated he does not have that much work in Harrisburg but when he does, he has to charge extra to haul the
debris to Galatia which does not charge him to dispose of it there. Mayor Fowler stated the proposal would be
tabled to allow Superintendent Hefner to state his opinion.
Mayor Fowler moved to appoint Steve Questelle to the Merit Board. Commissioner McPeek seconded. By roll
call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Mayor Fowler moved to appoint Dan Wilson to the Merit Board. Commissioner Montfort stated, since he has
been on it before, she would like to see different people on the Merit Board. She had a list of several who
would be interested. Commissioner Harper agreed with Commissioner Montfort. Mayor Fowler stated
Chairman Dee Pelhank had recommended Wison and Commissioner McPeek stated he had also spoken with
Pelhank. Commissioner Miller seconded. By roll call vote, Commissioners McPeek and Miller and Mayor
Fowler voted yes. Commissioners Montfort and Harper voted no. Motion carried.
Citizen David Nave addressed Council regarding the FEMA flood map of October 22, 2014. He had done
research into how the overlay had been determined. He believed the FEMA overlay was incorrect. When he
asked FEMA why, if they thought it may be incorrect, they did not look into it. Their response had been for
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him to fill out a LOMA or a LOMAR. He had been working with Congressman Shimkas who had suggested
writing a letter from the City. FEMA would then be obligated to look into the matter. Commissioner Montfort
asked about the expense and Nave said it would be FEMA’s since they made the error. Nave felt there were
some who should be in the flood plain but not be aware of it. He believed FEMA should be asked to
completely withdraw the overlay. He asked to be kept in the loop with any progress. Council agreed it should
be investigated.
Citizens Angela Stout, Becky Patton, Stan Rowland, Roxanne Keesler and Francis Puckett all expressed their
concerns about the possible closing of some streets that might be involved in the expansion of HMC. The
residents, who may be affected by the possible closings, asked Council to consider their needs before
approving any closings. Mike Roberts from Brown & Roberts shared some projected plans that his office was
aware of and noted that there were to be a lot of street improvements. Commissioner McPeek stated the City
has so far only closed an alley between National and Woolcott. Keesler shared a proposal and map from
HMC. Mayor Fowler stated he would make sure to set up a public forum with HMC to assure the residents
were aware of the actual plans rather than rely on rumors.
Citizen Ben Teston of Pinoy Construction stated he was requesting an easement on some property that he had
previously deeded to the City. It was a portion south of the Cummins Subdivision Lot 5 that he just bought.
His plans were to build a Pacific Trading Post, what he termed an Asian Cracker Barrel, which would have
quality foods, coffees and retail. The business would employ 15 to 30 people. Mayor Fowler stated
Commissioner Miller should work with Teston on the easement language.
Teston also wants to extend Cummins Drive to the east side of Lot 5. He offered to supply the equipment and
manpower, similar to what he had done with Jefferson County, to build the road. He asked the City to supply
the materials.
Today, Teston had cleaned the ditch next to Lot 5 and suggested it be sided with rip rap to alleviate more
erosion. Mayor Fowler thanked him for his previous work with and for the City and commended him for his
proactive stance for the betterment of the City.
Mayor Fowler moved to adjourn to Executive Session for Collective Bargaining. Commissioner McPeek
seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Adjourned: 7:09 pm
Reconvened: 7:34 pm
Mayor Pro-Tem John McPeek presided over the reconvened meeting with Commissioners Natalie Miller and
Richard Harper answering roll call. Mayor Dale Fowler and Commissioner Beth Montfort were absent.
Mayor Pro-Tem McPeek stated there was no action taken on Collective Bargaining.
Mayor Pro-Tem McPeek moved to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Harper seconded. By roll call vote, all
voted yes. Motion carried.
Adjourned: 7:35 pm
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