Harrisburg City Council met January 18.
Here is the minutes as provided by the council:
The Harrisburg City Council met on January 18, 2018 at 6:00 pm in the Council Room, City Hall, Harrisburg, Illinois.
Mayor John McPeek presided over the meeting with Commissioners Natalie Miller, Beth Montfort, Richard Harper and Mike Weirauch answering roll call.
Pastor Jerry Wells of the Dorrisville Social Brethren Church led the group in prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Commissioner Harper made a motion to approve the following items under the Consent Agenda:
1. Minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 4, 2018.
2. Bill from Brown & Roberts for a revised TIF map for modifications in the amount of $1,649.00 to be taken out of TIF.
3. Bill from Southern IL Local Media Group for TIF Ordinance #1749 in the amount of $23.44 to be taken out of TIF.
4. Bill from Southern IL Local Media Group for TIF Ordinance #1750 in the amount of $23.44 to be taken out of TIF.
5. Bill from Southern IL Local Media Group for TIF Ordinance #1751 in the amount of $22.06 to be taken out of TIF.
Commissioner Weirauch seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Attorney Todd Bittle stated the Chase Environmental agenda item was regarding a former Coastal gas station on Church Street with contamination. He was asking Council for authorization to work with Jim Brown to review the map and work on how to proceed. The company wants to shift responsibility to the City for any future issues regarding cleanup. Mayor McPeek stated the EPA does want this resolved. Commissioner Harper moved to authorize Attorney Bittle to work with Jim Brown for a response to Chase Environmental. Commissioner Weirauch seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Jim Brown of Brown & Roberts addressed Council regarding the watermain rehabilitation project. He distributed a map indicating the area of the proposed project. He explained the area had cast iron lines that were old, in need of maintenance and difficult to maintain. He stated this would be similar to the project that was just finished in the Dorrisville area. He indicated there were still many other areas with cast iron lines that need to be replaced. He stated the preliminary planning done in 2014 had indicated the need for replacement. He stated the loan rate was now 1.3% which was better than the last loan. He stated that in some instances they give a loan forgiveness which this $2,000,000.00 project may be eligible for. Commissioner Harper stated the lower loan rate was good but the payback had also been extended to a 30 year time frame. He stated there were some current debts that were going to be paid off and that money could be put toward this project. Brown stated there was a long check list of items that had to be turned in to the EPA as in previous projects. Commissioner Montfort asked about the chances of getting this. Brown stated that the preliminary planning that had been done put the City ahead of the game. Commissioner Harper moved to pass Resolution 18-0118A a Resolution to Execute Agreement with Brown & Roberts Inc. for the 2014 Watermain Rehabilitation -
Phase 1. Commissioner Miller seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Harper moved to apply for an IEPA loan for the 2014 Watermain Rehabilitation- Phase I in the amount of $2,000,000.00. Commissioner Miller seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Montfort asked when the City would know if this was approved. Brown stated he did not have an answer for her.
Commissioner Harper stated the next step was the authorization to sign the loan documents. He wanted to add the word “supporting” before the word “documents” on the last part of the Resolution form. With that modification, he moved to authorize the Mayor and Clerk Wofford to sign and pass Resolution 18-0118B a Resolution Authorizing a Representative to Sign Loan Documents. Commissioner Miller seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Harper stated the next item on the Agenda had been discussed at the last meeting but because it was not on the Agenda, no action could be taken. Brown stated he had discussed with the consultant the project and he was asking for formal action to authorize him to proceed. Commissioner Harper moved for the City to accept plugging the toe drains. Commissioner Weirauch seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Mayor McPeek stated this project had taken four years to happen. He wanted to discuss with Superintendent Hefner, Commissioner Harper and Brown a ten year plan to replace all the cast iron water lines in the City. He was anticipating the money that President Trump wanted to make available for infrastructure. He stated that, if the City were shovel ready on projects, it might be in a better position to get some of that money. Brown stated there is a great need. The current project area was causing the most problems right now. Mayor McPeek stated the uptown area was a definite target.
Commissioner Miller moved to allow the First Baptist Church to have a banner hung from February 9 to February 12 promoting their 150th Anniversary. Commissioner Montfort seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Montfort stated the Fireman leaving for military service would be gone until May and could be called for oversea duty. She reminded Council there was still a truck that was not in service because of needed repairs and unavailable parts.
Commissioner Montfort stated the new Police Officer was waiting for test results but would probably begin work on February 1. She stated there were still two Officers on Comp with one back in six weeks and the other not sure of his return date.
Commissioner Montfort gave the Gaming numbers for December for the City and the State.
Commissioner Weirauch thanked all the Street and Alley and Public Property workers and Superintendent Rick Brown for all their hard work during the recent weather events. He was impressed with how well they had the streets cleaned as well as the roads at the cemetery.
Commissioner Weirauch stated the Golden Circle would be leasing a room at City Hall. He moved to enter into a Lease Agreement with the Colden Circle Senior Citizens Council Inc. beginning March 1, 2018. Commissioner Harper seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Weirauch stated the Legacy Mark information in the packet was for a software and mapping program for the cemetery. It is the same system used by Marion and would identify up to 53,000 grave locations, put information in a program more updated than the current one and be able to be viewed on the City’s website. Since the estimate is over $25,000.00, Commissioner Weirauch stated he knew it would have to be bid and wanted Council to look over the contract before advertising. He stated the current computer and old DOS system are in definite need of replacement. He was suggesting to go ahead and buy the software and a new computer. That cost would be $1,765.00 plus the cost of a new computer. Commissioner Harper was concerned about the costs and wanted more information before deciding. He wanted a more definite cost of a computer. Mayor McPeek stated that both a new computer and the program would be a great benefit to the City and by being on the website would drive more traffic there. He had seen the system demonstrated in Marion and was very impressed with it. Commissioner Weirauch again wanted to purchase a new computer which wouldn’t be more than $1,000.00. Commissioner Harper stated the City may spend more this year than it takes in and he wanted to look at numbers. Superintendent Rick Brown will get computer estimates.
Mayor McPeek wanted to add his thanks to the all the employees for all their hard work the last week during the weather events. He stated the roads in Harrisburg were better than anywhere else.
Commissioner Harper moved to adjourn to Executive Session to discuss Collective Bargaining and to review and approve Executive Session Minutes. Commissioner Weirauch seconded. By roll call vote, Commissioners Montfort, Harper and Weirauch and Mayor McPeek voted yes. Commissioner Miller voted no. Motion carried.
Adjourned: 6:26 pm.
Reconvened: 6:41 pm.
Mayor John McPeek presided over the reconvened meeting with Commissioners Natalie Miller, Beth Montfort, Richard Harper and Mike Weirauch answering roll call.
Mayor McPeek stated there was no action on Collective Bargaining.
Mayor McPeek moved the Executive Session Minutes from September 7, 2017 through November 16, 2017 be approved and the following minutes be opened:
September 7, 2017.
Commissioner Weirauch seconded. By roll call vote, Commissioners Montfort, Harper and Weirauch and Mayor McPeek voted yes. Commissioner Miller voted no. Motion carried.
Commissioner Weirauch moved to adjourn. Commissioner Miller seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Adjourned 6:42 pm.
http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/3acc7b_ea6e0dfa84c94027b8cea178fecd9c87.pdf
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