Harrisburg City Council met April 5.
Here is the minutes provided by the Council:
The Harrisburg City Council met on April 5, 2018 at 6:00 pm in the Council Room of City Hall Harrisburg, Illinois.
Mayor John McPeek presided over the meeting with Commissioners Beth Montfort, Natalie Miller, Richard Harper and Mike Weirauch answering roll call.
Pastor Laurie Fields from the First Presbyterian Church led the group in prayer and the pledge.
Commissioner Harper stated the TIF Façade Improvement payments on the Consent Agenda were for businesses which had participated in this program to upgrade the look of their business and make them more attractive. He encouraged other businesses in the Downtown TIF to look into the program.
Commissioner Harper made a motion to approve the following items under the Consent Agenda:
1. Regular Meeting Minutes of March 15, 2018.
2. Bill from Patrick Engineering for the levee seepage analysis in the amount of $950.00.
3. Bill from Axon Enterprise for Gott and Leverett clothing in the amount of $3,174.00 to be taken out of Council Contingency
4. Bill from Ray O’Herron Co. for Leverett clothing in the amount of $30.35 to be taken out of Council Contingency.
5. Bill from Siegels Uniforms for Leverett clothing in the amount of $27.95 to be taken out of Council Contingency.
6. Bill from Brown & Roberts for St. Mary’s Drive C & I in the amount of $1,013.97 to be taken out of MFT.
7. TIF Façade Improvement Agreement payment to Kyle Wahl in the amount of $2,500.00 to be taken out of TIF.
8. TIF Façade Improvement Agreement payment to Scott Stout in the amount of $2,500.00 to be taken out of TIF.
9. TIF Façade Improvement Agreement payment to Amanda Moore in the amount of $2,500.00 to be taken out of TIF.
10. Harrisburg Lake:
Lease Renewal:
Sonja M. Davis - First Addition, Block 2, Lot 7
William and Melissa Porter - Second Addition, Block 2, Lot 17
Shawn Hadler - First Addition, Block 1, Lot 10
Arthur Baldwin - First Addition, Block 2, Lot 8
Roy Hofer - First Addition, Block 2, Lot 4
Commissioner Miller seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Mayor McPeek stated the taxicab amendment was still being reviewed.
Jim Brown of Brown & Roberts stated that Ameren had several programs, one of which was replacing street lights with more energy efficient bulbs. He stated there is an issue of the City, rather than Ameren, owning certain lights. He stated that as the bulbs burn out on the Ameren owned lights, they are replaced with more efficient bulbs. He stated that before he could evaluate the usefulness of the program, he would have to know how many lights the City owns and their wattage. Commissioner Miller stated the City owns 37 lights and Torch Wilson was gathering the information. She stated the lights would cost $12,000.00 to replace. Replacements could save $250.00 a month for each light so the program would pay for itself in 39 months. Mayor McPeek asked if there was an application on line and Brown told him there was not. He stated there were certain authorized distributors where the fixtures could be purchased and the cost is reduced by a substantial amount. He stated that replacing the lights inside City Hall and the Fire Station was a different program.
Brown stated there was also a program to replace motors, like those used at the sewage plant and for the lagoons pumping station, with variable frequency drives (VFD’s). He stated the VFD motors ramp up slower which saves the motor life as well as energy. He stated that program required an application indicating the hours of the current motors use and, when approved, an amount would be set aside equivalent to $150.00 per horsepower or $11,500.00. The City would be responsible for getting a contractor to do the work and then Ameren would pay $150.00 per horsepower or a maximum of 75% of the project. Commissioner Harper moved to pass Resolution 18-0405 a Resolution to Execute Agreement with Brown & Roberts Inc. for VFD’s at the existing sewage treatment plant. Commissioner Miller seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Brown stated he would have information at the next meeting regarding an extension from IEMA for the potential Hart impoundment area.
Brown stated the City had received a letter from IDNR for an inspection of the Sahara Retention Impoundment Dam. Commissioner Harper moved to authorize Brown & Roberts to perform the required inspection. Commissioner Miller seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Mayor McPeek stated he was aware of the numerous complaints about the Animal Control Officer. He was asking Council that they get better control of him. He wants him to treat animals humanely and citizens humanely. Mayor McPeek stated he is not a Police Officer so the bullet proof vest and the Police hat are a little too much. The Police on the day and night shifts will check on him from now on. Mayor McPeek wanted to put him on a 30 day notice and, if there is no improvement, his contract will be terminated. He continued that on August 3, 2017 he was given a ticket book and, since that time, he has only written seven tickets. Mayor McPeek created a letter that should be handed out with tickets that gives the ticket receiver seven to thirty days to pay the fine. Mayor McPeek continued that, when a ticket is issued, it should be delivered to the City Clerk’s office the next day by 8:00 am. Mayor McPeek noted that his contract required him to pick up animal carcasses and dispose of them. Mayor McPeek stated there had been some instances in the last week where he had not done so. Mayor McPeek stated he just wanted him to do him job.
Mayor McPeek stated he knew there were people in attendance who wanted to address Council about the Animal Control Officer, in particular Casey Fritts, so he asked her to come forward. Fritts stated she had made a post on Facebook that wasn’t entirely correct and she wanted to apologize for that. She stated she was just trying to do what was best for the dog at the time. She stated that Commissioner Montfort is his (Animal Control’s) boss and hers is an elected position. She asked that Miranda Boone speak for her.
Miranda Boone addressed Council with several issues. In February, she waited an hour for the Animal Control Officer to respond to her call regarding a dog being mistreated but he did not respond. In January, she picked up a dog running at large. She called the owner who indicted she would not be back in Harrisburg for three to four hours. She called for the Animal Control Officer to pick up the dog. He did not respond. Recently, she was made aware of a sick senior dog in a flooded field and, when she investigated, she saw the Animal Control Officer spraying weeds nearby but he did not help the dog. Later that day is when he received a call about a running boxer which he couldn’t catch because it was running at him and his response was to use the tranquilizer gun. She questioned why a trap was not used instead. She had talked with other towns and learned that there should be training for the use of a tranquilizer gun. She had learned that part of the training included not shooting animals in the chest, which is where the boxer had been shot. She had been informed that the dart should be only a prick and any blood should only be minimal, which was not the case in this instance. She continued that the actual dart, which contains a controlled substance, was found in a neighbor’s yard where children lived. She stated the dog had run for 20 minutes after being shot. She stated she was aware of multiple issues over a ten year time but nothing was being done. She stated that she and 500 signers of a petition thought he was no longer fit for the job and someone else should be allowed to take over the title or provide answers to the issues.
James Wilton, owner of the boxer that was darted, stated that, if the dog was acting in the way the Police, the mail carrier and Sullivan were saying he was, then they did the right thing. He continued that the dog had never acted like that around anyone. He acknowledged that mailmen were “enemies” of any dog. He stated the dog had jumped the fence and that was why she was out. He stated it sounded like the tranquilizer dart was employed incorrectly because the dog lost a lot of blood. He stated the mail carrier was not there when the dog was shot.
Commissioner Montfort stated she was going to look into the incident and the training requirements but Officer Hustedde had information about it to share with Council.
Josh Goematt, the mail carrier, stated the dog jumped a six foot fence and came at him multiple times. He stated that Sullivan did what he was supposed to do. He stated that some dogs act totally different toward mail carriers than they do toward other people. He stated most cases were because the dog was loose.
An audience member wanted clarification as to how the dog was acting toward him and Goematt stated the dog’s actions were not playful toward him.
Carla Foster stated her dog, a male shepherd, had been caught in the crosshairs because he took after the female dog during the 20 minutes the boxer was running. She followed her dog to the NAPA building and, when she pulled up, Sullivan was already there and ready to shoot her dog. She wanted to know who was paying for the darts. Mayor McPeek stated that Sullivan was a contract employee and was paid by the City, as well as the County and the Park District for security which was a Township Park and the City did not have anything to do with their business. Foster stated she was concerned about where the taxpayer’s money was going. She explained her full bred dog had been purchased to be trained as a cadaver dog but was also a pet. She stated answers were needed about where the money is coming from for the darts and why he is was shooting so freely. She referred to an incident where the person who had called Animal Control had to kennel the dog herself while Sullivan took the puppies.
Mayor McPeek and Commissioner Montfort sated that were going to look into the incident and Officer Hustedde’s report.
An unidentified man from the audience shouted that “the man had impersonated a police officer for years and that’s a class 4 felony”. He stated that anyone else would be locked up for that and something needs to be done. He continued with a tirade for several minutes
Foster stated Commissioner Montfort was a person with power and she should have some answers.
The unidentified man continued to shout and, after several minutes of several people talking at the same time, Officer Hustedde was asked to address Council.
Officer Hustedde stated that impersonating a Police Officer was more than a wearing a bullet proof vest and a hat. It involved actions that were actual Police duties.
Officer Hustedde referred to his previous experience as animal control in Carrier Mills by saying sometimes you could not get a good hit. He stated these were not lethal weapons but sometimes dogs have been killed, which, by law, they can do. He stated that discharging a tranquilizer gun was different that discharging a real fire arm and Sullivan did what he was allowed to do. Officer Hustedde stated he had not received any training in Carrier Mills. He stated he could not speak to all the other instances the speakers had cited, only this incident. Goematt interjected that Sullivan had knocked on the owner’s door before he shot the dog. Officer Hustedde stated he had done an investigation into the incident which revealed that Sullivan did everything he should have done, but stated that did not mean that he got a good shoot.
Officer Hustedde stated he agreed that Sullivan needs more oversight and training. He also believed there needs to be a system where citizens can call to complain if they are not happy with the way things were handled, rather than waiting for things to build up.
Officer Hustedde stated that, after reading the statements about the incident, he believed the dog was attacking and was aggressive. He quoted the Officer as saying that he was glad it wasn’t just him there because he would have shot the dog. Officer Hustedde stated that Sullivan has the tools he needs, a pole, pepper spray and the dart gun, all of which are non-lethal weapons. When questioned by the unidentified audience member as to why he didn’t use the pole first, Officer Hustedde replied that a pole was not always going to do the job when dealing with a vicious animal. Challenged again by the audience member, Officer Hustedde stated he could only go by the reports that he had reviewed which led him to believe Sullivan did everything he was trained to do.
Officer Hustedde stated he would be meeting with Chief Morris and Commissioner Montfort for a full report and they would be communicating with Sullivan also. The unidentified audience member continued to challenge the plan of 30 days warning. Mayor McPeek stated he wanted to let them try to correct the unacceptable actions.
Officer Hustedde stated that Sullivan did other things for the Police Department and thought Sullivan was an asset to the City.
Commissioner Miller stated that, because of the inclement weather, Spring Clean Up was being extended until April 14 with the same restrictions and hours.
Commissioner Montfort stated the City pays $180,000.00 a year for Central Dispatch. She and Commissioner Weirauch had met with the County and believed that she needed more information before signing a new agreement. She stated that there were representatives from the County present to share information in order to come up with a price that was fair to the City and the County.
Mike McKinnes, Budget Chair of the Saline County Board, distributed additional statistical information (attached) regarding the distribution of expenses based on the number of calls in 2017. He introduced Steven Karns, Brandon Henshaw, Jonathon Russell, Chief Deputy Ken Clore and 911 Director Tracy Felty. He read the budget for 2017 and 2018. He read the breakdown by numbers and percentages for each entity of the 57,420 dispatch calls for 2017.
Harrisburg - 18,672 - 33%
County - 16,702 - 29%
Carrier Mills - 3,139 -.054%
Galatia - 792 -.013%
Raleigh - 237 -.004%
911 - 10,328 - 18%
Misc. - 10,942 - 19%
Mayor McPeek asked for clarification about the note at the bottom that indicated 27 water calls and 648 animal control calls which were included in Harrisburg’s numbers. He wanted to know if the 648 animal control numbers were all for Harrisburg. Commissioner Harper asked if there were any County calls for animal control. McKinnes stated there were and those calls were included in the County number.
McKinnes stated that when he had met with Commissioners Montfort and Weirauch, they had talked about the other cities paying their fair share. McKinnes stated the second page used a total budget figure of $777,366.00 and applied the above percentages of calls to that figure to determine what each entity should be paying. The miscellaneous calls were added to each entity using the same percentage. (Harrisburg’s 33% (18,672 calls) would equal $252,799.42. 33% of the miscellaneous calls would be 3,558 calls. Adding 33% of the 19% budget figure for miscellaneous, or $48,031.89, would mean Harrisburg should be paying $300,831.31). He reviewed each of the figures for each entity. He noted that 911 pays an additional $30,000.00 which is not reflected in the budget. McKinnes asked Clore to explain the additional $30,000.00.
Clore stated he wanted to point out that the $777,366.00 budget figure only represented personnel costs, not equipment costs or office supply cost or the cost of having the facility in their building. He gave an example that recently, out of the Sheriff’s budget, they paid $3,500.00 for a new copier. He stated that 911’s budget was $150,000.00 and they put $120,000.00 in for salaries and used $30,000.00 to pay for maintenance contracts and other equipment costs. He stated that 911 paid $145,000.00 a few years ago for three consoles and that amount was not in the budget. He stated that all the offices supplies cost comes out of the Sheriff’s budget. He stated that there was a lot of money that goes into running the dispatch center that is not reflected in the $777,185.00 figure.
Commissioner Montfort asked the number of dispatchers. Clore stated there were nine full time and two part time.
Commissioner Harper asked if they intended to get any money from Carrier Mills or Galatia. McKinnes stated they would probably say that if Harrisburg pays its share, they will pay theirs. He stated he wanted to bring the paperwork because that’s what the City wanted. Commissioner Harper asked if they were looking at it the right way, a breakdown by calls. McKinnes stated that was what the City had asked for. He stated he did not know what was fair but the numbers he had presented was all he knew to do. Commissioner Harper asked if all calls were the same. Felty stated that the number of calls was actually logged calls, whether it’s an accident or an investigation. He stated that there are lots of calls that come in such as wanting to speak to the Chief or wanting an accident report, that don’t get logged. He gave the example of the recent tornado which had one call sheet but they may have taken 25 calls on it. He explained that three people may have heard glass breaking from a car break in and all three called. Only one call sheet would be created. He stated that before cell phones an accident on Main and Poplar may have created a couple of calls but now, everybody who drives by calls and the calls continue until someone shows up with a flashing light. He explained that miscellaneous calls could be as simple as an Officer wanting to log that he picked up a statement from someone or picked up a bicycle. He stated he was open to any idea as to how to break it down differently.
Ryan Dennison asked if 911 funding was something that was state or federal funded or was it solely the responsibility of the County and City. Felty stated there is a surcharge on every phone that goes to the State which pays network charges and then disperses remaining funds to the 911 systems based on population. Clore wanted to make sure that everyone understood there was a difference between 911 and Police Dispatch. No one asked for an explanation.
Commissioner Harper stated one way of looking at it was that, as a citizen in the City of Harrisburg, which is half of the County, then they are paying half of the 911 funding and half of the County revenues. He stated that the City is paying two thirds of the bills either directly or indirectly. McKinnes stated he disagreed with that analysis. Elizabeth Woodworth, from the audience, stated it was a fact of life that everybody pays double to what they think they are paying.
Mayor McPeek stated Council would review all the figures.
Commissioner Montfort stated she now understood the Saline County Detention Center lease had a 30 day out clause. McKinnes agreed the contract was for 20 years but did have the 30 day out clause. Commissioner Montfort moved to accept the Saline County lease agreement for Harrisburg’s Police Department. Commissioner Harper seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Montfort stated this year’s budget had $55,000.00 for Police cars which didn’t happen and wanted to know if there was any chance of getting it for next year. Commissioner Harper that he would look at the City’s needs when that time came.
Commissioner Harper stated the budget was ready to be set out for review the next two weeks in the City Clerk’s office. He stated a Public Hearing would be held on April 19 at 5:45. He stated the Public Hearing notice was being published in the newspaper April 6.
Commissioner Montfort stated she had noticed that the purchase for equipment was no longer in the budgets but was now in one fund and insurance was in one fund now. She wanted to know how that happened. Commissioner Harper stated it was an accounting principle because all of the purchases need to be out of one line item so they can be depreciated correctly and accurate records are kept for selling them or removing. He stated they belong to the City; they don’t belong to the individual departments.
Commissioner Harper stated there was some Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Laws that could be violated by listing insurance the way it had been listed. Commissioner Weirauch stated he did not believe there would be any violation of the HIPAA. Commissioner Harper stated it was better in a single fund rather than spread out.
Commissioner Montfort stated that with the equipment in one fund she did not want to see it be a Department against a Department. Commissioner Harper stated that she had voted no on Mayor McPeek’s truck for the Water Department. Commissioner Weirauch asked if each Department was going to have an amount in the line item. Commissioner Harper stated they would not because each year each Department has different needs. Commissioner Weirauch asked that, if one Department comes in and wipes out the funds, then other Departments would not get anything. Commissioner Harper stated that monies had been earmarked for Departments to spend. Commissioner Montfort asked that if then $55,000.00 was earmarked for Police cars. Commissioner Harper stated they was no $55,000.00 earmarked for Police cars. That $55,000.00 for this year had been spent on overtime.
Commissioner Harper stated that just because something is in the budget did not mean the money was in the bank. And, just because money was in a budget, it did not mean that it had to be spent. He explained that the Budget was an idea of what the costs are. And sometimes when you’re trying to decide how you’re going to spend the money for a year in advance, it was hard to do because of emergencies that come up. He stated the City may not get as much money as what the City has said. If not, then the expenditures have to be adjusted down. He stated he knew revenues would be $80,000.00 to $90,000.00 less starting out this time.
Commissioner Harper moved to approve the TIF Reimbursement for 2016 for DPS Properties in the amount of $702.78 to be taken out of TIF. Commissioner Miller seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Harper moved to approve the TIF Reimbursement for 2016 for Gypsy Moon Boutique in the amount of $1,407.73 to be taken out of TIF. Commissioner Miller seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Harper moved to approve the TIF Reimbursement for 2016 for Morello’s Restaurant in the amount of $315.74 to be taken out of TIF. Commissioner Miller seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Harper moved to approve the TIF Reimbursement for 2016 for The Burg Cafe in the amount of $1,678.38 to be taken out of TIF. Commissioner Miller seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Harper noted he was waiting for proof of costs and taxes from CDF Rentals.
Commissioner Harper moved to approve the TIF Reimbursement for 2016 for Wooded Hills in the amount of $1,849.94 to be taken out of TIF. Commissioner Miller seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Harper moved to enter into a five year agreement with Mediacom for City internet services at City Hall. Commissioner Weirauch seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Harper moved to authorize the City Clerk to sign Illinois Public Risk Fund documents. Commissioner Weirauch seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Mayor McPeek stated the construction for the Rt. 13 traffic light started today and would take approximately one and a half months for completion. IDOT officials had informed him that the light would be actually be turned on the first week of July.
Mayor McPeek asked Superintendent Kelly Hefner to explain the Consumer Confidence Report. Superintendent Hefner stated the Consumer Confidence Report 2018 would be available for review in the Clerk’s office, the Water office and will be posted on the website and run in the Dollar Saver.
Mayor McPeek moved to appoint Ron Fearheiley to the Firemen’s Pension Board to serve until April 17, 2021. Commissioner Weirauch seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Mayor McPeek stated a lot of the tickets that Chief Gunning and Code Enforcement Officer David Williams are writing for trash and debris are not getting paid. He stated there would be a letter, like the one from Animal Control, which will be attached to the ticket that informs the recipient that there is a time by which the fine should be paid or it will be turned over to the attorney for further action. Tickets should be turned in to the City Clerk first thing the next day.
Mayor McPeek stated that Emily Upchurch has instituted a program that customers can be notified by email that the water bill has been sent. He stated this should help with bills not being received in a timely fashion and payments being late because of that. He stated that also a letter would go out to encourage customers to sign up for autopay.
Commissioner Harper moved to adjourn to Executive Session to discuss Possible Litigation, Collective Bargaining and Personnel. Commissioner Weirauch seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Adjourned: 7:30 pm.
Reconvened: 8:09 pm.
Mayor John McPeek presided over the reconvened meeting with Commissioners Beth Montfort, Natalie Miller, Richard Harper and Mike Weirauch answering roll call.
Mayor McPeek stated there were no actions to be taken on any of the Executive Session items.
Commissioner Miller moved to adjourn. Commissioner Weirauch seconded. By roll call vote, all voted yes. Motion carried.
Adjourned: 8:10 pm.
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