City of Fairfield City Council met May 28.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
Meeting called to order by Mayor Brent Maguire at 6:00 P.M.
Prayer led by Dr. David Mills followed by the pledge of allegiance to the flag.
City Clerk Tina Hutchcraft called the roll:
Mayor: Brent Maguire
City Clerk: Tina Hutchcraft
City Treasurer: Julie Duncan
City Attorney: Darrin Rice
Aldermen: Ralph Barbre; Brett Coale; Jim Griffith; Tyler Lampley; Eugene McGill; Jerry Lisenbee; Terry Stahl; Gary Moore
Also Present: Amanda White, Wayne County Press; Ken Otey, WFIW Radio; Keith Colclasure, Police Chief; Silas Eckleberry, Assistant Police Chief; Andrew Miller, Fire Chief; Tyler Lashbrook, Electric Department; Dian Downs; Collin Dunn; and other citizens from the community.
The minutes of the meeting of May 14, 2019, agendas and bills of May 28, 2019 were sent out to those entitled to receive them. Mayor Maguire asked for approval of the minutes for the May 14, 2019 meeting. Motion by Alderman Stahl, seconded by Alderman McGill to approve the minutes of the meeting of May 14, 2019.
Vote yes: Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill; Moore; Stahl
Vote no: none
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried.
Mayor Maguire asked for approval to pay the bills for the May 28, 2019 meeting. A motion was made by Alderman Barbre, seconded by Alderman Coale to approve the bills for payment.
Vote yes: Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill; Moore; Stahl; Barbre
Vote no: none
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried.
Atkinson Forest – Mike Podolsky and Dr. David Mills addressed the Council on behalf of the Atkinson Forest Steering Committee. They presented the history of the Atkinson Forest Project and told the Council about the public pledges of funding and support for the development project. So far they have received $358,500 in total pledges. Projects they would like to see developed are; a parking area, three ponds, walking paths, a pavilion, and restroom facilities. They feel the pledged money would pay for all of this. What they are asking from the Council is to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the Fairfield Park District for maintenance of the forest. They want the City to make a commitment to fund the annual $20,000 plus maintenance costs to mow, trim, and handle trash. The $20,000 would go to the Park District so they could hire an employee to do the work but they would want to use city equipment for the mowing. When asked if they had asked the County for any funding for the project Mr. Podolsky said they had not. He said they probably should ask them but he didn’t feel they would be willing to give to the project. Mayor Maguire stated the presenters had given the Council lots of information to digest and we will continue to look at the project and consider their request for funding.
Resolution No. 19-0528-316 – Designating Animal Control Administrator and Animal Control Wardens – Mayor Maguire has met with the Humane Society about the enforcement of our animal control ordinance. Our ordinance states that an animal control administrator be appointed by Council and the administrator can appoint animal control wardens with approval by Council. Once these appointments are in place the ordinance states that citations can be issued for violations. Mayor Maguire would like to appoint Dr. Loy Hosselton as Administrator and Dr. Hosselton would like to appoint Michelle Richards, Kent Gregory, Amy Gregory, Jennifer Simmons, and Amanda Bradham as animal control wardens. A motion was made by Alderman Griffith, seconded by Alderman Lampley to approve these appointments.
Vote yes: Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill; Moore; Stahl; Barbre; Coale
Vote no: none
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried and Resolution No. 19-0528-316 approved and duly adopted.
Approval of Engineering Agreement with HLR for Exploratory Work on Flooding Issues – At the last meeting we discussed hiring an engineer to examine the cause of the flooding issues we have been having throughout the city. Collin Dunn, Engineer with Hampton, Lenzini and Renwick Inc., presented and engineering agreement to explore the flooding issues. The agreement listed a scope of services with a not to exceed amount. If Council decides to have them study other areas not in the scope of services the City will be billed for these services at an hourly rate. A motion was made by Alderman Barbre, seconded by Alderman Coale to approve the engineering agreement with HLR Engineers for exploratory work on the flooding issues.
Vote yes: Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill; Moore; Stahl; Barbre; Coale; Griffith
Vote no: none
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried.
Approval of Benefits for Non-Union Employees – At the last meeting Council approved an agreement with the IBEW. Mayor Maguire asked the Council to approve giving the non-union workers (Airport, Library, Fire Department and some workers at City Hall) the same benefits as the union. This will include a 2.75% pay increase, a $25 per pay increase for insurance premiums, random drug testing, and they will be allowed to live within 5 miles from a center point of town (NW 7th Street & Main). A motion was made by Alderman Griffith, seconded by Alderman McGill to approve giving the non-union workers the same benefits as the IBEW workers concerning pay increases, insurance premiums, random drug testing, and residency change.
Vote yes: Lisenbee; McGill; Moore; Stahl; Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley
Vote no: none
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried.
Airport Consultant Selection - The Federal Aviation Administration requires that information be solicited from pre-qualified engineering firms every five years to see if they would be interested in overseeing our engineering work at the airport. Sponsors intending to utilize state and federal funds to pay for professional services are required to conduct a Qualifications-Based Selection process when selecting an Architectural/Engineering or planning consulting firm. FAA guidance allows for Sponsors to procure professional services to complete multiple, phased grant projects through a single consultant selection process. These firms may be retained for up to 5 years for their services. The Illinois Department of Transportation provided a scope of work for the Fairfield Municipal Airport to various consulting firms. The following engineering firms responded to our inquiry listing their statement of qualifications, project related experience, and references associated with their firm: Hanson Professional Services Inc., Springfield, IL: ESI Consultants, Ltd., Charleston, IL; and Brown & Roberts Inc., Harrisburg, IL. The airport committee discussed the qualifications of the engineering firms. Based upon the fact that Hanson Professional Services Inc. already has extensive knowledge of our airport and they are currently performing work on our aviation fuel dispensing project, the committee along with Travis Williams, Airport Manager, would like to recommend Council approval to retain Hanson Professional Services Inc. for engineering work for our airport. A motion was made by Alderman Griffith, seconded by Alderman Stahl to retain Hanson Professional Services Inc. for engineering work at the Fairfield Municipal Airport.
Vote yes: McGill; Moore; Stahl; Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee
Vote no: none
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried.
Discussion of Policy Regarding Non-Employees in City Vehicles & Equipment – Alderman Griffith stated that when a policy is developed about whether or not non-employees can ride in city owed vehicles there needs to language added that includes vehicles as well as city equipment. Alderman Griffith said he feels a policy should be put in place that states that non-employees not be allowed to ride in city owned vehicles or equipment because of liability issues. Griffith also stated that he has heard that Chief Colclasure has received criticism because of his policy prohibiting non-employees from riding in city owned vehicles. Chief Colclasure put that policy in place after being questioned by an alderman as to why non-authorized passengers were being allowed to ride in vehicles and about the liability to the city. That is when Chief Colclasure implemented the policy of no more riding. Alderman Griffith stated he should not be criticized for that. Alderman Moore stated that whatever we do it needs to be consistent city wide. We shouldn’t have different policies in different departments. We shouldn’t allow people to go up in a bucket truck but not allow someone to ride in a city vehicle during a parade. The legislative committee plans to have a policy ready to present at the next Council meeting.
First Baptist Church Street Closing Request - First Baptist Church will be conducting their annual Vacation Bible School and have requested approval to close the 100 block of East Douglas, Sunday, June 2 through Thursday, June 6 from 5:00-9:00 p.m. A motion was made by Alderman Stahl, seconded by Alderman McGill to approve this request.
Vote yes: Moore; Stahl; Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill
Vote no: none
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried.
Approval of Agreement with B&T Drainage – A motion was made by Alderman Moore, seconded by Alderman Griffith to approve the formal agreement with B&T Drainage Inc. for the Water Distribution System – State Route #15 Upgrade.
Vote yes: Stahl; Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill; Moore
Vote no: none
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried.
Change Order No. 1 – Water Distribution System – State Route #15 Upgrade – At a previous meeting the Council approved the upgrade to our water system and Shannon Woodard with Connor & Connor spoke to the Council about using poly tubing instead of copper. This would be a total project savings of $25,500. The Council would need to approve a change order to the contract to allow this. A motion was made by Alderman Coale, seconded by Alderman McGill to approve Change Order No. 1 to accept the bid alternate to use poly tubing.
Vote yes: Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill; Moore; Stahl
Vote no: none
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried.
Executive Session – Alderman McGill made a motion, seconded by Alderman Lampley to go into Executive Session to discuss Section 2(c)(21) – discuss minutes of closed session meetings and Section 2(c)(2) – the collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives.
Vote yes: Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill; Moore; Stahl; Barbre
Vote no: none
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried.
Return to Regular Session – Alderman McGill made a motion, seconded by Alderman Lisenbee to return to regular session.
Vote yes: Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; McGill; Lisenbee; Stahl; Moore
Vote no: none
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried and Council returned to regular session at 7:50 p.m.
Adjourn Meeting – Motion by Alderman McGill, seconded by Alderman Stahl to adjourn the meeting.
Vote yes: 8
Vote no: 0
Mayor Maguire declared meeting adjourned at 7:53 p.m.
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