City of Harrisburg City Council met Oct. 3.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
The Harrisburg City Council met on October 03, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Room of City Hall in Harrisburg, IL.
Mayor John McPeek called the October 03, 2019 meeting to order. Mayor John McPeek presided over the meeting with Commissioner Raymond Gunning, Roger Angelly, Rupert Johnson and Ron Morse present and answering roll call.
Pastor Paul Taylor from the Land Street Church of God led the group in prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Commissioner Roger Angelly made the motion to approve the consent agenda.
Check Registers and Warrant Report for September 2019
Siegles Uniforms-Invoice 422083-Fire Department Uniform for Kyle Chambers-Council Contingency-$34.99
Siegles Uniforms-Invoice 421079-Fire Department Uniform for Kyle Chambers-Council Contingency-$79.49
Siegles Uniforms-Invoice 422644-Police Department Uniform for Ross Bergman-Council Contingency-$194.97
Siegles Uniforms-Invoice 416415-Police Department Uniform for Ross Bergman-Council Contingency-$339.96
Bryant Construction-2014 Watermain Rehab Phase I-$170,146.42
Brown & Roberts-2014 Watermain Rehab Phase I #5-$17,773.59
Seconded by Commissioner Ron Morse. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mayor John McPeek opened a sealed bid for 621 West Barnett Street. Steve Quertermous presented a bid for $600.00. Commissioner Ron Morse made the motion to accept the bid from Steve Quertermous for $600.00 located at 621 West Barnett Street. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mayor John McPeek opened a sealed bid for 631 West Barnett Street. Steve Quertermous presented a bid for $600.00. Commissioner Roger Angelly made the motion to accept the bid from Steve Quertermous for $600.00 located at 631 West Barnett Street. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mayor John McPeek opened a sealed bid for 115 West Towle Street. Diane Taborn presented a bid for $300.00. Commissioner Ron Morse made the motion to accept the bid from Diane Taborn for $300.00 located at 115 W. Towle Street. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Raymond Gunning thanked Steve Quertermous for purchasing lots/homes from the City of Harrisburg. He said these properties are now back on the tax roll.
Commissioner Ron Morse made the motion to approve Ordinance 1789 for the sale of property at 14 W. Raymond Street. Seconded by Commissioner Rupert Johnson. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mayor John McPeek stated the ordinance Imposing Cannabis Retailers Occupation Tax is being tabled.
Mayor John McPeek announced the discussion regarding recreational marijuana for adult use will be held at the end of the meeting.
Jim Brown with Brown and Roberts informed Council that during the last administration, he was directed to prepare a facility plan for the sewage treatment plant. This was done and submitted to IEPA about three months before this council took office. It has just now gotten down to the review engineer Jonathan Smith. He has questions that needs to be addressed. This needs to be discussed with existing council before we get too deeply involved in this. The new census numbers could affect the design of a new treatment plant. Jonathan Smith is working with five or six communities and he would like to know if we would like to proceed before he got too deeply involved as he other job responsibilities. Mayor John McPeek instructed Jim Brown to meet with Commissioner Roger Angelly to discuss the plan. At the next City council meeting, they can give an update on how the City should proceed.
Curt Rowlen, ESDA Director, discussed the need for reprogramming two bases at City Hall. This will help eliminate the false storm sirens from going off. This will give the sirens a frequency line of their own which is issued by the FCC. The cost for this expense is $1045.00 to Roy Walker Communications. Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to approve the bill to Roy Walker Communications for $1045.00. Seconded by Commissioner Ron Morse. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to authorize the City to donate $1500.00 for the use and maintenance assistance for the parking lot at the Salvation Army paid out of Council Contingency. Seconded by Commissioner Ron Morse. A roll call vote was taken with Commissioners Raymond Gunning, Roger Angelly and Ron Morse voting yes. Commissioner Rupert Johnson and Mayor John McPeek voting no. Motion carried.
Commissioner Raymond Gunning announced a Police Sergeant has been moved to a Detective in Investigation. Commissioner Roger Angelly asked if this will allow each shift to have a Police Sergeant. Commissioner Raymond Gunning answered yes. Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to promote Kenny Shires to Police Sergeant on third shift. Seconded by Commissioner Ron Morse. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Shane Gooden from State Farm addressed Council regarding a fundraiser which will benefit the Police and Fire Department. State Farm has a program call “Neighborhood of Good”. This program allows him to donate $10.00 for every visit or phone call he receives requesting just a quote on insurance. The money will be donated to the Fire and Police Department for equipment. This will last from October thru December and will pay out on January 15, 2020. He will keep the Council up-to-date on the funds he has raised. This will only work if the citizens call or visit and request a quote. This may provide education regarding current insurance. This is a way for State Farm to give back to the community.
Commissioner Raymond Gunning stated we will not need to discuss Collective Bargaining in Executive Session.
Commissioner Roger Angelly stated we will discuss Negotiations in Executive Session.
Commissioner Rupert Johnson made the motion to approve the Banner Request for the SIC Heritage Festival to be displayed from October 31 thru November 04, 2019. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Rupert Johnson made the motion to authorize the Lions Club to hold their annual Candy Day Drive on October 19, 2019 at the intersection of Main Street and Sloan Street and Small Street and Sahara Street. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Rupert Johnson reminded the citizens about Fall Clean-Up from October 01, 2019 thru October 14, 2019.
Mayor John McPeek reminded the citizens that Trick-or-Treat will be held October 31, 2019 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Citizen Judy Spahr addressed Council regarding the pit bull issue they are having in their neighborhood located around Eastside School. This pit bull has been out killing cats. The owner has already been issued two tickets from Animal Control. Over the weekend, the pit bull knocked down an elderly neighbor causing her bruising. This dog is a danger to the neighborhood citizens including children. Commissioner Raymond Gunning asked Police Chief Michael Riden to address this issue first thing Friday morning. She feels like the owner will retaliate. Police Chief encourages them to call with each and every incident so it will be on file. She has a video of the owner releasing the dog from their leash in front of the porch and killing cats. She has seen the owner abusing the pit bull. Miranda Boone stated that the owner had a week to show proof of a rabies vaccination and they have yet to show proof of the vaccination and they have never been issued a ticket.
Mayor John McPeek began discussing recreational marijuana. Recreational marijuana is coming to the State of Illinois starting January 01, 2020. It can be smoke in homes, be purchased, and citizens think that if the City votes against it then it can’t be smoked in Harrisburg. This is a state law and it can be smoked legally. If the City does pass recreational marijuana ordinance, the City can tax on an additional 3% sales tax.
Rosie Naumovski owner of Thrive Dispensary spoke in regards to medical and recreational marijuana. Currently Thrive is a medical marijuana dispensary which has been in Harrisburg since March 2016. This type of marijuana can only be purchased with a medical cannabis card which is issued by a medical provider. They are the most highly regulated business. It is a nice, clean, and comfortable for the medical patience. The City of Harrisburg welcomed Thrive and to date it is still nice to be here. January 01, 2010, adult use marijuana becomes legal. This is the opportunity to sell to individual 21 and older. Forbes magazine projects cannabis occupations will outweigh the number of manufacturing jobs in 2020. People need to understand that cannabis users are thankful and fortunate to buy legal products. They take the card, responsibility, products sealed in a bag, put in their trunk and go home to use it. Thrive receives calls and emails daily from outside of the state who want to come in and purchase.
Thrive cannot and will not sell to unauthorized individuals because they will lose their license. Adult use is money that could be brought into the community. They could shop locally and spend money while they are in Harrisburg. Thrive is highly regulated, mandated to have ID scanners which checks the validity of an ID, and the product is very medical. It does not look enticing and is not packaged to be enticing. It is very childproof complaint with the packaging. Purchasers are very responsible. It is not cheap to buy this product. A lot of physicians do not sign off on a cannabis medical card. Adult use will allow individuals who cannot obtain a medical card to get the product to help with pain or for sleep. This is a good opportunity for the City to sell adult use cannabis.
Commissioner Roger Angelly asked if medical marijuana is currently taxes. Rose Naumovski said it is considered food and drug so it has a 1% tax. Commissioner Raymond Gunning asked if the adult use passes, does the customer/patient keep their medical card. She said she encourages all customers/patience keep their medical card because they get a tax break. It will be very costly on the adult side to buy cannabis. The tax will be 25-35% sales tax. The City can tax up to 3% and get the additional 6.75% state sales tax. There are currently 55 dispensaries in the State of Illinois and they have the opportunity to sell if the City and/or County allow it. There are not a lot of dispensaries in this region. Mayor John McPeek said we can set up regulations such as how many dispensaries we can have or if it is located near a school/church it won’t be allowed to be sold.
Citizen Paul Taylor has been struggling with the issue of adult use marijuana. He said we do not have to go along with everyone else. He has been researching. He does not have an issue with medical marijuana. He feels that selling it just to be selling said it is morally wrong. He wants the City to really look at what they are getting into with this option. He believes that people who are 21 and over, what are we opening up? He is not against the medical use. According to the reports, there are 1.5 million people arrested for being under the influence. What is it going to do when it becomes legal? He is afraid that the citizens allowed to purchase it will turn around and sell it to the youth. It has a lot of mind altering issues. Studies show that marijuana leads to other drugs. He knows we cannot stop the State ruling about adult use, but we need to be careful with what we are doing.
Citizen Biff Moore stated there are things we need to consider. Mayor John McPeek reminded everyone that the City of Harrisburg did not pass the law to legalize adult use cannabis. This was a decision passed by the State of Illinois. Mr. Moore asked how do they to test someone if they are under the influence of marijuana. The only thing an officer has to go on is smell or slurred speak. It is going to be a judgement call and there is not a specified limit for marijuana. How do we determine if they are under the influence? Mayor John McPeek replied that Illinois already has a law on the books with THC blood concentration of five nomograms or more per milliliter is guilty of driving under the influence regardless if the driver is impaired. The new law creates a DUI task force lead by the Illinois State Police to examine best practices for road side testing. Mr. Moore asked if there was a road side test. Mayor John McPeek said they are working on it. They have until January 02, 2020. Mr. Moore said other states have had increased traffic accident with using adult use cannabis. He pointed out that it is reported that the youth ages 12 – 17 have reported being able to get it within a day’s time. If you make it harder or left it the way it is, it is much more difficult to obtain. Please consider for every dollar that is made, you may spend up to $10 on society such as accidents or health issues. It is reported that in other cities IQ’s have dropped and in-school problems have increased. Who are these vendors marketing for? We are opening it up to kids. We have a high school that preps our kids for college. Will this still continue if we go this way? People arrested for drug charges are in prison for trafficking not smoking which is different. Mr. Moore was present when the City proposed the lottery and gaming, it has not solved the City’s budget problem.
Citizen Danny Gibbs, Jr. stated he would like to see the City be allowed to bring in the tax money. He stated that whoever has the license from the State should be allowed to sell it. He believes that it will produce more jobs and more money for the City and the County. It will create a bigger population and create jobs. Instead of people leaving, it will bring people in.
George Naumovski from Thrive spoke and thanked the City for having them in the community. There is some misinformation about cannabis. The crime rate has decreased by 19% in Colorado. The govern has realized putting people in prison for cannabis is wrong and their record will be expunged. They will not be released if they were trafficking. Cannabis is currently in the community and is illegal. It is coming from Mexico and no one knows what kinds of pesticides are being used. Everything that is sold by Thrive goes through a lab and is tested. It is not sold to anyone under 21. People are currently extracting their own cannabis and selling it on the black market. The kids in high school are already getting it. If we have a safe haven where people can come and purchase, that is what we are offering. The opioids are killing people. There are no studies proven showing that smoking too much cannabis in front of us will cause anyone to die here today, but they can take too many opioids and overdose. We are offering to be in Harrisburg and be a part of it. If the community votes the other way it will be in the County, Eldorado, or somewhere else outside Harrisburg and the cannabis is still going to be here and someone else will get the tax dollars. If the City needs the funds, this will help bring in revenue. If a doctor does not sign off for a medical card, a cancer patient cannot get cannabis. The adult use will allow people to get help when needed. Thrive hopes to continue to do business in Harrisburg. If the Council chooses to go a different way, Thrive will go in a different way but they will still be around this area.
Citizen Beth Taylor said she would like to speak as a teacher and because of her convictions. There are a lot of things that we do not need such as alcohol, tobacco and drugs. There is a better way. She asked if marijuana cures anything. Mayor John McPeek said it helps with pain. George Naumoski said studies in Israel said it proved that it helped with epileptic seizures. There are so many drugs that are taken for medical situation and she is not against it. She asked what the goal is for this discussion. Mayor John McPeek said the vote would be to determine if the City would allow it to be sold recreationally. Commissioner Roger Angelly said people will still be able to go buy it somewhere else and bring right back to Harrisburg and smoke it in their own homes. Beth Taylor said that happens with every drug. Mayor John McPeek said our problem in Harrisburg is meth not marijuana. Beth Taylor is against it because it continues to enable people. As a teacher, she sees the effects of drugs and alcohol. She sees how the children suffer from the home life of drugs and alcohol. She feels like this just enables a bigger problem.
Citizen Danny Gibbs thanked the Council for holding this forum to discuss this topic. He invited everyone here tonight to attend the County Board meeting because this will be discussed. Do we want the tax money or not? He would like to see this Council put the money toward the EAV so they do not have to increase the 4.99% annually. This could give something back to the community. The real estate taxes are running people out of our area. If we don’t get control of the real estate taxes and start putting the money towards something other than the general fund, we are not going to have many new homes being built. The liquor license created revenue and they extended the liquor hours and there was no reaction from that. It created additional revenue. As commissioners, they need to look at it from a financial standpoint for the community. He asked they look at what they will do with the money to help give back to the community.
Citizen Tara Hull spoke as a mother and employee from Thrive. She is an Agent in Charge Consultant for Thrive. Her primary job is to work with patients. She consults with patients, ask what they need, what they want to treat, if they can help them and how. She discussed cases that she has seen over the past couple of years. She sees the effect of what cannabis can do and it has been positive. If they cannot get the medical cannabis card, they cannot get any treatment at this time. Her husband has been a paramedic for the last 15 years and he has never encountered one over dose or death from cannabis. He has lost sleep because of the deaths he has seen from heroin or opioids. She was diagnosed with breast and thyroid cancer. She said she if she was able to use medical cannabis while she was going through her treatments, she would not have lost her job of eight years because of the treatment side effects. Each dispensary has five to fifteen patients who have come to them for a terminal card. This means that you have about six months to live. If the patient is here after the extension, they get a permanent card. The audience needs to know what it is like to have a patient come in who cannot eat or drink, but if they receive a medical cannabis card they are eating again. She has patients who come back with a report from their oncologist stating the lesions are no longer detectable on the scan from Barnes Hospital. There are many people suffering because they cannot get a medical card. If recreational use opens up, these people can obtain help. There are a lot of different types of dispensaries. Thrive is there to help educate the patients. There is an 89 year old women with severe RA and she is now off all of her pharmacy drugs and only uses medical oils. It helps all age groups. She has kids in high school and they tell her about other kid’s vaping or smoking in the parking lot. When you buy any item from medicinal cannabis facility, it list every cannabinoid that is in there. The date it expires, manufactured, and third party testing list from the lab which is required by the State to prove there is no mold or pesticides in the product. This cannot be done with street marijuana. There are so many people coming in trying to get off of methamphetamine and it is an issue. When there is not a program to help them, they get turned away. We could be helping methamphetamine addicts but until recreational goes into this community, it won’t happen.
Citizen Cynthia Hodge stated there is a test for marijuana use. It test nomograms. She stated that when it becomes legal, maybe the meth addicts will start smoking it, go home and stay out of her yard. Marijuana is a downer and it will relax and calm people. Most everyone you know has smoked marijuana. It won’t make you act foolish. The stuff the kids are smoking today cannot be good. If she was a young person, she would not smoke anything from the street because it is being treated and it is dangerous. We have too many meth addicts in our town.
Mayor John McPeek made the motion to go into Executive Session. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Adjourn: 7:10 p.m. Reconvened: 7:22 p.m.
Mayor John McPeek made the motion to return to open session. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mayor John McPeek presided over the meeting with Commissioner Raymond Gunning, Roger Angelly, Rupert Johnson and Ron Morse present and answering roll call.
Mayor John McPeek announced no action was taken with negotiations.
Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to adjourn. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Adjourn: 7:24 p.m.
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