City of Fairfield City Council met Oct. 13.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
The City Council meeting was held with in-person attendance and others joined the meeting via phone conference.
Meeting called to order by Acting Mayor Moore at 6:00 P.M.
Prayer led by Alderman Ralph Barbre followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. City Clerk Tina Hutchcraft called the roll:
Acting Mayor: Gary Moore
City Clerk: Tina Hutchcraft
City Attorney: Darrin Rice
Aldermen: Ralph Barbre; Brett Coale; Jim Griffith; Tyler Lampley; Eugene McGill; Jerry Lisenbee; Terry Stahl
Also Present: Ken Otey, WFIW Radio; David Mills, Wayne County Press; Andrew Miller, Fire Chief; Keith Colclasure, Police Chief; Dian Downs; Tyler Lashbrook, Electric Department; Josh Boyd, Water Filtration; Kevin Leonard, Water Department; Flo Simpson; and other citizens from the community.
The minutes of the meeting of September 22, 2020, agendas and bills of October 13, 2020 were sent out to those entitled to receive them. Acting Mayor Moore asked for approval of the minutes for the September 22, 2020 meeting. Motion by Alderman McGill, seconded by Alderman Stahl to approve the minutes of the meeting of September 22, 2020.
Vote yes: Lisenbee; McGill; Moore; Stahl; Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley Vote no: none
Acting Mayor Moore declared motion carried.
Acting Mayor Moore asked for approval to pay the bills for the October 13, 2020 meeting. A motion was made by Alderman Barbre, seconded by Alderman Coale to approve the bills for payment.
Vote yes: McGill; Moore; Stahl; Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee
Vote no: none
Acting Mayor Moore declared motion carried.
Ordinance – Special Exception for R-2 Zone – A public hearing was held earlier concerning this amendment to the R-2 Zone. This change will allow owners of mobile homes within this district that were “grand-fathered” in to be granted a special exception by the zoning board to replace the mobile home with a model manufactured no later than five years from when the application for the special exception is made. A motion was made by Alderman Coale, seconded by Alderman Lampley to approve Ordinance No. 20-1013-226 amending the R-2 zone.
Vote yes: Moore; Stahl; Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill
Vote no: none
Acting Mayor Moore declared motion carried and Ordinance No. 20-1013-226 approved and duly adopted.
Ordinance – Full-time Mayor Position – A motion was made by Alderman Griffith, seconded by Alderman McGill to approve the ordinance making the office of the Mayor a full-time position.
Vote yes: Stahl; Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill; Moore
Vote no: none
Acting Mayor Moore declared motion carried and Ordinance No. 20-1013-227 approved and duly adopted.
Ordinance Increasing Fines for Nuisances on Private Property – City Attorney Darrin Rice explained that several meetings ago the Council voted to update the amount of our fines in our ordinances. This ordinance will increase the fines for nuisances on private property and inoperable motor vehicles to be in alignment with the previous increases. A motion was made by Alderman Lampley, seconded by Alderman Stahl to approve this ordinance.
Vote yes: Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill; Moore; Stahl
Vote no: none
Acting Mayor Moore declared motion carried and Ordinance No. 20-1013-228 approved and duly adopted.
Amending Inoperable Motor Vehicle Ordinance – Our ordinances concerning inoperable motor vehicles states that we have the right to impound inoperable vehicles at the owner’s expense. This ordinance outlines the procedure and the time frame for impounding these vehicles. A motion was made by Alderman Lampley, seconded by Alderman Coale to approve the amendment to the inoperable motor vehicle ordinance.
Vote yes: Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill; Moore; Stahl; Barbre
Vote no: none
Acting Mayor Moore declared motion carried and Ordinance No. 20-1013-229 approved and duly adopted.
Ordinance Amending Class C Liquor License and Establishing Class V – This ordinance has been tabled for further study.
Ordinance No. 20-1013-230/Risk Management Insurance – The Illinois Municipal League Risk Management Association submitted a quote for our risk management insurance. Mayor Moore recommended Option #3. We would be able to pay in two installments and the total cost would be $274,349.33. This amount is the same as last year and it includes a 1% installment fee. Alderman Lampley made a motion, seconded by Alderman Griffith to approve Ordinance No. 20-1013-230 authorizing the execution of the IMLRMA Minimum/Maximum Contribution Agreement.
Vote yes: Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill; Moore; Stahl; Barbre; Coale; Griffith
Vote no: none
Acting Mayor Moore declared motion carried and Ordinance No. 20-1013-230 approved and duly adopted.
Award Bid for the Sale of 955 Bucket Cat – Four bids were received for the sale of this equipment. The highest bid received was from Todd Barnard in the amount of $11,551.00. A motion was made by Alderman Griffith, seconded by Alderman Barbre to approve the sale to Todd Barnard.
Vote yes: Lisenbee; McGill; Moore; Stahl; Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley
Vote no: none
Acting Mayor Moore declared motion carried.
Wayne County CEO Program – In the past the City helped to sponsor the CEO program. This program is open to high school juniors and seniors. Students are selected for the program through a rigorous application process. The Council has been asked to contribute $1,000 to help sponsor this program. Alderman Coale stated that he felt he would rather see the money go towards a not-for-profit program where all students would have the opportunity to participate. Alderman Barbre stated that all juniors and seniors have the opportunity to participate through the application process. A motion was made by Alderman Lisenbee, seconded by Alderman Barbre to approve funding the CEO program in the amount of $1,000 for the next two years.
Vote yes: McGill; Moore; Stahl; Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee
Vote no: none
Acting Mayor Moore declared motion carried.
Hiring of Police Officers – Mayor Moore told the Council that we will be conducting testing to update our police and fire eligibility lists. He stated the police department is currently understaffed and officers are required to work a lot of overtime costing the city a lot of money. We have recently had an officer move away and left the department and we also have had an officer recently retire. The city had committed to provide an SRO officer for the high school and FCHS had committed to pay 80% of that officer’s salary. Mayor Moore feels the department is understaffed and overworked. He asked the Council to consider hiring three additional officers to bring the department up to full staff of 12 officers. A motion was made by Alderman Barbre, seconded by Alderman McGill to authorize the Board of Fire & Police Commissioners to hire three police officers from our eligibility list.
Vote yes: Moore; Stahl; Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill Vote no: none
Acting Mayor Moore declared motion carried.
Contractor’s Use of City’s Facility for Yard Waste Disposal – In the past the City has allowed contractors to dispose of their debris at the Street and Bridge Department. Robert Kamp has expressed concerns that we are running out of available ground and asked that we stop allowing the contractors to use the facility. The problem is not necessarily the yard waste that is generated by residents but the problem is coming from the large trees that are being brought out by the contractors. Kamp has looked at other areas for the city to use but hasn’t yet found a suitable site. Mayor Moore thought that the purchase of a chipper might help but Alderman Barbre stated at one time the department had a chipper but it was not used very much. Mayor Moore asked the Street and Bridge Committee consisting of Alderman Lisenbee, Alderman Stahl, and Alderman McGill to meet with Robert Kamp and discuss the options we have. The committee will report back their findings to the full Council at the next meeting.
Memorandum of Agreement with the FOP – The city thought it was very important to be able to have the ability to bring on a sworn officer to the police department through a lateral transfer. This would save the city money because the cost of sending someone to the academy is very expensive. Mayor Moore met with the FOP representative and Chief Colclasure to establish a process and have it in place on our police contract to be able to have a lateral move. This would be done through a memorandum of agreement. Mayor Moore agreed to a $2,500 sign on bonus for a lateral entry employee and asked for Council to support his decision. We did not have anyone interested in a lateral transfer this time but the language will be in the contract for our next testing. A motion was made by Alderman Lampley, seconded by Alderman Lisenbee to approve the memorandum of agreement with the FOP concerning lateral entry.
Vote yes: Stahl; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill; Moore Vote no: Barbre
Acting Mayor Moore declared motion carried.
Miscellaneous – The state has given approval to us to be able to have the Veteran’s Day Parade on November 7th.
Miscellaneous – Ryan Webb has been hired to work at the Water Filtration Department and will begin his duties on October 22nd.
Miscellaneous – The Kiwanis Club has indicated that they will not be able to organize the Christmas Parade this year due to the coronavirus. Mayor Moore would still like to see the city have a parade and has asked for help in getting it organized.
Miscellaneous – The FFA class recently put new plants in our downtown flower pots and Alderman McGill and Mayor Moore thanked them for their work.
Miscellaneous – City wide clean-up is scheduled for Saturday, October 17th for city residents.
Executive Session – Alderman McGill made a motion, seconded by Alderman Lisenbee to go into Executive Session to discuss Section 2(c)(21) – discuss minutes of closed session meetings and Section 2(c)(6) – the setting of a price for sale of property owned by the public body.
Vote yes: Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill; Moore; Stahl
Vote no: none
Acting Mayor Moore declared motion carried.
Return to Regular Session – Alderman Barbre made a motion, seconded by Alderman Stahl to return to regular session.
Vote yes: Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; McGill; Lisenbee; Stahl; Moore
Vote no: none
Acting Mayor Moore declared motion carried and Council returned to regular session at 7:44 p.m.
Adjourn Meeting – Motion by Alderman McGill, seconded by Alderman Barbre to adjourn the meeting.
Vote yes: 8
Vote no: 0
Acting Mayor Moore declared meeting adjourned at 7:46 p.m.
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