O’FALLON CITY COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES
April 2, 2007
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Gary Graham. Boy scouts from the audience led “The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.”
Philip Goodwin called the roll: Nila Grogan, present; Mary Schmidt, present; Ed True, present; Rick Reckamp, present; Jerry Mouser, present; Phil Gardner, present; Allen Medford, present; Michael Bennett, present; Dennis Renner, present; Jason Boone, present; Ned Drolet, present; John West, present; Jerry Albrecht, excused. A quorum was declared present.
Motion was made by J. Mouser and seconded by N. Grogan to approve the minutes of the March 19, 2007, meeting. All ayes. Motion carried.
PUBLIC HEARING: None.
RESIDENTS: Mayor Graham invited any residents of O’Fallon who would like to speak to the Council to step to the microphone. Gary Karasek, the architect representing Frieze Harley-Davidson, urged Council members to approve the reader sign being presented tonight under Standing Committees. He stated the sign is appropriate for the facility and consistent with a number of signs in that area.
REPORTS:
Clerk’s Report: City Clerk Phil Goodwin presented three requests in two parts:
1. ~ Request from the O’Fallon Kiwanis Club to conduct a raffle from April 1 – September~1, 2007, and
2. ~ Request from the Senior Citizens Club of O’Fallon to conduct a raffle from April 2 – September 19, 2007
Motion was made by E. True and seconded by J. Mouser to approve the requests. All ayes. Motion carried.
3. ~ Request from the O’Fallon Sunrise Rotary Club to sell alcohol at the Katy Cavins Community Center on April 21, 2007, for a Trivia Night
Motion was made by R.~Reckamp and seconded by J. West to approve the request. All ayes. Motion carried.
Mayor’s Report: The Mayor introduced Dan Polites and recommended he be appointed as Alderman of Ward 2. Motion was made by E. True and seconded by N.~Grogan to approve the appointment.
ROLL CALL: M.~Schmidt, aye; E.~True, aye; R.~Reckamp, aye; J.~Mouser, aye; P.~Gardner, aye; A.~Medford, aye; M.~Bennett, aye; D.~Renner, aye; J.~Boone, aye; N.~Drolet, aye; J.~West, aye; N.~Grogan, aye. All ayes. Motion carried.
Dan Polites was sworn into office at this time by City Clerk Philip Goodwin.
Mayor Graham read a proclamation declaring April 2, 2007, as O’Fallon Township Golden Girls Day. In addition to recently taking 5th place at the state competition, the Golden Girls also raise money for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and hold an annual kids dance camp for the community of O'Fallon.~
Item 4 under the Mayor’s Report section of the agenda was to be a “Discussion Regarding the Resolution Approving a Variance, Section 51.032, and Approving Amended Improvement Plans for Cambridge Condominiums, Phase IV.” A procedural error occurred at the last City Council meeting when the Mayor did not cast a vote on this issue when the vote resulted in a tie. However, Mayor Graham said he was unable to get a Council member to make a recommendation to reconsider this variance tonight.
Mayor Graham raised discussion regarding the possibility of having the storm debris at the park ground up rather than burned. The cost would be approximately $25,000 versus having the debris burned at a cost of about $10,000. The Mayor stated that with much of the debris still green, it would take approximately three weeks for it to burn. D.~Sullivan said after being ground, it would be wasted on the site because there would be an added expense to have it hauled away and it is not good for mulch. The general consensus was to have it ground up rather than burned. The decision will be brought back to the next Council meeting for final approval.
RESOLUTIONS:
Motion was made by J. Mouser and seconded by D. Renner to consider the Omnibus Agreement for Resolution Items 1-3. R.~Reckamp asked for Item 2 to be removed. No vote was taken on the Omnibus Agreement.
Motion was made by J. Mouser and seconded by D. Renner to approve Resolution Item~1.
ITEM 1 – Resolution Authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement with SWIDA for the Transfer of 2007 Unused Volume Cap
ROLL CALL: E.~True, aye; D.~Polites, aye; R.~Reckamp, aye; J.~Mouser, aye; P.~Gardner, aye; A.~Medford, aye; M.~Bennett, aye; D.~Renner, aye; J.~Boone, aye; N.~Drolet, aye; J.~West, aye; N.~Grogan, aye; M.~Schmidt, aye. All ayes. Motion carried.
Motion was made by J. Mouser and seconded by A. Medford to approve Resolution Item~2.
ITEM 2 – Resolution Approving the Financial Resource Center Minor Subdivision
R.~Reckamp objected to the design of the minor subdivision, stating if the development had been presented all at once, it would have probably been rejected. He said the detention pond is poorly designed and should be located in the southwest corner of the development.
Motion was made by J. Mouser and seconded by J. West to move Resolution Item~2 back to committee for further review. All ayes. Mayor Graham then called for a hand vote, which also resulted in all ayes. Motion carried.
Motion was made by J. Mouser and seconded by D. Renner to approve Resolution Item~3.
ITEM 3 – Resolution Authorizing the Mayor to Execute an Agreement with Haier Plumbing for Installation of Disinfection Equipment at the Wastewater Treatment Plant
ROLL CALL: D.~Polites, aye; R.~Reckamp, aye; J.~Mouser, aye; P.~Gardner, aye; A.~Medford, aye; M.~Bennett, aye; D.~Renner, aye; J.~Boone, aye; N.~Drolet, aye; J.~West, aye; N.~Grogan, aye; M.~Schmidt, aye; E.~True, aye. All ayes. Motion carried.
ORDINANCES:
1st Readings
Motion was made by J. West and seconded R. Reckamp to place on 1st Reading Ordinance Item 4.
ITEM 4 – Ordinance Budgeting for Corporate Purposes for the Fiscal Year Beginning May 1, 2007, and ending April 30, 2008
M.~Bennett said the cash reserves from the sewer fund have been diminishing each year partly because of the sewer averaging that has been done in the past. He stated he could not vote for this budget while the sewer averaging is still in place.
J.~West said he has been working on this issue for five years, and the citizens of Ward~7 are very happy with the sewer averaging.
ROLL CALL: R.~Reckamp, aye; J.~Mouser, aye; P.~Gardner, aye; A.~Medford, aye; M.~Bennett, nay; D.~Renner, nay; J.~Boone, aye; N.~Drolet, aye; J.~West, aye; N.~Grogan, aye; M.~Schmidt, aye; E.~True, aye; D.~Polites, aye. Ayes – 11; Nays~– 2. Motion carried.
Motion was made by A. Medford and seconded by D. Renner to place on 1st Reading Item 5.
ITEM 5 – Ordinance Amending Chapter 77, Traffic Schedules, Schedule I, Speed Restrictions Regarding Regency Park and Old Vincennes Trail
ROLL CALL: J.~Mouser, aye; P.~Gardner, aye; A.~Medford, aye; M.~Bennett, aye; D.~Renner, aye; J.~Boone, aye; N.~Drolet, aye; J.~West, aye; N.~Grogan, aye; M.~Schmidt, aye; E.~True, aye; D.~Polites, aye; R.~Reckamp, aye. All ayes. Motion carried.
2nd Readings
Motion was made by J. Mouser and seconded by N. Grogan to approve 2nd Reading Item~6.
ITEM 6 – Ordinance Designating as a Local Landmark, 209 E. Fifth Street, aka American Legion – Grange Hut
ROLL CALL: P.~Gardner, aye; A.~Medford, aye; M.~Bennett, aye; D.~Renner, aye; J.~Boone, aye; N.~Drolet, aye; J.~West, aye; N.~Grogan, aye; M.~Schmidt, aye; E.~True, aye; D.~Polites, aye; R.~Reckamp, aye; J. Mouser, aye. All ayes. Motion carried.
STANDING COMMITTEES:
Community Development: J. Mouser stated they met on March 26, and the minutes are in the packets.
Motion was made by J. Mouser and seconded by R. Reckamp to approve the Special Event Request from O’Fallon Booster Club to hold the Mayfest event from May 18 – May 20, 2007. All ayes. Motion carried.
Motion was made by J. Mouser and seconded by M. Schmidt to approve the sign request from Frieze Harley-Davidson, which is a change from the first sign they proposed.
A.~Medford expressed concern with the size of the proposed sign (144~sq. ft.) and possible stacking issues caused by a reader board at that site. J. Mouser stated that in Committee the vote was 3-1 in favor of allowing the existing sign at the W. Hwy. 50 facility to be reused at the new site. ~However, the vote was split 2-2 on the addition of an electronic reader board. P.~Gardner stated that in Committee the applicant was told to tone down the brightness of the reader board lights.
R. Reckamp stated that, although he would prefer there not be a reader board at this site, he did not see how they could deny this request since reader board signs have been approved for a number of other businesses in that area.
T. Shekell said a sign has already been approved for this site. However, the applicant is now requesting to reuse their existing sign, which would give them an additional point toward their LEED certification. They would also like to include a reader board with the use of their existing sign. If this motion fails, the applicant will have to construct the sign they originally had approved.
M.~Bennett raised discussion regarding the reader board being regulated by the State or City. T.~Shekell said City ordinance controls the scroll and flash of the reader board, but the intensity of the lights was not regulated in any way. N.~Drolet said no one checks to ensure these signs continue to be in compliance. T.~Shekell said unless there is a complaint, no one typically checks on continued compliance of the signs.
J.~Boone expressed concern with the sign shining directly on homes in the Misty Valley subdivision. Mr. Karasek indicated the sign would not be shining directly on any residential property.
ROLL CALL: A.~Medford, nay; M.~Bennett, aye; D.~Renner, nay; J.~Boone, aye; N.~Drolet, aye; J.~West, nay; N.~Grogan, aye; M.~Schmidt, aye; E.~True, nay; D.~Polites, abstain; R.~Reckamp, aye; J. Mouser, nay; P. Gardner, aye. Ayes – 7; Nays – 5; Abstain~–~1. Motion carried.
Their next meeting is scheduled for April 9, 2007, at 6~p.m.
Public Works: A. Medford said the minutes from their last meeting are included in the packets. Their next meeting will be April 23, 2007, at 7 p.m.
Public Safety: E. True said their next meeting is scheduled for April 9, 2007, at 7 p.m.
Finance/Administration: J.~West stated they met before tonight’s meeting to discuss Warrant~133. Motion was made by J. West and seconded by R.~Reckamp to approve Warrant~133 in the amount of $547,821.18.
ROLL CALL: M.~Bennett, aye; D.~Renner, aye; J.~Boone, aye; N.~Drolet, aye; J.~West, aye; N.~Grogan, aye; M.~Schmidt, aye; E.~True, aye; D.~Polites, aye; R.~Reckamp, aye; J. Mouser, aye; P. Gardner, aye; A. Medford, aye. All ayes. Motion carried.
Their next meeting will be April 23, 2007, at 5:30~p.m.
Parks/Environment: M. Hutchison stated their next meeting is scheduled for April 9, 2007, at 5:30~p.m.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: At 7:40 a motion was made by J. Mouser and seconded by E.~True to go into Executive Session to discuss property acquisition.
ROLL CALL: D.~Renner, aye; J.~Boone, aye; N.~Drolet, aye; J.~West, aye; N.~Grogan, aye; M.~Schmidt, aye; E.~True, aye; D.~Polites, aye; R.~Reckamp, aye; J. Mouser, aye; P. Gardner, aye; A. Medford, aye; M.~Bennett, aye. All ayes. Motion carried.
At 8 p.m. City Council members returned from Executive Session.
Motion was made by J. West and seconded by R. Reckamp to authorize the City to proceed with (1) finalizing the agreement to purchase the land on which the convention center is to be constructed, (2)~constructing the convention center, and (3)~leasing the convention center.
ROLL CALL: D.~Renner, aye; J.~Boone, aye; N.~Drolet, aye; J.~West, aye; N.~Grogan, aye; M.~Schmidt, aye; E.~True, aye; D.~Polites, aye; R.~Reckamp, aye; J. Mouser, aye; P. Gardner, aye; A. Medford, aye; M.~Bennett, aye. All ayes. Motion carried.
ADJOURNMENT:
Motion was made by D. Renner and seconded by J. Mouser to adjourn. All ayes. Motion carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:02 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by,
__________________________
Philip A. Goodwin, City Clerk
Minutes taken by
Sharon L. Wisely, Transcriptionist
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