O’FALLON CITY COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES
March 17, 2008
Mayor Gary Graham called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. He invited the Boy Scouts in attendance to come forward and lead the Council in “The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.”
Philip Goodwin, City Clerk, called the roll: Nila Grogan, present; Mary Schmidt, present; Ed True, present; Dan Polites, present; Rick Reckamp, present; Jerry Mouser, present; John~Drolet, present; Allen Medford, present; Michael Bennett, present; Dennis Renner, present; Steve Engler, present; Ned Drolet, present; John West, present; Jerry Albrecht, present. A quorum was declared present.
Motion was made by J. Albrecht and seconded by E. True to approve the minutes of March 3, 2008. All ayes. Motion carried.
PUBLIC HEARING: None scheduled.
RESIDENTS: No one came forward.
REPORTS:
Clerk’s Report: P. Goodwin read the request and a motion was made by R. Reckamp and seconded by J. Albrecht to approve the request from Frieze Harley-Davidson to sell raffle tickets for various prizes for the Cancer Benefit Ride at the dealership from March 17 – May 18, 2008. All ayes. Motion carried.
P. Goodwin read the request and a motion was made by R. Reckamp and seconded by E. True to approve the request from the O’Fallon Rotary Club to sell alcoholic beverages at the Katy Cavins Community Center on April 25th for the Chamber of Commerce Annual dinner and on April 26th for the SAVE fundraiser. All ayes. Motion carried.
Mayor’s Report: Mayor Graham announced that this month’s Southwestern Illinois Council of Mayors will be held on Thursday, March 27th in Mascoutah. Please RSVP to Jamie by March 21st. He welcomed the Boy Scouts to the meeting and stated that they were working on their merit badge.
RESOLUTIONS:
Motion was made by A. Medford and seconded by J. Albrecht to approve Resolution Item 1, Resolution Authorizing the Mayor to Execute an Agreement with S&S Excavating for the Mowing of I-64 Interchange, Exits 14 & 16 at a cost of $3,885.00 per cutting; Mowing, Fence Line Woody Vegetation Removal, and Tree Trimming for $6,885,00 per occurrence.
ROLL CALL: Grogan, aye; Schmidt, aye; E. True, aye; D. Polites, aye; R.~Reckamp, aye; J.~Mouser, aye; A. Medford, aye; J.~Drolet, aye; M.~Bennett, aye; D. Renner, aye; S.~Engler, aye; N.~Drolet, aye; J. Albrecht, aye; J.~West, aye. All Ayes. Motion carried.
Motion was made by J. Mouser and seconded by S. Engler to approve Resolution Item 2, Resolution Authorizing the Mayor to Execute a Professional Services Contract with Streiler Planning, LLC, to Provide Planning and Development Technical Services not to exceed $29,929.00.
J. Drolet stated he does see value in putting together something to show architectural preference but there is enough burden placed on builders to design the buildings more architecturally pleasing. He does not agree that we should spend $30,000 on the services especially in light of the economy.
T. Shekell stated that it was a struggle over the architectural designs brought in by the developers. He wants a base standard to establish a guide to serve as a baseline. It will provide more clarity in the discussions.
Mayor Graham added that he was in Washington, D.C. with the National League of Cities last week and heard Dr. Edward Hill, Ph.D. of Cleveland State University speak on design. His point was he could blindfold you and drop you off at any interstate exit and you would not know where you were. If you want to have an identity and make your exits look different than any other community, you have to hold the developers to a higher standard. He would be happy to come speak to us, if asked. He does agree that the study is a lot of money.
J. Mouser said that when Balke-Brown brought their plans to us we told them we did not like them but could not give them anything to show what we did want. The guide would give us an idea of what we want from the developer.
N. Drolet said that we already have set the stage in the Central Park area. That area is the blueprint of what we want with the hotel and conference center. He likes the idea of having Dr. Hill come speak to us instead of paying for the study.
M. Bennett agreed that we need a set of guidelines. The decisions we make will last at least fifty years. T. Shekell added that it was a budgeted item.
ROLL CALL: Grogan, aye; Schmidt, aye; E. True, no; D. Polites, no; R.~Reckamp, aye; J.~Mouser, aye; A. Medford, aye; J.~Drolet, no; M.~Bennett, aye; D. Renner, aye; S.~Engler, no; N.~Drolet, no; J. Albrecht, aye; J.~West, aye. Ayes - 9; Nays - 5. Motion carried.
ORDINANCES:
1st Readings
Motion was made by J. Mouser and seconded by D. Renner to approve Ordinance Item 3, Ord. Amending Ord. 623, Zoning, Development known as Shakthi Plaza.
ROLL CALL: Grogan, aye; Schmidt, aye; E. True, aye; D. Polites, aye; R.~Reckamp, aye; J.~Mouser, aye; A. Medford, aye; J.~Drolet, aye; M.~Bennett, aye; D. Renner, aye; S.~Engler, aye; N.~Drolet, aye; J. Albrecht, aye; J.~West, aye. All Ayes. Motion carried.
Motion was made by J. Mouser and seconded by A. Medford to approve Ordinance Item 3, Ord. Amending Ord. 623, Zoning, Development known as Sam’s Club Car Wash.
ROLL CALL: Grogan, aye; Schmidt, aye; E. True, aye; D. Polites, aye; R.~Reckamp, aye; J.~Mouser, aye; A. Medford, aye; J.~Drolet, aye; M.~Bennett, aye; D. Renner, aye; S.~Engler, aye; N.~Drolet, aye; J. Albrecht, aye; J.~West, aye. All Ayes. Motion carried.
2nd Readings
There were no 2nd readings.
STANDING COMMITTEES:
Community Development: J. Mouser stated they met on March 4th and 10th and everyone has a copy of the minutes in their packets.
Motion was made by J. Mouser and seconded by D. Renner to confirm the decision of the Zoning Hearing Officer to approve a sign variance to the rear yard setback requirement for a freestanding sign in the B-1 District located at 1115 Frontage Road.
A. Medford commented that the banner on the LED board should be positioned to the bottom of the sign. He would like to make an amendment to require that.
Motion was made by A. Medford and seconded by R. Reckamp to amend the original motion to position the banner on the LED board at the bottom of the sign.
ROLL CALL: Grogan, aye; Schmidt, aye; E. True, aye; D. Polites, aye; R.~Reckamp, aye; J.~Mouser, aye; A. Medford, aye; J.~Drolet, aye; M.~Bennett, aye; D. Renner, aye; S.~Engler, aye; N.~Drolet, aye; J. Albrecht, aye; J.~West, aye. All Ayes. Motion carried, as amended.
J. Mouser announced that their next meeting is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Monday, March 24th.
Public Works: A. Medford said that their next meeting is 7:00 p.m. on Monday, March 24th.
Public Safety: E. True stated that they met on March 10th. He said that the committee discussed security measures in the Chambers and at City Hall. A group of people were put together to research it. The consensus is to maintain the hometown feeling at the City Hall.
Mayor Graham added that he has had several e-mails from citizens concerned that we would spend a lot of money on it. He is concerned about the safety of the employees since they are in a sensitive position. The employees in the front are frequently confronted with irate people that have had their water turned off. We have had as many as 300 people a month who had their water turned off for non-payment. He agrees that we should not spend a lot of money, but we do need to look at the safety of the employees.
E. True stated that the next meeting is scheduled for April 14th at 7:00 p.m.
Finance/Administration: J. West said the minutes were included in the packet and that the Finance committee met prior to the Council meeting.
Motion was made by J. West and seconded by E. True to pay Warrant 156 in the amount of $466,334.41.
ROLL CALL: Grogan, aye; Schmidt, aye; E. True, aye; D. Polites, aye; R.~Reckamp, aye; J.~Mouser, aye; A. Medford, aye; J.~Drolet, aye; M.~Bennett, aye; D. Renner, aye; S.~Engler, aye; N.~Drolet, aye; J. Albrecht, aye; J.~West, aye. All Ayes. Motion carried.
The next Finance meeting will be on March 24th at 5:30 p.m.
Parks/Environment: J. Albrecht said that the met on March 10th and the minutes are in the packet. The next meeting will be April 14th at 5:30 p.m.
D. Renner said that people have been told to remove their dogs from St. Ellen Mine Park. He wanted to clarify that dogs are permitted there, as long as they are on a leash. He also wanted to thank Eric in Code Enforcement for his outstanding work in his neighborhood.
R. Reckamp clarified that dogs are not permitted in the City Park. D. Renner said they are permitted at Rock Springs Park, though.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: None.
P. Goodwin announced that the Zoning Hearing Officer meeting scheduled for April 8th has been cancelled.
ADJOURNMENT:
Motion was made by J. Albrecht and seconded by N. Grogan to adjourn. All ayes. Motion carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:25 p.m.
Submitted by,
___/s/_________________
Philip A. Goodwin, City Clerk
Minutes taken by
Maryanne Fair, Deputy City Clerk
Proper notice having been duly given
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