City Council

 

The regular meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Graham who led the Council in “The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.”

 

Philip Goodwin, City Clerk, called the roll:  Gene McCoskey, present; Richie Meile, present; Ed True, present; Jerry Albrecht, present; Jerry Mouser, present; Kevin Hagarty, present; John Drolet, present; Herb Roach, present; Michael Bennett, present; Courtney Cardona, present; Jim Hursey, present; Ray Holden, present; David Cozad, present; Harlan Gerrish, excused.  A quorum was declared present.

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:  Mayor Graham asked for approval of the minutes.  Motion was made by J. Albrecht and seconded by E. True to approve the minutes of February 2, 2015.  All ayes.  Motion carried.

 

PUBLIC HEARING – None scheduled.

 

RESIDENTS:    Mayor Graham invited any resident who wished to speak to come forward.

 

Ralph Goodrich of #4239 Knights of Columbus stepped forward and spoke in favor of the video gaming license.  He said it will help them increase their revenue to support their charitable donations.

 

Doug Munton, First Baptist Church pastor, spoke against video gaming.  He said it hurts families.

 

Gary Hursey, O’Fallon Township trustee, spoke against video gaming.  He said it is making money on people who cannot afford it.

 

Nancy Chase of St. Clair Bowl, spoke in favor of video gaming.  She stated that people have a right to go to a different venue if they do not like video gaming.

 

Walter Hunt spoke in opposition to video gaming.

 

Mike Hookner spoke in opposition to video gaming.  He said right now O’Fallon is a nice place to raise a family.

 

Joe Salano of the American Legion spoke for video gaming.  He said it will help support their veteran’s programs.

 

Dr. Nancy Morrison spoke in opposition to video gaming.  She supports the veterans.

She has counseled families affected by the problems associated with addictive behavior and is concerned about the effects gambling has on families.

Ed Martinez of the Veterans of Foreign War spoke in favor of video gaming.  Their organization assists veterans and needs the extra revenue to support their programs.

 

Chuck Jorgenson of the American Legion spoke in favor of video gaming.  He said they have a critical need to fund their programs.

 

Skip Leininger of the First Baptist Church, spoke in opposition to video gaming.  He appreciates the military service, but with gambling people lose.

 

Lisa Lilly spoke in opposition to video gaming.  She is an Army brat and her grandfather was a VFW commander.  She attends First Baptist Church, and they have to minister to families hurt by gambling.

 

Jeff Hastings of the VFW spoke in favor of video gaming.  His organization wants the increased revenue to help their programs.

 

TJ Wray of the Towne Lounge supports video gaming.  His business is struggling and needs the extra revenue.

 

Bill Gerngross of the Knights of Columbus supports video gaming.  They are looking for different sources of revenue.

 

Rev. Donna Katlan is opposed to video gaming.  She said the convenience of gambling will be negative to the community, as it drives alcohol and addiction problems.

 

Vern Malare urged the Council to vote against video gaming.

 

Dennis Jenkins spoke against video gaming.  He stated the businesses should look at innovative ways to attract more business revenue.

 

Steve Baldwin spoke against video gaming.  He will urge the clergy to take up a collection to support the veterans.

 

Mike Barrons spoke against the privatization of the water and sewer services.  He said that Mr. Goldsmith has a connection to all three of the companies on the short list, as well as Huron Consulting and Baker & McKenzie.

 

Ned Drolet appreciates the new parking at the old Clark Station location.  He said the Planning Commission gave an excellent presentation on the downtown area.

 

Terry Lysakowski mentioned the letter Mr. Zelms had placed in the Progress about the development along Rieder Road.  He also questioned why the City moved the water line extensions at the Base.  He said there is no guarantee that St. Elizabeth will come to O’Fallon.  He also asked that the wording of the question on the ballot be clearer.

 

Vern Malare said that it cost $41,565 for eleven parking spots at the Old Clark station.

Steve Johnston voiced his concerns that there were duck decoys placed in the pond at the Family Sports Park.  He is offended by them.

 

Mayor Graham responded that they have disclosed information, as it was received for the water lease.  He said more information will be released, as it is received.  He continued to answer the concerns of the citizens.  Regarding the wording of the question, the Board tried to reach an agreement for one question.  We want to keep the word “consider”, as we do not know whether we will lease or not, as we have not received all of the information yet.  We have communicated what we have received so far.  On the Strategic Plan, he said we have the facts and figures on the Rieder Road project.  Rieder Road has been taken over by the County at our request.  We plan to have two public meetings the first week of March, and he encourages residents to come out and listen.  It is an Open House type meeting located at the Public Safety Building.  The Strategic Plan was approved by this Council.  The issues are complicated, and we appreciate the dialogue.  The Family Sports Park is very popular now.  The Venita project has taken over sixteen years to get the right of way and move forward.  It will ease the traffic flow, and we have built a new fire station to be accessible at the north end.   He believes that St. Elizabeth will build and bring new jobs.  We will spend five million dollars improving Greenmount, and we have opened up Central Park Drive.  This is about the future by bringing jobs to the area.  This has also increased the sales tax revenue.  Eighteen years ago, we had rock and chip.  You have to keep the infrastructure up.  He realizes this is an emotional issue.  He spoke to the Public Works employees before he announced that we were looking at the lease because we did not want to surprise anyone.

 

M. Bennett asked for clarification on the public meeting dates, and Mayor Graham answered that they are set for March 3^rd and 4^th.

 

Mayor Graham opened up discussion from the floor for the Council to make any comments.

 

J. Mouser stated that Mr. Hagarty and he respond to all of the residents’ concerns.  He said they work as a team to answer e-mails and phone calls.  Mr. Hagarty added that he did respond to Mr. Malare’s phone call.

 

Mayor Graham stated that the city took over the old Clark station.  We removed the underground tanks. We felt we had a responsibility to help the downtown parking.  We are working on a downtown TIF to ease these problems.  We are working on a parking lot at City Hall.  We also need lighting.

 

H. Roach said the petitioner had to file the petitions before the Council made a decision not to sell.

 

G. McCoskey said that we did not come up with the way the gambling law was written – the State did.  The vote was close for the referendum, 48% of the voters, voted no.  We have to represent them too.  This is not an issue against the veterans; it is an issue against gambling.  Not all entertainment is equal, this is not the same.  The issue is accessibility by bringing the machines to the community and out of the casinos.  Sixty percent of the money gambled leaves O’Fallon.

 

J. Mouser said it is mandatory to support the veterans.  We have a great military presence.  You will gamble, if you want to do it.  The vote showed the majority of the citizens support it.

 

J. Albrecht said he is opposed to video gaming.  He said 80% of his phone calls are against gambling.  Part of the Strategic Plan is to make our community stand out from the other communities.  We were elected to lead.

 

D. Cozad said he believes the video gaming is a Band-Aid fix to the revenue problems.  He has been in the Air Force.  We need to do a better job of supporting the veteran’s organizations.  Since they are losing members, it may be time to re-think ways of bringing in new members.

 

E. True said he also supports the veterans, as he also served.  He does not think video gaming is the right way to do it.  He believes it hurts families.

 

M. Bennett said most of his e-mails and calls have been about the referendum.  However, he does not take any of these issues lightly and has considered it in-depth.  He thinks the businesses should be on a level playing field.  Our debate has not centered on the economics for the City.

 

H. Roach said he knows this is an emotional and religious issue for some people.  He said that the State School Board funding was affected, as the State took away from the regular funding for the schools.  He said 8% is divided among the State, City, etc.  He is also concerned about how the community progresses.  He said the original park was funded by raffles, bingo, etc.  There are other addictions in this community.  Our fees are going to be forty times what surrounding communities charge.  The subject of profitability has not been discussed by the Council.  Freedom of choice is key.  The majority of the voters voted for video gambling.

 

J. Hursey responded that his ward also voted for video gaming.  Alcohol sales are not banned.  We have raffles, lottos, etc.

 

Mayor Graham said there were 400 votes between the pros and cons.  No one came out to oppose the question at the time it was on the referendum.  The city cannot come out and lobby before or against.  We are a family town that is known for our schools.  We are known for safety and the parks.  The Council turned down alcohol being sold in the parks, as there are children there.  His main concern is the children.

 

 

Clerk’s Report:  City Clerk Goodwin read the following requests:

 

1.  Request from O’Fallon Hearts & Hands Quilt Guild to conduct a raffle for a quilt from February 18 – June 2015

 

2.  Request from the So. IL Chicken & Beer Dance Committee to conduct a raffle for a television, necklace and other items on March 7, 2015

 

3. Request from the Illinois Probation and Court Services Assn. to conduct a raffle for various prizes on April 24, 2015

 

4.  Request from VFW Post 805 to conduct a roadblock on Saturday, April 4, 2015 from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at the intersection of State and Lincoln

 

5.  Request from the Marine Corp. League sponsored by the VFW Post 805 to conduct a roadblock on Saturday, May 30, 2015 from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the intersection of State and Lincoln

 

 

Motion by M. Bennett and seconded by E. True to approve.  All ayes.  Motion carried.

 

Mayor’s Report:   Mayor Graham announced this month’s Southwestern Illinois Council of Mayors will be held on Thursday, February 26^th at the VFW in Millstadt.  He asked that for those wanting to attend to contact Jamie to make the reservation.

 

 

Motion by J. Albrecht and seconded by J. Mouser to approve Item 1 - A Resolution accepting the Central City Redevelopment Plan and establishing a time and place for a Public Hearing to consider the Tax Increment Financing Redevelopment Plan and Project for the Central City Redevelopment Project Area.

 

ROLL CALL: McCoskey, aye; Meile, aye; True, aye; Albrecht, aye; Mouser, aye; Hagarty, aye; Drolet, aye; Roach, aye; Bennett, aye; Cardona, aye; Hursey, aye; Holden, aye; Cozad, aye.  Ayes – 13; Nos – 0. All ayes.  Motion carried.

 

Motion by J. Albrecht and seconded by M. Bennett to approve Item 2, a resolution affirming that the O’Fallon City Council will not consider a sale of the City’s Water and Wastewater systems.

 

H. Roach asked what the reasoning behind this is as we have already approved the wording.   Mayor Graham answered that the people opposing the question wanted it on the record that we will not sell.  It is just documenting it.

 

H. Roach added that this was never connected to the Strategic Plan and the actual items were never prioritized.  We need to be able to tell the public how the money will be used if we go along with the lease.  We have 72 different projects.  It has been narrowed down to five or six.  A time line has not been established on getting them done.

 

J. Drolet said we need to clean up the question for the referendum.  This does not bind a future Council.  He said it should be that the City does not find it in the best interest of the City to sell.  It should provide the best value.  It should be whereas it is in the best interest of the City that we will not sell the water.

 

Mayor Graham said it is very difficult when we have somewhere around $150 million dollars in infrastructure to improve.  How would this Council set the priority?  The Strategic Plan has listed these projects.   Yes, May 1 will bring new people to the Council, but we will still have eleven here.

 

ROLL CALL: McCoskey, aye; Meile, aye; True, aye; Albrecht, aye; Mouser, aye; Hagarty, aye; Drolet, present; Roach, no; Bennett, aye; Cardona, aye; Hursey, aye; Holden, aye; Cozad, aye.  Ayes – 11; Present – 1; Nos – 1.  Motion carried.

 

 

1^st Reading – No 1^st reading brought forward.

 

2nd Readings –

 

Motion by J. Albrecht and seconded by J. Hursey to approve on 2^nd reading, Item 3, An Ordinance amending the City of O’Fallon Municipal Code to permit video gaming terminals at licensed establishments in the City of O’Fallon in accordance with the Illinois Video Gaming Act.

 

Motion by J. Albrecht and seconded by G. McCoskey to table this discussion until the next meeting with new information both pro and con.

 

ROLL CALL: McCoskey, aye; Meile, no; True, aye; Albrecht, aye; Mouser, no; Hagarty, no; Drolet, no; Roach, no; Bennett, no; Cardona, aye; Hursey, no; Holden, no; Cozad, aye.  Ayes – 5; Nos – 8. Motion failed.

 

Original Motion - ROLL CALL: McCoskey, no; Meile, aye; True, no; Albrecht, no; Mouser, aye; Hagarty, aye; Drolet, aye; Roach, aye; Bennett, aye; Cardona, no; Hursey, aye; Holden, aye; Cozad, no.  Ayes – 8; Nos – 5.  Motion carried.

 

Motion by J. Albrecht and seconded by E. True to approve on 2nd Reading, an Ordinance amending Chapter 116 of the Code of Ordinances establishing a video gaming liquor license classification.

 

ROLL CALL: McCoskey, aye; Meile, aye; True, aye; Albrecht, aye; Mouser, aye; Hagarty, aye; Drolet, aye; Roach, aye; Bennett, aye; Cardona, aye; Hursey, aye; Holden, aye; Cozad, no.  Ayes – 12; Nos – 1. Motion carried.

 

 

Community Development:Motion by J. Albrecht and seconded by E. True to approve the following Special Event Permit requests:

 

Request from the Regency Conference Center to host the Regency Boutique Bridal Shows on March 1^st and August 23, 2015 with conditions

 

          Request from Make-A-Wish Illinois to display signs for a Chicken and Beer Dance on March 7^th at the Regency Conference Center with conditions

 

          Request from Walmart to hold an outdoor Garden Center from February 17^th - July 30, 2015 with conditions

 

All ayes.Motion carried.

 

J. Albrecht stated the committee will meet February 23rd at the Public Safety building.

 

Public Works:  R. Meile announced that they will meet February 23rd at the Public Safety Building at 7:00 p.m.

 

Public Safety:  K. Hagarty said they will meet at 5:00 p.m. March 9th at the Public Safety Building.

 

Finance/Administration:  M. Bennett said they will kick off the budget talk at the next meeting.  They will start at 5:00 p.m.

 

Motion by M. Bennett and seconded by J. Mouser to approve Warrant #319 in the amount of $1,206,879.57.

 

ROLL CALL: McCoskey, aye; Meile, aye; True, aye; Albrecht, aye; Mouser, aye; Hagarty, aye; Drolet, aye; Roach, aye; Bennett, aye; Cardona, aye; Hursey, aye; Holden, aye; Cozad, aye.  Ayes – 13; Nos – 0. All ayes.  Motion carried.

 

Parks and Environment:  E. True said they will meet March 9th at 5:30 p.m. at the Public Safety Building.  They will have the decoys in the Family Sports Park pond on the agenda.

 

EXECUTIVE SESSION:   No closed session.

 

ADJOURNMENT:  Motion by J. Mouser and seconded by K. Hagarty to adjourn.  All ayes.  Motion carried.

 

 

The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.

 

Submitted by,

 

 

 

__________________________

Philip A. Goodwin

City Clerk                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                               

Minutes recorded by

Maryanne Fair, Deputy City Clerk

Proper notice having been duly given