City Council

Meeting date:

Monday, December 1, 2014

O’FALLON CITY COUNCIL

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING

December 1, 2014

The regular meeting was called to order at 7:03 p.m. by Mayor Graham who asked Pack 35, Den 6 to lead 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, present. A quorum was declared present.

Mayor Graham asked for approval of the minutes. Motion was made by J. Mouser and seconded by E. True to approve the minutes of November 17, 2014. All ayes. Motion carried.

PUBLIC HEARING – Mayor Graham opened the hearing for the annexation agreement with James Joseph for an approximate 6.86 acres located at 10037 Rieder Road, Lebanon, Illinois at 7:05 p.m. and asked for public input. Mr. James Joseph rose to explain to the Council that he is currently on a well and would like to have city water. Mayor Graham called two more times for public input and no one else stepped forward. He closed the public hearing at 7:06 p.m.

RESIDENTS: Mayor Graham invited residents forward to speak. He reminded everyone that we are under Robert Rules of Order. He asked that anyone give their name and address before speaking.

Doreen Klages came forward to commend the Public Works committee for approving that the sale or lease of the water/sewer proposal be placed on the April ballot.

Bob Kueker said that the sale or lease of the water RFP has stirred a lot of interest as he has spoken to many people while he was requesting signatures on his petition. He also requested that the sale be placed as a referendum on the ballot. The question was worded as the “We the undersigned qualified voters of the City of O’Fallon, St. Clair County, do hereby petition that the following question of public policy be placed on the aforementioned body of local government at the election to be held on April 7, 2015 “‘Shall the City of O’Fallon sell or lease the municipal water and wastewater systems and related assets?’”, per the Mayor’s question.

Mayor Graham told them that the Council has not decided on anything yet. He is hoping within the next month that the City will have the question together with the facts denoted properly.

Charles Pitt asked the Council why they are proposing this sale now and why it is a good idea in the first place.

Mayor Graham reiterated that the Council has not made a decision one way or the other. The funds that we receive now can only be used for water and sewer projects. He added that the sewer plant is self-insured. We have 18,000 rate payers on our system. We do not have final proposals from the bidders yet. The administration has tried to stay away from a raise in the property tax. He mentioned that we need 4.9 million dollars a year to maintain our storm water and streets. He stated that we have a fine line of trying to get funds and moving the city forward to position it in the next ten years.

Mike Cook also said he was opposed to the concept. He recognizes that it is a complex issue. He believes that the citizens have a right to vote on the issue. He would like to see information, as soon as it is received. He would like to attend some public forums to get more information.

Mayor Graham said that a letter will be going out in the next week which will give some more information. However, nothing has been received from the bidders yet.

Vern Malare also spoke and he also would like to see a public meeting. Mayor Graham said the Council is paid for Special meetings, so they would like to keep them at a minimum.

Mr. Behrens read a statement and added that he would like to be able to vote on the issue.

Steve Johnston spoke about the move of St. Elizabeth to O’Fallon. He had questions regarding the employment opportunities. Mayor Graham mentioned those jobs and the ones from Geospatial – another potential employer. Many businesses plan to open that are indirectly connected to the hospital.

Kay Zelms came forward to voice her opposition to the water proposal. She said they have to file their question by January 5^th as it is the deadline. She spoke to 180 people, who asked why we are asking that question right now, what drove us to this, and they thought they would be able to vote on it. She said an expert could have given us an estimate of how much our assets are worth. She added that if a special meeting is called for, it is important to the City.

REPORTS:

Clerk’s Report: Motion by M. Bennett and seconded by J. Hursey to approve the request from the O’Fallon Panther Band Boosters to conduct a raffle from December 1 – December 10, 2014 for an xBox system. All ayes. Motion carried.

Mayor’s Report: Mayor Graham did not have an additional report.

RESOLUTIONS: Motion by J. Albrecht and seconded by D. Cozad to consider Resolution Item 1 – 4 under the Omnibus Agreement.

Mayor Graham read the following resolutions aloud:

Item 1, a Resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute an agreement with Thouvenot, Wade & Moerchen, Inc. (TWM) for the design of the Indian Springs replacement Lift Station in the amount of $8,400

Item 2 – Resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute an agreement with Gonzalez Companies for the revision of the design of the Woodstream Sewer Bypass Project to a total cost of $203,010

Item 3 – Resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign an annexation agreement with James Joseph for 10037 Rieder Road

Item 4 – Resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute an agreement with IDOT in support of the East Wesley Drive resurfacing project and authorizing the City Clerk to execute an IDOT resolution form approving the use of local Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) in the amount of $730,000

Motion by J. Albrecht and seconded by E. True to pass the resolutions items 1 – 4 approved under the previous Omnibus Agreement.

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; Gerrish, aye. Ayes - 14; Nos – 0. Motion carried.

ORDINANCES:

1^st Reading – Motion by J. Albrecht and seconded by J. Mouser to consider 1^st Reading Ordinance, Item 5, an Ordinance amending Chapter 77, Stop Signs for intersections at Stonebriar and Chesapeake Junction Subdivision – Norfolk Way, Cabot Court, Briar Meadow Court, Ridge Pointe Drive, Silverlink Drive, Pacific Crossing and Arriva Court.

Motion by J. Albrecht and seconded by E. True to consider 1^st Reading Ordinance, Item 6, Ord. providing for the annual levy for the fiscal year commencing on the first day of May 1, 2014 and ending on the thirtieth day of April 2015.

2nd Readings –

Motion by J. Albrecht and seconded by J. Mouser to pass 2nd Reading Ordinance, Item 7, an Ordinance adopting the 2012 International Building Code, the 2012 International Fire Code, the 2012 International Mechanical Code, the 2012 International Property Maintenance Code, the 2012 International Residential Code, the 2012 International existing Building Code, the 2012 International Fuel Gas Code, the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code, and the 2011 National Electrical Code.

Motion by J. Albrecht and seconded by J. Mouser to pass 2nd Reading Ordinance, Item 8, an Ordinance amending Ordinance 3789, Zoning Districts and Ordinance 3792, Execution of an Economic Incentive Agreement (Development known as CarMax) located at 1254 Central Park Drive.

ROLL CALL: McCoskey, aye; Meile, aye; True, aye; Albrecht, aye; Mouser, aye; Hagarty, aye; Drolet, aye; Roach, aye; Bennett, no; Cardona, no; Hursey, no; Holden, aye; Cozad, aye; Gerrish, aye. Ayes - 11; Nos – 3. Motion carried.

Mayor Graham said that that the Ordinance amending Chapter 111, Section 111.99 is on hold.

STANDING COMMITTEES –

Community Development:J. Albrecht stated the committee will meet next Monday at 6:00 p.m. at the Public Safety building.

Public Works: R. Meile announced that they will meet December 22nd at the Public Safety Building at 7:00 p.m.

Public Safety: K. Hagarty said they will meet at 5:00 p.m. on December 8^th at the Public Safety Building.

Finance/Administration: Motion by M. Bennett and seconded by J. Hursey to approve Warrant #314 in the amount of $2,435,349.73.

Parks and Environment: E. True said they will meet next Monday at 5:30 p.m.

EXECUTIVE SESSION: Mayor Graham the Council will go into closed session to discuss the purchase, lease or sale of real estate; and setting of a price for sale or lease of property owned by the public body.

Motion by J. Mouser and seconded by J. Albrecht to discuss the purchase, lease or sale of real estate; and setting of a price for sale or lease of property owned by the public body.

The Council went into closed session at 7:55 p.m. and returned at 8:58 p.m. with no action.

ADJOURNMENT: Motion by M. Bennett and seconded by J. Albrecht to adjourn. All ayes. Motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:58 p.m.

Submitted by,

__________________________

Philip A. Goodwin

City Clerk

Minutes recorded by

Maryanne Fair, Deputy City Clerk

Proper notice having been duly given

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