Mt. Vernon City Council met Sept. 4.
Here is the minutes provided by the Council:
Mayor John Lewis called the meeting to order.
Father Ben Hankinson of the Trinity Episcopal Church gave the Invocation.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
ROLL CALL
Roll call showed present: Council Member Jeff May, Council Member Donte Moore, Council Member Jim Rippy, Council Member Mike Young, and Mayor John Lewis.
PRESENTATION OF JOURNALS
The Journals for the August 1, 2017, November 6, 2017, February 5, 2018, March 5, 2018, and April 2, 2018 Executive Sessions, August 20, 2018 Regular City Council Meeting, and the August 27, 2018 City Council Workshop Meeting were presented for approval.
Council Member Donte Moore motioned to approve the Journals as presented. Seconded by Council Member Jeff May. Yeas: May, Moore, Rippy, Young, and Lewis.
VISITORS/CITIZENS REQUESTS/ADDRESSES FROM THE AUDIENCE
Candy Luzar, 900 S. 26th Street, urged the City Council to keep and maintain the City Park Lake. She spoke with many people visiting the park and her neighbors. All felt that the lake was enjoyed by many and it is a beautiful part of the park. She presented a Petition to Save the Lake with 44 signatures. She agreed that the lake should be cleaned and maintained plus the geese removed.
George May, 908 S. 26th Street, spoke in favor of saving the City Park Lake. He stated that the City does not need another green space. To fill in the lake would cause a great loss to the community. It is a treasure that should be maintained. May stated that the $1 million estimate to fill in the lake seems very high and that money could be used for other purposes. He agreed that the geese are a problem and their removal should be addressed to prevent an outbreak of a disease from walking on bird droppings.
Mayor John Lewis stated that since the Workshop Meeting last week, more options have been developed and the estimates given were actually guesstimates. George May stated that many people did not know about the plans to fill-in the lake. Council Member Donte Moore reported that three options were presented at the Workshop Meeting. Only one individual showed up to that meeting when the Park Lake situation was discussed. Moore urged May to have his neighbors and other residents email the Council Members to communicate how they feel about the Park Lake.
Mayor John Lewis reported that the geese issue is being worked on. This will be a four to five-year process to eliminate the geese according to Federal regulations. He encouraged citizens not to feed the geese.
Council Member Donte Moore explained that this is the first step of a long process to fix the problems at the Park.
Council Member Jim Rippy stated that the City needs to do their due diligence, but not take too long to make a decision on the problems at the Park.
Council Member Mike Young stated that he grew up by the City Park and is partial to the lake. He reiterated that the Council has not come to any conclusion.
Michael McDonough, 835 McCauley Road, asked about the status of sidewalks on McCauley Road. He stated that he saw ten to twelve children walking to school with cars backed up behind them. The children have to walk on the road and dodge the traffic causing a dangerous situation. Mayor John Lewis replied that the status remains the same. The McCauley Road sidewalk is on the drawing board with hundreds of other projects. McDonough stated that the City promised the residents a sidewalk when Marteeny’s sidewalk was built. Lewis stated that many sidewalk developments were discussed, but the sidewalk projects had to be stopped because the City was $60 million in debt. McDonough stated that he previously filed a petition from the area residents requesting the sidewalks. Lewis stated that the City is prioritizing projects with the funds available. He feels that the City should not be building any sidewalks, since the new ruling stated that Cities are liable if people fall or trip on sidewalks that are not maintained. The City needs to take care of the existing sidewalks.
APPROVAL OF CONSOLIDATED VOUCHERS FOR ACCOUNTS PAYABLE
The Consolidated Vouchers for Accounts Payable were presented to Council for approval. Council Member Jim Rippy questioned the payables to Heneghan and Associates for $48,069.98 for Lift Station 14 design contract and to HMG for $48,061.12 for Lift Station 14 main replacement and the construction inspection for Chesley Industrial Park. City Manager Mary Ellen Bechtel explained the design of Lift Station 14 is different than design of the Lift Station 14 Force Main. Rippy feels that it is time for the City to look at expanding the Engineering Department staff to eliminate the need for so many consultants.
Council Member Jeff May motioned to approve the Consolidated Vouchers for Accounts Payable in the amount of $1,038,817.04. Seconded by Council Member Mike Young. Yeas: May, Moore, Rippy, Young, and Lewis.
BIDS & QUOTES
Regular City Council Meeting Tuesday, September 4, 2018
City Manager Mary Ellen Bechtel presented the bids received for the North 44th Street Road Improvement Project. This project will be funded with the 2012 Bonds. Bechtel explained that this will construct a thirty-six-foot road to McAllister’s then twenty-four-foot road from McAllister’s to past the winery for a total of 2,370 lineal feet. The project should take 155 working days to complete. City Engineer Brad Ruble will be the Construction Engineer. Sidewalks will be replaced, and street lights installed. Ruble stated
that the utilities will be relocated by the utility companies. Council Member Jeff May asked if Ruble was comfortable with the bids since there were many outliers Nine bids were received:
CONTRACTOR BID AMOUNT
1. Kiefer Bros., Construction Inc., Mt. Carmel, IL $1,592,525.20
2. Samron Midwest Contracting, Murphysboro, IL $1,084,599.35
3. Sierra Bravo Contractors, LLC., Sesser, IL $1,250,296.22
4. DMS Contracting, Mascoutah, IL $1,126,689.50
5. Hanks Excavating & Landscaping, Belleville, IL $1,088,170.40
6. Baxmeyer Construction Inc., Waterloo, IL $1,072,077.00
7. Guinzy Construction Inc., Ashley, IL $1,267,706.67
8. E. T. Simonds Construction Co., Carbondale, IL $1,241,621.60
9. Stutz Excavating Inc., Alton, IL $1,158,373.20
Bechtel and City Engineer Brad Ruble recommended the acceptance of the low bid of $1,072,077.00 from Baxmeyer Construction Inc. A review of the bid submitted revealed no irregularities and all bidding requirements were satisfied. Council Member Donte Moore asked what the engineer’s estimate was and the budget amount. Bechtel replied that the engineer’s estimate was $1,335,292.00 and $1.2 million was budgeted.
Council Member Jeff May motioned to accept the low bid from Baxmeyer Construction Inc. in the amount of $1,072,077.00 for the North 44th Street Road Improvement Project. Seconded by Council Member Mike Young. Yeas: May, Moore, Rippy, Young, and Lewis.
CITY MANAGER
City Manager Mary Ellen Bechtel requested permission to close South 9th Street between Jordan and Casey Avenues on Saturday, September 22, 2018 from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. for the 4th Annual Shake, Rattle, & Roll Benefit for the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Mt. Vernon Chapter 28. Adjacent business owners approved of the closing.
Council Member Mike Young motioned to grant approval to close South 9th Street between Jordan and Casey Avenues on Saturday, September 22, 2018 from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. for the 4th Annual Shake, Rattle, & Roll Benefit for the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Mt. Vernon Chapter 28. Seconded by Council Member Donte Moore. Yeas: May, Moore, Rippy, Young, and Lewis.
CITY ATTORNEY
City Attorney David Leggans presented an Ordinance Approving a Tax Increment Redevelopment Agreement between the City of Mt. Vernon and Weedy Acres, LLC. City Manager Mary Ellen Bechtel explained that Weedy Acres, LLC. (Phoenix Modular Elevator) is proposing to invest approximately $950,000 to develop an additional manufacturing building of approximately 18,000 sq. ft. Allison Allgaier, President of Phoenix Modular Elevators, spoke on the planned project for additional warehousing and storage space. The company has grown from eighteen (18) to twenty-seven (27) employees. Bechtel explained that the Agreement would provide a 30% rebate on the annual interest coming from the Incremental Property Tax. The total benefit is $144,539 or 15% of the project.
Council Member Jeff May motioned to suspend the rules for voting on an Ordinance. Seconded by Council Member Donte Moore. Yeas: May, Moore, Rippy, Young, and Lewis.
Council Member Donte Moore motioned to approve Ordinance #2018-38, an Ordinance Approving a Tax Increment Redevelopment Agreement between the City of Mt. Vernon and Weedy Acres, LLC. Seconded by Council Member Mike Young. Yeas: May, Moore, Rippy, Young, and Lewis.
MAYOR
Mayor John Lewis reported on the July 2018 statistics from the Public Utilities, Fire, Police, Engineering and Inspection Departments.
Police Department handled 2,173 calls which equals to about 70 calls each and every day. 134 people were arrested during the month. There were 135 criminal charges and 36 warrants served. They also conducted 372 traffic stops resulting in 227 citations, of which 19 were for use of cellphones. 10 people were arrested for D.U.I.’s, they had 32 drug charges, responded to 96 traffic crashes and they answered 87 alarms. The Detective Division was assigned 69 new cases, cleared 5 cases with arrests, referred 20 cases to the States Attorney and had 10 crime scene call-outs. The Tactical Unit was deployed 2 times and our K9 team had 12 deployments.
Fire Department responded to 324 alarms, of which 241 were recorded as EMS related, 9 of the responses were recorded as fire related, 7 of the responses were recorded as hazard related and 32 were recorded as false alarm or false call. They responded to 1 rental dwelling fire which is listed as suspicious and under investigation, and 1 mutual aid given, and 2 mutual aid received. The Fire Inspection Department conducted 87 10A Inspections, 3 plan reviews, and 1 business site inspection, 2 public education events and participated in Aircraft Rescue Firefighting Class to aid in the airport keeping their FAA 139 Certificate. Public Utilities Department They've been swamped, and I could not get totals, so I will get them to you at a later date.
Engineering and Inspection Department. There have been 64 nuisance postings, of which our city crews abated 5 properties. There were 2 properties condemned and there were 13 building permits totaling $130,040.
CITY COUNCIL
Council Member Jim Rippy stated that the City Council needs to share the priorities with the public because he can see how the public is confused when the City can construct sidewalks in one area, but not another area.
Council Member Jim Rippy stated that it is time to tackle the installation of a railroad overpass from east to west because of the continuous railroad blockage. The City Manager’s Office will provide
documentation from when the project was initially discussed years ago. Mayor John Lewis reported that he has contacted U.S. Representative Mike Bost about funding for the project.
VISITORS/CITIZENS REQUESTS/ADDRESSES FROM THE AUDIENCE
JoAlice Pierce, 700 Meadowbrook, thanked the City for the hard work on the Seventh Street reopening and complimented the person who installed the railroad crossing. She said that it is the smoothest crossing in Mt. Vernon.
Pierce spoke on the urgency for sidewalks for McCauley Road.
Mrs. George May, 908 South 26th Street spoke on the condition of the roadway at the south end of 26th Street. She said that the street is so narrow that school buses tear up the corners causing many ruts. The ditches are deep, and the street is so narrow that two vehicles can hardly pass each other. City Manager Mary Ellen Bechtel stated that this roadway is a priority on the list for future projects. She said that this will be very expensive and the City budgeted funds from the Motor Fund Tax Account to accumulate funds for the project.
Linola Spann thanked the community for their assistance at the August 11, 2018 neighborhood block party at 1904 Lamar Street. She reported that over 500 bookbags and 12 bicycles were given away.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
No Executive Session was held.
ADJOURNMENT
Council Member Jeff May motioned to adjourn. Seconded by Council Member Mike Young. Yeas: May,Moore, Rippy, Young, and Lewis.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:49 p.m.
http://www.mtvernon.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/09042018-Regular-City-Council-Meeting-1.pdf
Alerts Sign-up