City of Mt. Vernon City Council met Jan. 6.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
The Mt. Vernon City Council held a Regular City Council Meeting on Monday, January 06, 2020 at the Rolland W. Lewis Community Building, Veterans Park, 800 South 27th Street, Mt. Vernon, Illinois.
Mayor John Lewis called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Father Bill Howard of Trinity Episcopal Church gave the Invocation.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
ROLL CALL
Roll call showed present: Council Member Ray Botch, Council Member Joe Gliosci, Council Member Donte Moore, Council Member Mike Young, and Mayor John Lewis.
PRESENTATION OF JOURNALS
The Journal for the December 16, 2019 Regular City Council Meeting was presented for approval.
Council Member Donte Moore motioned to approve the Journal as presented. Seconded by Council Member Joe Gliosci. Yeas: Botch, Gliosci, Moore, Young, and Lewis.
VISITORS/CITIZENS REQUESTS/ADDRESSES FROM THE AUDIENCE
No comments were heard.
APPROVAL OF CONSOLIDATED VOUCHERS FOR ACCOUNTS PAYABLE
The Consolidated Vouchers for Accounts Payable were presented to Council for approval.
BIDS AND QUOTES
City Manager Mary Ellen Bechtel presented the quotes for the installation of new flooring in the Engineering and Inspection Departments. Vinyl plank flooring will be installed in the reception area and carpeting installed in the office areas. Two quotes were submitted, and City Engineer Brad Ruble recommends awarding the project to the lowest responsive responsible quoter, Southern Illinois Tile and Carpet Supply Inc. in the amount of $9,587.56. The quotes received were:
Southern Illinois Tile & Carpet Supply Inc. Mt. Vernon, Illinois $9,587.56
One Stop Flooring America Mt. Vernon, Illinois $9,695.70
Council Member Ray Botch motioned to award the project to Southern Illinois Tile and Carpet Supply Inc. in the amount of $9,587.56. Seconded by Council Member Mike Young. Yeas: Botch, Gliosci, Moore, Young, and Lewis.
CITY MANAGER
City Manager Mary Ellen Bechtel requested permission to go out to bid on the new United States Postal Service (USPS) Building. The building will be built on an underutilized City parking lot located at the Southwest corner of 10th Street and Jordan Avenue. Bechtel distributed a copy of the proposed building design. Assistant City Manager Nathan McKenna has worked closely with the USPS and this design has been 95% approved by the USPS. When the design is 100% approved, the City desires to go out for bid as soon as possible. The budget is $800,000 to $1,000,000. The project will be financed by using the Line of Credit from Banterra Bank, the remaining balance of the 2012 Bonds, and if necessary, a ten- year loan from the Downtown TIF District.
Council Member Donte Moore motioned to go out to bid on the new United States Postal Service (USPS) Building. Seconded by Council Member Joe Gliosci. Yeas: Botch, Gliosci, Moore, Young, and Lewis.
CITY ATTORNEY
Corporation Counsel Bill Howard presented for Council’s consideration a Resolution Amending the Economic Development Agreement with Meyer Oil Company. City Manager Mary Ellen Bechtel explained that this extends the Economic Development Agreement dated November 7, 2017 for the development of the gasoline fuel station, convenience store, and car wash from December 31, 2019 to June 20, 2020. If Meyer Oil Company incurs and pays the expense to relocate Ameren’s light pole, the financial assistance amount shall be increased by the additional sum of $30,000 or by the actual cost paid for the relocation of the light pole, whichever is less. Additional development includes constructing up to twenty-two (22) parking spaces for semi-truck and large truck parking. The Agreement establishes a maintenance cost share in the event that Heritage Avenue is used for a truck route.
Council Member Ray Botch motioned to approve the Resolution Amending the Economic Development Agreement with Meyer Oil Company. Seconded by Council Member Mike Young. Yeas: Botch, Gliosci, Moore, Young, and Lewis.
MAYOR
Mayor John Lewis reported on the December 2019 statistics from the various City Departments.
“The Mt. Vernon Police Department handled 1,632 calls which equals to about 54 calls each and every day. 100 people were arrested during the month. There were 102 criminal charges, 27 drug charges, and 29 warrants served. They also conducted 310 traffic stops resulting in 107 citations, of which 2 were for use of cellphones. 8 people were arrested for D.U.I.’s, responded to 93 traffic crashes, answered 72 alarms, and had 91 community contacts. The Detective Division was assigned 32 new cases and referred 2 cases to the State’s Attorney. The Tactical Unit was deployed 1 time and our K-9 team had 10 deployments. There was a total of 4,516 non-emergency calls received and handled during the month of December and 1,205 emergency calls.
The Fire Department responded to 288 alarms and calls. The City Hall Station answered 138 alarms, the Airport Station answered 18 alarms, and the 42nd Street Station answered 132 alarms. Of the responses, 219 were recorded as EMS related, 13 of the responses were recorded as fire related, and 4 of the responses were recorded as hazard related. They responded to 3 structure fires, 1 cooking fire, 4 rubbish fires, 2 trash fires, 12 motor vehicle crashes with injuries, 1 motor vehicle pedestrian accident, 13 false alarms, requested and received 1 mutual aid, and gave mutual aid on 3 calls. The Fire Inspection Dept. performed 3 business site inspections, 5 consultations, and 2 Plan Reviews. The Fire Prevention Division performed 1 public education event. As we move into the New Year, the Fire Department would ask that everyone be safety conscious around the home and be careful as this time of year brings winter weather. Try to avoid slips, trips and falls in and around the home. Happy New Year and as always, if you ever need us in an emergency, dial 911.
Public Utilities Department responded to 8 water breaks, repaired or replaced 14 services, processed 179 work orders, processed 73 JULIE locates, 49 water samples were collected, completed 7 site restorations and had 84 red letter disconnects. On the sewer side, they responded to 2 service calls resulting in 2 backed up sewer mains, 6 routine sanitary and storm mains cleaned and/or televised resulting in 1,250 linear feet of sanitary sewer main cleaned and 400 linear feet of sanitary sewer televised, raised 12 manholes, repaired 2 laterals, and treated 25 mains.
Engineering and Inspection Department conducted 45 10A Inspections. Out of 45 inspections, 25 properties received occupancy certificates, and there have been 2 nuisance postings. There were 3 properties condemned and there were 6 building permits totaling $372,800.”
CITY COUNCIL
Council Member Ray Botch presented an update on the Public Utilities Committee.
“Your Public Utilities Committee (PUC) has come a long way. It was formed in May 2017 by Mayor John Lewis and the City Council to address our water and sewer infrastructure needs. The PUC mission is to provide a plan and maintain transparency. We have infrastructure projects costing in excess of $97 million dollars needing to be done.
WHERE TO START, WHERE TO START?
The best way to start was to have enough background information to make informed logical decisions. At the same time, we developed a budget using available revenue sources.
A Water Modeling Study to insure our system operates efficiently. This led to the installation of a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System (SCADA). In December, SCADA proved its worth. The altitude valve on the Opdyke Tower which maintains all water tank levels malfunctioned. The SCADA System allowed our engineers to redirect water flow.
The Water Modeling Study also directed us to refurbish the 1,500,000-gallon Vernwood Tank first. The Tank restoration is now complete adding two new pumps. The 500,000-gallon Opdyke Tower has now been refurbished.
An Acoustical Water Survey determined undetected leaks. Our system is relatively sound leading to the realization that our 18% water lossage was due to faulty water meters. This problem is being solved by the installation of 6,700 new Kamstrup water meters. The City is financing the meters with a $2.7 million, five-year, bank loan. The meter brand is the result of field trips to Franklin, Tennessee and Elmhurst, Illinois to observe various meters in operation.
The televising and cleaning of the Midtown, Summersville, Sewer Treatment Plant, and Northeast sewers has been completed. These surveys determine the condition of the sewer and cost to repair or replace sewer mains.
The studies have shown the majority of the mains can be relined rather than replaced. This will be a substantial savings to the City. We still have at least three areas to survey. The Public Works Director has developed a 45.9-mile, $18.4 Million Dollar, 17-year Water Main Replacement Program. This will be financed by an IEPA yearly low interest loan.
After receiving background information on what needed to be done, we applied the dollars we would have available. Needless to say, you do not come up with $97 million dollars over night. The Committee decided to develop a Five-Year Plan which is fluid. Each year, the next year is added, since beginning in 2017, the Plan has been amended to the 2019-2024 Action Plan.
Our Five-Year Plan has been updated outlining engineering and costs involved. This Plan includes our IEPA Loan requests.
2019 Water - Opdyke Water Tower.
2020 Sewer - Lift Station #14/Lift Station
2020 Water - Yearly Water Main Replacement
2021 Sewer - Sewer Plant Inlet Replacement, Main Lining and Replacement
2023 Water - 500,000 Gallon L/N Water Tank
2023 Sewer - Replacement of Maple Street and Wagner Road Lift Stations
2022 Water - Yearly Water Main Replacement
2022 Sewer - Sewer Main Lining and Replacement
2023 Water - Yearly Water Main Replacement
2023 Sewer - Main Lining and Replacement
Yearly Revenues and Expenditures for 2019-2024 are:
2019-2020
Revenues - $3,347,000
Expenditures-
Pay as you go - $668,000
Water Meters - $150,000
Engineering - $800,000
Meter Loan - $587,000
020-2021
Revenues $3,622,000
Expenditures-
IEPA Loan Payment - $15,000
Pay as you go - $600,000
Engineering - $800,000
Meter Loan - $587,000
Total Expenditures - $2,002,000
Total Expenditures - $2,205,000
2021-2022
Revenues - $4,140,000
Expenditures-
IEPA Loan - $90,000
Pay as you go - $500,000
Engineering - $800,000
Meter Loan - $587,000
Total Expenditures - $1,977,000
2022-2023
Revenues - $4,753,000
Expenditures-
IEPA Loan - $265,000
Pay as you go - $500,000
Engineering - $800,000
Meter Loan - $587,000
Total Expenditures - $2,152,000
2023-2024
Revenues - $5,256,000
Expenditures-
IEPA Loan - $565,000
Pay as you go - $500,000
Engineering - $800,000
Meter Loan - $587,000
Total Expenditures - $2,452,000”
Council Member Ray Botch thanked former Councilmen Jeff May and Jim Rippy for their valuable contributions.
VISITORS/CITIZENS REQUESTS/ADDRESSES FROM THE AUDIENCE
No comments were heard.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
No Executive Session was held.
ADJOURNMENT
Council Member Joe Gliosci motioned to adjourn. Seconded by Council Member Mike Young. Yeas: Botch, Gliosci, Moore, Young, and Lewis.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:23 p.m.
http://www.mtvernon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/01062020-Regular-City-Council-Meeting.pdf
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