Carbondale Reporter

City of Genoa City Council met Sept. 6.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Mayor Brust called the meeting of the City Council to order at 7:01pm followed by roll call. Alderman Wesner, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny and Hughes were present. Alderman Pulley and Roca were absent. Quorum present.

Mayor Brust led the pledge of allegiance.

GUEST SPEAKERS – None

Motion made by Alderman Wesner to accept the minutes from the August 16, 2023, City Council meeting, seconded by Alderman Freund. Voice vote was taken, all voted yes. Motion carried.

Motion made by Alderman Braheny to approve payment of the accounts payable for September 1, 2023, seconded by Alderman Hughes. There was some discussion regarding what was included within item number two. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny and Hughes voted yes. Motion carried.

ITEMS FROM INDIVIDUALS IN ATTENDANCE – Nathan Boyd of 731 Redwood Ct came before the council to express some concerns. These included brush cleanup, reckless driving down Madison St, and bad behavior that was seen at the Genoa Park District Pool over the summer. All of these will be looked into further.

OLD BUSINESS – None

FUTURE ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION – None

NEW BUSINESS:

APPROVE THE APPOINTMENT OF GRED EDWARDS TO THE POLICE AND FIRE COMMISSION

Alderman Wesner made a motion to approve the appointment of Greg Edwards, seconded by Alderman Stage. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny and Hughes voted yes. Motion carried.

APPROVE A DOWNTOWN FAÇADE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM GRANT AGREEMENT WITH LLOYD LANDSCAPING, NOT TO EXCEED $4,800

Alderman Wesner made a motion to approve of the grant agreement with Lloyd Landscaping, seconded by Alderman Braheny. There was a brief discussion on what would be done to the

property with the grant and the amount leftover in the façade grant fund. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny and Hughes voted yes. Motion carried.

APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF 3 2024 CHEVY TRUCKS FROM GREEN FAMILY CHEVROLET, NOT TO EXCEED $118,732.78

Motion made by Alderman Winter to approve of the purchase, seconded by Alderman Stage. Alderman Freund asked about why we didn’t go with Alan Browne or another more local dealership to which Janice Melton explained that they weren’t willing to give the discounts that Green Family Chevrolet was. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny and Hughes voted yes. Motion carried.

APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF 72 WATER METERS AND RADIOS FROM WINWATER, NOT TO EXCEED $19,100

Alderman Hughes made a motion to approve of the purchase of 72 water meters and radios, seconded by Alderman Braheny. There was some discussion regarding the difference between the water meters and water meter setters in the next item. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny and Hughes voted yes. Motion carried.

APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF 24 WATER METER SETTERS FROM FERGUSON WATERWORKS, NOT TO EXCEED $12,615

Alderman Braheny made a motion to approve of the purchase of 24 water meter setters, seconded by Alderman Winter. There was a brief discussion regarding the negative balance shown in the year-to-date account balance within the purchase requisition. It was further explained that despite this one area going over budget, there is still money available within the department fund. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny and Hughes voted yes. Motion carried.

WAIVE THE BID PROCESS AND APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF A MEDIA REPLACEMENT, NOT TO EXCEED $125,900

Motion made by Alderman Stage to waive the bid process and approve the purchase of a media replacement, seconded by Alderman Wesner. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny and Hughes voted yes. Motion carried.

RATIFY THE ACCEPTANCE OF A DEED FROM THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR PARCEL 3EX0110

Alderman Hughes made a motion to ratify the acceptance of a deed for parcel 3EX0110, seconded by Alderman Braheny. Alderman Stage asked if we would be reimbursed for the entirety of this purchase, and it was explained that the city will actually make money off of the transaction. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny and Hughes voted yes. Motion carried.

ACCEPT A BID FROM AMPLER DEVELOPMENT, LLC FOR THE PURCHASE OF A PORTION OF PARCEL 3EX0110 AND APPROVE A QUITCLAIM DEED FROM THE CITY OF GENOA TO AMPLER DEVELOPMENT, LLC

Alderman Wesner made a motion to accept the bid from Ampler Development, LLC, seconded by Alderman Braheny. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny and Hughes voted yes. Motion carried.

APPROVE A MECHANICAL MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT WITH SERVICE CONCEPTS FOR THE MUNICIPAL BUILDING, NOT TO EXCEED $6,330

Alderman Braheny made a motion to approve of a mechanical maintenance agreement with Service Concepts, seconded by Alderman Wesner. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny and Hughes voted yes. Motion carried.

APPROVE A MECHANICAL MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT WITH SERVICE CONCEPTS FOR THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT, NOT TO ECEED $3,395

Alderman Wesner made a motion to approve of a mechanical agreement for the wastewater treatment plant, seconded by Alderman Fruend. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny and Hughes voted yes. Motion carried.

APPROVE AN ADDENDUM TO THE SERVICE CONCEPTS 2023-2024 MECHANICAL MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS

Alderman Winter made a motion to approve an addendum to the Service Concepts agreements, seconded by Alderman Hughes. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny and Hughes voted yes. Motion carried.

APPROVE A RESOLUTION FOR MAINTENANCE UNDER THE ILLINOIS HIGHWAY CODE

Motion made by Alderman Braheny to approve of the resolution for the maintenance under the Illinois Highway Code, seconded by Alderman Winter. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny and Hughes voted yes. Motion carried.

APPROVE AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING EMPLOYEES’ RIGHT TO PAID LEAVE

Alderman Stage made a motion to approve an ordinance establishing employees’ right to paid leave, seconded by Alderman Winter. City Attorney Kelly Cahill explained that there was a new law that was passed that would allow employees to utilize up to 40 hours of paid leave without giving a reason as to the time off. However, there is a line in the statute that gives municipalities and counties the opportunity to pass an ordinance before the effective date of the act that would allow them to create their own policy on leave so that they remain in control rather than the state. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny and Hughes voted yes. Motion carried.

DISCUSS THE SALE OF A WATER TOWER LEASE

Mayor Brust and City Administrator Alyssa Seguss explained to the council that they were approached recently by a company that comes in and buys the lifetime of the leases between the city and the companies that rent the space at the top of water towers, such as Verizon. Right now, Genoa gets an annual income from these companies in order to rent the space out but in this case the city would get a large lump sum right now but no further annual income. However, if the company buying the leases finds a new company to be brought into the space at the top of the water tower the city would get an additional 50% of that annual income on top of the lump sum.

The council discussed the pros and cons of selling the leases for a lump sum versus keeping the guaranteed annual income. Overall, most council members were leaning towards keeping the annual income but wanted to know if there was still the option of the third-party company bringing another vendor in and splitting the profit. There will be more discussion on this at a later date.

DEPARTMENT REPORTS:

FINANCE:

Jan Tures, Finance Director, reported that they are still completing the audit process but other than that nothing new is in the works.

PUBLIC WORKS:

Public Works Director Janice Melton announced that the storm sewer is finally completed. Some volunteers from the Grainger 55+ community reached out to Melton, so they went out and did some seed collecting with them and gave them a little class about seeding and re-seeding. There have been some storm drain repairs being done around town in various areas and nine new water meters installed as well. Public Works had two employees meet with IRWA to do their wastewater training and they have one employee unfortunately leaving for a new opportunity on the 15th.

POLICE:

Police Chief Robert Smith announced that the tornado siren has been updated and is now fully automatic. He also announced that their new officer Marisol has been sworn in and will be at the next city council meeting. They gave another offer to an officer, Ian, conditional on the fact that he passes his psychological evaluation. The PD did interviews on 9/2 and they are working on finalizing that list down to four applicants. They will be fully staffed after the swearing in of Ian with a list of officers to move forward with.

ADMINISTRATIVE:

City Administrator Alyssa Seguss explained that most of the issues with the new water billing system have been resolved and they are working diligently to sort out the rest of the kinks. There was some discussion with the council about this since some residents are signing up for automatic debit twice and this will need to be resolved quickly to avoid double payments. They’ve also started looking into new permitting software for city hall that would make it easier for both the builders and city employees. The Economic Development Commission officially hired an intern from the NIU Ignite program and he will start by working on the city website. Seguss announced that the comprehensive and strategic plans are almost complete, and the draft documents will be released soon. There was a workshop recently going through goals and prioritization on certain items.

MAYOR:

Mayor Brust shared that the recent shred event with Senator Chesney went great, and a lot of residents showed up. He also announced that the annual IML Conference in Chicago is coming up at the end of September and urges any city council members to attend if they are able.

ANNOUNCEMENTS – Volksfest is happening the weekend of September 9th in Citizens Park.

Motion to adjourn the meeting of the City Council was made by Alderman Wesner, seconded by Alderman Winter. Voice vote was taken, all voted yes. Motion was carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:09pm.

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