Carbondale Reporter

City of Genoa City Council met Jan. 3.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Mayor Brust called the meeting of the City Council to order at 7:04pm followed by roll call. Alderman Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Braheny, Hughes and Roca were present. Alderman Winter was absent. Quorum present.

Mayor Brust led the pledge of allegiance.

APPOINT POLICE SERGEANT ADAM SCHURING

Mayor Brust swore in Adam Schuring as Sergeant for the Genoa Police Department.

PUBLIC COMMENT – John Linderoth and Charles Slater, both of whom are residents of Sycamore, came before the council as members of the masonic temple to discuss the sale of land from Genoa to the temple. The council members then had an open discussion regarding the starting bid amount for this sale.

OLD BUSINESS – None

CONSENT AGENDA

Alderman Pulley made a motion to approve of items 1-3 within the consent agenda, seconded by Alderman Freund. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

1. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE DECEMBER 20, 2023, CITY COUNCIL MEETING

2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE OCTOBER 4, 2023, CLOSED SESSION MEETING

3. APPROVAL OF THE ACCOUNTS PAYABLES DATED DECEMBER 31, 2023

NEW BUSINESS:

APPROVE THE CITY’S 2023 STRATEGIC PLAN

Alderman Wesner made a motion to approve of the city’s 2023 strategic plan, seconded by Alderman Stage. The council shared their thoughts on the plan and Alderman Stage brought up the idea of creating a committee that would help to make sure the city is staying on track with the goals outlined within the plan. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

APPROVE AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 10, OFFICIAL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

Alderman Wesner made a motion to approve the ordinance amending title 10, seconded by Alderman Pulley. Mayor Brust addressed the “preferred scenario” that came as a result of all the different focus groups, surveys, and task forces that were used to build the comprehensive plan. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

DISCUSS AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 3, SECTION 3, LIQUOR CONTROL OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE

Mayor Brust opened the floor for a conversation regarding the age that restaurant staff can make and serve alcoholic beverages. Currently, a person must be 21 to make any type of alcoholic drinks within Genoa. However, restaurants have recently expressed that this is difficult due to staffing issues and have requested that the age be changed to 18. Brust explained that the city would require anyone 18-20 who intends to serve alcohol to file their BASSET with the city along with a valid photo ID and always be supervised by someone 21 and older when they are serving. Alderman Roca brought up creating time restrictions for those 18-20 to be able to serve which the rest of the council supported. Alderman Pulley mentioned putting the word “aid” in the ordinance as to say that 18-year-olds can “aid in bartending” rather than be the sole bartender. Alderman Wesner brought up doing a six-month trial run, with hour limitations in place, to see how it goes and if any problems arise, to which Roca expressed doing a three-month trial run instead. This will be voted on at a later meeting. No further discussion.

FUTURE ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION – None

DEPARTMENT REPORTS:

FINANCE:

Finance Director Jan Tures explained that they are currently working on finalizing the five-year capital improvement plan and will be working on the budget soon as well.

PUBLIC WORKS:

Public Works employee Paul Naugle told the council what the department has been working on, including filtration repairs, invasive species control, and tree trimming. He also announced that they will be doing sewer main line flushing within the next couple of weeks.

POLICE:

Police Chief Smith announced that new officer Mike Walsh will be leaving soon for the academy. He also addressed an incident that happened in one of the bars recently that resulted in one person injured and one person arrested for aggravated battery.

ADMINISTRATION:

City Administrator Alyssa Seguss informed the council about some recent changes in state law regarding building codes. One change that went into effect January 1st is that each new single family home that is built must have an electric vehicle charging capability. There will also be changes going into effect in July regarding energy and building codes.

MAYOR:

Mayor Brust thanked the council for their input in creating the comprehensive plan. He also addressed the matter of buses of people being dropped off in communities that are close to Genoa. Mayor Brust and Chief Smith are working with a group called ESDA to come up with a plan in the case that this happens within Genoa.

CLOSED SESSION

Alderman Braheny made a motion to enter closed session for the purpose of reviewing the minutes of the previous closed session, for the purpose of discussing the sale of public property and for the purpose of discussing the appointment, employment, dismissal, compensation, discipline and/or performance of specific employees as provided for in 5 ILCS 120/2(C). Alderman Pulley seconded. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

RECONVENE REGULAR SESSION

Alderman Roca made a motion to reconvene regular session, seconded by Alderman Freund. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

Motion to adjourn the meeting of the City Council was made by Alderman Wesner, seconded by Alderman Roca. Voice vote was taken, all voted yes. Motion was carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:54pm.

https://www.genoa-il.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Meeting-Minutes-01032024.pdf