Carbondale Reporter

City of Genoa City Council met Jan. 17.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Mayor Brust called the meeting of the City Council to order at 7:00pm followed by roll call. Alderman Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca were present. Quorum present.

Mayor Brust led the pledge of allegiance.

GUEST SPEAKERS – None

PUBLIC COMMENT – William Beverly of 431 Stearn Dr came before the council to bring attention to some maps that are outdated on both the city website and google. Google has been notified and the website will be updated as soon as possible.

OLD BUSINESS – None

CONSENT AGENDA

Alderman Pulley made a motion to approve of items 1-5, 7, 8, & 9 within the consent agenda, seconded by Alderman Stage. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

1. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE JANUARY 3, 2024, CITY COUNCIL MEETING

2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE DECEMBER 20, 2023, CLOSED SESSION MEETING

3. APPROVAL OF THE ACCOUNTS PAYABLES DATED JANUARY 15, 2024

4. APPOINT RON SHEAHAN TO THE CITY OF GENOA’S ETHICS COMMITTEE

5. APPROVE A RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR THE RETIREMENT OF CERTAIN MUNICIPAL INDEBTEDNESS BY THE USE OF MOTOR FUEL TAX FUNDS

6. (ITEM REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA TO BE DISCUSSED BY THE COUNCIL)

7. APPROVE A STATEMENT OF WORK WITH SIKICH TO PERFORM THE 2024 ANNUAL AUDIT, NOT TO EXCEED $30,670

8. APPROVE AND AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE A STANDARD AGREEMENT AND GENERAL CONDITIONS WITH INSITUFORM FOR SEWER LINING

9. APPROVE AN ORDINANCE DIRECTING THE POTENTIAL SALE OF PUBLIC REAL ESTATE

DISCUSS AND/OR APPROVE AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 3, CHAPTER 3, LIQUOR CONTROL OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF GENOA (ITEM 6 OF CONSENT AGENDA)

The council had an open discussion regarding this amendment to the ordinance. If passed, this would allow restaurant employees ages 18-20 to draw, pour, mix and serve alcohol until 10pm. There were some council members that had concerns about potential issues that could arise as a result of this and some discussion on whether or not the time should be moved back to 9pm. There was also some discussion on why this was needed. Ultimately the council decided on moving forward with the change and revisiting in three months to address any issues that may arise. No further discussion. Alderman Winter then made a motion to approve the ordinance amending title 3, chapter 3, liquor control of the municipal code of the city of Genoa, seconded by Alderman Wesner. Alderman Wesner, Stage, Winter, Braheny and Hughes voted yes. Alderman Roca and Freund voted no. Alderman Pulley abstained. Motion carried.

NEW BUSINESS:

APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS LUCAS SMITH

Alderman Wesner made a motion to appoint Lucas Smith to Director of Public Works, seconded by Alderman Freund. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

UPDATE FROM THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

Nick Bradac, chair of the EDC came before the council to give an update on what they’ve been working on, along with some recommendations. One suggestion that came from the EDC was to upgrade our website. After doing a lot of research, the EDC is recommending that the council use a provider by the name of Civic Plus as they specialize in building websites for municipalities. Another recommendation that was brought forward was hiring someone under the position of a “Community Growth and Marketing Manager”. This person would work within the city doing marketing and outreach to bring businesses, citizens, local government, etc. closer together. Both recommendations align with goals that have been outlined within the strategic and comprehensive plans.

APPROVE A MARKETING SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH DAKOTA KOLVITZ

Alderman Stage made a motion to approve a marketing services agreement with Dakota Kolvitz, seconded by Alderman Pulley. City Administrator Alyssa Seguss explained that Dakota was someone that interviewed through the NIU Ignite program for an internship with the city. While the city moved forward with a different candidate, Dakota has been working with the EDC doing marketing. This agreement formally outlines her role and the expectations the city has for her. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

PRESENTATION OF THE GENOA POLICE DEPARTMENT ANNUAL REPORT

Sergeant Chris Hathcoat went through the Genoa Police Department annual report with the council, highlighting training they have been doing, community outreach and statistics of calls they have gotten.

PRESENTATION OF CLOUDPERMIT SOFTWARE

City Administrator Alyssa Seguss presented the council a new software that they are hoping to implement. Cloudpermit would allow for all building permits, property maintenance/code enforcements, golf cart/UTV licenses, liquor licenses, mobile food vendor licenses, solicitor permits, and all other kinds of miscellaneous permits to be handled within one electronic program rather than paper copies being moved around/physically signed by multiple parties. Seguss explained that this would save the city staff significant time and money along with being easier for citizens, engineers and businesses to get the permits and licenses that they need. There was some discussion within the council about the cost of the software.

APPROVE AN AGREEMENT WITH CLOUDPERMIT NOT TO EXCEED $18,000, SUBJECT TO ATTORNEY REVIEW

Alderman Roca made a motion to approve of an agreement with Cloudpermit, seconded by Alderman Winter. No further discussion. Alderman Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Alderman Wesner abstained. Motion carried.

DISCUSS RESCHEDULING THE FEBRUARY 21ST CITY COUNCIL MEETING DUE TO THE GENOA AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE’S ANNUAL DINNER

The council discussed the rescheduling of the February 21st City Council meeting and decided to instead hold the meeting the following evening, February 22nd.

FUTURE ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION – Alderman Hughes brought up the idea of looking into getting cables and lines buried throughout the entire city rather than just downtown.

DEPARTMENT REPORTS:

FINANCE:

Finance Director Jan Tures told the council that the Finance Advisory Committee met to discuss the donation policy request made by the chamber, the first draft of the CIP for the five-year plan and reviewed December financial reports. The W-2’s for city staff have been completed and 1099’s are being worked on. They are also continuously working on the first draft of the budget and closely watching spending and expenditures. She explained that water and sewer utilities are currently very high, and they are looking into previous years to try to find out what is causing the increase in utility bills.

PUBLIC WORKS:

Public Works employee Paul Naugle informed the council of what the department has been doing which included many hours of snow plowing and salting. Once it warms up, they will be able to break up the ice more.

POLICE:

Police Chief Robert Smith explained that they met yesterday to discuss police pension. They are looking into working with a separate organization to handle the pension funds specifically so that it doesn’t fall on the finance department. Smith also informed the council that he sent out reminders to local businesses to have their servers complete BASSET training.

ADMINISTRATION:

City Administrator Seguss didn’t have a report but wanted to thank the public works department for all their hard work throughout the recent snowstorms.

MAYOR:

Mayor Brust told the council that they met to talk about the Emmett Street closure and the downtown project. More information about the closure will be presented at the next meeting. He also told the council that he wants to fill the open positions that they have on various committees and would love for every alderman to be on at least one committee.

ANNOUNCEMENTS – Alderman Pulley told the council that the first meeting for the 2024 Harvest Festival will be on Monday January 22nd.

Motion to adjourn the meeting of the City Council was made by Alderman Wesner, seconded by Alderman Pulley. Voice vote was taken, all voted yes. Motion was carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:58pm.

https://www.genoa-il.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Meeting-Minutes-01172024.pdf