Carbondale Reporter

City of Genoa City Council met Nov. 6.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Mayor Brust called the meeting of the City Council to order at 6:31pm followed by roll call. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Braheny, Hughes and Roca were present. Alderman Winter was absent for roll call but arrived at 6:31pm. Additionally, Alderman Hughes had to leave the meeting at 7:17pm. Quorum present.

Mayor Brust led the pledge of allegiance.

GUEST SPEAKERS – Nate Kloster from the Voluntary Action Center came before the council to give a presentation on their work within DeKalb County, and specifically in Genoa. He also asked for the city’s help with funding for the upcoming fiscal year.

PUBLIC COMMENT – None

OLD BUSINESS – None

CONSENT AGENDA

Alderman Pulley made a motion to approve of items 1-6 within the consent agenda, seconded by Alderman Braheny. No further discussion. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

1. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE OCTOBER 16, 2024, CITY COUNCIL MEETING

2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE OCTOBER 16, 2024, SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

3. APPROVAL OF THE ACCOUNTS PAYABLES DATED OCTOBER 31, 2024

4. APPROVAL OF THE 2025 ANNUAL MEETING CALENDAR

5. APPROVE THE CLOSURE OF SOUTH WASHINGTON STREET FROM THE ALLEY TO ROUTE 72 ON NOVEMBER 16TH FROM 6:00AM TO 5:00PM FOR OPENDOOR’S ARTISAN CHRISTMAS MARKET

6. APPROVE AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING TITLE 3 AND APPENDIX A OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF GENOA

NEW BUSINESS:

ACCEPT THE FISCAL YEAR 2024 POLICE PENSION FUND MUNICIPAL COMPLIANCE REPORT AND FUNDING ACTUARIAL VALUATION REPORT

Alderman Stage made a motion to accept the reports, seconded by Alderman Winter. No further discussion. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

APPROVE THE 2024 TAX LEVY DETERMINATION FOR THE CITY OF GENOA

Alderman Wesner made a motion to approve the tax levy determination, seconded by Alderman Braheny. City Administrator Seguss gave a presentation to the council on how the numbers were determined and what they mean. No further discussion. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

APPROVE AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF THE RMA MINIMUM/MAXIMUM CONTRIBUTION AGREEMENT

Alderman Pulley made a motion authorizing the execution of the RMA minimum/maximum contribution agreement, seconded by Alderman Winter. There was a brief discussion on the increase and why it is slightly more this year than in previous years. No further discussion. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

APPROVE AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 7, CHAPTER 9, SECTION 5, SMALL WIRELESS FACILITIES REGARDING ANNUAL RECURRING RATES

Alderman Hughes made a motion to approve the ordinance amending Title 7, Chapter 9, Section 5, seconded by Alderman Roca. No further discussion. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

WAIVE THE BID PROCESS AND APPROVE A PROPOSAL FROM UNITRIM CEMENT & LANDSCAPING FOR SIDEWALK REPLACEMENT SERVICES TOTALING $38,803.55

Alderman Braheny made a motion to waive the bid process, seconded by Alderman Wesner. There was a brief discussion on the timeline of this project which Public Works Director Smith addressed. No further discussion. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

APPROVE A FIFTH AMENDMENT TO LAND LEASE AGREEMENT DATED AUGUST 1, 1995, BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF GENOA (“LANDLORD”) AND GTE WIRELESS OF THE MIDWEST INCORPORATED DBA VERIZON WIRELESS (“TENANT”)

Alderman Braheny made a motion to approve the fifth amendment to land lease agreement between the City of Genoa and Verizon, seconded by Alderman Hughes. There was a brief discussion on whether or not this is common and the terms of the change. No further discussion. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

AUTHORIZE THE PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH WATERLY FOR $3,000 ANNUALLY TO PROVIDE WATERLY CORE AND WATERLY ASSETS FOR THE WATER DIVISION

Alderman Wesner made a motion to authorize the Public Works Director to execute a contract with Waterly, seconded by Alderman Pulley. Public Works Director Smith explained more of what this would do for the department. No further discussion. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

AUTHORIZE THE PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH WATERLY FOR $3,000 ANNUALLY TO PROVIDE WATERLY CORE AND WATERLY ASSETS FOR THE SEWER DIVISION

Alderman Braheny made a motion to authorize the Public Works Director to execute a contract with Waterly, seconded by Alderman Winter. No further discussion. Alderman Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

APPROVE AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 9 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF GENOA

Alderman Braheny made a motion to approve an ordinance amending Title 9 of the municipal code, seconded by Alderman Roca. City Administrator Seguss explained this change and why it is being updated. No further discussion. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny, Hughes and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

FUTURE ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION – Alderman Braheny brought up a concern that has come up with parking on First St when coming from W Main St. There are safety concerns since parking is currently allowed on both sides of First St and it creates blind spots since the street curves. There was discussion about making one side of First St no parking to fix this issue. This will be addressed at a future council meeting since it would need to be an amendment to the ordinance.

DEPARTMENT REPORTS:

FINANCE:

Finance Director Tures announced that the budgets all look good for this point of the fiscal year.

PUBLIC WORKS:

Public Works Director Smith announced that all of the large items for 2024 have been completed including street resurfacing and downtown landscaping. He also mentioned that staff has been starting to get equipment on plow trucks so that they are ready for the coming winter. Mayor Brust gave a special shoutout to Smith for his department’s work on getting the sidewalk inventoried for the entire city. This will aid in future sidewalk projects and will be very beneficial to have moving forward.

ADMINISTRATIVE:

City Administrator Seguss gave an update on some upcoming meetings and hearings along with a couple of things that will be coming to the city council. She also announced that they have actively been working on a production version of the city’s website with Civic Plus. This will hopefully be launched before the next city council meeting.

POLICE:

Chief Hathcoat announced that he has been working on updating the mission statement and core values for the department, he provided these to all council members. He explained that going into 2025 he wants to work towards state accreditation through ILEAP and updating the mission statement and core values is the first step towards that. Hathcoat also gave an overview of what the department did in the month of October including the number of calls, citations, reports, etc. along with the categories that these fell into. He also gave an update on the training of Officers King, Gonzalez and Traversa. Alderman Roca opened up a discussion with Chief about the issues with juveniles on motorized scooters that have been occurring in town.

ANNOUNCEMENTS – None

CLOSED SESSION

Alderman Wesner made a motion to enter into closed session for the purpose of reviewing minutes of the previous closed session 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), seconded by Alderman Roca. No further discussion. Aldermen Wesner, Pulley, Freund, Stage, Winter, Braheny, and Roca voted yes. Motion carried.

RECONVENE REGULAR SESSION

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

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 carried. Meeting adjourned at 7:55pm.

https://www.genoa-il.com/media/3021