Charleston City Council met Tuesday, Nov. 1.
The City Council is the duly elected legislative and policy-making body of the City of Charleston. The fundamental job of the City Council is to make policy decisions for the City based on relevant and accurate information received from the full-time City Manager and his staff. Committees and Advisory Boards of the City Council render recommendations to the full body regarding municipal projects, facilities, services, finance and personnel as well as issues of health, safety, and welfare of the community at large. The City Council solicits and receives the support of many volunteer citizen committees to ensure a democratic, citizen-centered process.
Here are the minutes as provided by Charleston:
City of Charleston
Regular City Council Meeting
Minutes
November 1, 2016
State of Illinois
County of Coles ss.
City of Charleston
The Council of the City of Charleston, Coles County, Illinois, met for the regular scheduled session at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 1, 2016, at 520 Jackson Avenue, Charleston, Illinois, with Mayor Brandon Combs presiding. The meeting commenced at 6:30 p.m. The Mayor directed the City Clerk to call the roll and the following were physically present and answered affirmatively to the call of his or her name: Council Members Jim Dunn, Matthew Hutti, Jeff Lahr, and Tim Newell, and Mayor Brandon Combs. Other City Officers present were: City Manager Scott Smith; City Attorney Rachael Cunningham; City Clerk Deborah Muller; Police Chief Bryan Baker; Assistant Fire Chief Tim Meister; Comptroller Heather Kuykendall; City Planner Steve Pamperin; Public Works Director Curt Buescher; Parks & Recreation Director Brian Jones; Network Administrator Todd Kibler; and Building Code Official Alex Winkler.
Mayor Combs welcomed everyone and then led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mayor Combs then introduced and reviewed the CONSENT AGENDA, which consisted of the following items:
1) MINUTES—Regular and Executive City Council Meetings held on October 18, 2016; 2) PAYROLL—Regular Pay Period ending October 15, 2016; 3) BILLS PAYABLE—November 4, 2016; 4) RAFFLE LICENSE—Cancer Benefit for Sherriff Jimmy Rankin from 2:00-8:00 p.m. on November 12, 2016, at the Charleston LifeSpan Center; 5) RAFFLE LICENSE—CHS Project Management Class on November 16, to raise funds for the Charleston VFW; 6) RAFFLE LICENSE— Rotary Club of Charleston, Illinois, for Weekly Drawings from January to December 2017 to raise funds for Scholarships for CHS Seniors to attend E.I.U.; I Like Me Literacy Project; Rotary Aquatic Center; Charleston Carnegie Library; Technology for Charleston Schools; Youth Programs & Activities; and Rotary International Programs; and 7) RAFFLE LICENSE—VFW Auxiliary Post 1592, 1821 20th Street on Tuesday Evenings from October to December of 2016, to raise funds for the V.A. Health Care System in Danville and to assist Veterans.
A written motion was made by Council Member Hutti and seconded by Council Member Newell that the Consent Agenda be approved as presented.
Mayor Combs directed the City Clerk to call the roll and the following voted Yea:
Council Members Dunn, Hutti, Lahr, Newell, and Mayor Combs. Mayor Combs declared the motion carried by a vote of 5 Yeas, Nays—0.
ITEM 8: A written motion was made by Council Member Newell and seconded by Council Member Hutti that the Resolution entering into a Contractual Agreement for Technical Assistance Services with the Coles County Regional Planning and Development Commission, be approved and the layover period waived.
Mayor Combs directed the City Clerk to call the roll and the following voted Yea: Council Members Dunn, Hutti, Lahr, Newell, and Mayor Combs. Mayor Combs declared the motion carried by a vote of 5 Yeas, Nays—0.
ITEM 9: A written motion was made by Council Member Dunn and seconded by Council Member Lahr that the Resolution entering into a Contractual Agreement for Revolving Loan Fund Administration and Coordination Services with the Coles County Regional Planning and Development Commission, be approved and the layover period waived.
Mayor Combs directed the City Clerk to call the roll and the following voted Yea:
Council Members Dunn, Hutti, Lahr, Newell, and Mayor Combs. Mayor Combs declared the motion carried by a vote of 5 Yeas, Nays—0.
With regard to Item #10, the Mayor explained that this agreement provided for Matthew D. Lee, an attorney with Meyer Capel, Champaign, to serve as hearing officer and adjudicator for the City’s administrative hearings for ordinance violations. Mr. Lee was currently also the hearing officer for the City of Bloomington. He would be compensated at an hourly rate of $185.00 for hearings that would take place twice a month for approximately 4 hours for each hearing.
ITEM 10: A written motion was made by Council Member Lahr and seconded by Council Member Dunn that the Resolution authorizing the execution of a Hearing Officer Agreement for Administrative Adjudication Program, be approved and the layover period waived.
Mayor Combs directed the City Clerk to call the roll and the following voted Yea:
Council Members Dunn, Hutti, Lahr, Newell, and Mayor Combs. Mayor Combs declared the motion carried by a vote of 5 Yeas, Nays—0.
ITEM 11: A written motion was made by Council Member Hutti and seconded by Council Member Newell that the Ordinance authorizing the Acquisition of a Permanent Easement at 810 West Polk Avenue, be approved and the layover period waived.
Mayor Combs directed the City Clerk to call the roll and the following voted Yea:
Council Members Dunn, Hutti, Lahr, Newell, and Mayor Combs. Mayor Combs declared the motion carried by a vote of 5 Yeas, Nays—0.
The Mayor said that this concluded the Agenda items.
The Mayor then opened the floor to any public comments, communications and presentations. He asked that those doing so come up to the podium and give the Clerk their name and address for the record. He noted that this was solely for the benefit of the Clerk, and was not required. He asked that they limit their comments to 3 minutes and avoid repetition.
Gary Henigman, 950 10th Street, said that with regard to the Sheriff’s sale of the Will Rogers Theater, Jim and Katie Troccoli, previous owners of the Will Rogers Theater, had been awarded the bid. The “I Love the WILL” Project Group had unsuccessfully bid on the building, but he was very pleased that they were able to place a significant bid. The “I Love the WILL” Board intended to be supportive of the Troccolis’ plans to renovate and re-open the Theater.
Mr. Henigman said that he was proud of what they had accomplished in support of the Theater. The Board would be meeting on Tuesday, November 8th to evaluate the situation.
Mayor Combs thanked Gary for keeping the City informed.
The Mayor asked if there were any comments from Council; there were not.
The Mayor asked if there were any comments from City Manager Smith or City Attorney Cunningham; there were not.
Mayor Combs said that he had a few comments to make:
1) He reminded everyone that November 8th was Election Day, and everyone should get out and vote.
2) This was No-Shave November, the goal of which was to grow awareness of cancer by donating money typically spent on shaving and grooming to educate about cancer prevention and aid those fighting the battle.
3) The Mayor reminded everyone that Daylight Saving Time would end this coming weekend, so everyone should plan on turning their clocks back one hour.
4) The grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Aldi’s store was scheduled for Thursday, November 10th.
5) And as a final comment, the Mayor said that he would like to take a moment to recognize City Planner Steve Pamperin for all of the work that he did. The Mayor said that he didn’t think that a lot of people knew how hard he worked—he was a driving force behind the procuring of the ITEP Grant, an $800,000 award which will greatly benefit the City. He thanked Steve for his hard work.
The Mayor added that he had been out at the Lake with his family, and the trails were fantastic; he encouraged everyone to go check them out. The trail system was something else that Steve and Brandon Lynch among others had worked really hard on. Mayor Combs said he was very proud of Steve and that the City really appreciated all his hard work.
Seeing no further comments, Mayor Combs that he would entertain a motion to adjourn.
A written motion was made by Council Member Lahr and seconded by Council
Member Dunn to adjourn.
Mayor Combs directed the City Clerk to call the roll and the following voted Yea:
Council Members Dunn, Hutti, Lahr, Newell, and Mayor Combs. Mayor Combs declared the motion carried by a vote of 5 Yeas, Nays—0.
Mayor Combs declared the motion carried by a vote of 5 Yeas, Nays—0.
Adjournment: 6:43 p.m.
Minutes approved this 15th Day of November 2016.
Brandon Combs, Mayor
ATTEST:
Deborah Muller, City Clerk
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