City of Neoga City Council met Sept. 23.
Here is the minutes provided by the Council:
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Hartke. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Those present were: Commissioners Helm, Hakman, Edwards, and Mayor Hartke. Others present were City Clerk Brenda Evans, City Treasurer Diana Foor, Bill O'Dell, Neoga News Editor Billie Chambers.
Minutes
After reviewing the regular session minutes from September 9, 2019, Commissioner Edwards made a motion to approve the minutes as presented. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hakman, Ayes, Commissioner Edwards, Helm, Hakman, and Mayor Hartke. Nays, none. Motion carried. 4-0.
Public Affairs, Mayor Hartke
Milano and Grunloh Engineers Updates
Engineer Lee Beckman updated the council on the projects in the past month, as follows:
- Sewer Plant: The Preliminary Engineering Report was sent to the IEPA on May 11, 2017. The IEPA still has not approved the concept for the sewer plant. The last correspondence was on August 22, 2017. Once approved, the plan will be to bid the projection 2020 with construction completed by the end of 2020. Beckman gave the Council a current schedule and correspondence. The IEPA did call and is reviewing the project. The low to mod income (LMI) Census for Neoga changed from 42 percent to 59 percent this year. This opens the door for the City to apply for $500,000 in grant money for the sewer plant. DCEO allows one application every year. The sewer application will be done this year, and the water main replacement will be next year. The application was submitted to DCEO on August 29th.
- Safe Routes to School: Beckman said that he met with Greg Palmer and Sherry Phillips on October 18, 2017 to discuss the project. They have met with IDOT, and they recommend stopping the project, New applications are being accepted. Palmer and Phillips recommend an application extending the previous ITEP Grant. The new SRTS application was submitted on November 19, 2018 and was not funded.
- Brighton Cabinets: The plans to improve the drainage were sent to IDOT in September of 2016. This has movement, and will hopefully be done this year. The state is currently doing a Preliminary Soil Inspection (PSI), and the result has not been returned as of today. The entire project should be completed next year.
- CDAP Water Grant: DCEO had a grant writing workshop in March with grants due in August. Beckman showed the proposed grant application area, and this grant will be applied for next year (2020) to replace the cast iron watermains on the east side of Rt. #45.
- State Grant ($100,000): The state is now planning to extend the grant until June 2020, and the quarterly reports are being completed.
ITEP: The City applied for a $1,014,960 grant with $253,740 in leverage. The project map and estimate were given to the Council. Grant applications were submitted on December 1, 2017, and the project received partial (small) funding in the amount of $26,400 to be used for Preliminary Engineering (PE1). Before future ITEP applications are submitted all engineering must be completed. Based upon current ITEP information, only PE1 will be required. Beckman is working on the Phase 1 Engineering.
- RLF Project: Beckman gave the council a map and estimate for the Revolving Loan Funds (RLF) project. The City sent the money in, and DCEO has sent out the Notice of State Award Finalist (NOSAF) and has secured administration and engineering services. The Environmental has been approved. The NOSAF should be completed soon, and the NOSA will follow. This should be finished in the next 30 days.
EJ Water: EJ Water Cooperative has acquired property to build the water tower south of Neoga. Beckman said the construction bid opening and preconstruction meeting will be completed in the next few days.
Personnel Policy and Procedures
The Council decided to table the personnel policy and procedures until all the Council member were present.
Vista Solution Group
City Clerk Evans told the Council that Vista Solution Group has a program that will allow the City to manage documents. This would allow us to scan documents and store them in the cloud; however, Evans said that while at the IML conference, there were other companies represented, and she would like to investigate those as well. It was the consensus of the council to table the discussion currently.
Finance, Commissioner Groves
Monthly Bills
After reviewing the bill list, Commissioner Edwards made a motion to pay the monthly bills as presented in the amount of $ 69,904.55. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Helm. Ayes, Commissioner Edwards, Helm, Hakman, and Mayor Hartke. Nays, none, Motion carried. 4-0.
Tax Levy Ordinance
City Clerk Evans told the Council that the proposed tax levy was just for them to review, One change that still needs to be corrected is the unemployment, which will be decreased per the request of the auditors.
Public Property, Commissioner Hakman
Commissioner Hakman told the Council that he received a complaint regarding the Community Center. Hakman said that someone recently rented the gym for a party, and the gym was not cleaned, and the cleaning supplies could not be found. City Clerk said she would investigate it.
Streets and Alleys, Commissioner Edwards
Commissioner Edwards informed the Council that the 2019 MFT project was underway, and everything was going well.
Health and Safety, Commissioner Helm
Commissioner Helm told the Council that he has been making sure the public works department is continuing to larvacide and spray for mosquitos.
Public Comments
City Treasurer Diana Foor told the Council that the city received the first MFT Transportation Renewal Fund Allotment check in the amount of $2,437.81. The City should receive this additional check every month as part of the Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan.
Swengel-O'Dell Funeral Home Co-owner Bill O'Dell discussed with the Council the possibility of purchasing a small platted area in the cemetery that is smaller than a full lot. O'Dell said he would like to purchase a columbarium which would allow multiple cremated remains to be placed in a vault instead of being spread somewhere. This would be an option for a family that may not be able to afford a full lot. Mayor Hartke explained that since it wasn't on the agenda a vote would not be able to be taken; however they will discuss it at the next meeting.
City Clerk Evans said that Villa on Rt#45 owner, Frank Miller, contacted our office about the trick or treat night. Evans said that Miller prefers trick or treat on the 31st instead of the Saturday before. According to Miller, parents bring their kids to Neoga just to get candy, and they don't visit the businesses. Evans said that Miller told her when trick or treat is held on the 31st he usually has around 200-250 kids; however, when it is on the Saturday before that number doubles. It was the consensus of the Council to take this into consideration next year. The date will be on Saturday, October 26th this year. This is the date the Council originally voted on.
Adjournment
Commissioner Edwards made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:42 p.m. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hakman. Ayes, Commissioner Helm, Hakman, Edwards, and Mayor Hartke. Nays, none. Motion carried. 4-0.
https://neoga.org/sites/neoga.org/files/meetingminutes/September%2023%2C%202019_0.pdf
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