East Central Reporter

City of Olney City Council met June 12.

Here is the minutes provided by the council:

AGENDA #1 “CALL TO ORDER” The June 22, 2020, meeting of the Olney City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Olney City Hall located at 300 S. Whittle Avenue, Olney, Illinois, with Mayor Mark Lambird presiding.

AGENDA #2 “PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG-PRAYER” Council members and visitors joined in the pledge of allegiance to the flag. Mayor Lambird led the group in prayer.

AGENDA #3 “ROLL CALL” The following Council members were present: Mark Lambird, John McLaughlin, Belinda Henton, Morgan Fehrenbacher, and Greg Eyer. Also present were City Manager Allen Barker, City Treasurer Jane Guinn, City Clerk Kelsie Sterchi, City Engineer Mike Bridges, Street Department Supervisor Tyler Kocher, and Code Enforcement Officer Dallas Colwell. Section 6 of Governor Pritzker’s COVID-19 Executive Order No. 5 allows for attendance to take place via video, audio, and/or telephonic means. Attending by audio and video was City Attorney Bart Zuber.

AGENDA #4 “PRESENTATION OF CONSENT AGENDA”

4-A “Approve Minutes of Council Meeting on June 8, 2020”

4-B “Approve and Authorize Payment of Accounts Payable June 23, 2020” Pooled Cash $99,768.98, Manual Pooled Cash $15,446.67, IMRF $20.75, Tourism $4,000.00

AGENDA #5 “REMOVAL OF ITEMS FROM CONSENT AGENDA” No items were requested for removal from the consent agenda.

AGENDA #6 “CONSIDERATION OF CONSENT AGENDA” Councilwoman Fehrenbacher moved to approve the items on the consent agenda, seconded by Councilman Eyer. Councilmen Eyer, McLaughlin, Councilwomen Fehrenbacher, Henton, and Mayor Lambird voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

AGENDA #7 “CONSIDERATION OF ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA” No consideration was necessary since no items were removed from the consent agenda.

AGENDA #8 “PUBLIC HEARING: TAXICAB LICENSE REQUEST FROM OLNEY TAXI/CHARLES ROBERTSON” Charles Robertson was present via Zoom for the public hearing. Mayor Lambird asked if anyone from the public had any questions or comments regarding the taxicab license request. No one from the public wished to speak. The public hearing was closed.

AGENDA #8 “PRESENTATION OF ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS, ETC.”

9-A “Request: Taxicab License for Olney Taxi/Charles Robertson” The Council was provided with an Application for Taxicab License from Olney Taxi/Charles Robertson.

Mr. Robertson had applied for and was granted a taxicab license for Olney Taxi back in 2016, but went out of business in 2017. Councilwoman Henton asked why Olney Taxi had gone out of business. Mr. Robertson replied that insurance costs were too high. Now, insurance costs were much more reasonable.

Councilman Eyer asked what year the Buick was that was proposed to be used as a taxicab. Mr. Robertson replied it was a 1999 model. Councilman Eyer asked if Mr. Robertson felt it was safe enough to transport citizens. Mr. Robertson believed so. Additionally, the vehicle would need to pass inspection through the Police Department.

Councilman McLaughlin moved to approve a taxicab license for Olney Taxi/Charles Robertson, seconded by Councilwoman Fehrenbacher. Councilwomen Fehrenbacher, Henton, Councilmen McLaughlin, Eyer, and Mayor Lambird voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

9-B “Application for Permit to Sell Merchandise in City Park – Farmers Market” The Council was provided with an Application for Permit to Sell Merchandise in the City Park for the Farmers Market, as applied for by Bonnie Scherer.

Mrs. Sterchi told the Council that each year, Mrs. Scherer applied to have the Farmers Market in the City Park, and that the request was usually placed under the consent agenda. Because of the circumstances currently surrounding COVID-19, she felt it best to not place the item on the consent agenda so that the Council could discuss whether or not the Farmers Market should be held on public property at this time.

Councilwoman Henton moved to approve the request for a permit to sell merchandise in the City Park for the Farmers Market, as applied for by Bonnie Scherer, seconded by Councilman McLaughlin. Councilwomen Henton, Fehrenbacher, Councilmen McLaughlin, Eyer, and Mayor Lambird voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

The Farmers Market would take place in Shelters 15 and 16 on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

9-C “Discussion/Possible Action: Use of Parks, Recreational Sites, and Leased Ground in Relation to COVID-19” Richland County was expected to enter Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois Plan as of June 26, 2020. Generally speaking, Phase 4 would allow for gatherings of no more than 50 people. In Phases 3 and below, the Council had not authorized any Special Events on public property and had also chosen to not allow for any rentals of park facilities. The Council would need to discuss how they would like to handle Special Events and park facility reservations moving into Phase 4.

The Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity has recently released a guidelines overview regarding Phase 4. Councilman McLaughlin noted that youth and recreational sports would be permitted outdoors for competitive gameplay and tournaments. Group sizes would still be limited to 50, but multiple groups of 50 would be permitted if space was available to appropriately socially distance. Because of this, he felt that all competitive sports should be able to utilize Musgrove Park for games.

Councilman McLaughlin moved to allow competitive games and practices for baseball, soccer, etc., at Musgrove Park in Phase 4, seconded by Councilwoman Fehrenbacher. Councilmen McLaughlin, Eyer, Mayor Lambird, Councilwomen Fehrenbacher and Henton voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

Mayor Lambird stated that the White Squirrel Cruisers had contacted him regarding their annual car show in August. They were wondering if the event would be allowed.

Councilwoman Henton felt that there would be plenty of space to socially distance for this event in the City Park.

Councilwoman Henton moved to allow the White Squirrel Cruisers Car Show in August.

Councilwoman Fehrenbacher was aware that the Car Show typically took place in the northern portion of the City Park. She was concerned with this because the Car Show would be taking place during the expected time of construction for City Park improvements related to the OSLAD grant.

Mayor Lambird indicated that the White Squirrel Cruisers planned on moving the event to the southern part of the park near the Fairgrounds.

Councilwoman Fehrenbacher wondered if the event would be allowed if more than 50 people were in attendance. Mayor Lambird believed that multiple groups of 50 people would be allowed in open spaces such as parks, similar to outdoor athletic events.

Councilman McLaughlin seconded the motion. Mayor Lambird, Councilmen Eyer, McLaughlin, Councilwomen Fehrenbacher and Henton voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

Councilman McLaughlin moved to allow reservations at park facilities to groups of 50 people or less.

Councilwoman Henton wondered if the City would be responsible for sanitizing facilities between uses. It was believed that would need to be the case. Because of this Councilwoman Fehrenbacher did not believe that more than one reservation per facility should take place per day in Phase 4.

Councilman McLaughlin amended his motion to allow reservations at park facilities to groups of 50 people or less with no more than one reservation per day.

Councilwoman Fehrenbacher pointed out that some of the pavilions would be getting roof replacement. The reservations would be allowed as available.

Councilwomen Fehrenbacher, Henton, Councilmen McLaughlin, Eyer, and Mayor Lambird vote yes. The motion carried.

Referencing information from the State, Councilman McLaughlin could not find any information regarding the opening of outdoor playgrounds in Phase 4. He recalled that the Council had supported the closure of playgrounds thus far.

Councilman McLaughlin moved to re-open playgrounds on City property in Phase 4, seconded by Councilwoman Fehrenbacher. Councilwomen Henton, Fehrenbacher, Councilmen McLaughlin, Eyer, and Mayor Lambird voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

Mrs. Sterchi wanted to clarify with the Council that the permitted use of swimming facilities in Phase 4 would include Borah Lake Beach.

Councilman McLaughlin moved to open Borah Lake Beach in Phase 4, seconded by Councilman Eyer. Councilmen McLaughlin, Eyer, Mayor Lambird, Councilwomen Fehrenbacher and Henton voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

Councilman Eyer asked if all was on track for the Musgrove Aquatic Center (MAC) to open during the coming weekend. Mr. Barker confirmed. He also added that the fountains in Bower Park and the City Park were now functional.

Councilman McLaughlin asked for detail on what was being constructed at the MAC. Mr. Barker indicated that a 30’ x 30’ shade structure was being constructed in the grassy area inside of the pool’s fence.

9-D “Discussion/Possible Action: Waiver of July’s Utility Fees and/or Relaxed Deferred Payment Plan Eligibility” Over the past couple of months, the Council had taken action to waive late fees and offer relaxed Deferred Payment Plans. Mrs. Sterchi needed to find out from the Council if they wished to continue those actions into July or if they wished to take another course of action.

Mayor Lambird asked how payment on bills had been coming along. Mrs. Sterchi replied the circumstances were improving on customers paying their utility bill. May 27, 2020, was the first day for disconnect on non-payment since February. Mrs. Sterchi indicated that the disconnect day was fairly rough, but now most accounts were back to normal. The number of accounts set for disconnect the day after this meeting looked to be more in line with what was normal.

Councilwoman Fehrenbacher asked the other members of the Council when they wanted to resume complete normalcy in regards to water bill payments. The rest of the Council felt that resuming all normal policies and activities in August would be appropriate.

Councilman McLaughlin moved to waive July’s late fees and to extend the relaxed Deferred Payment Plan eligibility, with all bill payment activities and policies resuming back to normal in August, seconded by Councilwoman Henton. Mayor Lambird, Councilmen Eyer, McLaughlin, Councilwomen Fehrenbacher and Henton voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

9-E “Resolution: Accept Bid for MFT Concrete for Use in Miscellaneous Construction Work” The Council was provided with a proposed IDOT resolution that would accept a bid for MFT concrete for use in miscellaneous construction work.

Mr. Barker told the Council that at 10:00 a.m. on June 2, 2020, bids were opened for the supply of concrete for miscellaneous construction to be paid with MFT funds. One bid was received. The bid was from Doll’s Inc., of Olney, Illinois, in the amount of $20,000.00.

Councilman McLaughlin moved to approve the IDOT resolution that would accept the bid for MFT concrete for use in miscellaneous construction work, seconded by Councilman Eyer. Councilwomen Fehrenbacher, Henton, Councilmen McLaughlin, Eyer, and Mayor Lambird voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

9-F “Resolution: Accept Bid for MFT Oil & Chip” The Council was provided with a proposed IDOT resolution that would accept a bid for MFT oil and chip.

Mr. Barker told the Council that bids for MFT oil and chip were also opened at 10:00 a.m. on June 2, 2020. One bid was also received for this category. The bid was from Mt. Carmel Stabilization of Mt. Carmel, Illinois, in the amount of $102,358.45.

Councilman McLaughlin moved to approve the IDOT resolution that would accept the bid for MFT oil and chip, seconded by Councilwoman Fehrenbacher.

Councilman McLaughlin wondered when the oil and chip program would begin. Mr. Kocher replied that he hoped grinding could begin as of July 6, 2020. Oil and chip was hoped to be placed in either the first or second week of August.

Councilwomen Henton, Fehrenbacher, Councilmen McLaughlin, Eyer, and Mayor Lambird voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

9-G “Ordinance: Rezone a Portion of Vacant Land at 1810 S. Whittle Avenue from R-5 (Trailer or Mobilehome District) to M-2 (Heavy Industrial District)” The Council was provided with a copy of draft minutes from the Plan Commission meeting held on June 16, 2020, and a copy of a proposed ordinance that would rezone a portion of vacant land at 1810 S. Whittle Avenue from R-5 (Trailer or Mobilehome District) to M-2 (Heavy Industrial District).

Mr. Barker explained that in order to have the entire parcel at 1810 S. Whittle Avenue included in the newly proposed South Olney Redevelopment Project Area, no residential areas could remain. The Plan Commission voted to recommend approval of the rezoning request.

Councilman McLaughlin moved to approve Ordinance 2020-15, seconded by Councilwoman Fehrenbacher. Councilmen McLaughlin, Eyer, Mayor Lambird, Councilwomen Fehrenbacher and Henton voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

9-H “Resolution: Approve Final Plats of the Radio Tower Lane Subdivision, Whittle Avenue Subdivision, Herman Drive Subdivision, and Scherer Subdivision” The Council was provided with a proposed resolution that would approve final plats of the Radio Tower Lane, Whittle Avenue, Herman Drive, and Scherer Subdivisions.

Mr. Barker told the Council that the Plan Commission had also voted to recommend approval of the final plats of the Radio Tower Lane, Whittle Avenue, Herman Drive, and Scherer Subdivisions. The subdivisions were needed to satisfy TIF requirements.

Councilman McLaughlin moved to approve 2020-R-43, seconded by Councilwoman Fehrenbacher. Mayor Lambird, Councilmen Eyer, McLaughlin, Councilwomen Fehrenbacher and Henton voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

9-I “Ordinance: Approve the Tax Increment Redevelopment Plan and Project for the South Olney Redevelopment Project Area” The Council was provided with a proposed ordinance that would approve the Tax Increment Redevelopment Plan and Project for the South Olney Redevelopment Project Area. The Council was also provided with a final copy of the Tax Increment Redevelopment Plan and Project for the South Olney Redevelopment Project Area.

Mr. Barker explained that all necessary steps had been completed to formally approve the Tax Increment Redevelopment Plan. Now, the Council would need to take action to approve three ordinances to formally put the plan and South Olney Redevelopment Project Area in place.

Councilwoman Henton moved to approve Ordinance 2020-16, seconded by Councilman Eyer. Councilwomen Fehrenbacher, Henton, Councilmen McLaughlin, Eyer, and Mayor Lambird voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

9-J “Ordinance: Designate the South Olney Redevelopment Project Area” The Council was provided with a proposed ordinance that would designate the South Olney Redevelopment Project Area.

Mr. Barker reminded the Council that earlier in the year, the process began to approve a new TIF district in Olney. The area chosen is referred to as “South Olney.”

Councilman McLaughlin moved to approve Ordinance 2020-17, seconded by Councilwoman Henton. Councilwomen Henton, Fehrenbacher, Councilmen McLaughlin, Eyer, and Mayor Lambird voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

9-K “Ordinance: Adopt Tax Increment Financing for the South Olney Redevelopment Project Area” The Council was provided with a proposed ordinance that would adopt tax increment financing for the South Olney Redevelopment Project Area.

Councilwoman Henton moved to approve Ordinance 2020-18, seconded by Councilman Eyer. Councilmen McLaughlin, Eyer, Mayor Lambird, Councilwomen Fehrenbacher and Henton voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

Mayor Lambird thanked everyone at City Hall that had worked on getting the new TIF district into place. He recognized that it was a fairly rapid process and appreciated the effort. He noted that RCDC Executive Director Courtney Yockey was also instrumental.

9-L “Ordinance: Adopt a Policy Prohibiting Sexual Harassment for the City of Olney and Amend the City of Olney Municipal Code” The Council was provided with a proposed ordinance that would adopt a policy prohibiting sexual harassment for the City of Olney and amend the City of Olney Municipal Code.

The Illinois General Assembly enacted Public Act 1010-0221, an Act concerning employment, requiring the amendment of the sexual harassment policy. Mr. Barker explained that the amendment provided for a mechanism for reporting and independent review of allegations of sexual harassment made against an elected official by another elected official. Mr. Barker noted that the City Attorney had reviewed the proposed changes.

Councilman McLaughlin moved to approve Ordinance 2020-19, seconded by Councilwoman Fehrenbacher. Mayor Lambird, Councilmen Eyer, McLaughlin, Councilwomen Fehrenbacher and Henton voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

9-M “Ordinance: Adopt a Fraud, Waste and Abuse Policy for the City of Olney and Amend the City of Olney Municipal Code” The Council was provided with a proposed ordinance that would adopt a Fraud, Waste and Abuse Policy for the City of Olney and amend the City of Olney Municipal Code.

Mr. Barker told the Council that the Governmental and Transparency Act (GATA) required the City to complete an Internal Control Questionnaire (ICQ) each year. One of the questions on the ICQ is whether or not the City has adopted a fraud, waste and abuse policy.

Mrs. Guinn added that because the City had no such policy, there was a condition assigned to the City for when a grant is received from the State. Correction of this particular condition is the passage of the proposed policy with information on how to report without fear of retaliation.

The policy applies to all employees, elected officials, appointed officials, and/or approved volunteers. Mr. Zuber had also reviewed the policy as proposed.

Councilwoman Fehrenbacher moved to approve Ordinance 2020-20, seconded by Councilwoman Henton. Councilwomen Fehrenbacher, Henton, Councilmen McLaughlin, Eyer, and Mayor Lambird voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

9-N “Discussion/Possible Action: Van Street Drainage” Mayor Lambird had been in contact with Lisa Dvorak, and a few other neighbors, regarding concerns with water drainage on the east side of the 400 block of N. Van Street.

Via Zoom, Julie Woods wished to speak. Mrs. Woods was a resident of 430 N. Van Street. She stated that water did not drain from the ditches in that area. Instead, it would back up until it turned colors and smelled terribly. She recalled that the ditch used to drain, but someone had come from the City and plugged up culverts. She said concrete was used to fill.

Mr. Kocher told the Council that in this area, water drained to the south. Culverts in this area had been installed at different heights, and this contributed to the problem. Mr. Kocher had inspected the area and did not see any culverts blocked with concrete.

Councilwoman Fehrenbacher asked who installed the culverts. Mr. Kocher replied that the City did not install those culverts. Contractors hired by property owners installed the culverts in order to place a driveway to access residences that were built. Mr. Kocher felt that some culverts would need to raise about eight inches to help improve flow.

Via Zoom, Mrs. Dvorak told the Council that she had lived on N. Van Street since 1988. She never had any ditch problems until the Fall of 2018 when the City had dug out the ditch. Currently, the ditch would hold water for about two weeks. When the water did begin to move, it traveled north. The ditch was supposed to be draining to the south.

Councilwoman Fehrenbacher asked why the ditch had been dug out in 2018. Mrs. Dvorak did not know. Until that time, Mrs. Dvorak had never seen the City dig out that ditch. She felt the work was done unevenly and unprofessionally. She stated that the residents did not ask for the ditch work and felt that the City had just taken it upon themselves to do the work.

City Engineer added that another contributing factor was that the area was very flat. There were 3 inches of fall every 100 feet.

Councilman McLaughlin asked what the solution would be to help the drainage. Mr. Kocher replied that 600’ of culvert would need to be replaced. The driveways over the culverts would need to be busted up to access the culverts and then repoured. The ditches would then need to be filled with additional dirt. A contractor would also be needed with a V-bucket and laser to ensure proper grade.

Mrs. Dvorak asked if the replaced culverts would help with flow direction. Mr. Kocher replied that replaced culverts would be placed lower so the water would drain to the south. Culvert replacement would be part of the solution.

Mrs. Dvorak asked if the City would be paying for the culvert replacement. It was determined that culvert replacement would be at the expense of the property owner as the City did not place the culverts. The property owner at the time of placement purchased and placed the culverts in order to install a driveway to access their property. The City created the ditches.

Mrs. Woods commented that they paid taxes.

Councilman Eyer wished to have a policy where any and all culvert placement would require approval by the City. Mr. Kocher agreed that would be helpful.

Councilwoman Fehrenbacher pointed out that unless each resident in that area was willing to replace their culverts, there would be no solution. It would not work to have one or two residents do the culvert replacement.

Mrs. Woods again reiterated that the ditches were fine until the City had plugged up a pipe with concrete. Mr. Kocher did not believe the Street Department had done any such work in that area during the time. He commented that perhaps a sewer lateral was exposed that was then covered by the Sewer Department, but that should have no impact on ditch flow.

Mr. Kocher recalled that a work order was made in 2018 to have the Street Department come to dig out the ditch in that area. He commented that perhaps the work order could be found at City Hall.

Councilman McLaughlin requested that cost estimates be drawn up for the City and resident portions that would result in a solution. Mr. Kocher believed that estimates could be received by the July 13, 2020, Council meeting.

Mrs. Dvorak asked if she should call in to that Council meeting. Mayor Lambird believed that would be a good idea. Mrs. Sterchi clarified that upcoming meetings would be in Phase 4, so the meetings would not be via Zoom. Mrs. Dvorak could be physically present.

9-O “Discussion/Possible Resolution: Intergovernmental Agreement with the Illinois Office of the Comptroller Regarding Access to the Comptroller’s Local Debt Recovery Program” The Council was provided with mowing and incident reports regarding weed complaints.

Previously, the Council agreed to an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Illinois Office of the Comptroller in regards to its debt recover program and collections for mowing weeds and utility bills. Mrs. Guinn explained that testing for the utility bill process had been completed and should begin soon, however the majority of letters/citations regarding mowing bills for weeds were being returned as undeliverable. Mrs. Guinn believed that could create an issue with the collection agency if the person claimed that he or she was never notified of the issue.

Regardless, Mrs. Guinn said the citation could still be submitted to the courthouse, and possibly collected, but the mowing and administrative fees would not be collected at that point. An alternative would be to go back to the process of placing liens on property and not issuing citation and/or sending them into collections.

Councilwoman Henton asked how the $100.00 citation fee was determined. Mrs. Guinn believed it had been discussed in a prior meeting. Mrs. Sterchi clarified that the violations and citations were treated like any other ordinance violation. Ordinance violation citations were each $100.00.

Code Enforcement Officer Dallas Colwell told the Council that the reason so many letters were being returned was because many of the properties were abandoned. Tax records were also not updated by the property owner.

Councilman McLaughlin asked how many citations had been written. Mr. Colwell believed seven had been issued, but about five were pending until the Council’s opinions were heard this evening since most, if not all, of those citations would be returned.

Councilwoman Henton asked if the citations could be sent via Certified Mail. Mr. Colwell replied that is how they were being sent. In that case, Councilman Eyer felt that showed the City’s due diligence in trying to notify the owner.

Councilwoman Fehrenbacher asked if Mr. Zuber had any feedback. Mr. Colwell indicated that via e-mail, Mr. Zuber felt that if the State was having problems with the citations being undeliverable, then the City should go back to placing liens.

Councilman Eyer felt if liens were more effective, that process should be done instead. Councilwoman Henton felt that liens were not more effective because most of the properties were in foreclosure and it cost the City an additional $91.00 to file a lien.

Mayor Lambird asked Mrs. Guinn if she had inquired with the State as to whether or not the returned citations would be a problem. Mrs. Guinn had not asked. She offered that she could send an e-mail asking the State’s opinion.

The Council was in consensus to wait until Mrs. Guinn received word from the State as to whether or not a Certified letter showed the City’s due diligence in trying to contact the property owner would be sufficient.

Councilwoman Henton then brought up that Code Enforcement had been handling weed complaints for a few years now since the hiring of the part-time Code Enforcement Officer. As such, she recommended a Code amendment that changed responsibility from the City Clerk to Code Enforcement on weed complaints.

9-P “Resolution: Accept Donations for Sod in Bower Park & Amend the 2020-2021 Fiscal Budget” The Council was provided with a proposed resolution that would accept donations for sod in Bower park and amend the 2020-2021 fiscal budget.

Funds for the sod placement had been donated from the First National Bank in Olney and the Chamber of Commerce/Friends of Olney in the amount of $1,720.00. As such, Mrs. Guinn explained that a budget amendment would be needed to accept the donation and disburse the funds.

Councilman McLaughlin moved to approve 2020-R-44, seconded by Councilwoman Fehrenbacher. Mayor Lambrid, Councilmen Eyer, McLaughlin, Councilwomen Fehrenbacher and Henton voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

AGENDA #10 “REPORTS FROM ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS” 10-A “Status Report-City Manager” City Manager Barker had nothing to add.

10-B “RCDC Report” Mr. Yockey told the Council that the owners of the Best Western Plus had announced that construction was planned for the Parkside Event Center. This would be the first establishment that could take advantage of the Opportunity Zone.

Additionally, Mr. Yockey reported that Carle’s medical building planned to open on August 31, 2020.

The Business Interruption Grant Program applications would open as of June 23, 2020. Mr. Yockey stated that the grant would be for certain types of businesses.

10-C “Chamber of Commerce Report” Councilwoman Fehrenbacher said that plans were still moving along for the Chamber’s Golf Outing on July 31, 2020.

10-D “Parks & Recreation Board Report” No report was given.

10-E “Tourism Board Report” Councilwoman Henton reported that the ILLINOISouth Tourism Bureau office was now open to the public with limited access. Two employees had been laid off.

AGENDA #11 “PUBLIC COMMENTS/PRESENTATIONS” No one from the public wished to speak.

AGENDA #12 “CLOSED SESSION: COLLECTIVE NEGOTIATING MATTERS” Councilwoman Henton moved to adjourn to closed session to discuss collective negotiating matters, seconded by Councilman McLaughlin. Councilwomen Fehrenbacher, Henton, Councilmen McLaughlin, Eyer, and Mayor Lambird voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

The meeting adjourned to closed session at 7:53 p.m.

AGENDA #13 “RECONVENE OPEN SESSION” Councilwoman Henton moved to enter back into open session, seconded by Councilman McLaughlin. Councilwomen Henton, Fehrenbacher, Councilmen McLaughlin, Eyer, and Mayor Lambird voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

Councilwoman Henton expressed some issues with a nearby property owner in her neighborhood not mowing. Currently, if a property owner said they would be baling an area, mowing could be excused. She had issue with the fact that the Code did not give details or stipulations regarding farming for baling purposes. The Councilwoman had researched some other municipalities that gave appropriate details and stipulations. She asked if any of the Council had interested in amending the City’s Code.

Councilman Eyer thought that baling could be only for those areas outside of City limits. He did not believe there were many inside City limits that were baled. According to other members of the Council, this was not the case.

Councilwoman Henton felt that if someone said that an area would be baled, but never baled the area, then they should not get any more exceptions. While the Council agreed, they discussed how costly it would be for the City to mow such square footage.

Councilman Eyer offered that a date requirement could be included as a stipulation.

Councilwoman Fehrenbacher did not feel there would be many circumstances like this that would turn into a bigger problem. She also felt it would be too difficult to come up with set rules for baling because circumstances changed year to year.

Councilman Eyer and Councilwoman Henton were concerned with the possibility that other residents may use baling as an excuse to get out of mowing if there were no stipulations involved.

The topic would be discussed again at the July 13, 2020, City Council meeting.

Because Richland County would be moving into Phase 4 on Friday, Councilwoman Henton wondered how long the Whittle Avenue closure on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings would be allowed. As of Friday, bars and restaurants would be allowed to have patrons indoors.

Mrs. Sterchi referenced prior minutes and found that the Council’s action on the authorization to close Whittle Avenue on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings was until further notice. The Council wished to put this topic on the agenda for the Special Council meeting scheduled for June 26, 2020.

Councilwoman Henton wondered if picnic tables should also be retrieved from restaurants that had borrowed them in Phase 3. The Council was unsure.

Some discussion also took place on certain properties that were violating codes. The Council was provided with updates regarding the issues.

AGENDA #14 “ADJOURN” With no further business to discuss, Councilman McLaughlin moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilwoman Fehrenbacher. Councilmen McLaughlin, Eyer, Mayor Lambird, Councilwomen Fehrenbacher and Henton voted yes. There were no opposing votes. The motion carried.

The meeting adjourned at 9:37 p.m.

https://www.ci.olney.il.us/cc%20June%2022%202020.pdf