East Central Reporter

City of Olney City Council met May 9.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

AGENDA #1 “CALL TO ORDER” The meeting of the Olney City Council was called to order at 6:00 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. Steve Wingert 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 Attorney Bart Zuber, and City Clerk Kelsie Sterchi.

AGENDA #4 “PRESENTATION OF CONSENT AGENDA”

4-A “Approve Minutes of the Council Meeting on April 25, 2022”

4-B “Approve and Authorize Payment of Accounts Payable April 28, 2022, & May 10, 2022” Pooled Cash $219,619.73, Manual Pooled Cash $855,156.29, Petty Cash $150.69, Foreign Fire $871.99, IMRF $25,467.53, Tourism $4,011.85

4-C “Appointment: Charles (Chuck) Sanders to the Police Pension Board” 4-D “Raffle License: Olney Firefighters Association”

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. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

AGENDA #7 “CONSIDERATION OF ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA” No items were requested for removal from the consent agenda.

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

8-A “Request: Solicitations of Poppy Day Donations at the Intersection of Main and East Streets from 8:00 A.M. Until 2:00 P.M. on May 28, 2022” The Council was provided with a request from the Olney Memorial VFW Post #4226 asking for permission to solicit donations for Poppy Day at the intersection of Main and East Streets from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. on May 28, 2022. The VFW had been approved to do this solicitation for the past few years, and funds raised would go towards veterans’ relief.

Councilman McLaughlin moved to approve the solicitation of Poppy Day donations at the intersection of Main and East Streets from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. on May 28, 2022, seconded by Councilwoman Fehrenbacher. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

8-B “Proclamation: Recognition of RCMS Cub Basketball” Mayor Lambird recited special recognition to the RCMS Cubs basketball team for their 2022 SIJHSAA Class L State Tournament championship. The Mayor also declared February 18th as RCMS Cub Basketball Day in the City of Olney.

Players recognized were: Ayden Nealis, Carsyn Ameter, Nicco Fehrenbacher, Gavyn Cothern, Ian Pianfetti, Reed Klingler, Mason Riggs, Reid Brown, Ryan Kirby, Jaylan Mitchell, Brandon Green, Xavior Zuber, Reese Glover, Jakoby Van Dyke, Zander Schrader, and Casey Thomann.

Managers recognized were: Conner Akers and Holden Ginder.

Coaches recognized were: Collin Klingler and Dakotah Brown.

Mayor Lambird then invited the basketball team and their families to dinner at the Elks Lodge, and said that the Lodge was ready for their arrival.

8-C “Appointment: Mayor Pro-Tem” Each year, the Council should select from its members at the first regular meeting in May a new Mayor pro-tem.

Mayor Lambird moved to appoint Councilman John McLaughlin as Mayor Pro-Tem, seconded by Councilwoman Fehrenbacher. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

8-D “Resolution: Accept Proposals for Fire Department Policies & Procedures Manual & Waive Formal Bidding Procedures” The Council was provided with a proposed resolution that would accept a proposal for a Fire Department policies and procedures manual, and would waive formal bidding procedures. The Council was also provided with the proposal from Lexipol of Frisco, Texas.

Mr. Barker reminded the Council that a few months ago, a similar resolution was approved for the Police Department. Fire Chief Holmes felt that such a manual would also be of benefit to the Fire Department.

From the audience, Chief Holmes reiterated some of the same points brought up regarding the manual that were presented during the budget planning process. The manual would be helpful for the Department itself, but would also keep the Department’s bases covered regarding good policy and protocol.

The amount of $18,152.20 for the manual was budgeted for, and would include the policy subscription, and policy implementation. The Chief also explained that there would be an annual subscription fee of about $4,500.00 per year. He expected that fee may go up at some point over the years, but the $4,500.00 would be what the City could expect initially.

Councilman McLaughlin moved to approve 2022-R-42, seconded by Councilwoman Henton. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

8-E “Discussion: Route 130 Sidewalk Project” Mr. Barker told the Council that the State letting for the Route 130 Sidewalk Project had taken place on April 29, 2022. The total construction price, including engineering fees, would total $1,214,675.00. That would then make the City’s match a total of $374,753.60. The overall bid came in about $300,000.00 more than originally anticipated.

Mr. Barker told the Council that they now had the option to reject the bids and back out of the project altogether. The Council could also choose to reduce the scope of the project. The City could also ask the State for additional funding. Mr. Barker stated that an inquiry had been made to the State last week asking for additional funding, but no word had yet been received.

Councilman McLaughlin supported the request for more funding from the State, but still felt that the City should proceed with the project no matter what, and should proceed with the original scope of the project. Councilman Eyer agreed.

Since a request had been submitted for more funding, Councilwoman Fehrenbacher asked if the City would still be able to discuss whether or not to move forward with the project should the request for additional funding be denied. Mr. Barker indicated so.

Councilman McLaughlin asked if the delay on awarding the bids would negatively impact the project. Mr. Barker replied it would not. He also did not expect this delay to go longer than a week or so.

Councilman McLaughlin hoped to make awards as soon as possible because prices could rise even 5% more over the next few months.

Councilwoman Fehrenbacher asked where the City’s additional funding would come from. Mr. Barker replied that any additional funds would need to come from the General Fund.

8-F “Resolution: Amend the 2022-2023 Budget for an Air Compressor for the Water Plant” The Council was provided with a proposed resolution that would amend the 2022-2023 budget for an air compressor for the Water Plant.

Mr. Barker explained that even though the Council had authorized a budget amendment for this same air compressor near the end of the last fiscal year, the compressor was delivered after May 1, 2022, so the invoice for the item would need to be paid out of the 2022-2023 fiscal year budget. The budget would be amended by adding a line item for the air compressor in the amount of $8,750.00.

Councilwoman Henton moved to approve 2022-R-43, seconded by Councilwoman Fehrenbacher. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

AGENDA #9 “REPORTS FROM ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS”

9-A “Status Report-City Manager” Mr. Barker reported that the City Hall parking lot would be paved on Wednesday and striped shortly thereafter.

9-B “RCDC Report” Mrs. McClain had nothing to report.

9-B “Chamber of Commerce Report” Councilwoman Fehrenbacher had nothing to report.

9-D “Parks & Recreation Board Report” There was no report.

9-E “Tourism Board Report” Councilwoman Henton said that she had attended the ILLINOISouth Tourism Bureau quarterly meeting on April 27, 2022.

Councilwoman Fehrenbacher told the Council that Project Community would be holding a photo op/groundbreaking ceremony on May 16, 2022, at 5:30 p.m. at the future site of the splash pad. She invited City officials to attend, and said it would be very brief.

AGENDA #10 “PUBLIC COMMENTS/PRESENTATIONS”

10-A “Heather Yonaka” Heather Yonaka returned to speak to the Council about her issue with nuisances at 906 W. Mack Avenue. Mrs. Yonaka presented her laptop computer and speaker in order to show the Council video of children riding dirtbikes at her neighbor’s property. The video’s purpose was to show how loud the sound was directly outside of Mrs. Yonaka’s home, inside of her screened porch, and then from inside of her home when the doors were closed.

Referencing the video, Mayor Lambird asked how long the riding went on that particular day. Mrs. Yonaka was unsure because she and her husband ended up leaving because they were tired of the noise. Nearby neighbor Betty Bower also called her son to come pick her up because she also could not handle the noise that day.

Mrs. Yonaka then disbursed some packets for the record. The packets included a DVD of her videos, some sections of the City of Olney Municipal Code, a document from the Purdue University Chemistry Department on noise sources and their effects, an article from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called “Do Backyard Chickens Pose Any Health Risks to Humans?,” a fact sheet from the Illinois Department of Public Health titled “Human Health Concerns About Raising Poultry,” examples of ordinances from other municipalities, and a copy of the Olney Gazette’s report of proceedings from the April 25, 2022, Council meeting.

Mrs. Yonaka reminded the Council that the area being discussed was residentially zoned and inside of City limits. She also said that Ronda Easton’s statements from the April 25th meeting were not correct.

Mrs. Yonaka stated that the dirt on the Easton’s property that was being used as motocross hills had not come from the WalMart Supercenter. Mrs. Yonaka claimed that she had witnesses that viewed dump truck loads of dirt being delivered to the Easton’s property for this purpose.

Mrs. Easton had also said that her son usually rode his dirtbike about one day per week, and usually mid-day on a Sunday. Mrs. Yonaka said that was an outright lie, and that she had video from her security cameras that would prove otherwise.

Mrs. Yonaka continued that multiple children ride on the Easton’s property. Mrs. Easton had also said that her son rode a 70-cc, 4-stroke Honda, but Mrs. Yonaka reported that a large, blue bike was actually ridden the most often. As time went on, the Easton’s son was growing and so were the size of bikes being ridden.

Referencing her videos, Mrs. Yonaka pointed out that the Easton’s son was not only riding his dirtbike on the northwest part of the property. Rather, he made full use of the area, and frequently rode up and down the area near Betty Bower’s property line.

At the last meeting, Mrs. Bower’s letter said that she felt that the Eastons intentionally sent their son out to agitate her. Mrs. Yonaka had witnessed the Easton’s son make at least 16 passes on Mrs. Bower’s property line within 5 minutes.

Mrs. Yonaka then stated that she felt that the dirtbikes were certainly louder than lawn mowers. Additionally, the vacant “field” to the east of the Easton’s house was also part of their property. Mrs. Yonaka said that area of the property was unsightly as it was now all weeds and dirt. Mrs. Yonaka then reported that the Eastons had only mowed twice so far this year.

Regarding the complaint about dust, Mrs. Yonaka said that the Easton’s mower and dirtbikes both contributed to the problem. The dust problems also contributed to additional homeowner expense and maintenance for neighbors.

Additionally, Mrs. Yonaka was concerned with the fact that the Eastons had chickens. She felt that the contaminates from chicken feces was also being circulated with the dust. Mrs. Yonaka had tried contacting authorities about this problem, and after witnessing the chickens expel waste onto her patio. Nothing had been done, and Mrs. Yonaka wondered if that was due to lack of an ordinance. She felt that the City should fall in line with some ordinances from other municipalities so that chickens running freely would not be allowed.

Mrs. Yonaka then said when she purchased her Mack Avenue home, there was no motocross track in the neighborhood. Had there been such a track, she would not have purchased the property. She did not feel the track was appropriate for a residential neighborhood, and felt that the Easton’s property was unsightly due to weeds and dirt.

Mrs. Yonaka then said that the Code Enforcement Officer told her that there were no issues other than possible noise and/or smoke emissions. She said he also had nothing to say when she asked about a motocross track being a nuisance or a zoning violation. Mrs. Yonaka said she had been told by the Code Enforcement Officer that instead of speaking with him, she would need to call the police if she felt there was a problem.

When Mrs. Yonaka and Mrs. Bower called the police, Mrs. Yonaka felt like nothing was done about the complaints. Because of this, she was asking the Council to use their authority to strengthen ordinances or to issue a cease and desist to the Eastons to stop the dirtbike activity immediately. If Mrs. Yonaka had wanted to live next to a noisy, dusty, unsightly motocross track, she said she would have chosen to do so, but that was not the case here. Mrs. Yonaka told the Council that she paid City taxes and expected to not need to deal with issues that would be found outside of City limits. She also felt that if this was truly allowable inside of City limits, then people would find out, and the City would have tracks all over the place.

Mrs. Yonaka had also recently spoken with Mrs. Bower who was very upset by Mrs. Easton’s “half truths” from the prior meeting. Mrs. Yonaka told the Council that Mrs. Bower had to be prescribed medication for the undue stress related to her issues with the Eastons.

Mrs. Yonaka was also sent this evening by Mrs. Bower to clear up some information. On Easter Sunday, Mrs. Bower had family at her home, and the Eastons had two dirtbikes being ridden next door. She had asked the Easton’s son to stop riding or to see if he could at least ride on the other side of the property. The son was not sure what to do, so he went to ask Mrs. Easton. Then, Mrs. Easton showed up at Mrs. Bower’s door saying that she wanted to deliver some brownies, but the brownies were actually a lead-in that resulted in Mrs. Easton chewing out Mrs. Bower for asking her son to ride elsewhere. At that time, Mrs. Bower did say that Mrs. Easton could shove the brownies up her rear end, but that was the true reason. From there, Mrs. Easton reportedly returned home and had the children increase their noise level in order to annoy Mrs. Bower and her company.

That same Easter Sunday, the Yonakas were also entertaining family and were bothered by the noise. They felt it was rude and disrespectful for the Eastons to be making such a commotion.

Mrs. Easton had also said that Mrs. Bower would get bothered when their property had gotten t.p.’d. Mrs. Bower wished for Mrs. Yonaka to clarify that had started four years ago when her ill husband had been upset during the weekend that the Eastons were in Iowa and could not clean up the mess. When the Eastons returned, Mrs. Bower asked Mrs. Easton if they could clean it up because her ill husband was getting quite upset. At that time, Mrs. Easton reportedly told Mrs. Bower to “just get used to it.”

After the Yonakas had purchased their Mack Avenue home, Mrs. Easton visited Mrs. Yonaka at her place of business to ask if they had moved in yet. At that time, Mrs. Easton said that she was not getting along with Mrs. Bower, and had asked Mrs. Yonaka if she had seen the auger on their property. Mrs. Yonaka replied that she had seen the auger. Mrs. Easton told her that Larry Pitts had intentionally placed the auger there in order to upset Mrs. Bower after he did not get approval for the solar panel project. The Eastons continued to leave it there in order to also bother Mrs. Bower.

At the last Council meeting, Josh Easton had said that the Yonakas should be ashamed with how they were handling the situation. Mrs. Yonaka felt that the Eastons were the ones that should actually be ashamed. She felt their behavior was no way to get along with neighbors by contributing to noise, nuisances, and intimidation.

Councilman McLaughlin asked the City Attorney if the track was a violation of the zoning ordinance. Mr. Zuber did not believe that the issue was a zoning issue at all, especially since the track was not used for commercial purposes. He instead felt that it would be more of a noise or nuisance issue.

Mrs. Yonaka then told the Council that when she had contacted the police, she was told that they did not have any specific guidelines as to how to resolve such issues. One day, Mrs. Yonaka arrived home to see an officer in the Easton’s driveway. She watched as the officer stayed at that location for a bit, but then got into his car and drove away. Mrs. Yonaka then followed the officer to the nearest stoplight and asked if she could speak with him. The officer agreed, and they pulled into a nearby parking lot.

Mrs. Yonaka told the officer that she was pleased to see him at the Eastons because they had been having a lot of trouble with noise. The officer told Mrs. Yonaka that was not the reason he had been dispatched. He had been dispatched because somebody complained about the driving of dirtbikes on the roadway.

Mrs. Yonaka found out that Mrs. Bower had called in the complaint, but Mrs. Bower said that her complaint was not that the bikes were on the road. Her complaint was about the riding going on at the track that was making a lot of noise.

The officer had also told Mrs. Yonaka that the riders that day were not the homeowners, and that the homeowners’ bike was sitting against the house. The officer did not think that the bike could be very loud, and said that the homeowner had told him that the Mayor had given them permission to ride. Mrs. Yonaka then got in touch with the Mayor for further information.

Mayor Lambird asked Mrs. Yonaka what he had said as the response. He recalled that he had told Mrs. Yonaka that was absolutely not true.

Mrs. Yonaka told the Mayor that he had actually said that he did not really recall giving such permission.

Mayor Lambird asked Mrs. Yonaka if she was, in fact, saying that he was lying. Mrs. Yonaka replied that she was not.

Mayor Lambird clarified that he did not have authority to grant such permissions.

Mrs. Yonaka then told the Council that the Code Enforcement Officer agreed that the Mayor would not have the authority to make the police not take action.

Mrs. Yonaka then said that the Mayor had told her that he would look into the issue.

After Mrs. Yonaka’s conversation with the officer, someone from Dispatch called Mrs. Bower back to tell her that the officer could not take any action because it was not after 10:00 p.m. Mrs. Yonaka then called the Code Enforcement Officer to see if that was correct, and the Code Enforcement Officer had said that was not true.

At a later time, Mrs. Yonaka again called for the police, but no officer stopped because he did not see or hear anything. Mrs. Yonaka wanted the officer to come back out because she and Mrs. Bower had a lot of questions for the officer. So, the officer came back out to speak with them. Mrs. Yonaka said that the officer had told her that they had no clear guidelines to go by, and that they had to go off of their own opinions as to whether or not a noise was too loud and would warrant a report. This officer had told Mrs. Yonaka that he had grown up in the country, so such noises were not a bother to him.

Mayor Lambird agreed that part of the problem was due to the issues being subjective. After viewing Mrs. Yonaka’s video, the Mayor understood why she was frustrated, but stated that oftentimes enforcement was based on judgement calls. Mr. Zuber agreed, but noted that there were always options.

Councilman McLaughlin pointed out that the City Code did prohibit the use of noise creating combustion engines which caused noise due to the explosion of operating gases or fluids, but the prohibited time frame was from 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Mrs. Yonaka asked the Councilman if he would even want that kind of noise near his house throughout the day time. Councilman McLaughlin said he would not.

Mayor Lambird asked Police Chief Paddock if he wished to add anything. Chief Paddock told the Council that about 60% of their responses required use of officers’ discretion. He had spoken with both responding offers and agreed that it was discretionary unless there was a more clear-cut ordinance. He did warn the Council to consider the decibel levels of chainsaws, riding mowers, etc., or else that could present more problems.

Councilwoman Henton said that she had spoken to two of the Mack Avenue neighbors over the weekend, and neither of them had any issues with the Eastons. Personally, the Councilwoman had no problem with what was taking place. She recalled that kids had ridden dirtbikes in her backyard in the past, and that was not a problem for her or her neighbors. She also did not believe it to be a problem on Mack Avenue. Even so, she did not have any issue with the Council discussing the noise ordinance in the future.

Councilman Eyer hoped for mechanism of enforcement on this type of issue that could be quantified instead of being objective. A decibel meter could help, but he noted there would need to be a differentiation between entertainment and maintenance noises.

Councilwoman Henton did not agree, and felt that the Eastons should be able to enjoy their yard. Additionally, if a certain decibel level was a problem, then she did not feel it mattered what was causing the noise.

Councilwoman Henton also felt that the Council had heard the same information over and over during the past couple of meetings. She was not interested in hearing more of that, but was interested in talking about solutions.

Mr. Zuber offered to make an “off the cuff” suggestion. Paragraph I of Section 9.24.060 (Noises prohibited.) of the City Code could be changed to read, “Blowers and similar devices: In any residentially zoned area, at any time, the operation of any noise-creating blower, power fan, or any internal combustion engine, the operation of which causes noise due to the explosion of operating gases or fluids, provided that the noise is unreasonably loud and raucous, can be heard across the property line of the property from which it emanates, and if the noise is being created for recreational purposes.” Councilman Eyer still felt that the word “unreasonably” was very subjective.

Mrs. Yonaka felt that other types of noise nuisances were being acted upon that were not even as loud as the dirtbike issues she was dealing with. She also believed that someone was either tipping off the Eastons before an officer was dispatched or the Eastons had a scanner. She said that the Eastons would suddenly stop their dirtbike riding before officers arrived, and that made her suspicious.

Mayor Lambird asked for the will of the Council on this issue. Councilwoman Henton felt that the Council could continue to discuss ordinance modifications at future meetings, but she was not interested in rehashing the complaints that had been made. Councilman Eyer agreed.

AGENDA #11 “CLOSED SESSION: SALE OR LEASE PRICE OF REAL PROPERTY; ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY; APPOINTMENT, EMPLOYMENT, COMPENSATION, AND PERFORMANCE OF SPECIFIC EMPLOYEES; AND LITIGATION MATTERS” Councilwoman Henton moved to adjourn to closed session to discuss the sale or lease price of real property; acquisition of real property; appointment, employment, compensation, and performance of specific employees; and litigation matters, seconded by Councilman McLaughlin. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

The meeting adjourned to closed session at 7:01 p.m.

AGENDA #12 “RECONVENE OPEN SESSION” Councilman McLaughlin moved to enter back into open session, seconded by Councilwoman Henton. A majority affirmative voice vote was received. Open session resumed at 7:04 p.m.

12-A “Ordinance: Establish Wages for Employees of the City of Olney” The Council was provided with a proposed ordinance that would establish wages for employees of the City of Olney.

Councilman McLaughlin moved to approve Ordinance 2022-17, seconded by Councilwoman Henton. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

AGENDA #13 “ADJOURN” With no further business to discuss, Councilman McLaughlin moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilwoman Henton. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

The meeting adjourned at 7:05 p.m.

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