East Central Reporter

City of Olney City Council met March 26.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

AGENDA #1 “CALL TO ORDER” The March 26, 2024, 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, Morgan Fehrenbacher, and Jack Eyer. John McLaughlin and Julia Eichhorst were absent. Also present were City Manager Allen Barker, City Treasurer Jane Guinn, City Engineer Mike Bridges, and City Clerk Kelsie Sterchi.

AGENDA #4 “PUBLIC COMMENTS/PRESENTATIONS” No one from the public wished to speak.

AGENDA #5 “PRESENTATION OF CONSENT AGENDA”

5-A “Approve Minutes of the Council Meeting on March 11, 2024”

5-B “Approve and Authorize Payment of Accounts Payable March 26, 2024” Pooled Cash $93,185.60, Manual Pooled Cash $39,823.33, Utility Refunds $914.34, Adjustments $116.97, MFT $83,003.00, IMRF $31,889.19, Route 130 TIF $2,011.76

5-C “Payment Request: Storm Sewer & Culvert Relining Project”

5-D “Raffle License: American Legion Post 30”

AGENDA #6 “REMOVAL OF ITEMS FROM CONSENT AGENDA” No items were requested for removal from the consent agenda.

AGENDA #7 “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 #8 “CONSIDERATION OF ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA” No items were requested for removal from the consent agenda.

AGENDA #9 “PRESENTATION OF ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS, ETC.”

9-A “IDOT Resolution for Improvement Under the Illinois Highway Code for the East Street Bridge Project” The Council was provided with a proposed IDOT resolution that would appropriate MFT funds for the East Street Bridge Project.

Mrs. Guinn told the Council that CSX needed to be paid in advance for their work related to this project. Such payments are not included in the funding received from the Rebuild Illinois Capital Program, so the funds would need to be appropriated from the City’s regular MFT funding.

Councilwoman Fehrenbacher moved to approve 2024-R-21, seconded by Councilman Eyer. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

9-B “Resolution: Authorize Execution of a Construction Agreement for the East Street Bridge Project” The Council was provided with a proposed resolution that would authorize the execution of a construction agreement for the East Street Bridge Project. The Council was also provided with a copy of the proposed agreement.

Mr. Barker stated that the agreement would be between the City and CSX that would allocate type and conduct of work between the two parties, payment terms, etc.

Councilwoman Fehrenbacher moved to approve 2024-R-22, seconded by Councilman Eyer. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

9-C “Resolution: Support Protection of the 1% Grocery Tax” The Council was provided with a proposed resolution that would support protection of the 1% grocery tax.

The resolution would state the City’s request for the Illinois General Assembly and Governor to protect the 1% sales tax on groceries since this tax was such an important source of revenue for the City. Mayor Lambird suspected that without that tax revenue, the City could lose approximately $500,000.00.

Councilwoman Fehrenbacher moved to approve 2024-R-23, seconded by Councilman Eyer. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

9-D “Discussion/Possible Action: Authorize Solicitation of Bids for the Sanitary Sewer Relining Project” Mr. Bridges was ready to solicit bids for the Sanitary Sewer Relining Project which would be broken down into phases.

Councilwoman Fehrenbacher moved to authorize solicitation of bids for the Sanitary Sewer Relining Project, seconded by Councilman Eyer. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

9-E “Resolution: Accept Chemical Bids for the Olney Wastewater Treatment Plant” The Council was provided with a proposed resolution that would accept chemical bids for the Olney Wastewater Treatment Plant. It was recommended to approve the single bid that was received from Hawkins in the amount of $0.8085 per pound for calcium polysufide 29%, and the low bid from Chemstream in the amount of $0.2670 per pound for liquid caustic soda 50%.

Councilman Eyer moved to approve 2024-R-24, seconded by Councilwoman Fehrenbacher. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

9-F “Resolution: Accept Chemical Bids for the Water Plant” The Council was provided with a proposed resolution that would accept chemical bids for the Water Plant. The Council was also provided with bid acceptance recommendations from Water Plant Supervisor Frank Bradley.

Councilwoman Fehrenbacher moved to approve 2024-R-25, seconded by Councilman Eyer. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

9-G “Resolution: Accept Chemical Bids for the Musgrove Aquatic Center” The Council was provided with a proposed resolution that would accept chemical bids for the Musgrove Aquatic Center. The Council was also provided with a bid acceptance recommendation from Mr. Bradley.

Councilman Eyer moved to approve 2024-R-26, seconded by Councilwoman Fehrenbacher. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

9-H “Request: Class S Liquor License for Alaska Lily’s for the 2023-2024 Liquor License Year” The Council was provided with a Class S liquor license application for Alaska Lily’s for the 2023-2024 liquor license year.

Briauna Baltzell approached the Council and explained that the reason for the request was to be able to sell alcohol at the upcoming eclipse festival.

Councilwoman Fehrenbacher moved to approve Class S liquor license authorization for Alaska Lily’s for the 2023-2024 liquor license year, seconded by Councilman Eyer. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

AGENDA #10 “REPORTS FROM ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS”

10-A “Status Report-City Manager” Mr. Barker said that several projects were getting ready to begin.

10-B “RCDC Report” There was no report.

10-C “Chamber of Commerce Report” There was no report.

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

10-E “Tourism Board Report” There was no report.

AGENDA #11 “2024/2025 BUDGET DISCUSSIONS”

11-A “General Corporate” Earlier in the week, Mrs. Guinn had placed budget information into the Council’s mailboxes at City Hall for their review.

Mrs. Guinn explained that some purchases and/or projects would be moved from the current fiscal year into the next fiscal year because the funds had yet been paid for those purposes.

For General Corporate, the budget would appear to be unfavorable by ($2,876,641.00), but she pointed out that about $1,800,000.00 of that unfavorable number was coming out of a reserve account for the Main & Walnut Storm Sewer Project with a few other projects also using reserve funds.

Mrs. Guinn had also removed the proposed amount of $500,000.00 for a road project and added an additional $100,000.00 for the Improvements to Downtown Olney Project.

Because some rates and fees had increased after action at the last Council meeting, Mrs. Guinn had also adjusted revenue income related to trash fees, pool rates, water rates, and sewer rates.

A retention grant had also been received for the Police Department. While the grant total was $140,000.00, Mrs. Guinn only expected to spend half of that amount in the next fiscal year.

Revenue for the Whittle Avenue Railroad Project had also been reduced in the next fiscal year because Mrs. Guinn now expected to receive payment this fiscal year. If that should not happen, then $102,000.00 would be added as revenue in the next fiscal year.

The purchase of Fire Department bunker gear had also been recently approved, but the Department was informed that the gear would not be received for another 6 months. Because of this, that expense would be moved into the next budget year in the amount of $25,000.00.

With all of that being said, a truer number would be about $69,000.00 favorable in General Corporate.

11-B “Miscellaneous Funds” Mrs. Guinn told the Council that the Fire Pension and Police Pension Boards had recently met and approved recommendation of their proposed budgets.

For Fire Pension, Mrs. Guinn expected income to be $379,827.00 with expenses at $309,922.00. The favorable amount of $69,905.00 would be used to help build the fund.

For Police Pension, Mrs. Guinn expected income to be $902,471.00 with expenses at $740,197.00. The favorable amount of $162,274.00 would be used to help build the fund.

A revenue amount of $399,000.00 was expected for MFT with an amount of $761,502.00 in expenses. She reminded the Council that $575,000.00 of the expense amount would come from the Rebuild Illinois grant for the East Street Bridge Project, and the remaining funds for the project would be coming out of reserves. Without that particular project, the MFT budget would be favorable.

Lastly, Mrs. Guinn stated that she had just received the Library’s proposed budget earlier in the day. They proposed a matching income and expense budget with each totaling $337,644.00.

AGENDA #12 “CLOSED SESSION: SALE OR LEASE PRICE OF REAL PROPERTY; ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY; APPOINTMENT, EMPLOYMENT, COMPENSATION, AND PERFORMANCE OF SPECIFIC EMPLOYEES; COLLECTIVE NEGOTIATING MATTERS; AND LITIGATION MATTERS”

Councilman eyer 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; collective negotiating matters; and litigation matters, seconded by Councilwoman Fehrenbacher. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

The meeting adjourned to closed session at 6:13 p.m.

AGENDA #13 “RECONVENE OPEN SESSION” Councilwoman Fehrenbacher moved to enter back into open session, seconded by Councilman Eyer. A majority affirmative voice vote was received. Open session resumed at 7:05 p.m.

13-A “Approve Minutes of Closed Session on March 11, 2024” Councilwoman Fehrenbacher moved to approve minutes of closed session from March 11, 2024, seconded by Councilman Eyer. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

Mayor Lambird reminded everyone that the next Council meeting had been rescheduled from April 8, 2024, to April 9, 2024.

AGENDA #14 “ADJOURN” With no further business to discuss, Councilwoman Fehrenbacher moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilman Eyer. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.

The meeting adjourned at 7:06 p.m.

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