MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE STAUNTON CITY COUNCIL, HELD IN THE RALPH & JOSEPHINE OLTMANN COMMUNITY CENTER, 101 W. PEARL ST., STAUNTON, ILLINOIS ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2021
I. CALL TO ORDER:
Mayor Craig Neuhaus called the Staunton City Council Meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. on Monday, February 22, 2021
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
Mayor Craig Neuhaus led the Pledge Allegiance to the Flag.
III. ROLL CALL:
Prior to roll call being taken, City Clerk Stiegemeier announced that tonight’s City Council Meeting was being conducted remotely and was being recorded due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
City Clerk Stiegemeier called roll with the following persons:
ATTENDING: Aldermen Maria Bodner, Brooke Wallace, Randy Hanks, Ryan Machota, Chad Plenske, John Moore, Mayor Craig Neuhaus, City Clerk Dennis Stiegemeier, City Treasurer Cindy Pirok, City Attorney Phil Lading, Police Chief Jeff Doerr and Public Works Director Mike Kuethe.
ELECTRONIC ATTENDANCE: Alderman Rick Johnson.
NOT ATTENDING: Alderman Jeff Scanzoni.
IV. CONSENT AGENDA
Moore moved, seconded by Bodner to approve Consent Agenda with the following items:
Minutes
Regular Meeting – 02/08/2021
Collector’s Report
Max B. Mullins Salvage (Street-Scrap Metal Sale)--$589.50
State of Illinois (Income Tax)--$57,606.24
State of Illinois (Use Tax)--$21,664.72
State of Illinois (Telecommunications Tax)--$5,635.74
State of Illinois (Cannabis Use Tax)--$457.50
State of Illinois (Sales Tax)--$48,364.75
State of Illinois (MFT Tax)--$8,263.67
State of Illinois (MFT Renewal Fund)--$6,606.51
MJM Electric Cooperative (Utility Taxes)--$264.36
Applications
None
Claims
February 22, 2021
Business Licenses Issued
Concordia Hall, Inc. (Meat Shoot Permit)
Staunton Food & Liquor (Liquor License)
Concordia Hall, Inc. (Meat Shoot Permit)—This permit covers Meat Shoots
on February 21 & 28 and March 7, 14, 21 and 28, 2021.
Roll Call Vote
AYES: Wallace, Johnson, Hanks, Machota, Moore, Bodner.
NAYS: None.
ABSTAIN: Plenske.
ABSENT: Scanzoni.
Motion declared carried.
V. GUESTS
No guests, attending physically or remotely, requested to speak.
VI. CORRESPONDENCE
VII. TREASURER’S REPORT
Certificates of Deposit recently purchased at Bank of Springfield:
Bond/Interest Fund--$200,000.00 for 15 months at 0.36% interest rate
Water Fund--$150,000.00 for 12 months at 0.31% interest rate
Sewer Fund--$175,000.00 for 12 months at 0.31% interest rate
VIII. CITY CLERK’S REPORT
IX. COMMITTEE REPORTS
PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY -
Nothing to report.
PARK & CIVIC IMPROVEMENT –
Motion by Bodner, seconded by Machota to approve spending up to $10,000.00, as budgeted, for a City wide clean-up on April 16 and 17, 2021. At Roll Call Vote – Ayes: Machota, Plenske, Moore, Bodner, Wallace. Nayes: Johnson, Hanks. Absent: Scanzoni. Motion carried 5 Ayes; 2 Nayes.
FINANCE–
Motion by Moore, seconded by Bodner to approve retention of Paul Marengo and Schiff Hardin, LLP as bond counsel related to the City’s USDA Rural Development Loans for the City’s Main Street Box Culvert Replacement Project with fees in the range of $30,000.00 to $35,000.00 to be paid from bond proceeds at closing; and to prepare loan documentation for the City’s interim construction loan related to same. Alderman Wallace asked Attorney Lading if any attorneys would be available from Sandberg Phoenix to represent as bond counsel, but Attorney Lading stated that for this type of project, we must have outside bond counsel, as this project requires a high level specialty. At Roll Call Vote – Ayes: Hanks, Machota, Plenske, Moore, Bodner, Wallace. Nayes: Johnson. Absent: Scanzoni. Motion carried 6 Ayes; 1 Naye.
Motion by Moore, seconded by Bodner to accept construction loan proposal from CNB Bank & Trust for temporary financing of the Ginseng Creek Culvert Project, with the interest rate being 1%. A discussion was held regarding the loan amount in the fact that it has gone from $1,000,000 to 3,300,000. The money from the bank would be used for one year construction loan disbursement, but the city would only be borrowing money as was needed to satisfy the cost of the project. The city would only pay interest on the amount of money that is borrowed. This would have been a cost savings to the city as the interest rate for the Rural Development Loan is 1.25%. At Roll Call Vote – Ayes: Machota, Moore, Bodner. Nayes: Plenske, Wallace, Johnson, Hanks. Absent: Scanzoni. Motion failed 3 Ayes; 4 Nayes.
WATER-
Nothing to report.
STREET / SEWER
Nothing to report.
PUBLIC GROUNDS-
Nothing to report.
TOURISM –
Nothing to report.
PERSONNEL –
Nothing to report.
ANNEXATION –
Nothing to report.
SPECIAL COMMITTEES –
COMMUNITY CENTER COMMITTEE
Motion by Bodner, seconded by Moore to approve Estimate #483 from Auto Sound & Security for automatic entry system for the Ralph & Josephine Community Center in the amount of $1,775.00. At Roll Call Vote – Ayes: Moore, Bodner, Johnson, Machota. Nayes: Plenske, Wallace, Hanks. Absent: Scanzoni. Motion carried 4 Ayes; 3 Nayes.
JUDICIARY—
Motion by Bodner, seconded by Machota to approve Ordinance #2108 Approving Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement Between The City Of Staunton, Illinois And Staunton Township. At Roll Call Vote – Ayes: Moore, Bodner, Wallace, Johnson, Hanks, Machota, Plenske. Nayes: None. Absent: Scanzoni. Motion carried.
Prior to the first reading of the next Ordinance, Alderman Wallace expressed some
concerns with not approving the entire Chapter 40 Zoning Code as a whole. One area
of concern is the lack of requiring occupancy permits for a safe living environment
for local residents. It was stated that this was a directive from the Mayor to the Zoning Administrator.
1st reading of Ordinance #2109 Accepting Findings Of Fact And Recommendations Of The Zoning Hearing Officer To Approve An Application For A Zoning Text Amendment Submitted By The City Of Staunton, Illinois
1st reading of Ordinance #2110 Adopting A Rental Agreement For The Staunton Ralph And Josephine Oltmann Community Center
Motion by Bodner, seconded by Hanks to approve Resolution #2021-05 Declaring Surplus Property And Authorizing Its Disposition. At Roll Call Vote – Ayes: Bodner, Wallace, Johnson, Hanks, Machota, Plenske, Moore. Nayes: None. Absent: Scanzoni. Motion carried.
X. UNFINISHED BUSINESS—
Nothing to report.
XI. NEW BUSINESS-
Nothing to report.
XII. EXECUTIVE SESSION—
No Executive Session was held.
XIII. MOTIONS FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION –
.
No motions were made from Executive Session.
XIV. ADJOURNMENT
With no further business to discuss, Councilmember Plenske seconded by Councilmember Bodner to adjourn at 7:17 P.M. At Roll Call Vote – Ayes: Wallace, Johnson, Hanks, Machota, Plenske, Moore, Bodner. Nayes: None. Absent: Scanzoni. Motion carried.
Prepared by:
Dennis K. Stiegemeier, City Clerk