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CITY OF MONMOUTH
COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
Date: March 21, 2011 Time: 7:00 p.m. Location: 100 East Broadway
Monmouth, Illinois
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I. CALL TO ORDER & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Rod Davies called the meeting to order in the Council Chambers at City Hall at 7:00 p.m. and led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
II. ROLL CALL
City Clerk Susan S. Trevor called the roll and those answering Present were: Aldermen Dave Rutledge, Dave Bates, Les Dollinger, Bob Wells, Dan Heatherly, Jaime Godina and Alderwoman Vicki McNamara Absent: Tim Heatherly Also Present: Mayor Rod Davies, City Administrator Eric Hanson, City Clerk Susan S. Trevor, City Attorney Marcum Spears, Fire Chief John Cratty, Police Chief Brad Zeigler, Building Inspector Jim Conard, Community Development Director Paul Schuytema and members of the Press.
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – March 7, 2011
A. March 7, 2011 Council Minutes
It was moved by Alderwoman McNamara and seconded by Alderman Bob Wells to approve the minutes of the March 21st Council Meeting as presented. AYE: Aldermen Rutledge, Dollinger, Wells, Dan Heatherly, Godina and Alderwoman McNamara PASS: Alderman Bates NAY: none ABSENT: Alderman Tim Heatherly MOTION CARRIED.
IV. PRESENTATION TO THE COUNCIL
A. Old Business
There was none to consider.
B. New Business
1. Consent Agenda
a. Approval of Bills
It was moved by Alderman Dan Heatherly and seconded by Alderman Rutledge to approve the bills as presented. AYE: Aldermen Bates, Dollinger, Wells, Dan Heatherly, Godina, Rutledge and Alderwoman McNamara ABSENT: Alderman Tim Heatherly NAY: none MOTION CARRIED.
C. Committee of the Whole Discussion Items
1. MFD February Report – Chief John Cratty
Chief Cratty reported that the Hazardous Conditions responses were up in February due to the blizzard, which is pretty standard. Total Year to Date Response Calls through February 28, 2011 comes to 151 calls. Staff Training included a review on completing a patient assessment and history as part of the original diagnosis when responding to a medical emergency. Fire hydrants between E. Euclid and E. Broadway on 9th Street were flow tested to update flow test records as the last flow test was completed in 2002 on this stretch of 9th Street. Final inspections of Perk's and the Monmouth College sorority house on East Broadway were completed. In February, the Illinois Department of Public Health re-licensed the MFD ambulance through an on-site inspection. Through working with the Warren County 911 center and the City's IT person, Kenneth Helms, the 911 Center now can notify MFD personnel for a call-back by sending out a text message to the individual's cell phone. Assistant Chief Pat Spears along with Chief Cratty attended the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System conference in Peoria during February. The focus of the conference was earthquake response. On April 28th the state of Illinois along with the City of Monmouth will be participating in the "The Great Central U.S. Shakeout". According to Chief Cratty, this is an earthquake drill much like the tornado drills that we are used to having in Illinois.
Our new building inspection program will being in the month of April and run through October or maybe November according to Chief Cratty. The initial focus will be on vacant properties to ensure the maintenance of the properties in order to prevent them from becoming community eyesores and safety hazards. Also, by having an inspection program, the City would be able to tell potential developers what needs to be done in order to bring a property up to code. By having a maintenance and fire code, it would ensure that exit doors could not be boarded over when altering the building usage. Some of the same issues that are looked at in commercial properties also are pertinent to residential properties such as smoke detectors. Chief Cratty said that the codes to be used for inspection have all already been adopted by Council; however, within the Fire Code, there needs to be a Board of Appeals for people who have been cited for Fire Code violations. Usually the people appointed to a board of appeals are people who have some experience or expertise in the construction industry such as an architect, plumber, or electrician. Chief Cratty asked that the Council or Administration determine the possibility of appointing a Board of Appeals for Fire Code violations.
2. MPD February Report – Chief Brad Zeigler
Chief Zeigler reviewed the February report for the Council as follows:
• Arrests = 60
• Service Calls = 1173
• 911 Calls = 269
• Dispatch Calls = 2027
• Accidents = 30
• Grant Hours = 15
• Miles Patrolled = 8541
Chief Zeigler also reported that the dispatchers just completed CPR certification with the assistance of the MFD. The department is also exploring training the dispatchers as EMT's. Currently there is one dispatcher who is an EMT, which presents the possibility to use him to train the other dispatchers. In closing, Chief Zeigler said that he had received a letter from Sheriff Edwards commending two MPD dispatchers in their handling an emergency situation for the County.
3. Community Development – Director Paul Schuytema
During the month of February Mr. Schuytema spent significant time in:
Research and Study – studying the legal ramifications for municipal social networking as well as the sessions he attended at the Rural Community Economic Development Conference.
Networking and meetings – GREDA, YMCA, MBWI concerning downtown building opportunities, USDA for grant opportunities, and also numerous other meetings exploring other development possibilities
Marketing and Website – New Logo project is underway; City website project is proceeding with an online geo-coded database, refined Wed 2.0 pyramid approach, social networking tools and porting over content to new site
Downtown – Enhanced justification document as foundation for downtown strategic plan;
Initial draft of downtown strategic plan document and continued research in wireless approaches to downtown
Rainmaking – RCDI opportunities (through IIRA); Community Matters streetscape planning with a webinar scheduled with Eric and Mr. Schuytema on April 5th.
Mr. Schuytema then gave a very informative presentation of the Downtown Monmouth Strategic Plan. He pointed out that the heart of a vibrant small town is its city center. For Monmouth, that heart is our Public Square and the blocks that surround it, with the circular Central Park at the epicenter. According to Mr. Schuytema, to strengthen our community, culturally and economically, this strategic plan will be used to define and guide our actions in the coming years to revitalize our historic downtown based on the recommendations laid out in the City's 2007 Comprehensive Plan. This plan will also be defined by our current and future economic conditions and aspirations along with the need and desire to create a strong downtown-college link between the City and Monmouth College. In addition, the City's desire to forge a diverse, invigorated, creative and sustainable center for our community will be a part of this strategic plan. Monmouth has a rich business heritage, wonderful historic architecture and downtown buildings as well as current strong bypass development. The City currently has many tools that can be used to foster downtown development such as: the Enterprise Zone, T.I.F. funds, building grants, business façade funds, a Revolving Loan Fund and now the Business Assistance Fund. There are a number of core principles that address the unique aspects of our community and economic times as well as defining many of the implementation strategies that make up the heart of this strategic plan. Mr. Schuytema pointed out that it is critically important to get the people of this community on board with this plan.
V. OTHER BUSINESS
A. City Administrator's Report
Administrator Hanson informed the Council that the "Runway Light Project" at the airport started today, March 21st and will take about one month to complete. This project is part of the ongoing plan to utilize the Federal funds allotted to our airport each year for upgrading of the facilities.
VI. ADJOURNMENT
It was moved by Alderman Dan Heatherly and seconded by Alderman Bob Wells to adjourn the meeting at 7:40 p.m. MOTION CARRIED by unanimous voice vote with the exception of Alderman Tim Heatherly, who was absent.
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