City Council Minutes 2012 03-13-12 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE,KENDALL COUNTY ILLINOIS
HELD IN THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
800 GAME FARM ROAD ON
TUESDAY,MARCH 13,2012
Mayor Golinski called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and led the Council in the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL
Deputy City Clerk Pickering called the roll.
Ward I Gilson Present
Colosimo Present
Ward II Milschewski Present
Kot Present
Ward III Munns Present
Funkhouser Present
Ward IV Spears Present
Teeling Present
Also present: Deputy City Clerk Pickering, City Treasurer Powell, City Attorney Orr, City Administrator
Olson,Deputy Chief Hilt, Deputy Chief Schwartzkopf, Public Works Director Dhuse, Community
Development Director Barksdale-Noble, Interim Director of Parks and Recreation Schraw,and EEI
Engineer Freeman.
QUORUM
A quorum was established.
AMENDMENTS TO THE AGENDA
Alderman Gilson requested that Consent Agenda#2—Resolution Supporting the Kendall County
Community Economic Development Plan(EDC 2012-08)be moved to the Economic Development
Committee Report.
Amendment approved unanimously by a viva voce vote.
PRESENTATIONS
None.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Redistricting Ward Map
Mayor Golinski opened the public hearing for the redistricting ward map and asked if anyone wished to
comment. Not hearing any public comments, Mayor Golinski closed the public hearing.
Proposed FY 2012-2013 Budget
Mayor Golinski opened the public hearing for the proposed FY 2012-2013 Budget and asked if anyone
wished to comment.
Lisa Peterson,Yorkville resident, stated that she had sent a letter to the Mayor and all of the City Council
members and she said that she wanted to submit the letter so that it could be part of the record(see
attached). She read a portion of the letter to the City Council (see attached letter, page 2,paragraph 3).
Ms. Peterson also commented on elected officials receiving health insurance benefits from the city. She
said that no one should be without health insurance;however, she feels that the elected officials should be
contributing more towards their health insurance premiums.
Mark Johnson,Kendall County resident,brought written information which he read into the record and
distributed to the City Council (see attached).
Lisa Peterson addressed the City Council for a second time to comment on the REC Center. She said that
the REC Center may have seemed like a good idea when the city originally signed the lease agreement;
however, it has been proven that it has cost the city lots of money. Ms. Peterson said that exercise
equipment is pretty cheap and as a taxpayer, she does not think that she should have to pay for someone
else to workout. She said that there are a lot of close fitness places for city residents to work out at. If the
City Council decides to purchase the REC Center,then she feels that the few thousand members who
belong to REC Center should pay for the building in terms of increased fees to cover the purchase price.
Ms. Peterson said that the majority of the residents do not want the REC Center; if they did, then half the
city would be members. The numbers show that over half the city does not utilize the REC Center.
Not hearing any further comments,Mayor Golinski closed the public hearing.
The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City Council—March 13 2012—Pase 2 of 8
CITIZEN COMMENTS
Larry DeBord, Yorkville resident, said that he wanted to talk about the February 28 City Council meeting.
He said that he wanted to commend Aldermen Colosimo, Spears, and Gilson on being consistent with
their vote against the Kennedy Road Bike Path and he also wanted to commend Alderman Teeling on her
passion and conviction. He stated that an individual asked the City Council to give them a chance to raise
the money so that there would not be any tax payer money involved. He said that he wished that someone
on the City Council had pointed out that the State of Illinois grant money is tax payer money. He also
commented that an individual in the crowd told the City Council that they had the paperwork ready for a
501(c)(3)not-for-profit corporation and that if the City Council voted for the bike path, then they would
open the bank account tomorrow. Mr. DeBord commented that if you want to raise money, you do not
need to have a 501(c)(3), you can just open a bank account. He also stated that unless you are a CPA and
personally know a person's tax situation,then you can't give tax advice and tell them what will be
deductible on their taxes. He mentioned that one alderman talked about raising$350,000 and the fact that
the city will get a 1.6 million dollar return on its investment in the form of state grant money. Mr.
DeBord questioned how the city would get a return on the investment as the city can't sell the bike path.
He said that in the end the City Council voted to accept the grant and trust that the citizens would raise the
money even though they do not have any money in the bank. Regarding the REC Center, Mr. DeBord
stated that the city does not have any business running a private business. He said that if the city is
stating that the REC Center is now in the black, then there should be a line of people who would want to
buy it. He would like the city to get out of the REC Center business.
Mark Johnson,Kendall County resident, said that he thought that last year,the city gave a special deal for
the REC Center in which they offered a one and a half year membership for the same price as a one year
membership. He questioned if this money was budgeted out over eighteen months or twelve months. Mr.
Johnson also mentioned that next Tuesday is the election and all of the county board members are up for
re-election. He said that Illinois is currently ranked seventh in the nation for the highest property taxes
paid based on a three year average which took place from 2007-2009. He said that out of the 1823
counties in the nation,northeastern Illinois contains five counties listed in the top thirty in the nation.
Kendall County is ranked twenty-fourth highest in the nation out of 1823 counties. Mr. Johnson said that
the U.S. median real estate taxes are $1838.00, while Kendall County's median is $5067.00. He asked
the City Council to look at the budget and if there is anything that they can do to start cutting more, to
please do so as many people are hurting financially and could use some help with reduced property taxes.
Larry DeBord, Yorkville resident, said that he thought that the City Council should refinance everything
that they had the ability to refinance in the near future. His reasoning for this is because he said that
Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke had said that next January after the November elections, the Federal
Reserve is going to be taking a look at interest rates. Mr. DeBord also commented regarding Governor
Quinn's proposal to take the school pension funding problems from the state and put the funding issue
onto the local school districts. Mr. DeBord fears that if the school pension funding burden shifts to the
local school districts,then potentially property taxes could increase twenty percent overnight.
Don Burks,Yorkville resident, said that he had heard that the REC Center was running in the black. He
said three or four months ago someone had mentioned that enrollment had gone from 950 members to
1400 members; however,when he looks at the numbers, the cash flow only increased$6,000.00 He said
that the cash flow numbers do not reflect 1400 members. He also said that people have mentioned that if
the city purchases the REC Center, the city would not have to pay real estate taxes on the property. Mr.
Burks said that while the city wouldn't have the real estate tax payment, then everyone else would have to
pay more in taxes to make up for the difference. He also commented that the school district is talking
about expanding the high school and adding a field house. Mr. Burks would like to see an
intergovernmental agreement for facility use between the city and the school district. Regarding the
Grande Reserve subdivision, he said that he read in the Beacon-News that the company buying the lots is
going to be partnering up with Ocean Atlantic. He said that he thought that the city should beware of this
as Ocean Atlantic owed the city$500,000 for another development in town.
CONSENT AGENDA
1. Bills for Payment-$785,757.30 (CC 2012-22)
Mayor Golinski entertained a motion to approve the consent agenda as amended. So moved by Alderman
Spears; seconded by Alderman Munns.
Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes-7 Nays-1
Gilson-nay,Milschewski-aye, Munns-aye, Spears-aye,
Colosimo-aye, Kot-aye, Funkhouser-aye, Teeling-aye
The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City Council—March 13 2012—Page 3 of 8
MINUTES FOR APPROVAL
Mayor Golinski entertained a motion to approve the minutes of the regular City Council meeting of
February 14, 2012, as presented. So moved by Alderman Funkhouser; seconded by Alderman
Milschewski.
Alderman Gilson noted the following corrections to the February 14, 2012 minutes:
• On page 2 under the Minutes for Approval section, regarding corrections to the January 10, 2012
minutes, the sentence that reads"Mayor Golinski stated under additional business it should be
WSBY"—WSBY should be revised to read "WSPY".
• On page 3,paragraph 2,the sentence that reads "He asked whatever happened to this major bid
expediency and the YBSD stated they have no idea" should be revised to read"He asked
whatever happened to the push to sign this agreement in order to meet the bid and project
deadlines and the YBSD stated they had no idea."
• On page 3,paragraph 2,the sentence that reads"The YBSD stated they don't know and to ask
City staff' should be deleted.
• On page 3,paragraph 2,the last sentence reads "Alderman Gilson stated that the way this goes is
that if this river has a flood ....... "should be revised to read "Alderman Gilson stated that the
way this agreement is stated is that if this river has a flood and that bank is totally washed away
then the City is on the hook to fix it and that could be a major process".
• On page 3, paragraph 3,the sentence that reads "From the water quality perspective, certainly the
upstream water quality behind the dam is poor than the downstream......." should be revised to
read"From the water quality perspective, certainly the upstream water quality behind the dam is
worse than the downstream, and that is because of the dam".
Alderman Milschewski noted the following corrections to the February 14, 2012 minutes:
• On page 7,under the Staff Report section,there are references to the"build"program,the word
"build"is an acronym and as such, should be revised to read "BUILD."
• On page 7,under the Executive Session section,there are four executive sessions listed. One is
listed incorrectly and two are listed out of order. This section should be revised to read as
follows: "2. For the purchase or lease of real property for use of the public body. 3. For
personnel. 4. For pending or imminent litigation".
• On page 5, under the City Clerk's Report section,the sentence that reads "City Clerk Warren
entertained a motion..."should be revised to read "City Clerk Warren requested a motion to
accept the MFT Audit Report No. 60 for January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2010".
Motion unanimously approved as amended by a viva voce vote.
REPORTS
MAYOR'S REPORT
Proclamation for Playful City USA
(CC 2012-24)
Mayor Golinski stated that the United City of Yorkville was making a Playful City proclamation. He
proclaimed the month of September 2012 as a month of play in the United City of Yorkville(see
attached).
River Road Bridge Second Intergovernmental Agreement
(CC 2012-17)
Mayor Golinski entertained a motion to approve a Second Intergovernmental Agreement for the
Replacement of the River Road Bridge over Blackberry Creek, Yorkville, Illinois and authorize the
Mayor and City Clerk to execute. So moved by Alderman Milschewski; seconded by Alderman
Colosimo.
City Administrator Olson said that he had received an email yesterday from the Kendall County Engineer
Fran Klaas requesting some changes to the agreement. The first change is that any reference to the
amount of$600,000 should be changed to $500,000 because the bids came in and were opened and came
in twenty percent less for construction than they had originally budgeted for. The second change is that
any reference to a payment date of December 31 should be changed to October 31 because that is when
property tax collection finishes for the season and the city should have cash from property taxes to make
the payment to the county. The third change is that if the city goes into default on this agreement by not
The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City Council—March 13 2012—Paae 4 of 8
making the required payments to the county, then the county would have the authority to withhold the real
estate taxes that are due to the city the following year. Attorney Orr said that the third change was not
legal. She stated that one taxing body cannot confiscate the proceeds from another taxing body.
Administrator Olson said that there were two changes on the table then which are changes one and two as
mentioned above.
Mayor Golinski entertained a motion to approve with changes one and two as stated by City
Administrator Olson. So moved by Alderman Milschewski; seconded by Alderman Colosimo.
Motion to approve agreement as amended approved by a roll call vote. Ayes-8 Nays-0
Munns-aye, Spears-aye, Colosimo-aye, Kot-aye,
Funkhouser-aye, Teeling-aye, Gilson-aye,Milschewski-aye
FY 2013 Budget
(CC 2012-10)
Mayor Golinski opened the budget discussion by saying thank you to Finance Director Fredrickson and
his staff and also to all of the department heads and their staff. He said that this is the first year that the
city has done a five year budget. By extending the budget forecast out to five years, he feels this will give
the City Council multiple years to look at and address the city's problems.
Mayor Golinski also thanked the City Council as he feels that they have accomplished a lot in the last ten
months including the following:
• Property tax relief—the City Council lowered the city's tax rate by thirty percent this year and
they are expecting to lower property taxes every year through 2015.
• Fund balance—this fiscal year the City Council erased the city's negative fund balance. When
the current City Council took office, the city had a negative fund balance of$300,000; however,
the city is expecting to finish fiscal year 2012 with a higher surplus than budgeted for. This is
only the second time since 2007 that the city will end the year with a surplus. The proposed fiscal
year 2013 budget also anticipates a surplus. The City Council is working on building a fund
balance. If Kendall County helps the city with the River Road Bridge funding, the city should be
at a fifteen percent fund balance by the end of fiscal year 2013. This will be the first time the city
has met fund balance policy since 2008.
• Police Department staffing—the city hired three new police officers this year. In the proposed
five year budget there are plans to add another sergeant in fiscal year 2013 and also to add one
officer per year through fiscal year 2017.
• Road maintenance budget—has been quadrupled in the current fiscal year. The five year budget
projections include$300,000 each fiscal year for road maintenance.
• REC Center—has seen a huge improvement and the city is only expecting a small deficit.
Mayor Golinski said that the city is moving in the right direction. The current financial problems were
not created overnight and will not be fixed overnight; however, steps have been taken to move the city in
the right direction. He said that he wanted to only look at the big budget picture this evening and he
asked the City Council to email their questions about the proposed budget to staff, so that staff could get
the answers before the next City Council meeting.
Alderman Gilson had the following questions from the list of line items that are being proposed for
change from the original budget document:
• On page 2, for FY 2013 under Land Cash, did the city receive the OSLAD grant money for
Raintree Park? Interim Director of Parks and Recreation Schraw stated that the park was not
finished and that staff cannot submit for reimbursement until the park is completely done.
Alderman Gilson asked when they expected the park to be completed. Interim Director Schraw
said that it must be finished by December of 2012 and she anticipated payment by March of 2013.
• On page 3 under the special events—explain what is meant by allocating out special events?
Administrator Olson explained that this section includes five fiscal years with four line items
each. For example, in FY 2013,the last item in that grouping is program fees and the budgeted
amount is $190,000. This amount includes everything from special events to athletics to child
development. To give a clearer picture for each category, staff has broken out the large group
and split it into three subgroups so that they will have the ability to track each group.
Alderman Teeling questioned what the city would have in the budget if the city didn't purchase the REC
Center? Administrator Olson said that this is still to be determined. He said that staff has contemplated
that there would be one real estate tax payment that would still have to be made in FY 2014 under the
current contract and other than that staff can't make further budgeting decisions until City Council votes
on whether they wish to purchase the REC Center. Alderman Teeling clarified that if the city doesn't
The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City Council—March 13 2012—Page 5 of 8
have the REC Center and doesn't have that revenue coming in, how will that impact the overall financial
picture. In other words, if there is no REC Center, will the city have more money? Administrator Olson
responded that the REC Center is in its own budget which is Fund 80. He said that all of the REC
Center's revenues and expenses go into the Fund 80 budget. The Fund 80 budget funds are not
comingled with any other budget funds. Administrator Olson said that for budgeting purposes, if you
were going to cancel the REC Center, it's as if you are just going to rip that budget page out of the
budget. Alderman Teeling said that even if the city rents or buys another building,there would still be
expenses for the recreation programs. She said that it sounded to her like the residents who had spoken at
the meeting this evening did not want the REC Center. Alderman Colosimo said that he thinks that a
middle ground is possible,that this is not an all or nothing type of situation. In his opinion,the city has
raised the recreation programs in Yorkville almost to the level of a park district without having the taxing
ability of a park district to pay for these recreation programs. Alderman Milschewski questioned what
would happen to the budget if there was no REC Center and no recreation programs at all? Administrator
Olson said that the net impact on the budget would be a gain of$300,000 to $400,000 per year. Interim
Director Schraw commented that if the entire recreation department and programs were eliminated,this
would eliminate not only all of the recreation programs, it would also eliminate all of the special events
that the city holds such as Hometown Days and Music Under the Stars. Alderman Munns asked what the
children of Yorkville are going to do if the city eliminates the REC Center and all of the recreation
programs. He feels that if there are no amenities, then no one is going to want to move here.
Alderman Teeling said that the general fund budget includes the transfer of$332,000 from the library for
the Game Farm Road project. She said that she understands that this money is earmarked for the Game
Farm Road project; however, she would like this money moved out of the general fund and moved into a
capital fund.
Alderman Gilson brought up the$150,000 recapture for the Windett Ridge Subdivision. He said that he
has asked this question before and he has been given a vague answer, so he is asking again—who do we
owe the money to and do we actually owe it? Administrator Olson replied that he is not sure that the city
owes the money. Alderman Gilson questioned why this is in the budget if the city does not think that they
owe the money. Administrator Olson replied that this is in the budget in case the city does owe this
money. Administrator Olson said that the city is budgeting for the worst case scenario.
Alderman Spears questioned what the professional services line item covered. Administrator Olson
responded that in general it covers everything that is outsourced that is a professional management
contract. Alderman Spears said that she is concerned because this line item has gone up considerably
from the FY 2011 budget to the proposed FY 2013 budget in every department. Alderman Gilson also
mentioned that this line item has been way over budget in every department. He suggested separating this
line item out into smaller line items so that it would be easier to see where the money is going.
Administrator Olson responded that last year they had consolidated multiple line items into one big line
item to help create a smaller and easier to understand budget.
Alderman Spears asked if the city had applied for any grants that would be coming up in the next few
years. Administrator Olson replied that the grants are listed in Fund 72 which is the land cash portion of
the budget. He said that if the city is planning for a grant, then the budget would have both revenues and
expenses which should offset each other. The city currently has three grants which have been applied for.
The first is the Raintree Park grant which was discussed earlier. The second grant is the Hopkins Park
recreational trail grant which was budgeted for reimbursement in FY 2014. The third grant is the
Riverfront Park grant which was budgeted for reimbursement in FY 2016. The second and third grants
were applied for last year; however, the city has not heard yet if we have been awarded any grant money.
Administrator Olson said that he is not projecting to apply for any more grants at this time. If any
additional grants come up, then it would be up to the City Council to decide if they want staff to apply for
the grants. Alderman Spears said that she didn't think that the city should apply for any more grants until
the City Council gets the budget the way it should be because she thinks that the grants are a temptation.
She thinks that if the temptation was not there,they could eliminate applying for grants and the budget
would look much better. Alderman Gilson said that he wanted to add that the State of Illinois can't pay
its' bills, so to depend on the state funding these grants means that the city is taking a big risk in that we
might not receive the money from the state. Alderman Teeling said that she disagrees with the suggestion
that the city should not apply for any more grants. She said that in instances when the city is obligated to
build parks through annexation and development agreements,then what is the harm in applying for a
grant. Even if the city does not receive the grant money from the state,the city is still obligated to build
these parks. Administrator Olson commented that even if the City Council decides to put that policy
decision into a budget document,that decision can always be reversed at any time.
Alderman Kot commented that the proposed budget did not call for any raises for employees.
Administrator Olson said that was correct. Alderman Kot then asked how many years it had been since
city employees received raises. Administrator Olson responded that the last time that employees had
received raises was 2008. Alderman Kot asked if a survey of the surrounding communities could be done
before the next City Council meeting to see if any other communities are giving raises to their employees.
The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City Council—March 13 2012—Page 6 of 8
Mayor Golinski asked that over the next two weeks, if any of the aldermen have questions regarding the
budget,they should submit them to staff ahead of time so that staff could come prepared to the next City
Council meeting with the answers to the aldermen's questions. He said that if any of the residents have
questions regarding the budget,they should contact their aldermen who could forward the questions to
staff so that the questions can be answered at the next meeting.
PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE REPORT
No report.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE REPORT
Ordinance 2012-05 Approving a General Release and Termination Agreement for the
Development and Redevelopment Agreements for the Tuscan Plaza
Project and Repealing Ordinances 2006-55, 2007-40
and 2007-61 That Approved Those Agreements
(EDC 2012-11)
A motion was made by Alderman Munns to approve an Ordinance Approving a General Release and
Termination Agreement for the Development and Redevelopment Agreements for the Tuscan Plaza
Project and Repealing Ordinances 2006-55, 2007-40 and 2007-61 that Approved Those Agreements and
authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute; seconded by Alderman Milschewski.
Alderman Kot asked if the City Council was going to be asked to approve a new development agreement
for this projector if this was just a cleanup of old paperwork. Administrator Olson said that he felt it
would still be a little while before the new purchaser would be ready to develop the site. City Attorney
Orr said that the original redevelopment agreement was recorded against the title of this property and this
was contrary to her recommendation. She said that for the future,recording redevelopment agreements is
not recommended,because it clouds the title transfer. Alderman Spears asked if this TIF was still in the
city's budget. Attorney Orr stated that the Tuscan Development expense was no longer a commitment
against the downtown TIF; however the Downtown TIF was still in place.
Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes-8 Nays-0
Spears-aye, Colosimo-aye, Kot-aye, Funkhouser-aye,
Teeling-aye, Gilson-aye, Milschewski-aye, Munns-aye
Resolution 2012-07 Supporting the Kendall County Community Economic Development Plan
Dated December 2011
(EDC 2012-08)
A motion was made by Alderman Munns to approve a Resolution Supporting the Kendall County
Community Economic Development Plan Dated December 2011 and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk
to execute; seconded by Alderman Milschewski.
Alderman Munns commented that this item was moved forward from the Economic Development
Committee with a positive recommendation.
Alderman Gilson said that overall he thinks that it's great; however,there are a few key components that
he doesn't support. He said that since the State of Illinois can't pay its' bills, he cannot support the
Prairie Parkway or any transportation plan that is related to the Prairie Parkway. He also said that the
other items in the plan that he questioned are the involvement in increased rail in Kendall County,
broadband/fiber optic expansion due to the huge cost of expansion, and involvement in expansion of
higher educational facilities. He said that he was also unsure of the incentives listed for attracting
manufacturing type businesses as it says that to attract manufacturing you should use the same factors that
attracted current businesses such as Menards, Plano Molding and Caterpillar. He said that since times
have changed and the financial picture has changed, he is not sure that he wants to support the same
incentives that were used in the past. Alderman Gilson feels that since this is a county plan it doesn't
need a resolution by Yorkville. Alderman Spears said that she agrees with Alderman Gilson on many of
his comments. She also said that in reading the items that the county wanted to attract,the last thing she
felt that the city needed to attract more of was banks. She feels that the city has banks on every corner
already. In her opinion, she doesn't think that the city should be a part of this. Alderman Colosimo asked
if the City Council approves this document, does it commit the city to anything or if the City Council
disapproves it, does it affect the city's future ability to do anything. Mayor Golinski said that he thinks
this is just a resolution showing support similar to other resolutions that the City Council has approved in
the past. He said that it is basically a document saying that you support economic development in the
county. Mayor Golinski said that this resolution is not committing the city to anything, it is just a plan.
Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes-6 Nays-2
Munns-aye, Milschewski-aye, Gilson-nay, Teeling-aye,
Funkhouser-aye, Kot-aye, Colosimo-aye, Spears-nay
The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City Council—March 13 2012—Page 7 of 8
PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE REPORT
No report.
ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE REPORT
No report.
PARK BOARD
Youth Baseball Field Use Agreements
(CC 2012-25)
Mayor Golinski entertained a motion to approve a field use agreement between the city and the Yorkville
Reds, a field use agreement between the city and the Yorkville Youth Baseball/ Softball Association, a
field use agreement between the city and the Yorkville Sparks, and a field use agreement between the city
and the Yorkville Travel Sports and authorize the Mayor to execute. So moved by Alderman Munns;
seconded by Alderman Spears.
Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes-8 Nays-0
Colosimo-aye, Kot-aye, Funkhouser-aye, Teeling-aye,
Gilson-aye, Milschewski-aye, Munns-aye, Spears-aye
PLAN COMMISSION
Mayor Golinski commented that he thought that the March 14 Plan Commission meeting would have a
lot of attendees with questions regarding the Evergreen Farms request. He encouraged anyone who had
questions about the request to attend the meeting to get answers to their questions.
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
No report.
CITY COUNCIL REPORT
Polar Plunge
Alderman Spears reported that the Polar Plunge took place on March 4, 2012. She said that there were
232 individuals who had registered for the plunge and 298 individuals actually jumped in the lake. She
stated that as of today, $81,622 had been raised for Special Olympics. Alderman Spears said that she
feels that this is an awesome amount that they were able to raise considering the current economic times.
She also mentioned that it appeared that everyone had a good time. Alderman Gilson noted that he was
one of the individuals who had jumped into the lake and he said that it was cold. He said that his team
had raised nearly$4,000.00.
Southwest Fox Valley Cable and Telecommunications Consortium
Alderman Spears reported that last week she attended the FVTV Board meeting at Waubonsee
Community College in Sugar Grove. She noted that all consortium members had submitted their third
quarter fees and quarterly refunds should be distributed next month. During the meeting, it was discussed
that the Comcast Franchise Agreement will expire in September 2014. Mr. Max Herwig of North Aurora
will meet with Comcast representatives to begin negotiations. The 2013 budget was reviewed and
approved by the board. Additionally,Mr. Mike Rennels, manager,presented the following report for the
month of February 2012:
• Completed video recording eight scheduled City meetings for Yorkville, Plano and Sandwich
• Conducted girl scout and boy scout tours
• Recorded 4 Plano, Yorkville and Sandwich boys basketball games
• Aired live West Aurora basketball games
• Shot a Fox Valley in Focus Program and two Mental Health First Air episodes
• 12 new Access producers completed the training class
Yorkville Bristol Sanitary District
Alderman Gilson reported that he attended the March 12, 2012 YBSD meeting. He said that the YBSD is
going to schedule a special meeting on the dam removal for public awareness and questions. Tentative
dates suggested were March 29 and April 3. Alderman Gilson encouraged anyone with questions about
the dam removal to attend the meeting so that they can get answers to their questions. He also mentioned
that the YBSD would like the city to consider adding a link on the city's website for grease trap standards,
so that contractors or developers that are looking at putting a grease trap in, could click on our website
and look at the standards so that there would not be any confusion. He said that the YBSD has been
having a lot of issues as there seems to be a lot of confusion on the standards for specifications for grease
traps.
The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City Council—March 13 2012—Page 8 of 8
Community Meals for Seniors
Mayor Golinski reported that a dine out meal program for Kendall County seniors age 60 and over was
going to be started in Yorkville. It is a non-profit, all volunteer organization. To participate, seniors can
register and purchase tickets at city hall. The program allows seniors to purchase tickets for$3.00 which
are good for a meal at participating restaurants in Yorkville. The program is funded by various grants.
Mayor Golinski said that tickets would be available at city hall in the near future.
St. Baldrick's Fundraiser
Mayor Golinski reported that on next Saturday, March 17, 2012, he would be participating in a St.
Baldrick's fundraiser that would be held at Rosati's starting at 5:00 p.m.
CITY CLERK'S REPORT
No report.
CITY TREASURER'S REPORT
No report.
COMMUNITY& LIAISON REPORT
No report.
STAFF REPORT
Canoecopia
Interim Director of Parks and Recreation Schraw reported that she and Park Board member Amy Cesich
had attended the Canoecopia event the past weekend in Madison, Wisconsin. She said that there were
approximately 25,000 paddlers who attended the event. She said that over the weekend, they spoke with
a lot of people who were interested in the whitewater chute. Interim Director Schraw thanked Stonefire,
Hampton Inn and Geneva Kayak for their donations for a whitewater weekend giveaway prize.
ADDITIONAL BUSINESS
None.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Mayor Golinski entertained a motion to adjourn into Executive Session for the purpose of probable or
imminent litigation.
So moved by Alderman Colosimo; seconded by Alderman Funkhouser.
Motion approved by a roll call vote. Ayes-8 Nays-0
Kot-aye, Funkhouser-aye, Teeling-aye, Gilson-aye,
Milschewski-aye, Munns-aye, Spears-aye, Colosimo-aye
The City Council entered executive session at 9:10 p.m.
The City Council returned to regular session at 9:38 p.m.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Golinski entertained a motion to adjourn the meeting. So moved by Alderman Colosimo;
seconded by Alderman Funkhouser.
Motion unanimously approved by a viva voce vote.
Meeting adjourned at 9:39 p.m.
Minutes submitted by:
u
Lisa Pickering,
Deputy City Clerk, City of Yorkville,Illinois
Public Hearing#2—Proposed FY 2012-2013 Budget
Written Comment received from Ms. Lisa Peterson
First I would like to clarify a misconception. Per the city administrator Bart Olson, the
City Council had until August of 2012 to let IDOT know their decision regarding the
Kennedy bike trail. The Yorkville City Council did not have to vote on the issue of the
Kennedy bike trail and whether or not they would approve the grant during the City
Council meeting on the night of February 28, 2012. If this was such a good decision for
the Council to vote yes to; then it would have been just as wise of a decision two weeks,
one month, or three months from now as well.
These "Push for the Path"; a very small group of residents are vowing that they can
raise the funds. Fine, great, more power to them; but here are some of my issues. First
of all; if this group is so confident that they can raise the money, then why did the City
Council not request the City Attorney to write up a personal guarantee document and
have all the four board of directors; Billy McCue, Lynn Dubajic, Maureen Sharp and John
Ammons sign it. Thus guaranteeing that this debt of$357,320.00 would be paid back to
the city whether they could raise the funds or not? To me; if this group is so confident
that it can raise the money, than signing a legal document guaranteeing these funds
would have been a non-issue or a mute point for them. They would have had no
problem signing such a document. But apparently this is not the case. They begged and
pleaded at the February 28, 2012 City Council meeting that their word was good; but
how good is it,when they refuse to put it in writing?
Also if you notice on the city documents, two of the four board of directors for "Push
for the Path" have their work addresses listed and not their home addresses. The other
two have chosen to have their addresses deliberately blocked out. Why? Why all of the
secrecy, hiding and cover up if you are truly being honest with the taxpayers and
residents of this town about making good on a debt and collecting these funds when
you are refusing to sign a legal document or list your correct addresses on a legal
document that you are filing with the State of Illinois?
And lastly, at least two of the four board of directors live in Bristol and not Yorkville.
So my question is this; if they fall short of collecting these funds will they be forced to
eat the cost of this as well,or just the Yorkville residents on our property taxes?
The City Council members that rushed into voting yes for this are Marty Munns, Larry
Kot, Diane Teeling, Chris Funkhouser, Jackie Milchewski and last but not least our
Mayor, Gary Golinski. Their job is to represent the best interest of their constituents
that elected them to office; and all of the 17,000 residents in the town of Yorkville. But
alas, they only listened to the crowd of approximately 100 people, quite a few that
probably live in Bristol; not Yorkville. I guess they just got caught up in the frenzy and
excitement of the moment with everyone waving their little orange pieces of paper.
I tried to speak at the council meeting as the voice of reason, but I'll be honest, public
speaking is not my foray and I did not express my opinions as eloquently as I would have
preferred. Have to admit though it was a rough crowd with all of the snide and petty
comments being thrown in my direction from the audience. I was told afterwards that
there were four or five other people that wanted to speak out against the City Council
for making such a decision; but they were too afraid and intimated by the frenzied and
hysterical crowd of people waving their orange pieces of paper to get up and let their
voices be heard. Very sad, but I can't say I blame them.
Public Hearing#2 —Proposed FY 2012-2013 Budget
Written Comment received from Ms. Lisa Peterson
Twice the voters of this town told the City Council in no uncertain terms that we did
not want to pay for these bike trails with our tax dollars. Yet now due to the City
Councils irresponsible vote, not only will the tax payers be stuck paying for these trails if
this group fails to collect all $357,320.00; but we will also be responsible for the
maintenance of them for years to come. One of you even stated that you would never
use the trails, but still voted yes for them-go figure.
Honestly this "Push" group has their work cut out for them and will have to rely very
heavily on business contributions, because I can't see the majority of the residents that
didn't want to pay for these trails with their tax dollars to begin with, now wanting to
drop money in their collection box.
I am just not sure when the City Council will ever pay attention to the lessons from
past history regarding the spending of taxpayers' money before you have it. Just how
far into debt are you willing to get us into? Rob Roy sewer fund ($$-?), the Countryside
TIF (1.8 million), raising our property taxes for the last two years by voting yes to higher
tax levies, approving $42,000.00 for bike trails by Raintree Village, the "BUILD" rebate
program you just approved ($5,000.00 x 50 homes = $250,000.00-1 believe), approving
$100,000.00 for a road study project; thus leaving no money in the city budget until
2014 for actual road repairs and now the latest; assuming a unsecured debt of
$357,320.00...the list goes on and on. Thus far the "New City Council" that has been in
office less than one year has accrued $749,320.00 of additional debt, that the taxpayers
are now responsible for. Any the real kicker is that none of this debt is necessary to the
running of the city, or bringing us any closer to repaving roads in the city.
It's great to want "New" but you have to take care of what is "Existing" first. Homes
that continually flood because the city can't afford necessary sewer repairs, roads that
are disintegrating out from under our feet and cars. Entire strip malls vacant and empty
that are nothing but blight and an eyesore for the community. Vacant houses sitting
empty, selling for$120,000.00 that no one wants to buy because the Kendall County Tax
Assessors office has the property taxes assessed at $200,000.00. And you call this
economic development? What will bring people into an area are occupied buildings,
low property taxes and decent roads to drive on,just to name a few.
To the Yorkville City Council members and Mayor that voted yes for these trails; I hold
each and every one of you personally responsible along with the four board of Directors
of "Push for the Path" for this debt of these trails. I find your actions to be
irreprehensible, reckless and irresponsible. Are you really listening to your constituents
and representing their best interest?
Public Hearing#2—Proposed FY 2012-2013 Budget
Written Comment received from Mr. Mark Johnson
Trying to understand the complete budget for a normal citizen is a daunting task to say the least. I have
many questions but here are a few that seem to rattle my cage more than others. I am giving you paper
copies so you can follow along. Some of my comments are complaints, some are suggestions for
improvements, and some are what I perceived as errors or omissions. I am not asking for answers
tonight but for you all to take these under advisement and adjust as appropriate. I did copy& pasted
exact info from the budget and tried to make a reference for you to find it easier.
18) Beecher Center Park
a.The playground equipment at Beecher Center Park is closely approaching the end
of its useful life span. We anticipate the equipment to be removed in FY 13 or FY
14, with no plans to replace it.
b. Cost—policy decision
R2)OSLAD Grant—Riverfront grant 72-000-41-00-4175
a.The City applied for this grant in 2011, but has not received notification of award
or denial yet.This line-item, and its corresponding expense line-item assume that
the grant is awarded and the City completes the project in FY 14 and 15, and is
reimbursed in FY 16. If the grant application is denied,then both line-items will
be zeroed out.
*This riverfront park was a personal favorite for my grandkids as well as many other Yorkville children. 1
think I was the only person speaking out on this item,when the previous mayor got her wish to remove
the children's park at the dam to make way for her concert area.This park consisted of wooden timbers
with slides that were deemed unsafe.What wasn't unsafe was a very pretty flagstone fountain, a solid
metal swingset, a solid metal set of monkeybars, a sandbox area with a metal excavator toy, and solid all
metal chain link fencing to protect the children as they played.The wooden slide could have easily been
removed and the rest left as-is until a grant was approved/denied. Please don't do similar to other park
areas within the city.As for the Beecher park equipment, it is all steel—not wood. Does anyone actually
test this equipment yearly to see if repairs are needed or just wait for failure?Steel swings, slides, etc
were at Yorkville Grade School when I was a child and they are still in use.That's over 50 years.
*Where does the city budget for all parks replacement costs?Should HOA's handle this where there are
HOA's?This also goes for sidewalks, bike paths, sewer lines, water lines, roadways, street lights, and
much more than can be listed here.
R11) Pari-mutuel tax 01-000-40-00-4080
a.These taxes were for wagers or bets placed at the OTB. We received notice this
week that the Hawthorne OTB would be closing at the end of January.Thus,the
revenues from this line-item have been zeroed out.
page 32- FY 2012 FY 2012
Public Hearing #2 —Proposed FY 2012-2013 Budget
Written Comment received from Mr. Mark Johnson
Budgeted Projected
01-000-40-00-4080 PARAMUTUAL TAX - 5,131 15,000 20,000-----
* Why is there a paramutual tax revenue in 2012 when it is done 1/2012 and only$5,131 was collected
in 2011? Budget still shows revenue in FY 2012 Projected & Budgeted?
E16) Hanging Baskets(Streets)01-410-56-00-5626
a. Hanging basket program will be suspended for two years,due to Route 47
construction.
01-410-56-00-5626 HANGING BASKETS 1,800 2,048 2,000
2,041 - - 2,000 2,000 2,000
Postponement of Hanging Baskets until Rt 47 project completed
*Please use these 2 years to convince the merchants to manage this expense to beautify their own
property.
E24) Hotel Tax Rebate (Admin Services) 01-640-54-00-5481
a.This line-item represents 90%of all hotel motel taxes generated in the City being
forwarded to the Aurora Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau, per our
intergovernmental agreement with them.
*Do we actually see value here? How much money is this? Is the bang worth the buck?
R2)Reimb—Old Jail/Downtown Parking Lot 15-000-46-00-4605
a.This project is on hold, pending selection of a new parking lot site, or a return to
the original site.
*Is there information available on what currently is happening with this? Is updated info available
somewhere?
E3)Grande Reserve Court Order 51-510-75-00-7502
a.The final payment to the successor developer in Grande Reserve will be made
around December 2012.
*What and how much is this? Where do I find more info about it?
R5)Sewer infrastructure fees 52-000-44-00-4460
a. The final Rob Roy sewer payments will be made by Centex in FY 13, which
leaves a $600,000 revenue hole in FY 14. As discussed in E4 and E5 in the water
fund above,the City budget cannot withstand a large negative cash-flow over the
Public Hearing#2—Proposed FY 2012-2013 Budget
Written Comment received from Mr. Mark Johnson
next five years—without taking out temporary and costly short term loans.Thus
the sewer infrastructure fee line-item represents the creation of an $8.25 per
month, per user fee.This fee would have to go into effect on May 1, 2013 to
offset the loss in revenue from the Rob Roy Sewer connection fees. If the owner
of Westbury Village or Caledonia subdivision were to adhere to their Rob Roy
sewer agreements and pay the City their sewer connection fees, this new user fee
would not be necessary.
*Given those developers non-compliance in the past, I do not expect them to make the payments going
forward. Please etch this into your heads and on all city documents as developers come into our city
with promises of grandeur in the future.
R1)Hometown Days 79-000-44-00-4443
a. For FY 13, we are proposing to expand Hometown Days to Thursday evening,
and to hire a national act (yet to be determined)for a concert.This expansion of
revenue is matched by a corresponding increase in expense for the event.The
event is still expected to run a $30,000 profit.
*The county citizens have had to put up with the noise,garbage,traffic, and people destroying property
as they walk through private property.This venue was initially moved to Beecher Park due to road and
infrastructure improvements to Hydraulic Ave. Is there any plan to move it back to the downtown area?
Also, it was brought to my attention last week by a neighbor that the city has told county homeowners
on the north end of the Beecher Park that they are going to tear down the fencing and not replace it due
to deteriorating condition.Although the city probably has the legal right to do this I contend that the
fence is the only thing that stops unwanted trespassers from using private property as public walkways.
Give the homeowners some time to repair/replace the fencing needing replacement. See the attached
picture showing the NE corner of Beecher property(behind my home)that must be cleaned 2-3 times
per year from wind blown debris. We have saved the city from having to do this for going on 20 years
now.At this eastern end we have begun to have another problem that has been reported to the
Yorkville Police—drinking parties. It is out of sight and due to wild grape vines growing is secluded
except from 204 Georgeanna where we are on the watch for problems. We have picked up 15-20 beer
bottles,whiskey, and wine bootles several times in 2011.Officer Kolowski took a report last fall.Since
we do not have the old chicken wire fence behind us we have already picked up a garbage bag full of
paper, cups,Walmart bags,cardboard boxes, along with other items inside our yard.All of the property
owners are good neighbors to the city. We only ask that the city be good neighbors in return.
Public Hearing#2 — Proposed FY 2012-2013 Budget
Written Comment received from Mr. Mark Johnson
E1)Outside Repair and Maintenance (Parks) 79-790-54-00-5495
a.The staff is proposing to reinstitute broad leaf weed control in the Parks, due to
complaints last year. The annual cost of this service is$10,000.
*The only request I have with re-instituting this practice is from previous experiences.The city had to
replace my broken fence due to a piece of equipment breaking part of my fence several years ago. I also
lost parts of my garden along with other neighbors who have properties adjacent to the Beecher Park
due to spraying in the past. I replaced the plants over several years at my expense. My simple request
would be that the property owners along the north end of the Beecher Park be advised of the date the
spraying will take place so we can cover and protect our plants from the chemicals. 8 properties have
gardens along the lot lines.
TIF fund questions
page 30-
Beginning Budgeted Budgeted Surplus/ Ending
FUND
Special Revenue Funds
Motor Fuel Tax
Parks and Recreation
Land Cash
Fox Industrial TIF-- ---
Countryside TIF
Downtown TIF
Fox Hill SSA
Sunflower SSA
Public Hearing #2 - Proposed FY 2012-2013 Budget
Written Comment received from Mr. Mark Johnson
Fund Balance
Revenues
Expenditures
(Deficit)
Fund Balance
584,568
454,547
573,860
(119,313)
465,255
174,704
1,451,447
1,457,920
(6,473)
168,231
(269,209)
420,500
132,000
288,500
19,291
1,877,220
6,500
306,043
(299,543)
1,577,677
236,217
70,150
41,500
28,650
264,867
17,433
3,786
4,500
(714)
16,719
12,462
7,531
9,986
(2,455)
10,007
*Is this expense the interest on the money borrowed for the TIF?Who actually received the TIF money?
Sewer page 85 FY2010 FY2011 Adopted FY2012 Proposed
FY2014 FY2015 FY2016 FY2017
Actual Actual Budget Projected Budget
Projected Projected Projected Projected
Developer Commitments 30,996 30,996 30,996 30,996 180,996
30,996 30,996 30,996 30,996
*Is$150,000 the amount that was guaranteed to Windett Ridge owners in a contract?
Rec Center page 89
*Would it be possible to have the Real Estate taxes for the Rec Center called out as a separate expense?
This is actually a double expense since if it was abandoned the current owner would be paying these
taxes. I feel the city's portion of this should be added as an expense/loss of income.
*Is there a way to show beyond the 5 years to show individual bond amounts (beginning &yearly
amounts) and when bonds are to be paid off in full? ie: library, roadways, etc. Can ALL the bonds be
called out in a separate area in the budget as a group with amounts and years?
*Is there a calculation done for tax revenue increases due to increases in the price of gas? I'm sure there
is some offset due to less miles but most people must drive to work and taxes do increase with price
increases. How much increased revenue does the city get for every 10 cents increase in gas prices? Does
anyone know the effect?
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►;;r"�' WHEREAS, In the past thirty years the rate of childhood obesity has tripled due to lack �.� ,11
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WHEREAS, the United City of Yorkville acknowledges that children are our most ; ',111111)
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accessible playspaces for all our children; and
�1►+,�;� WHEREAS during this month of this year and every year to come, we will recognize, I,lll
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annual recognition as a Playful City USA community, will coordinate this effort with the /1111
. support of the Mayor; and '�Il��i!
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11►++�/i WHEREAS, Mayor Gary J. Golinski has proclaimed September as the official Month of ;; �/1+111111
l1►1; _ Play in Yorkville, encouraging all citizen's to rally for an abundance of time and space �
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September to be declared a Month of Play in the United City of Yorkville. ;�j1
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REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
March 13, 2012
PLEASE PRINT
NAME: SUBDIVISION OR BUSINESS:
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REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Public Comment
March 13, 2012
PLEASE PRINT
NAME: SUBDIVISION OR BUSINESS:
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SIGNIN