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Administration Minutes 2010 05-20-10 APPROVED 6/17/10 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETING Thursday, May 20, 2010 6:00pm City Hall Conference Room CITY OFFICIALS IN ATTENDANCE: Alderman Robyn Sutcliff Alderman Diane Teeling Alderman George Gilson Alderman Gary Golinski Alderman Joe Plocher ( Treasurer Bill Powell arr. 6:33pm) City Administrator Bart Olson Attorney Kathy Orr Community Development Director Krysti Noble GUESTS: Tony Scott, Kendall County Record Stephenie Todd, Kendall County Historic Preservation The meeting was called to order at 6:00pm by Chairman Robyn Sutcliff and she welcomed all those in attendance. Chairman Sutcliff said she had proposed changes to the agenda. Item #10 Governing Ordinance was pulled from the agenda since the Mayor was unable to attend. She also asked to move Item #6 and #2 forward on the agenda. Minutes for Correction/Approval March 22, 2010 Some corrections were noted so the minutes will be returned for revision and brought back to the next committee meeting. Alderman Gilson made a motion to table the minutes pending these corrections. Alderman Teeling seconded the motion. New Business: 6. ADM 2010-33 Historic Preservation Ordinance () out of sequence This ordinance will govern historical characteristics such as for the purchase of the old county jail. Bart Olson said many towns enact such ordinances to define responsibilities and powers. Attorney Orr said anyone can apply to have a structure included in the historical district. It then proceeds to Public Hearing and City Council. A structure also cannot be changed without City Council approval. Alderman Sutcliff mentioned that the Chapel on the Green may be sold and it is one of the oldest structures in the City. Stephenie Todd of the Kendall County Historic Society stated that there is currently a bill in the House and Senate that will allow a 50% deduction on taxes for restoration costs for a home in a Historic District. She explained the Historic District process and noted there are 7 Historic Districts in Aurora. Ms. Todd said very few homes qualify to be historic and many standards have to be met. When an application for a Historic District is submitted, the first step is the Historic Preservation Committee and it then proceeds to the City Council regardless of the recommendation, according to Attorney Orr. 1 Alderman Gilson commented that he felt the ordinance is driven by the purchase of the old jail, which he opposes. He said the ordinance is subjective and that there would be added staff costs, costs of applications and notices, definitions are vague and the ordinance is subjective. Alderwoman Teeling held the opposite view and said it is important to have this ordinance and that the cost would be minimal. Alderman Golinski said he felt it is important to preserve historic structures. He added that he thought the process should end if the Historic Committee does not approve the application for historic status. Chairman Sutcliff is a proponent in preservation also and said it adds value to the City. Administrator Olson suggested the homeowner should bear the cost of mailings etc. and noted that certified mailings are not required. Record-keeping costs are also incurred by the City according to Mr. Gilson. He also said only the homeowner should be allowed to submit applications. It was felt that the Plan Commission should also be involved in this process Alderman Gilson made a motion to bring this matter back for further discussion, however, there was no second and the motion died. A motion was then made by Golinski and seconded by Teeling to move this item to City Council with the change in language regarding the approval process. It was also suggested that persons on the committee should have some historical expertise. City residents are recommended, but not necessary. 2. ADM 2010-29 Monthly Treasurer’s Report for April 2010 (out of sequence) As of April 30, the main balance is $23,384,552. April revenues were $1, 714, 803 with expenses of $1,976,763 and an ending balance of $23,122,592. Alderman Teeling asked if payments had been received from the State. Mr. Olson said many payments were not received yet with sales tax coming as well. 1. ADM 2010-28 Monthly Budget Report for April 2010 (out of sequence) A memo regarding personal property tax, state income tax and State use tax was included in the packet. Mr. Olson said $416,000 was anticipated from past months and reports are expected from the first 3 months of the year. Bad debt is unbudgeted expense and the main cause of deficit ,Olson said. Various points of the memo were discussed including the bad debt amount of $940,000 for last fiscal year with approximately $255,00 still outstanding. It was noted that Mr. Olson, Ms. Mika and all department heads will oversee the budget figures and will make cuts. Administrator Olson reported that the sales tax figures exceeded his trend analysis for the months discussed by $3,000-$4,000. 3. ADM 2010-30 Developer Fees and Deposits and Tracking Ms. Noble said Mr. Gilson had requested an explanation of the tracking process for development fees. After checking with the Finance and Engineering Departments, she said there was a “Fund 90” established last summer that requires a line for each development that requires a fee. When only 10% of the funds remain, the developer is 2 asked to replenish the fund. Administrator Olson also discussed various aspects of the bad debt process, liens filed and water debt. Alderman Gilson asked if this tracking system has been written in policy form. Olson said the tracking system has been transferred to many different departments over the years. Gilson asked to see the original spreadsheet used, but Olson said it had not been updated since 2003. After that point, the records were kept on paper and account ledgers and the spreadsheet was not kept in that form. Olson said the spreadsheet was non- existent, but offered samples of records used at that time. Chairman Sutcliff said the City should move forward. Mr. Golinski asked for the new report to be included in the EDC packet for information. 4. ADM 201-31 NIMEC Bid The City is seeking authorization to go out to bid for street light electricity prices. All City power is now provided through NIMEC except for the street lights. The City has been notified that prices for street light electricity will now fluctuate by the hour. Approval from the City Council must be given before going out to bid and the committee agreed to this. This will move on to the May 25th City Council meeting. 5. ADM 2010-32 REC Center Memberships for City Employees Alderman Plocher requested this item be placed on the agenda. Mr. Olson said police personnel receive free memberships as part of the police contract. It is proposed that all City employees receive free memberships since it would help reduce insurance costs. It is hoped that morale would be boosted also since no raises have been given for 2 years. This has been discussed at the Park Board and they are supportive. At the present time, 10 employees have memberships. There are 85 employees who could take part in this program with 24 under the union contract. Part time employees who receive health insurance would also be eligible for the memberships. Alderman Teeling said it could encourage families to join and would be good for morale. Alderman Gilson questioned whether the REC Center would be overcrowded with additional memberships. He also had concerns since the REC Center will be in a deficit until 2012. Alderman Plocher explained that he proposed this item since he is a union worker and his union has looked at memberships of this type to improve health. He also feels it would be a morale-booster and that happy workers produce more. To clarify an earlier comment, Alderman Golinski said that the REC Center is a leased, not City-owned building. He felt that paid memberships could increase. He suggested it move forward to City Council for discussion. 7. ADM 2-10-34 Park Board Seat – School District Chairman Sutcliff said the School District has a voting position on the Park Board that is currently vacant. Alderman Teeling commented that the City should wait until the new superintendent assumes his position in July before the position is filled. Other comments 3 included not allowing the School representative to be a voting member. Alderman Golinski added that there have been applicants, however, they never received return phone calls. Another issue is the screening requirement. Bart suggested that the Mayor could talk to the School District prior to any decision. It was also suggested that the position could be a Mayoral appointment. This matter will move forward to the City Council with the City’s recommendation to maintain a School representative on the Park Board. 8. ADM 2010-35 Intergovernmental Agreement with Library This Agreement concerns the request for payment by the Library for City services. The question arose as to whether or not the request violated the Agreement. Bart said the intent was not to violate such an Agreement and he was not aware of the Agreement before that request. This Agreement automatically renews each year and cannot be cancelled without a 90 day notice Chairman Sutcliff and Alderman Teeling said the City needs a relationship with the City, however, the City cannot afford to provide services and personnel without compensation. Gilson said the Agreement should be honored. Golinski said he is not in favor of charging the Library for services and that the Library is a City building that needs City support. There was also a brief discussion of tax caps if the Library went to a District and whether or not the Library could be self-sustaining as a District. It was agreed to move this forward to the Council for discussion. 9. ADM 2010-36 Intergovernmental Agreement with School District This item is a 3-year facility use agreement and it expired in April. The Agreement will be extended for another year as it stands now. OLD BUSINESS 1. ADM 2010-26 Riverfront Building Concession Lease RFP Mr. Olson said the City had spoken with Freeman’s Sports who said they have no plans to purchase kayaks for rentals. It was discussed whether or not the City would want to rent out the Riverfront building. Gilson said he opposed any business operating out of this building that would compete with an existing business. It was Ms. Sutcliff’s opinion that the City needs to be ready with kayaks when the river project is completed. Completion of the river dam was also discussed and it is expected to be completed after th June 30. Golinski asked if the City had ever leased a city owned building. Mr. Olson said there is a “Use Agreement” with Beecher Center. It was decided to move this forward to Council. 4 2. ADM 2009-43 Ordinance Amending City Code Providing for Penalties for the Violation of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act This matter was tabled at an earlier meeting and will now move to City Council. There was no further business and the meeting adjourned at 8:40pm. Minutes respectfully submitted by Marlys Young 5