McHenry Times

City of Marengo City Council met Oct. 28.

Here is the minutes provided by the council:

CALL TO ORDER 

Mayor John Koziol called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Mayor John Koziol led everyone to the Pledge of Allegiance

ROLL CALL 

Present this evening are Mayor John Koziol; Aldermen Mike Miller, Mike DeSerto, Nicole DeBoer, Dennis Hammortree, Jared Secor and Steve Mortensen. Also present are City Administrator Joshua Blakemore, Interim Chief of Police Paul Fritz, Director of Public Works Dan Streit, WWTP Foreman James Mangum and Finance Director Jennifer Snelten. Alderman Matt Keenum and Joseph Mills, and City Attorney David McArdle were absent.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 

Michelle Thimios, the District Director for Representative Lauren Underwood spoke to the Council about the projects and bills that Representative Underwood has been working on since she took office. In order to provide information to the community, brochures were made available. These will be available at City Hall.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES - October 14, 2019 Regular Meeting Minutes 

Alderman Nicole DeBoer made a motion, seconded by Alderman Mike DeSerto, to approve the minutes from the meeting. The aldermen voted as follows:

Ayes: Mortensen, DeBoer, Miller, Secor, DeSerto and Hammortree 

Nays: 0

Absent: Keenum and Mills 

The motion passed,

APPROVAL OF LIST OF BILLS 

Alderman Nicole DeBoer made a motion, seconded by Alderman Steve Mortensen, to approve the list of bills, in the amount of $66,519.21. The aldermen voted as follows:

Ayes: Secor, Hammortree, Mortensen, DeBoer, Miller and DeSerto 

Nays: 0

Absent: Mills and Keenum 

The motion passed.

NEW BUSINESS

a. Motion to Approve a Variation for 123 Railroad St, from Section 24.02 of the Marengo Municipal Code to eliminate the automatic sprinkler system requirement in the remodeling and change of use of the property subject to construction of a fire wall in compliance with applicable regulations

Mike Witt, the petitioner for the requested variation, has not provided the City with exact drawings, scheduled a walk through with the City, and did not attend the meeting. The Council agreed with the staff recommendation, and a notice of code violation will be issued, with follow-up steps as needed.

MAYOR'S STATEMENT AND REPORT 

Mayor Koziol had no report.

DEPARTMENT HEAD AND STAFF REPORTS 

Director of Public Works Dan Streit noted that they are gearing up for the upcoming snow.

Finance Director Jennifer Snelten noted that the month end reports for September were in the board packet, and if anyone has any questions please call.

WWTP Foreman James Mangum advised that work is progressing on Well #6.

Interim Chief of Police Paul Fritz reported that on Saturday, the City turned in 73.5 pounds of drugs during the DEA Drug Take Back Event. The officers will be participating again this year in the "No Shave November” with donations going to colorectal cancer research. The new squad car is in Marengo. A new candidate for Patrol Officer is ready for hire.

City Administrator Joshua Blakemore spoke about the work being done on Well #6. Updated the Council on the Toll Way schedule, which IDOT and the Toll Way agree is behind schedule due to rain delays. The interchange should be finished by the end of November, contingent on the toll readers being operational. The full project should be done the middle of 2020. He spoke briefly about the two options for TIF work that needs to be done and the persons he will be contacting. The City is looking at new accounting software, as their current program is not compatible with new computers, and is asking for approval from the Council to waive the regular bidding process on this, and allow the staff to look at companies that are nearby. The normal billing process would allow companies from all over the country to bid and that probably would not be feasible.

REPORTS AND STATEMENTS FROM CITY COUNCIL 

None

EXECUTIVE SESSION

a. Discussion of pending or imminent litigation pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2 (c) (11) Alderman Nicole DeBoer made a motion at 7:20 pm, seconded by Alderman Steve Mortensen, to go to Executive Session for discussion of pending or imminent litigation pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2 (c) (11), and for personnel pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(1). The aldermen voted as follows:

Ayes: Hammortree, Secor, DeSerto, DeBoer, Mortensen and Miller 

Nays: 0

Absent: Mills and Keenum 

The motion passed.

ROLL CALL following Executive Session 

Returning from Executive Session at 8:18 pm, are Mayor John Koziol; Aldermen Dennis Hammortree, Mike DeSerto, Mike Miller, Jared Secor, Steve Mortensen, and Nicole DeBoer. Also present are City Administrator Joshua Blakemore, WWTP Foreman James Mangum and Director of Public Works Dan Streit.

ADJOURNMENT

Alderman Nicole DeBoer made a motion at 8:19 PM, seconded by Alderman Jared Secor, to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed with a voice vote.

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