McHenry Times

City of Crystal Lake City Council met Nov. 2.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Call to Order

Mayor Haleblian called the meeting to order at 7 :00 p.m.

Roll Call

Mayor Haig Haleblian, Councilmembers Brett Hopkins, Cameron Hubbard, Ian Philpot and Mandy Montford were present. Councilmembers Ellen Brady and Cathy Ferguson attended the meeting telephonically. City Clerk Nick Kachiroubas was present.

Also present were Deputy City Manager Eric Helm, Assistant to the City Manager Nick Hammonds, Director of Public Works and Engineering Mike Magnuson, Director of Community Development Kathryn Cowlin, Finance Director Jodie Hartman, Fire Rescue Chief Paul DeRaedt, and Chief of Police James Black. City Attorney John Cowlin was also present. City Manager Gary Mayerhofer and Special Legal Counsel Victor Filippini were also present via teleconference.

Approval of Councilmembers Brady and Ferguson Telephonic Attendance Councilman Hopkins moved to approve Councilmembers Brady's and Ferguson's telephonic attendance of the City Council Meeting. Councilman Philpot seconded the motion. On roll call, all present voted yes. Motion passed.

Pledge of Allegiance

Mayor Haleblian led the City Council and the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Approval of Minutes

Councilwoman Ferguson moved to approve the minutes of the October 19, 2021 Regular City Council Meeting. Councilman Hubbard seconded the motion. On roll call, all present voted yes. Motion passed.

Accounts Payable

Councilwoman Ferguson moved to approve the Accounts Payable in the amount of $2,343,328.33. Councilman Hubbard seconded the motion. On roll call, all present voted yes. Motion passed.

Public Presentation

Mayor Haleblian asked if anyone in the public would like to speak. No one wished to speak. Mayor Haleblian closed the Public Presentation portion of the meeting.

Mayor's Report

Mayor Haleblian shared that he toured the updated Library and encouraged everyone to go see it. He said they did a wonderful job, the Library was changed dramatically for the better and is very appealing to children.

Mayor Haleblian said he also volunteered at the Dole Farmers Market and handed out 400+ coloring books to children this past Sunday. He said it was a wonderfully attended event.

City Council Reports

None.

Consent Agenda

Councilwoman Brady moved to approve a Consent Agenda including Items 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, and 9e, and adding Items 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17. Councilman Philpot seconded the motion.

Mayor Haleblian asked if anyone wished to speak on the Consent Agenda. No one wished to speak.

On roll call, all present voted yes. Motion passed.

9a. Approved the issuance of a Class 16 Temporary Liquor License to the Crystal Lake Park District for the Park District's February 19, 2022 Snowbird Softball Tournament.

9b. Took no action regarding the proposed County Zoning Request Conditional Use Permit for a Class II Tower in order to continue the use granted under Conditional Use Permit #96-51 for McHenry County College, 8900 U.S. Highway 14.

9c. Approved live outdoor music on all Friday and Saturday nights in January and February 2022, pursuant to staff conditions.

9d. Adopted a Resolution Approving a Policy of the City of Crystal Lake Relating to Whistleblowers.

9e. Referred the petitioner's request to the November 17, 2021 Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) meeting for zoning consideration and to the December 7, 2021, City Council meeting/or the annexation agreement public hearing.

10. Took no action regarding the proposed County Zoning Request for a Conditional Use Permit for a Digital Off-Premises Commercial Advertising Sign, located at 3402 Northwest Highway in Cary, IL.

11. Approved the Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) recommendation and adopt an Ordinance granting a Special Use Permit for an axe-throwing lounge with ancillary liquor sales for on-site consumption at 975 Nimco Drive, Unit D.

12. Adopted an Ordinance increasing the number of Class 14 liquor licenses from the currently permitted 5 licenses to 6 licenses, in order to allow for the issuance of a new Class 14 liquor license to Spartan Axe Throwing Inc., d/b/a Spartan Axe Throwing, located at 975 Nimco Drive, Unit D.

13. Adopted an Ordinance increasing the number of Class 24 liquor licenses from the currently permitted 0 licenses to 1 license, in order to allow for the issuance of a new Class 24 liquor license to TDRR Ventures LLC, d/b/a Benedict's La Strata, located at 40 N Williams Street.

14. Referred the UDO Text Amendment to allow Cannabis Dispensary, and all other Cannabis Business Establishments such as craft growers, cultivation centers, infusers/processors and transporters, and Medical Cannabis uses as Limited Uses along with reducing the buffer requirements to the Planning and Zoning Commission to the November 17, 2021 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting for review and recommendation.

15. Adopted a Resolution awarding the contract for the Pine Street and Oriole Trail Home Demolition and Grading project to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, Gaylor Excavating, Inc., in the amount bid, execute change orders for up to 10% of the contract amount, and approve warranted completion date change orders relating to the contract.

16. Adopted a Resolution awarding the contract for the Pine Street and Oriole Trail Ecological Services project to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, Baxter and Woodman Natural Resources, LLC, in the amount bid, execute change orders for up to 10% of the contract amount, and approve warranted completion date change orders relating to the contract

17. Adopted a Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Commuter Rail Division of the Regional Transportation Authority (Metra) for the acquisition and transfer of the Crystal Lake Depot Train Station and surrounding property at 70-88 E. Woodstock Street, including an initial earnest payment of$26,000.

Mayor Haleblian explained the City's regulations regarding the sale of alcohol to minors, and the consequences for violations of the City Ordinances to the owners of Spartan Axe Throwing and Benedict's La Strata. He also explained the City's IMPACT program and wished them the best of luck with their businesses and thanked them for their investment in the community.

18. Presentation of Results of Pavement Management System Implementation: Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) - Information Only

Mike Magnuson, Director of Public W arks and Engineering, provided a brief overview of the City's pavement management practices, and explained the City had the opportunity to work with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) for outside "audit" and pavement management analysis. He said it was a great opportunity for another entity to review the City's program.

Mr. Magnuson introduced Todd Schmidt from CMAP, Abbas Kachwalla from AECOM, and Joe Stefanski from Applied Research Associates (ARA), who will be providing an overview of the program and reviewing results of the analysis and how it can be used going forward.

Mr. Stefanski thanked the City Council for the opportunity to review the program. He thanked City staff for their help in providing information used in the analysis.

In his presentation, Mr. Stefani explained the goal of the analysis was to review our roadways, score their "health" and help the City determine how to further the life of the roadway network. He said it is important to upkeep roads to help them last longer and hold off deterioration by using pavement preservation technics (overlays, crack sealing, patching, full reconstruction, etc.).

Mr. Stefanski explained the Laser Crack Measurement System (LCMS) used to gather data for the analysis. The national PCI (Pavement Condition Index) rating standard was used (score 0- 100 with 100 being the best). Overall, 170.49 miles of City roadway had an average rating of 72.5, which is good. In addition, 77% of the roads fell into the fair, satisfactory or good rating. Zero percent of roadways failed.

Mr. Magnuson said staff was pleased with the results and they show the City has been fiscally responsible in maintaining roadways and investing every year for maintenance.

As part of the program, CMAP has provided the City will have access to the PA VER Pavement Management program software and training to continue to analyze the roadways and help staff create budget and CIP goals.

Mr. Magnuson said in addition to all the pavement data, the program allows the City to run scenarios utilizing different preservation techniques and timeframes. He said this will be extremely beneficial for City staff from a budgeting perspective and for future improvement planning.

Mr. Stefanski outlined recommendations from the analysis, including pavement preservation (which the City is already doing), updating the Pavement Management System software regularly, inclusion of structural analysis in the PMS for more data, and completing pavement condition inspections every 3-5 years.

Councilman Hopkins asked Mr. Magnuson where the City would like to be. Mr. Magnuson said it would not be feasible for the City to have all roadways in excellent condition all of the time. He said the City is at 72%, or with roads, on average, in satisfactory condition, and that the challenge in the next ten years will be staying there. Preservations methods used may need to be adjusted.

Councilman Hopkins asked what factors play a role in roadway deterioration. Mr. Magnuson said the program uses data provided by the City, so it is tailored to our circumstances. He said the program takes into account such as type of roadway (local, collector, arterial).

Councilman Hopkins asked if the City waits every 3-5 years, would something be missed as a result of traffic condition. Mr. Magnuson said having the consultant back every 5 years is ok. He said the City is will be addressing streets on the edge of the curve right away so they do not deteriorate further.

Mayor Halebl ian asked Mr. Magnuson abo ut a cost increase for the upcoming budget. Mr. Magnuson said an increase maybe anticipated. Staff will be refining the analysis and will bring this back to the City Council as part of the budget process.

Councilman Philpot asked if data will help the City evaluate the quality of work completed by contractors. Mr. Magnuson said no, but the data wil l help the City determine what treatment provided the best results over time.

Counc ilman Hubbard asked about the outliers, and said it was concerning there are several streets that are less than five years old is not lasting very long. Mr. Magnuson and Mr. Stefanski explained the data points included in the graph.

Mayor Haleblian thanked Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Stefanski for the presentation.

Council Inq uiries and Requests

None.

Adjourn

There being no further business, Councilman Hopkins moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:35 p.m. Councilman Hubbard seconded the motion. On voice vote, all present voted yes. Motion passed.