McHenry Times

City of Harvard City Council met Jan. 24 

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Mayor Kelly called the Regular City Council Meeting to order and led the pledge to the flag at 7:00 pm. City Clerk Moller called roll to establish a quorum. Aldermen present: Haderlein, Lavallee, Carncross, Gorman, Meza, Perkins and Luna. Alderman Schulz was absent. Also present: City Administrator Leone, Treasurer/Finance Director Bejot, Code Enforcement Officer Nutley, Chief Bauman, Supt. Parks & Rec Knop, Supt. Utilities Grant, City Attorney TJ Clifton and members of the audience.

PUBLIC COMMENT 

None

ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES - APPROVED 

A motion was made by Alderwoman Haderlein, seconded by Alderman Gorman to approve the Administration Committee Meeting Minutes of October 6, 2022, and January 11, 2023, as presented. Roll call vote: Haderlein, aye; Carncross, aye; Gorman, aye and Perkins, aye. Motion approved four to zero.

TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES - APPROVED 

A motion was made by Alderman Perkins, seconded by Alderman Gorman to approve the Transportation Committee Meeting Minutes of January 12, 2023, as presented. Roll call vote: Lavallee, aye; Gorman, aye; Perkins, aye and Haderlein, aye. Motion approved four to zero.

CONSENT AGENDA - APPROVED 

The items under the Consent Agenda are acted upon in a single motion. There is no separate discussion of these items prior to the Council vote unless a Council Member requests that an item be removed from the Consent Agenda for separate action.

a. Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of December 13, 2022

b. Administration Committee Meeting Minutes of October 6, 2022 and January 11, 2023 

c. Transportation Committee Meeting Minutes of January 12, 2023

d. Administrators Report

e. Building & Grounds Report

f. Community Development Department Report

g. Harvard Diggins Library Directors Reports

h. Parks & Recreation Report

i. Police Department Report

j. Public Works Department Report

k. Utilities Department Report

l. Resolution Releasing Closed Session Minutes into Open Session Minutes

Alderman Gorman requested that Item 6c, Transportation Committee Meeting Minutes of January 12, 2023, be removed from the Consent Agenda.

A motion was made by Alderwoman Haderlein, seconded by Alderman Meza to approve the Consent Agenda, Items #5a-b, d-l as presented. Roll call vote: Lavallee, aye; Carncross, aye; Gorman, aye; Meza, aye; Perkins, aye; Luna, aye and Haderlein, aye. Motion approved seven to zero.

INDIVIDUAL ACTION CONSENT AGENDA ITEM 

6c Transportation Committee Meeting Minutes of January 12, 2023

Mayor Kelly related that City Engineer Gary Rozwadowski, Christopher Burke Engineering, had some concerns with respect to the Committee’s recommendation to grant Starline Factory permission to add zebra crosswalk markings on Front Street between their entrance and the parking lot across the street. After discussion, it was determined to revisit the item and put on the next Transportation Committee Meeting Agenda for further discussion.

PAYMENT OF BILLS 

A motion was made by Alderman Gorman, seconded by Alderman Carncross to approve payment of the bills as presented in the amount of $1,578,656.53. Roll call vote: Gorman, aye; Meza, aye; Perkins, aye; Luna, aye; Haderlein, aye; Lavallee, aye and Carncross, aye. Motion approved seven to zero.

VENDING LICENSE APPLICATION/MCGARRY’S BOWL - APPROVED 

A motion was made by Alderwoman Haderlein, seconded by Alderman Lavallee to approve the vending license application submitted by Sean McGarry, McGarry’s Bowl, 100 Admiral Dr., #4, Harvard. Roll call vote: Meza, aye; Perkins, aye; Luna, aye; Haderlein, aye; Lavallee, aye; Carncross, aye and Gorman, aye. Motion approved seven to zero.

AUTHORIZING SALE OF SURPLUS PROPERTY - ORD. 2023-101 APPROVED 

A motion was made by Alderman Perkins, seconded by Alderwoman Haderlein to approve the Administration Committee’s recommendation to adopt an ordinance Authorizing the Sale/Disposal of Personal Property Owned by the City, as presented. Roll call vote: Perkins, aye; Luna, aye; Haderlein, aye; Lavallee, aye; Carncross, aye; Gorman, aye and Meza, aye. 2023-101 approved seven to zero.

AMEND SECTION 15.19A, DESIGNATED SNOWMOBILE ROUTES – ORD. 2023-102 APPROVED 

A representative from the Harvard Snow Gophers Snowmobile Club was present to answer any questions regarding the proposed ordinance. There were no questions. A motion was made by Alderman Carncross, seconded by Alderman Perkins to approve the Administration Committee’s recommendation to adopt the proposed ordinance Amending Section 15.19A, Designated Snowmobile Routes, to include Milky Way Park as a designated route. Roll call vote: Luna, aye; Haderlein, aye; Lavallee, aye; Carncross, aye; Gorman, aye; Meza, aye and Perkins, aye. Ordinance 2023-102 approved seven to zero.

ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION 

Updated Job Description and Job Posting for Community Development Director - Approved A motion was made by Alderwoman Haderlein, seconded by Alderman Gorman to approve the updated job description and job posting for the Community Development Director. Roll call vote: Haderlein, aye; Lavallee, aye; Carncross, aye; Gorman, aye; Meza, aye; Perkins, aye and Luna, aye. Motion approved seven to zero.

INFO: ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETING/BUDGET WORKSHOP 

An Administration Committee Meeting/Budget Workshop is scheduled for Saturday, February 25, 2023, at 8 am. This will be an all-day workshop. All City Council members are invited to attend. Mayor Kelly related that he has also invited candidates on the ballot in the upcoming election to attend the meeting.

CALL COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING 

Alderman Carncross called a Community & Economic Development Committee Meeting for Wednesday, February 15th, 2023, at 6:30 pm. Items to discuss include economic development with Charles Eldredge to provide an update.

CALL TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE MEETING 

At Alderman Lavallee’s inquiry, City Administrator Leone reported that he and Anne walked McKinley St. and Burbank St. down to Diggins St. on Fourth St. for the MFT Road Program; Anne is working on the calculations which will be sent to Gary Rozwadowski. Second Street will likely not be included. Alderman Gorman called a Transportation Committee Meeting for either February 1st or February 8th, 2023, depending on Gary Rozwadowski’s availability. In the event the meeting is scheduled for February 8th, the Administration Committee Meeting can be rescheduled to 6 pm with the Transportation Committee meeting at 6:30 pm. Agenda items include finalizing the 2023 MFT Road Program and the requested crosswalk for Starline Factory.

DEPT. HEADS REPORT 

Written reports as submitted.

Utilities Supt. Grant updated the City Council on the WWTF project. On paper, the contractor is showing 27 days behind schedule, but it’s actually more like 40 days. Currently, the contractor does not have a tentative plan on how to make that up. The clarifier did not pass the water test and will be drained to find the leak(s). When the plant comes online, it will be an activated sludge plant. The contractor didn’t really calculate that they would have to supply “bugs”; the requirement is being confirmed by our engineers.

This biological process is critical for the plant operation. City Administrator Leone noted that the contractor has been asked for a plan on how they will make up for the time they are projected to be delayed. Originally, the tentative substantial completion date was May which was kicked back to July with a final in August-September.

Code Enforcement Officer Nutley and Mayor Kelly met with Habitat for Humanity who is receiving $400K in grant money. They would like to partner with the City to help homeowners with property maintenance issues (painting, siding, windows, roofs, hot water heaters, furnaces). Owner occupied housing which requires some kind of substantial structural repair where the homeowner doesn’t have the means would be eligible to get some help to get their homes repaired; there is a means test to qualify.

Supt. Knop updated the City Council on the dog park fencing. If everything goes as planned, the dog park should be completed and open to the public for the upcoming weekend.

Chief Bauman gave the following updates:

• Officer DeMink resigned to take a government position with OSHA; her last day was December 30th. 

• Officers Salas and Mendlik are half way through FTO; they should be on their own in about 5 weeks. 

• Officer Kohn was recognized last Friday for his Officer of the Year Nomination by the McHenry County Police Chiefs Association. He wasn’t the winner but was recognized for his nomination. 

• The first round of in-house training for the Immediate Trauma Care Class “Stop the Bleed” began today and will finish up on Thursday. The class was extended to all City employees and was taught by Sgt. Trent Tobias who is state and nationally certified in “Stop the Bleed”.

COMMITTEE REPORTS 

ALDERWOMAN HADERLEIN 

Alderwoman Haderlein reported that the library will be closed during the month of February for remodeling. The contractor had spec’d certain materials which were readily available; two of those materials now have supply issues. The contractor is looking for replacement supplies as the whole project depends on everything being there on February 1st. The remodeling could be done in about three weeks, but they are planning on an entire month.

ALDERMAN PERKINS 

Alderman Perkins inquired about a meeting with the County Board; Mayor Kelly indicated he would mention it in his report. Alderman Perkins also inquired if the City knew anything further from the investment company about the potential occupants for the old Motorola building and whether changing the uses to conditional instead of permitted has stalled any of the businesses coming in. Mayor Kelly indicated that he didn’t think it would be detrimental to the occupants/tenants that CAI is seeking.

ALDERMAN MEZA 

Alderman Meza related that he has participated in Leadership Greater McHenry County (LGMC) for the last three months and recommended that City Administrator Leone or another City employee be involved in the future to represent the City. Participation cost is about $3,000 so it would need to be budgeted. He has attended several beneficial classes (educational day, law and justice day, government day, health care day) to learn about different services/resources that are available in McHenry County.

Alderman Meza also noted a growing trend is a lack of volunteering for civic groups and a lack of interest in running for alderman/elected positions. He inquired about a change in the wards where you could run for alderman regardless of the ward you live in. Attorney Clifton responded that there are a couple options. The size of the board could be reduced with one alderman in each ward or you could have 4 aldermen that are assigned to a specific ward with 1-4 aldermen at large. The statute dictates that because of the population of Harvard, we have eight seats. The process to change requires a referendum signed by 10% of the electors that voted in the last election. He will circulate information to the Mayor/City Administrator to send to the City Council. Mayor Kelly indicated his personal opinion where he has been in the position to appoint people to seats, it has never been an issue of being any specific ward. When he put out a request for people to apply for empty seats, he would get a dozen or more applicants. When asked why they didn’t run, he predominantly got 2 responses. One was that the previous sitting alderperson didn’t declare to the community that they weren’t running, so it might not be known until the end of the filing period. The second answer was they didn’t know if they were interested in jumping into a 4-year term whereas an appointee’s term is 2 years. Mayor Kelly didn’t think the issue would be solved by changing our form to members at large. He noted another reason he wouldn’t really support the idea was that in communities where they have at-large aldermen, you find they are often from more astute, privileged areas of the community usually because they have more means and resources to run and be an alderperson. Those who aren’t don’t necessarily have the time or means to run. What ends up happening in those communities is you then have a large group in a very small area of the community that tend to make the decisions for the community verses having a fair representation from all parts of the community. The Administration Committee has the prerogative to visit the issue to consider a referendum.

Mayor Kelly commented that he has been somewhat involved in LGMC often for government day as he would go and be part of the group that they speak to from a mayoral position. It may make sense for Lou to go but he suggested we wait a year or so; it would also have to be budgeted for. Involvement would be great for resources and to create better partnerships with other parts of the county.

ALDERMAN GORMAN 

Alderman Gorman commented that the Transportation Committee is struggling with just a $220,000 budget to easily determine what to do with the roads. There was no clear way at the last meeting to decide what needs to be done. The Committee did decide that whatever they come up with, they will try and split into light maintenance and heavier maintenance. So the number of blocks may go down for complete construction and then look at 50-75% of PCI roads that were done three years ago where they can be sealed. That would go a lot farther and get a lot more blocks done than tearing them up all the way.

TREASURER’S REPORT 

Report as submitted.

ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT 

• City Administrator Leone noted he was already looking at participating in the LGMC and was going to propose it in the next budget cycle.

• He also participated in a ride along with the Police Dept. last Saturday night.

• He invited all the alderpersons to meet with him so he can meet with them one on one.

CLERK’S REPORT – UPCOMING MEETING DATES 

February 1 Transportation Committee Meeting – 6:30 pm depending on availability of City Engineer

February 7 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting – POST TO CANCEL

February 8 Administration Committee Meeting, time TBD

February 8 Transportation Committee Meeting (alternate date), time TBD

February 15 Community & Economic Development Committee Meeting – 6:30 pm 

February 20 Park Board Meeting – POST TO CANCEL

February 25 Administration Committee Meeting/Budget Workshop 8 am

February 27 Park Board Meeting – 6 pm

February 28 Regular City Council Meeting – 7 pm

NO REPORT 

City Attorney Clifton and Aldermen Carncross, Lavallee and Luna had no additional report.

MAYOR’S REPORT 

• Mayor Kelly noted the invitation from Harvard Milk Days to attend the Chairmen’s Appreciation Dinner on Saturday, January 28th, 2023, at 6 pm at the Stratford Banquet Hall. Department Heads are also invited to attend. Anyone that would want to attend should let Lori know.

• Habitat for Humanity is putting together a slide deck presentation for open house meetings on Saturday, March 4th from 11 am – 1 pm and on Wednesday, March 8th in the evening, time TBD. Social media, digital sign and handouts will be used to communicate to the public inviting them to attend to see if they are eligible to participate in the program. The City will reach out to individuals in the community that have been identified as having structural deficiencies to give them opportunity to connect with those resources. This would be a grant that the homeowner would not have to repay.

• A Committee of the Whole Meeting will be scheduled in March to revisit the Strategic Plan. He has requested approval of a budget item for this upcoming fiscal year to revisit and update the Strategic Plan later in the year as there will be newly seated aldermen and others not involved in the original plan.

• Mayor Kelly updated the City Council on the status of the Memorandum of Understanding with Harvard Diggins Library. The MOU was sent to former City Administrator Nelson and then forwarded to Attorney Clifton who made a few minor changes, but it got missed in the transition. Mayor Kelly will forward to Alderwoman Haderlein to get to the Library Board for review and then on next month’s agenda for approval.

A motion was made by Alderman Meza, seconded by Alderman Gorman to adjourn the meeting. Aldermen voting aye: Haderlein, Lavallee, Carncross, Gorman, Meza, Perkins and Luna. All ayes. Motion carried.

Meeting adjourned at 7:45 pm.

https://www.cityofharvard.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_council/meeting/14689/ccminutes2023-01-24.pdf