McHenry Times

City of Harvard City Council met Sept. 26.

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, Schulz, Lavallee, Carncross, Gorman, Lancaster, Perkins and Luna. Also present: City Administrator Leone, Treasurer/Finance Director Bejot, Chief Bauman, Code Enforcement Officer Nutley, Community Development Director Day, Supt. Public Works Lamz, City Attorney TJ Clifton and members of the audience.

PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA 

None

TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES - APPROVED 

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

ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES - APPROVED 

A motion was made by Alderman Gorman, seconded by Alderwoman Haderlein to approve the Administration Committee Meeting Minutes of September 13, 2023, as presented. Roll call vote: Carncross, 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 August 22, 2023

b. Special City Council Meeting Minutes of September 14, 2023

c. Transportation Committee Meeting of September 12, 2023

d. Administration Committee Meeting Minutes of September 13, 2023

e. Park Board Meeting Minutes of August 21, 2023

f. Administrators Report

g. Building & Grounds Report

h. Community Development Department Report

i. Harvard Diggins Library Directors Report

j. Parks & Recreation Report

k. Police Department Report

l. Public Works Department Report

m. Utilities Department Report

n. Chris Czarnowski, Ben’s Christmas Tree Farm, is requesting permission to place temporary directional signs at the intersections of Routes 14/173 and Routes 23/14 from November 15- December 21, 2023, with the permit fee waived in exchange for the Christmas tree that will be displayed at Five Points.

A motion was made by Alderman Perkins, seconded by Alderman Gorman to approve the Consent Agenda, Items #6a-n as presented. Roll call vote: Lavallee, aye; Carncross, aye; Lancaster, aye; Gorman, aye; Perkins, aye; Luna, aye; Haderlein, aye and Schulz, aye. Motion approved eight to zero.

INDIVIDUAL ACTION CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS 

None

PAYMENT OF BILLS - APPROVED 

A motion was made by Alderman Schulz, seconded by Alderwoman Haderlein to approve payment of the bills in the amount of $1,779,357.15. Roll call vote: Lancaster; aye; Gorman, aye; Perkins, aye; Luna, aye; Haderlein, aye; Schulz, aye; Lavallee, aye and Carncross, aye. Motion approved eight to zero.

PETITION FOR DRIVEWAY VARIATION 

Yaneli Estrada Variation from Section 19.15.B3, Driveways and Private Parking Lot, 304 W. Metzen St. Ordinance 2023-126 Approved

The petitioner was in attendance relative to her petition requesting relief from Section 19.15B3, Driveways and Parking Lots, to allow an extension of the driveway width, pursuant to the plans submitted for an 18’ x 7’ addition. Subject property is located at 304 W. Metzen St. The requisite notice was sent to adjoining property owners and no objections have been received. Mayor Kelly opened the floor to comments/objections. Alderman Lavallee remarked that the proposed extension is brick and thought it would look better if it was the same material as the driveway, but further noted there isn’t any City ordinance that would disallow the extension to be a different material. The petitioner confirmed that the existing driveway is concrete and the reason for using brick is due to cost. It was pointed out that there are other driveways that have been approved using brick. After discussion, a motion was made by Alderman Perkins, seconded by Alderman Carncross to approve the petition as presented. Roll call vote: Gorman, aye; Perkins, aye; Luna, aye; Haderlein, aye; Schulz, aye; Lavallee, aye; Carncross, aye and Lancaster, aye. Ordinance 2023-126 approved eight to zero.

Alderman Schulz recused himself from the meeting at 7:10 pm.

CLASS A LIQUOR LICENSE - APPROVED 

Soha Enterprises LLC, d/b/a Lion’s Liquors, 711 E. Diggins St., is seeking consideration for a Class A Liquor License to allow for a gaming room. The applicant currently has a Class B license. Action requested is to approve or deny the request pending approval of the layout by the Liquor Commissioner and payment of fees, with an effective date of May 1, 2024.

Hari Patel addressed the City Council and related he had a conversation with the Gaming Board who indicated he might be able to get approval for the gaming machines as early as December. The City Council and Attorney Clifton discussed with the petitioner whether to move forward with a Class A License for FY23 or upon approval by the Gaming Board. The petitioner decided to move forward with a request for approval of a Class A Liquor License for FY23 and he will pay the requisite fees ($1,300 for the FY23 License and the $10,000 one-time fee for the creation of a Class A Liquor License).

A motion was made by Alderman Carncross, seconded by Alderwoman Lancaster to approve a FY23 Class A Liquor License for Soha Enterprises LLC, d/b/a Lion’s Liquors, 711 E. Diggins St., contingent upon approval of the floor plan by the Liquor Commissioner. Roll call vote: Perkins, aye; Luna, aye; Haderlein, aye; Lavallee, aye; Carncross, aye; Lancaster, aye and Gorman, aye. Motion approved seven to zero.

Alderman Schulz returned to the meeting at 7:20 pm.

HALLOWEEN TRICK-OR-TREAT HOURS 

A motion was made by Alderman Perkins, seconded by Alderman Carncross that Halloween Trick-or-Treat Hours be held on Tuesday, October 31st, 2023, from 4-8 pm. Roll call vote: Luna, aye; Haderlein, aye; Schulz, aye; Lavallee, aye; Carncross, aye; Lancaster, aye; Gorman, aye and Perkins, aye. Motion approved eight to zero. Residents who do not wish to participate may simply turn off their porch lights.

PFAS WATER SUPPLY CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT/REPRESENTATION 

Attorney Clifton gave an overview of the PFAS lawsuit as outlined in the memo included in the packet. Essentially, there is potential that the City of Harvard would be eligible in a class action law suit pertaining to water contamination and the ultimate ramifications from that. It is a contingency representation and there is no liability to the City unless there is recovery. PFAS has not been detected in the City’s water; one of the potential settlements is payment for PFAS testing going forward. A motion was made by Alderman Carncross, seconded by Alderwoman Haderlein that the City of Harvard participate in the class action settlement and to authorize Attorney David McArdle, Zukowski, Rogers, Flood & McArdle to sign the Legal Services Agreement on the City’s behalf. Roll call vote: Haderlein, aye; Schulz, aye; Lavallee, aye; Carncross, aye; Lancaster, aye; Gorman, aye; Perkins, aye and Luna, aye. Motion approved eight to zero.

TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION - APPROVED 

A motion was made by Alderman Schulz, seconded by Alderman Lavallee to approve the Committee’s recommendation to reallocate $100,000 of the 2023 Sidewalk Program funding towards the engineering of the post office stairs/sidewalk project. Alderwoman Haderlein said she has reconsidered her position on the reallocation of funds and would be voting against the recommendation. She did not feel it was the best use of $100,000 when compared to the overall condition of roads and sidewalks in Harvard.

Alderman Perkins expressed concerns relative to the initial $7,000 that was budgeted for engineering options for the project and the timeliness of staff actions. At the Mayor’s request, Finance Director Bejot provided an overview and timeline of the project. The initial $7,000 was allocated for Gary to provide more than a penciled sketch to more specifically determine what was feasible for that corner. This was a City project which took lower priority than other MFT projects which are federally funded and time sensitive. City Administrator Leone related that the Division St. sidewalk project was put on hold due to planned IDOT improvements, at which time, it was brought back to the Transportation Committee to determine how to allocate the funds. The Committee recommendation is before the City Council for consideration. Alderman Gorman remarked that the engineering will show what is needed to fix the corner after which it can be determined when it can be fixed. At Alderman Carncross’ inquiry, Supt. Lamz related that the funds allocated towards engineering would do approximately 700 linear feet of uninterrupted sidewalk. Finance Director Bejot indicated that if approved, a budget amendment will come before the City Council at a subsequent meeting. Roll call vote: Schulz, aye; Lavallee, aye; Carncross, aye; Lancaster, aye; Gorman, aye; Perkins, aye; Luna, aye and Haderlein, no. Motion approved seven to one.

ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION – AUDIT FY ENDING 04/30/23 

A motion was made by Alderwoman Haderlein, seconded by Alderwoman Lancaster to approve the Committee’s recommendation to accept the Audit for the FY Ending April 30, 2023, as submitted by Lauterbach & Amen LLP Accountants. Roll call vote: Lavallee, aye; Carncross, aye; Lancaster, aye; Gorman, aye; Perkins, aye; Luna, aye; Haderlein, aye and Schulz, aye. Motion approved eight to zero.

ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION SURPLUS PROPERTY DECLARATION – ORD. 2023-127 APPROVED 

A motion was made by Alderman Schulz, seconded by Alderman Carncross to approve the Committee’s recommendation to adopt the proposed ordinance Declaring Surplus Property (bicycles). Roll call vote: Carncross, aye; Lancaster; aye; Gorman, aye; Perkins, aye; Luna, aye; Haderlein, aye; Schulz, aye and Lavallee, aye. Ordinance 2023-127 approved eight to zero.

DEPT. HEADS REPORT 

Written reports as submitted.

In Utilities Grant’s absence, City Administrator Leone mentioned that the pump for Well 9 is on site and will be installed on Friday.

Public Works Supt. Lamz

• The road program is near completion. Overall, all of the projected rejuvenation and crack sealing was completed. The skip patching was affected due to budget and reduced by 12% of the overall patches and another 4% in yield in areas where the base was poor.

• Ayer St. Streetscape project has been delayed due to rain.

• The sanitary lining project will be underway in October, followed by manhole lining. • The patch cart arrived today.

Police Chief Bauman

• Officer Macko was cleared to return to work full duty on September 6th.

• Sgt. Speilman is recovering well from a non-work related shoulder surgery.

• Officer Vialpando is almost halfway through field training and is doing well and will be a great asset to the community.

• The Citizen Police Academy is entering its 4th week; graduation is November 9th.

TREASURER’S REPORT 

Report as submitted.

COMMITTEE REPORTS 

ALDERMAN CARNCROSS 

Alderman Carncross called a Community & Economic Development Committee Meeting for Tuesday, October 17th, 2023, at 6:30 pm, contingent on representation from the taxing bodies to provide input on the impact fees. If they are unable to attend, Alderman Carncross would entertain rescheduling at least that portion of the meeting to an amenable time. The feasibility study is also on the agenda.

ALDERWOMAN HADERLEIN 

Alderwoman Haderlein confirmed the date of the Administration Committee Meeting which is scheduled for October 11th, 2023, at 6:30 pm. Agenda items include the tax levy and backyard chickens.

ALDERWOMAN LUNA 

Alderwoman Luna thanked Supt. Grant for the informative WWTP tour.

ALDERMAN GORMAN 

It was determined that a Transportation Committee wasn’t needed in October. With respect to the crosswalks on Diggins St., information was sent to the IDOT design team to include the crosswalks in their upcoming improvement project.

NO REPORT 

Aldermen Lavallee, Schulz, Perkins and Lancaster, City Administrator Leone and City Attorney Clifton had no additional report.

CLERK’S REPORT – UPCOMING MEETING DATES 

October 3 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting, POST TO CANCEL

October 11 Administration Committee Meeting, 6:30 pm

October 16 Park Board Meeting, 6 pm

October 17 Community & Economic Development Committee Meeting, 6:30 pm 

October 24 City Council Meeting, 7 pm

October 27 Strategic Vision Workshop, 9 am – 4 pm

October 28 Strategic Vision Workshop, 9 am – 1 pm

MAYOR’S REPORT 

Mayor Kelly related that City staffing went through their portion of the strategic vision with the facilitator. Eric is looking to schedule one on one interviews with each alderman prior to the workshop.

The MCCG Meeting is on Wednesday, September 27th at Starline.

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

Meeting adjourned at 7:55 pm.

https://www.cityofharvard.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_council/meeting/14697/ccminutes2023-09-26.pdf