City of Sandwich Committee of the Whole met Feb. 2.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
1. Call to Order: Mayor Latham called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led Reverend Kaul
2. Roll Call:
Present: Mayor Latham, City Clerk Ii, Aldermen Arnett, Chunn, Danko, Erickson, Inman, Ketchum, Kreinbrink & Robinson
Also present: City Attorney Forte, City Administrator Penman, Police Chief Senne, SEMA Director Eberle, & EEI Engineer Dettmann
Quorum established
3. Mayor’s Report:
A. Pastor Kaul Retirement Proclamation: Reverend Kaul shared what Sandwich was like when he first arrived in 1976, naming many landmarks now gone. Mayor Latham read a proclamation honoring the retirement of Reverent Kaul for 49 ½ years of faithful service to the community; and presented him with a Certificate of Recognition & Appreciation. Many parishioners from Our Saviors Lutheran Church were present in the audience showing support and respect followed with a brief photo session.
4. City Clerk Ii: No Report
5. Attorney’s Report: Attorney Carmen Forte, from the law firm of Klein, Thorpe, & Jenkins, thanked the council for appointing the law firm to represent the city. Work is underway transferring all material and getting updated on all pending litigation matters.
6. City Treasurer: Vacancy
7. City Administrator Penman report consisted of:
• The final watershed stewardship program for leaders is on Thursday, February 5th. Alderman Danko has been attending on behalf of the city. City Administrator Penman was able to attend the first meeting, and hopes to attend on Thursday. If anyone is interested in volunteering for the DeKalb County Watershed Committee, please contact Geoff
• Kendall County is hosting a ribbon cutting and State of the County Address on February 10th at their new facility located at 504 S. Main Street in Yorkville.
8. City Department’s Reports:
A. SEMA Report: Director Eberle presented outgoing Assistant EMA Director, Timothy Keierleber, an appreciation plaque. In addition, he reported SEMA supported traffic control for Harvest Chamel on January 25th, and as a reminder, the first Tuesday of each month it testing of the outdoor warning sirens. B. Chief Senne shared highlights:
• Events attended including Police Explorers, Bean bag baseball, and the commerce retreat
• Have received 34 entry-level and 3 lateral police officer application. Testing is scheduled for February 18th & 21st
• PD is on the list for the May police academy that will start May 4th, 2026
• Patrol squads are ready for equipment changeover, including in-car cameras, radar units, and computer docking stations
• 1st-Quarter training has started
• Annual report will be presented at the February 16th meeting
• Cleaning contract bids are due February 11th with council approval requested for March 2nd; bids are due on February 23rd for the generator with council approval on March 16th C. EEI Engineering provided updates:
• Regarding Pratt Road bridge, anticipated road closure for the bridge construction is April 1st with a completion date of at the end of July
• The rerouting design for the Railroad Street water treatment plant is essentially done. Information has been shared with the water department liaison. $315,310 is the original amount of the contract.
• On the 308 Railroad Street contract, the bidding, the IPA permitting, and putting plans together are separate costs. $7,655 would be the only cost for doing all the rerouting work, all the design portion, and the survey.
• Final walk-through is still needed on the wastewater treatment plan
9. Unfinished Business:
A. License & Permit Fees Changes: The municipal code/ordinance should be updated to reflect the $250 per hour force-mowing fee (prior Council action in 2015) and ensure the code language references mowing, weed removal, and lien filing. The goal is to have licensing changes approved by the March 2nd meeting to be on the timeline for renewal permit applications due in April. City Administrator discussed proposed rate increase with input by the City Clerk. Rate increases would include, but not limited to, solicitor permits, liquor licenses increase by $200, raise video gaming licenses to $250 but eliminate amusement licenses (juke box, dart boards, etc), eliminate outdated licenses (shooting galleries, menageries, dances), and increase new construction costs. Introduced for review would be permits business licensing, landlord registration, vacant building registration, stationary food vendor license, and contractor license fee. The mayor proposed that he will meet with the City Administrator and City Clerk to produce a consolidated recommendation for the council.
B. Resolution 26-01 entitled “A Resolution Declaring the Position of Municipal Treasurer of the City of Sandwich, Illinois, Abandoned and Vacated”: In conversations with IML and the former city attorney, it is felt the treasurer’s position has been vacated and steps are necessitated by the council. The typical process would be a notarized written resignation submitted to the city clerk; however, this did not occur.
C. Proposed Property Maintenance Inspection Position: Mayor Latham explained that he had a meeting with City Administrator Penman and Building Official Ian to investigate the position of a property maintenance inspector that would incorporate the duties of the code, but also include some of the areas for property maintenance including helping the building department. Those duties might include assisting with the cloud permitting system, issuance of permits, and rental inspections. According to CMAP (Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning), there are over 700 rental properties in the city.
10. New Business:
A. Lead Service Line Replacement Program: Mayor Latham reiterated previous meeting conversations regarding federal compliance must by year 2037, and the city has approved up to a 50/50 share with residents for the replacement of service lines identified as being lead or galvanized. The Main Street project cost the city approximately $240,000 that was exceeded budgeted amounts. The mayor wants the council to continue to be proactive in budgeting now rather than delay until the mandated commencement with the 2027-2028 budget. Budgeting should allocate for b-box repairs and replacements as well for emergencies during the fiscal year. The city received a $40,000 grant from the Illinois EPA. Highlights of conversation included:
• Prepare options and a visual flow chart showing financing approaches for lead service line replacement (including emergency allocation and multi-year scheduling) and bring it to budget discussions
• Coordinate with staff to develop a plan to accept and schedule voluntary lead service line replacements from homeowners (including a process for taking payments or signing on waiting lists) and report the process to council
11. Report of Alderpersons:
Alderman Arnett reported that Brad Eade is back to full-time status as sewer superintendent, and now he has an opportunity to get caught up on repair backlogs.
Alderman Chunn reported that Street Superintendent Grube advised that the street department is now fully staffed. Council was not made aware of the new hire.
Alderman Danko thanked EEI Engineer Dettmann for following through on requests made at previous meetings. He questioned the timeline for the upcoming bid letting on the water relocation. He also questioned hiring additional help for the water department. Alderman Danko cited a hydrant at Fourth and Castle with an 1888 date, noting its historical value.
City Clerk Ii left the meeting at 8:35 PM
Alderwoman Erickson thanked Alderman Chunn for having streets check out the tree removals on Castle Street, between 2nd and 3rd Streets.
City Clerk Ii returned to the meeting at 8:42 PM
Alderman Ketchum has been alerted there is a window at the Opera House that is leaking moisture. The hope was gutter repairs would resolve the problem. Status on the gutter replacement would be once the weather warms, and the availability of using a lift, both inside and outside the Opera House.
Alderman Kreinbrink reminded council of the budget committee meeting on Wednesday, at 4:30 PM. Referencing Alliant leadership for the SWOT analysis, he was able to secure a revised price. The process is to meet with department heads individually, and then meet as a group. Once paperwork has been compiled, Alliant will meet with council on a Saturday. The tentative scheduled date is March 14th. From the data, council should be able to create a 1-year operating budget with a 3-year outlook, and a 5-10 target plan. Participation was encouraged to compile data for the planning process with a goal to align priorities and set a clear path forward.
Alderman Robinson inquired about the new employee for the street department who was hired two weeks prior. He emphasized that the city should be kept aware of new staffing for the sake of transparency. In additional, Alderman Robinson would like to have the superintendents attend a meeting to answer questions and sharing of information. Response was the superintendents are paid hourly, and their attendance at meetings would construe as overtime or comp time. On another topic, Alderman Robinson questioned the redundancy of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance twice each a night. Mayor Latham concurred noting that it is the Municipal Code to recite the Pledge at each council meeting. He favors that Pledge should be recited for the Regular Council Meeting.
12. Announcements: None
13. Audience Comments: None
14. Adjournment: Alderman Robinson moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:51 PM. Alderman Ketchum seconded. Motion carried unanimously via voice vote.
https://www.sandwich.il.us/media/4321
