Kendall County Times

City of Sandwich Committee of the Whole met June 2.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

1. Call to Order: Mayor Latham called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM

2. Pledge of Allegiance was led by Alderman Chunn

3. Roll Call

Present: Mayor Latham, City Clerk Ii, Aldermen Arnett, Chunn, Danko, Erickson, Inman, Ketchum & Robinson

Absent: Alderman Kreinbrink

Also present: Attorney Foster, City Administration Penman, Police Chief Senne, Economic Director Alesky, & SEMA Director Eberle

Quorum established

4. Mayor’s Report:

A. Presentation by Shawn Ajazi of Progressive Business Solutions: A presentation provided information on the City’s water usage, as it affects the twelve facilities not covered in the ComEd franchise agreement. The existing contract is with Constellation Energy that will expire through the end of July, 2025. An option is to continue 11 accounts on a fixed rate supply, and placing the wastewater treatment facility on a peak program that allows for fluctuation of rates. Progressive has been a consultant for the City since 2011. The recommendation is to stay with a fix rate for the 11 accounts and commend a 36-month contract continuing with Constellation. The wastewater facility contract would also be a 36-month contract under Constellations Off Peak Program. The electric delivery fee will not be part of the contract. A proposal will be brought back to the June 16th meeting.

5. Attorney’s Report: Attorney Keith Foster was present in the absence of Attorney Gottschalk. No report.

6. City Clerk Ii: No report

7. City Treasurer Koehler: No report

8. City Administrator Penman provided updates:

• Tomorrow (Tuesday) there is a meeting with the engineer for the Main Street project that may start work next week

• Regarding 724 N. Main Street, hopefully the demolition will start this week now that ComEd has completed their work

9. City Department’s Reports:

A. SEMA Report: A reminder that the monthly siren test will be tomorrow (Tuesday) at 10 AM.

B. Police Chief Senne shared highlights of the police department since the last council meeting:

• Attended the final Mystery Reader event, and participate in the Touch-a-Truck event at Haskins where popsicles were handed out. Regular Explorer meetings continued.

• One applicant passed the background check, and in the process of scheduling the next phases. The lateral application process will remain open until all vacancies are filled.

• First Walk & Talk is scheduled for June 14th at 1 PM in the Fairwinds Subdivision

• The next Chief’s Quarterly Meeting will be held on June 26th at 6 PM at the police station.

• The Police Explorers will compete in their first competition on June 18th at Judson College.

• A special thank you to Mary Bryant and Wendy Flowers for their contributions during Law Enforcement Civilian Week

• Chief will be on vacation June 13th through June 26th. Sgt. Whitecotton will serve as Acting Chief.

• Exploration options have begun for acquiring additional squad cars, either through a lease or a direct purchase

• Congratulations to Sgt. Eisenberg for graduating from Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command. He is the second sergeant in the department to have completed this program within the past year.

• Plans are underway for National Night Out on August 5th.

• In addition to Facebook, the police department has launched an Instagram account and will be adding LinkedIn soon to expand communication platforms

C. EEI Engineer Dettmann: Absent

10. Council Reports:

Alderman Arnett reported that the manhole relining project will start soon. Additionally, there is equipment at the sewer plant that was not replaced due to the rebuild. He recommended that the Council start planning for equipment replacement that is quite expansive.

Alderwoman Inman reported that she has received complaints about burning leaves on Sundays. There is no burning allowed. She also reported that the grass is tall in the vacant lot at the corner of 5th & Castle Streets.

Alderman Robinson questioned if the City has decided who will be signing monthly State reports for the Water Department. The Mayor responded that the job position has been posted; he has a meeting with someone Tuesday night who may be a signor. The City has 30 days to have someone signed up through the EPA.

11. Old Business:

A. Airport Area Development: Economic Director, Don Alesky, explained the background on the current airport ordinance that was created in 1978. In 1998, the airport was moved back to a restricted zone, meaning it was no longer a commercial airport that affected the glide slope affecting property opposite of Gletty Road. The FAA no longer has any control over the airport, and it is now under the Illinois Department of Aviation. The City can make recommendations but cannot enforce the structure height(s). Request is to mirror what the Department of Aviation has stated reducing the glide path to 15:1. In 1998 when the hangers, houses, and outbuildings were built, they were too close to the “obstruction zone”. The taxiway is entirely located in the “obstruction zone”, and a foreseeable problem is the height of trees in the Forest Preserve. Concerns raised were infringing on future airport use. By approving the ordinance would increase the ability to develop across Gletty Road while protecting the airport to remain open.

B. Finance Committee Changes: Newly appointed chairwoman, Alderwoman Erickson, has suggested increasing the size of the Finance Committee from three members to five members. Aldermen Danko and Robinson have volunteered to serve on the committee. Council did not object to the additional appointments.

C. Resolution 25-10 entitled “A Resolution Authorizing the Purchase of Out-of-State Service for Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF)”: There have been no updates since the last meeting June 2nd.

D. Proposed Ordinance for Prairie View Parking Restrictions: The recommendation is one block west and east of Pleasant Avenue, and both sides of Castle Street. Currently, there is only a restriction on the south side of Pleasant Avenue. The City has spoke with the school district who are in favor of the proposed ordinance that will help increase safety of the school. City Clerk questioned if Council had a copy of the said proposed ordinance for first reading. Mayor Latham noted there was no urgency in passage because it would not take effect until the new school year.

12. New Business:

A. Discussion on Proposed Chapter 38 Amendment “Historical Preservation”: Two members of the City’s Historical Preservation Committee, Chris Schwemlein and Chris Phillips, were present to discuss the concept of the amended Chapter 38 of the Municipal Code. The goal is to designate certain areas in town as historic, such as Elmwood Place. If someone wanted to obtain a certificate of appropriateness for their home, and have a historic designation, that could be done through City Hall. Homeowners of older homes would not be pressured to abide by certain rules. The concern is fear that a historic building would be demolish for progress or expansion. There is also an appeals process as part of the proposed ordinance. The city council would have the final say in the preservation process. A concern was made about government overreach, and a homeowner should have a “opt out” clause.

B. Discussion on 1% Grocery Tax: The State has diminished some of the City’s revenue by taking off the grocery tax without consulting the communities. Communities can have the tax put back into place via an ordinance. Recommendation is that the city does approve reinstating the grocery tax which is a source of income for the city. The estimate tax would generate $20,000, and probably increase once Dollar Tree is fully developed. An ordinance would need to be submitted to the State by October 1, 2025 to take effect January 1, 2026.

C. Discussion on Lauterbach & Amen Annual Contract Renewal: When the financial analyst position was created, the goal was to take on some of the duties that the City now pays through for contractual service. In this scenario, it is roughly $27,000.00 annually. The use of their services covers two previous mayors. The new contract reduces more than half of those duties to be taken on by Angie Serville, our financial analyst. The mayor’s recommendation is that the city renew the contract with the reduced professional services, thereby reducing costs.

13. Announcements: None

14. Audience Comments: None

15. Adjournment: Alderman Robinson moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:43 PM. Alderwoman Erickson seconded. Motion carried unanimously via voice vote.

https://www.sandwich.il.us/media/3616