City of Anna City Council met June 21.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
The Anna City Council met in regular session at Anna City Hall at 5:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Steve Hartline. The roll call went as follows: Present were Commissioner Michael Bigler, Commissioner Kathy Bryan, Commissioner Bryan Miller, Commissioner Martha Ann Webb and Mayor Steve Hartline.
A motion was made by Commissioner Bryan and seconded by Commissioner Webb that it be RESOLVED TO APPROVE THE JUNE 7, 2022 ANNA CITY COUNCIL REGULAR SESSION MINUTES. A vote was taken upon the motion with the following results. Commissioner Bigler, Commissioner Bryan, Commissioner Webb and Mayor Hartline voted yea. Nay – none. Commissioner Miller Abstained. Mayor Hartline declared the motion carried
Tom Caldwell is a member of the City of Anna Staff as well as a certified arborist. Tom recently took a class through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for Cemetery Preservation Training. Tom Stated that there are parts of the cemetery, specifically the old section, that are in very rough shape and will need repairs very soon. The problem that the city runs into is that the headstones belong to next of kin which are very difficult to get ahold of for the older headstones. Tom shared with the council that running a notice in the paper to try to get ahold of the families would allow the city to be able to go in and make these repairs.
City Administrator Dori Bigler gave updates on the following: (1) The Annabelle Festival Disc Golf Tournament last weekend had 52 players from 3 states. John Wingate said it was very well attended. (2) Just Chill was inquiring on how the council would feel about a new set up for the 2023 season, which would include a second location. Just Chill wants to propose bringing their mobile food truck and having it on the field, and having both locations open all season. (3) Administrator Bigler handed out a revenue report for FY20, FY21 and FY22. She pointed out that the MCROT revenue has been declining since May 2021, which is the same time period that Thrive in Metropolis opened its doors. Revenue dropped over 50% since this. (4) Administrator Bigler handed out a property report, showing lots owned by the city which are vacant, lots owned by the city which need to be demolished, lots that the city has demolition orders on, and public nuisance properties and their status in court. Administrator Bigler asked for feedback from the council on declaring a surplus on the vacant lots and getting rid of them, getting bids for demolition on the properties that could be demolished, and prioritizing the demolition project funds for the year. (5) The downed streetlight at Main & Davie came in yesterday, the railroad sign shopped from Michigan yesterday. We anticipate it will be fixed soon. (6) Just a reminder that there is a public hearing before the next council meeting at 4:45 regarding the rezoning of the SI Builder property on West Chestnut.
Discussion was held regarding the position of investigator within the police department. Administrator Bigler, Chief Watkins, Mayor Hartline and City Attorney John Foley had a meeting to discuss the hiring process. It was decided that this position was a contractual position and had not been posted previously and would need to be posted. John Foley agreed that the position needed to be posted after talking with the attorney representing FOP.
A motion was made by Commissioner Webb and seconded by Commissioner Bryan that it be RESOLVED TO APPROVE TO PAY THE BILLS. A vote was taken upon the motion with the following results. Commissioner Bigler, Commissioner Bryan, Commissioner Bryan Miller, Commissioner Webb and Mayor Hartline voted yea. Nay – none. Mayor Hartline declared the motion carried.
Discussion was held regarding the proposed burn ordinance. Commissioner Miller stated that he had many problems with this ordinance. Commissioner Bryan also stated that she had issues with the wording and punctuation used in the ordinance including how to define a prudent person. City Attorney Foley explained the prudent person is a legal term. Commissioner Miller raised concern about the restriction on only being able to burn on specific days stating if a tree falls, a person has a long work schedule those days, etc. John Foley stated that the purpose of this restriction is to discourage residents from constant burning in their yards creating a neighborhood nuisance. Commissioner Miller also had concern about the dimensions listed on the ordinance stating that some yards within the city are not that big and cannot meet the criteria listed for a burn. His concern was on the 20 ft from property line and 50 ft from the structure requirements. It was then pointed out that recreational fires and bonfires had different criteria and were completely separate with the dimensions required, both requirements aren’t for recreational fires. Commissioner Miller asked again what the requirement is for a recreational fire and distance from a structure. It was pointed out that the distance from a structure was for bonfires, there is no requirement for recreational fires. Commissioner Bigler asked Chief Dammerman how often the Fire Department gets calls for burns. Chief Dammerman responded with the Fire Department only gets calls in regards to burning illegal items such as plastics and never about burning yard waste etc. Mayor Hartline asked the council to make notes regarding their concerns with the ordinance, and send it to the City Administrator who will pass it along to John Foley for revision.
A motion was made by Commissioner Bryan and seconded by Commissioner Webb that it be RESOLVED TO APPROVE ORDNINACE 2022-14; APPROVING THE ANNEXATION OF CERTAIN REAL EASATE OWNED BY DAVID THOMAS. A vote was taken upon the motion with the following results. Commissioner Bigler, Commissioner Bryan, Commissioner Miller, Commissioner Webb and Mayor Hartline voted yea. Nay – none. Mayor Hartline declared the motion carried.
A motion was made by Commissioner Webb and seconded by Commissioner Bryan that it be RESOLVED TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 2022-14; APPROVING AN ENAGEMENT CONTACT WITH EXP AT HOPI LANE (DEUCE DENNINGER BAND). A vote was taken upon the motion with the following results. Commissioner Bigler, Commissioner Bryan, Commissioner Miller, Commissioner Webb and Mayor Hartline voted yea. Nay – none. Mayor Hartline declared the motion carried.
A motion was made by Commissioner Miller and seconded by Commissioner Bryan that it be RESOLVED TO AUTHORIZE THE CAPITAL EQUIPMENT EXPENSE OF $5,000 FROM THE STREET DEPARTMENT A vote was taken upon the motion with the following results. Commissioner Bigler, Commissioner Bryan, Commissioner Miller, Commissioner Webb and Mayor Hartline voted yea. Nay - none. Mayor Hartline declared the motion carried.
A motion was made by Commissioner Bryan and seconded by Commissioner Miller that it be RESOLVED TO AUTHORIZE THE CAPITAL EQUIPMENT EXPENSE OF $3,750 FROM THE PARK DEPARTMENT A vote was taken upon the motion with the following results. Commissioner Bigler, Commissioner Bryan, Commissioner Miller, Commissioner Webb and Mayor Hartline voted yea. Nay - none. Mayor Hartline declared the motion carried.
A motion was made by Commissioner Webb and seconded by Commissioner Bryan that it be RESOLVED TO AUTHORIZE THE CAPITAL EQUIPMENT EXPENSE OF $1,250 FROM THE CEMETARY DEPARTMENT A vote was taken upon the motion with the following results. Commissioner Bigler, Commissioner Bryan, Commissioner Miller, Commissioner Webb and Mayor Hartline voted yea. Nay - none. Mayor Hartline declared the motion carried.
A motion was made by Commissioner Webb and seconded by Commissioner Bryan that it be RESOLVED TO AUTHORIZE CITY ADMINISTRATOR DORI BIGLER TO ATTEND THE 2022 ILLINOIS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE CONFERENCE FROM SPETEMBER 15 TO SEPTEMBER 17, 2022. A vote was taken upon the motion with the following
results. Commissioner Bigler, Commissioner Bryan, Commissioner Miller, Commissioner Webb and Mayor Hartline voted yea. Nay - none. Mayor Hartline declared the motion carried.
A motion was made by Mayor Hartline and seconded by Commissioner Bryan that it be RESOLVED TO GRANT A SPECIAL EVENT LIQUOR LICENSE – PRIVATE PROPERTY; ANNA-JONESBORO ELKS LODGE #1641 ON JULY 23, 2022. A vote was taken upon the motion with the following results. Commissioner Miller, Commissioner Webb and Mayor Hartline voted yea. Commissioner Bryan abstained. Nay - none. Mayor Hartline declared the motion carried.
Discussion was held regarding the proposal of the new hiring process. Administrator Bigler presented the draft of the hiring process proposal. Commissioner Bigler asked if this includes the panel. Administrator Bigler stated that it is always HR, City Administrator, Manager of the Department, and Commissioner over the department. Commissioner Bigler raised concern with parts of this draft. Commissioner Bigler stated that the job offers section was unnecessary and that the recommendation should come from the city administrator to the council. Commissioner Bigler asked about the interview process and if candidates were going to be assessed on a scoring system. Administrator Bigler stated that how the candidates respond to questions would be discussed by the panel of interviewers.
A motion was made by Mayor Hartline and seconded by Commissioner Webb that it be RESOLVED TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 2022-13; ADOPTING THE HIRING PROCESS. A vote was taken upon the motion with the following results.
Commissioner Bryan, Commissioner Miller, Commissioner Webb and Mayor Hartline voted yea. Commissioner Bigler voted Nay. Mayor Hartline declared the motion carried.
A motion was made by Commissioner Webb and seconded by Commissioner Bigler that it be RESOLVED TO APPROVE FENCING APPLICATION – KEL-TECH AT 156 E. VIENNA STREET. A vote was taken upon the motion with the following results. Commissioner Bigler, Commissioner Bryan, Commissioner Miller, Commissioner Webb and Mayor Hartline voted yea. Nay - none. Mayor Hartline declared the motion carried.
Commissioner Webb suggested to the council that the city rename a section of Enterprise Drive inside of the Business Park to Romines Drive. Administrator Bigler stated that no one’s address would need to change. Administrator Bigler also brought up a suggestion by Tom Caldwell to possibly rename the business park to Veterans Park in the Future. Mayor Hartline gave the go ahead to start the process.
Commissioner Bigler gave an update on the Park Project. Commissioner Bigler stated that he has met with Matt Denny and Shane Osman and determined the best time to move forward is July 5 – August 15. All parties involved in this process have been notified. Commissioner Bigler stated that he doesn’t know if the city has the funds in the budget [$8,050] for the [Kiwanis] project. Mayor Hartline suggested that the city approach the school boards for district 37 and 81 for collaboration on this project. Commissioner Bigler stated that the city has worked with Ryan Dodd to draft a design to redo the entirety of inside the horse track. Commissioner Bigler stated that this will be a part of the 5-year plan for the park.
Commissioner Miller gave an update on the state of the Fire Department with Volunteer Fire Fighters. Commissioner Miller Spoke with Chief Dammerman, Jessica Roberts, and Todd Harris about becoming a volunteer for the fire department. As of June 1st, Commissioner Miller is retired and would be available during the day. Commissioner Miller stated that he would either abstain from voting on any Fire Department matters, or remove himself as the commissioner over the Fire Department. Commissioner Miller stated that he is willing to undergo all of the training necessary to make himself ready and available. As for pay, he would like his portion for responding to calls to go back to Shop with a Fireman.
Discussion was then had about how the Fire Department plans to recruit more volunteers.
Tim Smith recently completed his 23rd year with the Anna Police Department Brian Watkins recently completed his 24th year with the Anna Police Department
A motion was made by Mayor Hartline and seconded by Commissioner Bryan that it be RESOLVED TO ENTER INTO CLOSED SESSION FOR THE REVIEW OF THE MINUTES AND RECORDINGS OF ALL CLOSED SESSIONS THAT HAVE NOT YET BEEN RELEASED FOR PUBLIC REVIEW, AND DETERMINATION OF WHICH MINUTES, IF ANY, MAY BE RELEASED AT 6:21PM. A vote was taken upon the motion with the following results. Commissioner Bigler, Commissioner Bryan, Commissioner Miller, Commissioner Webb and Mayor Hartline voted yea. Nay – none. Mayor Hartline declared the motion carried.
A motion was made by Commissioner Webb and seconded by Commissioner Bryan that it be RESOLVED TO EXIT CLOSED SESSION AT 6:27 PM. A vote was taken upon the motion with the following results. Commissioner Bigler, Commissioner Bryan, Commissioner Miller, Commissioner Webb and Mayor Hartline voted yea. Nay – none. Mayor Hartline declared the motion carried.
A motion was made by Commissioner Webb and seconded by Commissioner Bryan that it be RESOLVED TO APPROVE THE CLOSED SESSION MINUTES OF JUNE 21, 2022 AS PREVIOUSLY READ AS THE OFFICIAL MINUTES OF SAID MEETING. A vote was taken upon the motion with the following results. Commissioner Bigler, Commissioner Bryan, Commissioner Miller, Commissioner Webb and Mayor Hartline voted yea. Nay – none. Mayor Hartline declared the motion carried.
A motion was made by Commissioner Bryan and seconded by Commissioner Webb that it be RESOLVED THAT AFTER REVIEW OF THE MINUTES AND RECORDINGS OF THE CLOSED SESSIONS, THE NEED FOR CONDIFENTIALITY STILL EXISTS. A vote was taken upon the motion with the following results. Commissioner Bigler, Commissioner Bryan, Commissioner Miller, Commissioner Webb and Mayor Hartline voted yea. Nay – none. Mayor Hartline declared the motion carried.
A motion was made by Commissioner Bigler and seconded by Commissioner Miller that it be RESOLVED THAT THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE ANNA CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 21, 2022 BE ADJOURNED AT 6:29 PM. A vote was taken upon the motion with the following results. Commissioner Bigler, Commissioner Bryan, Commissioner Miller, Commissioner Webb and Mayor Hartline voted yea. Nay – none. Mayor Hartline declared the motion carried.
https://cityofanna.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/MINUTES-OF-THE-REGULAR-SESSION-JUNE-21-2022.pdf
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