The Kewanee City Council will meet on Monday, October 27th, at 7 PM. The meeting will be streamed live on our WKEI Regional Media News Facebook page. The agenda and notes from the packet are below. You can find the background information on the agenda items in the Kewanee City Council packet.
1. Roll Call
2. Closed Session to discuss Personnel Section 2(c)(1), Sale or Lease of Real Estate Section 2 (c)(6)
3. Roll Call
4. Consent Agenda
a. Approval of Minutes
b. Payroll
c. Staff Reports
d. Bock Report
5. Payment of the bills
6. Public Comments
7. Swearing In: Andrew Carlson, Police Officer
8. New Business
a) Presentation: Waterworth
b) Bill 25-95 Ordinance granting a request for variance, to the maximum allowed height for a privacy fence, to Michael and Kathy Bausman, 624 South Chestnut St.
c) Bill 25-96 Ordinance granting a request for variance, to the maximum allowed height for an accessory structure, to Brian Rowlison, 911 Simpson Ave.
d) Bill 25-97 Ordinance granting a special use permit to James Steinke, DBA Chrome Gypsy Tattoo for property located at 600 N Lexington Ave.
e) Bill 25-98 Resolution to affirm the Mayor’s recommendation for appointments to various commissions and boards.
9. Council Communications
10. Announcement
11. Adjournment
Also in the Packet:
1. New Fire Engine/Pumper— After being displayed at the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association’s annual conference in Peoria, our new engine/pumper was put into service on Thursday, October 16th.
2. Firefighter Testing— Thirty-five applications were submitted before the October 17, 2025 deadline. Testing will be this Saturday, October 25th. We hope to have a new hire selected from among this group of candidates to begin their 2-week orientation within the next three weeks.
3. Fire Academy— Brendan Stevens is expected to graduate from the Peoria Fire Academy on Friday, October 31st and return to shift on Sunday, November 2nd. Tyler Harker is scheduled for the Peoria Fire Academy in February 2026.
4. New Defibrillators— The new Lifepak 35’s, our grant funded AED’s, are in-house and will be assembled by a Stryker representative on Monday. Employee training on the new devices will commence in the next few days. The new devices will be put into service on Wednesday, October 29th.
5. Francis Park Pavilion— Work has begun on the Pavilion project at Francis Park, with concrete having been poured earlier this week. We expect that the structure itself will be completed within the next thirty days, weather permitting, after which we will begin closing out the OSLAD grant.
6. Woodland Palace Preservation— The architect is still working on specifications on the replacement of the Woodland Palace roof. He plans to meet with the Friends of Woodland Palace and their preferred contractor soon, if possible, to complete the process so that the documents need to bid out and complete the work can be used to get the work lined up before the start of the construction season in Spring 2026.
7. Henry County Tourism Bureau— The Tourism Bureau met earlier this week, reviewing its finances, grant applications, and marketing efforts, as well as continued planning for an annual event that will recognize businesses and people who are making a difference in Henry County through efforts that promote tourism.
8. Street Improvements— Hutchison is performing the accelerated pavement condition index that, when combined with planned improvements for the water distribution and sanitary sewer and stormwater collection systems, will serve as the primary component of an integrated Capital Improvements Plan.
9. 2026 Property Tax Levy— Initial steps have been completed for the preparation of the 2025 Tax Levy payable in 2026. NyHart has provided the amounts required for contribution by the City, which are up slightly, and the estimated EAV was received earlier today. Total EAV and Rate setting EAV are $123,087,324 and $113,182,976, respectively, which compare favorably to the figures of $115,743,422 and $106,537,097 (growth in excess of 6.2% in each).
10. Work Session— A work Session is planned for November 1st so that the City Council may continue its planning efforts and provide direction with respect to mobile home parks, their interim management, and their future development or redevelopment in a manner that is consistent with the City’s comprehensive plan, results in a higher and better use of the property, and improves the appearance and overall value of the property and adjacent areas.
11. East Street repairs— The City has made short-term repairs to the storm drainage system where the creek has a large crossing under east street. Hutchison is calculating the size of the structure that must be installed to replace the existing box while still conveying the water generated from what are commonly referred to as a 50-year and 100-year storms, with those improvements to be scheduled during the spring.
12. Audit— The reconciliations of accounts has been forwarded to the auditor for his review. The extension gives us until the end of January for the firm to complete the audit and remain compliant, but our hope is that the audit will be completed in early December, if not sooner.
