The Kewanee City Council will meet on Monday, August 12th, at 7 PM. The meeting will be carried out live on our WKEI RegionalMediaNews.com 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, linked here.
1. Roll Call
2. Closed Session to discuss Personnel Section 2(c)(1), Sale or Lease of Real Estate Section 2(c)(6), and
Discussion of Closed Meeting Minutes Section 2(c)(21)
3. Roll Call
4. Consent Agenda
a. Approval of Minutes
b. Approval of Closed Meeting Minutes from July 22nd, 2024
c. Payroll
d. Staff Reports
e. Bock Report
f. Hispanic Heritage Celebration Road Closure Request
g. Sunshine Community Services Fall Tag Days
5. Payment of the bills
6. Public Comments
7. New Business
a) Presentation: Chamber
b) Bill 24-72 Resolution to award demolition work at 210 S Walnut to Boers Excavating.
c) Bill 24-73 Resolution to award demolition work at 701 W Fifth to Boers Excavating.
d) Bill 24-74 Resolution to award demolition work at 717 Florence to Boers Excavating.
e) Bill 24-75 Ordinance granting a rezoning request for land located at 1140 W Church St.
f) Bill 24-76 Ordinance granting a rezoning request for land located at 1102 W Church St.
g) Bill 24-77 Ordinance amending Section 150.016 (D)(1), established in the City of Kewanee Code of Ordinances.
h) Bill 24-78 Resolution authorizing the City Manager, Police Chief, and City Clerk to purchase a 2024 Ford Escape from Gustafson Ford of Kewanee.
i) Bill 24-79 Resolution authorizing the City Manager to sign an addendum to the Intergovernmental agreement between the City of Kewanee and the Housing Authority of Henry County.
j) Bill 24-80 Resolution in support of an Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP) Grant Application for Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements.
k) Bill 24-81 Resolution authorizing the execution of an option and lease agreement with Soltage IL Devco, LLC for the development of renewable energy facilities.
l) Bill 24-82 Ordinance approving and authorizing the execution of a TIF Redevelopment Agreement by and between the City of Kewanee and Ken Westefer.
m) Discussion Only: Water Penalties and Relief
8. Council Communications
9. Announcement
10. Adjournment
Also in the Packet
1. Storm Debris Cleanup— The City has partnered with the Henry County Office of Emergency Management and IEMA to apply for federal disaster relief through FEMA, requesting nearly $400,000 to cover storm debris removal. This request is under review as state and federal officials assess the damage across affected counties. We expect a decision by mid-August. If approved, the funding will allow us to hire contractors to expedite the debris removal without disrupting municipal operations. If the funding is not approved, our approach will shift. After the trash and recycling transition to Lakeshore Recycling Services and Hog Days is behind us, we’ll have more resources to begin incorporating debris removal into our regular workload. However, this will require a consistent effort over an extended period, as we also need to prioritize road maintenance before winter. We appreciate the community’s patience and the support from businesses like OSF Hospital, which allowed the use of their former site as a debris collection point, saving the City time and money. Further information will be provided once we have word from FEMA, including details on the cleanup strategy and how residents and businesses can assist.
2. Children’s Safety Expo 2024—State Senator Neil Anderson and State Representative Travis Weaver are sponsoring a Children’s Safety Expo next weekend on Saturday, August 17th. The event will be held at the Blackhawk College Community Education Center parking lot, just north of City Hall. The event is open to the public from 9:30a.m. to 12:30p.m.
3. Traffic Safety Campaign— The Kewanee Police Department and other state and local law enforcement agencies across Illinois conducted a federally funded traffic safety campaign throughout the month of July to reduce highway fatalities. During the campaign, the Kewanee Police Department issued 92 speeding citations.
4. Online Auction—The city recently sold two ambulances and a passenger vehicle through the use of an online auction site. The use of the site brought bids that were approximately double what the City has received in the past when selling other similar vehicles, so we expect that any upcoming sales will be conducted using the same format and approach.
5. Fire Department Training—Kyle McCready will be starting his paramedic class later this month and is expected to complete the training in 12 months, after which he’ll complete his clinical and prepare for taking the examination to be licensed as a paramedic.
6. Generative AI— Staff met remotely with a provider earlier this week to examine the concept of developing a “chatbot” that can communicate virtually with customers to answer many of their more routine questions. Given the costs and the performance of the product in use by their customers now, it may be something to consider in the future but isn’t something staff would recommend using at this time.
7. National Night Out— On August 6th, 2024, the Kewanee Police Department, along with other local organizations, hosted a successful National Night Out event aimed at fostering community spirit and enhancing police-community partnerships. The event featured various activities including K-9 demonstrations, community outreach, and entertainment for families. The turnout was excellent, reflecting the strong relationship between our police force and the community. National Night Out continues to be a vital initiative in promoting public safety and community engagement, and this year’s event was no exception.
8. Loteria Mexicana—The Kewanee Hispanic Heritage Celebration is hosting a Lotería Mexicana event this Sunday, August 11th from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at PhatBoys BBQ to help raise money for next month’s event. Lotería, a traditional Mexican game similar to bingo, will be the highlight of the event, offering a fun and interactive way for residents to come together and enjoy a piece of Hispanic culture. With food, prizes, and fun, it’s a great opportunity for families and individuals to connect and celebrate diversity in our city. We encourage everyone to participate and support this vibrant cultural event.
9. Police Department Hiring— A vacancy was created within the department with the resignation of officer Lauren Roof. Using the lateral transfer process, Matt DeClercq will be hired full-time to fill the vacancy. Matt has worked with the department in a limited capacity for several years and will do a great job for the community.
10. Housing Demolition— The house located at 1106 Western is in need of demolition and had found it’s way to the City’s list of properties for which a court order for demolition was being sought. Once in a while, something happens where those responsible for such a challenge opt to address it themselves rather than relying on the city to take care of it for them, and this is one of those circumstances. Our understanding now is that the owners of the property plan to fund the demolition of the structure.
11. Housing Demolition 2— Most of the time, we end up paying for the cost of demolitions ourselves, and thankfully the Strong Communities Program grant has been there to help offset those costs. Keith is working on the submittal for an upcoming reimbursement request that will bring in excess of $80,000 back to the city.
12. Striping— With school soon approaching, some public works staff will be dedicated all next week to the task of painting curbs and crosswalks where they need to be touched up or completely refreshed. Bright paint isn’t enough to keep kids safe. We encourage all drivers to pay close attention to the added pedestrian traffic and all parents to reiterate to their children the importance of looking both ways and ensure that a roadway is clear before attempting to cross a street.
13. Solid Waste Transition— The City and LRS are both communicating with residents regarding the upcoming transition of collection and disposal services. Information that has been made available through mailers is also available on our website and Facebook page, and additional platforms will be used next week to help further spread the word about upcoming changes.
14. Public Water Supply Inspection— Every three years, IEPA conducts and inspection of our Public Water Supply System, then provides a report highlighting any deficiencies they have identified. After the inspection report is provided, the City has a limited window of time in which to provide a response to the agency identifying their plans for correcting any shortcomings. The City’s inspection was conducted last week. Once the inspection report has been provided, we will provide you with a copy and begin preparing the City’s response.
15. Source Water Protection Plan—A number of mandates have been handed down in recent years that, while they are great to have done and in place to ensure public safety, are hard to accomplish due to staffing levels and/or additional costs incurred to ensure their completion. One such mandate is the submittal of a planning document that assesses our efforts to protect the source of our drinking water. CMT has prepared a draft of the plan and staff is in the process of reviewing the draft prior to its submission to the IEPA. The plan will then be out of date and need to be amended once we have a determination on when, where, and how many shallow wells the IEPA will mandate to we drill in order to reduce the impact of chlorides in the city’s effluent from the wastewater treatment plant.
16. Tourism Bureau—After the Tourism Bureau became inactive in 2021, Henry County received a RISE grant through DCEO to develop a tourism plan to help the regional economy recover from the impacts of the mandated shutdowns and social distancing requirements that devastated the hospitality industry. To implement the plan, the Bureau and its members worked with Henry County to establish a funded position housed within the county and directly accountable to the County Administrator. Talented, skilled, and educated people applied for the position, Kelly Wolf was ultimately selected to fill the position and began her tenure with the County last month. The next Tourism Bureau meeting is slated to be held in Kewanee later this month.
17. Phone Application— Our phone system will be upgraded at the end of the month. This will include the cell phone application that many of our staff use to answer work calls on their personal cell phones. In the past, there have been issues with staff not receiving messages or voicemails. We have been told that issues should be resolved with this new software and application. Staff have already completed the training on the new cloud-based software in preparation for the switch. The transition will happen after normal business hours with minimal effect on our phone system. A technician will be on site the following day to ensure all lines of communication, including the police and fire paging system, are
in proper working order.
18. Consolidated Election– Election packets are now available at City Hall for the two 4-year term Councilmember seats that will be open in the 2025 Consolidated Election. Anyone interested in running for Councilmember may pick up a packet during normal business hours. Should anyone have questions regarding the packet or the process, they can contact the City Clerk.
