Rockford Sun

City of South Beloit City Council met Oct. 5.

Here is the minutes provided by the council:

CALL TO ORDER: 5:00 pm, Council Chambers, City Hall by Mayor Rehl.

ROLL CALL: Present & answering to roll call were Commissioners Adleman, Fitzgerald, Hedrington, Morse, and Mayor Rehl.

City Attorney Wiktoria Goscik was present

City Clerk Tracy Patrick recorded the minutes

Department Heads in attendance:

Police Chief Adam Truman

Fire Chief Administrator Dan Zerfass

Waste Water Treatment Plant Superintendent Jeff Reininger

Street Superintendent Mike Murphy

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Led by Mayor Rehl and recited by all members present.

INVOCATION: Mayor Rehl asked for a moment of silence.

APPROVE AGENDA: Commissioner Hedrington made a motion to approve the agenda second by Commissioner Fitzgerald. Voice vote carried the motion.

PUBLIC COMMENT: Martesha Brown and Nick Povalitis were present from the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (RACVB). Mayor Rehl said Loves Park temporarily withdrew from partnership with RACVB. Council requested some information to see the value in the partnership. A packet was provided to Council with information regarding RACVB’s partnership with the City of South Beloit and the region in general. Mr. Povalitis explained RACVB’s approach to a positive impact through marketing, rebounding impact pre-Covid, and working on continuous growth for the region. Mr. Povalitis explained how RACVB uses E-Blast, Social Channels, and Visitor Guides and Maps to keep up on events that are happening in South Beloit and promoting local highlights and events. Mr. Povalitis reviewed significant bookings that impacted the City through hotel stays, and mentioned that RACVB works with the Best Western Hotel for softball and other sporting events. Mayor Rehl said RACVB has a partnership with Visit Beloit. Commissioner Fitzgerald said the maps from RACVB shows South Beloit as a small corner. Commissioner Fitzgerald said he went to the visitors stops along the highway and he did not see any information there from RACVB regarding South Beloit, and that when he looked for information from the City’s Centennial celebration he did not see anything about that either. Mr. Povalitis said they would look at the issues and make improvements. Commissioner Adleman said $20,000 could be spent on several other items, and believes Council wants to make sure the City is getting it’s money’s worth.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

1. Commissioner Adleman made a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Council Meeting held on September 21, 2020. Commissioner Fitzgerald second the motion. Voice vote carried the motion.

REPORT OF OFFICERS:

1. Finance:

Commissioner Morse made a motion to pay the claims to be paid from September 19- October 2, 2020 in the amount of $353,077.57. Commissioner Adleman second the motion. Roll call vote showed 5 ayes.

2. Attorney Report:

4. Commissioner’s Report:

Accounts & Finance-Commissioner Tom Fitzgerald

Health & Public Safety-Commissioner Brian Hedrington Streets & Public Improvement-Commissioner Ryan Adleman Public Properties-Commissioner Ken Morse

NEW BUSINESS:

1. Discussion and/or Motion Items:

a. Council discussed Trick or Treating. Mayor Rehl said the schools are doing a good job regarding Covid-19. Mayor Rehl recommended allowing Trick or Treating from 4:30-6 pm with recommendations to be safe. Commissioner Adleman said he believes children can trick or treat safely and the City can provide guidelines. Commissioner Morse said the surrounding areas are not allowing trick or treating and believes the City could have an influx of trick or treaters from other cities. Voice vote carried the motion.

b. Commissioner Fitzgerald made a motion to approve the Budget Timetable. Commissioner Adleman second the motion. Finance Director, Don Elliott reviewed the timetable with Council. Voice vote carried the motion.

c. Commissioner Fitzgerald made a motion to accept the 2019 Audit Report. Commissioner Adleman second the motion. Finance Director Elliott reviewed the report. Voice vote carried the motion.

d. Commissioner Hedrington made a motion to approve Ordinance 2556 amending Chapter 6 Alcoholic Beverages, Article III, Retail License, Section 6-82, of the City of South Beloit Code of Ordinances. Commissioner Hedrington second the motion. Attorney Goscik said the item was discussed at the September 21st Council Meeting. The request was to remove the restriction for not allowing dartboards, pool tables, and juke boxes from the Bar Boutique (BG) establishments. Council members stated they had visited bars in the City to see if there would be any objections to removing the restrictions for BG establishments. There were no objections from bar owners. Commissioner Fitzgerald said even though the bar owners were ok with the change, he is not. Commissioner Morse said the restrictions were set for a reason. Commissioner Fitzgerald said he believes the issue is a zoning issue, and does not believe the change would be fair to all BG license holders, and some BG license holders would be restricted. Commissioner Fitzgerald said he asked gamers how they would feel if the change was made and was told they would not be in favor of the change. Commissioner Fitzgerald said there are no issues with the boutiques, and understands the request, however; he believes it would just be like another bar. Commissioner Fitzgerald reviewed the amounts lost due to Covid. Commissioner Adleman asked why the City would not allow the request and said he believes the City would want to dictate restrictions on BG license holders. Commissioner Adleman said he believes the restrictions should be removed since the fees were increased and does not believe there would be any issues removing the restrictions. Roll call vote showed 2 ayes by Commissioners Adleman and Hedrington, and 3 nayes by Commissioners Fitzgerald and Morse, and Mayor Rehl. The motion failed.

e. Commissioner Morse made a motion to approve Resolution 6165 approving and authorizing the Mayor to sign a Services Agreement between Traliant and the City of South Beloit for Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Training Services in the amount of $4,044.00. Commissioner Adleman second the motion. Clerk Patrick explained employees are now required to have this training done yearly. The Agreement would be for a 3-year period. Employees will do online training and will get a certificate upon completion of the course. Roll call vote showed 5 ayes.

f-g. Mayor Rehl asked for items f. and g. to be laid over until the next Regular Council Meeting. Commissioner Morse made a motion to lay over Resolution 6166 appointing member to the Fire Pension Fund and Resolution 6167 appointing member to the Police Pension Board until the next Regular Council Meeting. Commissioner Fitzgerald second the motion. Voice vote carried the motion.

h. Commissioner Adleman made a motion to approve Resolution 6168 approving and authorizing the Mayor to sign a Vacation and Personal Leave Deduction Document with Officer Colin Kehoe. Commissioner Hedrington second the motion. Attorney Goscik explained when Officer Kehoe was on Military leave he was over paid due to increases in his Military pay. The agreement is for repaying the overpayment with personal and vacation time. Roll call vote showed 5 ayes.

i. Commissioner Fitzgerald made a motion to approve Resolution 6169 approving the twenty-fifth IEPA Loan Disbursement in the amount of $742,431.50. Commissioner Morse second the motion. Roll call vote showed 5 ayes.

j. Commissioner Adleman made a motion to approve Resolution 6170 approving an Assignment Agreement and authorizing the Mayor to execute the same. Commissioner Hedrington secomd the motion. Attorney Goscik explained the agreement is regarding a dufflebag that was found with items inside. The finder wants to assign the rights of the items over to the City. Attorney Goscik explained the City still has to wait 6 months to take ownership of the dufflebag contents. Roll call vote showed 5 ayes.

k. Commissioner Hedrington made a motion to approve the Request for Proposals for Towing for Ordinance Violations. Commissioner Adleman second the motion. Attorney Goscik explained the towing would be for Code Enforcement and the Police Department. Voice vote carried the motion.

EXECUTIVE SESSION:

At 6:36 pm on a motion made by Commissioner Morse second by Commissioner Hedrington. The purpose for Executive Session is to:

1. Discuss the purchase or lease of real property for the use of the public body, including meetings held for the purpose of discussing whether a particular parcel should be acquired as provided by 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(5) of the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

RECONVENE TO OPEN SESSION: At 6:54 pm.

ROLL CALL: Roll call showed all members present at the onset of the meeting.

ORDER OF BUSINESS: None

ADJOURN: At 6:65 pm on a motion made by Commissioner Hedrington second by Commissioner Adleman. Voice vote carried the motion.

https://southbeloit.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/10-5-20-Regular-Council-Meeting.pdf