CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MAY 16, 2011
7:00 P.M.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: I’d like to call this meeting to
order. Could we have it quiet,
please? Thank you. I’d like to
ask Pastor Ben Seyden from Riverside Baptist Church to come forward and lead us
in the prayer. Pastor must not be
here. Alderman Thompson, would you like
to lead us in prayer?
ALDERMAN THOMPSON: Father, we thank You right now God. We thank You even for this day, God. We thank You for the strength that You’ve given us, God. We
even thank You for the City officials that You give the wisdom and the strength
and the knowledge to do as You would on today, God. And, we’ll
forever give Your name the glory, the honor and the praise. In Jesus’ name we
pray. Amen.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank you. This is always a
special Council meeting when we have the graduates from Kankakee School
District Speech Therapy classes. They
always have, ah, at the end of the school year part of their reward is to come
forward and to lead the Council in the Pledge.
JENNIFER KRAVAT: Ah, my name is Jennifer Kravat. I’m the
speech/language coordinator from Kankakee School District and I just want to
thank the Mayor and the City Council for allowing our speech and language
graduates to come in the month of May.
In our profession, it’s Better
Hearing and Speech Month, so there’s no
better way to let our kids use their good communication skills that they’ve used or they’ve
learned and come and say the Pledge with you.
So, thank you.
ZIYON ARMSTRONG, MATEO BOSNICH,
STEFANI CALVA,
BRITNEY CRAFT-WILLS, RILEY HOEKSTRA,
MILTON
HUDSON, TYREANNA JARRETT, NOAH MILLER,
EONE
MOSLEY-MCCARTY, YARIZZA PINA, KEMIA
SMITH,
ROBERT SWIFT, WARREN THOMAS,
CHRISTINAROSE THOMAS,
AND TEWAINE WICKS - GRADUATES OF
KANKAKEE
SCHOOL DISTRICT 111 SPEECH THERAPY
CLASS AND ALL: Pledge of Allegiance
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank you. Okay. Again, I would like to thank the school
district and the children and the parents for coming out tonight. It’s always
special to see their accomplishments at the end of the school year. Roll call, please.
CLERK DUMAS:
PRESENT: Brown;
Hunter; Browne, R.; Baron; Thompson; Tall (Via Telephone); Faford;
Swanson; Osenga; Linneman; Stokes; Jones; Davidson; Cox (14)
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Department
Heads, please.
CLERK DUMAS:
PRESENT: Gerard;
Young; Spice; Bohlen; Power; Simms; Tyson; Banasiak; Cross; Gordon; Bertrand;
Yohnka (12)
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank
you. I will entertain a motion to
approve the minutes of the May 2, 2011, meeting.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Are
there any exclusions that you guys noticed, any amendments, anything left out
of the minutes as submitted? Hearing no
objections, I move they be approved as recorded.
ALDERMAN OSENGA: Second.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion
by Alderman Hunter, seconded by Alderman Osenga to approve the minutes of the
May 2, meeting. All those in favor,
aye. Opposed, same sign.
MOTION TO APPROVE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF MAY 2,
2011
MAYOR EPSTEIN: The
minutes are approved. Moving onto
Petitions, the first item A is information only. Item B is an application by Russel Jensen
requesting a conditional use permit to establish and operate a crematorium on
the property commonly known as 2450 Grinnell Road. The first item is Findings and
Recommendations of the Planning Board.
Do I have a motion to accept?
ALDERMAN BROWNE: Mayor,
before we do that, could I ask Mr. Jensen a question? I talked with some of the folks out there and
they did pose one question that I’d like
answered if that’s possible.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: I
would prefer it if we would have a motion and then we could ask for
questions.
ALDERMAN BROWNE: So
moved.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Well,
I assume it’s in the 7th Ward–based upon the testimony of the information I have here–usually comes from that particular ward where the Petition
is sited.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Well,
Mr........Alderman Browne, would you like to ask your question?
ALDERMAN BROWNE: Yes. Mr. Jensen, are you here?
MR. JENSEN: Yes.
ALDERMAN BROWNE: One
of the residents asked me a specific question so I’d like you to respond to that if you could.
MR. JENSEN: Sure.
ALDERMAN BROWNE: There
was a, ah.........
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Use
the mic.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: We
didn’t ask you Mr. Shapiro, we asked Mr. Jensen.
JERRY SHAPIRO: Okay.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Okay,
thank you.
NANCY SMITHBERG: Could
he use the mic?
ALDERMAN BROWNE: There
was a question over the property being used for boat storage and antique cars
knowing that’s a single use permit, I think it
would help if you reassured them that that would not be the case, that
other things would not be in there. Is
that correct?
MR. JENSEN: That’s correct.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Mr.
Jensen, would you use the microphone, please, so it can be recorded?
MR. JENSEN: Ah,
the original thought was, you know, I do restore old cars. I have some old cars and the thought was,
originally, that I would be able to store some there, but I was made aware last
month that that wasn’t going
to be the case and that’s
fine. I’ll do
whatever is necessary.
ALDERMAN BROWNE: And,
there was one other question I had. Can
you, you know, the other Council members and myself, the outside of the
building, can you just tell me a little bit about the construction on the
outside of the building, what the walls are going to be made of and that type of thing. There was some concern that this was just
going to be a tin shed so I hear and so on, so maybe you can ease some
of that concern by telling us a little bit about that.
MR. JENSEN: Okay,
well per Code, the sides that face the street are going to have four feet of
brick all the way around it. As far as
the outside, it is going to be the steel on the outside. But, it’ll have
the brick. It’s going to look like a professional building. Ah, I know it doesn’t look great. It’s looked bad for years and I’m sorry
for that. Ah, but I want to get it done;
I want it to look nice. In my business, people are going to be coming
to me. They’re going to be signing paperwork, they’re going to be picking up cremains and they’re not going to come to my business if it looks trashy. So I think it needs to be nice enough kept in
order to survive.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank
you.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Did
Mr. Jensen–and I’m not
going to belabor this, but I have some statements to make about that. You said, you were just advised last month
about the vehicles being on the property is a violation of, ah, of ah, our
policy. Is that correct?
MR. JENSEN: No,
I’m talking about in the future.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: No. No.
You said you were just advised last month that it wasn’t appropriate to have cars there.
MR. JENSEN: No,
that the single use permit wasn’t going
to be for that. That’s what I was talking about.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Let
me say this then. You know you have been
cited year after year after year. Take a
look at the file, the legal file as well as the Code Enforcement file on that
particular, and that property’s been in
disrepair for some period of time. But,
I’m going to get to that when I make those statements
regarding what transpired at the Planning Board meetings, two Planning Board
meetings which were held recently. But,
I thought I heard you, ah, say that you were just advised last month that you
couldn’t have old cars on your property.
MR. JENSEN: I
thought........I thought.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: And,
I can go to the record and get that clarified.
MR. JENSEN: I
know, we should. Because I thought what
he asked was, when the building is done.
That’s what I thought that was all about. I mean, we can go through the records of
the original meeting.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Well,
I know what I heard and I know what you said.
That typifies, you know, what has transpired in the past in terms of
what you said you were going to do and you have not done it by virtue of all
the different citations you’ve
received on that property. Page after
page after page after page. Five, six
code officials have given you citations on this particular matter.
And, we don’t think you’re going to be a very good corporate citizen. We don’t really
think that. But anyway, there’s not been a motion from the 7th Ward to approve
the findings of fact.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: I
understand that, Alderman, but anyone can make a motion to accept. Mr. Jensen.
Are you done with Mr. Jensen? So
he can be seated.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Oh,
yeah. I’m done.
MR. JENSEN: Thank
you.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Ah,
remember, you can vote to not accept the findings, also. So, do we have a motion to proceed?
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Motion
to........motion to deny–to not to
accept the findings of fact. However,
let me say this and I assume there’s going
to be a second. Where are the findings
of fact?
MAYOR EPSTEIN: The
findings–the Planning Board ruled in favor of
the conditional use.........
ALDERMAN HUNTER: And,
also, all the minutes of the Planning Board.
I didn’t get mine in my book.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman.
CLIFF CROSS: They
are provided.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Who
got ‘em? Anybody get ‘em? Anybody get ‘em?
CLIFF CROSS: And,
they were also available online.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: And,
you’re asking us to approve this and we don’t have the findings of fact?
ALDERMAN BROWN: indistinguishable
CLIFF CROSS: indistinguishable
a larger copy of the minutes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Nothing
against you, Mr. Cross. I’m just saying that there’s nothing
that we have in our possession that speaks to the minutes. There were two Planning Board meetings in
which they was inundated with people who were, ah, against that particular
petition by Mr. Jensen. I haven’t seen them. I looked
in my book and I don’t have
them.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman,
if you’ll look at the agenda, it says that
the minutes are available in the Clerk’s office
and they were also available, I believe, on line.
CLERK DUMAS: On
the website from the previous meeting.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: I
tell you what. Who has seen the findings
on line?
ATTORNEY BOHLEN: Alderman,
the findings are in your agenda.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Well,
in terms of the, ah, excuse me. Who has
seen the minutes of those Planning Board meetings? Can I see a raise of hands who’s seen those minutes?
Please.
CLIFF CROSS: You
have seen the previous.......first meeting’s minutes
because you approved them last month.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: No,
I don’t think so. We did......
CLIFF CROSS: indistinguishable
April meeting. March meeting minutes
were made available last month.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: No. No.
No. That’s not true.
CLIFF CROSS: And
at the Council meeting it was approved.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Did
anybody read the minutes of either Planning Board meetings on this matter? Can I see a raise of hands–please. Anybody who
has seen the Planning Board minutes on this matter, please raise your
hands. Is there anybody....
ALDERMAN FAFORD: We
got something.........
ALDERMAN HUNTER: ...well,
something?
ALDERMAN FAFORD: I
see the findings in here.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Well.......
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman,
this is all.......you all have the opportunity to vote either way on this
item. I know it’s a contentious issue.
You can vote to postpone.
ALDERMAN BROWN: I
second his motion.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman
Hunter has made a motion to deny the findings of the Planning Board. Alderman Carl Brown has seconded that
motion. Is there any other discussion?
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Yes,
there’s substantial discussion and a vote to
aye is to affirm my motion. In other
words, you vote with me on my motion.
Those elected officials from the 7th Ward do not accept the
findings of fact where were promulgated and voted upon at the Planning
Board. I’d just
like to pose some time and if I would with the Council’s permission to speak on this particular matter. As you’ve heard,
there’s a conditional use permit being
requested, ah, by Mr. Russel Jensen.
And, that’s to establish and operate a
crematorium. Mr. Cross, I’d like to ask you a couple questions and I’d like some responses from you on this particular
matter. Are you aware of this request?
CLIFF CROSS: Yes,
I am.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Okay.
Ah, and how many Planning Board meetings has this matter been on the agenda?
CLIFF CROSS: Two.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Okay. Ah, were there proponents there?
CLIFF CROSS: Yes,
there were.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Would
it be a fair statement to say that there were many more opponents for this
request?
CLIFF CROSS: Well,
ah, yeah, I mean, based on the petitions submitted, I wold say yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Answer
yes or no. Is your answer yes or no?
CLIFF CROSS: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: So,
your answer is that there were more opponents to this particular petition as
opposed to those who were for it?
CLIFF CROSS: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Ah,
do you recall taking a look at the record when this first thing came up? There was a permit issued initially for a
warehouse, I think 1407 and also the record goes back even further than that in
terms of Mr. Jensen was wanting to do.
Mr. Cross, also, I’d like to
pose a question to you. Do you recall
that the, ah, first Council meeting in May, at the open microphone at 6:30, ah,
were there opponents who spoke at that particular venue?
CLIFF CROSS: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Okay. Were there any proponents that spoke at that
meeting?
CLIFF CROSS: I
do not recall of any.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: There
were not. There were none. Mr. Banasiak.......thank you very much, Mr.
Cross. Mr. Banasiak.
JIM BANASIAK: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: You
are the Director of Code Enforcement, is that a correct statement?
JIM BANASIAK: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Ah,
how many years of overall professional services in the code enforcement area do
you possess?
JIM BANASIAK: Approximately
19.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Nineteen. And, they’ve been
varied and you received a lot of certifications in that particular arena?
JIM BANASIAK: Yes,
sir.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: And,
that’s probably why you were selected by the Mayor to represent
the City in that particular position, is that correct?
JIM BANASIAK: I
would hope so.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Ah,
did you receive, ah, a unanimous vote when you were appointed with the advice
and consent of the Council?
JIM BANASIAK: I
don’t know.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Yes,
you were.
JIM BANASIAK: Thank
you.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: There
were no adverse votes regarding your confirmation unlike the previous one. Ah, I was, I think, the Lone Ranger on
that. Ah, are you familiar with the
location in question?
JIM BANASIAK: Yes,
sir.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Okay. For the record, does the Code file date back
to 2006?
JIM BANASIAK: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Okay,
referring to the file, Mr. Banasiak, has the owner of record, Mr. Russel
Jensen, been cited on or issued tickets on numerous occasions for code
violations?
JIM BANASIAK: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: For
tall grass, garbage, weeds, ah, boat parked on grass? Would that be fair? Is that correct?
JIM BANASIAK: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Grass
in the fence lines, is that correct?
JIM BANASIAK: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Inundated
with, ah, weeds?
JIM BANASIAK: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Ah,
and it goes on and on and on. Is that a
correct statement?
JIM BANASIAK: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Ah,
is it a fact that, ah, DPW has cut the grass on that property in question?
JIM BANASIAK: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: And,
they have been cited for violations?
JIM BANASIAK: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Ah,
I can’t recall how many times that property’s been cut by the Department of Public Works, but it has
been numerous. Additionally, there have
been numerous violations cited on the property in question. I know I may be repeating myself, but is that
a fair statement?
JIM BANASIAK: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Ah,
referring to the record, Mr. Banasiak, ah, is it a fact that approximately six
Code Officers–I kind of counted them up– isn’t it a
fact that approximately six Code Officers, if not more, have inspected or
issued citations on this property? Taking
a look at the record, ah, there are
entries made by any number of the Code personnel. Benoit, Dale, Williamson, Felton, ah, it goes
on and on and on in terms of, ah..........are those your people who work for
you, right?
JIM BANASIAK: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: And
they issued tickets in this.......on this property?
JIM BANASIAK: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: There
were not frivolous tickets were they?
JIM BANASIAK: Ah,
they were Code violations.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Okay. Ah, violations of City policy?
JIM BANASIAK: City
Ordinances.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Oh,
Ordinances. Ordinance is a law, is that
correct?
JIM BANASIAK: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: So
they were violations of the law?
JIM BANASIAK: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Okay. Okay.
Thank you very much. I think I’m done with that.
ALDERMAN BROWNE: Can
I ask a question? Were those fines paid?
JIM BANASIAK: To
be quite honest with you, I don’t know if
they were paid or not. My record doesn’t show that.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Are
they any other questions?
ALDERMAN HUNTER: I’m still not done yet.
Mr. Powers, I’d like to
pose a question to you. Ah, you are the
Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Kankakee. Is that correct?
ATTORNEY POWER: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: And,
at one particular period of time, you and Mr. Gordon were physically located
over at that.....at Code in terms of overseeing the different actions of that
Department, is that correct?
ATTORNEY POWER: Yes,
that’s right.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Mr.
Gordon, is that correct?
JAMES GORDON: Correct.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Ah,
Mr. Powers, how long have you been..........when did you pass the bar in the
State of Illinois?
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Come
on, Steve–Alderman.
ATTORNEY POWER: In
1970.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: In
1970. So that.......it appears that you
have, ah, the requisite expertise, ah, for performing the job in which you’ve been appointed to.
Is that correct?
ATTORNEY POWER: Ah,
yeah.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: About
forty-one years. Ah, and I assume you’re, you’re aware
of the record on this property.
ATTORNEY POWER: I’m familiar with this file, yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Ah,
you may not be able to answer this question, but I........give it your
best. Are you aware of the man hours you
and other City departments have extended or expended on this property? I know you can probably speak for yourself,
but maybe not the Code Department. But,
you’ve spent a lot of time on this particular matter haven’t you?
ATTORNEY POWER: Yeah,
I think there’s been a lot of City time used
on this particular parcel.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Okay,
I....I got a question and I want you to be able to respond. You have the record with you I assume. I advised you that maybe.........
ATTORNEY POWER: Yeah,
you asked me to bring the file.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Right.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Ah,
wanted to speak to a document which speaks to the Order of Demolition. It speaks to the property in question
here. Ah, it’s an Order of Demolition, ladies and gentlemen. And, it speaks to the court has jurisdiction
over the subject matter hereof and the parties thereto. That property described in the complaint in
relation to, gives a pin number, etc., it gives the commonly known address as 2450
Grinnell Road, Kankakee, Illinois, is in a state of disrepair and is dangerous
and unsafe building located within the corporate limits of the City of
Kankakee, Plaintiff herein. That the
court further finds that the building is in a state of disrepair and this
dangerous and unsafe building that is not practical to repair said building to
make compliance with the Housing Code of the City of Kankakee and therefore
said building should be demolished forthwith. That’s the
defendant now talking about the petitioner.
The defendants have been given ample time to repair said premises and
bring it into compliance with the City code.
That it would be impractical to repair said premises. It is therefore ordered adjudged and decreed
that the judgement is hereby entered in favor of the plaintiff. That’s–you guys are the Plaintiffs. City of Kankakee, Illinois,
an Illinois Municipal Corporation, and against the Defendant(s), and the
Plaintiff is hereby authorized to demolish said building at the expenses of
Defendant(s); and that the City of Kankakee be reimbursed by the Defendant(s);
and the City of Kankakee is absolved from any liability caused by said
demolition. It is further ordered that
the cost of such demolition incurred by the City of Kankakee......shall be
superior to all-prior existing liens and encumbrances, except for taxes. This order is a Finable and Appealable Order. And, it was prepared by L. Patrick
Power. Is that you?
ATTORNEY POWER: It
is.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Okay. And, entered, ah, 7/27/2010 and it is Judge
Susan Sumner Tungate. Is that an
official record?
ATTORNEY POWER: Yes,
that’s the, ah, Order of Demolition that was entered on July
27.......
ALDERMAN HUNTER: And,
what........why.....
ATTORNEY POWER: .........of
last year.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Yeah,
why did you push for this demolition, sir?
ATTORNEY POWER: Well,
I filed the complaint to demolish some months before this judgement was
entered. Mr. Jensen was duly served with
summons. He failed to appear.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Oh,
I didn’t quite hear that.
ATTORNEY POWER: He failed to appear.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Oh,
he failed to appear.
ATTORNEY POWER: That’s correct. Ah, I had
several conversations with him. Ah, he
indicated he wanted to fix it up, but he never did and he never followed
through on it, so finally on July 27 of 2010, the demolition order was
entered. Prior to that, there were
several other things–
complaints, Ordinance violations and so forth filed against
him. There was also weeds on the
property that still are there, unsatisfied, for grass mowing and other things.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: And,
did you.........ah, counselor, could you further describe this order of default
that also was, ah,.........?
ATTORNEY POWER: Well, he failed to appear within the
time required by statute and so, ah, that’s the
legal process, you move to default.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Um
huh (affirmative).
ALDERMAN BROWNE: May
I ask I a question? As long as we’re talking about this, let’s say.....
indistinguishable being said......
ALDERMAN BROWN: That’s not in order.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman,
this is not a forum.
ALDERMAN BROWNE: I
understand. But, I’m trying to understand if I’m going
to vote on this, why I should vote for it if your........this property’s going to be demolished.
And, can I ask why we didn’t
demolish it?
MAYOR EPSTEIN: First
of all, I think we have to understand the process here. We had an Order to Demolish, but I think you
also have to be clear that this particular case went before the Planning
Board. That’s the process. The
Planning Board heard the case for a conditional use permit to construct or to
finish constructing this use out there.
Ah, the Planning Board heard all the testimony and obviously voted in
favor. Those recommendations come to the
Council. It is your opportunity to
either accept what they said or to deny it.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: You
Council members who are duly elected by the people of the City of Kankakee and
your respective wards, are to vote upon this particular matter. The Planning Board’s recommendations are advisory meaning that they can advise
or report to us what they want to. We do
not have to be a rubber stamp. We are
not rubber stamps of any particular department, individuals in this City of
Kankakee. Understand that.
ALDERMAN BROWNE: I
think we do, Steve. I don’t think that was the issue.
But, what I’m trying to say is, I would like to
have a little bit more information on this because Steve brings up some very
good points.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: And,
you never knew about this stuff, did you?
You never heard about it, did you?
ALDERMAN BROWNE: You
bring up.............
ALDERMAN HUNTER: But,
somebody called you and said vote for it.
ALDERMAN BROWNE: These
things were brought up, but what my point was, I’d like to
have the person at least have a chance to respond to these things on why he did
they not do as the City had asked.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Ah, I
don’t know whether Mr. Cross can answer if those questions were
asked and answered at the Planning Board.
And, if they were, then maybe the appropriate activity tonight would be
to remove this from the agenda and you can certainly read the minutes of the
Planning Board and then make a decision based on those minutes, their
recommendations and your personal opinions on whether this should be granted or
not. Were the questions asked and
answered at the Planning Board?
ALDERMAN HUNTER: I
have one more group of questions to pose to an official who’s here this evening.
My seat mate, ah, Alderman Carl Brown, who represents the 7th
Ward and the location in question that’s before
the Council here, in other words, before the Planning Board.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman,
before you speak, could we have Mr. Cross answer the questions, please?
CLIFF CROSS: There
were multiple questions that were brought up during two Planning Board
meetings. They ranged from property
maintenance issues which we talked about here tonight for the usage that you
talked about here tonight. They also
addressed concerns with environmental issues and storm runoff issues. They were all addressed and they will all be
located within your minutes from those Planning Board meetings. And, I think the Mayor’s recommendation is definitely a sound one if you are
concerned with that, the best way to find out what we discussed will be to read
those minutes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: But,
let me say this, you know, in all honesty, you know, had we not, ah, said
anything this evening, you guys were going to vote on this thing. You know, without all the facts. And, Mr. Cross, with all due respect, sir,
you did not convey everything that transpired.
There were so many minutes at those meetings that we were never provided
with those minutes. Understand
that.
CLIFF CROSS: Alderman
Hunter, I cannot speak to the minutes.
All I know is, during the meetings, there were multiple questions that
came up that ranged from the environmental issues, building code issues,
property maintenance issues to landscaping issues. And, the Planning Board addressed those
questions during those monthly meetings.
They further considered the request based on those questions and
responses. They also considered the fact
which includes the underlying indistinguishable and comprehensive plan
which was adopted by this Council.
Future land use is identified in that comprehensive plan which is
industrial, bear in mind. In addition,
the underlying zoning district is I-2, heavy industrial. That is the most intense zoning district
within this municipal boundaries. Mr.
Jensen has followed the process to apply for a conditional use permit, bring
that request before the Planning Board and seek the recommendation for approval
or denial which ultimately does come before you. And, you are correct. You are the ultimate authority to make that
decision. And, I hope that you make the
most informed decision indistinguishable.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: That’s what I..............Mr. Cross, I agree with you.
CLIFF CROSS: I
have no objection to pulling it from the agenda.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: And,
you have.......
ALDERMAN BROWN: You
have a motion and second on the Floor.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: That’s correct.
ALDERMAN BROWN: I
would like to call for the question.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: One
other thing before. I need to ask
Alderman Brown something and then we can vote on it.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman
Carl Browne or Alderman Rich Brown?
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Alderman
Carl Brown. The one who represents the 7th
Ward.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Once
you said, Carl, I knew which one you were talking about.
ALDERMAN BARON: Mayor,
I would move to Table the issue.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Ah, we
have a motion to Table the issue from Alderman Baron. Do I have a second?
ALDERMAN SWANSON: I’ll second it.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Seconded
by Alderman Danita Swanson to second this issue. Roll call.
CLERK DUMAS:
AYE: Brown (Pass)
Hunter; ( ALDERMAN OSENGA: Mayor are we voting to Table this? MAYOR EPSTEIN: Yes.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: No discussion on motion to Table. Alderman Osenga: It’s
getting confusing here.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Well, he’s
just clarifying the motion, Alderman.
The motion is to Table. ALDERMAN
OSENGA: Okay, thank you.); Browne, R.; Baron;
Thompson; Tall (Motion to deny.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: That’s
a motion to Table, Tyler. ALDERMAN
TALL. Yes); Faford; Swanson; Osenga; Linneman; Stokes; Jones; Davidson
(12)
NAY: Brown (I’m
going to vote with Alderman Cox. I’m going to say no, too.);
Cox (2)
MOTION TO TABLE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS B10-11 – AN
APPLICATION BY RUSSEL JENSEN REQUESTING A CONDITIONAL USE
PERMIT TO ESTABLISH AND OPERATE A CREMATORIUM AT THE
PROPERTY COMMONLY KNOWN AS 2450 GRINNELL ROAD
MAYOR EPSTEIN: The
motion to Table passes. Thank you.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Thank
you.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Moving
onto Communications. Item A, we have a
presentation, I believe from–is Pastor
Garcia here? I don’t see him tonight.
ALDERMAN DAVIDSON: Mayor,
Mayor.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Yes.
ALDERMAN DAVIDSON: I
spoke with Pastor Garcia. He wanted me
to inform he had a conflicting engagement.
He would ask if he could be........make his presentation at the next
City Council meeting.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: We
would be happy to place him on the agenda for the next Council meeting,
Alderman. Thank you. Ah, do we have a presentation this evening
from Big Brothers and Big Sisters? Would
you like to come forward, please? Good
evening.
COLLEEN DAVIS: Good
evening and thank you very much for having me here this evening’s City Council Madam Mayor.
Appreciate the opportunity. My
name is Colleen Davis and I am the
Development Officer for Big Brothers/Big Sisters and we are new to
Kankakee. We just started covering this
wonderful County as of January 1, this fiscal year. So, we’re very
excited to be in the community and, ah, get to know Kankakee better. I would be remiss if I didn’t thank a special friend of ours at Centrue Bank for
donating office space to us, Big Brothers/Big Sisters. We, of course, run a very tight budget, like
the City, of course, and, ah, we’re very
grateful to them for allowing us space there at their beautiful bank in
downtown Kankakee. So, we’re allowed two provider programs to residents of
Kankakee. I’m going to keep this brief because I know you have a large
agenda and your time is very valuable.
Think of the word hero. What
comes to mind? A father. A mother.
A brother. A sister. An aunt. An uncle.
A special friend in the community.
How many of you have had at least one positive role model in your
life? Everybody. Good. Good.
There are children in our communities that don’t have that special gift.
Have you ever thought about being a role model in your community? Think of being that one person a child looks
up to. A hero. A hero, a mentor, a role model. The one thing that ties them together is
change. By being one of these, you can
change a child’s life. A child’s life
forever. And, what I’m here tonight to ask the City Council is two things. One, is to be an advocate for us at Big
Brothers and Big Sisters and to let the community know that we need adult
volunteers for the kids in your community that don’t have heros. We ask
something very simple of them to just be 18 years or older. And, they pass a simple background check, of
course, ‘cause safety is number one at Big
Brothers/Big Sisters. And, then we ask
them for a year to spend just one year–twelve
months–one percent of their time to make 100%
difference in a child’s
life. We all saw the beautiful little
boys and girls that were here this evening to give us the Pledge. There’s so many
children in the community that need positive role models in their life. And, through the studies that we’ve done from all of the matches that we’ve made at Big Brothers/Big Sisters, we know that when a
child is in our program, they are less likely to use drugs. Less likely to use alcohol. More likely to get to school on time and not
be absent. So, we’re creating change in the community one child at a
time. So, that’s one thing that we need for the City Council, is for you to
advocate for us to help us get positive role models for these children. The other thing is, is to let the community
know that the child, five- years-old to thirteen-years-old, can enroll in our
program. So, if you know of a child in
the communities that you serve, Aldermen and Alderwomen, that need a positive
role model, that come from a single-parent family that maybe has a parent
incarcerated, that would benefit from program, please give us a call and let us
know. I have some literature I’m going to leave here tonight for you that includes my card
with my number on it. But, we really
want you to be advocates for both of things for us, to help us get the positive
role models in the community and also let the constituents in your community
know that our program is here and that we want to help the kids. So, if we can get those two things from you,
we would, again, greatly appreciate your support. I’ve got
some literature. Can I hand it to the
Clerk?
MAYOR EPSTEIN: If you’d leave that with the Clerk, she’d be happy to distribute it.
COLLEEN DAVIS: Perfect. Thank you very much. Just want to leave you with one last thing
and then I will leave you tonight. When
you influence a child, you influence a family.
And, when you influence a family you change a community. And, when you change a community you can
change the world. Thank you.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank
you very much. Moving onto the
agenda. Items C and D are information. I’d like to
draw your attention to item E. It is a
memo from the Utility about disappearing manhole covers. We discussed this at the Utility meeting and
as amusing as it might seem, it’s really
not. It’s quite
costly and it’s quite dangerous. So, we are asking all of the Aldermen as well
as the residents in the City of Kankakee to please be aware that people at
night are taking manhole covers. Sadly,
for scrap, they’re only getting a couple of
dollars. Sadly, the replacement cost is
well over $200.00 in time and materials.
Unfortunately, some of these manholes are covering, ah, drops in excess
of 20 feet into sewers that can be quite dangerous if someone would be walking
a child and would happen to fall into one of these that have been
dislodged. Please, if you notice anyone
doing anything like this, please advise your residents to call the police
immediately. Our Police Department has
been vigilant, but unfortunately, there are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds
of these and people are taking them and sadly, the cost to replace them is a
lot, but the cost of a human life or a child is irreplaceable. So, please, this is isn’t a.....it’s not an
amusing situation. It’s dangerous. It’s happening all over the country. But, again, I wanted to make you aware of that. Item F, again, the Consulate General of
Mexico will be at the Lisieux Center.
The information is in your packet.
Items G, H, I and J, I think can be combined if that is the pleasure of
the Council.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Your
Honor, indistinguishable I move they be approved per your request.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Approval
of motion by Alderman Hunter. And,
Alderman, I’ll add yours next because we have to
do a roll call vote on yours.
ALDERMAN BROWN: Okay. I’m sorry.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: We’ll add K because we’ll have
to do a roll call.
ALDERMAN BROWN: Okay.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: So, we’ll do that after we do these.
ALDERMAN BROWN: Okay.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Ah,
motion by Alderman Hunter to approve G, H, I and J. Seconded by.........
ALDERMAN BROWNE: Second.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: .......Alderman
Richard Browne. All those in favor,
aye. Opposed, same sign.
RESIDENTS OF GRACEFIELD NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION ARE
REQUESTING PERMISSION TO HAVE A NEIGHBORHOOD-WIDE GARAGE
SALE ON FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2011 AND SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2011
MG 44 GALLERY AT 295 SOUTH FIFTH AVENUE IS REQUESTING A
NOISE
PERMIT FOR A FLAG DAY CELEBRATION ON TUESDAY, JUNE 14, 2011,
FROM 11:00 A.M. UNTIL 2:00 P.M.
KANKAKEE EASTSIDE JUNIOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE IS REQUESTING
PERMISSION TO HOST THEIR HOMECOMING PARADE ON SATURDAY,
SEPTEMBER 10, 2011, BEGINNING AT 1:00 P.M.
TANYA BENDER IS REQUESTING PERMISSION FOR A STREET
BLOCKAGE IN FRONT OF HER HOUSE AT 405 S. WILDWOOD AVENUE
TO THE ALLEY WAY ON HICKORY AVENUE ALONG WITH A NOISE PERMIT
TO HOST A FAMILY REUNION GATHERING ON MAY 27, 2011, FROM
4:00 P.M. TO 11:00 P.M.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: They
are approved. Ah, Alderman Carl Brown
has a request from the Floor.
ALDERMAN BROWN: Every
year Dennis Lehnus, coach–hall of
fame coach–Dennis Lehnus from KCC, outstanding individual community
guy, every year he has camp at Lincoln Cultural Center. Every year.
And, that camp funds a lot of kids.
And, they do more than just teach about basketball. This is, all the camps is unique, but
basically they go beyond basketball.
They teach life skills, reading and writing, arithmetic, internet
safety, character development, ah, everything.
They provide lunch, break out session, they take ‘em to Hidden Cove.
Every year he does that and this year it’s going
to be from June 13-17. So, what I’m asking the Council and the Mayor to donate $200.00 to the
Community.........out of the Community...
MAYOR EPSTEIN:
Promotions.
ALDERMAN BROWN: Promotions
for this camp. Also, I’m lettin’ you know
that Alderman Hunter and myself, we’re going
to sponsor ten kids ‘cause we
going to donate $100.00 ourselves to sponsor some kids. And, if any of you interested in doing the
same thing, this is a worthwhile camp and I’m sure if
you know Dennis Lehnus, you know it’s going
to be well run. It’s going to be about discipline, it’s going to be about getting kids to do the right thing. So, I make the motion that we do the $200.00.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: It’s a worthwhile endeavor, so can we have a unanimous
second? Unanimous second,
everybody. Unanimous second. Unanimous second.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Ah,
ah, let’s just do a roll call.
CLERK DUMAS:
AYE: Brown; Hunter;
Browne, R.; Baron; Thompson; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Osenga; Linneman; Stokes;
Jones; Davidson; Cox (14)
MOTION TO DONATE $200.00 FROM COMMUNITY PROMOTIONS TO
THE DENNIS LEHNUS BASKETBALL CAMP
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion
carries. Thank you. Standing Committees. Public Safety. Alderman Hunter.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Real,
real brief. Ah, regarding the Police and
Fire Departments remain strong and provide excellent services to the
public. I think the balance of the
report minutes reflect the activities which transpired at that meeting.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank
you. License and Franchise. Alderman Brown.
ALDERMAN BROWN: I
get a chance to talk. First of all the
minutes are self-explanatory, but I do want to point out one thing and that’s Aqua over the next couple years is going to be investing
$8,000,000.00 in the community. I think
that’s substantial. I
think any time we have that much investment in a community and I think Kankakee
Valley Construction Company, R & R Construction, all those vendors has the
opportunity to do the right thing to make sure that they use our diversity so
everybody can get a piece of that pie, and as well as accolades, not only those
fees that goes to show you that’s being
reinvested back into the community and that’s the thing that we do.
I hope that we always do, ah, when we have to raise fees and that stuff
like that I hope that we can put that money back into the community to improve
our community. I think if you ask Chief
Young about the fire hydrant, the flushing of those things, it goes beyond
that. So, I just wanted to say thank you
Craig and thanks to Aqua for that investment.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank
you, Alderman. Budget Committee. Alderman Baron.
ALDERMAN BARON: Ah,
just a couple items, none of which are action items. The first one is just a review of the sales
tax report which is a good thing to lead in within that in May of this year,
the sales tax receipts received from the State of Illinois were up 39.7%
compared to the same month last year. In
the minutes, as you..... well, first of all, the minutes were handed out just
before the meeting. The minutes that
were in the, ah, packet of materials, while correct, were last month’s. These are correct
also, but these are this month’s correct
minutes. The minutes refer to the fact
that, ah, there have been unexplained adjustments made by the State of Illinois
to the sales tax revenue and that’s what
they remain. So anyway, up 39.7% for
this month. More later on that. Not clear why that’s the case. Ah,
number two, state continues to withhold income tax. The update on that is that for the months of
February, March and April, they owe us and that’s
$549,000.00. Ah, the third item is good
news in that the year ending........the fiscal year ending at the end of April,
we probably–these are unaudited results–but we probably are even–we
probably correctly predicted the revenue and expenses. Now, of course, that’s given the fact that we had a 12% reduction across the
board for everyone. So, things aren’t rosey, rosey, but the 12% reduction and the judicious
administration of the budget for the year worked out. We’re not
any further in the hole this year than we were last year. So, that’s good
news. Ah, the........in regard to the
cash flow report, we had to transfer a half of a million dollars from savings
to checking at the beginning of the month and the savings is, of course, the
cash management program that’s being
held by the Environmental Services Utility.
Hopefully, that will be reimbursed as the year goes on which leads to my
fifth point and that is good news and bad news.
The good news and the bad news both is that the County got the real
estate taxes out on time this year.
Excellent news from the City’s
perspective because we, ah, that will improve cash flow significantly. If you will recall, last year we were in
trouble when the revenue from the County wasn’t coming
in. And, of course, the bad news is, we
all got our bills on time, also. So,
that’s all.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank
you, Alderman. Report of Officers. A motion to approve the bills.
ALDERMAN FAFORD: I
move we approve the Report of Officers, place the money in the proper accounts
and pay the bills in the amount of $247,584.50.
ALDERMAN OSENGA: Second.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion
by Alderman Faford, seconded by Alderman Osenga to pay the bills. Are there any questions?
ALDERMAN STOKES: Yes,
I have a question, Mayor.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman.
ALDERMAN STOKES: Ah,
lookin’ at the bills, I didn’t.....when we receive our packet, we receive it on a Friday
evening.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: That’s correct.
ALDERMAN STOKES: We
don’t have enough time to go through. By the time Friday evening come up, City Hall
is closed. We goin’ through Saturday, Sunday, then we confronted with Monday morning.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Um huh
(affirmative).
ALDERMAN STOKES: Ah,
it just seems as though it needs to be a little bit more time. Maybe we can back it up to like Thursday.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman,
it’s very difficult because the bills need to be processed by
the Comptroller’s office and to get the books out a
day sooner would really be..... place a burden on his office. As you’re aware,
Monday, any Alderman is certainly welcome to review any checks that they would
like to review. We are certainly able to
provide you with any backup information on any checks that you might have a
question. I would assume as you become
more familiar with the bills, you’ll be
more familiar with the checks that are issued almost on a monthly basis and
there will be less and less questions because it will become much more familiar
to you as to what checks are being issued.
The names will start to get familiar as will the reasons why the checks
are issued. So, right now, I would just
encourage you if you have any questions, to–I
understand you did have some and that you were able to get those answered this
morning at the Comptroller’s office.
ALDERMAN STOKES: Mayor,
that’s true. We were able
to get a few things, ah, we were able to get a few things, ah, clearity on a
few things. But, there are still a few
other things that we did not get clearity on.
And, ah, for me to sit here and not to vote on something that I don’t have clearity on the whole picture here.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Well,
Alderman you do have the opportunity to abstain or to not pass....or not to
vote on the bills.
ALDERMAN STOKES: Also,
Mayor, ah, this is a distribution journal that I understand that you all
provide. I would like to have this each
week. Each week I’d like to have this a part of accounts payable if possible.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: No, I
don’t think we’re able
to do that. Ah, first of all, weekly,
you only get your books twice a month.
And, we certainly wouldn’t be able
to provide you with that. Is there something
that you have a particular question on?
ALDERMAN STOKES: Well,
yes, ma’am, our fuel. I’d like to
know a little bit more about our fuel. I’d like to just find out what department is, ah, some of
these bills, what department are they really coming from? Where is the bulk ‘a our bills comin’ from?
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Each
standing committee approves bills, too.
So, if you’re on those various committees, those
bills are acted upon on those respective committees. Any committee that you’re on, they approve bills.
ALDERMAN STOKES: Okay.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: So,
be mindful of that. If you attend any
standing committees, one of the initial actions are........would be to approve
the bills. So, and, actually, you’ll see those bills as well, too. You have the Department Head there being able
to give you finite responses to what those bills entail.
ALDERMAN STOKES: So,
would there be a problem if I visit these Department Heads and get clearity on
some of these bills?
MAYOR EPSTEIN: On
some of the bills that you’re voting
on tonight?
ALDERMAN STOKES: On
some of the bills, no, just.......tonight, like I said before I wasn’t able to review all the bills. We did make it over to, ah, Mr. Spice office,
but.......
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman,
I think the appropriate place for you to question any bills by any department
would be at that committee meeting. So,
I would encourage you to attend. If it’s a Public Safety bill that you have concerns about, a Code
bill, CDA, to attend those meetings or actually the Budget meeting, also, would
be very informative.
ALDERMAN STOKES: Thank
you, Mayor.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: You’re welcome. We have a
motion and a second to approve the bills.
Any other questions? Roll call.
CLERK DUMAS:
AYE: Brown; Hunter;
Browne, R.; Baron; Thompson; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Osenga; Linneman; Stokes
(ATTORNEY BOHLEN: Alderman Stokes, you may want to abstain because there
are bills relating to the Fire Department directly.
ALDERMAN STOKES: May I respond to that?
ATTORNEY BOHLEN: You can do whatever you want to do.
ALDERMAN STOKES: That’s
one of the reasons, Chris, why I wanted to get into kind of what department is
doing what, so I know exactly which one stands out or is involved into
this. If you really look at this, there
is nothing indicating Fire Department, Police Department. That was one of the reasons why I wanted to
mention that tonight. Thank you.
ALDERMAN HUNTER:
But, isn’t a question direct benefit though?
ATTORNEY BOHLEN:
Employer’s direct benefit is imputed as
an employee direct benefit.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: I just wanted to pose that question.
ATTORNEY BOHLEN:
That’s a fair question and that’s been the holding on votes that have been taken in cases of
alleged misconduct in office. That’s
the reason I’m raising that. I’m
trying to insure that there is no question that arises.
ALDERMAN STOKES: Is
there any way in the future we can put down the Fire Department or Police
Department, DPW? Can we note that on
these bills?
ATTORNEY BOHLEN:
Some of them apply to all of the areas.
They’re billed to the indistinguishable department.
ALDERMAN
STOKES: Okay. Well, it would be a good idea for us if we
could put down what’s comin’ from where.
MAYOR EPSTEIN:
Alderman, the burden would be excessive.
This happens to be a very small Report of Officers at this Council
meeting.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Sometimes, you’re talkin’
about a million bucks in bills, you know.
ALDERMAN STOKES: That’s true. But, like I
said, if I woulda’ known
the Fire Department was a part of this....
MAYOR EPSTEIN:
Alderman, that is unique to your position on the Council, quite frankly
and so I think it’s
incumbent upon you on a Monday to go to the Comptroller’s office and inquire, are there any bills to be paid that
are, ah, from the Fire Department?
ALDERMAN STOKES:
Mayor, I did take a trip to the Comptroller’s office today and they basically walked up to me and told
me that the lady needed to go on lunch.
ATTORNEY BOHLEN:
But, you spent 45 minutes with her before she went to lunch.
ALDERMAN STOKES:
Well, yes, sir, but, you know you stay there as long as you can.....
ATTORNEY BOHLEN:
But, that’s
okay. I think you can presume that in
every month’s bills there are going to be
bills for the Fire Department.
ALDERMAN STOKES:
Well, as a newcomer sir,
you know, you don’t want to
rush through voting for something, rushing through something.
ATTORNEY BOHLEN:
Hence, that’s why I
said you may want to consider abstaining on these bills because there are bills
in this list that relate directly to the Fire Department. There are other bills that are paid in part
for the Fire Department. Such as
Illinois Public Risk Fund is our worker’s
comp carrier. Fire Department
personnel receive benefits from that as
well as anybody else.
ALDERMAN STOKES: Thank you.)
Jones; Davidson; Cox (13)
ABSTAIN: Stokes (1)
REPORT OF OFFICERS APPROVAL OF BILLS - $247,584.50
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank
you. The motion carries. Moving onto Unfinished Business. Those of you that attended the Utility Board
Meeting this evening, Mr. Tyson was there to clarify and review the amendments
to this Ordinance. I think he was able
to answer many of the questions that pertained to this Ordinance. It is on its second reading. Do I have a motion to approve?
ALDERMAN SWANSON: I
so move.
ALDERMAN COX: Second.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion
by Alderman Swanson, seconded by Alderman Cox to approve the Ordinance amending
Chapters 21 and 30 of the City Code. Do
I have any questions?
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Yeah. I wasn’t there
and I’m sorry. I was preparing for representing my ward on a
previous issue. But, anyway.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Do you
have a question?
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Give
me the highlights Dave.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Give
him the one-minute version.
DAVE TYSON: What
this is is that, again, we just went through and brought this Ordinance up to
today’s standards and today’s specifications.
Making all the repairs that will be done on streets, make them in
accordance with the Illinois Department of Transportation, road and bridge
specifications, making sure we comply with minimum height clearances now for
trees to be trimmed, you know, because that’s gone up
a foot so that we’re in compliance with things like
that. Simple things like put
specifications in there of what our new requirements are going to be for
building driveways, repairing streets, that type of deal. So that’s what it
is.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: I’m fine. Thank you Mr.
Tyson.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank
you. Any other questions for Mr.
Tyson? I almost said Alderman
Tyson. Ah, roll call, please.
CLERK DUMAS:
AYE: Brown; Hunter;
Browne, R.; Baron; Thompson; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Osenga; Linneman; Stokes;
Jones; Davidson; Cox (14)
SECOND READING
ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTERS 21 AND 30 OF THE CITY CODE OF
THE
CITY OF KANKAKEE (LICENSES GENERALLY; STREETS, SIDEWALKS AND
OTHER PUBLIC PROPERTY)
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion
carries.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: And,
I put.........for the record I want
everybody to know that I am an informed voter.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Let
the record show. I think all of your
votes are informed.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Mine
are, but I can’t speak for the balance of the
Council.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Moving
onto New Business. We have an Ordinance
amending Chapter 32, a handicapped parking space at 1142 E. Eagle. Do I have a motion to Suspend the Rules?
ALDERMAN BARON: I
would move.......this is.......this is a 1142 E. Eagle?
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Yes.
ALDERMAN BARON: I would Suspend the Rules that would interfere
with the passage of this Ordinance.
ALDERMAN BROWNE: Second.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion
by Alderman Baron, seconded by Alderman Rich Cox to Suspend the Rules laughter Sorry, Alderman. It’s just
age. We have a motion and a second to
Suspend the Rules. Roll call, please.
CLERK DUMAS:
AYE: Brown; Hunter;
Browne, R.; Baron; Thompson; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Osenga; Linneman; Stokes;
Jones; Davidson; Cox (14)
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion
carries. A motion to place this
Ordinance on its Final Passage.
ALDERMAN BROWNE: So
moved.
ALDERMAN BARON: Second.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion
by Alderman Rich Browne, seconded by Alderman Baron. That’s
correct, isn’t it?
Any questions? Roll call.
CLERK DUMAS:
AYE: Brown; Hunter;
Browne, R.; Baron; Thompson; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Osenga; Linneman; Stokes;
Jones; Davidson; Cox (14)
ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 32, SECTION 231 ESTABLISHING A
HANDICAPPED PARKING SIGN(S) AT 1142 EAST EAGLE STREET
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion
carries. Items B and C are separate, but
I think we can combine them.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: I
think so. You’re right.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: You’re starting to see bids awarded on work that’s being done within the City for our overlay program. These will be coming on a regular basis. These are two projects that were identified
as capital items that needed to be done.
One is Willow Street and the other is Riverstone Parkway out at Exit
308. Riverstone is a much more expensive
project because that road was never built as an 80,000 pound road. Because of the excessive truck traffic out
there now, we are rebuilding it to those specifications and Willow Street, I
think both Alderman can attest to, is in terrible condition.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: That’s true.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: So, I
would entertain a motion to accept the recommendation from the engineer to
award the contract to Kankakee Valley in the amount of $123,485.63 for the
Willow Street project and to Kankakee Valley Construction $299,358.92 for the
Riverstone Court reconstruction in Riverstone Drive.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: I
so move.
ALDERMAN SWANSON: Second.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion
by Alderman Hunter, seconded by Alderman Swanson to approve both awards. Any questions? Roll call.
CLERK DUMAS:
AYE: Brown; Hunter (Gordon,
you going to check out those work force analysis? Is he here?)
JAMES GORDON: Yeah, I make sure that Mr. Tyson has a copy of
the paperwork as part of the package.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Okay.);
Browne, R.; Baron; Thompson; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Osenga; Linneman; Stokes;
Jones; Davidson; Cox (14)
RECOMMENDATION TO AWARD THE BID TO KANKAKEE VALLEY
CONSTRUCTION IN THE AMOUNT OF $123,485.63 FOR THE PROPOSED
WILLOW STREET IMPROVEMENTS FROM HOBBIE AVENUE TO FAIRMONT
AVENUE TEI JOB NO. E11033
RECOMMENDATION TO AWARD THE BID TO KANKAKEE VALLEY
CONSTRUCTION IN THE AMOUNT OF $299,358.92 FOR THE PROPOSED
RIVERSTONE COURT RECONSTRUCTION AND RIVERSTONE DRIVE
OVERLAY TEI JOB NO. E11034
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motions
carry. The next item on the agenda are
appointments and reappointments to the Planning Board. Do I have a motion to accept?
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Can
we do them en masse? Anybody have
any problems with anybody on here?
Anybody? Anybody have any
problems with anybody?
ALDERMAN STOKES: I
got a problem with the time frame–the
longevity? Shouldn’t we have a change on the Planning Board instead of the same
ole, same ole? Over and over again?
MAYOR EPSTEIN: The
Planning Board appointments are staggered.
They’re at one, two and three years, I
believe.
ALDERMAN STOKES: Yes.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: So,
you’ll notice there are different ending times on the
appointments.
ALDERMAN STOKES: ‘Cause I notice there’s someone
that’s been on here since 1992.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: That’s correct.
ALDERMAN STOKES: And
1995. Is that accurate?
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Yes.
ALDERMAN STOKES: You
would think we would try to change, get more involved.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: We
have other–we have people that come on and off
the Planning Board. We have people who
come off the Planning Board because their attendance isn’t, ah, what it should be.
And, then we also have people that have been on for a long time and,
quite frankly, their experience is vital to the Planning Board.
CLIFF CROSS: Madam
Mayor and Alderman Stokes, also, as the Mayor referenced, those staggered terms
are regulated by Chapter 12 of the Zoning Ordinance. In addition to that, to fill those seats, we
look for individuals who meet certain needs of that board. We would like to have an engineer or a
surveyor on board indistinguishable requests that involve surveying may
require their expertise to educate, so to speak, the rest of the board. In addition to that, we just need to have a
wide variety of members on that board.
ALDERMAN STOKES: Can
we have people on the Planning Board if.......that kind of reflects our
community?
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Yes.
ALDERMAN STOKES: Shouldn’t we have that on there as well?
MAYOR EPSTEIN: That’s correct Alderman, but quite frankly, the Planning Board
appointments.......and I think they do.
You have people from all of the wards.
You have people of different races, you have different genders. We do our best. I do my best and, quite frankly, those are my
appointments with the approval of Mr. Cross and I believe we have a motion and
a second on the Floor.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: With
the advice and consent of us. You don’t have to accept it.
As he indicated, you’ve got a
banker on there. You’ve got an architect on there, a realtor and other lay people
as well. Call for the question. Motion to approve.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: I need
a motion to accept.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: I
thought I did, en masse.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman
Hunter en masse. Alderman Rich
Browne are you seconding?
ALDERMAN BROWNE: Yes.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank
you. All those in favor.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: No,
roll call.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Oh, I’m sorry. Roll call,
please.
CLERK DUMAS:
AYE: Brown; Hunter;
Browne, R.; Baron; Thompson; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Osenga; Linneman; Jones;
Davidson; Cox (13)
NAY: Stokes (1)
PLANNING BOARD REAPPOINTMENTS
EDWIN ECKHARDT 05/01/11
– 04/30/13
CAROLE FRANKE 05/01/11
– 04/30/14
RAYLEEN HARRIS 05/01/11
– 04/30/13
BARRY MCCRACKEN 05/01/11
– 04/30/13
DEBRA TERRILL 05/01/11
– 04/30/14
MARSHA LLOYD 05/01/11
– 04/30/13
CHIP ROREM 05/01/11
– 04/30/14
WILLIE AMES 05/01/11
– 04/30/14
LORETTO COWHIG 05/01/11
– 04/30/14
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion
carries. We have an addition to the
agenda. I believe Mr. Tyson passed out,
at the request of Alderman Thompson, there was a concern at River Place that
there was an issue with parking.
Alderman, I believe Mr. Tyson passed this out as far as a No Parking
Zone.
ALDERMAN THOMPSON: Actually,
he did. I’m kind of
indistinguishable to Mr. Tyson to get him to explain it.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Okay. Mr. Tyson, would you like to explain this
issue?
DAVID TYSON: There’s a problem–there’s a nursing home over there, ah, at the intersection of
Ninth Avenue and River Place. They have
a hard time getting trucks in and out of there.
Across the street is an apartment building, there’s a driveway that exists there, there’s a small place where cars are parked from the driveway to
the west. What we’re recommending and I apologize because I just reread my own
letter. The title of it’s right. We want to
have a No Parking Zone for 60 feet east of Ninth Avenue on the north side of
River Place. In the letter it says 600
feet, but it was supposed to be 60 feet.
So, I want to make that clear.
And, what this does, and then we’d
recommend that these be painted yellow.
What that will do, that will allow trucks to be able to turn without
having any problems with car accidents or hitting parked cars that are in
there.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Okay,
thank you. Are there any questions for
Mr. Tyson? Then I will have a motion to
Suspend the Rules, please, that would interfere with the Ordinance.
ALDERMAN THOMPSON: I so
move.
ALDERMAN TALL: Second.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion
by Alderman Thompson, seconded by Alderman Tall to Suspend the Rules that would
interfere with the passage of the Ordinance.
Roll call
CLERK DUMAS:
AYE: Brown; Hunter;
Browne, R.; Baron; Thompson; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Osenga; Linneman; Stokes;
Jones; Davidson; Cox (14)
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion
carries. A motion to place this
Ordinance on its Final Passage and Pass?
ALDERMAN THOMPSON: I
move.
ALDERMAN TALL: Second.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: So
moved by Alderman Thompson, seconded by Alderman Tall. Any questions? Roll call.
CLERK DUMAS:
AYE: Brown; Hunter;
Browne, R.; Baron; Thompson; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Osenga; Linneman; Stokes;
Jones; Davidson; Cox (14)
NORTH SIDE OF RIVER PLACE 60 FEET EAST OF NINTH AVENUE
“NO PARKING” ZONE
REQUEST
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion
carries. Under Motions and Resolutions,
we have two items. We have a Resolution
for, ah, highway code in the amount of $26,000.00 for the Riverfront Trail
project, Phase II. And a Resolution
requesting permission to conduct the work we already did on Indiana to repair
the sewer. But, we need to request
permission from IDOT. We did get an
emergency approval to do the work. Do I
have a motion to accept both Resolutions?
ALDERMAN JONES: Motion
to accept, Mayor.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion
by Alderman Jones to accept both Resolutions.
ALDERMAN DAVIDSON: Second.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Seconded
by Alderman Davidson. Any
questions? Roll call.
CLERK DUMAS:
AYE: Brown; Hunter;
Browne, R.; Baron; Thompson; Tall; Faford; Swanson; Osenga; Linneman; Stokes;
Jones; Davidson; Cox (14)
RESOLUTION FOR IMPROVEMENT BY MUNICIPALITY UNDER THE
ILLINOIS
HIGHWAY CODE, IN THE AMOUNT OF $26,000.00, FOR THE RIVERFRONT
TRAIL PHASE II, SECTION 10-00276-00-BT, TEI JOB NO. E10054
RESOLUTION REQUESTING PERMISSION TO CONDUCT EMERGENCY
STORM SEWER REPAIRS BENEATH ILLINOIS 50 – 2011 MISCELLANEOUS
ENGINEERING TEI NO. E11037
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion
carries. Before we get to Aldermen’s Comments and Questions, we will not need an Executive
Session tonight. I’d like to first congratulate Chief Young. They went to Springfield, they participated
in a very moving ceremony down there.
Did you want to just say a few words about that, Chief?
CHIEF YOUNG: Sure,
the ah, it was Thursday, May 12, went down for the Medal of Honor and a
memorial ceremony. We received three
awards down there. The Department
received a Certificate of Recognition from the Governor and the State Fire
Marshal for the heroic efforts that were on display in the 100 block of North
Eighth Avenue where we rescued three individuals, two children, one has since
passed away. Also, a firefighter
received the Medal of Valor down there.
It’s the second highest award that the
State gives and that was Firefighter Robert Underhill. He was the lead firefighter going in through
the window to pull out the two children on the second floor in the 100
block of North Eighth Avenue. And,
then, the, ah, we were saddened to receive the Gold Badge Award for the–in honor of the dying in the line of duty, Lt. Frank
Fouts. His family was there to accept
the award that was given by the committee.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Thank
you, Chief. I’m pleased that our Fire Department was recognized in such a
way and it’s commendable and certainly something
we should all be proud of. Sadly with
Firefighter Fouts, it was again a reminder of how dangerous of a job that
is. Also, tree requests. So far, we have about sixty people who have
requested trees. Again, we talked about
this at the Utility. Please, as Aldermen,
look over your neighborhoods and see if you have any residents who need a tree
and those who would certainly respond by watering that tree for a couple of
years so it would have a chance to take hold.
We want to be able to plant all 100 trees this year as part of our
program. One last item. I was pleased–I’m a member of Kiwanis and today they gave out Kiwanis
scholarships to graduating seniors and Maggie Doyle, Dennis Doyle’s daughter, received a scholarship from Kiwanis and she’s going on to Eastern Illinois University. And, again, congratulations to your
daughter. Any Aldermen’s questions or comments?
ALDERMAN BROWNE: Mayor.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman
Richard Browne.
ALDERMAN BROWNE: I’d like to just address one thing since Alderman Hunter brought
up some things here with the crematorium which.........
ALDERMAN HUNTER: indistinguishable
ALDERMAN BROWNE: No,
I have another thing that I would like to say here–there were some other issues that came up and I think it’s only proper that I do share those with the Council. It might be interesting to note that there
are people only they didn’t show up
that are in favor.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: That’s a matter on the Table.
You can’t even talk about it now.
ALDERMAN BROWNE: It’s just a comment.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: The
matter’s on the Table. Am I correct?
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Okay.
ALDERMAN HUNTER: Tell
me if I’m wrong. Am I wrong?
You can’t talk about it Rich.
ALDERMAN BROWNE: Okay. All right.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Any
other comments?
ALDERMAN COX: Mayor.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman
Cox.
ALDERMAN COX: Yard
waste.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Yes,
sir.
ALDERMAN COX: I’d like to see The Journal run an article on the new pick up
of yard waste.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Ah,
the yard waste as far as the residents putting the notices on their containers,
Alderman?
ALDERMAN COX: Yes.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Ah, we
do have a coordinator who is going up and down following, you know, the
progress and he is making contact with residents who are not doing it
properly. They do have the information
that was put on their receptacles. Is
there a particular area that you have a concern about? We’ll make
sure it’s addressed.
ALDERMAN COX: All
over the City.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: All
over the City?
ALDERMAN COX: Some
people are still using bags.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: I know
and we addressed that a little bit tonight at the Utility Board, but we will
make sure that we step up our efforts to educate them.
ALDERMAN COX: Thank
you.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: You’re welcome.
ALDERMAN THOMPSON: Mayor,
how often is that information being distributed though the neighborhood.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: How often
is what, Alderman?
ALDERMAN THOMPSON: How
often is that information being distributed through the neighborhoods?
MAYOR EPSTEIN: When
the new garbage receptacles were delivered, there was an information packet
attached to each garbage can that spoke to the rules, the dates of pickup, the
bulk item pickup. Ah, you’ll notice, if you drive around, there are some of those
still attached to the garbage cans meaning they haven’t read the directions.
We also have a solid waste coordinator that is following the route of
Allied and we are tying to educate our residents as to the new policies. We will give it a couple of more months and,
quite frankly, after that they should be educated enough that they start
following the rules. Any other
questions? Alderman Jones.
ALDERMAN JONES: I......I.....I.....I
brought this up to Mr. Hunter and the information on the....on the receptacles
was nice, but there’s a large population of Spanish people
in the City of Kankakee and it was only put out in English. Is there any way to take that information and
put it out in Spanish and maybe put it in the newspaper because there are
Spanish people.........
MAYOR EPSTEIN: We
will speak to Allied.
ALDERMAN JONES: There
are Spanish people in my ward that took those nice garbage cans and put them in
their back yard and still they are using their old ones.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: We
will speak to Allied and see if we can provide some type of Spanish-speaking
material. Thank you. Any other questions?
ALDERMAN DAVIDSON: I
have a comment. I don’t have a question.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Alderman
Davidson.
ALDERMAN DAVIDSON: I
just want to thank the City for its participation and support with the Old Fair
Park project. Ah, the collaboration
between the City and the Park District and the other private entities that were
working together to make that project successful. Thank you very much.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: You’re welcome, Alderman.
Motion to adjourn.
ALDERMAN BROWNE: So
moved.
ALDERMAN SWANSON: Second.
MAYOR EPSTEIN: Motion
by Alderman Browne, seconded by Alderman Swanson to adjourn. All those in favor aye.
MOTION TO ADJOURN CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MAYOR EPSTEIN: We are
adjourned. 8:15
P.M.