Public Health & Housing Committee

City of Belleville Residential and Commercial Development Services Committee Meeting Minutes Wednesday, October 7, 2020 Belleville City Hall City Council Chambers 101 South Illinois Street VIA TELEPHONIC CONFERENCING In Attendance: Members: Alderwoman Joe Hazel (Chairman), Ward 1 Present Alderman Carmen Duco, Ward 2 Present Alderman Scott Ferguson, Ward 3 Present Alderman Raffi Ovian, Ward 4 Present Alderman Roger Barfield, Ward 8 Present Citizen Member Tricia Tialdo Present Staff: Mayor Mark W. Eckert Annissa McCaskill, Director of Residential and Commercial Development Services Matt Eiskant, Assistant Chief of Police Jeff Heidorn, Building Commissioner Assistant Director Eric Schauster Guests: Alderman Kent Randle Treasurer Dean Hart Hank H. Rohwedder, Hank’s Excavating I. Call to Order Chairman Hazel called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. II. Roll Call of Members/Staff Roll Call of members was taken. Attendance was noted as provided above. III. Approval of the Minutes Alderman Ovian provided a clarification that under “Old Business” the proper property address of record was not 9615 West Main, but rather 9515 West Main. Motion was made by Alderman Ferguson and seconded by Citizen Member Tialdo to approve the minutes from the September 16, 2020 as corrected. Roll call was called and the motion was carried. IV. Emergency procedures and departmental update None V. Public Participation VI. Old Business Alderman Ovian provided comments regarding several properties he forwarded directly to the RCDS department. Chairman Hazel recommended forwarding properties to Report of Concern. Alderman Ovian added that the Committee should be reviewing Ordinance 8237 and looking closely at its utilization. He would like for it to be implemented fully. None VII. New Business A. Discussion of sewer collections on closed residential rental accounts – Treasurer Dean Hardt Treasure Hardt explained an issue his office has been dealing with in regard to a moratorium that had been in place in regard to utility/sewer disconnection. The moratorium is no longer in place, however large balances have remained. In September, the moratorium was lifted, and Illinois American Water has been seeking to address the large balances that have remained due to the tenants moving out, which the owner of the property is responsible for. The Treasurer’s Office is willing to not “block” occupancy on the property, by working with the owner to place a lien of the property. The owner(s) can make payment on the outstanding balance, but still be able to lease their property and have income. He provided this information as an advisory of how the City is working with property owners. He referenced the pertinent ordinances, which permit handling of these balances in this manner. Alderman Ovian referenced a conversation he had with a landlord who advised a lot of tenants were walking away from outstanding balances. He asked how that would be handled. Treasurer Hardt advised that this is the purpose of the process he outlined. Director Annissa McCaskill provided an overview of the residential occupancy permit process, which would typically bar a property from occupancy if there was a balance owed. She provided that the process clarified by Treasurer Hardt that leased properties could Ron Deitrich from the Illinois Realtor’s Association asked if there was a means for the balance to follow the tenant, as opposed to staying with the landlord. Treasure Hardt stated that is not possible due to how the City’s Code is written. Additionally, tenants often have overlap as they are moving, and this creates another layer of difficulty for enforcement. Alderman Ovian  asked if landlords ask to pay outstanding balances at a discounted rate. Treasurer Hardt explained that this typed of request is often made and is not accepted as the services have been rendered and the Code requires that the bills be forwarded to owners and then forwarded to owners. B. Motions to accept the lowest and best bid for demolition of the following properties. Director McCaskill provided the bid sheet with twenty (20) properties to the Committee. Assistant Director Schauster explained that the demolitions listed are going to be reimbursed via a grant from the State of Illinois. The total grant is $500,000.00, so there is room for other projects. It was stressed that there are other properties which are being worked through the process of demolition aside from those on this demolition list. The low bid was Hanks Excavating for $188,700. It was clarified that the vote from the Committee would be as a package, not for each individual property’s lowest bid. Alderman Ovian moved to accept the bid package as provided, it was seconded by Alderman Ferguson. Roll call vote was taken and approved unanimously. VIII. Other business to come before the Committee Alderman Ovian referenced an issue regarding a retaining wall on a property in his ward. Building Commissioner Jeff Heidorn confirmed that there is a permit for the property and addressed issues on site. IX. Adjourn With no further comment, the meeting adjourned at 6:36 pm _________________________________________________ Joe Hazel, Chairman Date Alderman, Ward 1