Public Health & Housing Committee

City of Belleville Residential and Commercial Development Services Committee Meeting Minutes Wednesday, December 2, 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 Excused 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 Scott Markovich Matt Eiskant, Assistant Chief of Police Guests: Alderwoman Mary Steihl, Ward 7 Alderman Kent Randle, Ward 3 Treasurer Dean Hart Ron Deitrick, Illinois Realtors 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 Motion was made by Alderman Ferguson and seconded by Alderwoman Duco to approve the minutes of the October 7, 2020. Upon roll call vote, the minutes were unanimously approved. IV. Emergency procedures and departmental update Chair Hazel reminded everyone to practice safety precautions wherever they might be. V. Public Participation None VI. Old Business A. Progress on 2020 Demolition List RCDS Director Annissa McCaskill gave an overview of the 20 properties approved for demolition via grant from DCEO. At the date of the meeting, five (5) properties had been fully demolished, backfilled and seeded; four (4) had been demolished, but expected to be backfilled and seeded by the end of the week; an additional building was scheduled to commence construction the following week. The remainder structures were working through utility shut- offs with the expectation of being completed with their demolition by end of month/year. B. Staffing of RCDS Department Mayor Eckert provided update to the Committee advising that he would be forwarding Ed Ecobedo to the City Council for appointment as Electrical Inspector. Mr. Escobedo had been part-time with the Department and had agreed to become a full-time employee. Former Building Commissioner Paul Baumann recently began to assist the Department as it sought to fill the position after the departure of Jeff Heidorn. Additionally, Mr. Baumann assisted with reviewing the job description and it was posted to the City’s website. There have been some interviews, however, not with successful candidates, therefore the net was widened. Alderman Ferguson asked how the position was being advertised. Ms. McCaskill stated that it placed on the City’s website, sent to the Carpenter’s Union, the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council’s newsletter; she advised they welcome any other resources for advertisement the Committee could provide. C. Miscellaneous Alderman Hazel asked for an update on the Omigo Software integration with the Department. Mayor Eckert advised that it had slowed substantially with the transition out of the Department of the former Building Commissioner. IT Director Markovich advised the secretarial staff has the software on their computers and training had been initiated, with the caveat that it was being  tweaked as much as it could without the field testing done by the Building Commissioner. VII. New Business Mayor Eckert reminded the Committee that City offices are still closed to the public except via appointment where necessary. Inspections are still going forward with extreme precaution. Other business to come before the Committee. VIII. Other business to come before the Committee Chair Hazel asked if there was any input regarding direction or topics the Committee would like to discuss at future meetings. Citizen Member Tialdo said she would like to discuss finalization of the information packet previously reviewed. Ms. McCaskill advised that software had recently been purchased that would allow for forms to be made into writeable documents and staff was researching a means to submit applications online. There were no other items provided, with the understanding that they can be provided to the Chair or to staff for inclusion at future meetings. IX. Adjourn With no further comment, Alderman Ferguson made a motion to adjourn, it was seconded by Alderwoman Duco. Upon a roll call vote, the meeting was adjourned at 6:20 pm. _________________________________________________ Joe Hazel, Chairman Date Alderman, Ward 1