City Council

TOWN OF CICERO TOWN COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, MAY 22, 2023 at 6:00 PM Call to Order: President Blueher called the meeting to order and called for roll call. Members of the Cicero Town Council were present or absent as follows: Present: Chad Blueher Absent: Jerry Cook Joseph Cox Eric Hayden Christopher Lutz Declare a Quorum Present: President Blueher declared a quorum with all members present. Others Present: Rhonda Gary, Clerk Treasurer Terry Cooper, Street & Utilities Director Aaron Culp, Town Attorney Keith Bryant, Town Engineer Dan Strong, Project Coordinator Miscellaneous: Wastewater Treatment Plant – President Blueher stated that the reason for the special meeting is to address the significant increase in the cost of the expansion of the wastewater treatment plant. He was shocked to learn that the commodities have doubled. He proceeded to go around the table to each council member individually to explore their thoughts, ideas and maybe answers to reducing those costs. a. Mr. Cook looked to Mr. Bryant for answers about the timing and why this project seems to be taking so long. Mr. Bryant thinks that trying to combine the water and wastewater projects together significantly slowed the process. In addition, he continually asked for updates from suppliers and contractors and got nothing. b. Mr. Hayden inquired about any fallout with IDEM and working something out with them concerning the agreed order. Council agreed that the town has improved significantly and shown good faith and hopes that IDEM will consider that. c. Mr. Cox had nothing. d. Mr. Lutz addressed Mr. Bryant. He wanted to know how we got here. He struggles with the fact that he continuously inquired about cost and inflation. Mr. Bryant assured the council that he wasn’t getting any feedback from vendors and that he was in no way keeping information from the council. Mr. Lutz advised that he is not in favor of moving forward with this project now, and that Mr. Bryant needs to work with vendors and figure this out. Mr. Bryant stated that there is not a lot of fluff in the design. Conversation moved to trying to reduce costs as well as different financing options to include BOT, SRF, open market bonding. e. President Blueher asked Utility Director Cooper for a breakdown list of repairs to the old plant if they put the brakes on this project. Director Cooper stated that it’s hard to guess and that he spent $40,000 last year. It’s a 30-year-old plant that was built for 1  20 years of use. In the end, council agreed that they should put the brakes on this project until Mr. Bryant: A. reaches out to contractors for any cost reductions or savings and brings back some suggestions to the council in a couple of weeks. B. has a conversation with IDEM concerning compliance with the agreed order. C. continue to explore financing and grant opportunities. Motion to Adjourn: Mr. Cox made the motion. Mr. Cook seconded, motion carried. Signatures on Official Documents! SIGNATURES OF CICERO TOWN COUNCIL AYE NAY Chad M. Blueher Jerry G. Cook Joseph R Cox Eric C. Hayden Christopher J. Lutz Attested: Rhonda Gary, Clerk Treasurer The Next Cicero Town Council Meeting will be on June 6, 2023, at 7:00 PM at Cicero Town Hall. 2