City Council

TOWN OF CICERO TOWN COUNCIL STAFF MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, MAY 15, 2025 at 7:00 PM Call to Order: President Cox called the meeting to order. Present: Joseph Cox Absent: Dennis Johnson Eric Hayden Christopher Lutz Emily Pearson Others Present: Rhonda Gary, Clerk Treasurer 1. Town Council – a. Employee Picnic – Ms. Pearson asked the department heads to gather information concerning an employee picnic and be ready to discuss at the next council meeting. b. Reynolds Overtime – Mr. Hayden reported that he had a good conversation with Mr. Huber concerning the overtime concerns. After a lengthy discussion, he is comfortable approving the pay application that was submitted. 2. Plan – Mr. Zawadzki was not present. 3. Fire – Deputy Smith presented a (software) quote in the amount of $6,200.00 from First Due which the fire department currently utilizes. He explained that Hamilton County has opted to use a less expensive package; however, the fire department would like to continue utilizing First Due. Deputy Smith stated that the town must request reimbursement from Hamilton County Communications. 4. Police – Chief Rednour asked council to allow the Cicero Police Department employees to exercise while on duty. Ms. Pearson suggested that the town work with Gymies for a discounted membership price for town employees. 5. Water/Wastewater – a. Byron Street – Mr. Bryant reported that there are two downspouts on Byron Street that are discharging onto the road. They currently run in troughs under the sidewalk and slope backward to the building face. The southernmost downspout is beyond our project area. After discussion, council asked Mr. Strong to work with the business owner to share the cost of the repair. In the end, the council agreed to proceed with the Midwest Paving Change Order Request in the amount of $18,800.00 while discussions with the property owner continue. b. Jackson Street – Mr. Bryant reported that ADA Ramps are not straight as Byron Street is not straight. Mr. Bryant, Mr. Cooper and the project concrete supervisor met on site that morning. Due to the misalignment of Bryon Street, 1  existing doorways and stairs into the walk area, signs and other existing features, it was determined that the north / south crossing could not meet ADA standards. It was decided to move this crossing about 180’ west on the east side of Short Street. After discussion, the Council was in agreement with this approach. c. BOT – Mr. Bryant stated that he has reviewed the agreement and reported that the contingency and change order clauses are important to consider. The BOT agreement gives the contractor the ability to use the contingency funds with little town approval. In some cases, it is better to use contingency funds versus a change order as the change order increases the overall project cost. In any case, United has asked Reynolds to reshuffle their base budget items and see if they can balance their overruns with underruns before tapping into contingencies. Reynolds has agreed to working on this and is to submit the results soon. Reynolds has been asked to attend the early June meeting to discuss if their pay application #11 proposes the use of contingency funds. Mr. Hayden indicated that he had talked to Scott Huber with Reynolds and is okay with the approval of pay application #10 with the overtime. Mr. Huber indicated that they renegotiated with everyone with the exception of the operator’s union to not charge overtime until work is over 40 hours a week. d. Water – Mr. Bryant briefly reviewed the task order to proceed with preparation for the initial IDEM application to allow installation of one permanent casing. This would be the next step to determine the well field capacity and water quality. Peerless Midwest is working through weather issues for additional testing as well. 6. Clerk Treasurer – a. Invoice Cloud – Ms. Gary reported that Invoice Cloud is going live this month. b. Vacation – Ms. Gary will be on vacation 5/26/25-5/31/25. c. Budget – Ms. Gary reminded council that the next two staff meetings are historically used for budget work. d. GO Bond – Ms. Gary advised council that she spoke with Mr. Higgins regarding a GO Bond and there are new guidelines. Mr. Lutz had a couple of follow-up questions. Ms. Gary will follow-up with Mr. Higgins and report back to the council. 7. Project Coordinator – Mr. Strong had nothing new to report. 8. Parks Dept – Superintendent Hunter reported that he is meeting with DNR and J2 Design Studio on 6/11/25 for direction and guidance on potential grant opportunities. He also stated that J2 Design Studio will be attending the Parks Board Meeting on 6/5/25 and invited council to attend as well. Motion to Adjourn: Mr. Johnson made the motion. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 5-0. Signatures of Cicero Town Council 2  AYE NAY Joseph R Cox Eric C Hayden Christopher J Lutz Dennis D Johnson Emily K Pearson Attested: Rhonda Gary, Clerk Treasurer 3