City Council

MINUTES CITY OF DEKALB CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING JANUARY 25, 2016 The City Council of DeKalb, Illinois held a Committee of the Whole of City Council meeting on January 25, 2016, in the City Council Chambers of the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois. Mayor Rey called the meeting to order at 5:02 p.m. A. ROLL CALL City Clerk Jennifer Jeep Johnson called the roll and the following members of the City Council were present: Alderman Bill Finucane, Alderman Michael Marquardt, Alderman Bob Snow, Alderman Kate Noreiko, Alderman Tony Faivre, and Mayor John Rey. Alderman David Jacobson was absent. Alderman Dave Baker arrived at 5:17 p.m. Also present were: City Manager Anne Marie Gaura, Assistant City Manager Patty Hoppenstedt, City Attorney Dean Frieders, Finance Director Cathy Haley, Police Chief Gene Lowery, Fire Chief Eric Hicks, Public Works Director Tim Holdeman, Community Development Director Ellen Divita, City Engineer John Laskowski, Management Analyst, Lauren Stott, Management Analyst Jared Heyn, Management Intern Emily Tipps, Project Engineer Mike Bauling, I&T Technician Doug Eaton, and City Clerk Jennifer Jeep Johnson. B. ITEMS ALSO ON THE REGULAR AGENDA C. CONSIDERATIONS 1. Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR). Management Analyst Heyn introduced the purpose of the PAFR, which is to help the public better understand the financial status of the City. Management Intern Tipps provided the general layout for the report, providing highlights. She gave a general overview of the fiscal condition of the City. She walked through a table which detailed the following: assets, liabilities, and net (financial) position. Additionally, she provided information on the City’s revenues. Management Intern Tipps provided further detail on the City’s expenditures, and pointed out how the numbers differed from FY14. She also provided more detail on Municipal Debt, explaining that the City had seen a savings since refinancing. Management Analyst Heyn explained that the PAFR and the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) can be found on the City’s website. City Manager Gaura confirmed that a printed copy of the PAFR would be available at City Hall for any residents who wished to see it. Committee of the Whole January 25, 2016 Page 2 of 6 2. Request for Proposal for Bridge and Culvert Inspection Service. City Engineer Laskowski provided background, explaining that the list of qualified consulting engineering firms has been narrowed down. He detailed the next steps, explaining what needs to take place before the issue will be back before Council. City Engineer Laskowski provided background on the National Bridge Inspection Program and explained that all the bridges in town need to be evaluated on a two to four year cycle. He explained the difference between a bridge and culvert – a bridge being that which directs traffic over an impediment (e.g., railway); and a culvert being that which conveys water beneath traffic. He explained the culverts would be on a different inspection cycle, more like six to eight years. Alderman Noreiko asked whether there is a federal standard for culvert inspection, as with bridges. Project Engineer Bauling explained that IDOT inspects all culverts over five feet, and they look at certain criteria, based on a federal mandate to do so. Brief discussion ensued as to how the road ratings are arrived upon. 3. Request for Proposal for Construction Engineering Services for the 2016 General Street Maintenance. City Engineer Laskowski explained that the process is the same as was described for the request for bridge and culvert inspection, and that they have put three to four qualified firms on the “short-list.”. He explained the background on this project, detailing what the selected firm’s expected duties are. Currently, there is no financial obligation, and he is asking for consensus to move forward with an RFP to bring their recommended selection back to Council. Mayor Rey said they could proceed with that RFP. 4. Proposed Alley and Street Lists for the Capital Improvements Program. City Engineer Laskowski provided background on the proposed street maintenance for 2016. He provided DeKalb’s Road Network Inventory: 129 centerline miles of road, 2.5 million square yards. He also stated that 5% of the entire surface area of the City is roadway. He provided the makeup of the roads in the City. He provided how the City funds street maintenance: 1) grants; 2) TIF funds; 3) local gas tax; 4) State Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) of 1990, pointing out that the amount has remained unchanged since 1990, while the amount to maintain roads has steadily increased; and 5) CDBG.  Committee of the Whole January 25, 2016 Page 3 of 6 City Engineer Laskowski provided a table illustrating the grants awarded to the City since 2002. He then provided a table illustrating the funding the City has received since 2002, by source. The next graph illustrated a fusion of the former two, in order to show how a shift in funding sources has occurred. He then explained how the streets are rated, including past methodology contrasted with current methodology, and how the tests are run to arrive at the rating they receive. Categorizing Streets: City Engineer Laskowski provided a table to illustrate the funding level per year, the starting pavement index, and the pavement index after five years of maintenance. A pie chart displayed the 2014 street conditions compared to 2015, highlighting that 54% of the roads are considered in the “pre-failing” category, or an index rating of 60-79. He provided some explanation of the numbers, and said that year to year, some roads will shift into lower categories, while some will move up. Right now, the City has a greater shift on the lower end. City Engineer Laskowski provided the maintenance curve to illustrate that roads in the lower rating categories decline at a faster rate than those rated higher, and that it takes four times as much money to tend to them. He detailed the completed maintenance projects, including the comprehensive patching project, and the Peace Road Bridge over I-88 repair. City Engineer Laskowski provided the following maintenance projects: TIF DISTRICT #1 #1: Pine Street to Fourth Street: Estimated Repair Cost: $205,000 Pavement Index 44. #2: N. 15th Street: Clark to Sunrise #3: North 10th Street: Estimated Repair Cost: $117,000.00 Pavement Index: 50 #3: Lewis Street: Estimated Repair Cost: $122,000.00 Pavement Index: 56 #5: Lincoln Way: Estimated Repair Cost: $39,000.00 Pavement Index: 53 Committee of the Whole January 25, 2016 Page 4 of 6 TIF DISTRICT #2 Taylor Street Estimated Repair Cost: $331,000.00 Pavement Index: 28 MOTOR FUEL TAX and LOCAL GAS TAX #1 Linden Place: Estimated Repair Cost: $68,000.00 Pavement Index: 39 #2 Bermuda Court: Estimated Repair Cost: $39,000.00 Pavement Index: 50 Alley: Clifford to Wood: Estimated Repair Cost: $50,000.00 He showed the 2016 General Street Maintenance map, and stated it would be available for the public to see. He explained that it allows for analysis of multiple maintenance needs, and assess whether fixes can occur simultaneously. Project Summary: City Engineer Laskowski provided a table detailing all of the recommended maintenance, including the costs, and funds available. City Engineer Laskowski recognized Mr. Bauling’s work in preparing the presentation, and thanked him. Alderman Noreiko suggested that City Engineer Laskowski address what considerations are made when selecting areas for repair. He explained how they approach the projects, and that each block is examined in the aggregate. Alderman Noreiko pointed out that there are multiple factors that need to be balanced when deciding where to maintain. Alderman Baker offered that the presentation was impressive, and that the logical examination was preferred to less impressive methods in the past. He emphasized that more money from the General Fund needs to be allocated to road maintenance. He offered that the City should utilize all of the money from the TIF fund and apply it to the repairs, while the TIF still exists. City Manager Gaura clarified that the City Engineer sought consensus on moving forward with the proposed list of roads to be repaired. Mayor Rey offered that consensus had been reached. 5. Comprehensive Parking Regulations Study – Phase III.  Committee of the Whole January 25, 2016 Page 5 of 6 City Engineer Laskowski explained the background of the study. He explained that every parking ordinance was plotted on a map, allowing them to see where inconsistencies existed. A Parking Regulation subcommittee was formed to address the issue. They consolidated 64 categories down to 24 in order to reduce confusion to the public. He drew attention to four exhibits to illustrate the overlapping ordinances, and how they create redundancy, or inconsistency. City Engineer Laskowski explained why an eight-hour parking limitation was neither useful, nor enforceable. The subcommittee determined that this ordinance was deleted. They also examined the 15-minute limitations, and consolidated some of them. He explained the future of the study, stating that they are seeking input from the community, which will be considered, though perhaps not implemented. They seek to understand the needs from the community for this issue, and will hold meetings, and provide opportunity for feedback. Alderman Baker offered that he had spent dozens of hours with constituents from the sixth ward, and that it might be better to address the wards on an individual basis, based on the fact that some wards will have greater needs. Mayor Rey thanked the City Engineer and subcommittee for their efforts, acknowledging that there has been a lot of community feedback about parking. City Manager Gaura reiterated that this project was born of citizen commentary, and in an effort to look at it from a global perspective, they expanded to the whole City. Brief discussion ensued as to the need for handicapped parking. D. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Misty Haji-Sheikh: offered her thanks to City Engineer Laskowski for the way he addressed street concerns. She also stated concern with how two items listed on the agenda for the Regular Council Meeting for January 25, 2016 were addressed. She offered that it is the duty of the elected officials to ask questions to ensure that proper procedure is followed. Michael Haji-Sheikh offered that it costs more money to have to back up to make sure that procedure is followed, and encouraged Council to improve their approach so as to prevent this issue from arising again. Bessie Chronopoulos spoke to procedural concerns as well, siting this evening’s presentation (on road maintenance) as a great example of how to address issues. She Committee of the Whole January 25, 2016 Page 6 of 6 suggested that some wards might combine their meetings, acknowledging Alderman Baker’s comment that some wards will have greater need for discussion on this issue. E. RECESS FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION OF CITY COUNCIL There was none. F. ADJOURNMENT MOTION Alderman Marquardt motioned to adjourn; seconded by Alderman Noreiko. VOTE Motion carried on a 7-0-1 voice vote. Aye: Finucane, Marquardt, Snow, Noreiko, Baker, Faivre, Rey. Nay: None. Absent: Jacobson. Mayor Rey declared the motion passed, and concluded the Committee of the Whole at 6:12 p.m. __________________________________________ JENNIFER JEEP JOHNSON, City Clerk Approved by City Council Date: February 22, 2016