City Council Regular Meeting

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES DATE: Monday, December 10, 2018 TIME: 7:00 P.M. PLACE: Urbana City Council Chambers, 400 S. Vine St., Urbana, IL 61801 The City Council Committee of The Whole of the City of Urbana, Illinois, met in regular session Monday, December 10, 2018, in the Council Chambers of the Urbana City Building. ELECTED OFFICIALS PHYSICALLY PRESENT: Maryalice Wu, Ward 1; Eric Jakobsson, Ward 2; Vacant, Ward 3; Bill Brown, Ward 4; Dennis Roberts, Ward 5; Dean Hazen, Ward 6, Jared Miller, Ward 7; Diane Wolfe Marlin, Mayor; Charles A. Smyth, City Clerk ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE: None ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Brandon Boys; Elizabeth Hannan; Kay Meharry; Carol Mitten; John Schneider; James Simon; Rachel Storm; Scott Tess OTHERS PRESENT: Elderess Melinda Carr; Patricia Samman; Chad Tady; Members of the Media Chair: Eric Jakobsson, Ward 2 1. Call to Order and Roll Call There being a quorum, Chair Eric Jakobsson called the meeting of the Committee of the Whole to order at 7:23pm, following a special joint meeting of the City Council and Cunningham Township Board. 2. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting Council Member Jared Miller made a motion to approve the minutes from the November 26, 2018 meeting. Motion seconded by CM Dennis Roberts and carried by voice vote. 3. Additions to the Agenda There were none. 4. Public Input Elderess Melinda Carr did not wish to speak, but asked that her concerns about the Dr. Ellis Subdivision sewer problems, equity, and historic impact be entered into the record. Patricia Samman, chair of the Public Arts Commission, spoke about Ordinance No. 2018-12- 082, which adds cultural elements to the original mission of the Public Arts program, and would transform the program into an “Arts and Culture Program”. She said because Urbana is home to the University of Illinois and many cultures are included there, the addition of culture to the Public Arts program would be natural step to take. She spoke about the many programs supported by the Public Arts Program, including Artist of the Corridor Exhibitions, Art Now! documentaries, Open Scene, Open Mic events, and more. She said there could be new types of festivals proposed, but the budget has not changed, as there are no new resources for additional funds. 5. Presentations There were none. Committee of the Whole Minutes Monday, December 10, 2018 Page 2 of 4 6. Staff Report Economic Development Manager Brandon Boys presented the Business and Development Report for November. Updates included: • U-Haul at 2010 South Philo Road will be expanding their storage facility with an addition of 16,500 square feet of storage units. • The Retreat at Urbana, located at the former Illinois American Water site, is a 128 unit development with 26 residential buildings and a clubhouse and is now under construction. Total cost is estimated at over $27 million and target date for completion is August 2019. Total square footage from January through November 2018 was the highest it has been in the past three years. Single family and two family home construction has also increased and is more than double what it has been in the last three years. Mayor Marlin reminded people that the City is taking applications for the vacant Ward 3 seat on Council. Applications can be obtained at the City Clerk’s office, Urbana Free Library and at the Douglas Branch Library, and can also be filled out and submitted online. Applications will be accepted until December 31, with interviews and the appointment process beginning in January. 7. Ordinance No. 2018-12-079: An Ordinance Levying Taxes for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2018, and ending June 30, 2019 Finance Director Elizabeth Hannan presented this ordinance, along with Ordinance No. 2018- 12-080 and Ordinance No. 2018-12-081. She stated the three ordinances are part of the tax levy. The first ordinance levies the taxes for 2018, to be collected in calendar year 2019. The second ordinance caps the levy and the third abates the debt service payments. CM Miller moved to vote on items #7, #8 and #9 in omnibus fashion. Motion to vote on Ordinance No. 2018-12-079, Ordinance No. 2018-12-080 and Ordinance No. 2018-12-081 in omnibus fashion was seconded by CM Bill Brown and carried by unanimous voice vote. CM Miller made a motion to send Ordinance No. 2018-12-079, Ordinance No. 2018-12-080 and Ordinance No. 2018-12-081 to council in omnibus fashion with recommendation for approval. CM Dennis Roberts seconded, and the motion carried by roll call vote as follows: Brown – aye Hazen – aye Jakobsson – aye Miller – aye Roberts – aye Wu - aye 8. Ordinance No. 2018-12-080: An Ordinance Directing the Champaign County Clerk to Abate the Tax Levy for the General Corporate Fund for the Tax Year Beginning July 1, 2018, and Ending June 30, 2019 [Sent to Council in omnibus fashion] 9. Ordinance No. 2018-12-081: An Ordinance Directing the Champaign County Clerk to Abate a Portion of the 2018 Tax Levy Related to General Obligation Bonds, Series 2012, and General Obligation Bonds, Series 2014 [Sent to Council in omnibus fashion] 10. Resolution No. 2018-12-054R: A Resolution Approving an Option to Lease and a Ground Lease of Urbana Landfill Complex Environmental Sustainability Manager Scott Tess presented this resolution. He introduced Chad Tady, Project Developer with Sunpower. Sunpower has been in business for over 30 years and is a global solar energy manufacturer and installer and was chosen for this project using a Committee of the Whole Minutes Monday, December 10, 2018 Page 3 of 4 qualifications based selection for a landfill solar developer. There are three parts to this project. The first part of the project, the lease option, would allow Sunpower to apply for State of Illinois solar incentives and would give them the exclusive right to develop one or more solar arrays on 41 acres of the Urbana landfill property for two years. Sunpower would pay $100 an acre per year as part of the agreement. If Sunpower is able to develop a commercially viable solar array, then the second part of this project, a long-term land lease agreement, could be executed. Some or all of the 41 acres would be included a 25-year lease agreement. An annual lease fee would be paid by Sunpower, as well as taxes on any acreage that might become taxable commercial property. In addition, they would own, operate or repair any equipment used on the site. They would also be responsible for vegetation maintenance on the property. Access roads and roads within the 41 acres would belong to the City if the installation were to be removed in the future. The third part of this project is the opportunity for the City to to purchase up to 40% (about 9,600,000 kwh/year) of the electricity produced by the project. The first 15 years of renewable energy credits from this project would be sold to Ameren Illinois. Discussion ensued, during which Mr. Tess and Mr. Tady responded to questions from committee members. After discussion CM Miller made a motion to send Resolution No. 2018- 12-054R to council with recommendation for approval. Motion was seconded by CM Wu and carried by voice vote. 11. Ordinance No. 2018-12-082: An Ordinance Amending Urbana City Code Chapter 2, Article VI, Division 4 – Public Arts Commission and Public Arts Program (Arts & Culture Commission and Arts & Culture Program) Economic Development Manager Brandon Boys and Public Arts Coordinator Rachel Storm presented this ordinance. Ms. Storm said this year is the tenth anniversary of the Public Arts Program and went over some of the achievements of the program. An important part of the commission is the grant program, which has funded close to 250 projects, including Heartland Makerfest, Folk & Roots Festival, Asian Heritage Month, Artist of the Corridor, Midwest Mandeng, Matsuri Festival, Belongings Exhibition, Open Scene Open Mike, and more. Mr. Boys went summarized changes in the program, some of which include: • Change in the name of the commission and program to “Arts and Culture Commission” and “Arts and Culture Program.” • Inclusion of the definition of “culture”. • Change in mission statement and addition of vision statement. • Authorization of commission to review and approve Arts and Culture Grant agreements within the budgetary authority granted by the City Council via the annual budget. • Numerous other changes in ordinance meant to clarify language or show shift to “arts and culture” from “public arts”. Mayor Marlin said she asked staff to consider this change in the commission to recognize culture in the arts. She said she has seen that other cities are shifting art programs to incorporate culture. CM Roberts asked if the commission would ever consider including design and architecture could be included in the Arts and Culture Program. Ms. Storm said this is a good opportunity to think about art forms that are often left out of the program. After discussion, CM Roberts made a motion to send Ordinance No. 2018-12-082 to council Committee of the Whole Minutes Monday, December 10, 2018 Page 4 of 4 with recommendation for approval. Motion was seconded by CM Hazen and carried by voice vote. 12. Adjournment With no further business before the Committee, Chair Jakobsson declared the meeting adjourned at 8:32pm Kay Meharry Recording Secretary Materials and video for this meeting can be found at: https://www.urbanaillinois.us/node/7331 Minutes approved: January 14, 2018