City Council Regular Meeting

URBANA COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING MINUTES DATE: Monday, April 20, 2020 TIME: 7:00 P.M. PLACE: *Held virtually due to Governor’s Stay at Home order The City Council of the City of Urbana, Illinois, met in regular session on April 20, 2020, at 7:00pm via Zoom. ELECTED OFFICIALS PHYSICALLY PRESENT: None ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT VIA ZOOM: Maryalice Wu, Ward 1; Eric Jakobsson, Ward 2; Shirese Hursey, Ward 3; Bill Brown, Ward 4; Dennis Roberts, Ward 5; Bill Colbrook, Ward 6; Jared Miller, Ward 7; Diane Wolfe Marlin, Mayor; Charles A. Smyth, City Clerk ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Elizabeth Beaty; Brandon Boys; Sheila Dodd; Elizabeth Hannan; Stepheny McMahon; Carol Mitten; Lorrie Pearson; James Simon OTHERS PRESENT ELECTRONICALLY: Diedre Cobb; Ben Jocylen; James Kilgore; Daniel Lakemacher; Jane McClintock; Rebecca Obuchowski; Carol Spindel; Bobbi Trist 1. Call to Order and Roll Call There being a quorum present, Chair Eric Jakobsson called the meeting of the Committee of the Whole to order at 7:00pm. 2. Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting CM Jared Miller made a motion to approve minutes from the April 6, 2020 meeting. Motion seconded by CM Maryalice Wu and carried by voice vote. 3. Additions to the Agenda There were no additions to the agenda. 4. Public Input and Presentations Mayor Marlin said an investigation of the arrest incident on April 10, 2020 is underway. She said council members will meet in groups of one or two with police staff to be briefed on the incident. Chief Seraphin and Lieutenant Norton will be present at the council meeting on April 27 to address questions and concerns from citizens and council members that arose after viewing an online video of the incident. Bishop King James Underwood and Rev. Dr. Evelyn Underwood asked that their concerns about the Dr. Ellis subdivision sewer problems be entered into the record. Public comment concerning the arrest of Aleyah Lewis on April 10, 2020 was provided by email from the following people: Amy Williams; Chloe Nagle; Susan Jones; Belden Fields; Jeffrey Putney; Charlotte Green; Elizabeth Simpson; Kat Fuenty; Paul Kotheimer; Sharon Irish; Dottie Vura-Weis; Karen Linder; Matthew Murrey; Michael Brün; Jacqueline Hannah; Benjamin Stone; Julia Freeman; Ming Kuo; Rohn Koester; Allen Axelrod. A summary of comments included: response of officers was disproportionate and harmful; police response was violent and use of force was inappropriate; responsibility of police officer should be taken seriously; need explanation for the violence used by police in arrest; mayor and city officials should support the victim and family; de-escalation could have been used instead of force; use of rifles by police is dangerous; police should issue apology and compensate Lewis; charges Page 1 of 3  against Lewis should be dropped and police officers involved in incident should be charged with assault and battery; the Civilian Police Review Board should meet and review the incident; inexcusable behavior by police and the public needs education on how to interact with police; de-escalation should not be secondary to securing the scene and policy should be revisited. Public input was also provided via Zoom from the following people: Ben Jocelyn; Daniel Lakemacher; Carol Spindel; Rebecca Obuchowski; Jane McClintock; Diedre Cobb; Bobbi Trist and James Kilgore. Comments included: Lewis was treated badly by police and also treated badly in jail; charges against her should be dropped and police should be defunded; there should be transparency in investigation of officers and assault rifles should not be used; de-escalation should have been used instead of arrest; police responded too violently and charges should be dropped; concerned with militarization of police force with assault rifles; racist and gender-based violence by police, charges should be dropped and police should be investigated. 5. Staff Report Economic Development Coordinator Stepheny McMahon presented the Economic Development report. She said the City has created a page on its website to help keep the public and local businesses aware of the resources available during the Covid-19 crisis, at https://www.urbanaillinois.us/COVID-19 and for businesses it is https://www.urbanaillinois.us/COVID-19/business-resources. She said the City Administrator has convened a group of staff members to develop recommendations on how to support the business community through the rest of the crisis and the process of recovery. Recommendations from this group will be presented to council members as discussions continue. Ms. McMahon said all in-person events have been cancelled, but Market at the Square will open on Saturday, May 2. Market staff have been working with Champaign-Urbana Public Health District to implement new safety protocol for market participants and customers. Economic Development Manager Brandon Boys responded to questions about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and explained that to be able to apply for the program, a business had to have a relationship with an existing lender. He had no details at the time on which businesses received funding from this program. 6. Ordinance No. 2020-03-014: An Ordinance Approving an Amendment to a Planned Unit Development (1208 Bradley Avenue / Plan Case No. 2396-PUD-20) [3/16/2020; 4/6/2020] Community Director Lorrie Pearson requested that Ordinance No. 2020-03-014 be continued to the next committee meeting in order to finalize some details in the agreement. CM Miller moved to continue Ordinance No. 2020-03-014 to the next committee of the whole meeting. Motion seconded by CM Bill Brown and carried by voice vote. 7. Resolution No. 2020-04-019R: Resolution Evidencing the Intention of the City of Urbana, Champaign County, Illinois, to Transfer Volume Cap in Connection with Private Activity Bond Issues, Single Family Mortgage Revenue Bonds; and Related Matters (Private Bond Cap Allocation - Assist Program, Series 2020) Grants Manager Sheila Dodd presented this resolution. She said this is an annual allocation of a set dollar amount made by the State of Illinois to each community. Each community then decides how they want to allocate the bonds. Ms. Dodd said the City has a total of $4,414,830 in 2020 Private Activity Bond Cap available, which can be utilized for things like affordable housing, nonprofit development projects, industrial development projects. The City has received requests from Stern Brothers for the Page 2 of 3  Illinois Assist MCC (Mortgage Credit Certificates) Program which offers homebuyer assistance programs, and from the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) for affordable housing initiatives. Any bond cap that is not ceded by the City for programs will automatically go back to the state to be used by another municipality. Ms. Dodd responded to questions and concerns from committee members. After discussion, CM Wu moved to send Resolution No. 2020-04-019R to council with recommendation for approval. Motion seconded by CM Dennis Roberts and carried by voice vote. 8. Resolution No. 2020-04-020R: A Resolution Approving the Transfer of Volume Cap in Connection with Private Activity Bond Issues and Related Matters (Illinois Housing Development Authority Series 2020) CM Roberts made a motion to send Resolution No. 2020-04-020R to council with recommendation for approval. Motion seconded by CM Shirese Hursey and carried by voice vote. 9. Ordinance No. 2020-04-022: An Ordinance Amending Urbana City Code Chapter 14, Section 14-7, Regarding Schedule of Fees Subsection A - “Liquor Licenses” (July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021) Elizabeth Hannan presented this ordinance for Administrative Services Manager Elizabeth Beaty, who was having technical difficulties. She explained new liquor license categories had been approved and this would establish the fees that would go along with the new categories. She said the total for liquor license fees will decrease by about $80,000, which would put them more in line with the fees charged by surrounding communities. Mayor Marlin added that there was no action to be taken on the item at the time, as it has to be on record for 30 days. She asked that committee move the item to the May 18 committee meeting for discussion and any questions they might have. There was a question about whether the $2,000 Incubator license fee amount is for a six month period, or for a year. There was also a question about whether an emergency ordinance, possibly to delay payment of the liquor license fees might be possible to help alleviate some of the financial burdens of bars and restaurants that cannot be open, and might not be able to open on May 1. Mayor Marlin said it could be looked into. She added that if anyone has questions or concerns about the liquor license fees, they can send an email to liquor@urbanaillinois.us. After further discussion, CM Miller moved to file Ordinance No. 2020-04-022, and to send it to committee on May 18, 2020. Motion seconded by CM Hursey and carried by voice vote. 10. Adjournment With no further business to come before the council, Chair Jakobsson adjourned the meeting at 8:30pm. Kay Meharry Assistant City Clerk This meeting was video recorded and is viewable on-demand. Minutes Approved: May 4, 2020 Page 3 of 3