City Council Regular Meeting

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES DATE: Monday, September 21, 2020 TIME: 7:00pm PLACE: *Held virtually due to Governor’s and Mayoral Emergency Declarations 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, September 21, 2020, at 7:00pm via zoom ELECTED OFFICIALS PHYSICALLY PRESENT: Diane Wolfe Marlin, Mayor; Phyllis D. Clark, City Clerk ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE: City Council Members (CM), Bill Brown, Bill Colbrook, Shirese Hursey, Julie Laut, Jared Miller, Dennis Roberts, Maryalice Wu ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Bridget Broihahn; Elizabeth Hannan, Stepheny McMahon, Jason Liggett, Kay Meharry, Carol Mitten, Lorrie Pearson, Marcus Ricci, Rich Surles, James Simon OTHERS PRESENT VIA ZOOM: Allan Axelrod, Jayne DeLuce, Giovanna Dibenedetto, Scott Dossett, Ed Garrett, Christopher Hansen, Emily Klose, Meghan McDonald, Fiona Munro, Sarah Nixon, Ameena Payne, Benjamin Stone, Mary Tiefenbrunn, Julie Watkins, Grace Wilken Chair: Jared Miller, Ward 7 1. Call to Order and Roll Call With a quorum virtually present, Chair Miller called the meeting of the Committee of the Whole to order at 7:00pm. 2. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting CM Colbrook made a motion to approve the minutes from the September 8, 2020 meeting. Motion seconded by CM Laut and carried by roll call vote as follows: Aye: Wu, Laut, Hursey, Brown, Roberts, Colbrook, Miller Nay: None 3. Additions to the Agenda There were none 4. Presentations and Public Input Public Input via Zoom: Public comment via Zoom included: public input rules are not legal, limiting public input is not the only option, use gender neutral language, in opposition of Ordinance No. 2020-09-049, FOIA continues to be an issue with fees, allow for honest conversations, express gratitude for their engagement, people want to be heard, ask for more data prior to approving the funding for visit Champaign, updates about Rotary Club services in Urbana, support utilities moratorium, systematic racism, white silence, drop charges against Aleyah Lewis Public Input via email: The following submitted public input via email: James Davito, Charlotte G, Jane McClintock, Rose Merriam, Rohn Koester, Grace Wilken Page 1 of 4 5. Resolution No. 2020-09-046R: A Resolution Approving and Authorizing the Execution of a Community Partnership Agreement (Visit Champaign County, FY 2020-2021) Economic Development Coordinator Stepheny McMahon presented this resolution. She said the proposed contribution of $10,000 for Visit Champaign County (VCC) is included in the budget. In 2019 VCC had a record 7% increase in travel expenditures which increased local tax revenue 8.1%. With the impact to their budget due to the Covid-19 pandemic and governor’s stay at home order, VCC has changed organization priorities to include safety information, keeping residents informed of business updates and continuing to bring more businesses to the area. Jayne DeLuce, President and CEO of VCC presented a report to council. She said Champaign County had the largest percentage of growth in the state of Illinois in 2019. As a result, $8.2 million in taxes were added to local revenues that year. Ms. DeLuce spoke about what VCC has done to keep the public informed. Among some of the things VCC provides online are the Visit Champaign County website, which offers are business updates and cancellations, events, community resources and Covid safety information. In addition VCC has worked with other organizations to provide online information to the public. She also spoke about the recent accomplishments of VCC, which includes the return of the IHSA Boys State Basketball Tournament to the State Farm Center. CM Brown moved to send Resolution No. 2020-09-046R to council with recommendation for approval. Motion seconded by CM Hursey. CM Roberts expressed concern over the possibility of less funding to the Urbana Business Association (UBA). He said he would like the mayor speak about the future of the UBA before making a decision about funding VCC. CM Roberts made a motion to defer Resolution No. 2020-09-046R to the next Committee of the Whole meeting. Motion seconded by CM Colbrook. Discussion about communications between the City and the UBA director ensued. Community Development Director Lorrie Pearson told council members the last agreement between VCC and the City expired June 30, 2020. Ms. DeLuce added that VCC has not received any money from the state Resolution No. 2020-09-046R will be moved to the October 5, 2020 Committee of the Whole agenda. 6. Resolution No. 2020-09-047R: A Resolution Approving an Intergovernmental Agreement (JAG) Deputy Police Chief Rich Surles presented this resolution. He said the Urbana Police Department is a sub-grantee to a grant awarded to the Champaign Police Department. The portion the Urbana Police Department will receive is $9,617.14, and 3% of that amount will go toward the mandated change to the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). The remaining amount of $9,328.62 will go toward New World, which is a new records management system with a cost expected to exceed $150,000. Deputy Chief Surles responded to questions from council members. CM Wu moved to send Resolution No. 2020-09-047R to council with recommendation for approval. Motion seconded by CM Colbrook and carried by roll call vote as follows: Aye: Wu, Laut, Hursey, Brown, Roberts, Colbrook, Miller Nay: None 7. Ordinance No. 2020-09-048: An Ordinance Approving a Special Use Permit (1911 E. Main St. / Champaign County Humane Society – Plan Case No. 2403-SU-20) Planner II Marcus Ricci presented this ordinance. He said the Champaign County Board and the Humane Society are requesting this special use permit to add a new training building and to expand the existing building, with an animal shelter in each building. This permit would apply to the three acres leased by the Humane Society. Mr. Ricci responded to questions from council members. Mary Tiefenbrunn, Executive Director of the Humane Society, was also present to respond to questions. Page 2 of 4  The ordinance was not included in the packet materials. Because of the lack of an ordinance, CM Wu made a motion to send Ordinance No. 2020-09-048 to council with no recommendation. Motion seconded by CM Roberts and carried by roll call vote as follows: Aye: Wu, Laut, Hursey, Brown, Roberts, Colbrook, Miller Nay: None 8. Ordinance No. 2020-09-049: An Ordinance Amending Urbana City Code, Chapter 2, Section 2-4 (Public Comment During Public Meetings) Mayor Marlin presented this ordinance. She said public input is an important part of public meetings and is required by the Open Meetings Act. She said changes to City Code concerning meetings was made before Covid-19, and those changes do not address the virtual meetings now being held. She said that it is important that City business be done during meetings because it can only be done in open meetings. Mayor Marlin said the atmosphere of council meetings has become hostile, due to the tone of some of the public input, and it has made some who would like to participate in meetings reluctant to do so for fear of becoming a target of some of the hostility. She went over some of the proposed changes. Mayor Marlin and City Attorney James Simon responded to questions and concerns from council members as they discussed the ordinance. CM Wu moved to keep Ordinance No. 2020-09-049 in committee for further discussion. Motion seconded by CM Roberts. At 9:46pm Chair Miller gave the chair to CM Colbrook so he could take part in the discussion and took the chair back at 9:56pm. The motion to keep Ordinance No. 2020-09-049 in committee was carried by roll call vote as follows: Aye: Wu, Laut, Hursey, Brown, Roberts, Colbrook, Miller Nay: None 9. Staff Report a. Ten Shared Principles Mayor Marlin recapped the Ten Shared Principles workshop that took place on September 17, 2020 at the Vineyard Church. Council members spoke positively about the experiences in the workshop and it was suggested that more workshops like this be held in the future. b. Taser Subcommittee Report Deputy Chief Surles and Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB) member Scott Dossett presented this item. Deputy Chief Surles explained this report was to have been done 12 months after the implementation of the Taser program. He said the report shows the strengths, weaknesses and effectiveness of the Taser program. It outlines the number of incidents that occurred between February 2015, when the program began, to March 2020, He said there were 61 incidents, 39 of which were reviewed by the CPRB. Of the 39 reviewed, 36 were displays and three were discharges. Deputy Chief Surles gave his assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the program. He said one strength has been the relationship between CPRB and the police department. The time spent in the last five years has grown into a positive relationship. He felt weaknesses in the program included inefficient use of staff time, quality of video and the lack of updates to the Taser policy. There is quite a bit of time spent preparing reports and videos, which have to be redacted, with a hour video taking from four to six hours to redact. As far as the effectiveness of the program, he said the CPRB watched the videos and observed the situations which gave them a better understanding of the work they were doing. CPRB member Scott Dossett presented his own report. He thought review showed merit and the UPD is doing a good job using Tasers. He said the relationship between the UPD and the CPRB is a good one. Page 3 of 4  At 10:29pm CM Wu moved to extend the meeting to 11:00pm. Motion seconded by CM Colbrook and carried by roll call vote as follows: Aye: Wu, Laut, Hursey, Brown, Roberts, Colbrook, Miller Nay: None Discussion ensued, and Deputy Chief Surles and Mr. Dossett responded to questions and concerns from council members. 10. Discussion – FOIA Requests, Policies and Fees – Council Member Jared Miller Because of the lateness of the hour, Chair Miller asked for a motion and second to defer this item to the next Committee of the Whole meeting. CM Wu moved the defer the discussion of FOIA requests, policies and fees to the next Committee of the Whole meeting. Mayor Marlin announced the extension of the state eviction moratorium until October 17, 2020. In addition, she said Emergency Order 20-09, which expires on September 28 will be extended, as recommended by the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District and will be on a future agenda for ratification by council. 11. Adjournment With no further business before the committee, Chair Miller declared the virtual meeting adjourned at 10:54pm. Kay Meharry Assistant City Clerk This meeting was video recorded and is viewable on-demand. Minutes approved: October 5, 2020 Page 4 of 4