City Council Regular Meeting

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES DATE: Monday, November 2, 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, November 2, 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, Jared Miller, Dennis Roberts, Maryalice Wu ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Tim Cowan, Sheila Dodd, Elizabeth Hannan, Wendy Hundley, Charles Lauss, Jason Liggett, Carol Mitten, James Simon OTHERS PRESENT VIA ZOOM: Allan Axelrod, Beau David Barber, Tracy Chong, Emily Conner, Amery Gardner, Christopher Hansen, John Kraft, Drake Materre, Rev. Dr. Evelyn B. Underwood Chair: Bill Brown, Ward 4 Prior to starting the meeting Chair Brown read a statement about the structure of the meeting for everyone attending via Zoom. 1. Call to Order and Roll Call With a quorum virtually present, Chair Bill Brown called the meeting of the Committee of the Whole to order at 7:00pm. 2. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting City Clerk Phyllis Clark said that no minutes were attached because they were not ready on Thursday when the packet went out, but they will be available for approval at the next Committee of the Whole meeting. 3. Additions to the Agenda There were none 4. Presentations and Public Input Public Input via Zoom The following people submitted public input via Zoom: Allan Axelrod, Beau D. Barber, Tracy Chong, Emily Carter, Emily Conner, Amery Gardner, Christopher Hansen, John Kraft, Drake Materre, and Rev. Dr. Evelyn B. Underwood. Some of the comments included: approval of the sixth gaming machine for the many local businesses, gratitude shown for Mayor and Council for writing a resolution on utility moratorium and for hand delivering it to the governor, encourage constituents to apply for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Freedom of Information (FOIA) continuous violations, the city has violated its own Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB) complaint process, rifle safety findings for officer Eric Ruff, CPRB meeting cancellation, appeals cancellation without reason, traffic violation by officers, officers need to be accountable in the same way as everyone else, stop police misconduct and hold officers accountable, did the city get a list of partners who own 1411 N. Lincoln prior to signing a contract, assist with homelessness by providing public benches, heaters at bus stops, perhaps a homeless shelter, coat drive, food, and other basic needs. Page 1 of 3  Public Input via Email The following people submitted public input via email: Edgar Garrett, Keith Rentschler, and Mike Thiessen. Some of the comments included: why is the proposed price so much higher than the assessed value for 1411 N. Lincoln Ave., what other properties were considered as alternatives, what is the overall cost difference between purchasing and building a new building vs. remodeling the existing structure, what will happened to the old building?, in favor of adding a sixth video gaming terminal (VGT), adding an additional machine will provide the opportunity for additional revenue for local businesses, adding a sixth machine will not solve the problem, but it will provide some assistance. 5. Staff Report Mayor Marlin made the following announcement:  Introduction of Public Works Interim Director Tim Cowan. Tim Cowan addressed committee and expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to serve the City of Urbana and its residents.  Addressed questions from the previous meeting about utility disconnection notices, hardship, and available resources from LIHEAP and other organizations.  Resolution passed by council declaring continued utility disconnections in Illinois to a pandemic safety risk was hand delivered to Governor J. B. Pritzker’s staff.  The resignation of Julie Laut, Ward 2 due to medical reasons. Applications are now available until November 30, 2020.  The extension of two emergency orders the temporary suspension of issuance of special events permits and continued guidelines concerning numbers of attendees, social distancing, and use of face covering at parties and other gatherings. Chair Brown asked for clarification about the Ameren services and repeated the number that residents who are experiencing hardship can call 1-800-755-5000. 6. Resolution No. 2020-11-055R: A Resolution Authorizing Acceptance of an Illinois Arts Council Agency (IACA) Grant for Urbana Arts & Culture Program Operating Support Arts & Culture Coordinator Rachel Storm presented this item with the recommendation for approval. She said that Urbana Arts and Culture programs was recently awarded a grant of $9,900 by the Illinois Arts Council Agency (IACA) to support general operations of the Arts Program for FY 2021. Additionally, she said that this funding is awarded to exceptional arts organizations with significant arts programming. After presentation and questions, CM Miller made a motion to approve Resolution No. 2020-11-055R as presented. Seconded by CM Wu and carried by roll call vote as follows: Ayes: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Miller, Roberts, Wu Nays: None 7. Ordinance No. 2020-11-058: An Ordinance Authorizing the Purchase of Certain Real Estate (1411 N. Lincoln Avenue) City Administrator Carol Mitten began the presentation by showing the property location, and providing some background information about the facilities condition assessment and its findings. During that time fire station two and three were identified as properties that needed to be replaced. The purchase of this property would allow the city the flexibility to build the new station without interrupted services. The assessed price was $200,000, the purchase price is $ 220,000, which $200,000 will be from CDBG funds because it is a city facility and the additional $20,000 will be from the capital funds that are allocated for city facilities purposes. After presentation, Administrator Mitten, Fire Chief Lauss, and Grants Manager Sheila Dodd addressed questions from emails received and from council members. Some of the questions addressed were as follows: public officer prohibited activities act, why was purchase price higher than Page 2 of 3  assessed value, were other locations considered, how old is the property, if the property is not used for city purposes, would the funding go back to the CDBG, what is the overall cost of building vs. remodeling, what demographic does the station serve. After discussion, CM Wu made a motion to send Ordinance No. 2020-11-058 to council with the recommendation for approval. Seconded by CM Colbrook and carried by roll call vote as follows: Ayes: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Miller, Roberts, Wu Nays: None 8. Ordinance No. 2020-11-059: An Ordinance Amending City Code Chapter 3 (Increase in Number of Allowable Video Gaming Terminal Permits) Finance Director Elizabeth Hannan presented this item. She said that the State increased the allowed number of Video Gambling Terminal (VGT) at an establishment to six, effective in January 2020. However, the City did not make a change to add the additional machine, but at the request of many local businesses this was brought forth for consideration. This would allow businesses to increase revenue to offset the increased minimum wage and revenue losses related to the pandemic. After presentation, Mayor Marlin, Hannan, and Amery Gardner (Dotty’s) addressed questions from council members related to safety protocols. CM Roberts made a motion to send to council with the recommendation for approval. Seconded by CM Hursey. At 8:25pm CM Brown relinquished the chair to CM Roberts to join discussion. After further discussion, the motion was revised and moved without recommendation for approval and carried by roll call vote as follows: Ayes: Colbrook, Hursey, Miller, Roberts Nays: None Abstentions: Brown, Wu 9. Discussion – CPRB Ordinance Amendment City Administrator Carol Mitten began the conversation by giving an overview update of the most recent CPRB meetings, reminded council about the request made by board member Katrina Kindle about modifying the CPRB ordinance to allow people who viewed a video to make a complaint, which would be consider a first-hand account. A memo received from outside counsel would be sent to city council and CPRB board members. The outside counsel’s main focus was the CPRB ordinance language and the meaning of a first-hand account and how this differs from the collective bargaining agreement and requirements by the FOP (Fraternal Order of Police). Additionally, Mitten asked committee members for clarity and guidance in the process of creating tiers for CPRB complaints prior to presenting a draft ordinance. After presentation, discussion followed about the various aspects of the directions of process and definitions for each proposed tier. 10. Adjournment With no further business before the committee, Chair Brown adjourned the virtual meeting at 9:14pm. Wendy M. Hundley Deputy City Clerk This meeting was video recorded and is viewable on-demand. HERE Minutes approved: December 7, 2020 Page 3 of 3