City Council Regular Meeting
Regular MeetingUrbana, IL · November 16, 2020
Minutes
URBANA COMMITTEE OF THE
WHOLE MEETING
MINUTES
DATE: Monday, November 16, 2020
TIME: 7:00 P.M.
PLACE: *Held virtually due to Governor’s and Mayoral Emergency Orders
The City Council Committee of the Whole of the City of Urbana, Illinois, met in regular session Monday,
November 16, 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:
STAFF PRESENT: Elizabeth Hannan; Melissa Hendrian; Jason Liggett, Kay Meharry; Carol Mitten;
Lorrie Pearson; Bryant Serphin; James Simon; Justin Swinford; Scott Tess; Katherine Trotter
OTHERS PRESENT VIA ZOOM: James Dobrovolny; Public Comment via Zoom: Stacy Gloss; Dottie
Vura-Weis; Tracy Chong; Brian Dunn; Beau Barber; Grace Wilken; Allan Axelrod; Rev. Dr. Evelyn
Underwood
Chair: Dennis Roberts, Ward 5
1. Call to Order and Roll Call
With a quorum virtually present, Chair Roberts called the meeting of the Committee of the Whole to
order at 7:00pm.
2. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting
CM Wu made a motion to approve the minutes from the October 19, 2020 meeting. Motion seconded
by CM Miller and carried by roll call vote as follows:
Aye: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Miller, Roberts, Wu
Nay: None
3. Additions to the Agenda
There were none.
4. Presentations and Public Input
Public Input via Zoom
Comments via Zoom included: support for resolution accepting Lumpkin Family Foundation grant
for the study and planting of street trees; increase police training on de-escalation techniques; police
review boards should have access to all complaints; there has been no meaningful review of the
Aleyah Lewis arrest; there should be more oversight by CPRB, not less; community should do
everything possible to keep people in warm houses with running water; too many disconnections by
Ameren and Illinois American Water; racial discrepancies in policing need to be addressed; make a
more of an effort to stop evictions, water and electric disconnections; in support of Durl Kruse’s
resolution to improve equity in traffic stop practices and tactics.
5. Staff Report
Mayor Marlin repeated the announcement that the Ward 2 City Council seat is vacant. applications can
be found on the City website homepage and will be taken through November 30, 2020.
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The mayor thanked everyone who took part in the three Use of Force listening sessions. She said
comments can still be submitted by emailing useofforcepolicy@urbanaillinois.us until 5:00 Monday,
November 23.
Mayor Marlin spoke about the pandemic, saying the positivity rate has increased and hospitalizations
have also increased. She said city services could be affected as the spread continues to increase. she
stressed that people should not get together over the holidays because the spread increases in private
homes when people gather.
The mayor said the governor announced the eviction moratorium had been extended. There were
changes made as of November 14 allowing landlords to file evictions unless the tenants give them a
written declaration that states the tenant should be protected due to reasons related to Covid. She said
the City is also looking into utility shut-offs and will speak to the City of Bloomington to see how they
are dealing with it. Discussion ensued concerning utility shut-offs. City Attorney James Simon
responded to questions during the discussion about the legal actions municipalities can take to stop
utility shut-offs.
6. Resolution No. 2020-11-059R: A Resolution Estimating the Tax Levy (Fiscal Year 2020-2021)
Finance Director Elizabeth Hannan presented this resolution. She began by going through property
tax basics. She said the mayor recommends maintaining the current $1.3499 tax rate. The taxes levied
by the City are levied for police pensions, firefighter pensions, library operations and corporate
purposes.
Hannan said the library tax levy is about 1% more than the current levy. Police and fire pensions total
$3,262,658. This was based on the funding policy approved by City Council in May 2018 and the third
year of a five year transition to bring police and fire pension funding to 100% in 20 years.
Discussion ensued as Hannan responded to questions from council members.
CM Miller moved to send Resolution No. 2020-11-059R to council with recommendation. Motion
seconded by CM Colbrook and carried by roll call vote as follows:
Aye: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Miller, Roberts, Wu
Nay: None.
7. Resolution No. 2020-11-060R: A Resolution Accepting a Grant from the Lumpkin Family
Foundation to Study Street Trees and Plant Street Trees)
Sustainability and Resilience Officer Scott Tess presented this resolution. He said the grant from the
Lumpkin Family Foundation totals $37,000 and that amount would cover the cost of about 50 trees
and a portion of the cost of personnel. Tess responded to questions from council members.
After discussion, CM Wu moved to send Resolution No. 2020-11-060R to council with
recommendation for approval. Motion seconded by CM Brown and carried by roll call vote as
follows:
Aye: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Miller, Roberts, Wu
Nay: None
8. Ordinance No. 2020-11-065: An Ordinance Amending the Urbana Zoning Map (702, 704, 706 &
708 West High Street and 309 South Coler Avenue / Plan Case no. 2410-M-20)
Planner Katherine Trotter presented this ordinance. She said the property is in an area that is zoned
for single and two-family residences, and the property owners would like to have the properties at 702,
704, 706 and 708 West High Street and 309 South Coler Avenue rezoned to medium high density
multiple-family residential. Currently located on the properties are four rental homes, one of which
has been converted into apartments.
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After consideration, Plan Commission voted unanimously to forward this case to City Council with a
recommendation to deny the request because it does not meet the rezoning criteria and does not align
with the Comprehensive Plan.
James Dobrovolny, one of the property owners, was present and said the requested rezoning would
open the area up to more residential diversity, and would put people closer to their workplaces. He
stated there is no plan at this time to develop the properties. Dobrovolny answered questions and
concerns from council members, and discussion ensued.
CM Wu made a motion to deny Ordinance No. 2020-11-065. Motion seconded by CM Hursey and
carried by roll call vote as follows:
Aye: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Miller, Roberts, Wu
Nay: None
9. Ordinance No. 2020-11-066: An Ordinance Approving a Right-of-Way License Agreement with the
Champaign Urbana Mass Transit District
Interim City Engineer Justin Swinford presented this ordinance. He said this is an agreement to enter
into a right-of-way agreement with the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD) to construct
and maintain an underground electric transmission line connecting a proposed solar power plant to a
hydrogen fueling station in the City’s right-of-way at the MTD’s current location. The MTD will pay
an annual fee of $967.20, which can be adjusted annually according to the Consumer Price Index.
Discussion took place and Swinford responded to questions and concerns from council members.
CM Brown made a motion to send Ordinance No. 2020-11-066 to council with recommendation for
approval. Motion seconded by CM Colbrook and carried by roll call vote as follows:
Aye: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Miller, Roberts, Wu
Nay: None
9. Ordinance No. 2020-11-067: An Ordinance Amending Urbana City Code Chapter Three, Section 3-
43 (Increasing number of Class R&T-1 liquor licenses for Baldarotta’s Porketta & Sicilian Sausage, 300
S. Broadway Ave., Urbana, IL)
Mayor Marlin presented this ordinance. She said Baldarotta’s at Lincoln Square has no liquor license at
this time and has requested an R&T-1 liquor license because they want to expand their business to
another location in the food court. This would allow them to offer beer, wine, specialty drinks and in
addition to the foods they already serve.
CM Miller moved to send Ordinance No. 2020-11-067 to council with recommendation for approval.
Motion seconded by CM Wu and carried by roll call vote as follows:
Aye: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Miller, Roberts, Wu
Nay: None.
11. 2019 IDOT Traffic Stop Presentation and 2021 Pilot Program
Mayor Marlin introduced this item and said it was a two part presentation, which included the 2019
Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) traffic stop report and the proposal for a pilot program
that will change the approach to traffic stops by Urbana Police.
Crime Analyst Melissa Hendrian presented a report containing information about traffic stops made in
the last 10 years by Urbana Police Department. She said the preceding five years of data serve as a
baseline and is compared to the most recent data by year to monitor substantial changes over time. To
summarize the report, the disparity ratio has decreased, but still exists.
Police Chief Bryant Seraphin presented the new concept in traffic stops to be adopted in 2021. He
said after studying stops it became clear the system used for making stops was biased, not the
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individual officers. The areas where many stops were made were the areas with more calls for service,
some of which were more heavily populated with Black citizens. Urbana Police realized the disparity
ratio disappeared while working Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) details. STEP details
are more focused as far as area, and usually take place according to traffic data and is where the officer
is on patrol. Regular patrol is less focused and produces more racial disparity in traffic stops.
Based on the results of comparing regular patrol and STEP detail results, and finding racial disparity
disappears during STEP, the Urbana Police Department will conduct traffic enforcement in areas
determined by data based on traffic accidents. The STEP model will be used for all traffic stops as a
pilot program for 2021.
Dangerous driving behavior continues to be a concern and will be addressed in all parts of the city.
Patrols will be assigned in areas predetermined by traffic accident data and officers may enforce traffic
violations in those areas. The focus will be on dangerous driver behavior and driving that presents
safety issues for the general public, like use of seatbelts, handheld cellphone use, speeding, etc.
Discussion ensued and Chief Seraphin responded to questions and concerns from council members.
12. Adjournment
With no further business to come before the Committee, Chair Roberts adjourned the meeting at
10:28pm.
Kay Meharry
Assistant City Clerk
This meeting was recorded and is viewable on-demand.
Minutes Approved: December 21, 2020
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Agenda
CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE
WHOLE MEETING
DATE: Monday, November 16, 2020
TIME: 7:00 P.M.
PLACE: *To be held virtually via Zoom, 400 S. Vine St., Urbana, IL 61801
AGENDA
Chair: Dennis Roberts, Ward 5
1. Call to Order and Roll Call
2. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting
a. October 19, 2020
3. Additions to the Agenda
4. Public Input and Presentations
5. Staff Report
6. Resolution No. 2020-11-059R: A Resolution Estimating the Tax Levy (Fiscal Year 2020-
2021) - Finance
7. Resolution No. 2020-11-060R: A Resolution Accepting a Grant from the Lumpkin Family
Foundation to Study Street Trees and Plant Street Trees – PW
8. Ordinance No. 2020-11-065: An Ordinance Amending the Urbana Zoning Map (702, 704,
706 & 708 West High Street and 309 South Coler Avenue / Plan Case no. 2410-M-20) – CD
9. Ordinance No. 2020-11-066: An Ordinance Approving a Right-of-Way License Agreement
with the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District - PW
10. Ordinance No. 2020-11-067: An Ordinance Amending Urbana City Code Chapter Three,
Section 3-43 (Increasing number of Class R&T-1 liquor licenses for Baldarotta’s Porketta &
Sicilian Sausage, 300 S. Broadway Ave., Urbana, IL) – Mayor
11. 2019 IDOT Traffic Stop Presentation and 2021 Pilot Program - UPD
12. Adjournment
*Due to the Governor Pritzker and Mayoral Emergency Covid-19 orders, the Urbana City Council
Chambers will be not be open to the public during this meeting. Council Members will meet
remotely using Zoom Webinar. You may watch the meeting on streaming services, or on Urbana
Public Television, or attend via Zoom.
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Nov 16, 2020 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Urbana City Council's Committee of the Whole
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85748980933
Or iPhone one-tap :
US: +13126266799,,85748980933# or +19292056099,,85748980933#
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215
8782 or +1 346 248 7799
Webinar ID: 857 4898 0933
International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc6GwVcKId
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PUBLIC INPUT GUIDELINES
The City of Urbana welcomes Public Input during open meetings of the City Council, the City Council’s
Committee of the Whole, City Boards and Commissions and other City-sponsored meetings. Our goal is to
foster respect for the meeting process, and respect for all people participating as members of the public
body, city staff, and general public. The City is required to conduct all business during public meetings. The
presiding officer is responsible for conducting those meetings in an orderly and efficient manner.
Public Input will be taken in the following ways:
Zoom Webinar Participant
Click on the link listed in the agenda to join the Webinar. You must provide your name and email address in
order to join the Webinar. If you wish to speak during Public Input, “raise your hand” and wait to be called
on by the meeting host. You must state your first and last name for the meeting record. Participants will be
muted except when they are called on to speak; video will remain off for all members of the public when
speaking.
Telephone Participant
Call the phone number listed on the Agenda. Enter the Webinar ID followed by the # key. All callers are
muted by default. If you wish to speak, “raise your hand” by pressing *9 once. When you are called on by
the host or presiding officer you will be un-muted. You must state your first name and last name for the
meeting record.
Email Input
Public comments must be received prior to the closing of the meeting record (at the time of adjournment
unless otherwise noted) at the following: citycouncil@urbanaillinois.us. The subject line of the email must
include the words “PUBLIC INPUT” and the meeting date. Your email will be sent to all City Council
members, the Mayor, City Administrator, and City Clerk. Emailed public comments labeled as such will be
incorporated into the public meeting record, with personal identifying information redacted. Copies of
emails will be posted after the meeting minutes have been approved.
Written Input
Any member of the public may submit their comments addressed to the members of the public body in
writing. If a person wishes their written comments to be included in the record of Public Input for the
meeting, the writing should so state. Written comments must be received prior to the closing of the meeting
record (at the time of adjournment unless otherwise noted).
Verbal Input
Protocol for Public Input is one of respect for the process, and respect for others. Ridicule, obscene or
profane language, lack of respect for others, and personal attacks are not acceptable behavior. Public Input
shall not be used to air personal grievances. Speakers should address all comments to the public body as a
whole and not to individual members or City staff.
Public comment shall be limited to no more than four (4) minutes per person. The Public Input portion of
the meeting shall total no more than one (1) hour, unless otherwise shortened or extended by majority vote
of the public body members present. The presiding officer or the city clerk or their designee, shall monitor
each speaker's use of time and shall notify the speaker when the allotted time has expired. All public
comments should be addressed to the public body as a whole. A person may participate and provide Public
Input once during a meeting and may not cede time to another person, or split their time if Public Input is
held at two (2) or more different times during a meeting. The presiding officer may give priority to those
persons who indicate they wish to speak on an agenda item upon which a vote will be taken.
The presiding officer or public body members shall not enter into a dialogue with citizens. Questions from
the public body members shall be for clarification purposes only. Public Input shall not be used as a time
for problem solving or reacting to comments made but, rather, for hearing citizens for informational
purposes only.
Accommodation
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If an accommodation is needed to participate in a City meeting, please contact the City Clerk’s
Office at least 48 hours in advance so that special arrangements can be made using one of the following
methods:
• Phone: 217.384.2366
• Email: CityClerk@urbanaillinois.us
*In order to maintain reasonable decorum at a meeting, the presiding officer or any member of the public
body may call a speaker “out of order”. The presiding officer of the meeting shall have the authority to
provide a verbal warning to a speaker who uses abusive, harassing, threatening, or defamatory language, or
who engages in disorderly conduct that disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of a
meeting. If the speaker refuses to cease such remarks or conduct after being warned by the presiding officer,
the presiding officer shall have the authority to mute the speaker’s microphone and/or video presence at the
meeting. The presiding officer will inform the speaker that they may send the remainder of their remarks via
email to the public body for inclusion in the meeting record.
*Definitions of Types of Language and Conduct That May Warrant Verbal Warning:
“Abusive” means harsh, violent, profane, or derogatory language which would demean the dignity of
an individual or which is intended to humiliate, mock, insult or belittle an individual.
https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/abusive-language
“Harassing” means to annoy or bother someone in a constant or repeated way; to make repeated
attacks on another person.
https://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/harass
“Threatening” means to say that you will harm someone or do something unpleasant or unwanted
especially in order to make someone do what you want.
https://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/threaten
“Defamatory” means a statement or communication that tends to harm a person's reputation by
subjecting the person to public contempt, disgrace, or ridicule, or by adversely affecting the person's
business. A statement that is likely to lower that person in the estimation of reasonable people and in
particular to cause that person to be regarded with feelings of hatred, contempt, ridicule, fear, or
dislike.
Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019)
Citations that Authorize the Presiding Officer to Bar Offensive Language During Public Comment:
The following citations provide the legal basis for adopting UCC Section 2-5(b)(1)(d) that allows the
presiding officer of a City Council, Committee of the Whole, or a City-sponsored board or commission
regulate “abusive, harassing, threatening, or defamatory language” during public comment. The following
Attorney General binding opinions and case law essentially classify abusive, “harassing, threatening and
defamatory language as “manner”, not “content”, of speech that can be reasonably regulated under the First
Amendment. UCC Section 2-5(c) (Ordinance No. 2020-09-049. Attorney General binding opinion numbers
2019 PAC 59187, 2018 PAC 55462, 2016 PAC 45349; Milestone v. City of Monroe, Wisconsin, 665 F.3d 774,
783-784 (7th Cir. 2011); Vega v. Chicago Board of Education, 338 F.Supp.3d 806, 811 (N.D. Ill. 2018); Sandefur v.
Vill. of Hanover Park, 862 F.Supp.2d 840, 847 (N.D. Ill. 2012); I.A. Rana Enterprises, Inc. v. City of Aurora, 630
F.Supp.2d 912, 920-923 (D.C. N.D. 2009).
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