City Council Regular Meeting

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES DATE: Monday, April 4, 2022 TIME: 7 pm PLACE: 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, IL 61801 The City Council Committee of The Whole of the City of Urbana, Illinois, met in regular session Monday, April 4, 2022, at 7:00pm. ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT: Diane Wolfe Marlin, Mayor; CM Maryalice Wu, CM Christopher Evans, CM Shirese Hursey, CM Jaya Kolisetty, CM Chaundra Bishop, CM Grace Wilken, CM James Quisenberry ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT: Phyllis D. Clark, City Clerk STAFF PRESENT: Darcy Sandefur, Carol Mitten, Bourema Ouedraogo, Dave Wesner, Sheila Dodd, Tim Cowan, John Zeman, Richard Surles, William Kolschowsky, OTHERS PRESENT: None; Chair: James Quisenberry, Ward 7 1. Call to Order and Roll Call With a quorum present, Chair Quisenberry called the meeting of the Committee of the Whole to order at 7:00 PM. 2. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting a. March 21, 2022 Presented by Chair Quisenberry. Motion to approve by CM Wu and seconded by CM Hursey. Voice vote: AYE: Wu, Evans, Hursey, Kolisetty, Bishop, Wilken, Quisenberry NAY: None 3. Additions to the Agenda None Chair Quisenberry welcomed the public back to the first meeting back in Council chambers and asked for patience in navigating new technology. Page 1 of 4 4. Public Input and Presentations a. ARPA Public Input Motion to amend public input guidelines to prioritize ARPA comments first by CM Wu and seconded by CM Kolisetty. Voice vote: AYE: Wu, Evans, Hursey, Kolisetty, Bishop, Wilken, Quisenberry NAY: None Eric Freyfogle stressed the importance of utilizing funds available because of a public health crisis, to address public health and wellness. Spoke in support of the Park District Health and Wellness Center. Tim Bartlet the director of the Urbana Park District, shared support for the proposed Health and Wellness Center. Explained how it would meet many of the outlined ARPA and Council strategic goals. Allan Max Axelrod Co-Chair for DSA and campaign lead for no Ameren Shut offs. Spoke in support of City addressing the Dr. Ellis subdivision infrastructure. Spoke in support of the Match the Mil campaign to increase funding for the SWFT program. Ben Theobold spoke in support for the Match the Mil campaign to further expand the services of the SWFT program. Fred Delcoleman spoke in support of the proposed Health and Wellness Center. Discussed the public support present for this project. Brian Dunn spoke in support of the Match the Mil campaign and furthering the SWFT program. Spoke in support of community space and proposed the idea of a skate park. Shared statistics detailing the benefits of skateboarding. Brandi McCoy spoke to advocate for some ARPA funds to be used to address sewer system in Dr. Ellis subdivision. CM Quisenberry read on behalf of Fiona Munro (see attached). CM Hursey read on behalf of Lashaunda Cunningham (see attached). b. Public Input Anonymous expressed frustration regarding availability of remote public input options or a hybrid meeting model. Asked City to provide clarity. Tyler Swanson spoke in support of City adopting a plastic bag tax and adopt more green policies. Expressed importance of furthering green projects and sustainable practices. Allan Max Axelrod spoke in support of a plastic bag tax, and allowing more options for remote public input. Urged council to explore options to reduce evictions. Brian Dunn spoke in support of adopting a hybrid meeting model. CM Kolisetty read on behalf of Carol (see attached). c. BPAC Annual Report Presented by Bill Brown of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission. This is the annual report to be presented before council as per ordinance. Brown explained the history and purpose of BPAC. Detailed changes to infrastructure within 2021 that improved safety and offered recommendations on future improvements. Stressed the importance of infrastructure improvements to minimize crashes and injuries to pedestrians and bicyclists. Questions and discussion ensued. Page 2 of 4 5. Staff Report Carol Mitten shared that request for qualifications for the Community Safety review has closed with no responses. City plans to follow up with entities who inquired but did not apply. Announced upcoming presentation by Public Works for the Dr. Ellis subdivision. The EQL project submissions window has also closed and review of submissions will begin soon. *Motion to recess until 8:25 pm by Chair Quisenberry Mayor Marlin provided an update on the number of responses received for the ARPA survey. 6. Resolution No. 2022-04-028R: A Supplemental Resolution for Improvement Under the Illinois Highway Code (State Motor Fuel Tax for Race Street Resurfacing Construction and Construction Engineering Services) – PW Presented by John Zeman the City Engineer. Resolution will allow Public Works to expend additional funds to maintain construction cost cushion after bids came back higher than anticipated. This is part of the Race street resurfacing project. Questions and discussion ensued. Motion to approve to consent agenda by CM Hursey and seconded by CM Wu. Voice vote: AYE: Wu, Evans, Hursey, Kolisetty, Bishop, Wilken, Quisenberry NAY: None 7. Resolution No. 2022-04-029R: A Resolution Approving and Authorizing the Execution of an Urbana HOME Consortium Subrecipient Agreement (Champaign County Regional Planning Commission Households Impacted by Gun Violence TBRA 2022) – CD Presented by Sheila Dodd the Interim Community Development Director and Grants Manager. Dodd explained that a coalition of services providers is attempting to fill gaps in existing services. This resolution will allow for supportive funding to reallocated existing vouchers to provide rental assistance to households impacts by gun violence. Dodd shared some program applicant criteria. Questions and discussion ensued. Motion to approve to regular agenda by CM Bishop and seconded by CM Kolisetty. Further discussion ensued. Voice vote: AYE: Wu, Evans, Hursey, Kolisetty, Bishop, Wilken, Quisenberry NAY: None 8. Resolution No. 2022-04-030R: A Resolution Approving and Authorizing the Execution of a Community Development Block Grant Subrecipient Agreement (Champaign County Regional Planning Commission Households Impacted by Gun Violence TBRA 2022) – CD Presented by Sheila Dodd the Interim Community Development Director and Grants Manager. Dodd explained that this item is the case management portion of supporting funding relating to the item above. Questions and discussion ensued. Page 3 of 4  Motion to approve to consent agenda by CM Wu and seconded by CM Evans. Voice vote: AYE: Wu, Evans, Hursey, Kolisetty, Bishop, Wilken, Quisenberry NAY: None 9. Resolution No. 2022-04-031R: A Resolution Adopting Mayor/ City Council Strategic Goals 2022-2023 – Exec Presented by Chair Quisenberry. Item has been before council in a working draft since December 2021. Questions and discussion ensued. Motion to approve to regular agenda by CM Hursey and seconded by CM Bishop. Voice vote: AYE: Wu, Evans, Hursey, Kolisetty, Bishop, Wilken, Quisenberry NAY: None 10. Council Input and Communications CM Kolisetty shared that April is sexual assault awareness month. Reminded public about resources available locally such as RACES (217-384-4444) and nationally through RAIN’s hotline (1-800-656- 4673). CM Wu announced updated R7 meeting information and how residents can provide input at the Plan Commission for this item. CM Evans asked about hybrid meetings capabilities. CM Bishop asked about information letter received by Council from Habitat for Humanity. CM Wilken thanked public for input and those listening at home. Reminded folks about opportunities to provide ARPA input. Asked if EQL requests could be shared with Council. CM Quisenberry thanked staff for work towards enhancing meeting space. Asked about moving timer so that chair may view the time remaining. Asked about accommodating members of the public who are unable to stand. Expressed that he does not feel OMA allows for hybrid meeting models at this time. Urged City to inquire with State for further clarification. Mayor Marlin responded to some of CM Quisenberry’s questions. Shared that City is working with new technology and staff with the return to in person meetings. CM Hursey echoed that the current meeting arrangement is in compliance with OMA. Just because the OMA doesn’t explicitly state you can’t have hybrid meetings doesn’t mean that you can. Shared other remote methods of public input currently available. 11. Adjournment With no further business before the committee of the whole Chair Quisenberry adjourned the meeting at 9:01 PM Darcy Sandefur Recording Secretary This meeting was video recorded and is viewable on-demand HERE. Minutes approved: 05-02-2022 Page 4 of 4 From: Fiona Munro Sent: Monday, April 04, 2022 4:05 PM To: !City Council Subject: Public Input 4/4/22 *** Email From An External Source *** Use caution when clicking on links or opening attachments. This is regarding the ARPA funding priorities. I would appreciate if this comment could be read into the record if possible. Dear Urbana City Council, It's difficult to identify one of your stated priorities for the ARPA funding as "most important," as they're all vital for creating a safe, equitable, caring community. I would be disappointed if the city is not making serious efforts in all 5 directions, with or without the explicit use of ARPA funds. What I believe ARPA funds should definitely be used for is responding to the inequitable and outdated sewer infrastructure in the Dr. Ellis subdivision. This has likely already been mentioned tonight but it bears mentioning again. Residents of this predominantly Black neighborhood have sewage backing up into their homes and are subjected to high costs and logistical problems to perform basic maintenance. This is absurd, racist, and unfair. In the Department of Treasury's Final Rule it's specifically noted that water and sewer infrastructure projects are eligible if they "respond to an identified need to achieve or maintain an adequate minimum level of service." There is a very clear need to do so in the case of the Dr. Ellis subdivision. This is a basic and obvious use of the funding and I hope you treat it as such. Regards, Fiona Munro 1 April 4, 2022 Dear Urbana City Council Members: As the council begins hearing public input on the City of Urbana' s American Rescue Plan Act funds, I am writing you to express my support for the Urbana Park District's Health & Wellness facility project in Prairie Park. The Health & Wellness facility project meets a number of the priorities set forth by the Urbana City Council in determining the best use of these funds: Sustainable Infrastructure, Public Health and Safety, Human Rights and Social Services, and Economic Recovery and Development. As a former elected Board of Commissioner for the Urbana Park District, I served my six-year term with appreciation and gratitude for all of the things that we were collectively able to achieve through priority projects and priority needs that continues to show in our community and in our parks. One of the action items that was implemented due to me effectively voicing is how can we better serve underserved individuals and families in the Urbana community and our entire community? I continued to challenge the Urbana Park District to educate themselves and to continue to have conversations with individuals and families that do not look like them and to continue to meet with community leaders from all lifestyles. The beauty of the Urbana Park District Administration team is there was no hesitation in doing so. I introduced them to several community partners and in return, those conversations have fostered into lifelong partnerships and friendships. More important, the Urbana Park District continue to facilitate and initiate programs that are of interests to groups that may have never knew all of the programs the Urbana Park District has to offer. Sometimes, every individual when deciding on what needs to be done needs to make unbiased decisions about what needs to happen for the betterment of the individuals and families in a community that we serve and not allow outside influences to weigh in our decision making. As a former elected official, I listened to community members and often went to events that also challenged me even when I was the only African American woman in the room. In my role as Vice President for MLK Jettie Rhodes Neighborhood Day, the Urbana Park District has become one of our leading partners and continues to do so after 20+ years. King Park is located in a medium to low income neighborhood that encompasses individuals and families from multicultural backgrounds. Often we talk about beautifying all parks, including, parks in neighborhoods that also deserve opportunities to improve not only in the environment around them, however, programs and services that will educate them in such way that they, too, will participate in the Health and Wellness activities and programs for their own health. In our partnership, we have addressed obesity, bullying, cooking for health, crime and violence, and continue to work together to enhance more partnerships with community members that play a part in the process while doing so. Last year, the Jettie Rhodes committee at the request of the Public Health District facilitated a COVID Vaccination Clinic and targeted predominately minorities and underserved individuals and families . We were able to register 400 individuals and families and of those 400 people, 398 were vaccinated (statistics can be found on the MLK Jettie Rhodes Neighborhood Facebook Page). The park district not only volunteered, however, brought the UrVana van and were able to provide additional resources to individuals and families. Without question, the Urbana Park District has made OREA T strides in building programs and desires to serve ALL individuals and families from multicultural backgrounds and to meet needs in the community. When the Urbana Park District as looking at land sites to build a new Health and Wellness center, it was without question where the facility should be located . The location of the Health & Wellness facility will be a long-term community asset project is a substantial infrastructure investment ideal for one-time use funding. With a state of the art indoor facility for the residents of Urbana to work on their individual health and wellness, and a park site that will have sustainable, naturalized storm water management, multipurpose trails to increase bike and pedestrian connectivity, and native pollinator habitat. Programming at this facility will focus on not only physical wellness, but social, intellectual , emotional, spiritual, environmental, financial , and occupational wellness also . This project will create a safe community gathering space: a hub for community groups to come together to address the most pressing issues facing our community today. The new Health & Wellness facility and the associated park improvements also support the council ' s priority of Human Rights and Social Services. This development is planned for an area of Urbana that has been underserved in the past, and is in need of access to an accessible and affordable public facility. Memberships to the facility will be low cost and eligible for scholarships, and the exterior site developments such as the splash pad, will be free for the community to access. This project will also have a role to play in the economic recovery and development of Urbana from the COVID-19 pandemic. The facility construction and site development itself will create jobs in the community, and a certain percentage of the work will be awarded to Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises. Creating this kind of destination facility will also encourage new growth. Healthy neighborhoods encourage investment As the name implies, this project promotes public health and safety both on the individual and the community level. Programming at this facility will focus on not only physical wellness, but social, intellectual, emotional , spiritual, environmental, financial , and occupational wellness also . This project will create a safe community gathering space : a hub for community groups to come together to address the most pressing issues facing our community today. The new Health & Wellness facility and the associated park improvements also support the council ' s priority of Human Rights and Social Services. This development is planned for an area of Urbana that has been underserved in the past, and is in need of access to an accessible and affordable public facility. Memberships to the facility will be low cost and eligible for scholarships, and the exterior site developments such as the splash pad, will be free for the community to access. This project will also have a role to play in the economic recovery and development of Urbana from the COVID-19 pandemic. The facility construction and site development itself will create jobs in the community, and a certain percentage of the work will be awarded to Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises. Creating this kind of destination facility will also encourage new growth. This project is at a critical moment. There is no facility of this kind in Urbana, and the council ' s support of this project is VERY MUCH needed more than ever to ensure that Urbana residents have access to a safe, affordable, and high-quality facility they can be proud. Sincerely, Dr. Lashaunda R. Cunningham From: Carol Elli ott Sent: Monday, April 04, 2022 3:35 PM To: !City Council Subject: "PUBLIC INPUT" April 4, 2022 mtg *** Email From An External Source*** Use caution when click.in on links or o enin attachments. I am writing in support of the Urbana Park District's proposal for funding the Health and Wellness Facility under the ARPA. The concept of this facility addresses many of the established priorities and could play a role in preparing for the next catastrophic event. Building a strong community wide asset will aid in a strong community response. Although the timing of the grant awards is sensitive, please give consideration to this project. Thank you.