City Council Special Meeting

URBANA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES DATE: Monday, March 16, 2020 TIME: 7:00 P.M. PLACE: Urbana City Council Chambers, 400 S. Vine St, Urbana, IL 61801 The City Council of the City of Urbana, Illinois held a special meeting on March 16, 2020, at 7:00pm in the Council Chambers at the Urbana City Building. ELECTED OFFICIALS PHYSICALLY PRESENT: City Council Members (CM) Maryalice Wu; Bill Brown; Bill Colbrook; Jared Miller; Diane Wolfe Marlin, Mayor, Charles A. Smyth, City Clerk ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE: Eric Jakobsson; Dennis Roberts ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: Elizabeth Hannan; Wendy Hundley; Charles Lauss; Carol Mitten; Lorrie Pearson; Bryant Seraphin; James Simon OTHERS PRESENT: Wayne Williams A. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL There being a quorum present, Mayor Marlin called the meeting of the Urbana City Council to order at 7:02pm. B. PUBLIC INPUT Cunningham Township Assessor Wayne Williams announced the Assessor’s office has been closed, since 85% of their walk-ins are seniors. He reminded everyone that the deadline for returning the 2020 senior tax exemption form and senior tax freeze is December 31, 2020. The forms can also be mailed to the County Clerk at 1776 East Washington, Urbana, Illinois 61802. The township assessor’s office will be able to answer requests for cards by phone, email or on the website www.ctao.us. C. NEW BUSINESS 1. Ordinance No. 2020-03-015: Temporary Emergency Ordinance to Address the Covid-19 Virus Pandemic Mayor Marlin introduced this ordinance. She said the City is using the National Incident Management System (NIMS). The City objectives are: • Strongly support and cooperate in community efforts to slow the spread of the disease. • Protect the health of the community and employees • Avoid overwhelming the healthcare system. Mayor Marlin said essential City functions and services will be maintained. Consistent communication with employees and the public will be maintained. All expenses related to the pandemic response are being documented. Mayor Marlin said the Declaration of Emergency will give her some emergency powers and flexibility to meet the challenges of the pandemic. This temporary and emergency ordinance and declaration are stand-alone and for this situation only. It will allow city Page 1 of 3 council meetings to be held electronically, cancel events and activities that could promote the spread of the disease, make quicker purchases, adopt temporary personnel policies to keep the city functioning and help keep people safe. The emergency declaration is required in order for the city to be able to receive reimbursement for expenses related to Covid-19 response efforts. It will give the mayor the power to deal with protecting public health and safety, and to be able to do so quickly. Discussion ensued and City Attorney James Simon responded to questions and concerns of council members. CM Miller made a motion to approve Ordinance No. 2020-03-015. Motion seconded by CM Colbrook. A change to Section 13 of the Emergency Declaration was suggested by CM Jakobsson and CM Miller. With the first paragraph remaining as is, the amendments to Section 13 are follows: • Paragraph two - “Any order undertaken by this section will require notice to be given to the City Council prior to or at the time of any action being taken. For the action to remain in force it must be ratified by majority vote of the City Council at its subsequent regular meeting.” • Paragraph three - “Additionally, the City Council shall have the authority, by majority vote, to suspend or amend any action taken under this section within 48 hours of notice being given of any such action.” • Paragraph four - “A special meeting to vote on any action taken under the powers vested in this section shall only require a declaration by four Council members to the City Clerk of the intention of the Council to hold a vote.” • Paragraph five - “A special meeting will be noticed and scheduled as soon as is reasonably possible once notice has been given to the City Clerk.” Motion to approve the amendment to Section 13 of the Emergency Declaration was made by CM Miller, seconded by CM Wu and carried by voice vote. CM Wu referred to Section 14 which refers to the Mayor delegating powers and authority to the City Administrator or other person if she were absent or incapacitated. She said in Section 2-26 of City Code, if the mayor is unavailable the Mayor Pro Tem takes her place, and she felt it was appropriate to follow the Code. She said it is more about who will move the city forward with the help of the city staff. The Mayor responded that this situation is very different than any the City has experienced and the City Administrator and Finance Director have been trained in the NIMS framework. She said the Mayor Pro Tem would be assuming mayoral duties. After discussion it was decided to add a paragraph like the one added in Section 13. Discussion ensued and it was decided the first paragraph in Section 14 will remain as is. The second paragraph will read as follows: “For the delegation to remain in force, it must be ratified by a majority vote of the City Council at its subsequent regular meeting.” A motion to approve the amendment to Section 13 of the Emergency Declaration was made by CM Wu and seconded by CM Miller. The motion was carried by voice vote. Mayor Marlin outlined the actions that would be taken immediately: o Two of the three outside entrances will be locked, leaving only the north door open for staff and the public to enter the building. Page 2 of 3  o All employees will be positioned behind glass, creating a barrier between the public and the employees. o Suspension of issuance of public event permits and any temporary liquor licenses associated with the events, to discourage large gatherings. o Work on travel policy and trying to set up remote access to allow some employees to work from home. o No parking meter enforcement in the parking lot north of the city building. o Allowing restaurants and bars to bag two parking meters in front of their establishments for pickup. The motion to approve Ordinance No. 2020-03-015 was approved by roll call vote as follows: Brown-aye; Colbrook-aye; Hursey-aye; Jakobsson-aye; Miller-aye; Roberts-aye; Wu-aye. D. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to come before the council, Mayor Marlin adjourned the meeting at 8:28pm Kay Meharry Assistant City Clerk This meeting was video recorded and is viewable on-demand. Minutes Approved: March 23, 2020 Page 3 of 3