City Council

MINUTES WOODSTOCK CITY COUNCIL City Council Chambers March 25, 2020 Emergency Meeting An emergency meeting of the Woodstock City Council was called to order at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 by Mayor Sager in the Council Chambers at Woodstock City Hall. Mayor Sager stated this is an Emergency Meeting of the Woodstock City Council operating under an Amended Agenda, which was called in light of the current COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. The agenda was published in advance of this emergency meeting and all Council members were notified of the meeting. Mayor Sager stated because the City is under certain processes and procedures to protect Staff, Council and the Public at large, this meeting is being held with Council members attending remotely and those attending at City Hall observing social distancing. Noting there are no members of the public attending the meeting in person, Mayor Sager stated it is being live streamed as is the City’s policy. He explained how members of the public may participate in the meeting by calling in or submitting an email to citymanager@woodstockil.gov, which will be read at the meeting. Mayor Sager expressed his gratitude to Staff, who has put in an inordinate amount of time and effort to prepare for this meeting and to answer questions from the public, noting the many meetings that have been held to address the public’s concerns and uphold the health and well- being of all. He especially acknowledged City Manager Roscoe Stelford, Grants/Communications Manager Terry Willcockson, IT Director Dan McElmeel, Executive Assistant Jane Howie, Office Assistant Betsy Cosgray, and the Department Directors. He thanked City Clerk Cindy Smiley for being present at this meeting and the City Council Members for attending remotely. Mayor Sager stated the next regular Council meeting scheduled for April 7th will also be held remotely, noting the opportunities available to the public to make comments and raise questions at that meeting. He then explained the procedures to be used by the City Council and the Public to join today’s meeting. A roll call was taken. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Brian Sager. COUNCIL MEMBERS ATTENDING REMOTELY: Darren Flynn, Lisa Lohmeyer, Wendy Piersall, Jim Prindiville, Gordon Tebo, and Michael Turner. COUNCIL ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Roscoe Stelford, Economic Development Director Garrett Anderson, and Grants/Communications Manager Terry Willcockson. .  Woodstock City Council 03-25-20 Emergency Meeting STAFF ATTENDING REMOTELY: IT Director Dan McElmeel OTHERS PRESENT: City Clerk Cindy Smiley Mayor Sager noted the presence of a quorum. City Clerk Smiley confirmed the agenda before the Council was a true and correct copy of the published amended agenda. III. Adoption of a Resolution to Hold an Emergency City Council Meeting (COVID-19 Emergency) Mayor Sager stated the first item is the adoption of a Resolution, identified as Document 1, to hold an Emergency City Council Meeting reading the Resolution for all to hear. Motion by M. Turner, second by G. Tebo, to approve Resolution 20-R-05, identified as Document 1, A Resolution to Hold an Emergency Meeting of the Woodstock City Council via Remote Technology at 2:00 PM, Wednesday, March 25, 2020 (COVID-19 Emergency). There were no comments or questions forthcoming from the Public or the City Council. A roll call vote was taken. Ayes: D. Flynn, L. Lohmeyer, W. Piersall, J. Prindiville, G. Tebo, M. Turner, and Mayor Sager. Nays: none. Abstentions: none. Absentees: none. Motion carried IV. FLOOR DISCUSSION – B. Public Comment There were no comments forthcoming from the Public. C. Council Comment There were no comments forthcoming from the City Council. V. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Sager listed the four items the City Council will consider on the Consent Agenda. Motion by W. Piersall, second by D. Flynn, to approve the Consent Agenda. At Mayor Sager’s request, Mr. Stelford provided a brief summary of the actions being considered on the Consent Agenda. He stated Staff has been working diligently on programs that would be beneficial to local small businesses during these times, describing them briefly. Mr. Stelford stated the costs of these programs would be spread among many funds of the City. Mr. Stelford then talked about how these programs will benefit local businesses, noting they will be providing approximately $740,000 of emergency assistance at a cost of approximately $340,000 to the City. He stated it is believed these programs are greatly needed and may preserve many of these businesses from having to close permanently. He noted one of the items to be considered is a temporary suspension of the City’s reusable bag program to June 1st, as concerns have been expressed about the possibility of reusable bags transmitting the coronavirus. 2  Woodstock City Council 03-25-20 Emergency Meeting Mayor Sager noted there is also an affirmation of the Emergency Declaration to extend the declaration of the local state of emergency until 9:00 PM on April 7th, which is the date of the next Council meeting. Mayor Sager stated this meeting is intended to take action on the items identified on the Agenda in this immediate timeframe, noting there may be other items identified for the April 7th meeting. In response to a question from Mayor Sager, there were no requests to remove items from the Consent Agenda from the City Council or the Public. In response to a question from Mayor Sager, the following questions were raised by members of the City Council on items on the Consent Agenda: Item A-2 – Ordinance – Approval of an Emergency Waiver to Various Fees, Obligations & Penalties (COVID-19 Emergency) In response to a question from Councilwoman Piersall, Mayor Sager stated the B-3 Liquor License designation does not apply to Armanetti’s. He stated the businesses holding B-3 licenses are Walmart, Jewel-Osco, Walgreen’s, and Aldi’s. Item A-3 – Ordinance – Establishing an Emergency Small Business Loan Program (COVID-19 Emergency) In response to a question from Councilwoman Piersall, City Manager Stelford stated aid to service businesses is still under review. Describing various types of service businesses, he stated the idea is to focus on those businesses that have been closed or negatively impacted. Noting the Governor has allowed some businesses to remain open; Mayor Sager stated the City is not trying to exclude any business that has suffered. Councilwoman Piersall stated she is not in favor of any employment requirement for this program, noting some of the businesses which have few employees or are sole proprietor businesses are vital to Woodstock. Mr. Stelford noted the recommendation is this program apply to brick and mortar businesses, stating Staff is very supportive of it being very expansive to cover as many businesses as possible and will do everything in their power to identify businesses in need of assistance. In response to a question from Councilman Turner, Mr. Stelford confirmed the Ordinance requires reporting back to the City Council. He noted there will be certain information that must be kept confidential, stating Staff will work with the City Attorney to identify this information. Mayor Sager noted the proposed Ordinance does authorize and rely on the City Manager to implement the program. Councilman Turner expressed support of this asking Mr. Stelford to make Council aware of any unique situations that may arise. Item A-4 – Ordinance – Emergency Suspension of Single-Use Bag Fee (COVID-19 Emergency) Mayor Sager noted this is a temporary suspension of the Single-Use Bag Fee through May 31, 2020, with the program to be reinstated on June 1, 2020. 3  Woodstock City Council 03-25-20 Emergency Meeting In response to questions from Councilmembers, Mr. Stelford stated this will be communicated to the retailers. Councilman Tebo commended Staff for being proactive. Cynthia Kanner (attending remotely), Executive Director of the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County, stated the Defenders would like to lend support when it is time for this suspension to be lifted and to help allay the fear of contamination with the use of reusable bags. She noted the CDC has stated it is not thought that their use is a main way this virus is transmitted. She expressed the hope that people working at checkout lines are wearing gloves. She expressed the organization’s wish to mitigate fear going forward to continue to protect the environment. Mayor Sager stated Woodstock was honored to be recognized at the Defenders’ annual meeting. He stated there is no intent to diminish this program that has already been established, highlighting that this suspension is for a set period of time. Noting the commentary of what materials can carry the virus, he opined it is understandable and respected that the public has concerns, so this action is being taken at this time to allay these concerns. There were no further comments forthcoming from the Council or the Public on the items on the Consent Agenda, which was affirmed as follows: A. MANAGER’S REPORT NO. 153: 1. Affirmation of the Mayor’s Emergency Declaration – (COVID-19 Emergency) – Affirmation by the Council of a Continuation of the Mayor’s Emergency Declaration through April 7, 2020. 2. Ordinance – Approval of an Emergency Waiver to Various Fees, Obligations, & Penalties (COVID-19 Emergency) - Approval of Ordinance 20-O-22, identified as Document 2, An Ordinance Approving an Emergency Waiver to Various Fees, Obligations and Penalties of the City (COVID-19 Emergency). 3. Ordinance – Establishing an Emergency Small Business Loan Program (COVID-19 Emergency) - Approval of Ordinance 20-O-23, identified as Document 3, An Ordinance Establishing an Emergency Small Business Loan Program (COVID- 19 Emergency). 4. Ordinance – Emergency Suspension of Single-Use Bag Fee (COVID-19 Emergency) – Approval of Ordinance 20-O-24, identified as Document 4, An Ordinance Approving an Emergency Suspension of the Retail Single-Use Bag Program (COVID-19 Emergency). A roll call vote was taken. Ayes: D. Flynn, L. Lohmeyer, W. Piersall, J. Prindiville, G. Tebo, M. Turner, and Mayor B. Sager. Nays: none. Abstentions: none. Absentees: none. Motion carried. 4  Woodstock City Council 03-25-20 Emergency Meeting VI. DISCUSSION & ACTION ITEMS 1. City’s Response to COVID-19 2. Such other emergency actions related to Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) as directed by Council. Mayor Sager stated this is the time to raise thoughts for future action. He stated the primary focus is to do the best job with the responsibility to protect the health and welfare of the residents and businesses, and to protect the City’s employees. He stated the City must make sure it is observant of the financial impact, and also to allay the concerns of the residents and businesses. He stated there are other possible opportunities, noting the City wants to be collaborative in terms of addressing broader needs and concerns. He opened the floor to Council discussion. Councilman Turner raised the possibility of future discussion and action without raising taxes as the City looks at the emergency small business loan program, opining this is a great program. He suggested the concept of a small budget for a “Restart Program” when the virus is mitigated to create an incentive program to encourage people to visit Woodstock’s shops. He opined this could be a shopping program whereby a shopper would receive a percentage of his or her purchase dollars or a certain amount back as a kind of rewards program. He opined this would encourage people to shop in Woodstock once this is over. A brief discussion followed during which Councilmembers expressed support of Councilman Turner’s proposal. Mr. Stelford read e-mail comments received from Danielle Gulli, President of the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce, in which she expressed support for such a program. She advocated for the City to consider implementing a local shopping stimulus program which would reward a shopper with a 10% rebate based on a minimum total purchase amount from a certain number of stores. She stated the Chamber and Real Woodstock would help with such a program. She also expressed agreement with Councilwoman Piersall’s previous comments regarding financial assistance for microenterprises and sole proprietors. In response to a question from Mayor Sager, it was the consensus of the City Council for Staff to investigate Councilwoman Piersall’s and Councilman Turner’s economic stimulus suggestions and to place them on a future agenda. He asked for Council’s patience concerning placement on the next meeting as there may be unknown issues. In response to a question from Councilwoman Piersall, Mayor Sager affirmed the comments she raised to be discussed concerned sole proprietors. Mayor Sager asked the City Council to recognize that so much is going on right now and the efforts currently being undertaken take a tremendous amount of effort and energy. He noted that many Staff members are working remotely with the City working on focusing on the demands of this situation. He stated the other top priority is the City’s Budget, which is in a state of flux because of this situation. 5  Woodstock City Council 03-25-20 Emergency Meeting In response to a question from Mayor Sager as to whether the Public has anything they would like the City to consider regarding the City’s response to COVID, there were no comments or questions forthcoming. VII. Ordinance – Approving a Delay to Revolving Loan Fund Payments (COVID-19 Emergency) Councilman D. Flynn recused himself and exited the conference call at 3:12 PM. Mayor Sager noted, as he is attending remotely, Councilman Flynn will not be returning for the remainder of the meeting. Mr. Stelford described the program proposed by City Staff to provide a three-month deferment of all payments currently held by the City’s Revolving Loan Fund, noting there are six active loans. In a response to a question from Mayor Sager, there were no questions from the City Council or the Public. Motion by M. Turner, second by G. Tebo, to approve Ordinance 20-O-25, identified as Document 5, An Ordinance Approving a Delay in Revolving Loan Fund Payments (COVID-19 Emergency). A roll call vote was taken. Ayes: L. Lohmeyer, W. Piersall, J. Prindiville, G. Tebo, M. Turner, and Mayor B. Sager. Nays: none. Abstentions: none. Absentees: D. Flynn. Motion carried. VIII. ADJOURN Motion by J. Prindiville, second by L. Lohmeyer, to adjourn this Special Emergency Meeting of the Woodstock City Council to the next regular City Council meeting to be held at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, April 7, 2020, under the City’s approved Emergency Ordinance (COVID-19 Emergency), which provides for remote attendance by City Council members. Ayes: L. Lohmeyer, W. Piersall, J. Prindiville, G. Tebo, M. Turner, and Mayor B. Sager. Nays: none. Abstentions: none. Absentees: D. Flynn. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 3:18 PM. Respectfully submitted, Cindy Smiley City Clerk 6