On Monday, July 8, 2013, the City of Morrison Council Meeting convened at 7:00 p.m. in the Whiteside County Board Room, 400 N. Cherry Street, Morrison, IL. All City officials were present, as were six Aldermen: Curt Bender, Scott Connelly, Dale Eizenga, Dave Helms, Marti Wood, and Harvey Zuidema. Aldermen Michael Blean and Leo Sullivan were excused.
Three persons made four Public Comments. Becky Williamson, employee of Da’ Bar, 109 E. Main Street, represented the facility owners. She asked, “Why is our license higher than restaurants? We pay $1500.” She cited an owner of two bars in Rochelle, IL, “the same size as Morrison” who “pays $900 a year.” Alderman Connelly replied it was set based on the percentage of food vs. alcohol sales. That meant the more alcohol sold, the higher the license fee. Stephanie Vavra read a statement from the Morrison Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She urged the Council “to allow all local businesses to be open on Sunday, in the interests of fairness and the survival of our downtown…. In this economically difficult time, why does Morrison ‘tie the hands’ of four of our downtown businesses, while other towns in the County and region do all they can to attract economic activity?” Vavra then read a personal plea, supporting Sunday liquor sales and addressing “the unfairness of the restrictive time frame in which the sales may occur.” She said, Sunday “…restrictive time limits violate the First Amendment, because they are based on a religious ethic” and oppose the “separation of church and state.” She added, “Ultimately, it is not the business of the Council to limit when a consumer buys a product.” Mayor Pannier read a letter from Nancy Gravert. She stated Morrison has made changes to local speed limits as a concern for safety. She wish[ed] the City Council would allow no Sunday liquor sales.
Board and Commission Reports—Mayor Everett Pannier congratulated the Morrison Historic Preservation Commission’s progress toward designation of a downtown Historic District.
Reports of City Officers—City Engineer Noah Carmichael summarized several projects. Meadowbrook (gas station and convenience store) should be approved this month. Plans for the Morrison-Rockwood Bike Trail are 80% complete for DNR approval; bids likely will be let in August. Bids also will be let in August for the W. Market Street parking lot, with completion by end of year. Mayor Pannier noted Carmichael volunteered to make monthly reports of Fehr Graham engineering projects and thanked him. The Mayor stated he met with property owners about possible land purchases for the Waste Water Treatment Plant. He does “not expect a response until a week or so,” but it “went well.” He reported work on the water tower will begin Thursday, August 1, and take six weeks; there will be noise, long hours, and some weekend work. This will be published with the media, and a flyer will be sent to residents near the tower. The tennis court will be closed during construction. Because there will be no lettering on the white paint, the contractor will send a change order to reflect the reduced cost. The Mayor noted increased information flow between departments. A review by the FEMA engineering firm was included in the Board packet; a decision is needed by Monday, August 12.
Reports of Department Heads—Director of Public Services Gary Tresenriter is working on a cross-connection survey; backflow prevention devices are required to keep water in buildings, rather than allowing it to flow into our system. They create higher pressure inside and it affects the City water system. He checks these every two years to determine if they are in place and tested. On Wednesday, July 10, his crew will install a 3/4″ water line on S. Madison Street. The Mayor stated he “couldn’t be more pleased with” Department Heads, City Attorney Tim Zollinger, Clerk, and Council. He added, hopefully, they were getting answers back to people and praised the “effort of your Council and Department Heads.”
The Consent Agenda was approved.
- June 24, 2013, Regular Session Minutes–Alderman Zuidema noted, “I think you forgot to thank Dave Eizenga.”
- July 1, 2013, Special Session Minutes
- Bills Payable of $238,798.43
- June 2013 Treasurer’s Report
- Approval of appointment of Doug Belha to Planning and Zoning Board, term ends 2017
- Approval of Change Order #3, D. J. Sickley
- Approval of final payment to Layne Christensen for Well #5.
Items for Consideration and Possible Action were unanimously approved.
- Approval was given on Ordinance #13-21, to change the Class C Liquor License to allow Sunday liquor sales from noon to 10:00 p.m., while maintaining the current Class C fee. Alderman Eizenga said he agreed with Vavra that “everybody should be treated the same way;” he suggested the Council approve the Ordinance tonight and then look into changing the hours. The Mayor said he called Prophetstown and found they sell package sales earlier, but bars close at 10:00 p.m. Alderman Wood asked, “How do the tavern owners feel?” Hero’s Tap co-owner Wendy Gallentine said, “The problem is you can only have games on when selling alcohol.” Alderman Wood asked, “Can we go back and undo [the times]?” Mayor Pannier replied, “We can always change the hours.”
- Resolution #13-05 was passed to establish a multi-year plan to increase sewer rates, which will match the costs of the loan for sanitary sewer improvements and the new waste water treatment plant. It is a requirement to have a fee schedule in order to receive the project loan, but this resolution does not specify what the new fees will be.
- Aldermen voted to add five construction cost line items to the 2013-2014 MFT budget, to separate engineering and construction expenses, “So we’ll know exactly what Noah’s doing,” teased Mayor Pannier.
- Ordinance #13-22 concerned the disposal of surplus equipment for sale or scrap. Director of Public Services/Acting City Administrator Gary Tresenriter described the list of items he gave Aldermen: “They’re pretty much useless” and added, “instead of going to the landfill, we might as well get some money.” It will go to the General Revenue Fund, he said. Attorney Zollinger said the Ordinance could be amended to allow allocation of funds by the City Administrator. Sale of water meters should go to the Sewer and Water Fund, said ACA Tresenriter. Proceeds of the sales will be deposited into the appropriate City accounts, as determined by the ACA.
Other Items for Consideration, Discussion, and Information–Swimming pool fencing Ordinance
- Chief of Police Brian Melton seeks Council guidance about enforcement of the Ordinance, and he is working to “further define the Ordinance and enforce it.” He found several homes in violation. The issue is pools with a depth of 31″ or more must be completely enclosed by a fence at least 4′ high along their periphery. Temporary pools may be higher but not require fencing. The Mayor asked Chief Melton to check with other communities and Attorney Zollinger to help create the Ordinance. “We will take it under advisement,” he stated.