Kankakee Times

City of Kankakee City Council met April 2.

Here is the minutes provided by the Council:

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: I would like to call the meeting to order. We will start with a prayer by Alex Quezada from St. John Paul II Church.

Pastor Alex Quezada: Happy Easter to you all. May the risen Christ bless you.I am a messenger of his. in hope that many people are touched by your kindness. Today we get to continue the great story ever told with the greatest message ever heard. He is risen! I am truly grateful to be on this journey together with you. In April 2005, Saint Paul the II went home to the Father. It was April 2nd. I find it providential. Let’s pray. Lord, come to our aid. Grant us peace, teach us peace, guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts and give us the courage to say yes to peace. Instill in our hearts the courage to take complete steps to achieve peace. Lord, God of the.God of the prophets, God of love. You create in us and you called us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instrumental of thy peace. Enable us to show anyone that crosses our path as our brothers and our sisters. Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who.us to implement peace. Keep alive within us the flame of hope so that we with patience and perseverance we make up to.in unity. In this.make peace strength ever last. By the words of. and hatred be vanished from our hearts of every man and woman. Lord diffuse the violence of our tongue and our hands. Renew our hearts and our minds so that they will always bring us together with our brother in our way of life will always begotten. Shalom Pass Peace. El Pasador.bear witness to union, service. and generous faith; justice and.we asked this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Thank you. We will have the pledge allegiance by the Kankakee High School District 111 Robotics Team.

In Unison: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”.

Public Comments:

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Moving on to Public Comments. Please give your name and direct your comments to the Mayor. Comments are limited to five minutes. Our first speaker is Joann Ford Box.

Joann Ford Box: Good evening everyone. I would like to.but I am down here with a beef. I think the reason you did not get any complaints or any objection to the extra two percent sale tax because I think all the public heard is that you are going to save all this money on your real estate tax. Now, I know you all are some bright people and somebody should have sift through this and saw all this coming. Even though the City can take its little portion out of real estate taxes, there are seven other entities that raise the state stuff every year. Therefore it’s all on our tax bill. We get hit from everybody. So with the City taking its little portion off these other seven entities will be raising. We are going to get hit with those taxes anyhow. Now you did not hear anything from the public about the real estate tax but they have been crying about it.I don’t know who came up with this so fast and did it so fast without going through this and telling people the real truth of this thing but that should have been done so that we would all have a better understanding of what we were doing. So all that’s going to happen is the citizens of Kankakee are going to be stuck with that extra two percent tax because we are not going to have much savings on our real estate. I thank you and I hope that you all think about it and decide what to do because us seniors.I been paying taxes in the same place for fifty years. I’m tired of paying for everybody else and getting no.oh by the way. There is an extra ten dollars on our sewage bill, it says for public safety. Where does that go? What is the public safety for?

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: It goes into the general fund to fund the police department and fire.

Ms. Joann Ford Box: Okay, thank you.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Robert S. Ellington Snipes.

Mr. Robert Snipes: To the Mayor and the City Council, again I have heard this sales tax.Council. They have asked me did I know about it. I briefly heard about it through the paper but I did not think it would be going to light, we are at the same tax rate as.park. No one else in the County is at 8.25 percent. Ms. Ford is right, you take $10.00 that’s about $120.00 per year which is $900,000.00 and that is for the community policing where you were supposed to have police officers in the community.neither here nor there, if it was left to me that money would be the one directed to the pension fund because I believe at $900,000.00 almost a million dollars you can now extinguish that five million dollar bill or whatever you got in the pension fund that continues to grow but the condition is that you have a $35.00 vehicle sticker that’s $450,000.00 that you basically get so you are talking between.million dollars directly coming out of the tax payers pocket. Then on top of that, these individuals started boycotting the business here by going to Bradley and Bourbonnais. I understand you said you are going to raise it. I am sure they will be cautious now. They are going to want the business of Kankakee to come to Bradley or Bourbonnias. At 8.25 percent the County gets a quarter percent so people would have easily.get the.percent.that was going for public safety. The only thing between us and you all is that you are home rule and you need to let folks know. To do it the spring break and pass it you know when people are either going on vacation or out with their families is not a good way to do business publicly especially when you are home rule. So I am saying that you all need to revisit 8.25 percent because I think it is going to do us more damage than doing us good if these individuals decide to go across just a few miles over. As a matter of fact, some of them are already.because they think it is in place. It’s not in place until July 1st. Which is incidentally when money is coming out of their pocket for vehicle stickers. So we need to kind of think this and we need to let the public know a little bit more about this especially when they are gearing up to go on vacation and all that to see the 8.25 percent what do you think.if you were going to do it at least by.or in this case.2 percent.you re-tax everything. Phone tax, cellphone tax, sewer tax, phone tax, cable bill tax.they pay enough as it is already. To go up 2 percent.I think government needs to look at what they are doing and look at the people’s pocket. Some of these people cannot afford it and they will choose to go other places. That’s just an FYI. Thank you.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Thank you. Roll Call of Aldermen and Alderwomen.

Clerk Dumas: Present: Tetter, Brown, Curtis, Baron, Lewis, Tall, Faford, Crawford, Osenga, O’Brien, Gall, Malone Marshall, Kennedy. ABSENT: Swanson (13) Present (1) Absent

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Department Heads please.

Clerk Dumas: Present: Hunt, Schuldt, Kubal, Power, Simms, Piggush, Nelson, Bertrand, Schmitz, Croswell, Kohler, Thank you.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Thank you. The minutes for Monday March 19th and Monday March 26th for the special meeting will be in your packets for April 16th for approval. We have no petitions. Next we have a presentation by Vincent R. Williams who is the Lobbyist and I believe he left a packet on everyone’s desk

Communications Presentation From Vincent R. Williams Lobbyist

Mr. Vincent R. Williams: Good Evening everyone. I would like to first thank the Mayor and the Council for allowing me to represent you in Springfield. AS the packet kind of lays out in a fairly difficult circumstance in Springfield leading up to the recent elections there wasn’t a lot of activity but those things that the Mayor and your Engineer expressed the desire to get done on the capital side are about to become imminent. The session will resume next Monday the 9th and we will be going almost immediately into the budget process. So in your packets, we will just walk through it quickly there is a list of the current agenda items that charged to review on your behalf in Springfield. It’s a fairly lengthy list but as you see there will be items you are very familiar with that impact the day to day operations of City government particularly economic development being chief among them and pensions and ethics and I won’t read the entire list that you guys. All of those things are going to be committed over the next several weeks. It’s about 8000 Bills that are introduced in the legislature; 2000 in the Senate and another 6000 in the house during the general assembly that last two years. Right now we are in the 100th general assembly and it will last until January of 2019. So this is our last opportunity in this general assembly, the Spring Session and the Veto Session to follow; to advance the interest of Kankakee in Springfield. I have been a Lobbyist for the last 25 years in Illinois. I worked for Mayor Daily in Chicago for 4 1⁄2 years and then started my own law practice after I.Chicago where I was the Director of Governmental Affairs. I lobbied in Washington as well and worked I Congress and I am very familiar with the process. I was the Illinois Municipal Leagues only hired Lobbyist for a time under the prior administration and then the scaled their.back and technology came more to the forward. But I still work very closely with the IML and they are a great.I am glad you all are members of the IML. Some people don’t understand the value of those associations also the.and the Neighboring communities.Mayors of Managers which you all are familiar with.all these relationships play an advantage in Springfield because you have somebody to help me advocate on your behalf. The Mayor has been very helpful to me in getting us going in Springfield. The Lobby day for the Illinois Municipal League is around the 24th of April and we have already scheduled meetings with leadership in those chambers. I just had a conversation today with Senator Hutchinson and she is very excited about the Mayor coming down and she is going to join us in the meeting with President Covington on the 25th. I am also charged with assisting with some of the issues that are going to be coming forward that the City has concerns about in.and they are listed on the last page as it relates to FEMA which I know is a big issue at the moment because you guys are still trying to acquire the land along the riverside. There are a host of issues and I am confident that the support of the Mayor and the support of her Administration and you City Council working together with me in Springfield that we will have some successes this year. My role is threefold. 1. To monitor over 8000 Bills that come through. 2. To track those Bills because each day they change. When they introduce a Bill it gets assigned to a committee and in that committee process there will be one or two things that might have happened and get amended.that it might pass and all those process have to be monitored so that we make sure that our interest is protected. 3. To help you with getting to the table. I think right now giving the economic circumstances with nine million dollars of unpaid bills; a billion in a half of what’s been budgeted and what you actually have to spend; they are challenges however, I think this year in this political climate we actually will start hearing about capital bill. Should a capital bill happen, the City of Kankakee have to be at the table and ready to present its desires for resources just like: Chicago, Aurora, Peoria and everyone else and I plan to play that role for you also. Again, I am very thankful for you all giving me the opportunity to do that.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Any questions? Alderman O’Brien?

Ald O’brien:.you mentioned that you have a meeting with leadership with President Covington.you mean the House leadership?

Mr. Vince Williams: Yes, Speaker’s Offices are aware that we are coming and we are still trying to get the exact time buttoned down but they know we are coming. That is also true for Representative Durkin and Senator Brady.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Alderman Crawford?

Ald Crawford: Mr. Williams, how many other Associates or Lobbyist do you have working with you along.

Mr. Vince Williams: I have two other individuals who assist me in Springfield. Todd Brick is the one that’s with my Firm of record. He’s in Saint Louis, he’s a little closer to Springfield but I am on a daily basis: recent graduate of.former employee of Chicago Transit Authority, has a Master’s in National Economic from WASHU and Todd has worked with me closely.Saint Louis and I trust him explicitly.I also have Fred Smith who is another Lobbyist who is assisting me with coverage of all these committees so if you look at the Standing Committees that are hosting it sometimes they conflict in terms of their meeting and I engage them through my firm to help me to make sure that we don’t miss anything.

Ald Crawford: Thank you.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Any other questions? Alderman O’Brien?

Ald O’brien: Mayor, I don’t recall. Did we approve the contract for this engagement.the Council?

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: This falls under.Is it Legal and Contractual, Elizabeth?

Elizabeth Kubal: It’s.Thanks Mayor. It was put in the back section of other expenses.of the budget.that’s where we put.accountability in that last section 0191.

Ald O’brien: Does that exempt it from approval from Council? I guess that’s my question.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: When I came in Julie.was our Lobbyist. She was not, I believe on the agenda. She just carried over and then she left and I replaced her with Vince. So, it was not to my knowledge it had to be on the agenda.

Ald O’brien: Can our Counsel inquire? I just want to make sure we are doing things by the book.

Pat Power: Frankly, I thought he had been approved in his appointment but.

Ald O’brien: I don’t recall.

Ald Crawford: We have never had a contract for City Council.

Pat Power: It’s like all other contracts with the City. It has to be approved by the Council; so.Frankly, I thought it had been approved.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Crawford?

Ald Crawford: Actually, Vince Williams’s contract has never come to City Council and neither has Frank Koehler.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: pat is going to speak to this issue tonight because there needs to be some clarification on this, go ahead.

Pat Power: These items are budgeted but I think sometime there is confusion that if it is in the budget it can be spent. But the budget is an appropriation ordinance that says it is a limited document.spent for a particular approved item. It still must be approved. Any expenditure from the City has to be approved by the Council. That’s a fundamental concept in Municipal Law.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: I will get them added April 16th.

Ald Crawford: So, are we legally okay here then?

Pat Power: The answer is yes. He’s doing the work, he’s representing us. Every time his check comes through you approve it. You approve that expenditure. So from that point of view, yeah. We are alright but his appointment has to be approved and his contract.

Ald Crawford: Okay.

Update On Rickey Rockets Presented By The City Of Kankakee Engineer Neil Piggush

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Any other questions? Okay Thank you. We have an update on Ricky Rockets presented by the City of Kankakee Engineer, Neil Piggush.

Neil Piggush: Thank you Mayor. I know there have been a lot of questions about this project. I kind of want to give a brief highlight. The timeline since I have been in my position May of 2017. I have been working with the developers since roughly September. I got issued a review letter with quite an extensive list of comments. Many of which were coordinated through the City with the developer and their engineers to address those comments for the Phase 1 study.they are asking the developer to accommodate the situation as well as future plans.so that there aren’t major reconstruction and double work done at the location. So the last review letter was received from IDOT early February there was only about eight comments left and Pat and I will have the dedication of right-of-way on the next Council Agenda.as well as.connect back to Eastgate Park or Eastridge Drive to Eastgate parkway. Those were the two remaining sitting items that had to be addressed but we didn’t want to address them until.Our last correspondence was March 20th and we are waiting until the IDOT permit was issued. One of the other items that IDOT had requested is that.be recorded before issuing the permit. We went back and forth on that since historically, only the preliminary.is required to be approved. Some public improvements will be involved and acceptance of those approvals by the City we would allow the final plaque to be recorded.they concur so that’s where we are at today.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Any questions? Do you have anything?

Ald Brown: I have too many things, I will talk to him some other time.

Public Notice Of Change In Schedule Of Rates To Customers Of The Kankakee Division Of Aqua Illinois Inc.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Okay that was just an update. Thank you Neil. The next item is information only the public notice of change in schedule of rates to customers of the Kankakee Division of Aqua Illinois Inc.

Bishop Mcnamara High School Is Requesting Permission To Host Their Annual Fightin Irish 5k Ken Klipp Classic On Monday, May 28th, 2018 From 7:30 A.M. Until 11:00 A.M.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Moving on we have Bishop McNamara High School requesting permission to host their annual Fightin Irish 5K Ken Klipp Classic on Monday, May 28th, 2018 from 7:30A.M. until 11:00A.M. May I have a motion to approve?

Ald Kennedy: So move Mayor.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Motioned by Alderwomen Kennedy.

Ald Malone Marshall: Second

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Seconded by Alderwoman Malone Marshall. All in favor, Aye.

Council: Aye

Standing Committees Building & Code – Thursday, February 15th, 2018

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Opposed same sign.motion carries. Moving onto standing committee reports Building & Code Alderwoman Kennedy.

Ald Kennedy: The Code Committee we did not really have a lot but we talked about possibly making a change to one of the ordinance as we discussed and we will bring it to Council when things are worked out. I’m sorry I forgot to hold the button. It was a very short Code meeting and we have some things that we are tossing around to bring to Council once we get them in order.

Reports Of Officers Approval Of Bills - $ 136,322.62

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Thank you Alderwoman Kennedy. Moving on to the report of officers. May I have a motion to approval of the bills?

Ald Faford: Yes, I move that we approve the report of officers, place the money in the proper accounts and pay the bills in the amount of $335,543.07.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Motioned by Alderman Faford.

Ald Tall: Second the motion.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Seconded by Alderman Tall. Any Discussion? Roll Call Please.

Clerk Dumas: Ayes: Tetter, Brown, Curtis, Baron, Lewis, Tall, Faford, Crawford (Aye.sustain on bill 73211 until we approve of the contract), Osenga, O’Brien, Gall, Malone Marshall, Kennedy (13) Ayes (0) Nays

New Business Engineering Proposal From Piggush Engineering Inc., For The City Of Kankakee Downtown Tif Streetscaping Project

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Motion carries. We have no unfinished business. Moving on to New Business. We have a Engineering Proposal from Piggush Engineering for the City of Kankakee Downtown TIF Streetscaping Project. I just want to give a little background. We are currently waiting to hear back from Rock Island.Alderman O’Brien and I have been closely monitoring and in touch with them and they have not updated us with any additional information. They applied for additional tax credits through.and we are waiting to hear if they are going to get those. Meanwhile, we have already allocated 2.5 million dollars out of the downtown TIF and a donated parking lot of approximately $300,000.00 with Rock Island. Should they not appear with tax credits I wanted to be proactive and start addressing a plan B. So I have met with Alderman Curtis in his other role at (KDC) Kankakee Downtown Development Corporation and that’s the group of business owners in the downtown area and we started talking about some things we can do with that TIF money. The money has to be spent by the end of this year by December of 2018. So in order for us to be ready if Rock Island is not ready to build the apartments, I wanted to get a proposal in front of you so that we can discuss work in the downtown areas which we thought Streetscaping.I met with the Capital Team, had input from Alderman Curtis of KDC and of course talk with you guys. The money has to be spent downtown because that is the TIF area. We are trying to be proactive because we will then need to put out bids; we will then need to allow for construction. Again, the money has to be spent by the end of the year. So that is the background regarding the proposal and I will go ahead and refer to Neil.

Neil Piggush: Thank you Mayor. Just to be clear, this is just for the surveying work when a consultant is selected through the RFQ process for the Streetscaping project, this will be ready for them to begin general construction. This is going to take 3-4 weeks we did not want to delay that process until after June 1st and have.you know.be under the gun to get construction dollars by the end of the year. So that is the purpose of the proposal.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Any questions or any discussions? Alderman Brown?

Ald Brown: According to this map, this goes to East Locust Street or does it go to the railroad tracks?

Neil Piggush: Say that again.it goes to East Locust Street.we kept it within the downtown TIF boundaries so that TIF money can be allocated towards it so.

Ald Brown: But the TIF goes to East Locust Street. Is that accurate? Is that what you are saying?

Neil Piggush: I believe so, yes.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Okay, Alderman Curtis is pulling up a map. The downtown is different from KDC.

Ald Brown: I thought it stopped at Oak.not Oak but Chestnut.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Go ahead Alderman Curtis.

Ald Curtis: I have a map here that shows yes that on either side of Schuyler it does go to Locust Street. The KDC boundaries and the TIF. District does go on either side of Schuyler.

Ald Brown: But it does not touch the railroad track?

Ald Curtis: Correct. It stops at Locust.

Ald Brown: Okay.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Alderman Crawford?

Ald Crawford: What are the boundaries of the downtown TIF district?

They go from point to point and it’s got to be spent in the downtown.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: In the downtown area correct? I will have Alderman Curtis look at the map.

Ald Curtis:.the map.in and out.the TIF does. The TIF basically goes from Locust Street down to basically from the railroad tracks over to Harrison Avenue just past the Court House and there is a small sliver that runs from Hickory down to the Senior High Rise on River. That is basically the ball park area on the TIF point.

Ald Crawford: And the down downtown TIF is that tow percent that downtown businessmen but into the TIF District.

Ald Curtis: The two percent is the KDC.that’s a special district where they tax themselves. The TIF was created many years ago to allow infrastructure improvements.Public Safety Center, City Hall, Depot.things of that nature so.this was set up 20.23 years ago. It’s expiring this year.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Yeah.December. Alderman O’Brien.

Ald O’brien: Thank you Mayor. I have a request in terms of the area by the streetscaping. Is it possible to extend it on Merchant Street further East, so it will go in front of the Merchant Street Gallary Artist of Autism and then turn North on Indiana Avenue to go in front of the Knights of Columbus building. There is a lot of.people that come downtown to go to that building. It would be a nice addition to that beautification.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Are you saying that’s currently outside of the TIF?

Ald O’brien: No it is within the TIF. It’s not including in the red area so if we could hopefully expand.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: My goal is to get the entire area. To touch that entire area of the TIF.

Ald O’brien: Well then what’s the red? Is the red what we can do?

Neil Piggush: The red is actually included in this area because we are trying to stay away from state routes given the time frame it’s going to take to get those improvements approved by IDOT. That’s the purpose. As you notice we don’t have anything on Court Street either.East or West. We were trying to avoid IDOT due to the timeframe of the project if it were to have to spend that much money in that short of a period of time.

Ald O’brien: So is that why we are avoiding Indiana Avenue.

Neil Piggush: That’s why we are avoiding Indiana, correct.

Ald O’brien: Can we extend it to Indiana, Merchant.and on Oak on the corner there so we get some.back around the Columbus building?

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: That’s on a state route.correct?

Neil Piggush: Yes.

Ald O’brien: Then I will ask if.in front of Martinez Tacos in the parking lot there that’s a pretty visible.that would benefit from additional streetscaping as well.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Alderwoman Kennedy?

Ald Kennedy: I would like to ask if we can table this until all of us can see the actual map.the accurate map because if that’s the case there are some areas in the 1st Ward that we would definitely like to have included in that.

Neil Piggush: To my knowledge all the areas on the North end of the TIF have been included. We can’t change the boundaries of the TIF unfortunately.

Ald Kennedy: Again, the question is until we all get an accurate map.does anyone have a map that we can actually see the TIF area? Because it’s kind of hard to vote on something that I am not too sure what is all included.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: The map is included in the packet, correct?

Neil Piggush: The map of the surveyed area, that’s correct. I did not include a TIF map.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: You used the TIF map to do the proposal?

Neil Piggush: Yep.

Ald Kennedy: So what I am hearing is all of the area that is on this screen that we are looking at not just the areas in red are the TIF area. Is that what I’m understanding?

Neil Piggush: No. The areas in red are within the TIF.but not inclusive of every area because of the state routes and then the couple blocks that Alderman O’Brien mentioned are not included in that area.

Ald Kennedy: Okay, that’s what I thought.that’s what I thought. So I am asking is it possible to actually get the entire map because there are some areas in the 1st Ward that we would like to have included in the streetscaping if that’s possible.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: What are the areas? Can you tell me the areas?

Ald Kennedy: Well it is kind of hard looking at this map.I want to see the entire TIF area that’s included in the downtown area we are talking about.

Neil Piggush: I don’t have that map with me right now. Alderman Curtis has it opened up.

Ald Tall: Your Honor?

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Alderman Tall.

Ald Tall: Let’s go ahead and approve this tonight and then we can make any amendments to what we approve tonight that way we can get this done.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Are you making a motion?

Ald Kennedy: I have already asked for it to be tabled.

Ald Tall: Yes, I am making a motion. Motion to approve.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Alderman Curtis?

Ald Curtis: I have this TIF format I got from Zach on my computer.I can email this to everybody.whatever you would like to do.I would be happy to pass it around.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: We have a motion on the floor to approve the proposal with the option to add additional areas. Do I have a second?

Ald Brown: Mayor?

Ald Faford: Second.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Seconded by Alderman Faford. Discussion.Alderman Brown?

Ald Kennedy: I have a point of order actually. I asked for it to be tabled.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Okay.

Ald Brown: That’s true.that’s true Mayor she did ask. She didn’t make a motion but she did ask but even if she had made a motion it still lacked a second.that’s what that is. Somebody did second his motion.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Any further discussion?

Ald O’brien: Mayor?

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Alderman O’Brien

Ald O’brien: Does the motion include the areas I described?

Ald Tall: Any areas that will need to be added.

Ald Kennedy: That wasn’t the motion.

Ald Tall: It was a motion to add areas.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: He made a motion to approve the proposal as presented by Piggush Engineering with the option to add additional areas.

Ald O’brien: Will those come back for future vote.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: I can bring it back. We will bring it back again on the 16th. If Alderman Curtis will send the map put we can take a look at it and that will give us two weeks. We are up against time. Alderman Crawford?

Ald Crawford: So we are basically going to vote to approve to go ahead and spend this money and then we will come back at our next meeting and figure out where we are going to.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: If you want to add additional areas but everything in this proposal is in the downtown TIF area. Correct?

Neil Piggush: Yes, that is correct. We kept it within the TIF area that way TIF dollars can be spent on it so.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Right. Okay, we have a motion from Alderman Tall and a second from Alderman Faford. Roll Call.

Clerk Dumas: Ayes: Tetter, Brown, Lewis, Tall, Faford, O’Brien, Nays: Curtis, Crawford, Osenga, Malone Marshall, Kennedy Abstentions: Baron, Gall (6) Ayes (2) Nays (5) Abstentions I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.5 Nays.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Do that again.

Clerk Dumas: (6) Ayes (5) Nays (2) Abstentions

Hitchcock Design Group Is Requesting Council To Approve The Amended Contract For The Kankakee Riverfront Development Project

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Motion Carries. Next up we have Hitchcock Design Group requesting Council to approve the amended contract for the Riverfront project. Mr. Hitchcock , you are here again this evening so I will let you come up, give your remarks and then the Council can ask questions.

Mr. Hitchcock: Good Evening, Happy Easter. Two weeks ago when I was here I was talking about our request to amend our existing professional services and I know that many were bewildered on what I was talking about but I think you have the paperwork now and it should make the discussion easier. In a nutshell, the services that we have partially completed at this point are against the.during our work last Fall we discovered that we need to survey more land area than we originally anticipated. That work has been accomplished and so that is an additional $11,090.00. As we also explained in the memo that.Phase 1.and that we don’t.need to do most of the hydraulic modeling as a piece of that. Between the two of those that is about $86,000.00 reduction. We also had some additional meetings that were put in. but there are four new scope items that we are proposing. 1. Development Analysis. 2. Brand Strategy and 4..Guidelines. These are all things that we think are really important to push the Riverfront initiative forward however I will submit to you for your consideration because it is not really clear in the memo.at the very least we hope that you would approve the $11,000.00 because hat has already been accomplished. At the very least I would hope that you approve the development analysis, the fiscal impact analysis, these are things that we think are vitally important to help demonstrate that Riverfront improvements are a net positive revenue for the City of Kankakee. Dollars that you put into the Riverfront.you will get dollars back out of. Dollars that go into Riverfront improvements help to make the area more attractive they attract new development, as development occurs.that incremental increase that I have explained to you in some detail.that creates the increments that helps to pay off bonds.so the development analysis helps specifically to.greater detail on how he Riverfront improvements can be.which I know is important to all of you. Fiscal impact assessment is a tool that help demonstrates.cash flows. Those two are really, really important. We think it is very useful that the planning design guidelines are completed as a part of our ongoing work whether they are approved now or sometime in the future. They are very important when to come to TIF district in the future but they are not crucial at this time. So what I respectfully ask, ideally you would improve the entire packet in front of you there is a slight reduction I fees.that all of these services get accomplished. If for any reason you are having trouble with the idea that all of these are not necessary at this time I urge you to please approve the $11,000.00 which has already been done, and then give serious consideration to the development analysis and impact analysis because those two tools help to demonstrate to you how to finance and how to fund the Riverfront improvements. I will be happy to answer any questions at the best of my ability.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Alderman O’Brien

Ald O’brien: Thanks Mayor. So as a part of this, the City will get a report back? I am particularly interested in the.impact.

Mr. Hitchcock: Yes Alderman. So what we are suggesting is we still have to finish our final report on the Riverfront and honestly we have kind of just stalled it for a while; while work this out. What will happen is if you approve just a part of this amendment.the two pieces. They will be incorporated to the final report in summary and the detail pieces will be attached as an appendix to the report so you will get all the detail.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: I think I saw Alderman Curtis.Alderman Curtis, do you have a question?

Ald Curtis: He answered.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Okay. Anybody else? Alderman Brown?

Ald Brown: So he is asking for three approvals. The $11,000.00 has already been approved because you have already done the work or do you still need approval?

Mr. Hitchcock: Honestly we did the work in good faith because at the time we were doing it we were moving like a rocket ship and we had a December 1st deadline.Neil’s crews were in the field. Before the weather got lousy we know we’ve got some latitude because we have services that we are not going to do but if push comes to shove we can do some of the others.

Ald Brown: So you are asking us to approve three items?

Mr. Hitchcock: Well what we are suggesting is that there are two items that are being reduced out of the scope.there are four new services that had never been discussed prior to the proposal: Development Analysis; Fiscal Impact Assessment; Brand Strategy; the Planning and Design Guidelines. All of these things will be very beneficial to keep. There is a small other piece with additional meetings some of those have happened and some of those have been anticipated. So technically, I am trying to answer your question very specifically. There are four new items and there is one item that is part of the original scope that got extended and that is the surveying and then meetings of course are a part of the scope.so I guess you could say there are six additional items.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: So to sum this up, we approved the contract back in the Fall in this amount.

Mr. Hitchcock: Yes.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: The two items in parenthesis.the Environmental Hydraulic Modeling did not need to be done so we were ahead $85,000.00. So you are asking to reallocate these items to those funds for the additional items that you just discussed. So we are not spending any more money.

Mr. Hitchcock: No net increases. A slight net decrease to our agreement.

Ald Curtis: Thank you Mayor. Quick question. The Development Analysis and the Fiscal Impact Analysis Assessment. You said the Fiscal Impact will show us how to get to some dollars and the Development Analysis will also show us how to fund this program?

Mr. Hitchcock: I’m sorry.in fact what I am going to do is turn to the scope section.here’s what’s included in the Development Analysis: Development sites potential.the Development Performa which is the financial math and implementation priorities. So when what we want to do is to say.this, this, this, this, this, and this. Parcels are the most attractive in short term.and when it develops here’s the kind of real estate. The taxes you may expect to get off of those.what they may be in the future and what they are presently may be used to pay off bonds. It may be used to fund the improvements along the river. That’s really crucial because in any Riverfront improvement, in any kind of consequence, we know that there is going to be a multitude of funding resources needed.philanthropy, grants, there is going to be.you might seek for dam modifications. We know there is going to be some local contributions from the City of Kankakee and we don’t expect it to be very much if anything comes from the.under the current circumstances. Lastly, the big one we know.carried finances in every Riverfront.any Riverfront Community improvement of any size or scale. For example: Greenville, South Carolina, this is the exact type of strategy being put into place.is related to development because it’s sort of a good news bad news sort of thing. The good and bad news is that the bases along the Riverfront in those projects are really, really relatively low. Consequentially, anything that gets built along that area we think is some substantial opportunities.in time. It’s going to create fairly amount of increment or.the way the TIF operates will channel back into improvements within the TIF District. It’s a great combination, it’s a winning combination.we think given the state of our State we think it is only temporary.the state of federal appropriations. You can’t really expect to get too much from any other places. Redevelopment is going to be what makes this Riverfront.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Go ahead Alderman Curtis.

Ald Curtis: Initially my thought on this.I actually voted against it.remember capital money is borrowed money on the backs of the taxpayers. But when it did pass, I said I would get behind it and. that money if we are going to spend $385,000.00. To be quite frank when I thought there is going to be a savings of $85,000.00 as most of you know me, I got excited. I thought we would put that $80,000.00 back into Capital.hearing what you just talked about here I think it.but I will be honest I was not in the favor of spending $80,000.00.when we could put that back in the capital but looking at the three sources here that are about $41,090.00 I can see us at a happy ground.how the money gets implemented. The key factor.we are going to spend $300,000.00 we should spend the $31,000.00 to figure out how to get this done, it’s probably smart. So that’s kind of my thoughts; that’s where I am at. There is about $50,000.00 going back in the capital budget that can be spent down the road.those are just my thoughts.

Mr. Hitchcock: Thank you.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Alderman Curtis may I ask you what three items are you looking at?

Ald Curtis: I think he mentioned the surveys for $11,090.00, the Development Analysis for $23,900.00 and the Fiscal Impact Assessment for $6,800.00.as the three critical Items he was looking for.

Mr. Hitchcock: That’s correct but I would really love to see.

Ald Curtis: That would still.instead of allocating $385,000.00 now we are saving money and it can go back into the capital. That’s a happy median I can get behind.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Okay. Anybody Else?

Mr. Hitchcock: Mayor may I just.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Yes, Mr. Hitchcock.

Mr. Hitchcock: Alderman Curtis asked a two part question and I have only answered part of it. Alderman Curtis, the economic.assessment talks about. not my area of expertise, he’s my sub. but this deals mostly with operational cost. So, that.so if you think about the economic development analysis more of a capital cost, redevelopment, increment. The Fiscal Impact Assessment talks more about impacts on operations sort of thing that the Comptroller is going to be most interested in and operations in the City so there that.

Ald Curtis: Thank you.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Any other.yes, Alderwoman Kennedy?

Ald Kennedy: Thank you.Thank you. The concern that I have is in reference to the service that is going to be deleted the environmental for the $63,300.00. What was the purpose of it if we don’t need it now?

Mr. Hitchcock: That is a great question I am glad you asked it because without the conversation it may seem like we lost our minds temporarily, which is certainly not the case. At the time we wrote the proposal mid to late last summer. Based on conversations with staff, we were all thinking and you can ask the Engineer Mr. Piggush the same thing. We were all thinking that the area that we would end up submitting a grant on was going to be where some of the residential properties were acquired by the City. If that were the case we would need to do and Environmental Assessment on every one of them.because two things happened. 1. Is properties weren’t being acquired fast enough to put those in considerations which that is still happening. 2. We decided that that wasn’t the most attractive opportunity to win the grant. We were all convinced after we looked at it much.that we needed to go farther North.the recently constructed pedestrian bridge, come South through Alpiner and come down to the station. That gave us the best opportunity to check as many.you know how the grant goes.to check a lot of boxes and give us the best chance to check all the boxes. It turns out we did not need to do any of the Environmental Assessments. It’s not that we are skipping something we thought we had to do. We don’t need to do it.

Ald Kennedy: Thank you.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Any other questions? Okay, do I have a motion to approve the amended contract?

Ald Tetter: So move Your Honor.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Motioned by Alderman Tetter.

Ald Lewis: Second

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Seconded by Alderwoman Lewis. Roll Call.

Ald Crawford: I have a question Mayor

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Alderman Crawford?

Ald Crawford: Is this to approve the whole $86,000.00 or is this to approve the three.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Alderman Tetter? How do you want to make the motion? To approve the amended or do you want certain parts of it or.

Ald Tetter: The amended. The professional services agreement as presented to us tonight.

Ald Crawford: So you are making a motion to approve the whole $86,000.00?

Ald Tetter: To approve the 384.

Ald Crawford: We have already spent 300 of it.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Alderman Tetter what Alderman Curtis proposed is approving the Survey.for $11,000.00. The Development Analysis for $23,900.00 and the Fiscal impact Assessment for $6,800.00. I don’t have a calculator to add it.it’s about.

Ald Curtis: $41,790.00

Ald Crawford: So is that what you are asking?

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Can you clarify that motion?

Ald Tetter: Motion that we approve.

Clerk Dumas: Push the button.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong:Yes, hold your button please.

Ald Tetter: Oh.I motion that we approve the three discussed items presented to this Council.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Okay, motion made by Alderman Tetter

Ald Lewis: Second.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: I had a second by Alderwoman Lewis. Any further discussion? Alderman Curtis?

Ald Curtis: So my understanding is correct. We are not approving the $84,660.00.we are approving the $41,790.00 for the.survey limits for the Development Analysis and the Fiscal Impact Assessment, correct?

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: That is correct. Is everybody on board? That’s correct.okay Roll Call.

Clerk Dumas: Ayes: Tetter, Brown, Curtis, Lewis, Faford, Crawford, O’Brien, Malone Marshall, Kennedy Nays: Tall, Osenga, Abstentions: Baron (.because of the.of this contractor, I have to abstain.), Gall (I need to abstain),

Mr. Hitchcock: Thank you Mayor and Alderman. May I have.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Hold on.

Mr. Hitchcock: I’m sorry.

Clerk Dumas: (9) Ayes (2) Nays (2) Abstentions

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Motion carries. Mr. Hitchcock?

Mr. Hitchcock: I will ask you a question. So the Net impact to the agreement is that we are going to reduce the agreement by.$41,000.00 that’s what I am hearing and you have approved the.Survey, the Fiscal Impact Assessment and the Development Analysis.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: That is correct.

Mr. Hitchcock: We have all our dates in place and we will be back soon. Thank you very much

First Reading Ordinance Amending Chapter 32, Section 231 Entitled “Handicapped Parking” Of The Municipal Code Of The City Of Kankakee Handicapped Parking Sign(S) Established At 1234 South Curtis Avenue

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Okay, next item under new business. This is an easier One an ordinance amending Chapter 32, Section 231 Entitled Handicapped parking of the Municipal Code of the City of Kankakee Handicapped Parking Signs established at 1234 South Curtis Avenue. May I have a motion to suspend the rules that interfere with passage of the ordinance?

Ald Crawford: I make a motion to.the rules.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Motioned by Alderman Crawford.

Ald Osenga: Second

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Seconded by Alderman Osenga. Roll Call

Clerk Dumas: Ayes: Tetter, Brown, Curtis, Baron, Lewis, Tall, Faford, Crawford, Osenga, O’Brien, Gall, Malone Marshall, Kennedy (13) Ayes (0) Nays

Second Reading Ordinance Amending Chapter 32, Section 231 Entitled “Handicapped Parking” Of The Municipal Code Of The City Of Kankakee Handicapped Parking Sign(S) Established At 1234 South Curtis Avenue

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: May I have a motion to place the ordinance on final passage?

Ald Crawford: I make the motion.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Motioned by Alderman Crawford.

Ald Osenga: Second

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Seconded by Alderman Osenga. Any discussion? Roll Call

Clerk Dumas: Ayes: Tetter, Brown, Curtis, Baron, Lewis, Tall, Faford, Crawford, Osenga, O’Brien, Gall, Malone Marshall, Kennedy (13) Ayes (0) Nays

Motions And Resolutions Resolution Recognizing And Honoring Kankakee School District 111 Robotics Team

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Motion carries. There are no appointments on the agenda. Moving on to motions and resolutions. We have a Resolution recognizing the District 111 Robotics Team. We will have the Team to come up at this time please. Okay, we have a resolution recognizing and honoring School District 111 we will have these signed and sent over to the school for you in the coming days. Whereas, The Kankakee School District 111 Robotics Team competed along with twenty- three other teams at Marion Catholic in the Illinois South Suburban League Tournament: the Mechanized Kay-OS Team #10420 earned first place; Think Award and third place; Motivate Award. RoboKays Team #10093 earned the Rockwell Collins Innovate Award and the Kay Teach Team #10421 earned first place Connect Award and second place Think Award. Kaybots Team #2923 placed second in the Finalist Alliance head-to- head competition; and Whereas, KayTech and Mechanized Kay-OS also competed at the Illinois State FTC Championship in Elgin, IL on Friday, February 23, and Saturday, February 24, 2018, and left a lasting impression on the judges. Mechanized Kay-OS astonished the judges with their engineering design and engineering notebook. Kay Techs earned a finalist nomination for the Motivate Award placing them in the top three out of the forty-four teams competing and the one hundred and seventy-five teams competing for State; and Whereas, The City of Kankakee recognize the hard work and sacrifice of these students who earned the event’s Most Prestigious Award. These talented young people demonstrated commitment, dedication, and an exceptional example of what team work can achieve by making an intensive commitment to the robotics team; and Whereas, We acknowledge and commend the coaches, parents, teachers and their sponsors for their encouragement, support and sponsorship each has contributed to the success of Kankakee School District 111 Robotics team. Today, we come here to congratulate you on your extraordinary achievement, which has brought great pride to the City of Kankakee. We look forward to witnessing your future endeavors. Therefore, Be It Resolved, by Mayor Chasity Wells-Armstrong and the City Council of the City of Kankakee, Illinois, do join in the celebration of the Kankakee School District 111 Robotics Team. Adopted this 2nd day of April, 2018. May I have a motion to approve?

Ald Gall: So move Mayor.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Motioned made by Alderwoman Gall.

Ald Faford: Second

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Seconded Alderman Faford. All in favor.

Council: Aye.

Resolution Authorizing The Execution Of The Intergovernmental Agreement Between The Kankakee County Housing Authority And The City Of Kankakee For The Provision Of Supplement Police Services

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Congratulations. Thank you. Next we have a resolution authorizing the execution of the intergovernmental agreement between the Kankakee County Housing Authority and the City of Kankakee for the provision of supplement police services and I will refer to Alderman Brown.

Ald Brown: This resolution was on the agenda in February. I’m sorry January.we looked to.review the approved contract under Chief Regnier.they installed cameras.the contract is a five year contract. There is no cos to the City as a matter of fact, we received $24,000.00 a year. They give us that money for the use of a police.and any.they might have and that’s it. Any raises and stuff like that they take care of all of that. The police department will not have any expense. There is nothing coming out of our pockets at all.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: That’s why I held it up, I wanted to make sure that any particular raises the City did not absorb that so we.

Ald Brown: It is in the contract.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: May I have a motion to approve?

Ald Brown: Motion to approve the resolution to the intergovernmental agreement between the Kankakee Housing Authority and the City of Kankakee Police Department for supplemental police services.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Motion made by Alderman Brown.

Ald Kennedy: Second

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Seconded by Alderwoman Kennedy. Any discussion? Alderman Osenga?

Ald Osenga: I do have a question. Deputy Chief Hunt, is this a full time position for Police Officers? Is this going to be like.in the olden days it was a job guys would work there. Is this going to be a fulltime position? Will somebody be assigned there fulltime?

Deputy Chief Hunt: We have three officers that is working that position.

Ald Osenga: So, it will be fulltime with three officers there all the time?

Deputy Chief Hunt: Yes.

Ald Osenga: Thank you.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Any other questions or discussion? Roll Call.

Clerk Dumas: Ayes: Tetter, Brown, Curtis, Baron, Lewis, Tall, Faford, Crawford, Osenga, O’Brien, Gall, Malone Marshall, Kennedy (13) Ayes (0) Nays

Motion To Accept The Contract Agreement Between The City Of Kankakee And Ms. Carolyn Sawyer To Facilitate A Staff Retreat On Behalf Of The City Of Kankakee

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Motion carries. The next item is to accept the contract agreement between the City of Kankakee and Ms. Carolyn Sawyer to facilitate a Staff Retreat on behalf of the City of Kankakee and I want to clarify that this is a strategic planning I sent you all a copy of this contract. This is one of the areas that we seem to have some confusion. I had a call with Alderman Baron, our budget chair and Pat. I will go ahead and start with Pat so he can kind of walk us through.

Pat Power: I think a little problem developed through this getting.with the impression because there is money appropriated and budgeted for this specific purpose that there was no need to approve the contract to expend it for the service. Not so. General rule in Municipal Law is that if you are spending money to be approved by the Legislative body and that is so in this case to. Apparently there was a confusion there and it wasn’t really until late, late, in the day if you will. That may have been my fault or not, not calling attention to it but at any event that’s where It’s at. Before this money can be expended.contract.it must be approved by the Council.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: And that has not been consistent. Because we.there are times when we have expenditures and we come and approve them before the budget.Alderman Baron do you want to speak to that?

Ald Baron:.my.about this is that.as far as the substance of this it is supposed to go to City Council but we have already by way of adopting the budget that we were as a collected body willing to.under $10,000.00 on staff development. I think it is important.I think it is a good time to do it when we are in a new Administration. Had it been done immediately after the election I don’t know if that would have the same force and affect here.with about a year’s worth of experience and this is a perfect time to have goal setting for the staff. I did not know the amount until this just recently and I also know the Mayor solicited other bids. There was an $8,000.00 amount offer.this was the lower one. I.and you can tell in our Council materials that the Mayor has already signed the contract. I think you can tell by our course of conduct.what the Mayor just said.I think it was a good faith move on her part to sign it.the staff training is scheduled for Thursday. I would assume that the services of the trainer has already been scheduled. I think she has probably got her train ticket and she will be on her way. This is.if this were to happen again, if we have a staff retreat next year or two years from now I think it would be ideal for it to go to budget and then you know we can kick around the idea.is there a less expensive way to do it? Do we want to go locally or do we want to go.in this instance, although I went back and for the with this issue a little bit I don’t think its terrible idea to.also in having.an important part of this is to go through the training and go through the staff development.recap and suggestions. This is something that we can.we should use this as a model for future development of the City. We are paying for it and we are paying good money for this lady that obviously have a background in doing this. This can be valuable.we can’t just put it on the shelf we have to use it. So.those are my thoughts.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Carolyn, do you want to speak to this since you are HR?

Carolyn Croswell: Yes, Good Evening Mayor and Aldermen and Ladies. We did reach out to other.to provide this service and Alderman Baron is right. There is a return on investment so long as we use the information to have the City lean forward. The one.we did reach out to.started at $25,000.00 for a 4 1⁄2 day session and for one day they agreed to $1,000.00.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: $8,000.00

Caroyln Croswell: I’m sorry $8,000.00. I had the privilege of participating in an event over with the local.group.there was a pretty good speaker there who also had staff development training and strategic planning which is very important. I mean, this is a business. I know it is a Municipality but this is a business and there has to be strategic planning in our efforts to lean forward to grow and you know the key component of strategic planning is your leadership making sure that everybody knows the goals; everybody is on the same page and that we have the ability to lead the staff to get us there. We want to lead people where we want them to be and that is very important but anyway, that particular vendor was not available to us on the day that we wish to have the session. His rate came in between $4,000.00-$5,000.00 but the was not available. Last but not least, we reached out to some of our colleagues over in Bourbonnais to see if they had done anything kind of similar and I did get a report back that they did do something in the Park District very similar and they engage someone that charged them $10,000.00. So, the numbers sound very, very high but you know if you get someone really good who is able to lead us towards a strategic plan that benefits the City and the citizens who live here, and at the same time develop your key leadership team the ROI on it is very, very, important and it will benefit the City going forward.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Elizabeth do you have anything you want to add?

Elizabeth Kubal: I don’t at this time but I completely agree with what Carolyn said though. The return on investment.I was privy to attend a strategic planning session with everybody involved. It was very, very.a really neat thing, I had never been to anything like that before and it was something that I remembered and I look forward.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: As you all know we are in restructuring so as Alderman Baron said this is my first year in and I thought it would be a good time to do this. I have worked really hard to assess all of our departments and the needs. I do meet with the Department Heads twice a month but it doesn’t give us an opportunity to really sit down and dig into the dirt so to speak about issues and where we’re going. We will have our Superintendent of ESU retiring so we have to restructure the entire Utility we are looking at doing that. During the assessment I have had staff tell me they have not had evaluations regularly so I’m looking to put in some best practices. We are mandated by the State to do certain training: like sexual harassment things like the Hatch Act we are looking for things to redevelop our river so we need some input on strategies around economic development and branding. I thought her fee was reasonable this includes here getting here, the hotel, we have had a couple conference calls for preparation and a report to follow up and meet with me individually after the staff retreat. I call it a retreat because I am use to that term. I came from congress and when we worked at congress we had a retreat with the entire staff.I called it a retreat this is not a vacation we are going to be working all day and there will be some team building and certainly we are not going to make people feel tortured but you know but this is definitely to look at the vision and what we have accomplished year one; where we are going in year two to make sure we are all on the same page. This is open to all the Departments Heads and the City Council. Up to 30 people. I believe this is a.practice for us as we move Kankakee forward and in terms of the contract there was confusion we allocated $10,000.00 under the HR department when we approved the budget back in 2017 when we amended the budget and in January it was also under that budget the $10,000.00. So, the budget reflects what we value, I value training and development and it was in both budgets. The original we passed in June and also the amended budget. So, we are in those amounts we allocated of $10,000.00. So, may I have a motion to approve?

Ald Osenga: Question Mayor.comment.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Alderman Osenga.

Ald Osenga: I know it was $10,000.00 budgeted for this. If I am understanding this correctly, this is one day of training.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: 8 hours.30 people.

Ald Osenga: We are stewards of the tax payer’s money. You want to spend $7,000.00 for one day of training. I understand we need training, I don’t have a problem with that about training but $7,000.00 for one day of training is way out of line for me and I am sure it is for a lot of tax payers of this City. We have to watch their money.we are spending 70 percent of the budget for a year for one day. I am totally against this.

Mayor Wells- Armstrong: The budget ends April 30th and this is April 2nd. The budget year ends on April 30th.

Ald Osenga: Just because we have it in the budget doesn’t mean it has to be spent.

Mayor Wells Armstrong: We placed money there so the staff can be trained and to develop staff.

Ald Osenga: $7,000.00 for one day of training.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: It’s not just one day Alderman Osenga. There is prep that goes into this, there is a report that comes after this, it is not just one day. There’s been.I have had.a couple conference calls with her talking with her about issues with the City, she will follow up with me afterward and she will provide a report so it is not just one day. May I have a motion to approve?

Ald Tetter: So move Your Honor

Mayor Wells-Armstrong:Motion made by Alderman Tetter.

Ald Brown: I’ll second.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Seconded by Alderman Brown. Roll Call.

Clerk Dumas: Ayes: Tetter, Brown, Baron, Lewis, O’Brien, Gall, Malone Marshall Nays: Curtis, Tall, Faford, Crawford, Osenga, Kennedy (8) Ayes (6) Nays

Inaudible: Pardon me you may want to re- add you do not have 14 people here.

Clerk Dumas: I’m sorry.(7) Ayes (6) Nays.Thank you Alderman.

Executive Session:

Mayor Wells-Armstrong:Thank you for the correction, motion carries. We do have Executive Session to discuss the proposed union contract with the International Association of Fire Fighters AFL-CIO-CLC Local No. 653. At this time I would like to take a motion to go into Executive Session.

Ald Tetter: So move Your Honor.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Motion made by Alderman Tetter.

Ald Lewis: Second

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Seconded by Alderwoman Lewis. All in favor.Aye?

Council: Aye.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Opposed.Thank you to the Negotiation Team.

Return To Open Session

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Motion to return to open session.

Ald Brown: I make a motion to come out of Executive Session

Ald Tetter: Second

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Motioned by Alderman Brown and Seconded by Alderman Tetter to return to open session. All in favor?

Council: Aye.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: The Action resulting from the Executive Session.consideration of the proposed union contract with the International Association of Firefighters, AFL, CIO-CLC Local No.653.

Ald Brown: I make a motion that we approve that contract.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Motion made by Alderman Brown.

Ald Osenga: Second.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Seconded by Alderman Osenga. Any discussion? Roll Call please.

Clerk Dumas: Ayes: Tetter, Brown, Curtis, Baron, Lewis, Tall, Faford, Crawford, Osenga, O’Brien, Gall, Malone Marshall, Kennedy (13) Ayes (0) Nays

Aldermen Comments

Mayor Wells-Armstrong:. Motion to adjourn. moving on to Alderman Comments. Alderman Tetter?

Ald Tetter: Real quick, I appreciate all the concerns.one of the.brought up a contract, I too concur that we she nit limit that to a person’s contract, I think it actually should be all contract, that’s my opinion (speaking low/mic).

Mayor Wells Armstrong: Any other comments? Alderman Brown?

Ald Brown: There is a basketball game tonight at Alderman O’Brien against Alderman O’.I just want everyone to know that.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Alright no fighting fellas. Okay, anything else? Alright, thank you all for your time. Alderman Curtis.

Ald Curtis: I make a motion to adjourn so we can go watch.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Motion made by Alderman Curtis.

Ald Osenga: Second

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Seconded by Alderman Osenga. All in favor, aye.

Council: Aye.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong: Opposed same sign. We are adjourned.

https://citykankakee-il.gov/perch/resources/editor/citycouncilminutes040218.pdf