City of Princeton City Council met Oct. 7.
Here is the minutes provided by the Council:
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City Council Held in the Council Chambers at the City Hall, Monday, October 7, 2019 At 7:00 p.m.
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Quiram. Upon roll call, the following answered present, constituting a quorum: Council Members Ray Swanson, Ray Mabry, Hector Gomez, and Jerry Neumann. All present at the meeting offered the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.
Public Comment: Mayor Quiram explained details of the city response to the rain storm of September 27th – 28th. He then opened the floor to flooding comments or any other topics. Andrew Sims distributed information from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) suggesting that the city does not have regulatory authority over aircraft operating in or near the city. Don Mansfield challenged the 1100 facebook votes allegedly from Princeton that were reported to constitute a majority of residents who favored a marijuana dispensary in town. He restated that 1100 votes did not seem to be a majority of 7700. Lastly, he wanted clarity on what good a dispensary would be to the town, as he believed the term "good" never had been defined by anyone on the council. Geraldine Woodlief reported results of a survey she conducted through several organizations in town. Her results showed that 99% were not on facebook and also were 99% against the placement of a dispensary in town. Ernie Whittington stated that money is the root of the city either having the ability to fix infrastructure or not having the ability to fix infrastructure. He believed if citizens buy locally, it would improve the revenue for the city and give the city a better position to fix things such as sewers. He had seen first hand how buying local benefits retailers as well as the city, and urged all citizens to buy locally.
Motion 1: Neumann (2nd Swanson) that the printed copy of the minutes for the Regular Meeting of September 16, 2019, be approved.
Vote 1
Roll Call Vote: Council Members Swanson, Mabry, Gomez, Neumann, and Mayor Quiram voted Aye. Motion declared carried.
Motion 2: Neumann (2nd Swanson) that the bills and payrolls of the Department of Public Affairs and Department of Accounts and Finance, the Department of Streets and Public Improvements, the Department of Public Health and Safety, and the Department of Utilities and Public Properties, be allowed and paid.
Vote 2
Roll Call Vote: Council Members Swanson, Mabry, Gomez, Neumann, and Mayor Quiram voted Aye. Motion declared carried.
Motion 3: Neumann (2nd Swanson) that Ordinance 0-19-019 Rezoning Property from Residential R-1A to Residential R-3, be approved.
Vote 3
Roll Call Vote: Council Members Swanson, Gomez, Neumann, and Mayor Quiram voted Aye. Mabry abstained. Motion declared carried.
Motion 4: Mabry (2nd Swanson) that Ordinance 0-19-020 revising City Code to prohibit manned aircraft on public grounds, be tabled until October 21, 2019.
City Clerk Nelson explained two revisions to the ordinance in order to clarify the areas that were questioned at the first reading. Mabry asked if the FAA had been consulted on the language. Nelson had not consulted the FAA on the language. The consensus was to hold the vote until FAA elements could be clarified.
Vote 4
Roll Call Vote: Council Members Swanson, Mabry, Gomez, Neumann, and Mayor Quiram voted Aye. Motion declared carried.
Motion 5: Neumann (2nd Swanson) that Resolution R-19-033 accepting the low bid and financing terms for a new ambulance, be approved.
Vote 5
Roll Call Vote: Council Members Swanson, Mabry, Gomez, Neumann, and Mayor Quiram voted Aye. Motion declared carried.
City Clerk Nelson announced the Invitation to Bid on chemicals for the water treatment operations. All bids were to be returned by Thursday, October 31, 2019 to the office of the City Clerk.
City Manager Report: None.
Mayor Comments: Mayor Quiram proclaimed October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. He further proclaimed October 14 through October 18, 2019 as Home and Community Education Week. Next, he announced trick or treat hours for October 31st from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Lastly, he announced semi-annual water hydrant flushing from October 14, 2019 for approximately two weeks.
Old Business: Mabry proceeded to clarify his interpretation of comments made on Mayor Quiram's Facebook page that, in Mabry's view, suggest that Mabry was not pro-growth for Princeton. Further, he passed-out newspaper reports of past council meetings to support his claim. He then asked Mayor Quiram to remove the implications from Quiram's Facebook page.
Quiram responded that the posts on his page are, in Quiram's view, statements of fact and are not subject to removal. He also asserted that some of the elements on which Mabry relied were not accurate or did not contain a full picture of the circumstance.
New Business: None.
Public Comment: Marlene Russell commented that the city would be wise to check on illegal sump pump connections.
Juli Mabry offered assistance to get clarification on FAA regulations as she operates a helicopter company.
Motion 6: Neumann (2nd Swanson) that the Regular Meeting be adjourned. The next Regular Meeting of the City Council was scheduled for Monday, October 21, 2019, 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.
Vote 6
Roll Call Vote: Council Members Swanson, Mabry, Gomez, Neumann, and Mayor Quiram voted Aye. Motion declared carried. Adjournment at 7:47 p.m.
https://www.princeton-il.com/forms/meetings/1/M-10-07-2019.pdf
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