City of La Salle City Council met May 3.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
A regular meeting of the La Salle City Council of La Salle, Illinois was held at 6:30 p.m. with Mayor Jeff Grove presiding with proper notices being duly and continuously posted.
The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
ROLL CALL
Present - Mayor Grove, Aldermen Demes, Bacidore, Ptak, Reynolds, Lavieri, Jeppson, Crane
Excused Absence: Aldermen Herndon
A quorum was present.
Mayor welcomed Judge Cynthia Raccuglia and thanked her for attending to swear in the Council and City officials.
OATHS OF OFFICE AND SEATING OF COUNCIL MEMBERS
Judge Raccuglia swore in Mayor Jeff Grove, City Clerk Amy Quinn, Treasurer Virginia Kochanowski, First Ward Alderman Jim Bacidore, Second Ward Alderman Tom Ptak, and Third Ward Alderman John ‘Doc’’ Lavieri
Attorney McPhederan advised that if the swearing in of certain appointments was being moved up further on the agenda, a roll call of the new Council would be needed.
ROLL CALL
Present - Mayor Grove, Aldermen Demes, Bacidore, Ptak, Reynolds, Lavieri, Jeppson, Crane
Excused Absence: Aldermen Herndon
A quorum was present.
Moved by Aldermen Lavieri and seconded by Aldermen Jeppson to make a motion to go out of order from the original agenda.
ROLL CALL: AYE: Aldermen Demes, Bacidore, Ptak, Reynolds, Lavieri, Jeppson, Crane
NAY: None Absent: Herndon None Abstain: None
Motion Carried 7-0
APPOINTMENTS/REAPPOINTMENTS
Moved by Aldermen Lavieri and seconded by Aldermen Crane to appoint Jerry Janick as Fire Chief of La Salle.
ROLL CALL
AYE: Aldermen Demes, Bacidore, Ptak, Reynolds, Lavieri, Jeppson, Crane
NAY: None Absent: Herndon Abstain: None
MOTION CARRIED: 7-0
Jerry Janick was asked to come forward and was then sworn in by Judge Cynthia Raccuglia.
Judge Cynthia Raccuglia thanked the Mayor and City council for the honor to be here tonight for the swearing in.
Moved by Alderman Ptak and seconded by Alderman Jeppson to approve the appointment of Patrick Watson for a 1-year term as the Superintendent of Public Works for the City of La Salle.
ROLL CALL
AYE: Aldermen Demes, Bacidore, Ptak, Reynolds, Lavieri, Jeppson, Crane
NAY: None Absent: Herndon Abstain: None
MOTION CARRIED: 7-0
Moved by Aldermen Lavieri and seconded by Aldermen Reynolds to approve the appointment of Leah Inman for a 1-year term as the Economic Director for the City of La Salle.
ROLL CALL
AYE: Aldermen Demes, Bacidore, Ptak, Reynolds, Lavieri, Jeppson, Crane
NAY: None Absent: Herndon Abstain: None
MOTION CARRIED: 7-0
Moved by Aldermen Reynolds and seconded by Aldermen Lavieri to approve all appointments as read by Mayor Grove including Jim McPhedran as City Attorney, John Duncan as Finance Director, Mike Smudzinski as Police Chief, Brian Brown as City Engineer, Beth Ketter as Administrative Assistant to the Mayor and all offices, Andy Bacidore as Building Inspector, Lynda Kasik as Parks and Recreation Director, Brent Bader as Deputy City Clerk and Director of Public Relations and Community Development for four-year terms.
ROLL CALL
AYE: Aldermen Demes, Bacidore, Ptak, Reynolds, Lavieri, Jeppson, Crane
NAY: None Absent: Herndon Abstain: None
MOTION CARRIED: 7-0
Mayor Grove acknowledged Carrie Brown for her years of service as City Clerk and everything that she has done for La Salle, with all of the Downtown events, Miracle on 1st St. and the Celebration of Lights. Mayor Grove presented Carrie with a plaque for her 12 years of service for the City of La Salle.
Carrie Brown stated that it has been an honor to serve as City Clerk for the City of La Salle and this city council.
Mayor Grove then acknowledged Andy Bacidore as Fire Chief for a number of years for City of La Salle and everything that Andy and his family has done for the city for numerous years. Mayor Grove stated his appreciation to Andy for being the backbone behind getting our ambulance service going. He made that dream a reality. Andy will still be on with the city of La Salle as building Inspector.
Andy Bacidore thanked the Mayor for being able to be part of his administration and also thanked the City of La Salle and the Aldermen for the opportunity to be Fire Chief to the City for La Salle for 24 years. He also wanted to thank the businesses in the community and the support they have given the department for all of their fundraising needs. He also acknowledged his crew and his Assistant Chief.
The Fire Department presented Andy with a plague for his 37 years of service to the department.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Moved by Alderman Demes and seconded by Alderman Reynolds to accept and place on file the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the City Council held April 19, 2021. Each and every alderman has a copy.
Voice vote, all ayes. Motion carried.
PROCLAMATION
Moved by Alderman Lavieri and seconded by Alderman Reynolds to proclaim Saturday, May 22, 2021 through Friday, May 28, 2021 as National Safe Boating Week. Voice vote, all ayes. Motion carried.
Proclamation: Saturday, May 22, 2021 through Friday, May 28, 2021 as National Safe Boating Week within the City of La Salle.
REPORTS OF CITY OFFICERS
Moved by Alderman Demes and seconded by Alderman Reynolds to accept and place on file the Monthly Police Income Report for March 2021 showing total fees collected of $5,430.00. Each and every alderman has a copy.
Voice vote, all ayes. Motion carried.
STANDING COMMITTEES
Moved by Alderman Ptak and seconded by Alderman Lavieri to donate $2,500.00 to NCAT (North Central Area Transit) that provides transportation to our citizens of La Salle.
ROLL CALL
AYE: Aldermen Demes, Bacidore, Ptak, Reynolds, Lavieri, Jeppson, Crane
NAY: None Absent: Herndon Abstain: None
MOTION CARRIED: 7-0
Moved by Alderman Ptak and seconded by Lavieri to approve the revised request from Hernan Luna for a Redevelopment Incentive Program grants switching funds from 829 First St. to the eastern parcel of 845 First St.
Each and every alderman has a copy.
ROLL CALL
AYE: Aldermen Demes, Bacidore, Ptak, Reynolds, Lavieri, Jeppson, Crane
NAY: None Absent: Herndon Abstain: None
MOTION CARRIED: 7-0
OLD BUSINESS
Moved by Alderman Lavieri and seconded by Alderman Reynolds to accept and authorize Pay Estimate #1 to Trotter General Contracting totaling $21,082.50 for work completed to date on the 9th Street Pump Station project.
Each and every alderman has a copy.
ROLL CALL
AYE: Aldermen Demes, Bacidore, Ptak, Reynolds, Lavieri, Jeppson, Crane
NAY: None Absent: Herndon Abstain: None
MOTION CARRIED: 7-0
Moved by Alderman Lavieri and seconded by Alderman Reynolds to accept and authorize Pay Estimate #2 to Trotter General Contracting totaling $28,463.31 for work completed to date on the 9th St Pump Station project.
Each and every alderman has a copy.
ROLL CALL
AYE: Aldermen Demes, Bacidore, Ptak, Reynolds, Lavieri, Jeppson, Crane
NAY: None Absent: Herndon Abstain: None
MOTION CARRIED: 7-0
Regarding the next item, Aldermen Bacidore expressed his concerns with golf carts coming into town. After much discussion at the last meeting pertaining to Dixon ordinances, Aldermen Bacidore contacted the Dixon police and Lee County Sheriff personally and reported back that the Sheriff is “sick” of the UTVs and are still dealing with many problems with the UTV’s. He has also spoken with residents and has heard mostly objections to allowing these vehicles.
Aldermen Lavieri asked Chief of Police Mike Smudzinski to speak in regards to the safety. Chief Smudzinski spoke with his own department and other surrounding towns including Ottawa, Peru, and Spring Valley to get their opinion on the matter. He stated that his biggest concern is liability. He also suggested that we would have to get on board with our surrounding towns, especially Peru, since we are neighboring towns to them. He is concerned with the rules that would have to be in place and how the enforcement of this would even look. He also stated how they are possible to regulate maybe in a subdivision community but not around the town. Ottawa allows them in their Heritage Harbor community, an oversized subdivision. He is not in favor of this idea at all.
Aldermen Demes wanted to mention that this topic was brought up as discussion last meeting at Street and Alleys because of the issue that the city is having with the electric bikes. He was hoping to have more discussion in regards to the electric bikes.
La Salle Resident Roger Frederick spoke in regards to hoping to see the UTV’s allowed in the city limits. He mentioned some of the Dixon language from their ordinance, 18 years or older and hours 6am-11pm. This could also allow the residents of the Sportsman’s Club to come into town and shop. They could run to Flying J or Save-A-Lot. He stated that he has no vested interest in having an UTV but would like to see this happen for the city and may want to buy one in the future to enjoy taking a ride around town. Frederick and Bacidore went back and forth on many different points to discuss the issue of the UTVs being allowed on the streets of La Salle.
La Salle Resident Chet Phillips also voiced his opinion against the non-highway vehicles.
Aldermen Crane thanked Chief Smudzinski for doing the research to speak with our surrounding towns. Aldermen Crane asked for Mayor Ken Kolwaski from Peru to speak in regards to his feelings on this. He would want to speak with his team, police department, and his aldermen. He also agreed that we would have to get Peru on board with this topic in order for it to work.
City Attorney McPhedran cleared up a couple things from past discussions compared to the current discussion. This current discussion of UTVs was not mentioned in the past discussions.
A straw vote was taken with all aldermen except for Alderman Reynolds voting in favor of continuing discussion about an ordinance regarding electric bikes. Another straw vote was taken regarding continuing discussion on an ordinance for motorized vehicles such as golf cars with Alderman Demes, Alderman Ptak, Alderman Jeppson and Alderman Crane voting in favor of continuing discussion and Alderman Bacidore, Alderman Reynolds and Alderman Lavieri voting against continuing discussion.
Mayor Grove asked to aldermen to further research the issue and vote on the topic in two weeks’ time. Alderman Ptak discussed putting the item on a committee meeting.
The discussion will continue Monday, May 17, at the Streets, Alleys, and Traffic Committee Meeting immediately following the Finance Committee at 5:30 p.m.
NEW BUSINESS
Moved by Alderman Ptak and seconded by Alderman Reynolds to accept the bid of $43,023.00 from Pohars to repair sludge lagoons.
ROLL CALL
AYE: Aldermen Demes, Bacidore, Ptak, Reynolds, Lavieri, Jeppson, Crane
NAY: None Absent: Herndon Abstain: None
MOTION CARRIED: 7-0
Moved by Alderman Reynolds and seconded by Alderman Lavieri to send a request for potential zoning changes to 1445 Chartres St. to the planning commission.
ROLL CALL
AYE: Aldermen Demes, Bacidore, Ptak, Reynolds, Lavieri, Jeppson, Crane
NAY: None Absent: Herndon Abstain: None
MOTION CARRIED: 7-0
ORDINANCES/RESOLUTIONS
Moved by Alderman Reynolds and seconded by Alderman Jeppson to approve ordinance authorizing lease of a small portion of municipal property at 1401 Bucklin.
ROLL CALL
AYE: Aldermen Demes, Bacidore, Ptak, Reynolds, Lavieri, Jeppson, Crane
NAY: None Absent: Herndon Abstain: None
MOTION CARRIED: 7-0
Ordinance 2391: approving Lease of
City Property (1401 Bucklin)
COMMENTS
APPROVAL OF BILLS
Moved by Alderman Ptak and seconded by Alderman Lavieri to accept, pay, and place on file bills for May 5, 2021 with Total Submitted: $585,225.81 (Total Payroll $175,415.94, Bills to be Paid $152,365.74, Total Bills Paid $257,444.13).
ROLL CALL
AYE: Aldermen Demes, Bacidore, Ptak, Reynolds, Lavieri, Jeppson, Crane
NAY: None Absent: Herndon Abstain: None
MOTION CARRIED: 7-0
Moved by Alderman Reynolds and seconded by Alderman Crane to adjourn the meeting. Voice vote, all ayes. Motion is carried.
ADJOURNED 7:29pm
https://www.lasalle-il.gov/sites/default/files/agendas-minutes/2021-05/5-3-2021_0.pdf
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