City of LaSalle City Council met Aug. 19

Jim Bacidore, First Ward Alderman | City of LaSalle Website

By Angelica Saylo Pilo

Sep 15, 2024

City of LaSalle City Council met Aug. 19

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

A regular meeting of the La Salle City Council of La Salle, Illinois was held, Monday, August 19, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. with Mayor Jeff Grove 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 Bacidore, Thompson, Ptak, Reynolds, Lavieri, Jeppson, Herndon, Crane

Absent – NONE

Others Present: Deputy Clerk Brent Bader, Economic Development Director Curt Bedei, Finance Director John Duncan, Director of Public Works Kevin Fay, City Attorney James McPhedran, City Engineer Brian Brown, Police Chief Mike Smudzinski, City Treasurer Virginia Kochanowski

A quorum was present.

Mayor Grove said this time will be for the public to comment and in not wanting to take time away from them, he may address comments made here elsewhere during the meeting.

COMMENTS

Dawn Hicks mentioned that she was disappointed to see that no one from the city attended Lauren Underwood’s town hall at LPHS. She also mentioned the sewer smells that are coming from the downtown. Hicks brought up that some have called the women at the city hall the “Water Girls” and she feels that this is a bit demeaning. Hicks’ main reason for attending tonight was to make sure all aldermen understood and will consider all parts to the ordinance that they may be voting on, including things that may be going against the First Amendment.

Mary Hales asked if there was an explanation for Rt. 6 curbing at La Harpe intersection having very sharp corners. She questioned if anyone knew of different curbing requirements having to be at certain intersections.

Brianne Hicks wanted to thank the city for the trees at Mathessian Park. She said that they all look fantastic. She also mentioned that the issue with the city emails seems to be resolved. She also asked if the city was able to do anything in regard to figuring out what the recordables are those Carus Chemical posts outside their plant. She also mentioned how Peru does post their packet online for residents to view and this may cut down help if the city is trying to cut public comment down to three minutes. Her last concern was in regard to any updates to on the painting of curbing by fire hydrants.

Dena Hicks wanted to remind everyone comments can still be made in regard to the EPA superfund. She then asked about why the city had to replace the driveway entryways and not the contractor. She also stated that she is all for respect, but she hopes that the alderman passes the upcoming ordinances for the right reasons.

City Engineer Brian Brown mentioned that a portion of the driveway concrete redo's were paid by the original contractor.

Lisa Dyas thanked the city for the driveway repairs and the trees at Matthiessen. She then asked the city if they were able to paint more lines at the stop signs. She stated that there are many that are barely visible.

Alderman Thompson explained the Illinois State Law in regard to stopping at a crosswalk or at a stop sign if there is not a line visible. He said he agreed that there should be visible crosswalks by the schools.

Angel Farmer stated that she doesn’t understand why Mayor Grove would want to change the time limit from five to three minutes, since she is the only one using the full five minutes. She was curious as to anyone’s reasoning for this change. She requested that the five-minute time limit remain. She questioned the Mayor and the Council as to who wrote these ordinances that they are trying to pass. She also feels that half of the ordinance will cost the taxpayers money, with some fines being $750. She believes that if the city passes these ordinances, it will cost La Salle residents hundreds of 1,000s of dollars. She also believes that these rules are infringing upon their protections. She discussed accusations that were made on the radio of fake harassment and abuse claims that she made to John Duncan. She said that she had discussed this with John Duncan and he was unaware of these claims. She reminded each alderman of the oaths they took and displayed each of the Aldermans and Mayor’s oaths. She used the remainder of her time to allow the alderman to reflect on themselves, their oaths, and for them to decide on what side of history that they plan to be on.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Moved by Alderman Reynolds and seconded by Alderman Lavieri to approve the Minutes of the Regular City Council meeting held August 5, 2024. Each and every alderman has a copy.