City of Rochelle Council Chambers
420 N 6th Street, Rochelle, IL 61068
7:00 pm
I. CALL TO ORDER:
• Pledge to the Flag
• Prayer
II. ROLL CALL:
III. PROCLAMATIONS, COMMENDATIONS, ETC:
• pdf Irish-American Heritage Month (287 KB)
IV. REPORTS AND COMMUNICATIONS:
• Mayor - Appointment of Sue Messer to the Police and Fire Pension Boards for a Term to Expire May 1, 2020
• Council Members
• Financial Statement – pdf January 2018 (779 KB)
• Employee Introduction – pdf Jake Peters (47 KB)
• Retirements
• Good News - Officer Jakymiw
Officer Sester
Officer Beery
Dispatcher Rogers
Dispatcher Owen
• Kishwaukee College
V. PUBLIC COMMENTARY:
VI. BUSINESS ITEMS:
1) CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS BY OMNIBUS VOTE with Recommendations:
a) Approve Minutes of City Council Meeting – pdf 2/12/18 (129 KB)
b) Approve Exceptions – pdf 02/07/18-02/19/18 (76 KB)
c) Approve Bills – pdf 02/20/18 (230 KB)
d) Approve Payroll – pdf 1/29/18-2/11/18 (53 KB)
e) Accept and Place on File pdf Annual Police Department Report (11.57 MB)
f) Authorize the City’s Assistance with the Hospital Hustle 5K Fun Run/Walk – pdf June 2, 2018 (21 KB)
2) Ordinance Amending Ordinance No. 45-OH – Lee Ogle Enterprise Zone
3) Ordinance Amending Articles VII (Municipal Gas Tax) and VIII (Municipal Electricity Tax) of Chapter 90 (Taxation) to Extend Utility Taxes through December 31, 2023
4) Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Evaluation and Outage Management System (OMS) Procurement
5) Research Agreement with Illinois State University – Radium Investigation
6) Resolution Authorizing the Execution of an Agreement with Nippon Sharyo Manufacturing - Temporary Rail Use Agreement
VII. DISCUSSION ITEMS:
1) Service Expansion Feasibility Study – City of Rochelle Fiber Optic
2) Capital Improvement Plan 2018-2022
VIII. EXECUTIVE SESSION
1) The setting of a price for sale or lease of property owned by the City. Section (c) (6)
IX. ADJOURNMENT
The Council Meeting will be broadcast live on Facebook
Agenda Item #2 Ordinance Amending Ordinance No. 45-OH
Staff Contact: Sue Messer, Assistant to the City Manager
Summary: On December 14, 2015 the Mayor and Council approved an Ordinance Establishing the Lee Ogle Enterprise Zone. The new zone encompassed the City of Rochelle along with the City of Dixon, Ogle County and Lee County. The zone was established to provide incentives to promote the economic growth of the area, to reduce unemployment and to encourage expansion, rehabilitation and new construction of structures within the zone for a term of 15 years.
The original Lee Ogle Enterprise Zone included 9,600 acres divided between the two counties and two cities with 1000 acres left “undesignated” to allow for expansion. In September of 2017 and January of 2018 the Rochelle City Council approved ordinances which expanded the zone to include certain industrial and commercial property in the City of Amboy and the Village of Mount Morris.
A public hearing was held at the Rochelle City Council meeting on February 12 to discuss adding the following areas to the enterprise zone:
• Ogle County parcel 24-14-100-015, in the City of Rochelle, for a project known as Manor Court of Rochelle, a specialized healthcare facility. (19.4 acres more or less).
• Lee County parcel 08-04-426-013, in the City of Dixon, for a project known as Annchor Road Storage, a self-storage business. (4.16 acres more or less).
Lee Ogle Enterprise Zone Administrator Andy Shaw will attend the meeting to answer any questions.
Recommendation:
Authorize an Ordinance Amending Ordinance No. 45-OH to add specific project sites in Dixon and Rochelle into the Lee Ogle Enterprise Zone
Supporting Documents:
pdf Amendment 3 to Addendum A (434 KB)
pdf Amendment 3 to Addendum B (567 KB)
Agenda Item #3 Ordinance Amending Articles VII (Municipal Gas Tax) and VIII (Municipal Electricity Tax) of Chapter 90 to Extend Utility Taxes through December 31, 2023
Staff Contact: Sam Tesreau, City Engineer & Chris Cardott, Finance Director
Summary: In November of 2012 City Council approved an amendment and extension of articles VII and VIII of chapter 90. The original utility tax funding mechanism was approved in 1996. The available utility tax funds are allocated for various projects including sidewalk repair and replacement, street improvements in areas lacking curb and gutter and sidewalks, accessibility ramps and other professional and engineering services related to those projects. Allocation of funds is based upon the amount authorized in the budget for each of the projects during the appropriate calendar year. The current ordinance will terminate in May 2018 if not renewed by City council approval. A majority of the funds have been used throughout the community over the past 15 years to repair or replace existing sidewalks and other pedestrian paths, upgrade accessibility ramps, construct new or missing sections or gaps within the City’s sidewalk system, and construction of new curb and gutter streets within residential areas lacking these infrastructure improvements. Since 1997 over 800,000 sq ft of sidewalks, accessibility ramps and pedestrian paths have been constructed or replaced throughout the City.
Over 10 years ago the existing sidewalk system was organized and rated into a multi-year project to address deficiencies in the City’s sidewalk and pedestrian network. The schedule of replacements was organized based on condition of the existing sidewalk facilities. Annually the location and quantity of replacement of sidewalks is reviewed by the City Engineer and adjusted according to budgetary funding. Updated multi-year plans will continue to work towards the PROWAG requirements for accessibility on public right of way. In addition to sidewalk replacement, accessibility ramps will need to be constructed or reconstructed, with ADA compliant detectable warning plates, in many sections of the City or as new regulations are adopted. Additionally, alley approach aprons have become an integral part of the sidewalk replacement as many of those locations provided for an area to turn around or pass wheel chairs without running off the walkable surface. Currently the ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) and the Federal Highway Administration recommend a passing clear width of 5 feet at intervals not to exceed 200 feet.
It is important to note that there are several areas in the community where sidewalk disconnects exist. Attention needs to be given along major roadways such as IL Rte. 251, IL Rte. 38, Flagg Rd., 7th Ave and S. Main Street to develop pedestrian paths to allow connection to places of destination or to the Flagg Rochelle Park District shared use paths throughout the City. The utility tax funding for these facilities is critical. The average cost for the annual sidewalk/pedestrian program is approximately $200,000. However, with the potential for cost sharing in state funded grant opportunities, upcoming state/local projects, and ever increasing material and labor costs the budgeted amount will need be increased over the next few years to sustain the quality and quantity of infrastructure replaced or constructed through 2023.
Staff presented a discussion item on the Utility Tax Fund renewal and rate increase at the February 12th City Council meeting. Along with the renewal of the Utility Tax Fund until December 2023 staff is recommending an increase from 1.5% to 3.5% in the Municipal Gas Tax and an increase in the Municipal Electricity Tax across the tiered rate structure as identified in the proposed ordinance.
Recommendation:
Approve an Ordinance Amending Articles VII (Municipal Gas Tax) and VIII (Municipal Electricity Tax) of Chapter 90 to Extend Utility Taxes through December 31, 2023
Supporting Documents:
Agenda Item #4 Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Evaluation and Outage Management System (OMS) Procurement
Staff Contact: Jason Bird, Electric Operations Superintendent
Summary: Many utilities are deploying OMS, (Outage Management System). OMS has become the central system for operations to use in managing the distribution system given its connection to customer service, automatic meter infrastructure, and field crews. RMU is seeking to have Power System Engineering (PSE) help prepare a Request for Proposal and evaluate the proposals for an OMS system, including ensuring compatibility with our existing Geographic Information Systems (GIS). PSE has an extensive background with OMS systems in the market.
Funding Sources:
Source: Budgeted Amount: Proposed Expenditure:
CIP Engineer 54-80 371,000 22,500
Recommendation:
Approve the hiring of PSE for professional service to assist RMU with GIS evaluation, RFP generation and issuance and OMS procurement at a cost of $22,500.
Supporting Documents:
Agenda Item #5 Research Agreement with Illinois State University (ISU) – Radium Investigation
Staff Contact: Adam Lanning, Superintendent Water/Water Reclamation
Summary:
Rochelle has recently experienced increased levels of radium in the water supply and staff feels it is prudent to better understand the geochemical and geological nature of this issue. We have five wells in Rochelle, one of which has exceeded the maximum contaminant level requiring us to construct a radium removal plant. The proposed agreement will provide services for graduate level research on this issue to help us answer where the radium comes from and why concentrations increase when pumping rates increase. Knowing this will hopefully help us make better decisions moving forward in regards to planning and development.
Funding Sources:
Source: Budgeted Amount: Proposed Expenditure
Cash Reserve Budgeted $20,000
Recommendation: Approve a Research Agreement with Illinois State University titled Evaluation of Radium Concentration in Groundwater in Ogle County, Illinois in the amount of $20,000.
Supporting Documents:
pdf Agreement with Illinois State University (321 KB)
Agenda Item #6 Resolution Authorizing the Execution of an Agreement with Nippon Sharyo Manufacturing - Temporary Rail Use Agreement
Staff Contact: Jason Anderson, Economic Development Director
Summary: The City will be constructing 14,000 LF of new track this summer under Project Co-Op. When completed, we will have expanded our rail car storage capacity to switch and store over 900 railcars. Currently the City of Rochelle Railroad is operating beyond its capacity and needs additional rail car storage immediately to meet the demand of our existing customer base.
Nippon Sharyo’s rail yard is not currently being utilized and a temporary track use agreement has been formulated which would allow the City Rail System to gain access to the railyard for the purpose of temporarily storing rail cars. We currently have a temporary track use agreement with CHS to store rail cars and it is working well for the City to use the unused portion of the CHS track to store and switch rail cars. There is no cost associated with the storage of rail cars to the City as this cost is passed along to users. Having the flexibility to have additional rail car storage allows for more storage, opens the CIR to more users and increases rail revenues.
Recommendation: Approve a Resolution Authorizing the Execution of an Agreement with Nippon Sharyo Manufacturing providing temporary rail use.
Supporting Documents:
pdf Temporary Rail Usage Agreement (427 KB)
Discussion Item #1 Service Expansion Feasibility Study – City of Rochelle Fiber Optic
Staff Contact: Jeff Fiegenschuh, City Manager
Summary: Sikich has provided staff with a proposal for a Service Expansion Feasibility Study to determine the feasibility of expanding the City’s fiber optic service citywide. The goals of the study include determining the number of viable businesses that align with the benefits of this service, defining the target market and developing a marketing strategy. Sikich expects this project to take approximately 8 weeks to complete at a cost of $17,120.
Sikich Creative Director/Partner Scott Koble will attend the meeting to answer any questions council may have.
Supporting Documents:
pdf Service Expansion Feasibility Study (1.40 MB)
Discussion Item #2 2018-2022 Capital Improvement Plan
Staff Contact: Jeff Fiegenschuh, City Manager and Chris Cardott, Finance Manager
Summary: The City’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is a multi-year planning instrument for the evaluation and identification of the capital infrastructure projects in need of renovation, repair, and/or construction along with the equipment or vehicle replacement over the next five years. The CIP relates these projected capital needs to the financial sources that will support their realization and the timeframe in which the financing and work will take place. Capital improvement programming is the process by which these capital projects are identified, prioritized, and selected, and thus are incorporated into the long-range fiscal and strategic planning of the City. The Capital Improvement Plan document is different from the annual budget as sit sets forth a five-year program. The first year’s program contains projects that are included in the approved 2018 City of Rochelle Budget. The remaining four years reflect staff’s recommended priorities for the future. Staff was asked for a list of capital projects and equipment or vehicle replacement in excess of $50,000 for the 2018-2022 Capital Improvement Plan.
Supporting Documents:
