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OFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST PEORIA, ILLINOIS TUESDAY AUGUST 28, 2007 - 7:00 P.M. WEST PEORIA CITY HALL 2506 W. ROHMANN AVENUE, WEST PEORIA, IL
A Regular Meeting of the City Council of West Peoria, Illinois was held at the West Peoria City Hall on August 28th ,2007. 1. CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Jim Dillon.
3. ROLL CALL The following members were present: Alderman Dohm, Alderman Dwyer, Alderman Ganson, Alderman Meismer, Alderman Roberts, Alderwoman Thomas, and Alderman Venzon. Also present: Mayor James Dillon, Attorney Bill Connor, City Administrator John Carlson, City Treasurer Jennifer Main, City Clerk Carole Stephens. Alderman Mathewson was absent.
4 ADDITIONS AND OR DELETIONS FROM AGENDA Change Item 13: Add number three: Gathering of West Peoria Organizations
5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES for the August 14th , 2007 City Council Meeting was made by Alderman Thomas and seconded by Alderman Dwyer. ROLL CALL VOTE – Ayes Thomas, Dwyer, Dohm, Ganson, Meismer, Roberts, Venzon - 7 Nays - 0 Absent - 1 Motion Carried Discussion: Alderman Roberts was late for the meeting and was not there for Roll Call or Approval of the Minutes for the August 14th, West Peoria City Council Meeting. Also, Item 14, Ordinance No. 2007-10 An Ordinance Regarding Open Burning, Alderman Dohm voted Nay, not Alderman Ganson as reported. These have been corrected. Corrected copies are with your file for the meeting tonight.
6. OFFICERS REPORT Officer Chris Watkins was absent.
7. MAYOR’S REPORT The Building Committee met with the Township. They are in the process of tearing down the Township Building and the Township found out that they had to have an environmental study done. The City Engineer’s Company that did the environmental study for the demolition. We called Steve who works for the Engineering Company and initiate the study that evening. They sent the study in for the Township and we have no idea how long it will take. It is necessary and in the long run it is money well spent for the City and Township. Our goal is to have the building taken down at the end of August. Henry wanted me to remind everyone that there are several NO PARKING SIGNS up for the Seal Coating, which means were need to sweep the streets, patch the street and prepare the streets for the seal coating. The seal coating was postponed. But most importantly, people are not paying any attention to the NO PARKING SIGNS. N O PARKING SIGNS means NO PARKING. I gave Henry authorization to have some vehicles towed. This time were are just going to have the vehicles towed at the owner’s expense. If Henry puts up sign that say “Monday thru Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.” that means that you are going to park some where, it might be inconvenient, but it is the only way to get the streets done. Alderman Dwyer asked what is the next step, after the Township tears down the damaged building. Mayor Dillon said that that he did not need a council vote but approval to do a design build and have a handful of contractors where we would give them a drawing of what we want, then they would put it on paper and bring it back. I will explain it more on Item 11. Once that is done it will all come back to council. Bob’s working on an agreement now with the Township Attorney so that we can continue our lease. What we did find out is that the lease the City had for using the Township Building Garage had expired a few years ago. The lease that we have for the building below the hill expires next year. We will renew both of them until we decide what we are going to do.
8. TREASURER’S REPORT Jennifer Main, City Treasurer reported: At this time we do not have a Treasurer’s Report. Eric Jones’and his staff are still here completing the Audit. Everything is going great. Next month we will have a Treasurer’s Report
9. APPROVAL OF 2007 SEAL COATING FOR VARIOUS STREETS AND ALLEY TO R.A. CULLINAN & SONS IN THE AMOUNT OF $95,473.36 was approved by Alderman Venzon and seconded by Alderman Ganson. Discussion: Alderman Venzon stated that this was discussed at the last council meeting. R.A. Cullinan is ready to go as long as the weather holds out. The price will be a little lower, because of Cullinan’s Equipment is a little to big for some of our alleys, so not all the alley can be done at this time. ROLL CALL Ayes Venzon, Ganson, Dwyer, Meismer, Roberts, Thomas – 6 Nays – 0 Abstain - 1 Absent – 1 Motion Carrier
10. APPROVAL OF PURCHASE OF LEAF VACUUM FROM MIDWEST EQUIPMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF $13, 699.00 was made by Alderman Venzon and seconded by Alderman Ganson: Discussion: Quotation was pass out to all the Council Members, with the Model No. 2510TR for $13,499.00, with shipping and set up cost of $200.00 for a total of $13,699.00. This is a tow behind piece of equipment that will vacuum the leaves out of the streets to save the street sweeper. This is not a community vacuum system, it is strictly for cleaning the streets of West Peoria. This vacuum is to clear the streets for the street sweeper, so that the sticks, leaves, etc will not tear up the brushes on the Street Sweeper. Alderwoman Thomas asked if there was competitive bidding on this item. Alderman Venzon stated that there was, Henry went out and this was the best deal for the size and for what he needed. This has been an on going process Mayor Dillon said that Henry received three different estimates, ROLL CALL Ayes - Venzon, Ganson, Dohm, Dwyer, Meismer, Roberts, Thomas – 7 Nays – 0 Absent – 1 Motion Carried
11. VOTE TO AWARD CONTRACT FOR CITY GARAGE WITHOUT COMPETITIVE BIDDING. Mayor Dillon said what it should have read in talking to Bill Connor, City Attorney, is; in order for us to get away from having to have a building designed by an architect, then put it in the paper for bids, if we go out to a hand full of general contractors and give them the design and/or an idea for what Henry or we want for our city garage that they would put together a proposal and bring us some pictures and bring us an estimate. They are all going to be different. Then normally what would happen is that the Building Committee or the Council would sit down and pick which one they liked the best. And then we would vote to approve that. In order to do it that way we would have to have two-thirds vote of the Council. And so Bill thought that I needed to run it before everybody and that’s what we are going to vote on it anyway .Bill Connor, City Attorney, said that we could vote on it tonight or you could wait until you actually have a leading proposal from whatever design Build Firm you are liking best and present it to the Council. Mayor Dillon asked if it is ok with everybody and everybody is in agreement to do it that way, then I would just wait and vote on it once we decide who we are going to go and what the dollar amount is and that way we are still in agreement. John Venzon asked Attorney Connor, what is the proper way to pick these contractors? Do we have to put it in the paper? Or can we pick companies around town that we know are Design Build Companies? Atty. Conner said that even when you bid in the usual sense of the word, you also want to send packages out to folks you know provide this type of service and the statute also allows you by 2/3rds of the vote not to competitive bid. We have used this before in emergency situations. It is not limited by the black and white language of the statute to emergency situations. There are no known cases that have actually said okay, you can use it in non-emergency situations. It is an increasingly used area that design build, a lot of companies use it. Alderman John Venzon asked do we need to put this in the paper in case we do not pick a company, Bill Answered, you can. Jon asked, “Do we have to?” Bill said, “No”. John asked, “So we can just go out and solicit companies, and we are not in violation of anything if we post it in the paper?” If at the time you vote and award the contract without competitive bids and have at least 2/3rds of the Council voting in favor to do that. John then asked, “If the design build process, when they all come back with information is that not the competitive bid? They know what we want and they designed and they have given us a price, is that right? Bill, that is pretty close to competitive bidding, a lot of industries, I suppose the traditional arguable competitive bidding includes an ad in the paper. Sometimes an ad in the newspaper wouldn’t do it. It might be such a Micro-industry that they might put something in a trade journal rather than a public notice in a paper. Alderman Tom Dwyer asked what is the difference between this and putting out the Notice for the Bids for the sidewalks and storm sewers? Bill said that it is the same statute where it deals with competitive bidding. Public work involves, hiring out employees, spending more than $20,000 competitive bidding, or two-thirds vote of the Alderman without a competitive bid. We have used this is the past when have had high emergency. You can when you have a Design Build situation you have received in four estimates in and you found one you liked you can competitively bid that, if you wanted to. You could say that this is our spec now. Alderman Dohm asked if we would be putting ourselves in any risk in doing it that way? And if we would, the next thing is, what kind of a risk would be assuming at that point? Atty. Connor said that there never has been a case that has been decided under that piece of statute. The statute is clear, by two-thirds vote you can do it without competitive bidding. No court has ever blessed it or attacked it. I know several communities that have Design Build and no one squawked. John Venzon asked for some general ideas so that we don’t get four different complete buildings submitted. Mayor Dillon said that the committee talked about we will need to iron out how many doors. I met with Henry and measured. If we move the building back a little. I am leaving of this up to Henry. We laid the building out, Henry he is aware of what is needed. The building will probably poured concrete up so high, to compensate the equipment and incase of fire and a pole for a metal building. There will be a variance because when you have a bidder who will bid a wood pole building vs the metal. There will be a difference and we will have to look at this. Mayor Dillon said that he going to find a couple of builders, 2 who build with wood and 2 that will do the metal. Before doing this, I thought the council should decide if this is the way we want to go. In the long run Mayor Dillon said that it should save the City money and get done quicker. Alderman Ganson asked that tonight we will not take action on this and until we come back with some general ideas and a ballpark figure. Mayor Dillon said that he wanted the consensus of the Council that this is the direction we are to proceed. This does not have a cost and since there is not a spec in mind. In a situation, what happens if you pick a contractor and he gives us a design proposal. What happens if they complain? Is there a risk? Are we going to be a test case for the state? Atty. Connor said that if the City is going to bid it, they have to take the lowest possible bid. So if you have a real wishy-washy set of specs your risk is that you are going to get a building that is the cheapest, meets your specs, but not really what you want. If you have en engineering dept. in house where you could spend a couple of months getting exactly what you want. Alderwoman Thomas asked Mayor Dillon, “Is this deemed an emergency?” And Mayor Dillon responded that we have a time frame but it’s not deemed as an emergency. The whole idea of going with a Design-build was to save money, otherwise it would cost thousands of dollars to have something designed and then probably have it redesigned and right now we are pushing it done by the end of the year. And if we have it designed and put it out for bid, we are probably lucky to have it done next year. Tom, I don’t think you would have that problem if you have four or five reputable contractors who are competitively bidding, they are going to walk. Alderman Dwyer ask, if there is a risk if we could be sued if we do it this way. Atty. Connor, said that this is an industry that knows the rules pretty well and once in a while you might get a nasty letter, we got one once on a bid. My Brief will be real short. The statute says we can do this, period. The are not any cases that are cited. We won’t be saying well this has been blessed in Jones vs Smith or there are four cases. It’s going to be a short brief. That’s at your risk, no ammunition to throw at it, other that our interpretation of the statute. Which is shared by others interpretation by my understanding. When it first came out, I thought that’s interesting, now it seems to be a lot more prevalent throughout the state. Mayor Dillon said that some Fire Departments and some Townships have gone with the Design Build and have them built, and we have not heard of a problem. Because it is still being bid, the specs, we are giving the contractor a very loose and vague , here’s what we want and then we are going to rely on the contractor whom ever we pick to do it the way we want it to the Build Industry Standards. Atty. Connor said that we do not really call it a bid. City Administrator John Carlson asked the question what is the difference, I mean I have been here and we have bid out for sidewalks, storm sewers, etc. and we always put the article in the paper, what is the difference. This is what I don’t understand. Atty. Connor replied that, bidding to me it means that we take all comers. Who ever meets our spec with the lowest price. Carlson then asked, I thought you said that there were going to be three chosen or four. Atty. Connor, I think you are going out to three or four, your saying we want you to make this proposal, we are not saying anyone in the United States to come on in and make a bid. As far as I understand you are going out and picking these companies. Mayor Dillon said that he was going to find two people who will build in wood and two who will build in metal, at this time of the construction season, we might not get any of them. And the longer we wait the worse it will get, because everyone is trying to sew it up right now. Peoria has a lot going on and the construction trades and very busy. Next week when we tear the building down, Henry will be working out of a trailer for a little while, and the building that really isn’t set up, not running water and no restroom facilities. This is one of the reasons we left the front of the building up so they would have a place to use. We will tell the contractors our time frame, and hopefully they will tell us right up front whether they will even waste their time giving us an estimate. Alderman Venzon asked is this is something we should put in the paper, as a back up for a two week notice. Atty. Connor said that all depends on how loose the City’s spec is. Alderman Venzon said that if they are not Design Build capable, they will not even touch it. Atty. Connor said that you would be surprised. Alderman Dohm said that he fears if the Council would pick a design real close to some one else’s one of the four competitive wonders why they can’t bid that particular design, that is my concern. The dollar amount I’m guessing will be several hundred thousand of dollars. If we go with concrete walls. Mayor Dillon explained that the concrete will only be up about 4 foot. The size of the new building will be 80 x 60. Mayor Dillon said that we will have to come up with some type we need some type generic specs, we want insulated doors and concrete sealed, but it won’t be a spec, speck. And when we get the estimated back that is when are going to have to sit down as a committee and look it over and decide which is the best and compare prices. It will be easier to build a garage, then a City Hall and Township Building, because then it will be more decorative. Alderman Venzon, ask if there is a danger in not picking the lowest bidder, Atty. Connor said that under this route (referring to design build) that this is correct, you do not have to pick the lowest price. There is a fair amount of litigation out there between two bidders. When it’s quote competitive bid. Unless you want to choose some one who is a few dollars higher because you feel that they are a responsive bid then the actual cheaper bid who doesn’t meet the spec. Alderman Venzon asked, what if they both meet the spec, but we happen to prefer whatever doors, they are both insulated doors, but one is a higher quality door, but the price is higher, does that put us in any kind of jeopardy, because the other bidder met the spec? Attorney Connor, you can vary from your spec in selecting the bid, the most responsible bid at your own risk. You have got to put it in your spec, if you want a certain kind of door it has to be in the specifications. Again, I am talking about competitive bid, all comers who has the cheapest price with a detailed description wins. And then you have to go through some projects are easier to decide what is responsible and what is not. Then you get into an issue of using a contractor that you have used and had problems with, that’s OK you can reject the low bidder in that situation. Alderman Venzon commented that a Design Build the way we (Council) are talking about, we could end up with a nicer building, the low bid is not exactly what we want so then we go up higher, although the lower bid has met out criteria, the higher bid is aesthetically pleasing, what kind of difficulty will this be? Attorney Connor replied that the statute allows us to do that. Mayor Dillon indicated by doing a Design Build. Attorney Connor said that this has to be made clear. That this is a Design Build and we are just taking proposals, not competitive bidding. Alderman Venzon asked if we (council) would not get in any trouble if the council took a two thirds vote? Attorney Connor said that he could not guarantee that. He said, I have a fair statute, and that is all I’ve got. If I had an Illinois Supreme Court Case that said yes, that is what it means, then I could guarantee you, but I can’t do that. Alderman Dohm said that at this time we are hashing out something we don’t even know that exist. He made a suggestion that the council go out for the proposals and then start picking through them. At this time we don’t need council approval for this. Mayor Dillon said that he wanted the council’s general approval before he went out and waste all the time getting he companies to design something and come up with an estimate and then have it said that this is not what we want. As long as everyone agrees on it I can proceed and have Henry get some better sketchings. It was suggested that the companies should know that there are two different designs. The need to know that one is wood and one is metal. Are you planning on putting bids out for two different types of buildings? The structure from the concrete wall could either be wood on metal or wood on metal. There are builders around here that build competitively. Our time frame is going to depend on the prices and when they can get the materials. When the prices come in then we can make a decision if we want to build out of wood or steel. Suggestions to get proposals and get back with us. After this, if the council would like to make up their own spec and put it out for competitive bidding. Question was asked to Attorney Connor, how you handle Prevailing Wage issues. Attorney Connor said you have to pay it. Any public works contract whether it is competitively bid or not, if it is an outside vendor you have to pay prevailing wage. It has to be in the agreement. A suggestion was made to Mayor Dillon to check with the City’s insurance to see if there is a difference between wood structure and a metal structure. Mayor Dillon said that he wanted everyone to know what is going on.
12. PUBLIC COMMENT John Deal, a resident of West Peoria admitted that what he wanted to talk about tonight was not on the agenda and so he didn’t know if he should/could discuss it. He requested that it be put on the agenda for the next meeting if possible. He stated that he has heard there might be a possibility that the City would purchase the entire corner property at Sterling and Rohmann Avenues, where his business has been located for 42 years. He asked that the Council be gracious enough to guarantee that if or when the land would be purchased, he would be granted a minimum of 6 months in order to find a different location and make proper moving arrangements. So, he came tonight to ask the Council for this consideration and thanked the Council for their time. Mayor Dillon told Mr. Deal that no commitment could be made at this time and that some Council members might not know what he was referring to. This matter would need to be dealt with in executive session. Until there is a decision made, we can not make any promises. The Council will be willing to work with any and all business owners and understands what is involved if and when a municipality purchases property. We have not made any decision at this time and it is known that we are looking at some different locations. Mr. Deal said he would need to know if he must move as soon as possible, because his lease is up in January. Mr. Dillon said it is not the City’s intention to run anyone out of town, and until we know what we are doing, we can’t say anything at this time. The Mayor suggested that Mr. Deal talk with his current landlord.
13. OTHER BUSINESS 1)
West Peoria Logo 2)
Target Areas – Crimes and Code Violations 3)
Gathering of West Peoria
Organizations
14. COMMITTEE REPORTS A. FINANCE COMMITTEE – ALDERMAN MATHEWSON – CHAIR The Finance Committee has not met since the last Council Meeting. Our next meeting is September 4th, at 5:30 pm at City Hall. B. LAND USE COMMITTEE – ALDERMAN DOHM – CHAIR The Land Use Committee met August 15th. The Committee went over the Zoning Report and we discussed in detail a Property Maintenance Code for West Peoria. We are in the process of reviewing property maintenance codes and are making headway. Our Rental Property Registration forms are still coming in slowly and we’ve registered up to around 50% of landlords in West Peoria. This is very good considering it’s a voluntary program. We authorized expenditure to purchase a new computer for City Hall. Our next meeting is September 19th, at 6:30 pm at City Hall. Mayor Dillon mentioned that in our fence ordinance, privacy fences are not required to have a gate. We had a situation where a back yard was full of debris/litter and we were in the process of having the property cleaned up, but the fence had no entrance/exit for the cleaning company to get into the back yard. It was suggested to look into possible amending our existing fence ordinance to mandate gates on all fences. C. PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE – ALDERMAN DWYER – CHAIR The Public Safety Committee has not met since the last Council Meeting. Our next meeting is September 4th, at 7:00 pm at City Hall. D.TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE – ALDERMAN VENZON The Transportation Committee has not met since the last Council Meeting. Our next meeting is September 13th, at 6:30 pm at City Hall. 15. PUBLIC COMMENT None 16. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn this meeting was made by Alderman Roberts and seconded by Alderman Meismer. Motion carried unanimously by voice. Meeting adjourned at 7:57 p.m. Carole Stephens, City Clerk |
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