CITY of ELGIN
COUNCIL MINUTES FOR January 12, 1999
COUNCILORS PRESENT- Glenn Clark
Pat McMullen
John Stover
Berta Churchill
John McElravy
Joe Estes
Rick Smith - Mayor
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 7 PM by Mayor Rick Smith.
Approval of Minutes
The Mayor called for approval of the minutes of the meeting of December
8, 1998. Councilor Churchill noted that on page three, under Franchise
Ordinance, þOrdinance 130" should read þOrdinance 129". Councilor Churchill
moved to approve the minutes corrected as noted, with Councilor Clark as second.
The vote was unanimous for approval, motion carried.
Seating of new Council
Councilor Churchill presented her resignation from the Council so she could
accept the office of Mayor per the results of the November election. Mayor Smith
accepted her resignation. Mayor Smith then administered the oath of office for
Mayor to Berta Churchill. He then retired from the Council. Mayor Churchill
assumed the Chair.
Mayor Churchill then administered the Oath of Office for Councilor to John
Stover, Glenn Clark and John McElravy. She then administered the oath for
Recorder/Administrator to Joe Garlitz.
Mayor Churchill noted that there was now a vacancy on the Council and
asked the Councilors their desire regarding filling the position. Kathy Gifford,
Cliff Tschirgi, Marilyn Lane and John Braughton have each expressed an interest
in filling the vacancy. Councilor Estes moved to appoint John Braughton to fill
the vacancy created by Councilor Churchillþs resignation, with Councilor Stover
as second. The vote was unanimous for approval, motion carried. Mayor
Churchill called Mr. Braughton forward and administered the oath of office to
him. Councilor Braughton was then seated on the Council.
Per the requirements of the Charter, the Council then elected, by ballot,
John Stover as the President of the Council. Balloting was as follows: Councilor
Stover 4 votes, Councilor Clark 2 votes and Councilor McElravy 1 vote. By
consensus, the Council appoint Councilor Clark to follow the President in
succession. Mayor Churchill then presented her appoints to committee assignments
as follows:Public Safety Councilors Stover and Clark,
Public Works Councilors Braughton and McElravy,
Administration Councilors McMullen and Estes.
With no objections from the Council the assignments were approved by consensus.
Supervisors Reports
The Mayor called for the supervisors reports.
Police- Chief Sibley reported that he was ready to start the þDAREþ program
again. He also will have a program for age groups too young for þDAREþ. He
also reported that he was taking applications for the position of ordinance
enforcement officer.
Public works- Kyle Boylen; absent, no report
Library- Sandra Good reported that a computer donated by the TV Association
had been installed by Ralph Howell for the use of the smaller children to play
CDs. She also reported that bar coding of the libraryþs collection was underway.
Fire- Chief McDonald reported that there had been no working structure fires
in all of 1998, noting that the year was a record for minimum activity.
Ambulance- Emily Shumway submitted a written report.
Municipal Court- Ralph Howell reported that there was no court action in the
month of December.
Recorder/Administrator- Joe Garlitz reported that the company that was offering
to help the City recover federal excises taxes, was focusing on fuel tax. The
City has purchase only a minimum of fuel the was subject to the tax, therefor
there was basically nothing to recover. He also presented two applications for
the scholarships for EMT training from Krista Silver and Terri Jones. The
Council accepted these applicants. Mayor Churchill signed the scholarship
grants.
Mr. Garlitz noted that the SCERT project list is being reviewed by the
County. The community has 4 projects on the list, Elgin EDGE is submitting the
restoration of the Opera House as a fifth project. He presented a proposal by
Elgin EDGE to have the County to do an industrial park feasibility study within
the community. This will be addressed later in the meeting. He suggested
that the Council might consider appointing an ad hoc committee to investigate the
þY2K bugþ impact on the community, providing the basis for an action plan by
the Council. A letter from ODOT was presented indicating that the grant request
for funds to build a bike path along 10th Ave. had not been funded.
Citizens to Speak
Lt. Grammar of the OSP was present to inform the Council of the State Police
þGAPþ analysis. The State police is underfunded from its authorized level.
During the next budget cycle the under-funding is projected to grow. This
causes the level of service of the OSP to be less that projected and impacts
their ability to support local law enforcement. Lt. Grammarþs presentation was
made to inform the Council of this situation.
Karen Owen presented a progress report on the activities of the Elgin EDGE.
Several committees have not met since the last council meeting. The
cleanup/beautification committee with the highschool picked up Christmas trees
for disposal. The tourism committee has been cleaning up the old police office
so they can use it as a mini-museum. They have also set the completion of the
Witty Park þreader boardþ as a priority project for 1999. The recruitment
committee has complete compiling their survey and will publish a report on the
26th.
Ralph Howell, as chairman for the committee supporting the school bonds, asked
to make a presentation before the Council at its next meeting. The Council
invited him to make a presentation.
Lee McDonald was present to ask for the Councilþs support in enforcing the
junked vehicle ordinances at the wrecking yard at 7th and Birch, Arnie Krauseþs
yard. There was a discussion regarding the requirements of the wrecking yard
licence. It was noted that both his State licence and the City Ordinances
prohibited him from storing wrecked vehicles in view from the street. Chief
Sibley indicated that he would work on the issue.
Harlan Scott stated that he had heard several complaints regarding the snow
plowed off the street and piled in front of the post office. It was discussed at
length. The majority of the downtown merchants pay to have their on-street
parking cleared during the winter. However, the Post Office never has done
this. It was suggested that the Council consider the situation and set a policy
in this regard.
Committee Reports
The Mayor then called for the committee reports.
Administration: Councilor Clark reported that he had reviewed the bills.
Public Works: Councilor McMullen reported that the public works crew had
cleaned up the equipment yard.
Public Safety: Councilor McElravy reported that he had met with Chief Sibley to
go over his Departmentþs work. Councilor McElravy noted that the Chief had to
spend a lot of time in the office and was thus not available for patrol as much
as would be expected. He noted that the Departments priorities were to protect
persons, property, traffic safety and finally enforcement of City ordinances. It
was noted that the Council was still interested in setting residential speed to 20
mph and enforcing þdouble finesþ in school zones.
Old Business
Insurance Safety Inspection
Art Rhodes, the Cityþs insurance agent of record, was present to report
on the progress the City has made regarding safety cleanup. He stated that
there has been some progress, especially in the equipment yard at the shop. He
noted that he was still concerned about the shop itself. When he inspected the
shop, there was still flammable liquid stored near the wood stove in a milk bottle,
and there were some cardboard boxes store against the stove. He noted that
over-all, the situation with the fire hall and shop would not be satisfactorily
resolved until a new fire hall was built. Due to the threat to the fire equipment,
he reminded the Council that it was extremely important to stay vigilant
regarding the safety of the shop and its orderly condition.
Community Connections, revise block grant request for apartment project
street/utilities.
The block grant application for funding to construct a street (N 16th) into
the proposed senior citizen apartment project has been rejected. The grant
agency is requiring funding participation by the adjacent property owner that
would benefit from the construction. The owner, Chrisman, is not willing to make
a contribution. The project will be reconfigured to provide access to the
development from N 15th. The street will thus serve just as a private drive into
the apartments. The granting agent is willing to consider full funding of this
proposal since the street serves only the project. However, there is a question
as to whether the City should be the grant applicant for the construction since
it would not be a public street. After discussion Councilor Stover moved to table
the issue until the contractor or other agent could speak to the Council, with
Councilor McElravy as second. The vote was unanimous for approval, motion
carried.
GTE franchise agreement; no response has yet been received from GTE on the
submitted franchise.
Fire Hall site plan, property values
Chief McDonald has contacted PGG regarding the acquisition of property for
the construction of a new fire hall. PGG has requested that the City provide
estimates of the value of the property and a site plan of the proposed
development. These have been provided for their review. All indications from
PGG are positive.
Motel lease/use of alley-way
In consideration of the request made by Marvin and Frances Kunz last
month there was a discussion regarding the lease of the Cityþs property along
the back side of the motel. After discussion indicating that the City had no
plans for development of the property but noting that there was an occational
need to use the property for access to the rear of Witty Park, Councilor Clark
moved to lease the property to the Kunzs for use as an ally allowing them access
to the back of the motel for maintenance, deliveries and parking, and retaining
the occasional use by the City or others, working on Witty Park, for access to
the rear of the park. The lease to be for the sum of $1 per year plus
maintenance of the property. Councilor Stover was second to the motion. The
vote was unanimous for approval, motion carried.
New Business
Budget Committee appointments
There are four vacant positions on the Budget Committee. It was noted
that Rick Smith had agreed to serve on the budget committee. Councilor Stover
moved to appoint Rick Smith tot he budget committee, with Councilor Estes as
second. The vote was unanimous for approval, motion carried. Other possible
members mentioned were Bob Swisher, Kathy Gifford, and Carl Schmittle. The
Council will make further appointments in February.
Correspondence: LOC has sent a mailing regarding its annual Elected Officials
Workshop. It was noted that the City had funds budgeted for the Councilors to
attend such workshops.
Good of the Order
Council Stover recalled the issue of the incubator/industrial park feasibility
study to be presented to Union County. After review of the proposal by Mr.
Garlitz, Councilor Stover moved to approve the submission of the proposal to the
Union County Commissioners, with Councilor McMullen as second. The vote was
unanimous for approval, motion carried.
Councilor McMullen moved to approve the bills as presented, with Councilor
Stover as second. The vote was unanimous for approval, motion carried.
Councilor Stover moved to adjourn, with Councilor Clark as second. The vote
was unanimous for approval, motion carried.
Minutes respectfully submitted;
Joe Garlitz, Recorder/Administrator