City Council meeting 11-14-2016

There was a big crowd at the City Council meeting on Monday night. People came for the public hearing on the planning grant for downtown revitalization. Emily from KIRPC (Kankakee Iroquois Regional Planning Commission) summarized what it was about and no one in the audience had anything to ask or say. Then almost the entire audience left. 

The gas tracker for November is a 1.5 cent decrease. The Council then authorized a match for the planning grant and authorized the mayor to submit the grant proposal. Work will begin almost immediately with a meeting to select consultants.

Supply bids were opened for unleaded gas, diesel fuel, and tire repairs. There was a request from the American Legion for a donation for their Thanksgiving turkey dinner, which is open to anyone and which serves about 400 people each year. It is intended for those who do not want to celebrate Thanksgiving alone but it also provides meals for those who cannot easily get out. The Council approved $250. 

The Redevelopment Commission had opened bids earlier in the day for paving the rest of Drexel Parkway and a bit of Melville south of Kohley Drive. There were two bids, one a bit above $200K and the other a bit below. They are being evaluated. The work will be done next spring.

In committee reports the mayor announced that on Thursday there would be a meeting reviewing engineering proposals for a new substation to serve the Interstate area. In superintendents reports, the city attorney reported that an offer of $45K had been accepted for a property on Clark Street that borders Brookside Park. He said he thought he knew of a source of funding. The utility office reported that their switchover to new software will be delayed until January. The building commissioner reported that the developer of the Ike Donnelly property north of Pizza Hut was willing to donate the access road into the College Mall to the City if the City wanted it. The Council decided to accept pending legal review. 

The fire chief said that new air pack have been ordered and that two townships were funding the purchase of eight thermal imaging cameras, The ladder truck is having intermittent problems. The gas department has four hookups to do, two to residences, one for the hangar under construction at the airport, and one for the wet water treatment plant on Lincoln Street. The Street Department reported that a bit of the paving will not be completed this fall but will be done in the spring. Water samples sent to the state reported unacceptable levels of lead and copper in five samples. This is caused by leaching in the feed lines when water sits in the line overnight. The solution is to replace the lines. Finally, the new "Welcome to Rensselaer" sign by the Interstate is finished and will have a ribbon cutting on Friday at 3:00.