Kane County Reporter

City of Geneva City Council met Aug. 12

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

CALL TO ORDER

The Geneva Special City Council meeting was called to order by Mayor Kevin Burns at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.

Elected Officials present:

Alderpersons: Anaïs Bowring, Dean Kilburg, Brad Kosirog, Craig Malara, Richard Marks, Martha Paschke, Robert Swanson.

Mayor Kevin Burns, City Clerk Vicki Kellick.

Elected Officials attending by video or teleconference: Becky Hruby.

Elected Officials absent: Mike Bruno, Amy Mayer.

Others Present: City Administrator Stephanie Dawkins, Assistant City

Administrator Ben McCready, City Attorney Ron Sandack, Community Development Director David DeGroot.

Others attending by video or teleconference: None.

Mayor Burns invited Mr. & Mrs. Dave Huen to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

Mayor Burns requested a moment of silence in honor of Foxfire co-owner and resident Curtis Gulbrow.

Consider Ordinance No. 2024-31 Granting a Special Use for an 85-Foot Wireless Communications Facility at 1749 S. Randall Road – DRA Properties, LLC

Moved by Ald. Marks, Seconded by Ald. Kosirog.

Mayor Burns read remarks regarding the City Council’s consideration of the ordinance which are attached to these minutes.

On questions by Ald. Bowring, Doug Dolan of DRA Properties, LLC stated that this site will enhance coverage and capacity in Geneva, especially regarding 911 calls. He noted that of the more than 20 locations considered, this one was the farthest from any homes and backs to a park in a commercial district. This was true of sites considered on the opposite side of Randall Rd. Additionally, this site had a large parking lot behind it and filled the coverage gap.

Discussion among the alderpersons followed with Ald. Bowring noting that there was much public disapproval of the tower and questioning how to weigh that opposition against the public benefit of a reliable level of connectivity now and in the future. She noted that she was not in agreement with the PZC’s findings that Verizon did not meet criteria numbers two and five. Ald. Paschke stated that she would not want to wait until there was an issue with poor 911 service as that would equal poor decision making. She also noted that there was inconclusive evidence presented on diminished property values, especially as this was a shorter stealth tower. On a question, Mr. Dolan noted that neighboring towers were at peak capacity and that this site would offload traffic from those sites.

Ald. Marks stated that he lives in the neighborhood, has Verizon, and has never had an issue with dropped calls. His understanding is that 911 calls always take priority over other calls, and the information provided by the residents convinced him that there is enough doubt in his mind to oppose the ordinance. Ald. Maladra stated that he also doesn’t see an issue with losing 911 calls, and that if property values were not impacted by the tower, there would have been no reason for Mr. Dolan to note that more homes were impacted at other potential sites. Ald. Kilburg noted that he spoke with Tri-Com and Tri-City Ambulance representatives who had not had major issues with dropped 911 calls. Ald. Swanson wanted to see the proprietary information promised during the PZC meeting which was not provided. He also noted that he was underwhelmed by the information in the Logan Ave. water tower example and supports the PZC’s decision.

Attny. Sandack noted that the company provided non-proprietary documents in the form of three charts supportive of a lack of coverage and capacity. However, those were conclusory and did not contain the proprietary information upon which the conclusions were based. The information, however, was the best the company could provide for the Council to understand without an advanced degree. Rather than have everyone sign a confidentiality agreement, Attny. Sandack noted that he made the call to return the information to the company. He noted that the information contained nothing different than what had already been seen.

Roll call:

AYES: 2 (Bowring, Paschke)

ABSENT: 2 (Bruno, Mayer)

NAYS: 6 (Hruby, Kilburg, Kosirog, Maladra, Marks, Swanson)

MOTION FAILED

Public Comment

Dale Rotondi commented that he had been with a telecommunications company for 38 years. He noted that 911 calls are a priority and as such, they take the highest priority in the system. If the system is at full capacity, 911 calls will be given priority and maintenance will not even be allowed at that time until the 911 calls drain out of the system.

New Business

None.

Adjournment

There being no further business, moved by Ald. Marks to adjourn the Geneva City Council meeting.

MOTION CARRIED by unanimous voice vote of those present.

The meeting adjourned at 7:48 PM.

https://www.geneva.il.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_08122024-2397