Kane County Reporter

City of Geneva City Council met Aug. 19

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

CALL TO ORDER

The Geneva City Council meeting was called to order by Alderperson Mike Bruno at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.

Elected Officials present:

Alderpersons: Anaïs Bowring, Mike Bruno, Becky Hruby (arrived at 7:01 p.m.), Dean Kilburg, Brad Kosirog, Richard Marks, Amy Mayer, Martha Paschke, Robert Swanson.

City Clerk Vicki Kellick.

Elected Officials attending by video or teleconference: Craig Maladra.

Elected Officials absent: None.

Others Present: Assistant City Administrator Ben McCready, City Attorney Ron Sandack, Electric Division Superintendent Aaron Holton, Water Division Superintendent Bob VanGyseghem, Public Works Director Rich Babica, Human Resources Manager Lauren Newton, Fire Chief Michael Antenore.

Others attending by video or teleconference: None.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Ald. Bruno led the Pledge of Allegiance.

PUBLIC HEARINGS, SPECIAL ITEMS AND PRESENTATIONS

None.

AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA

None.

OMNIBUS AGENDA (OMNIBUS VOTE)

All Items listed with an asterisk (*) are considered to be routine by the City Council and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion on these items unless a council member so requests in which event the item will be removed from the Omnibus (Consent) Agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the Agenda. All items on the Omnibus Agenda require a simple majority vote unless otherwise indicated.

*APPROVE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MINUTES FROM AUGUST 5, 2024

*REPORTS

June Financial Report

August Revenue Report

*Approve Resolution No. 2024-82 Accepting Quote for Construction Material Testing and Geotechnical Services with Nashnal Soil Testing, LLC in an Amount Not-to Exceed $33,442.50.

*Approve Ordinance No. 2024-33 Setting Compensation for Elected Municipal Officials by Amending Title 1 (Administrative), Chapter 4 (Mayor), Chapter 5 (City Council, and Chapter 6 (Municipal Officers and Employees) of the Geneva City Code.

Moved by Ald. Swanson, Seconded by Ald. Paschke.

Roll call:

AYES: 10 (Bowring, Bruno, Hruby, Kilburg, Kosirog, Maladra, Marks, Mayer,

Paschke, Swanson)

ABSENT: 0

NAYS: 0

MUNICIPAL BILLS FOR PAYMENT: $4,139,036.97

Moved by Ald. Bowring, Seconded by Ald. Kosirog.

Roll call:

AYES: 10 (Bowring, Bruno, Hruby, Kilburg, Kosirog, Maladra, Marks, Mayer, Paschke, Swanson)

ABSENT: 0

NAYS: 0

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE ITEMS OF BUSINESS

Consider Ordinance No. 2024-32 Redistricting the Ward Boundaries of the City of Geneva.

Moved by Ald. Bowring, Seconded by Ald. Paschke.

Ald. Swanson stated that he was uncomfortable with the 96 residents of the Cambridge spur being included in the 2nd Ward and would prefer that those homes be included back into Pepper Valley instead of on the opposite side of Randall Rd.

Amendment to change the Ward map in order to move the residents in the Cambridge spur from the 2nd to the 4th Ward.

Moved by Ald. Swanson, Seconded by Ald. Bowring.

On a comment by Ald. Kosirog, Attny. Sandack noted that the amendment was not contrary to the main motion but was instead a change to the map.

Discussion took place with several alderpersons agreeing that the amendment would put 96 people back into the largest ward which is not in keeping with an equal population among wards. It was also noted that the map was not divided politically, and that neighborhoods benefit when shared among more wards.

Roll call:

AYES: 3 (Kilburg, Kosirog, Swanson)

ABSENT: 0

NAYS: 7 (Bowring, Bruno, Hruby, Maladra, Marks, Mayer, Paschke)

MOTION FAILED

Ald. Kosirog stated that the redistricting felt rushed and that while not opposed to redistricting, he saw no danger in keeping the wards as they are. He felt that there was more harm done in changing wards before an election, and wanted to have more time to consider this and hire the redistricting process out. Ald. Mayer noted that staff, not the Council, made the maps, and therefore there was no need to hire a third party to do this. Ald. Bowring stated that this process had not been rushed and that the redistricting deadline was 30 days before petitions are due.

Ald. Hruby called the question.

Roll call:

AYES: 3 (Hruby, Kilburg, Swanson)

ABSENT: 0

NAYS: 7 (Bowring, Bruno, Kosirog, Maladra, Marks, Mayer, Paschke)

Ald. Paschke noted that the 4th Ward already has 100 residents more than any other ward, and to add nearly 100 more residents was not necessary.

Roll call:

AYES: 8 (Bowring, Bruno, Hruby, Kilburg, Maladra, Mayer, Paschke, Swanson)

ABSENT: 0

NAYS: 2 (Kosirog, Marks)

Ald. Kilburg requested that staff update the City of Geneva website so that those interested in running for office are aware of the ward map changes.

PRESENTATION OF ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS

Consider Resolution No. 2024-83 Supporting an ITEP Grant Application for the East State Street Reconstruction Project.

Moved by Ald. Swanson, Seconded by Ald. Paschke.

On a question by Ald. Mayer, Dir. Babica noted that having a logical beginning for improvements, such as Route 38, and end, which is Kaneville, enhances the likelihood of funding. An ITEP grant was previously secured in 2016 for the same corridor which included a bike lane and pedestrian lane along with resurfacing.

Roll call:

AYES: 10 (Bowring, Bruno, Hruby, Kilburg, Kosirog, Maladra, Marks, Mayer, Paschke, Swanson)

ABSENT: 0

NAYS: 0

Consider Resolution No. 2024-84 Supporting an ITEP Grant Application for the South Seventh Street Corridor Improvement Project.

Moved by Ald. Swanson, Seconded by Ald. Paschke.

Roll call:

AYES: 10 (Bowring, Bruno, Hruby, Kilburg, Kosirog, Maladra, Marks, Mayer, Paschke, Swanson)

ABSENT: 0

NAYS: 0

PUBLIC COMMENT

Resident Rich Fobes spoke regarding a complaint made by a neighbor to the Committee of the Whole on July 1. Mr. Fobes noted that he is a longtime beekeeper and has had a hive since November of 2020. He moved to Geneva last year and only had one encounter with his neighbor when she complained of his bees drinking water from her birdbath, and about the placement of his hive. He moved the hive to approximately 100 feet from the neighbor’s fence. He told her to contact him if there were any issues. A code compliance officer later visited him and was satisfied with Mr. Fobes’ response. He noted that he understands the neighbor’s concerns but that this has been a non-issue with other neighbors.

John Mazur spoke that he visited Mr. Fobes and observed that the hives seemed extremely benign. He stated that he has heard that beekeeping is not healthy for native pollinators but that the science supporting that is still questionable. He noted that native pollinators are not adequate for pollinating. He stated that 95% of the land before settlers arrived was prairie or forest, and the native plants that existed are largely gone. He noted that it is important for people to plant native plants. He suggested that the City Council not make a beekeeping ordinance.

NEW BUSINESS

On a question by Ald. Kosirog, Attny. Sandack stated that he would confirm that until the redistricting ordinance is executed, signatures for those running for office would be valid whether the signatures were from voters in either the new or old wards.

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 7:54 PM.

https://www.geneva.il.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_08192024-2402