Metro East Sun

City of Fairview Heights Operations Committee met Sept. 13

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Committee Members in attendance-Aldermen Josh Frawley, Anthony LeFlore, Brenda Wagner, Harry Zimmerman, Bill Poletti, Mayor Mark Kupsky, Ex-officio

Committee Members absent- None

Other Aldermen and Elected Officials in attendance - City Clerk Karen Kaufhold, Aldermen Frank Menn, Barb Brumfield, Pat Peck, Denise Williams

Staff in attendance - City Attorney Andrew Hoerner, Economic Development Director Ted Shekell, Finance Director Gina Rader, Human Resource Manager Becky Thompson - (7: 15 p.m., video/teleconference) IT Manager Chris Elliott, Police Chief Steve Johnson, Public Works Director John Harty

Recorder - Jill Huffman

Public Participation

None

Approval of Minutes, August 15, 2023

Motion and second to approve minutes were made by Aldermen Wagner/LeFlore. Roll call vote: Aldermen Frawley - yes, LeFlore - yes, Wagner - yes, Zimmerman - yes, Poletti - yes.

Motion carried.

Law Enforcement Committee

Alderman Josh Frawley, Chairman

STATEMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT

The Chief of Police presented his written report to the elected officials for their review.

Alderman Peck questioned the Chief about smoking marijuana in the City's parks and possibly installing signs to discourage smoking. The Chief replied that there has been an increase of police patrolling the parks and have not encountered the smell of marijuana. This matter has been discussed with the Director of Parks and Recreation and does not know the status of sign installation. The Mayor stated he will further discuss with the Director of Parks and Recreation. It is illegal to use marijuana on municipal property. The Mayor stated he is also going to discuss the installation of signs at the dog park at Moody Park. It seems vehicles are parked at the dog park, however, there are no dogs in the park. He does not want to discourage residents from utilizing the dog park because of this. Alderman Peck stated there are a couple of other areas where vehicles are parked - one area is located east of the large playground in the south back corner by the tennis courts, and the other area is located as you enter the park to the left next to the shed and church area. The Chief stated communication and signage will aid in this situation.

The Mayor mentioned a business open 24 hours a day and perhaps reviewing the City's code and restricting hours on some of the businesses in the City. He will discuss this with the Director of Land Use and Development.

Alderman Williams questioned the Chief regarding the length of employment, once hired, in the Police Department. The Chief stated that police sign a three-year agreement, and if the employee leaves before that time, the employee is required to reimburse the City on a step scale. The cost of sending an employee to the academy is reimbursed to the City by the Illinois Training Board, however, their salary/equipment is paid by the City.

The Chief stated that hiring and retaining police officers is a crisis in the police forces. Regarding officers leaving and going to another department, the City is reviewing what is offered from Fairview Heights, compared to other municipalities, in order to stay competitive. The Mayor relayed the number of police jobs has greatly decreased as people are not willing to enter the police field.

The Chief relayed that the cameras at the police department are frequently inoperable and just recently lost all of the cameras in the detention center as well as the cameras in the back of City Hall. He acknowledged and commended the work the IT Manager Chris Elliott has been doing and knows that a new system is being brought forward for approval later tonight.

The Chief stated that on September 18, part of the Safe-T Act will go into effect, which is the pretrial release. He stated that every County in the State is handling this different. He stated when, as it is now, an arrest is made, generally bring the offender to the detention facility, fingerprint and photograph the offender and release. If it is a felony, bring the offender in, apply at the State's Attorney's office for charges, bring the offender in front of the judge, and for most of the offenses the offender is released. The judges can detain offenders if they feel they are a flight risk or a threat to society - it has to be a very high threshold. He will forward information to the City Council. The Chief believes after Monday, September 18, a lot will change.

Public Works Committee

Alderman Bill Poletti, Chairman

LIBRARY AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM REPLACEMENT - BID RESULTS

The Director of Public Works presented the results of the bid opening of September 7, 2:00 p.m., with C&K Heating and Cooling, Inc. with a low bid of $25,866.00 and Baer Heating and Cooling, Inc. with a bid of $27,350.00. The Director recommends proceeding with the low bidder, C&K Heating and Cooling, Inc. This project will be funded from Home Rule Funds and is presented in the Capital Improvements Program with a budget of $55,000.00.

Motion and second to forward to City Council with the recommendation of approval the contract with C&K Heating and Cooling, Inc. for $26,866.00 for the Library Air Conditioning Replacement project by Aldermen Wagner/LeFlore. Roll call vote showed Aldermen Frawley -yes, LeFlore - yes, Wagner - yes, Zimmerman - yes, Poletti - yes. Motion carried.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT FOR THE OLD COLLINSVILLE ROAD TURN LANE

The Director of Public Works stated that in discussion with the Assistant County Engineer this date, there are couple of changes to the funding amounts. This project will not start until June of next year. The Director requested this item be tabled. This item will be discussed at the October meeting

DIRECTOR'S REPORT/PROJECT UPDATES

The Director of Public Works presented his written report to the elected officials for their review.

Alderman Peck questioned the status of the road repairs in Stonewolf. The Director stated Black Wolf will be complete tomorrow. The crew will be working on a driveway and after that is complete will be returning to Stonewolf to work on Wolf Run. The Director relayed that he is in communication with the HOA president.

Alderman Wagner questioned if there has been further discussion with the City of O'Fallon regarding the repairs on Longacre Drive/Ruby Drive intersection. This has been in need of repair since O'Fallon worked on the water line. The Director stated that particular spot is captured by the City in the Longacre Drive project which will be in the spring, 2024.

The Mayor questioned if there is any information from the County regarding improvement to Ashland Avenue. The Director replied he needs to discuss this with the County who would be eligible to apply for an STP grant to overlay Ashland as the City did for the Longacre Drive project. The Mayor relayed that this County road is extremely rough where the road was patched. The Director stated that a few years ago the City concrete patched some bad areas on Old Collinsville Road as well as on Longacre Drive with three-inch expansion joints. This has allowed Longacre Drive to survive until next year when it will be overlayed.

The Director stated that the road project is essentially complete on Mark Drive as well as asphalt overlay on Susan Court. Friday the overlay operation will move to Forest Avenue, and then to South Bountiful and Marcinah.

Adjournment 7:24 p.m.

https://www.cofh.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10112023-1687