South Beloit going out for bids on City Park upgrades

By Margaret Downing

Reporter

SOUTH BELOIT – At the May 16 South Beloit City Council meeting, a motion to reconsider waiving “a requirement in bidding through formal public bid procedures” – originally on the May 2 council meeting agenda – for cleaning and asphalt patching – failed for want of a second.

Work needs to be done on the three tennis courts and one basketball court in City Park. Midwest Sealcoat, LLC, had been recommended to do the job at a cost of $13,500 with money to be paid out of the city’s recreation budget. Commissioners decided at the May 2 meeting that the city had to go out for bids.

Additionally, another motion for “bid letting” for the work and for fence work was laid over, as not all bids had been received in a timely manner.

Discussion of an amended ordinance concerning the parking of recreational vehicles and trailers in the city was once again on the agenda, and the item was again laid over to have language rewritten.

Questions came up, such as “What should the appropriate length of the vehicle be?” Thirty-five feet is standard but that would not include a 5th wheel.

Also, adding a stipulation was discussed that the vehicle should be parked on a lot where a residence is located (not on vacant lots adjacent to property, unless the homeowner owns it and has the lot line removed, putting the vehicle then on one lot).

Currently, some recreational or trailer vehicles are being parked on gravel, and with the ordinance updated, it would have be paved the length of the vehicle.

Attorney Sosnowski stated, “The (existing ordinance) is being abused in some cases.” Discussion also revolved around the fact that seasonal parking be allowed in cases where there is a three-car garage in newer areas, for instance, allowing the vehicle be parked there in the summer or on a paved surface alongside the garage but not extending out into the right-of-way or over a front sidewalk.

Standard lengths, depending, can range from 35 to 50 feet (if it is a 5th wheel).

A “pay request” for the “2013 CIP Lining in the amount of $36,954.22” was approved, which is connected to a consent order situation with Allegheny Insurance and with Pipeline Solutions, which then closes out that 2014-’15 project, as noted by Attorney Sosnowski..

A resolution awarding the bid for the 2016 Motor Fuel Tax Improvement Project at a cost not to exceed $500,000 was passed.

Approval for payment of $514,472.33 in bills from April 30-May 13 was given.

A proclamation designating “May 16 as Recognition Day for Volunteer Service in honor of the contribution of the Bucciferro Family and the Stateline McDonald’s” was read by Mayor Ted Rehl, who then presented the document to representatives of the Bucciferro family. Rehl noted how personnel “cleaned up along the Rock River and Turtle Creek in the area of the Confluence, and how seeds were dispensed for plants to attract Monarch butterflies.”

Resident Ilah Tinder addressed the council and the attorney in regards to “the lateral situation, we are not getting answers,” and asked why the cost cannot be put onto sewer bills. “We need to know where problem addresses are at” and asked what is the problem at her residence.

“These costs are not reasonable, I believe the city should share the costs,” she noted, adding she was not happy with the fact that affected property owners were only given 15 days to respond to notices received in the mail.

A resolution approving the renewal of an intergovernmental agreement between the city and Rockton Township was passed for mowing, plowing, salting, and filling potholes – or road maintenance for Fisher Road, which is west of the city but is in South Beloit.

A Collective Bargaining Agreement with full-time “Peace Officers below the rank of Sergeant” was approved, covering a two and a half-year time period from July 1 to Dec. 13, 2017.

Commissioner Linda Chambers advised the council she would be voting “nay” on a motion to approve, saying, “The police deserve it but we can’t afford it and this will impact the number of officers we can put out on the streets.”

Approval for hiring Joe Collins as a part-time seasonal worker in the parks department was given.

An agreement for services with Elliott & Co. to pay an extra $2,600 a month to cover extra work was okayed. Don Elliott is the city’s Finance Director and deals with bookkeeping.

Commissioner Tom Fitzgerald read the South Beloit fire and rescue report covering April 22-May 6. One structure fire, one vehicle fire, one automatic alarm call, 19 medical responses, one technical rescue call, and one public service call, along with one “microwave fire” were reported.

The department responded to six mutual aid calls to Beloit, one to Rockton and one to Loves Park. Training for the period included work detail training, tech rescue, tower rescue, and search and rescue training.