City Council - Regular Meeting

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[music] Committee of the whole meeting for the Elgen City Council for February 11th, 2026. The order will please call the role. All right. Council members Alvaro present. Dixon present. Good here. Martinez here. Ortiz here. Powell here. Stefan here. Thorne here. Mayor Captain here. Approval of the minutes of the previous meeting of January 28th for approval. Second. Move the second for approval. Any corrections or additions? Hearing none. Clerk, please call a role. Council member Alaro, yes. Dixon, yes. Good. Yes. Martinez, yes.

Ortiz, yes. Powell, yes. Stefen, yes. Thorne, yes. Mir captain, yes. The motion is approved 90-0. That brings us to the portion of the meeting where we allow public comment for uh 3 minutes.

First person I somebody crossed out here so I'm trying to sort through this. Frank Pagani. Good evening. As a family-owned uh grocery store, the Elgen Fresh Market was proudly ser has proudly served this community for over 25 years. We care deeply about Elgen and the families who shop with us every day. Over the past six years, our industry has faced unprecedented financial strain. Payroll expenses have risen dramatically. Healthcare costs have increased. Property taxes and insurance premiums uh have almost doubled. Packaging materials have more than doubled. Rising tariffs on imported produce, which accounts for approximately 2/3 of the produce consumed in the United States remains a major concern right now. And despite these mounting pressures, we have worked hard to absorb costs whenever possible rather than just pass them along to our consumers. While we understand and support the city's desire to encourage environmental responsibility, we do not believe a municipal bag search charge is the right solution. Even if our business is not directly subject to the charge, we understand that. We are deeply concerned that it would place Elgen retailers at a competitive disadvantage and create unintended consequences for our customers. Retailers in the city of Elgen are likely to lose customers to neighboring towns with such a search charge. This would result in loss sales for local businesses and reduce tax revenue for the city of Elgen. As business owner, as a business owner, I know firsthand how difficult it is to regain a customer once they choose to shop somewhere else. There are also health concerns. Encouraging reusable bags may create sanitation risks as many consumers do

not regularly wash or sanitize their bags. If the search charge applies only to certain vendors, it will inev inevitably create confusion. Educating consumers on which businesses are subject to the charge and which are not will be challenging, and many shoppers may not realize the difference until they reach the checkout, leading to frustration for both the customer and the staff. While a per bag charge may seem minimal, it adds up, particularly to larger households. The burden would fall directly on our customers, many of whom are families, seniors, and individuals on fixed incomes. For them, this may feel like an added tax on essential items such as groceries. If this search charge were applied to our stores, the financial impact would be substantial. Plastic bags would currently cost us a pro that currently cost us 17 cents each would cost us 45 cents each. roughly 26 26 times more expensive and transitioning to the fully paper would increase our weekly costs about by about $26,000 a week and or about $21,600 even after accounting for the collected bag fee revenue for a family-owned business operating on this mar on on thin margins which the whole industry is in a very runs on small margins this level of additional expenses is unsustainable. If such apologies to be implemented, it should be done at the state level to ensure fairness and consistency. A municipal approach creates an uneven playing field and incentives consumers to shop outside the city limits. We respectfully urge this council to carefully consider the cumulative financial impact on local businesses and to explore alternative solutions that balance environmental goals with economic sustainability. As a local familyrun store, the Elgen Fresh Market is committed to our community and

to being part of positive solutions. However, we strongly believe this policy would unintentionally harm businesses and shift consumer spending away from Belgium. Thank you for your time and thoughtful consideration. Thank you,

Cheryl Brumal. paper. Hello. Uh, my name is Cheryl Brimbach Hayford. I stand to speak this evening on two things. First, briefly, I urge the city council to adopt a welcoming city ordinance in support of the residents of Elgen who are faced with a cruel violence of the federal government's immigration enforcement. Such an ordinance is long overdue and should be put into effect as soon as possible, including fully bilingual city services. Second, I urge the city council to adopt the single-use bag ordinance. I am part of several groups that have been working on this ordinance for a long time now, including the Wild Ones who have made [snorts] these reusable shopping bags with help from a grant from the Sustainability Commission in our eagerness to support this ordinance once it is adopted. Um, these will be offered free to people in the area who need them. These bags are proof of the support among environmental groups in our city and area and proof that many people are very excited to see this ordinance pass. So, uh, Wild Ones have brought a bag for each of you tonight. as Nancy passes them out. I want to note that this ordinance has been in the works for some nine years, ever since the Sustainability Commission first started working on the issue back in 2017 with leadership from Tia Austin and John Stefen, among others. Now it is finally time to adopt the ordinance and put all those nine years of hard work into effect for the health of our environment with particular attention to the health of the Fox River. Most importantly for

all of us who live in Elgen and rely on a healthy pollution-free environment to maintain our own health and that of our families. Elgen must take action on this as an independent municipality and not wait for the state of Illinois to take action having already waited nine years. We should not wait any longer to decrease the plastics pollution represented by single-use plastic bags. Please do the right thing for our human health and the health of our environment. I appreciate [clears throat] their concern of businesses, but there are many, many successful models they may replicate there that are found elsewhere in our area in neighboring cities in our state and across the country. Stores like Aldi and Costco already proved that this is a successful business model and is not rocket science. Many stores have already discovered that they actually can make a profit by not having to give away single-use plastic bags and charge for sale of paper bags and reusable bags. Please do not be taken in by claims that quote compostable or sustainable alternatives are legitimate. Such claims simply represent a way to put off dealing effectively with plastics pollution. The plastics pollution crisis is one that cannot be ignored. It is one of the largest single pollution issues across our globe. It is causing immeasurable harm to our environment locally and around the world. Single-use plastic bags are at the heart of the widespread damage that is happening to our oceans, lakes, rivers, streams, and the wildlife, the fishes, and other creatures, birds, mammals that live in and rely on our waters. We haven't even gotten into the issue of

microplastics. We could talk for a long time about that. Uh, please do the right thing. Thank you, Paul Berland.

Hi, my name is Paul Berland. I think you guys know me. I spoke last time about this issue. Um, but just want to remind you that Elgen is one of two cities in the state of Illinois that have declared a climate emergency. And we really need to show leadership in our state and really pass this ordinance because um it's very important for the climate for one thing and also the plastic pollution issue. Um I know it's not popular as we saw in the poll, but we need to really show strong leadership on the climate as we are being we are you know being in a perception of climate emergency leaders and um so I [clears throat] think there's solutions to this. Um I'm in I'm in favor of a a plastic bag ban and at least 10 cents for paper bags. It may end up being more than that, but at least 10 cents. Um, so that everybody is, you know, all the money situations are resolved. Um, and I know that the American people, uh, 1ifth of the American people know that climate change is one of the top five priorities in the country. And this is done in a recent poll of a thousand people. and they they found that oneif of Americans believe that climate change is um one of the top five issues. So I think we need to really plow forward on this and not look and not step back. Thank you.

Thank you. Mike Warren. [clears throat]

Good evening. My name is Mike Warren and um I'm going to hear you're going to hear some comments from me that more resemble uh Frank uh our small business owner who is keenly affected by um this potential bag ordinance. uh economic development has been a cornerstone of uh my entire being here, a lifelong resident of Elgen and own businesses here in Elgen. And even though that uh a bag ordinance isn't going to affect my small businesses, but I think um the leadership here is charged with creating a a healthy economic engine that allows all of our residents to live, work, and play here uh with a lot of options. And as I viewed the the bag ordinance or the, you know, the single-use bag, this is an economic issue. And I'm not trying to diminish the um environmental issue that bags, you know, you can't dispute that they're a problem, but um this ordinance really picks winners and losers, not only in our community, but for our community as they shop have ability to shop any other place. So, you know, not only is it going to be confusing for our residents, like who do I have to pay for a bag and who don't I have to pay for a bag, you know, why why should we pick an ordinance where some people get to play by different rules than other people? This should be uh across the board. Uh but my my strong opinion is this is a state issue. You have a um a a we have the sixth largest city in the state of Illinois and we have an active sustainability commission for years and years and years. Use that tool uh as an economic as a as a advocate to the state people to say hey bags are important to us. We want to create an environment where bags are limited. Use that voice and put

everybody on a level playing field so that everybody has to play by the same rules. I mean this unintended consequences. I mean, not only are you getting feedback from the retailers, staff, a public survey that are saying, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, pause. We don't think that this is the right issue to be attacking right now." 57% of the respondents said, "This isn't something that we're ready to tackle." I was at a meeting with I don't know 15 retailers that this clearly affects and this is this is a big deal. Not only will it um confuse our consumers, it's going to hit like half of our population, you know, is scared to go outside and go shopping. These guys are running on razor thin margins and we're going to put this in in place at like the worst time of their business cycle. Um, I just think that there's so many indicators that that the community is not ready for this, but we have a lot of resources. The sustainability commission, I mean, educate our community about the the reusing of the bags and and things like that. You know, not only um is it going to be confusing for the consumer? You know, we get a 1% ret uh grocery tax that we enjoy from those sales. when those sales disappear because they're going to go to South Elgen or Bartlett because they don't have to pay for a bag or be confused about if they're going to have to pay for a bag that that money goes away. So, let's use our uh resources, work for a state solution, and make everybody here have a level playing field and listen to not only staff and retailers, but our community and do the right thing. Thanks.

Thank you, Tom Armstrong.

[clears throat]

Hello, mayor, uh, city manager, members of the city council, Tom Armstrong, 615 Center Street, Elgen, Illinois. I chair the Alurn Sustainability Commission. As u a few people have uh already indicated, uh this is an issue that's been uh batted around by the sustainable commission for many years now. Um it finally uh it's it's come before you a couple of times uh since I've been on the commission. Uh the last time you directed staff to prepare an ordinance that mirrors uh legislation that's moving through committee in Springfield. Uh that legislation is moving through committee in Springfield is actually sponsored by our own Senator Christina Castro. Um I appreciate um comments from the business community. Um um I think this is an issue that needs to be addressed sooner than later. U to hold out hope that legislation is going to be passed in Springfield um I think is very risky. Um this has been tried before in Springfield and and and in the end uh nothing happened. So you know hopefully uh the state legislature adopts an uh uh state law. Uh but what's um moving through committee now wouldn't take effect until at the earliest 2029. So, um, this draft ordinance is modeled after that state, uh, that state code that's that's moving through committee and, uh, we would urge you, uh, take action now and adopt the ordinance locally. Thank you.

Thank you. Okay, Mr. Manager.

Thank you, mayor. First item is a redevelopment agreement with Southg Grove Holdings LLC for a mixeduse redevelopment at 61-65 South Grove Avenue. The proposed agreement with South Grove Holdings contemplates redeveloping the vacant building at 61-65 South Gro Grove Grove Avenue into groundf flooror uh commercial spaces and secondstory apartments. The total redevelopment costs are estimated to be $5.1 million. And this proposed redevelopment agreement contemplates TIFF assistance of about 1 and 3/4 million or 35% of the redevelopment costs. The plans propose six apartments on the second floor, a studio, four one-bedroom units, and one two-bedroom unit. The three apartments on the Spring Street side will be set back from the street to provide private rooftop patios. Two commercial spaces in the residential lobby will be fronting the South Grove Avenue elevation and two additional ground level commercial spaces will be on the South Spring Street elevation. The basement of the building will include a commercial kitchen, meeting room, and storage spaces. And this fully accessible building will include an elevator for the first time in addition to all new electrical, mechanical, and plumbing systems. As many of you know, the roof of the building partially collapsed in July 2024 and again in August 2025 under previous ownership. The developers already spent about three quarter of a million dollars to stabilize the building, embrace and preserve the historic facades on Grove and Springst Grove and Spring Street, excuse me. Representatives from South Grove Holdings are here in attendance tonight to answer any questions along with community development director Mark Malot who has once again shephered a adaptive reuse in the downtown to the council for consideration.

Move for approval. Second. It's been moved and second for approval. Any discussion? Any questions? Miss Powell. [cough]

Yes. [clears throat] Thank you, Mayor Captain. Um I see Mr. Esharia in the audience. Um, I just want to say kudos to you. Give you please definitely come forward. Um, I'm I'm really excited about this project. For as long as I can remember, this this uh piece of property has been vacant. Um, [clears throat] and I'm excited to see that it's finally being redeveloped um and will be, you know, obviously put back into um reuse, back on the tax roles, obviously, but um I'm really excited to see everything that's being planned here. This is this is a big bite to take as I'm sure you're already aware. Um but I I really appreciate your continued uh reinvestment in our downtown. I know it hasn't always been easy, uh, but we definitely appreciate your efforts and definitely looking forward, uh, to seeing this come to fruition. So, I just wanted to publicly say thank you.

Thank you. Appreciate that. You're so far. Um, so I I'll start off with my I echo what Chish was uh, council member Paul was saying. I'm excited [clears throat] that this project is happening and you're also addressing some of the needs that are that we have in the community. lack of storefronts, housing. So, I appreciate that both of those parts are into this project. Do you have a couple of questions? Um, the first question is, if I understood the materials correctly, it seems like the entire building would be fully ADA accessible. That's correct.

Oh, that's awesome. So, thank you. That's that's great. Um, and then the other question I had in the design, it looks like there's three storefronts versus two storefronts. So, is it two storefronts and then the entrance for the residential? Is that correct? Yeah, that's what it is. Okay. Thank you for clarifying. On the Grove side. On the Grove side. On the spring side, there's only two. Okay. And there's a there's an entry stairwell door. So, there are three doors on the spring side, but one is a stairway to the second floor.

Perfect. Thank you for clarifying that. And then the last thing was just on design. I saw that the four tenants on the first floor are all sharing the bathrooms, which makes sense of the way it's designed, but I was just curious. Um, do you think that would be enough? I don't know what you're anticipating. I know you mentioned food might be in those spaces. Um, so I'm just thinking like if there was a lot of people like would you open up the b the basement bathrooms cuz I saw there was two down there.

Correct. Yeah. So there's two in the lower level. There's two on the first floor. Okay. Obviously everything on the third floor is private for the residential. Um but the elevator is accessible from the interior corridor. Yeah. Uh and so there is overflow space in the lower level for that.

Perfect. Thank you. Um and then the a question for staff. Two questions for staff. Um thank you Mark. Uh, one question is I see that they're proposing like completely everything's new like the mechanical, the electrical, uh, windows and doors. Given that it's a historical building, are they [clears throat] still going are you still going through his the historical design committee?

Uh, no, because the the the local historic commission preservation commission doesn't get involved in downtown design. However, because he is going for state and federal tax credit, all the work he's already initiated conversations with the state historic preservation office, continuing those conversations. So, there is certainly a uh a strong historic component that will be included with this project. Okay, just to touch on that a little bit, um there's essentially like three phases. We're we're already in the second phase with historical tax credits. Uh we've submitted uh we haven't submitted the full construction set, but they have already seen the existing plans uh kind of the schematics of where we're at. Um and those have been submitted and moved on as part of a phase 2 application process. So our phase one was already approved. Um it's now kicked up to the city uh to the state. [clears throat] They just approved it recently and then now it's on the now it's on the federal um I think it's the parks federal parks that oversees the federal side of the application.

Congratulations. I know that process takes long. So yeah, uh thank you for sticking in um sticking in there with that. Uh and the last question I had for staff was um there was information on like interest parties um and like reaching out. Mhm. It indicated that a a video was posted on social media. Just curious on like why was that the intention for community outreach and then what did people say about the video? Sure. It it wasn't the sole topic of that social media post. It was a year-end wrapup of everything development wise that had happened in 2025 as well as what we're most looking forward to in 2026.

And I'd be happy to send you a link. I appear in a Santa hat. Did anyone mention anything about the building and stuff? I think everyone's excited that it's finally going to be like accessible and used and and I love the patio um design that you have for the back. Um that's great. Uh I personally heard several people say that they're very excited about the project and in talking with me Mr. Etcharia, he too has received a lot of positive feedback. Uh similar to what council member Powell was saying, thank you. Finally, somebody's doing with this building. Awesome. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Thornne. You had your hand up previously.

I just wanted to say thank you as well being a I love history. I love downtown Elgen. I grew up there and basically studying this project. Uh I want to thank Kevin for believing in us and we believe in him. Uh the tiff amount is consistent with what others have received, but I think it was at the point where either we're going to help them or the building is going to disappear. It's a rather drastic uh option, but I want to thank you because uh it's a great facade and keeping the downtown's integrity with the classic old structures is to me important to me, certainly to many. So, thanks. I know you've worked well with the city for many years.

Thank you. If I can add to that, there was kudos to Kevin and his his construction team, there was a period of about two weeks where we were we really thought we were going to lose the Spring Street facade and they went above and beyond to save that. So, it's evident. [laughter] It's anchored right now. Mr. Dixon,

thank you. Um, I want to echo this some of those same sentiments of as my uh as my colleagues and I'll just add um you know this this property was a blight in our downtown for a very long time. And so um you [snorts] coming in and and remodeling this and and redoing it and getting ready for market again is just uh really a testament to who you are and you know what you've done with uh 51 South Grove um and just who you've always been in this community. And so we just really appreciate your investment. And I also just want to point out that this is a this is a family affair. You know, um Miss uh Yena at Teia

is uh the manager of the holding company and she is uh you he's strong, but I bet you she's stronger. All right. And uh and so thank you for your time and your effort uh in this community too as well in making sure that your roots are are stabilized here and that you're you're giving back. And so again, um, congratulations. We look forward to this property being wonderful, the one across the street that you also purchased being wonderful, too, as well. And we know you're getting that one ready for market or it is ready for market. And um, just continue doing the great work, man. So, we're really we're really proud of you. I appreciate uh you pointing that out. None of this is is possible without we've always been building here with family. Yeah.

Um, and so get being able to do this project along with my wife and the kids are excited about it. Shout out to Aia if you're watching. It's happy birthday. She's not here. She didn't want to come. It's her birthday. But if you're watching, happy birthday. Uh and you know, having our girls here to see the process and and my wife here and just we're working it together and I get to see it through one lens and she gets to see it through another lens and and we can hold each other accountable to get the project to the finish line and and that's the goal here. Yeah. And I would just also like to point out that family-owned businesses are the backbone of not just this community, but our entire country. And um and you know, so you you just really make us proud continue to do the great work and and to be running a wonderful business that everyone frequents here. So um so thank you again. I appreciate it.

Thank you. Hey, Mr. Ortiz. Yeah, Mr. Dixon beat me to it, but I want to agree with him that I appreciate the engineer family doing what they do. And I'm most proud that uh an elder kid like you and me that you're putting back in the community and back into the city that helped raise you. So I appreciate you and your family doing that. And uh that's pretty much it. Can't wait for you to open your doors and I appreciate you staying in Elgen and giving back to the city that helped raise you. Thank you, ma'am.

Okay. Anything else from the council? M. Martinez. Thank you, Mayor Kevin. I'd just like to also say thank you, you know, and for those people who don't know, you know, your family goes a long way. It's um I remember starting with uh the restaurant business and that was um uh very successful and then now with uh the dream hall, you know, it's it's happening right there. I feel sometimes that's like the heart of the downtown. You know, anytime I want to meet with somebody, uh uh that's a place that, you know, people want to meet. you see everybody there. Um it's it's kind of hard to get excited, I think, until [clears throat] we actually see it happen, you know, and uh but if you continue what you've been doing, um I I do not uh what what can I say, you know, and then I'll get excited, you know, but right now I'm pulling for you. So, thank you.

Okay. Anything else, Mr. St? I I just wanted to quickly say Kevin, thank you and and thanks for sticking with this project um being downtown and seeing you in Dream Hall and you freely sharing the saga that this building has been. You know, I I I clearly understand that, you know, the roof collapsed before the closing. It wasn't even yours yet. You you could have certainly taken that opportunity to just walk away from this and leave it for somebody else to figure out how to make it happen, but you didn't do that. and it looks like it's finally going to come together and really succeed. So, thank you for sticking with it. Thanks.

Okay. Anything else? Just a comment for me, Kevin. Uh I always enjoy talking to you and doing business with you and uh I'm a man on my word and I assume you are as well and I know you are and I appreciate your comment in the uh agreement here. I didn't see it in the final development agreement, but you have agreed to uh put a cap on this and if there are any funds above and beyond this, you're going to cover them yourself as a developer, and that says a lot for you. So, that's uh uh taking a big bite. That can take a big bite. But I believe the TIFF money that we give 35% may be a little higher than the average has been. It's in the range.

Yep. In the range. so that uh hopefully between uh your your efforts and the city's efforts and the finances that you're going to receive and hopefully you get a lot of grants for historic grants to help out uh we'll get the job done. So, thank you for that and uh congratulations. Yeah, thank you. I appreciate you all. Okay, clerk, please call the role. Council members Alaro, yes. Dixon, yes. Good. Yes. Martinez, [clears throat] yes. Ortiz, yes. Powell, yes. Stefan, yes. Thorne, yes. Mayor Captain. Yes. Motion's approved 90. Congratulations.

Item B is a design and engineering services agreement with Upland Design Limited for Channing Park Improvements. Parks and Recreation leadership staff recognize the need for significant upgrades to Channing Park. To address these needs, it the city partnered with Upland Design to apply for and actually receive an open space and land acquisition and development grant in the amount of $600,000 of matching funds. This will enable the city to construct new park amenities, including replacing the outdated playground equipment, enhancing community access and accessibility to and within the park. And as part of this OSLAD grant application process, city already has conducted work with Upland Repair Preliminary Park Plans based on community feedback gained from both a postcard survey and on-site public meetings this past August. If this agreement is approved, staff will continue working with Upland to refine the park improvement plans um for comprehensive design services for this project. The professional services contemplate landscape arch architectural and engineering design, permitting assistance with bidding process and construction management with the goal of completing all work in 2027.

Move for approval. Second. Second. It's been moved and seconded for approval. Any discussion? Good. Michelle part um so the interested parties um contacted indicated that there was a postcard and the meetings as um the city manager has indicated. Do we know if any of that was also done in in Spanish? Yes, it has. It was excuse me. And do we know anything about the response? The the preliminary designs that are being contemplated are in response to the feedback that was uh that the parks department received as part of those surveys and the outreach within the area. Okay. But we don't like can you share a little bit of specifics or maybe send

Well, it includes the replacement of I don't have specifics and that but but but all of those those broader replacements. Okay. So, the final design in terms of like Yes. the final amenities to what the playground will look like, those types of things. There will be one more round of communications to make sure it's there. Oh, perfect. Yep. And I appreciate that we were able to get this grant. That's awesome. That's something that the parks and recreation department does on a regular basis. Yes, they did a great job. Yeah. Okay. Clerk, please call the role. Council member Alfaro, yes. Dixon, yes. Good. Yes. Martinez, yes. Ortiz, yes. Powell, yes. Stefan, yes. Thorne, yes. Mayor Captain, yes. Motion's approved. 90.

Item C is a design engineering services agreement with HR Green Incorporated for the city hall parking lot sustainable design project. The city received an Illinois EPA green infrastructure grant funding assistance to include sustainable construction practices aimed at reducing stormware runoff and pollution discharge in conjunction with [snorts] traditional parking lot improvements in the city hall lot. Approving this agreement will provide for the engineering services necessary to complete the final design, prepare bid documents, and award the construction contract. If approved, construction will include green infrastructure best management practices to prevent, eliminate, or reduce storm water runoff into the rivers, streams, and lakes, including rain gardens, permeable pavers, native plantings, oil, and an oil and grit separator. Plans also include construction necessary for underground infrastructure to prepare the site for future EV charging facilities. this grant uh was in the amount of 700 Oh, I'm missing on this. Don't hold me to it. Um, all right. Here's how I'm going to deviate on this. The the green infrastructure improvements total about 700,000 of the $ 1.5 million cost. The Illinois EPA grants will cover $534,000 of that. Sorry for the delay.

Move or second. Second. moved and second for approval. Any discussion so far? Uh, so I know what we're requesting is $116,311 for the engineering cost, but on page 90 of the packet, it says the city's share will be 528,191, which includes 25% share of the green infrastructure. So that is that where we're anticipating the total project once the engineering is done and then we put the bid and all that. Total project be 1.2 and and again, we're getting about 534 of that. That includes a proportion of the we're getting 75% reimbursement and that includes all costs for that. Okay. So, but what we're just doing is engineering and then the other the other cost will come that will total

that is correct. This will be the phase for the final plans to go out construct the bid and then the city council will make determinations on the bid awards. Perfect. Assuming they come within budget. Okay. Okay. Anything else? Mr. Thorne. Thank you, Mayor. Uh I guess it's a question for city manager. I heard you describe the fact that out of the 1.2 total expense over 700,000 is really addressing the green initiatives or the green services. Could you expound on that?

Sure. Um again there there's a cost for these initiatives. The grain gardens are a $350,000 expense. The permeable pavers about quarter of a million dollars. The oil and grit separator is $60,000 and the native plant gardens are $66,000. Those items are outlined there. Again, this is including those components as part of this is what enabled the city though to receive that $534,000 grant out of those $700,000 in costs that I just described. So essentially a lot of this expense though is because we are becoming more greenoriented and looking at the the green team and and uh supporting the sustainability factors.

That's accurate. And of course this is basically an immediate measurable project. So, um, as they're talking about the bags later as a green thing, this is another green thing on the same same agenda. It is consistent with the city's sustainability initiatives. You are correct, council member. Thank you. Anything else, Miss Powell?

Thank you. Um, congratulations to staff on um, securing the funding uh, to help uh, support this green initiative. I I didn't see where under interested persons contacted that um, you know that the sustainability commission was involved with this, but obviously a lot of them are here this uh, this evening. So, you're aware of this now and obviously support it. So, um, that's nice. Um I'm I'm again excited to see this move forward. My question is relates to maintenance um around the permeable pavers and um snow plowing operations in the parking lot um based on the design. Can someone speak to I don't know if if um Mr. Pubans is here and I meant to call him earlier today to ask this question. I didn't get a chance to so kind of sorry to spring this on you at the last minute but um it's a question I have in terms of is there a difference in maintenance for this type of design

there the plowing um I mean unless the permeable pavers become uneven it will obviously create problems and those issues the issue with any type of permeable paver is it's a brick that operates like a sponge and what makes permeable pavers work is the ability for the water to infiltrate and go through those. So there is a higher degree of maintenance that is required to ensure the paracity of the permeable pavers but that's something that was contemplated. This won't be the first instance or and I well it certainly won't be the last instance I should say in which we will be looking for applications of permeable pavers. It's just something that goes with the territory particularly in the Midwest where you have more opportunities for salt and other grit to become inshed in the pavers but we'll manage it.

All right. [snorts] So, can we use salt on on these? We can. Okay. All right. Great. Thank you, Anything else, Mr. Steph. I Thank you, Mayor. I had that question, but it was just asked and and um another one that I also didn't get a chance to ask is I'm looking at the map on page two of the memo. Um and I I when I saw this uh the first time, I didn't see it. So, I wanted to ask I'm assuming we're going to keep that pedestrian aisle through the center of the parking lot that comes off the sidewalk in front of city hall and goes all the way across through that allows people pedestrians to walk through the parking lot over to Highland.

Correct.

Okay. That I I didn't see it. I see the brakes for it and just wanted to make sure that and then um I did the math uh that I think Steve was trying to struggle with. Um, it's a the total the total project is the $1.2 million. $350,79 is the parking lot. That's just the basic redoing of a parking lot with no additional um upgrades. And as the memo says, the the the green infrastructure is a $712,450 expense of which 75% is covered by the grant that the uh staff got and obtained for this. So um so a vast majority of that $534,338 is paid by the state grant and the city's obligation is $178,112. So, I had to do that math cuz I wanted to see I think I wanted to see the same numbers that I think uh Councilman Thorne was kind of hinting at and wanted to see too. So,

and it's a good question with the the map that's depicted in the memo just shows the green elements. It doesn't include the pavement markings. So, I mean your question is valid, but that will remain the same. And as the council may recall, this is the model. This was the middle model that was presented and it red and it minimized the number of parking spaces that would lost in order to accommodate the green amenities in the parking lot. Okay, that was it. Thank you. Okay, anything else? Clerk, please call the role. Council member Zelf Faro, yes. Dixon, yes. Good. Yes. Martinez, yes. Ortiz, yes. Powell, yes. Stefen, yes. Thorne, yes. Mayor Captain,

yes. Motion's approved. 90. Item D is a design engineering services agreement with Hampton Lensinian and Renwick for the Westside streets reservicing project in 2026. Um these will this work will be focusing on streets in the city's west side that includes Todd Farm Drive and Courtside Drive, Braburn Drive, Lawrence Avenue, Heine Avenue, Triggs Avenue, Sexour Avenue, Hawky, South Lyall Avenue, Maple Street, Second Street, Erie Street, Mosley Street, and Oak Street. The resurfacing will generally include pavement milling and resurfacing, ADA sidewalk access improvements, and minor drainage and sewer uh structure maintenance. Move for approval. Second. Moved and second for approval. Any discussion?

Martinez. Thank you, mayor. Um I was wondering specifically on the streets of South Lyle, Maple Street, Second Street, and Erie Street. They don't have sidewalks, and I was wondering if maybe there could be like a weight limit because they don't have sidewalks. and it's really residential. Uh if that would be something that maybe they could look into into doing if possible. I don't think that that would be likely without the creation of a special service area. Those were areas that were developed at the time without the provision of those additional amenities. If the residents in that area were interested in having those types of improvements, that's typically it comes with a creation of a special service.

I'm not asking for sidewalks. I'm not Oh, I'm sorry. All I'm saying because they don't have them, maybe we should consider putting weight limits on that for trucks or the street this on the streets because there's no sidewalks. Well, what happens is because there's nothing really to hold you. I'm not an engineer or anything, but the street, you know. Okay. And what what happens it starts breaking, you know, with the heavy trucks. I'm sure that Mr. Pubven is listening from home and if there's an ability to do that, we'll be we have to take into that. Sorry for misunderstanding you. Okay. Anybody can find a way to him. Thank I'm sorry for the miss. No, no worries. Okay. Anything else? Okay. Clerk, please call a roll. Council member Alfaro, yes. Dixon, yes. Good. Yes.

Martinez, yes. Ortiz, yes. Powell, yes. Stefen, yes. Thorne, yes. Mayor Captain, yes. Motions approved. 90. Item E, acceptance of public improvements in the Randall Point West subdivision. This subdivision was originally platted in 2007. Final plat included eight lots along with portions of streets known as Galvin Court and Galvin Drive. Those public improvements have finally been completed and are now ready for acceptance. City will be taking over ownership and maintenance of streets, water manes, sanatory sewer, storm sew, street lights, street signs, sidewalks, parkway trees, and all of their associated impertinances. Move for approval. Second. It's been moved and second for approval. Any discussion?

Hearing none, clerk, please call a roll. Council members Al Faro, yes. Dixon, yes. Good. Yes. Martinez, yes. Ortiz, yes. Powell, yes. Stefan, yes. Thorne, yes. Mayor Captain, yes. Motion's approved, 90.

Item F is the acceptance of public improvements in the Tall Oaks unit 3 subdivision. Uh, this final plat contemplates the construction of 106 single family homes. And for those that don't know, the subdivision is located south of US Route 20. It's east of Russell Road and west of Shannon Parkway. Public streets within the subdivision include Sweet Flag Circle, Hedro Drive, Honeysuckle Lane, Current Lane, and Winding Hill Drive. The public improvements have been incompleted, and the city will taking ownership and maintenance, taking over ownership and maintenance of streets, water manes, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, street lights, street signs, sidewalk, and parkway trees. Move approval. Second. It's been moved and second for approval. Any discussion? Hearing none. Cler, please call a role. Council member Alfaro,

yes. Dixon, yes. Good. Yes. Martinez, yes. Ortiz, yes. Powell, yes. Stefen, yes. Thorne, yes. Mayor Captain, yes. Motions approved 90. Item G's, discussion and proposals relating to a retailer single-use plastic bags regulation, uh, regulatory structure. Uh, this evening, we're going to be hearing presentations being led by sustainability manager Kristen Ner, who is already at the podium. her colleague Jessica Van Djk our the city sustainability coordinator and Tony Lenenko the director of the Elgen Development Group. Rather than me wasting time talking to you with an introduction we'll go right to the experts with this and begin with Misser. How are you Kristen?

I'm doing good. Good evening council. So, um, as we've heard from some of our, uh, residents in public comment, after about a decade of discussion and research, last spring in April, the sustainability commission recommended council consider a single-use plastic bag ordinance. At that time, council directed staff to draft an ordinance that mirrored um, Senate Bill 1872 that was being discussed. Uh that's also a ban on single uh plastic bags and a fee on paper. Um from October through the end of the year, my colleague Jessica and I did community outreach to get feedback from our businesses and residents. So we are here tonight to share that feedback as well as present policy recommendations and get direction from uh from council for next steps. [clears throat] So taking a look at the proposed ordinance, this would apply to all retail stores in Elgen. It does exempt restaurants or it doesn't apply to restaurants. It exempts gas stations as well as small retail establishments. This is define for small retailers. This is exempting stores that have less than 12 locations in the state and then they employ um 250 fewer employees um full-time employees in the United States. If enacted, this ordinance would ban plastic checkout bags in store and it would also place a fee on paper checkout bags um and would also allow cons uh customers to bring in reusable bags. The fee would be fully retained by the retailer and customers that are enrolled in Wick or SNAP would be exempt from the fee. Um when we were uh before beginning outreach, we wanted to take a look at retailers that would be potentially impacted. This ordinance is intended to um be applied to big box stores and

chains. So that is who um is primarily on the list. We did also want to include um and look at store uh uh stores that are not necessarily change but chains but are larger in eligence. So, um that we were just thorough in getting feedback. Um in looking at the list, we do realize in recent months there may there were a few stores that had either closed or been sold. So, should this ordinance be adopted, we would look to verify um the list of retailers. And so, I am going to turn it over to Jessica, our city's sustainability coordinator. She will share um our outreach efforts and what we heard from the community. Hi, thank you for that introduction, Kristen. Um, so I'll be going over the community outreach that we conducted for this project. Um, so city staff conducted a multi-channel public engagement process to gather feedback on this proposed ordinance. Outreach efforts included an engage elder web page, community survey, social media announcements, um, and tableabling at community events and local retailers. To the right, you'll see the results of our survey where we received 2,185 responses. 57% of respondents um opposed the ordinance. 38% expressed support and 5% requested additional information. The survey was offered in both online and paper formats as well as in both English and Spanish. While survey results are not intended um to serve as a statistically representative uh sample of the community, they do provide valuable insight into community perspectives and reoccurring themes throughout the engagement process um which we'll dive further into on this next slide. So getting into themes from the survey, opposition primarily centered around concerns related to cost, equity,

effectiveness, and practical impacts rather than disagreement on environmental goals. Many respondents noted that checkout bags are often reused at least once before they're discarded, and some indicated that they would consider shopping outside of Elgen if um restrictions were implemented. supporters on the other hand uh emphasize environmental protection, litter reduction, public health benefits, and alignment with the city's uh sustainability objectives. Additionally, approximately 5% of respondents indicated that they needed more information before forming an opinion. Um and these comments generally expressed an openness to reducing plastic use um and supporting environmental goals, but sought clarification on policy details, how equity how equity concerns would be addressed within this ordinance um and evidence of effectiveness of bans and fees. So overall, the feedback from the survey reflects a shared interest in long-term environmental goals and outcomes uh even where uh perspectives differ on approach. And then lastly, this slide covers um some more details on the in-person engagement that we did for this. Um so this highlights community outreach efforts led by staff uh from October through December. Uh we organized and attended eight outreach events across Elgen. These included both larger community events like resource fairs um but we also did pop-up tableling at retail locations like Walmart and Butra. This approach allowed us to really meet residents where they're at, both in community spaces and in the places where they would be most directly uh impacted by this ordinance. At each event, staff provided paper copies of the survey and tablets so residents could easily share their feedback in whatever format they were most comfortable with. And on the right, you're going to see um a list of locations where paper copies of the

survey, flyers um and moreformational materials about this prop proposed ordinance were made available. With that, I'm going to pass it off to Tony uh from EDG to uh discuss the B business outreach that we conducted. Thank you, Justin.

Uh members of the city council, thank you for the opportunity to say a few words here today. It's um been a real pleasure to work with the city of Elgen and with the staff. Uh they've been most cooperative and I think we've done as best we can to try to reach out to to most of the community. Um I wanted to to say a few things. Um you know when I've been involved with this since 2022 and I was the person who went out and met with all these 42 and identified these 42 businesses. I walked into their stores. I talked to their managers. I tried to figure out if we had everybody and um we invited those who uh remained after two years uh to a meeting on October 9th at uh the Elgen Area Chamber offices and uh we had seven attend and um 11 that I've been corresponding with since uh this came back in October. Uh just to give you an idea of how much work we've done, uh not only did we help to coordinate the meetings at um or the outreach efforts at some of the uh grocery stores and and department stores, we had over 400 emails that I have personally since October in dealing with um issues or let's say um responses from various businesses. Many of these businesses though only um seven attended are national corporations. A lot of the local managers do not feel comfortable um talking to um the city council and on behalf of their national company. They're not in a position to do that. I would say that the vast majority of these companies are against this. Not only are businesses against this in the community, you just saw the results of a survey that showed 57% of over 2100 respondents were against this. Um, you

know, we we um, you know, were um led to believe that this meeting was going to occur on February 25th. A lot of the um retailers um did not come today because um they were not prepared. They had other meetings. Some went on vacation. Uh someone for business meetings out of the community. Uh Mr. Kosal um in our attempt to find out when this meeting was going to occur kind of dropped this on us last week and we did everything that we could to get businesses to come, but we weren't able to. Um in this pack in this on this slide you'll see that um that um basically these core reasons for that retailers are against this are found on page six of your memo very well written. It actually hits the major points. We've been hearing these points for months now. Um, I wanted to tell you that um, you know, there's one comp company here, one department store that wasn't able to come that I think you should hear. And that department store is represented nationally. And this gentleman worked in California for a similar department store. And that neighboring community of where his department store was, um, his community enacted a similar ordinance to the one you're you're considering tonight. And what happened was that they lost around 25% of their business to a neighboring community. Now, what happened eventually in California was that the state of California adopted a statewide um law. Um even though it was supposed to level the playing field, it actually didn't and they never saw those people return to their community and it was a substantial business. Um so I I would caution against you moving ahead on this tonight. I would respectfully request that um that this be deferred until the

next meeting so that we can bring to the table those people who are expressing uh their interests in not seeing uh this go forward. Let me tell you in my uh what I've learned in dealing with a lot of these department stores and a lot of these retailers here in Elgen is that they do a lot of u environmental stewardship. um you wouldn't even believe. I mean they pack they take their packaging and they recycle it. They recycle the plastic that's being that their packaging comes in as recycled. They go above and beyond what you might think. So, out of respect um to the companies, out of respect to you, I would think uh if we could maybe postpone this until the next uh city uh committee of the whole meeting, I I I would request I would respectfully request that. So, and that's all I have for tonight. And if anybody has any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them.

Thank you very much.

Mer finished. Before we get to questions, I want to go through our recommendation and the recommendations made considering the time and research the commission um as well as staff have put into looking at science-based uh best practices when it comes to single-use bag ordinances. Uh we also are considering feedback that we have received from the community and businesses and also um paying attention to conversations that are going on in the state with legislation. So, we're recommending um two policy options for you. The first option is to defer action or adopt this locally. Should the decision m be made to defer action, this would still allow the city to monitor progress that's going on with state conversations and align if there's any standards that are adopted. Uh the defer approach also avoids any immediate implementation costs from the city and minimizes the risk of placing local retailers at a competitive disadvantage. It also preserves our ability to revisit this should the state fail or the stall again. So it's still keeping this on the table. Um if this opt option is chosen, the city will still continue to move forward with other priorities in the climate action plan as well as the um city's strategic plan and their environmental initiatives. Um it is worth noting for Senate Bill 1872, it does remain unenacted. Um meaning that it's final form and timeline remain uncertain. And as far as we know, there's no indication that this will be picked up again. Um should council decide to adopt the proposed ordinance. We do recommend an effective date in 2027 from listening to other communities, it's really important to be um deliberate with implementation, provide enough time for retailers to

prepare as well as staff and residents. And so this gives us time to um as staff develop a communication plan and provide education. Um so it is clear on what is coming and what the different rules and regulations are. Um this approach also allows um to do an equitable distribution of bags. Um this adoption I think as I said aligns with the climate action plan and city initiatives. Um adoption of this would place Elgent ahead of surrounding communities and this kind of echoes the concerns that we have received from community members and businesses that this could create um competitive disparities. This may also be an opportunity though for Elgen to be a leader in sustainability. Um option uh adoption would require um implementation resources from the city um such as enforcement capacity and education efforts. For this first year, we are estimating cost to be about 18,000 to be able to provide impacted store signage to post to alert customers of the ordinance um as well as the time to create um education and enforcement for implementation. So with that, I will open it up to council for discussion and questions. Yeah,

we need a motion, Mr. Thorne. Well, I'm hearing everyone. Uh certainly hearing Mr. Lenenko, and I really agree with uh his request. I'd like to motion that we postpone this for just one meeting, just two weeks till the next council meeting.

I'll second it. It's been moved and seconded to postpone the meeting till uh the next council meeting on the 25th. Correct. Any discussion? Mr. Dixon. Thank you. Um just a for clarification here, if we were to move forward with action tonight, this would come back in two weeks to city council for the second vote. Is that correct, uh city manager? It is, but it would go to the regular agenda and that doesn't always necessarily leave an opportunity for further discussion. We typically use the committee of the whole as you know for the work but yes it would be back on the regular agenda either consent or otherwise in two weeks.

Okay. And what I'm just trying to point out with that is we have to have two meetings on this any way it goes. Um yeah we're we're going to vote on on the motion. Um but I I also want to put something else out there regardless of how this vote goes. Um I think um the state doing something and doing more um seems to be the sentiment of um you regardless of if you're for it or against it. And so um I would like to see us uh as a council, as a city um write to our legislators in a unified letter uh encouraging them to act. So, if um I don't know if it we already have a motion on the floor, but you know, I would like to, you know, probably make that motion afterwards so that regardless, we're still, you know, asking the state to to act and to step up. So, and I'll I'll leave I'll reserve the rest of my questions. I just wanted to get that business out of the way. Okay.

Anything else, Mr. Good?

Well, yeah. So um I guess all the comments regarding the the work that's been done um I'll I'll reserve that for right now I guess. Um so [clears throat] is it the intention that postponing this for one meeting allows the the folks who are not here um to come and say their piece but is there anything specific right now because I mean I had specific questions for the business community as it relates to their operations. Um, so is the intention that we use this time to firm up those questions to that specific stakeholder group and and then have those questions next meeting or are we just going to basically are you asking just put a pause pin in it right now? No conversation. Um, because I guess if if it were to be delayed for that stakeholder group to arrive, it would probably a good use of time for us to figure out what we want to ask them specifically.

Um, that's the reason. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I think it's appropriate that uh we let they're the people that are going to be impacted the most and it's not fair to have too much discussion without them being here. So I think it's best to defer the discussion for two weeks and uh to Mr. Dixon's point, we can have that discussion and uh uh talk about uh um any conversations we need to have with state legislators whether personal or from a letter from the uh uh council. Uh I think that's probably the appropriate thing and delay just delay this uh discussion for two weeks and uh have it uh on the 25th. Mr. Ste,

I um I guess I I'm opposed to that. I would rather u take action today. Um, as somebody who's been personally involved in kind of this issue, um, I would support the, um, concept that Councilman Dixon is proposing that this has to come back anyway. There's there's two it has to come back twice. First on committee the whole, then on the regular council agenda for final approval. So there is time next uh two weeks from today when it would be on the regular council for further discussion uh and a second vote uh which is the usual process. Um I guess I had a lot of ideas and comments but that's all I'll say right now since there seems to be a motion to postpone this for two weeks. Okay.

Anything else from so far? Um, so is it my did if I understood um correctly business owners were informed that this was going to be at the last meeting of February prior? You want me to say? Yep. Yes. The discussions when um city staff began conducting its outreach, we were talking about late January, February, the latest. As we got as more business was involved with the city, we were able to communicate. It looks like it's going to be the last meeting in February because of the city's decision to delay discussions on the welcoming city ordinance

which has now been moved to the 25th moved shifted this discussion to the 11th so we could fill the hole that was set in the schedule. And so I again when we made that decision I called Mr. Lenko. He did what was I I believe everything that was necessary to bring the uh constituents that he has been working with during that time period. And unfortunately, there were too many scheduling conflicts to be able to to have them here this evening.

Uh thank you for sharing that. Um that helps me in my decision- making because if we did tell the community it would be on a certain date and they made plans. I I agree with council member Stefan. I don't think we need to continue waiting, but I will be respectful to the community that we told them. But I also want to say this impacts not only business owners. This is impacting our community. Plastic is really polluting our earth and who knows how many more years we'll be able to breathe as properly. Climate change, all sorts of things. We're seeing the impact of plastic in our community. So something needs to be done. Um the community itself as a whole was notified as of Monday night. So, I would suggest both sides to come out then if we do move this to the end of February to really let us know what you're thinking. And Tony, I'm more than um willing to meet with any business owner to chat more about the ordinance and everything. So, feel free to share that with any of them. Um but I agree, we probably shouldn't wait. But just to be fair to the community, I just will say then we do have a lot of stuff on the February 25th agenda. So it might be a long night depending where you're on on that agenda. Just for warning,

Miss Martinez. Thank you, Mayor. Miss, if you can please change it to the opposers and the supporters. If you look at this this list right now, you know, the people who are in opposition and just read why they're in opposition and then you look at the supporters, you know, I believe in my heart that the opposers for the reasons that the supporters are supporting, they they feel the same way. you know, it helps the uh public health. It uh supports um uh you know, to reduce litter and plastic. Nobody's disputing that.

But um I think that it would be beneficial and fair to wait to wait cuz uh what the supporters are saying are things that, you know, we all know and believe. And the opposers, you know, they're not opposing because they don't believe that. they just oppose it because how it affects their their business and you know I think I will also reserve my comments that I have for the next meeting as well. So thank you anybody else Mr. Dixon again.

Thank you. Um [clears throat] Kristen, when it comes to the the survey itself, um and we see the results. I think during the presentation you were saying that um people would consider shopping outside of Elgen. Um that was some of the information that you heard back. Was that anecdotal information or was that actually um inside of the of the data?

So in the survey there is a opportunity to put comments on um why you're uh on your opinions or why you're supporting and opposed. And so this was reflected in the comments. So I would say it's more anecdotal. Um I will add in doing I have reached between Jessica and I we have reached out to communities that have passed this ordinance and they at least this is also kind of anidotal but they have not seen any significant decrease in sales tax. Um so it's just something to consider.

Okay. So, we don't have a a p we don't have a feel or a true percentage um of people who responded to the survey of saying I'm going to go elsewhere if this is enacted. We don't have a I don't I don't have an exact percentage, but that was definitely a strong theme and reasons um or reactions to this proposed ordinance. And along with the survey, Jessica and I were doing in-person outreach and that was also reflected in some of the conversations that we had. Um, and we heard a variety of responses, but um, for those that were against it, there were comments of, you know, if this is passed, I would shop. Yeah. Look to shop elsewhere.

Okay. And what what were the the dates that the survey was open to the community again? Um, it was open. So, we kicked off Outreach BD with the retailers. The survey was opened um I believe the next day so October 10th um through the end of the year. Okay. And is it accurate that the survey isn't gated meaning you can complete it as many times as you want?

Sure. So I would Yes. Um the survey you can take it from um a variety of platforms like a computer or cell phone. And this partly was designed if you know you're a resident is taking this at home and they want to pass it on to their spouse or a neighbor, you know, there's an opportunity to take it. Um, so it could be taken multiple times. Um, I would look at the results as uh just getting a sense of how the community is feeling about this type of ordinance and then taking note of what their concerns and feedback are. Um, again, you know, that can help direct your decision if this goes forward. It's, you know, concerns to think about and then if you decide um state that again, yes, just concerns to think about as you're

Okay. So, it it wasn't gated. So, you can sit and take the survey as many times as you want um over and over and over again from your phone or computer or whatever you're using. Um Okay. All right. And is there a margin of error with with this survey then? Um I didn't do like an official like okay scientific review but I did I was able to see the raw data. I can't see like um like locations but you can see the address. I did not see any pattern of like the same address [clears throat] uh taking the survey multiple times in a row.

Okay. Okay. Yeah. Because I I you know what percentage does that occupy in this survey? I mean we don't we don't know that right now. Is that something that you may be able to find out in the next couple of weeks or will we have to hire a data analyst to kind of drill this down? I can look into it. I can't guarantee if we'll get like a clear um margin of error, but that's something I can look into. And again, I would look more into the results of again where the community is in general standing. And then um yeah, just looking at their feedback and reasons why they're in support.

Yeah. and and I and I certainly respect that and I appreciate it, but I also have to consider that a single user can take the survey over and over again. And while 2100 respondents is nothing to, you know, to to laugh at, uh certainly um you know, how many respondents were there actually? Um, I think we should we should know and and consider in this because if it was gated and it was just a one time like if you you know connected to the IP address you use it one time that's it then we're not even having this conversation that's not even any questions right but when it's not gated

you know anything is possible at that point. So I I just wanted to to get some clarity on that. Okay. Um, I I just want one want to say for for the public um and for the business owners, I took time out to go to um many of the businesses that are on this list and to sit down with the owners um to sit down with the managers and to look them in eyes and have this conversation to see exactly how it affected their business. And I want to thank uh you know Tony um for helping me set up those meetings and and Carol back there who's hiding behind Tony uh for setting up those meetings. I I really took the time out to go meet with these businesses and to speak with those employees and and so the feedback that they are that the business community um is receiving is significant. Um, you know, but I I also want to say I've I've also sat with community members and the green groups um and I've been hearing from the commission over the past decade um that you're saying. And so I've listened to and taking the time to listen to everyone. You know, Kristen and I, we met and had a great conversation around this a couple of months ago knowing that this was coming down the pipeline. Um, so this is definitely not a decision that I take lightly and I respect everyone um on both sides of this. Um, and ultimately, uh, I would just like to see the council do what's best for the entire community for the long haul. Um, so you know, but let me be clear. You know, I would like to see us take action tonight knowing that in two weeks we could continue the conversation and business owners and, you know, pro um no plastic bag um groups and individuals

could still come forward and make their arguments. Um but given that we said that we were going to do something I and then we we weren't able to do it for ex or whatever reason things happen. Um I I definitely respect that too as well and and I want to be able to have a full conversation considering every single thing from um from folks from folks on this issue. And so so I want to say thank you to all the green groups to the folk to the folks who are here. Thank you to the business owners, [clears throat] Tony, um Carol for all you've been work uh that you've done. Mike, even you know, for your comments too as well and all the work that you've done over the years with the business community is certainly appreciated. Um and um yeah, so I guess we're going to go ahead and have a vote and decide our path forward. [laughter]

Okay. And anybody else? And Miss Powell,

I'll I'll try to be brief. Um want to thank everyone. Want to thank staff for the presentation and uh the public outreach. Want to thank Tony and Carol from the Elgen Development Group for your work with the retail community. I've had a chance obviously to speak to um I didn't sit down with everyone probably like uh Councilman Dixon did, but I have spoken with some of the retailers um heard their side, spoken with community groups, uh members of the sustainability commission and heard their side. Um, a couple of things I will say. Banning smoking in public places wasn't popular when we did it, but it was necessary. The institution of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, that great year that I was born, and the numerous regulations that came forth uh with the institution of the EPA wasn't popular necessarily at that time, but very necessary. So, there are plenty of things that we do as local government um at or or at the state level or at the federal level that are unpopular at the time but are very necessary for the long-term consequences of our community, our health, and our environment. In a matter of 60 seconds, you can go on the internet and Google microlastics and the impact that microlastics have in our environment and on our health. It's right there. It's it's it's it's in plain sight. I will even read just a a little small blurb. A growing body of research has observed microlastics in animals and humans. Recent studies have

concluded that most people are ingesting a credit card worth credit card size worth of plastic each week. This plastic is coming from food sources like fish and other wildlife and makes its way up the food chain. Another leading cause of microlastic consumption is bottled water. um a staggering 93% of bottled water sampled worldwide contained microplastic particles and and it just goes on and on. So I I and I definitely sympathize and and hear what the retailers are saying. But when I go to Sam's Club, when I go to Costco, I don't get plastic bags there. People grab boxes, put their stuff in there, and move on. When I go to Aldi's, people grab boxes at Aldi's and move on. Or they bring their reusable bags or if they're like me and have the reusable bags in the trunk of their car and then forget to get them out of the trunk of their car when they go into the store, then I have to make a choice. Do I go back out to my car and get them or do I just fork over the 12 cents it's going to cost me to buy that paper bag at Aldi's that they do sell? It is a it is a matter of changing behavior. And if we don't press the issue and cause people to think and change their behavior, not just with this small thing of plastic bags, we're we're going down the wrong path. and 50 years from now, where where are our kids and our grandkids going to be in in terms of suffering from all types of negative

health impacts that we're even seeing right now because of plastics. So, I I feel like this has to be a start. It's uncomfortable and and I'm actually a little disappointed that it doesn't really go further that there's too many outs [clears throat] for certain retailers in our community to not have to participate. I am interested in in giving folks time, you know, that, you know, aren't here, but I feel like we can do that. uh keeping this on the agenda, moving forward, taking a vote tonight, and assuming if it if it passes, obviously folks uh still have the ability to comment um during the regular committee meeting, but we we got elected for the hard stuff. This is one of those hard things. And if if if we don't take ownership, because let's face it, the state has been bouncing this back and forth with numerous different bills introduced for the last decade and they can't get it together. So, we can't think that the state of Illinois is going to save us. I mean, it it would be great if it was something enacted statewide. I completely agree. But that's not going to happen. If it was going to happen, it would have happened by now. So, as the sixth largest community in the state of Illinois, I think this is a huge leadership move for us. There are other communities that have successfully done this. Um, we're not operating in a bubble. I think there's there's sound um examples and research and and ways that we can do this that will have a min that hopefully we can have a minimum impact on everyone involved

including the retailers. Um so I'm in favor of keeping this on the agenda and moving forward with this tonight. Um, I I realize we're way past our seven o'clock time. So, if I I would recommend because I'm sure that there's probably some more conversation that takes place, but I I guess my ask for the mayor is if we're I'm assuming we're going to take a vote on Councilman um uh Thank you, Thorne. It sucks getting old. Um, Councilman Thorne's uh motion. That's correct.

Um, that if depending on how that goes that we can recess and then come back first, Miss Powell, let's do the vote. Perfect. Thank you. Okay. Clerk, please call the role. Council member Zaro, point of clarification. So, the vote is just to postpone it. Just The vote is to delay the on the 25th. Yes. Okay. Daniel Dixon, no. Good. Yes. Martinez, yes. Ortiz, yes. Powell, no. Stefan, no. Thorne, yes. Mir Captain,

yes. The motion passes 6 to3. We'll delay this for two weeks. Uh, at this point, uh, let's see. We'll finish announcements from council and then we will uh take about a fivem minute break and then we'll get back at the uh regular city council meeting. Okay. Announcements from the council. Malparro.

I just want to wish everyone a happy black history month. We're celebrating um American history, black history in America. And so I just want to wish everyone a black uh happy black history month. In addition, I want to give a shout out to all the youth who are participating in democracy, who are doing part um participating, the high schools, the middle schools who are doing their walkouts to voice their opinions of what's going on in our country. And so I want to give props to our youth who are standing up right now. Thank you, Miss Paul.

Thank you, Councilwoman Al Farro. I echo those statements and uh wanted to make a couple of announcements related to Black History Month. Um the building we are sitting in is named after Bob Gileiam. And for those of you who don't know who Robert Gilliam was, Bob Bob Gilliam was the first African-American elected to the Elgen City Council in 1973 and he proudly served this community for 40 years. He is one of the longest serving uh local government officials in the state of Illinois history. Uh Bob unfortunately passed away I want to say in 2015, but Bob's legacy lives on in this community and he had a huge impact on where Elgen is today. and I had the pleasure of uh serving with uh Councilman Gileiam for the first two years of my tenure here on the city council and uh his leadership is definitely missed. Um I want to also make a couple of other announcements related to Black History Month. Um some um activities that are going on that are open to the entire community. As Councilwoman Al Faro mentioned, Black History is American history. Uh the city of Elgen will be showing the movie Hidden Figures on Tuesday, February 27th at the Hemans at 7 PM uh free of charge. If you haven't seen this this movie, it's um an awesome movie about um black women who were involved with uh NASA behind the scenes. uh Gailborn Public Library, if you go on their website, they have a whole list of activities um and and things that and events that are going on at the library. Uh the Elgen History Museum on What date is this? Sorry, I don't have the date, but if you

go on their website, it's called Abolition and the Underground Railroad in Kain and DuPage counties. It's at the Elgen History Museum, I want to say on the 22nd. It's on a Sunday. Um, engage, educate, and empower is on Thursday, February 26 from 5 to 8. It is uh sponsored by the Open Door Clinic of Elgen and it is um black uh HIV and AIDS Awareness Day. Uh so u and and actually one more thing I wanted to mention was uh the African-American Coalition of Kain County is doing a mob up at Sunshine Cupcakey which we'll hear from earlier uh actually in uh just a little while. um located um on McClean Boulevard. Um it's in the plaza at the corner of McClean and Bose Road. And that takes place on February 21st, 100 p.m. And that is done to um encourage folks to uh support locallyowned black businesses during the month of Black History Month and every month of the year. So those are my announcements. Thank you.

Okay. Any other announcements from the council? Announcements from staff. None, mayor. Thank you. Okay. Entertain a motion to adjurnn. So moved. Second. Second. Moved and second to adjourn. Clerk, please call the role. Council member Zaro, yes. Dixon, yes. Good. Yes. Martinez, yes. Ortiz, yes. Powell, yes. Stefen, yes. Thorne, yes. Mayor Captain,

yes. We are adjourned. We'll reconvene in 5 minutes at 7:35 with the regular council meeting. You're not going anywhere. Heat. Heat.

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of the Elgen City Council for February 11th, 2026 to order. Please join me in the pledge of allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

into the resilience of our people. It is why customers often often mention feeling welcome and um inviting when they enter in our doors. We aim to go beyond just selling cupcakes and truly offer each customer a little bit of sunshine because we know how brutals the day how brutal the days can get. Especially today when our communities are being threatened and our neighbors are being kidnapped. Sometimes something as small as a cupcake and a smile can go a long way. It is difficult for me to stand here and not acknowledge what's happening in our community and nation as a whole. King said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. It is important for us to continue to support systemic changes to create more equal opportunities for everyone, for all communities. Systemic problems require systemic solutions. Change must come." I also want to acknowledge how unlikely it is that I am standing here today. I was born at the height of the crack epidemic in poverty. My father sold it and my mother used it. This era destroyed many black communities because the consequences of slavery, systemic racism, segregation, redlinining, police violence, psychological warfare, and environmental racism were already widespread and there were so few opportunities for most blacks. So, either you sold it to make ends meet or you used it to escape your realities. I don't want to get into too many details of the ugly of the ugliness of that era or how the war on drugs, one of the most unjust criminal laws in history, further destroyed black communities. I don't want to talk about the government's involvement or the aftermath of the inequalities. But I do hope Sunshine's Cupcakeakery's presence can help break some of those negative stereotypes. Even though I grew up in violence, I've always been able to hold on to joy, to humanity, to the belief that if I show

kindness to the world, the world would be kind to me. If I worked hard, I could change what statistics said my life would be. I know the game is rigged. I know the game is rigged and I was never supposed to make it. But here I stand beating odds that should have never needed to be beat. We often see stories of black success and figure if he or she did it, if they did it, then they can all do it. But people never will fully understand how many layers of oppression we have to fight just to grab a crown, a crumb of success, how systemic factors are always at play, and we have to get creative. Bottom line is we have come far but we still have so far to go. There's an old African proverb that says if you want to go fast go alone but if you want to go far you must go together. So Elgen we need you. We need you all to consider Sunshine's Cupcake for your next event because it is a community that will help us keep our doors open. We're located 1012 South MLAN Boulevard. Show up and shop small. [applause]

[applause]

If I could please ask George's brother and his group to come up. Dean Mary Max Star, please come up. Mike Warren, could you take some pictures? My colleagues on the dis know that this indeed might be a challenge for me. It's certainly um a very proud moment to be able to read and present a proclamation to one of the best friends anyone could ever have. Whereas George Rollinsson has long been a steadfast and valued member of the Elgen community, demonstrating an enduring commitment to service, integrity, and community engagement by offering time, talent, and leadership in service to his neighbors. And whereas through consistent volunteerism, civic engagement, and spirit of generosity, George strengthened community bonds, supported local institutions, and inspired others to contribute to the common good. And whereas George Rollinsson was the owner of Elgenbased State Street Publishing and the imprint can't miss Press. and while serving on the board of the Chicago Writers Association for eight years was best known for its members as the creator and organizer of its literary bus tour. George possessing an encyclopedia knowledge of the Chicago area and its history. And whereas George Rollinsson was a prolific local journalist and was

recognized with the Chicago Writers Association Spirit Award in 2018. And whereas George Rollinsson received the city of Elgen's mayor's award in 2008 in recognition for his publishing numerous books on local history and in 2018 was conferred with the city of Elgen Mayor George Vandervort outstanding service award for his continuing volunteerism and support to Elgen, its history and its future. And whereas during his acceptance speech for the Elgen Image Award he received in 2018, George emphasized his spirit of giving, quoting, "You give without remembering, you receive without forgetting." George called love the unifying characteristic of Elgen. And whereas George Rollinsson's efforts reflect the very best qualities of civic responsibility, compassion, and perseverance, serving as an inspiration to all who have had the privilege of working with or knowing him. Now therefore, I, Steven Thorne, on behalf of David Captain, the mayor of the city of Elgen, Illinois, do hereby resolve that the city of Elgen hereby proclaims its deep appreciation for George Rollinsson and honors him for his exemplary service, leadership, and commitment to the community. Let this proclamation stand as a public expression of gratitude for his contributions as an encouragement to others to follow his example of civic responsibility.

I'd like to say thank you to Steve for putting this all together and for the council, Mr. Mayor. I really appreciate it. Um, my brother is definitely going to be missed uh but never forgotten. Thank you. Thank you. [applause] If I could say one last thing, it's a clear example of it's not when you die, it's how you lived. George lived a wonderful life. He did.

He did. brings us to the point of the council meeting of uh allowing public comment. First person for up to three minutes, first person to sign up is Bob Johnson.

Good evening. All right.

I'm here tonight as an Elgen resident for over 27 years. I hold in my hand a paper with close to a dozen names of people killed as a result of the administration's immigration initiative by DHS and ICE. It is by no means a complete list of their murders. I'm reminded of my grandfather who fought in World War II. He was in the second wave on Normandy and was subsequently assigned to the liberation of the concentration camps. He was at the time a 17-year-old soldier of Austrian Jewish lineage. Some of his family had escaped Austria after World War I. I, as a young child, saw the pictures he took from those concentration camps. I remember him till right now. We are now faced with a masked government enforcement militia claiming to be law enforcement. They are hunting our families, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Their crimes are well documented and are done with impunity to a level that they are emboldened to murder people in broad daylight while being recorded. We must stand up for ourselves. We are being attacked by our federal government. This is not a time to hide. They are here. They will increase their numbers as they deploy from Minneapolis. We must do everything in our power to protect ourselves from this lawlessness to our fullest ability. We must enact welcoming this welcoming city ordinance. We all can see this has been absolutely

nothing to do with immigration. We cannot be weak when our community is being persecuted. Elgen must be on the side of what is right. There are only two sides as anything less than all we can do is the wrong side. This is a huge issue. because it's an issue of right and wrong. I want to live in a city that chooses the right path. Thank you.

Thank you, [applause] Jeremy Carlson. Jeremy Carlson. She's no longer here. Latoya Johnson. [snorts] Hello. This is taking me lots of courage to come up here, but I feel I have to. As a concerned citizen, [sighs and gasps] on Thursday, last Thursday, I it's probably not going to be popular what I'm going to say, but I'm going to say it anyway. I ran into a bunch of kids, babies, that looked no more than 12 or 13. And me, as being a mother of a young child, my heart sank and I began to shake because the first thing that I looked at, why aren't these children in school? and they were flooding the streets. Now, I was on Highland Avenue in front of the Highland uh grammar school and um immediately I didn't see any adults with them and my mother instinct came in. I wanted the babies back in school. So, I rolled down the window because like I said, I see no chaperrons, no adults. These were children that were flooding the street. And just as that man sediment in and our whole country, politics is somewhat being a hotbed topic. Anybody, any lunatic could have flooded those kids and ran into them with a car. And this is what had me shaken because we're about safety. I proceeded to tell the

kids, "You should be in school." And like my mother instinct came out because that's what I seen them as my children. I grew up here in Elgen. I remember this community when I was younger. Aunties, uncles, grandparents, if you were down the street, somebody told the neighbor what was going on. And that's what made our community safer. Um, unfortunately, when I did finally see a person in a safety vest, they didn't seem really attentive to the children. And then adjacent there was like one cop blocking a street, but these children were all on their own. Um we [clears throat] already know that there is a lot of things happening in this country. Um I'm not saying that these children uh were coaxed by any you know faculty or anything but the encouragement is to have parents and guardians do this in a respectable way for protesting um to make sure that everybody's safe. I felt like it could have been done on a Saturday. We already know literacy rates are very high. Kids can't even read, let alone do math. This hurts our country in a systemic way because now we have adults that can't even read at the level. If you can't interpret information, you can't even discern what is real and what's fact. I'm from a generation, I don't want to say how old I am. That um there's people that can't even tell reality. They can't even tell like what is actual truthful. and you if that's so dangerous if you can't interpret and read on your own. So with that said and done, um I too have had military people. My brothers have fought, my father has fought. I have people in the cemetery on my dad's side that have fought. I don't think we want a nation where kids are not in school and they're being weaponized. And so I reached out to a social service agency and he agreed. He was actually investigating, wanting names, wanting

the school. I couldn't give him everything. I'm just a citizen. He did put it on his notice. He did put it on his superior is investigating Eldren, wanting to know which kids were truent to encourage that this doesn't happen again. He thinks that this might happen again. He is taking record. I will not say his name again. And that is the concern. It's infuriating. I I love that men in this country stand up for putting themselves against when there's something going down. Where were the adults? Where were the men? That's what I'm saying. Children should not be using this way. We I seen in San Francisco them using five-year-olds, 5-year-old babies to protest. These kids don't know anything. And so I believe Elgen is above this. We are righteous community. Okay. And he was talking about right and wrong. I believe that a righteous thing adults on a Saturday when it's more, you know, appropriate to have the discussions so that they could be accountability and if anything does go down at least the adults are there and that's on them. But like again as a concerned mother and I'm still shaken by that and I could not believe that and I can't believe I don't want to age myself but I can't believe that this is happening now. Um, I just feel like, yeah, we are supposed to be above this and Elgen is above this and we're not like the rest of the nation. Um, and uh, Thomas Orwell, you can look it up, explaining why borders are protection. And I love the fact that we are protected in this nation by borders. I'm seeing SA in so many other countries. And me as a woman, I love being able to walk down the streets without feeling scared and being attacked. And these babies don't know how much darkness is out there from other places. But yes, I do agree. ICE can be, you know, told and should be told about certain parameters

that they're taking. But again, I look at their end and they don't have help from a lot of people to enforce laws that we teach children right and wrong and how to abide by laws and we even ourselves follow rules and laws. So I mean this has been with the other administrations but I'm not turning to political. I just want to stick to the facts that I just felt like kids were not protected at all in Elgen.

Please start wrapping her comments up. But Miss Johnson, please be aware that Chief Lai has started to address that problem. She's gone out and had some meetings and uh we are we are at the manager on it were just talking about it at 5:00 this evening. So thank you for your concern. Um we have no bids this evening. We have no other business. So consent agenda move for approval. Second. Been moved and second for approval. Any discussion hearing? None. Clerk, please call the role. Council member Alfaro, yes. Dixon, yes. Good. Yes. Martinez, yes. Ortiz, yes. Powell, yes. Stefen, yes. Thorne, yes. Mayor Captain,

yes. Motion's approved. 90. Uh, miscellaneous business. Move for approval. Second. It's [snorts] been moved and second for approval. Any discussion hearing? None. Clerk, please call the role. Council member Zelf Faro, yes. Dixon, yes. Good. Yes. Martinez, yes. Ortiz, yes. Powell, yes. Stefan, yes. Thorne, yes. Mayor Captain, yes. Motion's approved. 90. Uh, the next committee of the whole meeting will be Wednesday, February 25th, 2026 at 6 p.m. in the city council chambers. The next regular meeting of the Elgen City Council will be Wednesday, February 25th, 26th, excuse me, at 7 p.m. in the council chambers. I'd entertain a motion to adjourn to executive session.

So moved. Second. Moved. We're adjourning back to Oh, are we finished? We're finished. We're finished. We finished. That's right. We did. Today was a good day. Today was a good day. Through executive session for the purpose of uh discussing uh employer employee uh relations. Clerk, please call the role. Council members Alfaro, yes. Dixon, yes. Good. Yes. Martinez, yes. Ortiz, yes. Powell, yes. Stefan, yes. Thorne, yes. Mayor Captain, yes. We are ajourned.