City Council Meeting - Regular Meeting

To the July 6th pre-council meeting of the City of Joliet, 530 in Council Chambers. Presiding is the Honorable Mayor Terry Darcy.

We'll begin with roll call. Mayor Darcy? Here. Council McCartaness? Here. Council McClement? Here. Councilman Hugg? Here. Councilwoman Ibarra? Here. Councilman Moreno? Here. Councilman Mudren? Here. Councilwoman Coleman? Here. Councilwoman Reardon? Here. First, we'll have a presentation. April grand prairie water commission conservation challenge winner Q2, 2026 water conservation incentive program winners and intro for Q3, 2026 program presented by Alison Swisher director of public utilities.

Okay, I feel like I started. So we're really excited tonight to further recognize our water conservation winners. So in April, the Grand Prairie waterfishing communities had a water conservation challenge. And so we had members of each community take a pledge to conserve water. And the community with the most pledges was the winner. Minooka was the winner of the overall Grand Prairie waterfishing challenge. But we did have a winner that was selected for each community. And the community, the winner for Joliet was Lori Leveson. A little basket of goodies about different water conservation items. So really happy that Lori is committed to saving water and was our winner for our water conservation challenge. Thank you, Lori. And then also we have our ongoing incentive program and for Q2, We had Celeste Bissette submitted her rainbow photo to win our Team 2 challenge. So thank you, Celeste. Water conservation goodies. And each quarter, we also have a kids' challenge. This year, this quarter, the kids' challenge was collecting water-tipped baseball cards, which I'll give you blood cards and grooms for being extremely creative and coming up with 12 different cards, baseball cards with water conservation tips on them. And Felicity is our kids' winner. She posted all 12 of the cards. So again, for Q3 now, we have our new incentive for adults. We have a survey that adults can take to show how they're saving water. And then we're going to do our baseball card contest again for the kids to continue to collect those 12 cards and submit them to be a winner. So we're really encouraging everyone to participate in these activities through September 30th and all the information is available on our Rethink Water Joliet website. So encouraging water conservation. We also have a baseball game, a water conservation-themed baseball game at the Slammers. The game starts at 6.35, but we're going to have activities starting at 5.30. This is in partnership with Will County Green that we've done for a number of years now. And so there's going to be a lot of information at the game about how to conserve water and the importance of water. So we encourage everyone to participate in this fun activity tomorrow. And we're also going to be participating in Kids Fest and continuing to spread the word about the importance of water conservation as it relates to our switch to Lake Michigan water. And then lastly, just want to pat ourselves on the back. We were the recipient of a Gold Level Water Ambassador Award, and so we have been a gold level for a number of years now and the water ambassador program is something the illinois american water works association sponsors and it was created to elevate public perception knowledge and consumer education in the water industry the program aims to accomplish these goals by presenting communication platforms and promotional content in a manner that's relevant engaging and consistent so We're going above and beyond with our water conservation activities in Joliet. We're a model to many other communities who want to engage with the public in water conservation, and we're one of 36 communities across the state that has achieved this goal level. So that concludes our update on our water conservation efforts, and we'd love to get a photo with the council of our organization.

I love seeing this.

Next is citizens to be heard on agenda items. Is there anyone who would like to speak on an agenda item this evening? This is for agenda items. Okay, seeing none, next we will have the city manager review tomorrow night's actual items. Good evening. I hope everybody had a good Fourth of July.

Tomorrow, we will hear from the Land Use and Economic Development Committee, Public Safety Committee, and Public Service Committee. Consent agenda, Council Memo 33626, approve payment to Will County Center for Economic Development for annual membership dues in the amount of $50,000. council memo 337 26 approval of purchase of two specialty trucks for the Department of Public Works in the amount of two hundred and seventy two thousand one hundred and forty three dollars council memo 338 26 approval of purchase of six vehicles from Ron Tipperary Ford in the amount of two hundred and eighty eight thousand three hundred and eighteen dollars council memo 339 26 approval of amendment number three to the phase one phase two and phase three professional engineering services for the Joliet centralized traffic management system improvement project to iteris Inc in the amount of fourteen thousand nine hundred ninety nine dollars and twenty four cents council memo 340 26 approval of change order number one for the county line road from Van Dyke Road to Kennedy Drive roadway improvement project to PT Farrell construction a deduction in the amount of sixteen thousand hundred and twenty two dollars and seventy one cents and payment number three and final in the amount of ninety seven thousand six hundred twenty dollars and seventy four cents council memo 341 26 approval of change order number three for the 2024 electrical maintenance assistance contract to meet electrical company in the amount of nineteen thousand two hundred and thirty seven dollars and fifty one cents and payment request number eight in the amount of forty nine thousand five hundred twenty seven dollars and ninety seven cents Under ordinances and resolutions, we have council memo 343.26, ordinances associated with the resubdivision of lot one of Vista Ridge phase three planned unit development. An ordinance approving a final plat of resubdivision of lot one of the Vista Ridge phase three planned unit development. an ordinance approving a recording plat of resub division of lot one of Vista Ridge phase three planned unit development council member 344 26 ordinances associated with five eight oh sorry Larry would you be so kind as to repeat your question

I'm really sorry where exactly is the Oh my mic wasn't that better very yeah, thank you, sir Where exactly is the Vista Ridge subdivision?

I think we know just put it out there for those watching Where exactly is the Vista Ridge subdivision? Like physically within the corporation of the city of Joliet Okay Yeah, it's way out west. County line and Ridge, sir. Yeah. Yeah.

County line and Ridge? Caton Farm.

Caton Farm. And Ridge. Yeah.

And Ridge. OK. Yeah. OK. Just wanted to clarify for people watching, you know. Oh, sure. Thank you.

Council Member 34426, ordinances associated with 580 Caton Farm Road, an ordinance approving the final planned unit development of 580 Caton Farm Road, ordinance approving the recording plan of 580 Caton Farm, a planned unit development. Council memo 345 26 ordinances associated with 1216 Fairview Avenue an ordinance approving a special use permit to allow duplex loaded located at 1216 Fairview Avenue and an ordinance approving a variation of use to allow an r3 one and two family residential use in the r2 single-family residential zoning district located at 1216 Fairview Avenue Council member 346 26 ordinance proposing the creation of a business district in the city of Joliet Will and Kendall counties, Illinois and fixing the date and time for a public hearing in connection with the same rock run collection business district we do have representatives from our Outside Council, which is Croke Fairchild and SB Friedman is here as well if you Have any questions?

I would say just a small, short explanation to whoever, to our residents, just to be very brief.

Is that more appropriate for Mariah or for Caitlin? This is Caitlin from SB Friedman.

Good evening, everyone. I'm Caitlyn Johnson, Senior Vice President with SB Friedman Development Advisors. We are one of the city's economic development consultants, and we have prepared the business district eligibility study and plan. We were also involved with the negotiations with the developer for the Rock Run collection. which was recently passed by the council just a few weeks ago that redevelopment agreement contemplated a number of sources available to support future redevelopment that would not occur but for the incentives provided one of those incentives was a business district that is a one percent sales tax on businesses or sales of goods within the proposed area, as well as a 1% hotel sales tax on rooms within the area as well. The area is contemplated as the southeast corner of I-55 and I-80, the Rock Run Collection development. It includes the undeveloped parcels as well as the casino. There's one other business developed in that area. The business district is contemplated to support redevelopment in that area in such a way that it establishes the area as a mixed-use, vibrant commercial area. And the district boundaries were contemplated to include those parcels that are anticipated to contribute to and benefit from the establishment of the business district.

Good.

you you really meant the north east corner not the southeast corner right yeah the rock run collections i apologize that's fine thank you mayor and just to be clear for anybody watching that one percent hotel tax as well as the retail sales tax that is only for basically the rock run collection correct those are for our businesses operating within the defined boundary tells elsewhere in the city it's only in the defined business district only within the defined business district and funds can only be used within the defined business district as well right which could actually go towards the bond depending on how much they collect this is not a one percent i want to make sure nobody misunderstood this is not a one percent give back they're going to be paying an extra one percent tax on top of any other sales tax that that exists because of the district and we're not including the industrial portion of that development. Now, understandably, industrial does not collect sales tax. Did I talk to you today? Yes, I did. So maybe legal can give an opinion as to whether we talked about as long as it stays industrial, it doesn't matter. It's a wash. We don't collect it, right? You and I talked about that. But if somebody were to sell it down the road, 10 years down the road, we're not here anymore, and decide to turn it into some kind of entertainment venue, some retail venue, one of the warehouses, they would be exempt from the tax that everybody else doing retail in that footprint is. And you and I discussed, we didn't know for sure, If that were to happen down the road, could that council then expand? Because this is a 23-year sundown on the business district. It only lasts 23 years, right? Can that be expanded at the end of the 23 years?

Yeah, so the term of a business district is 23 years. There are a number of ways that you can amend a business district. One of them is to expand it to include additional properties. So you can expand it. It would need to meet eligibility criteria to go through that kind of public approval process. But it is possible to expand should conditions in the future warrant the need for the business district to include perhaps additional sales tax generating uses.

Good job. You did some homework since we talked, didn't you? To find out for sure, because we weren't sure.

I also spoke with legal counsel.

No, I trust you. So if we exempt the industrial now, there's... There's no sales tax collected anyways.

Correct.

Should that convert or, you know, be changed over the years into retail, the future councils could go back and add that into the business district, correct?

There is a process for doing so.

Thank you. That's all I have, Mayor. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Under resolutions, council memo 34826, resolution requesting authorization to accept a grant to assist Joliet tobacco enforcement program.

Excuse me. Mayor, this is a great program. We used to do with the state the alcohol once or twice a year. I don't know if TJ or Mayor, if you guys recall, is that still going or did they stop doing that? The state, we used to ride with them and we would do the tobacco. I know Kevin Kalinsky is the state guy for the area for liquor, but... We used to go out with the state once or twice a year and check some establishments for underage sale of alcohol. So I don't know if we can maybe check into that, see if we're still doing that or not, because it's very important for the city, too. So thank you. Thank you.

Any other comments on that one? Council member 349 26 resolution appropriating motor fuel tax funds for Amendment 3 to the professional engineering services for the phase 1 phase 2 and phase 3 engineering services for the Joliet centralized traffic management system and

Mayor, this is for the sake of anybody watching.

Sure, it's a housekeeping item.

Yeah, I'm going to clarify for that. People see it twice, and sometimes they wonder. Whenever you see this, folks, anything to do with motor fuel tax has to be formally approved. Separately from approving the expenditure, you then have to approve, as our city manager just alluded to, it's called housekeeping, a separate approval specifically to actually release the money. That's all it is. We're not paying twice. Thank you.

Sure. Thank you council memo 350 26 resolution approving an honorary street name designation for Les Cheney Council memo 350 126 resolution declaring property of the city of Joliet as surplus from the tri-county auto theft task force That concludes the agenda

Next we have public comments. Is there anyone who would like to address the council this evening on a non-agenda item? I do have one person signed up. Go ahead.

Good evening. Megan Cooper-Joliet. I'm here this afternoon because it's often on the news or some of us may actually experience issues when it comes to law enforcement as far as As far as them, hold on, I'm sorry. I'm losing my thought here. So it's all too often that we may see on the news or may experience incidences where police escalate a situation or use excessive force or kill someone or seriously injure someone. without just cause. However, I'm not here for that today. I'm here because I believe in giving recognition where recognition is due. We have some awesome officers here in the city of Joliet, and we should be very, very proud to have them. I was down at Bicentennial Park on the 3rd, and I was there with my mother and my 8-year-old son. My sister and her husband ended up meeting us down there. This is the second year that I've seen where there was a large group of teens that attended the festivities without supervision, without any type of parents or anything being there. They usually take over the playground area at Bicentennial Park. And I've witnessed in myself last year, which I knew better this year, I had to snatch my kid off of the playground because it had become an unsafe environment for him. And I don't think that that's fair. I don't think that it's fair that people can't actually enjoy the festivities in a safe environment without the fear of somebody's stupidity causing serious injury or even death. So there was use of illegal fireworks, which is the Roman candlesticks. They're illegal in the state of Illinois. These Roman candlesticks became a weapon because they pointed them into crowds and fired them off. And I mean, somebody could have got seriously injured or even killed by it if they hit in a right way. I have to give it to Joliette PD. They tried to break up the crowds. They gave multiple warnings for them to disperse. They tried to de-escalate the situation. There was absolutely zero respect shown for law enforcement. There was zero respect shown for fellow Joliet, their neighbors. I mean, I don't know any way to put it. I mean, they just stood there, they did what they wanted to, didn't even react when the officers even tried to get them to move. They act like they were invisible, like the officers wasn't even saying anything. So Joliet PD did their thing. You know whether or not if it was pepper spray use or whatever else, they gave them ample opportunity to leave the situation, to leave the area to disperse before they even considered using any type of force or means to do so. And I just wanted to come here tonight because I've seen some comments, and I don't think that it's fair to villainize our officers when they are there to protect and serve. They are there for our safety, and they put their lives on the line daily for this. So I just want to say thank you, and I just wanted to give them their recognition and their time in the spotlight because they deserve it. Thank you.

Thank you.

including you, to speak.

Hello, everybody. I am Julia Alexander, including you, PO Box 6132, Joliet, Illinois. I'd just like to give, don't start, Joe. I'd just like to give an update on including you. I know I haven't been here in a while. There's been some things going on, but that doesn't mean that we're not still in the community doing what we do best, and that's giving back to the community. So first of all, I'm going to have my secretary to read our mission and our purpose because I think that's kind of out of someone's, out of the reach, and a lot of you probably don't even know the mission and purpose. So step up, DeJuan, and do the mission.

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for having us. Including you, mission statement and purpose. And including you, our mission is to empower, inspire, educate, and equip our community members to become more actively engaged in their communities. These core values enhance the self-esteem advancement of a more spirited Julia community. including your purpose, to cooperate and collaborate in partnership with our great city of Joliet businesses, organizations, and community members by promoting and enhancing a more diverse and inclusive community by providing resources to revitalize, empower, educate, and unite the community, thereby strengthening our communities Through knowledge, information, access to resources, creating positive self-esteem, providing educational opportunities, and an effort to build healthier and more unified families, ministries, and local businesses, which in return advances the growth of our community as a whole. Thank you.

And to back that up and prove some of what that mission and purpose is, I'm going to have my vice president step up, Nathan.

How y'all doing today? Well, as she said, I'm the new vice president, but including you before that, I also am the president of Prestige Athletic Club. And basically what we do is we offer education and we take the kids to the Junior Olympics every year. So I got to work with Mr. Darcy a couple of times and Mr. Cesar, and they helped me out. But including you actually gave me a grant, and I was able to start a scholarship fund for my kids. I was able to pay for the low-income kids that couldn't participate in the program. I was also able to get a computer and equipment for the kids so I can do my job and help with the supplies. So this is before I joined, including you. I love their mission, so I decided to get on their board with them, and then I was placed as vice president of Michigan Athletics. So that kind of caught me all off guard, but, you know, I really appreciate everything they're doing for us. that we did for our kids as we, like I said, I'm with Prestige Athletics as well. So this year we'll also be going to the Junior Olympics again. We'll be using some of the funds to help sponsor those kids that cannot afford to go. And we also, like I said, we paid for some of their uniforms. We paid for a lot of things with that money. So we kind of appreciate them for helping us out with that. So that's all I have. Thank you. Thank you.

OK, so including you means including all of you. And I know many of you have given to support us. And we're asking that you don't stop your giving. I do have forms over here that I will be getting. You know one.

Pass it over. Bring it over.

all right i have forms over here uh if you'd like to give but uh we believe in giving back to the community that's what it was founded on that's what it's based on and that's what we will continue to do but we don't do it alone we do it with the help of each and every one of you so thank you all for always mr mayor and mr darcy Thank you for both your angles of support as well as everyone else up there. I thank you for your support. If you can't give monetary jam, just pray for us. That's all we ask. So God bless you and thank you all, including you. July 18th, Bicentennial Park Theater, 3 o'clock until 9 o'clock. Joe Clement, you better be there this year.

okay hello there everyone thank you for having us the festival is as she was saying the bicentennial park on the 18th and it is open to everyone it's our we call it our joliet family fun festival thank you guys thank you

I come here tonight as I have been trying to get this thing done and get rights, my rights being protected here when my rights have been violated.

Now, we all know how the Robert Hernandez, you know, got arrested for his petitioner and petitioner's residence, school, daycare, employment, or any other specified place that responded being prohibited from entering or remaining at the place of residence.

It was a recording of a police, right in the police car, police, Joliet police car, the guys, one of the guys were arresting Robert Hernandez for violating an order, a stalking order. Where Robert Hernandez just drove down Jefferson Street. He didn't drive in front of the lady's house. The lady didn't even know it and the lady didn't call the cops. The Joliet cops were just right on Robert Hernandez for just driving his vehicle down Jefferson Street. You know, they stress, oh, a thousand feet, circle around the place that he's not allowed to go by that woman or whatever or else or anything. I got my petitioner, my order of protection, my respondent's supposed to stay 50 feet away from the petitioner at all times. Even everywhere party is present. No matter where I'm at, my attacker is not supposed to come within 50 feet of me and be any place that I'm at. And it's not like my attacker doesn't know my vehicles when we've been friends for 30 plus years. And he's known my vehicles even when my boss owned those vehicles. He knows my vehicles, especially when they're sitting in his driveway while I was living at his house. But why Joliet Police refuses to go after my attacker like they did after Robert Hernandez? with robert hernandez deserved to be attacked just for driving within a thousand feet of that lady's house well you know why am i attacker allowed to be uh arrested when he drove up to the behind my pickup truck when i was sitting at the pilot gas station sitting inside my pickup truck i seen him coming to gas station i seen when this vehicle approached my my truck as i was talking to my brother on my phone inside my vehicle and so i'm driving by my vehicle and i seen the license plate It was him. So the police were called, and two Juliet officers were called out there. And they wouldn't even go in and see the surveillance from the gas station. They got a little smart aleck with me and says, well, if you think they'll let you go see the surveillance, then go ahead. Then you can record it for yourself. Well, my friend was working at the pilot gas station, and she was a manager. And luckily, she did let me see the surveillance. And I did get the recording of the surveillance. which clearly shows my attacker driving his vehicle right behind my pickup truck with me in it, because they can see me in the vehicle right on the surveillance tape. That clearly violates this order of protection I got against him. Now, what good is having this order of protection if law enforcement and the state's attorney are not going to enforce it? And because the Joliet police didn't want to go after it, well, then, of course, the state's attorney didn't want to go after it. But I'm sitting here. I'm supposed to keep on suffering. And that, you know, with the fear of my attacker, which my attacker has guns. My attacker has stun guns. He even has a crossbow. And he makes homemade bombs. I know how dangerous my attacker is and how dead shot, dead-eye shooter he is too. But then talking to Joliet police investigators would pee me off even more with my ongoing incident with the 87 Ford F-250 pickup truck that a guy named John Byrne had, which investigators say that admitted to me that John Byrne, a Joliet cop officer, John Byrne was the one that had that truck and sabotaged that truck. Why was it my ma's name still? I got this pickup truck back. It's all tore up, which... I think the Joliet Police Department are just all mad because their buddy police officer had to get back that A7F 250 pickup truck is why they won't help me with my order of protection and arrest my attacker Is there anyone else who would like to address the council this evening on a non-agenda item Okay seeing none there is no closed session this evening

All in favor aye opposed meeting adjourned