Planning and Development Committee - Regular Meeting

Thank you.

Thank you.

Do we know what's next?

I dare to be different.

I'd like to call to order the Planning and Development Committee meeting for Monday, June 8, 2026. Clerk, will you please call the roll? Here. Oh, here.

Here.

Alderwoman Meeks.

Second.

Second. I'm here. I'm here.

Thank you. Our first item is an approval for the proposed funding agreement with Comprehensive Community Solutions, CCS, to expand prevention and intervention programming in collaboration with the city of Rockford's Community Healing Center in the amount of $400,000. The funding sources came as funds. Do I have a motion to approve?

So moved.

I'll second. Are there any questions or comments?

Okay, I just, I have a question. Can you second being that you were more than likely?

Oh, I'm sorry. I am upsetting. I apologize. Force of habit. Are you waiting this up?

No, that was my question.

Oh, OK. All right, we have a first, no second.

I accidentally second I cannot second I'll be abstaining All right

Item does not pass. We'll move on to item two. Item two is an approval for the proposed funding agreement with Goodwill in partnership with IBEW Local 364 for Electrical Workers' Trades Program to better prepare individuals for IBEW application process in the amount of $85,172. The funding source is casino funds. Do I have a motion to approve?

So moved.

I will second that. Do we have any questions or comments? Alderman Durkee.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a quick comment. This is now going to comments that have been previously made about redundancy and funding. The backdrop of all this is we are facing a pretty big budget deficit. As it relates to this particular item, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Although they're trying to do a human's job, trying to get individuals back up to some math and reading proficiency, they actually already have a program at Rock Valley College where these folks are channeled in. And the remediation program to get people, high school graduates, up to where they should be in math and reading and writing is far more robust than this program. And interestingly, it's redundant and it's not as good as the program that already exists at Rock Valley. So I couldn't support this because we already have something

unions and discuss where their applicants are coming from. We have a lot of applicants that are coming from outside the city of Rockford, and we felt that this program was important in identifying Rockfordians that are often overlooked with the focus of individuals of color. We know that they're underrepresented in many of the trades, and we believe that Goodwill has a But we do recognize that the outcomes that we're seeing in regards to individuals of color taking the test and meeting the requirements are being underrepresented when we compare that to the population of the city. So we think it's a pretty good program. We consider it a pilot program. We'd like to thank Goodwill and IDW. Thanks chairwoman for allowing me to speak on your committee.

Uh when it comes to the excel funds being used for this is that how do you catch it? Uh, in fact, i'm not sure uh But I I thought I didn't see is that coming from for their build out originally that was set aside for North town?

So this is not Excel funds. This is casino funds that are being proposed to support the program.

Okay, I thought maybe I read casino and then Excel. Thank you for that. I thought I did see that there is a 70% requirement for minorities in this program. And I don't know if I should use the word requirement. I can't recall exactly how it was termed. But my question is, what happens if that percentage is not All right, thank you. And the reason I just say that is that I know that the trades have in the past at times reached out to minorities and tried to increase their enrollment within the trades and at times have been unsuccessful in doing that.

Alderman Prente.

Thank you. Is there a plan to do something different to the Third World Order's point about reaching out? Is there a plan to do something different?

of engaging individuals of color for their programs, they are successful at accomplishing that. So we do have confidence that they'll be able to succeed, but we'd also ask for

only attended a couple of things so in the it relates to the rbc program um if i remember correctly and i don't know that you all will be able to say that they were um indicated that they could that they are identifying places where the candidates coming from other programs are missing. And so my question to the First War Alderman's point about there being better programs out there, I don't know that that's the case, but they do know what makes a candidate is there anything in the plan to share those concerns with those other programs so that they too can, because 12 is a nice, pretty number, but it's not enough if RVC, if that is the number that they use. 12 and 30, now we're looking at 32, but there are other programs out there to share the good news and best practices with some of the other outlets so that we can see even more viable candidates.

More than certainly willing to share the process and the outcome.

Thank you.

Did I see? Alderman Meeks.

Just a question. Is the idea that if we move into other trades that we would then be funding at this level for each of the individual trades? Or there's really not for to that. I think that's the question. The $85,000 that we're funding, this is strictly for the electrical workers. If we wanted to expand that, scale that to other trades, would this look like us spending something like $85,000 every time we do it? Or is this program really about the trades collectively?

So that's an excellent question.

And so what is the goal that we're setting for ourselves? Did I catch that? How many individuals do we plan on going through this program?

30.

Are you done? I'm sorry, are you done with your questions? Alderman Bell?

Thank you for allowing me to speak on your committee, Chairwoman. I'd love to talk about this as, you know, council or this committee moves it forward or not and figure out where we're at with it. But just a thought, I'm going to put this out here. There are about 30 individuals that have been trained through the CEJA hub in our community, specifically with Zion West. and there are about 30 individuals who are in need I think of additional training and support so that they can qualify or be ready for this robust test and I think maybe we may be missing another partner at the table and really ensuring that we get the return on the investment that we are Desiring to see and so I just you know, maybe add another partner at the table to see how we could pipeline The individuals who were supported through the CJ hub, which is a state funded program That has been successful, but we've seen barriers with community partners or businesses Pipelining those individuals who are graduated with a national certification Into a sustainable job, so I would just love to see you know one more partner or the hub and their partners They're at the table to see if that is something they'd like to do Just want to put that out there and would love to set those meetings up. I just want to share that to this community Other woman punty

If you're going to do that, I would also say that there's the Awaken Foundation.

They're a part of the, sorry.

They are, they're part of the, oh, you said the hub. Okay, that's what you mean. Okay. Thank you.

Alderman Meeks.

Thank you. I remember when I originally heard about this, there was a conversation about a guarantee of an interview. Is that on the table? that these individuals would be guaranteed an interview with IBEW?

Yes, that is correct.

Okay, but there's probably no guarantee of placement.

Correct.

All right, that was my question. Thank you.

Thank you. Alderman Salgado.

Yeah, thank you, Chairwoman, for allowing me to speak. So I do have a question. It's a valid question in regards to, you know, what happens if these folks aren't going to get trained on their mathematics skills and should be able to apply for the applications and be don't get a position, what happens? I saw some of the things about an expo, trying to get them aligned with additional information with those because the data is very competitive and so in hearing that there are like Rock Valley potentially out there as well and the certain applications that exist out there does they give them any not I would say favoritism but an upper hand through this program goodwill to essentially open the door for them and so so that's my kind of not concern but I'd like to see what that retention would be if they would offer them a position or into their programs that they exist out there so but I did read the information that you know obviously they wouldn't be able to solidify a position you know there's expos there's this that they would put them in into a line to to get

Well, you know, most certainly should they not get into the IBEW, again, they could, you know, apply for the other trades. And, you know, understanding that the individuals would be going through this training program, that's the start of creating a network. And I would agree with your statement, you know, nothing's guaranteed, but understanding that the instructors of IBEW will be directly invested with these individuals.

I think this is great. I think what Good Who Will does with their GED program and everything, I think it's a success. I think the more educated our individuals, I think it would translate to other positions, not just this particular. It's a good program from that perspective. But that's just my only question that I come up with when I read the program from that perspective. Thank you.

No problem. Mayor McNamara, you raised your hand.

Yeah, I just wanted to add, RBC does have, assuming I have not went through it, but I'm assuming a wonderful program. I think theirs is a highway construction program. RBC, uh, right. So, uh, I don't want it to be negative, but they serve a six county area. This will just serve, uh, so that we can prioritize our rocket kids getting into the trades. And they will be, uh, as they go through this, uh, they will be funneled through to, uh, the other trades. Uh, if, IVW is booked and they don't have a slot for them, or maybe they fell short of the electrical test, but they could pass one of the other tests. Goodwill will be helping them navigate through that process

Were there any other questions or comments? Alderman, I'm sorry, Alderman Durkee.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just to reiterate, the RVC program, I don't know where the number 12 comes from. However, the RVC program is affiliated with the other trade. They have a highway program, I think they have high vac, plumbing, and carpenters, and the I've seen the test scores that some of the folks come out of school with here. This program is an eight week program. The electrician test is robust. And you're gonna go from possibly zero to robust in eight weeks. And I'm a little cynical about that. Sometimes we set people up to fail. And so we convinced them that you put in your eight weeks and boom, there you go. But then if they don't pass, then there becomes the what if. The reason why I think the RVC program is more robust, more comprehensive, reading, writing, mathematics, and it's far more longitudinal. It's not a quick fix. And I don't know that students would benefit And like I said, the program does appear to be somewhat redundant. And if they do fail or do not connect in one trade, the RVC program will help them channel into others. Or they may find something else they would do and stay in RVC for another program. I'm not saying this is a bad program. I just think that the RVC, as I'm looking from the cheap seats, because I But looking at a 40,000 foot view, it seems a little redundant to me. It seems a little bit shallower. To be an electrician is a challenge. These guys are smart guys. And like I said, they already have a program over at RVC. So I don't know what the benefit is. And I don't know how to get a student to be that proficient in mathematics. So that's why I would oppose this. Hopefully that clarifies.

Alderman Bell.

Yeah, thank you, Chairwoman, for allowing me to speak on the committee. I think, you know, from the conversations that we've had on this item today, certainly we should look at partnering with Zion West. I know that Zion West is in the CEJA hub with Goodwill and Awaken and the others, but we have well-trained individuals that have gone through, I believe it's a 12 a 12 to 14 week program and they've taken the math courses. They've gotten certified. They've taken the hard tests. Um, and so should they want to, you know, go through, uh, with getting into the union with IBEW, uh, to do solar installation and such. I think that, um, that would be a good opportunity for them to directly pipeline in. And then we're not covering that initial cost because the state is already front giving that money. And we have individuals who need the expanded support already .

Thank you. Were there any other questions or comments? Aldobama Ponte?

Can you give me age range?

17 to 25. OK.

Were there any other questions or comments? I thought I saw another hand. All right. Clerk, will you please call the roll?

No. Aye. Aye. Me. No.

Three is an approval for the proposed funding agreement with angelic organics Learning Center Incorporated and an Illinois not-for-profit corporation doing business as farmers rising in partnership with city center market for the establishment of a mobile grocery store in the amount of 822 thousand dollars the funding sources 2025 and 2026 casino funds drive emotion Sarah second All right, we'll move on to item four. Item four is an approval for the proposed funding agreement with City Foundation for the Early Bird Social Work Development Program at Auburn High School in the amount of $25,000. The funding source is cannabis funds. Is there a motion to approve?

Second.

I'll go ahead and second that. Are there any questions or comments? Alderman Durkee.

I'd like to know, we just passed a program earlier tonight, but also this relates to the same comments that we made. This is at Auburn High School. And I don't, I look at my property tax bill and I see a big chunk of, the vast majority of our taxes go to District 205. So is there a reason why we were going beyond things we just passed and now doing this at Auburn and just Auburn?

I'm happy to address this. We're not funding 205. This is city foundation for early bird social work. How did we define success? Are there any other questions or comments?

Clerk will you please call the roll Item 5 is an approval of the proposed funding agreement was I in West for youth training and mowing program to better prepare individuals for future opportunities in the amount of $25,000 the funding sources cannabis funds. Is there a motion to approve? Are there any questions or comments? Alderman Meeks.

I just want to kind of clarify the amount of money that they're funding totaled more than the actual request. I think it came to about $27,000, not including the mentors. Yeah, I would just kind of like to get clarification of where the additional funding is coming from. Alderman Durkee.

I don't want to get off of Mr. Cagnoli's Christmas present.

these mowing programs, it seems scattered. Is there a way that we could utilize these folks to cut city property since we're using city taxpayer dollars? Because I don't know if we're doing private property, but if we're using taxpayer dollars, is there a way that we can have these young folks cut city lot?

and it was approximately, I'm gonna estimate we paid a small fee for Zion West Enterprises to load lots. Over time, we were successful in getting the Winnebago County Trustee Program when we did have a program where

Any other questions or comments all of them so got them yeah, this is not really a question For this particular item, but I noticed the funding source account quite a few here, so I was wondering if there is a way to get a running total on that and based on what's available, what's not available,

cannabis funds. $400,000 is under consideration with the CCS funding agreement that's on the agenda. $100,000 for health and human services, which was previously approved in finance and personnel. $25,000 for early birds and $25,000 for this particular program. If all those programs are approved, that would leave approximately $300,000 available in cannabis funds in 2026.

Any other? Oh, I'm sorry alderman Toonberg.

Thanks chairwoman In it it says Improving the appearance of cleanliness and neighborhoods throughout the 13th ward and surrounding west side communities I know there are multiple words on the west side who determines how this is going to be the services provided are within the Westside in particular. Because this would lead me to believe that an emphasis is gonna be more in the 13th ward, while ignoring the rest of the Westside communities. Not completely ignore, but favoring the 13th ward. I mean, I just like clarification on that.

but they will go where the opportunities exist where they have existing contracts for mowing. Heights neighborhood, understanding that is an area where we had the highest foreclosure growth rates, the highest number of vacant lots, and some of the highest needs. So that's where that came from. But it's not exclusively for the brick and mortar. Thank you.

Any other questions or comments? Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Aye. Neal?

Aye. Item six is an approval for the proposed development agreement with Court Construction, 1322 East State Street, LLC, for the rehabilitation of 1322 East State Street in the amount not to exceed $100,000. The funding source is the Jackson School TIF district. Do I have a motion to approve?

So moved.

Second. Are there any questions or comments? Alderman Meeks.

So my first question is, who assigns the guidelines for the point system?

by city staff member. By city staff member. When was that done?

Do you recall? Last week.

Does this change? Is this consistent amongst all TIFs, or does this point system change at all?

That point system is part of the city's TIF policy, so the actual scoring of that does not change. Okay.

The utilization of the scoring does not change.

So the reason why I bring that up is just as I'm looking at the point system, I'm noticing things like residential receiving 50 points, whereas professional and office space receiving 75, industrial and manufacturing receiving 100 points, and commercial receiving 75, which I can understand. As we prioritize what we deem important, How do we go about making it so some of these items that are on the lower scale, the 50s, the 30 for advanced education and training, I feel like that's also something that we need in this community, are seen at a higher point system versus what we're seeing.

but my assumption is that we would have to create a new scoring system to utilize that.

Can I add to that, Chairwoman? All in all, we'd be happy to send out the TIF policy and the scoring system that was approved by city council. I want to say it was approved by city council back in 2015, 2016. Send it to the entire council. Happy to provide, to receive feedback from the aldermen on where they think priorities should be changed. consideration.

I appreciate that very much. Also, I just want to understand, I think this total 225 points, is that correct? Correct. So I see the scale shows mid-priority 124 to 224 and then high priority over 225. So I guess when I see over 225, I assume... over 225 so i would put this in a mid priority because there's really not a section if you fall right on 225. am i wrong about that or what would you say so i can see where you're indicating um but i think because of the way the scoring is we're not able to score at 226 so um there's not an individual way to score since it's blocked off in

But I can understand what you mean by landing right at 225. It's not over that number.

Yeah, I guess just from my perspective of looking at this, I would consider this more of a mid-priority than a high priority when we look at what a TIF district can actually do. And so this is another situation where we are basically trying to retain this business, correct? This is similar to the retention of, I feel like we've done this before with the N-TRAC that we funded. something to retain the business here in the area. Maybe I'm getting this wrong.

So there's a couple, and I can't speak directly to the one that you may be thinking of, but in regards to Shore Construction, obviously they're a long-standing construction company in our area. They handle a lot of large-scale since the business as well as the associated properties were sold to a new employee.

And our support of that is to keep them here in the community. Also, if you think of East State Street, that is the gateway to not only our downtown, but also an area with this missionary hospital right there, or UW Health right there located in the same area. So sustaining a business there in addition to supporting and keeping them in our community.

And last question, can you tell me how we have utilized this TIF in the past?

to be terminated very soon, having lived its full 23 years. Awesome.

Thank you so much.

Any other questions or comments? Quickly, please call the roll.

Dirty. Aye. Needle.

Aye.

Red. Aye. Needle. No.

Do I have a motion to adjourn? So moved. Second. Are there any questions or comments?