City Council Meeting/Strategic Session - Regular Meeting

Okay, we got it.

I'd like to call the council city council meeting for July 28 to order roll call

Furman.

Here.

Green. Here. Seton.

Here.

Houseman. Here. Stamen.

Here. Would everyone please stand for the invocation given by Pastor David Amson from Navigation Church and remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

As always, it is an absolute honor to be here with you. If you would, join me in a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of this community and for every person who serves with courage, wisdom, and humility. Tonight, we're especially grateful for the men and women of our fire department. Thank you for those who stand ready to protect lives, care for the sick and injured, respond in moments of crisis, educate our community, preserve property, and bring calm into situation filled with fear and uncertainty. We also pause to honor those who have served faithfully over many years. Thank you for their leadership, sacrifice, experience, and steady commitment that have helped shape the department and strengthen our city. As one season of service comes to a close, may there be deep gratitude for the lives protected, the people saved, and lessons passed down, and the legacy that will remain. As a new fire chief is sworn in tonight, we ask for your blessings upon him and the days ahead. Give him wisdom in every decision, courage in every challenge, compassion for those he leads and serves, and humility to listen well. Surround him with strong people, clear judgment, and a shared commitment to the safety and well-being of this community. Bless every firefighter, paramedic, staff member, and family connected to this department. Protect them as they protect others. Strengthen their body, mind, and spirit. Give them unity, discipline, and excellence in their training and in every response. I also take time to pray for our mayor, city council members, city staff, and all those who carry the responsibility of leadership. Grant them wisdom beyond themselves, patience in difficult conversations, and a sincere desire to serve the common good. May our city continue to be a place where people are protected, businesses can flourish, families can thrive, and neighbors care for one another. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Next time.

The first item tonight is the swearing-in ceremony of Kevin Reese as fire chief.

I want to move down to the podium for this. On July 14th, Fire Chief John Bailo retired from the Council Fire Department after serving six and a half years as Chief. I want to thank John for his dedicated service to the City and wish him and his family the best in his retirement. With that retirement, the City has promoted Deputy Chief Kevin Reese as the newest Fire Chief, and tonight we will do the official swearing in of Kevin, welcoming him to his new position. Kevin has been in the fire service for 30 years, most of those years in St. Louis County and the last four and a half years of Collinsville. Kevin has embraced his position since starting in Collinsville, working hard to ensure our department remains one of the premier fire EMS services in the region. Him and his wife, Tricia, have also been actively involved in many civic and volunteer organizations in the city, and truly believe in giving back to the community. That is a true measure of a dedicated and giving member of the community. I serve, he serves, both of them in Rotary with me, and I can testify, him and Tracer are always there to work for the community. He joins a long list of fire chiefs that have served in council and the legacy of the fire service that they have built in their department. I am sure that in your tenure as Council Fire Chief, you will build your own legacy and work to continually maintain the excellence and service that the residents have come to expect from our dedicated first responders. We truly do have one of the best in the area. And I can testament that I've been hauled a few times, so I'm very happy in that service. So on behalf of the City Council, let me congratulate you and pledge our support for what you need to perform your job. So Kevin, would you step up? I, Kevin Reese, have been appointed as Fire Chief of the City of Council of Illinois of being appointed as the fire chief of the city of Collinsville, Illinois. In the counties of Madison and St. Clair. In the counties of Madison and St. Clair. Do solemnly swear and affirm. Do solemnly swear and affirm. That I will support the Constitution of the United States.

That I will support the Constitution of the United States. The constitution of the state of Illinois.

The constitution of the state of Illinois. And I will faithfully discharge the duties. And I will faithfully discharge the duties. Of the position of fire chief to the best of my abilities. The position of fire chief to the best of my abilities. Mr. Tracher, could you please come forward? A longstanding fire service tradition is for the family member to pin the badge on a newly promoted fire chief. This symbolizes that the honor of leadership is shared not only by the chief, but also by the family whose support, sacrifice, and commitment have helped make this achievement possible. The pinning represents pride, trust, and the partnership between the fire chief and those who stand beside him throughout their career. So please. Cole, Jessica, and your families, please join Kevin. It is especially meaningful that his children, Jessica and Cole, along with their families, present his fire chief's helmet. Their encouragement, love, and unwavering support throughout the career have helped make this day possible. This helmet represents a responsibility to lead with integrity, serve with honor, and never lose sight of the importance of family while always putting the members of the department and the citizens of Collinsville first. Thank you, Kevin. And do you want to say a few words?

OK. Mayor, city council, acting city manager, and the entire city administration, I want to thank all of you for the confidence and trust that you have placed in me. I am truly humbled and honored to stand before you today as the next fire chief of Collinsville Fire Department. Being selected to lead this department is a responsibility that I do not take lightly, and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve this community in this role. I want to also thank the members of the Collinsville Fire Department, past and present. Every firefighter, paramedic, and employee has played a role in shaping the department that we are today. I am proud to continue to serve alongside these dedicated professionals, and I'm even more proud to continue serving you as Chief. To the citizens of Collinsville, thank you for allowing us the privilege of serving you. Everything we do is centered on protecting your lives, your families, your businesses, and our community. The trust you place in us every day is something we work hard to earn, and I'm committed to ensuring that this trust remains strong for years to come. I would not be standing here tonight without the support of my entire family. Tricia, thank you for always standing by my side and being my rock. The fire service requires sacrifice, not only for those who respond to the calls, but from families who support them. Through long hours, missed holidays, late nights, and other challenges, you have been my constant source of strength, encouragement, and understanding. I am forever grateful for your love and support. To our children, Cole, Jessica, Thank you for your support throughout my entire career. You have both shared in this journey with me every step of the way. I'm also grateful for the support of your spouses, Ricky and Christian, who have become an important part of our family. Seeing the people that you all have become makes me incredibly proud, and the encouragement means more than you know. I must also mention our most recent addition, Vienna. You have brought such joy into our lives. Over the years, I've had the opportunity to serve in many roles, learning from great mentors and working alongside exceptional firefighters and paramedics. Every experience, every challenge, and every lesson I have learned has prepared me for this moment. As I look towards the future of this department and this community, my commitment is simple. We will continue to raise the bar. We will continue striving to provide the highest level of fire protection, emergency medical services, rescue operations, training, community service. I will invest in our people, embrace innovation, and remain focused on professionalism and excellence. We will never be satisfied with simply meeting expectations when we all have the ability to exceed them. Be safe. I'm excited for what lies ahead, and I am honored to lead this organization. Thank you again for your trust, your support, and the opportunity to serve as your fire chief. This is truly an honor of a lifetime.

We'll take a short break, give a few minutes for the crowd. Congratulations.

Congratulations, Kevin. Congratulations.

Okay, next item.

Next is the presentation of the July Yard of the Month Award.

Okay, are Debbie and Leonard Knievel here?

I think, oh, yes, thank you. That's my job. Thank you.

We drive by the house quite a bit, and it's really heavy. I'd like to present you with the month of July 10, 2016. Next item.

Next, business prior to public input, item one is ordinance amending section 17.080, landscaping, screening, and buffering of title 17 as it relates to tree preservation standards.

Presentation will be given by senior planner Caitlin Rice.

Thank you, Mayor Stammen and members of the council. This first ordinance before you is amending Title 17 as it relates to tree preservation standards. And the second ordinance business prior is the second part, which is Title 18 in relation to our amendments to Title 17. So some background on why this is coming forward. We noticed some gaps in our current ordinance that can allow for clearing of trees. without any replacement if they're only doing a grading permit. The way it's set up right now is our tree replacement standards are required and triggered with a site plan or subdivision. So if someone is clearing, has no immediate plans to develop, we're kind of left caught on our foot. Our tree replacement requirements also rely on knowing the minimum site development area. in order to determine how many trees need to be replaced. And our ordinance also lacks some mechanisms to require replacement trees when clearing is done without any permits. So we have no way to fairly assess the situation and require replacement trees if it's done without our knowledge. So our amendments to Title 17 are just trying to clarify and make things a little bit more clear and ensure that we have replacement for any clearing. Some more background on our tree preservation ordinance and how it looks like. Development is required to submit a tree survey, which shows all trees six inches caliper or greater. And if you have a site development plan, anything within two feet from the edge is your site plan, you're building a site development area. which is not required to be replaced if you're clearing trees in that specific area. We also have residential tree preservation buffers, which is a 15 foot perimeter. So any trees removed within that buffer has to be replaced. So a little bit back and forth. Replacement trees are also based off one to one caliper inch ratio. So if you remove 60 caliper inches, you need to replace that by, you could do 32 inch caliper trees, 61 inch caliper trees, that sort of measure. So the quick highlights is we're clarifying that grading permits or any permits that require clearing of trees requires a tree survey and tree preservation plan. We're removing the option to replace trees offsite at a two to one inch caliper ratio and instead establish a city tree fund with a proposed fee per caliper inch of $250. And we're proposing to establish a method to require replacement trees when they're cleared without permits or without a site development plan at 300 cal per inches per acre, which is our current maximum. So this ordinance has three separate parts that we're touching in Title 17. This first one is really just clarifying some language, adding some a little bit here and there just to make sure it's more clear that a tree preservation plan is required. And what does that mean? our second section is requiring a it's distinguishing what type of applications require a tree preservation plan and replacement so in purple we are adding any grading permit per chapter 18.04 which is our next set our next ordinance this evening a site development plan a plat or a permit So if you're disturbing any trees with any of those applications, basically covers all of our bases. And it's very similar to what other municipalities put in their ordinances. They were required to replace trees and do our preservation plans. The third section is tree replacement or mitigation regulations. This is where a lot more is changing. We are codifying that the condition that the tree is replaced in that is pretty standard, that's fair condition or better by a professional arborist is required to be replaced. Basically, if your tree is dead or very diseased and poor health, it is not required to be replaced regardless of where it's at on the site. We are removing the replacement on other site option, instead replacing with the City Tree Fund. The other two big changes is putting in a statement that if you're removing trees without a site development plan or basically illegally without any permits, you will have to replace trees at 300 caliber inches per acre, which is our current maximum for any development on site. That is the highlights of the proposed text amendment for Title 17. Staff finds that the proposed amendments meet our three criteria for text amendments, and I would be happy to answer any questions.

Can you rush through a scenario like a I'm thinking of a particular site that had a lot of trees on it and was recently cleared So what would they have to go through? so Say it's a wooded area and there's going to be a commercial development on there. So how would that all play out?

So if it hasn't been cleared yet, they would be required to do a tree survey. So they have an arborist come out on site and get the caliper inch measurements of every tree, the species and condition, and map them on a plan, which is, this is kind of a version to the right of what it might look like at this part of a larger document. They would submit that. They would also submit their site development plans so we know where the site development is happening, so their building, their parking, their access drives. And we only require replacement for trees removed outside of that site development area. So then they would submit a tree preservation and replacement plan showing where all of those areas that are being preserved and what trees are being replaced on site.

So if the building area, then if there was a bunch of trees where the building was, they don't have to replace those? Correct.

Okay. Any other questions? So with a permit, they would pay $250 per inch or caliber, however that was stated, or without the permit?

So the $250 per cal per inch fee is if they don't have enough space on site to accommodate all the trees they need to replace, they can pay that per cal per inch into a separate fund that the city can then use to plant at other locations as needed.

So in a situation like what Jeff just asked about, if a building was to take up the whole space and they couldn't replace those trees, they would have to pay for the trees they could not replace? Correct. So if they tore down, let's say 20 trees that were 20 inches in diameter, you're talking $75,000.

Potentially, if they can't put them on site, which.

This is gonna really deter development then.

So not entirely. So I will say that it's pretty rare for that to occur where they don't have enough room on site to replace those trees because we have landscaping requirements where your replacement trees can count to those other points. It's only the trees that are removed that basically don't need to be removed. If you go and unnecessarily clear an entire site, then yeah, you might get hit with a big bill if you don't want to plant them on site, but that's also just a deterrent for unnecessary clearing when you don't have site development plans. Will say that it's also pretty rare We haven't seen anybody take advantage of the two to one inch caliper ratio of replacement off-site if they can't Where that was very daunting for developers as well because you're doubling the amount of trees basically you have to plant instead and the $250 per caliper inch may seem high but as a sim it is the exact same amount as some other municipalities in our area for their city tree funds and and it's based off of our rates that we get from nurseries where it's about 135 to $150 per caliper inch of tree plus labor costs.

So I wanna make sure I'm tracking some asking more questions, but like Walmart, when it went in, obviously they, they can't just load up their parking lot with trees. So like they would a development like that, or does the site plan make it where there's some exclusions?

Yes. The site plan makes exclusions. So if where Walmart's building and parking area is that entire area and two feet outside of that, any trees removed in that area would not have to be replaced. they would but they would have to pay the fee and if they don't plant trees on site so they can just plant trees on site they don't have to pay any fee because they're accommodating on site the 250 per inch is just if you don't want to place trees on site instead then the city will take that on and plant somewhere else but they still have to hire an arborist yeah one thing i might be catching here is so the building the buildable area is is is in a word exempt

once the site plan is submitted. Am I speaking to that correctly? It's in a word exempt. So they don't have to count those trees towards the required trees to be replaced on site.

So back to Walmart as an example, then the building, they would be completely exempt and the parking lot would be exempt.

Now, if they are beyond that area, they had many mature trees and they were clearing them almost, you know, without purpose, right? They're not putting a parking lot there. They're not putting a building there. Those are the trees that would be counted towards the tree preservation plans and be, required to be maintained or if they were taken down, replaced or you could pay into the fund at a rate of $250 per caliper inch.

Okay, so if there's a building or parking lot, it's completely excluded. There's no fees, there's no replacement requirements.

Correct. They only have to abide by our landscaping standards and our trees per, you know, our landscaping standards and parking lot requirements.

In essence, it's preventing some buyer from clear-cutting a whole lot and then put a building in there. So if it's not necessary for the tree to come down because of parking the building. Correct.

And I'm sorry. I have a little concern. It's a little messy for me. So can you give me an example of where this has been a problem or has happened?

Uh, so, uh, Fairmont park on several of the lots off Simpson road, they have no immediate plans for development. They haven't submitted any site plans, but they wanted to clear, um, you know, several acres, just clear cut, leave the stumps, not do anything with it, um, for, you know, visibility or future development a year or two down the road. but we would have all the trees cleared with no development in the area and they're removed basically for no reason. So it is rare that this would occur.

I will be frank. I think that is for a reason though, because if you look at that road there alongside Fairmont park, it's absolutely trash. And it's terrible that you don't have the frontage road, right? Where there used to be like trailers and stuff.

Yeah. Like the residential portion here, the highway.

I mean, that's, you'd rather all the trees get cut down and nothing gets that means it's cleared up and cleaned up and doesn't look like yeah i'm gonna watch how to phrase it but uh yeah it looks terrible and so i would rather that be cleared out with them i would not want to deter them from their expansion in any way so the caveat is they don't have plans for expansion if they were planning to develop that site and submitted a plan

then they would have those all those exemptions that we just talked about but if you have no plans to develop and you're just cutting them down it could sit like that for decades with nothing getting installed and replaced trees also have storm water benefits and urban cooling benefits that we would be losing with no benefit of development coming so it's not saying that the trees have to stay forever but you just need to have a plan for the site And I will say that that's how our current regulations are. The only big change is if they come in a development plan, they're going to have to replace it. But this kind of closes that gap of, hey, I'm going to submit a grading permit one year. I have no plans to develop. Trust me. Clear it all. And then come back a year or two later and say, I don't know what trees were there. I shouldn't have to replace anything.

that some of these lots and some of these places, that some of the trees that might be there are scrubs and things like that, so I don't understand, to me, I think that I'm gonna vote no on this, but I would suggest tabling and I need more scenarios.

Yeah, I would rather table this instead of, because I don't feel comfortable voting yes on it and I don't wanna vote no out of ignorance.

The last thing I wanna do is put more requirements on top of future developers.

So I will say the requirements, aren't really changing. It's just what permits require it. So if someone comes in and develops, they have to replace it. This is only changing that if you don't develop it, you would have to replace anyway. So I guess with the underbrush, is it, like we're only talking about trees, so that's why they have a, because right now if you, like Fairmont with this site, we required them to do a tree survey. So we know what was there because they just cleared it without any development plans, so we can't exempt anything for them. So now we know what was there, and when they come in, we know what to exempt and what not to exempt. Because they have no development plan So the tree survey is only for trees and that's why they have we require a professional arborist or certified You know technician to come out and assess those so like underbrush and those plantings aren't a part of this consideration

So they, in the way we stand right now, do you have to hire an arborist to come in and look at your property currently?

So the commercial developers do yes. The second part of this is title 18, where we specify what type of grading permits would require a tree survey or tree preservation plan. And that's any major grading permit and any minor grading permit for commercial activity only. So your smaller residential projects, they would not have to do this. They can do as they wish.

you say those requirements are already in the ordinance correct correct okay and i another thing i always ask this but the other communities around us that's that's pretty common yes and maybe we're not at the table because there's no motion but um Let's get some more information and maybe come up with some at the next meeting or we'll come up with something where we see what the other communities have got working. And so you can give us a couple of scenarios that were clear. I don't want to I don't want to vote and get sure.

Sure.

Is there any other comments?

Yeah, I do have a comment. And I do think when I read through this, I'm like, this is really a lot of information that I don't even understand. So I appreciate everybody's questions. To the point of Fairmont Park, is the area that they're wanting to clear what goes along the highway? So it would clear up visibility for them. But all they're wanting to do is take down trees, leave the stumps, and not sod it or anything. Correct. Then it's just going to grow back up with weeds. Yeah. Okay. I do want to protect things from that happening, for sure. But I do think we need more information. I wonder if the next time we talk about this, if you could bring, I think, I don't know if we have a full site plan for Chick-fil-A, but I know there's a lot of trees in that area, and what's coming down, where it's going, and give us examples of areas These trees need to stay because of this, and these are going to go. If they decide to take these down, this is the ones that would be that two-inch, the caliber measurement. If you could show us something like that, that we can really get a visual of what this looks like and how it impacts businesses, because I, too, don't want to make it any harder for a business to come here.

Yep, absolutely, and so we can certainly bring back more information. I do want to, and again, I want to make it clear, so this is not affecting developments like Chick-fil-A. This has almost no bearings on their development. Right now, as it stands, if the Chick-fil-A developer came in, They submitted to us a tree preservation plan with their site plan. We evaluated it and then evaluated against their site development plan and excluded and exempted any trees that were called out that were within their developable area, the building footprint and the parking lot. So this, what's being proposed this evening is not touching any of that. It is really laser focused on the gap where we have developers who come in potentially clear land for no reason at all of invisibility and then future development comes along and we're stuck on our back foot where we don't have any preservation plan and be able to come back and say, you removed a bunch of really, really, really big trees and it's unfortunate that we just can't require that you replace them. or give us money to where we can replace them in our parks, on our streets, things like that. So I do want to be clear that this is not, that part of our code is not affected by this, and we're happy to have those conversations if council has concerns with how we currently, how our current tree preservation ordinance, but I want to make that clear too, is that this is really just focused on those lots that aren't planned to be developed.

So like the planting of the new trees that the city would manage, that's in the parks and different areas. Correct.

Yep.

Yes, sir.

And they have the option every every. So let's say Fairmont Park is an example. They come in and they and correct me if I'm wrong. Check me here. They come in and they want to clear that whole area. They have the option of doing the tree preservation survey that we could hold on file. I mean, we had discussed it, but but we'll we can iron that out. option of doing the tree preservation survey staff holds it on file and then they can you know be held to that when when they do future development or pay into the tree preservation this may be silly are we taking any consideration into like invasive species of trees with that that like that shouldn't be here anyway

I like to consider myself an expert on invasive species. Um, so with the tree survey as it is right now and how it would be proposed to stay is with your tree survey, you provide us every single species, the number, its size and its condition. So if it's invasive, you do not have to be replaced. If it's dead or disease, it does not have to be replaced. Even if it's in an area where it would be required, those are not taken into account.

Okay. That's good.

I mean, it's like so many other ordinances we have or every community has. if it's done properly, that's what makes a nice community, you know, and that's and we want to make sure we're not impacting over impacting. But if we're consistent with other communities and it's working, you know, I would support support it. But I just think we need more at this point. Tony, do you have any?

No. Okay. You guys are good.

Okay. All right. Let's let's just bring that back next meeting.

And just for clarification, the biggest concerns are, like Donna said, showing a site and kind of the visuals of what trees need to be replaced.

Yeah, I would probably like to just come in and just talk to you guys so I got a better understanding. And just before the next meeting, that'd be all.

But yeah, I mean, do that, but then still have something for the next week. Yep, absolutely. All right, next item.

Next item is the ordinance amending section 18.04, soil excavation and erosion control, title 18 as it relates to tree preservation standards.

And again, Caitlin, so will what you're presenting here have an effect on the previous?

Yes, they're tied together.

OK, so do you want to just hold off on that, too?

Yep, we can just take them together at the next meeting.

Most of the stuff you bring, you're not gonna bring back, don't you?

Sometimes.

Okay, you wanna go through it or you just wanna, just know what the questions are?

Yeah, I mean, I could go through it just so you, if you guys have more questions, I can address it. So this is this kind of the smaller portion where it's the Title 18, which is our land development where our grading permit requirements are housed. So with this, if Title 17 passes, we need to make an update to this so they coincide. Our grading permit section is not clear on if tree preservations or tree surveys are required and when. We rely on the zoning code with just the site plan and plat language. This amendment would revise it so it's clear that if you're submitting a grading permit, you need a tree survey and tree preservation plan. It has an exemption for minor grading permits for residential properties. major grading permits are required for tree surveys and tree preservation, and then a minor grading permit's only required if it's a commercial activity. So sometimes residential homeowners have a sizable project they're doing and they need a minor grading permit, we do not want to include them in requiring those. And then the last part is just clarifying, making sure that it's clear that you're submitting plans for your grading permit, you need to have those tree surveys and tree preservation in there.

I might add to that that the major commercial developers already do this.

Yes. So again, yeah. So with pretty much almost every major grading permit, you have a site development plan or you have a subdivision or like public infrastructure plans, you're building a road. They already have to do this. This is just making it clear that grading permits, even if you don't have a site development plan, might have to do this.

Okay, any questions on those items? Being done, next item.

Thank you. Next, the speakers from the floor.

Speakers may address the council in the terms of ordinance number 4765. Time is limited to four minutes per speaker. Please refer to the last page of the agenda for a specific rules governing input. Anyone on this side of the room? Please go to the podium, state your name.

You ready? Yes. All right. Hi, everybody. My name's Kelly. I've been here a few times now. I'm going to keep this a little more casual. I'm better at casual than I am trying to read something off of a piece of paper. So here we go. But last time I ran out of time, number one, I like the trees. We'll stop there. The city we use, the International Residential Code is our code. That's what our website says. Included with that is something called a nuisance attractor or an attractive nuisance, which we've kind of got the houses around Oslo taken care of a little bit for that, other than the sheds, which there's still, if you haven't been by there lately, there's clothes, there's towels, there's stuff still there. But we'll move on. There's also a maintenance and safety one. That's kind of a bigger deal to me at least. And in it, it includes it has to be structurally sound. And these buildings aren't structurally sound anymore because they've been ignored for three years. There's holes in the roof. You can drive by. You can stop, not get on the property. You can see holes in the roof where water comes through. One of the windows has been broken open for, what, a month now. Somebody must be climbing in and out of there because you can also see a pillow that somebody's hung over the door, over the window. But all that's... beyond it all. Hopefully at some point, our great, who is a Bayou people will come through with what they've said. If they don't, we need a plan or we need to do something. So these homes were purchased over the years, many years. I've been here 30 years in my house. So in 2023 was when the last one was bought. They're all owned by Bayou Creek Capital. You guys all know this. That's an LLC. I'm an LLC. I've been in business for 20 years myself. An LLC is nothing. It's one little company, right? So that's nothing to be scared of. What it comes down to is he's a bad absentee landlord, and we're letting him get away with it, plain and simple, because he's promising us something in the future. We're letting him do things that we wouldn't let me if I owned an apartment anywhere in that area do. If I had a home with a hole in the roof and I was trying to rent it out, you guys would come and shut me down. Plain and simple. I don't know why we don't do the same for him. You're setting a precedent that we need to undo and we need to undo it quickly. Because what's to stop the people across that street from renting out their homes and letting the exact same thing happen? We have a precedent. They can look across the street and say, hey, look, look at this house. It looks like crap. We're not doing anything. So the other thing that does kind of confuse me, I know I'm getting short on time, It's currently zoned residential, yet there's, I'll show my age, we have Rustio's. Now homeless people live there. That's the building for the younger folk in the house. That's the place on top of the hill right by FCB. Used to be an Italian restaurant. We've got IHOP. We have the old Rax building. We've got the old video store. We've got, what, Burger King. It's a real looker right now. There's a lot of places to put this fabled, wonderful Chick-fil-A that don't about knocking down houses and making a, making a neighborhood look like crap. We've got plenty of places that already look like crap that we could have asked them to go to instead. But instead, we've got eight or nine houses falling apart, and we're not doing anything about it.

I ask you to do something. That's really about it.

That's what I've been trying to get out of my mouth for all this time. Thank you for listening. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments. Maybe after the meeting, Travis, could you give them an update on what transpired? Okay. All right, anyone else? I hear a ballast of city, so okay. So next item.

Comments and announcements from the mayor?

I have none.

Comments and announcements from council members?

Next, the city staff. Thank you, Mayor Stammen. At this time, I'd like Kimberly Koren to come to the podium and tell us about some of the parks programming she has.

Mayor Stamen and members of the council, I have two programs to highlight tonight. One of them is our Sunset Sound Journey that will be taking place at Willoughby Farm this Friday night. We're having two different sessions. We partnered with a local business and we did one of these already at Woodland Park in one of our new shelters and it sold out with a wait list. So now we're gonna try it at the farm this Friday. We're hoping to have a great turnout. Registration is still open at this point. And then I wanted to highlight our next movie, which will be Thursday, August 13th, sponsored by Revity Credit Union. It will be Inside Out 2. The fire department will be partnering with us on that movie. And this one will be at Woodland Park. We did just have our first movie of the summer this past Thursday at Willoughby Farm, where we showed Zootopia 2, and it was a lovely turnout. It was one of those beautiful days, not this hot stuff that we've been having. So people who are more inclined to come out, it turned out really nice. Thank you.

Did you, you said the 13th, Thursday?

It's a Thursday.

13th, so Wednesday.

It's a Thursday.

It is.

Okay. I got my days mixed up. Never mind. It's 2026. You're right.

Any other questions? Nope. Thank you.

Thank you, Kimberly.

Jamie Lane, director of Gateway Convention Center. If you can tell us about some events at the convention center.

I'd be happy to. Good evening, everyone. The first event, what I'm going to cover is events that are open to the public at Gateway Center in the month of August, and we have a few. The first one's coming up this weekend, the Gothic Market. This is a new client, so we haven't worked with them before, but... If things go well, this could be a repeat. They are touring the country, and they've been in Washington and California and Wisconsin, so we'll see how Collinsville does for them. It's the first and the second of August. It's from noon to five on both of the dates. To purchase a ticket, you have to go online to their website, and it's $3 in advance and $15 at the day of the event. So this is a folklore-themed market. It's going to have all kinds of Gothic aspects, Halloween, vampires, supernatural. They're saying campfire stories, psychics, crystals. So it'll be a very interesting time at Gateway this weekend. And then we're going to have the very next weekend, the Gateway Open. This is the sixth year of this event, and it is tabletop gaming. And Warhammer 40K is a big game that everybody's playing. And Age of Sigmar, there's some tournaments. It's for prize money. It's very well attended. It's August 7th through the 9th. And then this event, the Gateway Fall Market, is actually produced internally by Gateway Center staff. Joe Decker, one of our event managers, is the producer of this one. And it is a free event. It's from nine to three o'clock on August 22nd. And there's local vendors, food, kids activities. This year they've got a photo opportunity with the Ice Queen and Snow Princess from 11.30 to 1.30. So that's a fun community creative event with lots to see and do and purchase. And this event on August 27th, it's American Cancer Society. It is rebranded to Fork Cancer. It was called Farm to Table in years past, but this has been an event we've had several years at this point. It's local, Metro East dining establishments have tasting stations and live music, and it's all for good ACS research, prevention, and patient programs. The ticket pricing starts at $75. It's 5.30 to 8.30. I was looking today at the restaurants involved, and it's Mussali's Prime, Baker's and Hale, Bella Milano, 1933 House of Bourbon, and a few more. So it's going to be a great event. And our last one, rounding out the month of August, is MightyCon St. Louis Comic-Con. So that is a one-day event. It's August 29th from 10 a.m. to 4.30. It's comics, vendors, artists. They have video and tabletop gaming. They have toy and game collectibles, cosplay events with contests. And it's a $12 admission. And if kids attend that are 12 and under, it's for free. So that is it. And all the information for these and more can be found at gatewaycenter.com. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor. That concludes staff comments.

Next time.

Next is the consent agenda. Item 1, motion to approve payment of bills for the period ending July 17, 2026 in the amount of $881,719.10. Item two, motion to approve payroll for the period ending July 3rd, 2026 in the amount of $993,176.76. Item three, motion to approve minutes of the July 14th, 2026 council meeting. And item number four is a resolution appointing a member to the Fire Pension Board, Kevin Reese.

The journey items in the Senate agenda that anyone would like to remove and vote on separately. Being none, have a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Motion by Furman, second by Seton. Roll call.

Furman?

Yes.

Green? Yes. Seton?

Yes.

Houseman? Yes. Stamen?

Yes.

Next, under new business, item one is the ordinance increasing the 2026 expenditure budget in the motor fuel tax fund, capital projects fund, southwest corridors business district, water sewer fund, and water sewer capital fund project.

Presentation, we give them a finance director, Tim Larnvold.

Thank you, Mayor Stamen. Good evening, city council members. Before you this evening is an ordinance to appropriate 2026 expenditures across several funds, including motor fuel tax, capital projects, Southwest Corridors Business District, water and sewer, and water and sewer capital. Specifically, the ordinance has five appropriations including transfers of operational expenditures, unforeseen operational expenses, and realignment to capital needs. The first is an increase of $127,081.14 for expenditures in the Motor Fuel Tax Fund. This is the Streetscape 4 closeout, the last bill that we should see and should be realigned and paid. The next one is a $36,817 capital improvement plan for the replacement of the sound system at Gateway. That's a couple years old capital project, but we're getting it done right now, and Jamie's putting the work behind it to get it in. Third is an appropriation of $35,000 to Moran, or Moran Economic Development to help us set the new Southwest Corridor Business District. The fourth appropriation is another CIP project for $12,075 from Water Sewer Fund to pay for power washing of the water tower on Beltline in Troy's department. The final appropriation is also in Troy's department for $48,400 is a water sewer fund capital project to replace a vehicle for the wastewater lines crew that had aged out. In total, the ordinance appropriates $259,373.14. Again, these expenditures are supported by available funding sources and are consistent with the operational objectives of the departments that it's going to and also aligned to the strategic plan goals number four and number seven, investing in public infrastructure and supporting excellent municipal services. Staff is recommending approval of this ordinance and I stand by to answer any of your questions on any of the five.

Tim, are any of these considered in the mid-year review? I mean, I don't know exactly what that means, but was that part of this?

These are not part of the mid-year review, but they are getting after capital projects. I think we're holding it a little later so Derek can be in the room because of his hand in the build of the requirements. So we have time. We're starting to do the budget build, but we can still do a mid-year capital. We are right now generating all the requirements for the 2027 to 2036 capital improvement projects, so some of them may fall off, but to your point, yeah, it's a big focus right now, so we will get after the mid-year review as soon as Derek's back in the office.

Any questions or comments from the council? No. Have a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Motion by Green, second by Furman. Roll call.

Furman. Yes. Green. Yes. Seton. Yes. Houseman. Yes. Statement.

Yes.

Item number two is an ordinance to award, bid, and authorize contract with Geisler Roofing for roof replacement at the Gateway Center in the amount of $151,000. Hi.

Gateway Director Jamie Link.

Good evening, Mayor and members of council. Tonight, like Wasser said, we're going to do an ordinance to award, bid, and authorize contract with Geisler Roofing at Gateway Convention Center. This is for a roof replacement project. So what we're going to be doing is removing the existing EPDM roofing, which is like rubber membrane. We're going to install insulation and install the new rubber membrane roofing. The bid documents were written to allow us to accept sections of the bid independently from one another. So we had the north far west and the north far east sections of our roof, as well as the middle between those two as section five, six, and seven, which you can see the red, the blue is it, and yellow. So we had three different sections. The lowest bidder was Geisler Roofing, and they had the lowest bid overall, as well as the independent sections. The total bid was $296,950. The budget for the CIP project in 2026 approved was $245,000. So we don't have enough money to replace all three sections, obviously. We want to replace... five and seven for a combined total of 151,000. This is significantly under budget. Section five is the highest priority. We do actually see some signs of damage there, because there's some water that's sitting in certain areas of that roof. The savings that's here, potentially, maybe 5,000, maybe somewhere in that neighborhood could be needed for, if they rip up that membrane and see damage, there might be some additional cost there. But that's just me giving a heads up in case. We don't know if that'll be the case or not. But... uh... basically the project is going to extend the roof life and it's going to protect the underlying structure and prevent future real uh... roof failure so with that we are recommending approval and i welcome any questions that you have so five and seven are bad is six just as bad six ended up being the most expensive you can see it Right here in the middle, number six included the rotunda, the round part as well, which did increase. That is what costs the most because of the metal decking that's involved with that. Five's condition is definitely the worst. Six is, I would say, like second place. Seven is not as bad. But there is no leaks and no obvious signs of damage. There is no major thing we're addressing here except it's out of warranty and... by a lot, the warranty's expired in like 2020. So we would like to, especially because of the sitting water, take care of section five, and while we're at it, take care of another section as well. And then in the future, we'll address the section six.

So if everything going up year to year, wouldn't it make more sense to try to find the additional roughly $50,000 and do the whole project this year?

I would welcome that, but I did, you know, with the approval amount, I didn't know if I should go that route.

It would, this is Tim's area, and I don't know, but it would, I kind of agree with Tony that for 50,000 more, it's done instead of, because like the CIP, it's use it or lose it kind of thing.

Right.

I don't know.

I mean, I'm not aware of the protocol, but I know if we're just talking about mid-year review, potentially, I mean, this project is, if we approve it, and I tell them tomorrow, they're gonna start to order things soon, it would take four weeks before it can even begin anyway, so potentially, we could always add more work to this project, but because of time slipping away in 2026, I wanna try to get a jump on at least getting it started.

The only thing I or one of the things I would be concerned with is startup costs for a project and they're gearing up for the project or out there doing the whole thing. If we call them back to do just that next year,

It's going to cost more. It's going to cost a lot more.

Right. The crane itself and everything that's involved, it would only have to be out there one time.

So say it's $50,000, it might be $75,000 because they've got to retool.

Right. It does make more sense if the funding is available to try to do it all.

I think. What do you think? I mean.

Can I go back and look for the extra funds? I mean.

We could always look to approve five and seven right now and then maybe by the next meeting have the other section figured out to propose as well because the project won't have been even started by two weeks from now if that's an option.

I think based on what the rest of the council, I think we need to at least ask the question. So however you think you can do that, Jessica and Tim and you get together tomorrow or whatever and discuss the options.

Yes, we can definitely do that. OK.

So I would look to table it for two weeks. I mean, two weeks is not going to make a big difference, right? And have a final answer in two weeks.

Again, we don't have a motion now, so it'll just be brought back.

OK. OK. All right. Thank you.

I hate to put stuff off, but we'll make sure we get it right. OK. Next item.

Next item number three is an ordinance authorizing the mayor to execute a motor vehicle lease agreement between Madison County Mass Transit District and the City of Collinsville.

Parks Director Kimberly Coyle.

Your statement of members of the council before you tonight is an ordinance authorizing the execution of a lease between Madison County Transit and the city of Collinsville to keep the senior and disabled shuttle running for five more years. This is an agreement that the city and Madison County have been working together on um for many years now we do we have been re-upping the lease every five years um and it just happens that we are in that fifth year we recently had a new we had a shuttle replaced right before this agreement started um many things are the same in how the how the lease would operate from year to year As I mentioned, it's a five year lease per the lease agreement. MCT will cover the first $5,000 worth of vehicle maintenance and then reimburse the city for the first $5,000 of fuel costs. And that is similar to how it's operating right now. There's a few technicalities in how it's done where the city usually pays for it up front and then we get reimbursed and they're just gonna cover the first $5,000 on the maintenance this year. So that's one of the pieces that have changed. Another thing that is required from this is that we keep statistical ridership records and that we've been doing. So it is just a continuation of the process to keep the shuttle free and running for the community. I'd be happy to answer any questions.

I had had a resident or a resident that lived like one or two houses out of the city limits and he had been to some physical issues and he had to find a way to get to the physical therapy. Um, so we asked about it and, you know, we, we struggled with the, with people that live right outside of city limits and, you know, well, you don't get the benefits when you live in the city, but, But Kimberly said that there was something that had to be residents of the city that used it. Have we ever heard any more on that or not?

no i know with this agreement you know because we are the city and we offer municipal services to the city of collinsville we only operate within the city limits but it also um well this one doesn't but we do have the option of the mct micro shuttle for some of the riders which is an inexpensive door-to-door service similar to what we do but it does only serve the madison county portion of So if there's somebody in the St. Clair County portion, that MCT shuttle won't, that door-to-door service won't cover that. With us, we have a state grant that helps pay for a portion of the shuttle, helps cover the cost of a portion of the shuttle services, and then this agreement keeps the cost low because we don't have to purchase a vehicle.

I think...

it would be problematic to have some kind of because where do you draw that line you know we draw the line at the municipal boundaries and if we start getting fuzzy on that it it just it's too difficult to manage um and so that that is the line that has been drawn and we have just stuck with it so far yeah that's not i mean it's a good reason to annex and yeah

Collinsville Faith in Action also, if the people who are over 60 would be able to apply to Faith in Action for rides, those types of things.

This involved needing the chairlift. That's why it became an issue. And evidently the other bus, that doesn't have a chairlift in it, does it?

I'm not familiar enough with it to answer that question.

I think that was the issue, why they were asking, because this had the ability to do a wheelchair. But yeah, it would be problematic, so fine. Any other questions for Kimberly? Being none, motion to approve. So moved.

I'll second it.

Motion by Houseman, second by Green. Roll call.

Furman?

Yes.

Green? Yes. Seton?

Yes. Houseman? Yes.

Stamen?

Yes.

Item number four is an ordinance amending chapter 2.44.010 providing for the number of board members on the community appearance board.

Kimberly again.

Mayor Stamen and members of the council, I have an ordinance amending this chapter to increase the number of members on the Community Appearance Board up to 15, which seems like a rather large board, but as you know, this board is a sweat equity board. Not only do they give their time to meet 10 months out of the year, but they give their time and efforts in keeping and maintaining some of the public spaces here in collinsville the walgreens wedge the westmoreland west main street wedge and they are the ones who do the end of doing the voting on the yard of the month as well they do their some of their unofficial duties since the park and rec department has come into play as they help us with the judging on our home decorating contest for both halloween and christmas and they are the judges at the halloween excuse me the light up parade for the float winners as well So more people on this commission means more helping hands in the community, and staff recommends approval of the change.

Any comments?

Sure, this is so different. I mean, usually we're looking for people to join boards, not increasing the number, so it's a very positive thing.

It's pretty incredible to have a full 13 on the board. We've had that for a while now, and then to have more wanted, it is, it's a nice thing to have. It's a nice problem to have.

They're workers. Okay, motion to approve.

So moved.

Second.

Motion by Green, second by Furman. Roll call.

Furman. Yes. Green. Yes. Seton. Yes. Houseman. Yes. Stamen. Yes. Item number five is a resolution appointing a member to the Community Appearance Board, Victoria Feitinger.

Kimberly?

The last you'll hear from me. Mayor's statement and members of the council, on a related note to the last item, this would be to appoint the 14th of the now 15-member board of the Community Appearance Board. Victoria Feitinger? I'm copying. Kim, thank you. Has submitted an application to serve on the board. Like I said, it would fill one of the new vacancies just created by that previous ordinance. Good.

Any comments or questions?

Yeah, I know the young lady, she came out and volunteered one day and realized all the people that she knew on the board and what they were doing and was very excited about joining that group.

Good. Motion to approve? So moved. Second. Motion by Furman, seconded by Hausman. Roll call.

Furman? Yes. Green? Yes. Seton? Yes. Hausman? Yes. Stamen?

Yes.

Thank you. Last is adjournment.

I have a motion to adjourn.

So moved.

Second.

Motion by Green, second by Houseman. Roll call.

Furman? Yes. Green? Yes. Seton? Yes. Houseman? Yes. Stamen?

Yes. Council City Council meeting for July 28, 2026 is adjourned.