City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everyone. I'll call our Committee of the Whole to order here in council chambers at 6 p.m.

Roll call, please. Alderperson Silas?

Present.

Macias?

Present.

Razak?

Present.

Timian? Present. Finch? McNeil?

Present.

Castro? Present. Schmidt?

Present.

Great. We have no remote electronic attendance. Public comment? Chief, we'll do the in-person first.

Did you want to do public comment?

So this is just public comment. We don't do back and forth, but you're welcome to make the speech or I can talk to you afterwards. All right, I'll take care of you later. David Stoner.

Good evening, Mayor and Council Members. I'm David Stoner. I've been here nagging about flat cameras all year and plan to do some more tonight, but I had to rewrite my speech. Instead, I'm here to say thank you. I'm sure pausing the program to prioritize public trust was an easy call, but I'm incredibly grateful the City and Police Department listened to its residents. So really, thank you. I do have two requests. Hopefully this pause can become a permanent non-renewal of the contract, and I hope that it's not replaced with cameras with a different brand down the road. So thank you again for listening in the community.

My name is Tom Keith. I'm from the 7th Ward in Moline. I recently read this article from Fresh Air with Terry Gross. She says facial recognition technology is convenient when you use it and unlock your phone or log into an app. You might be surprised to know that your face is most likely... already in a facial recognition database that can be used to identify who you are without you even being aware of what is happening or knowing who's using it and why. The company expanding the technology possibilities of technology and testing its legal and ethical limits is Clearview AI. It's a company expanding the technology possibility of this technology and testing it. It's legal and ethical limits. If you haven't already heard of it, it is part of a startup whose clients already include some law enforcement government agencies. If you haven't already heard of it, it's part of... Sorry. If you haven't already heard of it, it's in part because the company doesn't want you to know it existed. It did its part to remain secretive until it was exposed in my guest, Kashmir Hill. She's a New York Times tech reporter who first wrote about Clearview AI in 2020. Clearview notes that they may have or may not be accurate. In addition to this, I found out that Axon, another spy company, uses surveillance and body cameras to spy on us. So I really don't agree with this kind of technology, and if the city has something that they can do to stop it, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

Thank you, Mr. Chief. All right, we do have some emailed ones in, and we'll be sticking to the three-minute time limit on all of them, just like our speakers already complied with.

Go ahead. Dear City Council members, I want to express my concern regarding the flock cameras that are currently in Moline, and I'm requesting they be removed ASAP. We do not need that type of government overreach. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Julie Hamilton. End the contract with Flux Safety and don't replace it with another vendor. Is there a person associated with that? She didn't sign it, but it's from Jill. Okay. All right, and the third one, dear Moline City Clerk, Deputy Clerk Stephanie Murphy and Brandi Russell, I'm writing you to let you know that I will not be able to attend the upcoming Moline City Council meeting because I must devote my time and energy to finding a new home before September 30, 2026. I had hoped to attend and speak personally about my experience as a tenant at 501 27th Street, Moline, Illinois, 61265. Since I cannot be there, I respectfully ask that this correspondence be retained and shared, when appropriate, with the mayor and members of the Moline City Council. I moved into the property on June 12, 2026. Within approximately 14 days, serious problems and conflict began. Since then, I have repeatedly sought assistance and communicated concerns to the mayor's office, city inspection officials, the Moline Police Department, and others. I estimate that I have asked for help or attempted to bring attention to these problems more than 100 times. Again and again, I have heard that the dispute is civil rather than criminal. I understand that distinction, but that answer raises a larger question. Where does an ordinary citizen go when a dispute has not yet become criminal, but the people involved cannot find peace on their own? That question is one reason I'm asking our community to consider creating a county... practiced this work so many times, I knew I was going to do this. Ombudsman or similar independent conflict resolution position. Negotiate with a pen, not a gun. I believe we need someone whose job is to help people communicate and seek peaceful solutions before disputes escalate to police calls, arrests, eviction proceedings, courtrooms, or violence. The police have a necessary role in our community. The courts have a necessary role. Landlords have rights, and tenants have rights. But not every human conflict should have to become a police matter. or a courtroom battle before somebody helps the people involved sit down, communicate, document the disagreement, understand their options, and search for a reasonable solution. We need a place where people can negotiate with a pen, not a gun. An ombudsman could serve as a neutral person who listens to both sides, reviews available documentation, directs people towards the appropriate resources, encourages mediation, identifies misunderstandings, and helps people determine whether there is a peaceful path forward. An ombudsman would not replace police officers, judges, attorneys, inspectors, social workers, or existing government agencies. The position could help connect them. That is the lesson I'm taking from my experience at 501 27th Street. I raised concerns regarding the property's permit and inspection status, living conditions, disturbances, and harassment I believe I experienced. I also reported serious concerns involving activities at the property. I personally observed alcohol use and behavior that caused me concern about possible drug abuse. I have also been asked on more than one occasion whether I wanted to purchase opioids. I am reporting these matters as my personal experiences. That's three minutes. Thank you. All right, last one. I am a soccer ref for the city of Downport. I started working at River's Edge Indoor Sports Complex by the river. Do we have a name for this comment? Joe Stays. Thank you. I also worked at the outdoor fields by the airport. While working at the outdoor fields, I witnessed Blank, who used to sell cocaine at a bar I worked at in Moline called Blank. Numerous people sold cocaine at this bar. Blank was the main one. He supplied them. His nephew, blank, is a janitor at blank school in Moline, sells cocaine under him. Another person selling coke under him is blank, and he is the wife of a teacher at blank high school. While I was working at the bar on an off day, the teacher's husband texted me and asked me if I wanted to buy coke from blank, who lives down the street from the bar. I said no. Anyone who did go to the house that night were arrested by Illinois state troopers. That same day, a state trooper stopped my car and searched it for drugs. This was an illegal stop. These people are selling drugs right out in the open. Approximately 2015. A few years later, approximately 2022, after the failed setup attempt from the Moline Police and Illinois State Police in 2015, I am now working as a soccer ref in Davenport for the City of Davenport Rec League games. While working as a ref, I witnessed many people selling drugs at the soccer fields. These people all came from the Mexican Soccer League, which is run by the same person who sells drugs at the bar. These thugs at the soccer fields then harassed me and had me fired. I was also working as a ref for the high school teams. When I reported what happened to the blank and blank had me fired. This is illegal. I'm asking the mayor and the police chief to review this. And I would like to speak at a Moline school board meeting. They are not letting me speak at the meeting because I was fired illegally blank. and blank should be fired and the thugs who are selling drugs should be locked up. Joe stays. Any further public comment?

Hearing none, we'll continue with our agenda. We have an oath of office for promotion of WPC Treatment Operations Manager Greg Piles to Director of Utilities effective September 1, 2026.

Yeah, Mr. Piles has decades of experience, both operating and managing complex water pollution control systems. He's been with the city of Moline for the past seven to eight years, and we're excited to have him on board.

Greg, I'll come down into the office. Okay. I, Greg Piles, having been duly appointed to the position of Director of Utilities for the City of Moline, Illinois, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States And the Constitution of the State of Illinois.

And the Constitution of the State of Illinois.

Will strictly adhere to the Illinois rules of professional conduct.

Will strictly adhere to the rules of Illinois. the Illinois Rules for Professional Conduct and the Moline Code of Ordinances and the Moline Code of Ordinances and that I will faithfully discharge the duties and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the position of Director of Utilities of the position of Director of Utilities for the City of Moline, Illinois for the City of Moline, Illinois according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability

All right? Thank you. Congratulations. Congratulations.

Congratulations, okay.

Congratulations, sir. Congratulations.

All right, we have two presentations this evening. 6.1, presentation of the 2026 Pavement Condition Report and Pavement Management Plan. Laura Clower.

Thank you, Your Honor. In late 2025, the city contracted with ICCIMS to evaluate Moline's street conditions and develop recommendations for a pavement management strategy. Joining us virtually tonight is Megan Ratliff from ICCIMS, who will share a summary of their findings and discuss key pavement management techniques. Megan, I will turn it over to you.

Thank you so much. Bear with me as I share my screen. And please let me know if you can see it.

Yeah, we can. We will. So does that mean you can see it now? Hang on one second. We're just technical. Got it. Okay.

You can hear me, though, right?

Yeah, yeah. It's just a screen issue over here. There we go. We can see it.

Awesome. Okay, so thank you so much for the introduction. I'm Megan Ratliff, a pavement engineer at ICCIMS, and I will be speaking to you today about our joint project with the City of Moline about pavement management. So first I'll talk through what this means. So I'll explain the pavement management process, what our pavement condition survey looked like and the technology that was involved in doing so. And then I'll explain and show some of the representative conditions for the City of Moline. I'll kind of show the overview for the pavement conditions that we found. And then I'll wrap it up with going over the analysis results and the planning that was resulting from this project that we did. So first we'll go into the pavement management process. So, basically, this is a cycle repeated every few years. Cities and agencies will contact us with different objectives, policies, and budgets that you have. Everyone is different, and everyone has certain agendas that they're trying to accomplish. One of them might be to assess the payment conditions, and you'll come to us. ICCIMS will go out and assess all of the various roads in your network. And then we will help you plan and analyze the results and plan for the future. Then you'll go out and actually implement those results. You'll do reconstructions, rehabilitations, everything that agencies will do to make their roads better. And then this process will be repeated, like I said, every few years. So this is typically on a three to five year cycle. But what we are trying to do in pavement management, because there is an art to it, basically we are trying to prolong the life of our pavements as long as possible. Because what we have here is a deterioration curve. You can see on the y-axis, the left there, we have what's called the pavement condition index, and it goes from a score of zero to 100, with 100 being excellent. And then along the x-axis or the bottom, we have the pavement age. So essentially, and this makes sense, over time, pavements will deteriorate. Traffic will be applied. The environment, temperature will be a factor. Things happen. Pavements deteriorate. It's just kind of part of it. But we can control this to a degree. We can make sure that they deteriorate as slow as possible so that we're extending the life of the pavements. And then one way that we can do that is to do what's called preventive maintenance. So basically what we're talking about is applying treatments like crack sealing. You may be familiar with that. Basically just filling the cracks with a substance to prevent water intrusion. So it helps it essentially keep the water out of the base and it just extends the life of the pavement. So that's what we would call a preventive maintenance treatment. and that is much cheaper than full reconstruction i think that you know it's kind of it makes sense that way just it's much cheaper to do something at the surface than it is to reconstruct the entire roadway um so what we are aiming to do is extending the life of the pavement for as little money as possible and that is one way that we're able to do that so we would typically apply those crack sealing preventive treatments to roads that are in pretty decent condition. So we wouldn't wait until it got into disrepair to do that. And this concept is demonstrated in this graph as well. So like I was saying, we're trying to extend the life of the pavement, making sure that deterioration curve gets stretched out as far as possible. And the way that we're able to do that, like I was saying, is to do those cheaper treatments that bump it up incrementally as you go through the curve there. and not waiting until it needs a reconstruction to fix it. So that's basically the concept we're trying to implement when we do pavement management or pavement analysis. So that's really the gist of the thought process there. So this is where we come in because it's usually these are large... Is there a question or something? No, we're good. Keep going. Oh, I thought I heard something. So anyway, so it's very easy to get wrapped up in, you know, there's a lot of roadways. There's a lot of miles. I believe there's 230 in the city of Moline. So that's, it's unrealistic to expect, you know, the agency, you guys to go out and assess every single roadway, count every crack, every pothole. It's just too much. Typically, it can't be done very efficiently. So that's where ICCIMS comes in to do that and to help with the planning. So we have our vehicle here. And you may have seen this driving around. But this vehicle assessed every road in the network for Moline. And basically, we're looking for things like alligator cracking, rutting, longitudinal and transverse cracking. And you may not have even known that they could be differentiated that way. But as engineers, we do look for these things because they happen for different reasons. Don't want to get into the details of that, but just know we're looking for all of the cracking, the potholes, the rutting, all the things that you think of when you think of a failed roadway. So our equipment, it's able to pick up with great detail all of these different distresses. So on the back of the vehicle, you can see the laser crack measurement system. It's the most advanced technology that allows us to pick up these various distresses. And this is just an example of showing some of the imagery we get from that laser crack measurement system. So you can see it's very good at picking up all the different cracks and it's even color coded to show you we can differentiate between the less severe cracking and the more severe cracking based on the width of those cracks. And then ultimately, just want to explain, we are looking for the different crack quantities, the types of the cracking, and how severe all of it is. And all of this gets calculated into that pavement condition index score, that 0 to 100 that I was referring to earlier. And the point of this is just to say, you know, ICCIMS is not just making up a number. We're using data to calculate these condition index values. And this method for calculating it is based on a standard that is internationally recognized and approved. So again, just all this to say we're calculating according to an approved and widely recognized standard based on the data that we found in your network. And just reiterating, here's that pavement condition index. Again, it goes from zero to 100, just to really put your mind on what these numbers mean. And ICCIMS usually refers to a score of 40 and below as backlog. So just kind of keep that in mind too, because we'll talk about that in a little bit. But essentially, everything in backlog typically would require reconstruction to be fixed, because it's just... it's too far gone to be addressed with things like preventive maintenance, like crack sealing. So now I'll kind of contextualize what these different pavement condition index values mean. So here we can see an example in the city of Moline. This is pretty obviously a very poor roadway. You can see potholes and alligator cracking. It's obviously just in complete disrepair. Typically, we would only recommend reconstruction on a roadway like this. And here we can see a poor roadway with a PCI of 30. So it's a little better than the other one, but there's still alligator cracking and that to an engineer is a sign of structural failure, meaning it really can only be addressed by reconstruction at this point. And then here we can see a marginal roadway. It's significantly better at 46. We perhaps could do something a little less severe than reconstruction to address the issues on this roadway. And you kind of get the idea here, we're getting a little bit better every time we get into that upper category. This is a 56, could be addressed potentially by maybe an overlay or a milling and overlaying this roadway. That could be a viable solution. And here we see we're getting into the good roadways, significantly fewer cracks. I do see a patched portion here, so looking much better in terms of condition. and very good minor longitudinal transverse cracking. This is not structurally caused, so we can use a much less severe treatment on this road as well. And again, just getting into much better roadways, this one is excellent. Few to no distresses are present on this roadway. This is essentially a brand new road. So ultimately just kind of wanting to get you accustomed to what these numbers mean for your network. But now I'll go into the summary of these conditions. So overall for the whole network, what are we looking at? So this is the distribution for the city of Moline. Keeping in mind, this is 230 miles. That's quite a lot. The network average PCI by area is a 60. So again, it goes from zero to 100. This is firmly at a 60. And the backlog is 20%. So you may be wondering, okay, well, in relation to other agencies, how is this doing? So there's really not a repository of this information accessible anywhere, but from our experience working with many agencies of this size and in your area, we're typically seeing anywhere from 60 to 65, I would say, on average for the PCI value. And then in terms of backlog, we're seeing anywhere from 9 to 15%. So it's right there at average, I would say, or maybe slightly below for the PCI, but backlog is slightly, maybe just a little bit above what we see on average. So if you recall, that's that percentage of the network that's below 40%. So it's not ideal to have backlog so great, but it's difficult to keep up with conditions in this day and age. This is not uncommon for sure. And then another way to view this information is by functional class. So this is basically breaking it down by the different types of roadways. So minor arterials are your very important roadways, the ones that service the most vehicles. Then there's collectors, and then there's residentials and alleys. Residentials might be the neighborhood roads. Alleys are maybe in downtown areas or behind houses. The point of this is to show there's quite a lot of residential roads, which is normal. but also the more important roadways the minor arterials are in the best condition so that is a good thing we'd love to see that the the main thoroughfares are in the better condition if there is to be a better and a worse so ultimately this helps to prioritize roadways when it does come time to plan which iccims helped with and this did get built into the prioritization So now we'll talk through some of the analysis results in the actual plan that was generated. So up until this point, we have talked only about the conditions that ICCIMS assessed at a certain point in time. So in 2026, to be exact. Now, in this analysis and planning, we're thinking five years into the future. So all of the analysis results are projecting forward five years into the future. So this uses budgeting that we are predicting, and it utilizes deterioration curves that we think best suit how things will deteriorate over five years. But the point is this is projecting forward, so it's an estimate. However, it's our best yes at how things will look five years into the future. So what you see here, it's fairly overwhelming, but I'll break it down just a little bit. So we have the PCI, the Pavement Condition Index, on the y-axis again. But now we have the annual budget on the bottom, so the x-axis. Essentially what we're showing here is the results for various budget scenarios. So what happens to the condition if we throw this much money at the network? What happens if we try to target a condition of 64? This is what we're showing here for various budget scenarios and various agendas. So you can see there's the current Moline budget and this, let me explain, the $7.9 million per year, that's not like a constant number every single year either. It's an average over the five years. but also we have the steady state budget. So this is basically saying we want to try to keep the conditions constant over five years. How much is that gonna cost? And we also have that target PCI, and we're trying to target a value of 64. So essentially, this is just the results that show you need quite a lot of money to make any drastic improvement to the network overall. It takes a lot of money to really do these types of improvements to a network this size. So you can see after five years with the current budget, the PCI and backlog remain about the same. So it doesn't get better, it doesn't get worse. It's kind of just hanging in there at those current values. And you can also see that here, but it's just a little bit better of a representation. It's very easy to see kind of what's possible. And again, it's very expensive to try to make improvements on a network this size. But with that, I will open up for questions. Thank you very much. Mr. Schmidt.

Thank you. When we're looking at the funding models, is that using a variable cost for the different categories of road?

So we do actually use various unit rates based on how much the different rehabilitation treatments cost near Moline because those do vary across the country. But I'll have to look into if we vary them across functional classes because we do have that ability, but it needs to be communicated for us to make that adjustment. That's a really good question.

Yeah, because I think it's worth pointing out that weighted for it, if you remove alleys, we have a PCI of 63. And if you remove residential streets as well, we have a PCI of 70, which I don't want to take residential out. But it's just helping us focus and ensure, though, when we're talking about budget planning, that we're not assuming a minor arterial costs the same as a residential. That's kind of our biggest area of opportunity.

I think because I'd be okay excluding the alleys for a while This Castro This may be more of a question for staff, but I remember last time we did this There was something a link online where you could look up the different streets that shows what those what the index was Well, we have that again this year or after the study So we're we're they're still finalizing the report.

So once it's final we can do that.

Okay, it was really helpful Thank you Mr. Timmy and then Mr. Macias.

I have a bit of an issue with using dollars as the metric, partially for what Alderperson Schmidt mentioned, which is we do a massive reconstruction downtown, and that eats up half our budget, and it's only a quarter of a mile compared to what would be five miles of alleys or whatever. I guess my question is like, to understand that, but also, does your model bake in the fact that material and construction costs increase every year? And so we're functionally getting diminishing returns every year, five years of the model.

Yes. So you're exactly right. Our model does include an inflation percentage. We typically do 3% per year that is applied to those unit rates. And by unit rates, I mean the rehabilitation strategies that it's recommending. So the crack ceiling reconstruction. But yes, it is utilizing an inflation percentage. Mr. Macias?

Yes. And maybe this is more for Laura. So I know we purchased that machine that does like a four foot asphalt. How's that? Is that even factored here? Because I know it's taking some streets that have some of that cracking on the sides and they look great and it's extending the life. But I don't know, is that tied to this somehow or?

So it's not tied to this. So the budget numbers that Megan shared were just engineering's numbers for contracted work. Denver and his team have their own budgets. So I know his team is focusing more on the asphalt paver, I think. I'm using it and utilizing it more. So that should help. But I don't have figures.

So it might not be reflected. It's not reflected in this.

Is there a way to have that for the October budget meetings or is it more complex than that? I can talk to Denver. We can try to work that out. Thank you. Mr. Schmidt.

It would be reflected in the PCI numbers. So the PCI numbers reflect the positive benefit of that program over the last few years. But when we talk about budget, those extra programs would be doing more to maintain or improve than just what the budget is, right?

That's the... Yes, and maybe just to follow up, because we haven't had that for a long time. So what would be... It'd be nice to find out, like, the impact, because if it's not necessarily calculated with the dollars, what's the impact to the CPI in the next five, projected 10 years? Got it. Because I don't know how much it does in a year. No.

I have a question, Mr. Silas.

Thank you. I have more of like a methodology question. This might be for Megan. When you're factoring like aging of pavement conditions, is this like a static kind of method or do you fix it on like the amount of salt used, the amount of traffic? Is it like customized to like the geography of where you're studying or is it more just a broad-based pavement ages at X rate?

It's a really great question. So what you're referring to are the deterioration models that we're utilizing in our analysis. And the answer is yes and no. So in order for it to be completely dependent on things that you're doing in your area, they would have to be extremely customized. You would have to build very detailed deterioration curves that are specific to the the exact structure of the different pavements. It'd be specific to the functional classes like you were saying, a lot of different things. So for this project and for many of the projects that we do that are network level planning, We're just simply using what IMS has and we refer to as a family of curves. So essentially, we've got like 20 curves that we use for various situations. This project, we had them vary by the functional classes, the pavement type, the estimated structural strength. We do have different curves built into this. that take those things into account. But these curves are not built on Moline's custom historical data. Does that make sense?

Absolutely. Thanks, Megan.

Thank you. Thank you very much for being with us and explaining this. I'm sure they're looking forward to crunching the numbers as we get to budget time. All right. We'll move to our next presentation, 6.2 East End Neighborhood Plan. Chris Mathias and Malena.

Yes, thank you. We had a great time having Milena work with us this year. As you met her at a previous meeting, but she's our summer fellow with the Just City Mayoral Fellowship. So, you know, we went out to Boston with the mayor. We're introduced to a lot of experts out there. And then ultimately they introduced us to Milena. So it was really just a pleasure to have her in the neighborhood. She came to visit the Quad Cities twice and was amazing. in the neighborhood, met with a lot of businesses, found a lot of businesses even in the neighborhood that I didn't know were still viable in there. So I was really proud of the work she did. Melaina is going to present here for less than 15 minutes on the East End. We're going to keep this short because this is all, these are items, I mean, this is her project. So not everything here is going to make it into the comp plan. There may be a lot of things that don't make it into the comp plan. That's still part of the process. But wanted to give her a chance to tell you her project. So Melaina, if you're ready, go ahead and take it away.

Amazing, thank you so much for welcoming me into your community this summer and for giving me the opportunity to share the results of my project with the East End. So I'll share my screen. There we go. Okay, amazing. Play from start. Okay, can you see? Yeah, we have it. Awesome. Okay, great. So... This summer—there we go—this summer, I had the pleasure of working in the East End neighborhood as a Just City Lab fellow. And as a Just City Lab fellow, the focus was really to think about how we can plan communities with a focus on equity and really give the community an opportunity to see if their vision could become reality. And when I was in the community, as I said, Chris shared, I had the opportunity to talk with many residents and business owners, and one moment really stuck with me when I asked a resident who'd been there for 40 years why she stayed in the East End. And her response was that immediately she couldn't leave because her home had no value. And though she immediately said that she stayed because of the people and her neighbors, I thought it was really important for me to note that, because if the East End is a community that is invested in, it is prioritized, It can become a place where people choose to stay because there's amazing amenities, not just great people, as well as a place that people can choose to leave because their home has increased their wealth. And I know this slideshow was shared previously and that I want to leave time for questions, so I might be zooming through this, but please feel free to stop me if you would like. So right now, this is what the East End looks like when you are entering Moline from the East Moline border. And this is what it could look like, a walkable, safe community with multifamily affordable housing, neighborhood identity, market rate apartments, and ground floor retail. Throughout this project, we really focused on community-designed improvements as a goal, more economic investment and development, an attractive and thriving neighborhood, and greater physical and social connection. So I'll talk about some community engagement, some plans, and then the opportunities that I identified. So for community engagement, as a summary of what we worked on, just to really make sure that the ideas and improvement opportunities were grounded in what the community's vision for the future was or is. So there was a Just City Values workshop that the mayor and the CED department put on that really asked the community to think about the values that they want to see in their community. Then there was a garage sale party where we created presentation boards to ask if those ideas resonated with the community or if they wanted to add more ideas for us to look into more deeply. I also interviewed business leaders and community leaders. I went to the neighborhood partnership steering committee and asked them for their feedback on my initial recommendations. I also organized a neighborhood walk audit and participated in the comprehensive plan vision and goals meeting with boards of my own. And I really appreciated the just city workshop that the mayor and the city department put on because it really gave me a valuable starting point to understand what was really important to the community. And one of my favorite community engagement opportunities that I organized was a walk audit, where we walked through the community and gave the residents an opportunity to say where they would like to see improvements in the sidewalks, in the curb cuts, crossings, all of those things. And it was really important to note that a lot of people felt that the sidewalks were a poor condition and uncomfortable and unsafe. It was also amazing that we were able to get IDOT, the Illinois Department of Transportation, representative to come and share some additional insight. And that really showed us what they think about when they are planning to make improvements to the road. That, for example, trees are considered a liability because a car may hit them, but trees also provide shade. So trying to manage the engineering and technical side with the human element. With Comprehensive Plan, I really—public meeting, I focused on boards that were talking about neighborhood identity, public realm improvements, and just generally what changes people would like to see in the East End. And what I found really important in the neighborhood identity feedback was that, for residents, people were the most important to the neighborhood and the neighborhood character. For park improvements, I found that people really just wanted to have more activities to do with other community members and residents. Another part of my process was looking at the previous plans. Formerly known as Edgewater Community, the East End has had about three plans created, neighborhood plans created for them. And through this process, you can see that there are some really solid ideas of how the East End neighborhood could be improved upon and really become a place that people choose to stay in and that businesses want to invest in. So looking forward to some improvement opportunities that I was able to identify. We focus on area-specific recommendations. So thinking about O'Brien Park, which is an existing park that's currently not accessible, not visible, and lacks some regular activation. So in the short term, identified some ways that we can have some quick wins, whether that be building a community garden, which many people ask for, increased park accessibility and visibility, reduced traffic need in the alleyway, which is something that residents have asked for as well, and expanding the park and parking options. Another thing, because it's really important that these developments are designed with community members and that they have ownership and agency when it comes to what happens in their neighborhood, is thinking about how to expand and activate the park collaboratively, whether that be through a participatory process where community members can decide what amenities go in the park, or working with local artists to help to add art installations or activations in the space. There's some funding options that I identified for both the participatory process and the installations themselves. And in the long term, collaborate with IDOT to make some improvements to make it more walkable and safe, thinking about flood restrictions if you want to construct buildings, and formalizing informal paths and crossings. This is a site plan that I created of what it would look like, but obviously, you know, this would be a process that the community would design. with architects.

Then thinking about the riverfront development, there's a, yes. Can I just interrupt you one sec? Go back to that slide and can you just explain where this Daylit Creek is coming from? Because I don't think the whole council knows that or the public that's here.

Yeah, so in the river, coming from the river, there's a stream that goes through underneath the railroad track all the way through almost to the Aldi's, but it is covered currently by hard infrastructure, which is roads, grass, and other pavement. And so what daylighting is, is a process of uncovering that hard infrastructure to reconnect natural water flows and natural waterways. And it's a flood mitigation measure. So if you look on a Google map, you can see the water that is underneath the park. Thank you. Awesome. So at the riverfront, there's this underutilized parcels that could be a great place for neighbors to interact with each other. So thinking about leasing or purchasing vacant lots and activating them with landscaping, retail, recreation is a short-term opportunity. I did a little mapping of what the city owns, what's private property, so you can understand how you would activate those spaces. And then this is what it could look like from a parking lot that's not often full to an active park marketplace. In the medium term, you can think about allowing for more land use types, more diverse uses, supporting local businesses on the riverfront since there are so many people who use it, adding sidewalks and crosswalks to access the riverfront, and expanding the park for flood resilience. Then thinking about the I-92 corridor, this is a place that already has some funding opportunities, some commercial nodes, and it's something that could really be reimagined and transformed. And so this is some of the existing businesses and infrastructure along that corridor. And you can use zoning and acquisition to revive it. whether that be thinking about through this comprehensive plan what the land use that is ideal for this corridor is, thinking about acquiring properties and temporarily activating them while you work with developers to transform them into places that it's not just a corridor for people to drive through, but people actually stop and shop and enjoy. So some of that looks like supporting existing and new businesses, whether that be through funding for improvements, exploring a cooperative ownership model for local businesses. We have a lot of auto repairs, people identified wanting grocery stores and coffee shops. So can that be done through a cooperative ownership model? Registering vacant storefronts and helping them attract businesses and temporarily activating sections of the corridor to again, imagine what it could look like if businesses were full. This is what the current zoning looks like. And what you'll see is that there's a lot less commercial and industrial and a lot more residential in this neighborhood, mostly single family. So rezoning the neighborhood can support more mixed use, bringing both residential, making sure that that stays, but also making sure that the industrial businesses have a space to grow and that commercial businesses have a place to grow. And already in the neighborhood, you can see that there is ground floor retail units with multifamily on top. So this isn't something that is totally out of the realm of possibility for the East End. And this is an example of what it could look like where you allow for more multifamily housing, more mixed use and commercial and residential, and a riverfront park. And again, zoning is a great way to make sure that you have more diverse business types. And here's some examples of how that can be done. Another thing that was identified from a neighborhood-wide perspective was pedestrian bike mobility is something that people feel could be improved on. So I created a map using the feedback from the neighborhood walk audit of areas where we can have better sidewalks, better pedestrian crossings, and curb cuts. Another thing is helping residents with sidewalk maintenance, whether that be through a grant or a tool share program. For neighborhood identity engagement, I had to talk to a lot of people about what they felt was the character of the neighborhood, whether that be through the gardens and native plants, the people, the cars and automobiles. And so a short-term opportunity could be looking at art projects that highlight the unique character or reinforcing the garden identity with more native plantings in the neighborhood. Also helping community members when we think about ownership of the development in their community, helping them embed that identity in neighborhood design through, you know, being able to do community-led improvement projects or helping renters maintain their properties and homeowners. And then new developments matching 16 sign is really important for people to feel like they still are part of the neighborhood even when new developments come up. And so I identified the areas or the different design elements and the way that those design elements of the homes match existing multifamily. So as new developments happen, there's some design guidelines to kind of keep the neighborhood character and visual look consistent across all of the new buildings. And then lastly, looking at climate and stormwater management, the East End neighborhood is in the FEMA flood zone. And it also is an area where on River Drive, you see a lot of flooding. And then during the summer, when it's very hot along I-92, there's more heat, which we could say is because of the lack of trees and shade. So as I talked about earlier, daylighting is an opportunity to help manage the water flow and help protect surrounding businesses and homes from flooding. And so there is a drainage pipe that could be removed and could allow the natural waterway to flow consistently. And thinking about urban heat island with more shade, it could be decreased with more shade. So we talked about IDOT saying that they don't want to add trees to the right-of-way, but maybe if we work with private property owners to add shade there, it could be a safer and more comfortable walk for the community. So just want to say thank you again to all of the lovely people who helped me out this summer. It was amazing to collaborate with all of the different staff members and to work with them on solutions. So it really made this experience way better than I could have ever imagined. So thank you, and I look forward to your questions.

Thank you so much, Melina. I feel like we should clap for good work.

stop sharing.

That was very, very detailed, even more than the preview I got a few weeks ago. I think I very much appreciate your work on that. Anything from the council? Yes, Mr. McNeil.

I just want to thank Milena for all of your work on the project, but specifically how much active listening you did with the community, whether it was a comprehensive plan public meeting or the walk audit. I very much enjoyed the walk audit. I know we have residents here tonight that joined us as well. I hope that as we continue to look at the east end that staff will also Kind of continue that momentum that you've built in reaching out to our residents as they look at this project and those plans. And then my question for staff would be, is there an opportunity in the near future to share Melania's project with residents?

Yeah, so we're planning on having, whether it's me or somebody else there at the neighborhood meeting, I think it's October 22nd. So whenever their next meeting is, it's not for a little bit, but that's the plan. Okay, thank you. Great.

Thank you so much, Melina.

Thank you.

All right, we'll continue with our meeting. We are to our proclamation. Proclamation request by Riverbend Food Bank to observe September 29, 2026 as Hunger Action Day. Are Riverbend folks here? Would you like to say a few words?

Thank you.

Thank you Mayor Ariapati and members of the City Council for officially declaring September 29th as Hunger Action Day here in Moline. On behalf of Riverbend Food Bank, thank you. Shedding light on this community-wide issue is a crucial step towards ending hunger. Riverbend Food Bank serves 23 counties across eastern Iowa and western Illinois. With the help of more than 400 hunger relief partners, we distribute millions of meals each year. Right here in our community, one in seven people and one in five children are missing meals. This affects working families, children, seniors, and veterans. This proclamation isn't just symbolic, it's a call to action. Now our neighbors have a shared day to rally around. Hunger isn't something that we can always see, but it is something that we can solve together. Here's what we're asking of this community. Visit riverbendfoodbank.org to volunteer, organize a community hunger drive, or make a monetary donation. Do your part to stay informed on issues regarding hunger. And on September 29th, wear orange, the color of Hunger Action Month. Share it on social media and snap a picture in front of the I-74 bridge and the IH Mississippi Valley Credit Union headquarters will both be lit up orange that day. To our staff, volunteers, and hunger relief partners who do this work year-round, thank you. Together, we are feeding people today and ending hunger tomorrow.

Thank you. So I'll read the proclamation. It says, whereas River Bend Food Bank leads the community-wide effort to end hunger in eastern Iowa and western Illinois by rescuing, storing, and distributing millions of pounds of food each year through a network of more than 400 hunger relief partners, And whereas food insecurity has reached a five-year high in our region, with one in five children and one in seven people experiencing food insecurity, and whereas September is nationally recognized as Hunger Action Month, a time when Feeding America, its network of food banks, and communities across the country unite in the movement to end hunger, And whereas orange is the recognized color of Hunger Action Month, symbolizing a collective call for individuals, businesses, and community organizations to take action against hunger, now, therefore, I, Sangeetha Rayapati, Mayor of Moline, do hereby proclaim September 29, 2026 as Hunger Action Day in the City of Moline. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Go ahead. We also have a proclamation request by Stephen Reagan Mother, Fire Chief, to observe the week of October 4 through 10, 2026, as Fire Prevention Week. Chief?

Thank you, Mayor. Fire Prevention Week is an important time for the fire service because it gives us an opportunity to focus not just on responding to emergencies, but on preventing them before they happen. For more than 100 years, fire departments across the country have used this week to educate our communities about simple actions that can prevent fires, protect property, and most importantly, save lives. This year's Fire Prevention Week is October 4th through the 10th, and the theme is Charged into Fire Safety, Safe Charging is a Superpower. The focus is on the safe use and charging of lithium ion batteries, which are now found in many of our devices, such as phones, laptops, power tools, e-bikes, and scooters. For the Moline Fire Department, Fire Prevention Week is an opportunity to remind our residents that some of the most effective things we can do to keep our community safe happened long before the fire department has ever called. Thank you, Mayor. We appreciate it.

I'll read the proclamation. Whereas the city of Moline is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all those living in and visiting our community. And whereas rechargeable lithium ion batteries power many everyday devices, including phones, tablets, laptops, tools, toys, e-bikes, and scooters. And damaged batteries or improper charging can cause batteries to overheat, catch fire, or explode. And whereas safe charging practices include using the cord and charger provided with the device or one approved by the manufacturer, charging devices on hard, flat surfaces and unplugging devices when they are fully charged. And whereas Moline residents should stop using a device if it becomes very hot, swells, smokes or produces a strange odor. and should charge larger devices such as e-bikes, e-scooters, and power tools outside and away from exits. And whereas Moline's firefighters are dedicated to reducing fires and fire-related injuries by increasing public awareness and education about the safe use, storage, and charging of lithium-ion battery-powered devices, now, therefore, I, Sangeetha Rayapati, Mayor of Moline, do hereby proclaim October 4-10, 2026 as Fire Prevention Week.

Thank you, ma'am.

Thank you, sir. All right. Do not believe we have any questions on the agenda, so we'll move to our Committee of the Whole agenda items. 9.1, a resolution approving a supplemental resolution for improvement under the Illinois Highway Code for motor fuel tax section number 19-00273-00-SW 48th Street slash 48th Street Place from Woodrow Wilson Middle School to the YMCA for the amount of $78,268.84. Ms. Clower. Thank you, Your Honor.

We are seeking approval of a supplemental MFT resolution in the amount of $78,268.84 in order to make the final payment on the aforementioned project and complete the final paperwork. Construction on this project was successfully completed in 2022 and funding for this final payment is budgeted in the 2026 amended CIP.

Motion to approve.

Second. Thank you. Motion by Razak, seconded by Castro. Discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. 9.2, a resolution authorizing the mayor and city clerk to execute and attest to a contract with Langman Construction Inc. for project 1524, the 2026 ditch restoration project for the amount of $104,735.70.

We are seeking approval of a contract with Langman Construction for construction of the 2026 ditch restoration project, which includes stormwater improvements at two locations in Moline. The bids came in under budget and work will be completed by the end of this year. Motion to approve.

Second. Motion by Schmidt, seconded by Castro. Discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. 9.3, a resolution authorizing the mayor and city clerk to execute and attest to a memorandum of understanding between the city of Moline, city of Rock Island, and county of Rock Island, setting forth the terms for submitting a joint application for allocated funds through the 2026 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant. Chief.

Thank you, Mayor. Good evening, Council. These grants specifically, the burn grant has been before you annually. Last year, I appeared before you for the exact same recommendation or request for us to be able to put in for this grant. You can see in the explanation, we again would like to use this to cover almost all of the costs of the software urban SDK that we are sharing with the engineering department to help us make data-driven traffic-related decisions for traffic enforcement, traffic signals, and traffic improvements. So if so approved, the city would use $17,549.10 of that grant to renew the subscription.

Thank you.

Motion to approve. Second.

Motion by Razak, seconded by Silas. Discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. 9.4, an ordinance amending Chapter 4 alcoholic liquor of the Moline Code of Ordinances, Section 4-3104, number of licenses by increasing the number of Class B tavern liquor licenses in the city of Moline at the request of Seema Antony of Lotus Lounge, Inc., DBA Lotus Lounge, 5211 44th Avenue, Moline, Illinois. Mr. Atkin.

Thank you, Your Honor. David, could we show the central store and central craft first? I think the visuals are important to understand this. You've already looked at this previously, and on the left, as I'm looking at it, on the left is the Class B license. On the right is the Class... C license and in the middle is going to be the extended portion of the Class B license. And this is similar to what's being requested today by an entity that is not yet functioning. So we've seen that you can have this Class B and Class C operating in the same building, but in separate portions of it, two separate LLCs or corporations. So they are a separate establishment from each other. So now if we could see the proposal. And in looking at this, we had to examine whether or not this was truly a separate establishment because under our ordinance, Class B and Class C cannot be a single establishment. You cannot have a Class B and Class C license for one establishment. So these had to be separate in order to even bring it to you today. And that's what I wanted to show about what we have seen previously with an existing separate class B and class C. There is an existing class C in what is on my left side as I'm looking at it. with what is proposed being the smaller section, which currently has nothing in that section, nothing operational. The section simply is an unused portion of the building. So this would be a separate entity, separate business entity that would be operating that section. It will be separate employees and it will be maintained as a separate establishment. Now, obviously, this depends on them actually doing what they have told us they're going to do and operating these as separate establishments. if for any reason they began operating them as a single establishment, that would be a violation of your ordinances. But at this point, all of the information we have shows that these are two separate establishments that are simply in the same general building, but separate portions of the building, separate actual applicants for each of the licenses. And as I said, one of them is already functioning. The class B would be the new licensee. So based on all of the information that we have been presented with, it appears that this does comply with the requirements of the liquor ordinance, at least on paper. And so we are recommending approval. We will be keeping an eye on this, of course. And as you all know, there are requirements that there be certain levels of revenue with regards to the different license classifications. And if they're not meeting those particular revenue requirements, Percentages then there could be a revocation of a license down the road But for purposes of this we are recommending that you approve it based on the application as presented Motion by Schmidt seconded by Castro discussion Mr. Timmy for the the the bar section

Is there a requirement for bathrooms? I see that they're in the other building. I'm just wondering, is there a requirement for a new establishment to have a bathroom?

Yeah. As long as they have the bathrooms accessible, I don't believe that there will be a problem. They will have to meet all requirements with regards to the building code. in addition to meeting the liquor ordinances in reviewing this i've looked at just the liquor ordinance so it really would be more ced their department to look at whether or not it meets all the building requirements but i i believe that they could still meet it so long as there were as long as they they had the restrooms available in some portion of the building

Mr. Stiles? I believe those restrooms have exterior access. I think they're like outdoor doors. I have the same concern, but I feel like it's Street View, at least from whenever that was taken.

Yeah, they are outside. You're right.

Mr. Schmidt?

Yeah, I look at this, and in reading through the business plans and going through everything, My concern is that this is a business that will struggle to meet its requirement of liquor sales in order to maintain the game. That said, I think we've established and enacted our ordinances, and it's not really our job to look at whether we think it can work, and if I think the business owner wants to move forward with that, then... I think it's substantially similar. I also have concerns like, well, how do you get enough parking to make both those businesses work? But we've removed our parking limits and said that that is the responsibility of the business owners. I think that to maintain licenses is obviously going to require a certain amount of liquor sales. To me, we have set that up, I think, in a way, and it's our place to get out of the way and to let this business owner, business owners... I think they're good.

Anything further, Mr. Timian?

I will point out that this plan functionally creates a walkable neighborhood bar, which is good because people don't drive home drunk from neighborhood bars. They walk home. And I think that is a positive benefit and it builds community. And I think that it is a great use of unused space.

Mr. Macias. Yeah, and isn't there a hotel right by there, too? So you might have some visitors that want to go out for a drink that could also partake and not go too far. They could walk there, so.

Anything further? Yes, Mr. Schmidt.

Mr. Timmons, there's also not really many bars in that area, either. So, I mean, in a lot of ways, I think this has a lot of positivity, and I hope that we see a really successful business there.

Thank you. Anything further? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? The motion passes. 9.5, an ordinance amending Chapter 5, Amusements of the Moline Code of Ordinances, Section 5-1101C, license required by increasing the number of video gaming terminal licensed establishments in the city at the request of Lotus Lounge, Inc., DBA, Lotus Lounge, 5211, 44th Avenue, Moline, Illinois. Mr. Atkinson.

So the video gaming request is essentially parasitic to the Class B tavern request. The only way in which they can have the video gaming terminals is by getting the Class B license. So it is not by accident that it is second of the two requests in that if you had voted down the first one, you would have to vote down the second one. Now, it does not work that you're required to vote in favor of the second one because you voted in favor of the first one. However, with the vote on the first one, it now is meeting the ordinance requirements for the second one. And so for that reason, we would be recommending approval.

motion to approve second motion by silas seconded by castro discussion hearing none all in favor any opposed that motion passes sorry I don't know what happened here with my pen. 9.6, an ordinance amending Chapter 22, offenses miscellaneous of the Moline Code of Ordinances, Section 22-1105, tobacco products, tobacco accessories, smoking herbs, and alternative nicotine products by increasing the number of Class B incidental tobacco dealer licenses in the city of Moline at the request of MK Brokerage, Inc., DBA, MK Mart, Moline.

You may have a sense of deja vu with this one This is basically the same application that you've already approved previously for this location Except that it was mistakenly a different entity that was applying previously the the MK Oil and Real Estate, I think it was, was the applicant last time. That was a mistake. It was intended to be MK Brokerage, and in order to fix that mistake, they are withdrawing their application for the other entity and substituting this application. It is essentially the same application, however, and so we are recommending approval.

Motion to approve.

Second. Motion by Schmidt, seconded by Silas. Discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. 9.7, an ordinance amending chapter 22, offenses miscellaneous of the Moline Code of Ordinances repealing... Is this repeat? Do I have them right for now?

Yes. Sorry, I'm double checking something. We're good.

I'll start over. Repealing section 22-1105, tobacco products, tobacco accessories, smoking herbs, and alternative nicotine products in its entirety and enacting in lieu thereof one new section 22-1105 entitled tobacco products, tobacco accessories, smoking herbs, and alternative nicotine products dealing with the same subject matter.

this is dealing with the question of tobacco vending machines there there also were a couple of typos and stylistic changes but primarily this is dealing with tobacco vending machines and to a large degree it is taking a a suggestion by Alderperson Timian with regards to making sure that we have clear controls on the number. Essentially what we've done is with this modification, what I've proposed is that There will be a separate license classification for vending machines and that those will be available as an additional license for those who already have a Class A or a Class B. And they will then be able to sell through a vending machine. at a location where they already have a Class B or a Class A, and that way it basically makes the limitation on the number of vending machine licenses the total of the number of Class A and Class B licenses, since you can only have this if you have a Class A or a Class B. This would not be available with a Class C license. The other thing that it does is to make the requirements of our ordinance comport with the requirements of state law. We had a few things that were a little bit different. There is still one change which I am recommending, which is that we make it that they always have to have the age controls on the vending machines under state law. you actually could have a vending machine that did not have an age control as part of its security if that vending machine was always watched by one of your employees. This way, even if the employee is unavailable for some reason, if the employee is not able to watch every second, there's still going to be that control on the machine itself. And there are situations during part of the day when an individual who is not old enough to buy cigarettes could be in a Class B establishment. And so that's just an additional precaution that I thought that it was a good idea to throw in, which is beyond what state law actually requires.

Thank you. Is there a motion? Motion to approve. Second. Motion by Castro, seconded by Silas. Mr. Schmidt?

Thank you. So the ordinance, I'm running into an issue with the quantity and the total number of allowable licenses because the ordinance also states vending machines may only be operated in premises where access by persons under the age of 21 years is prohibited by law. Right. Which would mean that essentially all class A's would not actually qualify to have one, and most class B's probably wouldn't even qualify.

Isn't that correct? With class B's, they would be allowed to be present. Individuals under 21 would be allowed to be present. but the particular section that you keep them in, they would not be allowed to be in. You would have to have an area separated for the vending machine.

So when it's in premises, that it could be a segmented portion, essentially?

Yeah, it's not the entire establishment that they can't be in. Like, for instance, you can keep them in an area where only an employee could get to them and no one, whether 21 or not, could get to them. And that would satisfy the requirement that they be in a premises where no one under 21 could get to them. or no one under 21 is allowed because it would be behind the counter.

Let that settle, Ms. Castro.

I guess for Mr. Schmidt, is it pretty much similar to where they have the gaming machines at a restaurant, but they have that behind a little rope or something that says no one under 21 entering through there? So kind of like that type of... Exactly.

In fact, I neglected to share this previously, but I answered a question for Alderperson Timian from our last session with regards to gaming machines, which uses essentially the same language in the statute. Having a rope or other clear delineation of a separate location that is prohibited for those under 21, even though there's just air in between the location they can't go in and the location they can be in, that is still considered sufficient to be a premises that those under 21 can't be present. Thank you. So same idea for gambling and for cigarettes. Mr. Schmidt?

For a location that has a regular or primary or incidental sales, I mean, what is the purpose for allowing, I guess, a vending machine of this type in an existing tobacco sale establishment? Because I was thinking back to when we had talked about it in relation to a... alcohol license as opposed to a

tobacco license these can also sell for instance you may have a tobacco a tobacconist a typical class a where they sell tobacco products that they keep in humidors or or in a more traditional type of arrangement but they may have these for vapes and for mashes And so it probably in a Class A would probably not be used, I would assume, for tobacco, but actually for vaping devices would be the way that I would expect it would be differentiated.

clearing up staff time.

Anything further from the council, Mr. Tumian?

I kind of want to delve into that because the previous one was approved for a bar that then got a class A, or I can't remember, they got a tobacco license in order to open or have a vending machine. So theoretically, a BAR could also apply for a tobacco license and then apply as well for this Class D license, so they would have to have both. It is extra time. It's understood. I would ask that when they come forward, the counsel that the tobacco licenses be separated Because there is a world that we could approve the Class A, but not the Vendee.

Yeah, these are separate licenses. It is a Class D license. Yeah, it is a Class D license for the vending machine. It is a Class A or a B license for sales of tobacco, period. So it is two separate licenses, two separate approvals. That's not the way that it currently is in your code. Right now, if you have a Class A or a Class B, you have the right to a vending machine. You only received the one previously because they didn't already have a license.

And the whole point of any council member urging action on refining the legislation is because we wanted to have a little more control and not just like let it just go crazy in the city, correct? So by tying it, the caps to existing caps, we achieve that. Is that correct?

yeah I think I I mean otherwise why are we doing it yeah right I mean basically what I tried to do with this and and maybe it's maybe it's not the best way to address it but what I tried to do is to take what we're already doing and and simply create a separate license for the vending machines. Because right now, Class A or Class B, you've got a right to vending machines the way that it's worded. So now they will be coming to you for, if they're a brand new licensee, they're going to be coming to you for two licenses if they want a vending machine. Right.

Yes, Ms. Castro. So would this be extra fees for the business owner? So, I mean, is there going to be a fee for each of us? Would there be an additional fee for the vending machine license as well?

I couldn't hear you.

An additional fee for the business owner?

Yeah, they would pay a fee for each of the licenses. And right now, I believe that we have... I can't remember what the fee is right now. We are looking at raising the fees. There was a recommendation already, and the Class D would be the lowest fee. The Class A, I believe, would be the highest, if I remember correctly. But we have not made any changes. Right now, I believe all of the licenses have the same fee, which I can't remember what that amount is.

But I recall the roundtable, we discussed fee changes to be continued in October.

Anything further, Mr. Macias? This is real simple. You mentioned typos. I found a couple, but I don't know if this is the time to fix them, the real minor ones. But on page four of this document, section two, number of tobacco dealer's license, doesn't have a period, but then the next, the second sentence, the total number of Class B tobacco dealers license, there's a lowercase D before the uppercase D. That's it.

Fix those as it comes through. Mr. Schmidt?

So as this is currently written, where a number of vending machine licenses is capped at the number of A and Bs, that means that any of those license holders are going to put in a vending machine by right, and that wouldn't actually come to council. That would simply be approved upon submission, correct? Like from a process standpoint.

Well, they would not have, under your current ordinance, they would have a right, if they have an A or a B, they would have a right to go ahead and put in a vending machine currently. This changes it to where it is a separate license for the vending machine. That is not how it is today.

Right, but he's saying they'd still have to come in and get a D license.

They wouldn't have to come in. We would no longer have any, we don't currently have control over the number of vending machines.

Currently, you have no control over the number of vending machines other than the same would be true that if they had an A or a B, right now, they could just have one. But with this change, they would have to come to you for a Class D license. It would still be capped at the number of A and B licenses as it exists currently. They'd come to the city, but they wouldn't come to the county. Right.

Yeah, they just need to apply through the clerks for the D, those that are currently in existence. Those A and Bs that are currently in existence would just have to apply for a D, just like during their renewal period, they could add on a D because that's the cap number that we're following.

And I believe, just a second, let me see if I can find the section real quick.

but I believe that it would still need to come before you for a class D. Can I ask either the council decides to table till things can get ironed out or you pass you move it through and it's going to get two more hearings and you can make amendments. I think in the interest of time and keeping our meeting moving. We need to make a decision. Mr. Schmidt.

Yeah, well and and we can clarify what we want it to say. But I do think that it raises an interesting question that where I'm torn on as to whether we want to add a restriction and essentially control the number of these machines like we do the number of licenses overall, or if we want it to remain as a by right but now licensed, which would at least tell us where these machines are operating and tracking. So, I mean, what we're adding here isn't changing the... whether someone's allowed to have it. It's just making it more trackable for us. I am torn as to whether I think we need to be tracking and restricting it or by the time you have an A or a B tobacco license, does it just matter to not have an additional step?

Mr. Timmy? I would like to make an amendment to this code for clarity's sake that the Class D license has its own cap. so that it is not by right with an A and B.

Second.

All right. Motion to amend by Timian, seconded by Schmidt. Discussion?

Is that plain text adequate?

Yeah, I can make the change based on that. If the vote passes for that change, I can have that for you at your next meeting, no problem.

Mr. Macias? So then it would come to council for us to approve. Each time? Each time, just like all the other ones. Was that the original intention? I guess I'm not 100% sure, but I'm okay with it to hear about it.

Thank you. Ms. Castro. If I wanted to make a motion to table this until next time, do I do that now or wait until everything else is done? No, you do it now. I would like to make a motion that we table this until it can be further refined and then bring it back to us. Is there a second?

Second.

All right. Second by McNeil. All in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed? Nay. I need to do roll call. Sorry. I can't filter those. Roll call, please.

Holder person, Macias.

Aye.

Razak.

Nay.

Timian.

Nay.

McNeil.

Aye.

Castro. Aye. Schmidt.

Nay.

Silas.

Nay.

Three ayes and four nays. Aye. So that motion to table does not pass. The motion remains amended on the floor. Mr. Schmidt.

I don't have a problem with us amending it, but I'm not comfortable ending the conversation where we are at this moment. Because we're just starting on this policy discussion of whether to require it to come to council or not. And so I think it was not written to come to council, but it is now being put forward that it would have to come to council. I think that... As we look at that sort of adding those machines and putting them into place, the more I look at it, it is more comfortable with us having to take a look at that and ensure that we understand where these machines are going and how they're spreading out, especially because a lot of these establishments, I mean, they are out where kids could have access to them. the previous ones we discussed were not in places where kids were going to have access to them in the same way. So I think that that added control is a good thing.

Okay. If there's nothing further, all in favor? Aye. This is as amended. Thank you for subbing. We're voting on the amendment to have Class D licenses have its own cap. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? The cap passes. Mr. Schmidt.

One question that I do think will require some clarity and probably would be wise for us not to move forward until we answer is, do we have any idea how many of these machines we think already exist that would be grandfathered? in existing A and B licenses? What's the right procedure given that change? Do we set that number at the ones we know about and then obviously the ones that are grandfathered will still be okay and we'll change that number later?

We would have to do some on-the-ground research of how many there are, but we could do that.

Well, they would be grandfathered, right?

Yeah, I mean, the thing is, right now, if you have a Class A or a Class B, you have the right to a vending machine as part of that license. That is simply a part of selling under a Class A or B license right now. This proposal makes it a separate license, makes it a requirement that they apply separately for the vending machine. So anyone that already has an A or a B who has put in a vending machine, they wouldn't have had to tell us about it because they already got their A or B license. So I have no idea. There could be every A and B license out there could have a vending machine for all I know.

Well, I think in the interest of making good policy, that someone on staff is going to have to do that research for us, just like we did when we established caps for other things and had to know. Actually, when we established the tobacco licenses, the different types, they had to go do that research because that's when people were grandfathered in. So, I mean, there's time between readings and all of those things for staff to bring that back. I just, I want to remind the public that like the council is not being nitpicky about a small issue. It has to do with the bigger picture of the proliferation of one type of service in our community. And also I know, you know, Alderperson McNeil has brought up health concerns and young people and all of these kinds of things. So I want us to get that information before we go much farther with this particular item.

Aaron, I make a motion to table this item until the 13th of October.

Second. All right. Motion by Schmidt and seconded by Castro to table until October 13th. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed?

Nay.

All right. That motion passes. Tabled until October 13th. Thank you. We'll move to 9.8, a resolution authorizing the acceptance of a distribution designated for the Moline Fire Department from the Dorothy J. Crone Revocable Trust and authorizing the City Attorney William Atkins and Fire Department Chief Steven Reganmother to represent the City of Moline and the Fire Department in taking any and all actions necessary to accept any distribution from the Dorothy J. Crone Revocable Trust.

With regards to this particular item, in order for us to accept the distribution, which is expected to be $50,000, although that is if there are sufficient assets and, of course, any debts of the trust and cost of administration, attorney's fees, things like that, would get paid first. But assuming that there are sufficient funds in order for us to be able to accept, we have to have an authorization from the governing body of the city specifically naming the individuals who have the authority to accept. And so I have placed my name and Chief Regenweather's name so that either one of us will have the authority to fill out whatever paperwork we need to so that we can receive this money. So I'm asking that you approve this so that we can receive this generous distribution from this trust.

Thank you. Motion to approve?

Second.

Motion by Castro, seconded by Razak. Discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes. 9.9, resolution approving a special event that is sponsored by the Sphithioid Club of Moline, Inc., an Illinois not-for-profit corporation for Sphithioid Club Bags Tournament event scheduled for Saturday, October 10, 2026, and closing certain streets, more particularly here in to just described here into vehicular traffic and authorizing the mayor and city clerk to execute and attest to a licensing agreement for the Sphithead Club of Moline Inc. and Illinois Not-for-Property Corp. Oration for use of public right-of-way and public property for use of a portion of parking lot B and a portion of the alley between 15th and 16th Street south of the Sphithead Club and for outdoor service of alcoholic liquor in conjunction with the Sphithead Club Bags Tournament on Saturday, October 10, 2026.

Your Honor, there's nothing more to add. Motion to approve. Second.

That's a motion by Schmidt, seconded by Castro. Discussion. I do have one question. I mean, is the roofing stuff going to be gone from there so there's no issues with that equipment and safety out there?

Yeah, we can make sure we structure the street closure and the proper barricades to work around that and work with the contractor.

Okay. Thought I'd ask. Anything further from the council? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. 9.10, a resolution approving the special event application for the annual lighting on the Commons event scheduled for Saturday, November 21, 2026, enclosing certain streets more particularly described herein to vehicular traffic and authorizing the use of public property in conjunction with said event for the uses and purposes more particularly described in Exhibits A and B.

The only thing I'll add, Your Honor, is that I hear this is the first time that the holiday hop has been on the same day as Lighting on the Commons. So everyone should mark their calendar for November 21st.

Motion to approve.

Second. Thank you. That's Schmidt and Castro. Any discussion? Mr. Macias. Thank you.

Is the construction over by the old beer stew, the overpass, are they going to be taking a break around that time before that? Do you know? Ms. Clower.

No, so that closure as it stands today will still be in effect.

Do you know when it might be? November 21st. I don't know, November 21st.

And are you in conversation with Mulling Center about that as they plan? Yes, we've been talking with Jennifer and Alex. Okay, great.

They're planning accordingly. Great.

Anything further from the council? Here. Did I get a motion? Thank you very much. If there's nothing further, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. 9.11, an ordinance approving the vacation and conveyance of title to certain public right-of-way, a 20-foot wide by 139.07-foot long public right-of-way in Block V of Moline Water Power Company's 7th edition, consisting of approximately 2,781 square feet.

Yes, so the school district acquired six residential lots just north of the old Lincoln Irving School for this project. There's a remnant right-of-way piece that's between those, and there's no utilities in it. We've already checked with all utility companies. The school district owns all the property around it, and they're paying the fair market value of... It's $4,700. That's when you take off their application fee. So we're asking for your approval to vacate this right-of-way. Motion to approve.

Second.

Motion by Schmidt, seconded by Macias. Discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes. Thank you. 9.12, a resolution accepting a proposal from Crawford Murphy and Tilly, Inc. to provide professional civil engineering design services for the riverfront and gateway areas and authorizing the mayor and city clerk to execute and attest to an independent consultant agreement for professional services with Crawford Murphy and Tilly, Inc. for professional civil engineering design services necessary to support site... existing conditions floodplain and stormwater analysis site demolition design site schematic design grant support and other site related design functions regarding the riverfront redevelopment project for the amount of seven hundred eighty seven thousand dollars with up to sixteen thousand five hundred dollars in expenses and up to thirty five thousand dollars in grant support for a total not to exceed amount of $838,500 and authorizing city staff to do all things necessary to implement administration of the independent consultant agreement for professional services and advance the schematic site civil engineering scope for the riverfront redevelopment project.

This continuation of the riverfront design scope you had before you, the resolution for schematic civil engineering design services by CMT Engineering. Their scope will include, as listed, all phases of schematic civil design for the riverfront gateway sites as well as support the architectural package and design for the demolition scope. contemplated overall contract value 838,500, and this item will also appear on the council agenda to facilitate the creation of the demolition package and get that to the market.

Thank you.

Motion to approve. Second.

Motion by Schmidt, seconded by Razak. Discussion? All I'll say is I'm... Really happy. I'm trying to keep that promise to the public of having some sort of demolition in 2026 down there so we can see some improvement. Also want to just say thank you for waiting out our very full meeting. Maybe we'll think about moving some of these guest things to earlier in the meeting, but we do appreciate you being here. Anything further from the council? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes.

Mayor, may I have a point of personal privilege? With regard to a comment I made earlier that I'm embarrassed to admit that I could not find the citation, I did find it with regards to any application for any tobacco license, they have to come to the council. And that is actually contained in... Section two number of tobacco dealers licenses by category and governing regulations subsection three Roman small Roman numerals at the very last sentence It says all tobacco license applications in any category must be approved by the City Council and so there there would be no danger of anything being approved by staff in it would have to come to you regardless of whether it is an entity that already has a Class A or a Class B license. The Class B would still have to come to you. I just wanted to clarify that. I said that earlier, but I couldn't call up the authorization for it.

Thank you. All right, Ms. Clower, Avenue of the Cities and I-74 overpass aesthetic treatments. Can you take us through this, please?

Thank you, Your Honor. I'll just take a couple minutes. I just want to share some information about this future IDOT project and ask for some input from council on some items regarding some aesthetics. So general project location, this is an IDOT-owned bridge on Avenue of the Cities over I-74. They're just replacing the deck, not the actual bridge itself. So it's just the concrete surface and the sidewalks. It is planned for 2029. It is budgeted for that year. It includes installation of a 10 foot wide sidewalk on both the north and south sides of Avenue of the Cities. And as part of the project, IDOT is planning to install some of their standard design elements, which I'll show you in a second, aren't the most attractive things. So that's why I'm here before you tonight to see if council would be interested in any upgrades. So the first element are the concrete parapet walls. So these are on both sides of the bridge. They're kind of like tall concrete curbs. These are some options that I've seen. City of Rockford worked with IDOT to get their name in a form liner on their bridge and so did Galesburg on one of their bridges. So this is what we were thinking for the concrete form liners. would say City of Moline, and it'd be visible just for travelers on Interstate 74 in both directions. The other element is fencing that's bicycle safe fencing on Avenue of the Cities. What IDOT's standard is this like curved chain link design. It can be either galvanized or black. We were thinking council might be interested in maybe more of an aesthetic option. So ornamental, kind of historic looking. We can ask for anything. IDOT will have to approve it because it does have to meet some certain specifications to make sure it's safe. But we can kind of direct them the direction we want to go. So these are just the images I pulled off the internet.

Mr. Timian.

Do we have to pay for the upgrade? Hold on. I'm almost there. This is really short. I'm almost there. So this is just something I thought of that I talked to Barry about. We've got these kind of wave pattern designs and some aesthetic elements that exist right now along I-74. So the images on the right, Like the top one is the noise wall. I don't know if people recognize that. And then the bottom one is just one of the abutment walls at 7th Avenue and I-74. So previous council, I'm not quite sure how it happened, but IDOT was directed to kind of put a wave sort of, I assume river sort of pattern. So I didn't know if council might be interested in following that sort of pattern for consistency's sake. This is just me and Barry discussing talking about it, but we're open for suggestions.

We also have our resident design expert sitting in the audience. I personally want to ask him for opinions at some point.

I accept it. So as far as costs, IDAP will pay for standards, but anything upgraded, we have to pay the difference. So I asked IDOT's designer for estimates for those numbers. They gave me the following, about $100,000 for the upgrade for the city of Moline parapet walls and 76,500 for the upgrade for the fencing. So we do have $200,000 budgeted in our 2029 CIP for this work. It's in there now. So I was hoping to get some direction from council on, do we want to pursue these upgrades for about that amount of money? And if so, what elements of the upgrades do we like?

Mr. Schmidt?

I like the fencing upgrade. I like the wave pattern version in that approach. I think it ties in nicely. It does good things. I think there's some value in us ensuring that aesthetic is a big entry point is there. I'm not sure about the city of Moline. I'm just bang for buck. I'm not sold. If I had to pick one or the other, I would definitely pick the fencing. So that's where I'm at. Okay.

Ms. Castro? I just had a question regarding the fencing itself. There was, like, the standard curved fencing, and then the upgraded fencing, does it look like, was it shorter in height than what the other curved one would be? I'm just thinking for safety as people are walking or biking across that.

Yeah. So IDOT would have to approve anything that we choose. So they would ensure that it's a certain height. Got it. So it does have that safety factor. Okay.

I do like the upgraded fencing. I like City of Moline too, but if we had to choose, I would do the upgraded fencing. Mr. Macias, then Mr. Tamir.

Yeah, this is, I try to take this every single day to go to work. And when I'm stopped at a light, I'm always thinking, could there be these flower pots? Could there be this? All the time. And I also go to Iowa City and a lot of cities in Iowa that have spent some pretty good money just making their cities look great. And it is like the first thing you see and you get this different perception when you go to those towns as opposed to every morning when I try and take a turn there and it just looks like... It's not going anywhere. So it does send a signal that we're willing to invest, not only to make it look nice, but infrastructure, and just it gives a good impression for those who have never been to the city. So I'd be more than happy to support something that stands out, ties into the other stuff, and it's probably going to be once in a lifetime kind of thing for us, too. So...

I don't want to sound flippant, but can't we just paint the city of Moline on the side of the bridge without spending $100,000?

Well, it's their bridge.

Can't we ask permission to paint? I guess we could. I want to minimize it, but it feels excessive for... now maybe because the parapet wall is an addition of vertical and therefore it's the masonry and then that adds more space for the lettering maybe that's the case it just it feels i guess i'm just telling myself it's not just the letters it's also the wall itself can we provide feedback my feedback would be yes to upgrades but design can be decided at a later time right what

Or are we looking to...

It takes time.

IDOT is very slow. Are we looking to vote on one of these designs?

Well, not voting tonight, but I was hoping to give them direction.

Gotcha. I like the waves as well. If you're asking for my vote, those two fences I do not like. I like the previous slide. This one? Alder, Burson, Schmidt there, yes. That's my preference if we're voting.

I would say we're not hearing anybody say that the one they provide with the arch is very aesthetically pleasing. In fact, I think we have an example of one similar to it across John Deere, and it kind of looks terrible. And I don't think it speaks well of the city. I think the ROI on spending the money for design or, you know, an upgraded fence makes a lot of sense. And, yeah, Mr. Tamim.

If we're adding 10-foot multi-use paths on each side... Is this going to impact the future Avenue of the Cities plan? Because directly to the west, it is extremely wide in terms of the lane. We have a very large median there. Can this influence maybe shrinking that size?

going forward to match so that is part of their project i don't know how far it goes but they are they aren't widening the bridge they are just narrowing the median in order to make room for the widened sidewalks so they'll have to taper that to the east and west to make it match in so we can continue that on our portion thank you in the future all right thank you i think you've got some direction thank you

All right, we'll close out that meeting and call a regular council meeting to order. Pledge of Allegiance, please. All right, do you have an invocation, Mr. Macias?

Yes.

Okay.

I would just like to take a moment to recognize the responsibility that we all share as public servants and community members. I'm grateful for everybody here, the staff, all of us sitting around the table here. We give our time, our talent, just because we want to make our community safe, healthy, and financially sound. We approach our decisions with our wisdom, integrity, respect each other, and we always remember that it affects families, neighbors, businesses, and people who call Moline home. I also ask our residents that realize that we are human beings with families and aspirations just like them, and that they also show us respect as they would like to be respected. shown that respect by the city staff and also us as elected officials we do have different perspectives ideas priorities but we also share that common interest that we want to make our community better and for not just us our families also lived here today and those who will call it home in the future thank you thank you roll call please alderperson silas president masias president razzak timmy and president finch

McNeil?

Present.

Castro?

Present. Schmidt?

Present.

All right, thank you. There's no remote electronic attendance. Is there any public comment at this point in time? All right, hearing none, we'll move to our consent agenda.

Your Honor, I request the approval of Committee of the Whole, Council, and Executive Session Meeting Minutes of September 1, 2026, and Consent Agenda Items 18.1 through 19.5 inclusively. Motion to approve.

Second.

Motion by Castro, seconded by Razak. Roll call, please. Alderperson Macias.

Aye.

Razak.

Aye.

Timian.

Aye.

McNeil.

Aye.

Castro. Aye. Schmidt.

Aye.

Silas.

Aye.

Seven ayes, no nays. That motion carries. Non-consent agenda, resolutions. Item number 21.1, a resolution approving a special event that is sponsored by the Spithioid Club of Moline, Inc., an Illinois not-for-profit corporation, for a Spithioid Club Bags Tournament event scheduled for Saturday, October 10, 2026, and closing certain streets, more particularly described herein to vehicular traffic, and authorizing the mayor and city clerk to execute and attest to a licensing agreement with the Spithioid Club of Moline, Inc., an Illinois not-for-profit corporation, for use of public right-of-way and public property, for use of a portion of parking lot B and a portion of the alley between 15th and 16th Street, south of the Spithioid Club, and for outdoor service of alcoholic liquor in conjunction with the Spithioid Club's bag tournament on Saturday, October 10, 2026.

Motion to approve. Second.

Motion by Schmidt, seconded by Silas. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call, please.

Alderperson Macias.

Aye.

Rezac.

Aye.

Timian.

Aye.

McNeil.

Aye.

Castro. Aye. Schmidt.

Aye.

Silas.

Aye.

Seven ayes, no nays. That motion carries. Item number 21.2, a resolution accepting a proposal from Crawford, Murphy, and Tilley, Inc. to provide professional civil engineering design services for the riverfront and gateway areas and authorizing the mayor and city clerk to execute and attest to an independent consultant agreement for professional services with Crawford, Murphy, and Tilley Inc. for professional civil engineering design services necessary to support site existing conditions, floodplain and stormwater analysis, site demolition design, site schematic design, grant support, and other site-related design functions regarding the riverfront redevelopment project for the amount of $787,000 with up to $16,500 in expenses and up to $35,000 in grant support for a total not to exceed amount of $838,500 and authorizing city staff to do all things necessary to implement administration of the independent consultant agreement for professional services and advance the schematic site civil engineering scope for the riverfront redevelopment project. Motion to approve.

Motion to approve.

Motion to approve by Silas. Second by Schmidt. Thank you. Discussion? Roll call, please.

Alderperson Macias.

Aye.

Razak.

Aye.

Tamian.

Aye.

McNeil.

Aye.

Castro. Aye. Schmidt.

Aye.

Silas.

Aye.

Seven ayes, no nays. That motion carries. Non-consent agenda. First reading ordinances. An ordinance amending Chapter 2, Administration of the Mulling Code of Ordinances, Division 4, Committees, Section 2-2400, Staff Traffic Committee, Council Review, by repealing Section 2-2400 in its entirety and enacting in lieu thereof one new Section 2-2400 entitled Staff Traffic Engineering Committee, Council Review, Dealing with the Same Subject Matter.

Motion to advance the second reading. Second.

Motion by Timian, seconded by Razak. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call, please.

Alderperson Macias?

Aye.

Razak?

Aye.

Timian?

Aye.

McNeil?

Aye.

Castro? Aye. Schmidt?

Aye.

Silas?

Aye.

7 ayes and no nays. Motion to advance to second reading carries. Item number 22.2, an ordinance amending Chapter 5, Amusements of the Malincote of Ordinances, Section 5-1101C, by increasing the number of video gaming terminal licensed establishments in the city at the request of Central Craft LLC, DBA Central Craft.

Motion to advance to second reading.

Second.

Second.

Motion by Schmidt, seconded by Castro. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call, please.

Alderperson Macias. Aye. Razak.

Aye.

Timian.

Aye.

McNeil.

Aye.

Castro. Aye. Schmidt.

Aye.

Silas.

Aye.

Seven ayes, no nays. Motion to advance to second reading carries. Item number 22.3 in Ordinance Amending Chapter 22, Offenses Miscellaneous of the Mulling Code of Ordinances, Section 22-1105, Tobacco Products, Tobacco Accessories, Smoking Herbs and Alternative Nicotine Products, by increasing the number of Class B incidental tobacco dealers licenses in the city of Moline at the request of MK Brokerage Inc., DBA, MK Mart, Moline, 58700.

Motion to advance to second reading.

Second. Motion by Schmidt, seconded by Castro. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call, please.

Alderperson Macias.

Aye.

Rezac.

Aye.

Timian.

Aye.

McNeil.

Aye.

Castro. Aye. Schmidt.

Aye.

Silas.

Aye.

Seven ayes, no nays. Motion to advance to second reading carries, and that's all I have this evening, Your Honor. Thank you very much.

We're to miscellaneous business. It is my distinct pleasure to thank Director Brian Lear, who was here at his last meeting with us at the City of Moline for his decades, since 1994, of service to the City of Moline and its residents. I said when I ran for office that the library was one of the jewels of the crown of our city. You've continued to make it that way. It's improved every year. From the bottom of my heart, I really appreciate the work you've done. Thank you so much, Mr. Lear. We need to go. Did you want to say anything or introduce anyone?

I would love to.

Yeah, come to the mic, please.

First of all, I just wanted to say that it's been a real honor and a privilege for me to serve the library needs of the residents of Moline for all of these years. In no way could I have imagined that I'd be wrapping up my career at the same place I started back in 1994. So I'm super grateful for the journey. I've had a lot of great memories along the way. And I'm really, really thankful for all the wonderful people I've had a chance to work with over the years. But I'm really excited to introduce to you our new library director, who started officially in her position yesterday, Jennifer Christensen. Jennifer is here with us tonight. Jennifer has a wealth of experience. She's been with our library for now nearly 21 years. Various capacities. She started as a librarian. She was promoted to circulation services coordinator and then added the communications role to her job duties as well. So she's worked in other libraries locally, libraries in California as well. So she's got great experience. And I know everyone just really loved working with her.

Thank you so much. All right. I have just a few things. Thank you to Pro Tem for this month to me and for representing me at the 9-11 memorial service at the Arsenal. I am requiring that coordination and collaboration with pro tems for some meetings coming up. And one that I'll talk to you about is the Quad City Marathon kickoff. I actually have to be out of town. So if you enjoy getting up super early and finding a parking place.

I believe Alderhurst and Silas is actually the pro tem this month. I am starting tomorrow.

Okay, got you. Yes, that is right. That is right. It was because he was there. Anyway, yes. I'll be there anyway. So will I. Oh, are you going to run? Okay, how perfect. You're a better spokesperson than me for that event. Great. And then just a word, I really want to reach out to KJ Whitley and staff and Alderperson Castro, who is on the working group around sheltering. You know, that conversation continues with County Board Chair Richard Brunk. ran into some roadblocks or speed bumps, if you will, maybe is a better way of describing it. And we just continue to try to find a way to make sure we have plans for a special emergency shelter. It continues. That's all for me.

Tomorrow, Big Brothers Big Sisters is hosting the Sylvan Island Trail Cleanup, where I will be delivering a proclamation for Big Brothers Big Sisters Month. And that's all I have.

Thank you. Nothing, Your Honor.

Mr. Timian?

Nothing, Your Honor. Okay. Nothing, Your Honor.

I think I just wanted to thank Chief Galt for his announcement earlier today about the fog cameras. I think a lot of folks were happy about that. And just thank you for listening to the community and to us. Thank you. Mr. Schmidt.

I only wish to join Alderperson Castor's comments. Thank you.

Thank you. Your Honor, we do have a quorum confirmed for September 30th. This will be an off-site meeting at Bridgepoint. We're gonna have some images available for the council to see some of the visioning that's taking place and then just to Give you an opportunity to set your eyes on the space We're not going to go into the areas that are going to be demolished obviously But we're gonna stay in some of the key areas that are under discussion And we're gonna like I said do our best to keep that meeting about an hour Also a week from today is a budget roundtable meeting And there is no promise that that meeting will be an hour.

Got it. Any other staff updates? Yes, Chief?

Decision maker and so these things for me require a lot of research and careful deliberation to make sure we're making the right decision. Although I do appreciate obviously many of the passionate local comments we've had after a lot of deliberation and research into this. This is a bigger issue than just Moline, as we know, as many of you have seen this develop. And so, as I did a considerable amount of research to this, I just felt that the balance did not exist between the value of the public safety tool and maintaining not only the public confidence that we have here, the police department in Moline, but as a tool across the country. One of the things that really pushed me over the edge here recently was a poll that was connected by the National Policing Institute that showed that about 54% of U.S. adults opposed it, but shockingly, or I guess pointedly, was that even out of that, 38% of those folks rated their police departments very high. And so what I think we were starting to tread into some areas Many factors, but one of them is that even though we're a very highly rated police department, there's some legitimate concerns that we needed to address. And so I think taking a pause and seeing where this goes, you saw my press release, I think we can take a thoughtful approach to this and see where it goes. It's not a rejection of the value of ALPR, but I think it is an acknowledgement that we have some work to do. A couple of the things that I would like to bring your attention to this Friday is the Mullion High School Parade. And again, this year it will be to the south of the high school rather than on Avenue of the Cities. It's a much safer route, and I know many of you are going to participate in that. We're going to make some adjustments, particularly at 41st Street. We're asking pedestrians to move a little bit farther in this year because there was a lot of congestion there at 41st Street and 26th Avenue. But also we've met several times at the school and the school is going to open up the driving track for people. We're asking people that have limited mobility to be the priority for that. So if you can walk a little bit, even when it was on the avenue, people had to walk a little bit to get to their favorite spot. But if you can walk a little bit, please do if you need closer parking. And then we'd ask maybe you'd help us fill in the soccer bowl area as well. And so if you could tell your constituents that may be attending that parade, which is a great tradition of mullein the last thing i know we're getting along here i'd just like to take a couple minutes to talk to you about another exciting problem in the city of mold And that problem is one of the hottest country artists in the United States coming to the city of Moline the night before Alder Silas gets to kick off the Quad City Marathon the next morning. I appreciate Ashley Allen Smith's collaboration with me on this. And she helped develop a webpage, moline.il.us forward slash Ella. David's got that up. She did a great job here. We've been working with my community engagement and Crime Stoppers coordinators. We developed some graphics. We've met multiple times with the vibrant and the new director. as well as the Quad City Marathon. The Marathon and the Vibrant have also met. As you know, the city has an agreement with the Quad City Marathon, and that is also a crown jewel of the Quad Cities, so fantastic event. We've got to find a way for those two issues to coexist, because that space on river drive causes a road closure and if those of you that participate in the marathon gone down there and that's not an easy thing to set up they actually start setting up friday at 5 pm by your council's authorization and so we've developed some suggestions for traffic patterns good news though laura flower's foresight maybe a little bit of david dryer as well and are working with them was that the um some of that construction path will be open for that weekend so that gives us some a little bit of relief there on 4th avenue to get some traffic in inbound but We have the River Drive closure, which is unusual for vibrant concert goers. So if you could assist, and if you have elected official pages or constituent methods of getting the word out, that we know a lot of people are gonna come from Iowa. We're hoping that they'll maybe go on a little bit further and take our options to Seventh Avenue. The exit there, they can obviously get in further. But following these maps, and David, if you could just scroll up, we've got how we're gonna get in, how we're gonna get out, where the parking is in the city of Moline, that they can get to these different parking areas. You're gonna see some... digital led boards uh deployed for this so there's a downtown parking map there uh and uh the other thing is that uh there's gonna i think the vibrant is gonna try to make it a maybe an afternoon of it with selling merchandise and encouraging people to visit the restaurants and things like that i think ashley's pointed that out you know planning grab dinner drinks before the show um get a reservation get to downtown early um but i will say this It's an awesome problem to have, and this is going to be our toe in the water of a bigger city, because it's going to be a challenge down there. There's going to be parking problems. There's going to be some walking to the concert or to the marathon, maybe jog to the marathon, I don't know, warm up. But it's going to be a challenge, and so we've got to be honest with our residents and our visitors that it's not going to be normal curbside parking in downtown Moline. Plan ahead. follow the instructions in the maps, give yourself a little extra time, and everybody will have a great weekend in downtown Moline.

Thank you. I have a quick question, though. People come from all over for this, right? Cedar Rapids, Chicago maybe even, like our radius through Visit Quad Cities. Do we have any way to bump the info out that far? Okay.

Yeah, one other thing that we're partnering with the Vibrant is they're going to send out messaging through the Ticketmaster portal to people that purchase the tickets. However, They only capture the point of sale. So if somebody has resold, so it's not going to be 100% delivery to all those, but hopefully it gets out enough that somebody gets the message that knows somebody that's going and say, hey, ride with me. I know where we're going. So we're trying to use all the methods as possible, planning ahead. We're getting it out on the police department socials. Ashley's doing her thing with the community messaging. We'll be putting some press releases and stuff out the week of. We've got a lot going on, so we're going to kind of phase that in over the next. We're focused on the high school parade. Right now anyway, she's gonna put that out. We put that out today. So we're glaring it in the instructions And then using the vibrance methods the vibrance communication channels Ticketmaster. So trying to go all out.

Thank you. Mr. Timmy.

I know I know this happens. There is definitely no shortage of parking downtown, but event parking is a different thing. Can private business owners, churches, et cetera, under our current ordinances charge for event parking? And if so, can maybe we talk to Mullings Center and kind of encourage that? Because when you go to a college football game or anything, you just see the whole community suddenly have a parking lot in their front yard or a church or something. And it is a nice supplemental way. The restaurants aren't going to be... There's going to be so many people, this might be their only way to make money that night. So I just wonder if this is something we can encourage.

Well, I might dabble in the legal world here. I'll just say this. It's been done in the past. down west of 12th Street on private property owners. I wouldn't be surprised if those folks do that again. It has been done in the past for that, where they've controlled their own private property with some light fencing or markings, ropes, or whatever, and charged, in essence, a premium for that River Drive and 12th area parking. I don't know. I mean, I guess you're probably right about being able to leverage some of the other private properties. I'd have to look at the map and see what the GIS looks like for that. I think I would maybe be just a little bit reluctant the city to try to direct people towards paid parking when we obviously are providing with municipal surface lots, but I don't know what Bill's thoughts are on that. I mean, we might just let that capitalistic society deal with that on its own, but that's my personal interjection on that.

Ms. Castro?

I'm not aware of any prohibition, but I haven't researched that in particular.

Alderperson Silas, does Metrolink do a shuttle for the marathon, right? Yep. So where's the... Are people going to be parking off-site and then they're going to be shuttled to then downtown? Or where are those places located at?

I believe that you would meet at a designated meeting point near Center Station. I think that probably won't work given this situation maybe. But then it's a matter of getting people to the relay points. So it's not so much that it's going to be circulating around here. It's going to be carting people from a main meeting point to Mile 7 or Mile 9 or wherever it is they pick up.

Thank you. Thank you. Any other staff? Seeing none, is there any other public comment? Last chance. No executive session. I need a motion to adjourn. Motion to adjourn.

Second.

Motion by Castro, seconded by Silas. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? We're adjourned.

Thank you.