City Council Meeting - Regular Meeting

Well good evening everybody this is a monthly meeting of the Jolie City Council on Tuesday June 2nd 2026 630 in City Hall chambers with Mayor Terry Darcy providing but I am mayor pro tem so he gives us all a chance once in a while to be the mayor So the invocation tonight will be by Pastor Larry Tyler from Second Baptist Church, 156 South Joliet Street, followed by the Pledge of the Flag and Roll Call.

Let us pray. Gracious God and Father, we thank you for this moment in time to invite you into these proceedings. We thank you, Lord, for the service and sacrifice of the city council. Thank you, Lord, for their dedication, their focus. Thank you, Lord. And we pray for their continuing enablement. We lift up all the constituents of this great city, Lord, the citizens, the stakeholders. We just ask now, Lord, for the issues that lie before us, that you would allow us to proceed forward as one with grace and mercy, with sensitivity and understanding. We ask that we may even be more united than ever before. We thank you for all things in the name of Jesus. Please superintend what we can't control as well as what we can. We ask it all in the name of Jesus, we pray. Let everybody say, Amen.

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

We'll begin with roll call. Mayor Darcy? Here. Councilman Cardenas? Here. Councilman Clement? Here. Councilman Hugg? Here. Councilman Navarro? Here. Councilman Moreno?

Here.

Councilman Mudren?

Here.

Councilman Quillman? Here. Councilman Reardon is absent. She did let me know she would not be in attendance this evening. First, we'll have a presentation from the Will County Center for Economic Development by Kayla Sorensen.

There we go. All right. So good evening, everyone. First, I want to thank City Council, Mayor D'Arcy, city staff, and everyone else here today for allowing me the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Will County Center for Economic Development and our long-standing relationship with the city of Joliet for over four decades. And so for those of you that I don't know, my name is Kayla Sorensen. I am proud to serve as the Vice President of External Affairs for the Will County Center for Economic Development. Unfortunately, Doug cannot be here tonight, so you got me. And much like the CED has called Joliet home for nearly 50 years now, I too was born and raised here in Joliet and am incredibly proud and love this community a lot. So I'm really happy to be here this evening talking on behalf of an organization that I'm very proud to be serving as well. And so I'd like to begin very briefly this morning, or this afternoon, this morning, with a little bit of history about the Will County Center for Economic Development for those of you that are not familiar with the CED. So decades ago, during a time when Joliet and the surrounding communities were facing significant economic challenges, a group of local leaders came together and understood that this community and Will County could not rely solely on the industries and the economic drivers that had built the region generations earlier. They knew Joliet and Will County needed to diversify its economy, in order to attract new investment, create new opportunities, and reimagine what the future of this community could look like. And so from that vision came the Will County Center for Economic Development. And so since those very early days back in 1981, the city of Joliet has been one of our strongest champions of the work that we do and in many ways has helped build the foundation that allows the CED to do the work that we do today. And I quickly want to show some of the pictures that are up on the screen. First, we do a lot of infrastructure-type tours around the community, one of which was highlighting the Hobart Road Extension Bridge a few years ago. We also have a lot of partnerships with Joliet Township High School. I'll talk a little bit about our internship program in a little bit. So that's with Dr. Carla Guzman and our staff. And then, of course, probably the best selfie I've ever taken with Mayor Darcy, Night Train, and Dr. Namuao. I don't think it gets more Joliet than that. So just wanted to highlight those few photos. But a little bit more about the mission of the CED. Again, for those of you that are not familiar with all the work that the Will County Center for Economic Development does, our mission has stayed the same from the very beginning to what it is now. At its core, the CED exists to create high-quality jobs, to attract investment, to support business growth, and strengthen the economic future for Will County and all of our communities, including Joliet. Our mission hasn't changed, but the approach that we have taken and how we accomplish that has evolved over time and continues to change. And so today, economic development is much broader than just recruiting a fancy company to a piece of land here in our community. It touches workforce development, housing, transportation, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and ultimately quality of life for all of the residents that call Will County home and all of the businesses that are home here as well. All of those pieces work together to create an environment where businesses can grow and all of your residents can thrive. And so when a company comes and evaluates Will County, they're evaluating that entire ecosystem and we work to help recruit those businesses. And so when businesses come here, they ask these types of questions. Can they find workers? Can they move their products efficiently throughout our region? Are there schools and colleges producing quality talent? Is there housing available? Do communities have the infrastructure and utilities needed to support this type of growth and new businesses? And are local leaders investing in our future? And I know that those are all of the questions that you all ask here all the time. And that's what we do as well. Those are the conversations that myself and our team have every day around the county and state and even nationally in a lot of different rooms. And so our role with the CED is to help ensure that when businesses look at Will County, and all of our communities, they see a region that is not only prepared, competitive, but positioned for long-term success. And so a little bit about the CED. Again, we are a 501c6 nonprofit organization. We also have a 501c3 nonprofit foundation as well. Our services are free to public and private organizations that are looking for resources and help, whether that's expanding their businesses or any type of resources. But funding for the CED comes from private and public investors. So public investors such as the City of Joliet and other municipalities make up about one-third of our funding, and then the other two-thirds is still our private investors, businesses throughout our communities that support the CED's mission. Very quickly about our staff. Our team is small, but we sure make a lot of noise. I know a lot of you have been to a lot of our events and participated in the CED over the years. But every day our team supports our investors, City of Joliet being one of them. We manage a lot of events and programming throughout the year. We assist with a lot of development projects, administer grants throughout the county. But one of the things that I would say we do exceptionally well is that we're great at connecting people and resources. connecting businesses to resources, schools to employers, which I'll talk about in a few minutes as well, municipalities to different partners, and local leaders to the information and data and relationship that they need to continue to move relationships forward. And so a lot of our work happens behind the scenes, but our goal is simple, and we want to continue to serve as a resource to all of our communities, our businesses, and the organizations that help shape Will County. All of those work together. And what you'll find is that there's You know, there are not many organizations that do the work that we do and do it with, you know, so connected. We hear time and time again that we are a tight-knit group here in Joliet and Will County and great resources and great partners to one another. And so we're very proud of that legacy and you all should be as well. And so, speaking of legacy... We often say we do none of this work alone. It is with the help of leaders like yourselves and other councils throughout our region that we can do this work. And so the CED is incredibly fortunate to have investors who believe in the mission of the CED. And I want to specifically specify or point out our legacy investors, which includes the city of Joliet. These organizations have supported the CED well over 30 years and represent our largest and longest standing investors. For more than four decades, the City of Joliet has been a fantastic partner and we're incredibly grateful for your annual investment. Your investment makes our work possible, but more importantly, it reflects a belief that our communities believe that regional collaboration works. and that communities are stronger when you all have a seat at that table regionally and beyond. So I'm here to talk a little bit about what you all receive as an investor, the benefits you receive with the Will County CED. And certainly there are a lot of tangible benefits, and I'm going to go into some of those and can provide some other information after this. But the city receives access to a lot of our investor-only events. I know several of you have been to our CD after threes or our eye-opener breakfast or our annual report. There's a lot of committees and coalitions that we've hosted over the years that you all have participated in, our board of directors. Mayor Darcy serves on our board of directors. Cesar, you have as well in the past. A lot of sponsorship opportunities and networking with public and private sector leaders. We bring all of those groups together within the CED. City of Joliet also receives visibility through our website, newsletters, social media channels, publications and events, and also receives access to research data. If there's any data you all are ever looking for, I know a guy. Doug is our guru of data at the CED. But that's labor force data, demographic information, economic trends, those sorts of things that help guide decisions we have access to. And while those benefits are incredibly, incredibly valuable, I truly think that the real value comes from having a team at the Will County Center for Economic Development that any of your staff members or your city council members can pick up the phone and can rely on us to make connections, to provide information, and to continue to help move initiatives forward. And so some of the things that our team provides services for that supports the municipalities like Joliette Business retention and expansion assistance. We have a staff member on hand to specifically meet with businesses, meet with them, and talk with them through challenges that they're having, connect them to resources, and be a problem solver to businesses on where to start. Marketing and recruitment of new businesses. Access to state and county and local incentives, which I'll talk a little bit about in a minute. I'm a prime example of a way that we use those. Economic development training for local officials. We host at least one local elected officials training a year. Information on sites and buildings. Demographic and labor research. Again, data. Connections to federal, state, and local agencies. Legislative and policy advocacy. And the list goes on. We at the CED tend to be an organization's first call when they have a problem or They have a new initiative, where to start, and who should be in that room. And so in most cases, we're serving as an extension of a community's economic development team. So you all have a fantastic economic development team here at the city, and we just serve as an additional resource for all of them as they work on different projects and things. So we work closely with the city staff, and everyone here. project recruitment, workforce initiatives, and just overall economic development strategy. And so at the end of the day, the city simply isn't investing in just another membership organization. You all are investing in a trusted partner that's been there for decades to help advance the local priorities, your local priorities, while strengthening and broadening the regional economy. And I'm sure you've heard Doug say this, if you know Doug at all. We want to help you all build the community that you want here. So however we can help and be a resource to all of you. And so very quickly, a few examples. I know I'm keeping it to 10 minutes. I'm moving quickly. First is the CED, Hyundai Translate. I'm sure you've heard a lot about this project recently. The CED was proud to work alongside municipal leaders like yourselves. county, regional, and state partners to help recruit Hyundai Transly to Willow County, and specifically to Joliet. This project represents approximately $345 million in investment and the creation of roughly 2,500 jobs over the next few years. And I just want to make mention, you know, projects like this don't happen overnight. They require years of planning and discussions and conversations and relationship building. And so I just want to say thank you to the city of Joliet and so many on this team for being such a great partner on this project and, you know, dozens more in the past and I'm sure many into the future. One other quick example, it wouldn't be me if I didn't talk about the Will County Summer Internship Program, if anybody knows me and this program. For those that don't, though, the Will County Summer Internship Program was established three years ago, and it is a resource to connect local high school students with paid internships with our area employers. The City of Joliet has participated as an employer in the program for the past two years, placing several students helping to provide meaningful work experiences for our local students. And this summer alone, we've placed 125 students in paid internships all across the Will County community, with the majority of which are coming from Joliet Township High School and are being placed in Joliet as well. So y'all are our strongest community, and I can't thank you enough for all that you do to advocate for the program within your day jobs as well and here at the city. Also, a quick note, is that over the past three years, students participating in the program have earned nearly one million dollars in wages. One million dollars. Those dollars are earned by local students and they support their families, they go back to our local businesses right here in Joliet and in Will County. And they help build young people's confidence, their workplace skills, and valuable career experience. But perhaps the most important outcome is that students are beginning to see a future right here in Will County, and we're hoping to retain our students as we continue to expose them to different careers here in the area. And of course, programs like this don't happen without the support of investors and our community partners. So again, thank you to the City of Joliet. Thank you to Krista and Beth and your entire HR team. You all have been absolutely wonderful to work with. They made it happen, just so you all know. They were the ones that really spearheaded this and helped ensure that the city of Joliet had a seat at that table and got our students involved. So thank you so much. And many different departments too, by the way. So I know Ann's around here too as well. So again, thank you so much. All right, I'm wrapping it up, I promise. Next Wednesday, if you all haven't heard about this, is our eye-opener breakfast. This is a benefit of being an investor, especially a legacy investor. We have 10 tickets set aside for the City of Joliet to come out to this event. I know several of you have been to this before. This is our mid-year look at what's going on in Will County. Doug gives a wonderful presentation on data and projects. I unfortunately will not be presenting at that. You've got Doug. But it's going to be a wonderful time, so I hope that a lot of you can make that next week. And so in conclusion, you know, over the years, our relationship with the city of Joliet has, you know, truly shaped so many major projects. You know, you've supported employers and you continue to position Joliet as a leader, not only within Will County, but the broader region. So on behalf of our board of directors and our staff and the many people who benefit from the work that we do at the Will County CED, I thank you all for your continued leadership and your support of the CED. And that's all I got tonight. Yeah, hopefully it was right under 10 minutes, right around 10 minutes. Thank you. Do you take any questions or?

Next is the approval of the agenda. Is there a motion to approve the agenda as written?

Motion to approve. Second.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Moreno? Aye. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilman McQuoman? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Next is citizens to be heard on agenda items. I do have Tim O'Donnell signed up.

If you'd like to come up and speak.

Good evening. My name is Tim O'Connell. I'm the president and CEO of Audubon Country Club. One of the owners, and this is Mark Basso, my partner, who got me roped into this thing about 25 years ago, it seems like. We just want to say that we're really thrilled to be part of the Joliet community for the last 22 years, and the club is doing extremely well. Membership is growing, and we're really excited about the direction and we've got some strategic plans coming down the pike, so we'll probably be back here at some point again. But I wanted to really express my gratitude to the City of Joliet and the City Council for all your support over the years. And we're going to continue to do our best to make Joliet proud. So I'll let Mark say a few words.

Thank you very much. We've worked hard to be an asset of the community and a lot of our members and myself live in the area, so we're very excited to be part of this community. And You know, Audubon was the first motorsports club in the world, which is pretty amazing. And it actually started in an industry. So now there are motorsports clubs all over the world. Tim and I went to Japan last year, to Tokyo, to talk to international groups about building these clubs all over the world. So it's been pretty amazing. The members have been driving the same. We have the north course, the south course, and they combine to make the full course. So the members have been driving those same courses for 22 years, which are great. Everyone loves it. They've become historic in their own right. But we want to keep the place fresh. So we hired this Tilka group, which they design all the F1 tracks all over the world. So they're very prestigious track architects. And they came out to look at Audubon. And we said, you know, we want you to chart our next 20 years for the club. So they came back with a list of things, improvements that we could do little by little. So the first thing that we're doing is on our north circuit. So we're actually taking advantage of the interior of the track, which has some significant elevation for Illinois. Uh, which will have a 20 foot elevation drop, which feeds into 10% bank corners and fast S's. So it ties into the existing North tracks. We'll have option A or B with this new option. And this new option actually has two entry, two exit points. So it'll create many diverse options for the members, you know, for racing to keep the place fresh. And, you know, as I mentioned, that'll just be the first of many, uh, with our car track is up to a mile long now. We have autocross. We have five plus miles of tracks for the members, which has really helped Autobahn to grow. We're getting close to 600 members, which is really about twice the size of an average golf country club and helps us continue to be a leader in this industry. It's been very exciting. We look forward to the future. Definitely in the top five to ten largest of the motorsports clubs, probably membership, participation, racing. We have higher racing car counts than any of the clubs in the country. So it really is a community, and I want to reflect that on all your help and support over the years as well. So thank you very much.

Thank you.

Is there anyone who would like to speak on an agenda item?

Speaking for Mark, I love you guys as neighbors. I wish we were still neighbors. Your club has been amazing through the years. Every time I see those rich people with their big Lamborghinis and that whole body, and hearing them race around. embraced you guys as neighbors, you know, and just wished that I was still out there living, you know, but I want to speak, can I speak on the thing with this economical, Wilco County economical development? And, yeah, I need to speak to you, because you say your mission is to improve quality of life for residents of Wilco County, and you got that picture of that Hobo Road toll bridge extension, but of course you end up making my road that I was living on a four-lane highway from semi-trucks. which was very dangerous. You took the two-lane, no-truck road and made it a four-lane highway for the semi-trucks, and then which brought in the other development, which ended up forcing me out. Now I know I'm going to live there. I'm homeless now. I don't even know where I'm going to be living tomorrow night because we ain't got no funding for the motels and everything anymore. I'm going to be out in the street living, and whatever I did feel I was able to take out of my mom's house that I... lost, I'm gonna end up losing the rest of my stuff and a little over the rest of my life. And they say to improve people's health. My health is going way down so much in all this. I went to see my doctor yesterday. I got all these tests I have to take, blood tests and everything, tests for hepatitis, tests for, now I gotta take a colonoscopy test because I got egg pain. I've been attacked numerous times. Because of my vulnerability, because not having my boss placed with my home anymore, they didn't have safety. I'm open to attacks everywhere and everything. And I don't get relief with justice or with order protections. I got order protection. And even just last night, my attacker ended up driving up to my pickup truck last night. And I don't get no justice. No service from Julia police would not enforce the order protection for me. So I want to say your economic development has been another downsizing.

Please address that.

Is there anyone else who would like to speak on agenda item this evening? OK. Seeing none, under appointments, the mayor is recommending Luis Leon be appointed to the plan commission, replacing Bridget Rohrer. Is there a motion to approve? So moved.

Second.

It's a motion seconded to approve. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilwoman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Moreno? Aye. Councilman Mudren?

Aye.

Councilwoman Quillman? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. The mayor is recommending Louis Leon be appointed to the Zoning Board of Appeals, replacing Bridget Rohrer. Is there a motion to approve? So moved.

Second.

It's my motion and seconded to approve. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilwoman Ibarra? Aye. Councilman Moreno?

Aye.

Councilman Mudren?

Aye.

Councilman McQuillman? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement?

Aye.

Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. The mayor is recommending George Stofan and Richard Rash be appointed to the Police Pension Board. Is there a motion to approve?

So moved. Second. Second.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilwoman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Marino? Aye. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Quillman? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement?

Aye.

Councilman Hugg? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Next are council committee reports. We will start with diversity and community relations.

The Diversity and Community Relations Committee met on Thursday, May 28, at 4.30 in council chambers. In attendance were Councilman Clement and myself, along with the Community Development Director, Dustin Anderson, and CBDG Program Manager, Bridget Rohrer. We approved the minutes from May 14, 2026 meeting. There was one item under new or old business not for final action or recommendation. Bridget Rohrer presented information on the 2026 Community Development grant program application evaluation criteria, number of applications received, eligibility requirements, and staff recommendations for funding allocations. She also provided information about the owner-occupied rehab program, the Miracle League, and options for changes to the snow removal program eligibility requirements. Dustin Anderson provided the information regarding the snow removal program. I'm pleased to report we have received a higher number of applications this year compared to previous program years. At the same time, I am concerned that the current scoring criteria did not allow for a broader distribution of funds. I would like to see more of our smaller local nonprofit organizations benefit from this program. I recognize that we are working under very tight deadlines and I do not want to delay the process, sorry, the progress of this year's program. City staff has committed to working with me and the Diversity Committee to conduct additional research and explore options for adjusting their criteria so that we can implement meaningful improvements for the next program year. Do you have anything to add, Councilman Clement?

I think we wanted to start this a little bit earlier, too, so everybody has all the information. So, yeah, all good.

Sounds good. That was my report.

Thank you. Land use and economic development.

Land-use and economic development committee met Wednesday May 30th 2026 here at 3 30th City Hall Council chambers in attendance was councilwoman Ybarra customer mudger and myself We had a few we had that proof of the minutes then reviewed a few agenda items, which was TMP 9723 An award of professional services agreement for the study and designation of downtown special service area to SB Friedman development advice is an amount of fifty four thousand two hundred sixty dollars Basically the SSA is coming up on his ten-year And it's set to expire at the end of this year so the purpose of the study is to basically see if there's anything that could be improved and or if any change should be made before the we do another renewal on the SSA Then we review TMP 9846 resolution amending and authorizing the execution of an amended and restated development agreement with no Resolution improvement number two of the center agreement for supercows Alvaro at 118 so it was basic housekeeping on that one as well With they received their tax abatement for 2019 because they didn't open till 2024. We're moving that putting it to where it's a 25 to 29 abatement so Our items were approved unanimously to come to a full council with our support.

Council Member Maramura, did I miss anything? No, perfect, thank you.

I added something extra? That would be our report, Mayor. Thank you.

Public assets?

Thank you. Yeah, the City of Julia Public Assets Committee met here in the Executive Conference Room Wednesday, May 27th at 4.30. In attendance was Councilman Marino, Blaine Klein, Dustin Anderson, Greg Pierbold and myself, Councilwoman Susanna Ibarro had veterinarian issues.

Thank you.

Yeah. So she was not able to attend. We approved the minutes from April 15th. It was when we approved that. There were no citizens to be heard on any agenda items. There was one agenda item, TMP 9911. It's on tonight's agenda. under 294-26, recommendation to award payment for the Ottawa Street parking garage painting project to Cass Grove Construction Incorporation, incorporated in the amount of $190,625. Blaine Klein explained some of the deck will be painted with spray, but most of it will be two coats of rolled paint. paint We have to do that because of all the vehicles that are going to be parked in the deck I did speak about You know having the mayor city manager council members make sure we get we get the the paint color, correct? I think it's gonna be very Similar to what's there now the last time this deck was painted was in the 90s 1990s We did approve this to come to full council which again it's on tonight's agenda and There was no new or old business, not for final action or recommendation. Greg Pierbolt did speak briefly. I think there was an article in the paper. He did speak briefly about the baseball game at the prison. There were 5,500 people that attended that event. Things are going very good. The tours are going very good Wilmington Museum out there is seeing a drop in their attendance because I believe he believes people are Coming here to Joliet to see what we have to offer There was no public comment and we adjourned the meeting at 4 42 p.m. I Anything you want? Good. That's my report, Mayor. Thank you.

Mayor, I have a quick question. So when you say color, Joe, what do you mean? Is there a color there now that you don't like? Or are we picking something else out? Or what's the deal there?

Oh, it's going to be similar. I just want to make sure the color is right.

How pink it was?

Yeah.

So, I mean, were they suggesting like a plethora of browns or beiges or grays?

Well, I just, before we knew what color it was going to be, I just want to make sure the color is, we're all going to like it before we spend the $190,000.

So who's going to get the final say then?

Well, I'm not really sure yet, but I think we were kind of beth.

So, yeah, the color that's been recommended is Mexican sand. It's the same color that's out here and was on the deck. I'm happy to send you the swatch. I don't care. I was just wondering. It's a very neutral color that matches City Hall and other buildings. Gotcha. Thank you. Yeah.

You know me about colors. Very neutral.

public service met here yesterday in the council chambers june 1st 2026 at 4 30 in the afternoon in attendance on the committee is councilwoman reardon councilman mudren and myself We had a total of eight items. We had five items under contracts. One was for $260,500 roughly, and that was an emergency sewer repair by a company called Aries Incorporated because the main I think it was a 40-inch old sewer pipe on Jefferson, suddenly collapsed, so it had to be done at an emergency. And they did a great job. They got it up and running. The cleanup was minimal. It was done very professionally. We looked at the $60,000 bid for heavy duty batteries. The thing that we're changing this year on that as well as the $200,000 bid that we looked at for fleet tires, that's the maximum that we'll pay. We don't have to use all that. It depends on how much we need for the year. And what we're doing differently this year is the winning bidders will be storing those batteries On-site here at the city at the garages and we don't pay for them until we pull them off the shelf and use them So that's kind of a good addition We also looked at the southeast Joliet sanitary district water system improvement project for a total of almost three million dollars 2.9 $8 million. And just as a reminder, the county will be paying for this with their funds and grant funds, their ARP grant funds. And the last contract we looked at was our Contract A. There will be other contracts coming out for our 2026 resurfacing for a total of $2.4 million. We found all five contracts to be in order and legal. And they were unanimously passed by the committee to be sent forward to the council with a recommendation to approve. And then in conjunction to the $2.9 million Joliet Sanitary District project, we had to do a change order for the engineering services for Baxter and Lubbock for $94,200. That was the only item under change orders. We did unanimously approve that for recommendation to the council. And under Ordinance and Resolutions, we had two items. They are, actually one was an acquisition of property that needed for the Spring Creek Bridge Improvement Project on Farrell Road. And it was for $3,600. And the other one was for, we paid 25%. They paid 75%. It's for resurfacing of the multi-use path that runs along the west side of Ridge Road between Theodore and Black Road out in Councilwoman Reardon's district. We saw both those items be in order. And again, we unanimously passed forward with a recommendation to approve. That's all I have, Pat, anything? Nothing. All right, Mayor, with that, that would be the Public Service Committee report. Thank you.

I show no other reports. Under consent agenda, approval of minutes. It is recommended the minutes of the pre-council meeting May 18th, 2026 and the city council meeting held on May 19th, 2026 stand approved as recorded. Invoices to be paid. It is recommended this report be approved. Council memo number two 89 dash 26 approval of amendment number one to the professional services agreement for the Southeast Joliet sanitary district water system improvements project for construction engineering services to backstory women incorporated in the amount of $94,200. Council memo number two 90 dash 26 approval of payment for emergency repairs to Jefferson street sewer to areas incorporated in the amount of $260,545 and 62 cents. Council memo number 291-26, approval of purchase order for the 2026 automotive and heavy duty batteries and related support services to Fleet Pride Incorporated in the amount of $60,000.00. Council memo number 292-26, approval of purchase order for the 2026 fleet tires and tire services in the amount of $200,000. Council memo number 293-26, award of professional services agreement for the study and designation of the downtown special service area SSA to SB Friedman Development Advisors in the amount of $54,260. Council memo number 294-26, award payment for the Ottawa Street parking garage painting project to Cosgrove Construction Incorporated in the amount of $190,625. It is recommended Council memos 289-26 through 294-26 be approved. Is there a motion to approve all said consent agenda items?

So moved.

Second.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Council Member Reynold?

Aye.

Councilman Mudren?

Aye.

Councilwoman Coleman? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilwoman Navarro? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Under agenda items, Council Memo number 296-26, award of contract for the Southeast Joliet Sanitary District Water Systems Improvement Project to Austin Tyler Construction Incorporated in the amount of $2,982,535.68. It is recommended Council Memo number 296-26 be approved. So moved. Second. Any comments or questions? Thank you. It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Quillman? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Moreno?

Abstain.

Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Council memo number 297-26, a word of contract for the 2026 roadways resurfacing contract A to P.T. Farrow Construction Company in the amount of $2,434,217.87. It is recommended Council memo number 297-26 be approved. So moved. Second. Comments or questions? Thank you. It's a motion and seconded to approve. Councilman McClemon? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Marino? Aye. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Under ordinances, council amendment number 298-26, ordinance amending chapter 18, article 1, section 20, and chapter 26, article 7, division 1, section 141 through 148, regulating sidewalk cafes of the city of Joliet code of ordinances. It is recommended that ordinance be adopted.

So moved.

Second. Any comments or questions? Thank you.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilwoman Barron? Aye. Councilman Marino? Aye. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Quillman? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Councilmember number 299-26 ordinance and resolution associated with Audubon Country Club ordinance approving a special use permit to allow development on a lot containing Cedar Creek watershed protection area M-1-26 resolution approving an amendment to the master development plan for Audubon Country Club M-2-26 it is recommended that ordinance be approved So moved Second Any comments or questions?

Thank you

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Clement. Aye. Councilman Hugg. Aye. Councilwoman Navarro. Aye. Councilman Marino. Aye. Councilman Modren. Aye. Councilwoman Coleman. Aye. Councilman Cardenas. Aye. Mayor Darcy. Aye. Motion carried. Council memo number 300-26, ordinance associated with the Vista Ridge phase one re-subdivision one planned unit development. Ordinance approving an amendment to the final plat of Vista Ridge phase one planned unit development, PUD-5-26. Ordinance approving a recording plat of Vista Ridge phase one re-subdivision one planned unit development, V-3-26. Ordinance approving a vacation of a public utility and drainage easement for a Vista Ridge phase unit phase one plan unit development RP dash 2-26 it is recommended said ordinance be adopted Some second any comments or questions Thank you It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilwoman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Marino? Aye. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Quillman? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Councilmember 301-26, ordinance associated with the Cherry Hill Business Park 21, subdivision phase 2, ordinance approving an amendment to the preliminary plat of Cherry Hill Business Park 21, subdivision P-5-26. Ordinance approving the final plat of Cherry Hill Business Park 21 subdivision phase 2 FP-1-26. Ordinance approving the recording plat of Cherry Hill Business Park 21 subdivision phase 2 RP-6-26. It is recommended that ordinance be adopted.

So moved. Second. Any comments or questions? Thank you.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilwoman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Marino? Aye. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilman McClellan? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Under resolutions, council memo number 303-26, resolution authorizing the acquisition of property for the Farrell Road over Spring Creek Bridge Improvement Project, partial pin 30-07-01-200-047 in the amount of $3,600. It is recommended that resolution be adopted. Move. Second. Any comments or questions? Thank you. It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Marino? Aye. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Coleman? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Navarro? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Council memo number 304-26, resolution authorizing execution of an intergovernmental agreement between the County of Kendall and the City of Joliet for Kendall County Transportation Alternative Program, KC-TAP, funding to resurface the multi-use path along the west side of Ridge Road between Theodore Street and Black Road. It is recommended that a resolution be adopted.

So moved. Second. Comments or questions?

Thank you.

Is my motion a second to approve? Councilman Budren? Aye. Councilwoman Quillman? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Marino?

Aye.

Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Council amendment number 305-26, resolution approving amendment number two to incentive agreement property tax abatement for Supermercados Alvaro de Juliet Incorporated at 118 East Jackson Street. It is recommended that a resolution be adopted. Second.

Comments or questions? Thank you.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilwoman Coleman? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Nabarro? Aye. Councilman Marino? Aye. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Next is the City Manager's Report.

Good evening. On Wednesday, May 20, the city hosted its first official Memorial Day commemoration at City Square. It was a beautiful, solemn ceremony that was well attended by the community. The morning included a performance by the American Legion Band, keynote speaker, Lieutenant Colonial Dr. Benjamin Benny White, representatives from all branches of the armed forces, both the Joliet Fire Department and the Joliet Police Department Honor Guards, honoring of Gold Star families including the family of US Army Soldier Staff Sergeant Jose Duenas, a ceremonial wreath laying, and a 21 gun salute. A special thank you goes out to Ann Sylvester and her team for their creation and coordination of the event. At the Joliet Township High School District 204 Athletic Boosters Annual Night of Champions, two Joliet police officers were recognized for their roles in the School Resource Officer Program. Detective Batung was recognized as Steelman Fan of the Year, and Officer Price was recognized as the West Fan of the Year. Please join me in congratulating them both on these awards. On Wednesday, June 17th, the City of Joliet will host two public presentations on how community growth, development patterns, and municipal finances are interconnected. The presentations will be led by urban planning expert Joe Minicazzi and will share findings from the city's recent Urban 3 analysis. A lunch and learn with a chamber will be held from 11.30 to 1 at Harrah's Juliet Hotel and Casino. Registration is required and a small fee applies. A free public presentation will follow that evening at 7 p.m. at Billy Lee Mocker Bicentennial Park, including a Q&A. We encourage everyone to attend. That's all I have for tonight.

Next, we have comments for non-agenda items. I do have Barb signed up to speak. If you'd like to come up, Barb.

My name is Barb Chesko and Kathy O'Shea. We're on the board of directors for the Homeowners Association at Gulfview Estates. We're just located just south of the Knights of Columbus and at the moment we are flooding because Knights of Columbus's parking lot is eroding our area. flooding neighbors, a neighbor that's here, her unit gets flooded pretty much unless she puts up sandbags along her unit. We're trying to get some help somehow. We've been in touch with Ms. Susanna and we've been in touch with Kyle and Sean from the city public works and stuff. Everybody says, yeah, they're working on it. But in the meantime, our land is eroding more and more and Their parking lot has become nothing but what's in a river that comes right into our thing washing out everything as it rains. So we're looking for somebody, some help, some hour. Right now, an estimate is like $50,000 plus to put in a swale, which has been recommended. But that's going to do us no good if we don't get some help in trying to get Knights of Columbus to do something on their end. Because it's going to just continue to wash, and it's still going to be washing into and taking away. Bushes are starting to lose all their strength at the bottom because of the water. And I'm sure you've been aware of it. And I have pictures if anyone likes to see it. But I don't know what we can do, but we're asking for some help in trying to get the flooding to stop. So I mean, anything anybody needs, we would be welcome to come out and look at it when it's raining, when it's not raining. I mean, or look at the pictures. It's just bad.

Beth, can someone help them? I've taken it as far as I possibly can, and I don't know what else to do.

Sure. I'll ask for an update first thing tomorrow morning, and then we'll be in touch with you.

All right. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. Like I said, we have pictures. Just come out and look, and that would help. It's better to see it than just talking about it, because... There was very Surprised at how bad it was pictures do not do that situation any justice not at all Is there anyone else would like to address the council this evening on a non agenda item I

Okay, seeing none, we will move on to mayor and council comments.

I just want to say that, you know, congratulations to Ann on the first program of the workout this morning. I was able to attend it for my first workout, but it was a lot of fun. It was good seeing a lot of people out there enjoying the square, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the month. So congrats on that one.

That's all. Thank you. I'm not going to steal your thunder. I want to congratulate Juan Marino on his marriage. Oh, thank you. Congrats. And then I want to welcome Chief Rob Brown. You're here now to come to these meetings, so you're doing a great job. Welcome. That's all I have, Mayor.

I was going to try to bring up a beautiful picture of you and Jessica. That's the only item I have.

Formerly Jessica Sanchez is now Mrs. Moreno.

And I believe even on your Facebook page you referred to her as wife.

I told you she got 48 hours to change her name.

Congratulations, both of you. Thank you. I appreciate it. You're a really lucky man. And she's a lucky one.

Thank you.

So in my heart, I already called her Mrs. Moreno, just so you know. I would love an update on the staffing study that we all participated in many, many months ago. I get so many complaints on traffic. In particular, outside of, of course, 53 and that whole southeast corridor, I live right off of Jefferson Street. I'm traveling six to eight times a day back and forth. There are people going through the red lights. There are people just not stopping at all. And they are going at such a high rate of speed. Anywhere from infantry up to past probably Center Street, they're just Disobeying every traffic rule that is set forth. And it is very dangerous. There have been a lot of very fatal accidents there. So I have a hunch that the staffing study probably said that we need some more traffic enforcement officers. If I was guessing, that's what I'd guess. But I would like an update on that. It's been quite a while now, and I'd just like to know what the outcome of all of that is. That would be great. Also, happy Pride Month to all my LGBTQ+. Friends, constituents, Pride Month is very important to the LGBTQ community. And so I want to say it's June. Happy Pride Month. And that is all. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, guys. Appreciate it. That's all I got, man. Nothing.

Excuse me. I'd like to just say happy birthday to my great-nephew, Benson. He's going to celebrate his first birthday at the ballpark on Friday night. And happy belated anniversary to my husband of 46 years. Love you to pieces, and thank you.

Happy anniversary. Thank you.

And congratulations to you as well.

Thank you.

Congratulations. Thank you, sir. Did we get a cake for him?

I didn't even know. I heard a roar.

I'm not on Facebook, I should get on it. Just a couple things real quick. On the 22nd, I had the pleasure of joining Governor Pritzker and several other legislators to celebrate the start of construction on the new Des Plaines River Bridge. It was a morning celebrating progress, partnership, and building for the future. The bridge has been a long time coming and it marks the beginning of the end of I-80 related construction in Joliet. On Sunday, May 24, Senator Duckworth visited Joliet for a roundtable discussion with the Will County Governmental League and Grand Prairie Water Commission mayors. I was joined by representatives from Shorewood, Shanahan, Minooka, Romeoville, and Cresthill. It was a productive conversation, and she always helps us by submitting for several million dollars for this project, and we hope to get some of that money. The other day we cut the ribbon for the new Longhorn Steakhouse. Beth and I joined the chamber in the official opening of this steakhouse in Joliet. We're very excited. They let me cut the first steak and it was so tender I probably could have done it with a fork. But it's going to be a fun place. It's really cool in there. So I had a chance to take the first bite of the first ribeye that they made.

Mayor, quick question. Where exactly is it for those watching?

It's right out in front of Costco on the Joliet part of the property. Really good. That's continuing to grow that area. And it's officially June, which means our City Square and Billy Lee Mocker Bicentennial Park programming is in full swing. We have lots of exciting events this month, including our weekly wellness workouts, Dancing in the Square, as well as BIPARC's very popular concerts on the Hill Series. Notably, we have our official city square dedication on Thursday, June 18th at 12 noon Followed by the opening celebration weekend on June 26th and 27th. So that's all I've got.

Thank you and God bless you Their motion to adjourn so move on favor aye opposed meeting adjourned