City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening everyone. We'll call this meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. Roll call, please. Alder person Evans present. Hurt here. Barnes here. Swanson here. Parker here. Pulis here. Healey here. And Mayor Harris present. Would everyone please stand for the pledge of allegiance? And after that, please remain standing for a moment of silence.

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. Thank you. [snorts] Agenda item five. Vote to approve the agenda. Move to approve. Second. There's been a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please.

Alder person Barnes. Yes. Swanson. Yes. Parker, hi. Pulis, hi Keely. Hi. Evans. Hi. And Hurt. Hi. Agenda item six. Presentation regarding the intergovernmental support agreement with the Rock Island Arsenal.

Hear me? All right. I think it's my first time. Was it Oh, there we go. I think this is my first time presenting in the new new council chamber. Just slightly more intimidating than it was. [laughter] Um really excited to be here tonight with everyone. Uh before we get started, I'd like to make a a couple brief introductions. Uh Gary Ksky, he's the public works director for the Rock Island Arsenal. He was unfortunately not able to be here tonight. They had a fire to put out with some electricity matters. Uh, and then Jerry VC, he's the uh, chief of operations. And then we have, uh, Katie Kerry, who is a general engineer, and Jeff, I'm sorry, your last name. Hayes.

Jeff, Jeffrey Hayes. And he's one of the engineering technicians at the Arsenal. And if it wasn't for these guys, we wouldn't be here tonight. So, we would like to extend our thanks to them for the confidence that they have in the city of Rock Island. And, um, I would also like to give a shout out to our personnel. This whole thing started [snorts] in 2019 and um you know when we talk about when you think about like the city of Molen you unequivocally think about John Deere right and if you think of East Molen you think of Harvester Works but when we talk about the Rock Island Arsenal um it's usually in a regional context so this was always kind of personal to us and in 2019 when the Arsenal put out a uh a solicitation to all the communities throughout the Quad Cities on for uh intergovernmental services. Um we were really excited for that opportunity because it is our name on that island. So, uh hopefully tonight we can uh really what we're going to present tonight is really the holy grail of that intergovernmental um support agreement and uh we really want to see this through and we know we again we thank the Arsenal for their confidence in us and really this was made possible by all our people over the years just going over there and doing uh doing a good job. So that's what's created this opportunity and uh we're really excited about it. So we can just dive right in. Next slide. Or is there a clicker? Rob, next slide. All right. Well, [laughter] oh, here we go. All right. So, uh, kind of just just some some background here. So originally when this all started the arsenal solicited um you know the communities in the Quad Cities it was the federal government's priority to um you know start integrating bases

with the local communities for several reasons. um you know some of that's cost savings some of that's level of service and uh so when the Arsenal put this out uh Rock Island Molen we went over there and uh you know it started with just picking up residential trash on the island and some recycling services and we went over there and we like I said our people just went over there and did a good job and then um over time it kind of progressed into our you know water water treatment some distribution maintenance [clears throat]

electrical maintenance. Uh we do the police do some radios. We do fire extinguishers. So over the years we've kind of slowly expanded that level of service. Tonight um after, you know, a few years of of providing those services, we were approached about what the Arsenal refer to as their um um grounds maintenance performance work statement. So this includes we got kind of some of the federal lingal up there, but this is um mowing, landscaping, trees, pavements, pavement clearance, which would be snow removal, facility maintenance, they call horizontal, which would be street maintenance essentially. And uh so this they reached out to us, asked us uh if we'd be interested in that. And full disclosure, um snow is a huge production is the least favorite part of my job. [laughter] And so, uh, thinking, you know, it was a little, it was a little intimidating thinking about, you know, do we really want to get involved in the snow removal for, um, you know, area like the size of the village of Milin? Um, so, uh, that was a that was a little intimidating. It still is intimidating, but they twisted our arms a little bit. And again, kind of that that civic pride came in. It's like, hey, they're reaching out to us because they have confidence in in us. And um we have you know Mike and I said you know what let's go get this thing you know our people can do it and so here we are. So we submitted our preliminary proposals in early 24. Um and then we you know there's a lot that goes into that. Um and part of part of this is um it is a huge scope of work. So again, you're really taking on, you know, like the equivalent of the village of Milin. So, you know, one of the ways you also have

to be cost effective. So, one of the ways we approached this was we would have um subcontra subcontractors that would uh perform some of the work. So, specifically the snow removal of the parking lots and then the the mowing is what we settled on. And then our our own personnel will plow the streets and take care of things like tree maintenance, street maintenance in in uh those those areas of the island. So we uh put out a request for qualifications in January of 25. We went through um to find our partners with us. We went through a lot of of of contractors. We did interviews. We had them submit qualifications, equipment list, response times, manpower. We settled on uh Langman Construction for the snow removal, scope of work, and finer finish grounds Care, who's our current mowing contractor for the mowing. And uh I would like to mention uh Terry and Josh Bondell are here tonight from Langman Construction. So they'll be excellent partners in this uh and we're excited about that. So after we selected our partners, we got numbers from them, we put that into our proposal and and submitted our final uh proposal to the arsenal. And that was in fall of 2025. And those proposals were were compared stacked against the existing um private sector um scopes of work and and and cost schedules uh with their their current contractor. So, uh, in late fall of 25, we were notified that our proposal had been tenatively, uh, accepted, which is, um, and again, I not sure on the all the lingo, but the local garrison, you know, was approved at the local level level and then that has to move its way up

through the federal government. And I believe that's kind of where we're at now. But all things considered, um we're, you know, uh proceeding right along with that. All right. So, um the details of this this contract. So, this is a uh will be a 10-year contract just shy of $40 million. So, um kind of the scope of work here. So, um, we're anticipating bringing on an additional supervisor to oversee this work and nine nine additional public works personnel. Um, we'll have over $1.5 million in new equipment that we'll pro procure. And then each year the contract is, um, you know, between there's escalations in it over the 10 years. Um, but you're about 3.5 to$4 million a year over the course of the contract. So another added benefit of this is that's all money that will stay in the local quad city economy for the most part. So currently, you know, a lot with a lot of these federal contracts, you know, they're opened up any contractor in in the entire United States. And so you have, you know, a general contractor that might be in one part of the country and then they sub certain services out at various bases. So, one of the added bonuses of this uh that money is going to stay in the Quad Cities economy as as opposed to going to to other parts of the country. All right. So, uh we're keeping this, you know, kind of at the high altitude, you know, tonight of some of the benefits, but um some of the big benefits of this is, you know, we're going to see $1.5 million in new equipment. So all that equipment is not going to be working on the arsenal every single day. So all our residents

in Rock Island, they're going to reap the benefits of that surplus capacity in that equipment. For an example, we'll have an end loader. Well, that end loader is predominantly going to be used for loading snow plows with salt in the winter time. During the summertime, there's not going to be a high level of use for it on the island. So that'll be over at I guess what we'll going forward refer to as mainland Rock Island. uh that'll be over here working for our working for our taxpayers. So, this contract includes a new a new street sweeper, two six ton snow plows, those are the ones you see with the wing plows going through your going through your neighborhoods. Um two one-tonon plows, those are the smaller trucks. Uh skid steer and two pickup trucks. So, that's a a and again like the street sweeper is a great example. Um I'd have to I don't have it in front of me. But I think the the expectation is to sweep the island twice a year. Well, that's, you know, that's going to take you maybe a week each time. So, you got two weeks on the island and then 50 weeks over, you know, well, you're not sweeping in the winter time, but, you know, sweeping streets in the rest of our city. And we also could really use a new street sweeper. So, this works out well. And then another big benefit is the surplus capacity in our additional personnel. So when you're looking at this, um the snow is really the largest portion of this contract as far as labor intensity, right? So, um, we have our our staffing set to be able to handle our the snow level scope of the work, but that same amount of personnel is not necessarily needed for filling potholes in the summertime. So, all those personnel that we do need in the winter, but may not need in the summertime will be over in Rock Island, you know, doing doing other tasks to make the the

community better. So, uh, we'll have a supervisor, a crew leader, and this is this is kind of a moving target, but, um, two equipment operators and and five maintenance workers. Um, there's also economies of scale with something like this. So, as you bring in additional personnel, you have that's more employees paying into the work comp, that's more employees paying into our pension system, uh that's more employees paying into the general liability. So, um those are kind of some of those intangible things that you you um are a little bit harder to display empirically, but um again, you you you're still capturing that economy scale with this those economies of scale with those personnel. And then we you know, we do have a margin on the contract as well, which would be our profit. So, um so, you know, one of the things We are all taxpayers in this room. So, both at the local level, the state level, and the federal level. So, you know, we're looking Mike and I and all of us up here, we we obviously have a fidiciary to the uh residents of the city of Rock Island, but also this helps out the federal government as well. They are able to save money and we know we can provide a high level of service. we can provide quality service and uh so this is really your definition of kind of like a win-win you know across the board the federal government's going to benefit our local economy is going to benefit a rock on business is going to benefit and so it it's just really just a win across the board and then again that money is going to go to people that live in this community and um businesses in this community and it's you know it's it's going to stay here as opposed to going to other parts of the Any

questions? Yes, I do have one. Uh for the personnel that will uh uh that will be hired on, will they be stationed on the arsenal? Yes. Yes. And that that may fluctuate with some seasonality, but that supervisor will be stationed at the will, you know, they'll punch in for all intents and purposes in and out at the arsenal.

Okay. every day, you know, but that but again, there's a seasonality element to that, right? So, we might say, "Hey, you five, we're going to send you over to municipal services for a couple months and you're going to work there." So, it it'll vary, but there will be we will have a contingency of personnel that punch in there every single day. Okay. Luke, does that same hold true for the other nine employees that you're hiring as well, or will they the other nine that are being hired as well? Does that hold true for that or will they be out of here?

Like they will be they will be on the island for the most part, but they will again we will depending on what the operations are, we may say, "Hey, you you four we're going to have you just punch in over at municipal and when I say municipal services, I mean down at public works." So we could very well, you know, like, hey, we we just had a windstorm go through. You guys are cleaning up trees in the streets, you know. So, okay. So, the only difference between them and normal public work staff is that they'll just be on the arsenal.

That's correct. Yeah. They'll be same job classification, same payroll, all seniority, all that will will be exactly the same. They'll just, you know, right now we have employees that punch in at the water department. We have punch people that punch in down at street department. Well, these guys are just punching over at the island.

So, uh, with us taking on, which we're proud to do, you know, we want to support the local garrison and build a strong relationship, but with that said, with us taking on um this this responsibility, as you said, it's the size of the village of Milin, will we be able to sustain Rock Island? Yes, that's a that's a great question without a doubt. So, the city of Rock Island is going to have a net benefit because of this contract. So, the amount of personnel that are going to be on the island, there's going to be surplus capacity in those personnel based on the scope of work over there. So, it's fully staffed so they can be self sustaining in the wintertime. The personnel over there with our contracting partners will handle all the snow during the summertime and the rest of the year. Those employees will be trickled in throughout our operations, you know, providing service for the residents over here.

Okay. So, one more question for you. Now, this this is somewhat down to the detail, but for the personnel who will be working on the Arsenal, is there anything extra that they will have to do with their City of Rock Island employment to even be allowed to work on the Arsenal? That's a good question. I mean, right now, all our people are able to go over there. Um, you know, before you're hired on here, it's a background check. Federal government's the same way. So, anything that would disqualify you at the federal level is also going to disqualify you. The only the only difference is the employees that are on the arsenal

will be required to have a real ID to gain access on the Arsenal. We currently don't we currently don't require that for city of city rock. Okay. Okay. And you know that that that's something that um with with with the the HR department that's something that we want to be careful on because we don't want to discriminate by any means people who can't get on the arsenal. You you understand what I'm saying? So, so if if we're if we're hiring people within the city of Rock Island specifically for this mission, you know, we we we wouldn't want to um separate them from the normal hiring pool that of the normal requirements for the city. Do you kind of get what I'm saying?

I mean, we would we I would have to follow the laws. So, yeah, to your to your point, I don't see anything that would if you're disqualified for working on the island, you I presume you would also be disqualified for working at the city of Rock Island. Okay. Same thing. Yeah. Yeah. So, I don't anticipate that being an issue if that answers your question. And we'll be following our collective labor bargaining agreement with the personnel that will be going over the arsenal as far as seniority and that kind of thing as well. Yeah. Everything will be in the framework of the bargaining agreement any as it stands. So, any more questions?

Yes. So, of that $40 million, what percentage or what amount is going to Langman Construction and what amount to finer finish? Um, guesstimate, you don't have to be down to the dollar. So, Langman Construction scope of work is roughly 800,000 and finer finish would be roughly 450,000 and again there's an escalation on that per year or over per year. Okay. Per year. Per year. Per year. Okay.

Okay. And just to make one thing clear about the snow removal scope of work, Langman, this was bid at the federal government's uh request as a hard number. So as a what? As a hard number. Okay. It's not per occurrence. Okay. So Langman is assuming a level of risk with this with this contract. So if there's they're getting paid the same amount whether it's 50 inches of snow or 20 inches of snow. Yeah, Langman Langman is a good city partner and has been for a long time. So, yeah.

So, based on the current contract, we are netting a profit. We haven't had any losses. Correct. You're talking about existing Yes. IGSA. That is correct. Yes. Because that would be my concern that general fund would have to [clears throat] supplement if there happened to be any losses. But we we've been doing we got a pretty good track record with the current company. That's right. Yeah. And I'm I'm happy to provide some additional details, but that scenario is not okay.

Not very likely in this contract. So, one one more question with speaking on the life of the contract. Is anything in there protecting us from inflation, the cost of fuel, the cost of, you know, uh our our union contracts, you know, our payroll going up? Is there anything within there that can

So, that that was that's a that's a great question. So, in this contract, we I worked closely with Rob and HR, Jessica and finance. So each year there's an escalation based on what we've seen historically um based on healthcare, wages, you know, workers comp, all that. So t so yes, we are protected. There is a a cushion and escalation for each year each year of the contract. Okay. And for for an example, when I was putting this together, um I did not anticipate seeing days of sub $3 a gallon gas. So the fuel in this is was factored at $5 a gallon.

Okay. So Okay. Any more questions, Dylan? Okay. Okay. Anybody else? Thank you, sir. Thank you. [snorts]

Agenda item seven, a report from the mayor's office regarding the appointment of Amanda Torres as city clerk beginning January 26, 2026. You ready? Motion to approve the appointment is recommended. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Clerk, please call the role. Alder person Barnes. Yes. Swanson. Hi. Parker. Hi. Polus. Hi. Healey. Hi. Evans. Yes. And hurt. Hi. Congratulations.

Uh yeah. Yeah. Congratulations. [applause] You know, I was going to uh I was going to mess around with it a little bit and say that, you know, her calling the role was a conflict of interest, [laughter] but uh we're all going to let that one go. Congratulations, Amanda. We're happy to have you. We're happy to have you.

Yes. Yes, ma'am. All right. Be right with you. And then right here, let's go. All right. All right. I'm just going to hold it if I have to. Okay. Okay.

Please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, Amanda Torres, I, Amanda Torres, having been appointed to the office of city clerk having been appointed to the office of city clerk in the city of Rock Island in the city of Rock Island in the county of Rock Island at in the county of Rock Island. paper said, "Do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States 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 and that I will faithfully discharge and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of city clerk the duties of the office of city clerk to the best of my abilities to the best of my abilities. So help me God. So help me guide.

Congratulations on that. [applause] and thank you for the opportunity. That was my first opportunity to swear someone in. So, thank you for that.

Okay. Uh, agenda item eight, public comment.

Thank you, sir. Okay. This evening we have three names. For the first name, Mr. Tim Presley. Good evening. [clears throat] I'm not a resident. I own the property in the new development area of the casino. I have an easement across there. Many people, some a few people are shocked to see me here because they knew I was on vacation. I had to leave my wife who's dealing with her mother that has dementia and her father that's blind to come back to deal with some I'd rather use a word but to be appropriate here. I'll be kind. During last week on Martin Luther King Day, a gate was put across the DOT lane. the gate that was told by the DOT to you that you could not do. I am lucky that I have contacts within and everything. They sent out an email to have that gate removed to block me from my legal access to my property. I made my way my way back and when I got back I found that the locks were torn off. I was again locked from my property off the blue G blue gate that goes into the property as just as someone being upset that they can't have their way. I've been very cordial to this group and everything, but I will cut the lock off. I will have the media there when I do it because I do have my rights. I'm sorry. Soon as I got here, people knew exactly why I was here. And they said, "Why didn't I call them? Why do I

have to call to have access to my property when they knew exactly why I was here?" They were just shocked that I wasn't I showed up that I should have been on vacation because I'm on the Eastman Group [clears throat] and they knew I wasn't here. Was it to prevent from people seeing the development being torn apart with the endlers actually ripping into close to the mound area and the parcel 4 which was supposed to be set aside in a great you know speech how they're going to support all this environmental and everything. Well, it's gone. And now we look at what you want as a development there. You are so far from having anything done. You still to this day, you don't even have your permit for your water. Yes, you had a meeting today with a concept, but it isn't the fault of the public works because he can only produce to the state what he is represented by the development what they need because he only has one shot to get this done. You have no access from the interstate. There has been nothing nothing one permit or nothing anything to be into this property. That's a minimum of two years for any of this to be done. And if there's a flood, that access will be even longer. People are doing or not paying attention to get things done on their agenda and not what is correct. There is people on this in this group here and everything that are very cordial and very respectful.

My wife wanted me to come back because there's people she does not trust. Likes to use different words, modify the meanings. Well, I'm here. You know, you poke a bear, a bear returns, and there's other bears. So I expect this to be taken care of immediately. That's all. Thank you, sir. Clay cone. [clears throat] Uh hello again. uh you have to deal with my ugly mug. But uh I'm here to talk about the problem with human feces down downtown Rock Island. Uh now I know we had a warming shelter open up in Molen uh that would provide shelter for 60 people for most of the time, but there are still an estimated 40 to 50 people downtown. Uh and they still have they still need to go somewhere. Uh I've gotten these numbers from the third place and in fact even after the warming shelter got put in place today was one of their busiest days uh period. It was a very busy day for them. So I'm not sure how much the effect that this uh shelter is having on the unhoused population and you know reducing it and providing and spreading it out. Uh but it doesn't just from the initial numbers it doesn't seem to be doing much. But there's still a lot of poop down in downtown. Uh my neighbors and I have not seen any outhouses put in. Uh we still have people forced to defecate in the streets. I've heard pe I've heard my neighbors say they're coming. I personally emailed Alderman Parker. He said they were not. And then Mr. Harris, you told me that they or mayor Mayor Harris they told you told me that you looked into it and the downtown alliance was supposed to take care of it. Personally, I don't have a good experience with the downtown alliance because when I put in 138

reports on cclicks fix on each single one was a turd. also one fish which was weird. Uh they over a third of them were not taken care of. So the downtown so we don't have an effective way to deal with poop. I can't go around taking pictures of feces every day. It's it wastes my time. It's disgusting and I don't want to do it. I shouldn't have to do it. We all shouldn't have to do that. So, this problem. So, my question is is are they coming or are they not? I just want an answer. If they aren't coming, well, I'll have to deal with it. And my me and my neighbors, business owner lo uh local business owners and landlords alike will be very frustrated. Uh so, this problem is still here and even on my stroll over here, you know, you uh Mr. Healey, you talked about how I walked here uh four blocks in the freezing cold. I still saw a concerning amount of feces. Uh it it's just whatever we're doing, it's not working. And I have tal I have had some conversations with Alderman Parker as well that portaotty and he has mentioned that portaotties will not work because they've been tried before and there was uh tipping. They were tipped. Well, you know, we can tie those down. You know that, right? We can tie them together. Tie them together or tie them down to the ground to prevent tipping. Uh that's just creative thinking and you know using engineering to figure things out. Some of the other ones were drugs and prostitution. I'm sorry they're still happening. Portaotties are not. Unfortunately I have to say that my neighbors have seen multiple times favors happening in the back alleys. I've seen needles around. So drugs and prostitution they're still happening. Portaotties are not. And the last one was one person wrapped themselves up with toilet paper like a mummy. Uh I I I

don't have an answer for prevention of [clears throat] self mullmification but I don't think it's that big of a deal. So what I'm these issues can be solved with portaotties. Like I understand that there can be vandalism with them but there are methods we can use with some creative thinking to prevent vandalism of them. So why aren't we doing that? I don't know what's happening with it. I'm just sick and tired of crap everywhere. Uh, and if these issues can be solved, that's great. But it seems like it seems like the mentality here is when it gets hard, quit. We tried once, we failed. Let's not do it again. No, let's try again and do it better. If I keep going out and doing cclick fix and p and taking pictures of poop, that doesn't solve the problem. It's a half measure. Half measures cause uh half measures are bad work and bad work makes rework. So, I'm gonna have to take we're going to have to keep sending people out to pick up every individual turd and that's going to waste time, money, and it's still unsanitary because who knows how long it's going to take for the downtown alliance to get down to it. So, really that's it. We got people out there freezing and they have they have to go in complete lack of dignity. It's sad for everybody. I have to talk I talk to these people and I hear their stories and it's very sad that they have no dignity to relieve themselves in the most basic ways that all of us have that luxury. So that's sad. That's really sad. And honestly this is how we get uh chalera outbreaks typhus typhoid various other oral or fecal oral route diseases. It the city has to do something and they have to do it fast and they have to do it effectively. Uh, and at this point I'd be repeating myself, so I'll step down. But I really

hope that you guys put out these portaotties in an effective in a relatively soon manner because I can't take this anymore. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Comb. And uh you know, I will say that uh um I I want to apologize because I heard you a couple weeks ago at the at the town hall meeting and I I'm I'm sorry that you would have to come back and speak the same thing again, you know, calling for decency, calling for cleanliness of the city. Um I apologize about that and that's something that I will look into uh this week. And you have my word on that, sir. Oh, yeah. I'll be back next week if they or I'll be back next meeting if it's not done. Well, you'll keep seeing me.

No need for that, but yeah. Okay. Thank you, sir. Mayor, we have been collecting prices and looking at potential locations. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. Okay. Um, Mr. Kai Swanson. [clears throat]

Thank you, Mayor. I'm Kai Swanson. Rock Island's my hometown and city of residents. [clears throat] Mayor and city council members. Thank you for this opportunity. People who know me know that I love NPR and our Quad City's NPR station, WVIK. Last Wednesday, I was shocked when an NPR newscaster made the almost unforgivable mistake of referring to the Prime Minister of Sweden as the Swiss Prime Minister. After clutching my pearls, I sent an email to corrections npr.org pointing out the error. So, no matter how fond I may be of a source when it comes to error, I will always try to nudge it back towards accuracy. Last week's memorial service at Rock Island's Martin Luther King Community Center was as ever inspiring with the Reverend Corey Parker delivering one of the most moving addresses I've ever heard in that setting. I was also very proud of our community's young people who spoke with passion about Rock Island and its challenges. But I know that passion alone cannot create effective and sustainable solutions to those challenges. And indeed, it's harder to find such solutions when our passions rest on inaccuracy. Such inaccuracies persist in the conversation about homelessness in the Quad Cities. The first is the most tragic. Repeated references were made to last November's death of a fellow Quad citizen in a vacant house in Molen. These comments are made in such a way as to impute guilt on the part of at least six members of the city council. The truth is that this neighbor was not locked out of a shelter by the city of Rock Island. Indeed, she could have stayed in a shelter that night, but toxicology reports that are on file with our county coroner Brian Gustoson indicate she made a decision to return to a vacant structure from which she'd

already been evicted so that she could practice her addiction, resulting in her death. This was a terrible tragedy, but circulating false and misleading information about it only adds to its injustice. Another implication from last Monday was that this council closed a shelter. This is also untrue. Last year's emergency shelter closed on the date agreed to by Project Now. By that time, the experiment had proved how unsustainable it is to put poorly supported persons, some of whom are confronted by addiction and serious mental health issues, together in too large a number to be served even by Project. Now, the resulting impacts on public facilities and businesses in the downtown cannot simply be waved away. You can't also simply wave away the support this council has given to those agencies already providing 62 shelter beds in Rock Island or the way you have through city services and other means supported the Robert Young Center, the Third Place and Nest Cafe, not to mention the $250,000 given to Project Now to improve its facilities in downtown Rock Island. That quarter million dollars would not have happened without the leadership of this council. Look, crowd cheers and Facebook likes are great for releasing endorphins, but they're not so effective in creating policy. Despite loud allegations that this council's approach has been thoughtless and callous, we all heard last Wednesday's announcement of the new emergency shelter in downtown Molen. And let's be honest, that good news would not have happened if this council

had bowed to the loud and continued the failed approaches of the past. Until you all said enough is enough, other city councils in this community were quite content to let homelessness be a Rock Island problem. But that has changed. And by all means, kudos to Molen Mayor Sangeita Rayapati and the Molen Council for stepping up and adding 60 new beds to the 62 beds that have been and continue to be available in Rock Island. Molen deserves our thanks as we move toward a truly regional approach. And kudos too for the activists in these chambers and elsewhere for keeping a light shining on the most vulnerable in our community. Though I would ask that everyone please be more thoughtful about promulgating inaccuracies and malicious falsehoods, especially for political gain. But most importantly to you, the city council, you've received a lot of criticism, most of which has been as loud as it has been baseless. Here is one not so loud voice, nonetheless backed up by facts, saying, "Thanks for staying the course. Well done." Thank you for your time.

Thank you, sir. Agenda item nine, update Rock Island. Update Rock Island. State of the city address. The annual state of the city address will be held this Thursday, January 29th, at Bal's Casino and Hotel, 777 Ballet Boulevard. Join me, Mayor Harris, for my first address as I update the public on accomplishments and upcoming goals. This year's theme is commitment to community. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and the program starts at noon. To register, go to Rock Island stateofthecity.eventbbright.com. Sweetheart Shop Hop set for set for February 7th in downtown Rock Island. The Rock Island Downtown Alliance is excited to present the Sweetheart Shop Hop on Saturday, February 7th. The Valentine's theme event encourages the community to show up and have fun while they shop, dine, drink, and socialize at their favorite participating businesses. Pick up a stap card from one of the 15 participating businesses. Visit at least five locations by 3 p.m. Then head to the Rock Island Ale House to redeem your card for a complimentary beverage and to be automatically entered to win exciting prizes. Stay active this winter with Rock Island Parks and Recreation. Registration is now open for winter and spring activities. The new Rock Island Parks and Recreation activity guide is packed with fun things to do this season, like the kids sweetheart dance, our new spring fling for active older adults, more than 20 land and water fitness classes, expanded youth sports, adaptive recreation, swim lessons, and so so much more. Go to www.riv.org/activityguide org/activityguide

to register for activities. Thank you. Agenda item 10. Report from the traffic engineering committee regarding a request from the municipal services division to ban parking in front of 1718 and 1720 23rd Avenue from 7 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on trash collection day. First reading. Motion to consider the ordinance. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Did you do your ride along? Yes, I did. How did that go?

It was very exciting. It was almost like an amusement ride, but yes. [laughter] Anyway, we had a chance to look at the area and then I also talked to the resident and kind of explained to him why they were requesting uh to ban the parking. Of course, he wasn't too happy, but he did agree that he and his wife would move their cars over to another area. And it's just that one day. Yes. Just that one day. Yeah. I'm glad you had an opportunity uh to do the ride along and more importantly talk to the residents. So, I feel confident. Um any more discussion? Roll call, please. Alder Prison Barnes. I. Swanson. Hi. Parker.

Hi. Pulis. I. Keely I Evans yes and hurt I. Agenda item B. [clears throat] Report from the fire department regarding an ordinance amending chapter 6 fire protection and uh fire protection and by creating a new article 5 lift assist services first reading. Motion to consider the ordinance. Second. There's a first and a second. Is there any discussion?

Chief, would you like to explain this a little? So just uh with change of management with uh certain medical facilities, we've seen uh es and flows of uh helping uh the private businesses lift and move uh individuals. Uh the Rock Island Fire Department, of course, is an emergency service, so we're trying to uh mitigate our call volume. We had a significant increase in uh calls this past year. uh we're always trying to eliminate uh you know work injuries uh that cost a sub substantial amount. So kind of what we're doing is we're encouraging that the facilities uh purchase the equipment, train their their personnel, uh maintain the equipment that they have in order to lift and move patients on a routine basis. At any time that they have an a medical emergency or a trauma event, they're more than happy to call us. That's what we do for a living. Uh the biggest item is is that this does not affect uh the regular residents of the city. So anybody that needs our assistance to come out, we uh work with them. Uh if it becomes a continual issue with a a specific person within the city uh between the police department and the hospital, we try to get them into case management uh to keep them into in their home as long as possible.

Thank you. Thank you, sir. Anything else? Roll call, please. Alder prison Barnes. I. Swanson. I. Parker. I. Bulis. I. Healey. I. Evans. Yes. And Hurt. I. Agenda item C. Report from the community development department regarding a property purchase at 9021 Street for 50,000 plus closing cost. First reading. Motion to approve the p uh property purchase. Authorize city manager to execute the agreement subject to minor attorney modifications. Second. There's a first and a second. Is there any discussion?

I would uh like to ask Miles, what what is that building? What is that building? Okay. Okay. Yeah. All right. All right. Okay. Thank you. Uh any more discussion? Roll call, please. Alder person Barnes, I. Swanson, I. Parker, I Keely, I. Evans, yes. And Hurt, I. Agenda item 11. Consent agenda items A through C. Motion to approve consent agenda items A through C. Second. There's been a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Clerk, please call the role. Alder Barnes.

I. Swanson. I Parker I Pulis I Healey I Evans yes and Hurt I agenda item 12 uh 12 A through C. Claims A through C. I can read them individually if anyone wishes. Motion to allow claims A through C. Second. There's a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Due to the nature of my employment, I need to recuse myself from this vote. Roll call, please. Alderent Barnes. I. Swanson I Hulus I Healey I Evans yes and Hurt I agenda item D.

Report from the finance department regarding claims for the week of December 26th through December 31st in the amount of $765,920.17. Motion to allow the claims. Second. There's been a first and a second. Is there any discussion? I will recuse myself from this vote because it includes a check register which has a check issued to my family's business that was approved through the kuriff and council does not have the authority though to issue the check in question. This is just an authorization of that register and not the check itself. Is there any more discussion?

Roll call, please. Alder person Barnes. No Swanson. I Parker I Pulis I Evans no and Hurt I. Agenda item E report from the public works department regarding payment 56 and 7 to Crawford Company Rock Island Illinois for the Sunset Marina Electrical Upgrades project in the amount of $87,1853. Motion to allow the claim. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Clerk, please call the role. Alder person Barnes, I. [clears throat] Swanson, I. Parker, I. Pulis, I. Healey, I. Evans, yes.

And Hurt, I. Agenda item F. Report from the finance department regarding payment in the amount of $15,759 for the renewal of the Clear Gov software subscription from January 1st, 2026 through December 31st, 2026. Motion to allow a claim. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll [snorts] call, please. Alder person Barnes. I. Swanson. I. Parker. I. Pulis. I. Healey. I. Evans. Yes. And Hurt. I.

Agenda item G. Report from the police department regarding a quest to purchase Panasonic Tough Books through CDS Office Technologies in the amount of 92,275. Move to approve purchase. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Not specific to the police department's procurement here, but on the subject of IT asset needs. uh where is the conversation regarding creating sustainable funding to meet our IT asset needs,

right? We we currently have a replacement fund for vehicles. We'd like to replicate that for building and for IT assets and you know that's in the works. The ch real challenge there isn't setting it up, it's funding it. So, we currently don't have a fund nor funding dedicated to replacing IT assets that inevitably break or become outdated. We budget for it on a pay as you go basis, so to speak.

Any more discussion? Clerk, please call the role. Alder person Barnes, I. Swanson I Parker I Pulis I Evans yes and Hurt I. Agenda item 13 a report from the public works department requesting authorization to extend the 2025 pavement marking uh program with Austramm Painting and Sand Blasting Rock Island Illinois through 2026. Motion to approve the contract extension and authorize the city manager to execute the document subject to minor attorney modifications. Second.

I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Clerk, please call the role. Alder person Barnes. I. Swanson. I. Parker. I. Hulis. I. Healey. I. Evans. Yes. And Hurt. I. Agenda item B. Report from the public works department requesting approval for an intergovernmental support agreement with the Rock Island Arsenal for snow removal, parking lots and sidewalks, grounds maintenance and road improvements. Motion to approve the agreement. Authorize city manager to execute the document subject to minor attorney modifications and authorize the subcontracting agreements as recommended. Second.

There's been a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Due to the nature of my employment, I need to recuse myself from this vote. Clerk, please call the role. Alder Barnes, I. Swanson, I. Hulis, I. Healey, I. Evans, yes. And hurt. I. Agenda item C. Report from the IT department regarding a contract with Factor Technology Solutions for network administration and monitoring services. Motion to approve the contract and authorize the city manager to execute the document subject to minor attorney modifications. There's been a first and a second. Is there any discussion?

Roll call, please. Alder person Barnes. I. Swanson. I. Parker. I. Pulis. I. Keely, I. Evans. Yes. And Hurt. I. Agenda item 14. report from the finance department regarding a budget adjustment to the TIFF 5 Columbia Park Fund 403 in the amount of $325,393. Motion to approve the budget adjustment. Second. Second. There's been a first and a second. Is there any discussion?

I would just like to say thanks to both departments to providing the details uh behind the budget adjustment since it's so early [clears throat] early in the beginning of the year. So, thank you Thank you staff. Any more discussion? Roll call, please. Alder President Barnes. I. Swanson. I. Parker. I. Pulis. I. Keelley. I. Evans. Yes. And Hurt. I. Agenda item 15.

Report from the mayor's office regarding appointments to the police community relations commission and a reappointment to the Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District Board of Trustees. Move to approve the appointments and reappoint as recommended. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? I got some discussion. Um, I've been getting a lot of comments of people wanting to know how do they get on these commissions and boards? Is there a way we can come up with some way to highlight that to the community? um just to give them a little bit more information on how they actually follow food to get on these particular boards.

And and uh you know, good point. Maybe I know that the MLK center, I know they have a good uh um what do you call it? Uh community board. Um maybe we can um put information there as well as the library and any other place that you think of. and and maybe um I can get with Sarah so we can start sending out reminders on our Facebook page from time to time. Would that think that'll work? Uh something we've just got to figure out how because there's a lot of people that aren't aware and then we've got a lot of boards and commissions that are actually lacking due to the fact that we don't have people to fill some of those positions. Sure. And so it's just a perfect opportunity to start promoting that.

And that's something that we can put at all of our libraries. All of them. Okay, thank you. So, just just a comment on that. Um, it is hard to find it on the website. Okay. Because I've found the link um because there's some appointments coming up. Um, and it was very difficult. So, if we could potentially move it somewhere, but also there is no hard copy to fill out. It's all online. So, I think anybody who does not have access to a computer or is familiar with technology is really going to struggle with that. So, if we also could potentially have a PDF, that would be very beneficial, too. Thank you. Point tank here.

And we can we can have copies at the clerk's office, too, so they could just stop in and fill out an application. Any more discussion? Roll call, please. Alder Prison Barnes. I. Swanson. Hi, [clears throat] Parker. Hi, Pulis. I Keely, I Evans. Yes. And hurt. Hi. Agenda item 16. Does anyone have any new business to discuss? I know. Oh, I'm sorry.

Oh. Oh, well. Hey, I know I have something. Um, a few weeks ago, you know, the city of Rock Island, we partnered with the city of Molen um to provide hotel stays for our unhoused population. And that turned out to be uh very appreciated by our unhoused population. But the point that I'm bringing up with this, I want to bring up Nicole Mata. She is uh uh a City of Rock Island employee and she went above and beyond her duties that night. What she did um we were at three different hotels, three different locations and one by one she checked in over 50 over 50 people through the course of the weekend and this was all after hours. This was all in the code. So, so when you see employees like that doing things that they don't have to do and still going above and beyond, when you see people like that looking for an opportunity to to to serve the citizens of Rock Island outside of your normal confinement of your day job, um, I want I want to applaud that. So, at at the very least, you know, council, please give Nicole Mata a round of applause, please. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Um, I guess I'd like to address something that was brought up by a gentleman in the crowd under under uh public comment. Do we have a timeline? I know we're addressing the outhouse port issue downtown. [clears throat] Do we have a speculative timeline on how soon or I know it's directed to you or public?

Mike's been working on that. Mike, do you have an update on it? Yeah, I would say we can get them installed this week. The issue is Jack and I from the downtown alliance need me didn't actually get the locations where we're going to place them. We had some locations that figured out previously the business owners were in favor of those locations and then when we were getting close to installing them they changed their opinion and so you know it needs to work for everyone. Sure. It won't resolve the entire issue. I mean we're still going to have issues. Um but again just because they're installed doesn't mean they're going to be used Yeah.

uh properly or or by everyone. Um but again we um when we have had issues with portaotties being downtown previously um at the prior bus transfer station we had several issues when they were installed there but um we will make sure that we get them addressed. Um we are uh going to install two um outouses. It just where where the where they will be installed um is not defined yet. Okay. I I appreciate your work on that. Um, and I was only asking because I wanted to get further clarification for the gentleman that [clears throat] brought that up this evening. So, thank you. Yeah. How's that going to be funded, Mike?

They're about $500 a month for the two. Um, and so we I don't know that yet. [laughter] I'll be looking at city manager for that. Go ahead. I hope not out of my budget. Take it out of contingency funding. Did

we use contingency funds if necessary? So, uh, uh, Mike, uh, are are we doing anything to address the the concerns that my Mr. Con had about the it could tip? It could, you know, like can is there is there a way that we can secure it so we're not creating, you know, any unnecessary problems for us? We'll work with the vendor who we we purchase them from and to make sure that they're installed properly. These will be ad ADA accessible restrooms, so they'll be the bigger style. They will be harder to tip over, I would say, but um again, we'll make sure that they're installed in a way that that doesn't happen.

Thank you, sir. Thank you. I'm sure they have some sort of method that will they can tapcon them into the concrete or something like that, but we'll make sure that they're installed to where they won't blow away or be tipped over. I can't guarantee they won't be tipped over though, so if they do, just saying. [laughter] Anything else, council? Okay. Uh, agenda item 17. I call this Can I Can I get a motion to adjurnn? Motion to adjurnn to February 9th, 2026. All in favor? All opposed. Meet in the journ.