City Council - Regular Meeting

Roll call, please. Alder person Evans, present. Hurt here. Barnes. Swanson, here. Parker, here. Pulis, here. Healey here and Mayor Harris present. Before we begin, clerk, please. Uh, Alderwoman Barnes uh gave notice that she would not be physically present for the meeting tonight due to illness and made a request to participate remotely under 5CS120-7 attendance by means other than physical presence. Do I have a motion to allow order? Okay. Second. All right. First and second. All in favor say I. I. All

opposed. Thank you. Now let's let us all please stand for the pledge of allegiance and after that please remain standing for a moment. Agenda item five.

Vote to approve the agenda. Move to approve the agenda. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. Alder person Swanson. I. Parker. Hi. Hulis. Hi. Healey. Hi. Evans. Hi. Hurt. Hi. and Barnes.

Okay. Before uh before we go on, she wasn't able to get in. Oh, she wasn't able to. Well, we'll have someone in. Okay. Get delivered in a minute. Whoever

she say she can hear but she's not. Okay.

So, are you resending it to her or let her know Amanda is She said So, should she get off and get back on? Linda,

I I don't know. I don't know, but I can so she can hear. I can call her on my phone and just put her on speaker phone. Well, you know, she may, you know, she may not be comfortable with that setup. Who's our IT person? Does Rob know? Okay. [laughter] Is

Is there Is there a doctor in the house? [laughter] What's she saying? speakers.

Okay. So, uh should we do another roll call for the record? It's just we're okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. I mean, but was she present during the roll call? Linda, are you here? Okay. Yes. Okay, we're good. All right. Thank you. Okay. [clears throat] Okay. So, agenda. Yes. Agenda item six. Sorry, Linda. Will uh do you vote to approve the agenda? Yes. [clears throat] Okay. Uh agenda item seven, public comment. Six. Oh, excuse me. Excuse me, everyone. Agenda item six,

proclamation declaring February 2026 Black History Month in the city of Rock Island. How could I forget that one? [clears throat] I almost skipped right over that one, Madam President. You have me for that one, huh? Good afternoon. Good afternoon.

Proclamation. Whereas Black History Month is is an annual celebration of achievements by African-Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in the history of the United States. And whereas the observance of Black History Month calls upon all citizens to reflect on the invaluable contributions of African-Americans in shaping our nation's culture, economy, science, politics, arts, and social progress. And whereas throughout history, African-Americans have played a vital role in the growth and development of Rock Island through leadership, service, innovation, and resilience in the face of adversity. And whereas the city of Rock Island remains committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse community where the legacies and achievements of African-Americans are honored and where justice, equality, and opportunity for all are upheld. And whereas in recognition of Black History Month, we encourage residents to educate themselves on the profound impact of African-Americans in our community and nation and to participate in events, programs, and activities that celebrate black history and culture. Whereas the 20 2026 theme for Black History Month is a century of Black History commemorations. Now therefore, I, Ashley Harris, mayor of the city of Rock Island, proclaim February 2026 as Black History Month in the city of Rock Island dated this 9th day of February 2026. [applause]

[applause] [clears throat] Harris.

Oh, I'm sorry. Okay. Thank you, Sarah. Sarah always takes care of me. [laughter]

Um, yes. Um, Mayor Ashley Harris, the Rock Islands City Council, city leaders, city residents, citizens, and ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Rock Island County NACP branch 3268, thank you for this proclamation recognizing Black History Month and the city of Rock Island's commit ment to honoring this history. Black History Month is a time to acknowledge the enduring contributions and leadership of black Americans, many of whom help shape this city and strengthen its civic life. Black history is not separate from our shared story. It is woven into the fabric of Rock Island itself. For more than a century, the NACP has worked to ensure that the promise of democracy is real and accessible for all here in our community. That work continues through advocacy for equitable education, fair civic participation, economic opportunity, and youth leadership. This proclamation recognizes not just an organization but generations of citizens, residents who have worked often without

recognition to move the city closer to justice and inclusion. May this moment be both a celebration and a renewed commitment to dignity, equity, and opportunity for every Rock Island resident and citizen. Thank you, mayor, and thank you, city council, and the community for this meaningful honor. The work continues. We are proud to do it together. Thank you so much. Thank you, MA'AM. [applause]

Agenda item seven, public comment. [clears throat] Thank you, sir.

The first name I'll call is Mr. Steve Scranton. My name is Steve Scranton. I am a resident of the city of Co Valley, Illinois. Um, I want to thank the mayor and the council for the um right to be able to make public um comment here. Um, I wanted to comment on the proclamation that we just witnessed. Um I am a um current member of the exe executive board of the NAACP of Rock Island County. [snorts] And um in light of the attacks that we've all seen by the current administration on black history and black achievements, this proclamation by the city of Rock Island means a lot to um the demographic and the um community of all um races of the inclusion of the history. [snorts] Um, I would like to, um, one of the things that I have done for the past several years is I have helped Ryan Sadler, [snorts] um, and the Putnham Museum promote the Davenport Historic Civil Rights Bicycle Tour. Um, they have trolley tours in the spring and summer, and they have bicycle tours in the fall. There are eight stops of there are 10 stops, eight miles of jaw-dropping history that has happened right within the city. Um it anybody who hasn't done it, it's we're joined by a river. I would um um like to uh um help I'd like to encourage you to to to

participate in that. But what I would like to do is see if we can get traction with the mayor and the city council to be able to bring the same thing to the city of Rock Island. Um there is a lot of history, there is a lot of diversity, there are a lot of buildings. Um, I would like to see if we couldn't get interest in be able to create our own historic civil rights um, uh, tour or or stops within the city of Rock Island. So, um, as a child growing up, I was acquainted with my father worked with Earl Hickman. Earl Hickman built the recreate the Hickman Recreational Center on Ninth Street and 9inth Avenue in the west end of Rock Island. I witnessed that being built and in Earl Hickman's words, Earl Hickman was a man among men. He said, "I am building this building to be a racial mixer." And so that spirit from 1965, now the work is being done at the Martin Luther King Center in Rock Island, Illinois, and it's great work, but to be able to honor the history of that and be able to put together more stops. So, um, if there's any interest in that, I would be, um, happy to be able to help out with the cause. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. April Linenburgger. Hello, my name is April and I'm a resident of Rock Island. I'm here today to speak on the upcoming ordinance vote for topic 9.A on today's agenda. Repeat that, ma'am. I I didn't hear that part. I'm sorry.

Sorry, I'll lean forward. There we go. Uh I'm here today to speak on the upcoming ordinance vote for topic 9.A on today's agenda. Uh this vote is to deny a pedestrian crosswalk across 17th Street towards 19th Avenue. This is a request we put in after our close friend, also a resident of Rock Island, was hit by a car and killed walking across the street near his home. We feel we've been pulled in different directions on this. At first, we were told the traffic engineering committee requested a traffic study from the engineering division. This study, however, contains no data about the intersections in question. We haven't heard anything with respect to crash or accident history, vehicle speed analysis, or any proposals for another type of solution that might improve safety in the area. Indeed, the report did not address any safety concerns. A person was killed. They and all of the surrounding residents deserve more than a three-s sentence report. If the crosswalk were to be denied, our question is simply this. What's next? Who will work to make sure that this area is safe for Rock Island residents? Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am. Alex North. Hello, my name is Alex North and I'm a citizen of Rock Island. Tonight, you have a proposal in front of you that focuses on keeping our people safe instead of our cars. Last November, a member of our community was hit by hit and killed by a car just south of 18th Avenue on 17th Street. friends and neighbors came in front of this council with suggestions on how to improve this area for foot foot traffic. And this uh this is the suggestion that you saw on January 12th as well. Uh and and now again tonight uh the recommendation from the traffic engineering committee is to deny the request stating in the initial recommendation on January 12th and the recommendation that is present uh tonight that we don't install crosswalks quote unquote at every intersection. Uh engineering studies have proven uh that after a few trips down the same street, a motorist no longer notices this type of warning. Uh this intersection is at 19th Avenue. Uh it's 400 ft away from the traffic control pedestrian crossing at 18th Avenue and 17th Street. And if the goal is to cross the street at 19th Avenue, the recommendation from the committee is to travel an additional 800 ft by foot to reach the other side of the road. In response, we could point to the crosswalk further down 17th Street uh right in front of the high school that is currently 400 ft from a traffic controlled intersection. We could also point out uh that the proposal seemed to offer an option at the 20th Avenue intersection which is 850 ft away from 18th Avenue which includes a bus stop um and is located along the recommended east west route published in the Rock Island bikeways plan from 2009 that exists to be consulted I would assume um

when deciding whether short-term proposals fit into the long-term vision of Rock Island. Right. Um, we could even point out that the traffic engineering committee is accepting defeat with regard to driver in attention, stating that the cheap and apparently only solution of sign and paint has no effect on pedest pedestrian safety while crossing our streets. But we're not going to point that out. I think we have other people uh that are doing that tonight. We're going to focus on how the treatment of this request reinforces the idea that Rock Island infrastructure and street design focuses solely on increasing traffic efficiency and quick access car storage at the expense of pedestrian and cyclist safety, giving a clear message to citizens that the only acceptable way of travel is by car. Looking at the city more broadly, 17th Street is a part of a collection of north and southbound streets that cut through primarily residential areas of our city south of 18th Avenue. Each 9th each of 9th, 17th, 24th, 30th, and 38th Street are primarily 44 feet wide with 38th Street being a few feet wider. This 44 feet is split into one driving lane and one parking lane in in each direction. Uh not only are the parking lanes very sparsely used, uh there's no demarcation between the driving lane and the parking lane. This results in effective driving lanes that are 22 feet wide where 10 to 12 is recommended and that gives an open road freeway feeling for cars in an area surrounded by single family homes while making things very comfortable for drivers. Uh it is well proven to have adverse saf safety effects due to increased speed, increased width of of the road to cross itself and a tendency for drivers to go on autopilot or increasing in attention. So what can we do? We could start by limiting parking to one side of the street for these main collector roads and and appropriately delineating the parking lane. Uh this

could reduce the width of the road and encourage drivers to operate in their 10 to 12 foot lane requiring more attention to their surroundings. Uh, if your immediate response is to argue that it's dangerous to have to cross the road after parking your car, I think that's the point. I'll wrap up by saying Rock Island is my home. It's not just where my house resides. It's where I grew up. It's where I chose to move back to with my family. It's where I'm a volunteer executive director of a nonprofit that's located in Rock Island. It's where I commuted over a hundred days last year by bike to my work located in downtown Rock Island, which Friday is International Winter Bike to Work Day. Um, by the way, so this is where I live. Uh, this is where I want this is where I want for my family to be able to take a onem bike ride to watch the Friday night football game without fearing for our safety. Let's bring people back outside. And the first step is building infrastructure that lets them know they're safe doing so. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Stephanie Richards. I am Stephanie Richards. I live in Molen. I lived in Rock Island from 95 to05. Worked at the Ark 12 and a half years. I'm concerned about the people that don't have homes. Um I went down to um 20 thou I sorry 20003rd Avenue I don't know what the warming um shelter with bottles of water this morning just to kind of get a sense of the problem and 40ome people showed up. I had um 40 bottles of water. I had 15 left and several people didn't want one. And so that was 25 people that got a bottle of water from me today cuz I wanted to get a sense of a problem and it seems like the ordinance even though it was made in good faith I believe you know um it's not going to solve the problem. These people don't have anywhere to live. It's cold. It's winter. You know people are getting hit by cars and killed and I'm just gravely concerned for their welfare and their safety that shelter is a human right. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am.

Shade. Hi. I'd like to start by saying thank you to Linda Barnes and Ashley Harris for listening to us about the m the mortuary over the homelessness uh in the area. That was a nice session. Um, but besides that, I'm here to talk about ordinance, um, 10B. Um, recently, uh, part of Milin Bottoms was sold. And personally, I think that was a bad idea, but that is neither here nor there. And I just, I think this is actually a better spot than Milin Bottoms to develop. I think this is a better spot than Milin Bottoms develop. I don't think this is a terrible place to develop, but I would like it to be known that that Rock Island and all cities, all land, I is not like a painting. It It's like marble. You can't just paint over spaces. It's it's once you've cut something away, once you've chipped off a block, it is gone. And I really really hope that our city council is keeping in mind the green space of the future of Rock Island and that while we are chipping away, we are keeping our conscious of what is necessary to be kept, keeping as much green space as we can and keeping our city as healthy and safe as we can. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Amy Patton.

Hello, ladies and gentlemen of city council. Um, my name is Amy Patton and I started attending these city council meetings back in November after the loss of my friend Josh Lud King. And throughout the months, it's been really enlightening to come to these city hall meetings to learn about the different issues that are plaguing Rock Island. Um, so tonight I actually want to address the social service ordinance that was passed a couple months ago. Um, I believe we all want the same thing. We want Rock Island to be as safe, prosperous, and humane. Um, but the social service ordinance passed in October um is standing in the way of these goals. Um, as it stands, the thousand foot barrier buffer requirement doesn't regulate services. It effectively zones them out of existence. When we map this out, there's almost nowhere left in the thous,000 acres for a new pantry or shelter to open. By capping shelters to 12 hours a day, we are legislating lording. We are telling people they must leave at 7 a.m. with nowhere to go, which ironically creates a very downtown congestion that this council has sought to avoid. A couple things we can do would be maybe to reduce the buffer to 300 ft, sufficient for spacing, but not a total ban. Uh second, we can end the arbitrary 49 person cap and follow the fire code. If the building is safe for 60 people, we should enforce 11 of them into the streets. Third, allow 24-hour wraparound models. Stability happens indoors, not on the sidewalk. And fourth, implementing a sliding scale for the $500 fee for our small neighborhood food pantries so they're not taxed out of their mission.

I don't know why we would want $500 fees for nonprofits to help serve the most underserved people in the community. Um, so I just hope this is something that you guys would consider to revise. The whole Quad Cities has the eyes on Rock Island and I hope that Rock Island could be a leader for the rest of the Quad Cities and maybe even give advice because I know going on Reddit I did read why some people in Rock Island would be against this. I learned about the NIMI movement, the whole not in my backyard. Um, as a mother of two, as a Girl Scout troop leader, I am not afraid of homeless people. I am not afraid of drug addicts. These are human beings. I have taken my Girl Scouts to the Christian Care in Rock Island, which only has 60 to 80 beds that fills up every night. You know, these aren't people we should be afraid of. These are people we should help. So, I really hope you guys would consider making some adjustments to this ordinance. Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am.

That will conclude public comment. We'll move on to agenda item eight, which is update Rock Island. Update Rock Island. Congratulations to our public works department on receiving public body of the year award and project of the year award by the Indiana Illinois Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting. This award recognizes the city's commitment to fair contracting and our leadership in ensuring that the public tax dollars support local workers and responsible contractors. The city was also recognized for the Sunset Marina project. Battle of the Buckets. Have fun and raise money while compete competing in the ultimate shooting and free throw contest for all ages. Meet at the Rock Island Fitness Center and Activity Center, the RIFAC, 4303 24th Street on Saturday, March 7th. Check-in begins at 9:30 a.m. and the competition goes until 11:15 a.m. All proceeds of this 1-day fundraising event go to the Rock Island Foundation's financial assistance program. Kids and adults, everyone competes on the same court. Show off your skills, have fun, and claim your crown. Celebrate Mardigra style. You are invited to celebrate Mardigra at the Hallberg Carriage House this Friday, February 13th, from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Food will be served from 9:00 p.m. or excuse me, food will be served from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Enjoy gumbo, red beans and rice, sausage, pobo, bread, bread pudding, king cakes, and Marty Gross mules from the Carriage House Bar. Adults are $10. Students and kids are free. Agenda item nine,

a an ordinance banning parking in front of 1718 and 1720 23rd Avenue from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on trash collection day. Second reading. Move to pass the ordinance. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. Alder prison Swanson. I. Parker. I. Pulis. I. Healey. I. Evans. Yes. Kurt I. And Barnes. I. Agenda item B. An ordinance amending chapter six fire prevention and protection by creating a new article 5 lift assist services second reading. Move to pass your ordinance. Second.

There's been a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. Alder prison Swanson. I. Parker. I. Pulis. Hi. Healey. I. Evans. Yes. Hurt. Hi. And Barnes. I agenda item C. An ordinance providing for a property purchase at 9021 Street for 50,000 plus closing cost. Second reading. Motion to pass the ordinance. Second. There's been a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Clerk, please call the role. Alder Swanson. I. Parker. I. Pulis. Hi. Key. I. Evans. Yes. Hurt. Hi. And Barnes. Hi. Agenda item 10,

a report from the traffic engineering committee regarding a request from Amy Patton to install a pedestrian crosswalk on the 1900 block of 17th Street, First Street Reading. Motion to deny the request. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Yes. Can you guys hear me? Okay. Yes.

Oh, okay. I just want to say thanks to everyone who uh came up for the public comment regarding um the request for the crosswalk. And I um I do live off of 17th Street, so I travel that on a regular basis. So I do, you know, can see some of the issues there. Um as far as the crosswalk, I would agree with engineering that that's probably not the safest measure for that area. However, things that I have identified and I think Alex may have mentioned also is possibly no parking between 18th I between 18th and 19th. So maybe staff can look at that over the next 6 months to consider if that's something feasible to do to make it more provide more visibility in that area. And then also another thing that Mr. North had brought brought up was a or brought up was the 2009 uh Rock Island bikeway plan and it included that area as a recommendation. So based on the increase in electric bikes, I would recommend that we uh revive the bicycle task force to take another look at that area. So maybe something we can build into our um five-year strategic plan.

Okay. Thank you, ma'am. Is there is there Go ahead,

Mike. Does public works have a process for any street or avenue in our community where there are I mean we see this over and over, right? We've got the First Avenue road diet. We've got uh 7th Avenue over in Markxswward. There is this growing change in city planning and urban design about road diets and uh thinking about how we're designing streets so that it prevents people from speeding versus slapping a speed limit sign which nobody pays attention to anyway. Do we have a process by which the public works department reviews an avenue, a street for potential modifications, bumpouts? You know, as the gentleman said, there's plenty of new ideas on this con on this idea. Do we have a process in place where people can suggest a particular street or avenue for that a process like that?

And I had to responded to Linda Alderman Barnes previously about a similar question. Um, so when we're looking at revisions, uh, I say whole who wholesale changes to streets, bumpouts, uh, reconstruction of intersections, um, possibly adding, uh, speed humps in into certain areas. We generally consider those when we're looking to improve the street in a reconstruction and implement those plans at that time. Uh, it it's it's sad to say, but it's true. the fact that we're balancing the an issue with we have streets that are failing that need complete reconstruction. They're in terrible condition now or do we look at the fact of doing some striping and bumpouts and investing in dollars into streets that are in acceptable condition and are functioning properly. And so that's the thing that's the that's the process that we're looking at currently. We need to improve on that but again and we are looking at at uh it was mentioned 38th Street. We are looking at um looking at restriping that area. We had a gentleman come uh late last year had a car hit a parked car there because because of the lane lines and so we we are looking to implement some of those changes and those will be looked at for 1730 and 38th Street the streets that were just mentioned. Um so it's it's it's a balance and um we we need more funding to be able to do everything that's needed.

Yeah. With respect to the street maintenance utility fee that we added a year ago or whatever it's been now, it's my understanding that each ward sort of has a budget that that revenue generates for uh for public works to use within each ward so that the revenue is distributed equity equitably across the city. Uh could aler people I mean yeah we have limited resources. Do you fix a crumbling street or do you add bumpouts to improve 17th Street in this particular example? I mean, frankly, that to me that's uh a policy decision, you know, alder person decision. Could aler people weigh in with the pot of money that the street utility or street maintenance utility fee generates to say, I want to prioritize improving safety for major corridors or I want to prioritize replacing, you know, crumbling streets. Can we weigh in?

Yeah, absolutely. We always welcome the input from the council um and in discussions through email with Alderman Barnes. We talked about in discussing this in the strate strategic planning um as part of that process as well. So we always welcome that. I can say that the some of the street funding that we are collecting um is going to our towards our capital projects this year to help offset some funding gaps that we have in that. So some of that funding is being used to go towards say arterial streets and 20th street resurfacing because of the funding that's needed. So we don't Yes, we are bringing additional money but additional money is needed for projects that we already have. So again it's it's finding that balance and getting the most done that we can with the dollars we have.

So uh Mr. North and uh [clears throat] you both mentioned a speed bump. Could it be that simple? No. Well, I wish it was. Um, we have a speed hump policy that's generally for residential areas. Um, uh, streets that are, uh, below 5,000 cars a day, which this this street is over almost 6,000 cars, 7,000 cars a day that we're talking about currently. Um, but we have installed one speed hump in a residential area to assist with speeding, um, uh, pedestrian awareness. So, those are things that will be looked at at other streets, but not necessarily for the for the agenda item that's on the agenda tonight.

Uh, the difference, [clears throat] so uh 5,000 cars or less would be ideal for a speed bump, but this area is a little over 6,000 cars, approximately 7,000 cars a day.

That is still That's still relatively close. it it and and and I bring it up because it's too close because they're in here they're they're not speaking on a near miss. They're speaking on uh an accident that already happened. You know, they already had a friend that passed away. So for for that to be very very close to qualify for a speed bump, I would side with us not wanting an accident to happen again, you know, as opposed to not putting a speed bump in because it's, you know, a couple thousand cars a day out of out of out of spec. So

I mean, am I am I the issue? We've had a request for um 24 Street and I think the 2200 block um for speed humps on 24th Street. It was close to that uh number daily ADT traffic. Um the council ultimately denied that because that's a a ambulance route. Fire trucks, police use that daily and they're rushing to calls. And so that would be very similar for 17th Street that's putting the speed humps there is you've got emergency personnel responding to calls day in and day out on those arterial streets would impede on their response.

So if if if anything is there anything that the city can do to show a gesture uh that [clears throat] we do want to try to make this area a little bit safer. maybe we can't do this, that, or the other, but we do realize that there's a risk here, and we're trying to address that. Is there anything formally or informally that we can do?

Yeah, we we're going to continue to look at other options. Um, but again, what we have on the agenda tonight is is our staff recommendation. Um, again, we feel it's best to send and I I I I welcome Mr. Norris's uh comments about the other intersection at uh uh closer to 25th Avenue. That's the crossing that he's registering that goes to the stadium for the high school. There's a crossing there. I think that's been there since early 2000. I wasn't involved in the process. Matter of fact, I looked today because I thought that would probably be brought up and um unfortunately we we can't find any records of that being approved before 2000 going back from traffic engineering uh documents. So, um that is in a school zone. So, 23rd to 25th Avenue is a school zone. that has speed limit 20 when children are present or on school days. Uh but again, there has been a pedestrian hint at that crossing too and it's unsalized intersection. So that that kind of goes back to what we're saying about this approval is those are are unsafe. That really should be evaluated on whether that that crossing should stay as well. So

that'll be part of our evaluation process moving forward. So, would that be uh would that be an area to where we can put one of those police your speeding your speeding signs up? Just uh you know,

we've had um radar signs if the chief police wants to to talk about that, but we can we can rotate those in and out. Again, you know, we talked about visual clutter with signs. Those are getting pretty common, right? People drive by those and they're trying to go they're trying to speed by them to see how fast they can go, right? I mean, there's there's there's they do hinder some of the speeding, but again, it doesn't solve that. Um, it provides data and we can collect that data and provide that data. Um, but again, uh, they only do so much. Uh, Chief, do you want to add anything to that?

No, you're you hit it right on the head there, Mike. That's about right. We can do the best we can with awareness and trying to get people to slow down and we put as many up around the city. In fact, in fact, all the school zones have them now, too. So, but uh they can only do so much. Okay. Uh so, how will we follow up? Yeah, as Mike indicated, we'll continue to look at options and report back to the council if we think something is uh would make an improvement there. Uh I'm interested in exploring some additional ideas with Mike as well. So we'll we'll report back.

And uh Mr. North, is is is this something that we can keep you in the loop on, sir? Yeah. And uh but you know, before you leave, if you could leave your contact information, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Is there any more discussion? Clerk, please call the role. Alder President Swanson. I. Parker. Hi. Hulis. Hi. Healey. Hi. Evans. Yes. Hurt. Hi. And Barnes. Hi. Sorry. Was that an I or an A? Uh, that's I don't need specifically for the cross wall. Okay.

Agenda item B. Report from the community development department regarding a city initiated reszoning request from a C2 nature conservation district to I1 light industrial district for various properties. First reading motion to postpone this until the second meeting in March so that we can get some get some more information on this. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Does everyone know where we are? Okay. Clerk, please call the role. Alder President Swanson. I. Parker. I. Pulis. I. Keelley. I. Evans. Yes.

Hurt. I. And Barnes. I. Agenda item 11. Consent agenda items A through F. Motion to approve consent agenda items A through F. Correction. That's item 10, I believe. Uh, number 10 on here. I said you studied 11, right? 11. I got 11. Oh, okay. It's nine. Okay. Does everyone know where we are? Okay. Now I do. [laughter] So, uh, is there, uh, I don't have a first or a second? I didn't get Oh, we have a first. Do we have a second? Second.

Okay. Now I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. Alder person. Swanson. I. Parker. I. Pulis. Hi. Healey. I. Evans. Yes. Hurt. Hi. And Barnes. [clears throat] I. Agenda item 12. Motion to allow claims A through D. Second. I have 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. Alder Swanson, I. Pulis, I. Keely, I. Evans, yes. Hurt, I. And Barnes, I. Agenda item E. Claims E through I. Motion to allow claims E through I. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Move to remove item four from the or sorry, F. Thank you. I don't know why I just said four. Item F from the consent agenda or the claims to be discussed separately.

There's been a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. All the present. Swanson I. Parker I. Pulis. Hi. Healey. Hi. Evans. Yes. Hurt. I. And Barnes. I. So are we coming back to F now? Okay. Now now we're going to J or we're going through EG hi. Yeah. Okay. Motion to allow claims E, G, H, and I. Okay. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. Alder prison Swanson. I. Parker. Hi. Pulis. Hi. Healey. I. Evans. Yes.

Hurt. Hi. And Barnes. I. Agenda item J. F. Oh, now we go back. Okay. All right. Agenda, excuse me. Agenda item F. Report from the public works department regarding payment to Mid-American Rock Island, Illinois to reclo relocate the primary electrical equipment at the 2932 24th Street water tower in the amount of $35,772. Move to approve the claim. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion?

Mike, why are we paying Mid-Americ to move their equipment? I'd have to follow up with staff more on this item honestly. Um I do know that there was some easement issues related to the power and so that was part of the reason. Um so we had to create an easement for that area. Um but I would need to follow up with staff more on that. Is this part of the conversation I think that you've been CCD on some emails and Todd maybe you can chime in if you're aware maybe you uh regarding some difficulties that we're having with Mid-Americ about how they're being very uncooperative when improvements need to be done near their facilities that they're just taking no responsibility for moving their stuff and making owners pay them to move their equipment. I'm thinking of Sacred Heart in my ward. Is that I mean, is that what this is?

Yeah. I'd have to find out more details about it. Are you Are you asking if this is similar to the Sacred Heart? Yes. Issue? Yes. Um, similar. Yes. Yes. Have we made any progress? I know we were looking there was an email saying that we would consider regulations municipal regulations for the utility which may be challenging but have we looked into that anymore? Not in any real depth. Uh often times who's responsible for moving utilities will either be outlined in the franchise agreement or in some separate agreement for facilities. So I'd kind of assume that was what was true in this case but uh we can find out more information about it. How old is our agreement?

I'm not sure if this has a separate agreement or it's part of the franchise agreement. Do you know, Mike? I I don't. You know when the franchise agreement was last done? It's predates me. I want to say it was in the last four to five years, but I I could be wrong. Okay. All right.

I mean, I I don't appreciate spending $35,000 worth of taxpayer dollars because Mid-Americ can just ignore an email, right? So, uh, I encourage staff to follow up on this. Uh, it's my understanding that Mid-American is increasingly uncooperative and sort of meh about our problems. So, I don't I don't appreciate that and I don't like spending this money because they just don't want to be nice. I I would say that we've granted we don't like what we're paying here tonight, but we have had a good working relationship with them in the past. It has uh become more difficult, I'll say. Um we had some issues in the downtown construction project as well. Um but again, we we still have a good working relationship with them. Um they they do things quickly when we need it. Um doesn't always cost us money for the things that we're asking for. Um, but this was an instance to where it they needed it covered. We needed it done in a in a timely manner and they did get it done. However, we had an expense. So, that looks like an opportunity uh for us to build a stronger relationship. [cough]

Yeah. Okay. Uh, any more discussion? Nope. Roll call, please. Well, question. So, are we going to vote on it? Are [cough] we postponing it? I would I mean it is what it is, but my point in the public or in the my comments tonight was just to continue staff to continue looking into what the city can do to push back against the monopoly that is Mid-Americ. Th this work was completed and requires payment. What's that? [laughter]

We're not starting wars like that, folks. We're We're trying to build relationships here. Said the work's done. So, we either pay I do agree with uh Alderman uh Parker on this. And I think before we start getting hold on every still discussing, right? Sorry. Um I do think that we should pri make this a priority before these come about when before the work's already done and then we're voting on it after the fact. I'd rather make sure we kind of move forward on that, too. I do agree with you on that. It's not entirely clear here, Mike. Do you know is this our equipment they moved or their

It's It's their utility. Yeah. And and this was needed to be completed right away. Um we had that water tower shut down and um working off another water tower. So, we couldn't keep it out of service for x amount of time, whatever it took. So, it was emergency purchase essentially by our uh financial policies to where we told them to move forward due to possible uh concern with the public and drinking water. That's why we move forward quickly.

I just I just still see $35,000 that we're paying them for their own equipment. Like I said, I do agree with Alderman Parker uh about this. We need to make sure that we do something because that is a lot of taxpayer dollars. And it's not only what when the municipality pays Mid-Americ. I've got constituents that are being I don't know what word to use, but Mid-Americ is, you know, they they need to do improvements to their buildings and Mid-Americ is saying tough pay us, you know, pay for pay to move our stuff if you want it done. No, it's your stuff. You move it. And Mid-Americ, they're not under any pressure. It's not their improvements that they want to get done to their building. So, it's not only that we are having to use taxpayer dollars to pay Mid-Americ to move their stuff, but all of our constituents have to pay Mid-Americ to move their stuff, too. Mid-Americans should pay to move Mid-Americ's property.

Okay. Okay. So, now you know not not starting litigation here. We [clears throat] got executive session later. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. not not not starting litigation here. Um, however, is this something that we can hold off on to make sure that the payment reflects the franchise agreement? Could there be a question that this payment is outside of that agreement? I don't see a problem with delay. Mike, do you It was within the parameters of the of the agreement. Yeah. Okay. Well, let's proceed then. I

I made the motion to pay it because we got to pay it. We said we're going to pay it. We're gonna pay it. But moving forward, let's address it. Understood. [snorts] Any more discussion? Roll call, please. Alder President Swanson. I. Parker. I. Pulis. I. Healey. I. Evans. Yes. Hurt. I. And Barnes. I'm going to give the long no vote on it. Agenda item J. Report from the police department regarding a purchase in the amount of $13,345 from Magnet Forensics for an investigative tool known as Grey Key.

Move to approve the purchase. Second. There's been a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. Alder prison Swanson. I. Parker. I. Pulis. I. Healey. I. Evans. Yes. Hurt. I. And Barnes. I agenda item 13, a report from the community development department regarding the 2026 arts services agreement with Quat City Arts. Move to approve the agreement and authorize city managing modifications. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Um, I need to recuse myself from this vote. [clears throat]

Roll call, please. Oh, hold on. Hold on. Yes. Is there anybody here from Cloud City Arts? Can you come on up and just kind of talk a little bit about what you do for the city of Rock Island? I think citizens be curious to know. Thank you. [clears throat]

Good evening, council, and thank you so much. And good evening to Rock Island. Uh my name is Ben Gujan. I am the director of community engagement at Quad City Arts. And with this art services agreement, uh this is this is an agreement we have with the city of Rock Island in order to provide a lot of the services that we [clears throat] do. Um primarily this service agreement is aimed at the public sculpture program which Rock Island participates in. also our Metro Arts Youth Program and our Chalk Art Fest uh which is hosted in Schwebert Park in downtown Rock Island. [clears throat] The public sculpture program, we bring four different sculptures every year to four locations in downtown or not in downtown but in Rock Island. Long View Park, Five Points, the Southwest Library and the Downtown Library. Uh, our chalk art festival, which is in its 10th year this year, and we're very excited about, uh, brings last year brought in over 7,000 people to downtown Rock Island, uh, the the end of May, beginning of June, uh, for a really wonderful community event that supports over 200 artists uh, to to create really incredible chalk art. And then our Metro Arts Youth Program employs 30 youth ages 15 to 21 from around the Quad Cities, including many, many Rock Island youth, uh, to create public art around the Quad Cities. Uh, last year's piece in Rock Island was over at Lonni Ray Academy on the west side of Rock Island. uh they created about a 1300 square foot mural um with with 10 youth apprentices um and it was just this really really great

really wonderful piece of community engagement and involvement. So that is the the kind of core of the art services agreement is funding those services. We did have an increase this year because the the Metro Arts portion of the agreement typically covered about $5,000 of one of those projects. Those projects cost between 11 and $13,000 to complete. So those funds were bumped up a little this year to help cover the cost of the Metro Arts project. Thank you very much. I just thought that would be good information for any of those people that might be listening and uh we appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Thanks for all you do.

Any more discussion? Roll call, please. Alder person Parker. I. Pulis. I. Healey. I. Evans. Yes. Hurt. Hi. And Barnes. Hi. Agenda item B. Report for the community development department regarding a single source procurement of a cultural liaison. Move to approve the single source procurement and authorize the city manager to execute the contract subject to minor attorney modifications. There's been a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. All the prisons. Swanson. I. [clears throat] Parker. I. Pulis. Hi. Healey. I. Evans. Yes. Hurt. I.

And Barnes. I. Agenda item 14. A report from the community development department regarding properties on the northwest corner of Route 92 and Andalusia Road. Motion to approve the letter of intent and authorize the city manager to execute the document. Second. There's been a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Clerk, please call the role. Alder President Swanson. I. Parker, I. Hulis. I. Healey. I. Evans. Yes. Hurt. Hi. And Barnes. I. Agenda item 15. report from the mayor's office regarding reappoints to the Labor Day Parade Advisory Board. Move to approve the reappoints as recommended. Second.

There's been a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. All the prison Swanson I. Parker, I Healey. I Evans. Yes. Kurt, I. And Barnes, I. Agenda item 16, a report from the city clerk's office regarding a sound amplification request from Kavanaaugh's Hilltop Tavern on their 14th annual Shamrock and Patio Party event on Saturday, March 14th, 2026 from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and a request for the outdoor alcohol consumption in the Fston area of the adjacent parking lot. Move to approve the request as recommended subject to complying with all liquor license regulations and being closed down early if complaints are received. Second.

There's been a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. All the prison. Swanson. Hi. Parker. Hi. Hi. Healey. Hi. Evans. Yes. Hurt. Hi. And Barnes. Hi. Agenda. Oh, excuse me. I'm sorry. Agenda item 17. Rock Island Port Authority. Do I have a motion to close the normal meeting and enter our port our Rock Island Port Authority? Second. All in favor say I. I. All opposed. Mayor, we do not have an update tonight. What What the top say? No update.

Okay. Okay. How's the plan coming along? I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. How's the plan coming along? It's coming along very nicely. We look to have an update to you soon. Cool. Thank you. Motion to close. originality district. Second. All in favor say I. I. All opposed. Okay. Um, where are we at now? Are we at 18? Yeah. Agenda item 18.

Hey, Mike. Mr. Bartell, I would like to thank you. I saw that there were uh portaotties put in the downtown Rock Island. Uh, I appreciate that. How's that going? Uh, it's been it's been going good. Um, I think we've had them in for a couple weeks now. We haven't had any issues until this morning. Um, I was emailed by the company who provides them and one of the uh restrooms was what we can only uh think was try to set on fire. Um, the urinal inside it was completely melted and so they have to replace that unit. Um uh but other than that, that's the only issue we've had since they've been installed. Sorry, I asked.

Oh, sorry. Did you have something else? Are we are we going to have to pay for that? Um I don't believe so. They're going to let me know um tomorrow. I spoke with their supervisor today. Um, I mean, I I don't believe we're going to if if we have to replace it, I would I would recommend that we only leave the one unit there um and not replace it with the second. Well, personally, if we have to replace and it cost more than what's costing us to put them down there to begin with, wouldn't it be how much might be worth pulling them both if it's going to cause if it's costing us more if these future events continue? I'm not saying that's what we do, but I guess we'll wait to see what they come back with on there's cost.

I can let you know. The small one. I'm sorry I couldn't hear you. Was it the big one or the small one? I believe it was the big one. The ADA accessible.

I I do have something real quick to respond to a public comment that was made a little bit ago. And And I'm I guess I'm bringing this up because we're always, you know, there's a lot of things that come out, a lot of misinformation. And we had someone during public comment talk about the social service ordinance and um I can tell you the stuff that you were citing in there was based off the original ordinance and that's not current. So I would maybe suggest go back and look at the the updated ordinance as far as the 49 person and the there's there's a couple things in there that were not correct. So, it might I'm just recommending maybe go back and look at the the updated one because the stuff you were citing was this is not engagement here. I'm just saying this is I'm just recommending there were some things out there that were not accurate that were reflective of the very first ordinance that came out, not the not the newer one.

I didn't hear you. Make it accessible. Like I could only find it through the agenda meeting minutes. So, there's a website that you guys put all your organs on, but none of this stuff was on it. It's only updated every six months. And and and and ma'am, you you know, you bring up some good points of of improvement. You know, um we you know, we we have a continuous improvement mindset. So, a lot of things that we you know, we need to get better better on every day. And that is one of those things. Thank you for highlighting that to us. Um I also want to Were you done, sir? I'm sorry. Were you done?

No, I was done. I just wanted to make sure that because, you know, we're we're hearing the comments to us about certain things, but they weren't, but there were some inaccuracies there. And I wanted to just basically state that that was not all not all those are correct. So, I mean, if if you needed a copy, I'm sure you could call the city clerk's office and they could get you an updated copy or something. I'm just I'm not debating. I'm just saying. Excuse me. Yeah. Can I go? Yes. Go ahead. Can we move on? Okay. I'm gonna move I'm gonna move on. Is that okay?

Okay. Uh uh change of subject. I would like to invite everyone to join uh Ballet Quad Cities, a wonderful stakeholder in our downtown and a nice constituent of mine. Uh this Friday from noon to 1 at their Rock Island studio. Uh they're doing a brown bag lunch. Uh enjoy a sneak peek uh rehearsal for their upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet, a brief meet and greet with the different ballerinas and other people involved with the ballet, and of course an opportunity to support our beloved ballet company in downtown Rock Island. Thank you.

Thank you. Um, Mary, you want to tell about the Lincoln day since we didn't get a chance to get the proclamation? Sure.

Hello everyone. I just wanted to um announce our Lincoln Day dinner for the Rock Island County Republican Party. It is February 22nd. All are invited. Um we will have a lot of the candidates there so you can get a chance to see what their um values are and their um their stances. We will also have um guest speaker Genie Eyes. Um she is a radio host for AM560 out of Chicago. So she'll be able to give us an update of what's been going on out there in in the Chicagoland area. So, we um encourage everybody to attend uh at the Stern Center. Um doors open at 3 PM. Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am. Thank you.

And then I have one thing. Um so this afternoon, Alderman Pulis and I attended Sorry, Alderman Pulis and I attended a um round table topic on affordable housing um which I think went very well. lots of great conversation. Um they will be hosting another roundt topic on February 23 I believe at 180 and that will be discussing um homelessness but a lot of the service providers and a lot of the cities were represented. Um, so I just want people to know that there are ongoing conversations in the city regarding all types of things, affordable housing, um, homeless situation, um, just lots of topics. So I don't want people to think that, as has been reported that we're kind of close-minded, but we are looking at options. We are talking through a lot of things. Um, and it was a very good conference this this afternoon. Adding to that, it was kind of interesting that some of the suggestions that were made are already in implementation by the city of Rock Island.

Good, good, good, good, good.

Um, I would I would like to take a minute just to uh [clears throat] bring up a few highlights. Last week, I had a chance to tour uh the YW.CA. Am I saying that right? Our our our new downtown facility. And uh I'm I I I was really really impressed. It is an absolute beautiful place right down here in the heart of Davenport. And when I was on tour, you know, uh in a funny way, it almost felt as if I was on vacation, as if I wasn't in Rock Island anymore. It just it just had a wonderful feel to it. It's very clean. Uh it's big. It's spacious. They have a ton of amenities. They have a nice swimming pool. Uh they have classrooms for children. Please check them out. It is it is a staple in the downtown area and they're here for us. It's just a small example of major investments staying committed to the community. So, I want to give a shout out to them and I appreciate them uh allowing me to go on a beautiful tour. I also want to give a shout out to the Rock Island Library. Um I had a meeting with them. Me and Alder person uh uh Evans had a meeting with them last week as well. They are committed to community. Um, you know, over the years, you know, the libraries have been through hard times, and our Rock Island Library, uh, they they've reinvented themselves over and over again. Now, they're very very very much so relevant and they're looking to make some major some major investments. They're looking to do some remodeling and as a community for their mission, we're looking to support them as they support us. So, I just wanted to bring that up about the library. And also I brought it up in uh the update Rock Island. This award here, this award here, we got this we got this last week. It was presented by I want to say this right um the Indiana Illinois Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting. And you know Dylan Dylan presented the award to us. He he he is a part of the

organization. And one good thing about that is us receiving this award. It lets it it it it it lets everyone know that we stand on customer service and we're looking to receive awards be award be award worthy for all sections of the city from from from small business to big business um um to public safety. We are looking to do whatever we need to do to win some awards in the public eye uh professionally and informally. So I want to thank I want to thank the federation. I want to thank the council. I want to thank the public works department because without them, we wouldn't have had the execution to even receive this award. And I I want to give another special acknowledgement to Mr. Mike Bartell's, the department head. I didn't I didn't get as much time during the state of the city to address the public works department that like I wanted to, but but they are just as important as our fire and police station, our our fire and police force. and I just want to make a a a public acknowledgement of your work and the dedication of of the men of valor that support the department. So, thank you guys. Thank you.

Thank you, mayor. I just want to add Go ahead. You want to give him applause? [applause]

I just want to add uh for the mayor for his first uh state of the city. You know, I know it's not easy to sit in this position. Uh I know it's a learning curve, but I think you did an excellent job. You still have some more room like we all do. But the reality is is it's a hard position to sit in the forefront and try to tell the truth about what's going on within your city. The other thing is we had so many things going on in the last week or so since we met that we had the state of the city, we had the uh legislative breakfast, we had the uh federation for fair contracting. I mean, it was like we was at Bal's all the time. Yeah.

Uh and they did an excellent job of serving us over at Bal. So, I have to give them their kudos where it it was required cuz

the breakfast over there, Dylan did a great job over there for that lunch. And I'll tell you, he ordered the food and I think I put on a few pounds. But uh but it's been nice to actually represent this city. And you know, it's not easy when you get phone calls at UN all hours of the night and but the reality is is we're working as a team and I just want to see us continue to try to do that. It was nice to see everyone that showed up at each one of those events. Once again, I have not got a chance to formally congratulate Amanda for actually being sworn in, but we've had a lot going on, and I just thank you guys for helping to make the city thrive and actually something to shine at. And, uh, to Mr. North, uh, you know, uh, we will, you know, do everything that we possibly can, um, you know, to to to address the situation. uh we will nowhere near admit or accept defeat in the matter. Um you know there's a lot of things you know with us being a municipality it's a lot of like red tape with the amount of time that it takes for a turnaround for a decision to be made but that that does not uh negate the fact that we do not want any more accidents and and and and god knows any more loss of life. So um allow us to work with you um you work with us and and we will come up with with with a with a solution that can be safe and practable for all parties involved. And I I I I want to thank you for coming to to speak your concerns, sir. Thank you. Anything else? Agenda item 19. Close session 5 ILCS120-2C11 litigation when an action against affecting or on behalf of the particular public body has been filed or isn't is pending before a court or administrative

tribunal or when the public body finds that an action is probable or imminent in which case the basis for the finding must be recorded and enter into minutes of closed meeting and five ILCS120-25 C5 the purchase or lease of real property for the use of the public body, including meetings held for the purpose of discussing whether a particular parcel should be acquired. Move to enter close session for the exception. Second. There's been a first and a second. All in favor say I. I. I. All opposed.