City Council - Regular Meeting

I think that's 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, Healey here, and Mayor Harris present. Would everyone please stand for the pledge of allegiance and remain standing for a moment of silence, please? I pledge algiance 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.

Agenda item five. Vote to approve the agenda. Motion to approve the agenda. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Cler, call the role, please. Alder person Healey. I. Evans. Yes. Hurt. I. Barnes. I. Swanson. I. And Parker. I.

Agenda item six. Presentation of the 2026 first quarter financial mana man management report and update on outstanding ARPA fund projects. Good evening, mayor and members of city council. In your packet for review tonight is the financial management report for the period ending March 31st, 2026. The first quarter financials are always hard to predict because we're typically re we're re excuse me we're typically acrewing the majority of the funds back to the prior year as well as some of the expenditures. While doing that we usually receive annual maintenance premium and membership invoices that are due in January. So most expenses appear most of the funds appear expenseheavy. We're going to get to the um slideshow in just a minute. I'm going to do my presentation first and then we'll go to the slideshow. Overall, city funds were below the 25% benchmark for 2026. Revenues were primarily under expenditures in most funds because, as I mentioned, they were acred back to prior year and most funds were under the expected benchmark as well. In the general fund, revenues were at 9% and expenditures were at 20% of the budget, just slightly under the benchmark, with state and local taxes continuing to provide the largest share of the revenue. Among special revenue funds, the library fund was at 2% for revenue while expenditures were at 16%. TIFF revenue was at 1% with expenditures at 26%. These funds rely primarily on property tax revenue, which the county should be distributing next month. The riverboat gaming fund revenue was below the benchmark at 17% with expenditures at zero. As I noted in the report, transfers will be completed in June and December. So, this number will

be closer to expectations at that time. For capital and infrastructure funds, street and fun street improvement fund revenue activity was reported at 22% with expenditures at 3%. As I mentioned, we'll discuss ARPA in just a few minutes. The housing and community development fund which supports the community development block grant program reported revenues at 3% of the budget which is due to the timing of the draw downs we request from the federal government with expenditures at 15%. The MLK community center operations fund reflected revenue at 24% with expenditures at 26%. Revenues include monthly transfers from the general fund along with community room rentals and miscellaneous donations. Foreign fire insurance fund revenue is at 0% as the annual distribution from IML is expected in October and expenditures were also below the benchmark at 8%. The community and economic development fund reported revenues at 13% and expenditures at 6%. This fund covers memberships, contributions, and sponsorships through a transfer from the general fund. Council will notice the inclusion of the new economic development fund that was created towards the end of 2025. This one, this fund was established utilizing the revenue received from the sale of the Valley's West property. Moving on to enterprise operations, the utility enterprise funds were all below the revenue benchmark. Water was at 17%, wastewater at 20, solid waste at 21, and storm water at 18%. Expenditures for the funds were also under the 25% benchmark. Water was at 24, wastewater at 11, solid waste at 22, and storm water at 7. The parks and recreation fund and sunset

marina fund revenues were at negative percentages due to recording entries that finance has to do related to grant revenue. It's an accounting entry that we do when there's a grant receivable that was issued one year but won't be received until the next year. So then it looks like it's an it's an expense rather than a revenue. Once the grant funds have been received, that entry will be reversed and it'll look more like revenue instead of on the expenditure side. Expenditures for both funds were below the benchmark at 13 and 15% respectively. Internal service fund revenues were mixed. Equipment maintenance revenue was above the benchmark at 26%. The self- insurance fund was at 24%. The employee health benefit fund was at 21 followed by engineering at three. Expenditures for the equipment maintenance fund were at 23%. The self- insurance fund was slightly above the benchmark at 26%. The employee health benefit fund was at 17% followed by engineering at 20. The combined MLK funds revenue were at 24% and expenditures were below the benchmark at 16%. And these are the funds that are used to account for the MLK grant federal and state revenue. Moving forward to review the tax revenue staff reviewed all dispersements the city received to date and will report on all totals received through 2026. Just a quick explanation on the tax revenue analysis. The numbers in green have been reported by the state but haven't been received by the city yet. Well, by the end of the quarter. So, you'll notice that they're green. Income tax was budgeted at 6.6 million and has received 25% of the budget. Annual projections indicate it may fall approximately $6,000 short of the budgeted amount. Replacement tax revenue has received 29%

of the budgeted revenue for 2026. The total amount projected is just over $3.8 million, falling approximately $188,000 short of the $4 million budget. As I noted in the report, council will notice the new local grocery tax analysis for the local tax that became effective in January. The state is now tracking this tax separate from sales tax. So you'll see this on as a new line item in your reports. The first distribution was received in April, which was for January, and indicates a projection of $510,000, which is approximately $10,000 over the budgeted amount. sales tax. The first distribution was received in April for January and indicates initial projections will be approximately $6,000 over the budget of 3.7 million. The city has experienced increased sales tax distributions over the past year, but use tax have declined significantly due to the state's leveling the playing field for Illinois Retail Act, which I've mentioned previously. Local option sales tax received its first distribution in April for January and indicates initial projections will be approximately $13,000 over the $3.3 million budget. Use tax revenue, which has been well below average distributions, was significantly reduced in the 2026 budgeted amount, but initial projections indicate it will still fall approximately $10,000 short of of the amended budget that we projected for 2026. Municipal utility tax revenues are at 34% of the budget through March and projections indicate revenue will exceed the budgeted amount of $2 million by $186,000. The first distribution of telecommunications tax was received in April for January and indicates initial

projections will be approximately $6,000 below the $435,000 budget. Food and beverage taxes are anticipated to fall slightly short of the budgeted revenue. It was at 21% through the end of March and projections indicate it will be approximately $40,000 short. Finally, gaming tax revenue is at 36% through April and is projected to exceed the $3.8 million budget by approximately $108,000. The monthly investment interest report indicates the average interest rates that were paid out during the first quarter months varied with significant decreases in March. The city received a combined total of just over $283,000 in interest in the first quarter. Rob, if you'll go ahead and pull up the presentation now, please. So, we'll move on to the ARPA fund. Just to give council a recap, the original plan was adopted by city council in October of 2022. The total amount of ARPA funding the city received was 26.5 million. 16.5 million was restricted and obligated by Treasury's date of December 31st, 2024. The total restricted amounts must be spent by December 31st, 2026, and any unspent funds must be returned to Treasury in January. As a way to obligate restricted ARPA funds, city council approved inter agency agreements on December 9th and December 16th, 2024. The projects and the amounts are listed on this slide and the next slide.

The projects using restricted funds that are still outstanding are on the slide. The total outstanding amount left to be spent is $845,22762. As a reminder, the restricted funds can only be moved between projects that have a remaining active IAA agreement. Staff recommends moving the remaining southwest treatment plant pump station, Highline Springs Golf Course, and federal buildings building street light funds to the advanced water infrastructure project. The three projects have been completed while the water meter infrastructure project is ongoing. This is consistent with what council has approved with um during last October when funding was transferred from the Rock Island Parkway project to remaining expenses for the purchase of a fire truck, the P25 alerting system, public safety initiatives, and ARPA administration salaries and benefits. If council has no objections, a revised IAA agreement will be included on an upcoming agenda, increasing the amount of the project and adjusting the deadline for the project. We'll adjust it to December 2026. It won't go beyond the obligation amount. Moving on to unrestricted ARPA funding. $10 million was reported to Treasury as lost revenue. So there's no deadline for spending these funds. The remaining amount of unrestricted $10 million is just over 1.5 million. Most of this has been allocated for specific projects listed on the slide. I've noted over $25,000 of the remaining grid assistance has been allocated, leaving approximately 27,000 left to be spent. The unallocated funds came from projects that came in under their allocated amount and haven't been reallocated. The total unallocated amount is approximately $60,000.

Finally, the last category for ARPA funds is the interest the funding has received in the various investment accounts. The total amount of interest the funding has received is just over 1.7 million. 1.5 million of this has been allocated, leaving a balance of $192,977.92. Similar to the unrestricted funding, there is no deadline for this amount to be spent. And with that, I would be happy to answer any questions council may have at this time. This question, maybe this is for Todd. In reference to the DARI contributions given everything that has has taken place, were those funds be returned to general fund or that 270,000?

Yeah. any of the uh remaining funds from that at the end of the year will be part of the general fund balance.

Also, I have a question about the Sunset Marina Fund. You were saying that right now it reflects a negative balance. Is that is the the the process that you explain is that a guarantee or is that grant still pending or can that change anything? It's a FEMA grant, so it's it's been approved by the federal government, so we should receive that grant. All indications give us that we will receive that grant, but it's it is FEMA spending. Okay. Dollars. Last, when can we expect the audit report for 2025?

We are working on it right now. Um the auditors have told me that I should have my report by the end of May. So, we'll have that pres presented to city council either the first meeting in June, depending on when I get it, or the second meeting in June. And Jessica, you mentioned there was some funding that needed to be spent by the new year or by December or it would be returned by January. Yes. Can you can you uh tell me that amount, that dollar amount again?

Sure. Rob, can you pull up the presentation for the outstanding ARPA projects? Uh go back one one more sorry one more. There you go. So these are the restricted funds that have to be spent and these are the projects that we have. So the amounts that are allocated for the projects are right behind the name. But the total amount we have left to spend is $845,22762. That has to be spent by December 31st, 2026 or we have to return it to Treasury. Okay. And and is that the reason why we while why why we are adding a few other projects to that from the from the uh the the southwest treatment plant, the um um the advanced water uh meter infrastructure. Are we adding things to that to kind of prevent from having to give money back? We're pulling we're pulling funds from those projects because they're done and we can only transfer it between the agreements that we have which are these um that are on the slide in front of you. So we can only move the funds from one of those agreements and since the um advanced water meter structure program is still going on. We'd like to move it to that project. We have invoices that we can that we can pay out of that.

Okay. Instead of using funds that and we are projected to use all the funding. Correct. Yes. Okay. Yes. That's that's why we want to move um we're shifting some of the funding around so that we we guarantee that we we spend all of it by December 31st. Okay. Mr. Bartell's would this uh speed your process up by transferring that money?

It wouldn't really speed the process up because we're in the process of replacing meters now. But what it would benefit is the water fund, the enterprise fund. um the funds that are being utilized besides the initial ARPA funds that we received, all the remaining funds through the future years for replacement because it's a five-year program um those are all becoming out of the water fund. So less user fees to keep the cost down if we can utilize that extra amount of money. Sounds fantastic.

Uh a question for uh for Mike and Jessica. So, we uh about a month ago, we were talking about having to restructure our water payment plan to guarantee to receive a grant. Okay. So, now this ARPA funding, can it leverage or go against that grant? So, we wouldn't owe we wouldn't have to put a burden on the citizens with a guaranteed price structure, price increase. Can those ARPA funds be used to pretty much help the citizens? You talking the remaining ARPA funds that we're discussing tonight? Yeah. What what whatever funds we have available. Yes.

Yeah. I'd have to confirm with Jessica. I don't believe so. The ARPA funds are very restricted and specified uses. I don't know if that's one of them, but we we could find out and get back to you. Okay. Yeah. We might have to talk to the consultant because they didn't take these fun this funding into consideration when they looked at the five-year plan. So, it might be something that we have to go back to the consultant to find out if if it could Yeah, leverage any amount with them. That would be great because our residents would benefit from that. Yeah. Thank you. You're welcome. Anything else possible? Thank you, Jessica. I'll just leave the microphone on for public comment. I'll leave it on.

Okay. All right. All right. Agenda item seven,

proclamation declaring May 17th through the 23rd, 2026 is National Public Works Week. Which one's the first right here? Proclamation. Whereas public works professionals focus on infrastructure, facilities, and services that are of vital importance to sustainable and resilient communities and to the public's health, high quality of life, and well-being of the people of Rock Island. And whereas our infrastructure, facilities, and services could not be provided without the dedicated efforts of public works professionals who are engineers, managers, and employees at all levels of government and the private sector who are responsible for rebuilding, improving, and protecting our nation's transportation, water supply, water treatment, and solid waste systems, public buildings, and other structures, and facilities essential for our citizens. And whereas it is in the public's interest of the citizens, civic leaders, and children of Rock Island to gain knowledge of and maintain an interest in the importance of public works and public works programs in their respective communities. And whereas the year of 2026 marks the 66th annual National Public Works Week sponsored by the American Public Works Association, Canadian Public Works Association. Now therefore, I, Ashley Harris, mayor of the city of Rock Island, hereby design designate week the week of May 17th through the 23rd, 2026 as National Public Works Week in the city of Rock Island. I urge all citizens to join with repres with representatives of the

American Public Works Association and government agencies in activities, events, and ceremonies designed to pay tribute to our public works professionals and to recognize the substantial cont contributions they make to protect our national health, safety, and advancing quality of life for all. Dated this 11th day of May, 2026. Thank you. Thank you, mayor and city council for recognizing National Public Works Week. It means a lot to public works. On behalf of public works, I'd like to um say thank you to all of our public works employees. We have over 117 public works employees working hard day in and day out, dedicated staff. Um a lot of the things that we do are are behind the scenes or unseen uh with water, sewer, uh you know, underground infrastructure. And so we have people working again 24/7 at our plants. Uh again, 24/7 snow removal, protecting flood protection. And u just wanted to say thank you to the staff that that work hard day in and day out. Proclamation declaring May 2026 as bike month.

proclamation. Whereas throughout the month of May, which is National Bike Month, the city of Rock Island will celebrate biking and the freedom, the joy and well-being it in it imbuss within us, as well as the power that more people riding bikes has in making the quality of life better for everyone. And whereas May 11th through 17, 2026, the bike to work week and May 15th, 2026 is bike to work day. And whereas participants may enjoy a variety of free breakfast items each day of the week of May 11th through the 17th at participating locations throughout the Quad Cities thanks to the Quad Cities Bicycle Club and other partners. Whereas the Rock Island Downtown Alliance is partner partnering with Modernwood Mid of America and the Quad Cities Bicycle Club to host a free breakfast catered by bluecollar bagels for bicycle commuters and supporters from 6 to 10 a.m. Friday, May 15th, bike to work day by the Rock Island letters at 2nd Avenue and 18th Street. And whereas promoting the use of the bicycle as both a means of transportation and recreation year round has been shown to grow the community of the city of Rock Island, attract more visitors to enjoy our restaurants, hotels, retail establishments, cultural and scenic attractions, and local parks and trail systems. And whereas bike month is also promoting greater public awareness of bicycle operations and safety education in an effort to reduce collisions, injuries, and fatalities and improve health and safety for everyone on the road. And now therefore, I, Ashley Harris, mayor of the city of Rock Island, do hereby proclaim May 26th as bike month, May 11th through the 17th as bike work to bike work week and May 15th as bike to work day in the city of Rock Island. And I urge all residents to join

me in this special observation dated this 11th day of May, 2026. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor Harris. Uh, good evening, city council. My name is Morgan Milner, and like many of my fellow Rock Islanders, uh, I commute to work by bicycle. Um, not every day, mind you. Some days it just doesn't work out, but by and large, every morning, hop on my bike, ride down 17th Street to Modern Woodman of America where where I work. And, and this is something that I've really come to value. Um, and not simply because gas is ridiculously expensive and not because biking six miles a day makes me a little healthier, although both those things are true, but it's all about community. There's something about riding my bike through Rock Island to work where I get an opportunity to really experience the city in a way that automobile transport doesn't allow. In fact, over the last couple years, I've had the opportunity to see downtown be revitalized, one brick at a time, one piece at a time, riding through and seeing all those changes. It's been really fantastic. Speaking of downtown, uh, Mayor Harris has mentioned that on Friday there will be a bike to work breakfast and I certainly hope that many of you will have an opportunity to join us. It's a great way to celebrate the city, to celebrate biking, and just to meet folks maybe you haven't had an opportunity to meet before. Um, it'll be a really, really great event. And I know a number of my colleagues at Modern Woodman are particularly excited because anytime

that there's a new business in downtown that we can take advantage of, they want to get out and see it. So I think quite a few folks are going to hop on their bicycles and check out the bluecollar bagels and sample what they will be serving I guess coming uh this summer sometimes. That is that is wonderful guys. The bike to work event there's an energy to it and I and I think that really highlights what you see in communities that are bicycle friendly. um they're vibrant, they're healthy, um and frankly they're just more connected and and that's something that we all want to see for Rock Island. Um and we want to see that continued investment in our biking infrastructure so that more people feel comfortable taking their bike to work, not just out on the weekends for fun, but just as a daily mode of transportation. I think it'll be a huge differentiator for our community. So, I'd like to thank the city council. I'd like to thank Mayor Harris for that proclamation. It really means a lot to the biking community. Thank you for your support of cycling. Um, every time that a bike lane is improved, sherrows are painted, more people feel comfortable getting out of their cars and biking. And that's that's a wonderful thing indeed. So, thank you for everything you do for Rock Island. And I hope to have an opportunity to see many of you Friday morning. Proclamation declaring June 2026 as affordable housing month. Proclamation. Whereas safe, decent, and affordable housing for individuals and family families in our community and across the Quad City region is important. And whereas housing challenges do not stop at state lines. And whereas as a bystate community spanning Iowa and Illinois, regional collaboration is essential to creating real lasting solutions. And whereas

affordable housing month is an opportunity to raise awareness, strengthen partnerships, and recommmit to ensuring that everyone in the Qua Cities has access to housing that is safe, decent, and affordable for them. Now therefore, be it resolved that I, Ashley Harris, mayor of the city of Rock Island, do hereby proclaim the month of May 2026 as affordable housing month. In the city of Rock Island, I urge all citizens to support efforts to improve the quality, quantity, and affordability of housing in the region, dated this 11th day of May, 2026. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor Harris, uh, city council and the city of Rock Island. My name is Leslie Kil Ganon. I am the director of the Quad C's housing council. The Quad Cities Housing Council acts as the regional housing trust fund. We fund affordable housing efforts throughout the Quad Cities, everything from shelter to affordable home ownership for those at the um low and extremely low income categories. Thank you for designating um affordable housing month and we really do need to shine a light on not just the desperate need which is growing unfortunately in the United States and regionally in terms of homelessness and housing instability but also nationally. Um but primarily let's focus on the solutions.

There are plenty of ways that we can address uh housing instability and homelessness more effectively as we um work together as we better work together as a region. um costburdened which is what many people struggle with with affordable housing is when a household spends more than 30% of its income on housing and as many as one in seven in the United States uh spend more than half of their income on housing making them extremely costburdened and uh cost of well everything right now is making things that much worse having to choose between gasoline rent um medical bills etc. So, uh, we have an affordability crisis, but there's lots of things that we can do, and I really appreciate, uh, Mayor Harris, the city of Rock Island, and the city council in lifting a light up, um, to ensure that we can provide safe, decent, and affordable housing to all in this country and our community. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Agenda item eight, public comments. The first name I'll call is Alex North. Hello, my name is Alex North and I'm a resident of Rock Island in the third ward and I'm here to promote bike to work week. Uh not just so more people will choose a pedal commute, but so all road users are aware, alert, and attentive to sharing the road with bicycles. This week, the Rock Island, Moline, Davenport, and Bendor city governments in coordination with the Quad Cities Bicycle Club and downtown alliances are encouraging local workers to travel our roads by bike instead of by car for our daily commutes. These groups offer free breakfast foods and space uh and space for community during a time of the day when most Americans are driving alone to work in a vehicle designed to carry five to seven people or tow 10,000 pounds of cargo. Um, as someone who has logged over 600 bike commuting miles so far this year, I can attest to the freedom and mental health boost a daily fourmile 20-minute bike ride can offer. Opting to forego a small aspect of hustle culture and see my city go by at 15 miles per hour allows for quick hellos to neighbors uh, and short chats with school crossing guards. My rides have taken me through streets and neighborhoods I would have never otherwise visited. Appending my appending each block to my story of who Rock Island is. However, while our rivered trails give us a safe, beautiful way uh to move across city and state lines uh in the Quad Cities, in order to commute, bicyclists must figure out a way to navigate street designs that have been laser focused on on a single goal uh for many decades, allowing cars to travel from any point A to any point B as fast as possible. In order to navigate this reality, I have a few tips for cyclists

looking to commute as well as car drivers and our city officials. So, cyclists, uh, if you are sharing the road with cars, it is a dangerous area to be. Car crashes kill tens of thousands of people in the US every year, including on average 30 cyclists per year in Illinois. Because of the design of our urban streets, the responsibility of safety has been delegated to you. Look over your shoulder as each car passes uh to ensure they're passing at a safe distance away from you. Be predictable even when the cars around you are not. Follow the rules of the road even when the cars around you are not. To help, grab a Quad Cities uh metro area bicycle map that includes safety riding basics and an area map of preferred biking routes from 2019, seven years ago. Hopefully an updated map is in the works. Drivers, relax. Roll down your windows. Be light on the gas pedal to increase that fuel efficiency. And enjoy the 15 seconds of slow cruising as you wait for safe time to pass a cyclist. City officials of Rock Island, People for Bikes publishes a yearly score that measures the measures the quality of a city's bike network. In 2025, Rock Island score was six. placing it 2,836th out of 2,91, edging out just 65 cities of nearly 3,000 cities that were rated in the US. As we celebrate Bike to Work Week and encourage people with our voices to choose different modes of transportation, let's work on giving them a safer way to do it. Changing decades of car- centric infrastructure takes a lot of time and money. Uh though there are ways to cheaply and easily try different traffic patterns without breaking the bank. My suggestion for next year's bike to work day, remove on

street parking from the entirety of 9inth and 30th Street and add construction ballards uh to separate car and bike travel to allow for two main north south passageways across the city to get cyclists safely to the great river trail. Uh the rightmost of three lanes on Fifth Avenue between 30th Street and 25th Street uh can also be dedicated bike travel. So many of the homes on these routes have driveways, alleyways, uh parking slabs, and garages to store their private vehicles. Are we willing to inconvenience inconvenience a few residents uh with their cars to help make these bike to work week initiatives a success? I wish everyone a happy and safe week as we all find our way to work together. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Miss Hannah Fel. Um, I'm Hannah Frell. I live down here in the district. Um, I have concerns that our system um the system is being that is being used right now that's supposed to be protecting our vulnerable citizens is supposed is kind of being used against us right now. Um, not only is there abuse of the poverty system, but I have concerns that abusers have enough connections to hide and sabotage their victims. And the coupling and the police and the nonprofit organizations around have kind of caused um poor judgment, gossip, and manipulation through um the rest of the criminals in the downtown area. Um, a vulnerable citizen. Um, I would like to explain the timeline of a vulnerable citizen or what you would consider vulnerable. Um, I'm going to

use my own timeline. Um, I was put into DCFS when I was two and in this, um, that's from an unknown family problem. In this adoption, I was going through a severe, um, abuse and neglect for about six years where I was being starved, um, poisoned, um, pretty much unckempt all the time. This happened until um the teachers and my principal had to come together when the city or the authorities were not and they had to make a case for me and get me out of that home. In a second adoption, this also ended up in neglect. Um but somehow uh they were able to still neglect me in the hospital but still maintain custody. Um, I was able to escape off to a group home where I decided to stay and live out the rest of my teenage years. U, these adopted parents were not happy with that. Um, I had a baby um, which which that was about my only family at the time. That's the only family I do have now. Um, while being awarded myself in DCFS, um, I had a job, but eventually I followed my friends from the group homes um, into prostitution. Um, but I was still persevering as a parent and I went to college to get a CNA certificate. Three times I went to go get this certificate. The first time failed from a domestic assault in which I had to relocate. Um, I relocated down here to the QC. Um, down here in the QC while I was still I went to school again for the same certificate and I ended up um, going through domestic violence. Um, this was looked over by the police. Um, I still had to relocate and I still had to um separate from my child at the time because the abuse was so bad. Um, I put my uh child with my adopted parents. That's all I had at at the time. Um,

when I put them there, when I put my daughter there, I went back to school for the same certificate. I passed. I went to school. I passed um with little bit that I had going through this domestic violence. Um the last two times I tried to go to school, I dealt with domestic assault um and then sexual assault. This time the assault came from my own case worker. Um I was at Bethany uh family children and h family homes. Um my caseworker wanted to start a fight with me. She came, she was attacking me. Um when I raised my hand to push her away, she got a scratch on her face where she had me arrested. Um she had my car towed in retaliation. She had me kicked out of DCFS and then I had to she called the place where I uh had my CNA done and got them to reject my application, therefore sabotaging everything I just went through. This is happening in our systems. This was in DCFS. This is where um somebody should have been helping me out and they did not. This is the act of sabotage that brought on and separated me from my child. Um my adoptive parents were able to illegally illegally obtain my child. This act of injustice was overlooked when I was 20. It is still being overlooked today when I am 30. No matter how many lawyers I try to get, um no matter how many times I try to bring up the situation, I am always shot down for no reason. I don't know if this is a race problem. I don't know if there's a problem with being a woman. I don't know what the problem is. Um I have been watching uh the women in my community facing this backlash from their abusers for a very long time. Um this has led me to share this example so I can come back and I can speak up and clarify to the community on how abusers do come back in adulthood and sabotage what we do have

going on in adulthood and they can still control that same um dynamic. Um, so I would like to talk to the communities about how you can accidentally participate in something like fact uh factitious dis uh disorder by proxy um by accident and the communities can accidentally be talking about something or um be putting people in a situation where they're um where people are struggling and their abusers are still coming back. you're approaching your time. Just to let you know,

um behind uh um still coming back. So, I would like to come back and speak about the abuse that's happening behind the scenes in our federal housing, in our poor communities, and in the homeless systems, and when the police should intervene, when someone needs help.

Thank you. Agenda item nine, update Rock Island. Update Rock Island yard of the month. Do you have a neighbor with a beautiful yard? The public is invited to help the Arts and Beautifification Commission by nominating a property for the 2026 Yard of the Month Awards. This award is voted on each month from April until September. Submit an address with a photo to Kathy Douglas at douglas.cathy gov.org. During the commission's monthly meeting, a slideshow of the submitted properties will be reviewed and a winner will be chosen. A certificate will then be presented in person to the winning homeowner. A decorative wooden sign will also be placed in the yard until the next month winner is selected. Join us in celebrating our beautiful Rock Island neighborhoods and the care and hard work done by our neighbors. Deadlines for the monthly submission of the properties are May 12th, June 9th, July 7th, August 11th, and September 9th. Shop, sip, and stroll. Spring Market Fest on Rock Island Riverfront. Revive Rock Island. Spring Market Fest is returning to Shrebert Riverfront Park on Sunday, May 17th from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. More than 60 diverse vendors will be on hand offering homemade crafts and goods, vintage items, one-of-a-kind gifts, jewelry, candles, soaps, sweets, apparel, accessories, and more. Attendees can enjoy various food and drink concessions available for purchase. Thank you. Agenda item 10.

A. An ordinance establishing a TIFF funded housing rehabilitation pilot program. Second reading. Motion. Oh, go ahead. I'll second. You go. Motion to pass the ordinance. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. Alder prison Healey. I. Evans, yes. Hurt, I. Barnes, I. Swanson, I. And Parker, I.

Agenda item B. report from the city clerk's office regarding a request from QC Pride Incorporated to hold their annual Unity Pride parade and a resolution for the closure of the Master Sergeant Stanley Talbet Memorial Bridge in 15th Street, US Highway 67 on Saturday, June 6, 2026 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Motion to approve the request and adopt the resolution. Second. There's been a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. Alder President Healey. I Evans. No Hurt. I Barnes. I Swanson. I and Parker. I. Agenda item 11.

A report from the traffic engineering committee regarding a request to remove the handicap parking space at 2022 43rd Street. First reading. Motion to consider, suspend the rules, and pass the ordinance. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. Alder person Healey I. Evans yes Hurt I Barnes I Swanson I and Parker I. Agenda item B. Report from the traffic engineering committee regarding request to install a handicap parking space at 3225 9th Avenue. First reading. Move to consider the ordinance. Second. There's been a first and a second. Is there any discussion?

Roll call, please. Alder person Healey. I. Evans, yes. Kurt, I. Barnes, I. Swanson, I. And Parker, I. Agenda item 12, consent agenda items A through E. Motion to approve consent agenda items A through E. Second. There's been a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. Alder Healey, I. Evans, yes. Hurt, I. Barnes, I. Swanson, I. And Parker, I. Agenda item 13, claims A and B. Motion to allow claims A and B. Second.

I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. Alder person. Healey. I. Evans. Yes. Hurt. I. Barnes. I. Swanson. I. And Parker. I. Agenda item C. Claims C and D. Motion to allow claims C and 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. Alter Healey. I. Evans. Yes. Hurt. I. Barnes. I. And Swanson. I.

Agenda item E. Purchases E through I. Motion to approve purchases E through I. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? I'd like to remove item H for separate discussion. Second. I have a first and a second on that matter. Is there any discussion? Does um I just had a comment or question on E. Not that I want it removed on the uh yard waist bags. I think we I said I have a question on E. So, do we need to remove that one also? Okay.

You don't have to. It'll come up in discussion. Correct. You don't have to. I mean, if you want to have a discussion on E, we can talk about it when approving E through I accept H. Okay. So, does everyone know where we are? We're moving. Okay. Yes. Uh, roll call, please. Alderson Healey I Evans yes Hurt I Barnes I Swanson I and Parker I okay so uh agenda item EFG yes motion to approve items EFG and I

second I have a first and a second on that matter is there any discussion so on E is it much more expensive to put the logo those on the bags. I I I apologize. I cannot hear at all.

Say in your microphone, Glenn, we want the public to hear. Is it expensive to get the waste bag logos on the bag? Are the lo I'd have to check and see. We have done it in the past but uh we have eliminated that in the past because it costs more to print the logo on the bag. So we moved away from putting the logos on the bag. Okay. Just wondering because I think without the logo they travel to other cities. So we we certainly have found our our leaf bags in other cities. We've seen them on Facebook Marketplace for sale as well. Wow. Wow.

But thankfully some city of employees saw it and returned them to us. Uh but yes, we I I want to say and I again I will check and I apologize for not knowing offhand, but I don't believe the logos are on our bags for this bid, right? I don't think they were on the current last year. So that's why I was asking because I know I know for a fact they have traveled. So that's why I was asking. Okay. Yeah, that's a that's a good that's a good question. We can always get rid of it and just have residents buy bags. I agree with that. Yes. Any more discussion?

Roll call, please. Alerson Healey. I Evans. Hurt. I. Barnes. I. Swanson. I. And Parker. I. Agenda item H. Motion to approve item H. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Yes. I'd like to postpone this item till the second meeting in June for to get further information. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion on that? Roll call, please. Alder person Healey. Nay. Evans. Nay. Hurt. I. Barnes.

I. Swanson. I. and Parker motion carries. Agenda item 14, a report from the human resources department regarding a settlement agreement and release with Catholic Dascese of Peoria. Motion to approve the agreement authorize the city manager to execute the document subject to minor attorney modifications. Second. I have a first and second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. Alder person Healey, I. Evans, yes. Hurt, I. Barnes, I. Swanson, I. And Parker,

I. Agenda item B. Report from the public works department regarding a second lease amendment with AT&T for cellular upgrades on the 20 2215 16th Avenue water tower. Motion to approve the amendment and authorize the city manager to execute the agreement subject to minor attorney modifications. Second. There's been a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. Alder person Healey. I. Evans. Yes. Hurt. I. Barnes. I. Swanson. I. And Parker. I. Agenda item C.

Report from the parks and recreation department regarding bids for meal catering service for Ryax preschool program. Recommending the bid be awarded to Main Event Catering. Move to award the bid as recommended and authorize the city manager to execute the contract subject to minor attorney modifications. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Due to the nature of my employment, I will recuse myself from this vote. Roll call, please. Alder person Evans. Yes. Hurt. I. Barnes. I Swanson. Nay. And Parker. Hi. Okay. Agenda item 15.

A. Report from the finance department regarding a budget adjustment to the TIFF for Parkway I280 Valley's Casino Fund 402 in the amount of $104,988. Motion to approve the budget adjustment. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. Alder President Healey. I Evans. Yes. Hurt. Hi Barnes. Hi Swanson. I and Parker. Hi.

Yeah. Sorry. We have to go back to agenda item um H uh H13H report from the police department requesting authorization to purchase the renewal of investigative tool from Celebrate Inc. in the amount of $10,740. The prior vote was on a vote to postpone. We didn't actually take a vote on the underlying motion. So, does everyone know where we are? Sorry. So we you guys voted previously to postpone the date postpone the vote and that was voted no. So now we move to actually vote on the item to approve. What was voted? No was motion to postpone. It passed. Oh, I'm sorry. Okay. So they did vote to postpone it. Okay. Yep. So we still actually need to

Nope. So it's postponed to that new date. Okay. Okay. Okay. All right. We're fine. All right. Sorry about that. We're clear now. Sorry about that. Okay. Where we at? Yeah. Yeah, I'm just getting my paper there. Thank you, though. Agenda item 16, a report from the community development department on the proposed weight list policy and procedure. Move to approve the proposed weight list policy and procedure to update appendix A program. Second. I have a first and a second. Is there any discussion? Roll call, please. Alder person Healey, I. Evans,

yes. Hurt, I. Barnes, I. Swanson, I. And Parker, I. Agenda item 17. Motion to close the regular city council meeting and convene the Rock Island Regional Port District meeting. First and the second. All in favor say I. I. All opposed. Port Authority. Agend item B. Does anyone have any uh business to discuss? Old, new.

Second. All in favor say I. I. All opposed. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Maybe that's why. Okay. Agenda item 18. Anybody got anything? Okay. Agenda item 19. Motion to adjurnn. Second. I have a first and a second. All in favor or excuse me. Is there any discussion? Clerk, roll call, please. Voice vote. Oh, all in favor say I. I. All opposed. Meeting adjourned.