Mechanical Board - Regular Meeting

Present.

invoicing y'all for these prayers Heavenly Father we thank you for this evening we thank you for the privilege it is to serve as elected officials in this community we just invite you into the room and over this proceeding tonight we ask for a special blessing over our new mayor we ask that you give her wisdom insight and And strength, cover her with your angels as she takes over these next eight months, Lord, and cover our city as well. And we just ask that you also bless our first responders, Lord, and just continue to keep our city safe. Give us wisdom and insight as we make decisions tonight for the betterment of our city. In your name we pray, amen.

Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands,

And I'll swing it over to Director Hammer for the swearing in. Is it on?

Thank you, Chairman. You have your hand raised, and your service as acting mayor will begin on Sunday, August 30, 2026. Please repeat after me. I, Janessa Neal, do solemnly swear.

I, Janessa Neal, do solemnly swear.

That I will support the Constitution of the United States.

That I will support the Constitution of the United States.

And the Constitution of the State of Illinois.

And the Constitution of the State of Illinois. And that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office. And that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office.

Of Mayor of the City of Rockford, Illinois. Of Mayor of the City of Rockford of Illinois. According to the best of my ability. According to the best of my ability.

I just wanted to say thank you, and I am extremely humbled and honored to take on this opportunity as mayor of the city of Rockford. I wanted to say thank you, especially to my colleagues, city council, for you trusting in me with this huge responsibility. This is not just about me. This is about all of us and everything that we're going to do working together to continue to move our city forward. So thank you all.

Thank you.

We will now move on to public speakers. We have five public speakers on the agenda tonight. Speakers, you have three minutes to address the body. I will remind you of a 15 second warning after two minutes and 45 seconds has elapsed. Our first speaker of the evening is Mr. Robert Holt. Is Mr. Robert Holt in the audience? Is it working? Is it on? Now it's on. Now it's on. Good. Thank you.

Hello?

Go ahead, sir.

All right. Good afternoon. My name is Robert Holt. I represent the city employees of Rockford, Illinois. I've received this letter, and I'd like to read it to you. This comes from a telecommunicator in your 911 center. The staffing crisis at the Rockford 911 center has reached a fever pitch in its time. the leaders and decision makers of the city hear from the people being directly affected by it. I knew stepping into my role that my life would shift. I would be expected to work extended hours, miss holidays with my family, and make sacrifices to better serve our community. But I never expected the treatment we are currently receiving and the demands put on us. In July alone, I worked 285 hours. Only nine of those hours were voluntary. On top of the 14 regularly scheduled 12-hour shifts totaling 168 hours, 276 hours were forced mandatory overtime. This has put a huge strain on me, not mentally, but also physically. With the amount of forced hours we are working, it is impossible to take care of anything outside of work, including yourself. I've had to cancel numerous appointments that were made in advance due to forces. It is nearly impossible to care for yourself or your family when you are working as many hours as we are. I volunteered to stay over extra hours after a 12-hour shift to help night shift maintain staffing and then turn around and be back at 6 a.m. for another 12-hour shift. When you do have some time off, you find yourself feeling guilty because you know your coworkers are struggling at work. We used to have the opportunity to volunteer for six-hour shifts. This was a good option for those of us working a lot. So we at least had six hours to go do our appointments, maintain our homes, see our loved ones, or just catch up on sleep. On June 4, 2026, we were told via email we were no longer allowed this option. effective immediately, and until at least the end of August, it's nearly impossible to find coverage if we have something come up. Everyone else is either already working, already forced, or on paid time off. In the same email, we were told any time off request would be denied effective immediately, and until the end of August, all in the name of a staffing crisis. The same staffing crisis we have been in for years. I do not expect to be fully staffed, but I do expect to have a work-life balance, which at this point is completely nonexistent. We are constantly asked to do more with less. In an email dated 12-29-25, we were informed effective immediately we would be taking fire and EMD calls for eight additional agencies. No warning, no additional information. We didn't even know what agencies they were until we asked for clarification from the administration. This added workload put a tremendous strain on TCs and increased our already high call volume. There are times we only have one call taker for the entire city of Rockford. That call taker is responsible for answering both 911 lines and non-emergency lines for a minimum of six hours. When staffing is that low, police dispatches must shut down a main radio control, leaving two people responsible for the safety routine and communication, and other needs having to be met of every officer on duty. Being spread that thin, accompanied by this amount of hours, we are working creates great safety risk to all parties involved.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Holt. Our next speaker is Prophet Youssef.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

In the book of Psalms, the 133rd chapter, the first verse, it says, behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity. What I want to speak about tonight, when thanking veterans, Be sure to include immigrants. I'm a Vietnam veteran. Since 1919, a proclamation from President Woodrow Wilson, President, have honored our veterans. President Ronald Reagan did so November 10, 1986, at which time he stated on Veterans Day, Take time for ordinary business of daily life to pay honor to those who have served in the armed forces throughout our nation's history. It is right that we should meditate upon the principle for which so many Americans have fought for, peace, freedom, justice, and equality, the sacred and valuable dignity of all men, principles that still give hope to the nation. But let us, above all, consider the veterans themselves. The millions of men and women who have given of themselves, even of their lives, our veterans have come from the grassy plains of Iowa, and the streets of Brooklyn, the streets of Rockwood, Greenport, and Chicago. They have spoken with the twain of New England, and the draw of the South, and often with the counts of the foreign lands of their birth. And from the time of the Revolution, When black soldiers fought for the American cause, they have represented our country's diverse heritage. And they have prevailed so that today, the United States of America is the greatest nation on earth. Many who fought in the Revolutionary War were immigrants. or the children of immigrants. Over the centuries, millions of immigrants have served in the military in all wars, with historical records showing hundreds of thousands who served. In the last century alone, over 760,000 immigrant service members have gained United States citizenship through their service. In the last 20 years, over 148,000 immigrants have served and earned citizenship. As of 2020, there were nearly 731,000 foreign-born veterans. So don't believe the lies they say about immigrants. Don't believe the lies they say about blacks. Don't believe the lies they say about Hispanics. In some way, each of us are connected to a veteran. I believe if there's any one of us here tonight at City Hall who is not sure of their connection to a veteran, take the time and search it out. Your relation may even date back to 1776. Thank God for all betters. Welcome back home, my brothers and sisters, immigrants of honor. It was an immigrant named James Elliott William who saved my life. He was a river rat like me. Thank you for allowing me to speak.

Thank you, Prophet. Next speaker is Miley Bowles of Rockford. Is Miley Bowles here? Kick Miley to the end. Next one after that is Mr. Brian Krushke of Rockford.

All right. Good evening. I'm Brian Krushke, and I served on the Pedestrian Safety Task Force that developed the plan being presented tonight. I was born and raised in Rockford, and my family owns Premier Woodwork in the 11th Ward. I spent hundreds of miles riding my bicycle through the city, gaining a different perspective than behind the wheel of a car. For years, when I saw something, I did what a lot of people do. I complained. I posted on social media, tagged elected officials, and questioned why more wasn't being done. Eventually, I realized, at some point, you have to stop complaining and start helping. So when Mayor McNamara announced the task force I asked to serve, I went in ready to show them my ideas. Instead, I started listening. Again and again, I had research issues that came up. They already knew the data, the barriers, and the trade-offs. That changed my perspective. Just because we haven't seen the solution yet doesn't mean anybody hasn't thought of that problem. That doesn't mean we stop demanding progress. It means we should do more and demand it. So to the people of Rockford, show up, ask questions, volunteer, bring your ideas, and listen. And if that isn't for you, every one of us can still slow down, put the phone down, and pay attention. Watch the crosswalk. Give the cyclists room. Look out for people walking, biking, rolling, or using other ways to move through our city. Those individual choices matter, but so do the choices we make as a city. This plan's real impact will come through future road projects, budgets, and funding decisions. When those decisions come, I hope we ask, what does this decision mean for the people trying to move through our city? For some, Walking or biking is recreation. For others, it is how they get to work, school, or the grocery store. It is transportation. We have spent generations designing transportation around moving cars quickly. But the goal should not simply be to move cars fast. It should be to move people safely. Getting somewhere faster is important. Getting everyone there safely is more important. I hope this remains a living document that evolves as transportation evolves. We cannot rebuild Rockford overnight, but we can make safety part of how we planned from the beginning, improving how people move through our city today and preparing for whatever comes next. Thank you.

Thank you. Next, we have Mr. John Lawrence of Rockford. Mr. Lawrence.

Hello again. I've been talking about this water department for over a year now. I haven't gotten any solution. It goes back to a $600 bill for one month, obviously over billing. Nothing has been done about it. I had to pay it under threat of having my house condemned if I didn't and a water shut off. Immediately after that, I signed up for automatic billing, which had worked fine. January, February, March, April, and May. Surprise! June, I get a letter from the city water department telling me that my last bill was refused. Why? I didn't know. So I called, first I called my credit card company who I have the water bill charged to. They told me that they were given the wrong information on my credit card, specifically the expiration date on the card. They had the right information, January, February, March, April, and May, but not June. Somebody changed it. They deny changing it, but somehow it got changed. So to pay my bill, I was told the only way I could pay that bill was by going online, using that option, which has a $2 service charge added to it. Also, I was told I was going to get billed another $25 service fee of some sort. Now this has gotten to the point of ridiculous. I did speak on that last July. I timed out, so I wanted to finish what I had to say about it. And I immediately signed up in July for speaking. I was stalled five times. They kept changing my time and date five times. I finally got in. I was called about an hour ago saying, oh, we have a place for you now after being stalled off five times. Now I find out that the water department doesn't even do their own billing. They have a private company out of suburban Chicago do it. Why can't we do our own? We're paying private companies to do the city's work. This is ridiculous, and that is harassment, period.

Thank you, Mr. Lawrence. Is Miley Bowles here? All right. We will move into the Code and Regulation Committee meeting. Under Committee Reports... We have 14 items on committee reports. Item number one is a plat number two of Hopkins subdivision for the property located at 1522 Rose Avenue. Is there a motion on the floor? So moved. Second. Is there a motion, a second, any discussion? Seeing none, clerk, could you please call the roll? Melvin?

Aye.

Karina? Aye. Nancy? Aye.

Bill?

Aye.

Aye. Item passes. Item number two, plat number five of Hickory Crest Subdivision for the property located at 4750 Pepper Drive. Is there a motion on the floor? So moved.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, clerk, could you please call the roll? Aye.

Aye. Aye.

Aye.

Aye. Item passes. Item number three, the final plat of Culver's 11th Street subdivision for the property located at 3218 11th Street. Is there a motion on the floor? So moved.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Older woman in front of you.

I just want to say I'm excited.

Me too. Very well. Any further discussion? Seeing none, clerk, could you please call the roll?

Item passes.

Item number four is the annexation of 2010 New Milford School Road. The owner of the subject property has requested connection to city water resulting from a failing well. Is there a motion on the floor? So moved.

We have a motion and a second is there any discussion older one printing Could you just describe how much land this is It's it's point four two acres Any further discussion Seeing none clerk.

Could you please call the roll? Aye.

Aye. Aye.

Aye. Item passes. Item number five, 3598 Export Road. The Zoning Board of Appeals recommends approval for a item A, zoning map amendment from County AG to County I-1 Light Industrial Zoning District, and B, special use permit for the installation of a solar farm in an I-1 Light Industrial Zoning District at 14XX Export Road, 34XX Export Road, 36XX Prairie Road, and 598 Export Road. Is there a motion on the floor? So moved. There's a motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, clerk, could you please call the roll? Aye.

Aye. Aye. Aye.

Aye. Item passes. Item number 6, 2318, 2320, 2326 Star Street, 2305 Kishwaukee Street. Zoning Board of Appeals recommends approval for a special use permit for a planned unit development consisting of an expansion of existing automotive truck vehicle inspection and vehicle truck repair shop in an I-1 light industrial zoning district at 2318, 2320, 2326 Star Street, 2305 Kishwaukee Street. Is there a motion on the floor? So moved.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, clerk, could you please call the roll? Aye.

Aye.

Item passes. Item number seven, 2619 Charles Street. The Zoning Board of Appeals recommends approval for a special use permit for automobile repair and maintenance facility in a C2 limited commercial zoning district at 2619 Charles Street. Is there a motion on the floor?

So moved. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, clerk, could you please call the roll?

Aye. Aye. Aye.

Item number eight is 2520 North Main Street. The Zoning Board of Appeals recommends approval for a special use permit for a single room occupancy consisting of 20 single room bedrooms with a shared living, kitchen, and common space in a C3 general commercial zoning district. Is there a motion on the floor? So moved. Second. There's a motion and a second. Any discussion? Mr. Cagnone, I just had one question. Could you just kind of take us through? This is kind of an odd item that has come before city council. I don't really remember something like this in our recent history of 20 single room bedrooms, shared living, kitchen, and common space. Were there any objectors at the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, or was there just kind of a general discussion that occurred at the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting?

I was not at the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting. I apologize. I was out last week. But I don't believe there was any. I think there was actually supporters there for this project.

Okay. Okay. Thank you. Alderwoman Tarina?

Thank you. Yes, it's also a new concept for me, too. I guess my question was, I remember reading in the packet, it stated that the intent was for nurses. Do we know if that has been... I'm thinking about the storefront businesses. Like do we have people that are signed up to rent? So do we have nurses signed up or is that just a concept we think could suit this use?

The owner's idea was to target like the Visiting Nurses Association to try to get them to, you know, this way they could be together. And they would all have their own rooms. And that's kind of the concept that him and his wife have come up with. So I think this would be a very good marketing potential for that type of a use. But it wouldn't limit them to that use, obviously. If there was somebody else that wanted to rent a room, or if they wanted to do it in Airbnb or anything like that, they would be allowed to do that as well.

Rent a room. So is it like... Do you know how the rentals will be set up? I guess you have more information about that.

So we don't we just know that this their concept would be to remodel this the way it was you know with The existing bedrooms in addition to creating additional bedrooms in the in the old Furniture sales portion of it on the annex behind it but conceptually, you know, this is somewhat of a unique idea there is another Building like this down on 35th and Samuelson has been operating for over 30 years and we've had Pretty good success with that situation down there is so this is only the second one that I know of in the city right now

Do you happen to know how that other one rents? What is the other one? What's the concept there?

I think it's seven or eight rooms. I'm not sure. It might be eight rooms. In that case, I think the owner actually might live in one of the units. But he puts them up for rent and says, here's your rent. Here's your room for rent and here's your common facilities and then there's like four three or four shared bathrooms so they have to share the Facilities for bathrooms and such and laundry and things like that I don't want to say no to this but I don't feel like I'm ready to say yes Can I make a motion to lay this over?

We have a motion support that I would second that thank you. We have a motion and a second for a layover clerk I believe we need a roll call across the committee for a layover vote No Item's laid over. Item number nine is 314 Prairie Street. Zoning Board of Appeals recommends approval for a special use permit for a mural in a C4 urban mixed use zoning district at 314 Prairie Street. Is there a motion on the floor? So moved. Second. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, clerk, could you please call the roll? Roll again. Aye.

Serena? Aye. Brownfield? Aye.

Bill? Aye. Vaughn? Aye. Item passes. Item number 10, 2640 North Main Street. Zoning Board of Appeals recommends approval for a variation to reduce the required off-street parking spaces from 200 parking spaces to 94 parking spaces, and B, variation to reduce the minimum required landscaping street frontage width from 10 feet to 5 feet, and C, variation to reduce the required number of shade trees from 10 to 5 trees in a C3 general commercial zoning district at 2640 North Main Street. Is there a motion on the floor for this one? So moved. We have a motion. Is there a second? I'll second it. Is there any discussion? Mr. Capovilla, I believe this item is related to item number eight that we just laid over. Is that correct?

It's not. It's two separate applicants and two separate properties.

Okay.

Yeah. It was split off during the sale of the former Village Green.

Okay. Okay. Any further discussion? Seeing none, clerk, could you please call the roll? Aye. Aye. I'll say aye for now item passes item number 11 6059 East State Street liquor and tobacco advisory board recommends approval for the sale of liquor by the drink in conjunction with a restaurant and a c2 limited commercial zoning district at 6059 East State Street is there a motion on the floor so moved second we have a motion and a second any discussion Seeing none, clerk, could you please call the roll? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Alderman Tarina.

Thanks. So this one, item number 11 and item number 12 are the same individuals and... their businesses are right next door to each other. So I guess I just have more questions about, are these independent businesses operating as one concept? Or can we just have a little bit more information about, it wasn't a red flag, but it did flag me because I have two Asian-centric restaurants right next door to each other that both want liquor licensing at the same time. So I just wanted more information.

So one of the concepts is more of a sit-down, modern Asian concept, typical of what you'd go to any other restaurant. The second one is actually a conveyor belt sushi style restaurant. So it'll be set up more like buffet style with a conveyor going around with the sushi. And it's two separate businesses and two different concepts. And there's no connection between the two businesses in terms of physical connections.

OK, thanks. Any further discussion? Seeing none, clerk, could you please call the roll? Aye.

Aye. Aye.

Aye. Aye. Aye. Item passes. Item number 12, 6061 East State Street. Liquor and Tobacco Advisory Board recommends approval for the sale of liquor by the drink in conjunction with a restaurant in a C2 limited commercial zoning district at 6061 East State Street. Is there a motion on the floor? So moved.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, clerk, could you please call the roll? Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Item passes. Item number 13, 5811 Forest Hills Road. Liquor and Tobacco Advisory Board recommends approval for the sale of liquor by the drink in conjunction with a restaurant in a C2 limited commercial zoning district at 5811 Forest Hills Road. Is there a motion on the floor? So moved. Second. Motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, clerk, could you please call the roll? Aye. Aye.

Aye. Aye.

Aye. Aye. Aye. Item passes. Final item under committee reports is item number 14, 320 Kent Street. Liquor and Tobacco Advisory Board recommends approval for a modification of an existing liquor license for the expansion of an existing business to the second floor in an R2 two-family residential zoning district at 320 Kent Street. Is there a motion on the floor? So moved.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, clerk, could you please call the roll? Aye. Aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Aye. Moving on to item passes. Moving on to Roman numeral number three, resolutions. Item number one, Labor Day Parade. This event is scheduled for Monday, September 7th. The event time will be 10 a.m. to noon. The parade route will be the following. 7th Street at Railroad Avenue, north to East 8th Street, west to Wyman Street, south ending on Chestnut Street. Is there a motion on the floor?

So moved. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, clerk, could you please call the roll? No. Aye. Aye. Aye.

Aye.

Aye. Aye. Item passes. And finally, item number two, the Boylan Homecoming Parade. This event is scheduled for Sunday, September 20th. The event time will be 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The parade route will be the following. St. Francis Drive from Campus Hills Boulevard to the Boylan High School entrance on Muldoon Drive. Is there a motion on the floor? So moved. Second. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Seeing none, clerk, could you please call the roll? Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Motion passes. Do we have a motion to adjourn?

So moved.

Second. Do we have a motion to second? Meeting's adjourned. Thank you.