Collinsville City Council Approves City Hall Renovation Contract
By Stephanie Malench
smalench@timestribunenews.com
The Collinsville City Council met on March 23 at Gateway Convention Center and unanimously voted down an ordinance rezoning property owned by Travers Investment Group, LLC at 2020 Mall St. from Planned Commercial Park District 1(P-CP-1) to Planned Commercial Park District 2 (P-CP-2).
Director of Community Development Travis Taylor reported that city staff were recommending the council deny the ordinance because it does not fit the future land use map. The Planning Commission approved the ordinance at their March 11 meeting and recommended the City Council approve it.
The difference between the two designations is that P-CP-1 is a regular sales district that brings more traffic into the area, whereas P-CP-2 is a more wholesale, low traffic district.
Corporate Council Steve Giacoletto reminded council members that they were voting based on information provided during the public hearing, not the Planning Commission discussion or the presentation to the full council that evening.
After the vote, the council unanimously approved the new official zoning map for the City. The map must be updated each year before March 31 based on rezoning applications for the previous year.
The monthly discussions of departments key performance indicators continued with the finance and human resource departments.
Finance Director Kris Mooney reported that the city’s rates on water, sewer, and trash are competitive with rates in the lower third compared with other communities in the area. Mooney said the department’s main goal for 2021 is to purchase and install new financial software.
Other goals include updating the purchasing policy and website, analyzing delinquent water accounts, and encouraging residents to pay their water bill through the website or have it directly debited from their bank account. Mooney will provide quarterly financial reports to the council.
Two proclamations were issued. The first, at the beginning of the meeting, proclaimed the month pf April Fair Housing Month. The proclamation brings attention to the fact that “acts of housing discrimination and barriers to equal housing opportunity are repugnant to a common sense of decency and fairness and is a positive community good”. The proclamation also states that “the talents of grassroots and on-profit organizations, housing service providers, financial institutions, elected officials, state agencies, and others must be combined to promote and preserve integration, fair housing, and equal opportunity”.
The second proclamation was issued during comments from the mayor, when Mayor John Miller read a new proclamation wishing Jeffrey Glik, the fourth-generation owner of Glik’s a happy 65th birthday from a group of friends that have known him for 60 years.
Miller also announced that Glik’s has officially moved into their new headquarters off ABC Parkway and Horseshoe Lake Rd.
During comments from city staff, City Manager Mitch Bair announced that the utility tax rebate for residents over the age of 65, who have a class 2 disability, or meet income requirements for Section 8 housing will be available from April 1 through May 31.
An ordinance was passed decreasing the budget for the general fund by $2,424,902 in general revenue and expenses by $1,145,349. The city is still projecting a deficit of $911,274 due to COVID, and cost containment is still an issue.
The last ordinance passed authorized Miller to sign a professional services contract with ArchImages, Inc for the City Hall renovations. The purpose of the renovation project is to utilize the second-floor court room space, enhance City Hall’s customer service by creating a consolidated customer service counter for the Finance and Community Development Departments, and improve the overall accessibility and code compliance. The second-floor courtroom has been empty since the Madison County Circuit Clerk’s office stopped using the space in 2016.
The amount of the contract is not to exceed $342,600 and will be paid for using TIF #1 funds and will not interrupt the delivery of services to the public.
The last order of business for the evening was appointing Jennifer Andrade, Michelle Brown, Joe Calza, Sarah Johnson, and Nina Wilerson to fill five vacancies on the Community Appearance Board, which sponsors the yard of the month program.
