City of Wheaton City Council met May 14.
Here is the minutes as provided by the council:
The Planning Session took place in the Council Chambers, Wheaton City Hall, 303 W. Wesley St.,
Wheaton, Illinois. Those attending the Planning Session included: Councilman Barbier,
Councilman Prendiville, Councilman Rutledge, Coay 14uncilman Scalzo and Mayor Pro Tem Suess.
Councilwoman Fitch and Mayor Gresk were absent. Also in attendance were City Manager
Dzugan, Assistant City Manager Duguay, Director of Finance Lehnhardt, Director of Engineering
Redman, Special Projects Assistant Kowalke and Public Relations Coordinator Bishel. The session
began at 7:00 p.m. and concluded at 8:08 p.m. The following items were discussed:
I. Call to Order
The Wheaton City Council Planning Session was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Pro Tem
Suess.
II. Approval of April 23, 2018 Planning Session Minutes
The Council approved the April 23, 2018 Planning Session Minutes.
III. Public Comment
There were no public comments.
IV. 2018 Bond Issue - Downtown Streetscape Project
Director of Finance Lehnhardt stated at this year's Budget Workshop Sessions, the City Council
expressed support for issuing a bond to support the portion of the Downtown Streetscape
Project not eligible for TIF funding.
The Council had requested more information, so City staff worked with its financial adviser,
Ehlers, to examine different funding options. The City advised Ehlers that the funding strategy
must be flexible and able to respond to changes in the City's revenues and expenditures. It must
also maintain the City's current tax levy, maintain current reserve levels, and create a repayment
schedule at a cost of no more than $750,000 per year from the Capital Projects Fund. The City
also advised Ehlers that costs must be minimized and should be shared equitably between
current and future residents.
Ehlers created three options for the City's consideration: Option A and Option B would have two
$5 million bond issues. Option A would minimize the use of cash reserves and have bond terms
of 13 and 11 years, respectively; whereas Option B would use a higher amount of cash reserves,
but each bond issue's term would be 10 years. Option C would be a single $8 million bond issue
with a 10-year term.
Director of Finance Lehnhardt reviewed the methods of sale for a bond issue, including a public
competitive sale and a direct placement. City staff recommended the City use Option C using a
public competitive sale, as it would provide greater certainty by capturing the current market
interest rates, and it would have a shorter term of repayment.
In response to Council questions, Director of Finance Lehnhardt stated using a greater amount
of the Capital Projects reserve to fund debt service for the bond issue will limit funding other
capital projects over the next 2 years. City Manager Dzugan stated in 2020, the Council will need
to look at the structural issue of revenue over operating expenses.
Maureen Barry of Ehlers answered a Council question by stating Ehlers would not be able to act
as a placement agent for the City due to federal regulations, so if a placement agent was
needed, Ehlers would need to get another party involved.
Adrienne Booker of Ehlers answered a Council question on placement agent use by stating the
advantage would be that a placement agent would have a larger pool of banks to draw from to
get the best rates possible for a bond issue.
Some Council members stated they were in favor of Option C but would like to issue a $10
million bond to ensure there are sufficient funds for other capital projects.
V. Special Events
Special Projects Assistant Kowalke provided a review of the City Code as it relates to special
events and City staff's desire to make the special events process more efficient. He reviewed the
current procedure for applying for a special event permit, which the Police Department oversees.
After seeking out a special event permit, an applicant must then seek out other applicable
permits on their own, such as tent permits, or other required permits.
Special Projects Assistant Kowalke stated some of the challenges that staff would like to address
are difficulty administering the flow of information from the applicant to the City, coordination
of permits, and fees not reflecting costs to the City. Staff suggests forming a committee made
up of representatives from the Police, Public Works, Fire and Building & Code departments plus
a representative from administration. This would allow the City to determine the needs upfront
and better coordinate communication.
Another change staff suggests is altering which events need to receive City Council approval. To
allow for more efficient processing time, staff suggests allowing the committee to authorize
certain types of events and establishing a stringent timeline. The application would be changed
to be more comprehensive, collecting all necessary information, and the City would set
milestones that must be reached for the applicant.
Special Projects Assistant Kowalke stated the City has received resident complaints about the
frequency of road closures for races, especially on the north side of the city. The proposed
changes would limit the number of runs to 2 per month, and a total of 12 per year. It would also
prevent the same streets from being closed more than once in a 30-day timeframe. To address
legal issues, the City Code would differentiate between free speech/political events versus
special events.
Finally, staff is suggesting adjusting fees to better cover the costs to the City. Proposed are a
non-refundable processing fee of $75, and $50 fee for all events. In addition, City staff has found
that while City Code states the applicant should be paying for services such as traffic control and
on-call medical response in certain types of events, in many cases this is not being charged.
City Council members spoke generally in favor of the suggested changes but asked for staff to
add an appeal process to be added that would allow an applicant to have a final appeal to the
City Council.
Some City Council members suggested waiving fees for some of the events that are for the
entire community, such as the Memorial Day Parade or Fourth of July Parade. Council members
also suggested the City consider basing fees on whether the sponsor is generating revenue or
not.
VI. City Council/Staff Comments
Assistant City Manager Duguay answered a Council question about the Fourth of July Parade
route by stating it will start on North Main Street, turning west on Wesley and ending at City
Hall.
Mayor Pro Tem Suess encouraged people to take the City's survey about Adams Park. Assistant
City Manager Duguay stated the City is seeking basic feedback and will have public input
sessions at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. May 24 for the consultant to gather feedback about what people
would like to see and what they currently like about Adams Park.
VII. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 8:08 p.m.
https://www.wheaton.il.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_05142018-884
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