City of Crest Hill City Council met Feb. 17.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
1. OPENING OF MEETING
The regular meeting of the City of Crest Hill was called to order by Mayor Raymond R. Soliman at 5:32 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 20600 City Center Boulevard, Crest Hill, Will County, Illinois.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.
3. ROLL CALL
Before the formal roll call, Mayor Ray Soliman provided updates on absent Council members. He noted receiving a text late that afternoon from Alderman Cipiti indicating he would be arriving late to the meeting but was on his way. Mayor Soliman then explained that three Council members – Alderman Deserio, Alderman Jefferson, and Alderwoman Gazal – were unable to attend in person.
Regarding Alderman Deserio, Mayor Soliman clarified he was not available even remotely, but “has agreed to come in during this upcoming week and to listen to the audio tape of this entire meeting.”
For remote attendance requests, Mayor Soliman first addressed Alderman Jefferson, explaining he “is unable to be here this evening because of illness and health reasons” but could join remotely. When Mayor Soliman asked if anyone objected to Alderman Jefferson joining remotely, multiple voices responded “No.”
Mayor Soliman then addressed Alderwoman Gazal’s situation, stating she “is unable to be with us in person this evening because of unexpected childcare.’ Again, asking for Council’s consideration, no objections were raised to her remote participation.
City Attorney Mike Stiff noted they had a quorum in the room, so both remote attendances would be permitted per policy. He reminded Council that they needed to ensure remote participants could hear and be heard and requested each remote member state their reason on the record.
Roll call indicated the following present: Alderman Scott Dyke, Alderman Darrell Jefferson (via phone), Alderwoman Claudia Gazal (via phone), Alderperson Tina Oberlin, Alderman Mark Cipiti (Arriving late – arrived 6:11pm), Alderman Nate Albert and Alderman Joe Kubal.
Also present were: City Administrator Blaine Wing, Finance Director Glenn Gehrke, City Engineer Ron Wiedeman, Community & Economic Development Director Dan Ritter, Public Works Director Gary Richardson, Police Chief Ed Clark, and City Attorney Mike Stiff.
Absent was: Alderman Angelo Deserio.
City Attorney Mike Stiff verified that the remote Council members could hear the meeting and that the present Council could hear them.
4. CITIZEN/SPECIAL REQUEST/PUBLIC HEARINGS
There were no items.
5. PUBLIC COMMENT FOR AGENDA ITEMS ONLY:
No one approached the podium.
6. CONSENT AGENDA:
Mayor Ray Soliman asked if any of the Council members wished to have any items removed from the consent agenda for further discussion.
Alderman Dyke requested to remove item 6A (Approve the Minutes from the Work Session Meeting Held on January 26, 2026).
Mayor Soliman proceeded to read the consent agenda items:
6A. Approval of Minutes from the Work Session Meeting Held on January 26, 2026. (REMOVED for Discussion)
6B. Approve the Minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting Held on February 2, 2026.
6C. Approval of Minutes from the Work Session Meeting Held on February 9, 2026.
6D. Approve a Resolution Authorizing the Installation of Certain Traffic Calming Measures on Knapp Drive from Theodore Street to Larkin Avenue and Future Reporting and Review Regarding the Efficacy of Said Traffic Calming Measures. Resolution #1383
6E. Approve a Resolution Approving a Construction Agreement for the Division Roadway Reconstruction Improvement by and between the City of Crest Hill, Will County, Illinois and P.T. Ferro Construction Company for an Amount of $2,203,482.72. Resolution #1384
6F. Approve a Resolution Approving a Construction Testing Agreement for East and West Receiving Stations Improvement by and between the City of Crest Hill, Will County, Illinois and Rubino Engineering, Inc. for an Amount of $26,335.00. Resolution #1385
6G. Approve a Resolution Approving a Construction Engineering Agreement for East and West Receiving Stations Improvement by and between the City of Crest Hill, Will County, Illinois and Strand Associates, Inc. for an amount of $1,129,850.00. Resolution #1386
6H. Approve a Resolution approving an Amendment to the for Design and Related Services for the Eastern and Western Receiving Sites at Grand Prairie Water Commission (GPWC) Delivery Points By and Between the City of Crest Hill, Will County, Illinois and Strand & Associates, Inc. Resolution #1387
61. Approve a Resolution Approving Professional Engineering Service Agreement for a City-Wide Multi-Use Path Study-Phase 1 by and between the City of Crest Hill, Will County, Illinois and Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd for an Amount of $48,500.00. Resolution #1388
6J. Approve a Resolution Approving a City Hall Community Room Usage Policy. Resolution #1389
6K. Approval of the Purchase of a New RAS Pump for the East Wastewater Treatment Plant from Metropolitan Industries Inc. in the Amount of $56,179.00.
6L. Approval of the Purchase of a New Motor for the Oxidation Ditch for the East Wastewater Treatment Plant from Komline Sanderson in the Amount of $25,000.00.
6M. Approval of Pay Request #37 from Vissering Construction Inc. with direction to send it to the IEPA for approval and disbursement for a total amount of $231,832.60.
6N. Approval of Change Order No. 10 from Vissering Construction Inc. with the direction to send it to the IEPA for approval. Change Order will increase the amount of the contract to $49,695,708.00.
60. Approval of the Regular and Overtime Payroll from January 26, 2026, through February 8, 2026, in the Amount of $279,365.48.
6P. Approval of the List of Bills Issued through February 28, 2026, in the Amount of $2,549,589.66.
Mayor Soliman asked for a motion to approve the Consent Agenda items, excluding item 6A.
Alderman Albert made a motion to Approve the fifteen Consent Agenda items Seconded by Alderperson Oberlin. Roll Call: Ayes: Dyke, Gazal, Oberlin, Albert, Kubal. Nayes: None. Abstain: Jefferson. Absent: Cipiti, Deserio. MOTION CARRIED.
Mayor Soliman commented that they would now discuss the item that was removed from the Consent Agenda to discuss separately.
6A. Approval of Minutes from the Work Session Meeting Held on January 26, 2026.
Alderman Scott Dyke explained his reasoning: “The reason I asked for it to be pulled off because Alderman Cipiti had asked for this and he’s not here right now. …I’d really like to see us have him be a part of it since he asked for this to be pulled.” Alderman Dyke asked if they could table it for another meeting.
City Clerk Christine Vershay-Hall stated “We cannot table it for another meeting. It must be passed tonight.”
When City Attorney Mike Stiff asked if Alderman Cipiti would be arriving, Mayor Soliman confirmed “He’s going to be late. I don’t know how late, but he’s going to be late.”
Alderman Albert about whether Alderman Cipiti had communicated his concerns. City Clerk Vershay-Hall explained “Did he reach out to the Clerk’s office with the corrections that he was requesting? Yes, they were forwarded to him, and he was fine with them because we never heard back from him after 2 notifications.”
Mayor Ray Soliman asked a motion to approve the January 26, 2026, work session minutes.
Alderman Albert clarified with City Clerk Vershay-Hall that they would be approving “the amended ones that are in front of us, not the ones that were in the packet, right Chris?” to which City Clerk Vershay-Hall responded “Correct.”
Alderman Albert made a motion to Approval of the minutes for the work session meeting held on January 26, 2026. Seconded by Alderman Kubal. Roll Call: Ayes: Jefferson, Gazal, Oberlin, Albert, Kubal. Nayes: Dyke. Abstain: None. Absent: Cipiti, Deserio. MOTION CARRIED.
City Clerk Christine Vershay-Hall provided resolution numbers for the consent agenda items:
6D: Resolution 1383
6E: Resolution 1384
6F: Resolution 1385
6G: Resolution 1386
6H: Resolution 1387
61: Resolution 1388
6J: Resolution 1389
City Clerk Christine Vershay-Hall stated that roll call for the Mayor and City Treasurer wasn’t called earlier with City Council roll call. Both Mayor Ray Soliman and City Treasurer Jamie Malloy stated that they were present.
7. REPORTS & COMMUNICATIONS FROM DEPARTMENTS & ELECTED OFFICIALS
7A. MAYOR’S REPORT:
Mayor Soliman stated that he had no agenda items, just two quick announcements..
Mayor Soliman reported that he and his wife attended the Chaney Monge DARE graduation for 2026 on February 4th, noting “There were approximately 40 students that met the requirements for the graduation. It was a great ceremony with that was a very good turnout of the 40 students, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles.” He offered special recognition: “So hats off to Officer Heidi Outlaw who does a fantastic job with the DARE program. She’s well received in the schools. So great job to all the graduates and congratulations on their DARE graduation.”
Mayor Soliman’s second announcement concerned the grand reopening of Rejuvenate on February 7th, which he and his wife Vicki attended. He explained the business “moved about a half a block west from where their original place was. They outgrew their first location. So, they are now at 2310 Plainfield Road.” He described Ashley Searing and her father as hosts for “the grand opening which was the entire weekend of February seventh.” Mayor Soliman noted “It was a great turnout. There were several people in attendance. They had raffles. They had food. They had a lot of items for sale there. In case anybody does not know, Ashley Searing’s younger brother had some mental issues and passed away at a young age. So, she opened up this store in keeping his memory alive. There are many pictures of Nate in the business. And she has done a fantastic job honoring his memory.” Mayor Soliman concluded by saying he had invited Ashley for a future business presentation at a Council meeting and wished her continued success.
7B. CITY CLERK’S REPORT:
There were no items to report.
7C. CITY TREASURER’S REPORT:
City Treasurer Jamie Malloy detailed a concerning incident: “I did receive an email Sunday morning from a resident who was concerned about a water bill. It came upon that she had a running toilet, and this is why her bill came up to $800 dollars. She did call the water and finance department and tried to work out the issues with them only to be hung up on, which I’m really disappointed about.” She made a public appeal: “And I am asking anybody in Crest Hill who has had anybody rude to them or be hung up on to please email me and let me know. If we’ve got a problem, we want to get this resolved because we work for the citizens of Crest Hill.”
City Treasurer Malloy provided her contact information and noted she had told Alderman Cipiti about the Ward 3 resident, stating “I would work with him on this later and have him also get in touch with this lady as I apologized to her profusely and he also wanted to get in touch with her.”
Mayor Soliman interjected that he believed they were discussing the same person who had contacted him via voicemail. He explained his attempts to help: “I did call her back on the next day, which was Sunday. And since she did not leave her phone number or anything for me, I had no way to contact her. So, I asked her to call me back and she never returned my phone call.”
The Treasurer responded “Okay. Well, she got ahold of me, and I just felt really bad that she’d gotten hung up on. There’s just no reason for that.”
7D. CITY ATTORNEY:
There were no items to report.
7E. CITY ADMINISTRATOR:
There were no items to report.
7F. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT:
There were no items to report.
7G. CITY ENGINEER:
1. Approve an Ordinance Authorizing and Providing for the Issue of not to Exceed $4,400,000 Waterworks and Sewerage Revenue Bonds, Junior Lien (IEPA), of the City of Crest Hill, Will County, Illinois, for the Purposes of Paying the Costs of Improving the Combined Waterworks and Sewerage System of the City, Prescribing all the Details of said Bonds, Providing for the Collection, Segregation and Distribution of the Revenues of the Waterworks and Sewerage System of said City and Authorizing the Sale of said Bonds to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA)
City Engineer Ron Wiedeman explained a memo in the agenda packets regarding the switch to Lake Michigan water supply using IEPA loans. City Engineer Wiedeman detailed: “About a year ago, we passed ordinance 2012 in February that was authorizing city officials to apply for the IEPA loans and authorize the issuance of waterworks, and sewer revenue bonds for the city in the amount of $4,400,000.00.”
He explained the process: “After we adopted it, we published it in the paper as stated in the ordinance to allow for petitions from the electors. None are received within the 30 days. Now we want to close the loop on this bond and that’s what we have here today.”
Motion by Alderperson Oberlin, seconded by Alderman Kubal for an ordinance authorizing and providing for the issue of not to exceed $4,400,000 waterworks and sewage revenue bonds, junior lien IEPA, of the City of Crest Hill, Will County, Illinois, for the purposes of paying the cost of improving the combined waterworks and sewerage system of the city, prescribing all the details of said bonds providing for the collection, segregation, and distribution of the revenue of the waterworks and sewerage system of said city and authorizing the sale of said bonds to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
Before the vote, Alderman Albert stated “Just for the record, I’ll be abstaining from this vote, and I’d like to explain why this creates a conflict of interest for me as a financial advisor with Edward Jones because we have the opportunity to potentially sell these bonds to our clients. So therefore, I’ll be abstaining from this this vote.”
Roll call: Ayes: Gazal, Oberlin, Kubal, Dyke, Jefferson. Nayes: None. Abstain: Albert. Absent: Deserio, Cipiti. MOTION CARRIED. Ordinance #2048
City Engineer Ron Wiedeman then announced: “Last week the Mayor and I attended a luncheon where the City received an award from the American Public Works Association Southwest Branch. It was for the City’s project at the east plant we completed a couple years ago for the phosphorous removal for the environmental category.”
City Engineer Wiedeman presented the award: “I’m going to turn it over to Public Works now so he can figure out where he would like to install this. Gary.” Public Works Director Gary Richardson responded “Thank you so much. I will share it with the crew. Thank you.”
Mayor Soliman elaborated on the award ceremony: “I had the opportunity to go with Ron to the luncheon. So, hats off and thanks to Strand and Associates. Mike Ott was there, and Nate was there. I will tell you that Mike did a fantastic job of describing the project that we had which started back in 2023. It just finished last year.”
He emphasized the significance: “It was nice to get an award for something good for the City of Crest Hill and for Public Works. Strand and Associates came along and there was a lot of money savings on this project also and it was something that we were required to do. So, hats off to everybody and thank you very much.”
7H. FINANCE:
There were no items to report.
7I. POLICE DEPARTMENT:
There were no items to report.
7J. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT:
Community & Economic Development Director Dan Ritter began “I had sent out the Route 66 proposal to everybody. I got a lot of thumbs up. I got some no answers and if I didn’t get answers, I’m going to assume it’s a thumbs up. So, if anybody has any last-minute changes or thoughts on that contract for the 100th anniversary of Route 66, let me know. I will be bringing that in March to you guys for approval. Other than that, I don’t have anything. So, any questions, let me know.”
8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
There was no unfinished business.
9. NEW BUSINESS:
There was no new business.
10. COMMITTEE/LIAISON REPORTS:
Alderwoman Claudia Gazal stated: “Just a reminder, on Saturday, March 28th will be City of Crest Hill first Easter event. We’ll have age 12 and under. It’s from 12 to 2 pm.”
She detailed the planning: “We had a meeting, a very successful meeting with all department heads and its Administrator. We appreciate their support. We’re working on a safety plan and many ideas so we can come together and give the residents of Crest Hill an unbelievable event. We will have a professional photographer taking pictures of families and kids. There will be their Easter pictures, a petting zoo, many crafts, games, prizes, and the best part will be whoever gets a golden egg, they get a lot of prizes. So, we also have refreshments and many more to come. So, hope to see everyone.”
11. CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS:
Mayor introduced this section as “positive City Council comments” and asked members to share anything with their constituents.
Alderwoman Gazal stated “I just want to wish a quick recovery for my friend from Ward 2, Darrell. I hope to see you soon. We miss you.”
Alderperson Oberlin responded with: “Yes, that’s exactly what I was going to say, Claudia. I got a get well soon, Darrell. So, you’ll be back here in fighting stance.”
Alderman Albert, “Just to go along with the theme of thinking spring, also save the date for the Crest Hill Lions Club Easter egg hunt. That’s on Saturday, April fourth. So, the day before Easter, Crest Hill Lions Club has been hosting this Easter egg hunt for over 40 years. This year’s location is at Richland School, 12 pm sharp. Over 2000 eggs will be out there in the open field just to the west of the school. Free pictures with the Easter bunny and the Crest Hill Lion, a free event for ages 10 and under. So, stop on by April 4th.”
Alderman Kubal, “Mayor, just a quick update for members of the Lockport Park District. If you’re a member at Challenge Fitness, you can come in February and get two free passes to visit the facility for friends and family that might want to come in there and work out with you. So, a lot of folks are not aware of that and that’s all I have. I have two in my car if anybody in this room would like to work out with me one day.”
12. PUBLIC COMMENT:
No one approached the podium for public comment.
13. EXECUTIVE SESSION:
1. 5ILCS 120/2(c)(1): The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity.
Mayor Soliman asked for a motion to go into executive session on 5ILCS 120/2(c)(1).
Alderperson Oberlin made a motion to go into executive session on 5ILCS 120/2(c)(1) at 6:01 p.m. Seconded by Alderman Albert. Roll Call: Ayes: Kubal, Dyke, Jefferson, Gazal, Oberlin, Albert. Nayes: None. Absent: Deserio, Cipiti. MOTION CARRIED.
Mayor Soliman asked for a motion to reconvene from the executive session on 5ILCS 120/2(c)(1).
Alderperson Oberlin made a motion to reconvene from the executive session on 5ILCS 120/2(c)(1) at 9:32 p.m. Seconded by Alderman Albert. Roll Call: Ayes: Dyke, Jefferson, Gazal, Oberlin, Cipiti, Albert, Kubal. Nayes: None. Absent: Deserio. MOTION CARRIED.
14. ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business before the Council, and no action needed from an executive session, a motion for adjournment was in order.
Alderman Dyke made a motion to adjourn at 9:33 p.m. Seconded by Alderman Albert. Roll Call: Ayes: Jefferson, Gazal, Oberlin, Cipiti, Albert, Kubal, Dyke. Nayes: None. Absent: Deserio. MOTION CARRIED.
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