Will County Gazette

City of Braidwood City Council met April 23.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Call to Order: The Regular Meeting of the Braidwood City Council on April 23, 2024 was called to order at 7:00 p.m., by Commissioner Money in the Council Chambers of the Braidwood City Hall.

Pledge of Allegiance: Commissioner Money requested all rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Roll Call: Upon Roll Call by the Clerk, the following members of the corporate authorities answered "Here" or "Present";

Elected Officials;

Present: Commissioner Money, Commissioner Wietting, and Commissioner Wilczak

Absent: Mayor Hart and Commissioner Walsh

Appointed Officials:

Present: City Clerk Weaver, City Administrator Altiery, City Engineer Dave Weber, and City Attorney Wellner

Absent: Chief Goodwin

Quorum: There being sufficient members of the corporate authorities in attendance to constitute a quorum, the meeting was declared in order.

Public Comment: Karie Larson; 285 E. 1st St: The reason I am here tonight is to bring awareness to my backyard, which is a "pond" six months out of the year. I have been living like this for six years and I am tired of it. I have come to City Hall several times over the past six years to inform them of the issue in my yard. I was told they can't do anything because it's my back yard. I was informed that there was a drainage system in place but someone re-did some stuff and put a pond in because another area was flooding and they disconnected the drain that was from my subdivision back yards. Which is why, now I flood any my neighbors. It's a breeding ground for mosquitos. When I came down here, I was told I would receive a call and have not received any call backs. Don't lie to me and say you will call me and don't, it's rude. My time is valuable also and I am very upset about this. I have workers coming tomorrow to fix the problem myself because after six years I am tired of it. After they fix the problem, which could have been fixed you you-all. I know this type of work was done in Pheasant Run for those residents by the city. So, when my work is done, I will be submitting my receipts to the city, in which you will reimburse me. If not, I will contact a lawyer and if it does not get paid back to me, I will be submitting a class action law suit against the City of Braidwood and will be getting all my neighbors involved. I have spoke with them and they are all interested in this also. I have come to city hall for help and have been told lie after lie. There is a problem with communication in this town. It seems because I don't know anyone personally, I cannot get any help. Now you know there is a problem, I suggest you talk to each other and resolve the issue. We just need this situation fixed.

Public Hearing: Commissioner Wilczak made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Wietting to Open Public Hearing. Motion carried with 3 ayes: 0 nays: (Money, Wietting, Wilczak).

Clerk Weaver: This public hearing is being held for the purpose of hearing testimony regarding the proposed annual budget for the City of Braidwood for the fiscal year beginning May 1st, 2024 and ending April 30th, 2025. Pursuant to the law, that a notice was published in the Herald News on March 30th, 2024 notifying the public of this hearing and the proposed budget has been available for public inspection with the office of the City Clerk since March 28, 2024. Please come to the mic and speak.

Commissioner Wilczak made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Wietting to Close Public Hearing. Motion carried with 3 ayes: 0 nays: (Money, Wietting, Wilczak).

Commissioner Wilczak made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Wietting to Approve Ordinance 24- 14 Approving the Annual Budget and Appropriations for the City of Braidwood for the Fiscal Year Beginning May 1st, 2024 and ending April 30th, 2025. Motion carried with 3 ayes: 0 nays: (Money, Wietting, Wilczak).

Approval of Minutes: Commissioner Wietting made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Wilczak, to approve meeting minutes from the April 9, 2024. Regular Council Meeting. Motion carried with 2 ayes: 0 nays; 1 Abstain (Wietting and Wilczak)

Mayor's Report: No report

Administrator Report: Admin. Altiery: Ultimate Rides is open for business. They have about 60 cars there now and will be moving more cars over from Coal City. This week I worked with Commissioner Wilczak on finding some grants. We are almost done with some paperwork for the gas station at 113 and Coal City Rd. We are hoping to have a zoning meeting on that in the next 3-4 weeks.

City Clerk Report: Clerk Weaver: I would like to announce on behalf of the Braidwood Historical Society that they will be hosting a program here at City Hall on Wednesday May 8th at 7:00pm about Women of the Military Beginning and History in World War II. They will have a meet and greet at the museum with refreshments afterwards.

Also, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is having a public meeting here at City Hall on Wednesday, May 29th, 2024 from 5:00pm - 6:00pm. They will have a panel of people present to the public their assessment of the station's performance for the previous year.

Engineer Report: No Report

City Attorney Report: No Report

Accounts & Finance Report: Commissioner Money made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Wilczak, to approve the Payment of Bills, in the amount of $310,106.38 as identified in the Accounts Payable General Ledger dated April 23, 2024. Motion carried with 3 ayes: 0 nays. (Money, Wietting, and Wilczak) Commissioner Money then made a Motion, seconded by Commissioner Wietting, to Approve Payroll Expenses, in the amount of $86,482.77 as identified in the Payroll General Ledger dated April 12, 2024. Motion carried with 3 ayes; 0 nays. (Money, Wietting, and Wilczak).

Comm. Money: I would like to discuss the upcoming budget. It is similar to one we had passed last year. We do have an increase of over $300,000.00 of income from last year, it is mostly sales tax. We needed to hire police officers, so we added $300,000.00 to the budget to hire those officers. We moved $150,000.00 to the street department, where before we had cut back. We have enough money to put that money back into the budget to take care of the streets and do the necessary repairs.

Streets & Public Improvement Report: Absent

Public Property Report: No Report

Public Health & Safety Report: Commissioner Wilczak made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Wietting to approve Ordinance 24-15 Authorizing the Execution and Approval of a Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Braidwood and Metropolitan Alliance of Police to be Effective through December 29th, 2024. Motion carried with 3 ayes: 0 nays: (Money, Wietting, Wilczak).

The Braidwood Police Department Press Release for April 9th, 2024 to April 22nd, 2024. The total number of calls for service 237, case reports 23, total subjects arrested 1, total arrest charges 1, total number of traffic stops 65, citations 16, written warnings 39, and total number of P-tickets 17.

I would like to remind you of the road closures going on for the work on the railroad crossings. The current one at Center Street crossing which began yesterday and will re-open on April 24th at 5:00pm. The Main St. closure will be happening on May 6th at 7:00pm through Wednesday May 8th at 5:00pm.

I would like to mention the Citizen Police Academy will start on May 2nd. I think there are still a few openings. You can learn how to be prepared for safety and work with the police and understand what the police do. It starts on Thursday May 2nd and every Thursday for 6 weeks until June 22nd

Planning & Zoning Report: No Report

Old Business: None

New Business: None

Adjournment: Commissioner Wilczak made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Wietting, to adjourn the April 23, 2024 regular meeting of the Braidwood City Council. Motion carried with 3 ayes: 0 nays. (Money, Wietting, and Wilczak) The next regular meeting of the Council will be held Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 7:00pm

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