Will County Gazette

City of Braidwood City Council met Dec. 10.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Call to Order: The Regular Meeting of the Braidwood City Council on December 10, 2024 was called to order at 7:00 p.m., by Mayor Hart in the Council Chambers of the Braidwood City Hall.

Pledge of Allegiance: Mayor Hart 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 Earling, Commissioner Wietting, Commissioner Walsh, Commissioner Wilczak and Mayor Hart

Absent:

Appointed Officials:

Present: City Clerk Weaver, City Administrator Altiery, Chief Goodwin, City Engineer Sean Kelly, and City Attorney Wellner

Absent:

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

Public Comment: William Bose; 127 N Center St: Is asking if his B-box can be fixed saying it will not turn to shut off his water. At one time thought he had a frozen line but they were not able to shut the water off completely.

Amy Prudent; representative for Brake Time: They have acquired 29 Minit Mart locations including here in Braidwood. We are requesting council to amend the on-premises liquor licenses to allow video gaming at this facility. There is a private room already on site.

Approval of Minutes: Commissioner Wilczak made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Wietting, to approve meeting minutes from the November 26, 2024 Regular Council Meeting. Motion carried with 5 ayes: 0 nays; 0 Abstain (Earling, Wietting, Walsh, Wilczak and Hart)

Mayor's Report: Hart: Requested a motion to approve Ordinance 24-49 Designating Meeting Dates and Times and Holiday Observations in 2025 for Corporate Authorities and Plan Commission for the City of Braidwood. Commissioner Wilczak made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Earling to approve Ordinance 24-49. Motion carried with 5 ayes: 0 nays; (Earling, Wietting, Walsh, Wilczak and Hart)

Administrator Report: Altiery: Response to William Bose; we had an after hours call out thinking there was a break but he would not let us under the house. We believe the meter was making a clicking noise as no leak was apparent. Homeowners should be able to shut the water off with the valves under their house before we are called out to shut off at the B-box.

City Clerk Report: Weaver: LRS will be mailing out flyers for the 2025 calendar year pick-up schedule. There is also additional information on there as well that is helpful. If you have a missed pick-up, we have a link on our website at www.braidwood.us where you can fill out a form and they will receive your information. They will look into the issue and schedule a recovery pick up. Also, per our contract as of January 1, 2025 the garbage rates will change. The new rate is $24.04 plus a $6.00 surcharge is added our city ordinance that was passed in 2016. So, starting January billing the charges you will see on your bill will be $30.04 or the senior rate of $29.04.

Engineer Report: No Report.

City Attorney Report: No Report.

Accounts & Finance Report: Earling: Bauer & D'Orazio has paid back the SSA loan agreement in the amount of over $387,000.00 early.

Commissioner Earling made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Wietting, to approve the Payment of Bills, in the amount of $232,724.29 as identified in the Accounts Payable General Ledger dated December 10, 2024. Motion carried with 5 ayes: 0 nays. (Earling, Wietting, Walsh, Wilczak and Hart)

Commissioner Earling then made a Motion, seconded by Commissioner Wilczak, to Approve Payroll Expenses, in the amount of $97,272.05 as identified in the Payroll General Ledger dated December 6, 2024. Motion carried with 5 ayes; 0 nays. (Earling, Wietting, Walsh, Wilczak and Hart).

Commissioner Earling made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Wilczak, to approve Ordinance 24-50 for the Levy and Assessment of Taxes for the City of Braidwood, Will County, Illinois for the Fiscal Year Beginning May 1, 2024 and ending April 30, 2025. Motion carried with 5 ayes: 0 nays. (Earling, Wietting, Walsh, Wilczak and Hart)

Streets & Public Improvement Report: Walsh: We finished N. English St. and S. Division St. that were re-paved. We did remove some of the shoulder stone as homeowners were worried about when plows go by and throw the stone in the yard. The bid price was just over $283,000. We are expecting the final price to be about $25-30k under that.

Want to talk about the article in the paper about the ditches being filled in. The agreement is that the resident pays for the material and cost of the pipe. We supply the labor to fix the ditch.

Public Buildings & Property Report: Commissioner Wietting made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Wilczak to approve Ordinance 24-51 Waiving Competitive Bidding and Approving the Purchase of a 2025 Chevrolet 2500HR Silverado from Arnie Bauer Chevrolet GMC in an amount not to exceed $53,268.28 for use by the City of Braidwood Water Department. Motion carried with 5 ayes: 0 nays; (Earling, Wietting, Walsh, Wilczak and Hart)

Public Health & Safety Report: Wilczak: Braidwood Police Department Press Release from November 26, 2024 to December 10, 2024 total number of calls for service 222, case reports 18, total subjects arrested 6, total arrest charges 9, total number of traffic stops 82, citations 21, written warnings 48, semi- truck violations 3, and total number of P-tickets 6.

ESDA report for the month of November; total monthly manhours 26, total yearly 560, 20 manhours from non-emergency assistance to the BPD. There was a total of seven activities that ESDA assisted with.

Hope all enjoyed the Christmas tree lighting, parade and hot dogs at the Fire Department.

Want to wish everyone a good time this holiday season. Be responsible and don't drink and drive.

If anyone wants to take an interest in our city, we invite you to do so.

Planning & Zoning Report: George Kocek: Requested a motion to approve Ordinance 24-52. Commissioner Wilczak made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Walsh to approve Ordinance 24-52 approving a Preliminary Plat of Subdivision and Granting a Map Amendment from I-1 to R-1 Single Family Residence District for Six Lots and RMF Multi-Family Residence District for One Lot for Vacant Property East of N. Hickory Street and South of W. Main Street, to be known as Jervara Commons (Part of PIN No. 02-24-07-307-001-0000). Motion carried with 5 ayes: 0 nays; (Earling, Wietting, Walsh, Wilczak and Hart)

Requested a motion to approve the Subdivision and Plat of Subdivision for 174 N. Walker. Commissioner Wilczak made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Walsh to approve the Subdivision and Plat of Subdivision for 174 N. Walker. Motion carried with 5 ayes: 0 nays; (Earling, Wietting, Walsh, Wilczak and Hart)

The next Planning and Zoning meeting will be announced as needed.

Old Business: None.

New Business: Walsh: Wanted to look as how many mayors we have had in past 25 years because we are being compared to Diamond. The Diamond Mayor is going on her fourth term. In Braidwood, the mayors, on average have only served 3 years. We have had 9 mayors and 9 finance commissioners, 10 clerks, 4 streets commissioners, 7 safety commissioners, and 5 public building commissioners.

We will be having three more Town Hall meetings in 2025. The dates are January 14, February 11, and March 11.

Hart: Wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Some of you know that I have been going through Chemo therapy and wanted to say thank you and how supportive everyone has been.

Adjournment: Commissioner Wietting made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Wilczak, to adjourn the December 10, 2024 regular meeting of the Braidwood City Council. Motion carried with 5 ayes: 0 nays. (Earling, Wietting, Walsh, Wilczak and Hart)

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