Will County Gazette

Village of Channahon Committee of the Whole met Feb. 3.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

VP Moorman Schumacher called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. with Trustees Slocum, Perinar, Host, McMillin and Scaggs present. Trustee Greco was present remotely.

Also present were Village Administrator Thomas Durkin, Assistant Village Administrator Michael Petrick, Director of Community Development Scott McMaster, Finance Director Heather Wagonblott, Director of Public Works Ed Dolezal, Chief of Police Adam Bogart and Village Clerk Kristin Hall. Village Attorney Silverman was present remotely.

VP Moorman Schumacher informed everyone present that anyone who speaks at the meeting shall be deemed to have given his/her consent to the recording of their likeness and speech. This meeting is being recorded.

VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR

Discussion - A Resolution Authorizing the Village Administrator to Enter into a Contract for the Purchase of Electricity from the Lowest Cost Electricity Provider for the purposes of Commercial Accounts through Northern Illinois Municipal Electric Collaborative Bid Process

Durkin stated the Village of Channahon has been a member of the Northern Illinois Municipal Electric Cooperative (NIMEC) for a number of years. The purpose of our involvement is for the purchase of electricity for eligible accounts through a cooperative pool with other Illinois municipalities in order to receive a more competitive bid price and allow us to leverage the combined usage with suppliers to negotiate pricing lower that what we could otherwise do individually. Because of the way the bidding process works, the Village President will need to have the authority to sign a contract with an electricity provider which is deemed most favorable for the Village within hours of the bids being received by NIMEC. In light of those time constraints applicable to the acceptance of a competitive bid for a supply of electricity, once the bids are received by NIMEC, it is requested that the Village Administrator be authorized to sign a contract with the lowest bidder and that contract be placed on the next available Village Board meeting agenda following the execution thereof for ratification by the Village Board. Current pricing for the eligible accounts is set to expire in May of 2025. The bid for the upcoming contract is scheduled for March 4, 2025.

ADMINISTRATION DEP ARTMENT

Petrick stated he had no formal items for discussion.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

McMaster stated he had no formal items for discussion.

FINANCE DEPARTMENT

Discussion - 5-Year Capital Improvements Plan for Fiscal Years 2026 - 2030

Wagonblott presented a detailed overview of the 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan to the Board. The proposed fiscal years 2026 through 2030 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for the Village of Channahon, Illinois. Staff has assembled their respective department's anticipated capital needs as represented within the 5-year CIP draft. The Village's CIP sets general guidelines for and prioritizes capital improvement projects as well as identifies the related funding, revenue source, or long-tenn financing. The CIP is intended to operate in conjunction with the annual budget process. During the annual budgeting process, staff identifies future capital improvement projects, equipment, and infrastructure related to their respective departments. Each capital item is evaluated and prioritized by staff and combined into the 5-Year CIP document and assigned a rank of importance which spans from high, moderate, or low. Ranking the capital items in addition to the criterion classification assists staff with prioritization of the information. The CIP is comprised of Village improvements, $20,000 or more in cost, that relate to land, property acquisition, vehicles, equipment, and infrastructure, etc. The Village's 5-year CIP for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 proposes approximately $177.5 million in total anticipated capital vehicles, equipment and proiects (S74.6 million related to General Fund capital, $17.2 related to roads, multiuse paths, etc., and $85.7 related to Utility capital). Details of the capital items are included within the draft CIP. The capital projects and equipment related to fiscal year 2026 included in the CIP draft are intended to be included in the upcoming fiscal year 2026 budget draft unless staff is directed otherwise by the Mayor or Village Board. An estimate of the respective funds revenues sources and projected expenses for capital expenses in addition to other expenses can be found on pages 37 and 38 of the draft CIP. The CIP document is updated annually and presented to the Village Board each year in conjunction with the annual budgeting process. Please note that the amounts included irx this document are estimates and wil7 continue to be refined each vear as actual costs and more accurate estimates are obtained. Any Board directed changes will be made to the CIP document prior to Monday, February 17, 2025. The revised CIP document will be included for the board's consideration and approval on the next board agenda.

Discussion - Moody's Annual Issuers Comment

Wagonblott stated attached is a copy of the Moody's Investors Service's Published Annual Issuers Comment. This report was published on Moodys.com on Friday, January 24, 2025. Moody's Annual Issuer Comment Report (AICR) is a research publication that provides a single reference source for the most recent credit information on Moody's-rated local governrnent issuers who access the markets infrequently. Since new bonds have not been issued since 2016 this report applies to the Village of Channahon. This report is informational only and represents the financial stability and fiscal health of the Village.

POLICE DEPARTMENT

Bogart stated he had no formal items for discussion.

PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

Discussion - 2024 MFT Road Resurfacing Project Change Order No. 2

Dolezal stated the Board previously awarded this contract to D Construction and change order 1 for the addition of Francis Way and Francis Ct. with an adjusted contract value of $1,096,549.72. Change order 2 represents final pay item quantities based on in field conditions which are gernnane to the original contract. These changes represent a decrease of $157,005.03 to the revised contract cost of $1,096,549.72, resulting in a final contract value of $939,544.69.

Discussion - Award Tree Removal Contract Associated with Bridge Street Multi Use Path Dolezal stated the State has awarded the Stage 3 construction of the Bridge Street Multi-Use Path to D Construction. Tree removal was removed from the scope of that contract due to concerns about not getting the trees down before March 31st to accornrnodate an endangered bat. If that deadline is not met, tree removal cannot take place until October 15, 2025, jeopardizing the project's funding. Invitations to bid were sent to four contractors. Only Homer Tree Service returned a bid. Their bid is under the Engineer's Estimate of Probable Construction Cost.

COMMUNICATIONS

VP Moorman Schumacher stated that we received got preliminary renewal information from IPBC. The Village is a member of the IPBC for our Village provided health insurance. Our insurance rates have been very stable and have even gone down a time or two; there is a potential significant increase this year. The preliminary PPO increase is currently at 13-16%, the HMO is 5-6% and the dental is 4 1/2 - 5%.

Durkin stated that this is not unique to our group. There are a couple reasons for the potential increase. Medical trends have been going up across the board for the last year or two and a big part of the increase that we are seeing right now is the increase in the use of weight loss drugs.

They are three to four times as much as they were the previous year being utilized. Zepbound and Wegovy are the ones that are really driving those numbers and are increasing what we are seeing here in terms of an adjustment. These preliminary numbers come out in January, they usually drop 3-4% by the time we get to our final renewal in March, but it will still be a pretty healthy increase in the 10% range. If that in fact what it is, this will be the first time in 5 years that our PPO has gone over 3%. A couple of years it has actually went down sligl"itly. We've been very fortunate to have had stable adjustments of our health insurance rate for the Village's portion of the insurance. Across the board, the medical insurance field is going to see a fairly good adjustment upwards.

VP Moorman Schumacher stated that she received a brief memo from IDOT in regard to the many questions they have received regarding the recent Presidential Executive Orders, additional guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget and the impacts to federal transportation funding. At this time, there are no changes to how IDOT is processing agreements, amendments, invoices or payment. They will continue to monitor new developments and will provide new guidance, as warranted.

PUBLIC COMMENT

EXECUTIVE SESSION

The Committee of the Whole was adjourned at 7:10 p.m.

https://www.channahon.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_02032025-645