Will County Gazette

City of Braidwood City Council met April 22.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Call to Order: The Regular Meeting of the Braidwood City Council on April 22, 2025 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 Wietting, Commissioner Walsh, Commissioner Wilczak, and Mayor Hart

Absent: Commissioner Earling

Appointed Officials:

Present: City Clerk Weaver and City Attorney Wellner

Absent: City Engineer Sean Kelly

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

Public Comment: None.

Approval of Minutes: Commissioner Wilczak made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Walsh, to approve meeting minutes from the April 8, 2025 Regular Council Meeting. Motion carried with 4 ayes: 0 nays; 0 Abstain (Wietting, Walsh, Wilczak, and Hart)

Mayor's Report: Hart: Nice to see the turnout in support of the new mayor and commissioners.

Administrator Report: None.

City Clerk Report: Weaver: Reminder of the spring clean-up for the garbage company is Monday, May 5, or Tuesday, May 6, depending on your current garbage day pick-up.

LRS had some truck issues last week, and sections of the town were delayed a day for their pick-up. If your garbage/recycle/or yard waste has been missed. Please go to the website at www.braidwood.us and look for the LRS logo. There is a link where you can go to submit your address and mark what was missed. This information will be sent directly to the garbage company for them to reschedule a recovery pick-up

Engineer Report: Absent

City Attorney Report: No report.

Accounts & Finance Report: In the absence of Commissioner Earling, Mayor Hart made the requests.

Commissioner Wietting made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Wilczak, to approve the Payment of Bills, in the amount of $165,995.76 as identified in the Accounts Payable General Ledger dated April 22, 2025. Motion carried with 4 ayes: 0 nays. (Wietting, Walsh, Wilczak and Hart)

Commissioner Wietting then made a Motion, seconded by Commissioner Wilczak, to Approve Payroll Expenses, in the amount of $93,899.32 as identified in the Payroll General Ledger dated April 11, 2025. Motion carried with 4 ayes; 0 nays. (Wietting, Walsh, Wilczak and Hart).

Commissioner Wilczak made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Walsh, to approve the Retirement and Resignation Payout of Chief Bret Goodwin, Administrator Tony Altiery, and SRO Timothy Henson, in the amount of $91,620.28 as identified in the Payroll General Ledger dated April 21, 2025. Motion carried with 4 ayes: 0 nays. (Wietting, Walsh, Wilczak and Hart)

Commissioner Wietting made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Wilczak, to approve Ordinance 25- 17 to enter into and for the Mayor of Braidwood to execute an agreement between the City of Braidwood and WIPFLI, LLP regarding an annual audit for Fiscal Year ending April 30, 2024. Motion carried with 4 ayes: 0 nays. (Wietting, Walsh, Wilczak and Hart)

Commissioner Wietting made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Wilczak, to request approval of designated signatories for the city bank accounts of Todd Lyons and Elizabeth Dixon. Motion carried with 4 ayes: 0 nays. (Wietting, Walsh, Wilczak and Hart)

Streets & Public Improvement Report: Walsh: We will be starting three larger projects soon. We met with the Engineer Sean Kelly. We will scrap and repave E. 3rd St. and fix it like S. Division and N. English St. The next projects are the north entrance of Comet Estates and Stacey Court.

We have finished stripping along N. English and S. Division from the repaving last November.

We are having a Community Clean-Up Day on Saturday, April 26, 2025, from 9 am to 12 pm. Any volunteers, please meet here at City Hall. We will have garbage bags, pickers, and safety vests.

Public Property Report: Wietting: Thanks to the crew who came out to fix a hydrant that was hit over he weekend on Frontage Road by Top Fuel. They were able to get it shut off before we lost too much water.

We also have one more valve on order for the water tower project out back. We are waiting on a delivery date.

Public Health & Safety Report: Wilczak: Thank you to our retired Chief Bret Goodwin for his 24 years of service and the last 2 years as our Chief of Police. Also, thank you to the officers.

Commissioner Wilczak made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Walsh, to approve Ordinance 25-18 Authorizing the City of Braidwood to enter into and for the Mayor of Braidwood to execute an agreement between the City of Braidwood and Axon and to approve the purchase of Taser and Body Worn Cameras. This is part of a refresh package to update our hardware, support, and storage. Motion carried with 4 ayes: O nays. (Wietting, Walsh, Wilczak and Hart) 0

Commissioner Wilczak made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Wietting, to approve Ordinance 25- 19 Authorizing the City of Braidwood to enter into and for the Mayor of Braidwood to execute an agreement between the City of Braidwood and Flock Group, Inc. and to approve the purchase of products and services. These will be an addition to our current supply, added to the eastern part of town. The funds for this purchase are in next year's budget. Motion carried with 4 ayes: 0 nays. (Wietting, Walsh, Wilczak and Hart)

Commissioner Wilczak made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Wietting, to approve Ordinance 25- 20 Authorizing the execution and approval of a Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Braidwood and the Metropolitan Alliance of Police to be effective through December 29, 2026. This reduces the probationary period from twelve to eleven months. Motion carried with 4 ayes: 0 nays. (Wietting, Walsh, Wilczak and Hart)

Braidwood Police Department Press Release had a total number of calls for service of 287, case reports 23, total subjects arrested 4, total arrest charges 6, total number of traffic stops 84, citations 13, written warnings 59, semi-truck violations 2, total number of P-tickets 5.

I would like to congratulate the new incoming council members and offer my assistance going forward.

Planning & Zoning Report: George Kocek: The next Planning and Zoning meeting is, Monday, May 5, 2025 at 7:00 pm at Council Chambers.

Old Business: None.

New Business: Hart: Thank you, and it has been an honor to be your mayor for two years and wish the new mayor and incoming commissioners the best. I am sure they will make sure Braidwood prospers under their regime.

Swearing in the newly Elected Officers by Judge Jessical Colon-Sayre:

Todd Lyons was sworn in as Mayor at 7:20 pm.

Elizabeth Dixon was sworn in as Commissioner of Accounts and Finance at 7:21 pm.

James Mikel was sworn in as Commissioner of Public Health and Safety at 7:22 pm.

The new mayor and commissioners took their seats at the council table at 7:25 pm.

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

Elected Officials: Commissioner Dixon, Commissioner Wietting, Commissioner Walsh, Commissioner Mikel, and Mayor Lyons.

Mayor Lyons: Thank you for coming and I am excited about this opportunity to become the mayor. Six years ago, I was excited to be the Chief of Police of a town I care about and raised my family here and have been a part of this community. Now as the mayor, you guys are my boss. I work for you and I am excited about that. I am honored and grateful to serve as your mayor. I appreciate the support I have received through my campaign. I am excited to work alongside the city council as we focus on strengthening our community as we move Braidwood forward. I have talked to Dale and Warren, and we are going to work together. I have begun the process of selecting a new city administrator and chief of police. These key roles will help shape our future. I do what is right for each citizen. I have an open-door policy. I am semi-retired and will be here a lot. But I work for you. Thank you to everyone here and my family.

Comm. Mikel: Thanks for all your support. Let's get to work.

Comm. Dixon: Thanks to everyone for their support during my campaign and for your support here. I hope the council chambers look like this every other Tuesday, so we can all work together. You can have my number and call if you have any questions.

Adjournment: Commissioner Wietting made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Walsh, to adjourn the April 22, 2025 regular meeting of the Braidwood City Council. Motion carried with 5 ayes: 0 nays. (Wietting, Walsh, Dixon, Mikel, and Lyons)

The next regular meeting of the Council will be held Tuesday, May 13, 2025 at 7:00 pm

https://www.braidwood.us/file-share/de159199-d626-48f5-8c1b-f5e9ea2b7b23