OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Joliet Pre-Council Meeting - April 20, 2026

Meeting Portal — Monday, April 20, 2026
BodyJoliet, Illinois
SessionMeeting Portal
DateMonday, April 20, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 59:32

Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

Good evening, everybody.

0:03

This is the pre-council for the City of Joliet meeting in Council Chambers today on April 20th, 2026 at 5 30.

0:13

Mike's not working.

0:14

My seat's broken.

0:18

Okay.

0:18

There we go.

0:19

There you go.

0:19

Sabotage or April full still.

0:22

Okay.

0:23

Can we repeat it?

0:25

Oh, I think we're good.

0:26

Okay.

0:27

We'll begin with roll call.

0:28

Mayor Darcy.

0:29

Here.

0:30

Councilman Cardenas is absent.

0:31

He did let me know that he would not be in attendance attendance this evening.

0:34

Councilman McClellan.

0:36

Here.

0:36

Councilman Hug?

0:37

Here.

0:37

Councilwoman Abarra?

0:38

Here.

0:39

Councilman Moreno?

0:40

Here.

0:40

Councilman Mudron.

0:41

Here.

0:41

Councilwoman Quillman.

0:43

Here.

0:43

Councilwoman Redan.

0:44

Here.

0:46

First, we have a presentation.

0:48

Q4 2025 and Q1 2026.

0:51

Water conservation.

0:53

Incentive program winners and intro for Q2 2026 program presented by Alison Swisher, Director of Public Utilities.

1:00

Hey, Mayor and Council.

1:02

Just here tonight to give an update on our exciting water conservation incentive program.

1:07

So in the Q4 2025, we had a incentive where residents were asked to test their toilets to see if they were leaking.

1:18

Leaking toilets are a major source of wasted water.

1:22

And so we had residents participate, and the winner for that was uh Carmen Figaroa, who is here today.

1:32

Not yet.

1:33

Okay.

1:33

Um and then the Q1 2026.

1:37

We had another um in uh challenge to our residents, which was to uh do a winter water checklist to make sure they didn't have um issues that could affect in the winter with freezing pipes and those kind of things.

1:49

And so the winner was Luann McBride, who I believe is here today.

1:53

Okay.

1:55

Um so we have our new uh challenge uh for our incentive program, which is to look at outdoor water conservation.

2:03

I know there's many ways to conserve water outdoors, one is a you know rain barrel or other flow flow fixtures for your um watering when you're watering your landscaping.

2:12

So that's our adult challenge.

2:13

We also have a really cool kids challenge, which is um we have a made a 12 different baseball cards, each with a water conservation tip on it.

2:23

So we're asking kids to go around to different events this year and um collect all of those baseball cards, and then once they get all of them, they can enter to win.

2:30

So really encouraging everyone in a fun way to think about water conservation because that ultimately can lead to um saving money on your water bill.

2:39

And so we have a bunch of events coming up.

2:42

We um are participating in various events.

2:44

We always want to say we need to take the message to the people where they are, and so we go to a handful of events and also we're partnering again with Will County for our water conservation baseball game with the Joliet Slammers on July 7th.

2:57

So it's a really fun event to help educate residents about water conservation.

3:02

And just always a reminder that we do have our two city supported water conservation programs, our rain barrel program, where we provide a subsidy of $35 to uh residents and water customers.

3:15

To date, we've uh almost $896 brain barrels have been distributed.

3:21

So that's great that everyone's participating in this, and we also have our toilet low-flow toilet rebate program for um folks who have the high volume flush toilets.

3:30

You can replace those with a low volume um toilet and get a rebate of a hundred dollars for that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Land Use███████████████████████23%
Liquor Licensing██████████████████18%
Personnel Matters█████████████13%
Public Engagement████████████12%
Procedural██████████10%
Public Safety██████6%
Budget Equity Analysis█████5%
Arts And Culture████4%
Engineering And Infrastructure███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Joliet Pre-Council Meeting - April 20, 2026

The Joliet City Council held a pre-council meeting on April 20, 2026, at 5:30 PM in Council Chambers. The agenda included a water conservation presentation, public comments, several liquor license applications, a contested amendment to the Joliet Junior College student housing PUD, and various ordinances and resolutions. Councilman Cardenas was absent.

Presentation

  • Allison Swisher, Director of Public Utilities, presented the Q4 2025 and Q1 2026 Water Conservation Incentive Program winners. Carmen Figueroa and Luanne McBride were recognized. New challenges for Q2 2026 include outdoor water conservation and a kids' baseball card program. The city offers a $35 rain barrel subsidy (896 barrels distributed) and a $100 low-flow toilet rebate. Ann Grooms was thanked for her contributions.

Citizens to be Heard on Agenda Items

  • Bob Wunderlich spoke against Council Memo 225-26, the amendment to the Joliet Junior College student housing PUD. He stated that the original PUD restricted occupancy to students, faculty, and staff, and that changing it would betray commitments made to neighbors. He noted the current owner has already violated the restriction by renting to non-students.
  • Jim Roolf spoke in support of Council Memo 218-26, a liquor license for Barber Oberwortmann Horticultural Center at Pilcher Park, highlighting the donors' two-million-dollar contribution and the facility's importance.
  • Michele Arana, owner of Internode Greenery & Home, spoke in support of her own liquor license application (219-26), describing her new business model as an artisan bodega and stating it is a "last chance effort" to stay in business after struggling due to downtown construction.

Discussion Items

  • Liquor License for Barber Oberwortmann (218-26): Council asked about the difference from current operations (previously caterer held license, now park district will manage). Clarified Class M allows music. Councilman Clement noted no issues with park district liquor licenses elsewhere.
  • Liquor License for Internode Greenery & Home (219-26): Council discussed the appropriate license class (Class E) since no Class A is offered. Deputy Liquor Commissioner O'Connell explained it allows on-premise consumption and sealed containers for off-premise. Councilwoman Ibarra strongly supported the business. A separate city property cafe license was also discussed for future.
  • Liquor Licenses for Prime House, Wingate, LongHorn Steakhouse (220-26, 221-26, 222-26): Brief discussion; clarification on Prime House's need for full liquor (mimosas, bloody marys).
  • Neustoneshire Phase Two PUD (224-26): No discussion recorded beyond listing.
  • JJC Student Housing PUD Amendment (225-26): Extensive discussion. Bob Wunderlich spoke again. Community Development Director Dustin Anderson noted no legal requirement for JJC board approval. Council members expressed concerns about the existing ordinance being violated (non-students living there) and lack of enforcement teeth. Attorney Aaron Dorsey and John Kenney (prospective buyer) stated the property is 95% occupied, average rent $1,530, and 13 of 128 units are rented by bed to students. The current owner is not present. Maureen Broderick, JJC Trustee, stated the board was not properly notified of the hearing date change and emphasized student safety concerns.
  • Mental Health Grant (226-26): Councilman Hug asked about sustainability of the social worker position if grant ends. Fire Chief Carey responded the position would be phased out or services reduced to Joliet residents only.
  • Budget Amendment (227-26): City manager explained it is housekeeping to move unspent 2025 funds to 2026. Councilman Hug clarified it adds no new money.
  • Pre-Separation Recruitment and Temporary Appointments Ordinance (228-26): Extended debate. Council discussed the revised version allowing recruitment six months out and overlap of up to three months (down from six). Councilwoman Ibarra and Quillman defended the need for continuity and clarified the city manager's hiring authority. Councilman Moreno asked about current ability to recruit; Interim Counsel Lenzie confirmed recruitment can begin before departure. Councilman Hug questioned about vacation accrual overlap. The ordinance will be voted on at the regular council meeting.
  • Resolutions: Resolution 230-26 (MFT funds for bridge engineering), 231-26 (easement for County Line Road improvements), 232-26 (sale of retired police dog to officer Stapleton). Councilman Clement suggested a public ceremony for retired K-9.

Key Outcomes

  • All consent agenda items (Council Memos 210-26 to 216-26) are recommended for approval at the regular meeting.
  • All liquor license applications (218-26 to 222-26) are recommended for approval.
  • The JJC PUD amendment (225-26) and the pre-separation recruitment ordinance (228-26) will be voted on at the regular council meeting on April 21, 2026.
  • A motion to enter closed session for personnel, collective bargaining, land acquisition, and litigation was made by Councilwoman Ibarra, seconded by Councilman Moreno, and approved unanimously (8-0, with Cardenas absent) at the conclusion of the open meeting.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everybody. This is the pre-council for the City of Joliet meeting in Council Chambers today on April 20th, 2026 at 5 30. Mike's not working. My seat's broken. Okay. There we go. There you go. Sabotage or April full still. Okay. Can we repeat it? Oh, I think we're good. Okay. We'll begin with roll call. Mayor Darcy. Here. Councilman Cardenas is absent. He did let me know that he would not be in attendance attendance this evening. Councilman McClellan. Here. Councilman Hug? Here. Councilwoman Abarra? Here. Councilman Moreno? Here. Councilman Mudron. Here. Councilwoman Quillman. Here. Councilwoman Redan. Here. First, we have a presentation. Q4 2025 and Q1 2026. Water conservation. Incentive program winners and intro for Q2 2026 program presented by Alison Swisher, Director of Public Utilities. Hey, Mayor and Council. Just here tonight to give an update on our exciting water conservation incentive program. So in the Q4 2025, we had a incentive where residents were asked to test their toilets to see if they were leaking. Leaking toilets are a major source of wasted water. And so we had residents participate, and the winner for that was uh Carmen Figaroa, who is here today. Not yet. Okay. Um and then the Q1 2026. We had another um in uh challenge to our residents, which was to uh do a winter water checklist to make sure they didn't have um issues that could affect in the winter with freezing pipes and those kind of things. And so the winner was Luann McBride, who I believe is here today. Okay. Um so we have our new uh challenge uh for our incentive program, which is to look at outdoor water conservation. I know there's many ways to conserve water outdoors, one is a you know rain barrel or other flow flow fixtures for your um watering when you're watering your landscaping. So that's our adult challenge. We also have a really cool kids challenge, which is um we have a made a 12 different baseball cards, each with a water conservation tip on it.

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