Moline Committee-of-the-Whole and City Council Meeting - May 13, 2026
Moline Committee-of-the-Whole and City Council Meeting - May 13, 2026
This meeting combined a Committee-of-the-Whole session and a regular City Council meeting. It included presentations, proclamations, approvals of contracts and agreements, informational updates, and first readings of ordinances. Note: The agenda listed the meeting date as May 12, 2026, but the provided date for summary purposes is May 13, 2026.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Tom Keith expressed concerns about proposed aerial surveillance and Flock cameras, urging the council to reconsider. He referenced other cities that have banned such systems. Police Chief Darren Gaul corrected the record, stating that Moline does not have Flock drones nor plans to acquire them.
Presentations & Awards
- Snow Angels Program (Denver Schmitt, Public Works): Second year of the program, with 15 volunteers (up 5 from last year) assisting 32 residents (up from 20). Volunteers were recognized with plaques.
- ISAWWA Water Ambassador Program – Gold Level: Moline received its third gold award for elevating public perception of water. Presented by Lindsay Selfridge.
- ISAWWA WaterCon Staff Awards: Bobby Cantu won the water meter assembly skills competition for the third time and will represent Moline and Illinois at the national conference. A team (Robin Markle, Thomas House, Justin Pratt) won the TopCon timed event.
Proclamations
- National Public Works Week (May 17–23, 2026): Proclaimed by Mayor Rayapati, recognizing public works professionals.
- Affordable Housing Month (May 2026): Proclaimed after remarks by Leslie Kilgannon, Executive Director of the Quad Cities Housing Council. She highlighted that 87% of extremely low-income renter households in Illinois are cost-burdened (spending >30% of income on housing), and 74% are severely cost-burdened (>50%). She noted that a minimum wage worker would need 79-hour weeks to afford a two-bedroom rental. She thanked Moline for its leadership on the winter emergency shelter.
Committee-of-the-Whole Items (all approved)
- 8.1: Resolution authorizing a $785,330 contract with Valley Construction Co. for Project #1538 (38th Avenue Sanitary Sewer & Lift Station). Acknowledged over budget but funding available.
- 8.2: Resolution approving a block party for the Glen Oaks Neighborhood on August 29, 2026, with street closures.
- 8.3: Resolution granting $300 to Renew Moline from the Special Events Fund for summer decorations for the Chillin’ in the Courtyard Concert Series.
Informational Items
- South Slope WWTP Improvements (Laura Williamson and Troy Stinson, Strand Associates): Provided an update on the $113.862 million phase-one project. Construction started August 7, 2025; approximately 15% complete (10% by pay applications). Change orders are at 0.4% of contract. The deep influent pumping station (structure 10) required soil nail walls due to unexpected conditions. The aeration tank base slab was poured continuously using 100 concrete trucks. The project remains on schedule for completion by August 31, 2029. Staff complimented for coordination.
- FY2026 Quarter One Report (Bob Vitas, City Administrator): Reported that all strategic goals are on track. Highlights include: winter emergency shelter opened, comprehensive plan underway, records disposal program (clearing basement backlog), lead service line program launched, library outreach van in demand, fire station at 40% drawings, and demolition of buildings on 7th Street progressing. Quarterly reports will replace monthly updates to reduce staff burden.
Consent Agenda (Council)
- The consent agenda was approved by an 8–0 vote, with the exception of item 18.3 (removed per request of Alderperson Schmidt). Items approved included:
- Minutes of April 28, 2026
- Second reading ordinances: PUD and rezoning (2701-2715 Avenue of the Cities), and adding an all-way stop at 54th Street & 11th Avenue C.
- Resolutions: final plat for Plaza on the Avenue; surplus property sales (200 20th Street to 321 Partners, LLC; 2800 48th Avenue to IDOT for $12,000; 3620 38th Avenue to IDOT for $9,600); website/branding contract with Planeteria Media (removed); licensing agreements for River House, Sins Tavern, Bent River Brewing, and Pour Bros.; City Hall roof project ($265,300 with Economy Roofing); HVAC retrofit ($480,132 with Johnson Controls); surplus vehicle disposal; uniform rental (5-year with Phelps); intersection reconstructions ($492,963.50 with Walter D. Laud); traffic signal upgrades ($129,300 with Tri-City Electric); and 15th Street at-grade signal agreement with Iowa Interstate Railroad. Item 18.15 was voted separately.
- Item 18.3 (Planeteria Media contract): Removed from consent and approved separately (8–0) after Alderperson Schmidt recused himself due to potential conflict.
Non-Consent First Reading Ordinances (all advanced to second reading)
- 20.1: Amendment to tax report transmittal (Chapter 31). Approved 8–0.
- 20.2: Amendment to increase Class B incidental tobacco dealer licenses for Rosy’s Watering Hole. Approved 7–1 (Alderperson Timian voted nay).
- 20.3: Repeal of public art requirements for private development (to lower financial burden). Approved 8–0.
- 20.4: Amendment to bonding requirements for infrastructure improvements (Section 35-4210). Approved 8–0.
Miscellaneous Business
- Mayor reported on collaborative efforts for a permanent winter shelter solution and a panel at the Home Illinois conference. She also shared highlights from a youth commission presentation at Moline High School on topics including distracted driving, outdoor gyms, storm drain adoption, and pet waste campaigns.
- Alderperson Silas promoted a raffle for the Orpheum Theater’s HVAC fundraiser (trip to Dominican Republic, raffle ends May 30).
- Alderperson Timian thanked Ashley Alan Smith for Bike to Work Week events and encouraged alternative transit.
- Alderperson Finch added remarks on public art and the “Leading Light” project.
Executive Session
The council voted (8–0) to convene an executive session for property acquisition and pending litigation.
Key Outcomes
- All three Committee-of-the-Whole items were approved.
- Consent agenda (minus 18.3) and separate 18.15 approved.
- Item 18.3 (Planeteria Media) approved after removal.
- Four non-consent first-reading ordinances advanced to second reading.
- Executive session authorized.
- Council will meet again for second readings of the ordinances and further business.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone. I'll call our meeting to order here in Council Chambers at 6 p.m. Uh roll call, please. Other person silence. Present. Messias. Present. Rosak. President. Timmy and President. Finch. President McNeil. Present. Castro. Schmidt. Present. All right. We don't have any remote electronic attendance. This is going a little crazy. Chief, do we have public comment? Yes. All right. Tom, come on up. We have three minutes. As usual. My name's Tom Keith. This is supposed to be about a movie. I was gonna present tonight, but uh unfortunately I wasn't able to. Okay, friends. So I got cards here if anybody wants any to uh the watch the movie for free online. It's got QR codes on it. Take your smartphone, scan it, and the movie will pop up. Um it's about geoengineering, climate change or weather modification. It goes by many names. So my address and phone number on the cards too on the things. And some people ask why would they do this to themselves? But uh I can answer that question if you want to quit give me a call. And let me remind the council I'm not here to be combative or confrontational, but argumentative. So other than that, uh recent events have come to my attention on the flock camera situation, which I reviewed uh was on April 28th, and uh we now have aerial surveillance proposed with a drone called Flock Aerodome, which will coordinate with the zig existing flock cameras to uh basically spy on you. Essentially there would be no word hide from these these uh cameras. So now there are numerous cities in the US that are outlawing this these cameras and uh Appleton, Wisconsin is one of them. The whole council chamber was filled up with people and they stopped. So I hate to see the city put all these cameras in, they're gonna be taken out again. I really don't want my tax dollars spent for that kind of stuff, so of course everybody'll say this is for your safety, but uh that's what the Germans said during World War II. And these systems are being hacked by private people and are being vandalized in the UK. I don't plan on doing any any hacking, but uh I might encourage other people to do this. So thanks for listening. Thank you, Mr. Keith. We move to uh is there anyone else?
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