Moline Committee-of-the-Whole and City Council Meeting - August 5, 2026

The Moline Committee-of-the-Whole and City Council met on August 5, 2026, in Council Chambers at City Hall; the meeting was called to order at 6 p.m. Agenda materials list the meeting as Tuesday, August 4, 2026, while source metadata specifies August 5, 2026. The combined session included board appointments, an IDOT presentation on the upcoming I-74/IL-5 interchange reconstruction, unanimous approval of all Committee-of-the-Whole agenda items, and City Council consent and non-consent items. All recorded Council votes were 6-0, with Alderperson Castro not participating in the roll-call votes.

Public Comments & Testimony

• The City Clerk read an emailed comment from "Citizen X" thanking city employees for sidewalk upgrades and turnaround work on 15th Street in downtown Moline; requesting speed bump strips on 4th Street between 32nd Avenue and 23rd Avenue because drivers rush through neighborhoods above 30 miles per hour; requesting deer crossing signs on 32nd Avenue on both sides of 7th Street; asking that watering bags be filled and installed for city street trees; and praising the Moline Police Department for its respect for the public.
• Remote caller Mr. Lee/Lights spoke about housing instability. He acknowledged planned federal funding for housing and community development programs in the 2026 HUD Annual Action Plan, as well as city homeownership, rehabilitation, rental enforcement, planning, and regional partnership programs. He cited an assessment from the end of 2025 showing a need for roughly 340 income-restricted rental units in Moline and urged the city to pursue measures, resources, or partnerships to make more income-restricted units actually available to residents.

Board Appointments

• The Mayor announced the following appointments and reappointments:
  • Reed Duyvejonck to the Citizens Advisory Council on Urban Planning (CACUP), filling the unexpired term of Jozett McCoy, through July 31, 2028.
  • Jeffrey Hancks to the Library Board of Trustees for a 3-year term through May 31, 2029.
  • Melvin Grimes, Mgcini Mpofu, and Raegan Jones to the Moline Housing Authority for 5-year terms through July 31, 2031.
  • Jeff Waller to the Revolving Loan Fund Committee for a 5-year term through June 30, 2031.
  • Reed Duyvejonck to the Revolving Loan Fund Committee for a 5-year term through June 30, 2031.
• The Mayor noted that applicants who were not appointed are encouraged to volunteer in other city service capacities.

Presentation: I-74 & IL-5 (John Deere Road) Interchange Reconstruction

• Laura Klauer, Director of Engineering, introduced Mike Kuehn, IDOT District 2 Program/Project Development Engineer. Joel Viagby was identified as project manager and Jennifer Galumba of GFT as consultant team lead.
• IDOT is reconstructing I-74 and Illinois 5/John Deere Road and replacing the existing cloverleaf with a diverging diamond interchange. The project will be let in fall 2026, construction starts in spring 2027, and completion is set for November 2028, with an interim completion around November 2027 and a winter shutdown.
• Tree removal and temporary widening are already underway. I-74 and John Deere Road will maintain two lanes in each direction during construction, but ramps will close in stages during 2027 and 2028, with detours. Depending on the stage, ramp traffic detoured to 16th Street was estimated at about 5,000 to 8,000 vehicles per day.
• Council members asked about impacts on 16th Street, signal timing, police monitoring, detour routes, school traffic, Metrolink transit coordination, road wear-and-tear, and repairs on local streets. IDOT said posted detours keep traffic on the state system where possible, 16th Street was the route best able to handle volume, and it will coordinate with the city on signal timing and monitor queues with a resident engineer.
• IDOT explained that the diverging diamond interchange has a smaller footprint, greater capacity, and better safety than the existing cloverleaf, reducing the weaving and crash risk. The design includes a multi-use path with pedestrian signals crossing the interchange, filling the current lack of a pedestrian route from the west side to the east side of I-74 at John Deere Road.
• IDOT noted coordination with the new Texas Roadhouse development and said future separate projects will include 27th Street reconstruction north of John Deere Road, 27th Street south to the airport, and the Rock River bridge replacement. Public information meetings and a project page on the IDOT featured projects website are planned.

Committee-of-the-Whole Agenda Items

All Committee-of-the-Whole items were approved without dissent.

• 8.1: Authorized Agreement No. JN227006 with IDOT for Contract No. 64H87, the I-74/IL-5 interchange improvements, and authorized spending $74,532 of local funds from 2026 amended CIP 1526, Account No. 510-9965-438.08-98. The city will maintain the multi-use path, clear snow/debris, maintain emergency vehicle preemption systems, and maintain city-owned utilities; actual cost share will be based on actual costs.
• 8.2: Approved a Motor Fuel Tax supplemental resolution for the River Drive Overlay, 34th to 41st Street, in the amount of $41,079.55, for final closeout; construction was completed in 2022.
• 8.3: Approved the Moline High School Homecoming Parade for Friday, September 18, 2026, using the same route as the prior year, with street closures and a licensing agreement.
• 8.4: Approved a $1,000 Special Events Fund grant to the Sprint the Miss event, sponsored by Two Rivers YMCA, to be held Saturday, September 19, 2026.
• 8.5: Approved a block party for Robert Vallejo on Saturday, August 15, 2026, with street closure and licensing agreement, in celebration of his 80th birthday.
• 8.6: Declared a 2002 Pierce Dash fire engine surplus and authorized its disposal through the most advantageous legal process. Alderperson Vitas noted the engine was built in Menasha, Wisconsin.
• 8.7: Authorized the Moline Public Art Commission to identify and recommend grant opportunities for public art, placemaking, cultural, beautification, and related projects, and authorized city staff to prepare and submit grant applications; grant acceptance would still come back to City Council.
• 8.8: Increased the number of Class B Incidental Tobacco Dealer's Licenses at the request of MK Oil & Real Estate Inc. dba MK Mart Moline 58700; this was described as a technical transfer related to a business sale.
• 8.9: Accepted a Strand Associates, Inc. proposal not to exceed $98,000 for design, bidding, and preconstruction services for the traveling screens project, including a bid alternate for a potassium permanganate feed system at the Water Treatment Plant. The traveling screens date from the 1970s and one is no longer operating.

City Council Consent Agenda

• The Council approved the Committee-of-the-Whole minutes of July 14, 2026; the Committee-of-the-Whole, Council, and Executive Session minutes of July 21, 2026; and the appointments made at the August 4, 2026 Committee-of-the-Whole meeting.
• By omnibus motion, the Council also approved items 16.1 through 17.1:
  • Adding Eighteenth Street, from Sixth Avenue to Seventh Avenue, to the one-way streets (northbound).
  • Removing two-hour parking restrictions on the west side of Sixteenth Street from Sixth Avenue south to the first alley, and adding two 15-minute on-street parking stalls on the west side of Sixteenth Street between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue.
  • Removing the 40 mph speed limit designation on Avenue of the Cities from Forty-first Street to the East Moline border.
  • Amending Class K liquor license renewal costs because of the Class K Video Gaming Establishment sunset provision taking effect January 31, 2027.
  • Approving a contract with Walter D. Laud, Inc. for Project #1501, 27th Avenue A, 28th Avenue A, and 30th Street Reconstructions in Old Oakwood, in the amount of $1,059,518.13.
• The consent agenda passed on one motion with 6 ayes and 0 nays.

City Council Non-Consent Agenda

• 19.1: Approved a resolution amending the FY 2026 budget adopted December 2, 2025, to reflect various line-item changes, with 6 ayes and 0 nays.
• 19.2: Approved a resolution approving the content of Executive Session minutes, authorizing the release and continued retention of certain Executive Session minutes, and authorizing destruction of certain verbatim Executive Session recordings, with 6 ayes and 0 nays.
• 19.3: Approved the Robert Vallejo block party resolution for August 15, 2026, with 6 ayes and 0 nays.
• First-reading ordinances advanced to second reading, each by 6-0 vote:
  • 20.1: Class C packaged sales license exception for vehicular fuel stations.
  • 20.2: Curbside recycling cart and residential refuse collection fee amendments.
  • 20.3: Water and sewer charges and collections amendment.
  • 20.4: Sewerage rate system amendment.
  • 20.5: Water and sewer general provisions amendment.

Staff Updates and Miscellaneous Business

• Alderperson Silas thanked the library for its summer reading program and for the mobile library van used for stories at city parks.
• Staff presented an updated budget schedule, proposing a September 15, 2026 City Council/Committee-of-the-Whole informational budget work session and moving the October 6 meeting to October 13, 2026.

Key Outcomes

• All motions passed; all recorded Council roll-call votes were 6-0.
• The City Council approved the consent agenda, including minutes, appointments, traffic and liquor ordinance amendments, and the Old Oakwood construction contract.
• All five first-reading ordinances were advanced to second reading.
• The Council voted to enter Executive Session under 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1) for appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees, and under 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(5) for property acquisition.