The Woodstock City Council convened on October 15, 2024 at 7:00 PM with all seven members present. The meeting began with the swearing-in of two new police officers, followed by a lengthy consent calendar from which five items were removed for separate discussion. The most significant item was the proposed 10-year garbage collection contract with MDC Environmental Services, which generated extensive public comment and council debate and was ultimately postponed to November 5, 2024 for further negotiations on pricing alternatives for senior citizens.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to welcome you to this evening's meeting of the uh Woodstock City Council. A few brief announcements before we get started. First is that the agenda for this evening will be shown on the displays in the uh in the chambers. Um the city council operates under uh what's called a consent format. Consent format means that all items for action this evening will be considered under a single motion and a single vote. A member of the council may request an item to be removed for separate consideration and voting, and it will be done so. Uh a member of public may also request an item to be separately considered uh and voted upon, and if agreed to by a member of the Woodstock City Council, that item too will be considered separately uh for separate voting and discussion. Uh there's two public uh two opportunities for public comment this evening, the first being at the start of the meeting under floor discussion. Members of the public may come forward to the podium in the middle of the middle aisle. If they're willing to do so, state their name and address for purpose of the record. Feel free to make your comments on any items not on this evening's agenda. Uh when there's uh when and the second opportunity for public comment is when we take actions on items. Members of the public will have an opportunity to provide input to the city council on those items. Any questions on those announcements before we get started? All right, hearing none, I'll go ahead and officially call the order this October 15th, 2024 meeting of the Woodstock City Council to order and ask Jane to please call the roll. Councilman Flynn. Here. Councilwoman McMahon. Here. Councilman Yerman. Here. Councilman Seegers. Here. Councilman Thibault. Here. Councilwoman Zimbah. Here. Mayor Turner. Here. The record reflect that all members of the Woodstock City Council are present this evening. Um Jane, would you please confirm that the agenda this evening is the same as the true and published agenda? Yes, it is. Thank you, Jane. That being the case, ladies and gentlemen of the council, the people's business is duly inappropriate before us. The first item under uh this evening's agenda is floor discussion. And under floor discussion, we have the great pleasure of swearing in ceremonies for two new Woodstock police officers. Uh this is always a momentous occasion for us, in addition to the officers and something that we couldn't be happier to uh to see happening in our city. So I will turn it over to uh Chief Leib uh and also um police and fire commission uh president or uh commissioner uh president uh Ron Giordano. So Chief. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Council. Thank you for the time uh for us to uh allow us to do this here. Um when an officer goes all the way through the academy and through the field training when they successfully complete that field training process. It's really a momentous occasion because they've been through so much to say and to receive that um accomplishment of the PD and the field training officers and administration and the sergeants and the other officers to say you can now patrol on your own. And it it doesn't really matter if you are an officer who went through the academy first, or in the case of Officer Granius, uh a lateral officer, uh a pre-certified officer from somewhere else, and um someone we uh uh gratefully pulled from another department um to serve here. When we do this oath, we're they are reaffirming their commitment to the Woodstock community, saying that they are going to do their absolute best to ensure the safety of our citizens. And so uh this is one of the most important aspects of our careers, and we do it when they finish field training or when they achieve different positions throughout the department. So with that, I'll uh uh ask Officer Granius and his family, his wife will be uh pinning uh his badge on after the oath by Mr. Giordano.