Woodstock City Council Meeting - November 19, 2024

The Woodstock City Council convened in regular session on November 19, 2024, with six council members physically present. The council voted to allow Councilwoman Melissa McMahon to participate remotely by Zoom/conference call, bringing participating membership to seven. The agenda included employee service awards, a retirement proclamation, the 2024 Woodstock Water Works pool report, the FY23/24 audit presentation, council comments, a single consent agenda, and an executive session for the City Manager's mid-year performance evaluation.

Employee Service Awards and Retirement Proclamation

• The Mayor and City Manager Roscoe Stelford presented service awards to city employees reaching 5, 10, 20, 25, 30, and 35 years of service. Recipients included police officers, detectives, maintenance workers, library staff, code inspectors, and other city employees.
• The council honored Deputy Chief Robert Pritchard with a retirement proclamation after 30 years with the Woodstock Police Department, beginning September 9, 1994. The proclamation cited his service as a detective, sergeant, lead homicide investigator, commander of the Major Crash Assistance Team, drone program creator, and leader on department technology and accreditation work.
• Deputy Chief Pritchard thanked his colleagues, the council, and his family, and urged continued community support for law enforcement.

Woodstock Water Works 2024 Pool Report

• Recreation Director Mark Pentecost reported unaudited 2024 results for Woodstock Water Works. Attendance was 41,441, exceeding the pre-COVID high of 38,755 recorded in 2018. Pass sales attendance increased by 34%, and general revenues reached $424,606, an increase of more than $60,000 over the prior year.
• Direct revenues exceeded direct expenses for the first time since COVID, and revenues per visit exceeded expenses per visit for the first time in the city's records. Pentecost noted the numbers were still fluid because the fiscal year was not complete.
• Staff recommended an approximately 15% increase in resident pass prices. Non-resident passes were described as already high compared with regional counterparts, so no non-resident increase was proposed.
• Council members praised the businesslike management of the pool and asked about extending evening hours for working families. Pentecost cited lifeguard staffing, morning swim team and lessons, and evening rentals as constraints. Concession revenue of $3,800 came from an outside contract that has expired; the city is exploring bringing concessions in-house.

FY23/24 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and Audit Presentation

• Jim Savio of Sikich presented the city's FY23/24 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and the auditor's communication to council. The city received an unmodified, or "clean," opinion on its basic financial statements.
• No material weaknesses, significant deficiencies, or instances of noncompliance were reported. The Yellow Book report was required under the Illinois Grant Accountability and Transparency Act because the city expended more than $500,000 in state and federal funds. Sikich also issued unmodified opinions on the related GATA year-end report and the TIF compliance report.
• In the general fund, revenues were about $15 million, essentially flat year over year; expenditures increased by about $900,000; the excess of revenues over expenditures was about $6.3 million; and the net change in fund balance was zero as planned. The prior-year surplus of about $2.4 million was transferred to the capital improvement program.
• The IMRF pension funded ratio was 92.65%, while the police pension fund's funded ratio rose from about 63% to about 65%. Total debt declined by about $2 million in FY24; staff clarified that no new debt was issued in FY24 because the city had issued two years' worth of debt in 2022 and was beginning repayment. The decline in per-capita debt as a percentage of EAV was partly due to increased EAV.
• One council member asked what normal debt-per-capita and debt-to-EAV benchmarks are. Savio said the range varies and that such benchmarks are more of a ratings-agency question than an auditor question.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No members of the public came forward during the floor-discussion public comment period or during the consent-agenda comment opportunity.

Council Comments

• Councilwoman Ziemba thanked first responders and community organizations after the apartment fire on St. John's Road a week before the meeting, noting that one resident died, multiple residents were hospitalized, and dozens were displaced. The Mayor added that the Community Foundation of McHenry County seeded a $10,000 relief fund, was accepting tax-deductible online donations, and had raised nearly $30,000.
• Councilwoman Ziemba also noted that World Atlas named Woodstock one of "Nine of the Most Captivating Small Towns in Illinois," using a Main Street photo as the article's leading image.
• Council members praised the Opera House's event with Henry Winkler and the arrival of the Santa Hut on the square, with a holiday lighting reveal planned for the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Consent Calendar

• The consent calendar consisted of Items A through D7. No council member or member of the public requested removal of any item.
• The single consent motion was made by Councilman Flynn, seconded by Councilman Nearman, and passed unanimously by roll call, 7-0.
• Routine items included approval of the November 5, 2024, City Council minutes; warrants #4124 and #4125; Environmental Commission minutes from October 3, 2024; and Woodstock Opera House Advisory Commission minutes from August 20 and September 24, 2024.
• Manager's Report No. 260 items approved as part of the consent agenda were:
  • Ordinance granting sign variations for a wall sign at 118 E. Calhoun Street (Escape Room);
  • Ordinance adopting the Parks and Recreation Master Plan 2024;
  • Ordinance authorizing purchase of property at 225 and 231 E. Calhoun Street;
  • Ordinance authorizing a purchase and sale agreement with 2018 IAVF Prairie View LLC for 411 Leah Lane ("Prairie View");
  • Ordinance approving a first amendment to the Graham Property redevelopment agreement;
  • Ordinance repealing the Chicago Hubs Realty redevelopment agreement (Resolution No. 22-R-30 and Ordinance No. 24-O-07);
  • Contract awards for South Wastewater Treatment Plant phosphorus improvements: $4,741,600 to Manusos General Contracting, Inc. for construction and $391,500 to Trotter and Associates, Inc. for construction project management.

Discussion Items

• D2 - Parks and Recreation Master Plan 2024: Christina Betts recognized staff, consultants, commissioners, and administrative analyst Nicole Luakowski. Council members asked about ice skating rink and skate park priorities; staff said these amenity types came up during community engagement and remain under consideration. An update noted the intergenerational playground is mostly built, but the parking lot is weather-dependent and may remain gravel until spring.
• D4 - Prairie View/411 Leah Lane: The Mayor described the over-$1 million purchase as still subject to due diligence, but potentially a valuable community asset at a relatively low cost compared with building a new recreational facility.
• D5 - Graham Property: The Mayor said the amended redevelopment agreement helped produce improvements to a private cut-through road used as a public thoroughfare, and that the road was nearly complete.
• D6 - Chicago Hubs Realty: The Mayor said CHR was a good partner but could not secure financing, so the city is ending the exclusive redevelopment agreement and will market the property for other development while remaining open to future discussions with CHR.
• D7 - Wastewater phosphorus improvements: Council members noted the state structured compliance options with sharply higher costs if deferred. Public Works staff explained that the approved option addresses phosphorus now, while later options would add biological treatment and potentially nitrogen removal. The Mayor said future water and sewer rate adjustments may be needed to pay for the mandate.

Executive Session

• The council unanimously voted to enter executive session under 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1) for personnel matters, specifically the City Manager's mid-year performance evaluation. After reconvening in open session, no action was reported.

Key Outcomes

• Approved Councilwoman McMahon's remote participation.
• Received the FY23/24 audit presentation with unmodified opinions and no material weaknesses reported.
• Approved the entire consent agenda unanimously, including the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, the Prairie View purchase agreement, the Graham redevelopment amendment, the Chicago Hubs Realty repeal, and the wastewater phosphorus contracts.
• Held an executive session for the City Manager's mid-year performance evaluation.
• Reviewed future agenda items for the December 3 and December 17 meetings and adjourned to the next regular meeting on December 3, 2024, at 7:00 PM.