Government At Work - Crystal Lake City Council

7:30 p.m. -Crystal Lake City Council  --

Meeting in the Crystal Lake Council Chambers, 100 West Woodstock Street, Crystal Lake.

An annexation agreement for seven properties in Crystal Lake Manor is being continued .

Temporary Liquor License Request

McHenry County Council of Government is seeking a Class 19 Temporary Liquor License in order to sell alcoholic drinks at their October 17 monthly meeting being held in the Old Towne Hall.

New Retailer Job Creation and Investment Grant

Grant approval for $10,000 to fund furniture, fixtures and equipment at 6324 Northwest Highway for Harbor Freight Tools. This is a matching grant offered by the City for new and existing retailers who occupy vacant space and hire new full-time employees and/or install eligible furniture fixtures and equipment.

Harbor Freight tools will be haring ten full-time and 40 part-time employees and spending approximately $180,000 in eligible furniture, fixtures and equipment.

The company reportedly offers one of the largest selections of brand-name tools, including hand tools, and power tools made by Chicago Electric, Pittsburgh, Central Machinery, Central Hydraulic and Central Forge.

Existing retailer Job Creation and Investment Grant—

Sea Level Diving is requesting a $5,000 grant funding for furniture, fixtures and equipment at 369 Liberty Road for Sea Level Diving.

Trampoline Amusement Park

Approval is being sought for a Special Use Permit for a trampoline Amusement Park at 5593 Northwest Highway is being presented to the Council for approval. This is located in a part of the Crystal Court Shopping Center, formerly anchored by WalMart. The Planning and Zoning Board recommended granting a special use permit for this business.

Shell Gas Station/Circle K Convenience Store

The Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the requested special use permit amendment to allow an electronic pricing sign for this business located at 220 W. Virginia Street. The size of the new canopy will be slightly smaller than the existing sign.

Garage at 73 Lincoln Parkway

The request before the Planning and Zoning Commission was to remove an existing garage and construct a new facility, increasing the size from 24 x 30 (720 sf) to 24 x 40 (960 sf). The Planning commission voted 7-2 to deny the request.

The Council may decide to approve the request with certain conditions regarding the use is not to be for living quarters. A special use permit is being required for the project.

Tree Removal Services Bid

The Council is being requested to award a bid for Tree Removal Services to Central Forestree, LLC of Hoffman Estates. This company was the lowest responsible bidder for the service with a bid of $6,608.25 for complete tree removal plus $1,660 for stump grinding. This is for a base contract for a 15-month period from October 2012 through December 2013.

Physical Exams, immunizations, Substance Screening

A proposal for Various Physical Exams, Immunization, Substance Screening, Annual On-set Wellness Screenings and Flu Shots as well as CDL, Drug/Alcohol Testing was sought.

Exams are provided for pre-employment, annual Fire Rescue Department physical exams on approximately 20 to 50 prospective full-time, part-time and seasonal employees each year. Additionally, annual on-site wellness screenings and flu shots (voluntary participation) involve over 100 employees each year.

Two bids were received, one from Advocate for a bid of $91,815 and Centegra for a bid of $53,150.87. A committee comprised of staff from Human Resources, Division, and Fire Rescue Department considered the proposal. Centegra is reported to have extensive experience in providing similar services for municipalities in Illinois and the City has previously used the services and was the lowest responsible bidder.

Aircraft Landing Amendment

An amendment to one section of the City Code is necessary for the approval of helicopter landings in the City for construction purposes. A request was received from Service Mechanical Industries to allow helicopter landings as part of the replacement of 10 rooftop units at the Covidien facility at 815 Tek Drive.

Currently the City Code includes a prohibition of landing of aircraft in the City. The Council is being requested to approve helicopter landings for the construction related purposes.

Bond Ordinance for Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements

The Council is being requested to adopt an ordinance providing for the issuance of approximately $9,130,000 General Obligation Bonds to provide for a number of capital improvement projects for water and utility services.

The City will be taking bids for a bond issue totaling approximately $9.13 million. This bond issue is to provide approximately $4.93 million for capital projects with repayment over a 20-year period with an annual payment of $335,000. The estimated average borrowing rate is 2.8/5,

A second purpose is to refinance the City’s callable 2004 bonds. These bonds total $4.2 million and have an average interest rate 3.99%.

Based on current market conditions, the estimated average borrowing rate is 2.87%.