I'd like to call the City of Council, City Council meeting for September 23rd, 2025, to
order. Roll call. Green. Here. Seaton. Here. Houseman. Here. Furman. Here. Stainman. Here.
Would everyone please stand for the invocation?
I'm sorry, associate pastor of the Heights
Church,
Joseph Lee, I'm sorry, and remain standing for the pledge of allegiance.
I'm going to go ahead and pray for us. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, I'm just
thankful for this time, Lord, thankful for these leaders. God, I pray that you
just continue to unify our city, our community. Lord, I pray that you keep
our first responders safe. Lord, I'm so thankful for the police officers, those
that help serve our community day in and day out, God. I pray that you put
but a layer of protection, spiritually, physically,
emotionally around our city.
And Lord, I'm grateful for these leaders.
I pray again for continued guidance and discernment
as they install and instill different rules and regulations,
Lord, and just pray that it brings you glory.
And again, I'm thankful for this time.
And we love you.
Thank you.
It's in Jesus' name.
Amen.
of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under
God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Next item.
First item tonight is the presentation of the Yard of the Month Award for September
2025.
It is
Tony and Jan Hayden here.
Next item proclamation fire prevention week October 5th is the 11th
Whereas fire poses a serious threat to the safety and well-being of our community and
prevention is the most effective way to protect lives and property and whereas the members
of the council fire department work tirelessly to reduce the risk of fire through education,
prevention, and emergency response and whereas this year's fire prevention week theme charge
into fire safety highlights the importance of safe practices when using and charging electrical
devices and whereas it is fitting to recognize the dedication of our firefighters and encourage
all residents to take proactive steps to protect themselves and their families.
Therefore, I, Jeff Stamen, Mayor of the City of Council, will do hereby proclaim
October 5th through the 11th, 2025, this Fire Prevention Week in the City of
council and urge all residents to join in practicing fire safety
next business
prior to public input is item one ordinance rezoning property to planned
before commercial district 1447 north block road at present station to be
given by Joseph associate planner Joseph Lambson mayor stem members of the
council thank you tonight before you is a rezoning for lurch properties at
at 1447 North Bluff Road here in Collinsville.
We are here tonight solely due to the materials,
not due to the actual use.
The use is permitted by right.
The reason we're here tonight is because
the exterior siting of the building
was constructed in corrugated metal
with a stucco flex finish
in lieu of the approved cement board panels.
I don't think I got a clicker up here.
here. So this is the zoning map showing the zoning around residential across the street,
but in this little strip here, this is all commercial, but it is more or less being
used as warehouse space. All the buildings within this district are all metal-sided warehouses.
This is just a site photo kind of showing where the building is in comparison to the
finished product that was taken in July.
So by rezoning this parcel I wanted to
make this map off to the right here to show that all of these buildings are
metal sided that are next to the subject property. All of the buildings on that
same side are of course the residential across the street is not but I will say
this the keeping the main and maintaining the character of the
area. In the planning commission, we actually had somebody come up and give a speech from
one of the neighbors directly across the road from the subject property. And she said that
it is more or less agreeable. It is a good use of the material and it looks good. So
it fits the character of the area. And that is what staff agrees on, too.
So with this,
the applicant is requesting a deviation from those material requirements that
require those the cement board. As you can see over here on the right it more
or less shows that finished product again and then on the top what that is
is that's just the approved design as shown in the in the site plan and down
at the bottom you can you can kind of see how it's that that on that middle
picture you can kind of see how it's that spray on it's got a coating on
the top of it, that's to help with fire retardants and things like that, protection, and it's
supposed to last up to 30 years. This is just a picture of the site plan of the building
showing the approved material on the side right there, the stucco finish, or the cement
board panels can't talk today, and then down there on the other side showing the left
elevation to that facing north, I believe. That also was the same material being used.
But as you can see, and I believe the next picture, or sorry, that's two pictures from
now, is the metal building again and how it actually looks. But I was finishing up
there more or less. It passes all of our criteria and staff recommends approval for
with a request to rezone.
And I will be happy to take any questions or anything.
Any questions or comments?
Clarify it, was there the cement board
was originally approved and this is variance from that?
Yes, because it was just a small discrepancy, so.
Okay, any other comments?
Okay, I have a motion to approve.
So moved.
I'll second it.
motion by Furman second by Green roll call green yes see yes houseman yes Furman
yes statement yes thank you next item under council discussion the PFAS update
water quality the
given by director Troy Turner and supervisor Billy Jones
Thank you, Mayor and members of council. We are back before you today to provide an update about PFAS in our source water.
To briefly summarize the previous presentation to council, PFAS are a group of chemicals made by human industry that have contaminated every corner of the globe.
One way our community is impacted is the contamination of our groundwater.
water. Since we last spoke, we continue to move forward in the development and implementation
of large scale and total PFAS removal at our water treatment plant. Engineers are currently
researching and confirming treatment strategies. Once the system is approved, design will
begin in 2026, and PFAS removal from all finished tap water is on schedule for April
of 2029.
When we last talked, we have continued to test for PFAS in both our source water
and our treated tap water since we last talked. Based on five years of results, well 15 was
removed from service as it was determined that that well produced a finished water
product with detectable levels of PFAS. All other wells were able to produce finished
tap water with no detectable PFAS. However, new 2025 results show increases in PFAS levels
in our remaining wells with detectable PFAS in our finished water.
So here's a summary
of the results of our most recent tests that took place since the presentation on
June 10th. Well, the results came back since the presentation on June 10th. The first
sample there, we sent samples off from Wells 9-12 and the finished water
resulting from Wells 9-12. We used a lab that had recently been accredited by
the EPA to do PFAS sampling. We went with them because they were close and we
could deliver the samples by hand so there was no need to expensively
package and ship samples across state borders. However, when we got the
results back, the lab did not have results for two of the three samples. They cited quality
control issues with the samples and they were not run or analyzed. However, the finished
sample was analyzed and they did give us that result. At the time those results did
not match previous trends that we had expected from the last five years of data. So due
to the fact that two-thirds of the samples were inconclusive and one did not match what
our expectations were before we couldn't make any determinations, decisions, or come
to any conclusions on that sample. We weren't confident in doing so. So we decided to get
a second opinion. We reached out to a lab that we had used before and we were confident
with and had been PFAS accredited for some time. And we sent them those same three
samples almost two months later. When those results came back, the finished sample corroborated
the sample that we received from the first laboratory.
Okay. So, based on these recent
test results, the Water Department of the City of Collinsville now recommends all customers
customers filter their city tap water before cooking or drinking.
The EPA lists on their website a number of filters and solutions to removing PFAS from
water at point of use.
They include granular activated carbon filters, reverse osmosis or RO house systems, and
anion exchange house systems.
systems.
Customers can still bathe and wash their clothes in the tap water safely.
Currently
we are also updating the city website and social media communications to reflect these
new recommendations and with that we conclude the update and I welcome any questions from
the council.
Is there any comments or questions?
Yes.
I'll just a quick, will we be testing again?
We've met all the requirements for testing. At this point, we approve that there's no
way to stop PFAS from coming into our source water, so we don't have to test anymore.
But what we are doing is moving forward with a plan to remediate and remove PFAS and that
will be in place by 2029.
Okay. And our reason, I understand the need to remediate and I think we just obviously
head down that path. But what if we test it again in May of 26 and those things, the PFAS
levels have dropped? Right. Is that even possible? So even if it is very possible because this,
our water source comes from an aquifer underground, right, and we have no control of that. So
So what will happen is it can fluctuate, it can go up and down. We don't know what the
results will be. So this is why we're making the recommendations at this point in time,
because our previous wells never had this issue until now. So we're still going to stand
with the recommendation and move forward with remediation.
My question may be kind of silly, but on the previous slide it said you could currently
bathe and do laundry and that. Is there any reason, is that word currently caught my attention?
Is there any reason why that would change?
No, not for bathing. Not for bathing and laundry.
We're talking drinking and cooking is where we recommend and the EPA recommends that you use one of the methods that's listed.
Okay. Nothing else more to comment?
All right. Thank you for your presentation next time. Thank you. Next item, speakers on the floor.
Speakers may address the council under the terms of ordinance number 4765. Time is limited to four minutes per speaker.
Please refer to the last page of the agenda for a specific rules governing input.
Is there anyone on this left side of the room that would like to speak?
Anyone on the right side of the room would like to speak?
Okay, being none, next time.
Comments and announcements from the mayor?
Yes, I'd like to just talk a little bit about,
I went to the IML Illinois Municipal League conference this last week,
And I just like to give a little kind of a little overview for everybody what what was what we did and
Illinois Municipal League the city has been a member of that for
as long as I can remember and
It's it's an association of mayors
Throughout the state of Illinois
there's
1294 municipalities they're represented by ML and
And they have a conference every year.
I've been for the last three or four years,
four years probably,
and it's just a tremendous learning opportunity
for council members.
And I, Derek and Donna have been before,
and what I'm gonna do, ask tonight,
is encourage the rest of the council
to attend the training sessions they have.
it's three days of training sessions, covering everything from PFAS, there was a seminar on
that, legal issues, TIF, economic development, anything that we deal with on a day-to-day
basis there is something to learn there. So it's particularly helpful I think for newer
council members so I would say Tony and David just recommend that you next year
we go to that as get as many as we can to participate and great learning
experience and we brought back a lot of information and I know Jessica and Derek
use IML information almost every day in their work so it really brings and I
think more than are just as much as the training sessions, like any other training seminars
whether it's the police or fire, community development. You learn so much by talking
with other communities and seeing what other communities are doing and you realize that
you're not the only one out there like PFAS with this problem. You can learn how other
communities are dealing with it, your neighboring communities and the ones in the suburbs
in Chicago. We're all in this together and we're all trying to do the same thing, provide
services to people. So IML is our spokesman at the state level. So they lobby for the
things that help cities. And we can't do it singly as a city, but as a group, we have
a big voice in what we can affect on the state level. And they made some, just recently
and it made some very, there's been some big successes
on what they've been able to accomplish.
So anyway, that's just kind of an update.
I know it's a very broad update,
but it's, I encourage that we attend as much,
we get as much participation as we can, so.
That's all.
Oh, one comment about the Italian Fest.
Even because the parade had be canceled,
but regardless of that there was still a great turnout Friday of Saturday night
after three different rains it was still a great turnout after it finally stopped
raining the place was packed I know the vendors and businesses didn't have as
good a night as they did previous years with good weather but it was amazing
how the people still came out for a Saturday night after the rain they had
that vendors had to put tents back up, the wind was blowing,
so, but it was pretty impressive at eight, nine o'clock
to see that there was that many people still up there.
So, hope for a better year next year.
That's all.
Comments and announcements from council members?
I was gonna mention the Italian Fest as well.
I was up there Friday night, it was packed.
It was one of the biggest crowds I think I've seen
and I didn't get to go on Saturday night,
But I was texting and asking how the crowd was and I was told that what you just said that people showed up even after all the rain
They were out there. So
It seems like it was a pretty successful year
Except for the rain
Anyone else?
Next time
Comments and announces from city staff
Thank you mayor members of council. We got some good programming to share with you this evening
So first I'll have kimberley corn come up and talk about some programming in the parks direct department
Mayor Stamen and members of the council, we have our last tunes at Bloom this
Wednesday. It's amazing that September has gone as fast as it has. So fingers crossed
that we get some good weather. We've had great weather so far and nice crowds, great
music. The Duda Bides, I think Dudo is a play on the dude, but Duo, they'll be
there tomorrow night. Hopefully you'll be there as well. Free music at the
Bloom House. And then I do have something else on here. Alright, we're
I'm doing a Make Your Own Scarecrow workshop
at Willoughby Farm on September 30th.
It is a paid per Scarecrow, so if your whole family
wants to come and just build one Scarecrow,
it's just $10 per Scarecrow.
And then we're working on an Adam Sandler movie night.
We will show, put the giant inflatable screen up
in front of City Hall, and have a few contests
along with this for best Adam Sandler look-alike,
any character that is a supporting character,
and then a couple's contest as well.
So hopefully you can come up and watch a movie
and then hang out in the uptown and have a grab a bite to eat
or drink at one of our fine uptown establishments.
Thanks Kimberly.
Thank you.
Next I'll have Jamie Lane, our director of the Gateway
Convention Center and talk about some events going
on at the center here in the next couple of weeks.
Hi
Mayor and members of the council.
We're busy going into the fall with lots
of private and public events.
What I'm featuring here is a few of the ones coming
up in the next month.
So the first one is this Thursday. It's the ultimate Elvis concert
So I know you've heard me talking about Elvis a couple of times
We have an annual festival. That's a multi-day event in the summer
But this is a one-night concert with two of the ultimate Elvis champions
one is a local Bill Cherry and Cody Dinoeth is the other one so
Tickets, I believe start at about $30 and go up from there and there are still tickets available
level. The doors open at 7.30 and again that's this Thursday, September 25th. And the next
one is this Saturday on September 27th. Confluence Crush is a flat track roller derby and I know
you've heard about that one a few times. We are their home track so when they are having
their home bouts as they call it, they have them at Gateway. The competition this Saturday
Thursday is against a team from Indiana and another one from Iowa.
So that's September 27th, doors open at five o'clock.
And when we get into October, it's a wonderful time of year for Gateway.
We love this event, ARCON 48, they've been coming since day one really in 1991 Gateway
started.
We started having this event annually, so they were somewhere before us, but anyway,
This event is October 3rd through the 5th, and it is a science fiction convention.
It's everything science fiction fantasy. There's a lot of vendors, authors.
They have a masquerade that's a huge performance competition.
And there's tons of costumes. Everyone is dressed up.
Some of them are working on their costumes all year long.
So it really starts the Halloween season for us down at Eastport.
people are walking around is Star Trek,
going to the restaurants and hotels.
It's a great event.
About 2,000 attendees is what their attendance is tracking at,
and they sell out the double tree, the dreary inn,
and the hotels around Gateway.
So that's an exciting event.
And the last one I'll talk about is Just Between Friends.
It's a STL Metro East fall and winter sale.
This is a consignment sale,
And it's great prices. It's brand name items, gently used items, a lot of children's items,
but they do have adults clothing as well. But it's a lot of clothing, toys, books, baby gear,
baby equipment, strollers, that kind of a thing. And it is 50 to 90% off of the retail rates that
you might find in the stores. And again, some brand name items. So it is October 9th to
the 12th. And this event comes to Gateway three different times in the year, over the
course of the year and so people are also looking to clean out their
equipment from their homes or their clothing. This is an entity that they
can sell items to as well so I just thought I'd mention that as well so but
that's it. And last I'll have Joseph Williamson, our associate planner
come back up. Joseph is also the staff liaison for the Historic Preservation
Commission. He's going to give a little bit of a plug here for the Council of Historic Museum.
Thanks, Derek. So Mayor, Mayor Stamman, members of the council, more or less I just wanted
to invite you all and invite the public and everybody else who would like to attend to
a the night of the museum. This is October 16th from 6.30 to 9. More or less it's just
going to be a nice sit-down wine, beer, $25 gets you in the door and you get dinner
with it as well and you just get to learn a little bit about local Collinsville
history and there may be a surprise guest there from Collinsville's local
past so show up and join us thank you that's all we ever said all right next
item next item is the consent agenda item one motion to approve payment of
bills for the period ending August 29th 2025 in the amount of one million four
$575,628.90.
Item two, motion to approve payroll
for the period ending August 29, 2025
in the amount of $862,685.58.
Item number three, motion to approve minutes
of the September 9, 2025 council meeting.
Item number four is a resolution requesting permission
from IDOT to close a portion of Collinsville Main Street
for the fall festival.
And item number five is resolution re-appointing a member to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission, Jury Brunmeyer.
Is there any items that anyone would like to remove from the consent agenda and vote on separately?
Being none have a motion to approve.
So moved.
Second.
Most of my housemen seconded by Seton. Roll call.
Green. Yes.
Seton. Yes.
Houseman. Yes.
Furman. Yes.
Statement.
Yes less is adjournment
What have
a motion to adjourn so moved second most by green thank my houseman
City Council meeting for September 23rd
Yes
City Council meeting September 23rd 2025 is adjourned