Urbana City Council and Ward 6 Applicants

This week's Urbana City Council meeting video is online (video here, agenda here). A previous Cheat Sheet post had a preview of some of the topics here. Before the regular Committee of the Whole meeting the Council had a Special Meeting that included approving a couple Mayoral staff appointments (more information on that here) and recognizing local women leaders and women's history month. The city had a facebook post with images here:

The News-Gazette had additional coverage of one of the appointments and how it relates to Urbana's new approach to developing a new Master Plan for the City:

The longtime CEO of Fox Development Corp. has been hired by the city of Urbana for three years to rewrite its comprehensive plan, which was last updated in 2005.

Andrea Ruedi will be paid $150,000 a year to develop the comprehensive plan, which is Mayor Diane Marlin’s next big project after eliminating the city’s structural deficit...

Ruedi will begin immediately, immersing herself in the city government’s activities, and the city will begin developing the new comprehensive plan this summer.

That full article available here. The appointment, discussion of the Master Plan and the rest of the brief Special Meeting is available at the beginning of the City Council meeting video here.


Committee of the Whole:

After the Special Meeting the City Council came to order for its Committee of the Whole meeting. In general they voted to recommend the remaining agenda items to the City Council for final approval. There were some other highlights worth pointing out:

• A housing property Rosecrance wants to return to the City was delayed as the agreement wasn't ready yet (more details here).
• Public Participation (direct link here) included a couple statements read into the record about equity and subdivision sewer problems. There was also a Neighborhood Watch leader Tammy Masters on local safety concerns in County Squire neighborhood in Ward 6 and issues to consider in appointing a new Alderman for it.
• Coronavirus preparation discussion between the Board and the a representative with the fire department. The conversation dealt with concerns with staffing backup plans in case of illness.

Four of the applicants for Alderman for City Council Ward 6 were in attendance to introduce themselves and why they believed they should be selected for the vacancy. A fifth member had a written statement read into the record due to a personal schedule conflict with a surprise second honeymoon. The City Council appeared sympathetic to not breaking that date. The applicants came from various backgrounds and perspectives. From the City's facebook post:

• William Colbrook, Chief of Police/Director of Public Safety Parkland College

• Thomas Hebert, Manager and Golf Teaching Professional, Just Fore Fun Golf Center,

• Andrew Miller, Software Engineer, University of Illinois,

• Joseph Smith, retired City of Urbana Civil Engineer,

• Darius White, Executive Director, Urbana Business Association.

That post available here. The video of their statements to the City Council here with Joseph Smith's written statement read afterward. The Mayor described the choice as a difficult one, but one she hoped to have ready by the regular City Council meeting next Monday March 9th.