Tonight's Urbana City Council meeting will have a presentation on a rental assistance program with the Regional Planning Commission, an update on the Imagine Urbana Comprehensive Plan, and two resolutions on rental assistance programs.
Quisenberry is currently the alderman in Urbana’s Ward 7 and the executive director for student affairs technology at the University of Illinois. He previously served on the Champaign County Board.
In late 2022, he told The News-Gazette that he was interested in running for mayor but said Tuesday he had a change of heart after thinking it through...
Unlike most mayoral offices in the area, Urbana’s is a full-time, salaried job.
That full article here. Quinsenberry told WCIA that he got to know Williams in the process of considering his own run and came to believe that Williams is a "great candidate."
Budget and Police Budget:
Most of the Urbana City Council news coverage this past month focused on the police staffing, alternative responder models, and budgeting for the same. From the News-Gazette's coverage of the budget vote a few weeks ago:
One police budget vote down, one extended conversation about alternative response models for police, fire and medical calls to go.
After weeks of debate and discussion — and two-plus hours of public comment Monday night — the Urbana City Council voted 6-2 to adopt a fiscal budget ordinance that included a slimmed-down version of what Police Chief Larry D. Boone asked for at the start of the process...
[Mayor Diane Marlin] said a “collaborative community stakeholder task force” will be formed — including community members, representatives from community organizations and first responders — which over the next year will “explore options for alternative response … not just focused on police alternative response (but) fire and medical, as well.”
That full article here. The News-Gazette had coverage on the task force being established to look at alternative responder models in Urbana. WAND had coverage of the final vote here and an overview of the compromise plan here with a comparison to the original plan. WCIA had a short article on the development of the task force for alternative responder models here.
WCIA also had coverage of the original budget vote (without the police funding) last month here.
There were a number of opinion pieces, including from the Chief of Police himself, on the staffing and budget issues:
- Urbana Chief of Police Boone on his frustrations and the needs of the department in a News-Gazette "My Turn" column.
- The News-Gazette's criticism of many on the Urbana City Council in an editorial last month.
- The News-Gazette had coverage of some of the different perspectives between the Chief and Aldermen on the council here.
- The News-Gazette also had coverage of the initial proposal presented by the UPD and reactions by various Aldermen on the City Council here.
The Urbana Police Department has also been posting updated crime and gun violence maps on its facebook page. WCIA had coverage of some of the maps released last month here. The most recent maps release from last week is available here.
Urbana City Council Meeting Write Ups:
The Daily Illini had write ups on Urbana City Council meetings throughout June and early July as well:
- 7/1 City Council Meeting (Committee of the Whole) coverage (video, agenda packet) which included preliminary votes on Hope Village funding and a number of other items. See Hope Village coverage below. There was a brief Public Hearing with some concerns about the Hope Village project here.
- 6/24 City Council Meeting coverage (video, agenda packet) which included the original Budget vote (without the police budget).
- 6/17 City Council Meetings coverage (continued to 6/18) (Special, Public Hearing, and Committee of the Whole (part 1 and part 2) video links, with all agenda packets available here) which discussed budget issues, zoning issues, and redistricting. There's a great deal of public participation in all three meetings, available in the video, generally focusing on criticisms of the proposed police budget.
- 6/10 City Council Meeting coverage (video, agenda packet): which included a vote on the Youth Services Grant Program and Mayoral appointments.
Hope Village Updates:
The News-Gazette also had an update on the Hope Village timeline:
A spokesman for Hope Village said that construction is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2025 and the project "aims to be ready for residents in early 2026." It was previously estimated that the community would open in 2024...
Hope Village is a collaboration between Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC), Carle Health and the University of Illinois. The city of Urbana has allocated $850,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding for the endeavor...
According to the project's website, Hope Village will be a community of tiny homes that offer housing for adults in the Champaign-Urbana community who are "most at risk of homelessness and are medically fragile." The project is being built on farmland south of Federal Drive in Urbana and north of Champaign's Carver Park neighborhood.
That full article here. WCIA had similar coverage of the Hope Village updates here.
Continuing a Long Meeting Rules:
Kathy's Mailbag had an overview of the rules dictating public notice when a meeting is continued to the next day. This has been the circumstance for many Urbana City Council meetings as they tend to run long more often than most (the June 17th and 18th meetings above, for example):
When a meeting is “properly noticed,” and the business cannot be completed within the time constraints allowable for a meeting of that body, Sandefur said the meeting may simply be recessed and reconvened where the body left off within the agenda — provided that the above condition (1) or (2) is met, as outlined in the OMA.
In addition, she said the city of Urbana “has a hard stop of 10:30 p.m. and via council vote may continue beyond that time in 30-minute increments no more than twice more. On Monday, June 3, our council motioned, seconded and voted to recess the meeting to a time and place certain, Tuesday, June 4, in city council chambers at 7 p.m., sharing the announcement of the time and place of the reconvened meeting, which also fulfilled the 24-hours requirement.
That full Mailbag column here.
More Urbana Government News:
- The News-Gazette had a comparison of Mayoral pay across the local area, including Urbana (2nd highest pay of those listed, though still significantly less than Danville).
- Updates on a potential future Urbana skate park, from the News-Gazette.
- The Urbana Plan Commission is still going to be discussing a possible development on Campus, according to the News-Gazette. At the July 11th meeting, there were a number of questions and the issue was continued to their next meeting on July 18th.
- Yet another Hotel Royer update, with a possible opening later this summer. From the News-Gazette.
