Sanity Check: Priorities, Pitfalls, and The Philosophy of Government

By Mick Parsons For The Prairie Advocate News

LANARK – During the July 5th meeting, which only happened narrowly since it was not initially clear whether or not there would be a quorum, the council decided to accept a bid it had not yet received in relation to the road work associated with the Municipal Building Project, and tabled budget appropriations discussions until there was more of a full council present. A deserted and structurally dangerous building was also discussed in relation to a letter from a concerned downtown business; but since Lanark has neither building codes nor the political will to use the Nuisance Code to deal with it, nothing was decided upon but to send Chief Magill to talk to the current owner – as soon the city finds out who actually owns it. And, the saga of Well #4 continues, as does the paperwork problems that seem to be plaguing the contractors involved with the Municipal Building Project.

Because IDOT’s road work currently happening on IL 73 through the middle of Lanark coincides with necessary road construction related to the Municipal Building Project, the council discussed the possibility of having Martin and Company complete some of the work, which includes gutter and sidewalk work in front of the building. IDOT’s cost estimate for this part of the IL 73 project was $28,625. At the time of the meeting, there were no other bids before the council. Alderman Weaver suggested waiting until the following day to see if they could get a “sanity check” in the form of a bid from Martin and Company.

Alderman Ed Fehlhafer liked the idea of going with Martin and Company, since they’ll be acutely aware of the construction schedule; initially, however, he wanted to get more information before making any decisions. Never once did the notion of putting the project out to bid ever come up even though generally, any project with a cost of more than $25,000 is put out for bid; but Alderman Mark Macomber pointed out that the road work was already under way and that “timing is the bottom line.”

“Timing is the bottom line, but the specifics are, too,” said Fehlhafer.

While the discussion was a worthwhile one, it was another discussion that seemed like it ought to have taken place in committee. The City of Lanark has several standing committees, one of which handles contractor bids prior to taking them before the full council for a decision. The idea behind committees being that it’s a more effective use of time and talent and makes for more efficient council meetings. After more deliberation, the council decided to accept Martin and Company’s bid – as long as it’s $30,000 or less.

During the last meeting, Tony Malone from ESI made the council aware of water flow problems at Well #4. At this meeting, Malone reported that the pump in Well #4 is the wrong sized pump. After various tests, it was concluded that the contractor took specifications from an older, smaller well and used them for the new well. Malone reported that opening a valve helped get water pressure closer to what it should be, and he presented the council with three options to actually fix the problem. The easiest solution is to leave the valve open and hope the main doesn’t breech over the winter. Another solution is to replace the 1050 feet of six inch pipe running from the well to the tower with eight inch pipe. The third solution was to add another stage to the pump. Malone, ESI, recommended pipe, since the pipe is old anyway. The problem is that the pipe may last the winter, may last another five winters. Or it may not.

Then whether the city can take on one more project was a subject of discussion, and it was decided that replacing the pipe wasn’t a priority. It could get done, but would take time away from other projects and would probably end up requiring overtime pay. Anne Lindsay commented that it would also take “one guy” to change his ways and start earlier.

Amy Barnes of Isenhart Realty sent a letter to the city council because she is concerned about the Fogell Building at 101 N. Broad Street and the impact on her building at 107 if the dangerously worn down structure collapses or catches fire. The problem is that Lanark doesn’t have building codes. Mayor Stern brought up the Property Maintenance Codes that are part of the International Building Codes. The International Building Codes have been dissed and discussed by several county communities as the result of a drawn out discussion at CEDS regarding the enforcement of state building code changes that began July 1st of this year relating to new commercial structures. Ken Weaver, who either has been unaware of these discussions – in spite of Mayor Stern’s reports from his attendance at CEDS meetings – or was showing isolationist tendencies at hearing the word “International” - was resistant to giving the city any teeth with which to deal with the crumbling downtown structure. City Attorney Ed Mitchell pointed out that the city did have a Nuisance Code that could be applicable; but many of the alderman, including Weaver, weren’t all that interested in pursuing that option either.

Weaver said he didn’t want a “bunch of new codes and that “the cure to be worse than the disease.”

Mayor Stern pointed out that it wasn’t a bunch of codes and that it didn’t entail the city adopting all of them; Stern had been a proponent of the city adopting at least the commercial building codes, but was unable to convince the rest of the council that they served any purpose.

Using the Nuisance Code the city could, after going through all the necessary steps, potentially have the building condemned. It has already been identified as dangerous; both the fire and police departments have been made aware in the past that the floors probably wouldn’t support them if they had to enter the building. What this means is that, if the building should catch fire, the only way to fight it would be from the outside. It also seriously increases the chance that should the building catch fire that it could spread to the entire block. They were concerned that the city would end up in another situation like the one they had with Valenti and the Shumway Building.

Weaver asked whether the Fogell building ought to be discussed in Executive Session. The council had determined that they would meet in Executive Session prior to adjourning, but on a different issue that apparently was discussed; but since nothing came of that discussion, no information was released about it to the media.

At one point Weaver said he didn’t want to see the City of Lanark in the real estate business; but then he later said that if the estate were willing to quit claim the building to the city that he wouldn’t oppose it.

Tony Malone from ESI interjected and recommended that if the city were to take legal ownership of the deserted building that it get the Fogell Estate to pay for an environmental study, since any the city would be liable for any environmental impacts.

City Clerk Jackie Hawbecker was asked if she could contact the owner, but she said she had no contact information for the Fogell Estate. It was then determined that Chief of Police Matt Magill would contact the buildings owner, simply to make the Fogell Estate aware of the building’s condition and ask them what they intend to do with the building. No one present had any idea who to contact. According to Carroll County records, the tax bill goes to a PO box in Shannon in the name of Irene Fogell, and Donald Fogell is the executor of the estate. But other than asking Chief Magill to talk to the owners, the council couldn’t agree on any further action, even though the building is a potential danger.

“Then we’ll just have to live with dilapidated properties,” said Macomber.

The mayor brought up potentially combining three different committees – Parks, Recreation, and the Tree Committee – into the Parks, Recreations, and Forestry Committee. He said he’s been getting complaints about the condition of trees and flowers downtown, as well as the condition of the park.

But then the conversation turned to priorities. Is the park a priority? While the council agreed that it would be nice to do something with the park and that it would be good for the community, they also agreed that there are other projects, like the Municipal Building and the current water infrastructure issues, that the city should focus on first.

Anne Lindsay pointed out, however, that forming another committee wasn’t really a solution and wouldn’t fix anything. She advocated for volunteerism . . . that people in the community should step forward and take an active role in fixing the problems they see rather than waiting on city government to fix them. “It happens in other communities,” she said. “It can happen here.”

Alderman Weaver, in support of Lindsay’s statements said that “Government should only do what people can’t do for themselves.” But the mayor seemed to be suggesting that while it’s better if people were involved, as with the Fogell Building and dealing with other dilapidated structures around, there are times when the city government has an obligation to step in, whether it wants to or not. The mayor said that people in Lanark are concerned about things, but they seem reluctant. “It’s like they ask for permission,” he said.

The problem with anything having to do with government on any level, however, is always the same. Whatever it decides to do, it has to find a way to pay for it. And for Lanark, there’s a ponderously large number of projects and a limited amount of money to get it done. The council did discuss budget appropriations briefly, but it was tabled so that it can be discussed when every alderman can be present.

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