Eight Minutes and Out: Savanna City Council Wastes No Time

By MICHAEL MILLER | For The Prairie Advocate News

SAVANNA – If you had blinked, you would have missed the latest Savanna City Council meeting, which ended after a record eight minutes, dispensing with an agenda that redefined the word “skimpy.”

Attending the meeting were Council members Bill Scott, Bill Robinson, Merle Long, Peg Haffey, Jeff Griswold, Tony McCombie, Carol Fosdick, and Lois Hunsaker, with Mayor Larry Stebbins, City Clerk Paul Hartman, City Comptroller/Treasurer Sheryl Sipe and Police Chief Michael Moon also in attendance. Public Works Superintendent John Lindeman and Fire Chief Shawn Picolotti were absent.

With the only real agenda item being the Building and Public Property Committee report, Committee Chairman McCombie told the Council that the Savanna Park District had requested a land survey be done on Fat Jack’s Memorial Skate Park, pursuant to probable transfer of ownership to the Park District.

She said the committee also reviewed the watch list for property condition, which now totals nine. Twelve properties are on the demolition list, with three being eliminated from this list; 1125 Chicago Avenue, 320 Main Street, and 35 Milwaukee. The committee has looked into a potential CDAP grant to help finance the demolition of certain properties and also funding to help revitalize others.

Three properties were added to the condition watch list: 15 Oakwood Heights, the Chestnut Park School and the Lincoln School.

The Council fully approved payment of Warrant #9A, an additional invoice totaling $142,073.75.

In Executive Action, the Council approved making public the contents of executive session minutes from the following meetings: September 11, 2007 October 23, 2007 October 28, 2008 June 23, 2009 July 28, 2009 July 13, 2010 July 27, 2010 August 10, 2010 September 14, 2010 February 08, 2011 December 13, 2011 December 27, 2011 January 10, 2012 January 24, 2012 March 13, 2012. Also the closed session minutes from the following committee meetings were made public: Budget/Finance Committee: March 06, 2007, Water/Sewer/Refuse/Street/Alley Committee: December 28, 2010.

The next, and presumably longer, City Council meeting will be held on February 12th, at 7:30 PM at 333 Chicago Avenue.