Pekin City Council votes to upgrade security at Public Works facility

Mike Kramer, Pekin Daily Times
·3 min read
As part of the city's new Limited English Proficiency Policy, language identification cards will be displayed in the lobbies of Pekin City Hall, the Pekin Police Department, and each Pekin Fire Department station.

A resolution authorizing expenditure of up to $39,280 for the repair and upgrade of fence at city Public Works Department facilities on Koch Street proved the most contentious new business item at Monday’s Pekin City Council meeting.

With Pekin Mayor Mark Luft absent, the resolution passed 4-2. Council members Rick Hilst and Lloyd Orrick opposed the action.

According to Pekin City Manager Mark Rothert, the work will include maintenance of the facility’s front gate and the installation of a new security fence along the south side of the bus parking lot. Rothert added that the city has worked with Hohulin in the past and received quotes from the company in order to expedite the project.

“Because of recent break-ins across the region to steal catalytic converters, this item is of importance to make sure our facilities are secure,” he said.

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Hilst noted that Hohulin Fence was named the sole source contractor for the project without any requests for proposals (RFPs) to announce the project, describe it and solicit bids from qualified contractors.

“I would completely agree that this (project) is needed,” said Hilst. “However, we haven’t had a fence on the south side of the property since the city’s owned it. The gate has been broken for over a year … and nobody has addressed it. I don’t agree with all of that becoming an emergency and justifying not going out for RFPs.”

Hilst also opposed a resolution to give the city engineer additional spending authority for sidewalk repair projects brought about by Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility requests. The action, which passed 5-1, grants the city engineer up to $25,000 in spending authority per project, not to exceed a cumulative $100,000 for projects not directly approved by the Council.

“There are times when certain contractors are already in Pekin doing concrete work, where the city can get reasonable prices for small projects,” said Rothert. “In some situations, the repairs could be more cost effective than bidding out the project. This method would make staff more efficient and also speed up the repair process after (city) staff receives the accessibility request.”

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The Council unanimously voted to award a$13,525 bid to Wayne Litwiller Excavating Inc., for the demolition of a residence at 307 Fairlane St.

“This residence has been an ongoing issue for code enforcement;” Rothert said. The current owner had met with staff regarding the potential sale, and upon meeting with us there has been no action by the owner to bring the residence into compliance.”

In other business, the Council unanimously approved:

  • A resolution to allocate $15,398 in Motor Fuel Tax funds to pay for the city’s share of the Joint Peoria-Pekin Urbanized Area Transportation Study (PPUATS) funding agreement.

  • Two resolutions to extend lease agreements at the Pekin Municipal Airport. Mark Weyhrich’s lease to farm 121.7 tillable acres at the airport was extended for three years at a rate of $140 per acre, and Cruce Aviation will enter into a three-year lease extension for a private hangar at the airport.

This article originally appeared on Pekin Daily Times: Pekin Council: Security will be upgraded at Public Works facility