Naperville City Council’s dais was full of council members last night for the first time since March of 2020. The city returned to a fully in-person model with no remote participation from council members, city staff, or the public.
In-Person Meeting
One holdover from the 14 months of virtual meetings is the option to participate via writing or support/oppose position statement. Those options will not be read into the record, but are published with the meetings minutes and are available to council members prior to the meeting.
Fully-vaccinated members of the public had the choice to remove their face coverings at the in-person meeting, but those who hadn’t reached full inoculation were asked to keep their coverings on. Most seats in council chambers were also blocked off so that social distancing could be maintained at the meeting.
KLA Schools Daycare
At the meeting, the group approved zoning changes for a KLA Schools daycare at 2719 Beebe Drive. Kids Learning Adventure (KLA) Schools opened its first Naperville location in 2019 just south of the corner of Naper Boulevard and Ogden Avenue. The school serves children from six weeks to 12 years of age.
Moser Tower & Riverwalk Repairs
In March 2020, council agreed with the Riverwalk Commission that the city should have Moser Tower repaired rather than demolished after unexpected deterioration was discovered. City staff combined that repair work with handrail repairs that need to be done on the Naperville Riverwalk.
Last night, council awarded the nearly $2.1 million contract for both those repairs to the low bidder. Transportation, Engineering, and Development Director Bill Novak said the company receiving the bid comes highly recommended for the complicated repairs to the tower.
American Rescue Plan Act Funds
Council also heard a presentation from city staff about potential uses for $13.3 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds. Naperville will have $6.65 million available for immediate use, while the remainder will be available in 2022. The federal government’s list of approved uses include projects or initiatives that support public health, address negative economic impacts from COVID-19, replace lost public sector revenue, provide premium to pay essential workers, or investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure.
Council asked city staff to calculate the city’s revenue replacement value for 2020 to potentially broaden the scope of uses for ARPA funds.
Body Cam Program
The meeting concluded with a discussion of the Naperville Police Department’s upcoming police body camera program. The amount of data storage required to support the program is substantial and potentially expensive for the city. The Information Technology team requested a Full Time Equivalent to support the body camera program. IT Director Jackie Nguyen said this employee would also work with police on other upcoming tech developments with NPD and that it was important to establish familiarity with officers. Council approved that request 9-0.
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.
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