Good evening.
Debbie, could you please give the invocation this evening?
Let us pray.
Our verse comes from Matthew 5 16.
Let your light shine before others that that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven.
Father God, we just thank you.
We thank you for who you are.
We thank you that your glory shines throughout our country, throughout the world.
And Lord, thank you that in our buildings, our municipal buildings, say, in God we trust.
And Lord, with that comes a responsibility from every elected official that they walk Huffins.
We walk in light and be a source of light to others by doing good and glorifying the Father in heaven.
Father God, we just asked that our city council members would realize and walk in the authority that you have given them that they are an example to others.
Their behavior reflects the tone of our city.
So Lord, we just ask in your name that Holy Spirit would fill each person that is here and Lord that they would walk in love brotherly love to each other that you would give them wisdom discernment and knowledge and Lord that they would have a desire to work together to make good laws and ordinances we thank you for our police our fire department every department head Lord we ask you give them wisdom and knowledge and discernment Lord we thank you for how you are prospering Freeport and Lord we give you all the glory in Jesus name we pray amen amen thank you Debbie now we'll officially call this meeting to order madam clerk would you please take the role Mayor Miller here Alder persons Klemm here Johnson here Simmons Parker here Stacey here Shadel here Sanders and Sellers here thank you before we get started I would like to address what and John.
I would like to remind you that the Pledge of Allegiance is a flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, one nation under God, one nation under God.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God.
We have one person signed in, Shante Bradford.
I hope I didn't just butcher your name.
Yes, if you would like to stand to the podium, you have three minutes.
Good evening to all.
Good evening.
Madam Mayor and to all of you in your respective places.
I just had three questions really quickly and then I'm done.
And I'm done.
I would like to know how I can reside at an address that doesn't exist.
I've lived in Freeport now a little bit over a decade.
I had asked for a handicap parking and I was told I had to go to Public Works.
Went to Public Works, they said my address didn't exist.
So I had to go back and provide utility bills and a lease and the police that shows my address is 218 West Broadway Street, which apparently was a house prior to them reconstructing and making it a two-apartment building.
Ma'am, can I ask a question?
You signed in that you wanted to speak about the streetlights.
Were you getting to that?
This is part of it.
Okay.
So in asking that question about the handicapped park and I was dismissed, I went back to talk about streetlights.
6,218 West Broadway, I'm not sure if you guys know where that is, sits right behind Faith Center Church.
It is a speedway track.
People fly through there like it's a autobahn.
I've had two vehicles totaled sitting in front of my house and my cameras couldn't catch it because there's only one street light on the whole 200 block of Broadway Street.
So who am I to address with that issue?
Ma'am, so public comment is an opportunity for the public to give their comments.
It's not a question and answer session, though.
However, if you state your question, someone will be taking notes and the appropriate person from the city will get in contact with you or can talk to you after the meeting.
OK, well, that's that's my comment.
I'm asking for help, been asking for help for over a decade.
So my comment is, who do I address to get help?
It's clearly you can see I'm disabled and need the parking.
Okay.
So like the attorney said, Darren, do you want to?
Yeah, I'll be glad to help you.
Yep.
Thank you.
And that concludes the public comment portion.
Next is the approval of the agenda.
I apologize.
I skipped the public comment portion of it.
I didn't realize I was out of order on that.
So I apologize.
So item number four is the approval of the agenda.
Is there such a motion?
So moved.
Motion made by Alderman Shadle, seconded by Alderman Klemm.
All those in favor, signify by saying aye.
Aye.
Opposed?
That motion passes.
Item number five is approval of the minutes from the committee of the whole meeting on May 11th, 2026.
Is there a motion to approve?
So moved.
Second.
Motion made by Alderman Shadle, seconded by Alderman Johnson.
All those in favor, signify by saying aye.
Aye.
Opposed?
And that motion passes.
Since we did item number six already, We'll move on to item number seven which is the quarterly report by the Arts and Culture Commission, Commissioner Jessica Modica.
Great, good evening.
Thank you for allowing me to provide a brief review of the first Sculpture Walk for Downtown Freeport.
I won't take up too much of your time tonight.
Hopefully you've all had a chance to walk along Chicago Avenue and take in on your own the and the Seven Sculptures that we were able to install downtown in September of 2025.
If you have not, I encourage you to do that.
So this event represents a partnership between the Freeport Art Museum, which I represent, the City of Freeport, and the fairly new Arts and Culture Commission for the city.
So it is the Freeport Art Museum's role to solicit and manage the artists' entries, and we maintain a database of artists that we reach out to.
And then we also advertise on professional art call sites to reach out to artists who might be interested in participating.
And then from there, the Arts and Culture Commission is the group that selects the works from those submissions to be included in the sculpture walk.
So you each have a packet in front of you that shows the same slides, the PowerPoint that are is available up.
That is available up top.
So I don't know as far as advancing.
Ah, thank you.
Yeah, that's great.
So like I said, in September of 2025 was the first time that we've been able to do this.
There are seven sculptures that were placed along Chicago Avenue from beginning at Douglas Street and then ending at Spring Street on the concrete pads that were included as part of the Streetscape project.
So together, these created an outdoor exhibition of art that adds distinction to our downtown and helps create more walkability.
And if you can go to the next one there.
Another thing that we were able to do, which was really important for interactive, Dibb, being able to interact with the sculptures, as at each stop there is a QR code that people can use to access a free audio tour that describes each piece, and this description is provided by the artists themselves.
So and if the viewers wish, they can download an app, the AutoCast app, on their phone, And if they do that, it not only plays the tour, but it automatically senses where they're at in the tour and will automatically play.
Another thing that I noticed about the AutoCast app that I really like, especially when we're talking about how art adds to economic development and walkability, is that on that app, it also highlights area businesses downtown, ones that are open at the time that the person is walking and interacting with the artwork.
So that's a really great feature of the AutoCast app.
As far as the seven sculptures that were selected for the 2025-2026 year, like I said, there were seven.
We had two artists represented from Freeport, and then we had one artist from New York, one from Dubuque, Iowa, one from St. Joseph, Missouri, one from Lutherville, Maryland and one from Fitchburg, Wisconsin, just north of here.
All in all, we had 31 submissions by 22 artists and seven, like I said, were selected by the commissioners.
You can go to the next one if you don't mind.
And so all of these are the sculptures that are downtown.
The idea here is to change out the artwork each year.
And that is important for a couple of very important reasons.
First, it keeps the exhibition dynamic.
You see different artworks every year and keeps people engaged and interested.
And then also allows us to explore a much broader range of interesting and beautiful artwork.
But the second reason is a little bit more practical.
It is a lot more affordable to do a sculpture walk this way because we are essentially renting the artwork from the artists instead of trying to purchase artwork from the artists.
So, that's the key reasons that informed the way that we went about this work.
So the 2025 to 2026 Sculpture Walk was made possible by a grant that I wrote to the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
It's a state agency and they have a specific program called the Catalyst Program.
And the idea behind that is to launch, help get started projects like these.
And so they awarded us money to get it started.
It also was supported greatly by funds from Cornerstone Credit Union.
They paid for the AutoCast app.
And then two supporters from our Paint the Port event that the museum puts on every year in August.
And so all of that, those monies were put together to put on this year's Sculpture Walk.
And then the last slide there, if you want to go to that, just real briefly, the importance of Sculpture Walks downtown, I will say that the biggest thing is that beyond the beauty, They encourage more walkability and the way that they do it is they encourage people to slow down and we know that when people slow down while they're walking through downtown, they will spend more money.
They'll spend more time means spending more money downtown and we also know from research from the Americans for the Arts who gathered information on this, communities that include We did sculpture walks in their downtown.
People that visit contribute 15 more to those businesses than communities that don't have sculpture walks.
So it all adds to all of the other work that we're doing to improve economic development in our community.
If anybody has questions, I'm here.
Otherwise, thank you for your time tonight.
Thank you, Jessica.
Any questions?
Thank you.
Item number eight is discussion regarding ordinance amending ambulance rates.
Chief Cordy.
Thank you, Mayor.
As we all know, the fire department is one of the essential functions of the city and the ambulance service is a large portion of what we do.
In reviewing some Some of our data this year, we realized that we were leaving money on the table for some of the fees that we were charging.
The last time the ambulance rates were reviewed were in 2022.
In that ordinance, there is a clause that says that we can increase those rates either We started looking into what our options were and what some of the things in the area are, 88% or actually 88.5% of our clientele or our patients that we transport are either Medicare or Medicaid patients.
Which is fine.
That's part of the demographic of the city.
5.7% Is insurance pays, 3.8% is self-pay, and 1.1% is government pay, so like VA insurance.
We got a hold of a survey from the area, basically, Winnebago and Stephenson County that shows some of the current rates.
Our current rate for residents is $1,200, whether it's a basic call or an advanced life support call.
$1,700 For non-residents.
As we look at the spreadsheet, we found out that we're in the bottom third of the 22 departments that were surveyed.
And we also participate in what's called a GEMT program, which is Government Emergency Medical Transport.
I think it was Chief Liggett that got us involved in that.
Basically what they do is they evaluate different departments on different criteria and then they set a rate that they will assist to pay the difference for Medicare and Medicaid patients.
Our current rate that we received back this year was $1,317 for an ALS type 1 and $1,322 for an ALS type 2.
Difference between a type 1 and a type 2 is the severity of the call, the amount of treatment and the amount of things that need to be taken care of for the patient.
At this point with a rate of $1,200, we're leaving $117 on the table basically at a minimum for every one of the Medicare Medicaid patients that we haul, which is about $3,500.
We run about 4550 calls a year for the ambulance.
About 550 of those are refusals that we don't charge for.
That brings us down to 4,000 calls.
And then, like I say, about 3,500 are Medicare-Medicaid.
That leaves quite a bit of money.
That leaves quite a bit of money on the table that is available to us that we're not taking advantage of.
As we go through the spreadsheet, you see what the average is, $1,874 for a basic call and $1,971 for a non-resident basic call.
Up to $2,306.
So like I say, we're significantly under that.
Also, we can charge for mileage when we transport a patient.
Sorry, that's not really We're charging $14 a mile.
The average is $19.
We charge $450 for an ALS intercept, which is just a little bit over the average.
Our lift assists are actually $145 charged at a half hour, so it's $72.50, and we don't charge for refusals.
What we would like to increase to would be $2,000 for resident calls across the board and $2,500 for non-residents across the board.
Increasing the mileage to $20, keeping the ALS intercept the same, and then changing and we got kind of behind on some of those.
So the idea is we're just gonna turn that over to the billing company and let them handle it.
They said that to do the ALS intercepts through them, we had to have a signed agreement from the departments that we do those with, which we have written up part of your packet, has been approved by the attorneys and willing to move forward with.
The lift assists, like I said, we're looking to go to 150 across the board.
Most of them take more than half an hour.
So it's just kind of a more of a straightforward type of approach with that.
Also, there was a law that was passed in Illinois this year that allows departments to charge for lift assists if they weren't already doing it.
Those are for facilities only and for other ambulance services.
We do not charge and we have no intention of charging the citizens or the customers themselves.
It's only the facilities that have staff on site that then they call us in to do their lift assist for them.
So that's the only change in that.
And the refusals.
We don't charge for refusals.
There are some departments on here that do.
Basically, our intentions are if we don't transport you, we will treat you at the scene, we will respond to your scene.
But if either your injury and illness don't warrant transport, you decide on your own that you don't want to be transported.
There is no charge, George, there is no bill for those.
Like I said, I'm sure there's going to be quite a few questions, so anybody has any?
Chief, did you say that some departments do have Lyft assist charges, but we do not?
No, we have Lyft assist charges.
We've had those since 22, I think, either 19 or 22.
It's the refusals.
It was the refusals that we do not charge for that a lot of other departments do okay and and so this new change in the ordinance won't does not affect the refusals even though some departments do correct correct and what do some departments charge for um refusal uh anywhere from a hundred dollars to four hundred We have a lot of citizens that we respond to multiple, multiple times throughout the year.
There's one that I know of that we looked at.
It's been 43 times already just this year that we've responded.
And we don't charge for those.
And you also said that the lift assist charges are for facilities like assisted living yes yes we've got a we've got a list Liberty Village Oakley Court Park View Pearl Point Heritage Woods Wind Prairie Serenity Estates the Citadel at st.
Joseph's where we included the hospital in there because we've gone there a few times to to help move patients inside the hospital and then Star Ambulance, which we've done lift assists in moving patients with before.
And we currently do charge or do not?
We do.
And are you proposing an increase in that amount as well?
Yeah.
Well, the ordinance right now states $145 charged in half hour increments.
Okay.
So what I'm proposing is $150, just a one-time fee, no matter how long it takes.
Gotcha.
Aldrin Johnson.
This is just some things that I looked up.
The UCPI, according to the ordinance, it says the Adopted Ordinance provides for an annual increase based upon the UCPI not exceeding 5%.
And for the four years that we didn't increase, in 23 the UCPI I was 3.4% and 24 it was 2.9% and 25 2.7% and this year 3.8%.
So totaling all those up would be an increase of if you do it every year would be an increase of $152.80 which would make it $1,352.80 for resident rate and $1,852.08 for non-resident rate.
And I guess what I'm saying is I'd like to see us follow what the ordinance says that says we can raise it up to five percent rather than raise it up to the amount that's listed on the papers and Does that ordinance then reflect that can automatically happen each year or is that always have to come back to council?
That's supposed to be an annual adjustment So that doesn't need to come back before council if you're just going to do the CPI and do you know why the adjustments didn't just happen I do not I think they were just overlooked anything else I think the other ones are fine you know oops yeah you sure yeah the other one I understand all the other ones with gas and everything and with having the lifts and then there was a one for a recipient the person a provider goes and helps in a situation where they need More, and the money that's charged for that.
I think that's fine too.
Just that other thing is I'm concerned about.
Did you need anything from us at the moment, Chief?
No, this was just informational with the intent to bring it back for first reading next week.
So the only other comment that I've got is the fact that, you know, everything is getting more and more expensive, especially when you put emergency on it.
You know, the department keeps 46% of the revenue from this and that will eventually start to deteriorate as far as the replacement of vehicles, replacement of buildings.
I think it was Chief Jim Gale that implemented this back in the late 80s, early 90s with the intent of being a capital improvement fund for the fire department.
And from that point on, every building that we've purchased, every vehicle that we've purchased, all the major repairs and things have all come out of that fund rather than coming out of the general fund.
So it's, it's a good, good tool for us.
Okay.
Uh, item number nine is discussion regarding second list of street lighting locations, Alderman's, uh, Stacy and Simmons.
Yes.
We are seeking to start on the second list.
There was a second list.
I had asked that it be connected to my memo.
It never made it.
Chief Shenberger before he retired.
He did a Heard, he did a second list of high crime areas with low lighting.
I had asked for this.
It was sent to City Manager Boyer per his request.
I continue to seek copy, and I had hoped that it would have been here tonight, City Manager.
So that we can talk about moving forward with the second list.
Manager Boyer, would you like to shed light on that, please?
Sure.
At this time, I'm not aware of this list that Alderman Stacy is talking about.
I do know that in the last two weeks, we've reopened the franchise agreement with ComEd.
One item on the request is to upgrade not only 5th Ward lighting but lighting in all wards with a schedule of light replacements.
And this is because over a course of time LEDs lose approximately 5% of their lumens each year and the ComEd lights that are installed not only in 5th Ward but in many of the wards, We need to make sure that we're using the right tools to accomplish the goal, which is making sure that those lights are properly maintained, which in many cases are dim due to their age and the fact that they haven't been replaced since they originally installed.
So, we are working with the ComEd to address those issues, not just 5th Ward, but in all wards, and we did do a first kind of go-around in 2024 with Chief, and he identified areas that some additional lighting would be beneficial.
Those areas really included areas of high traffic and access where permanently mounted cameras are located.
So at this time, we are working on this, but it's a little more comprehensive and it's doing our best to use outside funding to accomplish this.
So, yes, that's what I've got.
Thank you, Mayor.
Chief Rostow, do you have anything you want to say about high crime, low light or the list that was referred to?
Yes, thank you.
I was not made aware or given of any first list, second list or any list thereof with the potential of locations or addresses.
I was not given a single thing or given a phone call.
But I will say this.
I think what we're all looking for is some type of heterogeneous result, and that means data, that means intervention, that means some type of outcome or variability of it.
Street lighting is one of the earliest forms of situational crime prevention, and it dates back as antiquity.
People understand darkness equals fear.
However, with our social climate and the way things have changed, the investment really has to be all encompassing.
And that investment is that crime, all over big cities and small towns, occurs at all times of the day, with the sunlight and with the moon.
So, such as substance abuse, gun violence, narcotic transactions, and we've had them over the weekend in broad daily of domestic violence and of gun violence.
So really I think what everyone is thinking is a theory of change that is encompassing of changing behavior and a changing behavior for anything potential such as stopping offenders, changing the behavior, stopping the cycle of domestic violence, social impact issues.
And again, it's really, as I said again, it's not just one encompassing and there's really no police department that just says one equals another because that's why I said earlier it's really a heterogeneous result for it and lighting really is an antiquity in regards to having some type of result for that.
Thank you.
Alderman Stacey.
For the record, City Manager Boyer, I had no hands-on creating either list.
And it's not fair for you to insinuate that it was just for Fifth Ward.
It was not just for Fifth Ward.
There's crime all over.
So for you to say or make a statement about all of Freeport or all of the wards, it was not something that was just done for Fifth Ward.
And Director Stico, you were a very big part of this in 2024 with ComEd.
Is there anything you would like to say?
I believe it was 2026 is when we finally replaced 63 lights at a cost of $374 per each, so it was about $24,000.2025?
2425 Is when we first started talking about it, but I pulled the memo from 2026 when we did the replacements, excuse me, 2025, you're correct.
Um, and, um, there is an additional cost, uh, for the electric and there is, uh, uh, an upkeep cost that goes to the monthly charge for the comment bills.
And so, um, currently I don't believe we have anything, uh, listed in the and the budget for light replacements, but with the direction of council, obviously those things can be done.
Um, I would echo, uh, city manager Boyer's idea of the franchise agreement, cause that's the best scenario for us to get the done through the lowest cost.
And, um, I would agree back.
It's been several mayors ago when the LEDs, uh, were picked, most towns around here signed the same agreement that Freeport did, and they're finding out that many of the LEDs while they were used to reduce electric usage have also become very poorly lit on the streets and basically the street lights are there to illuminate stop signs and in small parts of intersections with a very narrow path of light rather than a flood type approach like an incandescent used to be.
So I will say, um, we replaced the 14 watt LEDs, I believe with 149 watt LED on the streets that we did in 25.
Um, and I believe that that's probably some type of city wide resolution that needs to be done to, uh, increase lighting throughout.
But, uh, with the franchise having a unique opportunity of having the franchise agreement expiring and opening that would be our opportunity to try to negotiate something that would be more powerful than just a small project.
Alderman Simmons.
Okay.
So a few things, when will that program that you were speaking of begin manager Boyer, if you said it and I missed it, I'm sorry, and to address what the chief said, I agree with you, crime occurs at all time, no matter of the and Stacey.
We do understand that lighting does not cure crime.
However, as the young Lady that came up here and spoke mentioned, her car's been hit twice.
We would have gotten a suspect had the street been lit enough for her ring camera to catch the assailant.
So in areas where there's high traffic and high accidents, it is more than beneficial to add lighting in those areas.
As far as the social programs, I totally agree.
I would love to see more of those.
Hopefully we'll have your support in starting additional social programs to catch kids before or they turn to crime to prevent the crime in that way.
So I do agree with you on that.
But I think what we're asking is a different reason than we want lights to prevent crime.
Some areas, the safety would be much greater if there was additional lighting.
And then as far as the cost, I understand that adding lights may be costly, but we had no problem sinking millions of dollars into adding waterway to benefit one business.
So costs should not be the issue.
It is just how do we budget for it and how do we implement it?
And that is why this discussion is on the floor at this time so that we can.
On the floor at this time so that we can gauge everyone's temperature, see where you are with this, and hopefully when we do bring you back, once the chief recommends some areas that would benefit for additional lighting, that we would have everyone's support in it.
And just a quick point of order on a couple items there.
So there have been some requests that have been made by other people on this topic directly to the department heads there, so I just want to remind everyone that per our council rules is there any requests for city staff to do something, do homework, find anything, should be directed to the city manager first and then he can dole out the homework according to our ordinance.
Okay.
That's fine.
She's just telling you what the procedure is.
If I had the directive for staff, I would make a motion during that, so thank you.
Darren.
Yeah, I just wanted to clarify something I said.
So replacing Cobra heads last year were $374 a piece.
If we're looking at additional lighting that's not on an existing ComEd facility, which would be one of their poles, we're probably looking at more like $14,000 to add a new pole, new light fixture to a streetway.
So, um, I just want everybody to understand adding fixtures that are not already there are much more costly than replacing existing light packages that are already are in place.
I just want to say that at the time when we were going over the budget and creating a budget for this year.
I did openly ask and request that money be set aside for lighting alone.
And City Manager Boyer, you referred to me that we would talk about that and we would get that done, but we have not talked about it and we have not got it Dunn.
So I brought it tonight in hopes to talk about it and get it done.
And I don't know what happened to the list that you were emailed by Chief Shenberger.
However, I have access and I can get that list and make it happen.
But I know it was emailed directly to you, per your request.
Manager Boyer?
Yeah, we just have to agree to disagree.
And that's okay.
So do we need to go back to a point of procedure, Alderman Stacey wants to have a discussion on adding street lighting to the budget, however, just one older person can't do that.
So what's the right procedure to make that discussion happen?
I think ultimately right now, this is the opportunity for the council to discuss whether or not they are in favor of kind of having staff walk down a path of looking into this, which would entail everything from, you know, what are possible solutions, and then what are the costs of those solutions, and then how do we find money for those solutions there.
If the council as a whole is in favor of walking down that path, doing that homework in support of the proposals from Alderman Stacey and Simmons there, then, you know, they can articulate that here.
If they're not in favor of all of that, then they can also state that position as well.
So that staff has some direction as to what the council is supportive of as a whole or not in support of.
Right.
So Manager Boyer has proposed that the franchise agreement might be the right procedural to start.
And he's opening that and he's starting that.
So I don't know if that's what the wish of the council is or if it's to just, you know, Manager Boyer.
Thank you Madam Mayor.
So the franchise agreement talks about a lot of different items that the city and ComEd work together on.
Some of that's tree removal.
Some of that is what the buildings, the city buildings that the city does not have to pay ComEd for electricity.
And which time if we are unable to get what it is or we're looking for in terms of improved street lighting then we maybe look at our existing budget.
However, if we were to jump ahead of the process and start putting in street lights we would be bearing the cost of those right now and we may be able to get those taken care of.
It's unclear at this time but I think it's best if we follow through and I are going to work through with the franchise agreement process and do our best to negotiate that and then at that time, if we don't get our desired result, then we look at budgeting and installing lights at the city's expense.
Alderman, did you have something on your phone?
Did you get your question answered, Alderman Sanders?
No, I have not.
You had your hand up.
You got it fresh in your head?
Go ahead, Alderman Klemm.
Yeah, what you got to say?
A couple things that, Darren, I wanted to ask you something about what you brought up, because as we discuss this, as we all know, there's numerous areas all over town.
What is really, as we look at the lights, what is the intent?
You mentioned traffic, you mentioned stop signs, you mentioned et cetera, like that.
I'll just pick up one area that's absolutely terrible and we all kind of laugh at it, but it is what it is and that's Qantas Drive, you know.
Somebody did a beautiful job in putting in Qantas Drive, they only forgot to put in the street lights.
There's one street light on the whole thing by an intersection, okay.
So that's why I'm asking, you know, what What is the real intent of street lighting?
We've discussed it on La Cresta years ago.
We discussed that there's a set of condos that are out behind a manual that don't have enough and it's gone through two city managers and whatever, and no, we won't put them in.
I understand it, but I guess the question is, what is the real intent of street lighting and what's the, what should it go by?
But I think if you would review most of town, you'll see that most of the lighting reflects areas around intersections or traffic signals to highlight them.
And that's, that's part for the course of most communities.
You know, in today's age, the lights have changed a lot with the, There's something called the dark sky lighting, where they don't want any light protruding up in the air, you know, to save the planet.
And there's a lot of been a lot of changes, especially with LEDs and power savings, right?
And consumption to the grid.
And right, wrong or indifferent, I will tell you that from 20 years ago to now, there's just probably as many as many, if not a few more lights in town.
And there used to be the difference was the incandescence lit up a flood pattern or a long distance.
So when they were measured out between blocks, the light was lighting up 100 or 150 feet, where today it's only lighting up about 25 feet at max.
And that's designed by commonwealth that it's in that way to keep the directional lights down to more signal the lights right, wrong or indifferent.
That that's that's what they are for.
I know if you talk to most residents, including myself, you feel more secure when there's a light by your facility or it's, it's not completely dark.
That's just human nature, right?
Um, going back to the chief's point of, you know, we all have, you know, lights at our house that we turn on when people come, it makes you feel safe.
You can see where you're going.
Um, we'll put up as many lights as the council directs us to do.
Um, it's very costly though.
Um, especially the pole additions and we've had several requests for additional lights.
So I'm very confident in that number.
Um, there's even some of our, um, I'm going to call it our newest areas that didn't have lights either that, that there's several people out there that would like lights added as well.
So that's where I just had got that cost last year for additional pole lights.
I think some of the changes I think some of the changes that we made in 2025 with the brighter lights at the areas have helped.
They're a little bit different.
You can get different flood patterns to lights.
And I think that's primarily the problem that I do think that the program that we did in 25 was very successful and people seem to be much happier with the brighter light with the wider flood pattern.
So I, I do think that that's probably the package or the product that Freeport can afford the most at this time without major renovations to our lighting system.
And even with what city manager Boyer mentioned, the franchise agreement, if we were to do a blanket agreement that every light in town got changed, that's a very large project.
I don't know if Clark Anderson remembers how many lights there are in town because we do an annual lighting survey of it, but it's, it's a lot.
Thank you.
Anyone else?
Alderman Johnson?
Yeah, I just wondered if there's any relationship like to the handicapped areas, you know, like where you've got the ramps and stuff, if there's a relation between lighting and those areas.
Is there any relation with that at all or no?
I mean, yes, because they're trying to identify the stop signs and traffic intersections where, you know, they don't want people to miss those signs for a stop bar, so that's mostly around your Intersections.
But again, it's the change in lighting from incandescent to LED.
They can't they can't reduce the lumen to reduce the energy without narrowing the scope of the light.
So much of that doesn't get lit anymore.
My personal opinion is this isn't really relegated to one spot or another in town as you drive around at night, which I do quite often with my dogs just for, you know, fun time.
It's very dim and very, you know, all over quadrants of Freeport.
Way different with the change from incandescence.
Thank you.
I think I can also add, I don't remember the numbers, but I believe our energy bills, Michelle's not here tonight, really reflect that, too.
I think our power usage is about 30%, 30 or 35% of what it used to be, too, back when we had incandescence.
OK, there's no further discussion.
Alderman Sanders?
Yeah, I listen to the comments and things.
And the one thing that we have not focused on is trying to come up with a resolution of all of the requests and suggestions that are made tonight.
And I hear reflections are coming out We're out of order, as far as I am concerned, in the process of making the decision on the request that is being put before us.
The Council is not colluding or collaborating with each other in order to come up with a scenario, a resolution for what is being asked of us to proceed with.
We're out of order, as far as I am concerned, in the processing of how we go about to do move forward on any suggestion or request, even if we bring what it is out on the floor as individuals, as collective, we're not focusing on together to make the statement together, whether we're voting or For, whether we're discussing it or not, where does it conform to anything that we're discussing here?
Because once we stop talking about it tonight, we have not made a clear statement on anything, on how we're going to move forward.
So what we need to do is, before we start bringing up things to do, council needs to be able to get their hands dirty in the process of all of the requests that are being made to us to make decisions.
Council has to make the decision for staff to move forward.
If they're not getting this kind of information, they're throwing their hands up as well.
Black is throwing their hands up as well because if council is not saying anything on how we to move forward, then we're stagnated.
We're stagnated because we're going to be here talking on assumptions on how we're going to get things done.
Well, that's not what we're here to do.
And so I'd just like to make sure that council is in collaboration with each other as opposed We're not coming up with resolution as councilmen together to solve any problems that we have.
We are acting as individual councilmen, but we're not coming up with resolution as councilmen together to solve any problems that we have.
Huffines.
That's not what we're doing.
We're acting as individual councilmen, but we're not coming up with resolution as councilmen together to solve any problems and issues that are going forward before council and for the public.
Yeah, council needs to meet with each other.
So city manager knows our directive and he's going to try to fulfill all of the Blanks and the questions that we have and things of this nature but if we're not moving as a council to help him move down the road then we're still clueless about a lot of things that are happening throughout the city if we have not collectively gotten together to even make discussion matters on these issues.
So it's that we, as council members, need to be able to help and do our job to help move the resolution, the agendas and the resolution that is created.
We have not been, as a council.
Alderman Sanders, your time has expired.
Oh, I didn't know I was on the time.
Yep.
Okay.
All right.
Anyone else?
City manager?
I just want to make one comment and try to address what you said Alderman Sanders.
So when it basically I look at it as you've got two options here moving forward.
One kind of takes precedent over the other.
The first one is a 50-year opportunity to renegotiate our franchise agreement with ComEd and then inculcate those benefits into that agreement moving forward.
And then kind of waiting for some of the resolution of that process before we throw money at a problem that we've kind of dealt with for a number of years.
Now, that's basically how I see the process going.
I hope you kind of see my point.
And if not, if you can respect it, I would greatly appreciate it.
But at the end of the day, I think we need to exercise outside resources as often as we can before we use inside resources For example, we have received something on the order of like $80 million in the last five years.
Had we not pursued the options of outside funding first, well, the ratepayers and the taxpayers of Freeport would be paying that $80 million instead of outside funding that's come in.
So in my mind, the first step is you try to spend other agency money or state money or grant money First, and then if you have a need and you still can't get it done, then you look at what we have for our local budget, and do the best you can with that, but my focus is always going to be try to bring the outside resources into the community before I start solving the problems with local funds, because if we solve the problem, we no longer have a need that we can justify to an outside funding agent to provide it.
Well, adding to that, City Manager, is that you are one of our forerunners to gather the information so we can move forward as council to make a determination to help you facilitate those areas that we don't have no clue about and understand the process of all of that and what it would take to create an agenda for that so you'd be able to do your job adequately and then that way you have the confidence and counsel knowing that you get virtually everything that we needed to move forward with.
Well, that's not what we're doing.
I know it's like you got your hands tied when we come to this point to talk about what it is necessarily and then what is necessary and then council we're sitting on our hands with no help moving forward to work with you on any issue.
And so that's my whole problem is that we as council collectively is not really gathering up enough information from you to make rational and in.
Rational and making decisions on whatever program, whatever problems that we're trying to solve, we can stand as individuals, as councils, trying to help you solve resolutions as individuals.
Maybe collectively, if council got together and talked about the subject or the problems and the others that we're having that you want to address.
Then we will move forward with getting things done because you have a clear understanding, council have a mission of clear understanding of what you're trying to achieve.
And the same goes with our public works director.
If anybody was really truly listening to him, He's making appeals on things that he would like to do.
And he's addressing council.
But at the end of the day, at the end of the discussion, we still haven't came together to give him his resolution.
There's no resolution coming from his appeal.
And council has to address whatever director departments are trying to address to a council.
We have to talk about it as a council, as a collective, not as an individual because you never get anything done individually because we're not coming together to discuss the whole thing.
And that's what my problem is.
I just have a different reflection and viewpoints on what we're really doing and how we're gonna help to address these problems that you're trying to pursue.
And to help you get the necessary fundings that is necessary from council as a whole.
Because we're not addressing it all together as collectively as a council.
We're stagnated between all of us and nobody wants to help solve the issues that you're talking about.
Olloman Johnson.
The way I'm understanding this is that we get the franchise agreement with ComEd which will help us in doing our budgeting regarding the lighting situation to maybe help with that and then we'll again identify possibly those sections or intersections or whatever that need the extra lighting so that we can put the plan in place.
So that's kind of, in my understanding, right, that's kind of our direction or the direction to go to bring resolve to the situation.
Incorrect.
Thank you.
Donald, Klemm?
Yes.
I just have a question just on the whole subject.
If I could ask Aaron.
Aaron, last year, I believe, in Rockford, the mayor at one point, I believe, was asking to remove the whole and a whole bunch of street lights and stuff over there.
And maybe it's been longer than a year ago.
Just kind of curious if you knew how that came out and naturally it was in the budgeting thing of how much they were spending on electricity so on and so forth in some of these areas.
And it seems to me like they either did or were gonna take a bunch out and maybe, you know, our contacts with ComEd would know that, you know, to find out more.
But I was just curious how that turned out.
Tom, I apologize.
I'm unaware of that situation in Rockford, but I'll look into it to see if they actually ever removed any streetlights in Rockford.
Thank you.
Okay.
Move on to item number 10, which is public comment.
Tommy?
Jodi Miller is doing a good job as mayor and you're going to come and see my group on something?
Well, we'll have to see about that.
And Stacy did a good job there.
And you too, Chief, you did a good job of being the pre-station of the Freeport.
How you doing?
I'm Kia.
A couple things, I don't know really how to connect the dots, but the art thing, I don't have any problem with art, but I'm just a little concerned about why the art is mainly on Chicago Street if it says Freeport.
I mean, I ain't got no problem with it even being downtown, but why is it only being on Chicago Street?
It's for everybody to enjoy, everybody to spend money.
I mean, you can spend money all over Freeport.
Porter.
So I'm just thinking like if we got to do something like that and you got to get brought to us in front of us, all the wards are up here.
Art should be in every ward.
It brightens up everybody day, don't it?
That was one thing.
And then I'm thinking like the connection with these street lights that nobody's actually, I mean they're connecting with it, but it's kind of, I feel like it's getting brushed under the rug.
We had a lady that died.
It was plenty of cameras on the street.
Nobody could see nothing.
It was a and a big party on the streets.
She left three kids behind.
We are losing, let me tell you, I'm gonna keep it real.
We losing black people to violence in the areas that y'all know better than to just keep on talking about this everywhere.
That's crap.
Y'all know where this crime is happening at.
Y'all know where it's high at and where it's low at.
I feel like y'all just sweeping under the rug because I didn't remember this being in depth when Chicago, you can't even tell downtown.
If it's day or night down there with all the brightest lights in the world down there.
So I'm just trying to figure out why is it so deep to just put some lights.
Y'all find money for everything, I mean everything.
How come we couldn't put lights in the darkest places?
She said it's only one light on her block.
That should have been discussed.
It's streets right now, I'm missing street signs and you know why you don't know is because half of y'all talk about it and don't go over there.
You can walk your dog all day long, but I don't believe for two seconds as you being the representative of the street department that you missed every era in the fifth and third ward.
It's a bunch of crap that you up here talking that it's just mom and pop brush under rug stuff.
These is real concerns.
Get it done.
Any other public comment?
You might want to wait till you get to the microphone.
It's okay, we'll wait.
I feel things really quick that I wanted to kind of which means that as a community we help each other so here's one of the issues that I have and I want to address you sir with this billing thing that you have going on it sounds like to me you need a specialist who does credential because for somebody who has over 30 years in the field it seems like you're billing on an outdated system maybe you don't know this because you're the fire Department.
But there are two books that deal with medical billing.
One is the CPT, which is the current procedural terminology book.
The other one is the ICD, which is International Classification of Diseases.
We're up to edition 11 right now.
So if you don't have a credentialer who can negotiate with these insurance companies to get you the best dollar for whatever the procedure is, come see me.
I got you.
As a community member, I would extend that to you.
And as she was saying, talking about these lights, now city manager, would you rather spend the money on the lights or would you rather spend the money on wrongful death suits?
Cause let one of my grandkids get hit on this dark street.
I'm coming for the city, understand that.
Because we have an opportunity to do something about it.
That's why we're here.
That's why we're voicing these problems.
And this nepotism that happens in Freeport and let's not all sit here and act like it doesn't happen.
That's why he's not getting paid and we're not getting the money because you're putting people in positions and they have no idea what they're doing.
They're your best friend's niece and you say, hey, I got you, I'm gonna get you a job.
And they have no idea how to do the job.
Ask me how I know I sat in Freeport Memorial Hospital three weeks ago with neuropathy pain and I had to instruct the nurse on how to handle me because she didn't know what she was doing.
She couldn't get the IV started, I had to walk her through it.
And then they felt inferior because here I am this young black girl coming to tell them how to do their jobs.
Well, if you had paid attention in school, we wouldn't have this problem.
And then to have a doctor walk out of the room on me because he felt, well, if you know how to treat yourself, what'd you come here for?
If I had the equipment at home, I wouldn't have to come here.
However.
Com, to talk about Medicare and Medicaid, I'm medically retired.
Somebody who's been in the healthcare field for over 30 years, I wish I could work.
I wish I could work.
So those monies come from, you have people like myself who, well, I've survived seven strokes.
So to be able to even stand here today is a blessing.
And our Bible tells us as the one, the lady who prayed, in God we trust.
It says, in all thy getting, get an understanding.
So that's why I'm here tonight, because I watched this atrocity of a council meeting last week.
Ma'am, your time has expired.
Thank you.
Okay.
You're good for doing that.
Madam Mayor, nepotism.
Any other public comments?
I'm done.
Please, please.
I'm done.
I'm walking to the door.
I'm leaving.
And if you want to continue to talk out of order, you could be removed as well.
Are there any other public comments this evening?
If not, I will entertain a motion to adjourn.
So moved.
Second.
All those in favor signify by saying aye.