Peoria Standard

City of Batavia City Council met March 11.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

1. Meeting Called to Order 7:00pm

2. Roll Call

      Present: Barazza, Lanci, Beck, Pieper, Malone, Wolff, Baerren, Leman, Ajazi, Vogelsinger

      Absent: Solfa*, Malay, Uher, Cerone

      Also in Attendance: Zach Ewoldt, Drew Rackow, Scott Buening, Gary Holm, Rahat Bari, Jeff Albertson, Mayor Schielke, Kevin Drendel, Laura Newman, Ellyn Theis

3. Reminder: Please Speak Into The Mic for BATV

4. Items Removed/Added/Changed

5. ORDINANCE 2025-018: Amending Title 8, Chapter 3 Of The Batavia City Code: Penalties For Violations Of The Sanitary Sewerage System Code (LN 3/7/2025) 

      *Ald Solfa joined the meeting at 7:10pm

      Laura Newman introduced the urgent need to amend the city's sanitary sewage system code. Normally, such changes would go through the Committee of the Whole before reaching the council, but due to a serious incident involving chemical discharge that caused $40,000 in damage to the city’s treatment facility, the matter was brought forward on an expedited basis.

      The current code, last updated in 1988, only allows for a $200 penalty per violation, which is insufficient. The new ordinance increases the penalty to a range between $1,000 and $20,000 per incident and allows the city to recover costs from violators.

      While the city is pursuing civil action in the recent case, officials noted the importance of a broader update to the code and discussed the potential for a business registration program to help monitor chemical use more effectively.

      Motion: To Approve Ordinance as Presented

      Maker: Wolff

      Second: Lanci

      Roll Call

      Aye: Barazza, Lanci, Beck, Pieper, Malone, Solfa, Wolff, Baerren, Leman, Ajazi, Vogelsinger

      Nay: None

      11-0, 3 Absent, Motion Carries

6. Adjournment

      Motion: To Adjourn Special Meeting

      Maker: Solfa

      Second: Malone

      Voice Vote: 11-0, 3 Absent, Motion Carries.

https://www.bataviail.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/21636?fileID=16623