By JEFF LAMPE
For The Prairie News
FARMINGTON – Never underestimate the power of a petition.
After a long discussion about rezoning a business on Monday night, the Farmington City Council voted 3-2 in favor of the change.
“The motion passes,” Mayor Kenn Stufflebeam said of the vote to rezone 447 W. Fulton St. from I-1 light industrial to I-2 heavy industrial.
“No, it doesn’t,” said the faint voice of City Attorney Bill Connor, who was monitoring the meeting online via computer.
Connor explained that because of an anti-rezoning petition signed by 61 residents and turned in moments earlier by resident Sarah Veach, the ordinance needed a two-thirds majority of the council to pass. In other words, approval came up one vote short.
Voting in favor of the ordinance were council members Alex Gilles, Leslye Smith and Dave Rose. Opposed were Joey Boggs and Nate Fleming. Jeni Crusen was absent.
After another discussion, the council voted unanimously to reconsider the ordinance at its next meeting on Aug. 3.
Business-owner Justin Stevens sought rezoning for a building on the south side of his property at 447 W. Fulton St. to accommodate a new steel-fabrication company. The company, to be operated by Dimitri Kapsalis and his wife, Farmington native Ashlan Kapsalis, hopes to eventually hire 10-12 workers.
The city’s planning commission had voted 5-0 in favor of the zoning change on July 6, at which time the council also indicated it was in favor of the change.
But several residents in a crowd of nearly 20 voiced concerns about the zoning change, which would allow noise from the business to pass beyond its property line.
Veach said hydraulic steel presses to be used by the new company would make a sound that reaches 80-100 decibels each time one hits a piece of steel.
“That’s a little loud on an eight-hour shift,” she said, noting there are six autistic children nearby who could be adversely impacted by the noise.
Veach, who lives two houses away from the business at 87 N. Hickory St., said she took her petition around to other residents who live near the business. The petition stated, “We the undersigned do not believe the property, 447 W. Fulton St., should be rezoned as I-2 heavy industrial. As this property is in a residential neighborhood with a city park one-half block away.”
Jim Van Houten lives at 55 N. Hickory St., directly west of the proposed business, and said he worries it would hurt property values. Other neighbors said they merely wanted to know more about the business.
Still others said the new factory would help Farmington.
“It’s shocking to hear how anti-jobs and anti-business some of our city folk are,” said Matt Ulm, who lives two blocks away from the business. “We need more jobs here and people who will do business in town.”
Ashlan Kapsalis said she helped convince her father-in-law, Stephen Kapsalis of Louisville, Ky., to locate the business in Farmington instead of Peoria.
“I want to be a good neighbor,” she said. “We’re going to be here. We’re in the community. I don’t want our community to get ruined, I just want to help it.”
Her husband, Dimitri Kapsalis, said the company does not actually need rezoning to start work because noise will be under legal thresholds.
That prompted other residents in the crowd to ask, “Then why make the zoning change?”
Stevens said he does not think the noise will be as much of a factor as people were indicating.
“A lot of it is the unknown,” he said, noting hydraulic presses in the new business actually require less pressure to operate than the mechanical presses in his shop. And Stevens said he has heard no complaints about the noise from his business, Phoenix Industries, where he manufactures parts and pieces for hollow metal door frames.
In other business, the council also tabled an ordinance that would limit how many times residents can request adjustments to their sewer bills. Resident Mike Cecil said limiting residents to two adjustments per year is too few.
Stufflebeam said he will amend the ordinance, with three or four adjustments both mentioned, to bring back for a future meeting.
In new business, the council voted 5-0 in favor of an intergovernmental agreement with Farmington Public Library for a $150,000 TIF grant. The grant will be paid out at $15,000 per year over the next 10 years to build and maintain an outdoor classroom.
The council also voted 5-0 to sell lots at 66 W. Fort St. located across from the U.S. Post Office.
With a crowd on hand, several other topics were also discussed.
• Brick sidewalks – Resident Gail Shockey asked whether the city could do something about replacing brick sidewalks in the city.
Stufflebeam said the city is planning a sidewalk-replacement program for next summer through which the city would use TIF money to pay half the cost of new sidewalks. The homeowner would be responsible for the other half. “It will be first come, first served,” Stufflebeam said.
• Road repairs – A resident asked when permanent repairs will be made to trenches dug by Illinois American Water to install new water lines. Stufflebeam said the Illinois EPA is involved and requires a permit to inspect each project, which could take 90-120 days. He said Idlewhile Drive will be the first to be repaired since work started there.
