Wheaton council adopts downtown "Blue Dot" parking rules; approves equipment purchases, appointment and generator engineering contract

At its Feb. 18 meeting the Wheaton City Council approved a set of ordinances, resolutions and appointments affecting downtown parking, public safety equipment and the police department's backup power.

The council unanimously adopted an ordinance amending the city's Code of Ordinances (Chapter 70, Article 4) to establish a three-hour customer parking restriction downtown and to create a "Blue Dot" program to allow employees to park past certain time limits in designated areas. Mr. Dugan, city staff, told the council the proposal responds to a months-long analysis of downtown parking and staff will "be very aggressive with communicating the changes with the downtown community, in particular the business community" and will monitor the program after implementation. Staff said the Blue Dot program would be effective July 1, with communications planned ahead of a July 25 launch. The ordinance passed on final vote. Roll-call votes recorded: Councilwoman Lynn Robbins — yes; Councilman Weller — yes; Councilman Barbier — yes; Councilwoman Ray Parker — yes; Councilman Brown — yes; Mayor Seese — yes; Councilman Clousing — yes. (Unanimous.)

The council approved an appointment, by concurrence, of Michael Hill to the downtown design review board for a term through Nov. 20, 2026; the seat is designated to the Historic Commission. The appointment passed by unanimous roll-call vote.

The council authorized a purchase of firefighting personnel equipment from Dinges Fire Equipment through the Sourcewell Purchasing Cooperative for an amount listed on the agenda as "not to exceed $40,950." City staff stated in the meeting record that their memorandum recommended purchase of 10 sets of turnout gear and protective equipment and referenced an approximate figure of $41,000, noting the purchase was about $30,000 under budget. The resolution authorizing the purchase passed on unanimous roll-call vote.

The council approved a resolution to execute Agreement No. 529 with Clark Dietz Inc. for professional engineering services related to replacement of the police department generator, with a contract amount not to exceed $52,620 plus a 10% contingency. Staff explained the project expands scope to remove the old unit from the building, relocate it outside and address exhaust issues; staff said the project is about $42,000 over budget but that reserves would cover the cost. The council recorded unanimous approval after questions about vendor experience; Vince Lorraine, director of public works, said the city had positive experiences with Clark Dietz on other projects.

The council approved warrant number 890 in the amount of $2,027,186.46. The roll-call vote to approve the warrant was unanimous.

Finally, the council voted to enter closed session to review closed-session minutes and to discuss personnel matters under the Illinois Open Meetings Act, citing 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(21) and 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1). The motion passed on a unanimous roll-call vote; the council said no further action was planned after the executive session that night.

Ending: All listed items passed unanimously; staff said they will proceed with communications (for the parking changes), procurement (for equipment and engineering services) and scheduling for construction and implementation per the timelines discussed at the meeting.