Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Government Actions topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Marion council adopts 2021 building codes, approves $1.68M street contract and package of grants and purchases
Summary
At its regular meeting, the Marion City Council adopted updated 2021 building and residential codes and approved a $1,675,194.94 street resurfacing contract, multiple grant-management actions and several capital purchases including 1,200 water meters. A resident raised an animal-control complaint during public comment.
Mayor Absher opened the July meeting of the Marion City Council and led the body in a roll call and the Pledge of Allegiance before moving to a slate of business items. The council voted to adopt ordinance 41-21 to update the city's international building, fire and property maintenance codes from the 2018 editions to the 2021 editions and to adopt the 2021 International Residential Code.
The adoption places Marion on the 2021 standard codes used by many municipalities and, according to Mayor Absher, reflects work by the codes department: "Cody and I, and Wendy have met with codes department, and they're recommending, and I am moving that we approve ordinance 41-21," he said during the meeting. The motion was seconded and passed on a roll-call vote.
Why it matters: updating to the 2021 codes affects permitting, inspection standards and construction compliance citywide and sets the regulatory baseline for new and remodeled buildings. City staff framed the change as an update from older 2018 editions to the newer model codes.
Votes at a glance: the council approved a package of ordinances, contracts and purchases during the meeting:
- Ordinance 41-21: Adopt 2021 building, fire and property maintenance codes — approved on roll call. - Fiscal Year 27 TIF grant applications (received through 07/10/2026) — approved on roll call. - Engineering agreement with Horner Shifrin for the Washington School Safe Routes to School project — approved on roll call (Commissioner Patton recorded an abstention). - Street resurfacing contract (low bidder E.T. Simons) — awarded for $1,675,194.94 to resurface various streets; approved on roll call. - Great House Painting contract for aquatic-area painting — low bid approved for $57,300; approved on roll call. - Purchase of 1,200 Zener water meters (phase 2) — approved for $133,200; approved on roll call. - PSC Civil Engineers and Land Surveyors to administer the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) housing grant application (city applied for roughly $700,000) — approved on roll call. - Ordinance 41-22: Renewal of a five-year project labor agreement with the Egyptian Building and Construction Trades Council — approved on roll call. - Vaughn's Roofing quote to repair Civic Center roof flashing — approved for $15,989; approved on roll call. - Motion to find that specified closed-session minutes remain confidential under the Illinois Open Meetings Act — approved on roll call.
Several items generated discussion before votes. On the Washington School Safe Routes engineering agreement, Mayor Absher explained the city would pay from a project fund to expedite work rather than wait an estimated six months for motor fuel tax funding to clear. That approach was described as a timing and cash-flow decision, and Commissioner Patton abstained on the roll call for that item.
On streets, the Street Department reported only one bid was received for the asphalt overlay program and that the winning bid exceeded the engineer's estimate by about $200,000 and the city's budget by about $40,000, citing high oil prices as a contributing factor. Street Department staff and council members discussed timing concerns and plant availability; the council approved the E.T. Simons contract at $1,675,194.94.
City staff noted the CDBG application request was larger this year (roughly $700,000) and recommended contracting PSC Civil Engineers and Land Surveyors to administer the grant if awarded. The council approved PSC to manage the program and the related administrative contract.
Public comment and next steps: a resident identified at the meeting as Larry used public comment to recount a May incident in which his dog got loose, said animal-control previously found no violation, and asked the council and police to review dispatch logs about a late-night police visit. Mayor Absher said he would ask the police chief to review dispatch records and follow up with the resident.
The meeting ended with a motion to enter executive session to discuss property matters under the Illinois Open Meetings Act; the mayor said no further business would follow the executive session.
Sources and attribution: direct quotes and attributions are limited to speakers recorded in the meeting transcript, including Mayor Absher and resident Larry. Where a motion, vote or ordinance is described, the article reports the item exactly as recorded in the transcript and notes votes and abstentions where they were recorded.
Ending note: Council actions will take effect according to the normal implementation timelines and applicable ordinances; staff identified the CDBG grant application and the Safe Routes project as items to be advanced via staff-administered contracts and follow-up work.
