EVANSTON — At the regular meeting of the Evanston City Council on Tuesday, Feb. 4, the first item of business was to unanimously approve the reappointment of Rowdy Dean to the Evanston Planning and Zoning Commission.

A public hearing was then held to solicit public comment regarding the application for a transfer of ownership of a retail liquor license from Grille at Purple Sage LLC to Evanston Golf Club Inc. City Attorney Dennis Boal asked for public comments, and there were no objections or comments. He said the application process had been filed and published in the newspaper.  Boal then read the motion to approve the transfer of ownership of a retail liquor license.

Bill Law, secretary of the Evanston Golf Club Board said a three-year lease with Mick Kindler had been signed the previous week to manage the restaurant and bar at the golf course. Law said he will be coming back to another council meeting to ask for a transfer of the liquor license from the golf club to Kindler. 

The motion was unanimously approved.

Under new business, there were three ordinances up for first reading. Evasnston Police Chief Jon Kirby addressed all three.

Ordinance 20-01 would amend Section 15-33, Resisting Arrest and repeal Section 18-8, Resisting, to eliminate duplication within the City Code and to mirror the language of the state statute for the crime of “interference with police officer.” 

“The ordinance will clean up the terminology by eliminating nearly 80 words,” Kirby said, “and will make it clear for the officers and the court. The new language of the crime of “interference with police officer” will be consistent with state statute.” 

It will now read: “A person commits a crime if he knowingly obstructs, impedes or interferes with or resists arrest by a police officer while engaged in the lawful performance of his official duties and upon conviction shall be sentenced pursuant to Section 1-5 of the City Code.”

Ordinance 20-01 with the amended Section 15-33 and repeal of Section 18-8 was passed and approved on first reading.

Ordinance 20-02 would amend subsections B, C, and D of Section 15-12, Drug Paraphernalia, of the city code to make it possible for the court to issue a sentence which includes both a fine and jail time for a conviction involving drug paraphernalia.

Kirby said that currently subsections B, C, and D of the code provide the court with authority to sentence a person convicted of a drug paraphernalia crime to jail for not more than six months or fined not more than $750 — but not both.

The new ordinance would state: Whereas it is in the public’s interest to grant the court authority to issue criminal sentences which include both a fine and jail time in drug paraphernalia cases.

Ordinance 20-02 with the amended subsections was passed and approved on first reading.

Ordinance 20-03, the last ordinance Kirby addressed, would amend section 12-38, Reckless Driving, of the city code to make it possible for the court to issue a sentence with includes both a fine and jail time for a conviction of reckless driving.

Kirby said that currently the city code limits the penalty that can be imposed on a person convicted of reckless driving to a fine of not more than $750. He added that it is in the best interest of the public to allow the court authority to issue criminal sentences in reckless driving cases which may include a fine, jail time or both.

The amended section 12-38 would now read: “Any person who drives any vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving and upon conviction, may be imprisoned for not more than six months or fined not more than $750 or both.”

Ordinance 20 -03 with the amended section was passed and approved on first reading.

All three Ordinances will be presented to the city council for two more readings each before final approval.

Next on the was Resolution 20-05, authorizing the execution of a contract for services with Arts, Inc. dba: Young Musicians, to provide the annual Celtic Music Festival.

For a number of years, Young Musicians has organized and put on a Celtic music festival in Evanston. This festival provides music education and cultural activities for community members and also promotes tourism.

The City of Evanston agrees to pay the sum of $3,600 for the promotion of tourism to Evanston for the 2020 festival held at the Roundhouse.

Resolution 20-05 was unanimously approved.

Evanston Director of Public Works Gordon Robinson addressed the last item on the agenda, which was a motion to award the bid for one Wheeler Caterpillar equipped with auto-lube, bucket, coupler, snowplow, and snow wing with end gate to the apparent low bidder.

“Wheeler Machinery gave us the best trade-in offer,” Robinson said, “and, as stated in the work session, we are happy with this piece of equipment and it will meet our needs.”

The motion to award the bid to Wheeler Machinery was approved.

The cost of the new 2020 Wheeler machine is $245,799 less a $32,000 trade-in value. The council chose to go with that bid rather than a used Volvo machine with 498 hours of usage. The cost of the used Volvo was $232,890 less a smaller trade-in of $27,500.

Robinson also said he appreciated governor and mayor for the recent proclamation recognizing the public works employees.