The short version
Garrick Kasper is Kankakee's next fire chief, starting Nov. 2. The council voted 11-0.
Three fire stations and the hydroelectric plant get new roofs from Langlois Roofing for $372,850, with competitive bidding waived.
A $47,907 no-bid repair at the Kankakee Neighborhood House was tabled until the first meeting in December so the city can collect more bids.
Engineering on the East Riverwalk goes up by $131,894 after a run of surprises at the site.
Trick-or-treat hours in Kankakee are 5 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31.
Mayor Chris Curtis called the meeting to order a few minutes after 7 p.m. and adjourned it at 8:18. Nobody signed up for public comment. Eleven of the council's 14 members voted on every item: Reginald Jones, Lenora Noble, Kelly Johnson, Carmen Lewis, Victor Nevarez, Lance Marczak, Danita Swanson, Dale Tolly, Larry Osenga, Michael O'Brien and David Baron. Michael Cobbs, Cherry Malone-Marshall and Michael Prude were not among them.
A fire chief from outside the department
The council approved the mayor's appointment of Garrick Kasper as fire chief, 11-0, on a motion by Swanson seconded by Jones. Curtis said Kasper is currently the fire chief in Oak Lawn and will stay there through the end of October. His first day in Kankakee is Monday, Nov. 2. Curtis said Kasper lives on Kankakee's west side.
Kasper replaces Chief Bryan LaRoche, who had planned to retire Sept. 7 and agreed twice to stay on while the search ran long. Curtis said two committees interviewed candidates over several months. He acknowledged that hiring from outside the department can make firefighters nervous. He said he does not expect Kasper to "turn over the cart," and called Kankakee's department one of the best in the state. The deputy chief job is still open. Curtis said he wanted the new chief in place before that choice is made.
Monday was LaRoche's last council meeting. Jones and Marczak thanked him from the dais, and LaRoche thanked the council for new ambulances, a new engine and a new aerial truck during his tenure.
Four roofs, no bidding
The council waived competitive bidding and hired Langlois Roofing for four roof replacements. Each vote was 11-0.
| Building | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fire Station No. 2 | $66,300 |
| Fire Station No. 5 | $124,250 |
| Fire Station No. 6 | $101,800 |
| Kankakee hydroelectric plant | $80,500 |
| Total | $372,850 |
Curtis said this year's hail and tornado damage left many city buildings needing new roofs, and insurance money is still coming in. The city priced these four through TIPS, a national purchasing cooperative that school districts and park districts use, similar to the Sourcewell program Kankakee uses to buy vehicles. Curtis said the city expected TIPS to send a letter confirming the contractor and price were vetted. It did not, which he called "a little weird." The city has asked its outside lawyers to check whether the TIPS route holds up.
In the meantime, the council used its home-rule power to waive bidding, which takes a two-thirds vote, or 10 of 14 aldermen. Curtis called it "belts and suspenders." He said going out to bid would take about six weeks and push the work into winter, and the fire stations are occupied around the clock. He said the hydro plant's roof protects new electrical equipment. Asked by Jones whether Langlois is local, city officials said it is a Kankakee contractor and a union one. The resolutions say the work is meant to be finished before winter.
Curtis said more roofs are coming, including the public safety center where the council meets, the administration building and an Environmental Services Utility building. The city may bid those the conventional way, depending on what the lawyers say.
One no-bid job got sent back
The fifth no-bid item, $47,907 to PSI for emergency repairs at the Kankakee Neighborhood House, did not pass. Curtis said the building has wall and framing problems but is "probably not as urgent" as the roofs. O'Brien moved to table it until the council's first meeting in December so the city can get more bids. The city had one proposal. The motion passed 9-1. Swanson voted no and Baron abstained, citing a potential conflict of interest.
East Riverwalk engineering goes up $131,894
The council approved a supplemental contract with Piggush Engineering worth $131,894, according to the resolution in the agenda packet, to cover construction oversight on the East Riverwalk. The vote was 10-0, with Baron abstaining over a potential conflict.
City engineer Neil Piggush, whose firm holds the contract, listed what went wrong after bidding: mussels in the river had to be relocated, ComEd had to move a power pole, crews hit contaminated soil near the river, bad soil under the pavilion forced a foundation redesign, and the old harbor wall could not be saved. He said the steep riverbank kept crews from testing some ground before work began. He said the contractor expects paving, concrete and pavers to be done by the end of the year, possibly by Thanksgiving, with landscaping depending on weather.
In his update, Curtis said the city closed Monday afternoon on the former church at West Avenue and River Street, a property he said it bought for the Riverwalk. He said there are no plans to tear it down.
Housing rehab rules loosened to spend federal money by Dec. 31
The council passed, 11-0, changes to two city home-repair programs. Director Brewer-Watson, who runs the program, said the rental rehab program drops its termite inspection requirement and raises its maximum to $30,000 because material costs have risen. The moderate-income program gets the same changes and also drops the homeowner's matching payment. She said the money, from the federal pandemic relief package, has to be spent by Dec. 31, and the changes should clear the waiting list.
Sister city with Yuriria, Mexico
The council voted 11-0 to reaffirm Kankakee's sister-city tie with Yuriria, Mexico, first approved in 2002. Curtis said a small city group leaves Oct. 28, and he and City Clerk Stacy Gall will sign the reaffirmation in Yuriria on Oct. 31. He said many Kankakee families trace their roots there. He said the city plans to join an Illinois sister-cities organization and keep up regular contact, which he said had lapsed.
Everything else
- Halloween and events (approved 11-0): trick-or-treat hours of 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 31. Also approved: Kankakee Development Corp.'s "Coffee, Cars & Cigars" on East Merchant Street, Oct. 25, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.; a Halloween block event on the 1000 block of Cobb Boulevard, Oct. 31, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.; a noise permit for Beautiful Moments LLC at 460 N. Schuyler Ave., Oct. 31, 6 to 11 p.m.; a Kankakee Forgives tag day Nov. 13; and a Sherwin-Williams closure of North Greenwood Avenue between Fair and East Willow streets Oct. 21 and 22, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., for rooftop HVAC work.
- Bills: the council approved $323,733.54 in city bills, $784,997.32 for the Environmental Services Utility and $37,304.35 for the Economic Development Agency. Several aldermen abstained on individual checks, citing potential conflicts.
- Cobb Boulevard and Harbor Street: a no-cost change to the engineering agreement on finished sidewalk and road projects there, paid with state motor fuel tax money. Piggush said it only shifts money between budget lines. Passed 10-0, Baron abstaining.
- 2027: council meeting dates and city holidays for next year, both 11-0.
- Closed session: about 15 minutes, listed for reviewing closed-session minutes and possible real estate purchases. The only action afterward was approving the closed-session minutes, 11-0.
- Roads and grants: Piggush said this year's resurfacing program is finished. He said the city must bid its $5 million Riverfront Trail project by the end of next year and is aiming for a September 2027 state letting. Appraisals are underway for West Avenue property, and the city applied Oct. 5 for a $5 million ITEP transportation grant for West Avenue, with an answer expected in April or May.
- Planning board, Tuesday: Director King said the planning board will hear two short-term rental requests, at 665 N. Kennedy Drive (5th Ward) and 838 N. Rosewood Ave. (1st Ward).
- Shootings: Curtis said police are working several leads on shootings over the weekend, including one early Friday and one Saturday that he believed was on Hickory Street. He did not give more detail and said he would let police do their work.
The next regular City Council meeting is Monday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m. at the Donald E. Green Public Safety Center, 385 E. Oak St.
How we reported this. This story is based on the city's video recording of the meeting and the 149-page agenda packet the city posted. YouTube had not posted captions yet, so we transcribed the city's recording ourselves and checked names, dollar amounts and vote counts against the agenda packet and the clerk's announced tallies. Quotes are from the recording. Formal minutes will be approved at a later meeting. See How We Report.
Sources: meeting recording (YouTube) · Oct. 19 agenda packet (PDF) · Local government tracker
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