Kewanee police officers will patrol Kewanee Park District parks, under an agreement approved Monday by the City Council. The Kewanee Park District oversees Northeast, Windmont, Chautauqua, Liberty and Baker parks.
The agreement calls for the park district to pay the city $30.91 per hour for “routine patrol and security services” in the parks, according to a memo to the council from Police Chief Stephen Kijanowski.
The city will provide an officer and a patrol car.
“While the agreement does not separately bill for vehicle use or other equipment, the partnership provides several non-financial benefits to the city and community,” Kijanowski wrote in the memo. “Increased police presence in local parks helps deter criminal activity, improves overall safety for park users and strengthens the relationship between the police department and the community.”
Kijanowski told the council that officers will work four-hour shifts in the parks. Their work in the parks won’t be counted as overtime for the city or have any effect on their pensions, he said.
The police work in the parks will probably total 20 hours a week, Kijanowski said.
Councilman Adam Cernovich expressed concern that police officers might work too many hours a week between their city job and the park patrols. He said the police department will have to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Kijanowski said this won’t be an issue. “We track all that stuff anyway,” he said.
Also Monday, the council took no action on paying the Illinois Department of Transportation for engineering work on a street repair project on West South Street.
The plan is to resurface 1.42 miles of the street.
Cernovich said the council last summer approved paying Hutchison Engineering for the same type of work on the project. Until more details on what engineers are doing what jobs, the council decided to hold off on approving any payments.
Illinois Department of Transportation officials have told the city that work on South Street can begin this summer, but Mayor Gary Moore said, “I personally do not have a lot faith in the time line we’ve been given by IDOT.”
Public Works Manager Chris Berry said the city’s share of the engineering costs to IDOT would be $10,000.
