DeKALB — The City Council continued discussing its search fora new city manager Monday, with area businessman and radio host Jim Mason throwing his name in the hat.

Former city manager Anne Marie Gaura left her position March 23. Her tenure as city manager began January 2014, when she signed a $168,171.95 four-year contract set to expire Dec. 31.

“I am [volunteering my services] because I am afraid we might miss the chance to turn the corner to a brighter and more solvent future,” Mason said. “I was in this building when it opened. Things haven’t changed all that much.”

Mason is the host of Inconvenient Truth on 1360 WLBK and operates businesses in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Rockford, Sycamore and West Chicago.

DeKalb resident Dwayne Brown said the new city manager needs to be disciplined, confident and creative, among other things. He said Mason has the ability to reduce crime, as well as create a better relationship with NIU.

DeKalb has also been seeking a city engineer since February 2017 and has temporarily been partnered with WBK Engineering of St. Charles.

Tim Holdeman, DeKalb Public Works director, proposed the city look to hire a consulting firm rather than a single engineer, and said the price of a firm would end up costing the same or less than a single engineer after salary and benefits are taken into consideration.

“We lack continuity,” Holdeman said. “We lack the ability to count on the engineer being here in the long term.”

Holdeman said since 2017, the city has focused on finding out what it will need in its next engineer.

DeKalb Mayor Jerry Smith said Holdeman’s proposed method could mean having a different engineer every month, something he is concerned with. Smith said he would rather have continuity in the engineer the city is working with.

First Ward Alderperson David Jacobson said contracts with firms usually have an understanding about hours worked, and then the year goes by and the city finds out they doubled or tripled the number of hours allowed.

Safe Streets Initiative

DeKalb Police Chief Gene Lowery addressed the council about the implementation of a plan to reduce crime in the west corridor of the city.

Phase three of Safe Streets Initiative would prohibit parking in the neighborhoods west of Annie Glidden Road and north of campus from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. Violators would be towed.

Safe Streets Initiative is a program with its first two phases already completed. Phase one limited street parking in the area near Russell Road and Crane Drive and phase two extended the areas in which residents are allowed to park.

“Phase one has been implemented fairly well without any thundering pushback or incidents involving its actual implementation,” Lowery said. “We’ve already noticed, anecdotally, some positive changes in behavior as the season warms up, so we’re looking optimistically to see what the results are over a period of time.”

Parking in these areas will be allowed with a $25 permit if a person can prove their residence, need for extra parking and have proof of insurance for their vehicle, according to the Safe Streets Initiative webpage.

“Students pay at least $92 for their annual parking permits to park on campus,” Cassandra Kamp, Student Association legislative director, said. “An additional $25 on top of that cost to park leaves students with a tight situation and an empty pocket.”

Lowery said there are already cost-effective options available to students, such as free parking in the university’s lots from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday through Friday and the HuskieLine.

Lowery showed council members a presentation featuring photos taken by a drone of the residential parking areas Sunday morning, starting at 5 a.m. The photos showed half-full parking lots at apartment complexes, like Aspen and Echo Park, both in the neighborhoods affected most by phases three and four.

Costs associated with the program will be presented to council members before the third phase is implemented sometime in May.

The council also discussed Sunday’s grassroots downtown cleanup and commended its coordinator Cate Cardella for organizing a group of 80 volunteers.

“After Lord Stanley’s got condemned for a hot minute, there was a lot of discussion in the ‘You Know You’re from DeKalb, Illinois When’ Facebook page,” Cardella said. “We had 40 people volunteer [for a cleanup], but 80 people showed up.”

Cardella said what’s most surprising about the cleanup is the city’s desperate need for ashtrays.

“It’s easy to point a finger, but how do we make a difference,” Jacobson asked. “To see all of these constituents come out was powerful.”