Carbondale Reporter

City of Carterville City Council met March 12.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

The meeting was held in the Council Chambers with Mayor Bradley M. Robinson presiding. He called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

ROLL CALL

Bradley M. Robinson Mayor Present

Khristina Hollister City Clerk Present

Michele A. Edwards Deputy City Clerk Present

Mark Carney City Treasurer Present

Devin Miller Alderman/Ward 2 Present

Phyllis Emery Alderman/Ward 4 Present

Teri Ingram Alderman/Ward 3 Present

John Allsopp Alderman/Ward 3 Present

Curt Oetjen Alderman/Ward 2 Absent

Cindy Claunch Alderman/Ward 4 Present

Rod Sievers Alderman/Ward 1 Present

Bud Edwards Alderman/Ward 1 Present

The Mayor declared a quorum present.

Present at the meeting were: James Lawson, Fire Department; Michael Flaningam, Police Chief; Ralph Graul, Building Inspector; Mike and Nancy Nilson, Citizen; Janice McConnaughy, Citizen; Jacob Kierbs and daughter Emily Kierbs, Citizens; Christie Mitchell, The Courier; and Morgan Lentz, City Office Clerk.

Motion 1: Allsopp moved and Claunch seconded to approve the minutes of the City Council Regular Meeting of February 13, 2024. A roll call vote was taken, and all present voted yea. The Mayor declared the motion carried.

Motion 2: Emery moved and Ingram seconded to approve the minutes of the City Council Special Meeting of February 22, 2024. A roll call vote was taken, and all present voted yea. The Mayor declared the motion carried.

Mark Carney, City Treasurer, presented the Treasurer's Report for February 2024 with a total cash and investments of $6,374,324.32.

Motion 3: Emery moved and Allsopp seconded to approve the February 2024 Treasurer's Report as presented. A roll call vote was taken, and all present voted yea. The Mayor declared the motion carried.

Recognition of Guests - No Comments

Dax Mezo and Mark Columbo, SI Waste Containers, attended the meeting to explain their firm is planning to bid on the trash removal contract. SI Waste has been in business for approximately 15 years and has several communities under contract for trash removal. They bid on the last contract five years ago and are looking forward to bidding again, in hopes of serving Carterville.

A young lady, Emily Kierbs, addressed the Council about her willingness to help people in the community and explained that she is interested in the Council meetings. The Council thanked her for her interest and explained that she is welcome to attend anytime.

Motion 4: Sievers moved and Emery seconded to approve payment of the monthly bills as presented by the City Clerk. A roll call vote was taken, and all present voted yea. The Mayor declared the motion carried.

Engineering Report

Donnie Smoot, PSC Engineering, was not available tonight. The Mayor explained the pending projects are proceeding as planned.

Departments/Committees

Cannon Park (Community Building) and James Street Park

The Mayor presented a request for a Community Center fee waiver for Hospice of Southern Illinois for a Hospice Bingo Event on May 30, 2024.

Motion 5: Emery moved and Miller seconded to approve a fee waiver request for May 30, 2024 for Hospice of Southern Illinois. All present voted yea and the roll call vote was taken, and all present voted yea. The Mayor declared the motion carried.

The Mayor explained a request from Bonnie Reisin-Sievers to consider disabling the lights at Cannon Park during the April 8th Eclipse. When the sky darkens the lights come on and spoil the effects of the eclipse.

Motion 6: Allsopp moved and Emery seconded to approve the request to disable the Cannon Park lights during the Eclipse. All present voted yea and the Mayor declared the motion carried.

Street/Maintenance Department

The Mayor introduced a request to finish the approach on our right-of-way side of the Municipal Drive for S&N Partners (John Deere). Jerry Hampton, Street Superintendent, suggested the City personnel complete this work in-house. The City can hire two concrete finishers to finish the concrete, and our Street Department staff will prepare the forms and pour the concrete. This is estimated to cost $14,000.00 and can be paid from the TIF III funds.

Motion 7: Edwards moved and Emery seconded to hire two concrete finishers and authorize City staff to complete the work on Municipal Drive, Phase 2. A roll call vote was taken, and all present voted yea. The Mayor declared the motion carried.

Motion 8: Allsopp moved and Ingram seconded to allow the Carterville Christian Church to replace their signs (pending location approval from the Street Superintendent). All present voted yea and the Mayor declared the motion carried.

The Mayor presented a request from Jerry Hampton for three seasonal employees for Summer 2024. Edwards asked about age and the Mayor confirmed the consensus of committees as 16 years old or older.

Motion 9: Allsopp moved and Edwards seconded to approve hiring three seasonal employees for the Street Department for Summer 2024. All present voted yea and the Mayor declared the motion carried.

The Mayor presented information regarding the school crossing sign on North Division Street at School Street. The sign company cannot find a repair part that will allow us to turn this on 12 hours and off 12 hours. They do have new technology in a new sign with a five-year warranty at a cost of $1,695.00.

Motion 10: Edwards moved and Emery seconded to approve the purchase of a School Crossing Sign for North Division and School Street at a cost of $1,695.00. All present voted yea and the Mayor declared the motion carried.

POLICE DEPARTMENT

Chief Flaningam presented the February Police Report:

There were 234 Officer Calls for Service in February (case number generated) 

There were 48 Officer Calls assisting other departments/jurisdictions in February

12 Misdemeanors Committed /5 Arrests

9 Felonies/1 Arrest

0 Drug Case/1 Closed Cases

2 Code Enforcement Cases/3 Warrant

0 Citations (3 written/0 Verbal)

February 1-C1 & C8 MCIO Centralia

February 7 – Major Case Squad @ Herrin

February 8 - CPR Classes (Department)

February 27 & 28 - SI Criminal Justice Summit

FIRE DEPARTMENT

James Lawson, EMS Coordinator, presented the February monthly report for the Fire Department: 111 EMS Calls (Carterville/58; Cambria/31; Crainville/14; Colp/6; Hurst/1; Other/1); 9 Fire Calls; Total calls for 2024 are 313 as of 3/12/24.

The Mayor presented information on the Tango Tango smart phone application that allows voice over internet on the two-way radio used by the department. This is a backup communication system. The Volunteer Firefighters voted to pay the first 12-month contract for $2,995.00 because they felt it was a valuable asset. The Safety Committee recommended that this be paid for with City funds so that the volunteers could use their funds in other ways.

Motion 11: Edwards moved and Claunch seconded to approve payment of the Tango Tango Radio System for the Fire Department at an annual cost of $2,995.00. All present voted yea and the Mayor declared the motion carried.

The Mayor presented information on the promotion of James Lawson to the position of Assistant Fire Chief. Lawson has completed all testing and interviews required for promotion and asked the Council to confirm the appointment.

Motion 12: Allsopp moved and Emery seconded to approve the promotion of James Lawson to Assistant Fire Chief (We will do a swearing in at the April meeting). A roll call vote was taken, and all present voted yea. The Mayor declared the motion carried.

Ralph Graul - Building Inspector

Ralph Graul explained we need two public hearings before the April 9, 2024 meeting.

6:30 p.m. James J. Heininger, 207 Cherrybark Lane

Placement of a Manufactured Home in an R-1 zone

6:45 p.m. Scott & Melissa Lettenbacher, 1215 Hummingbird Land

Accessory Building in a side yard (pool removed)

The Mayor explained the Motor Fuel Tax Fund account was compromised by a fraudulent check and we need to change this account due to the fraudulent activity.

Motion 13: Edwards moved and Ingram seconded to authorize the City Treasurer to change the Motor Fuel Tax Fund account number and direct deposit information. All present voted yea and the Mayor declared the motion carried.

Motion 14: Allsopp moved and Claunch seconded to reappoint Khristina Hollister to Fire Pension Board effective May, 2024. All present voted yea and the Mayor declared the motion carried.

Motion 15: Miller moved and Sievers seconded to reappoint Michele Edwards to the Fire and Police Pension Board effective May, 2024. Roll call vote: Allsopp, yea; Ingram, yea; Edwards, abstain; Emery, yea; Miller, yea; Claunch, yea; Sievers, yea. The Mayor declared the motion carried.

The Mayor introduced the bid results for the mowing bids. Package 3 and 4 involve Water and Sewer facilities and Package 1 and 2 are for the City as follows:

Package 1 Community Center, Field behind Community Center, Cannon Park Playground

Package 2 East Illinois Parking Lot, Police Station property, Division Vacant Lot, Gazebo Downtown

The low bids for Packages 1 and 2 were submitted by Jason Sheraden at a price of $150 per mow on Package 1 and $75.00 per mow on Package 2.

Motion 16: Sievers moved and Allsopp seconded to accept the mowing bids for Package 1 and Package 2 for City owned property from Jason Sheraden. All present voted yea and the Mayor declared the motion carried.

Motion 17: Allsopp moved and Emery seconded to approve payment $13,442.06 for July 4th Fire Works from American Patriot Pyro, Inc. A roll call vote was taken, and all present voted yea. The Mayor declared the motion carried.

Curt Oetjen was not present to give the Water and Sewer Board report.

The Mayor stated the Chamber of Commerce report is in the Council packets and there are several event reminders in this report.

REMINDERS:

Primary Election - Tuesday, March 19- (Polling Places have changed for Ward 4)

Easter Egg Hunt - Saturday, March 23, 2024 (Fun starts 10 a.m. and Hunt at 11 a.m.)

Spring Cleanup - May 14-15 North of Grand and May 21-22 South of Grand (this has been advertised on the Website)

Motion 18: Emery moved and Sievers seconded to adjourn. All present voted yea, the Mayor declared the motion carried and the meeting was dismissed at 7:38 p.m.

https://www.visitcarterville.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/City-Council-Meeting-Minutes-March-12-2024.pdf