City Council

CITY COUNCIL MINUTES Tuesday, January 9, 2018 REGULAR MEETING OF THE CARTERVILLE CITY 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 John Allsopp Alderman/Ward 3 Present Doug Brinkley Alderman/Ward 3 Present Bud Edwards Alderman/Ward 1 Present Phyllis Emery Alderman/Ward 4 Present Tom Gentry Alderman/Ward 1 Absent Mike Helfrich Alderman/Ward 2 Present Tom Liebenrood Alderman/Ward 4 Absent Curtis Oetjen Alderman/Ward 2 Present The Mayor declared a quorum present. Others present were: Garry Wiggs, Public Works Director; Ron Rains, Fire Chief; Heather Reno, Police Chief; Harry Treece II, Citizen; Alan Latch, Citizen; Rod Sievers, Citizen Advisory Member; Emily Hunsaker, The Courier; Janice McConnaughy, HR Specialist; Donnie Smoot, Crawford and Associates; Ronda Robinson, Citizen; Ralph Graul, Building Inspector; Harriet Mize, Chamber of Commerce; and Retia Watson, Bookkeeper/Secretary. Motion 1: Emery moved and Allsopp seconded to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of December 12. 2017 and the Variance Hearing of December 12, 2017 as presented. A roll call vote was taken, and all present voted yea. The Mayor declared the motion carried. Mark Carney, City Treasurer, presented and explained the December 2017 Treasurer’s Report for approval. Motion 2: Oetjen moved and Helfrich seconded to approve the December 2017 Treasurer’s Report as presented. A roll call vote was taken, and all present voted yea. The Mayor declared the motion carried. Minutes of the Carterville City Council Tuesday, January 12, 2018 Page 2 Recognition of Guests – No comments from the audience Motion 3: Oetjen moved and Helfrich seconded to pay 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. Departments/Committees Cannon Park and James Street Park The Mayor presented a request from the CHS Interact Club for a fee reduction for the use of the Community Center for a fundraiser for the Rotary Youth Exchange Program on March 2, 2018. The original request was reviewed in Committee in December but they asked for a Saturday and we do not give fee reductions on Saturday so they moved this request to a Friday. This was recommended by the Park Committee and the date was verified as clear. Motion 4: Emery moved and Allsopp seconded to approve a reduced fee request for use of the Community Center for the CHS Interact Club for a fundraiser on March 2, 2018. All voted yea and the Mayor declared the motion carried. Fire Department Chief Rains, Fire Chief, presented the monthly report for December, as well as the annual report for 2017. There were a total of 115 ambulance and fire calls in December. Total ambulance calls for 2017 were 1029 and there were a total of 173 fire calls. Chief Rains also indicated that the power cots are in but they will not use them until personnel are trained. Chief Rains is working on an application for a grant for equipment. Police Department One of our squad cars was wrecked and totaled last month and the department is asking that this be replaced. Alderman Brinkley indicated that he and Alderman Oetjen reviewed the insurance settlement, and feel that this should be revisited as the settlement is very low. The Mayor stated that we should bid a new vehicle while we recheck this settlement. Motion 5: Helfrich moved and Brinkley seconded to advertise for bid for a new police vehicle. All voted yea and the Mayor declared the motion carried. [Alderman Brinkley will work on specifications that include an SUV and a Sedan]. Heather Reno, Police Chief, gave the monthly report:  There were 228 Officer Calls for Service in December (case number generated)  Officers provided assistance to other departments 52 times in December  Code Enforcement generated 4 calls  Officer attended training in Police Citizens Relations  DUI and occupant protection hire back campaign was conducted over New Year’s weekend  18 car seats were checked both as part of and outside the CPS class and 14 seats were distributed as part of the IDOT grant.  Codes Enforcement completed projects for the Chief and is now reducing his hours until Spring  Obtained donation of office furniture  4345 total calls for 2017 Minutes of the Carterville City Council Tuesday, January 12, 2019 Page 3 Street and Maintenance Department Garry Wiggs, Public Works Director, explained preliminary plans for striping of streets. This information needs to be approved by I.D.O.T. The Mayor explained that he would like to add some additional streets to the plan. Ralph Graul, Building Inspection Ralph Graul explained his monthly report and asked that the Council schedule a variance hearing for the Williams property on Oakwood Drive. Motion 6: Oetjen moved and Brinkley seconded to schedule a variance hearing at 6:45 p.m. on February 13, 2018 for the Polly Williams property on Oakwood Drive for a steel carport and portable storage building which are already constructed and does not meet zoning. All voted yea and the Mayor declared the motion carried. Harriet Mize, Executive Director:  New Chamber Member- Brehm Preparatory School  Business Spotlight – Mr. Tuxedo, Mindy’s Miles, Great Boars of Fire, Carterville Winlectric, Campanella Law Firm, Mediacom and AJ’s Beer, Wine and Spirits  Membership Drive – Looking for new members  Annual Chamber Dinner – Friday, February 9th at Community Center  Next General Membership Meeting – Wednesday, March 7th The Mayor explained that the next item on the agenda is approval of a policy prohibiting sexual harassment. This is an addition to our existing policy in the Personnel Policy Handbook. Motion 7: Helfrich moved and Oetjen seconded to approve a change in our Personnel Handbook adopting a policy prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace. All voted yea and the Mayor declared the motion carried. Motion 8: Oetjen moved and Helfrich seconded to approve ORDINANCE NO. 1431-18, AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING A POLICY PROHIBITING SEXUAL HARRASSMENT. A roll call vote was taken, and all present voted yea. The Mayor declared the motion carried. The Mayor explained the need to adopt a Transitional Work Program Policy which addresses light duty requirements. A sample policy was presented to the Council for review. Motion 9: Oetjen moved and Helfrich seconded to approve a Transitional Work Program for the City and include this in the Personnel Handbook. All voted yea and the Mayor declared the motion carried. Minutes of the Carterville City Council Tuesday, January 9, 2018 Page 4 Motion 10: Emery moved and Allsopp seconded to approve the 2016-17 Annual Audit as presented by Bradley Ogden. A roll call vote was taken, and all present voted yea. The Mayor declared the motion carried. Curt Oetjen gave the Water and Sewer Board report as follows:  There were 321 delinquent accounts  Water Loss: Sold 10,127,210 gallons (Rend Lake bill was not available to calculate the water loss)  Received water supply from Crainville bypass while Rend Lake completed our new route. We are on the new line as of 1/9/2018  Influent Wet Well - researching improvements at an approximate cost of $50,000.00  Leak credits approved $217.43  Department moved Jeff Church from the Sewer Dept to the Street Dept and Kyle Anderson from the Street Dept to the SewerDept The Mayor introduced SPARC, Shawnee Preparedness and Response Coalition, and asked that the Police and Fire Department join this group as voting members and have the Council approve their membership in the group. Also, he would like the Council to agree to be an affiliate member. This group meets quarterly and there are no dues. This is a giant network that includes 23 counties. Motion 11: Brinkley moved and Emery seconded to authorize the Police and Fire Chiefs to become voting members of SPARC and the City to be an affiliate member. All voted yea and the Mayor declared the motion carried. Engineering Donnie Smoot tested positive for the flu and the Mayor asked that he stay home. The Mayor gave a brief overview of the West Grand Avenue Improvements and explained that the engineer is still watching areas with the precipitation and this is still an open project. The Cannon Park Concession Stand was discussed. Eubanks is still working on the project but he is 90 days past due. We need his prevailing wage documents and he has an outstanding debt to one vendor before any payments can be released. Motion 12: Gentry moved and Emery seconded to approve the bill for resident inspection on the Cannon Park Concession Stand building to Crawford and Associates in the amount of $4,000.00. Roll call vote: Allsopp, yea; Brinkley, yea; Edwards, no; Emery, yea; Helfrich, yea; Oetjen, yea. The Mayor declared the motion carried. The Mayor asked Edwards about the discussion at the Committee meeting regarding the Cannon Park Concession Stand. Edwards indicated that the engineer was supposed to contact the bonding company on this project and he did not follow through. He was reminded again to make this contact. Minutes of the Carterville City Council Tuesday, January 9, 2018 Page 5 The Mayor mentioned the following reminders:  Office Closed for Martin Luther King Day – Monday, January 15, 2018 Motion 13: Emery moved and Allsopp seconded to adjourn. All voted yea and the meeting was dismissed at 7:39 p.m. ____________________________ Khristina D. Hollister, City Clerk Next Ordinance No. 1432-18 ____________________________ Bradley M. Robinson, Mayor Next Resolution No. R431-18