City Council

CITY COUNCIL Regular Meeting November 19, 2018 7:30 P.M. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: The Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag was given by all present. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Gottman called the regularly scheduled meeting of the Vandalia City Council to order at 7:30 P.M. ROLL CALL: Aldermen present were: Hubler, B. John Clark, Stunkel, Barker, Rebbe, Hobler, Lester and Crawford. MINUTES: A motion was made by Stunkel and seconded by Hobler approving the minutes from the November 5, 2018 meeting as presented. Motion carried. MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR JIM A moment of silence was observed for WEAVER & JIM MCCARTY: Jim Weaver, father-in-law of city employee Ted Miller and Jim McCarty former owner of McCarty’s Barber Shop. SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING A motion was made by Stunkel and MINUTES: seconded by Crawford approving the minutes from the Special City Council Meeting from November 13, 2018. Motion carried. REGULAR BILLS: A motion was made by Stunkel and seconded by Hobler approving the regular bills as presented. Motion carried. SPECIAL BILLS: A motion was made by Stunkel and seconded by Barker approving the Special Bills as listed: Timmermann & Company in the amount of $3,894.00 for assistance with LaTisha Paslay with treasurer’s job; Applied Concepts, 1  Inc, “Stalker Radar” in the amount of $2,474.00 for equipment for squad cars; Vandalia City Garage in the amount of $2,297.00 for maintenance to rolling stock for the Water Plant; Brenntag Mid South, Inc.in the amount of $5,318.96 for chemicals; Hawkins, Inc. in the amount of $2,452.05 for chemicals; Kaskaskia Springs Water for 4.960 million gals water in the amount of $1,984.00. Motion carried. VANDALIA TOURISM COMMISSION A motion was made by Stunkel and MEETING MINUTES-OCTOBER 29, seconded by Barker approving the 2018: Vandalia Tourism Commission Meeting Minutes from October 29, 2018 as submitted. Motion carried. COUNCIL WORK SESSION A motion was made by Stunkel and MINUTES: seconded by Hobler approving the minutes from the Council Work Session Minutes from November 5, 2018 as submitted. Motion carried. ORDINANCE #2018-11-19-A: A motion was made by Hobler and AUTHORIZING TAX INCREMENT seconded by Stunkel Adopting Ordinance FINANCING ASSISTANCE IN #2018-11-19-A, Authorizing TIF CONNECTION WITH A Assistance In Connection With A REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT WITH Redevelopment Project With Dr. Jeremy DR. JEREMY CLARK Clark. Dr. Clark is asking the City for assistance to make renovations to the building located at 100 N. Kennedy Blvd. The City shall reimburse the Developer the sum of $14,359.50 which is 50% of the project cost. Alderman Lester, said that he would support 25% of the project but not 50%. 2  Roll Call: Lester, nay; Rebbe, yea; Clark, yea; Hobler, yea; Stunkel, yea; Crawford, yea; Barker, yea; Hubler, yea. Motion carried. ACCEPTANCE OF RESIGNATION OF A motion was made by Stunkel and MICHELLE HAGY FROM POLICE seconded by Hobler accepting the DEPARTMENT: resignation of Michelle Hagy from the Vandalia Police Department. Hagy has worked for the Vandalia Police Department for 32 years. She resigned after being elected the Fayette County Treasurer in early November. Motion carried. APPROVE OR REJECT A motion was made by Barker and APPOINTMENT OF CARLA HUHN TO seconded by Crawford approving the TOURISM COMMISSION: appointment of Carla Huhn to the Tourism Commission. Motion carried. DISCUSSION ON WATER SALES ON A copy of water sales for finished FINISHED & BILLED GALLONS OF gallons as well as billed gallons from WATER: Timmermann & Company was given to each council member. The finished gallons figure is from Water Plant Supervisor, Marty Huskey and the billed gallons figure is from billing clerk Renee Critcheloe. Alderman Rebbe asked the question since the residents voted down the proposed sales tax increase that would have helped fund a new water plant, how will the city come up with those funds for a new water plant. Alderman Crawford said, increase in water bills and property taxes. We don’t have a choice anymore. Alderman Lester asked for a further breakdown on what’s happening to the 25%. 3  Alderman Crawford said, we don’t know that 25% is missing. She said that the Water Plant experienced some trouble when trying to calibrate the master meter. It was so corroded that they couldn’t even move it. So, odds are those numbers are not accurate. Mayor Gottman said that they are replacing that meter and Public Works Director, Marlin Filer said that they will be tracking water number monthly. Rebbe asked if a new meter will be the answer and Filer said that it would not. Barker asked whether the city is able to determine how much water is lost during a water main break, Filer said there is not. Filer said they calculate the size of the hole, how long it leaked, how much pressure there was. It’s not an accurate count because it may have leaked for days before it came to the surface. Filer stated that in the past years, Marty Huskey, Water Plant Supervisor estimates that 1 million gallons were used annually to treat the water with chemicals but it’s actually 25 million a year. Filer said that the person who provided Huskey with the quote for a new master meter will check some of the large meters that we installed 3 years ago, for the prison, the schools to make sure they’re still accurate. MAYOR’S REPORT: Mayor Gottman publicly thanked the Street Department Crew for a good job during the snow. 4  Mayor Gottman wished everyone a “Happy Thanksgiving”. Mayor Gottman reported that he attended the Chamber of Commerce Meeting on November 7th. He also attended the 200 Bicentennial Meeting. There were two ribbon cuttings. One at FBFM and Ruby Layne Boutique. Mayor Gottman informed the council that the grant was delivered today for the walking path on Fillmore Street. The Water Tower located by Vandalia True Value has a leak so it has been drained to fix the leak. The Olde Tyme Christmas was a success. The Olde Tyme Christmas Window Contest winner was Something Special Florist. Second place was a tie between First National Bank of Vandalia and Tiger Lily, and Third Place was a tie between Iya’s & Friends and McKellar, Robertson, McCarty & Click Insurance. Mayor Gottman announced that Shop Local is this Saturday, The Small Business Saturday kickoff breakfast is being held from 8:30-10:30 a.m. at the Fayette County Hospital cafeteria. Mayor Gottman will be attending the IML Meeting in Chicago on December 8th. LaTisha Paslay attended the Treasurer’s Institute in Bloomington last week. STANDING COMMITTEE REPORT Crawford reported that they are rebuilding two of the small air aerators at the Sewer Plant. 5  Stunkel publicly thanked Michelle Hagy for her 32 years of service with the City of Vandalia Police Department. Barker said that he felt we had a pretty good turnout with the snow & cold weather for the Olde Tyme Christmas. Stunkel asked what the goal is for a tourism director at this time. Mayor Gottman said no one at this time, but if someone has a suggestion please let him know. ADJOURNMENT: There being nothing further to discuss a motion was made by Stunkel and seconded by Hubler to adjourn. Motion carried. _____________________ CITY CLERK 6 7 8 9 10