City of West Frankfort City Council met Jan. 27.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
1. Mayor Arview Called The Meeting To Order At 6:00 P.M. Requesting A Roll Call. All Commissioners Were In Attendance Including, The City Attorney And City Clerk. Except For Commissioner Stanley, He Was Not Present.
2. Mayor Arview Asked For Approval Of The Agenda. The Mayor Stated We Do Have An Item That We Have To Add, Kind Of A Timely Sort Of Thing That Has To Be Done At This Meeting. We Need To Add Approval Of A Resolution To Appoint Jacob Gass As The Water Superintendent For The City Of West Frankfort. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
3. The Next Item Was To Approval Of The Amended Agenda For This Meeting. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
4. The Next Item Was Approval Of The Minutes From The January 13, 2026 Regular Council Meeting. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
5. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Resolution To Hire A Firefighter For The City Of West Frankfort Fire Department. The Mayor Stated We Had This On The Previous Agenda, But Due To Some Technical Issues, Some Administrative Issues, We Weren’t Able To Do That At That Time. Now We Can, We Do Have The Proper Paperwork In Front Of Us. I Would Entertain A Motion To Approve Hiring Aaron Davis As A Firefighter For The City Of West Frankfort. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
6. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Resolution To Appoint Jacob Gass As The Water Superintendent For The City Of West Frankfort. The Mayor Stated Jim White Has Been With Us For Ten Years, He Is Retiring, So We Need To Appoint A Replacement. Jake Has Stepped Up To The Plate To Do That, And I Think He Deserves The Position. I Would Entertain A Motion To Appoint Jake As The Water Superintendent. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
7. The Next Item Was Approval To Reappoint Paul Lawrence As A Trustee From The City Of West Frankfort On The Rend Lake Conservancy District, Which Term Will Expire On June 30th, 2031. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
8. The Next Item Was Approval To Publish Notice Inviting Bids For The Sale Of Real Estate Lots Located At 507 West 7th, Parcel Number 11-13-456-008, 411 North Parkhill Parcel Number 11-24-253-007, And 1109 East Lindell, Parcel Number 12- 19-258-014 As Surplus Property In The City Of West Frankfort, With Bids Due By March 10th, 2026. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
9. The Next Item Was Discussion With Possible Action Regarding An Ordinance Establishing Permitting Requirements For Right-Of-Way Excavations Within The City Of West Frankfort. They Mayor Stated Thad Do You Want To Speak To This So That The Public Knows What We’re Doing? Thad Stated, Basically What We Did Instead Of The Process We Had Before Was, Hey, Somebody Wants To Put Fiber In, Somebody Wants To Do Whatever, We Had Our City Attorney Go Through A Contract With Them. They Got The Rights To Do It At Basically No Cost. Then Go Through The City And Do Whatever They Need To. Now This Kind Of Takes A Lot Of That Burden Off Of Jonathan, Puts It On Me Really, But We Also Get A Say In What They Do. It Establishes Clear Bounds For What They Are Required. There’s No Back And Forth Of This Is What We Want, This Is What You’re Going To Do, And This Is The Protection We Now Have For Our Citizens. The Mayor Stated, Right, Because We Have Had Issues In The Past Where Companies Would Come In And Tear Things Up And Not Put Them Back The Way They Needed To Be And Then We Had To Deal With The Fallout From That. This Is To Kind Of Rectify That. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve. Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
10. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Vernell’s Interstate Service In The Amount Of $2,572.01 Regarding Fuel Filter Repairs On The 2007 GMC C8500 For The Street Department. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
11. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Aquatic Control In The Amount Of $5,555.00 For Maintenance To The Pumps From April 2026 Through September 2026 For The Street Department. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
12. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Atlas In The Amount Of $25,787.50 For Preparation Of Audit For Year- Ended April 30th 2024 For The City Of West Frankfort. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
13. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Julie Inc. In The Amount Of $2,358.25 For The Annual Assessment Invoice For The Public Works Departments. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
14. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Illinois Public Risk Fund In The Amount Of $23,088.00 Regarding March 2026 Workers Compensation. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
15. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Larry J. Frederick’s, Llc In The Amount Of $2,849.00 For Three Ballistic Vests And Carriers For The New Hires On The West Frankfort Police Department. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
16. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Ems Acumed Group In The Amount Of $4,402.66 For Ems Billing Service Fee From 12-1-25 To 12-31-25 For The West Frankfort Fire Department. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
17. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Target Solutions In The Amount Of $3,326.24 For Annual Ems Fire Training Software Service From 1-31-26 To 1-30-27. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
18. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Laverne Todd In The Amount Of $1,500.00 For Removal Of Dangerous Limbs For The Street Department. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried. The Mayor Stated There Is A Note On Here That Says Street
Department Bucket Would Not Reach So It Was Something They Weren’t Able To Do So We Paid Him To Do That.
19. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From West Frankfort Hammer’s Tire In The Amount Of $2,136.00 For New Tires For The Jet Truck For The Sewer Department. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
20. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Ron Shew Welding And Fabricating In The Amount Of $1,755.00 For Repairs To Grit Chamber At The Sewer Department. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
21. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Weeks Chrysler Dodge Ram Fiat In The Amount Of $1,949.99 For Repairs To The 2013 Ram 1500 For The Sewer Department. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
22. The Next Item Was The Consent Agenda:
A. Approval To Pay Bills.
Commissioner Howard Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
Building And Sign Permits ~ The Codes Officer Stated First One Was For Residential Accessory Carport For Charles Bowers 710 South Jackson Street. I’ve Got My Site Plans, Registered Contractor, Building Plans I Think They’re Already Getting Started On That. I Gave Them Kind Of A Verbal Go Ahead Since They Had Everything, They Needed. I Recommend Approval. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
Next Permit Was A Roof Mount Residential Solar Project For Keith Oloughlin 613 South Locust Street. I’ve Got Registered Contractor I’ve Got Plans Everything That I Need. I Recommend Approval. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
Next Permit Was For A Roof Mount Residential Solar Project For Cheyenne Jackson 815 West Lindell Street. Registered Contractor Stamp Plans, I Have Everything I Need. I Recommend Approval. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
23. Mayors Report~
Mayor Arview Stated With Everything That’s Been Going On With The Weather I Just Want To Give A Shout Out To Our Street And Water Guys For Being Out There Working Around The Clock Taking Care Of Business, I Really Appreciate That. I Know That Some People Have Been Asking About Clearing Alleyways Out Unfortunately That’s Something That We’re Not Able To Do At This Time Just Because There’s So Much Else Going On That Kind Of Takes Priority. It’s Not That We Don’t Think That It’s Important For Us To Clear Alleyways Or To Help People Have Their Driveways Cleared Off And Things Like That But There’s A Lot Of People In This Town And A Lot Of Things That Need Done And We Only Have So Many People And So Much Equipment To Be Able To Handle All These Things. Some Of That Stuff Is Going To Get Delayed Unfortunately It’s Just Something Out Of Our Control But We Will Get To Things As Soon As We Can And Hopefully The Weather Will Actually Improve Thankfully, We Live In A Part Of The Country Where Winter Doesn’t Really Last For Three Months. It’s Usually A Couple Weeks And Then And Then We’re Back To Warmer Temperatures So Hopefully In The Near Future That Snow Will Kind Of Clear Itself Off. The Other Thing That I Wanted To Talk About Was The Water Rate Increase That Happened On January 1, 2026 So At The November 25, 2025 Meeting We Voted To Raise The Water Rates Just Because With Increased Costs We Had To Do That It Wasn’t By A Huge Amount. We Have The Ordinance Available For Anybody If You Need Reminded Of How Much But It’s Just Small Percentages Really Compared To The Entire Bill But I Just Want To Let People Know That When I Mentioned That It Was A Little Bit Confusing On When That Took Effect And When It Would Show Up On The Bill. It Actually Took Effect On January 1, 2026 But It Would Be Then For Service From The Month Of January Is Going To Show Up On The March 1st Bill. So, March 1st Is When You’ll Actually See It Reflected On Your Bill But The Rates Actually Went Up On January 1st And The Minimum Rate Increase Went From $36.36 To $37.61 So If You See You Know A Bump In Your March Bill That’s What It Is It’s Actually From The Service That Took Place In The Month Of January.
There Was Some Confusion During The Meeting, But What The Mayor Said The First Time Was Correct, Which Is What Is Stated Above.
Commissioner Reports~Â
Commissioner Harkins Stated Due To The Climate Change The Police And Fire Department’s Been Having A Good Time Keeping Things Going. They Have Been Doing A Good Job, Im Proud Of Them.Â
Commissioner Howard Stated We Are Still Waiting On The Audit, It’s Supposed To Be In The Next Week Or So. But It Was Pushed Back Just A Little Bit Because They Had Asked For Some More Information So Hopefully It Will Before We Have Another Council Meeting, We Should Have That Audit. Also We’re Going To Have To Watch Our Expenses As Much As We Can I Know We’ve Got Expenses We Have To Pay But If We Can Put Something Off For A Little Bit Try Your Best Guys And Gals So We Can Get Through The End Of This Year Without Overspending
Commissioner Stanley Was Not Present
Commissioner Warren Stated I Don’t Have Really Anything About Public Property But I Will Just Want To Thank Everybody For Going Out In The Cold And Doing Their Jobs That They Have To Do. It’s Appreciated. I Know There Was A Big Fire Last Night And I’m Sure It Was Freezing Cold But That Happens And I Know All The Departments Go Out And Have To Do Something I Appreciate It All.
24. City Attorney Report: I Only Have Updates For Executive Session For The Council.
25. Audience Comments: No Audience Comments Were Made.
26. The Next Item Was Approval To Go Into Executive Session For Discussion Pursuant To 5 ILCS 120/2(C) (1), 5 ILCS 120/2 (C) (6), And 5 ILCS 120/2 (C) (11). Personnel, Real Estate And Litigation. At 6:30 P.M. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
27. With No Further Business To Be Discussed, The Meeting Was Adjourned On A Motion By Commissioner Harkins At 7:44 A.M.
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