North Egypt News

City of Benton City Council met Dec. 23.

Here is the minutes provided by the council:

Mayor Kondritz Called The Meeting To Order. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz Were Present For Roll Call. Commissioner Perkins Was Absent.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve The Minutes Of The Regularly Scheduled City Council Meeting Of December 8, 2019. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

In The Absence Of Commissioner Perkins, Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Approve Purchase Order #001765 To Ditch Witch Sales Inc For 1 Utiliguard Advanced Locater In The Amount Of $7,241.88. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Messersmith Made A Motion To Approve The Transfer Of $20,000.00 From The Motor Fuel Tax Fund To The Municipal Utility Tax Fund For Equipment Transfer For The 2020 Mft Plan. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Messersmith Made A Motion To Approve The Final Backhoe Payment Of $24,570.22. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Storey Stated That He Had No Business For This Meeting.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve Payroll For December 13, 2019 For The General Fund In The Amount Of $69,879.30 And Water And Sewer Fund In The Amount Of $27,780.49 For A Total Payroll Of $97,659.79. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Garavalia Stated That The Purchase Order Amount For The City Of Benton Had Previously Been Set At $500.00 And She Felt That In Order To Keep Track Of Spending It Was Necessary To Lower The Amount To $250.00. Commissioner Storey Stated That He Had Spoken With His Departments About This Topic And He Did Not Feel That It Was Something That Needed To Be Changed. Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Lower The Purchase Order Amount To $250.00. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 3. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 1. Commissioner Storey.

Commissioner Garavalia Stated That She Would Like To Revise The Credit Card Policy. She Stated That The Full Policy Had Been Placed In The Council Members Packets For Review. Commissioner Messersmith Stated That He Would Like To Have The Timeframe For Turning In Receipts For Credit Card Purchases To Be Changed From Two Days To Two Business Days. Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve The Credit Card Policy With This Change. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Garavalia Stated That She Would Like To Have An Ordinance Drafted Regarding Credit Card Use. Attorney Malkovich Stated That He Would Like To Look Into This Matter Further Before Proceeding. Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Table This Matter Until A Later Date. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Garavalia Stated That She Would Like To Have The Personnel Code Revised. Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Would Also Like To See This Done. Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Feels An Inventory Needs Done Of Each Department And The Misuse Or Equipment And Property Needs To Be Discussed. Mayor Kondritz Also Stated That He Would Like The Water And Sewer Departments To Be Cleaned Up As They Are Not Being Kept In A Neat Manner.

Attorney Malkovich Stated That The City Is Currently Working With The Village Of West City On A Dispatch Agreement. Attorney Malkovich Stated That The Current Dispatch Agreement Expired At The End Of October 2019 And, Per Contract, The City Of Benton Will Pay An Additional $500.00 Per Month While Negotiations Continue.

Mayor Kondritz Asked Zoning Administrator And Code Enforcer David Garavalia To Discuss Item (B) Discussion And/Or Approval Of Proposal From Chris Menckoski For Demolition Of 308 North Buchanan And 208 West Parrish. Mr. Garavalia Stated That These Properties Need To Be Demolished And Mr. Menckoski Has Submitted A Proposal Of $5,200.00 For North Buchanan Street And $4,700.00 For West Parrish Street. Mr. Garavalia Stated That Mr. Menckoski Has Agreed To Demolish These Houses Now If Approved And Will Be Paid In June Of 2020. Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve The Proposals From Chris Menckoski For Demolition Of 308 North Buchanan And 208 West Parrish. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Stated He Would Like To Pass Ordinance #19-17 For Drug Free Employees. Commissioner Storey Made This Motion. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Presented The Bids For The New Airport Terminal. Mayor Kondritz Stated That Low Bid Was From Midwest Petroleum And Excavating In The Amount Of $427,600.00. Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve The Low Bid Of $427,600.00 From Midwest Petroleum And Excavating For The New Airport Terminal. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Stated That Charles And Catherine Wiggs Wished To Relinquish Their Lake Lot Leases For Lots #1 And #4 Of The North Lake Subdivision Back To The City Of Benton. Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Approve This. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Asked David Garavalia To Discuss Item (F) Discussion And/Or Approval Of Rescinding Crawford And Associates Mapping Approval Previously Approved At November 2019 Meeting. Mr. Garavalia Stated That After The Council Had Approved Moving Forward With This Process, He Was Offered A Map In Comparison To This At No Charge. Mr. Garavalia Asked The City To Rescind The Motion Allowing Crawford And Associates To Begin This Project. Commissioner Storey Made This Motion. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Asked Mr. Garavalia To Discuss Item (G) Discussion And/Or Approval Of Proposal From Jim Emberton To Remove Specified Items From The Real Estate Of 1107 Highland Street Pursuant To Court Order Obtained By Code Enforcement. Mr. Garavalia Presented The Council With Pictures Of The Property And An Order From The Circuit Court Of The Second Judicial Circuit Court Ordering That The City Of Benton Shall Have The Authority To Remove The Accumulation Of Trash, Junk And Debris Including But Not Limited To Wood, Metal, Plastic, Pallets, Shingles, Siding, And Wire Spool. The Court Order Also Allowed The City Of Benton To Place A Lien On This Property. After A Discussion Commissioner Messersmith Made A Motion To Table This Item Until Another Meeting. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Presented A Schedule Of City Council Meeting Times For 2020. Commissioner Messersmith Made A Motion To Approve The Setting Of Meeting Times For The Year Of 2020. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Had Received A Letter Of Resignation From Jo Ellen Bauer From The Civic Center Authority Board. Mrs. Bauer Stated That She Enjoyed Her Time On The Civic Center Board, But She Has Relocated From The Area And Therefore Feels She Needs To Resign. Commissioner Messersmith Made A Motion To Approve This Resignation. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Would Like To Appoint Shelley Ingram To The Civic Center Authority Board. Commissioner Messersmith Made A Motion To Approve Shelley Ingram To The Civic Center Authority Board. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

No Miscellaneous Business.

No Old Business.

In New Business, Commissioner Storey Stated That There Is Someone Burning Garbage On The North East Side Of Benton. He Stated This Is Against Ordinance And He Is Investigating The Situation.

In Matters From The Public Audience, Julie Hubler Mentioned That She Believes The Street Barn Needs To Clean Up The Area Around Their Building. Tom Carter Asked The Council How Many Credit Cards The City Of Benton Has And If The Airport Had Its Own Credit Card. Commissioner Garavalia Stated That The City Of Benton Has One Credit Card Currently And The Airport Does Not Have A Credit Card. Mr. Carter Also Asked For A Copy Of The Drug Free Employee Ordinance. Attorney Malkovich Stated That After The Ordinance Had Been Signed, Mr. Carter Could Pick Up A Copy. Mr. Carter Also Told Mayor Kondritz That He Would Be Happy To Volunteer As An Inspector Of City Properties If Needed.

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Adjourn. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

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