City of West Frankfort City Council met Feb. 9.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
1. Mayor Jordan Called The Meeting To Order At 6:00 P.M.
Requesting A Roll Call. All Commissioners Were In Attendance, Along With The City Attorney And City Clerk.
2. Mayor Jordan Asked For Approval Of The Minutes From The January 26, 2021 Council Meeting. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
3. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay City Bills And Payroll In The Amount Of $499,303.26. Commissioner Simpson Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
4. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding Approval Of Façade Improvement Grant Application This Grant Is For Farm Fresh. They Ahd To Move Their Sign And Put It Back Up Due To Idot. We Usually Pay 50% Of The Bill Of $4,058.50 Which Will Be $2,029.25. Commissioner Simpson Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
5. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Resolution Appointing Andrea Bolen As Deputy City Clerk Of The City Of West Frankfort. Commissioner Simpson Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
6. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Ing The Old King Coal Festival The Mayor Stated He Has Spoken With Steven Sawalich Who Is Our Okc President He Would Like To Know The Cities Feelings About Going Forward With The Old King Coal In May 2021. Mr Sawalich Has Been Contacted By Theresa Renik Aboout The Pagent, Others Have Asked About The Parade. The Vendor That Is Going To Do The Rides Has Taken All Kinds Of Precautions To Disinfect The Rides And Foggers To Be Used. So The Mayor Would Like To Know The Councils Feelings About Moving Forward With The Old King Coal Festival. Commissioner Simpson If They've Got The Vendor That Is Willing To Come Here And In Compliance With State Elines For Festivals. Whenever They Want To Have It Is Fine With Him.Mayor Jordan Stated It Would Be Held Weekend Of May 8th. All Commissioners Are In Agreement To Let Them Do If It Follows All Guidelines.
7. The Next Item Was Approval Of An Ordinance Accepting The Dedication Of A Right Of Way Platted As West Frankfort Row Dedication To The City Of West Frankfort, County Of Franklin, State Of Illinois Pursuant To 65 Ilcs 5/11-61-1.5. The Mayor Stated They City Is Going To Take Ownership Of The Right Of Way Out In Front Of Mcdonalds And The Krogers Buildings. It's The Entrance To The Wf Plaza And In Order For Idot To Make The Improvements The City Must Own That. It Has To Be A City Owned Street. The Moreland/Bishop Family Have Donated This Back To The City. Commissioner Simpson Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
8. The Next Item Was Approval Of An Addendum To A Lease For Wallace Electrical To Rent Additional Space, Suite 2 And Suite 9, At The West Frankfort Business Incubator. The Mayor Stated That Every Space In The Incubator Will Now Be Leased With Them Adding This To Their Lease. Commissioner Simpson Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
9. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Vector, Target Solutions Learning, Llc In The Amount Of $2,340.00 For Fire Department, Chief Allen Stated This Is Our Continued Education Training Which Is Done Strictly Online Instead Of Making And Submitting Plans To Sih. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
10. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Ferrell Electric In The Amount Of $2,249.56 For Electrical Work At The Vf Mall. They Worked On South End Parking Lot Lights That Werent Working. Commissioner Simpson Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
11. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Ferrell Electric In The Amount Of $2,292.53 For Electrical Work At The Wf Incubator In Suite 16 At Roe Machine. The Lighting In This Area Was Poor And Needed Replaced. Commissioner Simpson Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve, Motion Carried.
12. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Skuta Construction, Inc In The Amount Of $6,185.00 For Sewer Line Video. The Mayor Stated This Was Looking At The Sewer Line And Videoing Of The Problem Areas From The Sewer Backup On 5th And Mulberry And 4th And Cochran. This Bill Is Just To Televise And Clean The Repair Bill Will Come Later. Commissioner Simpson Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
13. Approval To Pay An Invoice From Brown & Roberts, Inc Contractor's Pay Estimate #3 To Wiggs Excavating, Inc. In The Amount Of $146,689.03 For The Monroe Street Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve.
14. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay Invoice From Brown & Roberts, Inc For Construction Engineering Bill #2 To Brown & Roberts, Inc In The Amount Of $7,523.92 For The Monroe Street Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve.
15. The Next Item Was Approval Of Brown & Roberts Change Order #1 In The Amount Of $5,618.11 And Contract Time Extension For The Monroe Street Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project. Matt Tosh Stated This Would Be With 100% Grant Funds With Dco Grant.Then Extending The Time Frame To 60 Days. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
16.Building And Sign Permits ~ Permit From Andrew Prak At 805 E St Louis Street Will Be Building A Shop, Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
Enterprise Zone Permit For Jamie Wilce Of Mike's Drive In. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
17. Officer's Report - Fire Report For The Month Of January 2021. Chief Allen Reported They Had 175-Ambulance Calls, 2- Rubbish/Illegal Fires, 3- Brush/Field Fires, 3 Motor Vehicle Accidents, 1 Fire Alarm, 1 Vehicle Fire, 6 Fire Emergency(Gas Leaks, Power Lines Down), 5 Structure Fires And 2 Smoke Scares. 2 Mutal Aid Calls. For A Total Of 200 Calls During The Month. The Department Used Approximately 85,500 Gallons Of Water. The Department Collected $34,165.69 For Ambulance Calls.
Police Report For The Month Of January 2021. Chief Prudent Reported Officers Answered A Total Of 937 Calls For Service. Of Those Calls 15 Were Traffic Accidents, 1 With Injury. Officers Responded To 33 Domestic Disputes, 4 Fights In Progress, 7 Alarms, 3 Intoxicated Persons, 3 Burglaries, 14 Reports Of Criminal Damage To Property, 3 Complaints Of Juvenile Problems, 19 Reported Thefts, And 56 Complaints Of Disorderly Conduct/Disturbances. 25 Street Contacts. Officers Conducted 145 Traffic Stops, Issued 37 Citiations, 120 Warnings, And 9 Lw-27's. There Were 40 Adult Arrests Made And 5 Juvenile, Resulting In 61 Criminal Charges Filed. Dispatchers Answered 1,151 Calls. Of Those, 584 Were 9-1-1 Calls, 116 Were Walk In Requests. 937 Were For Police, 200 Were For West Frankfort Fire, 14 Were For Thompsonville Fire/Ems, And 8 Were For Abbott Ems, And 1 For United Ambulance. And For The Month Of January We Collected $1,895.00 In Fines And Fees. Back In November Chief Prudent Was Notified By The Department Of Justicethat In Order To Be Eligible For Federal Grants Our Use Of Force Policy Had To Meet The Standards Set By The Department Of Justice. He Updated The Use Of Force Policy And Submitted It For Approval. On February 2nd, 2021 He Received Confirmation That The City Of West Frankfort Police Do Meet Those Requirements So Now They Are A Certified Use Of Force Agency In The State Of Illinois.
Codes Report For The Month Of January 3 Building Permits Were Issued, O Sign Permits. Rental Properties- 2 New Rental Properties, 9 Rental Inspections. Complaints-72 Nuisance Complaint Phone Calls, 12 Nuisance Letters Mailed, 75 Nuisance Complaints Resolved. Buildings-2 Occupancy Prohibited Signs Posted, 3 Dangerous & Burned Out Buildings Identified, 36 Dangerous & Burned Out Buildings In Progress, 1 Dangerous & Burned Out Buildings Demolished, 3 Files Given To Attorney. Vehicles-2 Inoperable/Abandoned Vehicles Letters Mailed, 2 Inoperable/Abandoned Vehicles Resolved. O Citations Given.
18. Building And Sign Permits ~
Building Permit From Andrew J. Prak At 805 E St Louis Street Will Be Building A Pole Barn. The Mayor Stated This Comes As A Recommendation Of Our Codes Officer. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
Enterprise Zone Permit For Jamie Wilce Of Mike's Drive In. At 1007 West Main. The Mayor Stated They Are Planning On Rebuilding That Structure Along With Adding The Shaykie's Ice Cream To One Location. $322,000 Commercial Structure. Has Been Approved By The Codes Inspector. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
19. Mayor's Report ~
The Mayor Stated He Met With Jim White And Linda Warren About The Water Department Bills And The Fact That We Have 127 Accounts That Are Over $100 Delinquent. Since Covid Hit And Shut Offs Have Been Delayed We Have Over $126,000.00 In Debt From Delinquent Water Payments That Need To Be Paid. Most Towns Around Us Just Gave A 3 Month Extension And Went Back To Normal Procedures And Turning People Off For Non-Payment. They Have Been Requiring People To Pay Their Bills As Normal Or Be Turned Off. The Suggestion Is We Are Notifying All The Water Users That Are Behind To Contact The City To Work Out A Plan To Become Current.We Would Give Them Up To A Year To Get Everything Current. Our Credit Card And Debit Card Company Would Help Us To Collect This Debt. And Would Help To Set Up A Payment Plan. They Need Our Requirements. The First Thing Is That They Have To Set Up A Payment Plan Or They Can Pay It In Full, If They Choose To Do Nothing Then We Shut Their Water Off. Does Anyone Have Any Objections To This Plan? Commissioner Warren Asked Does This For All Residents, Landlords And Business Owners? The Mayor Stated That Everyone Is The Treated The Same On This. Payclix Is The Company That Will Be Helping Handle This And Setting Up The Payment Plan. Since This Is Who We Already Use For Our Credit Card Billing/Debit Card Payments. Anyone Have Any Other Questions Or Input On This Mayor Jordan Asked? Mr Riva Asked What Happens If Someone Does Not Fulfill The Plan? Commissioner Simpson Stated That If They Pay The Current Bill By A Certain Time Frame And They Feel That They Can't Pay Then They Would Have To Refigure Their Payments To Get That Balance Taken Care Of By The End Of Time Frame But The Amount Would Change. Payclix Would Take It Out Of The Account And If The Money Wasn't In There, Then We Would Have To Shut Off The Water. The Mayor Stated That We Have The Authority That If You Don't Pay Your Water Bill We Can Turn You Off. We Are Making Accommodations As A Good Faith Gesture To The Customer. We Need To Find Out If They Contact Us Or The Payment Plan People. Jim White; Water Supervisor Payclix Is Just Managing The Debt Due, We Are Not Turning Them Over To A Collection Agency. Commissioner Harkins Stated He Thinks We Are Being More Than Fair, Commissioner Warren Stated That On The New Water Bills We Can Print That Changes Are Coming So They Know That We Will Be Alerting Everyone Shutoffs Are Starting Back. We Will More Than Likely Just Send Letters To The 127 Customers That Are Behind. This Will Either Start March 1st Or April 1st. The Mayor Also Asked If Someone Came In And Wanted To Pay Their Bill For A Large Amount Of Money Would We Be Interested In Giving A Discount For Someone Who Pays Their Bill In Full? Commissioners All Agree No Discount They Have Had The Water For A Year So They Need To Pay Full Amount.
Commissioner Comments:
Commissioner Harkins Stated The Police And Fire Department Has Been Staying Busy, And Both Departments Are Doing Such A Great Job. No Complaints. Commissioner Simpson Stated He Is Glad The City Has A Deputy City Clerk And Congratulations Andrea.
Commissioner Stanley Stated The Books At Novacare Building Are Moving Out But Several People Are Taking Them. Street Department Is Doing A Good Job Keeping Up With Everything. We Are Ready For The Weather That Is Coming.
Commissioner Warren Stated The Water And Sewer Has Been Busy Working To Fix Problems. Culverts And Working On The Situation We Had In July, It's A Slow Process But We Are Working In The Right Direction.
20.Audience Questions Or Comments:
Mr Hastings Asked What The Name Of The Agency We Use To Make A Payment With Credit Or Debit Card Name Is. The Mayor Replied Payclix.
Is The Skuta Work Going To Find The Problem With The Backup In The Sewer Lines? The Mayor Stated Yes, We Hope It's A Step In Finding The Problem.
21. With No Further Business To Be Discussed, The Meeting Was Adjourned On A Motion By Commissioner Harkins At 6:55 P.M.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rheZF9zdmsRVkCM14VFRz6HCrkD7M5BFYKlOz58OVnQ/edit
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