North Egypt News

City of West Frankfort City Council Met May 11.

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. Except For The Finance Commissioner Who's Seat Is Vacant.

2. Mayor Jordan Asked For Approval Of The Minutes From The April 27th, 2021 Council Meeting. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. 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 $348,969.37. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

4. The Next Item Was To Swear In And Confirm Roger Stanley As Duly Elected Street Commissioner To The City Of West Frankfort City Council. The Mayor Stated Mr. Stanley Has Been Serving As Street Commissioner When The Seat Was Left Vacant By Commissioner Chambers. Mr. Stanley Ran For The Election Unopposed. We Want To Officially Welcome Mr. Stanley As An Elected Official Of The City Council.

5. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Resolution Appointing Supervisory Positions Within The City Of West Frankfort. The Mayor Stated On The First Meeting In May; We Have To Do Our Appointment Of Officers. The Mayor And City Council Of The City Of West Frankfort Hereby Appoint the Following Positions: City Attorney - Attorney Mike Riva, Fire Chief - Jody Allen, Police Chief - John Prudent, City Clerk//Treasurer - Angie Baker Deaton, Deputy City Clerk - Andrea Bolen, Deputy Treasurer - Chris Veteto, Street Superintendent- Larry Presley, Water Superintendent - Jim White, Sewer Superintendent- Charles Hubble, Incubator/Mall Manager - Don Gass. The Mayor Stated These Are Our Dream Team, A Lot Of These People Work Very Hard, And We Could Not Run The City Without Them. Commissioner Stanley 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 Approval Of A Resolution Appointing Board Members To The West Frankfort Library Board. Mrs. Susan Patton And Mrs. Regina Sanders Were Set To Expire In The Year 2021. They Have Been Reappointed As Board Members Expiring In The Year 2021. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve, Motion Carried.

7. The Next Item Was A Proclamation Regarding Mental Health Awareness Month. The Mayor Stated He Would Like To Welcome Whomever Would Like To Be The Spokes Person For Mental Health Awareness Month. We Have Members Here From Centerstone And Spero Councseling & Wellness Center. It Was Stated That The Demand For Services In This Area Is Large. Last Month Was One Of Their Busiest Months Since The Pandemic Started. Lots Of Mental Health Issues, Depression And Substance Abuse In The Communities. Most Appointments Are Vitual At Centerstone But They Are Hoping To Be Back In Person By July 1st. Tara Fasol Chambers And Jon Adkins Stated That At Spero They Have In Person Appointments With All Precautions Taken To Protect Everyone. Since They Are A Satelite Office Their Space Is Smaller Practice; They Have The Room To Do What's Necessary For The Patients To Feel Safe And Comfortable. They Are Also Now Doing Telehealth. The CEO of Spero Was Also In Attendance. The Mayor Stated Mental Health Is A Big Issue, And The Last Year With Covid Has Taken A Toll On A Lot Of People. If The City Can Help In Any Way; Please Let Us Know, Commissioner Harkins 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 A Donation To The West Frankfort City Park For The July 4th Celebration To Be Paid From The Tourism Fund. Usually, Every Year We Have Fireworks And The City Likes To Help With The Cost Of This. So, This Year We Will Be Donating $3,500.00 Towards The Cost Of Fireworks To Be At The West Frankfort Park. The Celebration Will Be On Friday, July 2nd, 2021. They Were Wanting To Schedule It Around All The Other Displays Going On For The Fourth, So People Can Enjoy All The Celebrations Going On Around Us, Commissioner Stanley 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 Of The West Frankfort Recreation Association To Sponsor Their Annual Memorial Day Parade On Monday, May 31, 2021 At 9:00 A.M. Kids Will Start Off The Ball Season This Day, They Will Ride Around The Park In The Back Of A Truck To Introduce The Ball Teams. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

10. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Lease Agreement Between The City Of West Frankfort And Judith Dunston For The Use Of Property By The Street Department. The Mayor Stated Our Street Department Is On South Lincoln And Charles Street, There Is A Railroad Bed That Goes Two Blocks In That Area. She Has Been Good Enough To Allow Us To Use That Area To Store Rock, Bad Dirt, Good Dirt, Etc On Those Two Lots. Our Agreement Is We Are Going To Give Them $500 For The Last Several Years We Have Been Using It. And Then They Will Lease The Property To Us For $100 Per Lot A Year. If They Ever Sell It, We Will Have The First Right To Refusal Or To Buy It. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

11. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Purchase Agreement Between James R. Dunston And The City Of West Frankfort For The City To Purchase Three Lots, Parcel No. 12-19-455 003, One Parcel Number For The Three Lots. It Is South Of The City Shed And The Price Is $3,300. The Street Commissioner Said We Need To Buy It For Use By The Street Department. Its One Of The Few Pieces Of Property That Attaches To Our Property. We Can Expand, Gravel It And Use It To Park Equipment There. With Council's Approval We Would Like To Purchase Those Three Lots. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

12. The Next Item Was Approval Of DCEO Grant Administrative Bill #2 To Brown & Roberts, Inc In The Amount Of $7,500.00 For The Monroe Street Sewer Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

13. The Next Item Was Approval Of Construction Engineering Bill #5 To Brown & Roberts, Inc In The Amount Of $1,785.29 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. Motion Carried.

14. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Contractor's Pay Estimate #4 To Wiggs Excavating, Inc. In The Amount Of $9,600.00 For The Taft Street Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project – Phase Ii Project. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

15. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Skuta Construction, Inc In The Amount Of $3,990.00 For Cleaning And Video Of Sewer Lines. Commissioner Warren Stated This Is For Root Removal And To Keep The Water Flowing. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

16. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Fowler Heating & Cooling In The Amount Of $2,980.00 For Labor Only Regarding WFBI Server Room AIC Roof Top. Installed A Mitsubishi Roof Unit To Wallace Suite 1 Server Room. Installed On Roof, Piped And Vented Through Roof. Wallace Bought The Unit, Unit Tested And Running. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion For Approval. Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

17. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Gandy's Body Shop, Inc. In The Amount Of $3,992.70 For Damage To Police Department Vehicle. Repair Of Damage To Unit 7, 2019 Dodge Ram, Related To Traffic Crash That Occurred On 11/23/2020. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

18. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Fowler Heating & Cooling In The Amount Of $2,581.00 For Repairs To The WFBI. Industrial Range Hood-Exhaust Fan Was Being Vented Above Dropped Ceiling Causing Fume Issues In Other Areas Of WFBI Office Complex, Was Not Previously Installed By Code. Installed Bigger Fan And Vented Through The Roof As Per Code. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

19. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding A Request From The Sewer Department To Authorize Advanced Rehabilitation Technology To Line A Manhole With Cost Of $2,200.00. Commissioner Warren Stated That They Are Going To Clean Up The Manhole Then Line It And Hopefully It Will Help With The Drainage Problems. We Get Two For The Price Of One With This Company. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

20. Approval To Transfer Lake Lot #29 W22 From Cliff (Deceased) & Donna Kellam To Ronald & Carl A Watson, Larry & Jacqueline Essary, As Joint Tenants. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

21. Building And Sign Permits ~

First One We Have For Si Storage & Rental LLC, Ryan & Sara Ridgeway, Who Is Going To Be Building A Storage Unit On A Concrete Slab, With Electricity Next To Caseys At 1309 E. Main. Estimated Cost Is $30,000.00 Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve.

The Second One Is For Dollar Tree In The West Frankfort Plaza. They Are Wanting To Relocate To The Old Superx Drug Store Building, Which Is Over By Krogers. They Are Going To Renovate The Structure On The Inside. They Will Be Working On The Ceiling Light, Bathrooms, Plumbing, Fixtures, Etc. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve.

22. Officer's Report ~

Fire Report For The Month Of April 2021. Chief Allen Reported They Had 183-Ambulance Calls, 3- Rubbish/Illegal Fires, 4- Brush/Field Fires, 3 Motor Vehicle Accidents, 5 Fire Alarm, 3 Vehicle Fires, 3 Fire Emergency; (Gas Leaks, Power Lines Down), 2 Structure Fire And 1 Smoke Scare, 1 Mutual Aid Calls. For A Total Of 208 Calls During The Month. The Department Used Approximately 79,500 Gallons Of Water. The Department Collected $69,902.72 For Ambulance Calls.

Police Report For The Month Of April 2021. Chief Prudent Reported Officers Answered A Total Of 1.105 Calls For Service. Of Those Calls 18 Were Traffic Accidents, 2 With Injury. Officers Responded To 22 Domestic Disputes, 7 Fights In Progress, 14 Alarms, 2 Intoxicated Persons, 5 Burglaries, 14 Reports Of Criminal Damage To Property, 10 Complaints Of Juvenile Problems, 29 Reported Thefts, And 96 Complaints Of Disorderly Conduct/Disturbances. 15 Street Contacts. Officers Conducted 121 Traffic Stops, Issued 35 Citations, 95 Warnings, And 5 Lw-27's. There Were 54 Adult Arrests Made And 11 Juvenile Arrests, Resulting In 85 Criminal Charges Filed. Dispatchers Answered 1,385 Calls. Of Those, 646 Were 9-1-1 Calls, 109 Were Walk In Requests. 1,105 Were For Police, 208 Were For West Frankfort Fire, 10 Were For Thompsonville Fire/Ems, And 17 Were For Abbott Ems, And 1 For United Ambulance. And For The Month Of March, We Collected $2,415.00 In Fines And Fees.

Codes Report For The Month Of April~ 2 Building Permits Were Issued, O Sign Permits. Rental Properties- 3 New Rental Properties, 6 Rental Inspections. Complaints-75 Nuisance Complaint Phone Calls, 14 Nuisance Letters Mailed, 58 Nuisance Complaints Resolved. Buildings-3 Occupancy Prohibited Signs Posted, 7 Dangerous & Burned Out Buildings Identified, 40 Dangerous & Burned Out Buildings In Progress, O Dangerous & Burned Out Buildings Demolished, 2 Files Given To Attorney O Fast Track. Vehicles-6 Inoperable/Abandoned Vehicles Letters Mailed, 6 Inoperable/Abandoned Vehicles Resolved. O Citations Given.

23. Mayor's Report ~

The Mayor Stated That He Would Start Off About Dollar Tree. The Moreland's Are Working Very Hard To Fill That Strip Mall Where Kmart Was At. They Have Some Very Promising Contacts Out There And They Hope That By Next Summer That Whole Entire Strip Mall Is Full. Its Nice To Have Hometown People Who Are Invested In The Community. They Purchased That Mall When It Became Available And They Are Working Very Hard On Getting It Filled.

We Have Had Meetings This Week On Three Different Things That Are Coming To West Frankfort That We Will Be Announcing Soon. It's Been Very Positive.

Also Remind Everyone That Old King Coal Is Starting Thursday Night And Runs Through Sunday. We Are Looking Forward To That. The Festival Will Be Outside And All Safety Precautions Will Be Followed. He Would Also Like To Say Thank You To The Committee Who Does All The Work On That. It's A Huge Task To Get It All Organized.

They Have Been Working All Week Getting The Flowers Out On Main Street. The Hanging Baskets Are Done, And Working On The Planters Now. Most Of Those Flowers Are Paid For By Donations From People Like You And Businesses. The Street Department, Commissioner Stanley, Larry Presley And Crew Have All Been Working Hard To Get The Downtown Area Looking Good.

I Would Also Like To Thank Chris Veteto And The Water Department. They Have Diligently Been Working On Getting All The People From Last Year Who Did Not Pay Their Water Bills, To Pay Them. Jim White; Water Supervisor, Linda Warren Our Water/Sewer Commissioner, And Our Girls At The Water Counter Have Been Patient But It Has Became Apparent That It Was Time To Start Collecting The Money That Was Due To The City. Payclix Was Orginally In Charge Of It But Has Since Been Given To Our Staff And They Have All Done A Great Job Of Getting This Taken Care Of. They Have Worked Out Payment Plans For Up To A Year To Pay Back These Debts. The Mayor Stated Things Work Well, When You Have People That Get Along With Each Other, Work Well Together, Are Courteous To Our Customers, And Get Things Done. I Am Very Pleased With Our Staff.

24.Commissioner Comments:

Commissioner Harkins Stated That He Knows We All Heard The Report From Police And Fire Chiefs. The Numbers Are Always Up There Every Month. The Guys In Both Departments Do A Great Job When These Problems Arise. He Also Realizes That A Lot Of People Are Going To Be Coming To Town For The Old King Coal Festival So Hopefully That Goes Smoothly.

Commissioner Stanley Stated That Larry And The Street Department Guys Are Getting The Streets, And Parking Lots Ready. We Had To Buy A New Water Tank For Watering The Flowers Downtown Our Old One Collapsed. The Guys Are Doing A Great Job.

Commissioner Warren Stated The Water And Sewer Has Been Doing A Great Job. We Have Been Changing Out Some Meters In The Water Department, Collecting On The Bills Trying To Get Everyone Up To Date. And The Sewer Department Is Still Busy Trying To Get Them Cleared Out And Running Better. Everything Is Going Pretty Good So Far. We Do Have A Lake Committee Meeting This Thursday May 20th, At 6pm.

25.Audience Questions Or Comments:

Mr. Hastings Asked Im Not Familiar With The Old Superx Building; Would They Mean The Old Cvs Building In The Kmart Plaza? The Mayor Stated "Yes". It Is Right Next To Kroger. It Is A Bigger Space So They Will Be Moving Into A Larger Facility And Renovate It.

Mr. Willis That Placed A Bid On A Property At 1108 East Oak Street Was Under The Impression That His Bid Would Be Voted On For Surplus Property. The Mayor Stated It Was Not Added To The Agenda, By Accident So We Are Going To Make Sure Its On The Next Meeting On May 25, 2021. Legally We Have To Have It On The Agenda First. Mr. Willis Stated That He Will Just Keep Mowing It Then And Taking Care Of It Until The Next Meeting.

26.With No Further Business To Be Discussed, The Meeting Was Adjourned On A Motion By Commissioner Harkins At 6:39 P.M.

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