City of West Frankfort City Council met July 13.
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 June 22th, 2021 Council Meeting And June 24th, 2021 Special 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 $244,321.43. Commissioner Simpson 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 Discussion With Possible Action, Regarding The Acceptance Of Bids From Independent Contractors Regarding Janitorial Services For City Hall And The Police Department. The Mayor Stated We Have Four (4) Bids. The First One Was A Bid From Clean As A Whistle And Their Address Is Out Of Springfield; Their Bid Is For City Hall $1,400 And The Police Station $900 Total Is $2,300 Per Month. The Next Bid Is From Nicole Fry From West Frankfort Her Bid Is City Hall $1,200 And $1,200 For Police | For A Total Of $2,400 Per Month. Rek Janitorial From West Frankfort $500 For City Hall And $240 For Police Station For A Total Of $740 A Month. Then We Received A Bid From Alert Properties; Out Of Zeigler $500 For City Hall And $350 For Police Station For A Total Of $850 A Month. The Mayor Stated These Last Two Bids Are Reasonable. What I Would Like To Recommend Is Invite These Bidders' In To Talk To Ray Ketterman And James Emberton About Their Bids. Commissioner Simpson Will Join In On The Meeting With These Two Companies And Will Make A Final Decision On It By The Next Council Meeting.
5. The Next Item Was Approval Of An Ordinance Annexing Parcel No. #11-36-226-019 Owned By James R. Purcell Into The Corporate Limits Of The City Of West Frankfort, Franklin County, Illinois. The Mayor Stated We Had A Meeting With The Planning Commission And Are In Agreement That He Can Be Zoned Commercial. So, We Can Continue To Finish Up Making That Address Part Of The City, So We Can Collect Tax Money From The Business. His Desire Is To Work Out Of That Space Out There, Cook All His Food There And Prep Work There, He Would Have Limited Seating Outside For People To Come By And Eat When He Isn't Out In The Food Truck
6. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Resolution Of Acceptance Of Proposals To Furnish Materials And Approval Of Award Regarding The 2021 Motor Fuel Program. The Wining Bidders Were Illini Asphalt Corp For The Emulsified Asphalt Hfe-150, Ca-16, Regrade & Compact Road Base; Beelman Logistics, LLC For Ca-10 And Ca-7; And Emulsicoat, Inc (Formerly Marathon) For Emulsified Asphalt Hfe-300. Commissioner Stanley 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 Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding The Position Of Codes Officer. The Mayor Stated We Had Advertised This Position For Part Time, With No Benefits. This Is One Of The Most Important Jobs We Have Available. He Would Like To Make The Suggestion To Hire Some One Full Time. A Retired Policeman, Firefighter, Or A Retired Contractor Or Electrician Would Be Ideal Because You Would Have To Have A Lot Of Qualifications. They Must Be Able To Talk To People, You Also Have To Be A Diplomate, And Be Able To Take Action. We Would Like To Also Hire An Attorney To Represent Us At Court So That Way We Can File Tickets And Go To Court For Us. Right Now; We Are Just Going To Hire A Codes Officer For A Full Time Position With Benefits. Commissioner Simpson And Warren Both Stated This Is An Important Job For The City And Someone Needs To Stay On Top Of Everything Going On. The Mayor Also Stated This Person Needs To Be Able To Use The Computer, Look Up Things On The Internet, Type Letters, Send Faxes And Emails, Write Tickets, Call The County, Etc. Our Office Staff Is Not Their Personal Secretary. With The Council's Approval We Will Re Advertise Offering A Full Time Position With Benefits, And Pay Based On Experience. The Mayor Also Stated Right Now The Ordinance States That Codes Enforcement Officer Is Appointed By The Mayor With Consent From The Council, But The Operations They Serve Under The Police And Fire Departments, And Jerry Harkins. He Would Like This Person To Be Able To Carry On From Administration To Administration So, The Ordinance Will Be Changed To Say That It Is Not A Political Appointment.
8. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding An Ordinance Addressing Certain Specifications For The Construction Of Residential Homes. The Mayor Stated This Is Being Reviewed Because We Have Some Requirements That Need To Be Clarified On What A Minimum Standard For A House Would Be Approved By Codes In West Frankfort. We Are Not Going To Let People Live In A Cook Building With No Bathroom. Hale Duke Stated He Would Be Happy To Help The City With Setting Up Guidelines For A Home In West Frankfort. We Are Going To Make A New Ordinance About This. For Residential Construction The House Needs To Be A Minimum Of 600 Square Feet. Mobile Home Is Around 800. It Has To Have Separate Rooms; Its Can Not Be Completely Open There Has To Be Walls, Bathroom Has To Have Toilet And Sink Or Toilet. 2x4's 16' Centers, Plywood Or Decking, And Two (2) Means Of Egress; So, You Out Of In Case Of A Fire. Has To Be On A Foundation Or A Slab; A Permanent Foundation. Water And Sewer Hookups. A Lot Of This Is In The Building Code, But We Want To Make It Clear To Everyone. Tiny Houses Will Not Be Allowed; We Are Trying To Protect The Property Value Of Our Homes And A Cook Building Will Not Be Allowed As A Neighbor Next To Anyone. We Just Want To Make Everything Clear And Put It All In One Place. We Will Try To Get It Put All Together So It Can Be On The Agenda For The Next Council Meeting.
9. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, - Allowing The Fire Department To Research And Obtain Specs For The Purchase Of A New Ambulance. Chief Allen Stated That The Issue We Have Right Now Is We Have Three (3) Ambulances. A 2016, A 2011 And A 2008. The 2016 Has Over 100k On It, 2011 Has +200k And The 2008 Has 120k On It, Its Our Oldest With The Least Number Of Miles. We Can Not Keep It On The Road, Its Constantly Broke Down. Its In The Shop Een There For 2 Months. Today We Had 2 Calls And Both Of Our Ambulances Were Out. We Have Been Down To One Ambulance To Cover The Whole Town A Lot Lately, We Have To Have Two On The Road At All Times. We Rotate Them To Keep The Miles Off Of Them. We Have To Take The Fire Engine When An Ambulance Isn't Available. The Quote We Have Is From A Place We Got The '16 From. Its Just Like The 2016, But The Price Is Increased $235,011.00. If We Get The Order In Now May Be March Or May. Having Trouble Getting The Chip For The Truck Chassis. Chief Allen Doesn't Want To Get Into An Issue Like We Had Before Where We Had To Rent One. The Mayor Asked Why Can't We Buy A Used One? Chief Allen Stated One You Don't Know What You Will Be Getting And Most Of Them Will Have High Miles And Getting Them Transferring, Inspected & Licensed It's A Problem. Commissioner Simpson And Stanley Both Agreed This Sounds Like And Emergency Situation And Needs To Be Handled Asap. The Mayor Stated We Don't Have The Money For This But We Supposedly Do Have Some Covid Relief Funds Coming Some Time From The Covid Relief Bill. So That May Be Something To Help Pay For This And Some New Police Cars For The Police Department. Chief Prudent Stated We Have Not Bought A Squad Car Since 2018.
10. The Next Item Was Approval To Accept Offers For Purchase Of Lots Deemed As Surplus.
A. 713 N. Palmer-Bid Was For $1010.00 Larry Hughes And Ben Nichols Sr. They Live At 802 N. Hughes And This Property Is Behind Them. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried. B. 1207 E. Clark ~$1,000 C. 405 S. Odle ~ $1,000 D. 608 E. 4th ~$1,000 E. 1104 E.Elm - $1,000
These Bids Were All From Hale & Margaret Duke To Build Small Homes On That Will Be +800 Square Feet. The Mayor And Commissioner Stanley Went Out To Inspect These Homes And They Meet All Requirements For The City. Mr. Duke Stated He Wants To Improve The Look Of The City. These Houses Will Be Perfect For Single Or Retired Couples. He Is Building And Selling These Houses For Cost And Any Extra Money Is Donated To Charity. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
F. 201 E. St. Louis - Bid Was For $1,000 From James Greene Who Is From Dix, Illinois. Commissioner Harkins 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 Pay Invoice #18 From Brown & Roberts, Inc In The Amount Of $11,767.89 Regarding 157 & Il Rt 149 Interchange Modification Phase 1 Engineering. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
12. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay Estimate #3 And Final For The Country Club Road, Taft And McClelland Overlay Project In The Amount Of $9,723.45. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
13. The Next Item Was Discussion Regarding Opiod Settlement As Presented By The City Attorney. The Mayor Stated It's Been Quite A While Ago But We Entered Into A Class Action Lawsuit And We Are Working Towards A Settlement. The City Attorney Mike Riva Stated Since This Involves Litigation The Council Is Authorized To Go Into Executive Session To Discuss.
14. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Gahn's Tree And Stump Removal In The Amount Of $8,500 For The Street Department. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
15. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice In The Amount Of $18,069 Regarding Sludge Removal For The Sewer Department. Commissioner Simpson Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
16. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice To Franklin County In The Amount Of $1,725.73 Regarding Payment Of Property Taxes For Parcel No. #12-19-262-006.The Mayor Stated This Is One Of The Properties We Aquired That The Taxes Had Not Been Paid On, So We Need To Pay Them To Clear The Property. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
17. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice To Franklin County 911 In The Amount Of $4,278.75 Regarding The Annual Renewal For The Dispatch System/Records System. The Mayor Stated This Is Our Portion Of The Bill, The County And 911 Has Also Received Their Part Of This Bill. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
18. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice To Illinois EPA In The Amount Of $17,500.00 Regarding The Annual NPDES Fee For The Sewer Department. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
19. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice To Energy Culvert Co. In The Amount Of $3,837.09 Regarding Home Owner's Requests For Ditches For The Street Department. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
20. The Next-Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice To Wiggs Excavating In The Amount Of $3,900.00 Regarding Clean Up The Dump Ground For The Street Department. Commissioner Stanley Stated We Had A Citizen Take More Branches And Trees Out There Than We Thought They Were Going To. So, We Had To Get A Dozer Out There To Help Clean It Up. We Are Hoping This Citizen Is Going To Help Pay For Some Of This Bill. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
21. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice To Universal Blower Pac In The Amount Of $2,640.00 Regarding A Motor For The Sewer Department. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
22. The Next Item Was Emergency Approval Brought To Our Attention By Commissioner Harkins To Request The Council's Approval Of Paying A Quote To Tricounty Roofing The Amount Of $2.800.00 For A Roof Repairs At The Fire Department. Chief Allen Stated That When It Rains Its Dripping Into Our Day Room And Living Quarters; We Have Been Dealing With This For Quite A While. By Using Buckets To Catch The Leaks But It Is Getting Worse. Its Not Just A Patch Job, Its Where The Building Meets On The West Side Of The Building. There Are 5-6 Places They Are Going Fix. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
23. Officer's Report - Fire Report For The Month Of June 2021. Chief Allen Reported They Had 180-Ambulance Calls, 5- Rubbish/Illegal Fires, O- Brush/Field Fires, 3 Motor Vehicle Accidents, 7 Fire Alarms, 2 Vehicle Fires, 6 Fire Emergency; (Gas Leaks, Power Lines Down), 1 Structure Fire And O Smoke Scare. 5 Mutual Aid Calls. For A Total Of 209 Calls During The Month. The Department Used Approximately 45,500 Gallons Of Water. The Department Collected $32,076.61 For Ambulance Calls.
Police Report For The Month Of June 2021-Chief Prudent Reported Officers Answered A Total Of 1,102 Calls For Service. Of Those Calls 19 Were Traffic Accidents, 1 With Injury. Officers Responded To 36 Domestic Disputes, 4 Fights In Progress, 16 Alarms, 3 Intoxicated Persons, 6 Burglaries, 13 Reports Of Criminal Damage To Property, 19 Complaints Of Juvenile Problems, 26 Reported Thefts, And 69 Complaints Of Disorderly Conduct/Disturbances. 30 Street Contacts. Officers Conducted 113 Traffic Stops, Issued 25 Citations, 93 Warnings, And 9lw-27's. There Were 75 Adult Arrests Made And 4 Juvenile Arrests, Resulting In 95 Criminal Charges Filed. Dispatchers Answered 1,359 Calls. Of Those, 789 Were 9-1-1 Calls, 108 Were Walk In Requests. 1,102 Were For Police, 209 Were For West Frankfort Fire, 7 Were For Thompsonville Fire/Ems, And 6 Were For Abbott Ems, And 1 For United Ambulance. And For The Month Of June, We Collected $2,120.00 In Fines And Fees. Codes Report For The Month Of June~ Was Not Available Due To Position Being Vacant.
24.Building And Sign Permits - There Were None For This Meeting.
25. Mayor's Report -The Mayor Stated He Had Already Talked Enough And The Only Thing He Has Is There Is A Group Of People That Have Requested To Have A Fishing Tournament At The New City Lake On October 3rd, 2021. They Have Approval From Illinois Department Of Natural Resources To Do This. And The Lake Committee Did Not See A Problem Waving The Fees For Vehicle Stickers For That Day. Also; When The Auditor Gets In Here, We Will Be Talking About Raising The Sewer And Water Rates. There Will Be An Increase Coming.
26.Commissioner Comments: Commissioner Harkins Stated That The Police And Fire Department Stay Busy. We Do Need To Get That New Ambulance Ordered For Our Fire Department. He Also Brought Up An Emergency Approval For Roof Repairs At The Fire Department, See Item Number 22 On The Minutes Above, Commissioner Harkins Also Asked When They Were Going To Start Construction On The Main Street On The West Side Of Town? The Mike Roberts Our Engineer Stated It’s Been Awarded And Should Start This Fall.
Commissioner Simpson Stated That Main Street Is Looking Really Nice With The New Road And Beautiful Flowers. Now If We Could Just Get A Codes Officer; We Could Extend That Beauty Throughout The Town.
Commissioner Stanley Stated That The Street Department
Guys Are Staying Really Busy, Mr. Presley Has Been Busy With The Pumps All Weekend Due To All The Rain. They Are Getting Tree Limbs All Down, Ditches Cleaned Out, Putting In A Lot Of Tiles And Sidewalks In. It's Been Tough With All The Humidity But They Are Doing A Good Job And Getting It Done.
Commissioner Warren Stated The Water And Sewer Has Been Doing Fine. They Have Been Reading Meters And Taking Care Of Things At The Sewer Plant. I Know I Haven't Had Any Major Calls.
27.Audience Questions Or Comments:
Isabelle Heyder Stated The Best Fireworks Were At The City Lake This Year. Eagles Nest Shot Some Of Them Off And So Did Some Other Individuals All Across The Lake. So; Thank You To All The People At There Who Put On An Amazing Show. She Also Stated That The Homeless People Living In Tents Are Not All From West Frankfort. They Are From Everywhere. I'm All For Helping People, But Let's Help Our Own That Already Live In This Community; Not Bring In More That Aren't From Here. Commissioner Warren Stated There Is A Tent Down By My House, There Is A Network Of Them And They Find Out You're Giving Something Free Away They Are All Going To Be Coming To West Frankfort, Do We Really Want That? Like You Said Earlier We Have All These Housing Apartments Around Here Why Can't They Live There? The Mayor Stated Convicted Felons Can Not Live In Federal Housing. I Would Rather Have Them In A Cook Building Than A Tent. But I Don't Want Either One Of Them In My Neighborhood. The Mayor Stated He Agreed With Her. Mrs. Heyder Also Asked Do You Realize That If One Of Those People Fall And Get Hurt At The Old City Hall, They Are Looking For A Quick Payout; The City Would Be Liable For That. Commissioner Simpson Stated That's Something To Consider. The Mayor Stated We Have Had That Building Appraised, I Do Not Have A Problem Selling That Building Or Getting A Realtor To List It. The Mayor Then Stated There Are People Who Have A Heart For Helping People And God Is Leading Them And He Is Just Trying To Not Get In The Way. Mrs Heyder Stated I Know These People Have A Heart For It But I Do Not Think They Would Want A Tent In Their Backyard. Also; If They Can't Live In A Camper Or In A Cook Building You Should Go By The Ordinance Then And They Should Not Be Able To Live In A Tent. They Mayor Stated If They Are On Your Property; You Can Run Them Off, Mrs. Heyder Stated But They Come Right Back.
The Mayor Then Stated He Would Like Ask The Council To Take Some Action At The Old Morthland College Formerly First Christian Church That Is Now Abandoned. We've Contacted The Bank And Told Them 7 Windows Have Been Knocked Out, Or Left Open, They Have Shot Fire Extinguishers Off, People Have Been Inside The Building Stealing Whatever They Can Find, Water And Mold In The Building. The Bank Called Him Back And Said It's Been Released And They Are Out Of It. Do With It As You Wish, They Gave It Back To Doc. He Is Not Going To Fix It Up So What I Would Like To Do Since It Is Eventually Going To Come To The City. I Would Like To Have The Street Department Or Hire An Outside Agency. To Put Plywood Up On The Broken Windows, Secure The Building For No Access, Cut Down All The Bushes That Hide The Access Windows. Put A No Trespassing Sign On The Building And If Police Officers Find Anyone Leaving That Building; They Will Be Arrested. That Building Is Marginably Salvagable. All Commissioners Agreed The Building Needs To Be Secured. Commissioner Stanley Said He Would Get His Guys Over There And They Would Secure It And Take Down The Old College Signs. Commissioner Warren Asked If That's What's Been Happening At The Old Daily American Building Too? The Mayor Said Yes. That Building Is Another One We Would Like To Save Before It Gets Too Bad.
28. Mayor Jordan Asked For Approval To Go Into Executive Session To Discuss Contract Negotiations, Personnel, Land Acquisition And/Or Pending Litigation, With Possible Action, Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners Along With The Mayor Voted Yes. Motion Carried. The Council Went Into Executive Session At 7:18 P.M.
29. The Council Returned To Open Session At 7:37 P.M. On A Motion By Commissioner Harkins, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners Along With Mayor Jordan Voted To Return To Open Session. Motion Carried.
30. Upon Recommendation Of The City Attorney, Approval Of Accepting A Bankruptcy Settlement From Purdue Pharma Regarding The Current Litigation Filed. Commissioner Simpson Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
31. With No Further Business To Be Discussed, The Meeting Was Adjourned On A Motion By Commissioner Harkins At 7:38 P.M.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ki6jnJm272U6fOWdaTAFJwcp-RhjUv86OM_37DZ4FL8/edit
Alerts Sign-up