North Egypt News

City of Benton City Council met Dec. 13.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Mayor Kondritz Called The Meeting To Order. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz Were Present For Roll Call. All Members Were Present In Person At City Hall.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve The Minutes Of The Regularly Scheduled City Council Meeting Held On Monday, November 22, 2021. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve The Minutes Of The Special Called City Council Meeting Held On Tuesday December 7, 2021. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve Purchase Order #001777 To Vandevanter Engineering For A 4” Pump In The Amount Of $13,250.00. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Messersmith Made A Motion To Approve Purchase Order #001778 To Best One Tire For 2 Rear Backhoe Tires In The Amount Of $2,227.00. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Storey Stated That He Had No Purchase Orders.

Commissioner Storey Stated That The Benton Fire Department Has Had 890 Calls Already This Year. Commissioner Storey Stated That It Is Time For A Sixth Fireman To Be Hired. Commissioner Storey Stated That He Can Guarantee A Reduction In Overtime With The Hiring Of A Sixth Fireman. Commissioner Storey Also Stated That He Felt That It Was Pathetic To Not Allow This To Happen. Commissioner Messersmith Asked If All The Calls Were For The City Of Benton Or Other Communities. Commissioner Storey Stated That Some Of These Calls Were For Mabas. Commissioner Garavalia Stated That She Would Consider This A Priority And Look Into If It Can Be Fit Into The Next Budget Year. Commissioner Storey Then Made A Motion To Approve The Hiring Of A 6th Fireman. Motion Died For Lack Of A Second.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve Bills For The City Of Benton In The Amount Of $353,041.94. Commissioner Messersmith Seconded This Motion. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve Payroll For December 10, 2021 For The Police And Fire Departments In The Amount Of $50,851.69 And All Other Departments In The Amount Of $19.452.95 For A Total Payroll Of $70,304.64. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve Resolution #21-09 To Fund The Local Share Of The Wastena Street Project. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 1. Commissioner Storey. Commissioner Storey Stated That We Shouldn’t Be Able To Lay Asphalt If We Cannot Hire A New Fireman.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve Christmas Bonuses For The City Of Benton Employees. Commissioner Garavalia Stated That The Bonus Would Consist Of A $50.00 Gift Card For Benton Save A Lot And A $25.00 Gift Card For Ace Hardware. Commissioner Cockrum Seconded This Motion. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 1. Commissioner Storey.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve The 2022 Tax Levy Ordinance, Ordinance #21-10. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Table Approval Of The 2020-2021 Fiscal Year Audit As We Have Not Received It Yet. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Attorney Malkovich Stated That He Had No Updates For This Meeting.

Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Had No Purchase Orders For This Meeting.

Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Would Like Approval To Amend The Lake Hamilton Subdivision Covenants. After Discussion, Commissioner Messersmith Made A Motion To Begin The Process Of Amending The Covenants For The Lake Hamilton Subdivision. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Had Seen A Post On Facebook That Slanders The Mayor. Mayor Kondritz Read The Facebook Post Stating That The Mayor Was Raising Gaming Fees And That He Has Received Many Calls Regarding This Situation. Mayor Kondritz Stated That This Is A Lie And That He Has No Intention Of Raising Fees As The Citizens Have Endured Enough Through This Pandemic. Mayor Kondritz Stated That The Increase In Revenue From The Added Gaming Machines In The City Of Benton Has Actually Allowed Him The Opportunity To Reduce The Machine Fees. Mayor Kondritz Asked For A Motion Decreasing The Gaming Machine Fees From $250.00 Per Machine To $200.00 Per Machine. Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Reduce Gaming Machine Fees From $250.00 Per Machine Per Year To $200.00 Per Machine Per Year. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Asked Zoning Administrator Brian Calcaterra To Speak On Letter (E) Discussion And/Or Approval Of Civicserv Master Services Agreement For Benton Downtown Tif And Benton Ijrl Tif #2. Mr. Calcaterra Explained The Tax Increment Financing Intelligence Platform And How They Will Handle Tif Applications, Scoring And Tracking Of Hb0571 Jobs, And Tracking Compliance. Mr. Calcaterra Stated That This Service Normally Would Cost $9,000.00, But If We Adopt This Early There Will Be A Discount Of $3,000.00 Making The Total $6,000.00 Per Year. Mr. Calcaterra Also Stated That This Will Be Paid With Tif Funds, $3,000.00 Per Tif. Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve This. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

No Miscellaneous Business.

No Old Business.

No New Business.

In Matters From The Public Audience, Mr. Ron Rose Questioned Why The City Is Still Allowing Parking On East Main Street. Mr. Rose States That He Drives A Truck And That This Is Not Safe. Mr. Greg Kimmel That He Wanted To Thank The City Of Benton For Giving Him Permission To Collect Donations And Purchase The Grass Eating Carp Into Lake Benton. Mr. Kimmel Stated That 300 Grass Carp Were Launched Into Lake Benton On 10/20/21. Mr. Kimmel Also Stated That There Were Extra Donations And That He Was Able To Fix The Boat Launch To Lake Benton With Those Donations. Mr. Tom Carter Asked If Gaming Funds Could Be Used To Pay For A New Fireman. Mayor Kondritz Stated That This Is A Possibility.

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Adjourn. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

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