City of West Frankfort City Council met Feb. 22.
Here are 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 February 8th, 2022 Regular 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 $181,041.54. 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 Approval To Promote Jeff Tharp, Rich Bernardini And Clint Willis To The Rank Of Captain For The City Of West Frankfort. We Have Not Had A Captain On Each Shift Since I Was Promoted To Chief; Stated Mr. Prudent. This Will Take Effect March 12, 2022. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
5. Approval Of A Resolution For Casino Tavern Regarding Redevelopment Of Certain Property Utilizing Tax Increment Financing Located In The City Of West Frankfort, Illinois. The Mayor Stated This Is A Tif Agreement And We Are Going To Work With The New Owner; Mr. Eric Gayer. He Has A Lot Of Expenses That He Will Be Doing. We Have Decided To Offer Him A One Time Amount Of $15,000.00. That Will Help Pay For A New Roof. If Someone Wants To Invest In West Frankfort; We Will Invest In Them Stated The Mayor, Commissioner Simpson Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
6. Discussion, With Possible Action, To Proceed With An IEPA Loan Application Regarding The Radio Read Water Meters Project For The City Of West Frankfort Water Department, Matt Tosh Of Brown And Roberts Stated That The City Had Made Pre Application With The EPA For Upgrading Our Manual Read Meters To The Radio Read System. In The Bi-Pass Period The EPA Has Indicated That West Frankfort Could Possibly Receive Up To $400,000.00 In Grant Funds For This Project. That Is 50% Of A Total Project Cost. Its 50% Grant Up To A $400,000.00 Maximum Grant. To Do The Complete Radio Read Project It Is Estimated To Be $2.4 Million Dollars. It Would Require Around Three (3) Projects At This Proposed Funding, So This Would Be A Phase 1 Project. They Are Looking For A Quick Answer On This Because If The City Does Not Want To Do This, They Need To Go To The Next Town On The List. They Are Asking At This Point If The City Is Interested In Going Forward Or Say No That We Would Like To Wait. All The Commissioners Asked Several Questions And Stated This Is Going To Be A 23 Year Commitment For The People Of West Frankfort, Rates Will Go Up, And Decided At This Time They Are Not Sure What They Want To Do. They Asked For A Couple More Days To Think All Of This Over And Tabled This Until Friday, February 25th At 10 A.M.
This Meeting Was Continued From The February 22nd Meeting On Friday, February 25th At 10 A.M. All Council Members Were Present Including The City Clerk And City Attorney. The Mayor Stated The Only Item We Have To Talk About Today Is The IEPA Loan Regarding The Radio Read Water Meters Project. We Were Reluctant To Take Action On Tuesday Night Was Because We All Wanted More Information About This Project. We Are Still Using Guys To Go Out And Read The Meters, Write Down The Reading, Then It Comes Back To The Office And Is Manually Entered. We Are Still Using Paper, And Need To Get Up To Date With The Digital Age. With This New System They Will Have A Radio Control On The Top Of It And Every Month On A Specific Day We Would Electronically Receive That Reading. So, There Will Not Be Someone Looking At The Meter, No One Writing It Down, And No One Inputting It Into The Computer, Which Means Less Chance Of A Mistake Happening. It Will All Be Direct Entry. Water Superintendent Jim White Stated The Guys He Has Working For Him Will Not Lose Their Jobs, They Will Be Helping Across All The Departments, Water, Sewer And Street. The Mayor Stated All Of This Is Subject To Our Decisions. The Only Thing We Are Deciding Today Is If We Want To Do This Program? I Had Reservations On Tuesday Evening, Because It Was So Overwhelming. But Believe We Had Already Made A Decision To Do This When We Gave Matt Tosh The Approval To Apply For The Grant. We Have Tried Several Times To Get This And There Is Never Any Funding Available. Now We Have The Chance To Get It Done At 50% Off The Cost. Jim White Stated He Has Spoken With Marion And Since They Have Installed This System, They Have Saw Their Income Rise Due To Replacing Faulty Meters With This System. Marion Has Went From A 25% Loss To 10% To Now 3%. Benton, Johnston City, And Sesser All Have This System. Commissioner Simpson Asked The City Clerk So We Are Getting Rid Of Two Loans Of The Seven We Currently Have, Correct? The City Clerk Stated Yes. The Mayor Asked Matt Tosh What The EPA Is Actually Wanting Them To Approve Today? Mr. Tosh Stated They Are Wanting To Know If You Are Interested In Moving Forward And Advertising For Bids For The Phase 1 Of This Project Which Is Approximately An $800,000.00 Project. Your Telling EPA That Your Interested In Moving Forward With Advertising For Bids In March And They Will Look At Allotting You The $400,000.00 Grant. We Can Accept Bids For Two Different Kinds Of Radio Read Meters, It Will Be A Dual Bid, So We Can Compare Everything. The Mayor Stated A Lot Of Things Will Have To Be Changed If We Get The New System. Ordinance Violations Updated, Tampering Fines And A List Of Other Things That The Customers Will Be Held Accountable For Paying For. This Will Just Be For The People That Are In City Limits. Commissioner Simpson Stated So It Will Be $22,000.00 A Year For 20 Years At 1% Interest, Then Double $44,000.00 For Phase 2 And $67,200.00 For Phase 3. Mr. Tosh Said That Is Correct. Deputy Finance Officer Chris Veteto Stated That Our Debt-To-Income Ratio Is Less Than 4%. Commissioner Simpson Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Adjourn At 10:32 A.M.
7. Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding The Acceptance Of Bids For The Demolition Of Certain Properties. The First Is At 602 East St. Louis Street A Bid Was Submitted By Joplin Excavating Of $3,000 And Another Bid From Middle Fork Excavating Was Submitted In The Amount Of $8,500. Joplin Was Awarded The Job. Joplin Also Was The Sole Bidder On 702 East St. Louis With A Basement In The Amount Of $4,750 Which Will Be Accepted As Soon As A Court Order Provides Us With The Paperwork. Commissioner Simpson Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
8. Approval To Advertise For Bids Regarding Certain Properties Located In The City Of West Frankfort Which Have Previously Been Declared As Surplus Real Estate. The Mayor Stated, We Are Trying To Get Out Of The Real Estate Business So Anyone That Wants To Submit A Bid On The Following Properties They Are Available At This Time. He Reminded Everyone There Is A $1,000 Minimum Bid Required.
Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
9. Approval Of An Estimate From Sandner Electric Company In The Amount Of $5,277.96 Regarding Repairs To A 15hp Flygt Pump For The Sewer Department. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
10.Approval Of An Estimate From Cummins Sales And Service In The Amount Of $4,176.41. This Was For A Generator Regarding Repairs For The Sewer Department. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
11.Approval To Pay An Invoice From Pritchett Supply Company In The Amount Of $1,634,70 Regarding Fire Hose Supplies For The Fire Department. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
12. The Next Item Was An Emergency Approval To Pay An Invoice From Xylem In The Amount Of $4,338.00 For Rental During Extremely Cold Weather At The Sewer Plant. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
13. The Next Item Was Chief Allen Stated His Temporary Appointment That He Had, His Time Has Ran Out And The Department Would Like To Try Someone Else. Chief Allen Asked For An Emergency Approval For Michael Fraulini To Be A Temporary 60 Day Replacement For The Fire Department, Mr. Fraulini Is A Benton Fireman; He Is One Of Our Dispatchers, So We Will Have To Replace His Position At Dispatch. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
The Next Item Was Chief Prudent Asked To Replace Michael Fraulini's Part Time Job As A Dispatcher And Asked For An Emergency Approval To Hire Shelby Lingle As A Full Time Dispatcher. To Replace The Part Time Help That Went To The Fire Department. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
14. The Next Item Was The Chamber Of Commerce Is Asking The City If They Would Be Interested In New Decorations For The Downtown Street Lights. They Would Be Hung From Jefferson To Short Street, They Would Be 6ft Soft Light Snowflakes. The Chamber Would Donate $4,000.00 To The Purchase If We Would Pay The Other $5,991.00. This Money Would Come From The Tourism Fund. Commissioner Simpson Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
15. Building And Sign Permits ~
There Were No Building Or Sign Permits This Meeting.
16. Mayor's Report -
The Mayor Stated That We Do Have A Planning Commission Now. We Appointed Them At The Last Council Meeting. They Met Last Night, Not Everyone Was Able To Be There So There Was Not Any Recommendations. But I Would Like To Thank Them For Serving And Look Forward To What They Bring To Us.
We Do Make Repairs To All Our Systems, The Water Department, The Sewer Department, When Something Breaks, We Have To Fix It, We Try To Manage It By Crisis But Sometimes That's What We Do. There Was A Desire At One Time To Keep A Spare Pump For The Sewer Department But Once We Get One Fixed Another One Seems To Go Bad.
The Mayor Wanted To Say To All His Staff, People That Work In This Room Here, The People That Help The Superintendents Out, Fire Chief And Police Chief, Sewer & Street Departments. No Man Runs This City Alone, Its Nice To Know That Whenever Your Sick Or Your Not Able To Be Here That Everything Keeps Running Smoothly. So, I Want To Thank All The People That Work Here And For The City. I Could Not Do This Without You All. We Are Pretty Open We Do Not Have Any Secrets; I Want Them To Know What I Know Because They Have To Make These Decisions. So That's Why We Are Going To Extend This Meeting Until Friday. I Want To Give Them Time To Look Over All The Information For The Meters, Its S $2.4 Million Dollar Decision And I Want All The Commissioners To Have Time To Review All The Information, Not Make A Decision In 30 Minutes.
Commissioner Harkins Stated That He Appreciates What The Council Does To Help Out The Police And Fire Departments. Both Departments Are Doing A Good Job. They Stay Busy.
Commissioner Simpson Stated That This Isn't About Finances But, I’ve Never Known Anybody Who Appreciates Other People As Much As You Do And Verbally Tells Them So. Really, I've Never Known Anyone. Your Constantly Appreciating Other People. I Admire That, A Lot Of People Think It And Don't Say It. You Are A One In A Million When It Comes To Appreciating Other People And Letting Them Know. The Mayor Stated “My Mother Gave That To Me, To Be Humble, Thank You So Much, I Appreciate That."
Commissioner Stanley Stated That The Street Department Are Keeping Busy Keeping All The Storm Drains Cleaned Out. We Also Got A Tree Down And Cleaned Up. And Also Staying Busy Filling Pot Holes.
Commissioner Warren Stated That With All The Weather We Have Had Lately That Everyone Is Working. Water And Sewer And Street Departments Are Helping Each Other. Trying To Do The Best For The City. I Like The Fact That We Are Thinking About Things And Trying To Be Fair. Everyone Is Doing A Good Job. The Mayor Replied, "You Can Tell No One Up Here Is A Politician, Because Politicians Do What Their Constituents Want Them To Do. Public Servants Do What’s Best For The Community."
17.Audience Questions Or Comments:
Thomas Summers Was In The Audience, He Has Lived Here For 52 Years And He Is Fed Up With Crime In Our Community. He Has A House Where His In-Laws Used To Live That Someone Broke Into. They Did Thousands Of Dollars Worth Of Damage. The Neighbors Called The Police Around December 15th, 2021 And I Did Not Know Anything Until I Got An Electric Bill In January That Was Not Right. The Neighbor Called The Police, They Came Out And Checked The Property Out. Then On The 26th Of December I Called The Police Station At Around 4 Am And Had Them Come Out. Crime In Our City Is Bad. I Can't Sleep At Night Because I Have A Neighbor Behind Me That Thinks 3 A.M. Is The Same As 3 P.M. In The Afternoon. Out Running The Streets Selling His Dope And Stealing. I’m Not Saying He Stole From My Property But People Like Him Are. I Had Locks On The Back Door, 2 Pad Locks A Kicker On The Front Door, All The Windows Screwed Shut, And The Back Door Completely Secure As Well It Don't Matter. I’m Scared To Come Home Because Of What I Might Find. I've Talked To The Chief Before And I Would Like To Talk To Him Again After This Meeting. I’m Frustrated. I Would Of Thought Someone From Dispatch Would Of Called Us To Let Us Know This Happened Before It Set There Open For A Month. They Had Stuff All Across The Windows And Doors So You Couldn't See In There To See If Any Lights Were On. I Drive By Every Week To Check On It But I Did Not Go To The Door To Check On The Inside. The Mayor Asked "So You Have Sat Down And Talked To Our Policy Chief Before?" Mr. Summers Stated “I Haven't Yet, He Is Hard To Get Ahold Of." Chief Of Police John Prudent Stated "The One Guy You Are Talking About We Arrested Him Not Only On A Drug Offense But Also A Weapons Offense And He Is Already Out, We Are Doing All We Can Do On Our End, But We Are Still Working That Area.” The Mayor Stated To Mr. Summers, I Think Your Doing The Right Thing By Making Your Voice Heard. I Am Also Sorry For What Happened To Your Mother In Laws House, When Someone Goes Through Your Belongings It Violates You. We Have Thirteen (13) Officers Right Now In A Town Of 7,800 People It Is Not Just A West Frankfort Problem Unfortunately, Its In Every Town Anymore. Chief Prudent Will Make Recommendations As To What You And We Can Do. You Have Every Right To Complain, I’m Glad You Came To The Meeting. The Criminal Justice System Is What Is Failing Us. They Let Them Back Out, They Go To Court And They Don't Want To Keep Them In Jail. The Mayor Thanked Him For Coming And Mr. Prudent Will Talk To You And If You Need My Number You Can Call Me.
18. With No Further Business To Be Discussed, The Meeting Was Continued Until Friday, February 25th, 2022 At 10 A.M. On A Motion By Commissioner Harkins At 6:41 P.M.
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