North Egypt News

City of Benton City Council met May 9.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Minutes Of The Regularly Scheduled Benton City Council Meeting Held At 6:00 P.M. In The Council Room At 1403 South Main Street Benton, Illinois, 62812.

Mayor Kondritz Called The Meeting To Order. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz Were Present For Roll Call.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve The Minutes Of The Public Hearing Held On Monday, April 25, 2022. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve The Minutes Of The Regularly Scheduled City Council Meeting Held On Monday, April 25, 2022. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Wanted To Go Out Of Order For This Meeting And Begin With Commissioner Storey.

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Appoint Chris Funkhouser As Benton Police Chief With A 15-Month Contract And A Starting Salary Of $67,000.00. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Swore In Police Chief Chris Funkhouser At This Time.

Commissioner Storey Stated That He Had No Purchase Orders For This Meeting.

Commissioner Storey Stated That He Would Like To Discuss Item (B) Discussion And/Or Approval Of Union Contract For The Fire Department, During Executive Session.

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Hire A 6th Fireman. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Garavalia Stated That The Council Should Have Received A Report In Their Packet For Police Department Incidents In The Month Of April. There Was A Total Of 431 Dispatch Calls That Included 28 Alarm Calls, 3 Ambulance Calls, 1 Armed Person Call, 2 Assault/Battery Calls, 16 Disorderly Calls, 21 Domestic Dispute Calls, 4 Fight-In-Progress Calls, 15 Juvenile Problem Calls, 2 Missing Juvenile Calls, 1 Prowler Call, 24 Suspicious Person Calls, 19 Theft Calls, 13 Welfare Checks, And Other Calls In The Amount Of 289. The Report Also Stated That There Was A Total Of 13 Traffic Accident Reports Completed, 24 Traffic Stops, And 9 Total Criminal Arrests.

Mayor Kondritz Asked Commissioner Garavalia To Present The Accounts And Finance Report To The Council At This Time.

Commissioner Garavalia Stated That She Had No Purchase Orders For This Meeting.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve Bills In The Amount Of $236,912.40. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve Payroll For May 2, 2022 For The Clothing Allowance For The Street Department In The Amount Of $2,125.00. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Garavalia Stated That She Would Like To Have A Written Policy On Whether Or Not The Council Will Continue To Offer Health Insurance For Council Members. Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Remembered The Council Making An Agreement To Not Take The Health Insurance. Commissioner Messersmith Stated That At The Time He Said He Didn’t Care Either Way Because He Had Insurance At That Time. Commissioner Messersmith Stated That Circumstances Have Since Changed And He Recently Began Taking The Health Insurance Through The City. Commissioner Garavalia Stated That She Had Done Some Research On Insurance That Is Available Through Continental Tire (Where Commissioner Messersmith’s Wife Works) And That Commissioner Messersmith Is Able To Get Insurance Through That Company. Commissioner Messersmith Stated That He Felt Calling His Wife’s Employer Was An Overstep And That If Information About His Wife’s Insurance Was Needed, He Should Have Been Approached. Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Form A Committee To Offer Their Recommendation As To Whether The City Should Or Should Not Continue To Offer Health Insurance To City Council Members. Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Wanted No Part Of This Committee. Commissioner Messersmith Stated That He Would Like To Be A Part Of This Committee And Then Seconded The Motion. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

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

Commissioner Cockrum Asked Mayor Kondritz If He Had Skipped His Turn. Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Was Not Skipping Anyone, Just Going Out Of Order For The Evening.

Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Had No Updates For This Meeting.

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

Mayor Kondritz Asked Attorney Malkovich If There Were Any Further Updates On Item (C) Discussion And/Or Approval Of Airport Ground Lease To Grueninger Aviation. Attorney Malkovich Stated That Mr. Mark Grueninger Was In The Audience And Asked If He Had Any Updates. Mr. Grueninger Stated That He Has A Meeting On May 11, 2022 With People’s Bank To Review The Lease. Attorney Malkovich Asked If A Motion Could Be Made By The Council To Table This Item Until A Further Date. Commissioner Messersmith Made This Motion. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Had Received A Resignation From The Zoning Board From John Mohr. Mayor Kondritz Asked For A Motion To Accept This Resignation. Motion To Accept The Resignation Of John Mohr From The Zoning Board Was Made By Commissioner Cockrum. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Would Like To Appoint Fred Kerley To The Zoning Board. Commissioner Cockrum Made This Motion. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Would Like To Call A Recess At This Time. Attorney Malkovich Asked Mayor Kondritz How Long The Recess Would Be. Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Would Like A 28-Minute Recess. Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Take A 28-Minute Recess, Resuming Session At 6:49 P.M. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

6:21 P.M.

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Return To Regular Session Following The Recess. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

6:44 P.M.

Commissioner Cockrum Stated That He Had No Purchase Orders.

Commissioner Cockrum Stated That He Had No Lake Lot Lease Transfers.

Commissioner Cockrum Stated That He Had Only Received One Bid For Fencing At The Street Barn. Commissioner Cockrum Stated That This Bid Was For $95,000.00. Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Deny The Bid For Fencing At The Street Department In The Amount Of $95,000.00. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Messersmith Made A Motion To Approve Purchase Order #00662 To Mccollum Electric For A Stop Light Control Monitor For The Traffic Lights On North Main And Petroff Road. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Messersmith Made A Motion To Approve Accepting The Low Bid For Mft Rock From Beelman Logistics In The Amount Of $27,980.00. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Messersmith Stated That The Guys All Handled The Parade Very Well And That All Candy Was Picked Up Off Of The Roadways.

In Miscellaneous Business, Mayor Kondritz Told Commissioner Messersmith That There Was Currently A Pothole On Whisper Way Where He Stated “Cars Disappear”. Commissioner Messersmith Stated That They Would Look Into This.

In Old Business, Commissioner Garavalia Stated That She Has Received Some Bids On Construction In The Water Department At City Hall From Erwin Builders To Build A Wall In The Amount Of $8,610 And Relocate The Drop Box In The Amount Of $1,600.00. Commissioner Garavalia Stated That She Would Present These At The Next Board Meeting.

Commissioner Garavalia Also Stated That She Does Not Want To Hurt Anyone Feelings When Disagreeing On An Item. However, Commissioner Garavalia Also Stated That She Will Remain Fair And Will Always Advocate For The Citizens Of Benton And Their Tax Dollars Being Spent Wisely.

In New Business, Commissioner Storey Stated That He Would Like To Speak With Matthew Harrison About The Possibility Of Raising The Fuel Costs At The Airport.

In Matters From The Public Audience, Mr. Tom Carter Asked If The Airport Is At Least Breaking Even With The Fuel Sales. City Clerk, Brook Craig, Stated That She Believed A Profit Was Being Made. Attorney Malkovich Stated That This Question Will Be Asked Of Matthew Harrison.

Commissioner Messersmith Made A Motion To Go Into Executive Session For Item (B) Discussion Of Possible And/Or Pending Litigation.

6:55 P.M.

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

7:11 P.M.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve The Fire Department Union Contract Retroactive To May 1, 2021 Through April 30, 2025. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

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

7:15 P.M.

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