North Egypt News

City of Benton City Council met June 27.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Minutes Of The Regularly Scheduled Benton City Council Meeting Was 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 Regular City Council Meeting Held On Monday, June 13, 2022. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 3. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0. Abstain: 2. Commissioner Garavalia And Commissioner Storey.

Mayor Kondritz Asked Commissioner Storey To Go Out Of Order On The Agenda And Present First. Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Hire Matt Warren As A Full-Time Firefighter. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Asked Firefighter Warren To Come To The Front Of The Council Room. Mayor Kondritz Swore In Firefighter Warren And An Oath Was Signed.

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Approve Purchase Order #00063 To Majestic Enterprise For A 20-Foot Courtyard Series Flag Pole And Installation At The Police Department In The Amount Of $985.00. Commissioner Storey Stated That The Previous Flag Pole Was Destroyed In A Storm. Commissioner Garavalia Seconded This Motion. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Storey Presented Department Reports For The Police And Fire Departments. The Fire Department Report Was For Incidents Between 05/01/22 And 05/31/22 And Included 9 Fires, 35 Rescue And Emergency Medical Service Calls, 4 Hazardous Conditions, 5 Service Calls, 6 Good Intent Calls, And 4 Fall Alarm/False Calls For A Total Of 63 Incidents. The Benton Police Department Report Was For Incidents Between 05/26/22 And 06/26/22 And Included 9 Traffic Accident Reports Completed, 9 Traffic Stops, 3 Traffic Citations Issues, 12 Criminal Arrests, 14 Alarm Calls, 2 Ambulance Calls, 1 Armed Person Call, 1 Assault/Battery Call, 18 Disorderly Conduct Calls, 29 Domestic Dispute Calls, 3 Fight-In-Progress Calls, 11 Juvenile Problem Calls, 1 Missing Juvenile Call, 2 Prowler Calls, 29 Suspicious Person Calls, 26 Theft Calls, 16 Welfare Checks, And 290 Other Calls With A Total Dispatched Calls Equally 443. In Addition, Commissioner Storey Distributed A Memo From Chief Chris Funkhouser That Was A Letter Of Recognition For Officer Morgan Corn’s Professional Performance Assisting The Illinois Department Of Children And Family Services Investigator Angelo Hightower On June 17th, 2022. The Memo Stated That Investigator Hightower Reported That Officer Corn Was Very Professional And Very Helpful.

Commissioner Cockrum Stated That He Had No Purchase Orders For This Meeting. Commissioner Cockrum Also Stated That He Had No Lake Lot Leases For This Meeting.

Commissioner Cockrum Presented His Water And Sewer Department Report To The Council. The Report Was For Dates Of 06/01/22 To 06/27/22 And Included 12 Service Leaks, 2 New Service Installations, 4 Sewer Calls To The Franklin Hospital, 1 Ink House, Sewer Issue On South Ninth Street, Sewer Issue On South First Street, Changing Of The Pump On The Lift Station At Clearview, Sewer Sink Hole On Fairland Street, And The “Shut Off List” For Nonpayment Was Completed.

Commissioner Messersmith Stated That He Had No Purchase Orders And No Department Report To Share At This Meeting. Commissioner Messersmith Stated That The Bids For The Mcleansboro And Joplin Street Overlay Project Will Be Opened Next Week. Also, The Wastena Street Project Bids Will Be Done In August.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve Payroll Dated 06/10/22 For The General Fund In The Amount Of $65,047.95 And For The Water And Sewer Department In The Amount Of $26,416.28 For A Total Payroll Of $91,464.23. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Attorney Malkovich Stated That He Had No Updates For Himself.

Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Had No Purchase Orders.

Under Item (C) Discussion And/Or Approval Of Increasing Security Measures At City Hall, A Discussion Was Held Regarding Bullet Proof Glass And Bullet Proof Walls. There Were Questions About What Grade Of “Bullet Proof” Or “Bullet Resistant” Materials That Were To Be Used. Because Of This, A Motion To Table This Item Was Made By Commissioner Garavalia. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Asked Attorney Malkovich To Handle Item (D) Discussion And/Or Approval Of Resolution Authorizing The Sale Of Surplus Real Estate. Attorney Malkovich Stated That The City Passes A Resolution Allowing The Sale Of Surplus City Owned Real Estate Occasionally And That Zoning Administrator Brian Calcaterra Would Like To Do This At This Time. Commissioner Messersmith Made A Motion To Approve Resolution #22-07 Authorizing The Sale Of Surplus Real Estate. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Attorney Malkovich Stated That He Needs A Motion To Table Item (E) Discussion And/Or Approval Of Potential Business Locating To Industrial Park Ii, As There Is Not Enough Information To Move Forward At This Time. Commissioner Garavalia Made This Motion. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Stated That There Is A Problem With People In Malkovich Park After Hours. Mayor Kondritz Stated That There Are Homeless People Sleeping In The Park, Urinating In The Park, Leaving Litter In The Park, And Someone Was Actually Daughter Showering In The Gazebo At The Park. The Police Have Been Called On Numerous Incidents Including One Including The Mayor And His Wife Being Threatened By One Of The Homeless Individuals In The Park. Mayor Kondritz Asked For A Motion To Allow Signs To Be Hung In The Park Stating The Hours The Park Is Open To The Public. The Signs Will State Park Hours Between 6 A.M. And 10 P.M. And Park Closed Hours Will Be 10 P.M. To 6 A.M. Mayor Kondritz Would Like The Signs Hung At Malkovich Park And Capital Park. Commissioner Storey 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.

Attorney Malkovich Stated That There Is No Update On The Grueninger Aviation Airport Ground Lease And So He Would Like To Table The Item. Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Table The Discussion And/Or Approval Of An Airport Ground Lease To Grueninger Aviation. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

No Miscellaneous Business.

No Old Business.

No New Business.

In Matters From The Public Audience, Mr. Tom Carter Stated That Te Conduit In Malkovich Park Is Broken And Needs To Be Repaired. Commissioner Cockrum Stated That He Would Contact Mccollum Electric To Have This Fixed.

Fire Chief Shane Cockrum Was In The Audience And Addressed The Council To Update Them On Some Training His Department Is Doing With The Benton Police Department. Chief Cockrum Stated That The Second Week Of July The Benton Fire Department And The Benton Police Department Would Be Doing Active Shooter Training With The Response Team. He Stated That Benton’s Two Departments Are Highly Trained And Will Be Open To Assist Other Schools If An Active Shooter Incident Were To Happen. Mayor Kondritz That That The Fire Department Seems To Be The Department That Gets To The Scene First And Asked If They Have All The Equipment Needed In That Situation. Chief Cockrum Stated That His Department Does Have Equipment. Mayor Kondritz Then Asked If The Fire Department Is Armed With Weapons. Chief Cockrum Stated That They Are Not. Commissioner Storey Stated That The Police Department Only Owns 3 Ar-15’s And That Is Because The City Does Not Purchase Guns And The Officers Do Not Want To Spend The $1,500.00-$2,000.00 Themselves To Acquire This Gun. Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Would Like To See About Adding This Type Of Purchase To Next Year’s Budget.

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

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