City of Benton City Council met July 11.
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 Of The Benton City Hall Located At 1403 South Main Street, Benton, Illinois.
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 Regularly Scheduled City Council Meeting Of June 27, 2022. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.
Mayor Kondritz Said That He Would Like To Begin With The Public Affairs Report. Mayor Kondritz Asked Russell Jay Staglik To Address The Council. Mr. Staglik Stated That He Was Raised In Benton And Had Moved Away Over 20 Years Ago To Pursue A Career In Television. Mr. Staglik Stated That He Is A Producer And Had Produced Shows Based On Tv Shows Such As The Simple Life (Which Was A Reality Show Based On Green Acres) And Keeping Up With The Kardashian (A Reality Show Based On The Brady Bunch), And That He Will Be Filming A Reality Show In Benton Based On Schitt’s Creek. Mr. Staglik Stated That Two Surprise Celebrities Will Fly Into The Benton Municipal Airport And Live Amongst The Citizens Of Benton For 5-6 Weeks. Mr. Staglik Stated That He Knew There Were Townspeople Who Were Skeptical And Did Not Want Benton To Be Made Fun Of. Mr. Staglik Stated That He Was Not Here To Make Fun Of Anyone In Benton And That If Anyone Was Made Fun Of, It Would Be The Celebrities. Mayor Kondritz Thanked Mr. Staglik For Coming To Town.
Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Had No Purchase Orders.
Mayor Kondritz Asked If We Had Any More Information Regarding Increasing Security Measures At City Hall. Commissioner Garavalia Stated That We Had Received A Bid And Had Moved Forward With The Drive Thru For The Water Department, But That We Were Still Waiting On More Information For A Bullet Proof Wall And Windows For City Hall.
Mayor Kondritz Asked If We Were Ready To Move Forward With Item (D) Discussion And/Or Approval Of Airport Ground Lease To Gruninger Aviation. Attorney Malkovich Stated That This Item Would Need To Be Tabled Again. Commissioner Messersmith Made A Motion To Table Item (D) Discussion And/Or Approval Of Airport Ground Lease To Gruninger Aviation. 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 He Would Like To Appoint Brook Craig To The Police Pension Board For A Period Of Two Years And To The Fire Pension Board For A Period Of Three Years. 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.
Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve Purchase Order #00663 To Sandner Electric For A Lift Station At Clearview In The Amount Of $6,049.32. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.
Commissioner Cockrum Stated That We Needed To Rescind The Lake Lot Transfer Approval Of 119b That Was Done A Few Meetings Ago As The Sale Did Not Go Through. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.
Commissioner Cockrum Stated That He Did Not Have Department Reports To Present At This Meeting.
Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve The Bid From Newman Out Of Des Moines, Iowa For Painting Of The Water Tower In The Amount Of $156,700.00. The City Logo Will Be On Both Sides Of The Water Tower. Commissioner Messersmith Seconded This Motion. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.
Commissioner Messersmith Stated That He Had No Purchase Orders.
Commissioner Messermith Stated That The Summer Road Program Had Begun And Storm Cleanup Was Still Underway.
Commissioner Messersmith Made A Motion To Approve Placing A Playground At 304 Grand Street With Little Cost To The City. Commissioner Messersmith Stated That The Total Projected Cost Of The Project Is $77,650.00. Of The Total Cost, $35,000.00 In Playground Equipment To Be Provided By The Reality Show Production. The Remaining Costs To Be Covered By Donations From People’s Bank, Earth Services, And Other Partners. Labor The Rock And Concrete Are To Be Provided By The Public Works Department. Commissioner Messersmith Stated That The Motion On The Table Was To Approve Funding The Project. This Motion Was Seconded 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 The Resolution Closing The Public Square For An Event In July On July 23, 2022 From 12 P.M. To 10 P.M. This Is Resolution #22-08. Commissioner Storey Seconded This Motion. 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 A Resolution Closing The Public Square For The Annual Chamber Car Show On September 10, 2022 From 12:00 P.M. To 6 P.M. This Is Resolution #22-09. 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 The 2022 MFT Oil And Chip Program From Illinois Asphalt Corporation In The Amount Of $157,773.28. This Was The Only Bid Received. 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 The McLeansboro And Joplin Street Mill And Overlay Project With The Low Bid From E.T. Simmonds Construction, Co. In The Amount Of $277,034.10. Bids Were Also Received From Samrom Midwest Contracting, Inc. In The Amount Of $313,224.00 And Southern Illinois Asphalt In The Amount Of $325,194.00. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.
Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Approve Purchase Order #00374 To ESO For Emergency Reporting In The Amount Of $1,633.00. This Purchase Order Was Submitted By The Fire Department. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.
Commissioner Storey Stated That He Had No Purchase Orders For This Meeting.
Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve Bills In The Amount Of $444,922.81. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Perkins, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.
Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve Payroll For July 8, 2022 For The General Fund In The Amount Of $61,526.63 And For The Water And Sewer Departments In The Amount Of $25,789.17 For A Total Payroll Of $87,315.80. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Perkins, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.
Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve Attendance Of The Illinois Municipal League Conference In Chicago By Fred Kondritz, Cathy Garavalia, Lee Messersmith, Coy Cockrum, Brook Craig, Brian Calcaterra, And Tom Malkovich. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. 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 Attendance Of The Annual Tif Conference In Chicago By Brian Calcaterra And Tom Malkovich. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. 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 This Meeting.
No Miscellaneous Business.
No Old Business
In New Business, Commissioner Garavalia Asked The Council Their Opinion On Leaving The Buntings Up At Capital Park Or Taking Them Down. Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, And Commissioner Messersmith All Voiced Their Thoughts Of Leaving The Buntings Up Until September 11, 2022. Mayor Kondritz Agreed That This Would Be An Appropriate Time.
In Matters From The Public Audience, Tom Carter Asked If The Painting Of The Water Tower Would Be A Blast Or Spray. City Engineer Rodney Potts Stated That This Is A Spray. Rocky Morris Asked The Council If They Were Aware That The 2021 Taxes, 4th Disbursement, Had Not Been Sent Out. Commissioner Garavalia Stated That The City Was Aware Of This. William McPherson Asked What The Size Of The Community Park Would Be And Who Would Be Responsible For Taking Care Of It. Commissioner Messersmith Stated That This Playground Area Would Be On One City Lot And It Would Be Taken Care Of By The Public Works Department. Lennie Shelton From The Chamber Of Commerce Asked If The Park Would Be Handicapped Accessible. Commissioner Messersmith Stated That This Park Would Not Be. Akash Patel Stated That He Felt Like This Park Would Be Vandalized. Matt Harrison, Airport Manager, Stated That The Airport Sign Is Up And That There Have Been Two Food Truck Fly Ins, 1 Was Canceled Due To Weather Though. He Also Stated That The Runway Will Be Repainted In The Next Weeks. Mr. Harrison Stated That Everyone Is Welcome To The Special Event At The Airport From 2 P.M. To 4 P.M. On July 13, 2022.
Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Adjourn. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Perkins, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.
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