North Egypt News

City of Benton City Council met Oct. 10.

Here is the minutes provided by the council:

Minutes Of The Regularly Scheduled Benton City Council Meeting Held 10, 2022 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 Storey, Commissioner Cockrum Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz Were Present For Roll Call. Commissioner Garavalia Was Absent.

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Approve The Minutes Of The Regularly Scheduled City Council Meeting Of September 26, 2022. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Asked Rick Linton And Barb Linton To Speak To The Council. Commissioner Storey To Present First At The Meeting. They Stated That They Would Like To Show The Council A Proposal For “An Afternoon In Benton”. A Short Presentation Was Made With Discussion On Advertising For This Proposal. Handouts Were Given To The Council Members. Mr. Linton Stated That He Would Like The Council To Go Over The Packet And Contact Him For Any Questions They May Have. Mayor Kondritz Stated That This Would Be On The Next Agenda For A Vote.

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

Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve A Lake Lot Lease Transfer For Lot #120 And Lot #121 From Alice Weed To William Lowell Riegel, Trustee Of The Orphia Alice R. Weed Irrevocable Trust. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Attorney Malkovich Stated That Under Item (B) Discussion And/Or Approval Of Lake Lot Lease Transfers, He Had An Item To Present. Attorney Malkovich Stated That Linda Muslin Would Like To Get Permission From The Council To Rent Her Lake Lot (Lots #30 And Lot #31) To Aaron And Elizabeth Shadoan As Allowed Within The Lease Context. Commissioner Cockrum Made This Into A Motion. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Cockrum Stated That The Department Report Was In Everyone’s Packet. The Report Was For September 1, 2022 Through October 10, 2022. There Was A Total Of 10 Service Leaks, 2 Water Main Breaks On East Main, 1 Water Main Break On East Smith, And 1 Water Main Break On Whisper Way. There Were Two New Services Installed, 1 Sewer Issue At The Hospital, And 9 Sewers Cleaned. There Was Pump Maintenance At The Lift Station On Clearview. The Shut Off List Was Completed, There Were 337 Julies Marked, General Mowing, And General Meter Repair Completed. Work Was Done On Parrish And Iowa Street Water Mains And This Project Should Be Completed By The 20th Of October.

Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Establish An Infrastructure Fund For The Water And Sewer Department. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Cockrum Stated That He Would Like To Repurpose The Sewer Surcharge Into An Infrastructure Charge. Commissioner Cockrum Stated That This Would Give The Water Department A Fund To Be Able To Fix Water And Sewer Issues From. Commissioner Cockrum Also Stated That What Is Currently In The Account For The Sewer Surcharge Would Stay In That Account And Those Funds Would Be Used To Fix Only The Sewer Issues. Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Repurpose The Sewer Surcharge Into An Infrastructure Charge. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

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

For The Streets And Improvements Department Report, Commissioner Messersmith Stated That The Street Department Is Currently Working On Sidewalks, Culverts, And Preparing For The Summer Road Program. Commissioner Messersmith Also Stated That A $200,000.00 Grade Was Received By Greater Egypt Regional Planning On Behalf Of The City Of Benton And Mt. Vernon To Write A Grant For A Master Bike Plan. Mayor Kondritz Asked Where The Tools That Were Gifted By The Reality Show To The Public Works Department Are. Commissioner Messersmith Stated That He Would Speak With Public Works Director Craig Miles. Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Would Like An Inventory Of These Tools To Be Done And Turned In At City Hall.

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

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Approve Hiring A Police Officer As Crime Has Gone Up. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Chief Funkhouser Stated That Matthew Pemberton Is In The Process Of Hiring Through The Merit Board. Chief Funkhouser Also Stated That The Police Training Institute Would Start In January And The Officer Would Be Gone To Training For 15 Weeks.

In The Absence Of Commissioner Garavalia, Attorney Malkovich Presented The Accounts And Finance Report.

Attorney Malkovich Stated That There Were No Purchase Orders For This Meeting From Accounts And Finance.

Attorney Malkovich Presented Bills In The Amount Of $651,921.61. Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve Paying Bills Dated October 10, 2022. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Attorney Malkovich Asked For A Motion To Approve Payroll Dated September 30, 2022 For The General Fund In The Amount Of $69,181.55 And For The Water And Sewer Department In The Amount Of $24,604.26 For A Total Payroll In The Amount Of $93,785.81.80. This Motion Was Made By Commissioner Storey. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Attorney Malkovich Stated That He Had No Further Items For Discussion At This Meeting.

Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Had No Purchase Orders.

Mayor Kondritz Asked Brian Calcaterra To Present Item (C) Discussion And/Or Approval Of The Downtown Tif Façade Program Application For The State Bank Of Whittington. Mr. Calcaterra Stated That The State Bank Of Whittington Will Be Opening Up The Lanes In Their Drive Thru. Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve This Tif Façade Program Application. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Asked Brian Calcaterra To Present Item (D) Discussion And/Or Approval Of A Zoning Change For Hucks Convenience Store Located At 1204 North Main Street. Mr. Calcaterra Stated That Hucks Will Be Tearing Down Their Current Building And Building A New Building Directly To The East Of Their Location. During The Permit Approval Process, It Was Noted That This Area Was Zoned B3 And Would Not Permit For This Business. Mr. Calcaterra Stated That He Would Recommend The Council Change The Zoning Of This Location To B2. Commissioner Storey Made This Motion. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Asked Brian Calcaterra To Present Item (E) Discussion And/Or Approval Of The Purchase Of Two City Lots Located At 502 And 504 South Commission Street. Mt. Calcaterra Stated That The Lots Are For Sale Through The Franklin County Trustee And Would Be $816.00 A Piece. Commissioner Messersmith Made A Motion To Approve The Purchase Of These Two Lots. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Asked Brian Calcaterra To Present Item (F) Discussion And/Or Approval To Acquire Surveys And Appraisal Of Land At The Airport For Potential Sale. Mr. Calcaterra Stated That If We Would Like To Sell This Property In The Future, This Will Need To Be Completed. Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Proceed. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

In Miscellaneous Business, Mayor Kondritz Stated That There Were Some He Problems At The New Playground. Mayor Kondritz Stated That He And His Wife Had Driven By The Playground On Multiple Times And Witnessed Children Kicking The Fence And Throwing Mulch Over The Fence. Mayor Kondritz Also Stated That It Is Very Dark In That Area. Commissioner Messersmith Stated A Light Has Already Been Ordered For That Area. Commissioner Storey Stated That Deer Cameras May Be Helpful At The Park To Catch Surveillance. Chief Funkhouser Stated That He Would Look Into A Camera System For The Area.

No Old Business.

No New Business.

In Matters From The Public Audience, Tom Carter Stated That He Feels The Citizens Are Being Short Changed By The City Council If They Proceed With Making An Infrastructure Fund Instead Of A Sewer Surcharge Fund. Mr. Carter Stated That He Has Been Told Cases Of New Meters Have Been Ordered And That He Believes The Creation Of This Fund Is A Ruse To Buy New Meters. Mr. Carter States That He Feels This Is Indescribable And That There Are Lots Of Sewers That Should Be Fixed. Mr. Carter Also Stated That This Will Go Public If There Is Anything Incorrect Being Done. Mr. Carter Stated That He Will Be Submitting Foia Requests Regarding The Metering System. Commissioner Cockrum Stated That There Currently Is A Sewer Fund, But No Water Fund And Creation Of The Infrastructure Fund Would Give The Council The Option Of Where To Pay For Something Out Of. Commissioner Cockrum Also Stated That There Are No Major Issues With The Water Meters.

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Adjourn. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

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