North Egypt News

City of Benton City Council met Dec. 22.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Minutes Of The Regularly Scheduled Benton City Council Meeting Held Monday December 22, 2022 At 10:00 A.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 Monday, December 12, 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 Stated That We Were Going Out Of Order This Evening. The First Item Was Item Public Affairs Report Item (E) Discussion And/Or Approval Of Survey Permit For Precision Geophysical, Inc. Attorney Tom Malkovich Stated That He Had Been Contacted By Gesell’s Pump Asking The City To Sign A Permit Allowing Seismic Testing. A Representative Of Precision Geophysical, Inc. Was In The Audience And Stated There Would Be No Noise Heard Or Movement Felt During This Testing. Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve This Permit. Second By Commissioner Storey.

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 Zoning Administrator/Economic Development Director Brian Calcaterra. Mr. Calcaterra Spoke And Thanked The Council For His Employment. Mr. Calcaterra Stated That He Has Enjoyed His Time With The City Of Benton. Mayor Kondritz Stated That Brian Has Been Somewhat The “Teacher’s Pet” While Here And He Is Very Sad To See Such A Talented Individual Leave. Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Reluctantly Accept The Resignation Of Mr. Calcaterra As The Zoning Administrator/Economic Development Director. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 3. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Cockrum, And Commissioner Messersmith. Nays: 2. Commissioner Storey And Mayor Kondritz.

Mayor Kondritz Stated That We Need To Begin Thinking About Advertising For The Position Of Zoning Administrator/Economic Development Director. Mr. Calcaterra Addressed All That Will Need To Be Done After He Leaves And Stated That If This Position Is Not Filled Quickly, There Will Be Things That Will Really Get Behind. A Discussion Was Held Amongst The Council Regarding Whether This Position Should Be Made Into Two Different Positions. No Further Action Was Taken On This Matter At This Time.

Mayor Kondritz Had No Purchase Orders For This Meeting.

Mayor Kondritz Stated That He Needed A Motion To Approve The Resolution Of Support And Commitment Of Local Funds For An Application For A Community Development Block Grant. Commissioner Cockrum Made This Motion. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Mayor Kondritz Stated That Zoning Administrator Brian Calcaterra Had Received An Application For The Façade Grant Program From Joe Sprague At 302 And 303 Public Square. Mr. Calcaterra Stated That The Estimated Project Cost Was $10,440.00 And Mr. Sprague Is Aware He Can Be Reimbursed Up To $5,000.00 Through The Grant. Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve The Façade Grant Application Made By Joe Sprague For 302 And 303 Public Square. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0

Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve Purchase Order #00086 To Fkc Co., Ltd For A Slow Closing Valve And Repair Kit For The Wwtp Sludge Press In The Amount Of $2,608.49. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0

Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve Purchase Order #00476 To H&R Agri-Power For A Snow Plow To Be Used At The Airport In The Amount Of $3,150.00. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Commissioner Storey Asked If This Was Necessary Or If The Street Department Could Plow The Airport. Commissioner Cockrum Stated That Mr. Harrison Feels That He Should Be Taking Care Of This At The Airport. Commissioner Messersmith Stated That The Street And Water Departments Would Be Concentrating On Roadways In Town Before Getting To The Airport And It Is Most Generally The Last Place To Have Snow Plowed. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Cockrum Stated That He Had No Lake Lot Transfers For This Meeting.

Commissioner Cockrum Stated That He Had No Written Department Report For This Meeting.

Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve The Pay Estimate #2 To Midwest Excavating For Pump House Renovations In The Amount Of $68,546.70. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0

Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve The Non-Hazardous Waste Service Agreement With Perry Ridge For A One-Year Timeframe. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0

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

Commissioner Messersmith Stated That He Had No Written Department Report For This Meeting. However, He Stated That The Street Department Is Currently Preparing For The Winter Storm We Are Supposed To Receive.

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

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

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Remove Michael Fraulini From The Paid On-Call Firefighter Roster. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Remove Jared Emberton From The Paid On-Call Firefighter Roster. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Remove Kyle Snyder From The Paid On-Call Firefighter Roster. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Add Daniel Holloway To The Paid On-Call Firefighter Roster. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0

Commissioner Storey Stated That He Would Like To Table Item (D) Discussion And/Or Approval Of Temporary Appointment In The Fire Department. Second By Commissioner Messersmith. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0

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

Commissioner Garavalia Stated That He Had No Bills For This Meeting.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve Payroll Dated December 22, 2022 For The General Fund In The Amount Of $67,765.27 And For The Water And Sewer Department In The Amount Of $25,191.38 For A Total Payroll In The Amount Of $92,956.65. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve The Draft Of The Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Audit. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Messersmith, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve Opening A Checking Account For Opioid Monies That The City Has Received. 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 Items For Discussion At This Meeting.

In Miscellaneous Business, Commissioner Storey Stated That He Wanted To Let The Council Know That He Had Removed The Save A Lot Gift Cards For Those Paid On-Call Firefighters That Had Been Removed From The Roster. The Council Discussed Some Options Of What They May Do With Them Including Possibly Donating To The Ministerial Alliance. Commissioner Storey Stated That A Donation Had Been Made To The Fire Department From The Schott’s Family In The Amount Of $5,000.00.

Mayor Kondritz Stated That The City Has Probably Handled 100 Demos Under Mr. Calcaterra And He Was Very Upset That We Are Losing Him From This Position. Mayor Kondritz Stated That When David Garavalia Was Working For The City Of Benton, He Was Reduced To Marking Street Light Outages And Removing Signs From Light Posts. Mayor Kondritz Stated He Is Very Angry About This And Something Needs To Be Done. Discussion Was Held Regarding Whether Anything Could Be Done To Keep Mr. Calcaterra From Leaving. Commissioner Garavalia Asked If There Was A Number That May Keep Mr. Calcaterra. Mr. Calcaterra Stated That There Is Always A Number. Attorney Malkovich Stated If The Council Would Like, He And City Clerk Brook Craig Could Speak With Mr. Calcaterra During A Brief Recess And See If Something Could Be Worked Out.

No Old Business.

No New Business.

In Matters From The Public Audience, Mr. Tom Carter Asked What The Survey Permit With Precision Geophysical Is For; Possibly Oil Or Mineral Rights? Attorney Malkovich Stated That The Permit States It Is For Seismic Testing. Mr. Carter Also Stated That He Would Like To Commend The City Council For Getting Their Audit Completed As The County Still Is Behind. Mr. Carter Also Stated That He Would Like To Wish The City Council A Merry Christmas.

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

10:50 A.M.

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

11:30 A.M.

Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Continue The Meeting Until Tuesday, December 27, 2022, At 9:00 A.M. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Messersmith, And Mayor Kondritz. Nays: 0.

11:30 A.M.

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