City of West Frankfort City Council met Jan. 24.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
1. Mayor Jordan Called The Meeting To Order At 6:00 P.M. Requesting A Roll Call. All Commissioners Were In Attendance. Along With The City Attorney And City Clerk.
2. Mayor Jordan Asked For Approval Of The Minutes From The January 10th, 2023 Regular Council Meeting. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
3. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay City Bills And Payroll In The Amount Of $155,558.26. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
4. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Resolution Appointing A Paid On-Call Volunteer Firefighter To The City Of West Frankfort Fire Department. Chief Sailliez Stated He Would Like To Appoint Mike Reilly. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
5. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding Approval Of A Liquor License Application. Robert Stubblefield Of Stubblefield Laundrymat Would Like To Get A Pour License So He Can Get A Video Gaming Room At The Laundry Mat At 401 N. Logan Street. He Has Been In Business In West Frankfort For Since 2003, So For 20 Years He Has Invested In West Frankfort. The Mayor Invited The Council To Ask Questions To Mr. Stubblefield As He And His Family Were In The Audience. Chief Prudent Stated His Only Question From The Law Enforcement Aspect Is With The Theft In That Area Are You Going To Change Your Business Hours If You Get The Gaming License? I Know Right Now You Are Open Twenty Four Hours And My Concern Is Those Machines Will Be Vulnerable Even Though That Room Will Be Locked Up Every Night. Mr. Stubblefield Stated No He Would Not Be Closing The Main Part Of His Business Because People Work Different Hours And The Laundrymat Is Needed At Different Times Of The Day.Chief Prudent Stated My Biggest Concern Is The Gaming May Be Closed Down Fr The Night But With No One On Site During The Night He Believes They Are More At Risk Of Break Ins. Commissioner Howard Asked If There Will Be Any Type Of Security System Installed? Mr. Stubblefield Replied That He Would Be Willing To Put Cameras And Or A Security System In Place. After Several Other Questions From The Council Mr. Stubblefield Said He Is Willing To Work With The Chief Prudent And Follow The Guidelines To Secure The Gaming Room As By Set By The Regulations Of The State Of Illinois. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
6. The Next Item Was Approval Of An Ordinance Authorizing The Sale Of Surplus Real Estate To Pampered Paws Pet Wash Llc Re: South One-Half Of 213 West Oak, West Frankfort Il. The Mayor Stated Behind The Chinese Restaurant There Is An Empty Lot We Tore Down A House. On The South Half Of That Lot There Is Now A Dog Wash Station And We Are Selling Him That Lot For $10.00. On The North Half Of That Lot, We Are Going To Put Gravel Down To Make That A Parking Lot. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
7. The Next Item Was Approval Of An Ordinance Amending Title 5 Business Licenses And Regulations, Chapter 5.17.020 And Chapter 5.17.030 City Of West Frankfort Municipal Code. The Mayor Stated This Is For The Height Of Signs In The Downtown Area. The Planning Commission Met Last Night And Recommended We Change The Height Requirement To 35 Feet Maximum Height Instead Of The Previous Height Of 25 Feet. The Planning Commission Would Also Like To See How These Two Signs Look Once They Are Installed Because They Are Concerned With How This Will Look Downtown If Too Many Of These Start Going Up. The Mayor Stated We May Be Revisiting This As To Limiting The Number Of These Signs We Will Allow In The Downtown Area. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
8. The Next Item Was Approval Of An Ordinance Authorizing And Approving The Granting Of An Electric Line Overhang Easement To Ameren Illinois Company D/B/A Ameren Illinois, An Illinois Corporation. The Mayor Stated This Has Been Going On For A Couple Of Years Now. This Is The Water Tower Out On Woody Road. There Is A Big Power Line That Goes Over By The Water Tower. Ameren Wanted To Extend That Line And We Would Not Let Them Have Our Property. We Have Come To An Agreement With Them They Will Have No Access To Any Area Around The Water Tower, Unless We Give Them Access. We Will Keep The Area Mowed And Taken Care Of, The Good News Is That For Our Efforts Ameren Is Paying The City $12,000.00 Thanks To The City Attorney Mike Riva. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
9. The Next Item Was Approval Of An Ordinance Declaring Certain Real Estate Located In The City Of West Frankfort Il As Surplus Real Estate. The Mayor Stated This Is For A House At 103 South Odle. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
10. The Next Item Was Approval To Advertise For Bids Regarding Certain Properties Located In The City Of West Frankfort Which Have Previously Been Declared As Surplus Real Estate. This Is The Property At 103 South Odle That Is Availble For Purchase Now With A $1,000.00 Minimum Bid. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
11. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding A Quote From Novacom In The Amount Of $29,500.00 Regarding An Outdoor Warning Siren System. This Is The Siren In The Heights Area On Dorris Street; The One Currently There Is Not Functioning. Fire Chief Sailiiez Stated It Will Take Three To Four Months Before It Comes In. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
12. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Novacom In The Amount Of $1,724.50 For The Purchase Of Two New Radios For The Fire Department. Chief Sailliez Stated This Was To Replace The Dual Head Radio In A-3. A Dual Head Radio Was Going To Be Around $5,000.00 So We Bought Two Of These One For The Front And One For The Back. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
13. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Julie, Inc. In The Amount Of $3,138.46 Regarding The Annual Assessment Regarding Transmissions. This Is The Cost To Let Us Know When We Need Mark Julie's In West Frankfort. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
14. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Skuta Construction, Inc. In The Amount Of $5,175.00 For The Sewer Department. Alley In The Of 8th Street By The Football Field They Had To Go Inside The Line With The Robotic Cutting Machine And Removed Some Taps In The Main With Robotics. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
15. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Midwest Meter In The Amount Of $1,823.00 For The Water Department. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
16. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Complete Equity Markets, Inc. In The Amount Of $11,168.99 Regarding The City's Unemployment Insurance. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
17. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Derksen Bros. Ag In The Amount Of $18,056.00 Regarding Land Application Of Sludge For The Sewer Department. The Mayor Stated This Has To Happen Twice A Year And This Is The Invoice For The Fall Application. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
18. The Next Item Was Approval For The Elk's Children's Care To Hold A Fundraiser Roadblock Saturday, February 25, 2023 From 8:00 A.M. To 5:00 P.M. At The Intersection Of Route 149 And Highway 37. With An Alternate Date In Case It Rains On March 11th, 2023. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
19. Building And Sign Permits
There Were No Building Or Sign Permits.
20. Mayor's Report ~
The Mayor Stated That We Had A Planning Commission Meeting Last Night And Its Nice To Have A Great Group Of People Who Are Not Afraid To Give Me Feedback. The First Thing We Talked About Was A Gentlemen That Is Interested In Putting A Restaurant/Bait Shop Out At The West Frankfort Lake At The Boat Launch Area. He Currently Has A Restaurant In Thompsonville And Was Wanting To Serve Seafood Out There. The Mayor Told The Gentlemen That He Would Love For Him To Come Talk To Him And See What Can Be Done.
The Mayor Also Had A Couple Of Other Gentlemen Come In Asking About A Location To Build Panel Houses. They Need A Building That Is 50x150 So The Mayor Put Them In Touch With The Owners Of The Old Mad Pricer Building. So, We Will See What Happens With That.
Commissioner Reports:
Commissioner Warren Stated Everyone Is Working. Stated The New Operator At The Sewer Plant Is Doing A Good Job.
Commissioner Stanley Stated That The Guys Were Out Working Clearing Gutters Etc For All The Rain Last Week. And Now We Have Snow Coming So They Have The Trucks All Ready To Go Out In The Morning.
Commissioner Howard Stated That He Has Made Some Progress On Some Things He Would Like To See Change. He Stated He Has Talked With Angie, Chris, The Auditor And Today The Software Guy Was Here So We Had A Discussion And We Are Making Progress On These Changes. I Will Continue To Monitor It. A Lot Of People Do Not Realize That A City Is Like Running A Multi-Million Dollar Business.
Commissioner Harkins Stated That We Did Not Get A Replacement Third Ambulance Bought. The Bid For The One We Were Looking At In The St. Louis Area Went For More Than We Were Willing To Pay. Chief Sailliez Stated That He Has Been Promised That Our Ambulance We Ordered Over A Year Ago Will Be Here In July. Commissioner Harkins Stated The Police Department Is Enjoying Their New Squad Cars And Pickup Trucks.
21.Audience Questions Or Comments: A Lady In The Audience Asked What Was Going On With The Two Big Wires Coming Out Of Our Yard? And If They Are They Going To Fix The Yard Back To What It Looked Like Before? The Mayor Stated That Is Clearwave And They Are Running Fiber Optic Internet Service In Front Of Every House In West Frankfort. When They Are Finished Yes It Should Be Fixed Once They Are Done With The Install In That Area.
22. The Next Item Was Approval To Go Into Executive Session To Discuss Contract Negotiations, Union Grievances, Personnel, Purchase Of Property And/Or Pending Litigation, With Possible Action. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners Along With The Mayor Voted Yes. Motion Carried. The Council Went Into Executive Session At 6:46 P.M.
23. They Returned From Executive Session At 7:15 P.M. Where They Took No Action. The Mayor Asked For A Motion To Go Back Into Regular Session. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
24. With No Further Business To Be Discussed, The Meeting Was Adjourned On A Motion By Commissioner Harkins At 7:15 P.M.
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