City of West Frankfort City Council met March 14.
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, The City Attorney And City Clerk Were In Attendance.
2. Mayor Jordan Asked For Approval Of The Minutes From The February 28th, 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 The Bills In The Amount Of $223,500.76. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
4. The Next Item Was Discussion, Approval To Accept Bids For Demolition.
A. The First Property Is At 511 N. Horn We Received Bids From Joplin Salvage In The Amount Of $5,000.00 And From Burbank Transport In The Amount Of $2,990.00. Burbank Was Awarded The Job As He Was The Lowest Bid. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
B. The Second Property Is At 101 ½ Stewart Street We Received Bids From Joplin Salvage In The Amount Of $1,750.00 And From Burbank Transport In The Amount Of $2,500.00. Joplin Salvage Was Awarded The Job As He Was The Lowest Bid. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
C. The Third Property Is At 702/704 South Skelton We Received Bids From Joplin Salvage In The Amount Of $3,500.00 And From Burbank Transport In The Amount Of $2,300.00. Burbank Was Awarded The Job As He Was The Lowest 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.
D. The Fourth Property Is At 805 West St. Louis Street We Received Bids From Joplin Salvage In The Amount Of $5,500.00 And From Burbank Transport In The Amount Of $2,990.00. Burbank Was Awarded The Job As He Was The Lowest Bid. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
E. The Fifth Property Is At 708 North Palmer We Received Bids From Joplin Salvage In The Amount Of $2,250.00 And From Burbank Transport In The Amount Of $1,200.00. Burbank Was Awarded The Job As He Was The Lowest Bid. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
F. The Sixth Property Is At 2003 East Elm We Received Bids From Joplin Salvage In The Amount Of $3,500.00 And From Burbank Transport In The Amount Of $3,600.00. Joplin Was Awarded The Job As He Was The Lowest 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.
5. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding A Resolution Authorizing An Agreement With Sarah Bethune For A Façade Improvement Project Utilizing Tax Increment Financing. The Mayor Stated This Program Helps To Improve The Facades Of Businesses. This Is For The Building At 308 East Main Which Used To Be Rissi’s Studio; Which Is Now A Beauty Shop. She Is Wanting To Do Some Tuck Pointing, Painting, And Fix Some Areas On The Exterior Of That Building. She Is To Pay $5,000.00 And We Will Pay Half Of That Or Up To $2,500.00 Total From Tif. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
6. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Foreign Fire Insurance Board Resolution. This Authorizes The Illinois Municipal League To On Behalf Of The Community To Collect The 2% Foreign Fire Tax And Write A Check To The Local Fire Department. The Local Fire Department Has Their Own Board So They Get To Decide What They Are Going To Do With This Money. The Only Requirement Is That They Use It For Tools, Training, Something Needed At The Fire Department. The City Has No Responsibility For That Money Or What Its Used For Stated Mayor Jordan. Commissioner Harkins 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 A Proposed New Collective Bargaining Agreement Between The City And Local 2402 International Association Of Fire Fighters, Afl-Cio, Clc To Cover The Period Of March 1, 2023 Through February 28, 2026. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
8. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Proposed New Collective Bargaining Agreement Between The City And Laborers Local 773/Water Maintenance Department To Cover The Period Of March 1, 2023 Through February 28, 2026. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
9. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Proposed New Collective Bargaining Agreement Between The City And Laborers Local 773/Street Maintenance Department To Cover The Period Of March 1, 2023 Through February 28, 2026. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
10.The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding A Letter Of Intent To Purchase Real Property Located In The Burton Subdivision. The Mayor Stated He Would Like To Come Back To This As He Would Like To Talk To Everyone In Executive Session. Then Come Back And Take Action On This.
11.The Next Item Was Approval To Pay Invoice #30 From Brown & Roberts, Inc. In The Amount Of $42,041.24 For Phase 1 Engineering Services Regarding I57 & Il Rt 149 Interchange Modification Phase 1. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
12.The Next Item Was Approval Of Contractor’s Pay Estimate #5 To Midwest Petroleum & Excavating, Inc. In The Amount Of $62,213.01 For The West Frankfort – Water System Meter Replacement – Phase 1. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
13.The Next Item Was Approval Of Construction Engineering Bill #5 From Brown & Roberts, Inc. For The West Frankfort – Water System Meter Replacement – Phase 1. In The Amount Of $3,633.32. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion For Approval, 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 Johnson’s Auto & Truck Repair In The Amount Of $1,686.30 Regarding New Front Tires For A-1 WFFD. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
15.The Next Item Was Approval Of A Lake Lot Lease Transfer From Kent And Cheryl Herron Lake Lot Lease #2 To Nick Taylor. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
16.Officer’s Report ~
Fire Report For The Month Of February 2023. Chief Sailliez Was On Vacation So Commissioner Harkins Read The Report. He Reported That They Had 161-Ambulance Calls, 8 Rubbish/Illegal Fires, 6- Brush/Field Fires, 2 Motor Vehicle Accidents, 2-Fire Alarms, 0-Vehicle Fires, 11 Fire Emergencies; (Gas Leaks, Power Lines Down, Etc.), 1 Structure Fire, 0-Smoke Scares, 7- Mutual Aid Fire Calls, 2- Mutual Aid Ambulance, 3-Ambulance Calls Turned Over To Mutual Aid. For A Total Of 203 Calls During The Month. The Department Used Approximately 8,000 Gallons Of Water. The Department Collected $79,712.60 For February Ambulance Calls.
Police Report For The Month Of February 2023. Chief Prudent Reported Officers Answered A Total Of 1,398 Calls For Service. Of Those Calls 13 Were Traffic Accidents, 0 With Injuries. Officers Responded To 31 Domestic Disputes, 4 Fights In Progress, 15 Alarms, 1 Intoxicated Persons, 2 Burglaries, 16 Reports Of Criminal Damage To Property, 19 Complaints Of Juvenile Problems, 26 Reported Thefts, And 25 Complaints Of Disorderly Conduct/Disturbances. And Officers Made 45 Street Contacts.
Officers Conducted 253 Traffic Stops, Where They Issued 52 Citations, 220 Warnings, And 17 Lw-27’s. There Were 66 Adult Arrests Made And 4 Juvenile Arrests, Resulting In 72 Criminal Charges Filed.
Communication ~ Dispatchers Answered 1,741 Calls. Of Those, 586 Were 9-1-1 Calls, 79 Were Walk In Requests. 1,398 Were For Police, 200 Were For West Frankfort Fire, 9 Were For Thompsonville Fire/Ems, 6 Were For Abbott Ems, And 0 For United Ambulance. For The Month Of February, We Collected $3,260.00 In Fines And Fees.
Codes Report For The Month Of February 2023. 1~Sign Permit. Rental Properties: 9~Rental Inspections Performed. Case Activity Report ~ 13 Which Includes Doors Tagged Verbal Warnings, Vehicles Tagged, Inspections Of
Violations, Inspections, Citations Issued, Letters Sent, Etc. The Codes Department Brought In $300.00 For Inspection, Registration, And Permit Fees For The Month Of February.
17.Building And Sign Permits ~ We Have One Sign Permit. Mr. Snell Stated We Have A Sign Permit For A 3x12 Digital Billboard To Be Placed At 312 N. Main Street. The Mayor Stated I Had Asked To Table This Last Council Meeting So We Could Speak To The Planning Commission Members To See If They Wanted To Limit The Number Of These Signs In The Downtown Area. We Have Already Approved Two (2) Digital Signs 20x10 Downtown 30 Ft High And One By The Interstate. The Planning Commission Met Last Night, We Had Everyone There Except One Member. We Had A Long Discussion Basically No One Has Anything Against The Signs, But Their Recommendation To The Council Is And Unanimous Decision Is That We Do Not Approve This Sign Permit, That We Rewrite And Modify This Ordinance To Prevent Anymore. One Of The Points Brought Up Against Them Was How Do These Signs Help The Businesses And Citizens Of West Frankfort? They Will Not, Since They Will Most Likely Have Advertisements On It For Businesses Outside Of West Frankfort. The Mayor Asked What's The Council Want To Do With This? Commissioner Harkins Stated I Think We Should Honor Their Request. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Deny, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Deny. Motion Carried.
18.Mayors & Commissioners Comments~
The Mayor Stated That He Will Be Brief. He Wants To Thank The Fact That We Have Commissioner Warren And Harkins Back. Linda Had Surgery And Is Doing Well. Jerry Is Still Waiting, But Glad To Have You Both Back, It’s A Pleasure To Serve With This Council.
Commissioner Reports~
Commissioner Harkins Stated As Far As My Departments Go, They Are Doing Well, Moving Right Along. Other Than That, Everything's Ok Our Fire Chief Is On Vacation.
Commissioner Howard Stated Its Long Overdue But Our Treasurer, City Clerk Mrs. Angela Baker Deaton Has Been
Working Non Stop To Get Things Done, Because She Is Short On Help. And I Want Her To Know That I Really Appreciate All That She Is Doing.
Commissioner Stanley Stated The Guys Are Putting A Few Sidewalks In While The Weather Is Still Nice. They Are Also Blowing Out Tiles And Cleaning Out Ditches Before The Next Round Of Rain Comes. They Have Also Been Busy Patching Holes In The Roads. They Are Keeping Busy; I’ve Got A Good Bunch Of Guys.
Commissioner Warren Stated She Appreciates The Mayor Letting Her Be Off Last Council Meeting Because Of Her Surgery. I Also Want To Thank Gary Little And His Crew For Coming Out To My House The Other Night When We Had To Call The Ambulance, They Are Did A Very Good Job.
Water And Sewer Is Doing Good Right Mr. White? He Stated “Yes.” Commissioner Warren Stated Everything Is Moving Along, New Meters Are Going In And Everyone Is Doing Their Jobs.
Audience Comments:
Susan Dragovich Stated This Is From My Aunt Who Just Moved Her From Bluford. She Has Malcular Degeneration And She Doesn’t See Well. She Would Like To Know If You Could Please Change The Color Of The Water Bills From Blue To White? Because She Puts It Into Her Magnifying Machine It Can Not Enlarge The Print To Be Able To Read It On Color Paper. The Mayor Stated Maybe We Can Mail Her Or Anyone Else Who May Need Them Out An Invoice On White Regular Sized Paper Then. We Will Also Check On The Color Of The Cards To See If We Can Change That.
Teresa Hutchens Was Also In The Audience. She Stated She Has Major Concerns. I’ve Had The Street Commissioner Send Two Gentlemen Over To My House To Pick Up Trees Out Of My Yard. I Had Two Street Employees Come To My House To Pick Up A Tree That I Had Paid Someone Else To Pickup. His Name Is John Riddle Who Is One Of Commissioner Stanley’s Relatives. I Have Several Messages Here From Mr. Riddle That He Offered To Pay Commissioner Stanley To Pick Up
The Trees. I Called That Day And Was Informed That If You Hire Someone To Cut Your Tree Down, The City Is Not To Pick It Up At The Cities Expense. I Have The Text Messages From John Riddle Stating That Commissioner Stanley Was Going To Pick It Up For Free. Commissioner Stanley Stated We Don’t Charge To Pick Up Trees. Mrs. Hutchens Stated But I Paid Him Mr. Riddle To Remove It.
The Mayor Asked So You’re Complaining Because We Offered To Help You? That’s Not The Point Stated Mrs. Hutchens I Don’t Feel That It Was The Cities Responsibility Or The Tax Payer’s Responsibility To Pay To Have My Tree That I Paid Someone To Remove From My Yard. The Mayor Asked Did You Pay Mr. Riddle? Mrs. Hutchens Stated He Never Completed The Job Himself, So No She Did Not. She Is Having It Taken Out Of Her Yard By Someone Else. But It Is Not The Tax Payers Responsibility To Remove A Tree That I Was Having Taken Down. The Mayor Stated He Is Confused. He Stated Let Me See If I Have This Straight. We Were Trying To Help Get Some Trees Out Of Your Yard That You Did Not Pay The Guy Who Cut Them Down To Have Taken Out? Mrs. Hutchens Stated She Was Told By City Employees That The Home Owner Called To Have Them Removed. I Never Called The City. I Called Because I Was Concerned With The Fact The City Was Using Resources, Employees And Equipment To Remove Something They Aren't Responsible For. Mr. Riddle Actually Asked Me For The Money For It Before He Was Actually Finished Taking Down The Tree. The Mayor Asked So Who Are You Mad At To Mrs. Hutchens? Mrs. Hutchens Stated She Is Not Mad At Anyone Here. But Im Concerned With The Fact That They Were Sent To My House To Pick This Tree Up Without My Request, Without My Knowledge That It Was Being Done. And The Fact That Im Sorry Mr. Stanley That Mr. John (Riddle) Put You In This Position. Commissioner Stanley Stated This Is What Went On John (Riddle) Called Me, Said He Cut That Tree Down, Some How His Trailer Couldn’t Haul The Logs Or Something Broke On It, And He Wanted To Know I Could Help Out. I Stated If They Are By The Edge Of The Road And Not Bothering Traffic I Told Him I Would Help Him. But That We Can’t Go Up In The Yard And Do Anything. We Can Not Take Money For Anything, He May Have Offered But I Said No. He Is Related To Me But Its His Wife That Is My 2nd Or 3rd Cousin, So That Part Doesn’t Mean Nothing To Me. I Do Not Do Anything Out Of Line For This City. Otherwise, All My Family Im Related To Would Want Me To Do Things For Them As Well.
The Mayor Asked Are The Trees Still There? Yes, They Are, They Are Actually In My Yard, Not By The Road Stated Mrs. Hutchens. Commissioner Stanley Stated And That’s Why My Street Guys Did Not Take Them Because They Were In Your Yard Not By The Road As Told To Me. Mrs. Hutchens Stated They Were Going To Take Them Until I Saw Them And Made Them Stop. Commissioner Stanley Said No My Guys Know That I Would Not Ask Them To Take Anything From Someone’s Yard. Commissioner Stanley Agreed Its Not The City's Responsibility To Go Into Someone’s Yard. Mrs. Hutchens Stated She Just Wanted The Council To Know What Was Going On. Commissioner Stanley Stated We Try To Stay Up On Tree Trimmers And Watch If They Are Cutting Trees Down For People The Tree Trimmers Are Responsible For Hauling Those Trees, Logs, Etc Away. Not Us (The City). The Only Time The City Does That Is If There Is A Storm Or Lands In The Road For Some Reason. We Will Help Out. Mrs. Hutchens Stated She Will Make Sure Commissioner Stanley Gets A Copy Of The Text Messages Sent To Her Because He Made It Sound Like You Were Having The City Do It For Him. Commissioner Stanley Reported No Ma’am I Was Not.
19.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 Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners Along With The Mayor Voted Yes. Motion Carried. The Council Went Into Executive Session At 6:38 P.M.
20. They Returned From Executive Session At 7:04 P.M. They Had A Discussion Regarding A Letter Of Intent To Purchase Real Property Located In The Burton Subdivision. The Letter Was From Grady Commercial To Purchase 3.7 More Acres In Front Of The Wf Mall. The Recommendation That We Are Wanting To Make Is Get An Appraisal For The Remaining Lots To See If Their Offer Is Going To Fall Within The 80% Of The Value Of The Property. The Lots Are 5, 6, 1, 2 And 3 That Need To Be Appraised. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
21.With No Further Business To Be Discussed, The Meeting Was Adjourned On A Motion By Commissioner Harkins At 7:05 P.M.
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