North Egypt News

City of West Frankfort City Council met Dec. 12.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

1. Mayor Arview Called The Meeting To Order At 6:00 P.M.

Requesting A Roll Call. All Commissioners Except For Commissioner Harkins Were In Attendance Including, The City Attorney And City Clerk.

2. Mayor Arview Asked For Approval Of The Minutes From The November 28, 2023 Regular Council Meeting. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

3. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Resolution To Appoint Dallas Rumsey As The Acting Captain Of The City Of West Frankfort Fire Department. Chief Sailliez Stated Some Of You May Not Know We Are Losing A Huge Assets To Our Department. December 18th, 2023 Is His Last Working Shift He Will Stay On The Books To Make Sure This Move Is What He Wants To Do. We Always Want To See Our People Do Better, And We Strive To Make People Better And I Really Believe We Have In This Situation. I Want To Support Him, And I Want The Council To Support Him In His Endeavors. Gary Little Is Going To Be Leaving And Going To The Office Of The State Fire Marshal For An Arson Investigator Job. This Will Be A Great Move For Him, His Family, And His Career. With This We Will Have A Vacancy For A Captain Position. At This Time, We Do Not Have An Eligibility List For Promotion Completed At This Time, We Are In The Process Of Completing That. I Would Suggest For An Acting Captain At This Time To Be Served By Dallas, He Was On The Previous List That Is Expired. That Is What We Did Previously Back In September For Jonathon Horrell To Fill Rob Williams Spot. Commissioner Warren Said Good Luck To Gary. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

4. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Resolution Appointing Zach Worthen As An Emergency Up To 90 Day Employee Of The West Frankfort Fire Department. Chief Sailliez Stated Since Gary Is Leaving, And The Whole Month Of January, And The First Three Weeks Of February Jeremy Lingle Has Been Deployed Military Time, So We Will Be Losing Him For Seven To Eight Weeks. These Two Opening Are On The Same Shift; We Are Down To Two People. No Body Can Take Off, Or There Will Be Over Time, Everytime There Is An Ambulance Call, There Is Call Back Over Time. I Recommend The Hiring Of The 90 Day Temporary Appointment, To Help Get Us Through This Transition Phase. The Hiring List Is Being Updated As Well; February 10th Is The Test. So Right Around When Jeremy Gets Back, We Should Have An Eligibility List Completed. Zach Graduated From Herrin The Year 2015, He Has Been Apart Of The Williamson County Fire Protection District Since High School. Just To List A Few, He Is Fire Certified, Advanced Fire Certified, And Company Fire Officer. He Is Also National Registry EMT Basic, He Will Be Able To Jump Right In And Start Answering Calls With Us. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

5. The Next Item Was Approval To Hire Tammy Gwaltney As The Grant Writer For The City Of West Frankfort. The Mayor Stated Commissioner Howard Has Kept Us Updated On This The Last Few Meetings. Commissioner Howard Stated I Just Want To Remind The Department Heads To Get Their Lists Turned In. One Of The First Things She Will Start With Is Looking For Two Grants, One For The Police Cameras, And The Other One For A New Fire Truck. Commissioner Howard Made The Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

6. The Next Item Was Approval Of An Ordinance Authorizing A Mutal Aid Box Alarm System Agreement For The West Frankfort Fire Department. Chief Sailliez Stated We Have Been A Member Of Mabas Since 2001, Mabas Is Defined Mutal Aid Statewide. Illinois Has Done Such A Good Job, That The Other States Around Us, Have Adopted Mabas. We Do Interstate Mutal Aid Now As Well For Natural Disasters, Like Three Years Ago When I Responded To Louisiana During The Hurricane Relief. What This Agreement Does Is It Updates The Agreement, Makes It Easier For Reimbursements, The Last Four Pages Of The Powerpoint That You Have A Copy Of Shows The Changes. The Only Question That Has Been Brought Up And Submitted Was Over The Amount Of Insurance We Carry. To My Knowledge It Has Not Been Changed What Is Required But It Is Clearly Stated In There What It Needs To Be. This Is A Yearly Membership, And With This We Will Update The Agreement Yearly. In The Powerpoint Under Areas Of Focus, It Is Labeled Franchising, Which Is The Multiple State Agreements. If You Have Mabas Assets And You Choose Not To Be Apart Of Mabas, You Have To Give Them Back. It States If You Are Going Some Place For Mutal Aid, That We Will Be Responsible For All Of Our Staff, Such As Paying Our Employees, And Covering Them. Same For Whenever We Have People Come Here. Commissioner Howard Asked Is Their A Fee For This Membership? Chief Stated There Is A Yearly Membership Fee, I Have Never Had To Submit It For Approval Its Always Under $1,500.00, But I Do Not Have The Exact Price. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

7. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Locis In The Amount Of $10,272.00 Regarding License Support Agreement Membership. Commissioner Howard Stated This Is The Fees For The Licensing And Software Used By Multiple Users. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

8. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding A Review Of Bid Tabulation And Post Bid Analysis Of Funds With Possible Action To Award To The Low Bidder Wiggs Excavating Inc. In The Amount Of $39,650.00 For The West Frankfort - Burton Subdivision Sanitary Sewer Extension. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

9. The Next Item Was Approval Of Design Engineering Bill #1

From Brown & Roberts, Inc. In The Amount Of $6,344.00 For The West Frankfort - Burton Subdivision Sanitary Sewer Extension. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

10. The Next Item Was The Consent Agenda:

A. Approval To Pay Bills In The Amount Of $41,109.22. B. Approval To Pay An Invoice From Sander Electric In The Amount Of $3,394.37 For A Flygt Pump For The Area Around Central Jr. High For The Sewer Department. C. Approval To Pay An Invoice From Wiggs Excavating, Inc. In The Amount Of $2,385.00 Repairs At The High School For The Water Department.

D. Approval To Pay An Invoice From Ressler & Associates, Inc. In The Amount Of $3,516.80 For Repairs Needed On Door Assembly At The Sewer Department.

E. Approval To Pay An Invoice From Brown & Roberts, Inc. In The Amount Of $18,587.90 Regarding Preliminary And Supervisory Engineering Work For The 2023 Motor Fuel Tax Program.

F. Approval To Pay An Invoice From American Response Vehicles In The Amount Of $1,625.80 To Fix Issues On A-1 For Fire Department.

Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve.

Motion Carried

11. Building And Sign Permits ~ Code Officer Snell Stated The First One Is For T.J. Willis At 1106 E Oak St. For Solar Array, He Put It In His Self Already, It Looks Good. We Have Been In Contact About The New Solar Ordinance. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

The Next Permit Was For Timothy Waddell For A Solar Roof Mount System On His House. It Meets All Of Our Requirements. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

The Next Permit Was For Joyce Fogleman For A Solar Ground Mount, This Will Be A Very Large System On A Lot, It Now Meets Our Requirements, There Must Be A Fence Put Around It. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All -Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

The Last Permit Was For The Deaconess Clinic, They Are Going To Be Putting In Two Signs. One Is An Illuminated Pylon Sign, And The Other Is An Illuminated Wall Sign On The Building, It Meets All Of The Requirements. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

12. Officer's Report

Fire Report For The Month Of November 2023. Chief Sailliez Reported That They Had 153-Ambulance Calls, 2- Rubbish/Illegal Fires, 2-Brush/Field Fires, 1-Motor Vehicle Accidents, 3-Fire Alarms, 1-Vehicle Fires, 9 - Fire Emergencies; (Gas Leaks, Power Lines Down, Etc.), 3- Structure Fires, 0-Smoke Scares, 1-Mutual Aid Fire Responses, 1-Mutual Aid Ambulance, 4-Ambulance Calls Turned Over To Mutual Aid. For A Total Of 181 Calls During

The Month. The Department Used Approximately 30,000 Gallons Of Water. The Department Collected $32,526.24 For November Ambulance Calls.

Commissioner Warren Asked How Is The Hydrant Testing Going? Chief Sailliez Stated Its Going Pretty Good, We Are A Fifth Of The Way Through City Limits, There Is About Five That Has Issues That We Have Found. I’ve Been Talking To Jim The Water Supervisor, Some Threads Need Replaced, One Has A Leak, There Is No Way To Isolate It From Two Thirds Of The Town, This Is Taking Some Planning And Organizing On When And How To Get It Taking Care Of. Police Report For The Month Of November 2023. Chief

Prudent Reported Officers Answered A Total Of 1,017 Calls For Service. Of Those Calls 20 Were Traffic Accidents, 1 With Injuries. Officers Responded To 35 Domestic Disputes, 3 Fights In Progress, 17 Alarms, O Intoxicated Persons, 14 Burglaries, 14 Reports Of Criminal Damage To Property, 32 Complaints Of Juvenile Problems, 23 Reported Thefts, And 34 Complaints Of Disorderly Conduct/Disturbances. And Officers Made 10 Street Contacts. Officers Conducted 167 Traffic Stops, Where They Issued 40 Citations, 163 Warnings, And 13 Lw-27's. There Were 48 Adult Arrests Made And 9 Juvenile Arrest, Resulting In 72 Criminal Charges Filed.

Dispatchers Answered 1,328 Calls.

Of Those, 600 Were 9-1-1 Calls, 90 Were Walk In Requests. 1,017 Were For Police, 189 Were For West Frankfort Fire, 7 Were For Abbott Ems, And 1 For United Ambulance. For The Month Of November, We Collected $2,305.00 In Fines And Fees.

Chief Purdent Stated Gary Little Has Also Been One Of Our Long Time Auxiliary Officers. He Has Volunteered A Lot Of His Time, Any I.T. Stuff We Had Issues With He Has Helped Us Out. We Do Wish Him Luck.

Codes Report For The Month Of November 2023.Codes Officer Snell Reported Permit: 5~Building Permits, 0~Sign Permits. Rental Properties: 2~Rental Inspections Performed. Case Activity Report ~ 21 Which Includes Doors Tagged Verbal Warnings, Vehicles Tagged, Inspections Of Violations, Inspections, Citations Issued, Letters Sent, Etc.

13. Mayors Report~

The Mayor Stated I Want To Announce We Are Going To Have Another Meeting That Will Be On Wednesday On December 27th, 2023 At 10 Am.

Commissioner Reports~

Commissioner Howard Stated As You All Already Know We Did Hire A Grant Writer; I Am Very Pleased About It. Also, To Inform You The Auditor Process Has Started, We Did Get A Firm Hired In One Of The Previous Meetings. The Treasurer's Report For The Month Of November Is Done, If Anyone Wants To View It, Just Tell Someone You Would Like To See It.

Commissioner Stanley Stated The Guys Are Trying To Finish Up The Sidewalks For The Year, Plus All Of The Other Things They Do Such As Ditches, And Truck Loads Of Limbs They Pick Up.

Commissioner Warren Stated Sewer And Water Are Working, I Have Not Heard Of Any Major Problems. I Think All Of The City Workers Involved Has Done A Really Good Job Decorating Our Town. It Looks Very Nice.

Audience Comments:

Danny Loeh Stated I Have Been Working With All Of The Schools They Have Been Hand Making Christmas Cards For Veterans That I Will Take To The V.A. Hospital. They Will Be Donated To The Veterans Who Are Disable, And Can't Be Anywhere. Channel 3 News Is Going To Take Pictures Of The Kids, And Will Be At The V.A. Hospital Monday At 9 A.M. The V.A. Director, And State Representative Will Be There. The News Will Run A Little Piece On Channel 3 News On What They Kids Are Doing. I Think This Is Really Awesome What The Kids Are Doing. I Have A Lot Of Complements On The Parking Lot. We Have A Few More Names To Get Added To The Monuments From The Civil War That We Have Found Out.

The Mayor Stated For Those Who Does Not Know, Danny Loeh Run The Military Museum Up By The Tracks On The Corner Of Main St. And Anna St. If You Ever Get The Chance Go In And Look At What Is Inside.

Commissioner Warren Stated I Am So Happy We Have A New Business In Town, The Redbird Diner. The Food Is Really Good.

14. The Next Item Was Approval To Go Into Executive Session To Discuss Contract Negotiations, Personnel, And /Or Pending Litigation. The Mayor Stated Do We Have Anything To Discuss In Executive Tonight, The City Attorney Stated At Least One Thing We Have To Talk About, Regarding Buying Or Selling City Property. Chief Sailliez Said And Negotiations. The Mayor Stated They Will Not Be Making Any Decisions During Or Afterwards. At 6:32 P.M. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

15. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Motion To Return To Open Session At 6:52 P.M. Where No Action Was Taken.

Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

16. With No Further Business To Be Discussed, The Meeting Was

Adjourned On A Motion By Commissioner Howard At 6:54 P.M.

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