North Egypt News

City of Benton City Council met Dec. 20.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Minutes Of The Regularly Scheduled Benton City Council Meeting Held Friday December 22, 2023 At 10 A.M. In The Benton Municipal Building Located At 1403 South Main Street Benton, Illinois.

Mayor Messersmith Called The Meeting To Order. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays¸ Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, And Mayor Messersmith Were Present For Roll Call.

Commissioner Kays Made A Motion To Approve The Minutes Of The Regularly Scheduled Council Meeting Held On Monday December 11, 2023, Held At 5 P.M. Seconded By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Kays, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Garavalia Stated That There Is A Leak Of Some Kind In The Water System At Twin Oaks And She Is Having This Looked Into. She Has Asked For A Report From The Ewing Ina Water Department Showing The Usage At Twin Oaks; However, She Was Told It Would Only Show 40 Days Of Usage On This Report. She Stated She Would Keep The Council Up To Date On Her Findings.

Commissioner Cockrum Stated That He Had No Business For This Meeting With No Purchase Orders, No Pool Adjustments, And No Lake Lot Lease Transfers.

Commissioner Storey Stated That He Had No Purchase Orders Or Updates.

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Approve Installation Of Led Lighting At The Police Department From J.R. Erwin In The Amount Of $2,482.00 Pending Proof Of Insurance. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Kays, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, And Mayor Messersmith.

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Approve Entering Into A New Dispatch Agreement With West Central Franklin County Dispatch At A Rate Of $11,500.00 Per Month. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Table Item (D) Discussion And/Or Approval Of Addition And Removal Of Firefighters From The Paid On-Call List. Second By Commissioner Kays. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Kays Made A Motion To Approve Payroll Dated 12/22/2023 For General Fund In The Amount Of $75,365.63.02 And Water And Sewer In The Amount Of $27,397.09, And Paid On Call Firefighters In The Amount Of $8,796.97 For A Total Of $111,559.69. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Kays Made A Motion To Approve Purchase Order #00672 To Heartland Office Supply For A 3-Foot-Wide Filing Cabinet For The Water Department In The Amount Of $391.43. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Kays, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Kays Made A Motion To Approve Purchase Order #00498 To Benton Save A Lot For End Of Year Gift Cards For All Full-Time Employees In The Amount Of $75.00 Per Person For A Total Purchase Order Amount Of $3,225.00. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Commissioner Storey Stated That These Gift Cards Should Not Have Been Bought And Passed Out Before This Meeting. Commissioner Kays Stated That He Had Dropped The Ball And He Wanted To Make Sure That The Employees Received This Before The Holiday. Commissioner Storey Stated That He Wanted The Employees To Get It, But That He Feels Commissioner Kays Did This In A Dirty Way And He Was Sick Of The Dog And Pony Show, As He Said Commissioner Kays Had Stated. Commissioner Storey Then Stated That He Never Wanted To Hear Commissioner Kays Call This Council A Dog And Pony Show Ever Again. Commissioner Kays Stated That If The Motion Did Not Pass, He Would Reimburse The City Out Of His Own Pocket. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Kays, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Cockrum, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 1.

Commissioner Kays Made A Motion To Approve A Group Rate For Elected Officials And Employees Of The City Of Benton To Join Air Evac. Air Evac Has Offered The City A Rate Of $75.00 Per Year Per Family As Long As 3 Employees Sign Up. Commissioner Kays Stated There Have Been At Least 3 Employees Who Have Conveyed Interest In This Program. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Kays, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Kays Stated That He Has Been In Contact With People’s National Bank Regarding A Line Of Credit For The Acei Bore Funding. Commissioner Kays Stated That Information Has Been Collected And Everything Should Be Ready To Go At The Next Scheduled City Council Meeting.

Attorney Malkovich Stated That He Has No Updates.

Mayor Messersmith Stated That He Would Like To Announce That Both The Elks And The Legion Will Be Having A Free Christmas Dinner On Christmas Day For Anyone Who Is Interested In Going. Mayor Messersmith Also Announced That The Local Area Churches Will Be Holding A Candle Light Ceremony On Saturday, December 23, 2023. Mayor Messersmith Stated That The Benton Ranger’s Basketball Team Is Currently 10-0 And A Very Fun Team To Watch Play. He Said That There Will Be Games This Evening At The Rich Herrin Gym At 4:00 P.M. For Freshmen, 5:15 P.M. For Junior Varsity, And 6:30 P.M. For Varsity. Mayor Messersmith Asked Zoning Administrator Brian Calcaterra To Handle Items (C), (D), (E), (F), And (G).

Zoning Administrator Brian Calcaterra Stated That He Had Recently Been Approached By Someone Interested In Bringing A Shipping Container To Town For Storage. Mr. Calcaterra Stated That He Told The Person That Currently There Is Not An Ordinance In Place That Would Stop This From Happening, But That He Plans On Creating One. Mr. Calcaterra Asked The Council For A Motion To Create A Zoning Ordinance Regulating Shipping Container Use Within The Zoning Jurisdiction Of The City Of Benton. Commissioner Storey Made This Motion. Second By Commissioner Kays. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Kays, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Zoning Administrator Brian Calcaterra Stated That The City’s Previous Façade Grant Program Had Expired And He Would Like A Motion To Renew The Downtown Tif Façade Grant Program For Calendar Year 2024. Commissioner Kays Made This Motion. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Kays, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Zoning Administrator Brian Calcaterra Stated That He Needed A Motion To Approve Ordinance #23-26 Amending Chapter 40, Article 1, 40-1-2 Definitions To Define Off-Site Signs. This Motion Was Made By Commissioner Kays. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Zoning Administrator Brian Calcaterra Stated That He Needed A Motion To Approve Ordinance #23-27 Amending Chapter 40 Appendix E – Schedule Of District Sign Regulations Relating To Flush Wall Signs In The B-1 Zoning District. Commissioner Kays Made This Motion. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Kays, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Zoning Administrator Brian Calcaterra Asked For A Motion To Approve Ordinance #23-28 Amending Chapter 40 Appendix 3 – Schedule Of District Sign Regulations Relating To Flush Wall Signs In The B-6 Zoning District. This Motion Was Made By Commissioner Cockrum. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Kays, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Mayor Messersmith Stated That He Would Like A Motion To Approve Accepting Bids For Residential Electric Aggregation. He Stated That The Market Is Down At This Time And We Are Hoping To Lock In A Rate That Will Be Lower Than The Rates Will Be When Our Contract Is Up At The End Of June Of 2024. Currently The Market Price Available To Our Citizens For The Next Contract Is $0.08100 Per Kilowatt Hour. Commissioner Cockrum Made This Motion. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Kays, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Mayor Messersmith Stated That He Needed A Motion To Approve The Acceptance Of Bids For Commercial Electric Aggregation At A Rate Of $0.065070 For A Duration Of 39 Months. This Motion Was Made By Commissioner Kays. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Kays, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

There Was No Miscellaneous Business.

In Old Business, Zoning Administrator Brian Calcaterra Stated That He Had Scheduled 6 Interviews For The Position Of Code Enforcement Officer. Mr. Calcaterra Stated That Unfortunately, 2 Of The Interviewees Were No Call, No Show.

In New Business, Commissioner Storey Asked If The Paid On-Call Firefighters Were Not Getting A Gift Certificate. Commissioner Kays Stated That He Purchased Gift Certificates For Full Time Employees Only. Commissioner Storey Stated That Fire Chief Shane Cockrum Had Purchased Hats For All Of The Paid On-Call Firefighters. Also Under New Business, Mayor Messersmith Stated That He Would Like To Have Some Sort Of Activity In The City Of Benton Every Month For The Next Year. He Mentioned The Possibility Of An Amateur Bbq Cookoff With Funds Being Raised For The Community Park. Commissioner Kays Stated That He Had Attended The Benton High School Board Meeting Recently And A Question Was Asked About Placing A Crosswalk On College Street. Commissioner Cockrum Said This Was Something We Could Look Into. Mayor Messersmith Stated That A New Temporary Sign Has Been Placed Next To The Statue Of Mr. A To Help Identify Him To Visits And That A Permanent Sign Will Be Placed Once The Renovations At Malkovich Park Are Completed.

No Matters Of From The Public Audience.

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Adjourn The Meeting. Seconded By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Cockrum, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

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