North Egypt News

City of Benton City Council met Feb. 26.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Minutes Of The Regularly Scheduled Benton City Council Meeting Held Monday February 26th, 2024 At 5 P.M. In The Benton Municipal Building Located At 1403 South Main Street Benton, Illinois.

Mayor Messersmith Called The Meeting To Order. Commissioner Kays, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey 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 February 12th, 2024 At 5 P.M. In The Benton Municipal Building Located At 1403 S Main Street Benton, Illinois Pending One Correction Of “Decapitated House To Dilapidated House” Under Item E Of Public Affairs. Seconded By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0. Abstains: 1. Commissioner Storey.

Mayor Messersmith Asked The Council To Take On Item G Under Public Affairs First. Mayor Messersmith Wished To Congratulate And Recognize Gavin Genisio And Mason Tieffel For Their Performance At The State Championship Of Their Respective Sports. Mayor Messersmith Also Addressed The Boys BCHS Cross Country Team And Coaches For Being State Runner Up In Cross Country This Year. Commissioner Kays Spoke Up Stating That Mason Tieffel Had Also Received The Title Of Academic All American This Year, Becoming The 3rd Ever In BCHS History. Proclamations Were Made And Given To Mr. Genisio And Mr. Tieffel For Their Championship And Received By Mr. Buchanan On Behalf Of The Cross-Country Team After Speaking About The Teams Record This Year.

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

Commissioner Garavalia Asked For The Council’s Permission In Allowing The Benton Area Volunteers (BAV) To Provide An Ice-Skating Rink For The 2024 Hometown Christmas. Commissioner Kays Asked If The BAV Would Be Holding The Appropriate Insurance Policy And Take Care Of The Funding For The Rink.  Commissioner Garavalia Assured Him That They Would Have Appropriate Insurance And Take Care Of The Funding. Mayor Messersmith Asked If The Rink Would Be In The Same Location It Had Been Previously, Between The Knee-Wall And Bathrooms At Capital Park, And Commissioner Garavalia Confirmed. Commissioner Kays Made The Motion To Allow The BAV To Provide The Ice-Skating Rink. Seconded By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Garavalia Presented A Mowing Contract From David Booker And Explained The City Had Been Using Him Since 2018 For The Listed Properties And That The Airport Manager Matthew Harrison Was Thoroughly Impressed With Mr. Booker’s Performance. Commissioner Garavalia Stated She Was Disappointed To Not See This Item On The Agenda For Approval.  Mayor Messersmith Said He Had It Listed As It Is Because He Was Unsure If The City Had An Obligation To Bid Out This Service And Because He Did Not Like The Two-Year Commitment. City Attorney Thomas Malkovich Stated It Was Under The Qualifying Amount To Have To Be Bid Out. Attorney Malkovich Also Stated That The Council Would Be Approving Public Funds Without Giving The Public Opportunity To Bid For It. Mayor Messersmith, Commissioner Kays, And Attorney Malkovich Felt Because Mr. Booker’s Prices Had Been Exposed Publicly It Would Be Unfair To Bid The 2024 Mowing But That The Council Would Take Action At The Next Meeting To Approve Mr. Booker’s Mowing For 2024 And To Start The Bid Process For The 2025 Season. Below Are Mr. Booker’s Prices On The Presented Contract.

Commissioner Garavalia Asked To Table Item D Under The Public Property Report Stating The Public Works Director Craig Miles And The Street Department Leadman Dale Watkins Do Not Think The Lots Will Be Ready In Time. It Was Stated That The Department Would Be Able To Remove The Ruble And Debris But It Would Likely Leave The Lots In Question In A Muddy Mess Unless It Remained Very Dry Over The Next Month. Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Table This Item. Seconded By Commissioner Kays. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Cockrum Stated He Had One Purchase Order For The Evening. Purchase Order #00674 For 10, Type-3 Barricades At $272.95 Totaling $2,729.50. Commissioner Kays Stated That These Barricades Would Be Paid For Out Of The Illinois Public Risk Fund Grant And Would Be Used For Things Like Closing Off The Square For Events To Reduce The Need For Overtime. Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve Purchase Order #00674. Seconded By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Cockrum Stated He Had No Pool Adjustments For This Meeting.

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

Commissioner Cockrum Stated He Had Two Resolutions For This Meeting, One To Close The Square For The Eclipse Event On April 6th From 11:00 A.M. To 9:00 P.M. And Another To Close The Square For The Rend Lake Water Festival Parade On May 4th From 9:00 A.M. To 1:00 P.M.

Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve Resolution #24-02 To Close The Square April 6th, 2024 From 11:00 A.M. To 9:00 P.M. Seconded By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve Resolution #24-03 To Close The Square May 4th, 2024 From 9:00 A.M. To 1:00 P.M. Seconded By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Storey Stated That He Had No Purchase Orders This Meeting. Commissioner Storey Stated That The Benton Police Department From February 1st To February 26th Had Responded To 446 Calls And That The Benton Fire Department Had Responded To 58 Calls In January.

Commissioner Storey Stated He Had Two Contracts For The Meeting, Both With Axon Enterprise, Inc. One Contract Is For Bodycam Services And The Other For Revamping The Interrogation Rooms At The Benton Police Department. Commissioner Storey Invited Police Chief Chris Funkhouser And Commissioner Kays To Speak About These Since They Were Present For The Demonstrations. Chief Funkhouser Explained That The Agreement For The Bodycams Would Be A 5-Year Agreement Totaling $69,227.10, Which Is Roughly $13,000 A Year After The First Payment Of 5% Due March 1st.  He Stated The Department Has Been With Axon For Their Bodycams For Several Years Now. Chief Funkhouser Stated That The Cams And Software Are Easy For The People In The Department To Use And Everyone Seems To Like Them. He Stated That To Switch To Motorola Would Cost Upwards Of $150,000, Commissioner Kays Stated The City Would Also Have To Incur The Cost Of Storing The Bodycam Data That Axon Is Storing Currently, As Axon Would Likely Not Keep Storing It After Terminating The Agreement. Chief Funkhouser Stated That Axon Had Put Together A Proposal For Upgrading The Hardware In The Interview Rooms, Including Cameras, Cloud Storage, Other Hardware And The Software To Use These Items. The Cost Of This Project Would Be $48,844.40 And The First Payment Would Not Need To Be Made Until The Build Starts In Late August Or Early September. Commissioner Kays Stated That These Expenses Would Also Be Covered By The Illinois Public Risk Fund Grant. Attorney Malkovich Stated That This Would Be Over The Amount Required To Bid Out These Services But Because The City Of Benton Is Home Rule By Ordinance If At Least Four Fifths Of The Council Voted In Favor They Could Bypass That Process.

Commissioner Kays Made A Motion To Bypass The Bidding Process And Accept The Contract From Axon Enterprises, LLC For The Bodycams. Seconded By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Kays Made A Motion To Bypass The Bidding Process And Accept The Contract From Axon For The Interview Room Upgrade. Seconded By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Kays Presented Payroll Totaling $100,009.22 With $73,685.03 Being General Fund And $26,324.19 Being Water And Sewer. Commissioner Kays Made A Motion To Accept Payroll As Presented For February 16th. Seconded By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Kays Stated He Had No Purchase Orders This Evening.

Commissioner Kays Stated He Wanted To Take Item (C) Under Accounts & Finance Into Executive Session For Discussion.

City Attorney Malkovich Had No Updates.

Mayor Messersmith Wanted To Update The Council On The Eclipse Event Planning. He Stated That Originally, It Was Thought That The Benton High School Band Would Be Able To Play On That Saturday But Because Of Prom The Band Had To Back Out. Mayor Messersmith Said That They Have Talked To The Producer Of The Event And It Looks Like The Band Will Be Able To Perform Friday Night Instead At Capital Park On The Stage. Mayor Messersmith Stated He Has Ambitious Hopes For Malkovich Park To Be Open By Mother’s Day And That The Major Hold Up At This Time Is Needing A Notice To Proceed. Mayor Malkovich Invited The Public And Council To Attend The Open House For The Master Bike Plan. Commissioner Storey Voiced Concern For Where One Of The Drafted Paths Would Go.

Mayor Messersmith Stated He Had No Purchase Orders For This Evening.

Mayor Messersmith Asked Attorney Malkovich To Speak On Items (C) And (D) Under Public Affairs In The Absence Of Zoning Administrator Mr. Calcaterra. Attorney Malkovich Stated For Item (C) That The Doxsie’s Live On North Stuyvesant At What Is Commonly Known As 602 And 604. He Also Stated That It Was Mr. Calcaterra’s Recommendation To Accept The Annexation Agreement. Commissioner Garavalia Made The Motion To Accept The Annexation Agreement For The Doxsie Family. Seconded By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Attorney Malkovich Stated That Hart Cantrell And Thompson LLC Had Met The Qualifications For The Façade Improvement Grant Application And That They Would Be The 6th Business To Make Use Of This Program. Commissioner Cockrum Made The Motion To Accept The Façade Grant Application From Hart Cantrell And Thompson LLC For The Work At 602 Public Square. Seconded By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5.

Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Mayor Messersmith Stated He Would Like To Take Item E Under Public Affairs Into Executive Session.

Mayor Messersmith Stated That The S3da Archery Tournament Representatives Had Approached The City And Asked For A Donation. Mayor Messersmith Stated He Would Like The Council To Approve A $1,000 Donation And That Along With The Chamber Of Commerce And The City Of Sesser We Would Be Listed As A Host City For This Donation. Commissioner Garavalia Made The Motion To Donate $1,000 To The S3da Tournament. Seconded By Commissioner Kays. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

Under Miscellaneous Business Commissioner Storey Wanted To Thank The Council For Handling His Affairs At The City While He Was Away For Three Meetings. He Stated He Greatly Appreciated It.

No Old Business.

No New Business.

In Matters From The Public Audience Commissioner Kays Stated The High School Would Be Having A Large Event This Week With The Basketball Games Coming Up And That If You Have The Opportunity To Come Out And Show Support You Should. Commissioner Cockrum Stated That If You Haven’t Been To A Basketball Game Recently To See The Different Activities And Event They Do There, You Are Really Missing Out.

Commissioner Kays Made A Motion To Go Into Executive Session To Discuss Item C Under Accounts & Finance And Item E Under Public Affairs. Seconded By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

5:44

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

6:38

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

Commissioner Kays Made A Motion To Enter Back Into Regular Session. Seconded By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 5. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, Commissioner Kays, And Mayor Messersmith. Nays: 0.

No Action Was Taken Following Executive Session.

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

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