North Egypt News

City of West Frankfort City Council met Nov. 12.

Here is the agenda provided by the council:

1. Mayor Arview Called The Meeting To Order At 6:00 P.M. Requesting A Roll Call. All Commissioners Were In Attendance Including, The City Attorney And City Clerk.

2. Mayor Arview Asked For Approval Of The Agenda. The Mayor Stated We All Have Had A Chance To Review The Agenda, There Will Be One Item We Will Be Tabling. No Changes Need To Be Made. I Entertain A Motion To Approve The Agenda. Commissioner Stanley 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 The Minutes From The October 22, 2024 Regular Council Meeting. The Mayor Stated There Is One Item On Here That Will Need To Be Amended. There Is A Typo, It Says Commissioner Warren Made The Motion And Second, And According To Our Records Commissioner Stanley Made The Second. I Entertain A Motion To Amend Item Two To Replace Seconded By Commissioner Warren With Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried. The Mayor Stated Now We Need A Motion To Approve The Minutes. Commissioner Howard Made The Motion To Approve The Minutes As Amended, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

4. The Next Item Was Approval To Accept Bids And Award Projects For Demolition. 1202 W. Oak St: Bid From Joplin Salvage Of $2,500.00, And From Littleton Storm & Timeber Out Of Jacksonville, Illinois Of $15,000.00. 406 N. Bryan St.: Bid From Joplin Salvage Of $4,500.00, And From Littleton Storm & Timber Of $20,600.00. The Mayor Stated My Recommendation Would Be To Accept The Two Lowest Bids On 1202 W. Oak, And 406 N. Bryan And Award Those To Joplin Salvage. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

5. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding Approval For Christmas Town West Frankfort To Hold A Drive In Movie On The WF Mall Grounds December 20, 2024. The Mayor Stated We Allowed Them To Do This Last Year With The Same Agreement. I Would Entertain A Motion To Approve This. Commissioner Harkins Made A 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 Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding Consideration On A Tif Application For Crosswalk Community Action Agency, The Mayor Stated This Is For Their Parking Lot And Fencing Project. This Would Be Through The Façade Improvement Grant, It Is Through Tif But Specifically For These Types Of Projects. Commissioner Howard Asked Do We Have To Submit This To Moran First? The City Clerk Stated Moran Already Has It. The Mayor Asked Did They Give A Recommendation On That? The City Clerk Stated He Said It Was Up To The Council. The Mayor Stated I Will Leave The Amount Up To You Guys To Decide. The City Clerk Stated The Façade Is $2,500.00 Or You Can Do A Regular Tif Which Would Be More Than The $2,500.00. Commissioner Stanley Asked Are We Ok With The Tif Money? The Mayor Stated Yes. The Total Cost Of The Project Is $13,254.50. Commissioner Howard Asked Did Crosswalk Ask For Any Certain Amount? The City Clerk Stated No, She Said They Would Be Greatful With Whatever We Will Help Them With. Commissioner Stanley Stated I Would Agree On Half, If You Guys Want To Go More Is Fine Too. Commissioner Howard Stated I Was Thinking Around That Too. Commissioner Stanley Made The Motion To Approve $6,627.25, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

7. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding New Offers Received To Purchase Real Estate Property At 222 East Main Street Which Has Been Deemed As Surplus. The Mayor Stated We Did Have Two Offers, But One Backed Out. We Have One Offer Remaining For $22,400.00 From Colton And Chelsy Squibb. Commissioner Howard Asked Does This Amount Cover The Eighty Percent? The Mayor Stated Yes. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Accept The Offer, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

8. The Next Item Was Approval To Accept A Proposal For Coverage From Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Or Illinois Public Risk Fund Regarding Insurance For The City Of West Frankfort, Effective January 1, 2025 To January 1, 2026, Regarding Property, Liability And Workers' Compensation Insurance. The Mayor Stated In Your Books You Have The Recommendation From Our Agent With Them. There Is A Change On Premiums But That Is With Any Insurance These Days. Commissioner Howard Stated To Make The Public Aware It Is $621,000.00 Vs $592,488.00 The Year Before For Both Policies, It Is A 4.8 Percent Increase. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

9. The Next Item Was Approval To Accept A Proposal For Coverage Arthur J. Gallagher Or CIRMA (Counties Of Illinois Risk Management Agency) Regarding Annual Coverage From January 1, 2025 To January 1, 2026. Commissioner Howard Stated This Was Included In The Last Item We Already Approved.

10. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, To Approve An Intergovernmental Agreement For Stormwater Quality Management Planning With The Greater Egypt Regional Planning And Development Commission. The Mayor Stated This Is Something We Were Supposed To Receive Back In September, But It Fell Through The Cracks. Commissioner Howard Asked Will This Be At No Cost To Us? The Mayor Stated That Is The Plan.

Commissioner Howard Stated It Says We Were Awarded A Planning Grant In August Of 2024. I Do Not Think They Would Take It Back. The Mayor Stated That Would Be My Assumption. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve Subject To Grant Money Coming Through, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

11. The Next Item Was Approval To Accept Bids And Award The Project For Installation Of Fencing At The West Frankfort Old Lake. The Mayor Stated We Have Two Bids. One From 360 Fencing, LLC In The Amount Of $38, 109.00 And From Allegiance Fence In The Amount Of $37,265.08. The Mayor Stated I Recommend We Go With The Lower Bid From Alliegiance Fence. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve Alliegiance, Seconded By Commissioner Howard With The Understanding It Will Be Paid From The Lake Fund. The Mayor And Commissioner Warren Stated Yes It Will. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

12. The Next Item Was Approval To Accept Bids And Award The Project For Roof Repairs Needed At The West Frankfort Fire/Police Department. The Mayor Stated The Building Has Had Some Leaks. We Received Three Bids, Two Of Them Are For Complete Redo Of The Entire Roof, And One Gave That And A Bid To Patch The Roof. Baine Roofing Company $184,675.00, Patching Bid Is $986.00, Reynolds Exteriors $193,762.00, And Integrity Roofing $76,288.65 And Stated Patching Would Not Solve The Issue. Commissioner Warren Stated I Originally Wanted To Patch It, Because We Are Waiting On An Audit, And We Are Trying To Watch Our Money. I Do Not Know A Lot About Roofs, One Company Says You Can And One Says It Wouldn't Solve It. I Know You Will Hear It Both Ways. The Mayor Stated Since The Patch Is A Low Amount If It Doesn't Solve The Problem, We Could Eat That And Then Replace It If We Need Too. Commissioner Warren Stated I Know They Are Flat Roofs And They Are Old, I Toured It On A Rainy Day. It Is Not A Gusher But It Is Over Equipment At The Fire Department, The Raidos Are Sitting Right There. I Know Snow Could Make A Difference Too, What Do You Guys Think? We Were Told By The Finance Commissioner Not To Long Ago To Watch Our Spending.

Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve The Patch Bid From Baine Roofing, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

13. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Motion To Revoke M&G Mart D/B/A Nifty Swifty Liquors And Gaming License And To Reinstate Under New Owners. The Mayor Stated The Company Was Purchased And The New Owners Have Applied And We Approved The License. We Can Not Have Duplicate Licenses On The Books. This Is Just Making Sure When The New Owners Take Over The Old License Goes Away. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

14. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding A Resolution Extending The Time For Liquor License Hours On Gabfest, Wednesday, November 27, 2024 To Remain Open Until 2 A.M. The Mayor Stated I Recommend We Approve This. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

15. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, For Approval Of An Application For Liquor License For A Business Located At 1102 West Main Street. The Mayor Stated This Is The Item We Are Going To Table, Because The Purchase Of The Property Has Not Gone Through Yet. We Will Table This Until We Find Out More About This. This Item Was Tabled

16. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding A Bid Received From Sinc To Replace All Computers At City Hall In The Amount Of $15,932.18. The Mayor Asked Is This Amount City Hall Only, Or Does This Include The Fire Department Too? The City Clerk Stated City Hall Only. The Mayor Stated He Did Go Over With Me Some Of The Issues The Computers Have Now, They Are Not Going To Support The Software We Have In A Year. At The Water Counter They Have Had Issues With Them Crashing, And Even On Mine I Have Experienced That. We Have A Mix And Match Right Now With Our Computers This Bid Includes To Make Them All The Same. That Could Also Help Sinc Detect Which Computer Has An Issue If There Are Any Viruses Or Malware. When You Have Mixtures, You Can Not Really Do That, You Don't Know If It Is Unusual Or Not. Commissioner Howard Stated This Will Be For Eleven Computers, They Will Not Be Charging Us For Labor And Will Have A One Year Warranty. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

17. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding Entering Into A Memorandum Of Understanding With The Fire Department Regarding Residency. The Mayor Stated Currently The Contract Says, If Someone Works For The Fire Department, They Have To Live In The West Frankfort School District 168. This Allows Them To Have A Fifteen Mile Radius From The City Limits Of West Frankfort. Commissioner Howard And I Were Talking And For Some Cases Fifteen Miles May Be Within The School District. Hopefully This Will Help Us Get More Applicants. Chief Sailliez Stated We Have Two That Took The Written Test And Passed, They Are Up For Interview Now. Without The Residency Change We Would Have Zero. Commissioner Warren Asked Can You Change It Since It Is In A Contract Already? The Mayor Stated Yes This Will, The Way Memorandums Of Understandings Work, At The Next Contract The Memorandums Of Understandings Goes In Effect. Commissioner Warren Asked It Is Not Messing Anything Up On This Contract? I Am Just Making Sure. The Mayor Stated That's Right. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

18. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding Entering Into A Memorandum Of Understanding With The Fire Department Regarding Overtime Mandate. The Mayor Stated Chief Talked With Us At Last Meeting In Closed Session, I Think This Is Important For Us To Be Able To Do. Chief Sailliez Stated I Came Up With A New Policy That Would Dictate How Mandatory Overtime Was Covered By My Self. If It Got To The Point If The Union Could Not Fill It Off Their Turn Sheet. They Liked The Wording And The Flow Of It And Wanted It In Their Contract As Written, That Way When New Chief Comes In And Wants To Do It Different, They Will Have To Negotiate. The Mayor Asked You Are Following This Now And It Is Working, Right? Chief Sailliez Stated Yes, But There Are Still Zero Instances Of Mandatory Overtime. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

19. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding The Purchase Of Digital Radio's From Novacom For The Police Department. Deputy Chief Willis Stated We Have Spoke Before That The World Of Digital Was On The Horizon. Our Fire Department, And The Sherrif Department Has Went Digital Capable. Most Of Franklin County Have Started The Process. We Knew It Could Be Costly, We Are Eligible For $23,410.00 That Can Only Be Used For Certain Things, And Radios Happen To Be One Of Them. I Got An Estimate From Novacom, Who Handles All Of Our Radio's Now. If We Equip Each Car, That Is Sixteen Mobile Radios, And We Would Get Twelve Portable Radios, And The Service They Would Need To Do For The Antenna To Get Us To Go Digital. The Total Would Be $38,187.90 If We Use The $23,410.00 From The Grant That Would Leave $14,777.90. As Of Right Now Without Us Being Capable Of Doing That, We Can Not Speak To The Franklin County Sherrif's Department, We Have To Call Our Dispatch, To Their Dispatch And Make That Circle Since We Can Not Reach Them. As More Departments Go To This, We Are Isolating Ourselves From Being Able To Communicate On The Radios. Commissioner Stanley Asked So We Have A Grant? Deputy Chief Willis Stated Yes That Covers Sixty Percent Of It. Commissioner Howard Stated The Price Will Keep Going Up. Chief Sailliez Stated The Radio's Were Discounted With The Franklin County Discount Price That Everyone Else Is Upgrading With. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried. 

20. The Next Item Was Approval To Accept The Low Bid Received From Bailey's Heating & Cooling In The Amount Of $14,500.00 Regarding Replacement Of A Heating Unit At The West Frankfort Business Incubator. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

21. The Next Item Was Approval Of Contractor's Pay Estimate #1 To Haier Plumbing & Heating Inc. For The West Frankfort - Stp Effluent Disinfection In The Amount Of $70,733.54. Commissioner Stanley Asked This Is For Out At The Sewer Plant, Right? The Mayor Stated Yes. Commissioner Howard Stated This Will Be Paid For By The Sewer Plant, But We Are Expecting To Get Reimbursed By The IEPA. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

22. The Next Item Was Approval Of Construction Engineering Bill #1 From Brown & Roberts Inc. For The West Frankfort - STP Effluent Disinfection In The Amount Of $24,840.54. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

23. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Lake Lot #00a And #00b Survey For Bobbie Gillespie. Commissioner Howard Asked This Is The Normal Procedure, Right? The Mayor Stated Yes. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

24. The Next Item Was Approval To Transfer Lake Lot Lease #00a And #00b From Bobbie Gillespie To Addison And Shyla

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

25. The Next Item Was Approval To Transfer Lake Lot Lease #116b From Ken Langdon To David Bjorkman. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

26. The Next Item Was The Consent Agenda:

A. Approval To Pay Bills In The Amount Of $441,065.30. 

B. Approval Of An Invoice From Mid America Fire & Safety In The Amount Of $3,598.85 For One Set Of Turnout Gear For The West Frankfort Fire Department.

C. Approval Of New Addendums To The Handbook For Employees Of The City Of West Frankfort.

D. Approval Of An Invoice From A&W Plumbing & Heating, Inc. In The Amount Of $2,638.61 Regarding Clogged Line At The West Frankfort Business Incubator.

E. Approval Of An Invoice From Johnson's Auto & Truck Repair In The Amount Of $1,740.35 For Repairs To A-1 For The West Frankfort Fire Department. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

27. Building And Sign Permits ~ Code Officer Snell Stated The First One Is For David Bjorkman For A Doublewide At The West Frankfort Lake. I Have Gone Through Our Codes, And It Meets All Of Our Code Requirements Other Than A Precedent We Have Set. We Have Not Allowed Used Mobile Homes, Or Double Wides To Be Set On City Property In City Limits. That Is The Only Thing In This Permit That Is Against What We Have Done In The Past Or Against Any Kind Of Code. In The Last Three In Half Years, I Have Been Here, We Have Not Approved A Single One Of These. From My Understanding That Had Been A Precedent That Had Been Set. I Did Tell Them That They Can Put Their Permit In, And If They Want To Speak On It, They Can. Commissioner Howard Asked Where Is The Location Of This? There Is A Map Inside Your Book. The Mayor Stated There Is A Single Wide There Right Now. Code Officer Stated That Has Been Out There A Long Time. Commissioner Harkins Asked Do They Use Blocks Around The Bottom Of Them? Commissioner Warren Asked Is It Going To Be Set Like A House? Mr. Bjorkman Stated It Is Going To Be A Brick Foundation, Everything Is Going To Be Completely Redone. It Will All Be Brand New, Besides The Title And Name. Commissioner Harkins Stated I Do Not See Why We Can't Approve This. Officer Snell Stated, Just Understand When You Set Precedents And Then Go Back On That Precedent Then There Is Always That Argument To Go The Other Way. When You Set A Precedent, You Are Trying To Change Something When You Go Back On That You Have Undone Everything You Have Already Done. Commissioner Harkins Asked Even When They Put Blocks Around The Bottom Of It? Officer Snell Stated That Is Not The Issue, We Are Talking About It's Used. We Have Set The Precedent Of We Have Not Allowed Anything Used In Sometime, Not Since I Have Been Here. Commissioner Warren Asked, So We Have Been Asked Before, And We Denied It? Officer Snell Stated Yes. Commissioner Warren Asked Is It An Ordinance? Officer Snell Stated No, Just A Precedent The Council Had Set. The City Attorney Stated The Standard Form We Use Has Language That Prohibits It Correct? Codes Officer Snell Stated It Prohibits Anything Other Than A New Single Wide; It Does Not Say Anything About Double Wides. I Believe That Was The Intent Of That Language. The City Attorney Stated This Is Property The City Owns; You Are Free To Do With It How You Please, I Encourage You Treat Everyone The Same Obviously. Commissioner Warren Stated I Hate To Put Someone Out Of Not Having A Home, But If We Have A Precedent, I Am A Rule Follower That Is The Only Reason Then You Open Up Everything. The Mayor Stated If We Say Yes, We Can't Make An Ordinance About It At That Point, But If We Say No We Can For The Future. Codes Officer Stated I Think That Is What We Need To Do Just To Clarify So People Will Have The Knowledge Before This Happens Again.

Commissioner Warren Stated They Are All Stick Built Homes Out There, Except The One That Has Been Out There For Who Knows How Long. The Mayor Stated A Vote Of Yes Is To Deny The Permit. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Deny This Permit By Doing What We Have Done In The Past, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Deny Except For Commissioner Harkins He Voted No. Motion Carried.

The Next Permit Was For Marilyn Arnett For A Car Port At 506 N. Walnut St. Codes Officer Snell Stated I Do Have An Issue With This Permit As Well, It Is Very Clear In Our Application You Can Not Put An Accessory Structure In The Front Yard And That Is Where She Is Trying To Place It. It Does Not Meet Our Codes. The Mayor States A Vote Of Yes Is To Deny The Permit. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Deny, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Deny. Motion Carried.

The Next Permit Was For Jennifer Springhorn For A Fence At 1106 E. Lindell St. Most Everything In This Permit Fits, But There Is An Issue. They Have Part Of The Privacy Fence Which Is Six Foot Extending Past The Front Wall Of The Home Going Out By The Street. We Do Not Allow Anything That Goes Past The Front Wall. Everything They Have Submitted Has It Going Past There. I Have No Doubts We Can Revise This And Come Back And Approve It. But At This Point I Don't Think We Can. Commissioner Warren Asked Is This Closing In The Front Of The Home? Officer Snell Stated It Is Not Closing It In It Has It Going Up The Right Side Coming Down And Then Meeting Up With The Sidewalk Coming Up To The Home. It Does Not Meet The Code. The Mayor States A Vote Of Yes Is To Deny The Permit. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Deny Until It Is Revised, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Deny. Motion Carried.

The Next Permit Was For Tina Rose For A Fence Permit At 403 N. Bryan St. Everything Fits As It Should. The Only Issue I Have Is On The Original Permit, It Has The Completion Date Past Our Ninety Day Window. If We Pass This With The Understanding If They Need More Than Ninety Day's They Can Apply For The Standard Increase Of Time That Is In Our Code. I Do Not See A Problem With This One. Commissioner Harkins 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 Three Solar Permits, The Addresses Are 403 N. Gardner, 204 W. Elm And 1100 E Cleveland St. I Recommend We Approve All Three. I Just Want To Note The One For The Park District Is A Very Big Project Being Done By Martin Solar, I Just Wanted You All To Be Aware That Is Happening. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

28. Officer's Report ~

Fire Report For The Month Of October 2024. Chief Sailliez Reported That They Had 151-Ambulance Calls, 8- Rubbish/Illegal Fires, 2-Brush/Field Fires, 0-Motor Vehicle Accidents, 4-Fire Alarms, 9 - Fire Emergencies; (Gas Leaks, Power Lines Down, Etc.), 2- Structure Fires, 4-Mutual Aid Fire Responses, 1-Mutual Aid Ambulance, 10-Ambulance Calls Turned Over To Mutual Aid. For A Total Of 191 Calls During The Month. The Department Used Approximately 6,000 Gallons Of Water. The Department Collected $42,357.34 For October Ambulance Calls.

Police Report For The Month Of October 2024. Deputy Chief Willis Reported Officers Answered A Total Of 1,411 Calls For Service. Of Those Calls 27 Were Traffic Accidents, 1 With Injuries. Officers Responded To 31 Domestic Disputes, 9 Fights In Progress, 22 Alarms, 4 Intoxicated Persons, 14 Burglaries, 11 Reports Of Criminal Damage To Property, 27 Complaints Of Juvenile Problems, 29 Reported Thefts, And 33 Complaints Of Disorderly Conduct/Disturbances. And Officers Made 5 Street Contacts. Officers Conducted 220 Traffic Stops, Where They Issued 69 Citations, 165 Warnings, And 17 Lw-27's. There Were 66 Adult Arrests Made And 2 Juvenile Arrest, Resulting In 71 Criminal Charges Filed.

Dispatchers Answered 1,657 Calls. Of Those, 533 Were 9-1-1 Calls, 104 Were Walk In Requests. 1,411 Were For Police, 202 Were For West Frankfort Fire, 4 Were For Abbott Ems, And 2 For United Ambulance. For The Month Of October, We Collected $1,930.00 In Fines And Fees.

Codes Report For The Month Of October 2024. Codes Officer Snell Reported Permit: 1~Building Permits, 0~Sign Permits. 3~ Solar Permits. Rental Properties: 9~Rental Inspections Performed. Case Activity Report ~ 61 Which Includes Doors Tagged Verbal Warnings, Vehicles Tagged, Inspections Of Violations, Inspections, Citations Issued, Letters Sent, Etc.

29. Mayors Report~ 

The Mayor Stated We Have Received A Thank You Card And A Picture From Sloan's Dance Studio, They Had All Of The Dancers Sign It. It Says We Just Can't Thank You Enough, Thank You For Always Supporting Our Kids Here At Sloan's It Is A Huge Blessing To Know Our Small Town Is Behind Us. Without You N.Y.C. Would Not Be Possible. We Had Given Them Some Money At One Of Our Meetings To Go To New York.

Commissioner Reports~ 

Commissioner Harkins Stated We Do Have Three Ambulances Running Periodically, And We Are Getting Real Close On Getting Our New Squad Cars On The Roads. Everything Is Going Good.

Commissioner Howard Stated The Mayor And I Had A Zoom Meeting Discussion With The Auditors Today. We Are Actually Going To Make Some Real Progress In The Next Couple Of Weeks. We Have Interviewed And A New Treasurer Has Excepted The Position. The Mayor And Council Will Have To Approve At One Of Our Meetings. She Knows Accounting, And Has Done Work And Kept Books For Government Agencies.

Commissioner Stanley Stated The Project Is Going Good Out At The Sewer Department, Michael Stated They Poured Concrete And Now Waiting For It To Cure. The Water Department Finished Up With Figuring Out What Lines Go To Each House, Jim Turned In That Report. Street Department Has Been Putting Up The Christmas Decorations Up Down Town.

Commissioner Warren Stated We Are Working At The Lake, Getting Ready To Put The Fences Up To Keep It Safe. I Enjoyed The Veterans Memorial Celebration; It Was Really Nice. I Appreciate All Of The Veteran's Out There, Thank You For Your Service.

Audience Comments: 

The Mayor Stated I Would Ask You To Come To The Podium If You Have A Comment. We Have An Ordinance Regulating That, You Have Five Minutes That Way Everyone Has The Same Amount Of Time. We Ask That You Don't Use Any Profanity Or Anything Like That, We Are On Facebook Live. Tina Rose Stated I Am Very Glad We Have Been Talking About Equal Enforcement, And Precedents Tonight. It Is A Very Good Start. Hello People, Good Evening, Mayor Arview, Council Members, And Residents Of West Frankfort. I Am Here Tonight, Because I Believe My Civil Rights Has Been Violated By The City's Failure To Provide Fair Access To Zoning Appeals, And Independent Review Of Decisions Made By Mr. Snell. Despite My Formal Request I Have Been Denied These Rights That Should Be Available To Every Resident Here. I Have To Ask Why Is This City's Administration Singling Me Out, And Refusing Me Access To Appeals And The Zoning Board When It Is Assured All Residents Have Access? You Like Precedents Don't You. Illinois Law Defines Official Misconduct As An Action By A Public Official That Harms Another, By Failing To Perform Their Duties Or By Exerting Authority Improperly. Corruption Includes Unequal Enforcement Of Laws In A Way That Profits Some While Harming Others. That Is Happening Here, Your Codes Officer Allows Mr. Stanley's Relative Robert Stanley To Profit By Not Enforcing Building Or Zoning Codes On Him, At The Expense Of Financial Harm To Me. That Includes A Six- Foot-Tall Privacy Fence Surrounding The Front Of The Home. This Preferentail Treatment Harms Residents Like Myself And Puts Our Entire Community Saftey At Risk. While Fully Disclaimed The Integrity Of This Council And Mayor For All. No Mr. Stanley It Is Not Ok To Give Your Relatives Special Treatment And Let Treaspass Onto My Property, It Is Not Ok To Give Away Surplus Property Because You Think They Will Do Something With It Or Because You Want Them To Mow It. As Council Members You Must Serve The Public No Private Interest. I Am Calling On You To Stop Using Tax Dollars To Protect Misconduct, Ensure Equal Enforcement Of Written Codes, And Make West Frankfort A Place Where The Voices Of All Residents Are Heard And Respected. Your Moving Forward Motto Can't Happen While The City Allows These Practices To Continue Unchecked And Our City's Tax Dollars Are Being Used To Protect Criminal Condcut. I Would Like To Arrange And Invite All City Council Members, The Mayor, The Attorney, And The Clerk To Meet Me At The Properties Of 1109 And 1109 1⁄2 E. Lindell, And Please Bring Your Municipal Codes Book And A Tape Measure. Surely Somebody On This Board, Wants To Know What You Are Towing The Line For. If Municipal Code No Longer Matters And Anyone Can Split Their Lot, Build A Garage And Convert It To A Residence Just To Rent It Out. Well Sign Me Up. Once This Precedent Starts Every Lot In The City Is Allowed To Do, They Same. Is That Want You Guys Want? Robert Stanley Has Got Over Thirty Properties That Were Previously Trustee Owned During The Time You Have Been On The Board, And I Would Like To Have That Explained. I Want To Let You Know That Every One In Town Will Be Allowed If This Precedent Stands For One, It Will Stand For All. As Leaders You Must Address This Conduct Within Your Ranks, Your Duty Is Not To Each Other But To The People You Serve. West Frankfort Residents I Am Calling On You To Not Accept A Blanket Violation Of Our Civil Rights, We Are All Allowed To Appeal, We Are All Allowed To Go To The Appeals Board, We Are All Aloud To Appeal The Codes And Zoning. If This Board Prevents It Then All Of Our Civil Rights Have Been Violated.

The Mayor Stated I Would Remind The Council That Her Comments Were Pertaining To An On-Going Lawsuit, So We Are Not Able To Respond.

James Green Stated First Off, The Side Walk On Bryan Street Is Excellent. Two Months Ago, I Have Cleaned My Yard Up, And There Are Four Others On My Block That Have Not Been Touched, Right Thad? Codes Officer Stated It Is A Slow Process. Mr. Green Stated I Do Not Think That Is Fair That I Have To Clean Mine Up And The Others Do Not. I Could Tell You About One Of Them But I Am Not Going Too. I Want To See If I Can Get Some Feed Back. You Know Where I Live, I Am There 24/7, And I Will Show You.

Donna Green Stated I Appreciate All Of You, Because What You Guys Are Doing Is Not Easy. You Are Here Trying To Please Everybody, Especially When Somebody Comes In From Out Of State Thinking They Can Take Over. We Do Not Have To Mention Names Because We Know Who She Is. That Is Beside The Point, I Am Not Moving. But I Am Also Not Going To Take It Anymore. I Do Not Like When She Picks On People We Know, I Do Not Like The Bullying.

30. The Next Item Was Approval To Go Into Executive Session For Discussions Pursuant To 5 ILCS 120/2(C) (1), 5 ILCS 120/2 (C) (5/6), 5ilcs 120/2 (C) (21). At 7:11 P.M. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

31.The Next Item Was Approval Of A Motion To Return To Open Session At 7:48 P.M. Where No Action Was Taken. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

32. With No Further Business To Be Discussed, The Meeting Was Adjourned On A Motion By Commissioner Harkins At 7:50 P.M. 

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