North Egypt News

City of West Frankfort City Council met Dec. 26.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

1. Mayor Arview Called The Meeting To Order At 10:00 A.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 Did Have A Last Minute Change We Need To Approve This New Agenda For The Meeting. We Do Not Have To Vote To Amend It, Because We Did It Within The Time Frame. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

3. The Next Item Was Approval Of The Minutes From The December 10, 2024 Regular City Council Meeting. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

4. The Next Item Was Approval Of The Minutes From The December 17, 2024 Special Council Meeting. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

5. The Next Item Was Approval Of The Amendment To A Lease With Northland Hearing Centers Inc. At The West Frankfort Mall. The Mayor Asked The City Attorney Does Everything Look Good On This Now? The City Attorney Stated Yes It Does. The Mayor Stated For The Publics Information, The Lease Is For Three Years (2025-2027) The Annual Base Rate Is $8,280.00 Monthly Base Rate Is $690.00. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

6. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, To Finalize The Sale Of 228 East Main Street Which Has Previously Been Deemed As Surplus Property. The Mayor Stated We Have Done A Closing And Everything. We Have The Buyer Putting In The Double Bogey Restaurant. We Need To Approve Finalizing The Sale To Them. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

7. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice For Coverage Arthur J. Gallagher Or CIRMA (Counties Of Illinois Risk Management Agency) Regarding Annual Coverage From January 1, 2025 To January 1, 2026 In The Amount Of $417,206.00. Commissioner Howard Stated This Should Be Paid From The Insurance Fund. We Get Real Estate Tax Dollars For That. 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 Approval Of A Residential Tif Boundary Map. The Mayor Stated I Had Just The One, And Then Moran Sent Us A Second Possible Boundary. Originally, We Had That Entire Property Squared Off. They Suggested Removing Some Of The Higher Eav Properties From That Which Would Then Not Affect The Schools And Things Like That As Much Because We Are Not Taking Out Off Their Property Tax. It Is Up To Us What Boundary We Want To Put On Their. They Are Open To Whatever We Decide To Do. I Agree It Is Probably A Good Idea. Our Codes Officer Had Mentioned There Is Kind Of A Development There On The Southwest Part: Susann Dr. And Patricia Dr, We May Want To Include That Area. There Is An Apartment Complex There. On The Eav Map It Is Not The Highest Property Value. My Recommendation Would Be To Go With The Cut Off Map Not The Squared Off. But To Include The Section With Patricia Dr. And Susann Dr. Commissioner Howard Stated I Recommend To Go With What Moran Sent Us, With Out Patricia Drive Susann Drive. I Would Hate To Take That Away From The School District. The Mayor Stated For Disclosure Purposes My House Is In This Section, My House Will Be Excluded. I Am Fine With What Commissioner Howard Recommends The One That Moran Sent Us, That They Labeled Opt 2. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve Boundary Map Opt 2, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

9. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding The Purchase Of Property At 107 West Cleveland For A Bulk Water Station For The West Frankfort Water Department. The Mayor Stated This Property Has Some Empty Land, And The City Has Been Approached And Asked If We Would Purchase That. We Decided That Would Be A Good Location For A Bulk Water Station. Final Offer Is $27,025.00. 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 Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding The Hiring Of Two Firefighters For The West Frankfort Fire Department. Chief Saillez Stated Like We Have Talked About, We Have One Immediate Opening, And One Temporary Opening, Possible Retirement, And Military Deployment. All Of These Are Factors To Hire Both At The Same Time. The Vacancy Has Been Here Since September. We Have Went Through The Testing Process With The Merit Board. John Eck, And A Conditional Appointment For Dakota Young Once He Obtains His License The Mayor Stated We Are Down One Currently, Right? Chief Saillez Stated We Only Have Eleven Full Time Employees, One Is Off On Comp, We Are Running With Ten Right Now. The One On Comp Has Hired An Attorney, And We Can Not Talk To Him. The Mayor Stated My Concern Here Is We Run Into A Deal Where We Hire Someone Then The Person, We Thought Was Going To Retire Does Not Retire. What Happens Then Since We Can Not Talk To Him. Commissioner Warren Asked Do They Have To Turn In A Letter Stating They Are Going To Do It At Some Point?

Chief Stated There Is Contractual Language For A Voluntary Appointment For Their Last Year Of Employment Or Potentially Their Last Year Of Employment But They Can Not Do That Until They Reach Nineteen Years Of Service. If You Declare That Any Other Way It Is Illegal By The Department Of Insurance. I Do Not Know How Much More I Can Say Here With Out Violating Some Legal Stand Points. Commissioner Howard Stated Can You Explain The Conditional Appointment. Chief Stated He Has Gone Through The Schooling For The Emt, But Does Not Have The License To Operate And That Is A Requirement To Be Hired. He Is Anticipating By The End Of The Year To Have That. This Would Be Once He Gets That Then He Can Go To Work Without Having To Wait For The Next Council Meeting.

Commissioner Stanley Stated Are You Wanting To Get Someone In There To Take Care Of The One That Is Going To Be Deployed? Chief Saillez Stated One Is Going To Be Deployed In February For A Year. Commissioner Stanley Stated When He Comes Back, Are We Still Going To Hang On To The New Guy To Take His Spot? Chief Stated There Will Be About Six Months We Will Have Thirteen Instead Of The Minimum Of Tweleve. Commissioner Howard Asked What Happens When The Guy Comes Back From Deployment? Chief Saillez Stated There Is About Six Months Of Over Lap Where He Is Still Going To Be Going Through Paramedic And Firefighter Training. He Is Not Going To Be Fully Certified And Off Of Probation. We Talked About Hiring Them Both To Prevent A Gap Where We Have Non-Fully Certified People Waiting After The Retirement. We Can Get Them Certified And Ready To Go. The Mayor Stated The Question Is Sort Of The Same Thing, You Are Expecting After One Comes Back From Deployment That In Six Months One Will Retire As Well. Chief Saillez Stated I Can Not Answer That In Open Session. The Mayor Stated But You Are Expecting That? Chief Saillez Stated Fully. Commissioner Stanley Stated What If He Does Not Retire? And You Have Hired Another Person. Chief Stated I Can Not Answer That The Way I Need To Answer That In Open Session. I Would Rather You Have Me To Come Into Executive Session To Answer That Truthfully. The Mayor Stated We Can Table This Until The End Of The Meeting We Will Come Back To It After We Come Back From Executive Session Then We Can Address It Then. There Are Just Some Questions We Would Like To Know The Answers Too. The Reason Is We Do Not Want To Run Into A Situation Where We Hire Someone And They Feel Like They Have A Job And Then Six Months Down The Road The Person Who Was Supposed To Retire Comes Back And We Can't Use Them Now. This Item Was Tabled.

11. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Lauterbach & Amen, LLP In The Amount Of $14,460.00 For The Progress Billing On Services In Connection With The Audit For The Fiscal Year Ended April 30, 2024. Commissioner Howard Stated It Should Be The Year 2023. The Mayor Stated Yes Should Be 2023. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

12. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Pritchett Supply Co. In The Amount Of $5,077.20 To Replace Hose For The West Frankfort Fire Department. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

13. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Mid America Fire & Safety, LLC. In The Amount Of $7,817.76 For Two Complete Sets Of Turnout Gear For The West Frankfort Fire Department. Fire Chief Stated The Others Are Deteriorating. The Mayor Stated We Had Talked About This And It Feels Like We Just Did This. I Am Saying This For The Publics Benefit A Lot Of Times You Will Have These Come In Because We Replace Them Previously In The Same Order, They Go Out In The Same Order. Commissioner Harkins 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 The Consent Agenda:

A. Approval To Pay Bills In The Amount Of $616,881.33.

B. Approval To Pay An Invoice From Key Benefit Administrators In The Amount Of $2,500.00 To Furnish And File 2024 Tax Year - Aca Reporting Services.

C. Approval To Pay An Invoice From Clinton Electric Inc. In The Amount Of $1,938.14 For Outlets Installed In For The Downtown Christmas Lights.

D. Approval To Pay An Invoice From Rend Lake College In The Amount Of $2,075.00 For The Final Semester Of Paramedic Program For The Fire Department.

E. Approval Of Addendum 5 To Update Employee Personal Days For The Employee Handbook.

F. Approval To Pay An Invoice From Lauterbach & Amen, LLP In The Amount Of $2,870.00 For GASB 67/68 For The Fire Fighters Pension Board.

The Mayor Stated I Entertain A Motion To Approve The Consent Agenda Unless You Want Something Separated. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

Building And Sign Permits Codes Officer Snell Stated I Have Two Solar Permits From The Same Contractor Wolfpack Electric Out Of Chicago. I Recommend Approval.

1802 E. Elm St. Gloria Otterson - Solar Permit 

412 S. Parkhill St. Glen Hurst - Solar Permit 

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

15. Mayors Report~

Mayor Arview Stated I Just Wanted To Say, I Know There Has Been Some Back And Forth On West Frankfort Talk, The City Is Not Missing Eight And A Half Million Dollars. As Far As I Am Aware We Were Never Missing Eight And A Half Million Dollars. I Found Out What Was Said What Is Being Referred Too, Was A Comment Made By Our Previous Treasurer On May 9th, 2023. What He Had Said Was When He Was Hired The Books Were Eight And A Half Million Dollars Out Of Reconciliation, That Is Not The Same Thing As Missing. Things Were Not Done Correctly, There Were Issues, But We Are Working Through Them. We Have A New Treasurer, And Lautterbach And Amen Helping To Get Us On Track. I Do Not Want Anyone Thinking We Are Trying To Cover Something Up. We Have Mentioned The Audit Several Times At The Meetings That We Are Trying To Get Caught Up. The Emails That Were Posted Had Been Foia'd, That Were Posted On West Frankfort Talk. You Will See An Email From Me In There Saying We Need To Get Everybody Together To Get This Done. That Should Tell You We Are Not Covering Anything Up, We Are Trying To Get It All Straightened Out.

Commissioner Reports~ 

Commissioner Harkins Stated Fire And Police Department Although We Are Not Caught Up On Our Personnel, We Are Working At It, Everything Seems To Be Okay.

Commissioner Howard Stated Everyone Knows By Now, We Do Have A New Treasurer. She And I Are Working Together Trying To Get Things Straightened Up. I Am Looking Forward To Having Better Records In The Future. The Mayor Stated I Want To Give Commissioner Howard Credit; He Was Here On Christmas Eve Working.

Commissioner Stanley Stated The Street Guys Have Been Getting All Of The Equipment Lined Up For The Winter, And A Few Tile Jobs, They Are Keeping Busy. Water Department Is Busy With Maintenance And Repairs.

Commissioner Warren- No Report

16. Audience Comments:

No Comments Were Made

17. The Next Item Was Approval To Go Into Executive Session For Discussion Pursuant To 5 ILCS 120/2(C) (1), 5 ILCS 120/2 (C) (6), And 5 ILCS 120/2 (C) (11). At 10:34 A.M. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

18. Returned From Executive Session. The Mayor Stated Back To Item Number 9. Our Questions Or Concerns Were Answered And We Are Ready To Move Forward. Do We Have A Motion To Hire John Eck, And Dakota Young? Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

19. With No Further Business To Be Discussed, The Meeting Was Adjourned On A Motion By Commissioner Harkins At 11:12 A.M. 

https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/4697/CWF/5194751/December_26__2024.pdf