North Egypt News

City of Benton City Council met April 28.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

Minutes Of The Regularly Scheduled Benton City Council Meeting Held Monday April 28, 2025 At 5:00 P.M. In The Council Room Of The Campbell Building Located At 901 Public Square, Benton, Illinois.

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

Commissioner Kays Made A Motion To Accept The Minutes Of The Regularly Scheduled City Council Meeting From April 14, 2025 As Presented. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Commissioner Kays. Nays: 0.

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

Commissioner Garavalia Stated That There Is A Leak At Twin Oaks That Needs To Be Repaired. She Stated She Has Been In Contact With A Few Different Places And The Only Quote She Received Was From Andrew’s Roofing In The Amount Of $480.00. Commissioner Garavalia Made A Motion To Approve Hiring Andrew’s Roofing To Fix The Leaks In The Roof At Twin Oaks For $480.00. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 3. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, And Commissioner Garavalia. Nays: 1. Commissioner Kays.

Commissioner Cockrum Stated That He Had No Purchase Orders For This Meeting.

Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve The Pool Adjustment Application For Jason Lee. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Commissioner Kays. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve The Lake Lot Lease Transfer Of Lot #30 To Vernon And Leann Roberts. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Commissioner Kays. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve The Lake Lot Lease Transfer Of Lots #60 And #61 To Jeremy And Victoria Jackson And Terri Jackson. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Commissioner Kays. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Approve Purchase Order #00140 To Zimmerman’s Garage For A New Ac Compressor, Ac Kit, Refrigerant, Ac Flush, And Labor For Squad Car Unit 13 In The Police Department In The Amount Of $987.03. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Commissioner Kays. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Storey Stated That He Believes In Order To Get The Hydrant Testing Done For The City Of Benton, Summer Help Will Need To Be Hired In The Fire Department. Commissioner Storey Asked Fire Chief Shane Cockrum To Speak To The Council. Chief Cockrum Stated That There Are 639 Hydrants In The City Of Benton That Need To Be Tested. He Stated That 2 Hydrants Will Be Tested At A Time. Chief Cockrum Stated That With Only Have 2 Guys On Shift, It Makes Testing These Hydrants Not Only A Very Long Process, But Also An Unsafe Situation For Our Citizens. Chief Cockrum Stated At This Time The Fire Department Is Busier Than Ever. Chief Cockrum Proposed That The Council Hire 1 Person At $15.00/Hour And That He Would Like The Person Hired To Be A Paid-On Call Firefighter. He Stated He Could Have 1 Paid On Call And 1 Career Firefighter Doing Testing, Leaving 1 Career Firefighter To Respond To Calls. Commissioner Kays Asked Chief Cockrum If He Believed A Block Of 300 Hours (Paying $15.00/Hour For A Total Of $6,000.00) Would Be Enough To Get The Testing Done. Chief Cockrum Stated That He Thought If They Couldn’t Get Them Finished, He Would Be Close. Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Hire A Paid-On Call Firefighter At $15.00/Hour For A Block Of 300 Hours To Test Fire Hydrants. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Commissioner Kays. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Storey Stated That He Believes The City Needs To Consider Extending The Residency Requirements For The Police Department. Commissioner Storey Presented The Council With A 20-Mile Radius And A 25-Mile Radius For Consideration. Commissioner Storey Asked The Council To Think This Over And It Could Be Decided At A Future Meeting. Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Table The Discussion And/Or Approval Of Extending Residency Requirements For Police Officers. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Commissioner Kays. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Kays Made A Motion To Approve Payroll Dated April 25, 2025 For The General Fund In The Amount Of $92,501.75, For The Water And Sewer Department In The Amount Of $28,536.07, And Paid On Call Firefighters In The Amount Of $16,407.31 For A Total Payroll In The Amount Of $137,445.13. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Commissioner Kays. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Kays Stated That There Are No Bills For Approval At This Meeting.

Commissioner Kays Presented Ordinance #25-01 Conflict Of Interest For Members Of All Advisory Boards And Elected Positions Of The City Of Benton. Commissioner Kays Stated If Everyone Had Had The Opportunity To Read Through This And Had No Questions Of Comments, He Was Making A Motion To Approve This Ordinance And Making It Effective On May 1, 2025. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Commissioner Kays. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Kays Made A Motion To Approve Ordinance #25-02, Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Commissioner Kays. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Kays Made A Motion To Approve Resolution #25-07, Pay Resolution For Nonunion, Noncontractual Employees Giving These Employees A 3% Pay Raise On May 1, 2025. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Commissioner Kays. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Kays Presented A Safety Stipend Policy For All Employees To The Council. Commissioner Kays Stated That The Policy States That If 1½ Worker’s Compensation Claims Or Less Are Reported In A Quarter, The Employees Will Receive A $50.00 Gift Card To A Local Business. Commissioner Kays Made A Motion To Approve The Safety Stipend Policy. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Commissioner Kays. Nays: 0.

Commissioner Kays Asked The Council If They Have Had Adequate Time To Review The Proposed Water Rate Increase. Commissioner Kays Stated If The Council Is In Favor Of The Rate Increase, He Would Recommend 2%. Commissioner Cockrum Made A Motion To Approve A 2% Increase In Water Rates For 2025-2026. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 3. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Garavalia, And Commissioner Kays. Nays: 1. Commissioner Storey.

Commissioner Kays Presented A Memorandum Of Understanding For The Public Works Department Contract. Commissioner Kays Stated That There Was A Typo In The Contract. The Council Had Approved A 3% Raise On Year 2 And A 2.5% Raise On Year 3, But The Contract Read A 3.5% Raise On Year 2 And A 2.5% Raise On Year 3. The Memorandum Of Understanding Stated That The Union Would Receive A 3.5% Raise On Year 2 And A 2% Raise On Year 3. Commissioner Kays Made A Motion To Approve Signing This Memorandum Of Understanding For The Public Works Contract. Second By Commissioner Storey. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Commissioner Kays. Nays: 0.

Attorney Malkovich Stated That He Had No Updates Or Items For Discussion At This Meeting.

In The Absence Of Mayor Messersmith, Attorney Malkovich Stated That He Would Handle The Public Affairs Report.

Attorney Malkovich Asked For A Motion To Appoint John Daugherty To The Police Pension Board For A 2-Year Term. Commissioner Cockrum Made This Motion. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Commissioner Kays. Nays: 0.

Attorney Malkovich Asked For A Motion To Appoint Brook Craig To The Fire Pension Board For A 3-Year Term. Commissioner Storey Made This Motion. Second By Commissioner Garavalia. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Commissioner Kays. Nays: 0.

In Miscellaneous Business, Commissioner Kays Stated That The High School Had A Hall Of Fame Banquet This Past Saturday. Commissioner Kays Stated That This Coming Week Will Be The Rend Lake Water Festival, The Carnival, The Parade, And The Rodeo. He Urged Citizens To Attend What They Can.

No Old Business.

No New Business.

In Matters From The Public Audience, Brandon Overton Addressed The Council. Mr. Overton Stated That He Has Recently Taken Possession Of A Piece Of Property That Is Need Of Clean Up. Mr. Overton Stated That He Has Had A Dumpster, But At This Point Is Interested In Getting Residential Trash Through The City. Fire Chief Shane Cockrum Also Spoke Up And Said He Is Interested In This As Well For Properties He Is Cleaning Up. Attorney Malkovich Stated That There Is No Policy In Place For This At This Time And They Should Contact The Water Department To Discuss Further.

There Was A Group Of 9 People In Attendance For The Council Meeting Who Wished To Express Their Concerns For The Residence Of 1107 Highland Street. They Stated The Property Is In Disarray And Even Though The Property Has Been Cleaned Up In The Past, It Is Worse Now. Attorney Malkovich Stated That Tickets For Ordinance Violations Have Been Issued For This Homeowner And They Are Scheduled For A First Appearance On May 13, 2025.

Dennis Lampley Stated That He Would Like To Let The Council Know That He Has Been Very Impressed With Caleb Cavins, Code Enforcer, During This Entire Process.

Commissioner Storey Made A Motion To Adjourn. Second By Commissioner Cockrum. Vote Was Taken. Yeas: 4. Commissioner Cockrum, Commissioner Storey, Commissioner Garavalia, And Commissioner Kays. Nays: 0.

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