North Egypt News

City of West Frankfort City Council met June 10.

Here are the minutes 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 As Long As There Are No Changes To Be Made, We Need A Motion To Approve. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

3. Mayor Arview Asked For Approval Of The Minutes From The May 27, 2025 Regular Council Meeting. As Long As There Are No Questions Or No Changes To Be Made, I Entertain A Motion To Approve. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

4. The Next Item Was Approval To Open Bids And Potentially Approve Ordinances Selling Real Estate At 714 East 8th, 505 South Brown, 210 South Parkhill, 404 East Clark. The Mayor Stated 404 E. Clark Is Actually Two Lots. We Will Open These Bids Now. 

714 E. 8th. 

Todd Stevens Bid For $2,000.00, Deposit Is $200.00 Check

505 S. Brown:

Beatrice And Gary Roeder Bid For $555.00, Deposit Is $100.00  Check

210 S. Parkhill:

Andy J. Williams Bid For $601.00, Deposit Is $60.00 Check

404 E. Clark:

James Jarvis Bid For $700.00, Deposit Is $70.00 Cash

Chad Turley Bid For $1,500.00, Deposit Is $150.00 Cash

Oliver Miner Bid For $1,200.00, Deposit Is $120.00 Check

Beverly Marshall Bid For $501.00, Deposit Is 50.10 

Kimberly Hope Bid For $2,002.00, Deposit Is $202.00 Cash

Mary Thomas Bid For $600.00 Check; Deposit Is $60.00 Cash. 

Derek Mercer Bid For $600.00, Deposit Is $60.00

The Mayor Stated We Can Make A Motion For 714 E. 8th, 210 S. Parkhill, And 505 S. Brown Since We Only Have One Bid On Those. Do We Have A Motion To Accept The Only Bids For These Properties? Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

The Mayor Stated For 404 E. Clark, That Is For Two Lots. We Have Several Bids; The Highest Bid Is From Kimberly Hope For $2002.00. Do We Want To Go Through Any Of The Other Bids Or Take The Highest Bid? Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve The Highest Bid, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

5. The Next Item Was Approval To Publish Notice Inviting Bids For The Sale Of Real Estate Located At 1216 East Oak, 202 North Douglas, And 1309 East Oak As Surplus Property In The City Of West Frankfort, Il. 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 Approval Of A Resolution Authorizing The Execution Of A Redevelopment Agreement Between The City Of West Frankfort, Illinois And Silver Jewels Company Utilizing Tax Increment Financing For The Redevelopment Of Property Located At 303 South Logan Street. The Mayor Stated We Have Previously Approved To Enter Into An Agreement, Now This Item Is The Resolution For The Agreement With Them. We Agreed Last Week To Pay Fifty Percent (Total Of $15,000.00 We Will Pay). Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

7. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Donation Of $4,700.00 To The West Frankfort City Park For Fireworks To Be Paid From The Tourism Fund. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried. The Mayor Stated The Balance Of The Tourism Fund Is $43,457.36.

8. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding A Resolution Declaring A Public Safety Emergency Due To Drug-Related Criminal Activity And Authorizing Emergency Measures. The Mayor Stated This Gives Us A Little More Teeth For Our Police To Enforce Things That They Are Kind Of Currently Doing. When He Gives His Report And Talks About Street Contacts. That Is What He Is Talking About, That When People Are Out When They Shouldn't Be Out, To Find Out Why They Are Out And To See What They Are Doing. This Is A Thirty Day Thing. Emergency Is An Odd Word For It But It Allows Us To Be Able To Do That, And Coordinate Efforts With The Dea Task Forces. It Is Not Just Drug Crime; It Also Is For Property Crime. The Hours I Have On Here Are Between The Hours Of Midnight And 4:00 A.M. It Does Not Apply To Individuals That Are Commuting To Or From Work, Attending School Or Religious Functions, Responding To Emergencies, Or Performing Other Clearly Identifiable Essential Tasks. Basically, If You Are Out And It Is Not Clear Why You Are Out, If We Pass This, The Police Will Have The Authority To Stop You And Find Out Why You Are Out. If It Does Not Fall Into One Of These Categories, You Can Be Fined. The First Offense: $100.00, Second Offense: $250.00, Subsequent Offenses: $750.00. Commissioner Howard Asked How Does That Apply To Kids That Went To The Movies And The Movie Got Over At Midnight, And They Are Coming Back From Carbondale. The Mayor Stated This Leaves It Opened To The Discretion Of The Police Officer. It Doesn't Say They Will Cite You; It Says That They May. I Would Hope They Wouldn't Cite Someone For That. This Is More For The People Who Are Walking, Especially In Areas That They Know That There Has Been Criminal Activity. This Is For Thirty Days Unless We Need To Extend It. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve. Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

9. The Next Item Was Approval Of An Ordinance Amending Chapter 15.40 Of The West Frankfort City Code Regarding Non-Owner-Occupied Dwelling Registration And Inspection. Thad Was The One Who Was Wanting This To Get Some Clarification On Our Ordinances. Jonathan If You Would Speak To What This Ordinance Is. Jonathan, The City Attorney Stated The Chapter That Governs Our Rental Inspection Program, Last Year In The Amendments Were Intended To Include Contract For Deed Properties. Some Of Those Sections Did Include That Language. There Is A Section Early In The Chapter Called Applicability That List What It Applies To, And Some How Contract For Deeds Were Not Included. The Language That Is New Is Underlined In The Ordinance In Front Of You That I Added. There Is Another Section That Talks About Which Property Needs To Contact City Hall And Register With The City. We Are Also Adding Language To Make It Clear That It Covers Contract For Deeds. There Was An Owner Of One Property That Was Out Of State That Sent An Email To Thad Complaining About The Ordinance. This Makes It Clear In My Opinion. Commissioner Warren Stated This Is Saying Any Property Not Owned Buy The Person Living In It, Is Subject To Inspection. The City Attorney Stated Correct. Commissioner Warren Stated We Had Just Left Out Contract For Deed On Error. The City Attorney Stated The Whole Chapter Includes I’m Guesstimating Anywhere From Ten To Twenty Sections. These Are The Two Sections Where Contract For Deeds Were Left Out. The Intentions Has Always Been To Include Them. This Just Clarifies. Commissioner Howard Stated Do We Still Have The Exemptions, Like If Your Kid Lives In Your House. The City Attorney Stated Yes, We Just Approved Those Last Meeting. The First Underlined Sentence It Says Other Than The Exemptions Described In Section 15.40.035 Of This Code. The Mayor Stated The Reason Why We Created This In The First Place, Last Year We Did That Amendment Because We Had Certain Individuals/Organizations That Would Try To By Pass The Rental Inspection, By Saying It Was Contract For Deed. But It Was Really A Rental. By Including The Language It Closes That Loop Hole. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

10. The Next Item Was Approval Of An Ordinance Authorizing An Agreement With Atlas CPA's And Advisors, LLC Of Marion, Illinois For A Municipal Audit For Fy2024. The Mayor Stated Do Have A Quote Or Anything From Them? Commissioner Howard Stated No We Do Not Have A Quote Or Anything From Them, This Just Allows Us To Try To Get A Quote From Them. The Mayor Stated This Is To Authorize Us To Enter Into An Agreement With Them If We Feel. Commissioner Howard Stated Yes. It Also Gets Us Someone In The Local Area. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Howard. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

11. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay Invoices From Executive Outsourcing In The Amount Of $17,968.27 For The City Of West Frankfort Audit Prep From 5/19/25-6/01/2025. The Mayor Stated This Is The Person We Have Working Here Helping Get Our Books Organized To Get Them Ready For The Audit. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

12. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Southern Fs In The Amount Of $2,958.67 For Fuel For The Generators At The Sewer Department. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

13. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Franklin County Joint Emergency Telephone System Board In The Amount Of $8,656.30 For The City Of West Frankfort Police And Fire Department. 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 Approval To Pay An Invoice From Moran Economic Development, LLC In The Amount Of $1,610.00 For Processing New Tif Application. The Mayor Stated This Was For Silver Jewels. This Money Is Also The Tif Eligible Costs, It Can Come Out Of The Tif Fund As Well. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

15. The Next Item Was Approval To Pay An Invoice From Public Consulting Group In The Amount Of $14,385.53 For Preparing The Fy23 Il Gemt Cost Report. The Total Gemt Payment Is Tied To Cy24 Dates Of Service 1/1/2024-12/31/2024 For The West Frankfort Fire Department. The Mayor Stated Roughly How Much Did Gemt Bring In For That Year? Chief Saillez Stated Around $250-$260 Thousand. The Mayor Stated And We Keep Half Of That? Chief Saillez Stated Yes, Half Of That. This Is Less Than Half Of What They Quoted Us To Do The Work When We Signed The Agreement To Have Gemt Program They Estimated The Cost Would Be $30,000.00 A Year. Commissioner Warren Stated Gemt Stands For Ground Emergency Medical Transportation. The Mayor Stated It Helps Get Us The Funding For Those Who Are Medicare Patients. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

16. The Next Item Was Approval Of Design Engineering Invoice

#12 In The Amount Of $391.47 For The Down Town Street Scape Project, Section 18-00060-00-Sw. 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 The Consent Agenda:

A. Approval To Pay Bills.

The Mayor Stated I Didn't Have A Chance To Make A Copy For The Public; I Will Post Online. If Anyone Wants A Copy We Can Do That For You. Commissioner Warren Stated What Is Quadlquadient Leasing USA Rental Expense? The City Clerk Stated Our Postage Meter. Commissioner Howard Made A Motion For Approval, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

18. Building And Sign Permits ~ The Mayor Stated I Didn't Get To Speak To Thad; He Is Not Present. I Assume He Is Okay With All Of These. He Did Not Bring Up Any Concerns.

The First Permit Was A Fence Permit For Christina Harkins At 809 North Jefferson For A 5ft Tall Privacy Fence. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

The Next Permit Was A Sign Permit For Martin & Bailey (Huck's) At 204 North Logan For Refacing Of Existing Sign. Contractor Is Custom Sign & Engineering, Inc. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

The Next Permit Was A Sign Permit For Franklin County Housing Authority On South Jefferson For An Electric Digital Sign. Contractor Is Liberty Signs. 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 Next Permit Was A Solar Permit For JZS, LLC At 103 East Poplar For Roof Mount Solar. Contractor: RSP Heating & Cooling. Commissioner Warren Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Stanley. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

The Last Permit Was A Solar Permit For Vernon Godwin At 212 N. Washington Blvd For Roof Mount Solar. Contractor Is Sun Solar. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Warren. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

19. Officer's Report ~

Fire Report For The Month Of May 2025. Chief Sailliez Reported That They Had 159-Ambulance Calls, 5- Rubbish/Illegal Fires, 0-Brush/Field Fires, 6-Fire Alarms, 2- Vehicle Fires, 5 - Fire Emergencies; (Gas Leaks, Power Lines Down, Etc.), 2- Structure Fires, 1-Mutual Aid Fire Responses, 6-Ambulance Calls Turned Over To Mutual Aid. For A Total Of 186 Calls During The Month. The Department Used Approximately 14,000 Gallons Of Water. The Department Collected $92,404.74 For, May 2025 Ambulance Calls.

Police Report For The Month Of May 2025. Deputy Police Chief Willis Reported Officers Answered A Total Of 1,099 Calls For Service. Of Those Calls 15 Were Traffic Accidents, 1 With Injuries. Officers Responded To 39 Domestic Disputes, 4 Fights In Progress, 20 Alarms, 4 Intoxicated Persons, 9 Burglaries, 15 Reports Of Criminal Damage To Property, 26 Complaints Of Juvenile Problems, 20 Reported Thefts, And 45 Complaints Of Disorderly Conduct/Disturbances. And Officers Made 24 Street Contacts. Officers Conducted 199 Traffic Stops, Where They Issued 35 Citations, 158 Warnings, And 12 Lw-27's. There Were 66 Adult Arrests Made And 7 Juvenile Arrest, Resulting In 102 Criminal Charges Filed.

Dispatchers Answered 1,597 Calls.

Of Those, 590 Were 9-1-1 Calls, 119 Were Walk In Requests. 1,099 Were For Police, 186 Were For West Frankfort Fire, 4 Were For Abbott Ems, And 0 For United Ambulance. For The Month Of May, We Collected $8,609.74 In Fines And Fees.

Codes Report For The Month Of May 2025.Codes Officer Snell Reported Permit: 3~Building Permits, 0~Sign Permits. 1~ Solar Permits. Rental Properties: 6~Rental Inspections Performed. Case Activity Report~ 79 Which Includes Doors Tagged Verbal Warnings, Vehicles Tagged, Inspections Of Violations, Inspections, Citations Issued, Letters Sent, Etc.

Water Report For The Month Of May 2025: 121 Julies 4 Of Which Were Emergencies, We Had 61 Meter Maintenance, We Collected A Total Of 128 Water Samples, 284 Customer Request Which Includes: Connects, Disconnects, Reconnects, Meter Checks, Meter Change Outs, Transfers. Billing: A Total Of 23,146,189 Gallons Purchased From Rend Lake. Collected $233,321.17.

20. Mayors Report~

The Mayor Stated We Do Have Some Properties That Are Declared Surplus. Let Us Know If You Are Interested In Any Of These Properties, We Will Have To Re-Advertise That Way We Can Take Bids. 411 N. Parkhill, 406 N. Bryan (3 Lots), 301 E. 4th, 303 E. 4th, 306 E. 4th 1907 E. Garland, 717 N. Horn, 715 N. Horn, 706 N. Illinois Ave, Palmer St, 507 W. 7th. If You Want This List We Have Them At City Hall.

Properties That Bids Are Due July 8, 2025 -1216 E. Oak, 202 N. Douglas, 1309 E. Oak,706 N. Illinois Ave.

Commissioner Reports~ 

Commissioner Harkins Stated Chief Do You Want To Explain What We Had Going On Saturday Morning? Chief Sailliez Stated We Completed The Written And Physical Test For New Hires. We Had Twelve Turn In Applications, Nine Applicants Showed Up, Eight Passed The Physical, And Eight Completed The Written. I Just Mailed The Results This Morning. We Will Know More Hopefully By The End Of Or The First Of The Week Who Passed. Interviews Will Be The Next Step. Deputy Chief Willis Stated Our New Hires Will Be Starting Next Week To Get The Training Process Started. They Will Go To The Academy The First Week Of August.

Commissioner Howard Stated June 24, 2025 Their Will Be A Public Hearing Regarding Our Budget For The Year 2025- 2026. That Is Put Together Now, And Is Getting Published In The Franklin County Gazette. You Can Always Request To Get A Copy. The Report On The Audit Progress: Estimated Completion Date For Fiscal Year 2023 Will Be Between June 16th-June 20th, 2025. It Will Take Two And A Half Weeks For Fiscal Year 2024 After Year 2023. When She Gets The Trail Balances Done, I Will Be Going Through Those With Her And Make Sure They Appear To Be Correct Before We Send Them To The Auditors. Our Goal Is To Get Everything Done Before The End Of October. The 2025 & 2026 Audit Is Due In October, We Can Get A Ninety Day Extension. We Are Very Hopeful That When We Get These Two Done We Can Get 2025 & 2026 Audit Done In That Time Frame. Most People Does Not Realize What The People In The Office Do, They Do A Lot And Help Each Other Out. I Appreciate All Of Them.

Commissioner Stanley Stated The Street Department Is Starting On Motor Fuel. Street Superintendent Bonner Stated We Started Today. I Want To Give My Guys A Big Thumbs Up, I Am Proud Of Them. They Are Doing The Best They Can, If We Have Not Got To Somebody, We Will Get There. We Only Have Six Guys That Are Working. 

Commissioner Warren Stated The Buildings Are Holding Up With The Roofs, We Had A Couple Leaks With The Roofs With This Rain, But Nothing To Major. We Have Solicitors In Town, And We Have Some That Has Not Got A Permit From City Hall. There Is A Form They Will Need To Fill Out If They Are Wanting To Go Around Town. Here Is The List Of The Ones Out: Two With Clearwave Fiber, Southwestern Advantage, Freedom Forever Solar. These Are The Only Ones That Should Be Doing It. If You Have A Solicitor Come To Your Door You Need To Call City Hall Or Tell Them They Need To Come Up Here And Register. Also Call The Police Department. The Mayor Stated Today I Had To Revoke A Permit For Someone Violating The Do Not Solicit List. We Are Taking That List Seriously. If You Want To Be On It, Let Us Know.

Commissioner Warren Stated The Lakes Are Good. We Are Getting A Lake Inspection Tomorrow Morning On The New Lake. They Are Going To Examine The New Lake Dam. He Will Be Doing The Old Lake Sometime After That.

Audience Comments:

The Mayor Stated I Want To Remind Everyone; We Do Have An Ordinance Regulating Public Comments. Five Minutes Or Less, Do Not Do A Back And Forth, Come Say Your Peace, If Someone Has Something Contrary To Say Don't Get In An Argument With Them, Try To Be Respectful. Remember You Are On Facebook Live.

No Public Comments.

21. The Next Item Was Approval To Go Into Executive Session For Discussions Pursuant To 5ilcs 120/2(C)(1), 5 ILCS 120/2(C) (5), 5 ILCS 120/2 (C) (6), 5 ILCS 120/2 (C) (11). The Mayor Stated That Includes Personnel, Buying And Selling Real Estate, An Any Pending Litigation. At 7:16 P.M. Commissioner Stanley Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Arview Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.

22. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Motion To Return To Open Session At 7:51 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.

23. With No Further Business To Be Discussed, The Meeting Was Adjourned On A Motion By Commissioner Harkins At 7:52 P.M.

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