City of Sesser Council met March 9.
Here is the minutes as provided by the Council:
The regular meeting of the Sesser City Council was held on Thursday, March 9,
2017. Mayor Ashmore called the meeting to order at 6:32 PM. Prayer was led by
Brother Larry Cook from the Bear Point Church. The pledge of allegiance was
said. Mayor Ashmore asked for a roll call. Roll call was called by Clerk Stacey as
follows:
Rodney Zettler—here, Dana Laur—here, Carroll Kelly—here, Keith Kramer—here,
Travis Zettler—here, David Bates—here.
A motion was made to approve the minutes of the regular February meeting by
Carroll Kelly and 2nd by David Bates. All those in attendance were in favor of the
motion. Motion carried.
Agenda Item #1
Mayor Ashmore explained the TIF agreement with Janet Baker. Mayor Ashmore
explained she is in need of a ramp into her home. TIF consultants say that up to
50% of the cost of the ramp could be approved. A motion was made by Keith
Kramer and 2nd by David Bates to approve the TIF agreement with Janet Baker for
up to 50% of the cost to build a handicap ramp for a total cost of $1,344.00. All
those in attendance were in favor of the motion. Motion carried.
***Matt Tosh from the engineering firm Brown and Roberts gave an update on
the Sewer plant project. Things are progressing, paperwork is being processed
and we hope to bid the project out sometime in June, open bids in July hopefully.
Mayor Ashmore explained the TIF proposal from Megan Johnson for “Flipped by
M” a new business on Main Street. Megan currently has her business on line, but
is looking to put it in a building on Main Street. Possibly could employ a few
individuals. A motion was made by Travis Zettler and 2nd by Dana Laur to approve
the TIF agreement with Megan Johnson for her new business “Flipped by M” of a
one-time grant of $7,500.00. All those in attendance were in favor of the motion.
Motion carried.
Agenda Item #2
Mayor Ashmore asked for the council to approve for himself, Rodney Zettler and
Marion to get bids to get the trees trimmed using the grant money from Amren
and to go with the lowest bidder and to approve up to $1,000.00 over if the tree
needs to be trimmed. A motion was made to approve this by David Bates and 2nd
by Carroll Kelly. . All those in attendance were in favor of the motion. Motion
carried.
Agenda Item #3
Mayor Ashmore explained that the recent concert held at the Opera House
needed $200.00 to cover expenses which would be taken from the Opera House
fundraising. A motion was made to approve the $200.00 concert donation from
the Opera House fundraising funds to cover the cost of the concert by David Bates
and 2nd by Keith Kramer. All those in attendance were in favor of the motion.
Motion carried.
Relay for Life committee is going to host a Bark in the Park on May 6, 2017 from
8—noon. This is to honor dogs as caregivers too.
Agenda Item #4
Mayor Ashmore explained that the Chamber of Commerce is growing and
recently held their dinner. He asked the council to donate $100 to the chamber
to help with their costs of the dinner. A motion was made to make a donation of
$100 to the Chamber of Commerce by Carroll Kelly and 2nd by Travis Zettler. All
those in attendance were in favor of the motion except Travis Zettler, he
abstained from the vote. Motion carried.
Agenda Item #5
Mayor Ashmore explained that we currently have 2 workers from Mantra-con and
we could use them to do some of the city mowing this summer and save money if we had our own mower. He asked the council to approve the purchase of a riding
mower to have this done. Rodney Zettler, Mayor Ashmore, Jerome and Marion
would seek bids and bring them back to the board for approval.
Agenda Item # 6
Mayor Ashmore asked the council to approve the resolution to close Main Street
for the Oktoberfest in October. A motion was made by Travis Zettler and 2nd by
Dana Laur to approve the resolution to close Main Street (Rte. 154) for the
Oktoberfest on October 7, 2017. All those in attendance were in favor of the
motion. Motion carried.
Agenda Item #7
Mayor Ashmore asked to council to approve the Resolution in support for the
Illinois Housing Development Authority. A motion was made by Dana Laur and
2nd by Keith Kramer to approve the resolution of support for the Illinois Housing
Development Authority. All those in attendance were in favor of the motion.
Motion carried.
Agenda Item #8
Mayor Ashmore asked the council to approve the Certificate of Incumbency for
the IHDA grant. A motion was made by Carroll Kelly and 2nd by Travis Zettler to
approve the certificate of Incumbency for the IHDA grant. . All those in
attendance were in favor of the motion. Motion carried.
Agenda Item #9
Kelly Architecture and Consulting has completed the visual inspection of the
Opera House and Annex building at this time. The report discloses several issues
with the Opera House. No council action is needed at this time, but we will be
looking into the problems to have things fixed. Council members received report
to look over.
Agenda Item #10
Mayor Ashmore presented what they would like to do with the Lifeline Food
pantry. Proposal was presented to the board to take in part of the garage at City
Hall, build shelving, etc. This will give them more space. Wayne Shannon and
Terry Miller are going to check into cold storage to see about cost so they could
get items from the St. Louis distribution. No action at this time.
Agenda Item #11
A motion was made to approve the purchase of an ad in the Old King Coal Festival
booklet for the cost of $85.00 for an 1/8 of a page by Keith Kramer and 2nd by
Travis Zettler. . All those in attendance were in favor of the motion. Motion
carried.
Agenda Item #12
A motion was made by Keith Kramer and 2nd by Dana Laur to donate $100.00 to
the Sesser Jr. Women’s Club for the Easter Egg Hunt in the park. . All those in
attendance were in favor of the motion. Motion carried.
Sean Payne spoke to the council about starting a Jr. Football League in the fall of
2017. He explained the startup costs, plans for games, space they intend to use,
insurance, etc. Alderman Bates asked for a business plan from those interested
before the city acts to help make this endeavor possible for our youth. Mr. Payne
will report back.
Mayor Ashmore asked for approval of the bills as presented. A motion was made
by Carroll Kelly and 2nd by David Bates to approve the bills as presented by the
finance committee. All those in attendance were in favor of the motion. Motion
carried.
Mayor Ashmore asked for approval of the treasurer’s report. A motion was made
by Carroll Kelly and 2nd by Travis Zettler to approve the treasurer’s report as
presented. All those in attendance were in favor of the motion. Motion carried.
Mayor Ashmore asked for approval of the police report. A motion was made by
David Bates and 2nd by Carroll Kelly to approve the police report. All those in
attendance were in favor of the motion. Motion carried.
A motion was made to approve the Code Inspector’s report by Carroll Kelly and
2nd by Travis Zettler. All those in attendance were in favor of the motion.
Motion carried.
A motion was made by Dana Laur and 2nd by Rodney Zettler to adjourn at 7:52
PM. All those in attendance were in favor of the motion. Motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at 7:52 PM.
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