City of West Frankfort City Council met Jan. 9.
Here is the minutes provided by the Council:
1. Mayor Jordan Called The Meeting To Order At 7:00 P.M. Requesting A Roll Call. All Commissioners Were In Attendance, Along With The City Attorney And City Clerk.
2. Mayor Jordan Asked For Approval Of The Minutes From The December 28, 2017 Council Meeting. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
3. Mayor Jordan Next Asked For Approval To Pay City Bills And Payroll In The Amount Of $266,353.15 Commissioner Simpson Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Chambers. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
4. The Next Item Was Approval Of An Ordinance Authorizing The Leasing Of A Specific Area At The West Frankfort Outlet Mall To Northland Hearing Centers, Inc. The Mayor Stated This Is A Renewal Lease For Them. Commissioner Simpson Stated What Are The Terms Of The New Lease? The City Attorney Mike Riva Stated There Was Some Wording Change But Everything Stayed The Same. Commissioner Simpson Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Blades. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
5. The Next Item Was Approval Of An Ordinance Adopting A Policy Prohibiting Sexual Harassment For The City Of West Frankfort The Mayor Stated This Was Mandated By The State That We Pass This Policy Before The End Of January. We Received A Draft Policy From The Iml This Was Brought Before The Council A Month Ago. Hopefully Everybody Has An Idea Of The Position The City Is Taking On Sexual Harassment And This Ordinance States That. The City's Position Is That We Have A Zero Tolerance To This And I Think This Ordinance Identifies That And I Would Ask The Council's Indulgence In Passing This Policy In Ordinance Form. Commissioner Simpson Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
6. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Resolution Authorizing The Hiring Of A Police Officer For The City Of West Frankfort. The Police Chief Mike Irwin Stated We Would Like The Council To Consider Hiring Amanda Marlow. Amanda Has Been With Us As A Telecommunicator Since March Of Last Year And Has Performed At A Very High Level. With The Help Of Our Police And Fire Merit Board Amanda Currently Stands Number One On Our Hiring List. We Have Discussed Her Opportunity To Work On The Uniform Side Of Law Enforcement And I Believe She Would Be An Asset To Our Department. She Would Start The Academy On The 21st Of This Month. The Mayor Stated You Took A Job That You Had Not Really Applied For By Being A Dispatcher And Hopefully That Was Helpful. I Know That Was Helpful To Us And We Appreciate That And We Appreciate You Sticking With Us And Given Us Time To Find An Opening. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Chambers. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
7. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Resolution To Greg Weeks, Weeks Chevrolet Collision Center. For Redevelopment Of Certain Property Located In The City Of West Frankfort, Illinois. The Mayor Stated This Is A Tif Agreement That We Put Together For Greg Weeks. He Has Put A Large Collision Center On 149 Next To The Chrysler Dealership. He Has Invested Somewhere North Of $350,000.00 In That Building. The Tif Agreement Is Basically To Help Him With The Eligible Costs That He Has Being In A Tie Area. The Money That We Were Able To Define As Eligible Costs Was An Ecess Of $100,000.00 In This Agreement We Have Agreed To Give Mr. Weeks A $50,000.00 Up Front Payment. I Spoke To Greg On The Phone And Told Him How Excited I Was That He Continues To Invest In West Frankfort, Commissioner Chambers Stated Is The Second $50,000.00 Over Five Years? Commissioner Simpson Stated No, Ten Years. Commissioner Simpson Stated I Think It Is Another Opportunity That We Have Because Of The Tif Money That Is Available To Help People Who Want To Invest In The City Of West Frankfort Providing Jobs And Increased Value. Commissioner Chambers Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
8. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Contractor's Partial Pay Estimate #20 To Midwest Petroleum & Excavating, Inc. In The Amount Of $386,067.24 Regarding The Stp Retrofit Project. Commissioner Blades Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
9. The Next Item Was Approval Of Change Order #6 Regarding The Stp Retrofit Project. Commissioner Blades Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
10. The Next Item Was Approval Of Construction Engineering Bill #20 For Brown & Roberts, Inc. In The Amount Of $9,409.27 Regarding The Stp Retrofit Project. Commissioner Blades Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Chambers. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
11.The Next Item Was Approval For Payment Of An Invoice From Trident Insurance In The Amount Of $2,453.42 Regarding The Deductible Payable From Claim No. Tnt-0142123 For The West Frankfort Police Department, Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried
12. The Next Item Was Approval For Payment Of An Invoice From Marion Glass And Mirror, Inc. In The Amount Of $5,151.00 Regarding Installation Of Glass Outside Entrance Door To Sw Corner Of Wf Mall For Country Financial Main Entrance. The Mayor Stated If You Remember We Leased An Area To Country Companies Financial And We Promised We Would Put In An Entrance For Them And This Is The Cost Of That Entrance. Commissioner Chambers Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Blades. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
13. The Next Item Was Approval For Payment Of An Invoice From Ray O'herron Co., Inc. In The Amount Of $7,800.00 Regarding The Purchase Of 10 Ballistic Vests For The West Frankfort Police Department.Commissioner Harkins Stated Chief Are They Good For Five Years? Police Chief Mike Irwin Stated Yes, They Have A Five Year Shelf Life Because The Chemical Compounds Actually Start Breaking Down So The Amount Of Protection Of The Vest Starts Degrading. We Buy These Vests At The State Bid Price And They Are Very Good To Work With. They Came Down And Measured All The Officers. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Blades. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
14. The Next Item Was Approval For Payment Of An Invoice From Imco Utility Supply Co. In The Amount Of $2,030.00 Regarding The Purchase Of A Kti Testerate For The Water Department. Commissioner Blades Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Chambers. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
15. The Next Item Was Approval For Payment Of An Invoice From Novacom In The Amount Of $2,669.00 Regarding Replacement Of The Repeater For The We Dispatch. Commissioner Harkins Stated They Had Lightening Strike And It Burned The Repeater Out. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
16. Officer Reports:
Chief Allen Read The Fire Department's Report.
Chief Irwin Read The Police Department's Report.
Ed Hammonds Read The Code Department's Report.
17.Building And Sign Permits:
The First Request Was A Building Permit From Mark Johns. He Would Like To Build A Storage Shed At 905 S. Mccell And Street. The Cost Of This Building Will Be $50,000.00. Commissioner Blades Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
18. Mayors Comments:
The Mayor Stated To Have One Item I Need To Bring Before The Council. At The West Frankfort Business Incubator Don Came To Me Late Friday Afternoon After The Agenda Had Already Gone Out. We Had A Furnace Problem Out There On A 2002 Roof Unit. The Replacement Cost Was Around $2,300.00 And The Cost Of A New One Was $8,000.00 So I Would Like To Ask The Council's Permission On An Emergency Basis To Replace This Unit Out There. I Think The Money Would Be Better Spent Replacing It With The New One. Commissioner Chambers Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Blades. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
The Mayor Stated I Would Like To Say We Have A Chamber Meeting Before The Next Council Meeting On Thursday, January 18, 2018. I Would Like To Encourage Anybody Who Would Like To Go The Tickets Are Available At The Chamber. I Have To Speak On The State Of The City Address I Look Forward To That. It's Always Nice To Get Together With The Chamber, Businesses And People Of The Community. If You Have Suggestions Or Anything You Would Like Me To Highlight I Would Be Glad To Take Input. One Of The Things I. Will Highlight Is The Christmas Tree And I Want To Say That I Am Proud Of Our Community. I Feel Like As The Mayor I Am Responsible For Somewhat Of A Cheerleader. There Are Enough People Talking Bad About Our Community And Enough Things On Facebook That Are Incendiary Towards Us. I Look Forward To Speak To The Community At The Meeting. It Took Us Three Years To Get Dollar General And We Have Been Working On Mach1 For Two Years These Things Take Time. My Heart Goes Out To The Employees Of Kmart Who Have Lost Their Jobs Out There And The City Has Lost A Vital Retail Store. I Have Already Sent Out Some E Mails To Some Developers And Ask Suggesting Maybe That Store Can Be A Nice Alternate Location For Someone Else.
19. Commissioner Comments:
Commissioner Harkins Stated I Do Take A Lot Of Pride In The Police And Fire Department. I Think For The Year Of 2017 They Did A Wonderful Job As Usual. They Stay Busy And Tam Really Proud To Represent Them. They Are A Good Bunch Of People And We Have A Couple Of Fine Chiefs That I Am Proud Of. We Have A Very Good Police And Fire Department And I Think The Town Should Be Proud Of Them.
Commissioner Simpson Stated I Think We Have A Lot Of Good Employees Not Just In The Police And Fire Department And The Department Heads. I Think They All Did A Wonderful Job In 2017 And I Expect Them To Do The Same In 2018.
Commissioner Blades Stated We Didn't Have Any Big Main Water Breaks Which Was Amazing. The Water Guys Have Done Good, The Sewer Plant And The Street Guys And We Have Two Good Chiefs. Welcome Aboard Amanda Tam Glad To Have You.
Commissioner Chambers Stated Congratulations And Welcome Aboard Amanda. It Is Exciting To Have More Of The Female Element Out There. I Am Thankful To Be Here Again After Another Good Year With Our City. It Seems Like We Have Had A Theme Without Meaning To On Different Things We Have Tried To Accomplish. It All Comes Together And Our Community Is In A Completely Different Place Then It Was Even A Year Ago. It Is All Very Positive Even With All The Negative Out There. If You Can Sit And Just Talk About The Negative Then You Must Never Drive Around. It Is Everywhere With The Dollar General And Mach 1 Just Walk Through The Mall It Looks Completely Different Now Since We Took Ownership. These Things Take Time And We Need To Be Positive And Get Out And Look For The Positive You Have To Look For The Negative As Well So It Is Just A Choice.
20. Audience Questions Or Comments:
Tam Amanda's Aunt And I Want Her To Know How Proud I Am Of Her. Thank You Very Much For Making That Comment We Are Proud Too.
Don Stated Do You Have Any Idea How Close We Are For The Dollar General To Open? The Mayor Stated If Im Not Mistaken According To The Tif Agreement They Need To Be Open April 1st, 2018.
William Stated Historically How Many Female Officer's Has West Frankfort Had Over The Years? The Mayor Said I Believe Two Including Amanda.
The Mayor Stated We Met Today With Our Health Care Provider For Our Insurance For The City Of West Frankfort For A Renewal. We Basically Are Renewing Our Coverage With The Same Company That We Have It's Just A Renewal. The Cost Of Our Insurance For This Year Is Going To Rise About 51%. Health Care Is Expensive And Unfortunately Some Of Our Employees Have Some Health Problems And It Is Very Expensive. We Have Talked About Ways To Cut These Costs We Have Increased The Amount That We Pay And Decrease The Amount The Insurance Has To Pay In Order To Make This Work Out. We Are Going To Spend Somewhere Around 1.2 Million On Healthcare Next Year. Basically What We Do Now Is We Have 63 Employees With Insurance And That Includes Spouses And Family Plans. The
City Is Responsible For The First $50,000.00 Of That Coverage And Then Once The Group As A Total Has Exceeded That Limit By Another $50,000.00 Then The Insurance Kicks In And Pays.
We Front The First Part Of All The Claims We Are Responsible For That. We Were Paying An $18,000.0 Deductible For The Reinsurance We Have Increased That To $50,000.00 And The Amount The City Pays From $50,000.00 To $55,000.00 For The City Not The Employees. I Would Like To Get The Word Out That You Have Available To You That Hasn't Been Available Before And It Is Wonderful. It's Called Teledoc And When You Are Sick You Can Talk To A Doctor On Your Phone, They Have The Ability To Facetime And Send Pictures And They Will Call A Prescription In For You And Give You Medical Advice Over The Phone.
Commissioner Chambers Stated We Called To Use Teledoc Over Christmas When My Whole Family Was Sick With The Flu. I Got My Call Back In Three Minutes And He Called Me In A Prescription To Cvs And Then For My Older Kids They Put Them On The Phone And The Doctor Asked Them Questions And Called Them In Prescription. The Thing I Found So Neat About It Was That We Don't Have Our Kids Insured Through The City, But Because I Am They Allow Them To Use The Teledoc As Well So We Used Their Insurance To Pay For Their Prescription But We Had No Cost For What Was Actually Their Doctors Visit. That Saved Us A Ton Of Money And It Was Wonderful.
21. With No Further Business To Be Discussed, The Meeting Was Adjourned On A Motion By Commissioner Harkins At 7:53 P.M.
http://www.westfrankfort-il.com/web_files/forms/January%209,%202018.pdf
Alerts Sign-up