City of West Frankfort City Council met February 27.
Here is the minutes provided by the Council:
1. Mayor Jordan Called The Meeting To Order At 6:00 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 February 13, 2018 Council Meeting. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Chambers. 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 $338,327.02. 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 Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding Approval Of Façade Improvement Grant Applications. The Mayor Stated We Have An Application From Rick Henson In 2015 He Applied And Asked For A Façade Improvement Grant, He Was Awarded The Grant But Did Not Complete The Work, He Has Now Completed The Work And Replaced The Windows & Painted. He Is Asking For $2,500.00 Per Location He Has Spent $10,600.00 And We Will Reimburse Him $5,000.00 Total For Both Locations. Commissioner Simpson Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
5. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding A Proposed Project Using Revolving Loan Funds. The Mayor Stated The City Of West Frankfort For Many Years Has Had A Revolving Loan Fund That Has Been Overseen By The State. The State Is Doing Away With That Program And We Have Some Options For The Money That We Have Which Is Around A Quarter Of A Million Dollars. Mike Roberts From Brown & Roberts Stated The Department Of Commerce And Economic Opportunity Is The One Who Handles The Revolving Loan Fund And They Are Also Going To Administer The Project That You Want To Do. Only Certain Projects Are Available And They Went Through Great Detail About What Projects Are Available. Our Scope Is Kind Of Narrowed So We Spent A Lot Of Time Thinking Of What Projects We Could Do In The Time Frame We Have To Get The Money Obligated. One Of The Things That Has Been Kicked Around And We Think Will Work Are The Ada Accessible Sidewalks On Main Street That Are A Real Issue And Problem, By The Next Meeting We Need To Be In The Position To Sign All The Documents And Have The Hearing.
6. The Next Item Was Approval Of A Donation To The Main Street Beautification Project In The Amount Of $15,000.00. The Mayor Stated This Is Something That I Take No Credit For But I Really Am Proud Of The People Who Do This, They Do An Excellent Job. I Remember We Met With Connie And She Had An Idea To Do Something To Make The Downtown Look A Little Bit Better And She Asked If We Would Consider Giving Her 1 Block So They Could Show Us What They Could Do. I Agreed To That And This Project Has Blossomed. Those Flowers Add So Much To Our Downtown. By Investing In This Project We Are Investing In Our Community. Commissioner Chambers Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Blades. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
7. The Next Item Was Approval To Advertise For Bids For Demolition Of Abandoned Properties. The Mayor Stated We Have A List Of 6 Properties: 1307 E. 7th, 405 S. Odle, 1310 E. Oak, 810 E. St. Louis, 303 E. 4th, 305 E. Poplar Street, Commissioner Chambers Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Harkins. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
8. The Next Item Was Discussion, With Possible Action, Regarding Approval Of An Ordinance Regarding Business Registration. The Mayor Stated This Will Require Businesses To Register. When A New Business Comes To Town We Don't Know Who They Are Or What They Are Doing So This Would Be A Requirement Before They Open That They Would Need To Register With Us And Let Us Know Some Information About Who They Are, Where They Are And What They Are Doing. There Is A $25.00 Registration Fee Per Year And Would Be Inspected By Our City Codes Officer. Commissioner Chambers Stated I Think This Gives Us An Opportunity To Connect With The Businesses And Be Helpful To Them. Commissioner Blades Stated E.R. Brown Has Been In Business Since 1914 | Think It Is A Slap In The Face To The Businesses That Have Been Here All These Years. Can We Not Just Register New Businesses? Bob Maragni From The Planning Commission Stated The Businesses That Are Already Here In Town Will Not Pay The $25.00 Registration Fee They Will Only Have To Pay The $10 Renewal Fee Each Year. Commissioner Simpson Stated I Think The Existing Business Will Be Happy To Hear That A New Business Coming In Will Have To Be Registered And Meet Certain Requirements. The Mayor Stated If We Impose This None Of The Existing Businesses This Year Will Be Charged Anything? Bob Maragni Stated Correct And Next Year Everybody Will Pay $10.00. Commissioner Harkins 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 To Purchase Café Tables And Chairs, Along With 4 Seating Groups For The West Frankfort Mall Common Area In The Amount Of $6,334.00. The Mayor Stated We Are Trying To Elevate That Into More Of A Commercial Looking Type Of Environment. The Tables That Are Currently There Were Tables That Were Found And Used And Are Not Uniform. We Would Like To Put Commercial Seating Out There For The People Who Go Out There To Shop Or Walk. Commissioner Blades Asked Where We Are Getting These Tables And Chairs From. The City Clerk Stated They Are From An Office Supply Store. Commissioner Blades Stated The Furniture Stores In Town Don't Have These? The City Clerk Stated They Do Not, I Tried. Commissioner Chambers Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Blades. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
10. The Next Item Was Approval For Payment Of An Invoice From Baker & Sons Regarding Plumbing Repair. The Water Department Has Agreed To Pay Half Of This Invoice In The Amount Of $1,909.50. Commissioner Blades That This Is Over At Crosswalk Where They Built Over Our Water Line. Jim & I Are Not Happy About This Price But They Got It Done. Commissioner Blades Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. 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 Alexis Fire Equipment In The Amount Of $2,896.00 For The Fire Department. Fire Chief Jody Allen Stated We Have A Set That Is Bigger And A Lot Of The Time When We Go On Motor Vehicle Accidents People Feet And Legs Get Entangled In The Foot Pedals And This Will Allow Us To Get In There And Cut These Pedals Off. 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 Of A Quote From Certified Balance & Scale Corp. In The Amount Of $3,186.00 For The Sewer 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.
13. The Next Item Was Approval For Payment Of An Invoice From Fast Truck & Trailer In The Amount Of $1,990.00 Regarding Repair Of A 1997 International Dump Truck For The Street Department. Roger Stanley Stated It Needed Some Front End Work And The Breaks Adjusted. Commissioner Chambers 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 Target Solutions In The Amount Of $2,175.00 For The Fire Department. Jody Allen Stated This Is A Software Training Program That Will Allow Us To Free Up Some Of Our Guys. We Are Required To Do A Certain Amount Of Training On The Fire Side And Ems. The Lesson Plan For Each Subject Is Already There And The Guys Can Complete This Online. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
15. The Next Item Was Approval For The VFW To Hold A Fundraiser Roadblock On Saturday, March 3, 2018 From 8:00 a.m. To 2:00 p.m. At The Intersection Of Route 149 And Highway 37. Commissioner Chambers Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Blades. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve.
Motion Carried.
16. Building And Sign Permits:
The First Request Is From William & Ronda Weston At 301 E. Manila Street. They Are Requesting To Move A 12 X 20 Portable Building For Storage On Their Property. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
The Second Request Is From Randy Lindhorst He Lives At 204 W. Elm. He Is Asking Ben Wyant To Build Him A 24 X 40 Garage/Pole Barn In His Back Yard. He Will Access That By The Alley. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Chambers. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners And Mayor Jordan Voted To Approve. Motion Carried.
17.Mayors Comments:
I Would Like To Thank Everybody For Their Thoughts And Prayers. I Had Some Health Issues Last Council Meeting And Was Unable To Be Here.
18. Commissioner Comments:
Commissioner Harkins Stated The Police And Fire Department Are Always Doing Their Best And They Are Doing A Good Job.
Commissioner Simpson Stated I Really Enjoy The New Time That We Are Having The Meetings At.
Commissioner Chambers Stated I Feel Like My Commissioner Report Is Going To Be About The Same Thing The Two Back Row Of People Are Here To Talk About. It Rained A Lot Is My Report. It Was A Terrible Weekend With Rain I Took A Lot Of Messages, E-Mails, Phone Calls, Facebook Messages And I Have Tried My Best To Get Around To Everywhere And Take Pictures. A Lot Of Them Is Places Where There Are Issues That Need To Be Resolved. Roger And I Have Talked A Lot And Have Lists Coming Out Our Ears Of Places That Need Things Done.
19. Audience Questions Or Comments:
John Bryant From 405 N. Crawford Street Addressed The Water/Flooding Problem In His Area. He Has Lived There For 60 Years And Has Never Had Flooding Problems Like He Is Having Now. Mrs. Bryant Brought Pictures She Took Of The Flooding And Presented Them To The City Council. They Believe The Flooding Is Due To The Ditches Being Filled In For The Rental Property.
Ryan Vaughn From 407 N. Crawford Addressed The Water/Flooding Problem In His Area. He Stated The Flooding Is Getting Worse.
A Resident Stated She Is Having Flooding Issues In That Same Area. She Has Lived There Forever And Back In The 70's She Never Had Flooding Even When They Got 17inches Of Rain. She Also Brought Pictures Of The Flooding At Her House And Gave Them To The City Council. She Would Like To Know Why This Is Happening. Commissioner Chambers Stated I Don't Have A Reason, But I Have Been Working On It. I Talked To Your Neighbors A Little Bit And I Went Down And Took Some Picture Myself. I Talked To Roger And Am Going To Find Out Who Filled In The Ditches, Who Owns The Houses They Are Filled In At And Who Gave Approval To Do So. Roger Can Look At The Area And Tell Me What I Don't Know About Where Everything Flows From, What Needs To Be Bigger, What Needs A Tile And What Shouldn't Have A Tile. That Is Where We Are At Now. What We Have To Do Now Is Figure Out What's Changed That's Made The Problem Happen And I Don't Know That Right Now.
John Bryant Stated The Ditch In The 1300 Block Of Lindell Street Was Asphalted.
Several City Residents Expressed Their Concerns And Issues They Are Having With Flooding In Various Parts Of Town.
Commissioner Chambers Explained The Process And The Next Steps The City Is Going To Take To Fix This Issue.
Mrs. Bryant Brought Pictures Of The Apartment Building Near Her House. She Stated John Mize Owns This And There Are Five Different Families Living In This One Complex That Used To Be A Grocery Store Back In The Day. She Stated She Does Not Think This Would Pass City Code. She Also Stated That The Property Next To This Has An Open Sewer Line Running Into Their Back Yard. I Would Appreciate It If The City Codes Officer Addressed This Issue. The Mayor Stated It Agree With Something Needs To Change. We Have Been In Court For Over Two Years With Landlords Over Codes Issues. It Is Not An Excuse It Is Just Reality That When You Try And Deal With Property It Is A Legal Battle. We Are Making An Effort. Your Voice Is Being Heard The Codes Officer Is Here, The Street Commissioner And The Police Chief.
20. Mayor Jordan Asked For Approval To Go Into Executive Session To Discuss Contract Negotiations, Personnel, Land Acquisition And/Or Pending Litigation, With Possible Action. Commissioner Harkins Made A Motion To Approve, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners Along With The Mayor Voted Yes. Motion Carried. The Council Went Into Executive Session At 7:06 p.m.
21. The Council Returned To Open Session At 7:41 P.M. On A Motion By Commissioner Harkins, Seconded By Commissioner Simpson. Roll Call Vote: All Commissioners Along With Mayor Jordan Voted To Return To Open Session. Motion Carried.
22. With No Further Business To Be Discussed, The Meeting Was Adjourned On A Motion By Commissioner Harkins At 7:41 p.m.
http://www.westfrankfort-il.com/web_files/forms/february%2027,%202018.pdf
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