City of Harrisburg City Council met May 16.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
The Harrisburg City Council met on May 16, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Room in Harrisburg, Il.
Mayor John McPeek called the May 16, 2019 meeting to order. Mayor John McPeek presided over the meeting with Commissioner Raymond Gunning, Roger Angelly, Rupert Johnson, and Ron Morse present and answering roll call.
Pastor Jerry Well of the Dorrisville Social Brethren Church led the group in prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Commissioner Ron Morse made the motion to approve the Consent Agenda. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Fire Chief John Gunning informed Council that he had done the final inspected at 1114 Largent Street and he stated we can release the $500.00 damage deposit that Mr. Burroughs was required to submit along with the mobile home permit. Superintendent Mike Owens went out to inspect the sidewalks and nothing was damaged.
Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to release the $500.00 damage deposit at 1114 Largent Street to Roger Burroughs. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Ron Morse discussed rescinding the hiring freeze. He stated Commissioner Harper moved to implement a hiring freeze until the ERI cost had been paid in full. Commissioner Miller seconded. By roll call vote, Commissioner Miller and Harper and Mayor McPeek voted yes, Commissioners Montfort and Weirauch voted no. Motion carried. Commissioner Ron Morse stated he believes the resolution should be amended to clarify that the ERI cost are associated only with the Street and Alley/Public Property Department and the Water and Sewer Department which are the departments which had the early retirement option. It is also apparent that there has to be some exceptions to the hiring freeze.
Commissioner Ron Morse made the motion that the November 15, 2018 resolution of the hiring freeze recited above be amended to provide the City shall have a hiring freeze until the ERI cost have been paid in full for the Street and Alley/Public Property Department and the Water and Sewer Department with the exception being that if a Commissioner believes that hiring is essential or necessary to the operations of the department, the hiring freeze may be lifted by a vote of the Council with respect to each specific employee. Commissioner Ron Morse believe that there are significant budgetary issues to be dealt with and that the City should only hire when absolutely necessary until the ERI cost are paid. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Ron Morse stated we will have people leave for different reasons and we cannot leave the departments without proper help to do the work. We must have options and he believes the new motion will help in an emergency in order to hire.
Fire Chief John Gunning presented his lowest bid for the rescue boat motor. The current model is a 1980 motor and the parts are no longer available so it cannot be rebuilt. He got build for motors only. He obtained bids and the cheapest bid he could get was from South Side Marina for $10,449.00. He talked to Harrison Sport Shop and Rend Lake and both bids were for $15,000.00. McCabe’s no longer deals with new motors. It is 105hp.
Commissioner Roger Angelly stated that he believes this sounds expensive and asked if this was the cheapest motor that was found. Fire Chief John Gunning stated the boat is 7 foot wide and 20 foot long. Commissioner Raymond Gunning said it takes a bigger motor to operate a bigger boat. Fire Chief John Gunning said this is for the rescue boat and in the past two years, we have had approximately 12 water rescues which required a boat. The current motor cannot be repaired. Fire Chief John Gunning checked for grants and nothing is available. He checked with Senator Shimpkus, IDNR, state surplus site, FEMA surplus site, Water Resources and the Forrest Service and nothing is available for our boat.
Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to purchase a replacement motor for the rescue boat from South Side Marina for $10,499.00. Seconded by Commissioner Ron Morse. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Police Chief Michael Riden stated the Harrisburg Police Department will be swapping two squad cars in exchange for police gear for our new hire Ross Bergmann. He will be keeping his police gear, duty belt, handcuffs and police ballistics vest which is approximately $1200.00. This will save us from having to purchase those items. We will also get five laptop mounts for the squad cars. These mounts will be put in the vehicles which are about $800.00. The squad cars we are giving the Sherriff’s Department will be used for parts to their cars.
Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to swap the police cars in exchange for the police equipment through the Sherriff’s Department and the Police Department. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Raymond Gunning stated the Animal Control contract expired in December 2018. We are going to make sure any issues will be directed to him or the Police Chief and it will be dealt with accordingly. There will be no additional pay or benefits. It is an independent contract for animal services. Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to extent the Animal Control contract beginning May 01, 2019 for a three year period with Michael Sullivan as the Animal Control Officer. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Raymond Gunning stated the Merit Board met and has two people qualified and they accepted the positions for City Police Officers. They are eligible and were properly tested through the Merit Board.
Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to hire Kaitlin Wilson. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to hire Ross Bergmann. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mayor John McPeek stated the City of Harrisburg just hired two really good police officers. Commissioner Raymond Gunning said they are both already trained which means we will not have to send them to the academy.
Commissioner Raymond Gunning discussed promoting a Police Officer to a Sergeant due to the absence of Sergeant Michael Riden being promoted to the Chief of Police. With a Sergeant position being open and at the request of the Merit Board by Council, Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to promoted Police Officer Zachary Popetz to Sergeant for the Harrisburg Police Department. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Rupert Johnson talked about increasing the Pruett Building rates due to the renters not properly cleaning the building after being used. Commissioner Rupert Johnson said that we must make enough money to maintain the cost of the building which includes maintenance and proper cleaning during the weekends. Mayor John McPeek stated if they do not clean up, they should not get their deposit money returned. Commissioner Rupert Johnson said it cost more than $50.00 to clean the building. Commissioner Raymond Gunning stated he can attest to the improper cleaning by the renter of the Pruett Building because he has had to clean the building. He said there were several complaints of people not cleaning up after themselves especially during the weekend rentals. Mayor John McPeek said it is not intended to make money and the building was donated to the City for the citizens of Harrisburg. Treasurer David Cox said there is not a lot of money in the account. Commissioner Roger Angelly asked what the current cost to the renter is. The current cost is $100.00 and the renter gets back $50.00 after the use of the building; therefore, the cost is only $50.00 to the Pruett Building account. Commissioner Rupert Johnson made the motion to increase the cost of the Pruett Building rental to $180.00 with a refund deposit of $50.00 to the renter. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes except Mayor John McPeek voting no. Motion carried.
Commissioner Rupert Johnson made the motion to hire Kyle Drew in the Public Properties Department starting June 03, 2019 pending the passing of his physical and drug screen. He has been a head equipment operator for 30+ years and is a diesel/gasoline motor mechanic which will save the City money by working on equipment in-house along with his skills to help train our other men on projects that the City needs done. Right now, we are behind on everything because we are shorthanded. Mayor John McPeek asked if Kyle Drew was aware that the position pays $17.00 per the contract. Commissioner Rupert Johnson said he is willing to take the hit because he loves the City just like we do and he believes in a potential project at the Harrisburg Lake. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunnning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Rupert Johnson made the motion to hire Jordan Dalton as a temporary summer worker in the Street/Public Property Department at $9.25 an hour starting June 03, 2019 and working no later than August 12, 2019 pending the passing of his physical and drug screen. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Rupert Johnson made the motion to hire Dylan Morris as a temporary summer worker in the Street/Public Property Department at $9.25 an hour starting June 03, 2019 and working no later than August 12, 2019 pending the passing of his physical and drug screen. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Roger Angelly stated Bobby Brown has asked to stay on towards the end of the year instead of taking the early buy out in May 2019. We do not have anyone with a license yet. We have some guys training but it takes quite a while to get that done, so he is going to stay to help us out which will benefit us.
Commissioner Roger Angelly announced due to the hiring freeze, he will not be hiring any full- time personnel at this time.
Commissioner Roger Angelly made the motion to hire Sebastian Barton as a temporary summer worker in the Sewer Department at $9.25 an hour starting June 03, 2019 and working no later than August 12, 2019 pending the passing of his physical and drug screen. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Roger Angelly made the motion to hire Easton Wallace as a temporary summer worker in the Water Department at $9.25 an hour starting June 03, 2019 and working no later than August 12, 2019 pending the passing of his physical and drug screen. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mayor John McPeek made the motion to hire Christian Oliver as a temporary summer worker in the Public Property Department at $9.25 an hour starting June 03, 2019 and working no later than August 12, 2019 pending the passing of his physical and drug screen. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mayor John McPeek made the motion to appoint Marc Hodge to the Merit Board for a three year term. Seconded by Commissioner Rupert Johnson. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mayor John McPeek made the motion to appoint Paul Taylor to the Merit Board for a two year term. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mayor John McPeek made the motion to appoint Stephen Questelle to the Merit Board for a one year term. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mayor John McPeek made the motion to appoint Brad Henshaw to the Airport Board for a five year term. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Raymond Gunning noted the hire date for the new police officers will be June 01, 2019.
Commissioner John McPeek made the go into executive session for property acquisition, collective bargaining and personnel. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Adjourned: 6:35 pm Reconvened: 7:10 pm.
Mayor John McPeek presided over the reconvened meeting with Commissioner Raymond Gunning, Roger Angelly, Rupert Johnson, and Ron Morse present and answering roll call.
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