City of Mt. Carmel City Council met Aug. 8.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
Mayor Judge brought the City Council meeting to order.
Present on Roll Call: Mayor Joe Judge Commissioners – Tom Meeks, Justin Dulgar, Susan Zimmerman
Also, Present: City Administrative Assistant Ryan Turner, City Attorney Brady Waldrop
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Mayor Judge requested a motion to approve the minutes of the last council meeting.
Commissioner Dulgar motioned and Commissioner Zimmerman seconded to approve the minutes of the meeting held on July 25, 2022. All present voted by roll vote. Commissioner Meeks, Dulgar and Zimmerman voted Aye.
MAYOR’S COMMENTS
Mayor Judge stated Library Board President Scott Witsman recently had a board member resign and asked council approval to appoint Cory Nolan to fill that position.
Mayor Judge reported the Mount Carmel Municipal Airport has been awarded a grant to construct a new tee hangar at an estimated total project cost of $615,000.00 with the airport’s matching portion being $30,750.00. Mayor Judge stated the State of Illinois has been contacted regarding the bidding process and once the final bids are received, he will address the council regarding approval of the matching portion of that project.
Mayor Judge reiterated at the last council meeting he had asked council approval for himself and City Administrative Assistant Turner to move forward with a conversation with Burbach Aquatics on the next step for the feasibility of building a new pool or a smaller aquatic center and tonight he asked council approval for the expenditure of $3400.00 to conduct the feasibility study. Mayor Judge stated he along the Parks Advisory Group and Karissa Turner will form the committee to determine the best option for the City of Mount Carmel on how to move forward regarding the swimming pool.
Mayor Judge stated the Ag Days Festival went very well this year and was glad to see that lots of people attended the event.
COMMISSIONER REPORTS:
COMMISSIONER TOM MEEKS – STREETS, CEMETERIES AND PARKS
Commissioner Meeks stated, in the past two weeks, the street department assisted the maintenance department with two major water leaks; set up for Ag Days and cleaned up afterwards; filled potholes; continued to clean out intakes; and performed several yard abatements.
COMMISSIONER ERIC IKEMIRE – FINANCE AND SENIOR CITIZENS
Statement of Receipts and Expenditures – See attached agenda with financials. Commissioner Ikemire absent.
COMMISSIONER JUSTIN DULGAR – WATER AND SEWER
Commissioner Dulgar reported on the water break on July 29th was a twelve-inch water main with roughly two thousand gallons of water per minute being lost. Commissioner Dulgar thanked all the city workers for all their hard work as well as Mount Carmel Public Utility and Kieffer Brothers Construction.
Commissioner Dulgar reiterated at the last council meeting a sewer rate increase was discussed and he gave an overview of the necessity of raising those rates at this time. Commissioner Dulgar reported, effective September 2022, a $4.25 increase will be applied to the first tier along with a fifty cent per thousand increase on the second tier and residents will see the increase on the November water bills. Commissioner Dulgar stated a fifty-cent per thousand will be applied again in September 2023 through September 2024 with a final fifty-cent per thousand being applied from September 2024 through September 2025. Commissioner Dulgar affirmed the city is working on trying to cut the expenses at the wastewater and stated this meeting constitutes the first reading of the rate increase ordinance.
COMMISSIONER SUSAN ZIMMERMAN – FIRE, HEALTH & SAFETY, GARBAGE, CITY HALL AND CIVIL DEFENSE
Commissioner Zimmerman reported during the last two weeks, the fire department was busy with twenty-one events which included a meeting; volunteering at the Lunch Wagon; and assisting with the Youth in Action’s Tri-Mudder event. Commissioner Zimmerman expressed her appreciation for all the department’s community involvement.
Commissioner Zimmerman reminded the brush harbor is open on Friday, Saturday, Monday and the brush crew runs its route on Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
Commissioner Zimmerman stated the e-recycling event that was scheduled for this fall has been put on hold as the company that was supposed to hold the event cancelled, however the city is seeking alternative companies to hopefully have a e-recycling event.
Commissioner Zimmerman welcomed all the Wabash Valley College Students that are arriving back in Mount Carmel and is in hopes they are shown “small town” hospitality from the community.
CITY ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT – RYAN TURNER
City Administrative Assistant Turner stated the Wabash County Retail Merchants Committee is requesting a donation up to $2500.00 for a new Christmas Uptown Event online app with the initial expense for the development and placement of the app exceeding $3000.00.
City Administrative Assistant Turner reported Cami McWilliams with the Lady Aces Tennis Team asked the council for a donation of $100.00 to assist the team with traveling expenses, new uniforms, and equipment. The council decided to make an individual donation themselves rather than the city.
City Administrative Assistant Turner stated he will be working on the new policy and procedure manual as the State of Illinois recently did an audit which addressed issues with the city’s current policies and procedures. City Administrative Assistant Turner asked council approval to move forward with updating of the manual.
CITY ATTORNEY – BRADY WALDROP
City Attorney Waldrop no report.
POLICE CHIEF – MIKE MCWILLIAMS
Police Chief McWilliams stated the Ag Days Festival went very well with no major issues.
Police Chief McWilliams reported he is currently in the process of hiring an individual for the police department and is still accepting applications until next Wednesday, August 17th for another officer, as he is trying to prepare for the future.
Police Chief McWilliams stated this past weekend was extremely busy as a residential burglary was solved to the tune of $40,000.00. Police Chief McWilliams reported the individual that was arrested was wanted in other counties and those counties are very thankful for the arrest.
FIRE CHIEF – FRANCES SPETH
Fire Chief Speth stated Ag Days was set up very well as there were no issues with anything being in the way of the fire lane for the fire department and testing of fire hoses will be starting soon per ISO requirements.
PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR – MIKE GIDCUMB
Public Works Director Gidcumb reported Resolution 693 – MFT Expenditures is contained within the consent agenda and stated the expense of $108,918.00 is for the previous approved projects which include the alley by Big Jon’s Lunchbox; the alley between West Tenth and West Eleventh off of Chestnut; and the “Sidewalk Scape” across from city hall.
Public Works Director Gidcumb announced the chip/seal project is scheduled to begin the week of September 12th, weather permitting and gave an overview of the streets included in the project.
BUSINESS MOTIONS
Commissioner Meeks motioned and Commissioner Dulgar seconded to accept Cory Nolan as the new Mount Carmel Library Board member. All present voted by roll call vote. Commissioners Meeks, Dulgar, and Zimmerman voted Aye.
Commissioner Dulgar motioned and Commissioner Meeks seconded to move forward with the pool analysis at a cost of $3400.00. All present voted by roll call vote. Commissioners Meeks, Dulgar and Zimmerman voted Aye.
Commissioner Dulgar motioned and Commissioner Meeks seconded to donate $2500.00 to the Christmas Chamber Event for development. All present voted by roll call vote. Commissioners Meeks, Dulgar voted Aye. Commissioner Zimmerman abstain.
Commissioner Meeks motioned and Commissioner Zimmerman seconded to approve the new policy concerning social media and financial policy. All present voted by roll call vote. Commissioners Meeks, Dulgar and Zimmerman voted Aye.
Commissioner Meeks motioned and Commissioner Dulgar seconded to approve the Consent Agenda. The consent agenda contained approval of Resolution 693 – Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) spending and approval of the paying of all bills bearing the proper signatures. All present voted by roll call vote. Commissioners Meeks, Dulgar and Zimmerman voted Aye.
Commissioner Zimmerman motioned and Commissioner Dulgar seconded to adjourn the meeting. All present voted Aye by voice vote.
Meeting adjourned at 5:38 pm
https://www.cityofmtcarmel.com/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_council/meeting/11522/08-08-22_minutes.pdf
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