City of Mt. Carmel City Council met Dec. 27.
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, Eric Ikemire Justin Dulgar Susan Zimmerman
Also, Present: City Administrative Assistant Ryan Turner, City Attorney Derek McCullough
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Mayor Judge requested a motion to approve the minutes of the last council meeting.
Commissioner Ikemire motioned and Commissioner Zimmerman seconded to approve the minutes of the meeting held on December 12, 2022. All present voted by roll vote. Commissioner Meeks, Ikemire, Dulgar and Zimmerman voted Aye.
MAYOR’S COMMENTS
Mayor Judge stated 2022 was a full year of progress for the City of Mount Carmel and those accomplishments could not have been done without great employees. Mayor Judge thanked all city employees for their hard work and for what they do for the residents every day.
Mayor Judge reported with the recent retirement of Mick Mollenhauer there have been some changes with the operations at city hall; responsibilities have been moved around within the office staff and a few accounting items have been outsourced to local companies in order to streamline the operations. Mayor Judge gave a big thank you to Georgia Vaught, Judy Landingham along with Ryan Turner for stepping in and taking the challenge head on as their efforts are greatly appreciated by the council. Mayor Judge welcomed Kristy Bray to the city’s operations as she has been filling in gaps over the past few months when needed and now, she has joined as a full-time employee at city hall.
Mayor Judge stated the SHIP Grants will be reviewed after the beginning of the year with over twenty applicants and reiterated the grant was made available through the council with the American Rescue Plan funds.
Mayor Judge wished everyone a Happy New Year.
COMMISSIONER REPORTS:
COMMISSIONER TOM MEEKS – STREETS, CEMETERIES AND PARKS
Commissioner Meeks reported, in the past two weeks, the street department performed maintenance on several pieces of equipment; cleared trees and debris from a ditch by the new water treatment construction site; assisted the brush crew with picking up excess brush piles; prepared the trucks for snow removal; replaced traffic light at Ninth and Walnut Street; salted and plowed roads after the winter storm.
COMMISSIONER ERIC IKEMIRE – FINANCE AND SENIOR CITIZENS
Statement of Receipts and Expenditures – See attached agenda with financials.
Commissioner Ikemire reported, over the last two weeks, the receipts were $390,884.00 with expenditures of $339,179.00 and the city is on track for the year.
COMMISSIONER JUSTIN DULGAR – WATER AND SEWER
Commissioner Dulgar reported the pressure gauges froze up on the water towers during the recent cold temperatures and Lead Operator Keith Redd was able to repair the manual gauges for a temporary fix.
Commissioner Dulgar stated the tension cylinders for the sludge press were changed at the wastewater plant; the Ficklin Lift Station number two was overloaded again due to wipes and underwear being flushed.
Commissioner Dulgar asked residents to please be patient with the water maintenance department as they have been very busy during the cold temperatures dealing with frozen pipes.
COMMISSIONER SUSAN ZIMMERMAN – FIRE, HEALTH & SAFETY, GARBAGE, CITY HALL AND CIVIL DEFENSE
Commissioner Zimmerman reported, during the last two weeks, the fire department responded to eleven calls; held the bi-monthly meeting; and assisted with the Shop with a Cop/Fireman/ EMS. Commissioner Zimmerman stated the shopping program was a great event that helped forty families have a wonderful Christmas and she thanked Police Chief McWilliams for assisting Captain Mark Seaton along with Captain Elijah Hadra, who were instrumental in organizing the event.
Commissioner Zimmerman stated Republic Services did pick trash up this past Monday, December 26th and asked residents to please leave their trash sitting out if it did not get picked up. Commissioner Zimmerman reported, unfortunately, trash was not picked up in the alleys due to the weather conditions and stated if anyone has problems with their trash not being picked up to please call city hall.
CITY ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT – RYAN TURNER
City Administrative Assistant Turner no report.
CITY ATTORNEY – DEREK MCCULLOUGH
City Attorney McCullough no report.
AIRPORT MANAGER – PARIS PENNINGTON
Airport Manager Pennington absent.
POLICE CHIEF – MIKE MCWILLIAMS
Police Chief McWilliams reported the Loss Prevention Officer that assisted with the Shop with a Cop/Fireman/EMS stated the City of Mount Carmel assisted more families than any other surrounding community that goes through that department. Police Chief McWilliams thanked Jacob’s Well for the use of their facility for a meeting spot for the event.
Police Chief McWilliams stated the police department was busy over the holidays and a drug arrest was made that recovered two hundred/ten grams of meth with a follow up search warrant of the vehicle recovering seventy grams of crack/cocaine, which is an unheard-of amount for the City of Mount Carmel. Police Chief McWilliams extended “kudos” to the department and also thanked the state police for their assistance. Police Chief McWilliams added there were a few fender benders due to the slick roads but for the most part people weren’t out driving which really helped out.
FIRE CHIEF – FRANCES SPETH
Fire Chief Speth absent.
PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR – MIKE GIDCUMB
Public Works Director Gidcumb gave an update on the areas he covers: there were seven hundred - nine vital records sold in 2022; one hundred-ten written violations were issued; five excavating permits were approved; two new garage permits, three addition/remodeling permits, six fence permits, thirty-six roof permits, four demolition permits, three sign permits, four mechanical permits, six pool permits, and five new housing unit permits were issued.
BUSINESS MOTIONS
Commissioner Meeks motioned and Commissioner Zimmerman seconded to approve the Consent Agenda. The consent agenda contained approval of the paying of all bills bearing the proper signatures. All present voted by roll call vote. Commissioners Meeks, Ikemire, Dulgar and Zimmerman voted Aye.
Regular session of the council meeting ended for Liquor Control Commission at 5:14 pm.
Commissioner Ikemire motioned and Commissioner Dulgar seconded to adjourn the meeting. All present voted Aye by voice vote.
Meeting adjourned at 5:15 pm
https://www.cityofmtcarmel.com/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_council/meeting/11532/12-27-22_minutes.pdf
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