City of Mount Carmel City Council met Jan. 23.
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 January 9, 2023. All present voted by roll vote. Commissioner Meeks, Ikemire, Dulgar and Zimmerman voted Aye.
Mayor Judge requested a motion to approve the executive minutes of the meeting held on January 9, 2023.
Commissioner Ikemire motioned and Commissioner Zimmerman seconded to approve the executive minutes of the meeting held on January 9, 2023. All present voted by roll call vote. Commissioners Meeks, Ikemire, Dulgar and Zimmerman voted Aye.
MAYOR’S COMMENTS
Mayor Judge acknowledged Tina Howton, who was in attendance regarding the special event application she had submitted for the “Smokin for Garrett” Event on for October 6th and 7th with street closures beginning on the evening of Thursday, October 5th. After council discussion, Ms. Howton was granted approval for the event and the approval is contained within the consent agenda.
Mayor Judge acknowledged Kelli Storckman with the St. Mary’s School Rockets Foundation, who was in attendance seeking council approval for the foundation’s 5K Walk/Run event on Saturday, February 25th. Ms. Storckman had submitted the special event application and asked council to waive the $25.00 fee as St. Mary’s is a non-profit organization. The council granted approval for the event as well as the waiving of the fee and the approval is contained within the consent agenda.
Mayor Judge acknowledged Rhonda Noll, who was in attendance to discuss the Class of 2026 fundraiser event called “Prom Potty”. Ms. Noll explained how the fundraiser worked as she was aware of the city ordinance regarding “trash/toilets” sitting in resident’s yards and stated the idea of the fundraiser is selling tickets for the placing of a plastic toilet in someone’s yard as a joke. After discussing the request, council decided to table a decision until the next council meeting.
Mayor Judge asked residents to please be prepared Wednesday as winter is shaping up for more snow and rain. Mayor Judge stated streets are pretreated with salt then once the snow is greater than one inch the trucks start plowing the snow.
Mayor Judge reported the City of Mount Carmel Aces Scholarship forms will be going out to the high school soon and the scholarships are made available through revenues from the gambling tax. Mayor Judge stated the city will invest in two students by awarding each with a $750.00 scholarship.
Mayor Judge gave an update on the construction work at the intersection of East Seventh/Cherry Streets and stated the work is going well, however all is weather dependent.
Mayor Judge stated he received a sixty-six-page pamphlet from the Illinois Secretary of State to inform everyone regarding changes within the Secretary of State offices in hopes to improve the flow of the functions of those offices.
COMMISSIONER REPORTS:
COMMISSIONER TOM MEEKS – STREETS, CEMETERIES AND PARKS
Commissioner Meeks reported, in the past two weeks, the street department removed the bricks and concrete at the intersection of East Seventh and Cherry; installed new storm sewer under East Seventh and Cherry Streets; replaced several old/worn out “No Parking” signs; cleaned storm drain intakes; cut down a tree at Eleventh and Walnut Streets; poured concrete in several locations; patched several potholes; and performed maintenance work on several alleys on the west side of town.
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, receipts totaled $275,000.00 and expenditures were $77,000.00 with the majority of the receipts being from sales tax, state income tax, utility tax and state use tax with the city being at eighty-one percent of its revenue budget.
COMMISSIONER JUSTIN DULGAR – WATER AND SEWER
Commissioner Dulgar reported the water treatment department has been busy doing maintenance around the plant; working on the chemical pumps; organizing old parts and equipment, along with general cleaning. Commissioner Dulgar stated Lead Operator Keith Reed has been going to the wastewater plant on Fridays to keep familiar with the processes and thanked James Rafferty as well as Jon Porter for their efforts at the wastewater plant.
Commissioner Dulgar stated Bill Miller recently retired from the water treatment plant and thanked Larry Burton along with Frank Frazier on the great job of keeping the plant running.
Commissioner Dulgar reported there was an issue with the sludge thickener tank at the wastewater plant so it was drained; the buildup of solids of were scraped and removed; the gear box was replaced and now the tank is back in service.
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 ten runs which included medical assists, motor vehicle assists, smoke detector activations, and the department participated in routine yearly training.
Commissioner Zimmerman reminded residents to please do not dump their brush outside of the fence when the brush harbor is closed. Commissioner Zimmerman reiterated the brush harbor is open on Monday, Friday, and Saturday.
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 thanked the council for authorizing the purchase of tourniquets for the officers to carry, which will be beneficial in helping save lives.
Police Chief McWilliams reported there was an unusual phone call incident at the hospital today and thankfully there was no active threat on the hospital itself. Chief Police McWilliams affirmed today’s incident shows the hospital and emergency services are proactive in responding to these types of situations.
FIRE CHIEF – FRANCES SPETH
Fire Chief Speth reported eight firefighters have signed up for first responder class and five firefighters have signed up for basic firefighter training.
PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR – MIKE GIDCUMB
Public Works Director Gidcumb stated the gear box on the sludge thickener tank at the wastewater plant has actually been down for ten years and commended the crew for those repairs.
Public Works Director Gidcumb reported he will be meeting with the engineer this week to pick out streets to present to the council for the summer maintenance program.
BUSINESS MOTIONS
Commissioner Zimmerman motioned and Commissioner Ikemire seconded to remove “Class of 2026” fundraiser from the consent agenda. All present voted by roll call vote. Commissioners Meeks, Ikemire, Dulgar, and Zimmerman voted Aye.
Commissioner Ikemire motioned and Commissioner Zimmerman seconded to approve the Consent Agenda. The consent agenda contained approval of the special event application – “Smokin for Garrett”; approval of the Rockets Foundation/5K Run; 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.
Commissioner Ikemire motioned and Commissioner Zimmerman seconded to approve Ordinance 2084 – Amending Liquor Alcohol Beverage Ordinance. All present voted Aye by roll call vote. Commissioners Meeks, Ikemire, Dulgar, and Zimmerman voted Aye.
Commissioner Zimmerman motioned and Commissioner Ikemire seconded to approve Ordinance 2085 - “No Parking Zone” in the one hundred block of Cedar Street. Waive second reading. All present voted by roll call vote. Commissioners Meeks, Ikemire, Dulgar and Zimmerman voted Aye.
Commissioner Ikemire motioned and Commissioner Zimmerman seconded to adjourn the meeting. All present voted Aye by voice vote.
Meeting adjourned at 4:28 pm
https://www.cityofmtcarmel.com/sites/default/files/fileattachments/city_council/meeting/11589/01-23-2023_minutes.pdf
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