City of Winchester City Council met Sept. 2.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
The Winchester City Council held their monthly meeting at City Hall. Mayor McIntire called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. with the following council in attendance: Ron Bell, Lawrence Coultas, Terry Gregory, Bill Jacquot, Sandy Long, Jeff Pittman, and City Clerk Brenda Robinson.
Also in attendance were Caleb Handy, Acting Police Chief; John Paul Coonrod, City Attorney; Carmen Ensinger, Scott County Times; Greg Hillis, Benton & Associates and R J Paslay.
MOTION: Lawrence Coultas moved and Ron Bell seconded to pay bills as presented. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
MOTION: Lawrence Coultas moved and Terry Gregory seconded to approve and dispense with the reading of the minutes with noted corrections from the last meeting. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Mayor McIntire said to put on agenda next month Phil Pratt wages for cleaning. Also add Jim Dobson's sewer license update.
McIntire updated the council about him coming in contact with someone from Mt. Sterling that has tested positive to the virus. He was tested on Monday, August 31 and found out today, September 2 that he was negative. He stated you may have seen him out & in his truck but he was always by himself. He said for everyone to take this serious. There was an article in Jacksonville paper stating the city was going to fine anyone not wearing a mask and that was not true. In the minutes from the special meeting there was a correction on page 1. It stated someone had purchased the old Brant store which there is someone in negotiations with buying it. Last week someone was bringing stuff out of the store, sat up tables and was selling the contents of the store.
MOTION: Bill Jacquot moved and Terry Gregory seconded to approve and dispense with the reading of the minutes from the Special Meeting on August 24 as submitted with one correction. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
RJ Paslay attended last month's meeting and talked about purchasing some additional playground equipment in honor of his daughter Laura, who recently passed away. He talked to the park committee as requested. He received a bid from a gentleman in Indianapolis and explained what he wanted. The cost would be around $11,300 but after talking to the gentleman & explaining the situation the price was reduced to $7,620. The dealer would not pay need payment until the end of January 2021. This is the slide that would look like going down a river and the stairs will be a climbing wall. The additional costs would be $1,000 for mulch around the slide; freight - $800 to ship (he stated he could rent a U-Haul truck cheaper and drive to pick it up); landscape cloth at Ace would be $90 for two rolls; anchors (bag of 20) to hold down the fabric $12, concrete block for posts (city has a lot of blocks); concrete 10 pound bags at $5 = $50; scatter guard 4-foot by 8-foot $25 total $200; total cost of the project $9,784.50 of which $2,560 has been collected. He would like to get this completed before winter. The dealer who quoted the price is willing to come to town and help get it started. Eric Peterson who works for Morton Building has offered his help as well. Paslay stated there was a positive response from an interview he did with the radio after the last meeting. The site they are looking at will have sidewalks on three sides and there are no utilities under it. John Simmons has offered to help get the ground ready with the help of the city equipment. Paslay is hoping the Civic Group will be able to help with expenses. McIntire said to put him and his wife down for a $100 donation. This playground is for ages 2-12 years of age. This is phase I of the project hopefully with more to come. The council agreed for him to get the equipment ordered and hopefully installed before winter.
Greg Hillis, Benton & Associates reported Doyle Plumbing & Heating had not been paid their 26,110.52. McIntire asked City Clerk Robinson about it. She had given Angie the info. She will check on it tomorrow. Hillis gave an update on the pool. As most of you know the bathhouse has been torn down the new footings have been dug and rebar is going in weather holds out, they will pour concrete on Friday. Trotters turned in two (2) applications for payment. They discussed these at their pay progress meeting on August 26. Application - A#1, second page column E they mobilized, and this is the schedule of values we go by and this is how they get paid throughout the project. They have their trailer at the site and everything fenced in. Every pay request you will notice the line item profit which is 4%. So, this month it is $1200. The general conditions for $500 are for gas and electricity. He had to hook up to electricity along with bond and insurance which he had to have upfront. His contract allows him to get paid for his bond and insurance. His first payment he is asking for $16,692 but still have the 10% retainage so go back to page 1 you take out the retainage you see he is asking for $15,022.80. When he is 50% complete, he can come back and ask for it.
MOTION: Ron Bell moved and Bill Jacquot seconded to pay Trotter Contracting of Industry pay request A1 for $15,022.80. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Hillis stated they submitted pay request #2 for profit, supervision, project manager, general conditions, bond, saw cutting and demolition. These items were suggested at the pay progress meeting but were not completed at the meeting. Benton's would not recommend payment for these items because they were not completed by the meeting and the date of the application of August 25. The pay request is for $6,751.12 but the work was not completed.
Hillis went over MFT which was handout B. Two months ago, the council approved the program for oil and chipping with IDOT. They just got the information back to allow the city to go out for bids. The mayor and Hillis went over this and would like to get it done this fall. It is best to apply when the weather is warmer. It was suggested to go ahead and bid the project out and open the bids on September 14. If the bid comes in around $44,620 or a dollar over, he asked the council to authorize the mayor and city clerk the bid so he could return it to IDOT and hopefully get the project completed this fall. IDOT has seven days they have to hold it so no one (the public) objects to it. If you give the mayor and clerk authority to go up to maybe $46,000 to $47,000 to complete the project. If it comes in less than that the mayor and clerk could sign off and approve it. So, you wouldn't have to have an emergency meeting or wait until next month to approve it and jeopardizing getting it done this fall. He apologized and said the COVID had backed everything up. This is the way to get it done this year, IDOT has standards the temperature needs to be above 60 for three days and not below 40 for three days to apply. If the bids come in high everything is off the tables and will do next spring. Hillis contacted two contractors that do this work and asked it they could get it done this fall if they were the low bidder and they said they would take care of the City of Winchester.
MOTION: Ron Bell moved and Bill Jacquot seconded with the bidding complete for MFT up to $44,620 authorize the mayor and city clerk to sign then send to IDOP for seven days for approval. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Hillis gave the library grant update. The City did receive a letter from Secretary of State Jesse White. In a letter it confirms that the library qualifies for a maximum award of $188,252 but there are a few things that need to be submitted before having the contract awarded. After talking with the mayor and library board they need to get an engineering firm up and going on the project. Benton & Associates was awarded the project at the library board meeting last night. The board thought the council should approve this as well. The local cost share for the project is $121,998 and the engineering service agreement fee is $32,000. What comes out of this is the soil boring, which has already been done to apply for the grant. The asbestos and lead testing have been completed. The total for this is around $4,000 so the remainder for the engineering service agreement is $27,456 which includes the plans, specs and bidding of the project. There was no construction observation which was discussed with the library board last night but might be considered at a later date and brought to the council. They need the drawings for the project. Bill Jacquot asked if the drawing from the last time would be considered or were changes made. Since the back-lot slopes so much instead of a 6-inch crawl space it was decided to go deeper and give them a basement for additional storage which they desperately need. That is basically the only change from the drawing in 2012. They want to get started but said if they could find some cost saving for them, they would bring to their attention. Ron Bell said “the library board had talked for a year about fund raising and haven't started yet. Everyone keeps asking for money and it is going out and not coming in that fast. We give them $25,000 each year to keep it going”. Lawrence Coultas said the library has $70,507.72 dollars for the project which would leave the city with $51,490.28 to pay. They are planning fund raisers to help defer the cost to the city. Benton's are trying to keep this project within the budget. They have three years to finish the project. The cost is higher than 2012 since things have gone up. It says he agrees with Bell, but if you think about it the city would have been better off to spend the money on the library, which is open year-round instead of the swimming pool which is only open maybe 272 months. The library benefits everyone in town whereas the pool only benefits a few. Jacquot asked if the library board has come up with any ideas on how to raise the money, it was stated they suggested fund raising. He is worried the board will expect the city to come up the money. It was stated by several aldermen that if the library grant had come up before the pool grant they would have voted for the library first. Jacquot asked if the Secretary of State was going to release a press release for the library like they did for Beardstown? Hillis did not know. McIntire read from a letter received from Jesse White's office: “the grant will not be finalized and awarded until the following steps are completed:
All of the local cost share currently estimated at $121,998 has been secured and then verified by the Illinois State Library.
A thorough review of the final detailed project budget as determined eligible project costs A construction grant contract has been signed.
Within in the next few days, staff from the Illinois State Library will be in contact with you to initiate the process of assisting your library with securing the grant award.
Congratulations on being eligible to receive one of these important grants to improve library service in your area."
Here is the anticipated project schedule:
Award Grant – 8/2020
Initiate Design – 10/2020
Complete Design - 3/2021
Advertise for Bids – 4/2020
Open/Award Bid – 5/2021
Initiate Construction - 11/2021
Project Close-out - 12/2021
Benton's are going to try & get this finished as soon as possible to keep the cost down.
If the bids some in high the city can decide to void the application, but this will show a good faith effort to the state.
MOTION: Lawrence Coultas moved and Terry Gregory seconded to approve Benton & Associates to continue with the library grant project under their service agreement for design. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
The mayor will see that the library board get started on their fund raising.
Mayor McIntire introduced Caleb Handy, Interim Police Chief. So far there have been two applicants. McIntire suggested they wait until next week then the personnel committee and him get together to interview for the police chief.
Handy passed out the following report: Battery – 1; Trespassing – 3; Car Accident - 1; Burglary - 4; Burglary Alarm – 1; Domestic Complaint - 3; Well-being Check - 1; DCFS – 2; Property Exchange - 2; Found/Returned Property - 1; Speak to Officer – 4; Suspicious Vehicle - 1; Suspicious Person – 1; Extra Patrol Requested - 0; Unruly Student – 0; Juvenile Matter – 0; Life Alert Calls -0.
Coultas asked if Caleb list on his report how many citations had been issued each month. He said he could. He stated anything you need done he could do it. Ron Bell asked about the blue squad card and what he planned to do with it. McIntire said to advertise it for sale and sell it as is. He is going to move it to free up for more parking. They are going to put signs up. McIntire told Ron Bell to write up an ad to sell the car with sealed and have the bids at the next meeting. It still has some items that need to be removed before selling.
MOTION: Ron Bell moved and Lawrence Coultas seconded to advertise the blue squad car for sale with sealed bids. Roll called resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
There is an old police car on North Main that still has lights on it. Handy contacted Mike Hill, the States Attorney, and was told as long as they do not activate the lights it is ok.
Wanda Cody, City Treasurer passed out her monthly report. The last figures on the right side, $33.604.84 was the end of the fiscal year for the infrastructure fee and have taken in $16,724.70 this year so currently the balance is $50,323.54 in that fund.
McIntire said the fourth line item down, the TIF fund. We got our first installment of taxes, so it brings that fund to $242,413.76. McIntire also stated we would be getting the last tax installment after September taxes are due. McIntire said he didn't think it would be a problem to reimburse the general fund the money used to set up the TIF. It was approximately $35,000 to set it up. The TIF funds can only be used in the TIF district. City Clerk Robinson will find the final amount used. It will be voted on next month. The TIF fund helped Studio 29, Hickory Flats building, Pharmacy Plus, Winchester Bowl and Doghouse as well as giving $13,000 for the COVID stimulus plan. McIntire said he hopes to be able to help the new owners of the Brant building with their facade. He would like to get everything completed to maybe look at resurfacing the square later if funds become available.
Brenda Robinson, City Clerk reported she had talked to UCB bank about getting four (4) credit cards for the office. She stated she has a credit card from her job that has the tax-exempt number on it. She will investigate this. She will talk to Phyllis Evans to see if that would be an option. One is needed for streets and alley, sewer and water, office. McIntire suggested a $2,000 limit on each card. McIntire suggested looking at getting General Motors credit card. For using the General Motors credit card, you receive credit. Since we do business with them here in town he thought it was a good idea. Robinson will check this out.
Robinson talked about getting fingerprint timeclock for all employees. It was not greatly received so she will scrap the idea. It was discussed about having the police have a log with the courthouse.
McIntire said John Simmons couldn't attend the meeting. He left his monthly report as follows: Oderant report; 4 days of brush pickup; 5 days to demolish old bathhouse; poured 27 yards concrete for sidewalk; 3-4 days to read meters; 11 ordinance violations; 5 zoning permits; 26 work orders with 6 graves dug and filled; 2 gas leak calls; received 26 locate calls and have to call in 4; Randy mowed; painted parking lines; Jerry Moore cleaned out small cell lagoons; replaced gas service at Coonrod Law Office, line leaking; Bob Howard skid steer jack hammering;Petersburg cleanedut sewer $Wanut Saturday;Sprayed a lot of weeds, Ameren installed new light poles on South Main and Market St; Jim Dobson was at SIU 5 days for sewer class; Leland was out 12 days for eye surgery; Cut off services to Doc Gross's house before being torn down; Spent 372 hours doing disconnect notices; repaired air release at sewer plant; hired part-time help for concrete work; backhoe was down 4 days; utility truck was down 4 days needs brakes; was very hot out with very few breaks
McIntire reported all the conduit was in place to finish the lighting around the square. Still need to get rid of the lights in Douglas Park.
McIntire stated Jim Dobson took his sewer test and passed. It is not an easy test and not everyone passes the test, but he did. As soon as he gets his license, he will get his pay increase. As soon as he receives his license, we can get rid of the agreement with Benton's He would like for Trevor and Jim to be crossed trained in the sewer and water departments. They are both good workers. He received the top score in the class.
McIntire said when they bought the flatbed for the truck, it looks great but found out the toolboxes hung over too far. He would like to purchase two (2) new toolboxes for $1,094 from Knapheide. He is looking for a truck to bolt the spreader on then take it off during the summer. They are hurting for trucks and was told that is quite a bit of money. He suggested selling two (2) trucks to purchase one. If the city would do this, he thought they could get by with one (1) truck. He was told to keep looking and Jay Rueter is looking also. Bill Jacquot asked if one of the trucks was sitting at the lagoons and said no, and the police have two (2) vehicles stored in the Quonset at the ball diamond.
MOTION: Ron Bell moved and Jeff Pittman seconded to allow John Simmons to purchase two (2) new tool boxes from Knapheide for $1,094 and split between gas, water and sewer funds. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
McIntire said he didn't know what John meant about readdressing residents about brush and tree limbs. Ron Bell said he did, some of the limbs are too big for one (1) person to pick up you might need the backhoe to pick them up. It is supposed to be brush pick-up not tree pick up. Limbs need to be cut in smaller pieces. It was suggested a notice be put in the monthly bills stating must not be over so big.
McIntire read where Simmons had in the last 25 years there have been 37 houses and 12 single wide trailers removed in the city. Doesn't seem possible. Had 20 new affordable houses added.
McIntire said someone was negotiating purchasing the Brandt building. He hopes they can get it done. He said someone showed interest in the old Hymes building and he got him all the information on who owns it (the old Roosa Cafe). He hopes the gentleman will take over the building.
McIntire also said he hopes Robin McLoy from Pehlman and Doyle will be present at the October meeting to present the audit. Lawrence got her some information recently and he is hopefully she has everything she needs. She may want to address the finance committee prior to the regular meeting. She has some ideas on Quickbooks as well as Locis.
McIntire said he talked to someone and wanted to know if the council would be interested in putting in solar panels for city hall and fire and police hall. The reason he asked that is because one guy he talked to says he makes money on his. Utility companies pays him. He has a lot of panels on his building. He thinks it might be worth looking into.
John Paul Coonrod, City Attorney stated that at the last meeting he was asked to investigate fining people who were not staying home or being quarantined with COVID-19. The health department is the entity with the authority to tell people to stay home. The health department has the authority to tell people to stay home while a test is pending. They can informally direct a person to quarantine or order them to self-quarantine. The city could not issue a fine unless there is a quarantine order then the city could go through the municipal court system to enforce a ciation. The health department has the authority to share with the Mayor as police commissioner if someone is supposed to be quarantined. We don't have a signed commitment from Steve Shireman, executive officer of the health department. There are state statute/executive orders/guidance from IDPH that are in effect allowing this sort of coordination. If the mayor and police chief know about a person, they cannot tell who it is because of the HEPA law. This is between the Mayor, police chief/department and health department. The police department should have all the proper equipment to handle a situation. The health department could contact the mayor and police and the person could be fined $200 - $300. This fine would only be in effect is someone is violating the quarantine order. The health department must issue the order.
MOTION: Bill Jacquot moved and Lawrence Coultas seconded to approve the Memorandum of Understanding Between the City of Winchester and The Scott County Health Department Coordinating Efforts to Counter the Spread of COVID-19. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Coonrod presented an ordinance amending Chapter 25, Article 1, Section 1 of the Revised Code of Ordinance of the City of Winchester, Scott County, Illinois
MOTION: Lawrence Coultas moved and Terry Gregory seconded to pass Ordinance 904, An Ordinance Amending Chapter 25, Article 1, Section 1 of the Revised Code of Ordinances of the City of Winchester, Scott County, Illinois. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Coonrod talked about the farm lease of the former Coultas property. It was brought up last month was wasn't on the agenda, so it held over until this month. The current tenants (J.D. Fearneyhough) is asking for an extension. It was discussed and he is willing to pay the same rate he is currently paying for the next three (3) years. In the original contract it states the city can sell any part of the property they deem appropriate. He has been making improvements on the property. Ron Bell asked if we were going to sell any of the real estate. McIntire said he hopes the commercial property is sold soon. McIntire also said he wished J.D. would purchase all the property on Main St. He urged the council to consider the extension for three (3) years.
MOTION: Lawrence Coultas moved and Bill Jacquot seconded to extend the farm lease to the current tenants of the Coultas farm tract for an additional three (3) years at the current rental rate. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Coonrod presented packets for the next class of municipal court citations. To date we have had 11 cases served on people. Seven had cleaned up before the first appearance and two more cases had cleaned up before the second appearance. At the present there are two ongoing cases, one coming on for the second hearing and one for his third hearing this month. Coonrod feels one will be cleaned up and the other will be at best incremental progress. Coonrod stated that for every citation served another had cleaned up when issued a violation. When the municipal court first started they did not know how it would be. He did some math and figured the June court date cost $289 per case to the city. July there were six cases at $162 per case and August it was down to $125 per case. Each month the cost has been going down. The following will be cited this month. Earl Smith, debris & weeds; Tracy Puls, debris & weeds; Kayden Savage, debris & weeds; Dennis Savage, debris & weeds; and Guy Lewis, debris only. Larry Vortman was going to be cited but said he had come into some money and would be putting a dumpster on his property & start cleaning up. Coonrod said he would hold off if he cleaned up. McIntire asked about the big brick building on East Cherry St. It is in foreclosure. Coonrod said the city could condemn it and knock it down. The city would have to go to circuit court to get a condemnation then pay to knock it down. McIntire stated Jerry Moore did a fine job on knocking down the old Gross house and cleaning the lot. Rita Howland's house in not in condemnable condition yet. Ron Bell said there is a junk car on the square and another on the city right-of-way that needs to be moved. It looks like we pick on some people and leave others alone.
MOTION: Lawrence Coultas moved and Terry Gregory seconded to cite the following for violations to city ordinance: Earl Smith, debris & weeds; Tracy Puls, debris & weeds; Kayden Savage, debris & weeds; Dennis Savage, debris & weeds; and Guy Lewis, debris only. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Bill Jacquot gave an update on the girls' basketball runner-up signs. He sent Steve Beran, Bureau Chief of Operations for District 6 IDOT, an email about the signs. He replied they had been busy with other safety issues but said they should be able to get the signs erected on state route in the next two weeks.
Jeff Pittman received two (2) quotes for a furnace & AC for the police station and fire department. Doug Rice gave a quote of $6,341.96. Little Heating & Air Conditioning gave a quote of $6,614. Doug Rice's quote was $272.04 cheaper. The unit from Rice and Little were 95% energy efficient. This is subject to USDA approval.
MOTION: Ron Bell moved and Jeff Pittman seconded to accept the low quote of $6,341.96 from Doug Rice to install the new furnace & AC at the old city hall, currently the Police Station and Fire Department. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Pittman stated the gutters were up and working great. It is dumping the water on the concrete like it is supposed to. Last thing from Pittman is the upstairs windows he had four (4) people interested in putting quotes in. Roger VanMeter had to rebid because of change in windows, Doug Meggison had foot surgery and was laid up. Bob Howard is interested but is booked up and Duane Crockett will turn in a bid. Plans are to have everything completed by end of March. The City would prefer at least two bids.
Pittman talked about the overhang. VanMeter gave an estimate for the overhang over the sidewalk was going to do the top and then Jim Kirkpatrick the carpenter part of it. The carpenter part is ready to go as soon as we have access to the money. Pittman suggested that Kirkpatrick do his part after the windows are installed. Kirkpatrick's quote was $4,255 to tear off old overhang and put metal facia board plus $1,200 for a lift rental. Total quote was $5,455. VanMeter's bid pretty good but when he found out we got the grant his bid rose substantially. His first quote was $13,900 then he quoted $34,850. Do we need to accept the Kirkpatrick quote or get another quote? It was suggested getting another. All that is left is the air conditioning in conference room. Need to make sure the bid Peter's gave is updated and ask for a new quote. No one in the immediate area thought they were qualified to do the job. Peter's bid was $24,712 to remove old furnace & AC and install three (3) new units. They will be single phase. It was decided to wait and see if the quote goes up. There is a set amount in the grant of $41,300 in federal dollars and is a 45/55 grant. If the cost comes in less than $75,000, we won't get all that money. We must spend enough to get the $41,300 we can add in other items, like the blinds in council chambers get them for the rest of the windows.
Lawrence Coultas didn't want to extend the meeting, but he talked to Jason Sheppard about the Alertify. It's now called civic live they are a subsidiary of West Corp. It is a large communication company. They do 90% of the 911 call systems. He asked for quotes and gave a lot of information. If we decided to do this for one year there is a setup fee of $750 and total for one year of $2,750. A 5-year agreement would be $400 for setup total for one year is $1,700. For the first year and then it would be $1,250. You are saving money by going for 5-years. They did not know how many people would be interested. It was suggested adding a note in the city bill with the cost asking customers if they would be interested.
Bill Jacquot reminded the council IDOT was hosting an informational meeting for the Florence Bridge, September 10 from 4 - 7 p.m. at the Nimrod Funk Building.
PUBLIC COMMENT: none
McIntire said George had talked about moving Jacob Bettis to full time status. He talked to Caleb Handy current interim police chief and stated that would be a good idea. Part-time officers are paid $15 per hour. He will be paid $16 per hour or the current full-time officers pay.
MOTION: Ron Bell moved and Jeff Pittman seconded to move Jacob Bettis to full time status @ $16 per hour effective immediately. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
MOTION: Bill Jacquot moved and Terry Gregory seconded to adjourn. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 10:30 p.m.
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