City of Winchester City Council met Nov. 2.
Here are 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: Jeff Pittman, Ron Bell, Bill Jacquot, Terry Gregory, Sandy Long, Lawrence Coultas and City Clerk Teri Little
Also, in attendance were Wanda Cody, City Treasurer; John Simmons, Supt of Public Works; John Paul Coonrod, City Attorney; Greg Hillis, Benton & Associates; Carmen Ensinger, Scott County Times; Bobbi Jo Smith; Steve Doolin, City Police Chief and Shawn Brown.
Mayor McIntire led those attending meeting in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Wanda Cody, City Treasurer presented bills for approval.
MOTION: Lawrence Coultas moved and Bill Jacquot seconded to pay the bills as presented. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Mayor McIntire asked for any corrections for the regular meeting minutes October 5, 2022.
MOTION: Bill Jacquot moved and Jeff Pittman seconded to approve and dispense with the reading of the minutes of the regular October 5, 2022 meeting. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Greg Hillis, Benton & Associates, Unsewered grant application is complete and asking permission to send application in on behalf of the City. By having the planned assessment completed the city will receive an additional 100 points. As it stands the city should receive 1200 of the 1600 points available. The city should be notified in January of 2023 if awarded the grant and if awarded could start construction by mid-year.
Do need to change some verbiage in the current sewer ordinance to comply with the application.
MOTION: Ron Bell moved and Lawrence Coultas second to approve application for the unsewered grant by Benton and Associates. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
John Paul Coonrod presented Ordinance 947 Sewer Ordinance. This is just to clarify some verbiage in the ordinance for more definition to apply for unsewered grant.
MOTION: Ron Bell moved and Jeffery Pittman second to approve Ordinance 947. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Minor adjustments to water main grant are needed prior to sending in application.
Library check list is completed all except some trim that needs to be installed.
Wanda Cody, City Treasurer, passed out the profit/loss statement for the month and the expenses and the fiscal year to date totals. Wanted to see if the library accounts could be combined since several accounts. She will get with Marylin Fedder and see what can be done.
It was discussed that the council would like to see the totals for the fire department and police department funds.
Teri Little, City Clerk, requested funds for a flag for the side of City Hall. Willing to have fundraisers if needed. Council asked price of flag in question. Flag that has been found is $1500.00 it is 6 x4 foot and will fit perfectly on the west side of the building. It is solid wood hand crafted and sealed with a marine sealant that is used on boats. It is made to withstand the weather. The council agreed to funding for the flag.
It is time to plan the Christmas party. It was discussed to have same as last year. Everyone had a great time and food was delicious. Will get planned out and set for Friday December 9 at 6 pm.
Bobbi Jo Smith, Civic Group, advised that Hometown Christmas is December 3rd and requested to block off the square about 4 pm. This will allow the parade to travel around the square without a lot of cars on the square. Mayor McIntire said that it would be ok if she spoke with the business' to see if the minded the street blocked off and if they had no issues with it then it was OK with the city.
The Santa house is done and attached to the trailer. Asked where the best place would be to have it set up. Advised to get with John Simmons when ready to set up and they would advise of place to set trailer. It was recommended on maybe the west side would be the best place.
Smith also wanted to thank the council for purchasing the look at me swing. It has been getting a lot of use
Steve Doolin, Police Chief, presented his monthly report.
Invoice received for Mobile Training unit. This is a necessary program that aids in training of officers. It is $800.00 per year.
MOTION: Ron Bell moved and Sandy Long second to approved to pay $800.00 a year for training WCICJCC MTU Police. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
The department has report writing information software from 2005. Back then it was free. There are 2 options.
#1 is what we already have which can cause issues. It can crash in the middle of a report and has to be started all over again and no updates to the software.
#2 is custom software $499.00 a year or $599.00 and all info lives on their cloud and that would be an advantage if computer crashes.
MOTION: Lawrence Coultas moved and Terry Gregory second to approved purchase of software from RST Technology for $599.00 a year. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Jeff Pittman, Alderman, presented information on a new police vehicle. Chief Steve Doolin has a 2011 Chevrolet Tahoe he is willing to sell or lease to the city. This is a very well-kept vehicle and has been inspected by Marshalls. It still has a warranty on the motor and transmission of 1 and a half years remaining. If purchased this would be the police chief vehicle. Total for vehicle and equipment would be $12,000.00. This would cover all equipment and fees.
The marked car is not safe to use and is costing too much to repair. He has gotten he unmarked car repaired and it is running well.
Passed out pictures of drug paraphernalia that is sold at the Foodmart in town. He is wanting to investigate and address items that should not be sold. Will discuss at a later date.
Wanting to address the issue with having two streets' names Elm Street. Wanting to know if can change one as it causes issue on calls to know which street to actually be on. This will be looked into.
New radar for truck would be $2000.00 to $3000.00. He has one that he would donate.
Mayor McIntire advised the chief to turn in his receipts for candy that was purchased for the annual trunk or treat.
Ron Bell, Alderman, advised major watermain break on Pearl and Green was hard to find and repair. Not much more can be done at this point if breaks again. There is a valve dripping to but holding off since applying for the grant.
Wanted to verify if handbook is current and asked if evaluation was yearly. Evaluations are done at that 6 month period only and not yearly.
Bell advised that Fire Chief Fred Andrews had discussed with him a new fire truck for sale. It is in Lancaster PA and is 2003 for $109,000.00. The current truck the city has is a 1990 and is running ok with no issues. At this time not looking to replace.
MOTION: Jeff Pittman moved and Lawrence Coultas second to approve to purchase 2011 Tahoe from Steve Doolin for $12,000.00 for purpose of Police Chief car which includes equipment. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
John Simmons, Supt of Public Works, is ordering the new pool grate price is $620.00 plus shipping. Unable to provide shipping cost until the item is purchased.
MOTION: Ron Bell moved and Jeffery Pittman second to approve the purchase of the pool grate for $650.00 plus shipping. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Requested approval to go ahead and purchase chlorine tablets for pool early. Can get 36 pails for $6084.00 and free shipping.
MOTION: Ron Bell moved and Jeffery Pittman second to approve purchase of 36 pails of chlorine tablets for $6084.00. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Monthly report - Locate tickets - 26; Work orders - 29; Funerals and grave openings - 4; Monthly brush pick up -2 day; Meter readings - 2 days; Gas leaks - 1; Zoning permits - 0; Water leaks – 2; Violation notices - 1; Monthly odorant readings – ok; Changed gas meters – 2; Changed water meters - 2; Cold patching.
Mayor McIntire, advised we had received the yearly investment request for the Jacksonville Regional Economic Development Corp. It is $1200.00.
MOTION: Ron Bell moved and Lawrence Coultas second to approve yearly investment for JRED Corp $1200.00. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Many positive comments have been received about the new DG Market.
The new restaurant., Grandma's Kitchen will be opening on November 11th.
With the purchase of the new vehicle for the police department McIntire advised selling the marked police car as it is costing more to repair than it is worth.
Advised still looking into companies for the Lincoln statue and will bring to next month's meeting.
John Paul Coonrod, City Attorney, advised there were 6 cases for the monthly municipal court. 4 were dismissed, 1 was continued to another date, 1 $200.00 Repeat. 2 Leash law $50.00 fines
There is 1 citation that needs approved for issuance.
14 E Lewis St - Toby Hammond
MOTION: Terry Gregory moved and Jeff Pittman second to issue 1 municipal citation. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Coonrod has spoken to the IDOT Chief of Staff to when can get permit toa start on Drive from highway to DG Market.
Presented the surplus property ordinance 948 to sell the surplus items that the city has. Bids will be received until December 3rd at 3 pm.
MOTION: Ron Bell moved and Sandy Long second to approve Ordinance 948. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Distributed Water Sewer Rates Ordinance and Tax Levy Ordinance to look over for approval next month.
To address the discussion of Solar Power and an ordinance for residential from last month. This would qualify as a structure and would fall under the zoning rules. A resident would have to have a zoning approval and cannot be 30% of backyard or no more than 25 feet tall.
No Public Comments
MOTION: Bill Jacquot moved and Lawrence Coultas second to approve move into closed session. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
MOTION: Lawrence Coultas moved and Bill Jacquot second to approve move out of closed session. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
MOTION: Bill Jacquot moved and Sandy Long second to set up meeting for discussion on Dispatching. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
MOTION: Ron Bell moved and Terry Gregory second to adjourn at 11:00 pm. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oYY1iSHbf24IusVn2H1R8Np2kseRJqZXKrNpyeAXshI/edit
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