The Regular meeting of the
Carthage City Council was held January 24th, 2006, in City Hall, at 308 Walnut
Street. Mayor Nightingale called the meeting to order at 8:00PM. Answering to
roll call were Aldermen Duffy, Smith, Bentzinger, Neally, and Walker. Treasurer
Lunt also attended. Alderman Fleming was on vacation.
Motion was made by Alderman
Walker, seconded by Smith to approve the meeting minutes of 1/10/06. All five
Aldermen answered “aye”.
Kurt Neff addressed the
Council regarding his property on Buchanan Street. He indicated he had “boxed
up the building for safety” and cleaned up the back lot.
He reported that “people keep dumping
stuff, like recliners and cattle panels”.
After some discussion City
Attorney Glidden suggested he meet with Code Enforcer, Ron Schulz to determine
exactly what needs to be done in further cleaning up the property.
Mayor Nightingale reported clarification
on the police car bid from Carl Motors. He told the Council that the State of
Illinois awards one car dealer the “official” state price for police cars. This
dealer was Miles Chevrolet. Any other dealers’ cost is $500.00 more than that
official price. Carl Motor’s bid was $300.00 over that price. This price
basically covers their costs on delivery and dealer prep charges.
Mayor Nightingale reported on
the press conference last Thursday morning at City Hall. The City was awarded
$1.1 Million dollar grant to build a 10 unit
Low-income, senior citizen
housing project. Additionally the City will receive up to $50,000 annually for
the next 40 years to aid in expenses that the residents are unable to cover.
City Attorney Glidden will
file a small claim against Dollar General Corporate for failure to pay a
delinquent bill from last summer.
Alderman Smith reported that
the Fire Department will hold their fund raiser Pancake Breakfast on Sunday,
February 5th from 7:00AM to 1:00 PM.
Alderman Smith indicated he
had not heard anything further from the Tornado Siren Company representative.
Warranty coverage for the damage appears questionable. He will fill out the
insurance papers to see what coverage can be expected from the City’s insurance
company.
Bud Wear and Police Chief
Waddell filed the paperwork with the State for the Air Brake Ordinance signs to
be placed at all entry points into town.
Alderman Smith reported that
Assistant Police Chief Floyd has requested Administrative leave and Police Chief
Waddell has supported his request.
Mayor Nightingale requested
the paid leave request be reviewed at the Council meeting February 28th,
if the State Police investigation has not been completed by that time.
Assistant Chief Floyd agreed to continue to teach the DARE program during his
leave.
Assistant Chief Floyd reported
that additional newspapers have requested interviews about the investigation.
He asked if there were any issues from the City’s perspective to him granting
these requests. Upon discussion it was concluded that it was up to him if he
wanted to conduct these interviews.
Alderman Smith reported that
he might be out of town for the next scheduled Safety Committee meeting, which
would normally occur on Monday,
February 13th. He
will notify Clerk Graham accordingly.
In Alderman Fleming’s absence,
Mayor Nightingale reported on the results of the Public Works meeting.
With the Carthage Lake being
lower than it has been for some time, the Street department has been cleaning
up the now visible debris.
The spring projects are being
reviewed. Terry Knocke provided estimates on some water main replacements.
Current priority appears to be Kiwanis from Madison to Fayette and South
Madison from Quincy to Hopkins. These two projects will cost approximately
$100,000.00
The City currently purchases
water from Hamilton to supplement supply. With the Carthage lake level so low,
it was decided to increase the amount from 20,000 gallons per day to 40,000
gallons per day for the interim. This quantity will be evaluated on an ongoing
basis, depending on rain and snowfall. If large quantities of water continue to
be needed, the above watermain replacements may not be possible next year.
Chris Classen ordered new
stainless steel steps and railing for the sewer plant, which came in under the
budgeted amount.
Alderman Walker requested
approval to clarify the employee vacation policy at the upcoming finance
committee meeting, i.e. one week of vacation equals 40 hours, and two weeks of
vacation equals 80 hours.
Motion was made to adjourn at
8:35PM by Alderman Walker, seconded by Duffy.
Katherine Graham
City Clerk