City of Centralia Council met Aug. 13.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
The City Council for Centralia, Illinois met on Monday August 13, 2018 in the Council Chambers at Centralia City Hall. Mayor Ashby called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Present: Mayor Ashby, Councilman Jones, Councilman Smith, Councilman Sauer and Councilman Marshall
Absent: None
Staff Members Present: Dan Ramey, City Manager; Gayla Harting, Community Development Director; Jeff Schwartz, Public Works Director; Chief Brian Atchison, Police Department; Chief John Lynch, Fire Department; Doug Gruenke, City Attorney; Bill Agee, City Treasurer; Kim Enke, City Clerk
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Ashby.
AMENDMENTS AND/OR ADDITIONS TO AGENDA
None
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Cydney Richardson, representing the Historic Preservation Commission, presented a plaque to the Centralia Museum for their care and upkeep of the Kohl & Meyer Building. The building was built in 1917 and is located at 240 S. Locust. Mike Musick accepted the plaque and also thanked the community for the support and funding of the Museum’s recent caboose restoration project. Also a plaque was presented for the building that was originally Old National Bank located at 100 S. Locust. It was built in 1888 and Dave Agee is the current business and property owner of the building.
Mayor Ashby provided and overview of the success of the recent Job Fair that had over 200 attendees with over 100 job seekers finding jobs as a result of the job fair. He thanked Greg Sutton with TEC Services for his work and partnership with the City of Centralia. Greg Sutton stated that he appreciated the involvement of the City, the area employers and members of the community that took part in the job fair in order to make it so successful. He added that there were 900 job openings in Centralia and 107 jobs were filled at the job fair. As an incentive for those attending, a Dell laptop computer was offered as a door prize. Taylor Hirsch was the recipient of the door prize and was also one of the job seekers that found a job at the job fair. She stated that the job fair provided the opportunity to speak with several employers and ultimately helped her find a job with Fireside House Nursing Home as a CNA. Kathy Burke and Karen Webb from Fireside House Nursing Home were also in attendance and expressed their appreciation of the job fair and the ability to find qualified employees. City Manager Ramey noted that the location and use of the Recreation Complex gym this year made the job fair more easily accessible and allowed for more employers to take part. This year the number of employers doubled in size. He added that that is an ongoing goal to employ current residents and bring more people to Centralia to work, to increase the retention of employees and provide more training opportunities. He reviewed the surveys that were completed by the Employers that included great reviews. The Mayor thanked the City Manager for coordinating the job fair and the 30 employers including Fireside House Nursing Home for participating in the job fair. He added that the job fair included various types of employers including professional openings that were not minimum wage paying jobs.
CONSENT AGENDA
A Motion was made by Councilman Smith and seconded by Councilman Marshall To Approve Items 1 - 4 of the Consent Agenda.
1. Approval Of The Minutes Of The July 23, 2018 City Council Meeting
2. Approval Of Payrolls And Vouchers In The Amount Of $792,388.29
3. Approval A Request To Use Fairview Park By The Marion County Coalition Against Drug Use On August 31, 2018
4. A Resolution Confirming Appointments of Certain Individuals to Various Boards and Commissions of the City of Centralia
Ayes: Councilman Jones, Councilman Smith, Councilman Sauer, Councilman Marshall and Mayor Ashby
Nays: None
A majority of the Council voting aye, the motion carried.
REPORTS AND COMMUNICATIONS
None
BIDS
The opening of bids for surplus property was conducted by the City Clerk. Of the eighteen surplus properties available, there were six properties that bids were submitted for. There was only one bidder for each of the six properties and each of them bid more than the minimum bid requested and included 10% of the bid amount along with the bid submitted. The bid for 319 Johnson was received from Steve Yauch in the amount of $1,000.00. The bid for 1428 S Sycamore was received from Robert Miller & Charles Porter in the amount of $1,000.00. The bid for 717 N Poplar was received from Carol Wallace in the amount of $1,250.00. The bid for 721 N. Poplar was received from Carol Wallace in the amount of $1,250.00. The bid for 1108 N. Maple was received from Engineered Fluid Inc. in the amount of $1,000.00. The bid for 1004 S. Locust was received from Marvin Grote Jr. in the amount of $1,200.00. The bids will be reviewed and submitted on an upcoming agenda for approval to sell.
ORDINANCES
A Motion was made by Councilman Smith and seconded by Councilman Sauer To Approve An Ordinance Designating The Alley From Broadway To East Second Street, Between South Locust And South Poplar, As A Two-Way Street.
Ayes: Councilman Jones, Councilman Smith, Councilman Sauer, Councilman Marshall and Mayor Ashby Nays: None
A majority of the Council voting aye, the motion carried.
RESOLUTIONS
None
OTHER BUSINESS
None
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None
REPORTS
City Clerk, Kim Enke, reported that the 2019 Consolidation Election information is available on the State Board of Elections website at this time. Candidate packets will be available in the Clerk’s Office beginning August 28th and the filing period will be November 19th – 26th.
City Treasurer, Bill Agee, reported that the 1st distribution of property taxes from Clinton County was recieved. Approximately $295,000 of the disbursement was for the annual tax levy and $200,000 was for TIF 5.
City Manager, Dan Ramey, expressed that the ribbon cutting and dedication of the City Hall today was a proud moment for him.
City Manager Ramey reported that this past weekend the Centralia Youth Football League held their Jamboree at the old Evers Field. He stated that there were several other teams from other communities that took part in the event. He thanked the CYFL for their work with the youth in the community. He stated that he is impressed by the volunteer time that they continue to put in with practices and games and wanted to recognize them.
City Manager Ramey gave an overview of the Animal Shelter dedication. He stated that viewing rooms were added to encourage more adoptions. Also cameras are being installed for security. He added that the donors and many volunteers are what continues to make the improvements possible. He thanked the staff for their continued work at the shelter as well.
Councilman Marshall stated that he was very pleased with the results of the job fair and congratulated those that were able to find jobs and employees.
Councilman Smith stated that he was very proud of the City’s improvements to the animal shelter and the new City Hall. He stated that he appreciated the efforts to make these improvement to the City for the community.
Mayor Ashby stated that the Fall Clean Up will begin on October 8th and Leaf Vacuuming will begin on October 15th. He complimented Jeff Schwartz for managing the roadwork projects that are taking place.
Mayor Ashby reminded and encouraged residents to take part in Balloon Fest this coming weekend.
Mayor Ashby stated that the last meeting in July was the first meeting at the new City Hall location although the offices had not been moved yet. He stated that the transition and move went very smoothly with no disruption in services to the residents. He reviewed what was discussed at the Open House earlier in the evening including the recent accomplishments of the City of Centralia. He noted the importance of being fiscally responsible, the improvements of the roadways, improvements to the housing in the community, the addition of a hotel and finally the new City Hall location that is now in the footprint of the downtown area. He added that these are all great improvements that will positively help Centralia in the future.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Councilman Jones and seconded by Councilman Smith to Adjourn the meeting.
Ayes: Councilman Jones, Councilman Smith, Councilman Sauer, Councilman Marshall and Mayor Ashby Nays: None
A majority of the Council voting aye, the motion carried, and the meeting was adjourned at 6:32 p.m.
https://cityofcentralia.org/vertical/sites/%7BFC680FE7-BE5C-4903-A103-67AF5EF51655%7D/uploads/8_-_August_13_2018.pdf
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