City of Centralia City Council Met Feb. 22.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
Per Senate Bill 2135, the City Council for Centralia, Illinois met via video conference. Mayor Williams called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Present: Mayor Williams, Councilman Jones, Councilman Smith, Councilman Sauer, & Councilman Marshall (Mayor Williams was present at City Hall and all others attended remotely)
Absent: None
Staff Members Participating Physically at City Hall: Lowell Crow, City Manager; Luke Behme, City Attorney; Bill Agee, City Treasurer; Gayla Harting, Community Development Director; and Kim Enke, City Clerk
Staff Members Participating Electronically: Michelle Liggett, Finance Director; Jeff Schwartz, Public Works Director; Chief Lynch, Fire Department and Chief Dodson, Police Department
PRAYER & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Williams led the Pledge of Allegiance.
AMENDMENTS AND/OR ADDITIONS TO AGENDA
None
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Comments were submitted prior to the meeting and were read and shared by the City Clerk. Vernell Burris commented that he would like to know when the Council will return to open meetings.
Two proclamations were presented by the Council and read by the City Clerk including Supermarket Employee Day and Essential Worker Day.
CONSENT AGENDA
A Motion was made by Councilman Smith and seconded by Councilman Sauer to Approve Items 1- 7 of the Consent Agenda.
1. Approval Of The Minutes Of The February 8, 2021 City Council Meeting
2. Approval Of The Minutes Of The February 17, 2021 Special Meeting
3. Approval Of Payrolls And Vouchers In The Amount Of $736,976.90
4. Receive And Place On File The Monthly Treasurer’s Report As Of January 31, 2021
5. Approval of Request to Use Lake Centralia by the Southern Illinois All-Stars Fishing Club For Fishing Tournaments in 2021
6. A Resolution Confirming Appointments Of Certain Individuals To Various Boards And Commissions Of The City Of Centralia
7. Request To Use Fairview Park By Conquer Chiari on September 25, 2021
Ayes: Councilman Jones, Councilman Smith, Councilman Sauer, Councilman Marshall, and Mayor Williams
Nays: None
A majority of the Council voting aye, the motion carried.
REPORTS AND COMMUNICATIONS
None
BIDS
City Manager Crow explained that there were two bids for aggregate and one company was the low bidder for CA6 and one was the low bidder for CA7/CA11. Councilman Sauer asked if Public Works Director Schwartz was comfortable with the bid amounts. Director Schwartz stated that the price has stayed approximately the same and materials have not increased much. A motion was made by Councilman Sauer and seconded by Councilman Jones to Approve The Bid Received for Aggregate Materials for 2021 Public Works Maintenance From Brink Bros. Grain & Trucking, Inc. and Beelman Logistics, LLC.
Ayes: Councilman Jones, Councilman Smith, Councilman Sauer, Councilman Marshall, and Mayor Williams
Nays: None
A majority of the Council voting aye, the motion carried.
City Manager Crow stated that General Contractors was the single bidder and the bid was approximately $400 more than last year. Director Schwartz stated that this bid was basically the same as last year as well and the material is cold patch for the roadways. A motion was made by Councilman Jones and seconded by Councilman Smith to Approve The Bid Received for Bituminous Materials for 2021 Public Works Maintenance From General Contractors, Inc.
Ayes: Councilman Jones, Councilman Smith, Councilman Sauer, Councilman Marshall, and Mayor Williams
Nays: None
A majority of the Council voting aye, the motion carried.
City Manager Crow stated that two bidders submitted bids and this bid was also similar to the bid last year. A motion was made by Councilman Smith and seconded by Councilman Jones to Approve The Bid Received for Concrete Materials for 2021 Public Works Maintenance From Beelman Ready Mix, Inc.
Ayes: Councilman Jones, Councilman Smith, Councilman Sauer, Councilman Marshall, and Mayor Williams
Nays: None
A majority of the Council voting aye, the motion carried.
City Manager Crow stated that this bid was for the force main near the golf course. He reported that the bid was less than what was budgeted. He noted that there were 5 bidders for the project. Director Schwartz stated that this project came in $5,000 less than expected. He noted that this project needs to be completed due to the problems with the lift station in that area. A motion was made by Councilman Smith and seconded by Councilman Marshall to Approve The Bid From Furlong Excavating Inc. For The Greenview Road Force Main Replacement Project In The Amount Of $18,070.20.
Ayes: Councilman Jones, Councilman Smith, Councilman Sauer, Councilman Marshall, and Mayor Williams Nays: None
A majority of the Council voting aye, the motion carried.
ORDINANCES
None
RESOLUTIONS
None
OTHER BUSINESS
Mayor Williams led the discussion of in person meetings, he noted his concern of how many people could attend and how it could be done. Councilman Jones stated that he was aware of the decreasing positivity rates of COVID-19 and that he would be in favor of a meeting that stayed within the guidelines at this point. Councilman Smith stated that he is not ready yet to attend in person. He explained that by March the variants could cause another increase in cases and there is still a limitation on the number that can attend which will cause issues. Councilman Sauer stated that the number of deaths is over 500,000 and he doesn’t want the meetings to be a spreading event. He stated that it is good to know that the numbers are declining but given the history of the virus, he would like to wait another month and put it on the agenda again for discussion in a month. Councilman Marshall stated that he agreed with Councilman Sauer and Councilman Smith to wait a month or two. He stated that there is no reason to rush it. He stated that the vaccinations will also help lower the number of cases and the longer they can wait, the safer they will be. Mayor Williams stated that he would like to know what other communities are doing. City Manager Crow stated that the communities continue to watch the rates to determine how they should meet and the number of public attendees. He noted that the number of public allowed to attend in the meetings would be approximately 12 people to meet the requirements for Centralia. Mayor Williams stated that he agreed that it should be on the agenda again next month for further discussion.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None
REPORTS
City Treasurer Agee stated that the Governor’s proposed fiscal year 2022 budget at this time includes a 10% decrease in the Local Government Distributive Funds (LGDF) which is income tax. He stated that the IML is opposed to this and hopes this is prevented from happening. Councilman Sauer asked what the dollar amount would be for the City of Centralia. Treasurer Agee stated that is would be approximately $140,000 based off of the projected fiscal year 2021 figures.
City Manager Crow stated that there has been a lot of inquires about the trash collection. He stated that he had a conference call with Republic and they are providing an extra truck or possibly two in the area. He stated that they will be collecting the extra bags. He stated that they had some issues with trucks being stuck in alleys and now that the snow is melting, they are beginning to get the trucks into those areas. He thanked Director Jeff Schwartz and his crews for their work during the heavy snowstorm. He stated that Centralia is not like some of the other cities that have 14-18 plows. He stated that Centralia has a front end loader and 5 plows and one of them broke down during the storm. He stated that the crews worked around the clock to open up the roadways. He stated that the crews now are handling shutoff and turn ons since there have been a large number of residents with frozen and broken lines in their homes. He stated that water shut offs have not been done and will be pushed back until all of the maintenance has been completed.
Councilman Jones expressed his appreciation to the crews concerning the snow removal and water maintenance related to the winter storm and weather. He also commended the Police and Fire Department that continued to get out and answer calls during the weather as well.
Councilman Smith expressed his appreciation also with the staff and crews concerning all of the winter weather related work recently.
Councilman Sauer also thanked the entire public works staff that worked during the extreme temperatures and weather to do their jobs.
Councilman Marshall echoed the other Councilmen thanking the staff for their work during the winter storm. He noted that the trash is behind a week in his neighborhood as well and was glad to hear that it is being corrected.
Mayor Williams also thanked Director Schwartz and the crews during the winter weather. Mayor Williams also noted that there was a power failure during the storm and stated that the Council should be looking at how to get this information out to the residents. He stated that it would help the citizens to know what is going on. Councilman Smith noted that he has Ameren for power as well and is able to receive texts and messages from them to be alerted about their outages and updates. He asked the Clerk if residents can use Nixle for the city in the same way. Clerk Enke explained that the Nixle system can be used by all residents to get alerts concerning the city by signing up on the City website with their phone number or email address. Mayor Williams noted that he suspects many of the Councilmen received calls about the power outage.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Councilman Sauer and seconded by Councilman Smith To Adjourn The Meeting To Closed Session Under 5ILCS 120/2(C)(1) The Appointment, Employment, Compensation, Discipline, Performance, Or Dismissal Of Specific Employees, Specific Individuals Who Serve As Independent Contractors In A Park, Recreational, Or Educational Setting, Or Specific Volunteers Of The Public Body Or Legal Counsel For The Public Body, Including Hearing Testimony On A Complaint Lodged Against An Employee, A Specific Individual Who Serves As An Independent Contractor In A Park, Recreational, Or Educational Setting, Or A Volunteer Of The Public Body Or Against Legal Counsel For The Public Body To Determine Its Validity, And Under 5 ILCS 120/2(C)(21), For The Semi-Annual Review Of The Minutes Of The Meetings Lawfully Closed.
Ayes: Councilman Jones, Councilman Smith, Councilman Sauer, Councilman Marshall, and Mayor Williams
Nays: None
A majority of the Council voting aye, the motion carried, and the meeting was adjourned at 6:28 p.m.
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