Keithsburg City Council Minutes

June 8, 2009

Mayor Arnold Askew opened the meeting at 6:30 PM

Alderman Present: Linda O'Brien, Maxine Henry, Davina Logsdon, Neil Nylin, George Askew, and Roy Pritchett.

Minutes of May 2009 Meetings: Neil made a motion to accept; George seconded, and accepted by all.

Cash Receipts: Linda made a motion to accept; Neil seconded, and accepted by all.

Cash Disbursements: Davina made a motion to accept; George seconded, and accepted by all.

Committees: Mayor Askew appointed Roy as Mayor Pro-Tem. Davina made a motion to accept Roy as Mayor Pro-Tem; Maxine seconded, and accepted by all. Arnold then appointed Tammy Adams, Todd Christie and Rhonda Christie as the Ballpark Commissioners; Arnold, Roy, Maxine, Linda, Terri, Nancy and Attorney Rillie for the Revolving Loan Fund Committee and all other committees were the council as a whole.

MSA Professional Engineering Services: Steve Haring from the Galva office and Paul Loete, P.E. from Quad City office were both present to introduce themselves to the council and explained what their engineering company had to offer the City of Keithsburg. They met with Arnold and George Lyle last week and listened to some of the concerns they had and they are confident they could assist our community. They are a Municipal Engineering planning firm that works with several small communities including New Boston and Joy. Some of the items they feel they could help us with but not limited to is infrastructure, financial, motor fuel tax planning, parks, fire station buildings, surveying, grants, water, and wastewater, general knowledge to help the city. Attorney Rillie asked if they had any experience with Marina projects. Paul explained they just finished a marina project. Paul will send a master service agreement that has all the legal issues for Bob to look at. After signing the agreement, the city could hire them on individual projects. Roy made a motion to accept; Neil seconded, and accepted by all.

Mercer County Nursing Home ALS Walk: Sabrina Harrison was present and asked for a donation for the ALS walk for Lou Gehrig's Disease. The walk is on July 11, 2009 at 10:00am. Neil made a motion to donate $200.00; Maxine seconded, and accepted by all. Check to be wrote to ALS foundation.

Water and Sewer: Steve Nylin would like to have Liquid Engineering come and clean the inside of the water tower again this fall. They dive in the tank to clean it and there is no loss of water for fire protection throughout the process. This only needs done every 2-3 years and Steve was not present to inform the council how long it had been. Maxine made a motion to table this until next month; Linda seconded, and accepted by all.

Past Due Sewer Bills: The council discussed a procedure for handling sewer accounts that have their own wells with active sewer service and not paying their bills. They discussed digging up and capping off the sewer lines on properties that are simply not paying and yet living in the household. Roy explained the city has no way to locate the laterals. Roy suggested if we cap the sewer, he recommends charging a 1,000-2,000 reconnect fee. After much discussion, the council agreed to have Attorney Robert Rillie send letters to the individuals then follow up by suing them and making them pay the court costs. Terri will get Attorney Robert Rillie all the information regarding the properties and he will proceed.

Streets and Sidewalks: George explained he is trying to keep up with the mowing.

George Lyle's Health Insurance: Neil made a motion to go into executive session at the end of meeting; Linda seconded, and accepted by all.

Properties that need mowed: There have been numerous complaints regarding people not mowing their properties in town. The council discussed the city mowing the properties and then the property owners will be charged $100.00 per mowing. The flooded properties are no exception. The city will keep track of the amount of times a property is mowed through the summer and then put a lien on the property at the end of the mowing season. Maxine made a motion to accept for all properties not just the flooded properties; Davina seconded, and accepted by all.

Fire Department Applications: Jerrold Wakeland, Sr.and Jesse Bullock applications. Maxine made a motion to accept both applications; Neil seconded, and accepted by all.

Police Department: Arnold explained the agreement with Seaton for police protection is not valid until we receive the signed contract from them. Terri had talked with Vickie from Seaton this afternoon and they wanted to know if we was going to add a section to the agreement explaining if a ticket was wrote in Seaton they would get the proceeds. Officer Engle suggested Seaton order a ticket book with Seaton on it and then there would be no questions. The council agreed.

Eric Carlson to Full-Time Police Schooling: The schooling costs $4,421.00 for room, board and 3 meals a day. As long as Eric passes, it is 100% reimbursable. Eric has agreed to sign a contract that if for some reason he doesn't pass he agrees to pay back the full cost of the schooling and he will also sign a contract agreeing to work for the City of Keithsburg for (2) years after the schooling. The council would have to pay him 40 hrs a week plus mileage for the 480-hour course. Maxine has Eric on the waiting list for August classes and he only has 6 months to complete the training from the hire date, therefore Arnold would hire when he deems it necessary. Officer John Stewart explained to the council that Eric has worked at the Mercer County Sheriff's Department for years as a correctional officer and he is very dedicated to his job. Neil made a motion for Arnold to hire Eric Carlson at his discretion; pay him $10.00 per hour for the 480 hour course; pay the $4,421.00 schooling cost; .52 cents a mile; he is to sign an agreement to pay the full cost of schooling back if he does not pass for any reason along with a contract that he will work for the city for at least 2 years; the city will purchase 1 full uniform, and the required t-shirts for school; Davina seconded, and accepted by all.

Police Department: Arnold explained the police department's laptop computer is missing and County is looking into this matter.

Campground: Paul collected $4,141.00 over Memorial Weekend. The council discussed mowing the south end of the campground and planting (3) trees that were donated by Tim Shoemaker. It will cost $150.00 for Bill Campbell to dig the trees and plant them. Arnold suggested mowing and rocking some campsites on the south end of the campground. Maxine made a motion to accept; Linda seconded, and accepted by all except Davina who abstained.

Campground Labor Day Weekend September 5, 2009 (Fireworks/Fishing Contest): Maxine asked for a $2,500 donation for fireworks plus $150.00 ($100.00 to be added to fishing fees for the adult prizes and the $50.00 to purchase (2) two children's prizes (15 and under). J&M will set off the display and carry the liability insurance. Neil made a motion to accept; Maxine seconded, and accepted by all except Roy and George. Motion carried.

Campground FEMA Project: Small Town Landscaping lowered their bid to $3,944.70 for grass seed, fertilizer, and landscaping labor. Linda made a motion to accept; Davina seconded, and accepted by all.

Ballpark: Mayor Askew explained Nelson Electric assisted with the repairs of the ballpark lights and we received a bill for $547.50. Two lights are out already.

Tennis Court: Mayor Askew explained years ago, the council approved to pour concrete at the ballpark for a new tennis court and he would like to proceed. The council approved.

Frisbee Golf: George Askew was asked if the city would like to put the (9) Frisbee Golf up for bid. George Lyle explained they are going to need painted soon. Roy explained at Coralville people wait in line to play Frisbee Golf. Davina made a motion to put them all up for bid as long as we can accept or reject any or all bids; Maxine seconded, and accepted by all.

Gazebo Park 4th & Main Street: Maxine wants to locate the property line and put up a privacy fence on the south side. George mentioned George Lyle has enough to worry about right now. Arnold suggested putting up a see through fence. Linda suggested talking to the renters, explaining the boundaries, and then asks them to clean things up. Maxine, Linda and Officer Engle will handle this issue.

Street Dance for Jerry's Ride: Joey Tharp owner of Joey T's was present and asked the council permission to close Main Street from 3rd Street to 5th Street and 4th Street from Jackson Street to Main Street at approximately 12:00pm (noon) on July 18, 2009 for a street dance for Jerry's Ride. They are expecting 100 plus bikes. Joey has agreed to put up snow fence to keep minors out of the area. There will be approximately 100 plus bikes. The activities may include (5) bands, raffle, auction, tattoo stand, 50/50 tickets (donations will go to the fire department). They are possibly going to have Dwyer & Michaels for entertainment. Arnold explained prior to the city issuing a special use permit, closing the streets in mention and allowing consumption of alcohol on the city streets the following things are required for all (3) three bar owners: submit a special use permit along with the $50.00 application fee to the city, show proof of a Dram Shop insurance policy with a rider for the additional area; and acquire a special permit from the Illinois Liquor Control Commissioner. Maxine made a motion to accept contingent upon all (3) bar owners meeting the requirements mentioned above, Linda seconded, and accepted by all.

Ice Cream Truck in Town: Arnold met the man that is driving around in the ice cream truck and he does not have any records of any wrong doings.

Prevailing Wage Ordinance: Roy made a motion to accept; George seconded, and accepted by all.

AmerenIP Franchise Ordinance: AmererIP will not be paying for our streetlights anymore. Roy and Neil do not accept. Arnold is going to ask a representative from AmerenIP to come to the July meeting.

Neil made a motion to go into executive to discuss personnel and litigation, Linda seconded, and accepted by all.

George Lyle's Health Insurance: Davina made a motion to renew George Lyle insurance policy for $715.00 per month for another year; Maxine seconded, and accepted by all.

Davina made motion to adjourn, Maxine seconded. Accepted by all.

Time: 8:35pm

Terri Gibson 

City Clerk