WF City Council approves purchase of garbage truck, sale of surplus property at auction
Monday, March 24th, 2008During their regularly schedule meeting Tuesday morning at City Hall, members of West Frankfort’s city council approved an application for funds from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) for water and sewer utility adjustments along Route 37. Public Property Commissioner Jack Warren related that the adjustments were tied-in with IDOT’s effort to widen and resurface Route 37 from Johnston City north to town. “We have to move a bunch of utilities,” mayor Marion Presley said at the council’s February 12 meeting, adding that moving the utilities back from the highway could cost as much as $400,000 that the city had not expected to spend, prompting the application for IEPA funds. Warren agreed that the adjustments would come at a considerable price and the city would “need a little help financing” the changes.
The council also moved to accept a bid from George Jones Excavating for nearly $43,000 for improvements to Mark Twain Road, with Street Commissioner Frank Browning noting that the road would have to be widened to accommodate FedEx Ground trucks. Browning added that four bids had been considered, with Jones Excavating having submitted the lowest. Council members also heard from Abby Williams of Abby Real Estate regarding a revolving loan. Williams said that while she had applied for a revolving loan to remodel her business’s building, the former site of Fielder’s Choice, the application had been neither accepted or denied and that Presley had recommended that she approach the council and ask for a vote on the matter. Williams also related that she had new figures to present before the council, and it was agreed that commissioners would look over the new set of numbers prior to voting on the matter at an upcoming meeting.
Also approved was the adoption of an ordinance for the leasing of specific areas of the business incubator to Franklin-Williamson Human Services, Inc. Economic developer Steve Cook pointed out that the ordinance was “basically for Franklin-Williamson’s annual audit explaining that their lease had expired. He said the move was “all part of a trail they have to have for the auditor” and would result in “basically no changes.”
Commissioners also approved the purchase of a garbage truck at a cost of just over $119,000 from St. Louis-based Key Equipment and Supply Company. Browning said that the aforementioned price included a $15,000 trade-in credit the city had been awarded for its old truck, a price which Browning “thought was exceptionally good.” He added that the new truck was a “much-needed item right now,” and estimated that it would arrive in 60 to 90 days. Also approved was a pair of items related to ten parcels of surplus public property located on Main, Horn and Clark Streets, which will be sold at public auction. Presley said that the parcels were formerly the locations of buildings that have since been demolished. Browning commended the mayor’s work on the matter, pointing out that he had worked under four previous chief executives who were unable to make similar progress as far as that particular topic was concerned. Presley noted that the public auction and the appropriate tax stipulations would be advertised in the newspaper.
The payment of bills in the amount of just over $53,000 was also approved, with Finance Commissioner Chris McPhail noting that more than $2,600 had gone to pay for legal fees, in excess of $28,000 had gone to pay for the city’s electric bill, more than $6,000 had gone toward landfill charges, more than $9,000 had been spent on fuel and close to another $6,5000 had been spent on day-to-day expenditures.
Police and Fire Commissioner Leon Sailliez reported that “everything is going all right” in both of the departments he oversees, adding that he has fielded no complaints. “I don’t think we wrecked or totaled anything (during this month’s ice storms),” he noted, before commending the street department on a job well done when severe winter weather set in.
Warren added that things “seem to be going well” in both the water and sewer departments, pointed out that his work with engineers in regards to a new sewage treatment plant has been ongoing daily. “We’re doing a good job,” he asserted. “Things are going well.
Browning related that for the past two weeks his employees had spent most of their time plowing snow and he had received a lot of compliments on their work. “Everybody’s been real gracious and we appreciate it,” said Browning.
Presley agreed that the department had done an “excellent” job, pointing out that it’s far more difficult to remove accumulations of ice from the city’s streets than it is snow. The mayor added that he continues to work on the annexation process that would aid the potential development of a second Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district in West Frankfort. “I met with Keith Moran (of Development and Municipal Initiatives, LLC.) for two hours yesterday,” Presley told those gathered at city hall. “The TIF is moving along pretty good. Faster than (Moran) expected.” Presley added that the Ramsey Heights area, portions of the Church of God campground west of Weeks and a large swath of land behind Kroger’s are all being considered for potential annexation.
Members of the Nason Mining Company Regulators (MCR), a cowboy action-shooting club that is currently leasing about fifty acres of the former Cowboy World property, then approached the council. “We are a not-for-profit organization, we pay our bills and do improvements on our range,” a statement prepared by the group read. “The rest we give away to needy families… We are asking the city to consider donating the property to us with the understanding that if the Nason MCR club is ever dissolved, the property would be given back to the city.” Council members agreed to look over the proposal, with a final decision coming as soon as the entity’s next meeting.
As initially reported in Tuesday’s edition of The Daily American, concerns about the contentious issue of the possibility of selling the Old City Lake were also raised at Tuesday morning’s city council meeting. During the audience participation portion of the meeting, several local outdoorsmen who make regular use of the lake and others who live or own property nearby questioned whether the lake was for sale. “Not yet,” was Presley’s reply. “We just got an appraisal offer. But we’ve had a lot of inquiries regarding whether or not it’s for sale.”
The mayor added that the lake had been most recently appraised last year, with engineers asserting that in excess of $1,000,000 worth of repairs were required to fix the lake’s dam and spillway. The council as it is currently comprised was unable to answer whether water usage fees collected from Old Ben when the nearby mine was still in operation had been put into the lake trust fund or the city’s general account. Commissioner Warren confirmed, however, that the proceeds from the sale of the caretaker’s trailer had been channeled into the previously mentioned trust. Warren speculated that some of that money might have been used for minor upkeep, electric bills, repairs made in the wake of the destruction of water hydrants used for camping and the caretaker’s salary. “I don’t know what all that money was used for,” he said. “I wasn’t here then.”
Warren did point out that during his time overseeing the city’s lakes, the Old Lake had been “an absolute drain on the city of West Frankfort. It made us absolutely no money.” Warren went on to add that while the express purpose of the lake may not be to make money, “we’re certainly not in the business of losing money for the people of West Frankfort. It’s a liability to us,” he continued. “If you can figure out some way to make it profitable that’s fine with me — I’d love to keep it.”
The question of who exactly is in charge of policing the lake was also raised, with several members of the audience asserting that it was difficult to coerce law enforcement officials to regularly patrol the lake premises. “We have trouble getting law enforcement entities out there,” Warren agreed. “It’s hard for our city police to go ten miles out of town to check it out.”
“I don’t think we can afford to provide a police force for a few hunters and fishermen at the expense of the other taxpayers,” added Presley. Finance Commissioner Chris McPhail pointed out that whoever purchases the lake, should it eventually be sold, would be responsible for paying in excess of one million dollars to repair the dam and spillway.
“I think we need to pursue selling it,” Browning said of the lake, also terming it a liability. Audience members also questioned whether a grant could be procured to facilitate the necessary repairs. “We’re constantly working on grants,” Presley pointed out, with McPhail adding that “most recreation grants only pay about fifty-percent,” which would still make the city responsible for the remaining cost of repairs. McPhail added that he has proposed in the past that a “sticker fee” be implemented on boats that travel the lake, but noted that a similar fee would be difficult to assess for the many four-wheelers that make regular use of the lake’s trails. Even if the fee were instituted, McPhail continued, “I don’t know if it would be enough to maintain the boat ramp and dock.”
