The Gillespie City Council on Monday night authorized upward of $58,000 in contracts to replace the roof on the Police Department building and make long-awaited repairs to the roof of the city hall/civic center complex. In other action, the council discussed possible problems with building inspections and building permits, approved trick-or-treating dates and times, and […]

The Benld Civic Center may be in line for a major facelift, members of the Benld City Council were told Monday night during the council’s regular monthly meeting. Appearing before the council, retired Community Unit School District 7 administrator Ed Saracco said he recently was contacted by Rick DeStefane, who grew up in Benld and […]

Members of the Benld City Council on Monday night voted unanimously to approve an ordinance calling for an update to the city code regarding mobile homes located within the city limits and approved a resolution committing local funds for construction costs associated with a proposed sanitary sewer project. The ordinance to amend the city code […]

The Gillespie City Council on Monday night voted unanimously to offer a one-year dispatching services agreement for the Gillespie-Benld Ambulance Service at a cost of $12,000. The measure is subject to approval by the Ambulance Service Board of Trustees later this month. If approved by the Ambulance Board, the council could finalize the agreement as […]

Members of the Gillespie City Council voted unanimously Monday night to adopt a new appropriations ordinance to govern spending during the current fiscal year. Though not a budgetary document, the state-mandated annual appropriations ordinance sets spending ceilings for specific line items for the fiscal year. This year’s ordinance authorizes expenditures of $7.2 million, compared with […]

The Benld City Council on Monday night saw the swearing-in of recently re-elected aldermen and officers but otherwise dealt with routine business during a relatively brief monthly meeting. City Attorney Rick Verticchio, asking officeholders to place their right hands on his mother’s Bible, administered oaths of office to newly re-elected Mayor Jim Kelly, City Clerk […]

A newly seated Gillespie City Council on Monday night got its first glimpse of a proposed ordinance to govern the use of fireworks within the city limits. The draft ordinance is a response to numerous complaints last year regarding allegedly irresponsible fireworks displays, some of which endangered private property. Additionally, the council awarded several facade […]

Benld City Council members on Monday night approved Mayor Jim Kelly’s appointment of Ald. John Balzraine to serve as the council’s liaison to the Benld Public Library Board of Trustees and voted to amend the rental agreement for city-owned facilities to reflect current COVID restrictions. The council ratified Kelly’s appointment of Balzraine shortly after the […]

Members of the Gillespie City Council on Monday night accepted the resignation of long-serving City Attorney Kevin Polo, approved an environmentally friendly bee-keeping project at the city’s water treatment facility site, and approved a $190,000 payment to Haier Plumbing and Heating and Curry and Associates as the city’s aggressive water infrastructure replacement project winds down. […]

Members of the Gillespie City Council voted Monday night to draft a “letter of support” authorizing Peace Corps Fellow Ethan Fogg to initiate work on a plan to guide the city’s long-term economic development efforts. The council also approved a measure to increase bulk sewage rates and voted to hire a full-time police officer. Fogg […]