Gillespie Lake (Archived photo)

Members of the Gillespie City Council on Monday night debated the hiring of seasonal workers at Gillespie Lake, discussed the possibility of revamping the city’s liquor license structure, addressed problems with receiving payments from water customers paying online and discussed derelict properties within the city limits. But the council took formal action on only a handful of issues during the 90-minute session.

The council voted to give the Lake Committee power to act on the issue of hiring three seasonal employees to work at Gillespie Lake this summer, but the discussion drifted into a more detailed examination of lake revenues and expenditures projected for the coming fiscal year. Ald. Steve Kluthe said the committee received about 10 applications for three summer positions at the lake. Two of those positions would work in the lake office/store and one would be assigned to outdoor maintenance work. He said two office workers are needed because their duties also include taking care of camping areas, picking up trash, taking care of restroom facilities and patrolling the swimming beach for litter. The outdoor maintenance person primarily would assist Lake Supervisor Gary Thornhill and perform work under Thornhill’s direction.

In the past, Kluthe noted, the city hired only one seasonal worker for the lake each summer.

“We’ve increased the amount of acreage at both lakes,” he said. “Last year was just amazing. We’ve doubled in almost everything—size, business, activity, everything. One person can’t do it all now.”

Kluthe said much of the outdoor work at the lake involves lifting that requires two people. He said he and Ald. Frank Barrett, also a member of the Lake Committee, had assisted Thornhill in past summers with chores such as pulling up buoys and other jobs requiring more than one person.

“Gary is in the union now,” Kluthe said. “That limits our ability to do that now because it could result in a grievance.”

Responding to a comment from City Attorney Kevin Polo, Kluthe confirmed the seasonal worker hired to do outside work at the lake would work exclusively at the lake. Polo had pointed out that the city’s contract with the Laborers Union prohibits the seasonal worker from being assigned to do Street Department work in town.

Kluthe said the committee is proposing hiring the outdoor maintenance worker at $8.74 per hour. Among the applicants for the available positions are two who have worked in the lake office during past summers and are likely to be favored for those positions. The employees will work from April through October and will be allowed to log no more than 30 hours per week. Some weeks, Kluthe said, the employees may work less than 30 hours depending upon need.

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City Treasurer Dan Fisher concurred that additional employees may be needed at the lake, but he cautioned the council to be wary about committing to additional expenditures.

“The only thing I’d want you to do is to come up with some kind of a budget for the lake for the fiscal year,” Fisher said. The current fiscal year ends April 30. Fisher reviewed the net revenue generated from the lake for the past five years. For the years 2013 through 2016, the lake generated profits ranging from $10,000 to $60,000, according to Fisher. Last year, however, the lake posted a loss of $63,000, largely due to expenditures for infrastructure improvements that included electrifying campsites, reopening the swimming beach and remodeling the office/store building.

“We raised rates on some things but we still have to be cautious about how we allocate our money,” Fisher said.

“I knew when you read the numbers for 2017 that it was going to look bad,” Kluthe said. “Our infrastructure out there was below par and we had to spend some money upfront just to get back to par. We have done things now that are permanent that we’re not going to have to be going back to. I think it’s going to be better for the city this year at the lake.”

“If you haven’t been out to the lake lately,” said Ald. Jerry Dolliger, “there have been days when I’ve counted 75 people at the beach.”

“That’s why we had to increase the size of the parking lot,” Kluthe commented.

With the official lake opening for the season set for April 2, the council voted to give the committee power to act on hiring new workers on a motion by Kluthe, seconded by Ald. Diana Brickey.

Later in the meeting, the council entered into executive session for 15 minutes at the request of Ald. Barrett. Barrett said he needed to discuss a “lake lot problem” that could involve the acquisition of real estate and “maybe” litigation. No action followed the closed-door session.

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Also related to the lake, the council approved lake lot leases for Brandy Cole to lease a full-time residential lot at 15051 Oak Lane on the New Lake, and for Anthony and Mary Brooks to lease a lot at 41 Bishop Drive located across from the campground.

WATER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT

On a motion by Ald. Dave Tucker, seconded by Ald. Jan Weidner, the council approved the purchase of bond insurance to cover Mayor John Hicks, Treasurer Fisher and City Clerk Frances Smith for financial transactions related to a USDA grant to subsidize a $10 million water system infrastructure project expected to get underway this summer. City Attorney Polo said the USDA requires city officials who may sign checks drawn on grant funds to be bonded to the level of the largest annual payment to service the loan. He said the city’s insurer, Gazda Insurance Agency, Carlinville, provided a bid of $528 per official for a total of $1,584 per year to bond the three officials to the amount of $265,000.

Also related to the water infrastructure project, the council authorized city officials to open multiple special bank accounts for grant money awarded by USDA. Fisher said establishing the accounts is another requirement of the grant award. He indicated, however, that the city may not have to establish a relationship with a separate banking institution, suggesting it may be possible for the city to draw down on grant funds directly from USDA as those funds are needed to pay contractors for the project.

On a motion by Tucker, the council also authorized the issuance of a request for proposals and requests for quotes regarding the possible construction of a solar panel field at the water treatment plant that would provide energy needs for the plant. Fisher said the project if the city chooses to proceed with it, would be paid for with USDA grant and loan funds awarded for the water infrastructure project.

“So this is just to get a price?” Ald. Weidner asked.

“Yes, this would be just to get a price,” Fisher responded. “If the price exceeds our resources, the project would die.”

AUDIT BID

After several minutes of discussion, the council voted unanimously to accept a bid from Tawfall & Flemming, CPAs, Litchfield, to perform the city’s annual audit at a cost not to exceed $12,000. The firm has conducted the city audit for the past several years.

“Do we want to shop around?” asked Ald. Barrett.

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“We’ve tried before and no one wants to take it because we aren’t set up to use QuickBooks,” Mayor Hicks responded. “Once we get QuickBooks set up in the clerk’s office, I think this might get cheaper.”

Fisher said the clerk’s office is working on converting to QuickBooks, a popular computer accounting program, but Tawfall & Flemming has encouraged the city to condense the number of separate funds it uses to track expenditures and revenue. He said there may be some accounts that could be reasonably consolidated to reduce the number of funds, but he said the council would have to take action on that.

“It’s a council decision,” he said. “I don’t want to be responsible for making that call. The council needs to think about it because once you do it, you can’t go back.”

Kluthe asked if the city could be provided with a list of funds “so we can discuss it at another meeting and say, ‘these are combinable’ or ‘these overlap’.”

“There really is no overlap,” Fisher said. “For example, it would make sense to combine the Lake and Water funds, but with the bond issue (for the water infrastructure project) there are limitations on what we can do.”

Ultimately the council agreed to set aside time during a committee meeting later this month to discuss the possible consolidation of funds with office staff and a representative from Tawfall & Flemming to determine which funds can be merged and which ones must remain separate.

POTENTIAL LIQUOR LICENSE REVAMP

Mayor Hicks again urged the council to consider revising the system of liquor license classifications to reflect the nature of license holders’ actual businesses.

“I’ve asked you guys before to come up with a fee schedule,” Hicks said. “I think we need to go back and look at that to set up a fee schedule according to what the establishments actually do.”

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Hicks said he was bringing the issue back to the council after being approached by a representative of the one of city’s convenience stores that holds a package liquor license but is considering the installation of video gambling machines. Since the city has no license to cover gambling establishments, Hicks said the city has no control over such situations.

“As long as he has a package liquor license, I don’t think there’s anything we can do,” he said.

“None of the quick stores have (gambling) machines,” Ald. Weidner noted.

“No,” Hicks replied, “but it’s going to come.”

“You have a lot of leeway on what your can charge for a liquor license, but not so much for gambling,” Attorney Polo advised, noting that gambling license fees are governed by state law.

Hicks suggested the city should have more classifications of liquor licenses to cover establishments that serve liquor but not food, serve liquor and food, serve liquor in conjunction with video gambling, sell package liquor only or sell package liquor in an establishment that also offers video gambling.

“Would this be an expansion of our liquor licenses?” Weidner asked.

“No,” said Hicks. “It would expand our categories and, maybe, expand our fees.”

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While taking no formal action, council members generally agreed the issue should be taken up by committee to return to the council with a fully developed proposal at a later date.

Currently about a dozen local establishments hold licenses to serve or sell alcoholic beverages.

ONLINE BANKING ISSUES

Council members discussed but took no action on the issue of delayed payments to the Water Department resulting from customers using online banking systems to pay their bills. Even though customers may make their online payments before the due date, Hicks said, the payment may not reach the city until well after the due date.

“We’ve been lenient so far,” Hicks said, adding that the city expects to start charging late fees for online payments that arrive after the due date. “If they’re paying online and they get a late fee, it’s not our fault. It’s either a problem with the bank or the post office.”

“It’s not the bank or the post office,” Ald. Weidner said, “it’s the processor.”

Weidner said processors, some located as far away as North Carolina, hold online payments for a period of time and then mails a check to the city for the total.

“Theoretically, the customer gets a bill and it’s due on the 15th,” Treasurer Fisher explained. “They go online a pay the bill on the 14th, a day before the due date, but we may not get the payment until the 22nd.” He said waiving late fees for such payments would be a problem because the software used for Water Department billing automatically adds a late fee for payments received after the due date.

“I called one of the processors, and they told me it’s not their problem,” Hicks said.

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Weidner suggested the solution is for customers to take into account that payments are being delayed and making their online payments well ahead of the due date, or pressuring their bank to find a different processor. “I think it’s up to the customer to get ahold of their bank and tell them it’s a problem,” she said.

DERELICT PROPERTIES

Mayor Hicks asked the aldermen to canvass their wards to document derelict properties.

“We have some properties that need to be cleaned up, torn down, sued or something,” Hicks said. Specifically, he took note of a house on Walnut Street that was damaged by a fire a year ago, and a house on Shelby Street hat has been vacant for two decades. He asked the aldermen to come back to the council with addresses and photos of properties in need of abatement. “I think it’s time for us to do something about some of these,” he said.

ILLINOIS MAIN STREET PROGRAM

On a motion by Kluthe, seconded by Brickey, the council voted to give the Public Works Committee power to act on a proposal to revive the Illinois Main Street program, which provided grants to revitalize downtown districts in Illinois communities. Treasurer Fisher reported that the state previously participated in the program but the state’s Main Street office fell victim to budget cuts at the state level. Since that time, the national Main Street program has “agreed to step in and run an Illinois branch” of the program, Fisher said.

Under the proposal, communities that want to participate in the program can join for three years at half the normal cost of joining, Fisher said. He said dues normally were $2,000 per year, meaning Gillespie could participate for three years at a cost of $3,000. The deadline for making a decision, however, is in April, necessitating the move to give the committee power to act.

Fisher cautioned that if the city decides to participate, it will require hiring a full-time employee to run the program locally. “That’s something we need to keep in mind,” he said.

“The Main Street program has a really good national reputation,” he said. “It’s been around a long time and it’s highly regarded.”

GARBAGE TRUCK DISCUSSION

Resident Rick Fulton addressed the council regarding damage being caused to city streets by heavy garbage trucks operating in the city. Ald. Jerry Dolliger said the trucks also have damaged culverts in some areas.

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“They’re doing some serious damage to our roads,” Fulton said.

Attorney Polo noted the City of Benld implemented a single-provider system for trash hauling, adding the cost of trash service to residents’ water bills. “That opens a whole other set of issues,” he said.

As an alternative, Fisher said the city could require a license for trash haulers to operate in the city, setting the cost of the licenses on the basis of the size of trucks the company uses.

“We can charge them an appropriate amount as a license to do business in the city and earmark that money for roads,” Fisher said. “We’d have to be aware that whatever that fee is, they would pass that on to their customers.”

Another option, he said, the city could establish weight limits on city streets, but those limits would have to comply with Department of Transportation guidelines.

OTHER ACTION

In other action, the council:

• Approved a resolution to seek permission from the Illinois Department of Transportation to close a portion of Illinois Route 4 in downtown Gillespie from noon, May 31, through 8 a.m., June 1, to accommodate the Black Diamond Days street festival.
• Approved a resolution to modify the contractual wage rate for some city employees. Attorney Polo said the resolution primarily acknowledges the addition of Lake Manager Gary Thornhill to the union contract and raises wages for police dispatchers to $12.36 per hour, which is comparable with wage raises given to other city employees.
• Generally agreed to allow Tim Disherlia to use a portion of a city-owned parcel adjacent to Disherlia’s property in the 300 block of Park Avenue to plant a small garden this summer. Mayor Hicks told Disherlia the permission was contingent upon Disherlia keeping the garden clean and weed-free, and locating the garden in an area that won’t interfere with the city’s access to utility easements.
• Approved a $180 reimbursement to Fisher for attending a Rural Affairs Council meeting in Springfield. Fisher said he met several people during the meeting who he has invited to Gillespie to help the council with various issues ranging from participating in Illinois Main Street to better utilizing TIF and Enterprise Zone districts.
• Tabled a request to vacate a portion of Third Street to accommodate a resident’s plan to build a garage, pending receipt of additional information. Polo said the proposed location of the garage may not require vacating any of the street.
• Approved purchase of a machine to add lime to water at the water treatment plant at a cost of $6,476.90.
• Discussed the possibility of purchasing a pump to remove water when making repairs to water main breaks. During a recent break, the city had to rent a pump at a cost of $3,000 and pay $10,000 for 24 hours of labor. “Those two figures together would have bought a rebuilt pump,” Hicks said. The cost of a pump of the size need reportedly ranges from $12,000 for a rebuilt unit to $30,000 for a new one.
• Voted to spend $560 to defray the cost of planting 28 planters in downtown Gillespie. Ald. Tucker, who moved to approve the expenditure, said this may be the last year for the planter program for a least a year since the upcoming water system infrastructure project is expected to require temporary removal of some sidewalks in the downtown area.

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