Members of the Community Unit School District 7 voted on Monday night to approve a resolution formalizing terms of an agreement under which the school district will commit about $160,000 in grant funds to the City of Gillespie to complete improvements on Plum Street.

The street became an issue for the both the school district and the city soon after CUSD 7 synchronized class start and end times at all three attendance centers. Previously, start and end times were staggered among the three buildings. The change necessitated routing 10 buses onto Plum Street each morning and afternoon.

City officials said the additional weight and traffic caused damage to Plum Street, causing them to consider prohibiting bus traffic on the street. School officials said rerouting buses off Plum Street would be less safe for students since it would require buses to cross traffic entering onto Illinois Route 16.

The improvement project includes milling repaving, drainage and reinforcement of the road base to support bus traffic. After the city secured an estimate of $200,000 for the work, the school district agreed to commit about $89,000 from the first round of Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) grant funds to the project—essentially subsidizing about half the costs of the project. A more recent estimate put the cost at $350,000.

With the increased cost, city officials said the city would be unable to undertake the project without additional funds, prompting the school board to vote last month to commit about $70,000 from a second round of CEJA grant money to the project.

The resolution approved Monday night outlines and documents “the terms under which the School District intends to provide funds . . . to assist in the Plum Street renovation project.” The resolution further states that the contribution of CEJA funds for Plum Street “does not create an expectation or an obligation for the School District to continuously contribute to or assist in the maintenance of Plum Street or any other City roadway.”

Additionally, the resolution affirms the city will not restrict the school district from using Plum Street after the project’s completion, and obligates the city to maintain the ditch on LJ Avenue on the west side of the school district’s property as well as a ditch between the football field and baseball complex.

DISTRICT FOCUS

During a District Focus segment, the school board was recognized as part of the district’s National School Board Month observance. Supt. Shane Owsley lauded the board members’ service and noted the current board has more than 70 years of experience in serving the school district.

The presentation included a PowerPoint presentation and a poem written by a CUSD 7 student.

In addition to setting school policy and making financial decisions, Owsley noted the board’s responses to emergency situations in the past—including the loss of Benld Elementary School to mine subsidence, repairing tornado damage to the high school, and continuing educational opportunities during the COVID pandemic and reopening classrooms in the aftermath.

ANNUAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

The board voted unanimously to approve the 2025 Annual Financial Disclosure. The document is required by the Securities Exchange Commission to document the district has or expects adequate revenue to service its bond debt. 

The disclosure references $8,810,000 in outstanding general obligation bonded debt, plus $1,320,000 remaining in alternate revenue bond debt. The total debt represents about 56 percent of the district’s debt limit, which is set at 13.8 percent of the district’s total equalized assessed valuation.

The disclosure, available for public inspection, also includes five years of data on total equalized assessed valuation, tax rates, tax revenue and fund balances.

SPECIAL EDUCATION PROCEDURES

Board members unanimously approved the Illinois Council of School Attorneys Special Education Procedures Assuring Implementation of Comprehensive Programming for Children with Disabilities. Supt. Shane Owsley said the policies in the document already are in place but the new procedures bring those policies together in a format recognized by the state.

The South Macoupin Association for Special Education, a cooperative that includes CUSD 7, Mount Olive and Staunton, is undergoing a routine state audit. The new procedures document is a technical requirement that ensures the cooperative is in compliance with state rules.

PERSONNEL

Following a brief executive session, the board voted unanimously to extend Supt. Owsley’s contract by one year. Owsley is employed on a five-year contract, meaning his employment is secured through June 30, 2030. 

The board also voted unanimously in separate actions to accept the upcoming retirements of two long-serving faculty members. Gillespie High School physical education teacher Rob Macias and science teacher Jeff Nehls will both retire at the end of the 2029-30 school year. Macias has been employed by the district for 32 years, while Nehls has chalked up 30 years in the district.

In other action, the board voted unanimously to appoint Mary Schuette as the high school prom sponsor, and hired Blake Middleton as a high school assistant boys baseball coach, pending a routine background check and documentation of certification.

Later in the meeting, the board approved a seniority list for both certificated and non-certificated employees. Senority listing is a routine item approved by the board on an annual basis.

The board also learned that non-certificated employees are ready to begin negotiations for a new contract.

Advertisement

Comments

comments

Members of the Benld City Council briefly discussed tentative plans that could potentially increase law enforcement’s presence in the community by partnering with the Macoupin County Sheriff’s Department. District 4 County Board member Ross Adden, Mount Olive, reported on preliminary discussions during the council’s regular monthly meeting on Monday, Jan. 19.

Adden said Ald. John Balzraine and he recently had a conversation about the possibility of boosting the county’s law enforcement presence in Benld and Mount Olive. 

“At this point in time, this is in the planning stages at the county level,” Adden said.

The County Board’s Public Safety Committee reportedly is looking at trying to get county deputies to spend more time in the area. One of the problems at this time is that only two deputies are on patrol in the evening, meaning a deputy could have to drive from the opposite side of the county to respond to a call.

“We’re trying to get costs together” Adden said. “Right now, we’re waiting until after the primary so we can deal with the Sheriff and whoever will be running for Sheriff.”

POTENTIAL DOWNTOWN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Casey Bevins introduced Brittany White, St. Louis, who is planning to purchase two downtown buildings owned by Bevins at 205 and 211 E. Central Avenue with an eye toward establishing new businesses in each.

Describing herself as an entrepreneur, White said she is seeking input about what type of businesses city government and the community would like to see. Mayor Jim Kelly suggested a “restaurant of something of that nature,” noting there are no local restaurants that are open for breakfast. Other suggestions included a bakery or a restaurant serving Asian foods.

“It will definitely be something you don’t have on your Main Street now,” White said. “I plan to be in one place for a long time. I want to be a part of the community.”

Kelly said she would need to get a business license from the city, adding the city would do all it could to help here.

“Believe me, we welcome all businesses,” he said.

WATER LEAK ORDINANCE

By a unanimous vote, the council approved an ordinance that will empower the city to shut off water services to a residence or business that has an unprepared water leak.

Under the ordinance, the city retains responsibility to water lines up to the water meter, but lines from the water meter to the service location is the responsibility of the property owner.

Once a leak has been identified, it’s the responsibility of the property owner to repair the leak in a reasonable amount of time if the leak is the property owner’s responsibility. If the property owner fails to repair the leak, the city is now empowered to shut off the water service until repairs are made.

APARTMENT INSPECTIONS

Council members also unanimously approved an ordinance apartments to inspected annually between the first of February and end of March. Apartments are distinguished from single family dwellings as any building with two or more living units.

Under the ordinance, the owners of apartment dwellings will be charged $25 per unit for the inspection. City Clerk Terri Koyne said she is sending letters to the owners of apartment buildings in the city to advise them of the change.

Previously, apartments were inspected when a tenant moved out and before a new tenant moved in. Single family rental houses will remain subject to that rule, with inspections charged at $100.

Koyne said she also is compiling of a list of rental properties where the water service is in the property owner’s name. City ordinance requires the water service to be in the tenant’s name, even though the property owner remains responsible for the bill when the tenant moves out.

LIFT STATION CONTRACT

In other action, the council approved a three-year contract with Vandevanter Engineering, Fenton, Mo. to service and maintain the city’s five sewer system lift stations. The cost for the service is $6,420 for the first two years of the three-year contract, with the price increasing to $6,741 for the final year.

WATER TOWER MAINTENANCE

Council members voted unanimously to enter into a $1,900 contract with Corrpro Companies, Inc., headquartered in Medina, Ohio, to conduct a water tower inspection and replace warning lights on the tower.

USED TRUCK

The council agreed to purchase a 1995 Ford truck from an individual for $4,000 and declare a 2002 Dodge Maintenance Department truck as surplus property. The Dodge will be offered for sale via sealed bids with a minimum bid of $500.

ZONING BOARD RESIGNATION

Early in the meeting, the council accepted “with regrets” the resignation of Norm Emmons from the city Zoning Board, and approved the Mayor’s appointment of Bill Sloan to replace Emmons.

Advertisement

ZONING QUESTION

The council referred Amanda Yeager to the Zoning Board after Yeager told the council she would like to have a parcel of land currently zoned as residential use to agricultural use. The eight-acre parcel is located across Illinois Route 138 from the Cabin Bar and Restaurant.

Yeager said she wants to sell the property and the zoning change would make the parcel more marketable if a potential buyer could use it to board horses.

The county’s zoning ordinance already classifies the land as agricultural land, contrary to the city’s zoning designation.

Koyne said she would contract the Zoning Board and set up a public hearing on the issue. The Zoning Board’s recommendation will be subject to final approval by the city council.

Comments

comments

SPRINGFIELD – Macoupin County has been issued a tentative property assessment equalization factor of 1.0000, according to David Harris, director of the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR).

The property assessment equalization factor, often called the “multiplier,” is the method used to achieve uniform property assessments among counties, as required by law. This equalization is particularly important because some of the state’s 6,600 local taxing districts overlap into two or more counties (e.g., school districts, junior college districts, fire protection districts). If there was no equalization among counties, substantial inequities among taxpayers with comparable properties would result.

State law requires property in Illinois to be assessed at one-third (1/3) of its market value. Farm property is assessed differently with farm homesites and dwellings subject to regular assessing and equalization procedures. Farmland and farm buildings are assessed according to standards based on productivity.

The equalization factor is determined annually for each county by comparing the sales price of individual properties sold over the past three years to the assessed value placed on those properties by the county supervisor of assessments/ county assessor.

If the three-year average level of assessment is one-third of market value, the equalization factor will be one (1.0000). If the average level of assessment is greater than one-third of market value, the equalization factor will be less than one (1.0000). And if the average level of assessment is less than one-third of market value, the equalization factor will be greater than one (1.0000).

Assessments in Macoupin County are at 33.17% of market value, based on sales of properties in 2022, 2023, and 2024. The equalization factor currently being assigned is for taxes, 2025 payable in 2026.

Last year’s equalization factor for the county was 1.0000.

The tentative factor is subject to change (1) if the County Board of Review takes actions which significantly affect the county assessments, or (2) if local officials or others can present data showing that IDOR’s estimates of the average level of assessments in the county should be adjusted. A public hearing on the tentative multiplier will be held between 20 and 30 days after the tentative factor is published in a newspaper of general circulation within the county.

A change in the equalization factor does not mean total property tax bills will increase or decrease. Tax bills are determined by local taxing bodies when they request money each year to provide services to local citizens. If the amount requested by local taxing districts is not greater than the amount received in the previous year, then total property taxes will not increase even if assessments may have increased.

The assessed value of an individual property determines what portion of the tax burden a specific taxpayer will assume. That individual’s portion of tax responsibility is not changed by the multiplier.