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Benld City Council denies Business Permit

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Accepts 7 lots from Staunton Hospital

Sue Campbell from Staunton Hospital deeded 7 lots back to the City of Benld.

Ron Releford, who currently owns the self-storage units on Central Avenue, approached the council on April 9, to get a business permit to build more storage units. Releford bought the lot where the old bakery was adjacent to the old Turcol’s tavern. Releford explained that he was not going to allow hazmat materials, tires, or vehicles. “It is in the contract.”

He plans to put in 10-15 units which will 10×15’ of 10×20’ in size on 6th Street and Central Avenue. “I wanted to propose an ordinance that storage units cannot be built inside city limits any longer,” Tilashalski explained, “Most community have them on the edge of town or in parks. I certainly do not support any storage buildings on Central Avenue any longer.” Releford currently occupies self-storage units in 10 different cities that rest in the business district which are Chatham and even Auburn.

Releford responded that he bought the old grocery store to tear down and put storage sheds up. “That won’t happen if we get this ordinance passed,” Hendricks said.

“You guys will own it back then,” Releford responded, “I will put it in a corporation and dissolve it and it will be yours again.” The council voted 5-1 with objection from Chiardo to deny the business permit request.

Ron Releford explains that he wants to build self storage lots on the new property he bought.

Rick Vertichio then arrived and was questioned by the council if an ordinance could be written to prevent self-storage units from being built in the city limits. “The problem we have with that is the zoning issue and we don’t have zoning,” Vertichio stated. “You can vote not to issue him a business license, but it would be a difficult issue if he takes you to court.”

You have to have a basis for your decision, according to Vertichio, and just saying you do not want storage units in the city limits is not good enough. “To not issue a business license for storage units, I am not saying you will fail, but it is a question and I don’t know if we can write up an ordinance.” Vertichio said he would write up whatever the city wanted, but he was unsure how successful the ordinance would stand.

“You can pass them and deny them as you see fit,” Vertichio stated, “I don’t know if you can’t pass an ordinance stating you don’t want storage units. That way they are challenging a decision being made and not an ordinance. The decision would be taken to court and could get tough for the city. It is per say inappropriate and illegal.”

Sue Campbell then asked the council if they were interested in 7 lots behind the Community Family Practice Center. The Family Practice Center rests on Central Avenue across the street from the Benld Public Library.

The lots are directly behind the doctor’s office which is separated by an alley way. “We have no use for the lots and will never develop them,” Campbell explained, “Build Benld has done a very nice job with the gazebo, so I wanted to deed the lots back to city.”

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Years ago, the city deeded the lots to the hospital. But according to Campbell, the hospital is going to have to start paying taxes on the lots and would like to give them back to the city. Alderman Tilashalski gratefully accepted the offer, “As land is at a premium right now, I say we hold on to what we do have and graciously accept anything that is given to us.”

The council accepted the land 6-0. Sue Campbell explained that she is going to work with the City Attorney and get all the necessary paperwork done. Campbell did request rock in the alley as there is a rut in the alley way from water drainage. “We consider Benld as one of the communities we try to serve and you guys are friends of us,” Campbell closed.

Lynn Fraelle explained that it would save Kurt Kozac some time if she checked on the derelict properties. Fraelle asked if the city bills the entities when the city has to cut the grass. “Up to this point, the property owners usually take care of the grass after a notification,” Mayor Hendricks explained, “Our problem is not the foreclosures, it’s the property with the backed taxes.”

Fraelle went on to say that Build Benld has sent letters to local newspapers about the dissatisfaction about the Benld Post Office. Mrs. Betts could not answer any questions and gave us a run-around, so we sent out a letter to all the major newspapers and locals. According to Fraelle, she will leave a copy of who to contact if any citizens would be interested in calling.

Micky Robinson presented the Mayor with a $500 check from the Benld Fire Department. The money is to be used for tables in the civic center. “With the $500, we should have what we need,” Robinson explained, “But we will find out during our prime month next month.”

Robinson, city property chairman, went on to say that the city park is up and running except the gas. A city person needs to contact the gas company and turn that on as the first event in the park is this weekend. Robinson also said that the railroad trailers are still on the railroad tracks. Ed Sarracco informed Robinson that he is writing another letter to see if they can get something done with that.

Mayor Hendricks explained that the new committee appointments will go into effect on May 1. The new appointments are as follows: City Property will be Tilashalski, Robinson, Gruey. Finance will be Gruey, Bernot, and Hedrick. Maintenance will be Chiardo, Robinson, and Gruey. Police will be Hedrick, Chiardo, and Robinson. Sewer will be Robinson, Tilashalski, and Bernot. Water will be Bernot, Hedricks, and Chiardo.

The mayor will do the rest of the appointments in the May meeting. The appropriation ordinance will end April 30, 2013. As of this point in time, the mayor may have to amend and tweak a couple things. The appropriation ordinance was approved 6-0.

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Lastly, the “Conlee building” which is the old Turcol’s tavern has been partially torn down. According to Mayor Hendrichs, he started tearing it down after he read in the paper that the council was going to take action on the building. Vertichio then sent him a letter and he continued to tear it down until the sheriff and EPA got involved and everything has come to a halt. “He mentioned he is going to walk away from it now.”

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School board accepts financial report, wrestles with rising insurance costs

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Ken Loy, an auditor with Loy Miller Talley Certified Public Accountants, Alton, presented highlights of the financial report for the fiscal year that ended June 30 this year.

Members of the Community Unit School District 7 Board of Education voted on Monday night to accept the district’s annual financial report and audit, and agreed to drop $5 million in mine subsidence coverage in an effort to mitigate against rising commercial insurance premiums.

Ken Loy, an auditor with Loy Miller Talley Certified Public Accountants, Alton, presented highlights of the financial report for the fiscal year that ended June 30 this year. Loy said the auditors provided a “clean opinion” overall for the district’s procedures for accounting, tracking financial information and maintaining internal controls. State law requires the auditors to render opinions in three specific areas, including an opinion on overall auditing standards and an opinion on internal control compliance within each of the district’s major programs. Additionally, the auditors were required to present on opinion on the district’s handling of federal funds, which exceeded $3.4 million last fiscal year.

“You have three reports with three clean opinions,” Loy said.

The financial report also includes a financial profile assessment required by state law. Loy said the profile, determined through calculations for five different ratios, is 3.7 out of 4.0 for the past fiscal year. The “Recognition” status is the state’s highest category for school districts.

“Most districts have been on the ‘Watch List’ and Gillespie has been on the ‘Watch List’ in past years,” Loy commented. “But you’re at the top of the ladder now and have been for the past two years.” Loy said Gillespie had a perfect score in four of the five categories used to determine financial status but fell short in the area of long-term debt.

“Your long-term debt is a little on the high side,” Loy said, largely because of financial liabilities the district incurred after the loss of Benld Elementary School due to mine subsidence.

The report shows the district having $11,460,000 in long-term debt, requiring annual debt service payments of $1.1 million to $1.2 million. Additionally, the district has $639,711 in lease liabilities for equipment such as school buses.

Comparing revenue to expenditures, the district took in more money than it spent in all for two funds, where budgeted spending deficits were covered with existing surplus funds.

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The financial report documents a property tax for last fiscal year at $3.49 per $100 in equalized assessed valuation. At the same time, the district’s total equalized assessed valuation was set at $103,564,334, up from $87,198,959 two years ago.

“The last three years, you’ve had some pretty big increases in equalized assessed valuation of six to eight percent,” Loy commented. “That’s a lot different from a few years ago when it was 2.7 to three percent.”

 The document reports the cost of educating one student for one year at $8,892, which is what the district would charge as tuition for an out-of-district student. The average daily attendance was 1,005, which is up from 996 the previous year, but still shy of 1,028 for 1,100 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Loy characterized the school’s overall financial condition as stable.

“You’ve had three or four pretty good years in a row that helps offset some of the bad years you had in the past from about 2016 to 2020,” Loy said.

COMMERCIAL INSURANCE DEBATE

On a motion by Amanda Ross, seconded by Peyton Bernot, the board voted to renew a commercial insurance policy with Wright Speciality with some modifications to the company’s original proposal. The action followed several minutes of debate as the board wrestled with substantive increases in premiums.

Athletic Director Jeremy Smith addressed the board with an end-of-season report.

The policy covers general liability, property damage, crime, vehicles and workers compensation, along with additional coverage for mine subsidence. While premiums for coverage in most areas were similar to the previous year, the premium for property damaged jumped nearly $40,000 from $105,821 to $142,444. Supt. Shane Owsley said the increase was due to the insurer’s experience with paying out weather-related claims over the past year. Additionally, the company proposed reducing the district’s deductible for wind and hail damage from 10 percent to 1 percent.

The total premium for standard coverage came in at $261,238, compared with $219,888 last year.

Additionally, the district purchased mine subsidence insurance for $124,189 for the first $10 million in coverage, plus $48,852 for the next $5 million and $44,175 for yet another $5 million in coverage. Essentially, the district was paying $217,216 for a total of $20 million in mine subsidence coverage.

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Owsley said the district could shave $5,893 from the standard policy premium pay upping the deductible to $15,000 for all perils excluding wind and hail.

“I’d love to keep all the insurance, but you’d be looking at about $50,000 in additional premiums,” Owsley said. “I don’t have any good answers for you.” Owsley proposed increasing the deductible from $10,000 to $15,000, dropping $5 million in subsidence coverage, and purchasing additional “gap” coverage for about $50,000 for wind and hail coverage.

Owsley noted that a castrophic loss due to mine subsidence, as when Benld Elementary School was a total loss, is unlikely. Moreover, $20 million in coverage would not be nearly enough to cover a total loss of one of the district’s classroom buildings. Mine tunnels under the newly constructed BenGil Elementary School were injected with concrete before the school was built, but portions of the High School/Middle School are undermined and subject to mine subsidence damage.

“When you drive around this area in the country, you see a lot of sinks,” Weye Schmidt commented.

Owsley said he’d been advised that it’s not a question of wthether or not the district will experience mine subsidence damage at some point but rather “when” that damage will occur.

Bernot agreed $20 million would not be enough to cover a catastrophic loss and if such a thing were to happen, the district would be forced to return to the legislature for funding to replace a school. Additionally, the amount of money the district can levy is limited by tax caps, meaning the district cannot levy enough in property tax to cover the increase in premiums.

“Where would that money come from?” Bernot asked.

“It would have to come from our reserves,” Owsley replied.

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Bernot commented that he’d be comfortable with eliminating $5 million in subsidence coverage to reduce premium costs.

The approved plan—with $15 million in mine subsidence coverage, a $5,000 boost in the deductible, and the addition of gap coverage for wind and hail—will total $475,386, compared with $421,976 the district paid last year.

ATHLETIC REPORT

Athletic Director Jeremy Smith addressed the board with an end-of-season report, which included an extensive discussion regarding to the future of the district’s soccer program. Previously, the district was part of a coop with Litchfield High School to field enough players tor a team, but Smith reported Litchfield recently dropped out of the coop.

“I’ve reached out to local schools to see if they would coop with us,” Smith said. “They’re not really interested, mainly because, with our enrollment, it would put them up into the next class.”

The district could resume a soccer program as a parent-supported sport, according to Smith and Owsley. However, the Litchfield program became a school-supported sport two years ago, meaning Gillespie soccer parents have not been active for the past two years. Owsley said a goal would be to recruit at least 18 players, at a cost of about $10,000 per player—meaning parents would have to raise about $180,000 to fund the program. Owsley was optimistic about recruiting 18 players because younger players have been reluctant to join the program because they could not drive themselves to Litchfield.

The district currently sends six players to Litchfield.

Smith said he is awaiting results from a survey of students to gauge the level of interest in a local program. In the meantime, GHS Principal Jill Rosentreter said soccer parents are “anxious” about what direction the school will take. She said she and Smith are making an effort to keep parents informed as the local district works toward a resolution.

Smith also introduced a sports webpage which can be accessed via the school district’s webpage. The new website includes a sports calendar, schedules, and information about Sports Hall of Fame inductees. Smith said parents can even set up a personal account through the page which will ensure they receive emails regarding schedule changes, cancellations and other information.

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PERSONNEL

Following a one-hour executive session, the board voted to post a vacancy for an elementary Social/Emotional Learning coordinator, and voted to hire Kelly Helen as a district custodian.

In other action, the board accepted the resignation of Jay Weber as head coach for the parent-funded middle school cross-country program, and hired Trae Wargo as the seventh grade basketball coach.

The board accepted the resignation of Alexis Ollis as the GMS/GHS head cook and posted a vacancy for the position. Board members also voted to hire Amy Costello as a three-hour part-time cafeteria worker, pending a background check, and voted to post a vacancy for a six-hour part-time cafeteria worker.

CEO FUNDING

In other action, the board accepted Owsley’s recommendation to make a $3,000 investment in the county’s Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunitites (CEO) program, payable in three $1,000 annual increments. CEO board chairman Scott Reichman made the request last month during a District Focus segment.

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Elementary school earns ‘Exemplary’ designation from state; Middle, High schools earn ‘Commendable’

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Ben-Gil Elementary School (photo/Ben-Gil Elementary)

The Illinois State Board of Education has recognized all three Gillespie Community Unit School District #7 schools with top designations, marking an outstanding achievement for the district.

Ben-Gil Elementary School has earned the prestigious “Exemplary” designation, placing it among the top 10 percent of elementary schools in Illinois, while both Gillespie High School and Gillespie Middle School have earned “Commendable” designations.

The Exemplary designation is awarded to the highest-performing schools in the state, while the Commendable designation recognizes schools that have no underperforming student groups, a graduation rate greater than 67 percent, and whose performance ranks in the top 90 percent of schools statewide.

“This is a proud moment for the entire community,” said Superintendent Shane Owsley. “This designation is a sign of the hard work, time and dedication put in by the students, staff and community members of CUSD #7.”

All three schools demonstrated strong performance across multiple academic indicators, including:

  • Student academic achievement
  • Student academic progress
  • English language proficiency progress
  • Chronic absenteeism
  • Graduation rates (High School)

Ben-Gil Elementary’s Exemplary status places it in an elite category of Illinois schools, while the Commendable designations for the middle and high schools reflect the district’s consistent commitment to educational excellence across all grade levels.

This district-wide achievement highlights Gillespie CUSD #7’s success in maintaining high educational standards and ensuring every student has the opportunity to succeed, from elementary through high school.

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Police search for suspects after robbery at Besserman Superbowl

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A screenshot of the suspects involved in the break-in from the business’s security system. (photo/Besserman Superbowl Facebook)

Police in Gillespie are searching for at least two people involved in an early morning break-in and robbery that happened early Wednesday at Besserman Superbowl.

The bowling alley said on their Facebook page the incident occurred around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 23. The suspects compromised the ATM and a gaming machine. The business’s security measures and a quick response from the Gillespie Police Department limited the suspects time inside the establishment to under 10 minutes but substantial damage was sustained.

Temporary repairs were made quickly and normal business hours were not interrupted for Besserman Superbowl but no arrests have been made. Anyone with information about the incident or the individuals involved are urged to contact the Gillespie Police Department at 217-839-2922.

“We appreciate the outpouring of support from our patrons, friends, and family in response to the break-in yesterday morning,” Besserman Superbowl posted on their Facebook page. “We value your loyalty and anticipate serving you soon at our renowned bowling alley and friendly community hub.”

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