Meeting a day after record rainfall flooded streets and basements in Benld, the Benld City Council on Monday night approved an ordinance amendment to beef up enforcement of building permit requirements for construction projects and briefly discussed the city’s response to the previous night’s flooding.
The amended ordinance, unanimously approved by the newly seated city council, clarifies that building permits are required not only for new construction but also for renovation or remodeling projects. The permit fee is $50 and permits must be obtained at least 10 days before the project commences. Applications for permits must include the name of the property owner, as well as the name and address of any contractors working on the project. The permit is good for nine months from when the permit is issued and can be extended for additional nine months at the discretion of the city council.
Significantly, the amendment sets out penalties for persons who fail to comply with the ordinance, a provision that apparently was unclear in the previous ordinance. For a project cited for violating the ordinance, both the owner and person overseeing the construction is subject to a fine of $250 within 10 days of receiving the citation. If the city is required to file the ordinance violation with the Macoupin County Circuit Court, the fine increases between $500 to $1,500 at the discretion of the court if the defendants are found guilty.
If the city is required to take alleged offenders to court, the ordinance empowers the court to order the demolition of any structure completed and the removal of all debris and construction materials used in construction, renovation or remodeling activities found to be in violation of the ordinance.
“We can not only fine them, we tear it down,” said City Attorney Rick Verticchio, who drafted the ordinance, “which would be drastic but in some circumstances would be warranted.”
There was some brief discussion about possibly reducing the term for building permit extensions from nine months to six months. Verticchio advised that revision could be made but “now is the time to do it.”
Ultimately, Ald. Dustin Fletcher moved to approve the ordinance as presented, with Ald. Lance Cooper seconding.
Ald. Fletcher asked the City Clerk to add a reminder to outgoing water bills to remind residents that building permits are required.
NEW COUNCIL SEATED
Before moving onto new business, newly elected and re-elected aldermen were sworn by Verticchio and seated for four-year terms.
Those taking the oath of office were incumbents Jerry Saracco and Dustin Fletcher, representing Ward 1 and Ward 3, respectively; and Norman Emmons, elected to represent Ward 2. Emmons steps into a seat vacated by long-serving Ald. Jim Tilashalski who chose not to seek re-election in the April 4 Consolidated Election. All three were elected without opposition.
As part of the reorganization, Mayor Jim Kelly announced that he was re-appointing Rick Verticchio as City Attorney and Ald. John Balzraine as Mayor Pro-tem.
Mayor Kelly also made the following committee assignments:
- City Property: Ald. Balzraine, (Chair), Ald. Fletcher and Ald. Cooper.
- Housing: Ald. Emmons, (Chair), Ald. Saracco and Ald. Mickey Robinson.
- Ordinance/Judicial: Ald. Cooper, (Chair), Ald. Emmons and Ald. Saracco.
- Finance: Ald. Saracco, (Chair), Ald. Emmons, Ald. Balzraine and City Clerk Terri Koine as a non-voting co-chair.
- Proprietary: Ald. Fletcher (Chair), Ald. Balzraine and Ald. Robinson.
- Police: Ald. Robinson (Chair), Ald. Fletcher and Ald. Cooper.
FLOODING IMPACT
Council members briefly discussed the impact of Sunday night’s excessive rainfall, noting that some residents reported water in their basements as well as flooded streets and low-lying areas. Additionally, the heavy rains reportedly washed out temporary gravel fill used to repair streets that were opened during a recently completed sewer improvement project. By some accounts, six inches of rain fell in less than two hours.
“We had a lot of rain last night,” said Ald. Fletcher, chair of the Proprietary Committee overseeing maintenance, sewer, water and street issues.
The situation apparently prompted calls on social media for the city to spend more money on sewers than on developing a new sports complex on property formerly occupied by Benld Elementary School. The city recently received a $600,000 grant to develop the park.
“I hope everyone understands that we spent almost $600,000 on our sewer, using grant money and our own money,” City Clerk Kayne commented. Contractors ran cameras through the entire system to identify areas most in need of attention and the grant-funded project replaced extensive sections of the sewer system, and relined some mains that could be salvaged with that process. “That grant for the park has to be spent exactly as the grant application says; we can’t spend it for anything else.”
“I’ve seen some comments asking why we are spending $600,000 on a sports park instead of sewers and other things,” Mayor Kelly acknowledged, reaffirming that the grant for the park cannot be spent for any other purpose.
OTHER ACTION
In other action, the council:
- Set Memorial Day Services at the City Cemetery to begin at noon on Memorial Day. The municipal band will play from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. and the honor guard will present colors at 1 p.m. Mayor Kelly said he is making arrangements for a speaker which will be announced later.
- Approved a business license and liquor license for Celia Jubelt who plans to operate See-Jo’s Speakeasy at 600 E. Central Avenue. Mayor Kelly said the building has been renovated but the business is not quite ready to open. The new business will feature gaming and will serve alcoholic beverages.
- Agreed to engage Scheffel Boyle, CPAs, Edwardsville, to perform the city’s annual audit at a cost not to exceed $15,900.