Community News
Gillespie Council approves appropriation, hires police officer
Members of the Gillespie City Council on Monday night approved a $14 million appropriation ordinance for the current fiscal year, hired a new city police officer, and accepted the resignations of two city employees.
Totaling $13,933,250, the annual appropriation covers anticipated spending for the fiscal year that began May 1 and nearly double last year’s appropriation of $7,229,050. The additional expenditures are related to anticipated expenditures of grant funds in the amount of $1.2 million for continued water line improvements and $4.5 million for an anticipated streetscape project in downtown Gillespie.
Approval of the appropriation was preceded by a brief public hearing, required by law, during which no members of the public appeared to ask questions or make comments.
Appropriation ordinances are required by law and set the maximum amounts a municipality is allowed to spend for specific line items. They are not necessarily budgetary documents. Setting a spending ceiling for specific line items does not necessarily mean the city will spend that much. The appropriation simply sets the amount of spending the city cannot legally exceed.
The Water Department appropriation totals $3,208,500, including $1,200,000 for water line improvements, compared with a $1,983,500 last year. Other line items for which more than $1 million is appropriated include $4.5 million for the Streetscape program; $1,172,500 for the Police Department, compared with $1,081,500 last year; $1,113,000 for the Street Department, compared with $978,000 last year; and $1,313,400 for General Administrative Expenses, compared with $1,308,400 last year;
The newly adopted ordinance sets the appropriation for City Lakes and Parks at $518,800 and $190,000 for Parks and Recreation. Both appropriations were combined for one line item last year totaling $478,100.
The newly adopted ordinance sets maximum spending for the Sewer Department at $759,160, compared with $604,160 last year; $42,020 for elected and appointed city officials’ salaries which is identical to last year’s appropriation; and $201,300 for Municipal Administrative Building costs (which includes $150,000 for repairs and maintenance), compared with $66,300 last year.
Other appropriations include $33,900 for Emergency Services and Disaster Administration, compared with $21,400 last year; $40,670 for the Public Library which is identical to a year ago; $5,000 for the Municipal Band, compared with $3,000 last year; $150,000 for FICA participation, compared with $110,000 last year; and $65,000 for Liability Insurance, compared with $50,000 a year ago.
A total of $350,000 is appropriated from Motor Fuel Tax funds for street maintenance, compared with $200,000 last year.
The ordinance appropriates $270,000 in potential TIF Fund expenditures, compared with $215,000 last year.
PERSONNEL
Early in the meeting, the council voted unanimously to accept Police Chief Jared DePoppe’s recommendation to hire David Schaeffer as a full-time police officer. Schaeffer currently is employed as a Springfield Park Police officer, according to DePoppe.
Following a 45-minute executive session, the council approved a motion to suspend Water Department employee James Graves for the final two days of his employment without pay. Council members also voted unanimously to accept Graves’ formal resignation, along with that of Jared Link, a Gillespie Lake employee.
On. a motion by Ald. Landon Pettit, the council voted unanimously to hire Justin Johnson as a full-time Lake employee.
LAKE MANAGER AUTHORITY
Upon the recommendation of City Attorney Rick Verticchio, the council voted unanimously to grant Lake Manager Gary Thornhill authority to suspend lake privileges for guests who commit serious violations of lake rules. Under terms of the motion, Thornhill’s actions to suspend privileges will be subject to review and final approval by the full city council.
The action follows two recent incidents during which City Police were summoned to the lake to deal with serious infractions. Thornhill said in one case, local police did not know how to respond because the incident involved possible environmental issues. A lake user reportedly discharged an estimated 25 gallons of gasoline onto the ground near the lake shore, requiring lake workers to bring in tractors and materials to clean up the spill before it could contaminate the water supply. Thornhill said firefighters and other personnel were on scene for upward of four hours to contain the gasoline.
The individuals involved claimed they thought the tank they were emptying contained water and only discovered it was gasoline after they discharged the material onto the ground. Thornhill said the city incurred $1,183 in expenses to clean up the spill. Verticchio said he planned to draft a letter to the responsible party to seek recovery of the city’s expenditure. No charges apparently were filed.
In the other incident, boaters rode a jon boat over the spillway and down the concrete apron on the front side of the dam.
Apparently council action is required to permanently revoke lake privileges but Monday’s action authorizes Thornhill to revoke privileges, pending review and final action by the council.
DRAINAGE ISSUES/WATER IMPROVEMENTS
The council referred to committee a proposal from Ald. Wendy Rolando to prepare a public notice to inform residents that work on the city’s water infrastructure improvement project is ongoing.
“I’d like to draft something to let people know that yes, we are continuing to work on the water project; no, it’s not finished; and hopefully it will be finished by such and such a time,” Rolando said. She said she is hearing complaints from residents and that the public’s patience is “wearing thin.”
On a motion by Rolando, seconded by Ald. Dona Rauzi, the council directed Rolando to prepare a draft notice to be reviewed by committee and ultimately published to bring residents up to date regarding the project’s status.
Rolando also discussed drainage issues on Plum Street and the surrounding neighborhood.
“I’ve been out there a week after a big rain and there is still water standing,” she said. The standing water, she said, is a breeding ground for mosquitos and poses a health hazard for residents. She asked for an engineering survey to determine what can be done to alleviate the problem.
City Treasurer Dan Fisher, however, said such a study already has been done and there is literally no solution to the issue. Prior to the construction of BenGil Elementary School, he said, the city attempted to piggyback with the school district to improve drainage in the area. Because the school project was grant-funded, the school district could not expand the project to include municipal drainage. He said the city also looked into diverting drainage into the Illinois Route 16 ditch but was rebuffed by the Department of Transportation.
“The only way to take care of that is to put in a storm sewer with a lift station to lift water to the top of the grade to flow away from the area,” Ald. Pettit said. A lift station, he said, would cost a minimum of $500,000, excluding the associated storm sewer work. “You’re looking at a million-dollar project.”
Early in the meeting, resident Mary Gucciardo approached the council with concerns about a clogged drain on her property in the 600 block of Edwards Street. She said she has complained about the issue for at least 15 years.
“When we get a big rain, it overflows the road,” she said.
Ald. Pettit said lack of money has prevented the city from addressing the issue previously but plans are in place to rent a vacuum truck this fall to clean storm drains throughout the city. With two to three workers on the truck, he said it may take three days or more to get around to all the drains the Street Department has identified as problems.
ROYELL COMMUNICATIONS LEASE
City Treasurer Dan Fisher reported that a three-year lease allowing Royell Communications to provide internet service to Gillespie residents expired on June 14. Before the city had a chance to contact Royell to renegotiate terms of the lease, Royell sent a check to cover 2022-23 at the current rate of $3,047. Fisher said the City Clerk had not deposited the check, awaiting direction from the council on how the city wanted to proceed.
Acting on the advice of City Attorney Verticchio, the council voted to deposit the check, essentially extending the current contract for one year at the same rate, with an eye toward renegotiating the lease at the end of the contract.
NUISANCE PROPERTIES
Continuing the city’s more aggressive stance toward derelict properties, the council approved resolutions declaring 206 Frey Street, 414 West Walnut Street and 503 West Chestnut Street as public nuisances. The resolutions formally empower the city attorney to pursue legal action to seek court orders requiring property owners to remedy deficiencies on the properties. If the lawsuits are successful, the city ultimately could win authority to raze the houses and take possession of the properties if the owners fail to abate the nuisances.
Additionally, the council authorized Verticchio to contact the owners of alleged nuisance properties at 608 North Adams Street, 602 North Adams Street and 702 North Francis Street. The letters will give responsible parties a specified period of time to abate the nuisances to avoid court action.
With the actions approved Monday night, Ald. Rauzi said the city has addressed 10 properties out of 19 originally identified by the city for nuisance abatement.
SPECIAL MEETING
Mayor John Hicks announced a special meeting of the council set for 6 p.m., Wednesday, June 29, with representatives of the Illinois Housing Development Authority to discuss the results of a housing survey conducted in conjunction with IDHA’s Revitalization and Repair Program.
POND CONCERNS
Adam Kilduff appeared before the council to discuss his plans to build a pond on property he is redeveloping on the city’s southeast side. He said he wanted to address concerns the council or residents might have regarding the proposed pond.
“I’m cleaning up the property,” he said, noting he removed three dump truck loads of used tires and cleaned up a burned-out house and garage. “I’m out there at 4 in the morning before I go to work and I’m out there at 9 at night.”
He reported to the council that the property will be fenced to enclose the pond in compliance with city ordinances.
“I think I’m doing a good thing,” he said. “I just don’t want any problems.”
“I don’t think there’s any problem,” said Ald. Frank Barrett. “We just wanted to be sure (it would be fenced).”
“I think it’s an asset,” Ald. Rick Fulton added.
CIVIC CENTER REVAMP
Fisher reported that architect Dennis Schuette has been retained to prepare preliminary architectural drawings to direct discussion about possible uses and configurations for the space formerly occupied by the Gillespie Fire Department. Possibilities include creating multiple use areas or space to house the Gillespie Police Department.
PARK CAMERAS
Ald. Pettit briefly discussed the possibility of purchasing surveillance cameras to combat vandalism in city parks. Earlier in the meeting, Ald. Barrett discussed the purchase of new playground equipment for Welfare Park that has been damaged beyond repair. Pettit suggested that if the city plans to install cameras at the Water Department and other city-owned properties, it might be possible to get a better price by bidding all the city’s camera needs as one project.
Fisher noted that as park of Streetscape program, there has been discussion about installing cameras in the downtown business district. Urban cameras have become a trend, he said, because residents feel more secure with camera surveillance. Curry and Associates Engineers, he said, already is in the process of contacting surveillance camera companies to get prices for cameras and monitoring interfaces that would connect to computers at City Hall. In the event cameras become a part of Streetscape project, Fisher said it might be possible to add cameras at city parks and other properties for the cost of cameras alone. The cost of the interface, the most expensive component of the system, would be borne by the Streetscape project.
OTHER ACTION
In other action, the council:
- Voted to close the 100 block of East Chestnut Street and the 100 block of Montgomery Street for a chili cook-off sponsored by the Lions Club on Sept. 24.
- Approved expenditure of $22,504 from the TIF Fund to pay Bolash Roofing for work completed on the Civic Center Roof.
- Approved expenditure of $3,015.95 from the TIF Fund to Moran Economic Development for consulting work in connection with establishing a new TIF District.
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Community News
Gillespie Council establishes penalty of late lake lot lease payments, green lights programs to display banners honoring local veterans
After several minutes of discussion and debate, the Gillespie City Council on Monday night adopted a resolution that enables the city to collect a $100 late fee for lake lot lease payments that come in after the April 1 deadline. Council members also endorsed a privately funded program proposed by two sisters to purchase and display banners on Macoupin Street to recognize individual local military personnel.
Lake lot lease-holders are required to pay their $750 annual lease payment on April 1. Under the new policy, the city will impose a $100 late fee. If the lease remains unpaid after May 31, the city will terminate the lease.
Debate centered on whether or not a new leaseholder would be responsible for the unpaid late fee. City Attorney Rick Verticchio wrote the resolution to attach the fee to the lot rather than the lease-holder, meaning a new owner would have to redeem the late fee to rent the lot. Ald. Janet Odell-Mueller, however, said such a policy would be unfair to the new lease-holder.
Verticchio said he wrote the resolution to prevent families or friends from transferring lots from one to another without paying for the previous year’s lease. He said a person could conceivably default on a year’s lease, transfer the property to a family member or friend who could do the same thing a year later. “This is to prevent ‘sweetheart deals’,” Verticchio said, where a group of friends or family members could retain a lot indefinitely without ever paying for a lease.
Ald. Landon Pettit pointed out, however, that lease-holders are required to pay a deposit equal to a one-year lease. Meaning the city will get the lease payment when the lease-holder forfeits the lease. At that point, Odell-Mueller said, the lease-holder would not be transferring the lease. Instead, the city would have control of the property.
Verticchio said he was not aware of the deposit issue and suggested he could reword a portion of the resolution to indicate that in the event the lease is terminated the deposit would be applied to the balance due and the penalty would be waived. Essentially, the penalty applies only if the delinquent lease-holder chooses to retain the lease by paying the penalty plus the annual lease.
At one point, Mayor John Hicks suggested referring the resolution back to committee to hammer out the final language, Ultimately, however, the council voted unanimously to adopt the resolution with the changes Verticchio suggested.
MILITARY HEROES BANNERS
On a motion by Ald. Wendy Rolando, the council voted unanimously to give permission to Jennifer Carter and her sister, Jodi Carpani, to purchase and place banners honoring local military personnel on Veterans Day. Carter said the women hope to have the banners on Macoupin Street in time for Veterans Day this year.
“We would like the city council’s permission to recognize our community heroes,” Carter said, addressing the council, “and we would like permission to ask the community to join us in honoring them sponsoring a banner.”
Carter said there are 20 brackets currently available on Macoupin Street to mount the banners. The banners are two-sided, meaning the pair could honor up to 40 veterans at the moment. She said the number of banners could be expanded if some of the broken brackets are replaced.
The banners cost $80 each, and the sisters plan to seek the support of community members to pay for them. Carter said they will not profit from the project.
“We will bear the responsibility to organize and solicit our community to sponsor a local veteran with a hometown heroes banner to be hung every year on Veterans Day,” Carter said. “My sister and I will be responsible for hanging and removing the banners each year.”
She said the banners will be similar to those currently displayed in Wilsonville, Edwardsville and Bunker Hill. The project will not interfere with Miners flags that are displayed on Macoupin Street during football season.
“My fear is that we will have more people wanting banners than we have brackets for,” Carter said. She said they will approach the Benld City Council for permission to hang banners in that community if a significant number of people want to honor Benld veterans.
Mayor Hicks noted that there will be more poles available for displaying banners when the city’s Streetscape project is finished.
Last month, Ald. Rolando received the permission of the council to solicit donations to buy new American flags for Macoupin Street. She said she can work with the sisters to see if the banners can be displayed on the same pole with the flags, or possibly have the flags on alternate poles along the Main Street.
WATER BILL POLICY
After a lengthy discussion, Mayor Hicks asked the Public Works Committee to work on establishing a policy for collecting delinquent water bills when a residence is sold to a new owner. The discussion stemmed from concerns voiced by Jack Taylor who recently purchased a vacant home with the intention of renovating it for resale. After closing on the real estate, he learned there was a $200 delinquent water bill he was required to pay before having the water turned on.
“Had he come up to city hall and asked them to check that address, they would have told him about the outstanding bill,” Verticchio said.
Taylor complained that he had a title search completed but the city had not placed a lien against the property. “If someone buys a house, they’re going to do a title search. No one is going to come up here and check the water bill,” he said. “I’m just saying it’s unfair to the buyer.”
Verticchio said filing a lien on a $200 water bill would not be practical. The city would have to pay him for his services plus a $81 filing fee. “At that point you’ve doubled the bill,” he said. “All of sudden, $200 is $400.” Most municipalities, he said, do not file formal liens until the delinquent bill reaches $500.
City Treasurer Dan Fisher said the city cannot waive delinquent water bills because of money the city received from USDA for its water infrastructure project completed two years ago. “We have a loan with the federal government. Under the terms of that loan, we have to collect all bills,” he said. “We have to be able to collect that money to uphold our end of our agreement with the federal government.”
Fisher recommended that the Water Department shut off water service for delinquent customers sooner so excessive bills do not accrue.
Hicks recommended that the Public Works Committee work on a policy regarding delinquent water bills. One possible solution, he said, would be to remove water meters from vacant homes with delinquent bills.
“That way, the buyer would have to call the Water Department to have the water turned on, and they would tell them that there’s a bill against it,” he said.
He told Taylor he would look at the bill and see if there were late fees or interest that could be waived.
STOP SIGNS
The council approved an ordinance to place stop signs at the intersection of LJ Avenue and Oak Street to facilitate rerouted bus traffic resulting from Community Unit School District 7’s decision to convene and dismiss school at the same times for all its buildings.
Ald. Odell-Mueller questioned whether the safety of elementary students crossing the road would be jeopardized by the rerouted buses.
Fisher responded that the school district is working with the city to apply for a safety grant to install sidewalks in the area of BenGil Elementary School to address safety concerns.
OTHER ACTION
In other action, the council:
- Ratified the Mayor’s appointment of Dave Tucker, Kelley Hatlee and Katie Drummond to the Gillespie Public Library Board of Directors.
- Agreed to accept a bid of $15,500 from Cahokia Township for the purchase of a surplus dump truck, and a bid of $5,000 from Kinney Construction for a surplus vacuum truck. No bids were received for a street sweeper that also was declared as surplus property last month.
- Accepted a total bid of $760 from Jim Feeley to remove trees in the 800 block of Frey Street, the 600 block of Adams Street and at Big Brick Park.
- Voted to establish a separate checking account for funds generated from the city’s second Tax Increment Financing district.
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Meeting in special session Monday night, August 26, the Gillespie City Council voted 5-2 to purchase a brick building at 124 N. Macoupin St. to house the growing Gillespie Police Department.
On a motion by Ald. Dona Rauzi, seconded by Ald. Bill Hayes, the council agreed to buy the building, which formerly housed the Gillespie Chiropractic Clinic, for $69,000. Mayor John Hicks said the city expects to spend up to $200,000 to remodel the structure to house the Gillespie Police Department, currently located at 109 W. Pine St. The fate of the 109 W. Pine address was not discussed, nor was a timeline for moving the police department into new quarters.
Ald. Rauzi, Hayes, Wendy Rolando, Bob Fritz and Janet Odell-Mueller voted in favor of the purchase. Ald. Dave Link and Frank Barrett cast dissenting votes. Ald. Landon Pettit, who advocated for the purchase during the council’s regular monthly meeting two weeks ago, was absent.
At 2,270 square feet, the new building will nearly double the square footage available for the Police Department. The building is located on a 15,000-square-foot lot, compared with 9,000 square feet at the current location, meaning there will be ample room for parking and/or to build onto the existing structure.
City Treasurer said the building owner listed the property for $80,000. The city offered $60,000 and settle at $69,000 after further negotiations.
Fisher said modifications to the building will include replacing stairs to the basement with ADA-compliant stairs, which will make the basement accessible for storage and securely holding evidence.
“We’ll probably change the entryway to make it a double-lock entry,” Fisher said. “We’ll have to make some changes but basically the inside won’t change very much.” Current exam rooms can become individual offices with little or no remodeling. The lobby area will probably be divided with a new wall to create a waiting area for visitors.
For the past two years, the council has investigated the possibility of remodeling the space vacated in the Civic Center when the Fire Department moved to new facilities in East Gillespie. Cost estimates for that project, however, came in at $600,000 to $700,000. Buying and remodeling 112 N. Macoupin St. will cost approximately half of what was estimated for the Civic Center alternative.
“We’ve been talking about doing something here for a couple of years,” Ald. Link said. “How many thousands of dollars have we spent on engineering for here?”
Fisher replied that engineering fees for the Civic Center project total about $5,000, but some of the planning for the Civic Center location should translate to the 112 N. Macoupin site.
“We’re thinking we can use some of the plans we had done for here for the new building,” Fisher said. “We hope we can use some of those plans to spec out the other building without making much modification.”
Hicks said a larger facility for the Police Department is needed because the size of the Department has expanded in order to service police protection contracts with surrounding communities including Benld, Eagarville, Mt. Clare, Sawyerville, East Gillespie and Wilsonville.
“We’ve got more people working for us,” Hicks said. “We have more people coming in,” Hicks said the city also wanted to have the Police Department located on the city’s Main Street.
“I still think the dentist office would be a better place to put it,” Ald. Barrett commented, referring to the former location of Smiles Plus Dentistry, 709 Staunton Rd. “The square footage is more and the basement is finished.”
“What you’re talking about is $130,000,” said Ald. Rolando, “plus there’s more parking space with this place.”
Monday night’s special meeting of the council was held immediately prior to a committee meeting during which the committee members directed Fisher to apply for a federal grant to defray the cost of buying two police patrol cars sometime after Oct. 1, and recommended setting 6-8 p.m., Oct. 30 and 31, as trick or treating hours. Committee actions do not become official until approved by the full council.
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The Bunker Hill Area Chamber of Commerce is holding its annual Fall Festival on September 14 in the downtown area beginning at 10 am.
The event will feature vendors, food, beverages, a bounce house, an interactive Illinois Department of Natural Resources booth, music, a car show, a burnout contest, and a fireworks display sponsored by the Bunker Hill United Community Bank Community at 8 PM. City Heat band will perform from 12-4 and Rock Bottom from 6-10.
The Speed Demons host the car show and burn-out contest. The entry fee is $20, and the event runs from 10 to 5, Mark Flieger, the group spokesperson, said. Registration for the car show starts at 8 am. Enter on Highway 159 at Park Street. Car Show Awards will be presented at 4 pm.
The Burnout Contest starts at 5 pm. Cash and Custom-made Trophy for the 1st place winner. Kids Power Wheels Drag Racing from 12 pm – 1 pm and 100 goodie bags to the first 100 cars that enter the 2024 Car Show.
For further information, contact Jill Chapman at 618 223 9043, Lisa Webb at 618 407 2513, or Mark Flieger at 314 210 6254.
