Community News
Gillespie to resend Siren bid for third time, Hicks fed up with entire ordeal
Motion to raise Ambulance dispatching falls short
The city council listens to Steve Kluethe talk about dispatching services.
After putting the replacement siren project out for bid again, Mayor Hicks opened two bids during a regular council meeting on Monday, September 9th. Only two of the three bidders resubmitted a bid, one from Global Technology Systems and one from Century Siren. Century Siren’s bid for one unit complete and installed amounted to $19,770 while Global Technology’s bid for the same specifications amounted to $16,989.
Gus Ottersburg made a motion to accept Global Technology’s bid with the location to be determined at a later date. Mayor Hicks explained the committee is in the process of determining a location for the siren, but Alderson said the committee met two weeks ago with Global Technology to gather more information and the entire council wasn’t invited. “My question is was that a violation of the open meetings act,” Alderson said.
Gus explained it was a committee meeting, not a regular meeting. Alderson said there wasn’t any minutes of the meeting in anyone’s packet and he didn’t understand why the committee met at 5:30 with the contractor when the meeting wasn’t supposed to start until 6pm.
Steve Kluethe explained it was an informational meeting only, but George Holesko said it didn’t seem right that only 2 of the 3 bidders resubmitted a bid and the bidder that didn’t submit a bid was the contractor the council met with prior to the committee meeting.
Dave Tucker explained the three original bidders were asked to rebid, and only 2 rebid the project. Holesko again asked if anything was said in the meeting for the last bidder to not rebid the project. “I think it was a violation of the open meetings act,” Alderson said. “It is against the act for 3 people to discuss city business on the street corner.”
Alderson said he proposed all committee meetings in the future should be organized under the open meetings act. Ottersburg asked if that means minutes have to be taken at committee meetings. “Well, it’s a requirement,” Alderson explained. “We are also supposed to take minutes during executive session, but we haven’t.” Alderson advised to drop the minute issue.
Hicks explained he is tired of the siren argument. “I’ve had it up to here with this siren shit, I am done with it,” Hicks finally said after the bickering continued. “Excuse my French. I’ve had it up to my ears and out of my ears with the sirens.”
Holesko said it concerned him that the low bidder on the last request for bids did not submit a bid this time. “Why is that, did you guys say something to him when you met with him for him to get a wrong impression,” Holesko asked. “It just seems strange he told you everything and did not submit another bid.”
Dave Tucker said he liked the idea of leaving the sirens alone, but Frank Barrett suggested rebidding the project again. The council agreed to resend the bid for the third time.
Motion falls short of Dispatching Raise for Ambulance Service
After going back and forth with the Gillespie Benld Area Ambulance Service months ago, the council has decided to negotiate the dispatching service again for the ambulance service saying there hasn’t been any decrease in calls since they talked the last time.
Dave Link questioned the council how he could apply to get a loan from the TIF.
Mayor Hicks said the council has been looking at their dispatching service and the cost incurred. “We incur quite a few calls for the ambulance service and now we will be dispatching for Benld and I am sure that will add ambulance calls,” Hicks said.
Steve Kleuthe said the dispatchers are city employees being used by the ambulance service. The department receives less than 80 fire calls, but the rest of the traffic is police calls or ambulance calls. “If they did not have our employees doing it, they would have to pay someone else to do this and they would not get it for the $250 they are paying now,” he said.
He said he wants to be fair and balanced, but he honestly thinks the service provided by the dispatchers is highly valuable. Kluethe would like the fee to be $420 per month, a $170 monthly increase. He suggested the council should make a contract with the ambulance service just as they did with the Benld Police Department.
Hicks said the dispatchers are city employees and they could be getting union contracts, so then it comes to health benefits for them and so forth. “It has been kicked around a lot. They have told us they can only afford $250 per month,” Hicks said. “The city is not getting a fair end of the deal,” Kluethe said. “We have kicked this down the road enough.”
Kluethe motioned if there isn’t a contract by November 1 with the Ambulance Service, the city would have to terminate their phone line and their service. Barrett, who said he didn’t think it was wrong at all, seconded his motion. DePoppe said the police department does more than dispatch for the Ambulance Service; the dispatchers also complete a run sheet for the ambulance service and fax the document over to them.
But, council members didn’t want to impose the raise without talking to the ambulance board first. The motion was not approved after a 3-4 vote. Janice Weidner insisted the police committee should meet with the ambulance board to find common grounds.
DePoppe then suggested the ambulance service take care of their own dispatching during the regular business hours since they have 2 people on staff during the day. “We could take care of the calls during the evening and they have the calls during the day,” DePoppe said. “That would alleviate the work for us during the day and be fair for everyone.”
Thornhill Happy with Lake Lease
Thornhill returned to the council to thank them for allowing his family to move to Gillespie Lake. Gary Thornhill reported his son started school this week in Gillespie and loved it. “He said it’s a whole lot better than Bunker Hill,” Gary said. He said his son really likes school here in town.
Work is continuing at the boat club and should be done in about 1 month. “It is taking a little longer than expected,” Thornhill said. “Every time we take something down, something else has to be fixed.” He said they work on the boat club at Gillespie Lake nearly every evening and weekend.
Frank Barrett motioned to make a lease agreement with Thornhill for $400 per month making him responsible for taxes. The lease agreement would be a 5-year lease beginning September 10, 2013 and ending September 10, 2018. The lease was approved 8-0.
Dave Link questions TIF District
Dave Link returned to the Gillespie Council to ask if he could apply to get a loan out of the TIF. Link said he’s in the TIF district, and he would like to apply for a loan to get money since he pays a TIF tax.
Tucker said the TIF money is for the city to spend the money, but the revolving loan fund is what Link should look at for applying to get a loan. Dan Fisher explained it isn’t a TIF tax Link is paying, it is the same amount of tax he would pay if he was in the TIF District or wasn’t in the TIF district. “You don’t pay a TIF tax, you pay the tax you would have paid otherwise. It is just the difference where the tax goes,” Fisher clarified.
Jared DePoppe, Chief of Police, demonstrates the new taser.
Link went on to say TIF stands for Tax Incremental Financing. “Where does the financing come in,” he questioned. “I just figured it was to help businesses downtown.” Fisher explained Link needs to look at the revolving loan fund to apply for money, only 3 people see the request – not the entire council.
Gillespie Police Report
Chief Jared DePoppe reported court fines were not available Monday, but ordinance violations was $550 and towing and impound fees for the month of August was $680. The total fines for August were around $1,500, DePoppe reported.
DePoppe said the Gillespie Police Department purchased two tasers for the department. “Both are very effective and we appreciate them,” he added. He explained there is a cartridge goes in the front and will extract two prongs when triggered. He also said there is a dry stung as well so the taser can be used without a cartridge. He said any officer trained can carry a taser and it is highly likely that both officers on duty will have one on them.
He went on to conclude with the help of Illinois State Police, the department received a brand new BA machine. The official machine is used for DUI purposes. The machine, which is located at the Gillespie Police Department, costs over $5,000. Gillespie is one of the few agencies in the area that has the machine. “ISP was very beneficial in getting one,” he closed.
Committee Reports
During Dave Tucker’s report, he suggested the council look at limiting the size of trash vehicles on the side streets. He explained he witnessed a trash truck drive up and down one street four separate times last week. Mayor Hicks agreed, saying the council should look into limiting the size of the trash pickup trucks on the side streets. Janice Weidner said she heard Litchfield doesn’t allow trash pickup trucks on the side streets.
Jerry Doliger agreed with Weidner, but also said Carlinville only has 3 allowed trash pickup businesses in town; he wasn’t sure how they got away with it. Mayor Hicks said Mt. Clare only has one trash pickup business.
Ordinance & Resolutions
The council approved to retro the pay raises back to July 1. “We really should, we owe it to them,” Frank Barrett said. Resolution #13-7 was approved 8-0.
The council went on to pass Ordinance #13-13 concerning lease of lake premises and amending chapter 18, article 1. The council added residents could have a sand filter or equal septic system as long as a certificate is on file that it has been inspected yearly.
The board also passed Ordinance #13-14 to establish a police dispatching service to the City of Benld. The agreement will begin on October 1 at $800 a month.
Lastly, the city passed Ordinance #13-15 creating a façade grant program within the City of Gillespie. Mayor Hicks said the city is trying to give incentives to businesses that improve their façade. Dave Tucker explained applicants would have to apply for the grant. The grant is a 50/50 grant and with a maximum amount of $10,000.
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The Benld City Council on Monday night unanimously approved a new ordinance governing livestock within the city limits. The new ordinance, which has been under discussion since April, will take effect in 90 days.
The issue came to light when resident Jennifer Zippay appeared before the council to voice concerns about a neighbor’s plans to stable three horses on a parcel zoned for agricultural use. The council initially considered amending the zoning code to further define “agricultural use,” but apparently later opted to write a new ordinance.
A version of the ordinance was tabled during the May council to make further revisions to the document.
The new ordinance excludes pets such as dogs, cats and caged birds. The number of cats and/or dogs a resident is permitted to own is governed by other ordinances.
Titled “Animals, Etc. in the City of Benld,” the new ordinance allows property owners to have up to three horses, sheep, goats or rabbits on their property, provided the property is zoned for agricultural use and comprises a minimum of three acres.
Cattle, swine, ducks, turkeys or geese are banned completely. An ordinance approved in 2016 already limits the number of chickens residents can raise within the city limits.
The ordinance specifically “grandfathers” property zoned for agricultural use where animals are already in place. That exclusion presumably includes the property that sparked the debate originally. The “grandfathering” clause ends when the property is sold. Property owners subject to “grandfathering” cannot replace animals prohibited by the ordinance in the event an animal dies.
The ordinance further requires property owners raising animals on their properties to install proper fencing, maintain the property to control odors and other factors that could be deemed a nuisance, and requires animal owners to properly care for and restrain their animals.
Law enforcement officers are empowered to issue an order prohibiting the keeping of any animal deemed to pose a health hazard to the general public.
Ald. Jerry Saracco moved to adopt the ordinance with a revision to require animal owners to register with the City Clerk declaring the type of animals they plan to have on their properties.
PROPERTY LEASE
The council voted unanimously to give Mayor Jim Kelly power to act in negotiating with Cahokia Township Highway Department to lease a small parcel of real estate where a communications tower was located. Kelly said he was contacted by the township Highway Commissioner about leasing the property to store a pile of rock currently being stored at a private residence.
“I don’t have a problem with leasing it,” Ald. Saracco commented. “What I’m concerned about is how much are we going to lease it for.”
City Clerk Terri Koyne said American Tower, owner of the now demolished communication tower, paid the city $350 per month to lease the parcel.
APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE
On a motion by Ald. John Balzraine, the council tabled action on the city’s annual appropriation ordinance. The required ordinance must be approved and filed by August 1, meaning the council presumably will vote on the ordinance in July.
VANDALISM
Balzraine reported that during the early morning hours on Sunday, someone broke a concrete urn containing flowers in front of City Hall. The urn was one of several decorating the downtown district.
“It’s a damned shame we can’t have anything,” Balzraine said. “This is the third or fourth time this has happened, and if we catch them, we’ll go after them to the fullest extent of the law.”
OIL DATE
Mayor Kelly announced that the city’s Motor Fuel Tax oil and chip program is scheduled for Tuesday, August. 19.
OTHER ACTION
In other action, the council:
- Again retained Scheffel Boyle, CPAs, to conduct the city’s annual audit at a cost not to exceed $18,300. City Clerk Koyne said the accountants will start work in city offices next week.
- Approved a business license for a lawn care business owned by Eric Kravanya.
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FELONIES
Amy J. Frizzo, 51 of Staunton, is charged with two counts of aggravated battery on a peace officer and resisting arrest in connection with a June 8 incident.
Anita S. Grizzle, 49 of Gillespie, is charged with possession of a controlled substance in connection with an April 27 incident.
Shane S. Bell, 34 of Girard, is charged with possession of methamphetamine (<5 grams) in connection with a May 8 incident.
Savannah R. Staples, 30 of Palmyra, is charged with possession of methamphetamine (<5 grams) in connection with a December 28, 2024 incident.
Stephen L. Barrick, 50 of Virden, is charged with possession of methamphetamine (<5 grams) in connection with an April 19 incident.
Jonathan A. Graves, 33 of Wilsonville, is charged with possession of a controlled substance in connection with an April 2 incident.
MISDEMEANORS
Kelly M. Lyons, 36 of Benld, is charged with battery/making physical contact in connection with a May 3 incident.
Michael A. Lewis, 48 of Girard, is charged with two counts of violation of an order of protection in connection with a June 10 and June 11 incident.
Anita S. Grizzle, 49 of Gillespie, is charged with resisting a peace officer/firefighter/corrections employee in connection with a June 12 incident.
TRAFFIC
Dustin A. Chapman, 42 of Girard, is charged with driving on a suspended license in connection with a June 7 incident.
Kyle W. Bennett, 38 of Carlinville, is charged with driving on a revoked license in connection with a June 8 incident.
Anthony C. Harris, 54 of Springfield, is charged with driving on a revoked license, canceled/revoked/suspended registration, operating an uninsured motor vehicle in connection with a June 7 incident.
Charles E. Lawton, 70 of Bunker Hill, is charged with driver’s license expired more than a year and unregistered/expired registration in connection with a June 2 incident.
Olivia Beiermann Tilley, 23 of Gillespie, is charged with driving on a suspended license, driving 15-20 mph above the limit, and operating an uninsured motor vehicle in connection with a May 31 incident.
Brenda M. Pipkin, 60 of Nilwood, is charged with driving on a suspended license, operating a motor vehicle with suspended registration, and operating an uninsured motor vehicle in connection with a June 2 incident.
Jacob N. Smith, 24 of Staunton, is charged with canceled/revoked/suspended registration in connection with a June 2 incident.
Tanner C. Williams, 20 of Wentzville, MO, is charged with speeding 35+ mph over the limit and being unlicensed in connection with a June 2 incident.
Mary L. Hagaman, 86 of Carlinville, is charged with driving on a suspended license, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, and failure to reduce speed in connection with a May 31 incident.
Casey A. Stratton, 36 of Auburn, is charged with leaving the scene, failure to give notice of a crash, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, and failure to reduce speed in connection with a June 5 incident.
Denis Ivan Perez Rivera, 30 of Knoxville, TN, is charged with driving while never issued a license in connection with a June 2 incident.
Lucio B. Carcamo, 27 of Phoenix, AZ, is charged with driving while never issued a license in connection with a June 2 incident.
Megan E. Bertoldi, 38 of Litchfield, is charged with reckless driving, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, and failure to reduce speed in connection with a May 30 incident.
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Meeting Tuesday evening, June 10, the Macoupin County Board approved four resolutions paving the way for the replacement of a structurally deficient bridge on Hagaman Road over Solomon Creek about three miles southwest of Hettick. The contractor will remove an existing bridge and replace it with a three-span, 1,700-foot bridge with a concrete deck. The county’s share of the project will be up to $32,000.
The board approved a resolution appropriating up to $32,000 in local funds to support the project. State and federal funds will be used to pay WHKS & Co., Springfield, $35,424 for structural engineering services and environmental studies, and $160,918 to Hampton, Lenin and Renwick, Inc, Springfield, for Phase II construction engineering. Total cost for the project, including engineering costs, is projected at $2,060,000.
In addition to the major bridge project on Hagaman Road, the board approved three 50/50 township petitions to share the cost of replacing culverts on township roads. The approved petitions include:
- Replacing a culvert crossing a feeder stream to Gillespie Lake in Gillespie Township at a cost of $20,000, of which the county will contribute $10,000.
- Replacing a culvert crossing Honey Creek in Honey Point Township at a cost of $20,000, of which the county will cover $10,000.
- Replacing a culvert crossing Fox Branch in Scottville Township at a cost of $10,000, of which the county will cover $5,000.
A routine annual resolution to appropriate $140,300 in Motor Fuel Tax funds to pay the County Engineer for the 2025 calendar year also was approved.
WIND FARM PROJECT
Maggie Shelton, project manager for Scout Clean Energy, briefly discussed the Honeycut Wind Farm project in southwestern Macoupin County. Shelton told the board the company is in the land leasing phase of the project and may be two to three years away from approaching the County Board for permits. The company recently established a business office on Keating Street in Shipman.
Responding to a question from board member Bernie Kiel of Girard, Shelton said the project may encompass 15,000 to 25,000 acres and will support approximately 60 wind turbines. Seventy-five landowners have already committed to leasing 15,000 acres to the company but not all of the acreage is contiguous. Shelton said the company is working now to “fill in the gaps” to create a contiguous parcel.
When completed, the project is expected to generate $85 million in tax revenue for the county. The construction phase is expected to create 200 temporary jobs, and the facility will create 10 full-time operator jobs.
Shelton said she was simply notifying the board to keep board members in the loop going forward.
“I don’t want you to be caught off-guard,” she said. “We have strong landowner support. We have established an office in Shipman and I want you to feel free to come into the office any time you have questions.”
With an estimated completion date of October 2030, the Honeycut project is expected to provide enough electricity to power 120,000 homes.
Board members also heard from Gregory Santoni and Chris Stanford, representing Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC). A state-funded statewide program, the regional TASC office serves five counties in southwestern Illinois, including Macoupin.
“Our overall goal is to work through law enforcement to help as many people as possible in our five county area,” Santoni said. “We help people with mental illness issues, drug addiction and, sometimes, homelessness. We try to deflect those people away from involvement with law enforcement. Law enforcement has enough to do with other things.”
Law enforcement agencies in Macoupin County, as well as libraries, public health agencies, and other services, can refer people with mental health, alcoholism or drug addiction to TASC.
“If you know someone with mental health issues or drug abuse issues who don’t know where to go, please contact us,” Santoni said.
Stanford, himself 15 years into recovery, said TASC makes contact with referrals within 24 hours.
“Our services are completely voluntary,” Stanford said. “If they want our help, we will take them by the hand and take them through the process every step of the way.”
For the first time since April, there were no guests on the agenda to lodge complaints against Board Chair Larry Schmidt regarding alleged homophobic comments he made on social media. Meanwhile the Attorney General’s office is continuing to investigate an open meetings violation complaint in connection with Schmidt conducting a text messaging poll to gauge board members’ opinions about whether or not he should step down.
Both Pete Drummond, a private attorney retained on behalf of the board to avoid potential conflicts of interests with the county State’s Attorney, has filed a response to the complaint, as well as a letter from Schmidt himself to the Attorney General’s office.
GRANT AND CONTRACT DEVELOPER
In the committee reports segment of the meeting, board members learned the Economic Development Committee hired Joseph Chirwa as a grant manager for the county. Last month, the board gave the committee power to act in filling the newly created position. The initial contract is for one year with an option to continue based on the monetary value of grants the candidate is able to bring in.
Chirwa earned Masters and PhD from Northern Arizona University and was previously employed as a grants specialist for Terros Health in Phoenix, Arizona.
Participating by phone, Committee Chair Holly Klausing said he hopes to have Chirwa attend the next board meeting to introduce him to board members.
COURTHOUSE ROOF SAFETY
On the recommendation of the Building and Grounds Committee, the board unanimously approved a resolution establishing safety protocols for access to the courthouse roof. Committee Chair Harry Starr said the new roofing material on the roof poses a hazard for persons accessing roof for maintenance and other purposes. He said the policy establishes safety practices and can be updated in the future as the board sees fit.
The policy limits access to the roof to employees and contractors who have been trained, possess fall safety certification, and wear properly tested and tethered safety harnesses. Employees who access the roof must notify the Sheriff in advance, and all tools must be secured to reduce hazards for persons on the ground.
CORONERS MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT
Board members voted unanimously to join the state’s Coroners and Medical Examines Mutual Aid network. County Coroner Anthony Kravanya told the board the agreement will enable his office to lend assistance to other counties in the event of a disaster or incident involving mutiple fatalities such as the Illinois-55 traffic pile-up two years ago resulting from a dust storm in Montgomery County. By the same token, coroners and medical examiners from other counties are obligated to respond to Macoupin County in the event of a disaster.
“It’s something you hope you never need,” Kravanya said, “but you want it on file in case something happens.”
PROPERTY FRAUD
The board approved a new ordinance aimed at empowering the County Recorder to pursue and refer to the Circuit Court instances of property fraud or illegal clouding of title, and to pursue judgment in the court. According to the ordinance, property fraud, including fraudulent filings intended to cloud or fraudulently transfer title to real property by recording false or altered documents and deeds is a growing problem throughout the state.
While empowering the County Recorder to seek legal remedies, the ordinance does not preclude the State’s Attorney from filing criminal charges nor does it restrain property owners from filing civil lawsuits against the offender. If the court agrees with the Recorder’s allegations of fraud or title clouding, the defendant will be held responsible for court costs and filing fees.
BUDGET ISSUES
The Finance Committee reported it has received budget requests from county office holders and program managers. While most government entities requested modest increases of two to three percent, primarily to cover salary increases, the total increase approaches $480,000.
Meanwhile, County Clerk Pete Duncan is projecting flat revenues for the fiscal year starting starting Sept. 1. The annual budget averages about $20 million. At this point in the current fiscal year, Duncan said the county has taken in $10,084,363 for the General Fund and spent $7,386,718 which is keeping with projections made last year. The board projects General Fund revenues for next year of $10,065,452—$18,911 less that this year’s receipts.
The Finance Committee expects to hammer out a lean budget over the next few weeks with an eye toward presenting the final budget for board approval in August.
EXECUTIVE SESSION MINUTES
Following a 15-minute executive session, the board voted to keep the following executive session minutes sealed: an executive session from the Jan. 14 meeting remains sealed due to ongoing potential litigation. Executive session minutes from the May 13 board meeting, and the April 29, May 27 and June 9 meetings of the Economic Development Committee remain sealed for ongoing personnel issues.
Tuesday night’s executive session may also have included conversations about contract negotiations. County employees working under the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) reportedly have been working without a new contract for 10 months and remains the only bargaining unit with which the county has not reached a resolution.
A handful of AFSCME members protested their lack of a contract outside the courthouse prior to meeting.
COUNTY LIQUOR LICENSES
Following the recommendation of the County Liquor Commission, the board approved renewing the following licenses:
- Timber Lakes Golf Course, Staunton.
- Plainview Vineyard, Plainview.
- Wild Pickens Winery, Chesterfield.
- Bucks Crossing, Medora.
- The Topp Hatt, Inc. Girard.
- Staunton Country Club.
- Darr’s Truck Stop, Medora.
- The Rustic Venues, LLC, Standard City.
- Macoupin County Fair.
OTHER ACTION
In other action, the board:
- Appointed Tammy Dugan to a five-year term on the Henderson Water District Board of Directors ending June 30, 2030.
- Gave the Economic Development Committee power to act in regard to writing letters of support for an application for a 2025 Energy Transition Community Grant.
