The McLeansboro City Council met Tuesday night for less than an hour. Scott Mareing was there and has this report…
The meeting was held at its soon-to-be new meeting place, the former St. Clement’s Catholic Church at 603 East Market Street.
The board approved a proposal for the renovation of the building. According to Mayor Chad May, among the features of the building will be individual offices for various department heads, a kitchen, a large area for the Police Department, meeting rooms, and ADA handicapped accessible bathrooms. In the future, there will be a kitchen for police with a hallway to the police cars and a service window to pay bills. Carpeting will be installed in the front room with LED lighting. May said the total cost is about $160,000, not the several hundred thousands of dollars that have been speculated.
In public comments, John Williams of Global Life Insurance addressed the board about insurance for city employees and the various plans they offer. The board members will look over his proposal and get back to him.
The aggregate tax levy was approved and there will be no Truth in Taxation hearing needed. There was first reading of an ordinance making the annual tax levy for the city for the fiscal year beginning May 1, 2024 and ending April 30, 2025.
The board agreed to approve for another year the letter of agreement between the city of McLeansboro and Belwether LLC.
There was first reading of an ordinance regarding the employee expense voucher. It will eliminate per diem payments and will have an expense reimbursement form added for travel approved by the Mayor or City Clerk. It will be voted on at next month’s meeting.
A sewer pump was approved for the sewer lift station located near Fairview Estates.
The board discussed how to proceed with deposit refunds They will contact those with outstanding balances to verify them, and if they are unable to, the money will go to I-CASH, which is a program by the state that holds unclaimed funds until they are claimed by the original owner or their heirs.
Kyle Ragen was hired as a water department employee, providing he can pass the test.
The Consent Agenda was approved, which includes a TIF agreement and TIF Façade grant with Justin Drake of Country Financial at 105 West Main Street, and TIF reimbursement in the amount of $1,666.72 for Wuebbels Repair LLC.
In the Police Report for October, Crashes and traffic stops and citations were up. They received a grant from the Circuit Clerk’s Office at no cost for transferring over from written paper citations to E-citations. Also, the K-9 unit sniffed out two vehicles locating drugs. City Council members, McLeansboro Police Departmnet, and the Mayor appreciate the hard work of Beth Sandusky and her team as they helped streamline the new system for them and her office.
The board adjourned at 6:21 PM.
