Story courtesy of Scott Mareing for TOC (WROY/WRUL) News…
Before the meeting Chad May was sworn in as Mayor, Mary R. Bryson as Treasurer, Tom Maulding as Alderman Ward 1, Thomas E. Murn as Alderman Ward 2 and Lucas Jones as Alderman Ward 3.
Outgoing Mayor Dick Dietz wished May well and believed he would do a very good job.
Concerning the water tower project, the council approved the May pay request of $87,752.68 for submittal to USDA Rural Development, $81,752.40 for Followell Construction of Marion and the other $6,000.28 for Shawnee Professional Services. The project is about 90% complete.
Approved was Change Order #2 for $177,680.19
Also, there is about $70 to $75,000 left in bond funds from Rural Development. Committees will be formed later to decide how to spend the money, so the issue was tabled for now.
As far as how the sanitary sewer improvement project is going, the work is ready to begin, they’re just waiting for final comments from the state Department of Agriculture.
The aldermen approved allowing Shawnee Professional Services to survey parcels along South Hancock for a new Dollar General store, for a cost not to exceed $4,000.
There was discussion with Police Chief Nathan Taylor about Police Department staffing. That issue was resolved in an Executive Session later on in the meeting.
Taylor also discussed with the board a new police squad car. He said the Dodge Durango has needed a lot of work done recently and the reserve vehicle, a Crown Victoria, has also needed some major repairs. It was decided that the city will continue using the Durango for now and the Crown Victoria will be put up for sale, with sealed bids accepted until 4 PM June 7th. They will be opened at 8 AM on June 8th.
Also approved was the selling of the Pontiac G6 that they currently use for city business, also by sealed bid to be accepted until 4 PM June 7th and opened at 8 AM on June 8th. And approved was the purchase of a 2018 White Chevrolet Malibu from Teffertillers to replace the G6.
The structure at 503 East St. Charles Street will be torn down at a cost of $4,200.
Haley Peters was appointed city pool manager which involves the pool schedule, pool maintenance and staffing, with some of the aldermen to help assist her if needed.
The board approved allowing the Girl Scouts to have an overnight camp at Kids Kingdom tentatively scheduled for June 4th.
The use of the Izaak Walton Cabin for the Girl Scouts at no charge failed due to the lack of a motion.
JD Rapp was appointed as an assistant to Mayor Chad May to decorate City Hall for the major holidays of the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Rapp is known locally for his weather reports on Facebook.
A new City Hall policy was adopted called “Mcleansboro Cares”. To show that city employees care about the city, there will be “care days”, in which each employee will be allowed to take a day off for community service work of their choice. These “care days” can be donated to other employees as well.
Mayor May wants to revamp the city’s website sometime in the future and make it easy to navigate on any device.
The board gave final approval to the sale of several properties to various individuals, tabling one other sale until next month’s meeting.
The board held an executive session for just over an hour to discuss employment of a specific individual and concerning collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives. After the closed session it was announced that the board accepted the resignation of Jake Wheeler as a Police Officer effective April 21, 2021; Joey Rebstock was hired as a part-time officer effective immediately; and Corey Wade will be hired as a full-time officer effective July 5th pending a fingerprint background check. They also decided to keep the same pay scale for the City Pool Manager as was in effect in 2019.
The aldermen adjourned after a 2 hour and 38 minute meeting at 8:38 PM.
