Sangamon Sun

City of Athens City Council met Jan. 8.

Here is the minutes provided by the Council:

Athens City Council

Regular Meeting

Monday, January 8, 2018

Mayor Dowell welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order at 7pm at Athens City Hall. The Mayor asked if any Veteran present would like to lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. All stood and Missy Hodgdon led the pledge.

Clerk Cindy McFarland called roll. Present were Aldermen: Chris Basso, Larry Buhr, Ron Canterbury, Tom Croft Sr., and Tom Herman. Alderman Butch Nichols was absent. Also in attendance were Shirley Hall, Steve Lindsey, Chris Roberts, Michael Roberts, William Singer, Tom Gum, Missy Hodgdon, Norm Flowers, Todd Lawson, Linda Wasilewski, Merle Messersmith, Rex Kieffer, Jeff Moss, Gary Richardson, Ryne Crowe, Dalton Abrams-Meredith, Brett Harlan, Jack Harlan, Tyler Hollar, Robert Tobin, Cory Taylor, Karissa Carls, and Ellie Stuhmer.

Mayor Dowell started the meeting by asking the council to take a moment to review the water report submitted by Ryne Crowe and the streets and alleys report submitted by Don Squires. Alderman Buhr asked that we take a moment to thank our city employees for the great job they did responding to and repairing the water main breaks. Alderman Buhr was out of state during the break but he did follow the progress on social media. The Mayor agreed that we are very fortunate to have such a great team of city workers. Then a motion was made by Alderman Basso, seconded by Alderman Herman, to approve the police, treasurers', water and wastewater, and streets and alleys report. Ayes: Basso, Canterbury, Croft, and Herman. Present: Buhr. Motion passed.

Motion made by Alderman Herman, seconded by Alderman Canterbury, to approve the minutes of the December 7, 2017 Committee Meeting and the December 11, 2017 Regular Council Meeting. Ayes: Basso, Canterbury, Croft, and Herman. Present: Buhr. Minutes approved, motion passed.

Motion made by Alderman Herman, seconded by Alderman Buhr, to repeal the previous Sexual Assault Ordinance and to pass Ordinance 01-2018, an Ordinance Adopting a Policy Prohibiting Sexual Harassment for the City of Athens, Menard County, Illinois. All ayes, Motion passed.

Motion made by Alderman Canterbury, seconded by Alderman Basso, to approve the payment of the December bills. Ayes: Basso, Canterbury, Croft, and Herman. Present: Buhr. Motion passed.

Next on the agenda was the $1000 donation to the Lions Club for Toys for Angels. Alderman Buhr took a moment to explain the Toys for Angels program and what the donation would be used for. Motion made by Alderman Buhr, seconded by Alderman Herman, to approve the $1000 donation to the Lions Club for Toys for Angels to be paid from the gaming fund. All ayes. Motion passed.

Motion made by Alderman Buhr, seconded by Alderman Canterbury, to accept the winning bid from Brown Family Farms in the amount of $217 per acre for the Cemetery ground lease. All ayes. Motion passed.

Motion made by Alderman Basso, seconded by Alderman Croft, to add water clerk Nicole McCormick to the city meter deposit account and bank accounts. All ayes. Motion passed.

Motion made by Alderman Herman, seconded by Alderman Basso, to accept the Auditor's Report for the city prepared by the Kyle McGinnis Firm. Ayes: Basso, Canterbury, Croft, and Herman. Present: Buhr. Motion passed.

Next on the agenda was the American Legion Menard County Post 129's Liquor License Application. The Mayor said that he thinks there are people in the room who would like to speak both in favor of approving the license as well against approving the license. Each side would be given 3 minutes to state their case. Missy Hodgdon spoke on behalf of the American Legion. She explained the financial challenges of keeping the American Legion going such as utility costs and standard upkeep. Her family and the legion members work hard at the chicken dinners to raise money to keep the legion going for the Veterans who have supported our country and sacrificed for us and for the community. Approval of the American Legion's liquor license application would also allow for gaming at the legion. The money raised would help keep the legion post open and in turn would benefit our community. Next Jeff Moss of Springfield spoke in opposition to approving the license. He said that when his sister was Mayor, he researched the original deed and that the deed states that the land must be used only as a park forever and it must remain a park forever or it could revert back to the Salzenstein family. Mr. Moss said that the family had allowed the city to have the Legion take over the park with the same stipulation. Mr. Moss went on to state that he thinks the building was put on the land without permission and is not in compliance with zoning rules. The mayor then stated that the city had requested a legal opinion relating to the proposed issuance of a liquor license for this location. The Mayor then read a statement from the city attorney. “The city would not let this proposal move forward if it was not in the opinion of the attorney that the city was legally allowed to do so." The Mayor asked if anyone on the council would like to make a motion to approve the liquor license application for the American Legion. Motion made by Alderman Basso. The Mayor asked if there was a second on the motion. No one on the city council seconded the motion. Therefore there was no vote allowed and the motion was not passed.

Next on the agenda was the purchase of a phosphorous probe for the sewer department. The Mayor went over vendor pricing provided by wastewater operator Robbie Bluett. Motion made by Alderman Herman, seconded by Alderman Croft, to approve the purchase of a phosphorus probe for the sewer department for a maximum cost of $1472.50 from YSI. All ayes. Motion passed.

Next Corey Taylor from Agility Communications spoke about their proposed Business Security Bundle which would provide the city with a managed security solution to secure and monitor all networks, provide managed data backup services, and ensure PCI compliance. There was discussion about services provided by Agility Communications, current security concerns voiced by Karissa Carls, and questions from council members. Motion made by Alderman Canterbury, seconded by Alderman Herman, to accept the Business Security Bundle contract from Agility Communications for a 3 year service period at the monthly cost of $399.95 with a one-time installation fee of $350. All ayes. Motion passed.

Then the Mayor said that before he went on to the water main update, he would like to introduce some of our city employees who are here with us tonight. Office Manager Karissa Carls, who is spending her birthday here with us today, water Superintendent Ryne Crowe, and Police Officer Dalton Abrams-Meredith.

Under New Business, the Mayor gave an update on the water main break. There was a second main break on Sunday. It was on Hargrave Street and was in a very bad location, right under a gas main under the old road. Therefore most of the digging had to be done by hand. The Mayor said again how much he appreciated the hard work of our city employees and how blessed we are to live in the community we live in. Alderman Buhr asked how we can find out where these old water lines are located. The Mayor has researched how to get this type of mapping done but it is very time consuming and expensive. However, once we have the mapping done, we would always have this information. The Mayor hopes that we can look into this further and make a plan to move forward.

The mayor asked the council if they had anything else to discuss or if there were any public comments. Linda Wasilewski said that she would like a light on the barricades on Hargrave. The Mayor said this would be taken care of tomorrow. Bob Tobin from Neuhoff media spoke up to say that he received the information from the city about the water main break right away and got it on the radio. He said that he is always available to support the city in an emergency. Alderman Buhr said that the food pantry is moving to their new location this week and everyone is invited to help move.

Mayor Dowell said that would conclude our agenda this evening. Motion made by Alderman Buhr, seconded by Alderman Canterbury, to adjourn the meeting at 7:53pm. Motion passed unanimously.

http://www.athensil.com/documents/75/SKM_C224e18030713581.pdf