Sangamon Sun

City of Athens City Council Committee met April 4.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

Mayor Bob Dowell opened the meeting and thanked everyone for attending. Clerk Cindy McFarland called roll. Those in attendance were Mayor Bob Dowell, Clerk Cindy McFarland, and Aldermen: Chris Basso, Larry Buhr, Ron Canterbury, Tom Croft Sr., Tom Herman, and Butch Nichols. Persons in the audience included Linda Wasilewski, Gary Richardson, Ryan Seifert, Robbie Bluett, Ryne Crowe, Ellie Stuhmer, Nicole McCormick, Sarah McCart, Derrick Fritz, Craig Reincke, and Officer Kyle Hopps.

Mayor Dowell said that Chief Tim Becker will present the Police Report on Monday night. Treasurer Ryan Seifert presented the Treasurer Report. Don Squires will provide the Streets & Alleys Report on Monday. Ryne Crowe presented the Water Report and Robbie Bluett presented the Wastewater Report. Alderman Canterbury said that there had been a Cemetery Meeting tonight as well as one held on March 28. Mowing will start at the cemetery next week if weather permits. Rachael Lantz is looking into grave makers for the new part. Alderman Canterbury said that a metal detector is needed to locate the rows. Alderman Herman offered the use of his. If possible, the cemetery committee would like to buy flowers for Veterans for Memorial Day. Nicole McCormick presented the Office Manager's Report and noted that the spring city wide garage sales are set for May 31st and June 1st Sgt. Fritz presented the City Fleet Report.

First on the agenda was the budget. Mayor Dowell said that we will be ready to go over the budget on Monday night. He asked if the council would be available on 4/10/19 at 7pm for a special budget meeting. Council members indicated that they would be available.

Next on the agenda was preventative maintenance for the HVAC systems at City Hall. The Mayor provided 2 bids to the council. Each bid provided the cost for furnace service in the fall and AC service in the spring. The vote to accept the lowest bid will be on Monday's agenda.

Mayor Dowell went on to the topic of the 2019 summer reading program at the Athens Municipal Library. The theme this year is It's Showtime at Your Library! The Mayor said that the city usually donates $250 yearly to this program, to be paid from the gaming fund. The council agreed this should be on the agenda for Monday.

The new Famers Market was next on the agenda. The Mayor said he had contacted the Health Department and got everything lined up. He hopes that it could be held once per week. He asked the council what fee should be charged for booth rental. The council recommended that no fee be charged since this will be a great benefit for our city.

Next the Mayor said that he had lunch with the school resource officer, Kyle Hopps, and had the opportunity to meet the AHS Horticulture teacher. They discussed the possibility of the horticulture class taking care of the landscaping at City Hall with the city providing the plants and flowers. The Mayor said that the cost should be minimal.

Mayor Dowell said that Brandon Austin had contacted him about filming a rock video in Athens on April 27 in the morning. If a road should need to be blocked off by Police or anything needed to be cleaned up after the filming, the film company would cover these costs. The film company will also provide insurance/liability documentation to the city. The Tree of Honor Planting & Ceremony will also be held on April 27th at 2pm. The rock video filming will not interfere with this ceremony. The rain date for the ceremony and tree planting would be one week later.

Next on the agenda was the first drawing for the weather radio giveaway in conjunction with Athens being a Storm Ready Community. An audience member drew the name of George Bisby. Congratulations!

First under old business was the road repairs off Low Prairie Drive. The permit has been received and now we are waiting on the engineers. Next was the update on problem properties. The next court date for the property at Polk and Jefferson is April 15th. The city is following up with fines for the other properties in town that are in violation. The Mayor went on to say that the new playground equipment provided by the Stahl Foundation would be installed soon. Last under old business was the update on the Athens Youth Council activities. The Council conducts scientific experiments on Saturdays and has yoga classes on Sundays at City hall when the building in not being used. Mayor Dowell said the Council's Facebook page is full of great information.

Under new business, the Mayor said that Craig Reincke was here to speak to us about the community mapping. Mr. Reincke approached the podium and explained that MAPPING (Management & Planning Programs Involving Non-metropolitan Groups) is a strategic visioning and planning process for community and economic development Community members are encouraged to offer new ideas and identify ways to work together to improve Athens. Also, the cities within Menard County can work together to identify each community's strengths and build upon them. Mr. Reincke will be in contact to hopefully move forward with our community's mapping.

Mayor Dowell asked if there was anything else under new business. Alderman Herman asked what is going on with the old Grant's Café. Mayor Dowell said that the owner still plans to open a restaurant and build 2 apartments upstairs. That ended the agenda for the evening. The Mayor thanked everyone and asked for a motion to adjourn to executive session. Motion made by Alderman Buhr, seconded by Alderman Herman, to adjourn to executive session at 7:52pm.

The council returned from executive session at 8:17 pm. The Mayor asked if the council had reviewed all the bills and they had. Mayor Dowell asked for a motion to adjourn. Motion made by Alderman Basso, seconded by Alderman Nichols, to adjourn at 8:18pm.

https://www.athensil.com/documents/75/April_4_minutes.pdf