Kankakee Times

City of Gilman City Council met Nov. 12.

Here is the agenda provided by the council:

The regular meeting of the city council was called to order by Mayor Theesfeld. Council responding to roll call were: McGehee aye, Elliott aye, Kraft aye, Eimen aye, Voigt eye, and Fancher aye. City Clerk Morris and Treasurer Johnson were also present.

Moved by McGehee Seconded by Elliott

to approve the minutes from the regular meeting held on October 8, 2018. All aye.

Moved by McGehee Seconded by Kraft

to transfer $13,000.00 from the General Fund to the Road and Bridge Fund, $40,000.00 from the General Fund to the 2002/2011 Bond Fund, and $508,000.00 from the General Fund to the Sanitary Sewer Fund. All aye.

Mike Swierk spoke to the council regarding the status of the CN/Illinois Central Santa Train for 2018. He advised that the Santa Train has been privatized and will be for the CN employees and retirees and their families. However, if members of the public attend, they will not be turned away. The Santa Train will be in Gilman on Thursday, December 6, 2018. Since the train is no longer for the public, Mr. Swierk and other volunteers have established the “Illinois Santa’s Elf Patrol”. The Elf Patrol will be traveling with Santa in a motor home and will be escorted from town to town in central Illinois by local fire departments on Saturday, December 8, 2018. Santa and the elves will be in Gilman on that date from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Carrie Miller, along with Iroquois West High School students who are members of the Honor Society, were also in attendance and requested a donation from the City for the event that will be held at The Garage in Gilman on December 8th. As indicated, Santa will be present and the donation will be used to purchase gifts and treats for the children who attend. Mrs. Miller advised the council that they have approximately $600.00 in the bank account and 439 kids went to the Santa Train last year. Jamie Eden of the Iroquois County Chamber of Commerce was also present and advised that there will be activities for kids at The Garage on December 8th as well.

Moved by Eimen and Seconded by Fancher

to donate $400.00 to the honor society/santa train for the event at The Garage. All aye.

Jamie Eden, on behalf of the Iroquois County Chamber of Commerce, advised the council that the chamber has extra money from Super Saturday and inquired if the City would like a refund or if the funds should be kept for next year. Mayor Theesfeld advised her to keep the funds for next year.

Moved by Kraft Seconded by Voigt

to approve and adopt the 2018-2019 Tax Levy Ordinance No. 18-19-09 for $197,983.08. All aye.

Moved by Eimen Seconded by Elliott

to approve Resolution No. 18-19-R4 to abate $65,000.00 of the levy for the 2002/2011 bonds for the year 2018 real estate taxes. All aye.

Moved by McGehee Seconded by Eimen

to approve payment of the sum of $5,458.54 to Dennis Wittenborn for Monical’s from TIF 1 for reimbursement for the 2017 real estate taxes payable in 2018 and for approval of Resolution No. 18-19-R5. All aye.

The tree removal bids from Price and LaMarr were discussed.

Moved by Kraft Seconded by McGehee

to accept the bid of $6,575.00 from Price’s Tree Service for those trees listed on the bid, and to accept the bid of $5,200.00 from LaMarr Construction for those trees listed on the bid. All aye. Mayor Theesfeld advised that there are another five trees that need to be cut down that are not on either list.

The proposed Communication Services Agreement between the City of Gilman and Iroquois County was discussed. It was stated that the Agreement is not fair because not all communities in Iroquois County are charged by the county for the county’s services. Apparently, if a community has no police officers, then it pays nothing to the county but receives the same services as those who do pay the county. Alderman Eimen questioned the county’s authority to bill the City of Gilman, especially when 911 is apparently paying sums to Iroquois County.

Moved by Eimen Seconded by Fancher

to pay Iroquois County Joint Dispatch $2,688.00 for communications services from December 1, 2018 through November 30, 2019 and to sign the Agreement. However, when the Agreement and check are sent to Iroquois County, a request for an accounting should be made. Alderman McGehee voted nay. All other council members voted aye.

The estimate of Twin Supplies, Ltd. for new ceiling lights in city hall was discussed. Ameren has a rebate program where the light fixtures are free, and the City will only pay for the delivery and labor estimated at $560.00 for 14 fixtures.

Moved by ElliottSeconded by Kraft

to approve the estimate and have the light fixtures changed. All aye.

The City’s 2011 John Deere backhoe that caught on fire on October 25, 2018 was a total loss, and the City has been borrowing a backhoe since that time. The cause of the fire is not known. Mayor Theesfeld advised that a settlement with the insurance company has been reached whereby the City will receive $40,733.34 and retain the old backhoe for salvage value of approximately $13,800.00. Martin Equipment in Tolono, Illinois will probably pick up the old backhoe sometime next week. The old backhoe was insured for $50,000.00, but the insurance company did not determine that it was valued at that amount at the time of the fire.

Moved by Voigt Seconded by McGehee

to purchase a new 2019 310L John Deere Backhoe Loader from Martin Equipment for $93,500.00, without competitive bids. All aye.

The former Reilly property located at 238 N. Central Street is in a dilapidated condition and has been purchased by Sabre Investments, LLC, a tax buyer. Mayor Theesfeld has come to an agreement with Sabre for the City to purchase that property for $12,737.79 plus all closing costs and the 2018 real estate taxes, to be paid from TIF.

Moved by Elliott Seconded by McGehee

to approve the purchase of the property for that amount and approve Ordinance No. 18-19-10 for the same. All aye.

Mayor Theesfeld advised the council that Neil Piggush of Piggush Engineering will attend the December city council meeting to discuss a possible grant for the N. Central Street project.

Alderman Voigt had nothing to discuss.

Alderman Elliott had nothing to discuss.

Alderman Fancher had nothing to discuss.

Alderman Eimen had nothing to discuss.

Alderman McGehee had nothing to discuss.

Alderman Kraft had nothing to discuss.

Moved by FancherSeconded by Voigt

to approve the bills as they were presented, and to approve the Balance Sheet, and Profit and Loss Statement dated November 12, 2018 as presented. All aye.

Moved by Fancher Seconded by Kraft

to adjourn the regular meeting at 8:08 p.m. All aye.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Gkc_efspkCiDpstGUYFXVIrbncIdeJL_ZkC0kVe7Q04/edit