Council Minutes 04-17-25
Harrisburg City Council
City Hall
110 E. Locust Street
Harrisburg, Il 62946
April 17, 2025
8:00 a.m.
The Harrisburg City Council met on April 17, 2025 at 8:00 a.m. at the City Hall located at 110 E. Locust Street, Harrisburg, IL.
Mayor John McPeek called the meeting to order. Mayor John McPeek presided over the meeting with Commissioners Raymond Gunning, Roger Angelly, Rupert Johnson, and Jonathan Brown answering the roll call.
Pastor Bobby Gentry of the River of Life Pentecostal Church led the group in prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to approve the consent agenda.
Regular Meeting Minutes – April 03, 2025
Menards - $3,974.80 - #98361 – Business District
Novacom - $25,515.00 - #32553 - Business District
Southeastern Illinois Regional Planning - $5,000.00 – 2020 DCEO/RLF Watermain
Ray O’Herron - $60.29 - #3233037 – Council Contingency
Siegel’s Uniforms - $150.49 - #600157-1 - Council Contingency
Siegel’s Uniforms - $910.49 - #600154-1 - Council Contingency
Anderson Overhead Door - $10,945.00 - #91479 – TIF
Core & Main - $3,047.12 - #608698 – DCEO/Energy Transition Grant
R. Parks – Relinquish Lake Lot – 2nd Add, Block 1, Lot 11
Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mayor John McPeek announced there was a bid opening for the City Hall restroom renovation on Tuesday April 15, 2025. The city received three sealed bids. The bids are as follows:
White Oak, LLC - $41,575.30
Corey Mataya - $55,065.82
Jeff Landis - $46,375.00
Mayor John McPeek stated at this time he is choosing not to accept any of the bids as he believes they are too high. He will work with the Public Property Department and look at this being an in-house project.
Mayor John McPeek stated there was a public hearing prior to this meeting regarding the request to vacate alleyways within the Harrisburg Park District. There were no citizen comments. Commissioner Rupert Johnson made the motion to approve Ordinance 1913 to vacate the alleyways for the Harrisburg Park District as requested. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes, except Commissioner Raymond Gunning abstained. Motion carried.
City Treasurer Alex Jackson stated there were no changes made to the budget that was presented at the March 20, 2025 meeting. Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to approve the FY 25/26 budget as presented. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried. Mayor John McPeek thanked everyone for working on the budget. He asked that all departments stay within their budget.
Eric Boe with Brown and Roberts, Inc. stated after the last council meeting, a decision was made to include the cemetery roadways in this year’s MFT program. Eric Boe stated the council needs to rescind the previous resolution and he stated no documents have been sent in for the upcoming program. Commissioner Rupert Johnson made the motion to rescind Resolution 25-0403B for the 2025 MFT maintenance resolution. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Eric Boe with Brown and Roberts, Inc. presented the new resolution for maintenance. Commissioner Rupert Johnson made the motion to approve Resolution 25-0417 for the 2025 MFT maintenance. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Eric Boe with Brown and Roberts, Inc. stated the city has received a letter for dam inspections from Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the authorize Brown and Roberts, Inc. to proceed with the inspection of Harrisburg Lake Dam as required by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Seconded by Commissioner Rupert Johnson. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Eric Boe with Brown and Roberts, Inc. stated the city also received a letter for inspections of the reservoir/lagoons. Commissioner Roger Angelly made the authorize Brown and Roberts, Inc. to proceed with the inspection of reservoir/lagoons as required by Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mayor John McPeek presented the resolution for OTTD, LLC at 105 Poplar Street. This is for work being completed at the apartment complex on Poplar Street. Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to approve Resolution 25-0417A for OTTD, LLC. Seconded by Commissioner Rupert Johnson. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mayor John McPeek presented the redevelopment agreement for OTTD, LLC. Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to approve the redevelopment agreement with OTTD, LLC. Seconded by Commissioner Rupert Johnson. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Attorney Kolby Smithpeters informed the council that the owner of 917 W. O’Gara Street is willing to deed the property over to the city. He will draft the deed, get it signed, and filed. The city can then tear down the house and sell the property. Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the accept the deed at 917 W. O’Gara Street. Seconded by Commissioner Rupert Johnson. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Attorney Kolby Smithpeters stated the council can proceed with the advertisement for the demolition of this property. Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to authorize the city clerk to advertise for the demolition of 917 W. O’Gara Street. Seconded by Commissioner Rupert Johnson. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Attorney Kolby Smithpeters stated the owner of 519 W. Elm Street would like to give the city this property. When he purchased the lot from the city, he thought it was a different lot. The council agreed to take the property back and refund his money. Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to accept the 519 W. Elm Street. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mayor John McPeek presented the mural agreement with ARTSO for the mural located at 1 E. Poplar Street. The mural will start in May 2025. Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to authorize Mayor John McPeek to sign the mural design painting agreement. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Departmental Reports are as follows:
Superintendent Kenny Mayhall with Street/Alley Dept: Equipment has been serviced, mowing season has started, replaced storm drain basins and culverts, rip rapped culvert ends on Cheney Street, cleaning out ditches, culvert ends, and drains, replacing missing street signs and replacing faded stop signs, working on filling in potholes, still picking up limbs, and they have filled eleven semi-trailer loads which is approximately forty-four dumpster during clean up.
Superintendent Jacob Palmer with Public Property: They’ve had four burials, working with insurance companies with headstones damaged from the ice storm, started new landscaping in Little Arlington, replaced the ADA flooring, relocated pipes and wiring for the new garage doors at City Hall, pressure washed City Hall, mowing bike path, courtyard, amphitheater, Malan Junior High and Harrisburg Lake, removed graffiti from the bike path bridge, tilled and planted wildflowers, new landscaping at Pruett Building, five clean ups, and acquired a house and property on O’Gara Street and working on the leaning house on Sloan Street.
Superintendent Jason Haney with Water/Sewer/Flood Control Dept: There were 444 JULIE locates, fifteen sewer calls, four sewer main/service line repairs, two sewer taps, worked on manholes, sewer mains, water breaks/repairs, five water taps, one water service replacement, changed out five meter yoke valves, four water service disconnected/retired, changed out six water meter pits. They are about finished with the watermain project along the bike path and Parker Plaza. His department is managing the flooding issue by setting out additional pumps, pumping and cleaning the ditches. Commissioner Roger Angelly thanked his department for their hard work and efforts during the rounds of heavy rain.
Police Chief Nathan Moore: He reported 943 calls, eighty-six court cases, eighty-five arrests, 115 traffic stops, thirty-nine court appearances, 153 training hours, and 132 security checks. He informed the council the Flock System that was installed is performing as expected and the number of citations is up. They have implemented a new TIP program. Citizens can now file an anonymous complaint or tip.
Fire Chief John Gunning: He stated his department has had 406 calls year-to-date, 305 training hours year-to-date, and working on advanced trainings. There will be a mutual county drill where Shawneetown and Carrier Mills will assist with a controlled burn of a house. His firefighter will complete the Fire Academy on April 18, 2025, but return to complete the hazmat training. He will be back at the Fire House May 01, 2025. The lights have been replaced within the building.
They have pressure-washed the firehouse and will do some beautification, painting, and some landscaping. The have had their first Ride to School with the school. They also participated in the celebrity reader program.
City Treasurer Alex Jackson: She completed the upcoming budget, has applied for grants, and business as usual in her office. She will start working on the upcoming audit.
City Clerk Terri Jenkins: She has been collecting the renewal leases and payments for Harrisburg Lake. She is finishing with the annual liquor and video gaming renewals. It is time for anyone with a UTV to come renew their stickers. It is also time to renew the tree limb site permits. She has been working on Sasquatch. The city is accepting donations for the 2025 Sasquatch Festival.
Commissioner Jonathan Brown and City Treasurer Alex Jackson listened to the ideas from each department during the budget process. One of the ideas was to have our own fuel tanks. City Treasurer Alex Jackson reached out to three fuel providers. One of them does not have tanks available and the other never returned a phone call or email. Choice Energy Services gave the city a quote for the fuel price and tank rental fee. Choice Energy will cover regular repairs and maintenance while the city is using their tanks. City Treasurer Alex Jackson projects fuel savings of $7,000 to $8,000 per year.
These tanks will be under camera surveillance, each department will have a code along with employee codes for the keypad. This will be monitored. There will be two fuel tanks at the Street/Alley Department and Water/Sewer Department. Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to authorize Attorney Kolby Smithpeters to review the contract and for Mayor John McPeek to sign the contract. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Raymond Gunning stated the police department needs to hire two new officers. One officer has retired, and another will be leaving this month. Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to request two names from the Merit Board for full-time police officers. Seconded by Commissioner Rupert Johnson. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Bill Johnston from the Merit Board stated the testing was done on April 12, 2025 to include the physical and written portion, and the oral interviews were held on April 14, 2025. There are two candidates eligible to be hired. The top scoring candidate is Allen Abe, and the second candidate is Dylan L. Morris.
Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to hire Allen Abe effective May 01, 2025 at the rate of $26.92 pending the passing of a physical and drug screen. Seconded by Commissioner Rupert Johnson. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Raymond Gunning made the motion to hire Dylan L. Morris effective May 01, 2025 at the rate of $26.92 pending the passing of a physical and drug screen. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
The council discussed options for a new police department. There is a meeting today with an architect to discuss renovations at an existing building and to look at the Malan Junior High property. The architect said there could possibly be some grant funds available. They will meet with Joe Lane to look at the cost of rehabbing the property on Church Street.
Commissioner Jonathan Brown stated after the last meeting; a couple of individuals expressed interest in selling their buildings to the city. Mr. Dixon is willing to discuss selling his building and he knows the owners of the building next door. He said they are also willing to sell their building. Scott Stout has a building for sale. He believes the council should look into these options.
Commissioner Roger Angelly thanked the Fire Department for coming to his house last night due to his carbon monoxide detector going off.
Commissioner Rupert Johnson made the motion to accept the petition to vacate the alleyway for Harrisburg High School. Seconded by Commissioner Roger Angelly. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Commissioner Rupert Johnson made the motion to authorize the city clerk to advertise a public hearing for vacating the alleyway for Harrisburg High School. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mayor John McPeek stated the cemetery building needs repairs. Mayor John McPeek made the motion to authorize the city clerk to advertise for sealed bids for the repair of the cemetery building/office. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mayor John McPeek stated his department needs a new truck. Mayor John McPeek made the motion to authorize the city clerk to advertise for sealed bids for a new truck. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Mayor John McPeek stated the city held their first Farmer’s Market. It went very well. The next Farmer's Market is April 26, 2025 from 8:00 a.m. to noon
Mayor John McPeek made the motion to adjourn to April 30, 2025 at 8:00 a.m. Seconded by Commissioner Raymond Gunning. A roll call vote was taken with all present voting yes. Motion carried.
Adjourn: 8:36 a.m.