West Central Reporter

City of Rushville City Council met Jan. 3.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

1. ROLL CALL & CALL TO ORDER

The Rushville City Council met in the meeting room of the City Hall Building. Upon convening, Mayor Jeff Ervin directed City Clerk, Stacey Briney to call the roll. Upon ROLL CALL, the following answered present: Council Members: Susan Acker, Richard Davis, Bob Fishel, Bryan Matteson, & Paul Trimble. Council Members, Terry Dodds, Barry Rebman, & Mike Ryan were absent. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 P.M.

Others present included: Stacey Briney, City Clerk; Eric Thurman, Superintendent of Operation; and David Haney of The Rushville Times.

2. OPENING PRAYER

The Opening Prayer was led by Mayor Jeff Ervin.

3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Ervin.

4. PUBLIC COMMENTS

There were no public comments at this time.

5. CONSENT AGENDA

All items on the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine in nature and will be enacted in one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Council Member so requests, in which event, the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered as the first item after approval of the Consent Agenda.

a) Approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting held December 18, 2023

b) Approve “Claims for Council Approval Dated 01/03/24” & Accept Monthly Reports

c) Approve Reserving Central Park on Saturday, October 12, 2024, for a Wedding

d) Approve Outside Employment for Eric Thurman

Fishel MOVED TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. Trimble SECONDED, AND THE MOTION CARRIED WITH AN ALL “YEA” ROLL CALL VOTE AS FOLLOWS: 5 YEAS – Acker, Davis, Fishel, Matteson, & Trimble; 0 NAYS; 3 ABSENT – Dodds, Rebman, & Ryan.

6. ITEMS TO BE REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA – IF APPLICABLE All items were approved on the Consent Agenda.

7. DISCUSS & CONSIDER APPROVING REQUEST FOR LOAN DISBURSEMENT

Trimble MOVED TO APPROVE A REQUEST FOR LOAN DISBURSEMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF SIX THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED SEVEN DOLLARS AND FOURTEEN CENTS ($6,807.14) FOR THE IEPA GRANT, AND TWO HUNDRED FORTY-FOUR THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-NINE DOLLARS AND FIVE CENTS ($244,179.05) FOR THE USEPA GRANT. Fishel SECONDED, AND THE MOTION CARRIED WITH AN ALL “YEA” ROLL CALL VOTE AS FOLLOWS: 5 YEAS – Davis, Fishel, Matteson, Trimble, & Acker, 0 NAYS; 3 ABSENT – Dodds, Rebman, & Ryan.

8. COUNCIL MEMBER & OFFICIAL’S REPORTS

Fire & Water Committee Chairman, Paul Trimble reported Fire Chief, Vic Menely contacted him regarding getting Tanner Carson approved as a new fireman. Mayor Ervin noted this can be done tonight by consensus and then it will be placed on the next council agenda for formal approval. Consensus of the council was to approve the adding Tanner Carson to firemen roster.

Airport Committee Chairman, Bryan Matteson reported Chris Trone had informed him that the Beardstown Airport had gotten new runway lighting and are willing to donate their old lighting to our airport. Matteson thanked those involved in Beardstown for the generous donation.

Historic Preservation Committee Chairman, Richard Davis called for a committee meeting to be held on Tuesday, January 9th at 6:30 p.m. to Meet with Representatives from Jacksonville Historic Preservation Committee. Davis said this will give the city’s committee some pointers, ideas, etc.

Council Member, Richard Davis reported that he knows Trimble has been looking for a place to put a dog park and he wondered about the area between the swimming pool and playground. Davis stated this is a nice area and a lot of room for one. Davis noted a lot of dog parks are in a park. Mayor Ervin said this would have to be discussed with the Scripps Park Board.

City Clerk, Stacey Briney stated the lease with Two Rivers for their portion of the office in the old city hall building needs to have the date changed. Clerk Briney noted the original lease was dated to start in September, but they are just now moving in. Clerk Briney stated City Attorney, Erin Wilson-Laegeler said it would be perfectly fine to change the date if the council so chooses instead of amending the entire ordinance. Consensus of the council was to go ahead and change the lease date to January 1, 2024, ending December 31, 2026.

Clerk Briney reported she would like the council to look into hiring a full-time person for city hall and get it back to where it had always been. Clerk Briney stated there are so many things that have been added, for example, all of the reporting that comes along with the IEPA and USEPA grants that the city received, the new law regarding part-time employees’ hours, etc. that has to be done and there is just not enough time to get it done. Clerk Briney said Mike Grate had to come into work the day his mother passed away because there was not enough time to cross-train the water bill printing and that was definitely not fair to him. Clerk Briney noted we tried to hire a part-time employee but that did not work. Clerk Briney stated she fears that if a full-time employee is not hired, then she will have to retire because it is getting to be too much mentally and physically. Mayor Ervin informed Clerk Briney to get in touch with Grievance & Personnel Committee Chairman, Barry Rebman to set up a committee meeting.

Mayor Jeff Ervin thanked Cathy Redshaw and her crew, along with the city crew for all of their hard work during Christmas time in making our square look amazing. Mayor Ervin also thanked Pete Dupoy for helping with “Santa” work. Superintendent of Operations, Eric Thurman thanked Todd Zeisler and Zeisler Tree Service for their help with putting the lights on the big tree.

Mayor Ervin reported the community needs to understand that when they walk their dog, they MUST pick up the waste in the yards and on the sidewalk. Mayor Ervin stated there is an ordinance in place where a person can be fined for such a thing. David Haney of The Rushville Times asked what the fine was, and Clerk Briney noted the fine is One Hundred Dollars ($100) for an ordinance violation.

9. ADJOURN

Acker MOVED TO ADJOURN. Matteson SECONDED, AND THE MOTION CARRIED WITH AN ALL “YEA” ROLL CALL VOTE AS FOLLOWS: 5 YEAS – Fishel, Matteson, Trimble, Acker, & Davis; 0 NAYS; 3 ABSENT – Dodds, Rebman, & Ryan.

THE MEETING STOOD ADJOURNED ACCORDINGLY AT 7:14 P.M.

https://rushvilleillinois.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/24-01-03-1.pdf