City of Carlyle City Council met March 9.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Alderman present were Tammy Peters, Jim McClaren, Jeremy Weh, Bailey Ellis, Jeff Taylor, Mike Jansen, and Bruce Hilmes. Aldermen Scott Diekemper was absent.
City employees present were City Administrator Brad Myers, City Clerk Rita Jurgensmeyer, City Attorney Joe Heiligenstein, City Treasurer Chad Holthaus, Kevin Rolfingsmeyer, and Chief of Police Jason Herzing.
Others present were Corey Johnson, Matt Wilson, Cheryl Brinkmann, Brenda Aeschbacher, Dave Aschbacher, Mark Voss, Angie Voss, Tracy Becker, Kelly Dempsey, and Maddie Dempsey.
Approval of Minutes from the Previous Meeting February 23, 2026
Alderman Jeff Taylor made a motion to approve the minutes from January 26, 2026. Alderman Jim McClaren seconded the motion, and it was approved by roll call vote. Aye: Tammy Peters, Jim McClaren, Jeremy Weh, Bailey Ellis, Jeff Taylor, Mike Jansen, and Bruce Hilmes. Nay: none
Claims
Alderman Jim McClaren made a motion to approve the claims against the city. Alderman Jeff Taylor seconded the motion, and it was approved by roll call vote. Aye: Jim McClaren, Jeremy Weh, Bailey Ellis, Jeff Taylor, Mike Jansen, Bruce Hilmes, and Tammy Peters. Nay: none.
Treasurer’s Report
Alderman Jim McClaren made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report. Alderman Jeff Taylor seconded the motion, and it was approved by roll call vote. Aye: Jeremy Weh, Bailey Ellis, Jeff Taylor, Mike Jansen, Bruce Hilmes, Tammy Peters, and Jim McClaren. Nay: none.
City Clerk Report
There was no city clerk report.
Aldermen Reports
There were no aldermen reports.
Mayor’s Report
Mayor Judy Smith said that on April 3, 2026, there is the K-9 fish fry at Pinball Palace from 3:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
May 1st and 2nd will be the spring city wide yard sales.
There will be some work on Sand Ridge Road. The guys are extending the parking lot at the dog park to accommodate the people that live on Lake Vista Drive. When they start working on that road, they will have to park their cars by the fish hatchery because they will not be able to get into their driveway.
City Administrator’s Report
There was no City Administrator report.
Public Comments
There were no public comments.
Library Board/Librarian Report
Cheryl Brinkmann reported for the library saying that they currently have the 250 for 250 reading challenge. In week one they have 700 minutes posted. On March 26th they will have the Road Scholar program at the library at 7:00 p.m. with Cynthia Clampet, she is a food historian, and she is presenting a program on the history of corn and how corn changed our economic system.
Zoning/Planning
There was no report.
Economic Development
There was no report.
Corporate/Finance
National Girl Scout Week Proclamation
Mayor Judy Smith said that Maddie Dempsey was here tonight representing the Girl Scouts and she has a proclamation for National Girl Scout Week. Mayor Smith then read the proclamation and presented the proclamation to Maddie Dempsey and her mother Kelly Dempsey.
City Hall Close at Noon – April 3, 2026 – Good Friday
Alderman Jeff Taylor made a motion to allow Mayor Judy Smith to close city hall at noon on April 3, 2026, in observance of Good Friday. Alderman Jim McClaren seconded the motion, and it was approved by roll call vote. Aye: Bailey Ellis, Jeff Taylor, Mike Jansen, Bruce Hilmes, Tammy Peters, Jim McClaren, and Jeremy Weh. Nay: none.
Solar Farm Presentation/Discussion
Mayor Judy Smith said that Mark Voss is going to be talking to the council about an issue that has come up in the county and is within a mile and a quarter of the city limits. Mark Voss told the council that he lives south of Carlyle, and he also owns and operates a white tail deer farm about ¼ mile from the proposed solar farm on Highline Road. Last week a solar company gave a presentation at the Clinton County Zoning Board meeting. The proposed 33-acre solar field was voted down by the county board. State law recommends that the cities within 1.5 miles of the city limits have a say. With the help of the local towns within 1.5 miles, the City of Carlyle, and the Village of Beckemeyer, they hope to stop this project and any in the future. Last week at the Clinton County Zoning Board meeting the solar panel company told them that construction can take up to six months to complete. Heavy equipment to complete this project will make loud noise for an extended period of time. White tail deer are very sensitive to noise that will cause them to spook and cause injury to themselves. It would cost his family thousands of dollars and the loss of family pets. He continued to explain the disadvantages of the solar fields. He mentioned the letter that the City of Carlyle sent to the solar company. He feels it is important that this letter clearly reflects the concerns of the community. He is asking the city council to revise the letter so that it clearly states that the City of Carlyle does not support the 33-acre solar project.
Mayor Smith said she asked Mark Voss if he would agree to be put on the agenda because if he spoke in public comments he would only have three minutes. She asked if anyone has any questions. She said she knows there is no vote tonight, but she asked if the council would drive by the site so they can make a decision on opposing or supporting the solar farm. Mayor Smith then gave directions to get to the site. City Attorney Joe Heiligenstein said that there was an ordinance passed by the county board last fall that would require a municipality to enter a pre-annexation with the solar company before the county board would consider voting in favor of a solar field. He added that a city or a county cannot have a complete ban on solar power, but the city and the county have the power of zoning.
Mayor Smith said that she did supply a letter to Mark similar to the letter that he received from the Village of Beckemeyer, which says the city is neither for nor against it, however, the last sentence says that the city has no desire to annex the property into the city limits.
Dave Aeschbacher asked to speak. He said that he and his family are adjacent homeowners to the property. He told the council several health concerns he has about having a solar field next to his home, as well as damage caused to our eco system. The solar company CEO called him and apologized for not notifying him about upcoming meetings. The CEO also told him that he spoke to the City of Carlyle and the Village of Beckemeyer and neither had any issues with the project. He also told him that one of the neighbors did not have any issues with the project, which is not true. City Administrator Brad Myers said the reason Carlyle did not notify him was because they did not have a Zoning Board meeting. Tracy Becker said that she wasn’t notified either.
Mayor Judy Smith thanked them for coming.
Electric
Review Electric Costs of Service Report
City Administrator Brad Myers explained that he gave the presentation to the Electric Committee, so he will give a summary of the report. He said the slide show will be shown again at the March 23rd meeting. He said that about six months ago the city commissioned Utility Financial Solutions LLC to look at our rates, to see if we charge what should be charged to continue to run the municipal electric. City Administrator Brad Myers said the last rate study was done in 2014. He added that the city is not making the funds to support the electric fund expenses. They gave recommendations to increase our revenue to deal with future capital assumptions. City Administrator Brad Myers gave a list of things that need to be upgraded and things that will need to be purchased. The company suggested that the city does a 2.5% rate increase starting in April and another 2.5% rate increase in December to catch us up for the next fiscal year. The cash reserves need to be increased as well.
Water & Wastewater
There was no report.
Street & Alley
There was no report.
Police
There was no report.
Park
There was no report.
Employee Concerns
Approval to Post for Water/Sewer Foreman
Alderman Jeff Taylor made a motion to post for the Water/Sewer Foreman position. Alderman Tammy Peters seconded the motion, and it was approved by roll call vote. Aye: Jeff Taylor, Mike Jansen, Bruce Hilmes, Tammy Peters, Jim McClaren, Jeremy Weh, and Bailey Ellis. Nay: none.
Approval to Post for Water/Sewer MWII
Alderman Jeff Taylor made a motion to post for the Water/Sewer MW II position. Alderman Tammy Peters seconded the motion, and it was approved by roll call vote. Aye: Mike Jansen, Bruce Hilmes, Tammy Peters, Jim McClaren, Jeremy Weh, Bailey Ellis, and Jeff Taylor. Nay: none.
Unfinished Business
There was no report.
New Business
There was no report.
Executive Session
There was no need for executive session.
Adjournment
At 7:42 p.m. Alderman Jeremy Weh made a motion to adjourn. Alderman Jim McClaren seconded the motion, and it was approved by roll call vote. Aye: Bruce Hilmes, Tammy Peters, Jim McClaren, Jeremy Weh, Bailey Ellis, Jeff Taylor, and Mike Jansen. Nay: none.
https://go.boarddocs.com/il/carlyle/Board.nsf/Public#
