Rockford Sun

City of Carlyle City Council met Sept. 25.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

The Carlyle City Council was called to order by Mayor Judy Smith, at 7:00 p.m. at the Case Halstead Library, 550 6th Street, Carlyle, IL.

Aldermen present were Tammy Peters, Jim McClaren, Scott Diekemper, Jeremy Weh, Jeff Taylor, Mike Jansen, and Bruce Hilmes. Alderman John Hodapp was absent.

City employees present were Chief of Police Mark Pingsterhaus, City Administrator Brad Myers, Keith Housewright, and City Clerk Rita Jurgensmeyer.

Others present were Kelly Ross and Matt Wilson. 

Alderman Tammy Peters made a motion to approve the minutes from September 11, 2023. Alderman Bruce Hilmes seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved by roll call vote. Aye: Tammy Peters, Jim McClaren, Scott Diekemper, Jeremy Weh, Jeff Taylor, Mike Jansen, and Bruce Hilmes. Nay: none.

Alderman Jeremy Weh made a motion to approve the transfers from Fund 1 General Fund to Fund 3 Street and Alley for $25,000.00, Fund 4 Police for $45,000.00 for a total of $70,000.00. Alderman Jeff Taylor seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved by roll call vote. Aye: Jim McClaren, Scott Diekemper, Jeremy Weh, Jeff Taylor, Mike Jansen, Bruce Hilmes, and Tammy Peters. Nay: none.

Alderman Jeremy Weh made a motion to approve the payment of the claims against the city. The motion was seconded by Alderman Jeff Taylor and was unanimously approved by roll call vote. Aye: Scott Diekemper, Jeremy Weh, Jeff Taylor, Mike Jansen, Bruce Hilmes, Tammy Peters, and Jim McClaren. Nay: none.

Mayor Judy Smith reported that on October 7th there is going to be a fall festival at the fairgrounds from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. The city is hosting the Pumpkin Patch at Maple Hill Park on October 7th. It will start at 10:00 a.m. There will be bouncy houses and pumpkin decorating and many other activities for the kids. There will also be a soup cook-off. Kayla Heimann has all the information. There will be  1st , 2nd and 3rd place winners. People will buy a wristband and taste the soup and the winners will be determined by the people tasting the soup.

Mayor Smith also said that on October 20th and 21st the Haunted Trail will be at the lake. It will start at 6:30 p.m. and go until 10:00 p.m.

City Administrator Brad Myers reported that the oiling and chipping went very well. He also reported that Boatright Builds started at the new city hall. The work at Sand Ridge Road and Lake Vista is on hold for several weeks.

Keith Housewright reported for Case Halstead Library. He thanked the Park Department for emptying the trash can out front. He said it was too full and had water in it and he couldn’t get it out himself. He then thanked all the city departments that help at the library when needed.

He also reported that on Friday, September 29th they will be having a telescope night. The telescope will be up on the west parking lot. It will start at sunset. Next month’s story walk will be at Willow Park Trail and the story is called Owls. He added that on Friday, October 13th Dacre Stoker, the great grandnephew of Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula, will be in the library at 6:00 p.m. He will be bringing rare documents from Bram Stoker’s collection. The library will show the 1931 movie, Dracula.

City Administrator Brad Myers explained the situation with the police chief’s car. K & J has a new vehicle ready and normally the city would be trading it in but the city needs an additional vehicle so they will be keeping the police chief’s car. They would like to transfer $24,000.00 from Capital Outlay to the Police Department to put toward the new vehicle.

Alderman Jeff Taylor made a motion to approve the transfer of $24,000.00 from Capital Outlay to the Police Department for the purchase of a police car. The motion was seconded by Alderman Jeremy Weh and approved unanimously by roll call vote. Aye: Jeremy Weh, Jeff Taylor, Mike Jansen, Bruce Hilmes, Tammy Peters, Jim McClaren, and Scott Diekemper. Nay: none.

City Administrator Brad Myers said that on October 11th the high school will be having their homecoming parade and asked permission to close some streets. The parade will line up near the Carlyle Grade School on Kane Street and 6th Street.  The parade starts on 8th Street and Kane Street.  It will travel down 8th Street to Fairfax Street.  They will then go west on Fairfax Street to 11th Street and then 11th Street back to Kane Street.

Alderman Jeff Taylor made a motion to approve the closing of streets for the homecoming parade on October 11th. The motion was seconded by Alderman Bruce Hilmes and was unanimously approved by roll call vote. Aye: Jeff Taylor, Mike Jansen, Bruce Hilmes, Tammy Peters, Jim McClaren, Scott Diekemper, and Jeremy Weh. Nay: none.

Chief of Police Mark Pingsterhaus reported that on last Thursday all Clinton County agencies went live with a new record management system.

City Administrator Brad Myers said that the Park Department requested an increase in the rental prices for 2024 for the fish hatchery, pavilions, field preparation, and concession stand. The fish hatchery would increase from $75.00 to $100.00 and a $50.00 deposit. All four pavilions at the city park and the pavilion at Maple Hill Park would increase from $25.00 to $30.00. The cost of field preparation of all baseball/softball diamonds would increase from $40.00 to $50.00. The cost to rent the concession stand would be $25.00. City Administrator Brad Myers said this has gone through the Park Committee and the Finance Committee. He added the reasons for the price increases. The cost of cleaning supplies, overtime/comp time on the weekends, field chalk, weed killer, diamond dry, and overall maintenance to the fields. There is also outdated equipment in the concession stand that will need to be replaced soon.

Alderman Jeff Taylor made a motion to approve the increases as presented. The motion was seconded by Alderman Jim McClaren and was unanimously approved by roll call vote. Aye: Mike Jansen, Bruce Hilmes, Tammy Peters, Jim McClaren, Scott Diekemper, Jeremy Weh, and Jeff Taylor. Nay: none.

At 7:15 p.m. Alderman Jeff Taylor made a motion to go into executive session to discuss pay raises for the Park Department. Alderman Jeremy Weh seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved by roll call vote. Aye: Bruce Hilmes, Tammy Peters, Jim McClaren, Scott Diekemper, Jeremy Weh, Jeff Taylor, and Mike Jansen. Nay: none.

At 7:16 p.m. the council returned to open session.

Alderman Jeff Taylor made a motion to approve the wage increases for Jeff Miller, Tom Schubert, and Ryan Meyer retroactive to when their last pay raise was due. The raise will be $1.00/hour. Moving forward raises will occur at the first meeting in May. Alderman Jeremy Weh seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved by roll call vote. Aye: Jim McClaren, Scott Diekemper, Jeremy Weh, Jeff Taylor, Mike Jansen, Bruce Hilmes, and Tammy Peters. Nay: none.

At 7:18 p.m. a motion to adjourn was made by Alderman Jeremy Weh.  Alderman Tammy Peters seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved by roll call vote. Aye: Scott Diekemper, Jeremy Weh, Jeff Taylor, Mike Jansen, Bruce Hilmes, Tammy Peters, and Jim McClaren. Nay: none.