Pinckneyville Uses Grants to Full Advantage

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ During the course of Monday evening's council meeting, Mayor Holder made the effort to state that of all the items on the agenda that involved spending money and covering the costs of projects and contracts that not a single nickel of it spent was out of the city's coffers.

By making use of many local and state grants, through the work of the economic development office, Pinckneyville has managed to plan and fund into effect many projects that the city has needed, such as the city pool and the Cooper B-Line.

Commissioner Beltz also briefly relayed a message from the Du Quoin - Pinckneyville airport that despite the delay in the hangar project to next April, the airport board still needed the promise from the cities of Du Quoin and Pinckneyville that they would each put up the $22,500 needed to support the rest of the grant and project. Du Quoin approved their portion of the money in return for opting out of paying the $5,000 stipend for the next five years.

Items covered on the agenda:

Approved a request from St. Bruno Church to close North Sullivan Street between St. Bruno Church and the Parish Center from 4 to 6:30 p.m. for "Trunk or Treat" on October 31, 2008.

Approved the request by Casey's of Pinckneyville to collect funds at the 4-way stop and intersections around the square for St. Judes on Friday, October 17, 2008.

Approved ordinance O-2008-08 amending ordinance O-07-15 establishing a municipal service for the disposal of vegetative matter adding an additional fee for the removal of trees and branches. The fee is $30 per truck load.

Authorized ordinance O-2008-10 allowing use of city owned roadways, alleys and easements. The ordinance was required by the USDA Ag Redevelopment grant for work on the water line.

Approved the following addendums to the swimming pool grant project: 1) extended contract bid date to October 1, 2008; 2)replaced in section "Staining Exterior Wood Wall Panels" to stain shall be Pratt & Lambert solid color oil siding stain; 3) added to Storage Rooms; lighting shall be installed.

Discussed and approved the bids received from the Kellerman Bros. for the 2008 Pool Improvements Projects. Total fees, all covered by the grant, were $35,442.

Approved engineering agreements with the Fulton Group for South Retail Area Infrastructure and McDaniels parking lot.

Approved an engineering agreement with the Fulton Group on Cooper B-Line Waterline Improvements - Delta Regional Grant.

Directed and authorized the Mayor to execute a letter of acceptance of certain grant considerations for the Cooper B-Line projects from DECO should they come in.

Directed and authorized the Mayor to execute necessary documents in regard to the Cooper B-Line grant from DECO.

Approved of an additional hour opening for liquor license holders within Pinckneyville jurisdiction on the night of Mardi Gras, October 25, 2008.

Shortly before executive session, Commissioner Davis read a prepared statement regarding the economic status of Pinckneyville, "I have been associated with the City of Pinckneyville for close to 29 years, 27 of those as an employee, with the last one and a half year as a member of the city council.

"When this council was elected, their course of action was to correct Pinckneyville's economic position. We did so start by informing the public that this council did not make the problem Pinckneyville was in, but someone else did.

"So we then asked the public for support and patience in finding a way out for Pinckneyville. So we go into executive session, talk about problems, and what we need to do, something we have done now every meeting since that first one, something I don't remember ever seeing before.

"We meet, we talk, we cover the problems, we address the needs, how we need to go after the problem. And still, we say 'we did not create the problem, someone else did.'

"We then increase utility rates for all customers, which was something previous councils did not do, but should have, we raise the city's tax levee, and set up new or raised service fees. This we did to help solve the problem.

"Then there are things we have had time and opportunity to change, through our countless hours of executive session meetings, where we talk, and decide, on what best helps solve the problem, and decide on how to do just that.

"But then this is where I feel we get irresponsible. We don't follow the discussion up with the decision on how to act, we go out the next day and do just the opposite of what we spend hours deciding.

"So we come in, raise rates, levees, fees, to help solve the problem that we did not make, just to go out the next day and do business as usual, making changes in areas to correct problems just to go back and do it all over again. All the while remembering we did not make the problem.

"So I feel we as a council can no longer look at things in this fashion. No, we did not make the problem, but it is our problem now.

"With everything this council has done, and all it has left to do, we are not yet being responsible to ourselves or to the residents of Pinckneyville. Our spending in assorted areas is still excessive. We have a great deal of work to do as a council, but we won't do this unless we do what is responsible to solve the problem, which is to follow the talk and decision making with responsible action.

"This council is very capable of working together to solve the problem. They now only have to do it!"