The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Monday, July 13th, La Harpe Councilman Darrell Kraft motioned to approve sending La Harpe Mayor Ryan Kienast and his wife Christy, and City Attorney Kurt Dittmer to Chicago to attend the 102nd annual conference of the Illinois Municipal League in September.
According to the preliminary daily conference schedule at http://conference.iml.org, this 3-day conference is planned for city officials and is packed full of information and problem-solving ideas that can help officials in running their municipalities.
Thursday is a full day for attorneys with everything from Municipal liens and demolition, internal audits, budgeting, Crises Communications, to IDOT, and strategies when revenue is under attack and more.
Friday gives updates on FOIA, OMA, Workers Comp, E-pay, TIF, building strong, creative and connected communities, revenue enhancements, administrative adjudication, legislative updates, using parliamentary procedures, things to know before conducting an investigation, roundtables for Mayors, Councilmembers, clerks, unfunded mandates, property issues, police issues, water and sewer options and a list of others.
Saturday has a Clerks Session, Treasurers Session, Public Works, Employment do's and don'ts, demo toolbox, sales tax revenue, Broadband wireless, using video, concealed and carry, contract bidding, use of deadly force, downtown, parks, neighborhoods, location and connectivity, 911 systems, saying "No" when no isn't an option, and much more.
The cost is estimated to be about $1,700 for admission, hotel, convention banquet, travel, and food.
Attorney Dittmer plans to attend just two days of the 3-day convention and had requested for only the admission fees to be paid as he already has a place to stay for the two days. The board approved.
The La Harpe City Council heard a proposal from Jackson Disposal for a new five-year garbage pickup contract.
Alex Finley and Kenny Jackson from Jackson Disposal reviewed the current five-year agreement with the city and proposed the same services in a new five-year agreement. The only change would be a 25 cent increase from $15.09 to $15.34 per month. This is a one-time increase, with the price being good for the entire five years.
The new contract's services include familiar features such as curbside weekly garbage and recycling pickup, two citywide pickup days each year, dumpsters and additional garbage barrels for Summerfest and the La Harpe Classic Car Fest, and curbside pickup of paint and TVs with the purchase of a sticker at city hall on the first Friday of every month.
Stickers are $10 per TV and $1 per can of paint. These prices are unchanged in the proposed contact.
Jackson Disposal also provides pickup at the Clubhouse, fire department, police department, city maintenance building, swimming pool, and the city park.
The council is hosting Waste Management at its July 27 meeting to hear their contract proposal. A vote on which contract to accept is expected by the end of August.
Council member Darrell Kraft reported that the electricity upgrade is done at the city park. The meter cannot be installed until the work is inspected by Ameren. This was expected to happen Tuesday (yesterday).
Council member Marcia Stiller said a newly installed culvert at the reservoir passed its first test by handling the rain on Saturday.
The next city supervisor meeting is Aug. 6 at 4:00 pm.
The auditor plans to attend the July 27 meeting to give the city his report on the city's finances. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at city hall.
Present at the meeting were Kienast, Kraft, Stiller, Amy Palmer, Dave Mershon, and Kenneth Foster, Clerk McPeak, Treasurer Marcia Neff. Absent was Josiah Neff.
Also present were David Little, Kurt Dittmer, Tim Graves, Monalisa Graves, Kenny Jackson, Alex Finley, Dan Gillett and Doug Endres.