Collinsville Firefighters Recognized At City Council Meeting Monday January 26
By Stephanie Malench
smalench@timestribunenews.com
The Collinsville City Council began their January 26 meeting with several awards and presentations.
The first award was the Mayor’s Outstanding Business Award, presented to Red Top BBQ & Chili for donating meals to children throughout the pandemic. Owner Larry Gilmore accepted the award.
The second award presented was the Great Rivers and Routes Game Changers Award, presented to the Parks and Recreation Department for their unique activities that engage the community.
The Meritorious Service Award was given to Collinsille Fire Lieutenant Christ Castens and Firefighters Colin Fuhrmann, Dan Gulledge, and Jim Wilderman for their successful rescue of a resident in an apartment fire on Jefferson Avenue on January 4.
The police department had a recognition followed by two promotions.
Lieutenant Gary Scaggs was recognized for his 31+ years of service with the Collinsville Police Department, serving on the Metro East Auto Theft Task Force, Sergeant Commander, and Investigative Commander. Scaggs was a Southern Police Institute graduate, and FBI National Institute graduate.
With Scaggs retirement, Sergeant Mark Krug was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and Officer Scott Pritchett was promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
An ordinance was passed rezoning 1019 Vandalia Street, the Wallace Realtors business since the 1960s from “R-1A” Single Family Residential District to “B-2” Limited Commercial District.
Owners of the property, James C. and Gladys W. Wallace are preparing to sell the building and now that Wallace has retired and want the property to be ready for a new business owner to purchase.
The Council approved an ordinance to change orders and additions to the contract with Kehrer Brothers West Roofing Inc. to increase the bid for the police department roof project by $9,541 for tapered insulation and a scupp sleeve that were not originally called for in the original bid due to discoveries after the roof was removed.
Another ordinance was required to amend an agreement with Archimages for additional architectural services for design and planning of the new public works administrative facility on Juda. The amendments call for assistance in furniture coordination, landscaping and irrigation, security/access control, CCTV, and a generator.
An ordinance was passed authorizing City Manager Mitch Bair to sign an agreement with SearchWide Global not to exceed $40,000 to perform an executive search for a General Manager for the Gateway Convention Center. The position has been vacant since December 16, 2020 and city staff would like to have someone hired in the next three to four months.
A resolution was passed giving final plat approval to the Strong Avenue Cottages subdivision on the corner of Strong and Lincoln in Collinsville. The final plan includes five houses. The final design does not include sidewalks, curbs, or gutters. The only storm water treatment will be rain gardens on each homes property.
Because the rain gardens will be on each homeowner’s property, a storm water maintenance agreement will have to be signed by the homeowners.
Rain gardens use plants to slow the run off of water, with additional water flowing into the right of way.
The final resolution for the evening was supporting Parks and Recreation Department Director Kimberly Caughran to apply for the annual Madison County Environmental Grant. The city is asking for $15,000 for Willoughby Farm to fix storm water issues and install flexipave and rain gardens.
The next meeting will be at the Gateway Convention Center on February 9 at 6:30 p.m.
