Highland Council Approves New Dump Truck Purchases
By Jake Leonard
Business was considerably limited to 17 minutes in the Highland City Council’s meeting on Monday, Feb. 7, as the council tabled a discussion on potentially increasing the video gaming terminal fees.
Requests were presented to the council for approval comprising of three special event applications. All three received approval.
The first request was for the Illinois Trekkers Volkssport Club, which is holding “A Walk in Highland,” a 5K (3.1 mile) non-competitive walk through Highland starting from and concluding at Plaza Square Park on Saturday, May 21. The application was submitted by Vickie Ridgeway, who is the event coordinator.
The second request came from Russel Huelsmann and Rusty Rodz Car Club, wishing to hold the “Rusty Rodz Car Cruse” at the Highland Square on the final Saturday of each month beginning in May. Those requested dates are May 28, June 25, July 30, August 27, September 24, and October 29. Event times are 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on each date. Street closures will be in place barricading the areas along Laurel, Main, and Washington streets.
Finally, Gabrielle Thompson submitted a request on behalf of Holly House of Hope for their “Sharing Hope 5K” event. The event will be taking place between 7th and 19th streets, with the starting and concluding location at 1000 Zschokke St. The requested date was for Saturday, Mar. 26, set for 7:30 a.m. until the race start at 9 a.m., with the event concluding at 10:30 a.m. Included in the request was funding from the city in the amount of $500 for supplies and marketing materials for the event, as the organization is a not-for-profit serving the area.
The council received and opened only one bid for the purchase of two new dump trucks from Truck Centers of Troy in the amount of $267,692. Truck Centers submitted bids with several manufacturers for consideration, with the lowest being from Woody’s Municipal Supply of Edwardsville. The total breaks down to $99,479 for a Freightliner M2106 tandem axle truck with a galion body for an additional $35,910 and $89,761 for a Freightliner M2106 single axle truck with a galion body for an additional $42,542. While the motion passed, delivery is not expected to occur until the end of the year due to manufacturing delays. The purchases were already budgeted in the city’s fiscal year 2022 budget, but the funding will be carried over to the fiscal year 2023 budget.
A vacancy to the Parks and Recreation advisory commission was created by Denise Berolatti, who resigned from her position. An application for appointment was submitted by Joseph Garson. Based on information specified in the application, Mayor Kevin Hemann considered Garson the best candidate to fill the vacancy. The council approved the appointment, which takes place immediately. The term expires on July 31, 2023.
The council approved a resolution authorizing Mayor Hemann and/or City Manager Chris Conrad to apply for park commission funding from the Madison County government. The project for the county to consider will be for a new playground at Hoffman Park. The projected cost is roughly $151,004. The city is committing $29,046 toward the project, with GameTime and the Metro-East Park and Recreation District (MEPRD) approving grant funding. GameTime approved a grant in the amount of $35,402, while MEPRD approved $46,240. The city is applying for $39,956 from the county via the Park Enhancement Program.
The council proceeded to an ordinance to amend the city’s code of ordinances as recommended by the city’s director of public safety. The language in the amendment was to simply update any new, repealed, and potentially outdated ordinances relating to public safety.
Two resolutions for change orders for various equipment and material upgrades relating to the new public safety building. In Change Order 16, there was a nearly $6,000 increase in the contract, but due to their owner contingency, it comes at no additional cost to the city. In Change Order 17, a variety of credits ultimately resulted in a $355.92 credit on the contract. Overall, as specified in payment application 14 from SM Wilson, the overall project resulted in a $253,631.10 increase to $6,852,667.10, 3.8 percent above the original contract amount of $6,599,036. Both resolutions were approved.
The final business of the night was approval of expenditures for the period ending February 4. Expenditures in the amount of $1,171,547.83 were approved.
The next meeting will be Tuesday, Feb. 22, due to the Presidents Day holiday.
