Pinckneyville council asked for a burn ban

Jeana Raines asked the Pinckneyville council Tuesday to consider a burn ban and alternative methods of dealing with yard waste. She suggested a compost pile. Raines said her neighbor's burn barrel is only 100 feet from her back door. When the neighbor burns every other day, her house fills with smoke.

Raines said the EPA has a CARE grant program that helps with leaf and yard waste removal programs. Lois Heisner, Raines' mother, also asked for a burn ban.

The city offers a leaf removal service at a cost of $20. It is a voluntary program. Heisner said the fee is too high and that the Street Department spends too much time picking up leaves. She preferred the $3 per month fee which was instituted several years ago then stopped due to complaints.

Commissioner Sam Fulk said the fee is voluntary. Home owners are free to haul away leaves themselves or pay a private company to do so if they prefer. The city will not pick up leaves unless the homeowner comes to City Hall, fills out a pick-up order and pays the fee.

At present, the city allows leaf burning between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. The council agreed that burning is not desirable and agreed to consider alternatives.

In other business, the council:

• agreed to purchase a 2014 Ford rescue vehicle for the Fire Department at a cost of $150,000. Fire Chief Jim Gielow said the new Ford would replace a 1971 pick-up truck and generator that is currently in use. The Fire Department has not had a rescue vehicle for several years. The new Ford will have a generator and room for all the necessary equipment. The city has about $60,000 to pay part of the cost. The remainder of the financing will be determined later. The truck is a demo model and will be purchased from Mac's Fire and Safety in Litchfield.

• agreed to award the contract for gutter and roofing work at the fire station to low-bidder Joiner Sheet Metal of Greenville, Ill. The low bid was $11,800.

• approved a $25,000 grant from the Business District Tax Fund to help Dr. Robert Eaton with the purchase of the former True Value Hardware building on Randolph Street. Eaton will quickly renovate the property then open a family exercise facility there. The new gym will have an indoor walking track, Zumba area, cross training area and free weight area. Eaton said the facility will be open 24 hours. It will most likely be limited to members 16 years and older.

• agreed to amend the contract with J&S services to include mowing the park or another year at the same cost. J&S already had a contract to mow the athletic fields and took over the park mowing in July of this year. The new contract encompasses both the park and the athletic fields.

• heard from Commissioner Fulk that the new drainage system at the cemetery is finished. The only work left to do is grading and seeding. The contractor will be given until next spring to do the finishing work. Fulk said that stopping the contract now and re-starting it in the spring will have the added benefit of the contractor making any repairs made necessary by settling over the next six months.

• authorized Fulk to proceed with a grant application for $200,000 from the IDOT Safe Routes to School program. The city can use motor fuel tax funds for their 20 percent matching funds. Fulk said the grant funds would be used to replace the sidewalks and drainage on the south side of the football field. Imprinted concrete crosswalks would be installed in several places, as well. The grant is federally funded and requires a great deal of paperwork. It is due Jan. 31.