New Wave to Keep KSDK in Offerings
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Mayor August Kellerman announced that the Perry County Enterprise Zone has been extended through 2021. Pinckneyville, Du Quoin, St. Johns and Perry County all agreed to apply for the extension, which was granted by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
Mayor Kellerman also announced that New Wave Communications, which is set to take over the cable television franchise in Perry County this month has agreed to carry the NBC station out of St. Louis- KSDK, currently Channel 14, due to the number of complaints received.
In other business, the council:
approved the expenditure of up to $8,000 to have IDOT resurface the parking lances between the underpass on the south of edge of town and the intersection with Water Street. IDOT will resurface the driving lanes and allowed the city to pay to have the parking lanes done at the same time. Commissioner Sam Fulk said the current estimate on the cost is $6,900, which has been greatly discounted due to Federal and State subsidies for the project. The total cost of the project is $1.472 million. The city will use motor fuel tax funds to pay to resurface the parking lanes.
authorized Commissioner Stone to hire Larry Loos to demolish the old brick water treatment plant at a cost of $4,500. Stone said the old building's windows and roof have collapsed and it is full of varmints.
extended three of the city's five mowing contracts. Two contracts held by Hirsch's Quality Lawn Care for mowing at the City Lake ($3,000) and the Cemeteries ($18,000) and one held by Nowakowskis for mowing around water towers and other miscellaneous property ($3,000) were renewed. The contracts for mowing at the Ball Diamonds and City Park will be put out for bid.
approved the expenditure of $500 in hotel/motel tax funds to advertise the fifth annual auto swap meet by Misfit Motorsports Productions to be held at the Fairgrounds on Feb. 12.
placed on file for public inspection a contract with Greninger-Miller Mobile Laboratory Analysis for drug testing for the city. The business is managed by Carrie Miller of Pinckneyville. She said the administrative and testing costs are the same as the current service for Pinckneyville, offered by Utility Consultants, Inc. However, she waives mileage and charges $10 per employee less to maintain the random pool.
heard from Treasurer Rick Reese that the city currently has $1,276,150 in unrestricted funds. Without the cash influx from the Technicolor sale and the under-billed utilities paid by the state, the city would not be in such a comfortable position. Reese said he expects the cash balance to increase once gas bills are paid. Mayor Kellerman said the state paid $90,966 for August utilities at the Pinckneyville Correctional Center. The state is currently four months behind and owes approximately $400,000.