Council Handles Numerous Issues Tuesday

The Effingham City Council took action on a number of items Tuesday.

The Council amended the liquor control ordinance allowing Joe's Liquor Cabinet on South Banker to have a wine tasting area; agreed to increase cemetery burial rates by $25/year in each of the next four years; and allocated $25,000 to Mid America Motorworks to offset some of the cost of this year's Corvette Funfest.

Council members agreed to install a stop sign on Redoak Street as it approaches Blohm Avenue; prohibited parking on Blohm from Hoffman Drive to the west edge of Woodland Heights Subdivision; approved a review and update every two years of an equal opportunity employment plan; and extended to September 2 the time given Wortman Properties to purchase a tract of land as part of a development effort along Keller Drive.

The Council amended a grant agreement with Heartland Dental granted when Heartland completed a major expansion in recent years; accepted a proposal from West and Company for audit services for the next three years; and accepted a $287,000 bid to re-paint the north water tower.

Council members presented telecommunicators Linda Wendling and Charity Higgs with Employee Special Act awards for helping remove a foreign object from a fellow employee who was choking; agreed to seek bids on work on the south water tower, the East Rickelman standpipe and the Evergreen ground storage unit; agreed to proceed with acquisition of a computerized booking station for the police station to allow networking with state officials; and heard a tutorial from City Engineer Jeremy Heuerman on work to eliminate inflow and infiltration of storm water into the city's sanitary sewer system. The storm water greatly increases water treatment costs. Three steps are being taken to combat the issue: cameras viewing the sewer network, smoke testing to see where there are breaks in the lines, and dye testing to see where there are leaks in the system.

The Council was updated on the temporary move of the city library to City Hall after July 31 for six to seven weeks before the relocation to the new home on North 3rd Street; and heard that work is moving ahead on the Beck's Hybrids development.