City Council Approves Employee Contracts; Sees Citizens Recognized by Police for Service

Effingham City Council members Tuesday approved three-year contracts with two employee groups.

One group is represented by Local #26 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and involves street, sewer and water department employees, and the other group is represented by the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council and involves police telecommunicators.

Each group will get a 3% pay increase each year of the agreement.

The Council also awarded street resurfacing work in Slate Creek Subdivision. The work, for just under $150,000, will resurface Slate Creek Drive as well as 3rd and 4th Streets in the subdivision. Also approved was Lochmueller Group's participation in the city's Pick It Up, Effingham litter abatement program. The group will maintain Merchant Street from the Senior Center north to St. Anthony Avenue.

(POLICE CHIEF JASON McFARLAND WITH JESSICA PETTYJOHN)

Council members witnessed City Police Chief Jason McFarland honoring Heidi Denney and Jessica Pettyjohn with Citizen Service Citations. Denney and Pettyjohn were working early on the morning of June 21 at Evergreen Nursing and Rehabilitation Center when they saw a toddler walking in the street outside wearing only a diaper. The two women went out and retrieved the child and brought it inside the care facility. The pair cleaned the child up, clothed it, fed the child and contacted city police once they couldn't spot someone searching for the little one. Police were able to find the child's parents. The child had somehow got out of the house while the parents were still asleep. Police reunited the parents with their lost child.

(CHIEF McFARLAND WITH HEIDI DENNEY)

The Council also got to meet Kona, the new city police K9. Kona was brought to the Council meeting by his handler, Officer Jake Lustig. Kona and Lustig have been through six weeks of training, but Kona is young so there is still work to do. Kona will help with various types of investigations.

(NEW CITY POLICE K9 KONA WITH HIS PARTNER OFFICER JAKE LUSTIG)

Also Tuesday, City Council members named Kevin Schaefer to the Tourism Advisory Board of Directors, replacing Jeff Masters, who resigned from the Board. The Council awarded work on the water treatment monitoring system, and amended an agreement with Farnsworth Group for a change in a water main project along South Banker Street from Douglas Avenue to the Banker Street railroad crossing.

The Council discussed a liquor license for the owners of the former Joe's Liquor Cabinet on South Banker. The business will now be known as Ole' Liquor Cabinet and will be adding gaming once they receive State approval. Also discussed was adding the appropriate city commissioner that oversees a department when compensation for someone in that department is considered; a new traffic signal service agreement with Bodine Electric; and reconstruction of the parking lot for the Public Property Building on East Jefferson next to Oakridge Cemetery.

Council members also discussed work needed to tie together the Central Area Tax Increment Financing District and the Industrial Area Tax Increment Financing District so, if needed, funds can flow between the districts if a project needs completed in one of the districts.

City Commissioner Libby Moeller reported that exchange students from Kelheim, Germany would be arriving in Effingham, continuing a reciprocal effort with Effingham County that began some 20 years ago. Kelheim kids will be staying with students from Effingham, St. Anthony, Newton, Dieterich and Teutopolis high schools.