Loveless Park Gate could open per potential agreement with City and Park District

By ERIN SANSON
Enquirer~Democrat Reporter

The Carlinville City Council met on April 7 for its first monthly meeting. Several items were discussed such as upcoming events, an intergovernmental agreement with the park district and the sale of property.

Intergovernmental Agreement

This agreement between the park district and city refers to operation of Loveless Park, Tower Grove Park and the Carlinville City Pool. One of the features of this agreement that was pointed out to the council was regarding the gate at Loveless Park. Per the agreement, the City of Carlinville shall be responsible for any road closure within the municipal boundaries. As such, the Park District “shall keep the Loveless Park gate open that is currently obstructing traffic on loveless Parkway to Alton Road.” The gate could then only be closed if the Park District submits a request to the council to close the gate, the same as any other road closures or through an emergency declaration by the Mayor or Public Works Department Manager.

Other sections of the agreement covered insurance. The City will cover insurance and be reimbursed by the park District within 30 days, and water usage, especially regarding the city pool. The Park District will be responsible for the water and sewer lines of the properties from the water meter into the various facilities. The agreement also addresses water usage for the city pool. The city and park district previously had issues in regards to the pool due to a water leak, causing an excess amount of water to be used, which the city paid for at that time. In this agreement, the city will assume the cost of water to fill the pool in an amount not to exceed 275,000 gallons for the term of the agreement.
The agreement, which is to be a five year agreement, was passed unanimously by the Carlinville Council and will go before the park board for their approval. The council gave the park district 30 days to respond to the agreement.

Public Comment

David Shelton came before the council to address issues he and other neighbors have had in their area of Anderson and Yard Street, regarding cockroaches, animal control issues and trash accumulation. According to Shelton, a neighbor has been throwing trash and scrap into his and other yards rather than getting a dumpster to throw his trash into. The neighbor has also been burning trash and has a dog that Shelton claims has been trained to attack. Shelton also brought several letters from neighbors with similar complaints. Residents asked if the city could do anything to help the situation. Police Chief Derek Graham said the police had been to the address several times and had written citations but due to the way laws and ordinances are currently written, citations are all that could be done at this point. Graham said the City was working with State’s Attorney Jordan Garrison to try to get “some teeth” behind the ordinances so hopefully more could be done to address these issues.

Other Business

The council opened a bid for the properties at 1000 and 1020 N. Broad St. The bid was submitted by Custom Trailers for $10,000 for both lots and was approved by the council.

The council approved the use of the Square and Gazebo for three upcoming events. The first is for the Charity Baptist Church yearly Cross Walk to be held on Friday, April 18. The group would walk from the West End Shell Station to the Square with a cross and then read from their bibles at the Square to reflect on the Easter Story. The next event is the Elk’s Lodge Flag Day Celebration in conjunction with the Municipal band on June 14. The final request was for the Car Show to be held on July 26 from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. on the Square. All requests were approved.

The council called a special meeting set for April 28 to approve the budget. A public hearing will be held on that date at 5:45 p.m. to offically approve the budget.

The council entered into executive session at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the purchase or lease of real property and potential litigation. No action was taken after the executive session.