Carlinville council holds first June meeting

By ERIN SANSON
Enquirer~Democrat Reporter

The Carlinville City Council met for its first monthly meeting in June on June 2. The meeting was relatively short with only a few items to be discussed, such as bids for demolition and an audio/visual system for the council chambers.

Demolition

Three bids came in for demolition work on the property at 516 Anderson St. Demuzio Excavating, Cole Excavating and Lange Excavating all submitted bids. The project was awarded to Demuzio with the lowest bid at $3,650.

Audio/Visual Equipment

The council discussed purchasing new equipment for the council chambers to livestream meetings in an effort to provide more transparency to the citizens. The quote from Illini Tech included 18 items, such as a document scanner, new microphone systems, computers and speakers.

The total cost for the upgraded system came out to $10,997. Alderman Jody Reichmann made the motion to approve the bid, which was seconded by Alderman Vicky Wagstaff. Aldermen Brockmeier, Gracey, Levora, Link, Ober and Reese voted no on the measure, defeating the motion. Brockmeier said she was not opposed to the idea of streaming the meetings, but felt that the price was too high. Gracey agreed, saying that there were likely cheaper options that the council should look into instead.

Public Comment

Dick McClain, a former resident and alderman, came before the council to discuss the removal of the planters from the Carlinville Square. D. McClain and his brother Bill were two of the parties involved in the painting and funding of the planters at the time. D. McClain questioned the legality of the planter removal since it did not have council approval and suggested that whoever removed the planters be held responsible for paying for damages to city property.