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Vandalia officials’ pay increases voted down

With the mayor and one of the aldermen speaking out against pay increases for their positions, the Vandalia City Council narrowly voted down salary hikes for all city officials whose posts are up for election next spring.

The council voted 4-3 on Monday night to reject 3 1/2-percent pay raises in each of the next four years for the mayor, city clerk, city treasurer and the four aldermanic seats on the ballot in the municipal election next spring.

The deciding vote was cast by Mayor Rick Gottman after aldermen Jerry Swarm, Bret Brosman and Larry Cable voted for the pay increases and Barbie Elliott, Larry Bennett and Chad Feldpouch cast dissenting votes. Aldermen Lisa McNutt and Mike Hobler were not present on Monday.

Gottman and Feldpouch were the most vocal about not approving the pay hikes for part-time officials, with each giving a different reason.

Gottman said he didn’t see the need to increase the mayor’s salary, because he holds the position to serve the community, not to make money. He also said he believes that city officials should not get raises because the council voted recently to scale back increases given to Vandalia Lake employees.

Feldpouch said he doesnt feel its right for part-time city officials to get pay hikes.

I dont think that with the loss of jobs (at Orgill) that we ought to accept any raises, Feldpouch said.

Weve all got (full-time) jobs, and theyre losing their jobs, he said.

Through the proposal presented by the councils personnel committee, the mayors salary would have been increased to $5,824.98 next year. Subsequent raises were elevate the pay to $6,028.85, $6,239.86 and $6,458.26.

The proposed salary amounts for the city clerk in the next four years were $42,961.82, $44,465.48, $46,021.77 and $47,632.53.

Proposed increases for the city treasurer put the salary for that position for the next four years at $14,677.34, $15,191.05, $15,722.74 and $16,273.04.

The personnel committee recommended increasing the aldermens salary to $4,502.

After the salary increase was voted down, whether the council could then act on a pay increase solely for the city clerks position was discussed. Marc Kelly of Burnside, Johnston, Sheafor and Kelly, subbing for Jack Johnston as city attorney, said the council would have to vote on another proposed ordinance amendment in the future.

Also at Mondays meeting, the council held a lengthy discussion on residents driving on unimproved streets and alleys in the community.

That discussion was initiated as a result of a complaint filed by a resident living on Brian Street. In his letter, that resident complained about motorists driving on unpaved property west of Vandalia Apartments in Meadors Subdivision on Randolph Street.

As they discussed that residents complaint, which Gottman said was the third such complaint on that particular issue, Public Works Director John Moyer said this is not the only location where residents drive on unimproved alleys or streets.

Youve got it all over town, Moyer said.

Theyre unimproved roads, but theyre roads and how can you say that they cant drive on road, said Moyer, who told aldermen that he did not believe the answer in this particular case is putting up a guardrail barricade.

Its not going to solve your problem, he said. Theyre just going to drive around it.

We can put up barricades all day, but thats not going to solve the problem, Moyer said.

In the end, the council decided to give Moyer the authority to handle the problem that is the subject of the complaint letter. Alternatives discussed by aldermen included removing culverts and digging a ditch at that location and creating a barricade by installing timbers vertically.

Also at the meeting:

The council, at Gottmans suggestion, asked that the team of City Administrator Jimmy Morani, Moyer, Code Official Keith Meadows and Police Chief Larry Eason come up with a recommendation on how the city should address residents parking on sidewalks in front of homes and on city right of way between sidewalks and streets.

In particular, Gottman said, its a problem in a block of North Fifth Street several blocks north of Randolph Street. There, residents living in rental properties are parking on the right of way and creating muddy ruts.

It (the right of way) is torn up, Gottman said. Its unacceptable.

The council approved an ordinance amendment that allows merchants in the downtown business district to install signs that project out from their buildings.

The ordinance amendment was drafted with input from the design committee of the Vandalia Main Street Program and architects with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, which provides design services free of charge to Illinois Main Street communities.

The council voted to get permission from the Illinois Department of Transportation to closed Gallatin Street downtown from 3-3:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 12, for the Vandalia Community High School Homecoming parade.

The council approved a revision to the employment contract of JoAnn Givens, the citys director of economic development and tourism. The contract stipulates that Givens use a city-owned vehicle when it is available, instead of using her personal vehicle.

After some discussion, the council approved a preliminary plat for East View Estates Subdivision. The planned subdivision is located off of Zent Drive, outside city limits but within the corporate boundaries within 1.5 miles of city limits.

One concern voiced by several aldermen, including Larry Cable, was the width of the roads within the planned subdivision. Developers Bruce Miller and Jim Flood have planned roads that are 24-foot wide, with 4-foot grass shoulders, but Cable said he would like to see 28-feet roadways.

In response, Tim Alverson of Alverson Surveying said the proposed width exceeds the 10-foot driving lane requirement set by city ordinance. Miller added that they had measured roads in other subdivisions, and none of them are 28-feet wide.

They also told aldermen that the proposed roads are wider than Zent Drive.

The council voted 4-1 to approve the plat, with Cable who also wants all subdivisions to have sidewalks casting the lone dissenting vote.

The council agreed to pay $4,380 to Howell Co. for improvements to the roadway at Eighth and Orchard streets.

In recommending the action, Moyer said the city has tried to use cold patch mixes to fix the roadway, but that doesnt work.

Moyer asked Howell to submit a cost estimate for the work since the company is currently resurfacing the Vandalia Community High School parking lot across the street. If they had to come in otherwise and do this work, it probably would have cost twice as much, Moyer said.

Gottman reported that he has recommended the creation of a formal complaint form for Vandalia Lake that complainants must sign. The new complaint form, he said, would be a legal document that people could submit to the city as a way of addressing problems at the lake.

Vandalia Main Street Program Manager Dana Whiteman reported that Main Street is seeking out vendors for its Country Market on Gallatin Street on Saturday mornings.

We have plenty of customers who are interested in taking advantage of the market, but we need more people who are growing items that can be sold at the market, Whiteman said.

To lure vendors, she said, Main Street has agreed to waive its vendor fee for the rest of the market season. The market is open from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturdays through the first week of October.

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