City of Olney City Council met Jan. 22.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
AGENDA #1 “CALL TO ORDER” The January 22, 2026, special meeting of the Olney City Council was called to order at 6:00 p.m. at the Olney Fire Department located at 501 N. Walnust Street, Olney, Illinois, with Mayor Mark Lambird presiding.
AGENDA #2 “PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG-PRAYER” Council members and visitors joined in the pledge of allegiance to the flag. Mayor Lambird led the group in prayer.
AGENDA #3 “ROLL CALL” The following Council members were present: Matt Miller, Bryce Fehrenbacher, Julia Eichhorst, Jack Eyer, and Mark Lambird. Also present were City Manager Frank Bradley, City Clerk Kelsie Sterchi, City Treasurer Jane Guinn, City Engineer Mike Bridges, Code Enforcement Officer Dallas Colwell, Police Chief Justin Bloomer, Fire Chief Daron Harmon, Park Department Working Foreman Jeremy Thomas, Water Plant Supervisor Cortney Runyon, Street Department Supervisor Tyler Kocher, Water Distribution Supervisor Brandon Williams, City Mechanic Justin Urfer, Sewer Plant Supervisor Jeff Lathrop, and RCDC Executive Director Shelly Herman.
AGENDA #4 “PUBLIC COMMENTS/PRESENTATIONS” No one from the public wished to speak.
AGENDA #5 “WORK SESSION: PRIORITIZE PROJECTS FOR COMING YEAR” Prior to the meeting, department heads and Council members submitted some information to the City Manager. Also, everyone was given the five-year capital improvement plans for all departments.
All department heads and Council members were allowed to discuss and answer questions about their suggested goals, equipment and personnel needs.
Mrs. Guinn had also provided a spreadsheet that included upcoming projects, the City’s financial commitment to those projects, and reserve balances.
Mayor Lambird asked if any funds were committed in the South Olney TIF. Mrs. Guinn said that nothing official was committed, but the current plan was to make upgrades in the Industrial Park and East Road.
Councilman Miller asked if CURES funds could only be spent on specific purchases or projects. Mrs. Guinn said no.
Councilman Miller asked if the proposed projects that had been listed in the Route 130 TIF report were also wish list items versus committed items. Mrs. Guinn replied that when she completes the TIF Annual Report each year, she needs to include what the TIF revenues may be used for in the future. The City was not held to what was submitted in the report, and the use of funding could change with Council approval.
For the Administrative Department, Mr. Bradley noted that $20,000.00 had been included in the 2025/2026 budget to purchase a new “school car.” Due to some changes internally, another vehicle would need to be purchased now and the “school car” purchase would go into next year’s budget.
An amount of $15,000.00 had also been budgeted this year to move a building at the East Fork Arena. Mr. Bradley indicated that it was still up in the air as to whether or not this building would be moved or demolished.
Past that, $50,000.00 would continue to be budgeted for Contingencies.
The only capital expense that Mrs. Sterchi anticipated in the City Clerk Department would be for the purchase of banners following the Improvements to Downtown Olney Project. It was unknown at this time if the new poles would fit the current banner brackets, or if all new would be needed.
For the City Treasurer Department, Mrs. Guinn planned to budget $50,000.00 for the 2027/2028 fiscal year for timekeeping software. Currently, all timekeeping records were done on paper. This included time cards, paid-time-off requests, etc. for all departments.
Mr. Colwell told the Council that the City typically budgeted $10,000.00 each fiscal year for City Hall building improvements. An amount of $15,000.00 was budgeted for the current fiscal year in order to replace a furnace, and that had been completed.
Mayor Lambird was aware that some sort of liquid coming up from the floor in the City Hall copy room. He asked if the problem had been identified. Mr. Colwell said it had not. Water Distribution had tried tracing, but it was not helpful.
If a large and unforeseen expense came up for City Hall, Councilman Fehrenbacher asked if Business District funds could be used. Mrs. Guinn said it was possible, but the Council had only allotted 5% of Business District funds to go towards municipal buildings.
Councilman Eyer wished to stress that Business District funds should currently be focused and directed to the Main Street Resurfacing Project.
In the Fire Department, Chief Harmon explained the cycle of replacing a few pagers every few years. He planned to budget $5,000.00 for the next fiscal year, and that should upgrade about 6 pagers.
An amount of $5,000.00 would also be budgeted for improvements to the station. Currently, a hot water heater was not working. He would need to take it out of service until the next fiscal year, and this particular type of water heater would be fairly expensive.
The Chief also planned to budget $10,000.00 to replace some hoses, $15,000.00 for pump repair to the ladder truck, and $75,000.00 for the future building that would be placed nearby at 614 N. Walnut Street. He noted that the Olney Firefighters Association may also be able to contribute needed funds above the $75,000.00.
Councilman Fehrenbacher asked what would be put in the new storage building. Chief Harmon replied that he would house two trailers, the volunteer truck, a cooling trailer, the side by-side in the winter, and miscellaneous storage.
In the Police Department for next fiscal year, Chief Bloomer expected to need $125,000.00 for 2 new squad vehicles. Squad replacements had gotten off schedule recently due to budget cuts which put the Department behind and caused an increased need for the next fiscal year. An amount of $10,000.00 would also be needed for in-car computers for the new squad vehicles.
An amount of $18,000.00 would be budgeted for body cameras (body cams). The body cams ran off of a subscription-based platform that was supported by the cloud. If anything went wrong while under the subscription plan, the vendor would fix or replace the equipment.
Chief Bloomer also budgeted $10,000.00 for improvements to the Police Department building. He included this as a safety net for unexpected needs, but also clarified that additional restroom infrastructure was needed.
The license plate reading cameras (Flock cams) were budgeted to need $12,000.00. The Chief explained that the Flock cams were also subscription-based, similar to the body cams. An amount of $4,000.00 would also be budgeted for office computers.
Chief Bloomer then pointed out that he did not have anything budgeted at this time for tasers, but he would continue to apply for taser grants.
Mrs. Guinn told the Council that $100,000.00 had been budgeted this year for the County-Wide Radio Project. Chief Harmon had spent his allotment, but the Police Department’s may need to roll over into the next fiscal year. Chief Bloomer agreed. One more tower location was needing to be found before they could move forward.
Mayor Lambird asked when the new radios would go online. Chief Harmon detailed a few steps that still needed to be taken and pointed out that the Federal Government shut down in 2025 had added a delay. He expected they could be online by fall.
In the Park Department, Mr. Thomas was budgeting $37,000.00 for 3 riding mowers. Currently, 2 of the Department’s mowers had blown motors that were not repairable. In addition to needing to replace those, the Department tried to stay on a 6-year replacement schedule. He planned to go with Kubota models.
An amount of $95,000.00 had also been budgeted for a skid steer and attachments. The Department would need a medium-sized skid steer with high flow hydraulic capability. This equipment would allow for the use of different attachments such as a stump grinder, power rake, and brush cutter.
Mayor Lambird asked if the skid steer could be used in other departments as well. Mr. Thomas confirmed. Mr. Kocher added that his department would utilize the stump grinder and power rake.
Councilman Miller asked if the Park Department had a truck that could pull this piece of equipment. Mr. Thomas indicated so, but a hitch would need added to their dump truck. They would also need to purchase a $16,000.00 heavy duty trailer.
In the Lakes Department, Mr. Thomas budgeted $20,000.00 for road repair. These funds came from a surcharge on boat stickers that was collected and could be used as a contribution to Preston Township for maintenance of roads leading to the lakes.
Mr. Thomas did not have any solid numbers quite yet, but he told the Council that he hoped to do something different with the bathrooms at Borah Lake. Due to there being no easy access to water, the bathrooms were outhouse-style. While that could not be changed, Mr. Thomas wanted them to be enclosed in a nicer structure. He also wished to have a janitorial closet at that location and to install a security camera.
For the Recreation Department, Mr. Thomas stated that the swimming pool would need painted at $10,000.00. This was done every 3 to 4 years and would be completed by City workers. Mr. Bradley added that the work would actually need to be done in April with the invoices paid in May of the new fiscal year.
An amount of $50,000.00 was budgeted to go towards restrooms near the pickleball courts. The White Squirrel Pickleball Association would also be contributing funds.
Lastly, $35,000.00 would be budgeted for improvements at the ball fields. Fields would be improved along with some drainage issues. Mr. Bradley noted that Mr. Bridges was currently exploring solutions for drainage. He expected this to be a multi-phase project.
In the Street Department, Supervisor Tyler Kocher hoped to budget $12,000.00 for a new, 10-foot snow plow to put on the new truck that would be received next week. He was also looking to budget $67,000.00 for a 1-ton truck with dump bed.
A Durapatcher would be a new purchase at $105,000.00, but would be a great piece of equipment for the Department. It could be used for potholes, alligator cracking, edges, other road repair, etc. It would also need a 3,000-gallon oil tank that would cost about $85,000, but he proposed that purchase for 2027/2028. The tank would need to be insulated with a stirrer. A challenge would be getting the oil. Even if this was purchased, Mr. Tyler clarified that the Department would still use shovel-patch from time to time. In addition to these needs, there would also be a need for a concrete pad with walls and 100-amp service.
Mr. Kocher had also budgeted $50,000.00 for engineering costs related to the Improvements to Downtown Olney Project. An amount of $1,600,000.00 was also budgeted for some type of road project, but what exactly that would be would be dependent on funds used for the resurfacing of Main Street. He also had pricing for soil cement and curbs for Glenwood, Monroe, and the Eastgate Subdivision. All other future years had $500,000.00 budgeted for some sort of road project.
Over the past few years, N. Boone Street had been discussed as a potential road project. Just as an update, Mr. Kocher informed that it would cost about $1,600,000.00 for street repair alone, and another $600,000.00 that would be needed for waterline replacement before street work could take place.
In 2027/2028, Mr. Kocher was looking to possibly replace the street sweeper. During that year he would also look to replace a mowing tractor for the bush hog. His hope was to get one with a cab because his staff struggled with allergies that were keeping them behind on mowing.
An amount of $600,000.00 in 2027/2028 should finish storm sewer work at N. East and E. Scott Streets. This would help flooding near the Immanual United Methodist Church and homes on N. Jefferson Street.
Other proposed projects through the 2030/2031 years included storm sewer repair at Taylor Lakeside Drive, contracted street striping, a backhoe, a leaf vac, a used bucket truck, work on the box culvert on W. Mack Avenue, the Laurel Street storm sewer, a mini excavator, the storm sewer at Jonathon Street, and a used dump truck.
Mr. Kocher then told the Council that they would need to soon start thinking about a new building for Public Works. This cost could be shared with the Water Distribution Department. The building was quite literally falling apart.
Councilman Fehrenbacher asked about some rough spots on East and Butler Streets. Mr. Kocher replied that those repairs would come out of normal operating expenses in his budget, and would not be a capital item.
Mrs. Guinn pointed out that if the City received the DCEO Site Readiness Grant for the Benton site, the City’s match would be $165,000.00 for this portion that would end up coming out of the Street Department budget. Another $165,000.00 would also be a match required out of Water Distribution, and a $265,000.00 match out of the Sewer Department.
For MFT, Mr. Kocher budgeted $60,000.00 for engineering on the North Avenue Resurfacing Project. An amount of $100,000.00 would be budgeted in 2027/2028 for the same purpose.
The $700,000.00 that had been budgeted for the Elliott Street Bridge during this fiscal year would need to be rolled over into the next fiscal year due to delays on the project.
The 2027/2028 fiscal year would budget out $105,000.00 for upgrades related to the State’s forthcoming re-pavement of Route 130. The City would need to provide some signal upgrades at the intersection of Mack Avenue and Route 130, and also at Route 130 and the intersection with Walmart. After that work during that fiscal year, if funds remained, some sort of road project could take place.
The 2028/2029 year would focus $450,000.00 towards the North Avenue Resurfacing Project. This amount would be the City’s match.
Councilman Fehrenbacher asked what could help the west side of North Avenue until that time. Mr. Kocher replied that the best they could do would be to “band aid” with oil and chip, and they may have to seal the entire road.
Mr. Bridges pointed out that CSX had approved construction plans for both the Elliott Street and the East Street Bridges. Flaggers had been requested for March 30th.
In the Mechanic Department, Mr. Urfer had budgeted $8,000.00 in the next fiscal year for shipping containers to use for storage. Currently, he was utilizing an old garden shed that was packed full. Behind that shed were oil totes that should be housed for safety purposes.
Past that, his needs through the 2030/2031 year would include a steam pressure washer, a dual gas A/C machine, an air compressor, and a ¾ ton pickup truck.
For the Water Plant, Mrs. Runyon had budgeted for carbon replacement during this current fiscal year. She hoped to have that project completed before the new fiscal year. They were having difficulty getting paperwork back from the contractor. She then reminded the Council that carbon replacement was needed every five years.
For the upcoming fiscal year, Mrs. Runyon was budgeting $14,000.00 for a riding mower with a 72-inch deck. The grounds at the Water Plant had more ground to cover following some necessary tree removal.
The clarifiers at the Water Plant would also need painting, and this was a need every 10 years and would be done in-house. She planned to budget $8,250.00 for this.
Mrs. Runyon and Mr. Bridges had completed a dam inspection at East Fork Lake. Water was found standing on the spillway, and it was leaking. This would need a more in-depth repair. She had budgeted $50,000.00 for this project.
The last item Mrs. Runyon had budgeted for the upcoming year was $25,000.00 for the pumphouse roof. She had originally planned to patch the roof now and do a full replacement in a future year. Unfortunately, strong winds had recently lifted the southwest corner. She was able to secure that but as she looked closer, about 3 sheets of roof decking were really wavy. Overall, she felt that a metal roof replacement should be planned sooner.
Other needs for future years through 2030/2031 would include pickup trucks, a spectrophotometer, a tractor, another round of carbon replacement, and a new Water Plant. Estimates on a new Water Plant only continued to increase, and estimates were now at $32,000,000.00.
For Water Distribution in the next fiscal year, Mr. Williams planned to need $600,000.00 to paint the Glenwood water tower, $100,000.00 for emergency waterline repair, $65,000.00 for a used leak truck, $100,000.00 for a radio meter system, and $100,000.00 to replace a waterline on 2 blocks of Cherry Street.
Mr. Bradley then explained that he and Mr. Williams had met with a vendor for the radio meter system. The system would hook to meter heads and allow staff to do drive-by reads. Another option would be to put collectors on a tower and shoot the read information directly to City Hall. He clarified that touch read systems were quickly becoming obsolete.
Mr. Williams then said that the $100,000.00 would get the Department started on replacements. Total replacement would be phased out over multiple years. He noted it may be possible for the City to get an EPA loan for this purpose.
Mayor Lambird asked how much it would cost to replace the entire system at one time. Mr. Bradley did not have a grand total, but he was aware that there would be better pricing in bulk. The start-up price included truck equipment, 30 meters, and software. A monthly fee may also be assessed at $1.00 per meter. These would send and receive at 450 MHz.
Mayor Lambird noted that the Glenwood water tower was a prime billboard location for the City. While it would add some expense, he felt it should showcase more than a basic paint job.
In the Sewer Department, Mr. Lathrop planned to continue budgeting $40,000.00 into the foreseeable future for emergency sewer line replacement.
For the next fiscal year, Mr. Lathrop had budgeted $700,000.00 for a building to house caustic. He had that budgeted in the current fiscal year, but was not able to get that completed. The caustic was needed to treat zinc.
An amount of $25,000.00 would be needed for the control panel on the Doenges lift station, and $15,000.00 would be needed to replace a septic tank at SKS.
Mr. Bradley clarified that maintenance of the septic tank at SKS was a condition of their annexation agreement with the City. This would be done until if/when the City extended sewer to that area.
Mr. Lathrop would also be needing a grit machine, a new lift station on Route 130, and work done to the Roadmaster lift station and forced main. However, he had yet to receive pricing on those items.
Looking past the next fiscal year and going through 2030/2031, Mr. Lathrop expected to need work to the filter building wet well, filter cell replacement, relining of sewer lines, a mechanical screen, a ½ ton pickup truck, lab equipment, a sludge pump, and a sludge press. He pointed out that the filter cell replacement would be pricey because the roof would need torn off of the building in order to complete. A grant would also be sought for the relining of sewer lines.
Mrs. Guinn told the Council that the only capital requests for the next 5 years from the Library would be at $7,000.00 each year for the purchase of books.
In Tourism, the only expected capital expense anticipated within the next 5 years would be in the next coming fiscal year for the addition of boat docks at East Fork Lake. Mrs. Sterchi stated that an amount had been included for this at $670,000.00, and noted that a $100,000.00 grant was also being sought for this purpose.
Mr. Bridges said that he had met with Norris Electric at the proposed boat dock location, and he was awaiting additional information.
Regarding the Route 130 TIF, Mrs. Guinn indicated that the budgeted items here were not projects that were set in stone, and they could be changed. She was proposing to use $150,000.00 to upgrade the entrance to the City Park, $300,000.00 to upgrade interior parking at the City Park, and $150,000.00 for the reconstruction of a portion of Elm Street.
Mr. Kocher said that saddles on the Elm Street plastic line would need changed.
Looking out farther, Mrs. Guinn proposed $145,000.00 for upgrades related to the State’s Route 130 repaving project, $400,000.00 for a City Park office/storage building, $50,000.00 for interior fencing at the City Park, and $200,000.00 for the roadway in the City Park.
Mr. Thomas explained that the Park Department was quickly running out of storage room. Currently, they were using the old pool house to store Christmas Light Display items, but the building was certainly not designed for that use. He planned to use the new building for storage of those items and equipment.
In the South Olney TIF, Mrs. Guinn proposed to use $300,000.00 in the next fiscal year for utilities in the Industrial Park. She also proposed $600,000.00 in the 2030/2031 year to make upgrades to East Street Road.
For the Business District, the only capital listed for the next 5 years would be for this coming fiscal year in the amount of $9,269,000.00 for the Main Street Resurfacing Project. She added that she had been asked to look into financing options, and would be prepared to discuss that when the Council was ready.
Mayor Lambird felt that it would be a sounder fiscal option to go out for financing in order to get the full scope of the project completed. He felt that could be paid off in about five years. Councilman Fehrenbacher did like the idea of doing that in order to preserve funds for residential roads.
Mr. Kocher added that once the repaving of Main Street was completed, the Council should plan on saving again as it would need to be resurfaced again in 20 years.
Mayor Lambird then stated that the whole goal of the Business District was not solely to address infrastructure. Rather, it could be used to help grow commerce which would then lead to growth in the General Fund. Sales tax revenue could grow by a great amount based off of investments made within the Business District.
Mrs. Guinn had also received a mock schedule of bonding payback on a 10-year plan. Bonds could either be private or public. If a public bond was used, the City would not be able to pay it off early. If a private bond was used, that would cost more.
Mayor Lambird thanked the department heads for their hard work.
Councilman Eyer emphasized that the City’s focus should go towards resurfacing Main Street to the best of its ability. That is what had been promised to the public. Councilwoman Eichhorst agreed.
Chief Harmon wished to bring up another topic. Currently, the City had a purchase process where certain purchases of $500.00 or more required going through a purchase order procedure. While that amount may have been appropriate at one time, $500.00 purchases were extremely frequent these days and caused a lot of unnecessary paperwork, and sometimes delays, for departments. He asked the Council to consider raising the $500.00 limit to $1,500.00.
The Council was agreeable to the Chief’s suggestion, and this would be placed on the next Council agenda.
AGENDA #6 “ADJOURN” Councilwoman Eichhorst moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilman Eyer. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.
The special meeting of City Council adjourned at 7:51 p.m.
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