City of Olney City Council met Jan. 26.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
AGENDA #1 “CALL TO ORDER” The January 26, 2026, meeting of the Olney City Council was called to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Olney City Hall located at 300 S. Whittle Avenue, 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. Steve Wingert led the group in prayer.
AGENDA #3 “ROLL CALL” The following Council members were present: Mark Lambird, Jack Eyer, Julia Eichhorst, Bryce Fehrenbacher, and Matt Miller. Also present were City Manager Frank Bradley, City Treasurer Jane Guinn, City Engineer Mike Bridges, City Attorney Bart Zuber, and City Clerk Kelsie Sterchi.
AGENDA #4 “PUBLIC COMMENTS/PRESENTATIONS” No one from the public wished to speak.
AGENDA #5 “PRESENTATION OF CONSENT AGENDA”
5-A “Approve Minutes of the Council Meeting on January 12, 2026”
5-B “Approve and Authorize Payment of Accounts Payable January 27, 2026” Pooled Cash $176,668.86, Manual Pooled Cash $3,881.28, Utility Refunds $871.03, Adjustments $84.80, IMRF $252.17, Unemployment $805.15, Tourism $5,000.00, Christmas Light Display $459.00
AGENDA #6 “REMOVAL OF ITEMS FROM CONSENT AGENDA” No items were requested for removal from the Consent Agenda.
AGENDA #7 “CONSIDERATION OF CONSENT AGENDA” Councilwoman Eichhorst moved to approve the items on the consent agenda, seconded by Councilman Miller. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.
AGENDA #8 “CONSIDERATION OF ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA” No items were requested for removal from the Consent Agenda.
AGENDA #9 “PRESENTATION OF ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS, ETC.”
9-A “Discussion/Possible Action: Code Violations at 701 N. Silver Street” A bench trial had recently taken place regarding code violations at 701 N. Silver Street. The ruling and aftermath was a bit confusing, but compliance on the issue had since been achieved. Councilman Fehrenbacher felt it would be best to address this topic as a public update that would be both beneficial to the neighbors and the property owner.
Councilman Fehrenbacher asked Mr. Zuber to recap the situation. Mr. Zuber reminded everyone that he did not prosecute the case as the Council had agreed it would be more appropriate to have a third-party prosecutor since a member of the Council was an alleged violator. The ordinance violation citation was written as a violation of Section 8.28.010 (Weeds declared a nuisance.) of the City of Olney Municipal Code. Because the City could not verify what type(s) of “weeds” were growing on the property, the defendant was found not guilty. The judge explained that the issue was likely more of a violation of the height restriction found in Section 8.28.015 (Height Restrictions.). Mr. Zuber further understood that the prosecutor and the defendant had met and reached an agreement to where the property would be kept under the 12-inch restriction.
Councilman Fehrenbacher asked if the ordinances regarding weeds should be revisited on either height or the definition of “weeds.”
Mayor Lambird recognized that the property issue had been remediated, that the City had a better understanding on how to move forward, and he felt it would be quite difficult to make an ordinance against weeds that was all encompassing in regards to definitions.
Councilman Miller was fine with the Code as-is.
Councilman Fehrenbacher then wished to reiterate that the property owner of 701 N. Silver Street truly had intentions to beautify the property. He was also not happy that some individuals had trespassed onto the property and vandalized several trees. He felt if the issue of rezoning the property should be revisited, he would encourage everyone to be aware that the property owner would need income in order to make improvements to the property. The only other option would be to have the property continually deteriorate over the next few years, and likely demolished.
9-B “Ordinance: Amend Title 13 (Public Services) of the City of Olney Municipal Code” The Council was provided with a proposed ordinance that would amend Title 13 (Public Services) of the City of Olney Municipal Code.
Mr. Bradley explained that this was a housekeeping item. The first proposed amendment was due to the fact that Water Distribution took their final work order for the day at 2:30 p.m. in order to complete the tasks and put away their equipment by end-of-day at 3:00 p.m. to avoid overtime.
The next proposed amendments gave customers with returned payments 7 days to settle their account before disconnection for non-payment. Once notice is received of a returned payment, it was not possible nor realistic for the Utility Billing Clerk to issue notice and have it remediated by the customer within 24 hours. Rather, the Utility Billing Clerk issues out a notice in the mail that gives the customer the 7-day time frame.
Councilman Eyer moved to approve Ordinance 2026-07, seconded by Councilman Miller. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.
9-C “Discussion: JEDS Budget” Mr. Bradley told the Council that the City had received the new budget from JEDS. He wanted the Council to be aware that there was a $3,517.00 per month increase to the City’s invoice. This was due to employee wage increases, overtime, and the County-Wide Radio Project.
9-D “Resolution: Transfer Money from Tourism Fund & Christmas Light Display Fund to the General Corporate Fund” The Council was provided with a proposed resolution that would transfer $10,000.00 from the Tourism Fund and $5,000.00 from the Christmas Light Display Fund to the General Corporate Fund.
Mr. Bradley stated that these transfers were requested in order to reimburse the General Corporate Fund for time spent by employees on Tourism-related and Christmas Light Display-related tasks.
Councilwoman Eichhorst moved to approve 2026-R-04, seconded by Councilman Eyer. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.
9-E “Ordinance: Authorize the Sale of Items of Personal Property Owned by the City of Olney – Riding Mowers from the Park Department” The Council was provided with a proposed ordinance that would authorize the sale of two riding mowers from the Park Department. The Council was also provided with a recommendation memo from Park Department Working Foreman Jeremy Thomas.
Mr. Bradley told the Council that both mowers had experienced engine failure and were no longer operational. The recommendation would be to sell one of them on GovDeals.com and to sell the other mower for scrap. He clarified that the mower proposed for scrap had been parted out.
Councilman Eyer moved to approve Ordinance 2026-08, seconded by Councilwoman Eichhorst. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.
9-F “Resolution: Accept Quote for Repair of the Boiler at the Sewer Plant & Waive Formal Bidding Procedures” The Council was provided with a resolution that would accept a quote for repair of the boiler at the Sewer Plant and waive formal bidding procedures. The Council was also provided with a recommendation memo from Sewer Department Supervisor Jeff Lathrop.
Mr. Bradley reported that the boiler at the Sewer Plant had gone down and needed repaired. Due to the niche market on this type of work, formal bidding was recommended to be waived. A quote from CleaverBrooks had been received in the amount of $20,800.00. This quote included replacement of a gas valve and actuator in addition to labor and mobilization. This would all come with a 1-year warranty.
Mr. Bradley further explained that the current valve had corroding on the inside which had caused that failure. The new valve should not corrode on the inside and should be in good order for a very long time.
Councilwoman Eichhorst moved to approve 2026-R-05, seconded by Councilman Miller. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.
9-G “Resolution: Establish a Purchase Request Requirement for Certain Purchases” The Council was provided with a proposed resolution that would establish a purchase request requirement for certain purchases.
Mr. Bradley reminded everyone that at the budget work session held on January 22nd, the consensus was that there was interest in changing the dollar amount on the purchase request requirement from $500.00 to $1,500.00. The proposed resolution would take care of this issue. The resolution also clarified what types of expenses would be exempt from this requirement.
Councilman Eyer moved to approve 2026-R-06, seconded by Councilman Fehrenbacher. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.
AGENDA #10 “REPORTS FROM ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS”
10-A “Status Report – City Manager” Mr. Bradley reported the following:
▪ The Water Plant would soon be addressing the Granular Activated Carbon Replacement Project, and they hoped to get that done this fiscal year.
▪ The UV system at the Sewer Plant had been down for quite some time but was now fixed.
▪ The replacement lights at the tennis courts should be received this week, and work would be completed by the contractor.
▪ The East Street and Elliott Street Bridge Projects were again moving along and work was hoped to begin in March.
▪ Employees in public works departments had been involved in clearing the streets from the recent winter storm. They worked starting at 10:00 p.m. on January 24th through 11:00 p.m. on January 25th.
Councilman Fehrenbacher asked if the material had been received for the Eastgate Storm Sewer Project. Mr. Bradley confirmed and added that the project would begin as soon as weather permitted. He noted that ADA work in the Northfield Subdivision would also begin soon.
10-B “RCDC Report” There was no report.
10-C “Chamber of Commerce Report” Councilwoman Eichhorst said that the Chocolate Tour was coming up in February. It was also time for the Chamber of Commerce dues drive.
Mayor Lambird then thanked the public works departments for their hard work this past weekend. He encouraged the public to thank these workers if they saw them out and about. He also knew that the Water Distribution Department was still out working this evening on a water main break.
AGENDA #11 “CLOSED SESSION: SALE OR LEASE PRICE OF REAL PROPERTY; ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY; APPOINTMENT, EMPLOYMENT, COMPENSATION, AND PERFORMANCE OF SPECIFIC EMPLOYEES; AND COLLECTIVE NEGOTIATING MATTERS” Councilwoman Eichhorst moved to adjourn to closed session to discuss the sale or lease price of real property; acquisition of real property; appointment, employment, compensation, and performance of specific employees; and collective negotiating matters, seconded by Councilman Eyer. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.
The meeting adjourned to closed session at 6:19 p.m.
AGENDA #12 “RECONVENE OPEN SESSION” Councilwoman Eichhorst moved to enter back into open session, seconded by Councilman Eyer. A majority affirmative voice vote was received. Open session resumed at 6:43 p.m.
12-A “Approve Minutes of Closed Session on January 12, 2026” Councilman Eyer moved to approved minutes of closed session on January 12, 2026, seconded by Councilwoman Eichhorst. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.
12-B “Ordinance: Establish Wage for Non-Bargaining Employee” The Council was provided with a proposed ordinance that would establish the wage of the Park Department Supervisor. The Council was also provided with recommendation memo from Mr. Bradley.
Councilwoman Eichhorst moved to approve Ordinance 2026-09, seconded by Councilman Miller. A majority affirmative voice vote was received.
AGENDA #13 “ADJOURN” With no further business to discuss, Councilman Eyer moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilman Miller.
The meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m.
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