City Honors Mascoutah School District at City Council Meeting

By Zachary Daum

mascherald@heraldpubs.com

Mascoutah Mayor Pat McMahan spoke about the Mascoutah School District’s National Ranking at the Monday, November 6 city council meeting. Mayor McMahan read the proclamation, which stated, “Whereas, Mascoutah School District 19 has served our community since approximately 1931; and, Whereas, the Illinois State Board of Education has released the annual Illinois Report Card for the 2022-2023 school year; and, whereas, Mascoutah School District 19 schools continue to excel within the state adopted assessments; and, whereas, all five Mascoutah School District 19 schools lie within the Exemplary/Commendable range; and, whereas, not only does School District 19 thrive with academic success, but they also focus on

mental health and social-emotional growth working closely with their families and the entire community to create an educational atmosphere; and, whereas, the City of Mascoutah is very excited to celebrate the hard work of the teachers, support staff, administrators, and school board members to accomplish this achievement; and, Now, therefore, I, Pat McMahan, Mayor of the City of Mascoutah, Illinois do hereby proclaim that the Mascoutah School District 19 has reached a significant milestone in its history of service to the district and wish them continued Mascoutah Community. Furthermore, I congratulate Mascoutah School success and thank them for supporting our youth. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the City of Mascoutah to be affixed, this 6th day of November in the year of Our Lord two-thousand twenty-three.”

Mayor Pat McMahan handed plaques with his proclamation to members of the school district faculty on Monday’s meeting.

After reading the proclamation aloud, the council moved on to comments, in which Mayor McMahan stated that the cemetery walk was very nice and enjoyed taking part in the event.

New Police Officer Timothy Lay was sworn in by Mascoutah City Clerk  at the Monday, Nov. 6 Mascoutah City Council Meeting. Officer Lay spent 20 years at the Belleville Police department.

Mascoutah Police Chief Scott Waldrup said of Officer Lay, “It’s a pleasure having him here and we are finally up to full staff.”

Turning to Officer Lay he added, “We are so glad to have you.”

New Mascoutah Police Officer Timothy Lay was sworn in at Mascoutah’s Monday, Nov. 6 council meeting.

Police Chief Waldrup also discussed and applauded the handling of the arrest of Matthew S. Turner. Turner had fired a gun at Mascoutah’s Quick Stop. After an investigation it came to light that Turner was responsible. A convicted felon, Turner cannot possess a firearm under Illinois state law. After an investigation, Turner was arrested on several charges.

Chief Waldrup said of the arrest, “The following officers should be complimented for their Lieutenant Matt Steinkamp, Sgt. Jared Lambert, Sgt. Nathan Weinel, Officer Chris Hoernis, Officer Joel Veres, Officer McKenzie Sirtak, Officer Cameron Retick, and Officer Mark Sunquist.”

The council then turned to agenda matters. They approved a resolution adopting the annual meeting schedule. Although it is not required to prepare an annual meeting schedule, if a schedule is not adopted, each meeting, according to the state, would be considered a special meeting.

A first reading was held for approval of the adoption of a new MABAS (Mutual Aid Box Alarm System) agreement. Approval is required to remain compliant with FEMA Recovery Policy and federal requirements for disaster mobilization. The council had no questions on the topic.

The council briefly discussed and approved the authorization of a bid for power line right of way clearance and tree trimming. A single bid was submitted from Endrizzi Contracting, Inc. of Vienna, IL in the amount of $109,000. This is a circuit that has caused several issues and outages over the last several years and is along route 4. This was said to correct these past outages and issues.

The first reading of a code change was held in relation to Chapter 1 – Administration to amend the Public Comment Policy of the City Code of Ordinances. The Council had previously discussed removal of the second public comment period and has decided to vote on whether or not to remove this second comment period. No further discussion was had on the topic at this meeting.

Councilman Nick Seibert discussed a guard rail that has been damaged and asked if it would be repaired any time soon. The council agreed to pass the information along to the correct people to have it repaired.

Councilman Mike Baker proposed a paid parking ordinance, whereas if a location within the city limits charges money for parking, the city should receive a portion of the parking money. He listed the airport as an example of a place within the city limits that this would affect. He said that the city will at some time in the future need to provide more resources to the airport, and that this fee collected by the city would assist in that endeavor.

The council then adjourned, ending the meeting. The council will hold their next meeting on Monday, Nov. 20 at 7:00 PM.