By Nathan Prewett
For the Tribune
ARGO — The Argo City Council began its regular Monday night meeting by introducing the police department’s newest officer, Carlos De Romano, who was hired at a special-called meeting last week. Afterwards, discussion on several items on the agenda took place that were tabled for a future meeting as members of the council continue to review them.
After introducing the new officer, the council’s first item was approving a proclamation that declared the month of April as Civitan Awareness Month.
Members of a newly established Civitan Club in St. Clair County were present at the meeting to hear Mayor Betty Bradley read the proclamation aloud.
Following the proclamation was a discussion on the city’s negotiation with Advanced Disposal on trash pickup. City Attorney Scott Barnett said that Bradley requested a meeting with the provider on their bids for commercial and residential pickups.
He said that the provider can take the dollar amount and “rearrange it to whatever works best for them.”
Councilor Gordon (Corky) Massey raised concerns on some of the rates, citing the different rates that commercial customers pay based on their trash container size and the increased rate for some. After a lengthy discussion, a motion was made to accept the business portion of the contract that the mayor negotiated. All but Massey voted in favor.
A truck ordinance that could restrict trucks from certain roads in Argo was brought up and then later tabled. Bradley said that the city has received multiple complaints about trucks that have caused issues, citing an incident in which a truck was reported to have forced a woman off the road as it was passing.
Questions were raised about the wording and specific elements in the ordinance and the council agreed to review it and discuss it as a new draft at the next meeting.
The council continues to deliberate on the sign ordinance, an ongoing effort to regulate the types of signs that can be put up around the city. Similar to the last meeting, Bradley asked that the council members currently options for a sign ordinance to bring their suggestions to the next meeting.
In other business, the council briefly discussed a potential $10 burn permit that Argo Fire Chief Heath Smith proposed at the last meeting. He cited a recent incident in which a tree cutting company was burning lumber and the fire got out of control. This was also tabled for the next meeting.
The council also voted in favor of entering a nationwide lawsuit against opioid manufacturers based on the recommendation of Barnett, making Argo among many other cities to get involved in recent efforts to reduce the use of opioid use in the public.
The next meeting of the Argo City Council will take place on May 15 at 6 p.m.