Grafton City Council honors boyscouts, discusses events, tourism
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By Dellaray Hileman
The regular meeting of the Grafton City Council was held Tuesday, April 18, at Grafton City Hall and was streamed live to the City of Grafton YouTube channel.
Following roll call, the Council voted to approve the minutes from the last City Council meeting held March 15.
Boy Scout Troop 59 was then honored with a Certificate of Appreciation, Donna Smith explained how the Troop helped with the Easter egg hunt and stated, “We greatly appreciate these young men coming out and helping us with the easter egg hunt.”
Under Public Forum, Denise Hill of Dee’s Riverside Retreat approached the Council. Hill expressed, to the Council, her desire to have an outdoor concert series at her retreat. “My goal is to get more people from the St. Louis area over to Grafton,” Hill explained.
She has June 5 and June 19 planned for right now and said, “If it goes well we will plan to have live music every other Sunday up until the Sunday before Labor Day.”
Mayor Mike Morrow then clarified with Hill and the Council that these concerts will be open to the public.
The Council then reviewed and approved committee reports as presented.
Under mayors report Morrow read a letter from Jersey County Sheriff Ringhausen, “I would like to thank the Grafton Chamber of Commerce for for their contribution to Jersey County Sheriff’s Department”
A National Day of Prayer was approved by the council and will be on May 5.
Morrow updated the council on the progress in Grafton Hills stating, “we closed on six lots and we only have five left in grafton hills.”
Rod Jackson approached the Council to explain his role with the Grafton Welcome Wagon and gave a summary of what they have been able to provide for new residents in Grafton.
Under Parks and Development, two committee members are departing, Dan Ebbing Chairman and Tom Lenkman. Morrow stated, “The new park equipment will be a testimony to your efforts for a long time to come,” and added that Grafton will be looking for replacement committee members.
Mary Lillesve-Chairman of the Marketing and Tourism Committee reported that on May 21 Grafton and the JCBA will be hosting the annual sip and stroll event.
Morrow informed the Council that the State of Illinois is introducing an advertisement marketed as the “middle of everything,” featuring Grafton and the Sky Lift.
Donna Smith reported under community outreach that on Aug. 5 there will be a Children’s Day, Smith reported, “We are working together to create a great children’s event this year.”
Under Items for discussion the topic of food trucks was discussed, the overall consensus from business owners was deemed to be “no thank you.” As an alternative, the Council discussed offering local businesses the opportunities to cater at the local events rather than having food trucks.
The Council approved the following new business items:
■ Resolution 2022-05, setting the number of deputy clerks to one.
■ Formation of a Mayor’s grant planning committee, Morrow explained the purpose of the committee, stating, “They will meet four times to work on obtaining grants relevant to Grafton.”
■ Ordinance 754, changing lot one from c1 to r1.
■ Special use permit for Raging Rivers building.
■ City forms for Amusement Tax, Hotel/Motel, Adopt A Lot application, Neighborhood/ Electric vehicle permit and the City Park rental agreement form.
■ Posting of a dangerous and unsafe notice to the vacant house located at 422 E Clinton St.
■ Morrow went on to report on the status of the flag in Grafton. “The larger flag will be raised for Veterans Day, the 4th of July, and other holidays determined by the veterans committee, the new flag is a more appropriate size for the flagpole,” he said.
■ Lowering Liquor licenses fees were discussed but tabled until a further date.
The Grafton City Council is scheduled to meet again on Tuesday, May 17, at 7 p.m.
