The City of Carmi is on pace to spend nearly $300,000 in credit card fees this year and Mayor Bill Stendeback says he’d like to look for a way around that, though he’s not sure there is one.
When I looked at last year’s finances, the city paid $238,000 in credit card fees from people paying their bills with credit cards. The state ordinances…the state law…doesn’t allow us to recoup that in any way, shape, or form. We can’t put on a convenience fee, or there’s other names for it, but we cannot do it. We cannot say well you’re paying with a credit card, you’ll have to pay the processing fee with it.
He says the city could hire a company to do billing, but they would then naturally have to pay them. Having citizens sign up for Auto Withdrawal rather than paying with plastic would also save the city some money on those processing fees. At this point, the crux of the biscuit for the mayor is he wants the information out in the public and for council members to be thinking about bringing potential solutions to future tables.
The mayor also provided updates on the recent water leaks saying the area could be unstable for the next couple months while crews are working on the water tower. He praised water utility workers for putting in long hours making repairs.
Beyond that, the tennis courts at Bradshaw Park are in the process of being repaired. They were last addressed about 6 years ago.
Read more at Dog Park gets Name and other Carmi City Council Highlights from 7/16/19 – WRUL-FM
Stendeback says the company that did the pickleball courts at Eckerle gave an estimate of about $33k to $34k. The city has written a check for more than $16,000 and the Unit 5 school district is expected to pay the other half. Work should be complete in the next week or so.
Other news out of Tuesday nights gathering includes the reappointment of Diane Healy and Cathy Seiler to the Library Board. Those are both 3-year terms. Council passed an ordinance for Andy Ayslworth so that he can sell property at 905 East Main Street. Because it used to be a gas station with tanks in the ground, there needed to be an ordinance passed not allowing a potential buyer to use groundwater under the property due to potential contamination. Council unanimously passed that ordinance. Leaders also passed a resolution to close Main Cross Street on October 9th for the Farm to Table event and also approved a pay request for Brown and Roberts in the amount of $2,073 and change for work on the Saunders project.
The next electronic recycling event is coming up on September 27th, probably from 9am – noon at 520 North Third Street.
And finally, Carmi Police Chief Jason Carter is reminding the community about their 2nd annual Water Balloon Toss, Squirt Gun War, and Popsicle Giveaway at Bradshaw Park THIS Friday August 8, 2025 at 1pm.