After 27 years of service to the Charleston area, Fire Chief Kris Phipps has announced he will be resigning from the Charleston Fire Department to take on a new chapter of life.

City Manager Scott Smith said he received his resignation on Tuesday, saying he will be done working for the department at the end of the month.

Phipps has been given the opportunity to work for Sprectra Tech. Inc. where he will take the position of a senior analyst, Smith said.

Phipps has been the Charleston Fire Chief for the past five years.

The council thanked him for his outstanding work with improving the city and the area as a whole.

Mayor John Inyart thanked Phipps for the shape he will be leaving the department in with the recognition he has brought in from around the state, the amount of trained people he will leave on his staff and the grants and money he has brought into the city.

“You left us better than where we started, and we appreciate that,” Inyart said.

Assistant Chief Pat Goodwin will take the position of interim chief after Phipps leaves.

A reception will be held in honor of Phipps at City Hall on July 31 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In other business, the council passed two ordinances for right of ways to purchase private property and make it public property.

The first property is located 1003 Sixth St. and 1002 Seventh St., the properties will be bought in the amount of $1,709 and $1,001, respectively.

This property has been purchased to allow the widening of Polk Avenue to continue.

The second right of way was purchased at 918 18th St.

This will allow the city to complete the sidewalk project from the Charleston Middle School to 18th Street.

“The project will allow for safe walking for the schools, but the link can’t be completed without this property,” Inyart said.

Three resolutions were also passed to terminate three leases at Lake Island Tract the city has previously signed into.

The leases will terminate by August 15, when the city will pay Judith Immel, Mary Williams and James Sanfilippo $3,000 each for the property.

The deadline for the exchange will be August 15.

The local VFW Post 1592 has also been approved for the construction of an out door picnic area for members and guests to take a smoke break and drink outside.

The new area will be built in place of three parking spaces next to the VFW building located at 1821 20th St.

No entertainment will be outside the building, and a solid wall will be built in attempt to contain the noise from escaping the property into the residential area.

“My concern was the noise levels but the solid wall and the lack of entertainment would help out with that,” Inyart said.

Other business also included approving the wage rate that was set by the Illinois Department of Labor, approving the proposal for Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center Prairie Pavilion in Mattoon, and authorized support for the HOPE and HPRP applications to grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The mayor also announced Hank Beurskens, Kit Morice an Nora Pat Small to the Historic Preservation Commissions, Don Schaefer to Airport Authority Board and Ann Brownson, Gary Gueldner, Tim Jacobs and Jim Wood to the Board of Zoning Appeals and Planning.

Kayleigh Zyskowski can be reached at 581-7943 or at kzyskowski@eiu.edu.