The Charleston City Council voted to approve amendments to the city code for raffle and liquor licenses.

Title three, chapter eight, which deals with raffle licenses, had several amendments made to comply with state laws. 

Two definitions were added to the title.

“Business organization” will now be defined as “a voluntary organization composed of individuals and businesses who have joined together to advance the commercial, financial, industrial and civic interests of a community” under the title.

“Law enforcement agency” will be defined as “an agency of the state or a unit of local government in the state that is vested by law or ordinance with the duty to maintain public order and to enforce criminal laws or ordinances.”

The language describing who is eligible to be a licensee was also amended. 

Those who are eligible to be licensees are:

• “organizations, as defined in section 3-8-1 of this chapter, that operate without profit to their members and which have been in existence continuously for a period of 5 years immediately before making application for a raffle license and which have had during that entire 5-year period been a bona fide membership engaged in carrying out their objects”

• “a non-profit fund-raising organization that the City determines is organized for the sole purpose of providing financial assistance to an identified individual or group of individuals suffering extreme financial hardship as the result of an illness, disability, accident or disaster”

• “a law enforcement agency”

Others who were eligible before the change was made and were not disqualified to be licensees under the changes are still eligible. 

With the amendments approved, “any person who has been convicted of a felony that will impair the person’s ability to engage in the licensed position” and “any person who is or has been a professional gambler or professional gambling promoter” are not eligible to be licensees.

Those who were ineligible before the amendments and were not made eligible by the amendments will continue to be ineligible to be a licensee.

Other changes were made in the title to comply with state regulations on raffle licenses and to follow the changes mentioned above.

The raffle license approved at the meeting will not be impacted by the amendments.

The council approved amendments on city code involving liquor licenses.

The number of Class C liquor licenses allowed at any one time in any one year increased from 21 to 22 licenses.

Class C liquor licenses “authorize the sale of alcoholic liquor at retail on the premises specified for consumption on said premises,” according to city code.

The annual fee for the Class C liquor license is $1,250.

The council approved a bid from G & H Marine from Decatur for a shoreline rip rap erosion control project.

G & H Marine was the lowest bidder with a total bid amount of $193,655.

Other bids included $196,100 from Double R Boat Houses from Herrick, a $260,400 bid from American Shoreline, Inc. and a $346,840 bid from CHAT Ltd.

Funds for the project will be provided by an IEPA 319 Grant and a Charleston Charitable Foundation Grant, according to the resolution.

An intergovernmental agreement between the City of Charleston and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services was approved.

Ground Emergency Medical Transport is a program through the Department of Healthcare and Family Services that helps supplement funding for municipal and fire districts, offsetting the cost of providing ambulance rides to those who use Medicaid as their insurance.

The agreement says GMET provides funding for “Illinois municipal and fire district agencies that provide emergency medical transport to submit for additional Medicaid reimbursement for a percentage of the cost of the service that is outstanding after receipt of the initial Medicaid claim.”

The council approved a resolution to sell surplus equipment from the Charleston Police Department.

Halloween Trick or Treat hours were announced at the meeting and will be on Oct. 31 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

A proclamation approved by the council named the week of Oct. 6 – 12 as National 4-H Week.

The week is meant to “encourage all of our citizens to recognize 4-H for the significant impact that it has made and continues to make by empowering our young people with the skills they need to lead for a lifetime,” according to the proclamation.

Corryn Brock can be reached at 581-2812 or at cebrock@eiu.edu.