Village of Oblong
June 7th, 2006
The Village Board of Trustees met in regular session on June 7th, 2006, in the Farley Room of the Municipal Building.
Members Present: Mayor Randy Rich, Clerk Ladora Boyd, Trustee Rick Catt, Trustee Bonnie Finn, Trustee Rick Houdasheldt, Trustee Ken Russell, Trustee Sherry Catt, Trustee Debi Wilson and Treasurer Jan Miller.
Others Present: Public Works Superintendent Gary Lanter, Police Chief Chad Pusey, Tom Compton (Daily News), Patricia Higgins (Western & Southern Financial Group), Mike McReynolds, Rob Belt (Casey General Store), John McKamey (Casey General Store), Wendy McDaniel and John Larrabee.
1. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Mayor Rich.
2. The Regular Board Meeting minutes of May 3rd, 2006, were approved with a motion by Rick C. and a second by Ken. All ayes, motion carried.
3. There was one addition to the agenda this month. Mr. Belt asked to be put on the agenda to speak to the Board. Randy stated that Mr. Belt could speak to the Board after Mrs. Higgins.
4. There were two water bill customers at the meeting this month.
Mr. McReynolds asked to be allowed to pay his water bill in two (2) installments.
Ms. McDaniel asked for an extension on her water bill until June 14th.
The Board granted both requests.
5. Patricia Higgins, with Western & Southern Financial Group, came before the Board to get permission to talk to the employees about a benefits package that is strictly optional to the employees. The benefits package will not cost the employer (Village) anything. The benefits are offered at a discounted rate that the employees would be unable to get off the street normally. There were some questions. Patricia stated that the company would need at least two (2) employees to take the benefits package to have the payroll deduction. The company would need to have (3) employees to take life insurance policy to get a simple underwriting. The company cannot write a life insurance policy if the employee has cancer. Patricia stated that she needed some forms signed that gives her permission to talk to the employees.
6. Rob Belt (with Casey General Store) came to the board to find out what would need to be done to possibly get a license to sell cold beer at the Casey General Store; that is going to open in the former Park Mart II location. Randy stated that this situation had come up recently and the request was denied. Mr. Belt asked why the request was denied. Rick H. stated that there had been a public hearing and public conscience was that there was no need for additional liquor licenses in Oblong. Ken stated that at this time there are two (2) liquor licenses in town. Mr. Belt thanked the Board for their time. Rick C. welcomed Mr. Belt and Mr. McKamey to Oblong and thanked them for the new business in town.
7. Motion by Rick H., with a second by Sherry, to adopt Ordinance #2006-0-491 “Prevailing Wage Ordinance”. All ayes, motion carried.
8. Motion by Rick C., with a second by Debi, to adopt Ordinance #2006-0-492 “An Ordinance to Amend Chapter 7, Business Code, to add Article VIII - Fire Works Code to the Revised Code of Ordinances of Oblong, Illinois”. There were some questions about how this will affect the fireworks display that the Chamber of Commerce sponsors. All ayes, motion carried.
9. Sherry stated that she did not think it was appropriate to use tax payers’ money on these items; but she believes that both organizations do good work. There was some discussion before the motion was made.
Motion by Sherry, with a second by Rick C., to not sponsor a golf hole at either the FOP William “Jack” Fancil Memorial Golf Outing or the Oblong Chamber of Commerce Golf Outing. All ayes, motion carried.
10. Randy stated that he had been approached about the parking on both sides of South Range Street in the two hundred (200) and three hundred (300) blocks. Randy stated that he was in at Pizza-N-More yesterday when a gentleman came in to say that he had broken a mirror off of one of the customer’s vehicle. There was also some discussion about parking on North Range Street in the three hundred (300) block and north to the Village limits.
Motion by Debi, with a second by Rick H., to have no parking on the east side of South Range Street from Main Street south to the Village limit and no parking on either side of North Range from Ohio Street north to the Village limit. All ayes, motion carried.
11. Randy mentioned that there has been some removal of the old oilfield equipment from the Park but what is left has become a public safety issue. Mr. Larrabee stated there is still some of what is left that the Oilfield Museum is wanting to keep and some that they do not want. Mr. Larrabee stated that the Museum Board has been in contact with Mike Munson about having him use his crane to move the heavier pieces. Randy suggested that Mr. Larrabee get a date set with Mr. Munson and then let Randy know because he will come and help. Ken also stated that he would help too. Mr. Larrabee stated that there is still a model of the Marathon Refinery in one of the old buildings that needs to be moved. Mr. Larrabee stated that part of the model is in need of repair, but he does not know of anybody that can repair it. Bonnie stated that Bill Ikemire said he could fix the model. Mr. Larrabee stated that approximately five percent (5%) of the population of Crawford County has been to the new museum.
12. Under Mayor's Comments:
Randy mentioned that the Village had received a Thank You note from the Wally Dean Family for the floral arrangement and thoughts of sympathy.
Randy stated that the employees’ health insurance will be staying with American Medical Security and that there will be no change in deductible until the anniversary date.
Randy stated that Byron has turned into Gary a Reimbursement Request for work boots. Since it was decided that a clothing allowance for Byron would be on an as need basis for this year. It was stated that next year at budget time this issue would be looked at to see if there was a need for Byron to receive a clothing allowance and how much it should be. Motion by Sherry, with a second by Rick C., to reimburse Byron for the cost of his work boots. All ayes, motion carried.
13. Reports of Committees:
A Police: Rick H. stated that the computer that the police type up their reports on crashed over the weekend; it would cost between $200 – $300 to repair it. Rick stated that the department did not budget for a new computer but that it is needed. Motion by Sherry, with a second by Bonnie, to go ahead and purchase a new computer. All ayes, motion carried. Chad mentioned that there will be an ILEA training session on June 28th. Rick stated that Paul will be taking his final test sometime the end of this month for graduation.
B. Buildings and Park: Sherry stated that everything looks really good out at the Park.
C. Sidewalks and Lights: Debi stated that there was no report at this time. Randy stated that Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) informed him that it would be cheaper to go ahead and lay the wiring for new lights in the downtown area while the sidewalks and Route 33 are under construction than later. Randy asked if it would be all right for him to go ahead and get an estimate on this from the engineers. The Board agreed.
D. Street and Alley: Bonnie stated that there was no report at this time. Randy stated that IDOT informed him that the Route 33 Project bids will be open approximately in July 2007 with the project starting six months or so after the awarding of the bids in 2008. IDOT keeps adding some more items to what the Village needs to do. There were some questions. Randy stated that he had talked to Carolyne Higgins about the construction debris behind the building that had been deemed unsafe earlier this year. Randy stated that Carolyne said hopefully it will be cleaned up by the end of the month. Randy also mentioned the fence deal was taken care of.
E. Water and Sewer: Ken stated that there had been some comments made about the new water rates from water customers. Ken stated that he had talked to some and stated where the Village is coming from and felt that they understood.
F. Finance: Rick C. stated that there were some wording changes on the Investment Policy that needed to be made before approval. Motion by Rick C., with a second by Ken, to accept the Investment Policy as written. This will be an annual item for approval due to Illinois State Laws. Rick stated that Kemper thought the Village needs to vote on having the $5 fee for a police accident report put in the DUI Checking account from now on. Chad stated that the DUI Checking Fund is strictly for purchase of Police equipment. Motion by Rick C., with a second by Rick H., to start depositing the fee for police accident reports in the DUI Checking Fund. All ayes, motion carried. Rick C. asked about the audit and when would it be presented to the Board. Jan stated that the auditor will be at the next month’s meeting.
14. Motion by Sherry, with a second by Ken, to pay the bills that were on the warranty list and any utility bills, bills that will incur a late charge or reimbursements to employees. All ayes, motion carried.
15. Under other business:
Tom Compton stated that the new tourism magazine was out now. Tom also stated that the tourism board had decided to purchases some large signs to be placed in the cities/villages in Crawford County for the towns to put information on about local events (excluding school events). The Village will be able to choose the location of this sign.
Randy stated that the building at 604 East Kentucky Street will be taken down and the lot mowed with the Village paying the cost and then filing a lien on the property for the cost of maintenance and legal fees. The owner will be receiving a ticket for excessive weed growth. Sherry asked about the house on North Garfield Street. It was stated that the new owner will be taking care of the problem there. There were some other places of concern that will be looked into and brought back to the Board at a later date.
Gary mentioned maybe the Village should Thank the Newbolds for being in business.
There was some discussion on trying to get a new dentist to come to town since the last dentist is no longer going to have an office here anymore.
16. Motion by Sherry, with a second by Rick C., to adjourn at 8:31 pm. All ayes, motion carried.
Respectfully submitted
Ladora C. Boyd