Village of Oblong
DRAFT MINUTES
October 1, 2008
The Village of Oblong Board of Trustees met in regular session on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008, in the Farley Room of the Municipal Building.
Members Mayor Randy Rich, Clerk Ladora Boyd, Trustee Rick Catt, Trustee Joe Campanella,
Present: Trustee Rick Houdasheldt, Trustee Ken Russell, Trustee Tony Madlem, Trustee Debi Wilson and Treasurer Jan Miller.
Others Police Chief Chad Pusey, Public Works Superintendent Gary Lanter, Mike Munson,
Present: David Fulling (Crawford County Board Member), John Stone (Connor & Connor), Keith Waldrop, Chris Hinterscher and Mike McReynolds.
1. The meeting was called to order at 7 pm by Mayor Rich.
2. The Regular Board Meeting minutes of September 3rd, 2008, were approved with a motion by Tony and a second by Joe. All ayes, motion carried.
3. There were no additions or deletions to the agenda this month.
4. There was one water bill customer at the meeting this month. Mike McReynolds came before the Board to ask for an extension on his water bill until Friday, October 3rd. The Board granted his request.
5. David Fulling came before the Board to explain about the referendum for the Crawford County Forest Preserve to be voted on this November. The ground (124.5 acres) is being donated by Eula and the late Doctor Gus Schmidt for the above purpose. If the County does not want the Forest Preserve then the property is to be sold and the proceeds are to be divided between Crawford Memorial Hospital and Lincoln Trail College; but the County Board has been unable to find the exact language if the property has to be sold. Mr. Fulling showed a slide show presentation with some of the option that the County and some interested individuals have come up with on the use of the property the County has applied for a matching grant from the Department of Natural Resources. They=re to go to Springfield and make a 3 minute presentation which is the second stage of the matching grant. Mr. Fulling handed out some papers with some information. He stated that the County Board is planning to only have a .02% tax rate instead of the maximum of .06%. He stated that with the .02% tax rate would generate around $102,000. He stated that if anyone had questions that his e-mail was at the bottom of the paper.
6. Chris Hinterscher came before the Board to request an hour extension on October 25th for the taverns. The taverns would close at 2 am instead of 1 am (last call at 1:30 am). There was some discussion before the motion. Motion by Rick H., with a second by Debi, to allow the extension. Ayes: Rick C., Joe, Rick H., Tony, Debi. Nays: Ken. Motion carried.
7. John Stone, from Connor & Connor, came to the meeting to answer some question that the Board has. John stated that Shannon had spoken with Ken Groves of Illinois Department of Transportation. There was some discussion on the decision to go ahead with the Village=s water and sewer lines relocation. The feeling of the Board was to have Mike Munson go ahead and start with the project as long as it doesn=t cause the Village to lose out on the emergency grant of $100,000. Connor & Connor is to figure where the stopping point will be so that there will be 70% ($130,000 or more) left of the cost for the project. This amount is what is needed for the emergency grant. The Board wants to make sure everything is in writing before having Mike start the work.
8. Motion by Rick C., with a second by Rick H., to adopt Ordinance #2008-O-513 AAn Ordinance to Condemn an Unsafe Building at 403 West Illinois@. Upon roll call ayes: Rick C., Joe, Rick H., Ken, Tony, Debi. Motion carried.
9. Motion by Rick C., with a second by Joe, to adopt Ordinance #2008-O-514 AAn Ordinance to Adopt Identity Theft Policies and Procedures@. All ayes, motion carried.
10. The Board set Trick or Treat Night for Oblong on October 31st, from 5 to 8 pm and only houses with lit porch lights.
11. Under Mayor=s Comments:
A. Randy stated that he only had one item and that was the Fall Clean-up date is October 16th, with the same list of thing from the Spring Clean-up that Veolia will not pick-up.
12. Reports of Committees:
A. Police: Rick H. read statement about the DUI Strike Force Grant. The grant is a federal grant. The grant would reimburse salary and fifty cents on mileage. Rick stated that Chad would like to participate.
Motion by Joe, with a second by Rick H., to allow Chad to participate. All ayes, motion carried.
Rick read a letter of resignation from Part-time Patrol Officer Doug Bierman. Motion by Rick H., with a second by Joe, to accept the letter of resignation with a thanks for his help during his time with the police department. All ayes, motion carried.
Rick stated that there would be normal training this month. Chad stated that as soon as he has the monthly report for September done; he will put a copy in each Trustees= mail slot. Chad also mentioned that he will be taking a three day training session in Mattoon at the beginning of next month.
B. Building and Park: Joe stated that he had nothing to report for the building. The new playground equipment has been completed. Ken mentioned that it only took two and half days instead of five days. Jan mentioned that she had found out that the Village could go ahead an ask for a partial payment from the OSLAD grant (matching funds). She stated that she will start working on the paperwork for the partial payment. Randy mentioned that the concrete for the skate board park has been poured and the fence will be up soon.
C. Sidewalks and Lights: Debi stated that there was nothing to report at this time. Gary stated that he had spoken with Ameren about the lighting on West Main Street and they had added another light and put some different bulbs in. Gary stated that it is brighter around the old Freedom station.
D. Street and Alley: Tony stated that the sealing of the street was complete. Tony also mentioned that the Street Sweeper had been repaired. Gary stated that it be used either tonight or tomorrow night.
E. Water and Sewer: Ken asked Gary what the amount of $7,100 in Contractor Expense was for? Gary stated that it was for the repair work done on Lift Station #1.
F. Finance: Rick C. stated that he did not have much to report this month. Rick thank Rick H. for initialing the bills for September. Rick C. volunteered to initial the bills and initial the adjustment to customer accounts in the Public Works Department for the month of October. Rick mentioned that Kemper Technology will be here on October 9th to start working on hooking-up the server and software.
13. Motion by Debi, 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.
14. There was no other items of business this month.
15. Motion by Rick C., with a second by Debi, to adjourn the meeting at 8:14 pm. All ayes, motion carried.
Respectfully submitted
Ladora C. Boyd