Village of Oblong

Minutes for October 6, 2010 Meeting


The Village of Oblong Board of Trustees met in regular session on Wednesday, October 6th, 2010, in the Farley Room of the Municipal Building.

Members Mayor Randy Rich, Clerk Ladora Boyd, Trustee Rick Catt, Trustee Ken
Present: Russell, Trustee Tony Madlem, Trustee Debi Wilson and Treasurer Jan Miller.

Absent: Trustee Joe Campanella and Trustee Rick Houdasheldt.

Others Police Chief Chad Pusey, Public Works Superintendent Gary Lanter, Tom
Present: Compton (Daily News), Chris Forde (WTYE/WTAY), Paul Perrine Jr. and Alexis Staffey.

1. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Mayor Rich.

2. The Regular Board Meeting minutes of September 1st, 2010, were approved with a motion by Rick C. and a second by Debi. Four (4) ayes; motion carried.

3. There was one addition to the agenda this month. Paul Perrine Jr. asked to speak with the Board.

4. There were no water bill customers at the meeting this month.

5. Randy stated that Paul could speak with the Board before they made a decision on the approval of the bid letting for clean-up of certain properties.

Paul stated that he had not received any correspondence from the Village about the property at 402 South Range Street. Paul stated that he and his grandfather are trying to get the property cleaned-up. He stated that they will be tearing down the lean-to that is attached to the garage. He has already boarded up the broken windows in the garage and will be putting up a garage door. He has already started cleaning out the lean-to. Randy stated that he will send a letter to Paul with a list of items that need to be taken care of. Randy stated, with the Board’s approval, that if Paul has taken care of the items that are stated in the letter by the time the Village has received the bids; then the Village will reject the bids for the property. Paul asked the Board about how long he had to get the property clean-up and fixed. The Board said he had 30 days or until the Board has received the bids for clean-up. Paul asked if the sign, which the Village has placed in the yard at 402 South Range Street, could be taken down out of his yard. Randy stated that the sign had to stay in the yard until either he has the property cleaned-up and the building is fixed up or the Village has the property cleaned-up and the garage will be torn down.

Randy stated that for the next step on getting some properties cleaned-up the Board would need to make a motion to let bids out for the clean-up and leveling of the lot on certain properties. The bids will be for each individual property, not a combined bid. Motion by Tony, with a second by Rick C., to start accepting bids for the clean-up of the properties located at 210 West Ohio Street and 402 South Range Street. Four (4) ayes, motion carried.

6. The Board set October 28th as “Trick or Treat” night in Oblong from 5 pm to 8 pm
and only at houses with a porch light on.

7. Under Mayor’s Comments:
1. Randy stated that the new street lights in the downtown area have been completed and that he has received several comments on the new lights. Randy stated that Mr. Provines from Kemp Music of Vincennes, Indiana, will be installing the new speaker system on October 16th and then will be back on October 23rd to do any troubleshooting that needs done. Randy stated that Mr. Provines will also be here the morning of October 30th (Fall Follies) in case of any problems with the system. Randy mentioned that this unit is portable, if need be.

2. Randy mentioned that Ken had received a letter and plaque from the U.S. Census Bureau for the Village of Oblong’s efforts which placed the Chicago Region number one in the nation with a 78% participation rate. The national participation rate is 74%. The letter also stated that the Village’s participation helped to define the spirit of the 2010 Census and reveal the diverse portrait of our great nation.

3. Randy stated that since the Route 33 Project is about to wrap up, the Village needs to decide on where to place the “Welcome to Oblong” electric sign that had come from the Former Crawford County Tourism Board. Randy mentioned that the sign would look nice placed next to the Fire Department. There is already electric at this location. Motion by Debi, with second by Tony, to place the “Welcome to Oblong” sign next to the Fire Department. Four (4) ayes, motion carried.

4. Randy stated that he had been approached about the speed limit out by the new Dollar General Store entrance. Randy stated that Chad had put in a request to have the speed limit lowered from 55 mph to 45 mph. Chad stated that he had received a refusal letter from Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to reduce the speed limit. Chad stated that he had talked with Representative Roger Eddy about this issue and Roger told Chad to write a rebuttal letter and send it to him and he will then write a letter to accompany Chad’s letter to IDOT. Chad asked the Board for permission to send a rebuttal letter to IDOT. The Board granted Chad’s request.

8. Reports of Committees:
A. Police: Chad stated that everyone had a copy of the monthly report for September.

B. Building and Park: Debi stated that there had been an informal meeting out at the park due to some vandalism done to the Jaycee Shelter at the Park. Debi stated that the vandalism has been taken care of and the culprits have been caught. Gary stated that he and his employees had done some upgrades around the Jaycee Shelter that had been planned. Randy stated that the light fixtures that were being tested to possibly be replacements for the walking path lights were not bright enough. He said that Tony had contacted a gentleman from Lighting Solutions out of St. Louis, Missouri. The gentleman did some work on his computer to figure out what the Village would need. The estimated cost per light would be $750. Randy stated that the price is a little higher than what the Village had budgeted for the pathway lights project. For now the Public Works employees will try and make a few repairs so that the Village can put it in the budget next year for the additional amount.

C. Sidewalks and Lights: Gary stated there was nothing to report for this month.

D. Street and Alley: Tony stated that the Chip-N-Seal had been done. Gary stated that the streets are looking a lot better.

E. Water and Sewer: Ken stated that the committee met on October 5th, and discussed several items of business (see Attached minutes). Gary stated that all but one new customer has been connected. Ken stated that the committee wants to recommend that the Board approve to have Shannon Woodard, Connor & Connor, to apply for a permit from EPA to do a couple of small extension project east of the last project. The projects would be a 4” water line on 1350th Avenue from 450th Street to 525th Street, which would be approximately 4200’ of line; and a 3” water line on 1275th Avenue approximately 2600’ of line west of 450th Street. Ken stated that the estimate for the two projects is around $35,000. Motion by Ken, with a second by Tony, to have Shannon go ahead and apply for a permit from EPA for the two small extension projects. Four (4) ayes, motion carried.

Ken stated that the committees also talked about the punch list for the Route 33 Water/Sewer Line Relocation Project. There are several items that will need to be done as soon as the construction work is done. Ken stated that Shannon will put together the list and then talk with Mike Munson; to see if he wants to do the finishing and clean-up or forfeit the $500 reserved amount from the Village. If Munson decides to forfeit, then the Public Works employees will do the necessary work.

F. Finance: Rick C. stated that the Crawford County Spay/Neuter Foundation is requesting another donation from the Village. Rick feels that an additional $500 donation would be a good amount. Motion by Rick, with a second by Debi, to give a $500 donation to the Crawford County Spay/Neuter Foundation. Four (4) ayes, motion carried. Rick stated that the committee will have a meeting to look over the health insurance package.

G. Development: Tony stated that there was nothing new to report at this time.

9. 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. Four (4) ayes, motion carried.

10. There was one other item of business this month. Ken stated that Connor & Connor
are now requiring that for any job that the Village has Connor & Connor to do there will need to be a signed agreement.

11. Motion by Rick C., with a second by Tony, to adjourn the meeting at 7:51 pm.
Four (4) ayes, motion carried.

Respectfully submitted

 

Ladora C. Boyd