The Village of Oblong Board of Trustees met in regular session on Wednesday, February 5th, 2014, in the Farley Room of the Municipal Building.

Members Present: Mayor Randy Rich, Clerk Ladora Boyd, Trustee Jay Haines,
Trustee Ken Russell, Trustee Tony Madlem, Trustee Debi Wilson and Treasurer/Deputy Clerk Jan Miller.

Absent: Trustee Rick Catt.

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

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Mayor Rich; with everyone standing and saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Regular Board Meeting minutes of January 8th, 2014 were approved with a motion by Jay and a second by Ken. Four (4) ayes, motion carried.

There were no additions or deletions to the agenda this month.

There were no Water Bill customers at this month’s meeting.

Randy stated that he had talked to Rondel Boyd and Rondel said that the west wall of the building located at 112 West Main Street is sitting on the property line. Randy stated that he felt the Village should have the property surveyed so that the issue can be corrected before the Village puts the property up for sale. There was some discussion about this before the motion. Motion by Tony, with a second by Debi, to have Connor & Connor come over and do the survey for the Village. Four (4) ayes, motion carried.

The Board granted the request from U of I Extension to use the Park on April 4th, from 12:45 pm to 2:45 pm for Conservation Day.

Mayor’s Comments:
a. Randy stated that he had been contacted about guns out at the park. Randy stated that the Village does not have to pass an ordinance to ban guns at the park because that is already a state statute that covers this issue; here is the portion that pertains to the issue “Public Act 098-0063 Section 65. Prohibited areas. (12) Any public playgrounds.” and “(13) Any public park, athletic area, or athletic facility under the control of a municipality or park district, provided nothing in this Section shall prohibit a licensee from carrying a concealed firearm while on a trail or bikeway if only a portion of the trail or bikeway includes a public park.” Randy stated that all the Board needs to do is have signs posted. Motion by Tony, with a second by Jay, to purchase and post signs at the park prohibiting concealed carried weapons. Four (4) ayes, motion carried.

b. Randy stated that the Village had received a letter from MediaCom stating what new installation fees will be on or about February 22, 2014, and in addition that there will now be a $10 new customer fee to help offset the cost of setting up a new customer account in the system.

c. Randy wanted to thank the following businesses and individuals for their help with snow removal in the downtown area on January 8th:
Mont Eagle Mills for use of Pay Loader and Skid Loader;
John Goff & J.D. Spencer
Jerry Ping Trucking for use of 2 dump trucks;
Criss Harris & Steve Clark
Munson Construction Backhoe and dump truck
Mike Munson & Micheal Brown.
He stated that he will be sending them a thank you card.

d. Randy stated that he has been getting some calls about electric supply companies calling residents about changing their electric supply account. He stated that right now the rate that the Village has aggregated is the lowest. (Current rate is $0.04009/kilowatt until June 1st, 2014. The new rate will be $0.0448/kilowatt).

e. Randy mentioned that the Blood Drive will be held here at the Municipal Building on February 18th, from 1 to 6 pm.

Reports of Committees:

Police: Chad stated that everyone has a copy of the monthly report for January, 2014. He also mentioned that all the trustees have a letter from him. He stated that he will be attending the ILEAS Conference on March 2-4.

Building and Park: Debi stated that she had nothing to report this month.

Sidewalks and Lights: Jay stated that he had nothing to report this month.

Street and Alley: Tony wanted to commend the Public Works guys on their handling of keeping the streets cleared. Gary stated that this morning Jonathan Baker was out cleaning the sidewalks along Main Street. Gary mentioned that the Village’s salt for the street is low and may not be able to get anymore, so may need to start mixing sand with the salt to extend the Village’s supply.

Water and Sewer: Ken mentioned that there have been some leaks. Gary stated that there have been 5 water main breaks this year already. Ken stated that Gary and Travis will be attending the IRWA Conference on February 18th, 19th, and 20th.

Finance: Randy stated that the departments need to start working on budgets for FY2015. Randy mentioned that the Village’s computer will possibly need to be replaced due to Microsoft no longer supporting WindowXP or older version. Will discuss this in more detail next month.

Development: Tony stated that he had nothing new to report this month.

Payment of Bills: 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.

There were no other items of business this month.

Motion by Tony, with a second by Debi, to adjourn the meeting at 7:21 pm. Four (4) ayes, motion carried.

Respectfully submitted

Ladora Boyd, Clerk