Village of Oblong

May 2, 2018

May 2nd, 2018

The Village of Oblong Board of Trustees met in regular session on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2018, in the Farley Room of the Municipal Building.

Members Present: Mayor Teresa Fielder, Clerk Ladora Boyd, Trustee Debi Wilson, Trustee Angie Fear, Trustee Jay Haines, Trustee Dave Hasty, Trustee Bill Burke and Treasurer/Deputy Clerk Jan Miller.
Absent: Trustee Jeron Harris.
Others Present: Police Chief Chad Pusey, Part-time Patrol Officer David Houser, Public Works Superintendent Gary Lanter, Chris DeWitt (WTAY/WTYE), Tom Compton (Daily News), Winston Howard, Ruth Lewis, Chris Hinterscher and Jackie Graham.

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

The Regular Board Meeting Minutes of April 4th, 2018, were approved with a motion by Dave, and a second by Jay. Five (5) ayes, motion carried.

There was one addition to the agenda this month.

Mr. Howard stated that he had two items that he wanted to speak to the Board about. The first item was the ditch that runs along his property on South Grant Street. His concerns are that with each rain the ditch is eroding deeper and also into his yard. He stated that he felt the issue could be solved by extending the culvert from his driveway north to the corner of East Missouri and South Grant Streets. The second item of concern is with the flags in front of the Village Tap causing visibility problems for persons at the corner of East Missouri and South Range Streets. Teresa thanked him for bring his concerns to the Boards attention and that the issues would be looked into.

Teresa stated that the Ad-hoc Committee had a recommendation to the Board concerning Chapter 21 – Liquor, Article 21-2-4 (A). The recommendation is for the Board to either vote to leave the wording as is or to change the wording so that it reads the same as the Illinois State Statute. If the Board could not come to a decision then the Ad-hoc committee suggested that the Board have a Public Hearing on this issue. She also stated that Finance Chairperson Jeron Harris, who is away at a business meeting for his job, would be voting via phone. Motion by Jay, with a second by Dave, to leave the wording of Article 21-2-4 (A) as it is stated in The Revised Code of Ordinances of the Village of Oblong, Illinois. Roll Call vote as follows: Debi – Aye; Angie – Abstained; Jay – Aye; Dave – Aye; Bill – Abstained; Jeron – Aye. Motion Carried.

There were no Delinquent Water Bill customers at the meeting this month.

Teresa stated that the Village had received a request for Revolving Loan Funds from Tresa Bulter for an amount of $9,750.00 for her new business (Cloud 9 Full Service Salon) to be located at 110 West Main Street. Motion by Dave, with a second by Angie, to grant Tresa request for $9,750.00 from the Revolving Loan Funds. Four (4) ayes, one (1) abstain; motion carried.

Motion by Bill, with a second by Jay, to adopt Ordinance #2018-O-590 “An Appropriation Ordinance”. Roll Call Vote as follows: Debi – Aye, Angie-Aye, Jay-Aye, Dave-Aye, Bill-Aye; motion carried.

Motion by Jay, with a second by Bill, to adopt Ordinance #2018-O-591 “An Ordinance to Amend Chapter 1 – Administration, Division IV – General Penalty, to Amend Section 1-1-21 Minor Violations Penalty of the Revised Code of Ordinances of the Village of Oblong, Illinois”. Roll Call Vote as follows: Debi – Aye, Angie-Aye, Jay-Aye, Dave-Aye, Bill-Aye; motion carried.

Mayor’s Comments:
Teresa stated that there Dog Park Donation Flyers are available. She also stated that she had spoken with Ann Marie from Leadership Crawford County and was told that the group is still talking with fencing companies.

Reports of Committees:
Police: Jay stated that he had nothing to report this month. Chad stated that Officer David Houser had graduated from Police Academy on April 26th..

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

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

Street and Alley: Angie stated that she had nothing to report this month

Water and Sewer: Dave mentioned that a backhoe had been put in the budget. The amount for the backhoe is $105,000.00 (State Bid) with payments spread out over a five year period. The funds will be from Street/Alley, Sewer and Water.

Finance: Teresa stated that the raises were included in the salary budget figures. Jan stated that the auditors will be here the week of May 21st.

Development: Bill stated that the Development committee met today at 3:30 pm for about 1 to 1½ hours with representatives from the community and Alex Pleasant from Crawford County Development Association. The Village has a chance at getting some USDA 502 & 504 Grant Money, which the Village can use as a grant or low-interest loan for low income residents for exterior repairs to their homes.

Ad Hoc (Dilapidated/Unsafe Buildings): Bill mentioned the meeting with Larissa Seward from ECIDC. His recommendation that the Village join the EDCIC for further help with grant writing and development in the Village. Motion by Bill, with a second by Angie, to join ECIDC at a cost of $600.00 annually, which by joining at the annual meeting the Village will receive a 10% discount on the annual amount, and send 4 representative to the ECIDC Annual Meeting in Effingham at a cost of 44.28/per person. Five (5) ayes, motion carried.

Teresa stated that she and the ad-hoc committee feel that this is the best thing for the Village to grown in population and businesses

Motion by Jay, with a second by Bill, 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. Five (5) ayes, motion carried.

There were no other items of business this month.

Motion by Bill, with a second by Jay, to adjourn the meeting at 7:35 pm. Five (5) ayes, motion carried.

Respectfully submitted

Ladora Boyd