Village of Oblong

April 3, 2019

Draft Minutes

The Village of Oblong Board of Trustees met in regular session on Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019, in the Farley Room of the Municipal Building.

Members Present: Mayor Teresa Fielder, Clerk Ladora Boyd ,Trustee Angie Fear, Trustee Jay Haines, Trustee Dave Hasty, Trustee Bill Burke, Trustee Jeron Harris and Treasurer/Deputy Clerk Jan Miller

Absent: Trustee Debi Wilson.

Others Present: Police Chief Chad Pusey, Public Works Superintendent Gary Lanter, Keith Waldrop, Andrea Rich (Oblong Chamber of Commerce), Diane Houdasheldt (Oblong Chamber of Commerce), Tom Compton (Daily News) and Chris DeWitt (WTYE/WTAY).

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 March 6th, 2019, were approved with a motion by Jay, and a second by Angie. Five (5) ayes, motion carried.

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

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

Andrea Rich (Oblong Chamber of Commerce) came before the Board to ask permission to have the Beer Garden Tent along with Irene’s Vineyard this year during the Hootenanny on July 6th, 2019. The hours would be 2 pm to 10pm, with last call at 9:30 pm. Motion by Bill, with a second by Jeron, to allow the use of the Park and for the Chamber to have a Beer/Wine Garden Tent. Five (5) ayes, motion carried.

Teresa stated that she had received an e-mail from Hillary McCrillis (Leadership Crawford County) about the Oblong Dog Park. Teresa said that the group is $2,245 short of their goal for the fencing. Teresa mentioned to the Board about setting a deadline of October 1st, 2019 for the group to get the rest of the funds for the fencing. The Board was in agreement. Teresa stated that the ground breaking/dedication date will need to be changed from May 4th, 2019 to sometime in May of 2020.

Motion by Jeron, with a second by Bill, to adopt Ordinance #2019-O-603 “An Ordinance Adopting an Expense Reimbursement Policy for the Village of Oblong”. Roll call vote as follows: Angie – aye, Jay – aye, Dave – aye, Bill – aye, Jeron – aye. Motion carried.

Motion by Angie, with a second by Dave, to adopt Resolution #2019-R-1 “Resolution for Maintenance of Streets and Highways by Municipality Under the Illinois Highway Code”. Five (5) ayes, motion carried.

Motion by Jay, with a second by Jeron, to adopt the Working Budget for Fiscal Year 2020 at a total of $1,263,498.33. Five (5) ayes, motion carried. Jeron stated that this budget is an increase of 6% over last year’s.

Mayor’s Comments:

Teresa stated that the Village’s Spring Clean-Up will be April 25th for all paid up Republic customers that live inside the Village limits.

Teresa stated that if you are a paid up Republic Customer and live inside the Village limits or are an Oblong Water Customer and live in Oblong Township, according to the current contract you are entitled to receive up to two (2) totes with no additional costs. If you have only one tote and require an additional one OR if you already have two (2) totes and are being charged for the additional one – CALL THE MAYOR’S OFFICE AT 592-3431 OR LEAVE A PRIVATE MESSAGE ON THE MAYOR’S FACEBOOK PAGE WITH THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: 1. Name of the account holder – 2. The address where the trash is picked up – 3. THE ACCOUNT NUMBER – 4. Instructions as to which situation you have from the above instructions. (We must have all this information or your request will not be sent in.)

Teresa stated that April is Safe Digging Month. She also read a Safe Digging Proclamation (see attachment).

Teresa mentioned that the current Leadership Crawford County Class has asked about placing some fitness equipment for adults at the park. Teresa asked the Board for their opinions about this request. After some discussion on this matter, the Board members agreed to that the Village would be interested in being placed on the list to receive the equipment.

Teresa mentioned that the Campground at the Park is available beginning April 1st through October 31st each year for $10/night. Interested individuals may contact the Public Works office at 618-592-3122 for reservations. Bill mentioned that he had been contacted by a couple of contractors (Marathon Turnaround) looking for some accommodations for their workers. Teresa stated that she would sent a letter to Marathon HR that the Campground is available for usage.

Teresa wanted to remind all owners of side-by-side that they can start getting their new sticker. The cost is $50/year except for Veterans it is $25/year. The current sticker expires at the end of April, 2019.

Teresa mentioned that for residents who have received a written notification about their property needing to be cleaned-up or repairs for deterioration need to be addressed by the deadline of May 1st, 2019. After this date, the Chief of Police will start issuing tickets until the property is brought to safe and clean condition.

Reports of Committees:
Police: Jay stated that Chad introduced the new Part-Time Patrol Officer Jonathan Heatherly to the Board before the meeting. Teresa stated that she saw a demonstration by Ruger on drug detection. She also mentioned that there is a scam going around where people saying that they are a representative of a utility company. Jan stated that she had printed off a flyer from Ameren Illinois.

Building and Park: Gary stated that the lighting circuit around the walking path that was down has been fixed.

Sidewalks and Lights: Bill stated that he had nothing to report. Gary stated that one of the Downtown street lights is not working and he is looking into changing it to LED.

Street and Alley: Angie stated that she had nothing to report. Gary stated that most of the new street name signs are up.

Water and Sewer: Dave stated that there have been a couple of water leaks since last month’s meeting. Gary stated that on April 16th there will be an IRWA meeting (Oblong is one of the co-sponsors). He stated that there will be another one sometime in July also here. Gary also mentioned that he had received the Sewer Field inspection report. The inspection was done in June of 2018.

Finance: Jeron stated that he did not have anything else to report this month.

Development: Bill gave an update that CCDA and the County’s Revolving Loan Fund.

Ad Hoc (Dilapidated/Unsafe Buildings & Ordinances): Teresa gave an updated on what the committee is working on. She stated that the Committee would like for the Board to put a 6 month deadline on completion of exterior repairs from businesses in the TIF area that have been approved for TIF Grant money and to null and void the approved application from Blue Truck Trading Company since the business is no longer owned by the applicant. Motion by Bill, with a second by Angie, to set a 6 month deadline on approved TIF Grant Application for exterior repairs to businesses in the TIF area and null and void the application from Blue Truck Trading Company. Five (5) ayes, motion carried.
Teresa stated that the committee also would like the Board’s permission to look into having an ordinance for food vendors and/or those groups wanting to sell food within the Village. The fees would be $10/day or $50/year, but there would be no charge to any 501c (3) organizations. There would be certain blocked dates that the vendors could not use. The Board was in favor of the committee going ahead with this matter.
She also updated the Board on the property located at 313 North Wilson Street. She mentioned that one of the heir’s letter was returned to the Village and that she has turned this over to Frank Weber, Village Attorney. The next meeting is scheduled for April 24th at 3:30 pm.

Motion by Jay, with a second by Jeron, 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 a couple of other items of business this month. Tom Compton stated that the County is now part of the Southern part of Illinois Tourism and that he is one of the representatives. Bill mentioned that there will be an electronics take back later on this year.

Motion by Jeron, with a second by Angie, to adjourn the meeting at 7:46 pm. Five (5) ayes.

Respectfully submitted

 

Ladora Boyd