June 29, 2022

This is the reg board meeting for July, due to Holiday

Call to order at 7:00 pm by President Mat

Members answering roll call, President Diehl, Bob Asche, Mike Tichler, Kirk Knoup, Dave Dixon, Cheryl Liebenstein and Jamie Melville.

The minutes from the June meeting were reviewed and accepted without dissent by Bob A. Second by Kirk. Motion Carried.

Dave made a motion to pay all bills as presented. Motion second by Mike.  Motion carried.

Mike made a motion to approve the treasurer report as presented. Second by Kirk. Motion carried.

No transfer of funds needed

Maintenance Report

The hedges have been trimmed at the cemetery. The three water services have been moved by the old Boco. The demolition crew found an unregistered/unknown underground tank on North St. The EPA will have to permit the tank before they can come back to remove it. Summer help has been painting the crosswalks.  The State painted Main St no parking/crosswalks. Rob noted that the dog park looks good. He has a tree removal coming in to remove two trees in the village. Rob will pour cement and taper it to line up with the existing sidewalk after Kempel Construction is done with the walk bridge.

Visitor

Jeff Johnson was present representing Blvd Bash. The Bash will be held August 27th with the annual parade at 11am. Jeff is requesting permission to use the old Werkheiser property that day. Request to put up signs at the edge of the village and also the annual Beer Garden with service through Little John’s.

Jeff noted that there will be three bands playing throughout the day.

Motion was made by Bob A to approve the signs at the edge of the village, approve the use of the adjoining property to the Boulevard and also the approval of the Beer Garden.  Motion second by Mike.  Motion carried. The club is looking into cost estimates at this time.

Jeff also noted that the Lion’s Club is interested in helping to finish the walking path around Mill Pond and connecting to the Prairie Path.

Derek (Fehr Graham) was here to review our current projects.

Well House: Nicam has been prepping for the startup of the well.  It ran June 28th through the 29th and is now online.  The well pumped at 250 gal per minute. This is better than what was expected.

The SCADA is not complete at the remote sites of the Water tower and pump stations.  Nicor has not been back to install the gas meter.  Derek noted that the elevator will need to be inspected yearly by the Fire Marshall.

Walgren Rd: Fehr Graham will need to add catch basins to the plans.  These will be located in the homeowner’s yards but still on the village’s right of way.  There will be 4-5 installed on the North side of the sidewalk.  President Mat will speak with the residents that will be affected by the catch basins.

Water Looping: The EPA has the plans for the looping.  Derek said this could be bid and completed by September.

North St Repairs: Helms (Civil) will not come in and re-do the section that is standing water.  Fischer’s have told Fehr Graham they will take care of it.  There are two issues to look at when they come in to correct the standing water problem.

There is no scheduled date for the SCADA training. Brian from Fehr Graham will be doing the training so if board members would like to learn the system, we will set up a date or two with Brian.

FINANCE/TIF FINANCE

Motion was made by Dave to approve the Appropriation Ordinance as presented.  Motion second by Bob A with Roll Call vote as follows: Bob A-yes, Dave-yes, Mike-yes, Kirk-yes, Let the record show 4-yes, 0-no and 2-absent.

WATER/SEWER

Covered by Derek in Visitor section

STREETS/ALLEYS/LIGHTS/SIDEWALK

The committee will look at low spots on North St sidewalk grass area and fill in as needed.

BUILDINGS/GROUNDS

The committee presented a sample ordinance from Lena for Solar Panels.  Board members will need to make any changes and bring to the august meeting.  President Mat suggested that members get out and check with residents to see what they would like for ground solar or rooftops. This will be our first reading of the ordinance.  Changes will be made at the August meeting with passage of said ordinance.

CEMETERY

The complaints on the cemetery mowing have been addressed.  Mike suggested for next year we look at hiring the mowing out or hiring the parttime help earlier so that they can work on weekends with some of the mowing.

POLICE

Dave noted several bid estimates for a new vehicle.  As of now, no Chevy products are available.  Durango orders may possibly open up June 30th with a base start at $36,977.00.  Ford Explorer can be ordered with a base start of $36,485.00.  Any vehicle ordered would be over a year or more for delivery.  Crime Stop has given us $15,000.00 for a new vehicle.  Board members discussed concerns of a new vehicle since we have minimum hours of coverage by the officers.  Fred noted that we should think about full time officer with benefits if we want more coverage. He also informed Dave that he could look at used vehicles for a replacement.

The board had a complaint on a burn barrel.  Fred will address the issue and give person a copy of the ordinance.

Fred looked at a new Cell Phone carrier.  First Net is available for all Fire Departments, Ems, First Responders, etc.  They have quoted $82.00 per month for 2 phones. We currently pay $137.00 per month with US Cellular. Fred noted that Stephenson County just changed over to First Net.  The board would like a representative to come to a meeting for discussion before any changes would be made.

Rob informed the board that we will need security cameras for the new Well house.  They will need to be reliable and with longer storage times.  He will get quotes for camera security. Rob also thought that we should look at getting key fobs for all of our buildings.

LIQUOR

Old Business

The village has received an e-mail from the Department of Transportation regarding grant funding.  Fehr Graham will look into the grant to see if we can use it for South St next year.

The Quit Claim Deed is complete for the land sale.  The Historical Organization would like a sales agreement before the deed is filed.  We may have to go to our attorney and title company for a closing.  Mat will speak with title company and try not to involve the attorney.  Closing may cost us up to $2,500.00.

New Business

We had a resident request assistance from the village with their home renovations.  They were also looking for ideas and/or help for junk storage while renovations are being done.  The village does not provide monetary items such as dumpsters and/or storage units for individual residents.  President Mat will speak with said person and advise them to check with the Township for assistance.

Motion to adjourn at 8:45 by Kirk.  Second by Bob A.  Motion carried.

Attest: Cheryl Liebenstein, Village Clerk