The Sidney Village Board met on the above date for the regular monthly meeting. The meeting was opened at 7:00p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance by President Arrasmith. The following trustees were present: Bickers, Hooker, Harris, Schluter and Laurent. Trustee Gadeken was absent. Clerk Fish, Attorney Miller, Treasurer Reinhart and Village Maintenance Supervisor Wyant were also present.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
There were more residents in attendance than normal due to the fact that so many trees had been marked for trimming or removal around the Village. President Arrasmith began the meeting by stating that not all of the trees that have been spray painted with an “X” have been slated for removal; some are just being trimmed. Resident Jodi Roy asked how residents are supposed to differentiate between which ones are being trimmed and which ones are being torn down? Resident Kurt Foster also asked if the marks on the trees could be changed so that residents knew which are which? Resident Cathy Thomas stated that 4 sycamore trees in front of her yard at 403 East Main Street are marked and demanded to know who created the list. President Arrasmith stated that Village Maintenance Supervisor Wyant had created the list in order of how bad each tree was. Some of the trees that are slated for removal are also tearing up the Village sidewalks and unfortunately there is very little room on Village easements to reroute those sidewalks. Village Maintenance Supervisor Wyant stated that he had gone around with one of the gentlemen that was looking at the trees to give us a bid who also happened to be an arborist and he agreed with the ones Jeff had marked for removal. Trustee Harris stated that the Village is doing preventative maintenance on the trees just like they do for snow removal. President Arrasmith stated that the Village is applying for a grant through Trees USA to help replant trees throughout the Village. The Village has not planted any new trees in the past five years because they were getting a plan in place. He also stated that the Village has a cost sharing ordinance where they will help residents replace trees that have been removed from Village easements in resident’s yards. Resident Cory Willard then asked the Board if the Village has ever hired an arborist to come and evaluate any of the trees. The board replied in the negative. Mr. Willard said that he was concerned about consistency within the Village. A resident had a tree fall in front of their property on Victory Street and the Village helped to clean that tree up. The board stated that was because the tree had fallen into the road. Mr. Willard’s neighbor, Brad Stierwalt then stated that the Village had told him in the past that he was responsible for the trees on his Village Easement and had to have them removed on his dime.
Village Maintenance Supervisor Wyant stated that the Village has approximately 3,000 feet of sidewalk that need repairing in the Village and some of that is due to the tree roots pushing it up. President Arrasmith stated that the Village is trying to mitigate how many trees they have to maintain. Resident Jim Rector asked if some of the sidewalk repairs could be done with asphalt instead in order to be able to keep some of the trees? He then asked how much the Village has allotted for planting new trees? The board did not have a response for that, however, Treasurer Reinhart responded that the Village allotted $20,000 for the trimming and removal of the trees.
Trustee Bickers thanked everyone for coming to the meeting and stated that we will be reviewing bids at the next meeting. He also stated that the Village will see if they can hire an arborist.
Resident Cory Willard then asked if the residential land that was purchased by Premier Cooperative has been rezoned yet. He stated that when he was on the board, they had made the elevator put up a berm between themselves and the residential houses to mitigate the noise from the elevator. Since they started erecting new grain bins, they have since torn that berm down. The board let Mr. Willard know that Premier Cooperative has not approached them with any information on what their plans are. Mr. Willard also stated that he wished the meetings were still live streamed. The board responded that they are no longer doing that because they want to encourage residents to come to the meetings in person to voice their concerns and have a dialogue.
PRESIDENT ARRASMITH’S COMMENTS
President Arrasmith asked for a motion to approve the minutes for the January 3rd, Board of Trustees regular meeting. Trustee Bickers moved that the minutes of the January 3rd, Board of Trustees regular meeting be approved. Trustee Laurent seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then asked Mike Friend from Farnsworth Group to speak about why he was there. Mr. Friend began by stating that they had updated our GATA account for us last year. They now need to update our GATA portal for this year to include our 2021 audit. He then asked the board if they would like to apply for an unsewered communities grant. He said that based on the median for our village that we would qualify for about $25,000. This money would go toward doing a new study to see about options for converting the Village onto to sewer system. Mr. Friend stated that they could update our GATA portal and fill out the application for the sewer grant for a total of $730. Trustee Laurent made a motion to approve $730 for Farnsworth to update our GATA and also to apply to for the sewer grant. The motion ended up dying because no one seconded it. The board did not want to spend any more money right now on looking into a sewer system. At this point, Clerk Fish spoke up and asked if we could still hire Farnsworth to update our GATA portal but just not do the sewer grant application. Trustee Harris made a motion to approve up to $350 to update the GATA portal. Trustee Laurent seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then stated that Premier Cooperative is wanting to buy a parcel of property that is the village right of way, but we don’t have a record of it. Attorney Miller suggested that Premier hire engineers to get a description of the property to vacate; then we can move forward from there.
President Arrasmith then stated that State Farm Insurance had made out the check for the demolished building at 203 South David to the property owner and to the Village. He asked for permission to release the check to the property owners after building is torn down. Trustee Laurent made a motion to authorize the President to release the insurance demolition funds for 203 South David street after the completion of demolition. Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then asked the board members to review the proposed nuisance ordinance and asked for a motion to approve it. Trustee Bickers made a motion to approve Ordinanace #2022-01 “An ordinance creating chapter 255 “Nuisance” of the code of ordinances of the Village of Sidney, Illinois.” Trustee Laurent seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
ATTORNEY MILLER’S COMMENTS
Attorney Miller reported that Illinois American is trying to purchase the property know as the Tin Cup Subdivision by Casey’s on Main Street; they would like to build a new water tower there. The property is zoned right now as a subdivision with certain covenants. Attorney Miller stated that we needed to approve a resolution doing away with the covenants. Trustee Laurent made a motion to approve Resolution #2022-01 “A resolution approving an amendment to subdivision covenants, Tin Cup Subdivision, Champaign County, Illinois.” Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
JEFF WYANT’S COMMENTS
Village Maintenance Supervisor Wyant reported that snowplowing went well, the roads are choppy because there was ice under the snow. He will clean up the snow piles in the cul de sacs tomorrow. He also reported that he had fixed the radar speed sign on the East side of town but it’s not pairing up with his computer. He also stated that Duece construction is waiting on Ameren for something and then they will tear the building down at 203 South David.
FINANCE REPORT
The financial reports were read by Trustee Hooker. Trustee Hooker made a motion to pay the bills; there were no additions. Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
STREETS AND ALLEY
Trustee Gadeken was absent.
WATER/SEWER/UTILITY
Trustee Harris did not have any comments.
PUBLIC PROPERTY
Trustee Bickers reported that there were no permits issued. He then stated that there is a trailer parked in the yard at 305 South White Street with power running to it and lights outside. He’s not sure if someone is living in it or if it’s being used a as man-cave. It is parked on the grass on blocks but still has it’s wheels. Attorney Miller advised that you can have a trailer parked in your driveway but not on the grass. Attorney Miller told Trustee Bickers to send him pictures of the trailer in question and information on who owns the property. Trustee Bickers stated that he would talk with the owner before getting the attorney involved.
PARKS AND RECREATION
Trustee Laurent stated that summer ball sign ups are coming up soon and that they are listed online and on the sign outside of the Community Building.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Trustee Schluter had left the meeting early.
NEW BUSINESS
Resident Doug Hamilton of the Fix It Woodshop stated that he would like to see the Village open a dog park. Trustee Laurent stated that he only had one person interested when he brought this up last summer. He advised Mr. Hamilton to get signatures in support of a dog park and to come to the next meeting.
Trustee Laurent made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Trustee Bickers seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote. The meeting was adjourned at 8:35pm.
__________________________ __________________________
Maggie Fish, Village Clerk Date approved
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
There were more residents in attendance than normal due to the fact that so many trees had been marked for trimming or removal around the Village. President Arrasmith began the meeting by stating that not all of the trees that have been spray painted with an “X” have been slated for removal; some are just being trimmed. Resident Jodi Roy asked how residents are supposed to differentiate between which ones are being trimmed and which ones are being torn down? Resident Kurt Foster also asked if the marks on the trees could be changed so that residents knew which are which? Resident Cathy Thomas stated that 4 sycamore trees in front of her yard at 403 East Main Street are marked and demanded to know who created the list. President Arrasmith stated that Village Maintenance Supervisor Wyant had created the list in order of how bad each tree was. Some of the trees that are slated for removal are also tearing up the Village sidewalks and unfortunately there is very little room on Village easements to reroute those sidewalks. Village Maintenance Supervisor Wyant stated that he had gone around with one of the gentlemen that was looking at the trees to give us a bid who also happened to be an arborist and he agreed with the ones Jeff had marked for removal. Trustee Harris stated that the Village is doing preventative maintenance on the trees just like they do for snow removal. President Arrasmith stated that the Village is applying for a grant through Trees USA to help replant trees throughout the Village. The Village has not planted any new trees in the past five years because they were getting a plan in place. He also stated that the Village has a cost sharing ordinance where they will help residents replace trees that have been removed from Village easements in resident’s yards. Resident Cory Willard then asked the Board if the Village has ever hired an arborist to come and evaluate any of the trees. The board replied in the negative. Mr. Willard said that he was concerned about consistency within the Village. A resident had a tree fall in front of their property on Victory Street and the Village helped to clean that tree up. The board stated that was because the tree had fallen into the road. Mr. Willard’s neighbor, Brad Stierwalt then stated that the Village had told him in the past that he was responsible for the trees on his Village Easement and had to have them removed on his dime.
Village Maintenance Supervisor Wyant stated that the Village has approximately 3,000 feet of sidewalk that need repairing in the Village and some of that is due to the tree roots pushing it up. President Arrasmith stated that the Village is trying to mitigate how many trees they have to maintain. Resident Jim Rector asked if some of the sidewalk repairs could be done with asphalt instead in order to be able to keep some of the trees? He then asked how much the Village has allotted for planting new trees? The board did not have a response for that, however, Treasurer Reinhart responded that the Village allotted $20,000 for the trimming and removal of the trees.
Trustee Bickers thanked everyone for coming to the meeting and stated that we will be reviewing bids at the next meeting. He also stated that the Village will see if they can hire an arborist.
Resident Cory Willard then asked if the residential land that was purchased by Premier Cooperative has been rezoned yet. He stated that when he was on the board, they had made the elevator put up a berm between themselves and the residential houses to mitigate the noise from the elevator. Since they started erecting new grain bins, they have since torn that berm down. The board let Mr. Willard know that Premier Cooperative has not approached them with any information on what their plans are. Mr. Willard also stated that he wished the meetings were still live streamed. The board responded that they are no longer doing that because they want to encourage residents to come to the meetings in person to voice their concerns and have a dialogue.
PRESIDENT ARRASMITH’S COMMENTS
President Arrasmith asked for a motion to approve the minutes for the January 3rd, Board of Trustees regular meeting. Trustee Bickers moved that the minutes of the January 3rd, Board of Trustees regular meeting be approved. Trustee Laurent seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then asked Mike Friend from Farnsworth Group to speak about why he was there. Mr. Friend began by stating that they had updated our GATA account for us last year. They now need to update our GATA portal for this year to include our 2021 audit. He then asked the board if they would like to apply for an unsewered communities grant. He said that based on the median for our village that we would qualify for about $25,000. This money would go toward doing a new study to see about options for converting the Village onto to sewer system. Mr. Friend stated that they could update our GATA portal and fill out the application for the sewer grant for a total of $730. Trustee Laurent made a motion to approve $730 for Farnsworth to update our GATA and also to apply to for the sewer grant. The motion ended up dying because no one seconded it. The board did not want to spend any more money right now on looking into a sewer system. At this point, Clerk Fish spoke up and asked if we could still hire Farnsworth to update our GATA portal but just not do the sewer grant application. Trustee Harris made a motion to approve up to $350 to update the GATA portal. Trustee Laurent seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then stated that Premier Cooperative is wanting to buy a parcel of property that is the village right of way, but we don’t have a record of it. Attorney Miller suggested that Premier hire engineers to get a description of the property to vacate; then we can move forward from there.
President Arrasmith then stated that State Farm Insurance had made out the check for the demolished building at 203 South David to the property owner and to the Village. He asked for permission to release the check to the property owners after building is torn down. Trustee Laurent made a motion to authorize the President to release the insurance demolition funds for 203 South David street after the completion of demolition. Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then asked the board members to review the proposed nuisance ordinance and asked for a motion to approve it. Trustee Bickers made a motion to approve Ordinanace #2022-01 “An ordinance creating chapter 255 “Nuisance” of the code of ordinances of the Village of Sidney, Illinois.” Trustee Laurent seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
ATTORNEY MILLER’S COMMENTS
Attorney Miller reported that Illinois American is trying to purchase the property know as the Tin Cup Subdivision by Casey’s on Main Street; they would like to build a new water tower there. The property is zoned right now as a subdivision with certain covenants. Attorney Miller stated that we needed to approve a resolution doing away with the covenants. Trustee Laurent made a motion to approve Resolution #2022-01 “A resolution approving an amendment to subdivision covenants, Tin Cup Subdivision, Champaign County, Illinois.” Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
JEFF WYANT’S COMMENTS
Village Maintenance Supervisor Wyant reported that snowplowing went well, the roads are choppy because there was ice under the snow. He will clean up the snow piles in the cul de sacs tomorrow. He also reported that he had fixed the radar speed sign on the East side of town but it’s not pairing up with his computer. He also stated that Duece construction is waiting on Ameren for something and then they will tear the building down at 203 South David.
FINANCE REPORT
The financial reports were read by Trustee Hooker. Trustee Hooker made a motion to pay the bills; there were no additions. Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
STREETS AND ALLEY
Trustee Gadeken was absent.
WATER/SEWER/UTILITY
Trustee Harris did not have any comments.
PUBLIC PROPERTY
Trustee Bickers reported that there were no permits issued. He then stated that there is a trailer parked in the yard at 305 South White Street with power running to it and lights outside. He’s not sure if someone is living in it or if it’s being used a as man-cave. It is parked on the grass on blocks but still has it’s wheels. Attorney Miller advised that you can have a trailer parked in your driveway but not on the grass. Attorney Miller told Trustee Bickers to send him pictures of the trailer in question and information on who owns the property. Trustee Bickers stated that he would talk with the owner before getting the attorney involved.
PARKS AND RECREATION
Trustee Laurent stated that summer ball sign ups are coming up soon and that they are listed online and on the sign outside of the Community Building.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Trustee Schluter had left the meeting early.
NEW BUSINESS
Resident Doug Hamilton of the Fix It Woodshop stated that he would like to see the Village open a dog park. Trustee Laurent stated that he only had one person interested when he brought this up last summer. He advised Mr. Hamilton to get signatures in support of a dog park and to come to the next meeting.
Trustee Laurent made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Trustee Bickers seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote. The meeting was adjourned at 8:35pm.
__________________________ __________________________
Maggie Fish, Village Clerk Date approved
RSS Feed