The Sidney Village Board met on the above date for the regular monthly meeting. The meeting was opened at 7:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. President Jason Arrasmith called the meeting to order. The following trustees were present: Harris, Bickers, Gadeken, Schluter, Catron, and Laurent. Clerk Fish, Treasurer Reinhart, Village Attorney Miller and Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey were also present.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
The meeting was live streamed from the Village’s Facebook page and public comments were taken in person. Jessica Guiles, representing the Sidney Saloon, asked the board if they could put a temporary roof on their outdoor seating area. She said that not many people are using it since it is so hot out. They have invested around $7,000 for the temporary seating arrangements due to COVID-19 and they would like the area to be used. Trustee Laurent made a motion to allow the Sidney Saloon to put on a temporary roof onto their outdoor seating area. Trustee Schluter seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
Carson Willard approached the board of trustees next with his idea for his Eagle Scout project. He would like to revamp the current Welcome to Sidney sign on the West side of the village. He would like to remove the sign with the outdated businesses listed on it and repaint and add landscaping, rocks and lighting to the Welcome to Sidney sign. He will have it completed by the end of August. The board said they will reuse the business nameplates that were listed on the other sign in another part of town. Trustee Bickers stated that by the next Village Board meeting, he would like to see how much Carson has raised toward his $800 goal and a completed final plan for the project. The board stated that it would be okay for him to begin his project.
PRESIDENT ARRASMITH’S COMMENTS
President Arrasmith asked for a motion to approve the minutes for the regular and executive sessions of the June 1st, 2020 meeting. Trustee Gadeken moved that the regular and executive sessions of the board of trustees June 1st meeting minutes be approved. Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then invited Ron and Cyndi McCloud to approach the board with a request for their fence located at 109 North White Street to be grandfathered into the zoning regulations. Apparently when it was originally built in 1998, it was not built to correct zoning requirements. They recently repaired their fence and the zoning infringement was caught at that time. They did not change anything to the original fence line. The board decided that their fence was okay to stay as it is.
President Arrasmith then asked the board if the Village could either sell or give Little Bear Hauling the current Village sign when we get our new sign at the new Village hall. Trustee Catron made a motion to just give the current sign to Little Bear Hauling along with the letters for it. Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then asked Dennis Cummins with Farnsworth Group to present the bids for the MFT Project. Mr. Cummins stated that we only received one bid and that was from Illiana Construction for $36,887. Trustee Gadeken made a motion to approve the bid from Illiana Construction for $36,887. Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then asked the board if they would approve a property and septic inspection for the current Village hall building. Trustee Harris made a motion to approve hiring someone to do an inspection of the current Village hall building. Trustee Catron seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then approached the board with the bids for the annual tree and stump removal in the Village. The only bid the Village received for the tree removal was from JT’s Tree Service. They bid $22,175 to remove 31 trees and $1,575 for a possible extra tree at 106 West Byron for a total of $23,750. Dirtworks Trucking and Excavation Company bid $5,750 and Little Bear Hauling bid $5,250 for the removal and backfill of 32 stumps. Trustee Bickers made a motion to approve JT’s Tree Service for the tree removal and Little Bear Hauling for the stump removal. Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then approached the board with how they wanted to handle the landscaping at the new building. Do they want to do it in-house or hire a landscaping company to plot out a plan? Trustee Bickers stated he would look into getting estimates from a few companies and it will be on next month’s agenda.
President Arrasmith then asked the board how they want the war memorial display to look at the new Village hall. He stated that the American Legion is in possession of some granite memorial stones that are being stored at the township. Trustee Bickers stated that he would call Adams Memorial to find out about setting them up the new Village hall. It will be on next month’s agenda.
President Arrasmith then asked the board to approve the annual cost of living rise for Village employees. The board members believed that they had implemented an automatic cost of living increase for Village employees last year. The Village Clerk or Treasurer will look into this.
President Arrasmith then asked the board for discussion regarding zoning requirements for sheds in the Village. Trustee Bickers stated that basically none of the sheds that are currently erected in the Village do not meet the zoning requirements of 25 feet from the center of the street and 10 feet from the sides and back of the property. Trustee Bickers stated that the board needed to revise the requirements/restrictions regarding zoning. President Arrasmith decided that a zoning committee needed to be formed and nominated Trustees Harris and Laurent to be on the committee. Discussion of zoning requirements will be on next month’s agenda.
President Arrasmith then advised the board that they needed to be thinking about how much they want to rent out the new community space in the new Village hall for. He had Clerk Fish gather information from nearby communities for comparison. The board decided that they will also allow alcohol in the new space and that they will hold a special meeting sometime to discuss the details.
ATTORNEY MILLER’S COMMENTS
Attorney Miller presented the board with the Emergency Powers of the Code of Ordinances of the Village of Sidney Ordinance #2020-08. Attorney Miller explained that this ordinance regulates the dispensing of gasoline, instilling a town wide curfew and the ability to continue to pay the Village’s bills in case of an emergency. Trustee Catron motioned that Ordinance #2020-08 be approved. Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
JARIN WILSEY’S COMMENTS
Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey approached the board to see if he could hire Gulliford Sewer Services to clean out the Village’s catch basins annually. He stated that Gulliford would like the board to give them an annual budget and they will do whatever amount of work they can within that budget. Trustee Harris suggested that the Village purchase a portable pothole machine to suck out the catch basins. Trustee Gadeken agreed that they need to be maintained annually.
Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey then asked the board if he could purchase a portable water tank to keep the new seed that he spreads watered. Trustee Catron suggested that he purchase a 250 gallon water tank and also a 50 gallon weed sprayer. Trustee Catron also suggested that Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey look into continuing education to become licensed to spray the weeds around the creek areas. Village Maintenance Employee will check on prices, etc. for sprayers and present it at the next board meeting.
FINANCE REPORT
The financial reports were read by Trustee Catron. Trustee Catron moved that the bills be paid; Trustee Harris seconded the motion. The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
Trustee Catron stated that Martin-Hood was in the final week of the audit.
Trustee Catron then stated that with the new social distancing guidelines due to COVID-19, that the desk that he is having built for the trustees to sit at during the board meetings will be too big for the meeting room in the new village hall. Trustee Bickers suggested that we will have to use it in the big room instead of the meeting room. Trustee Catron stated that he will have the desk slightly altered and made into 3 separate movable units.
STREETS AND ALLEY
Trustee Gadeken reported that he had not gotten any bids for the repairs to the sidewalks in the Village, however, Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey was able to spread some dirt by the cracks to smooth them out a bit. He reported that he is having Dennis Cummins with Farnsworth Group get bids to work on the corner of Sunset Street. He stated that he will have Clerk Fish order the radar speed sign to be put by the Dairy Barn. He also reported that Top Notch had done most of the clearing around the creeks but was not quite finished yet.
WATER/SEWER/UTILITY
Trustee Harris reported that the Savanah Day Memorial Run is cancelled this year due to COVID-19. He then stated that he will talk to Longview Bank about cleaning up the drainage pond behind the bank. He has been receiving complaints about the smell and bugs.
PUBLIC PROPERTY
Trustee Bickers reported that there was 1 fence permit issued at 406 East Byron. He then reported that he had dropped the ball about finding out about doing a bagged leaf pickup in the fall and it will be put back on next month’s agenda. He also reported that the problem with the placement of the leach field at the new village hall has been corrected and will be placed in the outfield of the new T-ball field.
Trustee Bickers then addressed the issue of allowing golf carts in the Village. He stated that most small towns allow them and that the town issues a permit sticker for a fee. The Village of Sidney has no one to enforce the rules and regulations of golf carts once the permit would be issued. He also stated that golf carts are going to be used by residents with or without a permit. Trustee Harris stated that he thinks this discussion is a waste of time. The board considers this a dead issue.
PARKS AND RECREATION
Trustee Laurent stated that the internet for Witt Park will be installed next Monday. That will allow remote viewing of the security cameras and also the ability to take debit/credit cards at the concession stand. He also reported that the new steel doors have been installed in the bathrooms out at Witt Park. He stated that the baseball season will start on August 3rd. Trustee Laurent reported that the Sidney Improvement Group did work to clean up the trails out at Witt Park and will be posting directional signage for the trails soon. He also stated that he ordered the playground equipment for the parks and they are about 6 weeks out from being able to install them; however, the swing set and other equipment is in Indianapolis waiting to be picked up.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Trustee Schluter had no report.
Trustee Harris then made a motion to go into Executive Session for the limited purpose to discuss the performance and compensation of one or more village employees pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1) at 8:52pm. Trustee Bickers seconded the motion.
Trustee Bickers made a motion to enter back into open session at 9:12pm. Trustee Laurent seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
Trustee Bickers made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:13p.m. Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion. The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
__________________________ __________________________
Maggie Fish, Village Clerk Date approved
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
The meeting was live streamed from the Village’s Facebook page and public comments were taken in person. Jessica Guiles, representing the Sidney Saloon, asked the board if they could put a temporary roof on their outdoor seating area. She said that not many people are using it since it is so hot out. They have invested around $7,000 for the temporary seating arrangements due to COVID-19 and they would like the area to be used. Trustee Laurent made a motion to allow the Sidney Saloon to put on a temporary roof onto their outdoor seating area. Trustee Schluter seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
Carson Willard approached the board of trustees next with his idea for his Eagle Scout project. He would like to revamp the current Welcome to Sidney sign on the West side of the village. He would like to remove the sign with the outdated businesses listed on it and repaint and add landscaping, rocks and lighting to the Welcome to Sidney sign. He will have it completed by the end of August. The board said they will reuse the business nameplates that were listed on the other sign in another part of town. Trustee Bickers stated that by the next Village Board meeting, he would like to see how much Carson has raised toward his $800 goal and a completed final plan for the project. The board stated that it would be okay for him to begin his project.
PRESIDENT ARRASMITH’S COMMENTS
President Arrasmith asked for a motion to approve the minutes for the regular and executive sessions of the June 1st, 2020 meeting. Trustee Gadeken moved that the regular and executive sessions of the board of trustees June 1st meeting minutes be approved. Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then invited Ron and Cyndi McCloud to approach the board with a request for their fence located at 109 North White Street to be grandfathered into the zoning regulations. Apparently when it was originally built in 1998, it was not built to correct zoning requirements. They recently repaired their fence and the zoning infringement was caught at that time. They did not change anything to the original fence line. The board decided that their fence was okay to stay as it is.
President Arrasmith then asked the board if the Village could either sell or give Little Bear Hauling the current Village sign when we get our new sign at the new Village hall. Trustee Catron made a motion to just give the current sign to Little Bear Hauling along with the letters for it. Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then asked Dennis Cummins with Farnsworth Group to present the bids for the MFT Project. Mr. Cummins stated that we only received one bid and that was from Illiana Construction for $36,887. Trustee Gadeken made a motion to approve the bid from Illiana Construction for $36,887. Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then asked the board if they would approve a property and septic inspection for the current Village hall building. Trustee Harris made a motion to approve hiring someone to do an inspection of the current Village hall building. Trustee Catron seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then approached the board with the bids for the annual tree and stump removal in the Village. The only bid the Village received for the tree removal was from JT’s Tree Service. They bid $22,175 to remove 31 trees and $1,575 for a possible extra tree at 106 West Byron for a total of $23,750. Dirtworks Trucking and Excavation Company bid $5,750 and Little Bear Hauling bid $5,250 for the removal and backfill of 32 stumps. Trustee Bickers made a motion to approve JT’s Tree Service for the tree removal and Little Bear Hauling for the stump removal. Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then approached the board with how they wanted to handle the landscaping at the new building. Do they want to do it in-house or hire a landscaping company to plot out a plan? Trustee Bickers stated he would look into getting estimates from a few companies and it will be on next month’s agenda.
President Arrasmith then asked the board how they want the war memorial display to look at the new Village hall. He stated that the American Legion is in possession of some granite memorial stones that are being stored at the township. Trustee Bickers stated that he would call Adams Memorial to find out about setting them up the new Village hall. It will be on next month’s agenda.
President Arrasmith then asked the board to approve the annual cost of living rise for Village employees. The board members believed that they had implemented an automatic cost of living increase for Village employees last year. The Village Clerk or Treasurer will look into this.
President Arrasmith then asked the board for discussion regarding zoning requirements for sheds in the Village. Trustee Bickers stated that basically none of the sheds that are currently erected in the Village do not meet the zoning requirements of 25 feet from the center of the street and 10 feet from the sides and back of the property. Trustee Bickers stated that the board needed to revise the requirements/restrictions regarding zoning. President Arrasmith decided that a zoning committee needed to be formed and nominated Trustees Harris and Laurent to be on the committee. Discussion of zoning requirements will be on next month’s agenda.
President Arrasmith then advised the board that they needed to be thinking about how much they want to rent out the new community space in the new Village hall for. He had Clerk Fish gather information from nearby communities for comparison. The board decided that they will also allow alcohol in the new space and that they will hold a special meeting sometime to discuss the details.
ATTORNEY MILLER’S COMMENTS
Attorney Miller presented the board with the Emergency Powers of the Code of Ordinances of the Village of Sidney Ordinance #2020-08. Attorney Miller explained that this ordinance regulates the dispensing of gasoline, instilling a town wide curfew and the ability to continue to pay the Village’s bills in case of an emergency. Trustee Catron motioned that Ordinance #2020-08 be approved. Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
JARIN WILSEY’S COMMENTS
Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey approached the board to see if he could hire Gulliford Sewer Services to clean out the Village’s catch basins annually. He stated that Gulliford would like the board to give them an annual budget and they will do whatever amount of work they can within that budget. Trustee Harris suggested that the Village purchase a portable pothole machine to suck out the catch basins. Trustee Gadeken agreed that they need to be maintained annually.
Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey then asked the board if he could purchase a portable water tank to keep the new seed that he spreads watered. Trustee Catron suggested that he purchase a 250 gallon water tank and also a 50 gallon weed sprayer. Trustee Catron also suggested that Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey look into continuing education to become licensed to spray the weeds around the creek areas. Village Maintenance Employee will check on prices, etc. for sprayers and present it at the next board meeting.
FINANCE REPORT
The financial reports were read by Trustee Catron. Trustee Catron moved that the bills be paid; Trustee Harris seconded the motion. The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
Trustee Catron stated that Martin-Hood was in the final week of the audit.
Trustee Catron then stated that with the new social distancing guidelines due to COVID-19, that the desk that he is having built for the trustees to sit at during the board meetings will be too big for the meeting room in the new village hall. Trustee Bickers suggested that we will have to use it in the big room instead of the meeting room. Trustee Catron stated that he will have the desk slightly altered and made into 3 separate movable units.
STREETS AND ALLEY
Trustee Gadeken reported that he had not gotten any bids for the repairs to the sidewalks in the Village, however, Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey was able to spread some dirt by the cracks to smooth them out a bit. He reported that he is having Dennis Cummins with Farnsworth Group get bids to work on the corner of Sunset Street. He stated that he will have Clerk Fish order the radar speed sign to be put by the Dairy Barn. He also reported that Top Notch had done most of the clearing around the creeks but was not quite finished yet.
WATER/SEWER/UTILITY
Trustee Harris reported that the Savanah Day Memorial Run is cancelled this year due to COVID-19. He then stated that he will talk to Longview Bank about cleaning up the drainage pond behind the bank. He has been receiving complaints about the smell and bugs.
PUBLIC PROPERTY
Trustee Bickers reported that there was 1 fence permit issued at 406 East Byron. He then reported that he had dropped the ball about finding out about doing a bagged leaf pickup in the fall and it will be put back on next month’s agenda. He also reported that the problem with the placement of the leach field at the new village hall has been corrected and will be placed in the outfield of the new T-ball field.
Trustee Bickers then addressed the issue of allowing golf carts in the Village. He stated that most small towns allow them and that the town issues a permit sticker for a fee. The Village of Sidney has no one to enforce the rules and regulations of golf carts once the permit would be issued. He also stated that golf carts are going to be used by residents with or without a permit. Trustee Harris stated that he thinks this discussion is a waste of time. The board considers this a dead issue.
PARKS AND RECREATION
Trustee Laurent stated that the internet for Witt Park will be installed next Monday. That will allow remote viewing of the security cameras and also the ability to take debit/credit cards at the concession stand. He also reported that the new steel doors have been installed in the bathrooms out at Witt Park. He stated that the baseball season will start on August 3rd. Trustee Laurent reported that the Sidney Improvement Group did work to clean up the trails out at Witt Park and will be posting directional signage for the trails soon. He also stated that he ordered the playground equipment for the parks and they are about 6 weeks out from being able to install them; however, the swing set and other equipment is in Indianapolis waiting to be picked up.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Trustee Schluter had no report.
Trustee Harris then made a motion to go into Executive Session for the limited purpose to discuss the performance and compensation of one or more village employees pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1) at 8:52pm. Trustee Bickers seconded the motion.
Trustee Bickers made a motion to enter back into open session at 9:12pm. Trustee Laurent seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
Trustee Bickers made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:13p.m. Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion. The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
__________________________ __________________________
Maggie Fish, Village Clerk Date approved
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