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 White called the meeting to order. The following trustees were present: Arrasmith, Roberts, Schluter, and Finn. Supervisor of Operations Bennett, Treasurer Reinhart, and Clerk Moore were also present. Trustees McCloud and Bickers and Attorney Miller were absent.
Trustee Schluter moved that the minutes of the August 6, 2018, regular and closed meetings of the Board of Trustees be approved. Trustee Finn seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Kris Bolt of the Sidney Fire Department wanted to let the Board know that the Fire Protection District was planning to have a tax increase referendum for a $35,000 increase in its budget, which is now $97,000. 1992 was the last tax increase for the District.
PRESIDENT WHITE'S COMMENTS
President White has been attending the County Board and Zoning meetings, the last one being August 9. He also went to the St. Joseph Village Board meeting because plans for a solar farm near there were being presented.
A letter from the Village was sent to the owner of an abandoned property next to the railroad tracks at 301 Water Tower Place. There has been no response so President White will have the attorney send the next letter.
The County electronics collection sign up will begin September 10 with the collection itself October 10.
Trustee Roberts moved that the Board pay mileage for Clerk Moore to attend the LOCIS workshop at Forsyth on September 13. Trustee Finn seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President White brought up that the amount alloted for the IML conference might not be enough because the costs have increased. Trustee Arrasmith moved that the Board approve $250 additional for each attendee for expenses. Trustee Finn seconded the motion; motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President White and Supervisor Bennett had met with Engineer Dennis Cummins about the truck route match program. This is a 50-50 up to $900,000 program with the state. Engineer Cummins explained the project. The streets this grant would cover are South David, Maple, and Sunset, the streets the trucks travel on to go to the elevator. The first phase is preliminary engineering work with pavement assessment and design parameters with a rough cost estimate. The second phase is filling out the TARP application with the engineering design and issues and the Village financials. There was some discussion about the roads and their use. There is a September application deadline with notice of approval in December. Trustee Arrasmith moved that the Board approve the agreement with Farnsworth Group to do preliminary work for the TARP Project for David Street, Maple Street, and Sunset Road for $11,200 with the money taken out of the general fund. Trustee Finn seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
ATTORNEY MILLER'S COMMENTS:
Attorney Miller was absent.
EARL BENNETT'S REPORT
Supervisor Bennett reported that the maintenance building needed a new furnace and that he would bring estimates to the October meeting.
There had been a leak in the 200 block of South Scarborough that had been fixed.
Supervisor Bennett had talked to Charles Shaplan, owner of several car dealerships, because the old fire truck was stored at his property. Supervisor told Mr. Shaplan that the Village would be replacing the village truck. Mr. Shaplan said he might have one that he would be willing to make a deal on. Supervisor will follow up on this.
FINANCE REPORT
The financial reports were read by Trustee Finn. Trustee Arrasmith moved that the bills be paid with the addition of $133.30 to Water Products. Trustee Roberts seconded the motion. The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
The audit is done.
STREETS AND ALLEY
Trustee Finn reported that the architect said that costs for a new building would be $150-200 a square foot plus a septic system at the old school property. There are other options available besides the old school property to include the hardware store or the Bues and Legion buildings. The trustees talked about having a comparison/cost study done. They will decide this at the October meeting.
WATER/SEWER/UTILITY
2,443,860 gallons of water were pumped in August with a daily average of 78,834 gallons.
$32,860.20 was received in August. 102 penalty bills were sent.
Trustee Roberts will talk to Attorney Miller about the next step in a water sale, now that the governor has signed the incentive program bill.
PUBLIC PROPERTY
No building permits were issued in August.
Nothing on ESDA
Tree removal and stump grinding is done. J.T.'s Tree Service did both the tree and stump removal as Leaf It to Us declined to do only the stump grinding. Some extra work was done as requested by the Village: some trimming and one small tree removed. The total bill was $17,874.93.
The owners who had asked for more time to move their cars have not done so. Supervisor Bennett will now tag their cars and if they are not moved in 15 days, they will be towed by a towing company engaged by the Village.
It was decide to get a list together over the winter for the sidewalks that needed to be replaced and to solicit bids in the spring.
PARKS AND RECREATION
Fall leagues have been held at Witt Park and will finish in mid-October. President White said that he is planning on looking at playground equipment at the convention because there are always many vendors there. Victory Park needs a swing for handicapped people because the one there has been broken. President White also stated that the Parks and Recreation fund is for all the parks, not just Witt Park.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Trustee Schluter has added all minutes to the web site so it is up-to-date.
Trustee Schluter is planning to go to the Illinois Municipal League conference in Chicago September 20-22, and he passed out a brochure with some sessions that he is planning on attending. He was open to attending any one for which a trustee wanted information.
NEW BUSINESS
None
Trustee Arrasmith moved that the meeting be adjourned. Trustee Roberts seconded the motion; motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. Meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m.
Trustee Schluter moved that the minutes of the August 6, 2018, regular and closed meetings of the Board of Trustees be approved. Trustee Finn seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Kris Bolt of the Sidney Fire Department wanted to let the Board know that the Fire Protection District was planning to have a tax increase referendum for a $35,000 increase in its budget, which is now $97,000. 1992 was the last tax increase for the District.
PRESIDENT WHITE'S COMMENTS
President White has been attending the County Board and Zoning meetings, the last one being August 9. He also went to the St. Joseph Village Board meeting because plans for a solar farm near there were being presented.
A letter from the Village was sent to the owner of an abandoned property next to the railroad tracks at 301 Water Tower Place. There has been no response so President White will have the attorney send the next letter.
The County electronics collection sign up will begin September 10 with the collection itself October 10.
Trustee Roberts moved that the Board pay mileage for Clerk Moore to attend the LOCIS workshop at Forsyth on September 13. Trustee Finn seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President White brought up that the amount alloted for the IML conference might not be enough because the costs have increased. Trustee Arrasmith moved that the Board approve $250 additional for each attendee for expenses. Trustee Finn seconded the motion; motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President White and Supervisor Bennett had met with Engineer Dennis Cummins about the truck route match program. This is a 50-50 up to $900,000 program with the state. Engineer Cummins explained the project. The streets this grant would cover are South David, Maple, and Sunset, the streets the trucks travel on to go to the elevator. The first phase is preliminary engineering work with pavement assessment and design parameters with a rough cost estimate. The second phase is filling out the TARP application with the engineering design and issues and the Village financials. There was some discussion about the roads and their use. There is a September application deadline with notice of approval in December. Trustee Arrasmith moved that the Board approve the agreement with Farnsworth Group to do preliminary work for the TARP Project for David Street, Maple Street, and Sunset Road for $11,200 with the money taken out of the general fund. Trustee Finn seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
ATTORNEY MILLER'S COMMENTS:
Attorney Miller was absent.
EARL BENNETT'S REPORT
Supervisor Bennett reported that the maintenance building needed a new furnace and that he would bring estimates to the October meeting.
There had been a leak in the 200 block of South Scarborough that had been fixed.
Supervisor Bennett had talked to Charles Shaplan, owner of several car dealerships, because the old fire truck was stored at his property. Supervisor told Mr. Shaplan that the Village would be replacing the village truck. Mr. Shaplan said he might have one that he would be willing to make a deal on. Supervisor will follow up on this.
FINANCE REPORT
The financial reports were read by Trustee Finn. Trustee Arrasmith moved that the bills be paid with the addition of $133.30 to Water Products. Trustee Roberts seconded the motion. The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
The audit is done.
STREETS AND ALLEY
Trustee Finn reported that the architect said that costs for a new building would be $150-200 a square foot plus a septic system at the old school property. There are other options available besides the old school property to include the hardware store or the Bues and Legion buildings. The trustees talked about having a comparison/cost study done. They will decide this at the October meeting.
WATER/SEWER/UTILITY
2,443,860 gallons of water were pumped in August with a daily average of 78,834 gallons.
$32,860.20 was received in August. 102 penalty bills were sent.
Trustee Roberts will talk to Attorney Miller about the next step in a water sale, now that the governor has signed the incentive program bill.
PUBLIC PROPERTY
No building permits were issued in August.
Nothing on ESDA
Tree removal and stump grinding is done. J.T.'s Tree Service did both the tree and stump removal as Leaf It to Us declined to do only the stump grinding. Some extra work was done as requested by the Village: some trimming and one small tree removed. The total bill was $17,874.93.
The owners who had asked for more time to move their cars have not done so. Supervisor Bennett will now tag their cars and if they are not moved in 15 days, they will be towed by a towing company engaged by the Village.
It was decide to get a list together over the winter for the sidewalks that needed to be replaced and to solicit bids in the spring.
PARKS AND RECREATION
Fall leagues have been held at Witt Park and will finish in mid-October. President White said that he is planning on looking at playground equipment at the convention because there are always many vendors there. Victory Park needs a swing for handicapped people because the one there has been broken. President White also stated that the Parks and Recreation fund is for all the parks, not just Witt Park.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Trustee Schluter has added all minutes to the web site so it is up-to-date.
Trustee Schluter is planning to go to the Illinois Municipal League conference in Chicago September 20-22, and he passed out a brochure with some sessions that he is planning on attending. He was open to attending any one for which a trustee wanted information.
NEW BUSINESS
None
Trustee Arrasmith moved that the meeting be adjourned. Trustee Roberts seconded the motion; motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. Meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m.
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