A special meeting of the Sidney Village Board of Trustees was held on March 23rd,  2020 in the Community Building.
President Arrasmith, called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. with the following
 trustees present: Bickers, Laurent, Gadeken, and Catron.  Trustees Schluter and Harris were absent.  Attorney Miller was also present.   
            Trustee Bickers began the meeting by stating that the purpose of this meeting was to review the savings being offered in regards to Option 1 of the bid proposals.  Robert Tincher from Hillside Development Group began by stating that if Integrity Concrete and Excavating poured the monolithic curb at the same time the building is poured, it would save the Village $6,600.  It was decided to have them poured at the same time.  For FBI Buildings to change the pitch of the roof and carport ceiling, it would save the Village $15,457.00.  It was decided to change the pitch of the roof, but not do the metal siding for a savings of $14,611.  To have B and D Electric change to a 200 amp service and to replace the steel light pole bases with aluminum would be a savings of $14,800.  It was decided to change to the 200 amp service, but to keep the steel light pole bases for a savings of $14,300.  B and D Electric also bid a fire alarm system for $8,400.  For Weber Plumbing and Heating to change the furnace from a Lennox to a Ducane would be a savings of $3,500.  After much discussion, it was decided to go with the Ducane.  It would also be a savings of $1,000 for Weber to change the waterlines from copper to pex.  It was decided to keep the copper because it will last longer.  For T & T Construction to install drop ceilings instead of drywall ceilings, it would be a savings of $13,440.  It was decided to go with the drop ceiling.  These changes allow for a total savings of $57,060.78 off the proposed bids.  The final cost for the new village hall was brought below the one million dollar mark to a total of $988,416.40.
            Trustee Bickers made a motion to accept the changes to the proposals as discussed.  Trustee Laurent seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
Trustee Catron made a motion to adjourn the meeting; Trustee Bickers seconded the motion. The motion carried on a roll call vote with all ayes.  The meeting was adjourned at 6:37pm.


_______________________________                               _________________________________
Approved, Village Clerk                                                        Date Approved

            A special meeting of the Sidney Village Board of Trustees was held on March 16th, 2020 in the Community Building.
President Arrasmith, called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. with the following
 trustees present: Bickers, Laurent, Gadeken, and Catron.  Trustees Schluter and Harris were absent.  Attorney Miller was also present.   
Village President Arrasmith asked if there were any public comments and there were none.
Trustee Bickers made a motion to go into executive session at 6:31pm.  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion.  The motion was approved with all ayes on a roll call vote.  Attorney Miller then advised that there was no cause to go into executive session.  Trustee Bickers made a motion to go back into open session at 6:37pm.  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote. 
            Trustee Bickers then stated that the purpose of this meeting was to narrow down the list of the proposed bids for the new village hall.  He stated it was best to go with the least amount of contractors needed as opposed to only look at the lowest bidders.  Robert Tincher of Hillside Development Group then read through each company’s proposal.  He advised that not all bidders qualified because they did not fill out the correct paperwork or left details out.  There were no bids for termite/pest control, no fire extinguishers, and no bid for landscaping. The summary of all the proposals are attached.    
            After much discussion, the board decided that Option 1 (attached) would be the best option to go with even though there was no fire alarm system added.  It was suggested that it would still be cheaper to add that under electrical for an estimate of $10,000. 
            Trustee Bickers then made a motion to accept Option 1 with the addition of a fire alarm system and to also authorize Hillside Development to procure final numbers.  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
            Trustee Catron then introduced Jim Chandler from Longview Bank to discuss some financing options for the new village hall.  Mr. Chandler advised to just pay for the building outright instead of financing it.  Trustee Catron stated that he agreed with Mr. Chandler since he is the professional.  Trustee Bickers did not agree with this option because the village will no longer be receiving the revenue from the water system every month.  He would like to explore some different options, such as, paying for half of the building in cash and financing the other half; then investing one million to have that interest pay for the loan payments.  Trustee Gadeken agreed with Trustee Bickers since the board has recently spent so much money on projects lately.  It was decided that more financing options will be discussed at the next regularly scheduled board meeting. 
Trustee Bickers made a motion to adjourn the meeting; Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion. The motion carried on a roll call vote with all ayes.  The meeting was adjourned at 7:32pm.


_______________________________                               _________________________________
Approved, Village Clerk                                                        Date Approved

​          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, Catron, and Laurent.  Clerk Fish, Treasurer Reinhart, and Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey were also present.  Trustee Schluter was absent from the meeting.
 
          PUBLIC COMMENTS:
         
          Bill McLane from the Sidney American Legion spoke to the board members addressing his concerns for the future location of the American Legion.  He asked the board if they would consider creating a permanent space or some kind of secure space where they would be able to hang all of their memorabilia and for them to meet in the new village hall building.  The board assured him that they will not be forgotten and that something will be worked out.  Mr. McLane also reported that Sidney American Legion Post was celebrating it’s 100th anniversary and that they will host an open house on Flag Day, June 14th to celebrate. 
          Sidney resident Kurt Foster then approached the board stating that he was concerned about the height of a catch basin on North Harrison street and if that could be looked into. 
 
          PRESIDENT ARRASMITH’S COMMENTS
 
          President Arrasmith asked for a motion to approve the minutes for the regular sessions of the January 22nd, February 3rd, and February 12th, meetings.  Trustee Catron moved that the minutes of the January 22nd, February 3rd, and February 12th, 2020 regular sessions of the Board of Trustees meetings be approved.  Trustee Bickers seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.  President Arrasmith then asked for a motion to approve the minutes for the executive sessions of the February 3rd and February 12th meetings.  Trustee Catron moved that the minutes of the February 3rd and February 12th  executive sessions of the Board of Trustees be approved.  Trustee Bickers seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
          President Arrasmith then directed Robert Tincher from Hillside Development Group to open the sealed bids for the new village hall building.  Mr. Tincher stated that they had received a total of 36 sealed bids.  He proceeded to open each one stating who they were from and for what portion of the project they were bidding on.  He stated to everyone present that since they had received so many bids that it would take approximately a week to qualify all of the bidders so no amounts were read at this time.  Attached is a list of all of the bidders. 
          Pete Mantell with ESDA then began to discuss the need for updating Sidney’s tornado system.  He stated that Champaign, Urbana and Savoy have all switched over to this particular system.  With the new system, as soon as the National Weather Service issues a warning, it will automatically activate the tornado sirens to sound.  As of now, a person has to receive the warning and activate the sirens themselves.  The new system will also have real time updates as to whether or not the sirens are working properly; they will not have to wait on the monthly tests to determine this.  Trustee Bickers made a motion to approve the $18,492 to upgrade Sidney’s ESDA Warning System.  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
          Matthew White from Illinois American Water then stated that representatives from Illinois American Water will be here before the next Village Board meeting from 4:30-6:30 for any residents to come talk to them about any concerns they have.  They will also be here from 7am-7pm on Saturday, April 18th and Sunday, April 19th to also answer any questions from the public and to also change out everyone’s meters.  He also stated that mailers with information about the changes and a welcome packet will be mailed to residents in the next two weeks.  He was asked if residents would still be able to pay their bills at Longview Bank here in Sidney.  Mr. White stated that he had spoken to someone at Longview who had told him that it wouldn’t be possible because residents would have to pay an additional fee; however, Jim Chandler, President of Longview State Bank was present at this meeting and said that he would talk to Mr. White about looking into that.   
          Longview State Bank President Jim Chandler then spoke to the board members about possible financing options for the Village to fund the new village hall.  Trustee Bickers requested that Mr. Chandler put together some financing options with figures for the Board of Trustees to look over.  Mr. Chandler said he would email those to Clerk Fish for her to email to the board.
          President Arrasmith then stated that a date for Dumpster Days needed to be set.  It was then decided to have Dumpster Days on May 2nd from 7-11am at Witt Park.  Clerk Fish will work that day to check ID’s to make sure that people are residents of Sidney and to charge for any additional loads. 
          President Arrasmith then asked for the board to approve vacation days off for Clerk Fish.  The board approved May 6th, 7th, and 11th, 2020 for Clerk Fish to take her vacation time. 
          President Arrasmith then stated that Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey needed to be paid retro-actively for all of the board meetings he has attended since it would be considered overtime.  Trustee Laurent made a motion to back pay Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey for the meetings he has attended.  Trustee Bickers seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.  The board then decided that for all future board meetings that he is to attend, that he leave work at 1:30pm on those days to compensate for the 2 hours of pay for the board meeting. 
                   
ATTORNEY MILLER’S COMMENTS
 
          Attorney Miller did not have any comments.
 
JARIN WILSEY’S COMMENTS
 
          Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey stated that there was a smashed culvert at 15 Southview Drive that is the resident’s responsibility to repair.  Clerk Fish will send them a letter stating that that it needs to be fixed within 60 days.  He also requested more shelving be put up at the shed at Witt Park for baseball equipment.  He also stated there was a problem with a catch basin at 205 Washington Street and that Ameren Illinois was making progress locating mains. 
 
          FINANCE REPORT
 
          The financial reports were read by Trustee Catron.  Trustee Catron moved that the bills be paid with the additions of Miller and Hendren for $2050 and Casey’s fuel card for $244.03; Trustee Bickers seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
          Trustee Catron then made a motion to approve Ordinance #2020-02 to adopt the Village of Sidney Employee Policy Manual with the additions in 5.6 regarding Health Coverage: “The Village provides an option for health insurance to qualified full time employees only” and in 6.7 After Duty Emergency Call Out/Village Board Meetings: “The Village Maintenance Employee shall attend each regular monthly Village Board meeting working a split shift that day to result in an 8 hour workday unless there is an unexpected emergency” and in 9.1 Separation From Employment: “The Village Board of Trustees, by majority vote, may terminate an employee”.  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion.  The motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote. 
 
            STREETS AND ALLEY
 
          Trustee Gadeken reported that he and Trustee Bickers had met with representatives from the Sidney American Legion Post 433 to discuss options for housing them.  He also reported that all the signs have almost been repaired or replaced.  He will also direct Employee Maintenance Wilsey to start purchasing pallets of salt for the roads in the winter instead of individual bags.  Trustee Gadeken will also look into possibly purchasing some sort of speed radar sign to be placed by the Sidney Dairy Barn to reduce traffic speed coming into town.  He also stated that the alley by Pleasant Drive had holes in it that needed to be filled with rock; Village Maintenace Employee Wilsey said that he had fixed it already. 
 
          WATER/SEWER/UTILITY
Trustee Harris was not able to read the monthly usage reports since we have no one who is licensed to do so.  $23,510.62 was received in February.  108 penalty bills were sent.  $20,914.14 was billed in February to 535 customers.
          Trustee Harris then reported that he will have answers regarding drains at 107 North Harrison and 15 Southview by the next meeting.  He also was confused about Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey’s last timesheet.  Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey does not have any vacation time to use until his one year anniversary on April 15th, 2020; once that has passed he will have to use any vacation time for any time taken off. 
                   
          PUBLIC PROPERTY
 
          Trustee Bickers reported that there were no permits issued.  He also made a motion to approve the “No donation in memoriam” policy.  The motion was seconded by Trustee Harris; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
 
          PARKS AND RECREATION
 
          Trustee Laurent reported that not enough kids had signed up for summer ball and that he is working with other towns to fill the gap.  He also reported that the Witt Park sign had been fixed and looks good.  He also reported that it will be approximately $1500 to level the new T-ball field.  Trustee Catron also stated that Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey will need to learn how to use all the Village’s equipment within six month’s time. 
 
          COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
 
          Trustee Schluter was absent.
 
          NEW & OLD BUSINESS
 
          Clerk Fish reported that the time clock software that was purchased would not work for the Village.  Clerk Fish stated that she called Dan Moisson to ask his advice and he advised to look at web based software programs.  Clerk Fish looked into a few websites and it was determined to be too cost prohibitive to use those.  Trustee Catron stated just to purchase wall time clocks. 
          The board also advised that Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey needed to contact Logan Jones, last year’s summer help, to see if he wanted the position this summer.  If not, Clerk Fish will add hiring summer help to next month’s agenda.
         
          Trustee Bickers moved that the meeting be adjourned at 9:35pm.  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion. The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. 
         
 
__________________________            __________________________
Maggie Fish, Village Clerk                      Date approved                                                

​          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.  Interim President Jason Arrasmith called the meeting to order.  The following trustees were present: Harris, Bickers, Gadeken, Catron and Schluter.  Clerk Fish, Treasurer Reinhart, and Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey were also present.  On the advice of Village Attorney, Marc Miller, Interim President Arrasmith advised the board members that public comment needs to be on the meeting agenda ahead of meeting business.  Interim President Arrasmith then asked if there were any public comments.
 
          PUBLIC COMMENTS:
         
          Ryan Boles from Premier Cooperative was in attendance at the meeting to report on how well the harvest went this year with the 5-ton limit on the roads on the South side of town.  He also requested to meet with the head of the streets and alley committee to discuss a possible 5-10 year plan between the village and Premier Cooperative for that specific truck route.  Trustee Gadeken gave Mr. Boles his information and stated that he would be the one that would meet with him.  
 
          INTERIM PRESIDENT ARRASMITH’S COMMENTS
 
          Interim President Arrasmith asked for a motion to approve the minutes for the regular and executive sessions of the December 2nd meeting.  Trustee Catron moved that the minutes of the December 2nd, 2019 regular and executive sessions of the Board of Trustees meeting be approved.  Trustee Schluter seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.  
          Interim President Arrasmith then asked the board members to accept the resignation of Village of Sidney President John Finn.  Trustee Catron made a motion to accept President Finn’s resignation.  Trustee Bickers seconded the motion; the motion was approved with all ayes on a roll call vote.  
          Interim President Arrasmith stated that Tin Cup property owner Alex Moore was sick and could not attend the meeting that night as planned.  He will, however, attend the February 3rd Village of Sidney Board of Trustees meeting.  
          Interim President Arrasmith then stated that the village attorney, Marc Miller, was unable to attend the meeting that evening as he was out of town.  He reported that Attorney Miller had researched that the board could appoint him (Arrasmith) as Village of Sidney President to fulfill the current term as long as they appointed another trustee as Liquor Commissioner due to his owning Liquid Assets Distributing and that it could be perceived as a possible conflict of interest.  Interim President Arrasmith then explained that if the board chooses to appoint someone else as village president then that person would fulfill the offices of Village of Sidney President and Village of Sidney Liquor Commissioner.  Interim President Arrasmith then asked for a motion to nominate someone for Village of Sidney President through the spring of 2022.  Trustee Bickers made a motion to nominate Trustee Harris for village president.  The motion was seconded by Trustee Catron.  The motion failed with Trustees Bickers and Catron voting for the motion and Trustees Gadeken and Schluter voting against.  It was then decided for Interim President Arrasmith to appoint resident Matt Laurent to fulfill his recently vacated board position in an effort to avoid a tie vote.  Matt Laurent was then sworn in as a village trustee by Clerk Fish.  Trustee Bickers then made another motion to appoint Trustee Harris as village president.  Trustee Catron seconded the motion.  The motion failed with Trustees Bickers and Catron voting for and Trustees Gadeken, Schluter and Laurent voting against.  Trustee Bickers then made a motion to have Interim Village President Arrasmith remain in his current position until the February 3rd village board meeting so that the board could verify with Attorney Miller that they could appoint another trustee as liquor commissioner.  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion.  The motion carried with Trustees Bickers, Laurent, Gadeken, and Schluter voting for and Trustee Catron voting against.  
          Interim President Arrasmith then asked the board members to fill out their Statements of Economic Interest and return to Clerk Fish at the next board meeting.
 
          ATTORNEY MILLER’S COMMENTS
 
          Attorney Miller was absent.
 
JARIN WILSEY’S COMMENTS
 
          Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey reported that he was able to complete the meter readings after Illinois American Water had issues with uploading it to our system.  They were completed later than usual due to the fact that they had to return the laptop to us.  He also reported on some tile drainage work that he would like to complete and that the area where the water main break was at the old school lot had been filled in with asphalt.  
 
          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 then entertained the discussion of the list of holidays the Village observes.  Trustee Catron made a motion to reduce the number of holidays that the Village observes.  The motion was seconded by Trustee Gadeken.  Trustee Catron took his motion off the table after trustees reported that federal holidays will be observed. 
          Trustee Catron then discussed village employees using timeclocks.    Trustee Gadeken made a motion to approve the use of timeclocks for village employees.  Trustee Harris seconded the motion.  The motion was carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.  It was decided that Clerk Fish will shop for time clock software that will be installed on village employee’s computers. 
          Trustee Catron then stated that village employees had in the past received end of year bonuses.  A motion from Trustee Gadeken, seconded by Trustee Laurent to give an annual end of year compensation by December 1st of each year carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.  The bonuses will include a $100 bonus for the Village Clerk and the Village Maintenance Employee, $75 for the Village Treasurer, and $50 for the village’s cleaning staff after taxes. 
 
            
STREETS AND ALLEY
 
          Trustee Gadeken reported on road work needing to be done and that the village street signs that needed to be replaced were almost completed. 
 
          WATER/SEWER/UTILITY
 
          Trustee Harris was not able to read the monthly usage reports since we have no one who is licensed to do so.  
          $28,510.74 was received in December.  100 penalty bills were sent.  $232,317.28 was billed in December to 535 customers.
          Trustee Harris then made a motion to approve the village’s annual maintenance contract with JLS Water Systems at a cost of $195.  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
          Trustee Harris then made a motion for the approval to spend up to $30,000 to repair five drains within the village.  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.  Trustee Harris then stated that he would give Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey until the Monday, February 3rd Village of Sidney Board of Trustees meeting to get started on repairing the water drains on White, Washington, Byron and Main Streets or he would hire out the work.
                   
          PUBLIC PROPERTY
 
          Interim Village President Arrasmith welcomed new Village of Trustee board member Matt Laurent and appointed him to the Public Property committee.   Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey reported that there were no permits issued.
          Interim Village President Arrasmith then asked Robert Tincher of Hillside Development Group for his report on the new village hall.  Mr. Tincher had three versions of plans for the village hall for board members to look over and asked to meet with the members of the village hall planning committee.  Interim President Arrasmith stated that Trustee Bickers and Trustee Gadeken would be the ones to meet with him.
         
          PARKS AND RECREATION
 
          Trustee Bickers reported that the family of Daniel Ennis had contacted him wanting to do some sort of project to help raise funds for the baseball/softball program.  They were not quite ready to approach the board just yet but would be in attendance at the next monthly board meeting. 
          Trustee Bickers then reported that baseball/softball signups for the ball program will take place in the community building on Wednesday, February 19th from 6-8pm, Wednesday March 4th from 6-8pm, and Saturday, March 7th from 9-11am. 
 
          COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
 
          Trustee Schluter reported that he had added Trustee Arrasmith as Interim Acting President on the village website and will also add Trustee Laurent as well.
 
Trustee Bickers discussed drafting a special event resolution under Old and New Business.  Trustee Bickers made a motion for him to draft the resolution for the board to review at the next monthly meeting.  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
 
Trustee Bickers motioned at 8:27p.m. that the board move into executive session for the limited purposes of discussing the employment, performance and/or compensation of a village employee pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(1).  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.  
 
The Board came out of closed session at 9:10p.m.  Trustee Catron made a motion for the board to hold a Wednesday January 22nd special open meeting at 6pm to discuss an employee policy handbook and also to review the plans for the new village hall.  Trustee Bickers seconded the motion. The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. 
Trustee Catron made a motion to give Village Clerk Fish a verbal reprimand and to send Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey a letter of reprimand from the Village of Sidney Board of trustees.  The motion was seconded by Trustee Harris.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote, with Trustee Laurent abstaining. 
Trustee Catron then made a motion to have Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey complete a daily log of tasks that have been completed that will be approved by the Village President.  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. 
         
          Trustee Catron moved that the meeting be adjourned at 9:15pm.  Trustee Schluter seconded the motion. The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. 
         
 
         
         
 
 
__________________________            _________________________
Maggie Fish, Village Clerk                      Date approved
                                                  

​            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 Finn called the meeting to order. The following trustees were present:  Arrasmith, Harris, Catron, Gadeken, Bickers and Schluter.  Clerk Fish, Treasurer Reinhart, Attorney Miller and Village Maintenance employee Jarin Wilsey were also present.
            Trustee Catron moved that the minutes of the November 4th, 2019 regular session of the Board of Trustees meeting be approved.  Trustee Bickers seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. 
 
            PUBLIC HEARING:
           
             A public hearing was held as part of the board meeting to hear resident’s opinions regarding amending the Village of Sidney Zoning Ordinance to provide for additional “Building” definitions relating to Conex and/or steel containers.  No residents voiced their opinions.   Trustee Schluter motioned for the board to approve Ordinance #2019-09 prohibiting Conex and/or steel containers within the Village of Sidney.  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
           
            PUBLIC COMMENTS:
 
             Brandon Lovett approached the board to see if they would possibly approve dividing parcel #24-28-09-200-032 into two lots instead of one.  The board could not take any action regarding his proposal, however, they stated that he should come back when he has purchased the property and that it should be fine if he divided it.  
            Village of Sidney residents Mike and Joni Roy were in attendance to ask the board if the Village could cap off a drain located on the Village of Sidney easement in front of their property at 307 East Byron. It has been causing serious flooding in their basement for many years.  There was no motion needed; the board members all agreed that the Village would cap off the drain in a roll call vote. 
            Village of Sidney resident Jeff Wyant approached the board to let them know that he would be available to help Village Maintenance Employee Jarin Wilsey plow snow this winter and anything else he needed help with.  The board thanked Mr. Wyant for coming to the meeting and told him they would get back to him after discussing the particulars for the position during the executive session of the meeting.
            Matt White with Illinois American Water was also in attendance to let the board know that ANY issue/problem with the water has to go through them exclusively now to make sure EPA guidelines are being met since the Village is contracted with them. 
 
 
 
 
            PRESIDENT FINN'S COMMENTS
 
            President Finn stated Alex Moore could not attend the meeting that evening, but wanted to get a feel for how the board would vote to change four acres of the Tin Cup Property from agricultural to commercial if he were to purchase the property.  President Finn would not state what Mr. Moore proposes to do with the property, but stated that it will be good for the community.  The board members were all in agreement that it would not be a problem to rezone the property.  Alex Moore will be in attendance at the next village board meeting. 
            Discussion took place regarding the new Village of Sidney Water Shut Off Procedure Policy.  Effective December 2nd, the Village shall abide by the following procedure as it relates to disconnecting water connections in the Village:
1.Each month the Village Clerk shall prepare a list of water connections which are to be disconnected (shut off) from the village water system.
2.The Shut Off List will be completed within one day of the mailing of water bills and shall be provided to the Village Maintenance Supervisor.
3.The Village Maintenance Supervisor shall post notices as required by Ordinance by hanging them on front doors or otherwise posting them within three days after receipt of the Shut Off List.
A motion was made by Trustee Harris to approve the Shut Off Procedure Policy.  The motion was seconded by Trustee Gadeken.  The motion was carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.  
            President Finn then stated that he had received the annual contract for services performed from Martin, Hood and Associates.  The contract was reviewed and Trustee Catron made a motion to approve the contract.  Trustee Harris seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
           
           
             ATTORNEY MILLER'S COMMENTS:
 
            Attorney Miller had no report.
 
            JARIN WILSEY’S REPORT
 
            Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey had no report. 
 
            FINANCE REPORT
 
            The financial reports were read by Trustee Catron.  Trustee Catron moved that the bills be paid with the addition of $430 to Gulliford Sewer Services, $281.06 to Casey’s General Store, $172.80 to Depke, $478.65 to Martin Equipment, $760 to General Code, and $1,473.76 to Farnsworth.  Trustee Harris seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
           
 
            
STREETS AND ALLEY
 
            Trustee Gadeken reported that the replacement street signs have been ordered and that Village Maintenance Employee Jarin Wilsey had fixed the hump in the street on Wilsey Lane.
 
            WATER/SEWER/UTILITY
 
            Trustee Harris was not able to read the monthly usage reports since we have no one who is licensed to do so.  
            $27,661.17 was received in November.  106 penalty bills were sent.  $26,405.85 was billed in November to 535 customers.
                       
            PUBLIC PROPERTY
 
            Trustee Arrasmith reported that there were no permits issued. He also stated that  Hillside Development Group did the site survey at the old school lot and the plans for the new village hall should be completed by Christmas.
           
            PARKS AND RECREATION
 
            Trustee Bickers reported that the dead tree at Witt Park could not be removed yet because the ground was too wet; will need to wait until the ground freezes again. 
 
            COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
 
            Trustee Schluter had no report.  Trustee Catron, however, stated that he would like to have a backup for Trustee Schluter as manager of the village social media pages in the event Trustee Schluter is out of town and the village needs to report something on village social media pages in a timely manner. Village Clerk Fish stated that she would be the backup person for this. 
            Trustee Schluter then asked Sidney Improvement Group President Mike Roy if he would speak about the upcoming Village Christmas Activities on December 6th and 7th. 
 
Trustee Bickers motioned at 7:55p.m. that the board move into executive session for the limited purposes of discussing the employment, performance and/or compensation of a village employee pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(1).  Trustee Arrasmith seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.  
 
The Board came out of closed session at 8:26p.m.  Trustee Catron motioned to hire Jeff Wyant on an as needed basis for $20.00 per hour.  Trustee Bickers seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. 
           
President Finn then announced his resignation effective immediately as Village of Sidney President under new business.  His official resignation will be accepted at the next Village Board Meeting on Monday, January 6th, 2020.  Trustees will then appoint an interim Village of Sidney President to finish out President Finn’s term that concludes in 2021. 
            Trustee Bickers made a motion to appoint Trustee Arrasmith as interim Village President effective immediately until the board meeting on January 6th, 2020.  The motion was seconded by Trustee Harris.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. 
            Trustee Catron moved that the meeting be adjourned at 8:35pm.  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion. The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. 
           
 
           
           
 
 
__________________________                    _________________________
Maggie Fish, Village Clerk                            Date approved
            

​            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 Finn called the meeting to order. The following trustees were present:  Arrasmith, Harris, Catron, Gadeken, Bickers and Schluter.  Clerk Fish, Treasurer Reinhart, Attorney Miller and Village Maintenance employee Jarin Wilsey were also present.
            Trustee Catron moved that the minutes of the October 7th, 2019 regular session of the Board of Trustees meeting be approved.  Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. 
           
            PUBLIC COMMENTS:
 
             There were no public comments.
 
            PRESIDENT FINN'S COMMENTS
 
            President Finn stated that he would go over the Homefield Energy contract with the board members since Reg Ankrom from Simec did not show up.   President Finn suggested that the village stay with Homefield Energy because it is only a two year contract and they would automatically give the village the lower rate.  The board members looked over the contract but could not find where it stated that the rate will be automatically lowered if it goes down.  Trustee Catron motioned that the board approve and authorize the Village Board President to sign the Aggregation Program Agreement as presented subject to modification of the language to provide for the pricing to default to the lower of the published rate of Ameren Power or the contract bid prize.  The President is authorized to agree to contract modification language in consultation with the Village Attorney.   Trustee Arrasmith seconded the motion.  The motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
           
             ATTORNEY MILLER'S COMMENTS:
 
            Attorney Miller stated that there will need to be a public hearing either before or during the next board meeting in order to vote on amending the zoning ordinance not to allow Conex Storage Containers in the village.  It was decided that the public hearing will be at the beginning of the next monthly board meeting at 7pm on December 2nd.  The notice of the public hearing will be published in the newspaper and in the village office.
            Attorney Miller then explained what the Tax Levy Ordinance was for.   To calculate the tax levy, municipal officials must determine the amount needed to fund services and the amount available from various revenue sources. The difference must be raised through property taxes and this amount is the tax levy.  The amounts levied are based on the potential expenditure requirements as expressed in the current fiscal year's appropriation ordinance.  Trustee Schluter motioned to approve Tax Levy Ordinance #2109-08.  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion.  The motion was approved with all ayes on a roll call vote.  Attorney Miller will file a copy with Champaign County and send a confirmation to Village Clerk Fish. 
 
            JARIN WILSEY’S REPORT
 
            Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey reported that the map that was done of the storm drains for the village was incorrect and that he will need to hold off fixing the tile work in front of Keller Automotive until he does more investigating. 
 
            FINANCE REPORT
 
            The financial reports were read by Trustee Catron.  Trustee Catron moved that the bills be paid with the addition of $4,860 to Gulliford Sewer Services. Trustee Bickers seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
            Trustee Catron then brought up the issue with trustees pay being confusing.  Some trustees receive paper checks and some receive direct deposit.  Trustee Catron stated it would be best if all of the trustees received their pay in the same manner.  He then asked what the trustees preferred and they stated paper checks would be fine.  Trustee Catron made a motion for all of the trustees to receive paper paychecks from now on.  Trustee Harris seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.  
            Trustee Catron also made a motion that he would like Royal Bookkeeping Services to issue the paychecks themselves every six months and mail them directly from there to avoid any confusion with trustee pay.  Trustee Bickers seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
 
            STREETS AND ALLEY
 
            Trustee Gadeken reported that he and Village Maintenance Employee Jarin Wilsey spent two and half hours going around the village inspecting broken street signs.  He stated that almost every single sign in town is either crooked or broken.  Trustee Gadeken motioned that the board approve $3,000 for street sign repairs.  Trustee Bickers seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. 
 
            WATER/SEWER/UTILITY
 
            Trustee Harris was not able to read the monthly usage reports since we have no one who is licensed to do so.  
            $31,143.35 was received in October.  100 penalty bills were sent.  $31,632.17 was billed in October to 535 customers.
                       
            PUBLIC PROPERTY
 
            Robert Tincher was present to discuss his proposal to allow Hillside Development to be project manager for the new Sidney Village Hall project.  He has quotes for everything they’ve designed.  MG2A for $12,000 to do the surveying-with a total of $1800 which includes landscaping; $204,312 for the excavation of the site and other site work; $604,448 for the building systems; and a $74,500 for project management costs.  Total proposal cost of $901,267.00 for the project.  Trustee Bickers made a motion to hire Hillside Development as project manager for the new Sidney Village Hall project.  Trustee Arrasmith seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. 
            Trustee Arrasmith then motioned for the board to approve $1,025 to JT’s Tree Service to remove a decaying tree and grind the stump at 208 South Scarborough St.  Trustee Bickers seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
           
            PARKS AND RECREATION
 
            Trustee Bickers motioned for the board to approve $1,000 for a tree removal at Witt Park.  Trustee Arrasmith seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
            Trustee Bickers then reported that Illini Fence had completed their work at Witt Park and that the no pets allowed on the ballfields and the park rules signs be put up.  He also stated the shed at Witt Park will also need to be cleaned out and maintenance completed on the lawn mowers.  He stated that he was also looking into possibly putting up cameras or installing lights there as teenagers have been doing doughnuts in the parking lot after the park is closed.
            Trustee Bickers then stated that the bench at Victory Park will need be taken out and reset.
 
            COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
 
            Trustee Schluter reported that no change had been made to the village’s trick or treating hours on Halloween due to the weather and that a lot of kids still came out. 
            He also stated that he posted about the village’s fall brush and limb pickup which is this week, November 4th-8th. 
 
Trustee Bickers motioned at 8:31p.m. that the board move into executive session for the limited purposes of discussing the employment, performance and/or compensation of a village employee pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2 (c)(1).  Trustee Arrasmith seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.  
 
The Board came out of closed session at 9:21p.m.  Trustee Bickers motioned to offer Village Maintenance Employee Jarin Wilsey the hourly pay of $20.19 with benefits and $22.19 without benefits.  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
 
            Trustee Catron moved that the meeting be adjourned at 9:26pm.  Trustee Arrasmith seconded the motion. The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. 
           
 
           
           
 
 
__________________________                    _________________________
Maggie Fish, Village Clerk                            Date approved

     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 Finn
called the meeting to order. The following trustees were present: Arrasmith, Harris,
Catron, Gadeken, Bickers and Schluter. Clerk Fish, Treasurer Reinhart, Attorney Miller
and Village Maintenance employee Jarin Wilsey were also present.
Trustee Schluter moved that the minutes of the September 9th, 2019 regular and
closed sessions of the Board of Trustees meeting be approved with the change being
made that Trustee Arrasmith was not abstaining from voting on the Sidney Social Club,
LLC liquor license, but that he was absent on an emergency call. Trustee Arrasmith
seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.

PUBLIC COMMENTS:

Mike Roy from the Sidney Improvement Group discussed plans for the holiday
season. There will be a community Christmas tree lighting, the American Legion will be
doing a chili supper, and they will be offering free hayrack rides this year instead of horse
carriage rides on the evening of Friday, December 6 th . Breakfast with Santa will be on
Saturday morning, December 7 th at the Sidney United Church. They are still trying to
finalize plans for a shop at home event on Saturday, December 7 th in downtown Sidney.
Trustee Harris stated that he has had questions asked about having a community
recycling program. President Finn had stated that they had offered this in the past and
residents did not use it as it was intended. It was concluded that it would not be a good
idea to offer it again.

PRESIDENT FINNS COMMENTS

President Finn stated that the residents that had been sent letters to clean up their
properties were slowly cleaning them up so Attorney Miller will just let them sit for now.
Trustee Schluter made a motion to set this years Halloween trick or treating hours
from 5-8pm. Trustee Bickers seconded the motion. The motion passed with all ayes on a
roll call vote.
The board then discussed when the fall limb pickup dates would be. It was
decided that it would be the first week of November; the 4 th -8 th .
President Finn then asked resident Jim Henry to discuss his plans to erect ConEx
storage containers on his property. Mr. Henry explained to the board what ConEx
containers are and then showed pictures of various finished products using the containers.
He stated that he would eventually be constructing his to use as a garage. There is
nothing currently in our ordinance that states that they are not allowed. The board had a
very lengthy discussion as to whether or not these should be allowed on resident’s
properties. They concluded that they do not want to allow ConEx storage containers.
Attorney Miller will work on amending the current ordinance to further describe what
constitutes a permanent structure, making sure the correct verbiage details that they will
not be allowed.
President Finn then stated that village maintenance worker Jarin Wilsey will need
his own debit card and be added as a signer to the General Fund account #40584. The
board decided that the debit card will have a $500 daily limit.

ATTORNEY MILLERS COMMENTS:

Attorney Miller did not have any comments.

JARIN WILSEY’S REPORT

Village maintenance employee Wilsey reported that the planter in front of the post
office that was broken by accident has been taken care of.
Matt White from Illinois American Water was present to discuss and answer
questions regarding contracting with them to handle meter readings, water sampling, and
any maintenance issues until the final sale goes through. Trustee Catron made a motion
to approve the contract with Illinois American Water. Trustee Bickers seconded the
motion. The motion passed with all ayes following a roll call vote.
Village maintenance employee Wilsey then told the board he would like to rent a
boom mower for a few days to clear the weeds around the creek. The board stated that
was fine.

FINANCE REPORT

The financial reports were read by Trustee Catron. Trustee Catron moved that the
bills be paid with the addition of $980 to Schoonover Sewer Service, $1716 to Royal
Bookkeeping Service and $40.30 to the Journal. Trustee Harris seconded the motion.
The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
It was then reported that the audit went well for the previous fiscal year with no
complications.
Trustee Catron then made a motion to increase the Trustee discretionary spending
limit to $2,500 monthly adding that all receipts will need to be presented to the board.
Trustee Bickers seconded the motion. The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call
vote.
Trustee Catron then asked Clerk Fish and village maintenance employee Wilsey
to report on what they learned at the IML Conference. Village maintenance employee
Wilsey stated that he learned a lot about code enforcement. Clerk Fish stated that she had
learned a lot regarding FOIA and had also completed her FOIA and OMA training
through the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. She also stated that all of the board
members will also need to complete their OMA training through the Illinois Attorney
General’s website and passed out information regarding how to do that.
Trustee Catron then discussed the plans for the new village hall. They looked
correct. President Finn stated that he would like to make sure that the new building has a
generator system and if possible, an enclosed bus stop for school children.

President Finn then stated that he would be replacing Trustee Catron with Trustee
Gadeken on the village hall committee due to other commitments of Trustee Catron.

STREETS AND ALLEY

Trustee Gadeken reported that he and village maintenance employee Wilsey will
be straightening crooked street signs around town and also replacing broken street signs.

WATER/SEWER/UTILITY

Trustee Harris was not able to read the monthly usage reports since we have no
one who is licensed to do so.
$32,780.44 was received in September. 167 penalty bills were sent. $31,632.17
was billed in September to 534 customers.
It was decided that Clerk Fish will wait a few days past the due date for the bills
before sending out the penalty bills so that she receives everything from the bank before
doing so.
Trustee Harris reported that Schoonover Sewer Service could not provide the
services that they originally stated they could and they also did not inform village
maintenance employee Wilsey when they came to empty the septic tanks downtown so he
will be finding a new provider for those services.
Trustee Harris also made a motion for the board to allow up to $10,000 to clean
out the catch basins around the village. Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion. The
motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.

PUBLIC PROPERTY

Trustee Arrasmith made a motion to approve a new contract with ESDA. He
stated that there were no changes to it from the previous year. Trustee Schluter seconded
the motion. The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
Trustee Arrasmith then stated that there was one fence permit issued for $50 for a
resident on White street.

PARKS AND RECREATION

Trustee Bickers reported that there were signs inside the concession stand that will
need to be put up at Witt Park once the fence is repaired.
He also stated that he would like a tree removed at Witt Park to be placed on next
month’s agenda.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Trustee Schluter did not have any comments.

NEW AND OLD BUSINESS
​
President Finn stated that he will be replacing light bulbs in the village’s marquis
sign.
Trustee Arrasmith motioned that the meeting be adjourned. Trustee Schluter
seconded the motion. The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. The meeting
was adjourned at 8:40pm.

​            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 Finn called the meeting to order. The following trustees were present:  Arrasmith, Harris, Catron, Gadeken, Bickers and Schluter.  Clerk Fish, Treasurer Reinhart, and Village Maintenance employee Jarin Wilsey were also present.  Attorney Miller was absent.
            Trustee Schluter moved that the minutes of the August 5, 2019 regular meeting of the Board of Trustees be approved.  Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. 
           
            PUBLIC COMMENTS:
 
             Zebo Zebe, local realtor, requested the board’s approval to annex a 1 acre tract off of the Kropp property located at 510 Witt Park Road.  President Finn asked if there were any objections from the board members.  There were no objections since it was not being rezoned.  Trustee Bickers made a motion to approve with Trustee Schluter seconding the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.  Attorney Miller will draw up a letter stating that the board approved.  Trustee Catron wanted to make sure that the buyer will be charged for that service and not the Village.
            Anthony Bamert submitted an application for a Class A liquor license for his business, The Sidney Social Hall, LLC located at 219 South David Street.   He would like to do a more upscale meeting place that would serve mainly local craft beers and local wines.  He will not be serving food but may have food trucks providing food from time to time.  He might also provide outdoor patio space for patrons behind the building that would be fenced off.  He is also wanting to be respectful of the patrons and the times that the neighboring building, The Sidney Community Library, will be open.  Gaming will be available.  Trustee Schluter made the motion to approve that Liquor Commissioner Finn issue a Class A liquor license for The Sidney Social Hall, LLC.  Trustee Harris seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll vote with Trustee Arrasmith abstaining from voting.   
            Alex Moore approached the board regarding his desire to purchase the property West of Casey’s General Store (the Tin Cup property).  He is in the very early stages of planning but alluded to the fact that he might possibly need a liquor license as well and would possibly be having food catered in also.  The board wished him well in his endeavor and stated that it’s too early in the planning stages for them to provide any input in this matter. 
            Zebo Zebe also stated that he will be putting up the property for sale located at 214 South David Street (Bues Accounting) soon if anyone is interested or knows any interested parties.
 
           
 
PRESIDENT FINN'S COMMENTS
 
            President Finn reported that he and Jarin Wilsey will be meeting with Dave Traxler, village maintenance with the Village of Philo, to see about possibly contracting out his services for the Village of Sidney to continue to provide water services and complete the necessary water sampling until Illinois American Water takes over.   
President Finn then asked the board members if they were familiar with ConEx storage containers.  They are temporary storage containers residents can put in their yards, for example, if they are moving and need extra storage.  He then asked how the Village should handle allowing them on resident’s properties. Some of the questions President Finn had were: should the resident need to obtain a permit to have one in their yard?  Is it considered a structure and therefore fall under the proper ordinance for structures?  Does the Village even want to allow them at all?  If the Village does allow them, do we want a 30 day time limit that they can be on the property?  It was decided that the Village Clerk will email all the board members of copy of the current ordinance we have in place regarding structures.  They will review it and decide if a new ordinance needs to be drafted to include temporary storage containers. 
            President Finn then brought up a fallen tree in an alleyway that is not considered village property.  Clerk Fish will draft a letter to the resident asking them to remove it. 
            President Finn then asked for the approval of the Village Truck Route Ordinance #2019-06 regarding the direction of the truck routes since Attorney Miller was absent.  It was found to have a mistake as it stated no trucks over 50,000 pounds would be allowed on certain roads; it should have stated no trucks over 10,000 pounds would be allowed.  Trustee Gadeken made a motion to approve the Village Truck Route Ordinance #2019-06 with this amendment.  Trustee Catron seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. 
            President Finn then asked the board for approval of the Cost Sharing Agreement Between the Village of Sidney and Premier Cooperative, Inc. ordinance #2019-07.  Trustee Arrasmith made a motion to approve ordinance #2019-07.  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
            President Finn then asked the board for approval of  Resolution #2019-02 authorizing the Champaign County HMP Project Manager to act as a representative for the Village of Sidney regarding the Hazard Mitigation Program for Champaign County.  Trustee Catron made a motion to approve resolution #2019-02.  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.           
           
             ATTORNEY MILLER'S COMMENTS:
 
            Attorney Miller was absent.
 
            JARIN WILSEY’S REPORT
 
            Village Maintenance employee Wilsey reported that there has been a lot of trash left outside of the Sidney Saloon in the mornings and that he does not believe that it is the village’s responsibility to be cleaning it up.  Clerk Fish will draft a letter to them advising that they need to start cleaning up the trash or they will be fined.   
           
            FINANCE REPORT
 
            The financial reports were read by Trustee Catron.  Trustee Catron moved that the bills be paid with the addition of $85.35 to Caseys, $59.40 to the Journal Star, and $150 to Simplified Computers. Trustee Harris seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
           
            STREETS AND ALLEY
 
            Trustee Gadeken reported that the new truck route signs have been ordered and will be placed accordingly.  He also stated that part of the road on Wilsey Dr was raised and had issues.  Village Maintenance employee Jarin Wilsey will fix it.
 
           
 
WATER/SEWER/UTILITY
 
            Trustee Harris was not able to read the monthly usage reports for the water as Supervisor Bennett is no longer with us.   
            $28,972.53 was received in August.  143 penalty bills were sent.  $29,953.16 was billed in August to 537 customers.
            Trustee Harris also made a motion for the board to allow up to $5,000 to have the water lines televised and scoped to find obstructions.  Trustee Catron seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
           
            PUBLIC PROPERTY
 
            Trustee Arrasmith received two bids for tree removal.  JT’s Tree Service was awarded the bid for the actual removal of the trees at $17,000.  Little Bear Hauling was awarded the stump grinding bid at $4,470.  There were no permits issued, nor a report for ESDA.
           
            PARKS AND RECREATION
 
            Trustee Bickers reported that the fence at Lions Club Park was completed and that the backstop for the t-ball field at the old school lot was also erected.  Trustee Bickers then motioned that the board approve an additional $350 to add 20 feet of 4 foot tall fencing on the South side of the t-ball field to help protect the children.  Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
            Trustee Bickers then reported that soccer goals are coming for the old school lot.  He also reported that the Philo/Sidney Ball Gun Raffle fundraiser raised $6,500.   
 
           
           
 
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
 
            Trustee Schluter handed out a letter from Attorney Miller regarding the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act.  He highlighted a few key points, such as, to not use personal email addresses when discussing village business.  He also stated that it was against the regulations of the Open Meetings Act for three or more board members to discuss village business outside of a public meeting.  Trustee Schluter reminded the board members to be cognizant of that fact.             
            Trustee Schluter then stated that he had posted the annual audit on the village website and that he was waiting to post about the truck routes until after this meeting.
            Trustee Catron also added that there is online FOIA training at http://foia.ilattorneygeneral.net/.
 
            Trustee Bickers moved that the board go into Executive Session pursuant to 5ILCS 120/2 (c)(1) to discuss village employees.  Trustee Harris seconded the motion; motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. The board went into Executive Session at 8:32pm.
 
The board came out of Executive Session at 9:13pm.  It was decided that Resolution #2019-03 was to be tabled for the time being.  It was also decided that additional help will be hired on an as needed basis for Village Maintenance employee Jarin Wilsey and that any work that the board needs employee Wilsey to undertake will be funneled through President Finn first. 
 
Trustee Arrasmith motioned that the meeting be adjourned.  Trustee Bickers seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.  The meeting was adjourned at 9:16pm.
           
           
 
 
__________________________                    _________________________
Maggie Fish, Village Clerk                            Date approved

​            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 Finn called the meeting to order. The following trustees were present:  Arrasmith, Harris, Catron, Gadeken, Bickers and Schluter.  Attorney Miller, Clerk Fish, Treasurer Reinhart,  and Supervisor of Operations Bennett were also present.
            Trustee Catron moved that the minutes of the June 3, 2019 regular meeting of the Board of Trustees be approved.  Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. 
           
            PUBLIC COMMENTS:
 
            Residents Candace Galbreath and Mathew Laurent both raised concerns regarding their high water bills stating that they did not believe they had used so much water since the last bill.  It was decided to waive the $75.00 fee to do additional testing of their meters.  (Update:  Supervisor Bennett did tests at both properties, the Galbreath's meter was okay and she was in agreement with Supervisor Bennett that it was.  It was determined that it could not be concluded why Mr. Laurent's reading was so high.  The Village credited his bill to reflect his normal water usage per Supervisor Bennett.)
            Resident Susan McLane asked the board if it would be okay if some members of the Sidney American Legion could weed, plant and spruce up the front of the community building (where the American Legion is also located) in preparation for Our Town Sidney on July 19th.  The Village Board said that was okay and thanked her. 
            Sidney Improvement Group President Mike Roy reported that plans for Our Town Sidney on July 19th were completed.  He then asked the Village for a donation towards this year's Sidney Fun Daze.  He was told that a donation will be forthcoming, however, they could not vote on it at that meeting because it was not on the agenda.  It will be added to the next meeting agenda.  Trustee Catron then added that they were looking into renting a outdoor movie screen for the evening of Our Town Sidney, but stated it was more costly than first thought.  The company is wanting to charge $775; he will look further into this to see if it's feasible.            
 
            PRESIDENT FINN'S COMMENTS
 
            President Finn reported that Attorney Miller will send out updated letters regarding the abandoned property, house with the garbage and mowing letters thanking them for the work that has been completed and adding any additional maintenance that needs to still be completed.   
            The yard at 311 S. Harrison had been mowed by the Village and the bill was sent to the property owner.  The property owner has since mowed the lawn themselves.
            A letter was sent to 203 S. David about mowing the lot behind their property.  The property owners did mow the lot.
            President Finn will take pictures of the property at 108 W. Byron and forward them to Attorney Miller so he can take the next step in the process of moving forward with the litigation. 
            The owner of the property located at 406 E. Byron has been cleaning up their yard after President Finn spoke with them.
            A letter needs to be sent to 313 E. Byron regarding removing a pool that has been sitting in the backyard of an abandoned property for the past 6 or 7 years.  Clerk Fish will take care of this. 
           
             ATTORNEY MILLER'S COMMENTS:
 
            Attorney Miller did not have any comments.
 
             EARL BENNETT'S REPORT
 
            Supervisor Bennett reported that the oil and chipping of the Village roads had been completed for the year.  They had 2 water leaks in the past 3 weeks; one at 10 Dunlap Woods and the other at 206 E. Byron.  The Consumer Confidence Credit report for the year had also been completed. 
           
            FINANCE REPORT
 
            The financial reports were read by Trustee Catron.  Trustee Catron moved that the bills be paid with the addition of  $1100 paid to Miller and Hendren, for attorney services rendered, $12.30 to Fertilizer Dealer Supply for water quality sample kits, JT's Tree Service in the amount of $3400 for a city tree that fell onto a house at 112 W. Byron, $150 to Jim Nonman for bush mowing the property at 311 S. Harrison, and also reimbursing Trustee Gadeken for purchasing new truck route compliance signs; Trustee Harris seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
            Trustee Catron and Trustee Arrasmith (village hall committee members) met with Robert Tincher of Hillside Development Group to discuss revising the current floor plans for the new village hall.  They came up with an overall floor plan that flowed better, streamlined the mechanical areas, made the east side entrance of the building smaller, widened the awning on the outside of the building, allowed for a larger village clerk's office, as well as adding an office for President Finn. Trustee Catron made a motion to hire architect Jeff Jarvis to prepare a billable set of blueprints for the new building (it would not include any outdoor space) at a cost of $6,000.  Trustee Harris seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. 
           
            STREETS AND ALLEY
 
            Trustee Gadeken reported that the designated truck route signs along 900 and Sunset roads had been removed and that new signs with the 5 ton weight limit on them had been ordered. Supervisor Bennett asked if a new city ordinance needed to be approved to change the designation of the truck route.  Attorney Miller stated that he will prepare a new no truck route ordinance (19-06) for the Village Board to consider at the next board meeting.   
 
           
 
WATER/SEWER/UTILITY
 
            Trustee Harris read the water reports. 2,728,315 gallons of water were pumped in May with a daily average of 90,944 gallons.
            $32,157.57 was received in June.  98 penalty bills were sent.  $36,418.08 was billed in July to 538 customers.
            Trustee Harris also stated that he needs the list of drains to be repaired.  Supervisor Bennett reported that he is working on the list and that most of them have been camera scoped already. 
           
            PUBLIC PROPERTY
 
            Trustee Arrasmith reported that there are 28 trees on the list for removal.  He will put those out to bid for the board to vote on at the next meeting.  Trustee Catron wanted to be sure that a few trees at Lions Club Park were on the list and that the trees be removed before repairs are made to the fence.  There were no permits issued, nor a report for ESDA.
           
            PARKS AND RECREATION
 
            Trustee Bickers reported that there was no update on acquiring playground equipment for the parks yet.  He also received bids for a back stop for a t-ball sized practice field to be placed at the southwest corner of the old school lot.  He also received estimates for repairing fencing and gates at Lions Club and Witt Parks.  Trustee Bickers then motioned that the board approve $18,000 for said park repairs.  Trustee Harris seconded the motion.  The motion carried with all ayes.    
 
           
            COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
 
            Trustee Schluter reported that the Consumer Confidence Water Quality Report prepared by the Farnsworth Group had been posted on the Village of Sidney website along with monthly meeting agendas and minutes.
 
            Trustee Arrasmith moved that the meeting be adjourned.  Trustee Bickers seconded the motion; motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote. Meeting was adjourned at 8:04 p.m.