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: Bickers, Gadeken, Harris, Schluter, Laurent, and Hooker. Clerk Fish, Treasurer Reinhart, and Attorney Miller were also present.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
The meeting was live streamed from the Village’s Facebook page and public comments were taken in person. Resident Scott Rhoton began the public comment section with a discussion regarding having a dog park in town. The Village was possibly looking at an area North of David Street close to his residence. He brought up the fact that people would be parking on the street and that it could obstruct garbage trucks and other utility vehicles, ambulances, etc. If the Village erected a fence in these areas for a dog park, they would have restricted access for creek maintenance and also for removing dead trees in the Village. He also stated that it could create a problem with garbage that people leave in the area. He was also very concerned with how it might adversely affect property values in the neighborhood.
Carson Willard then approached the board with an update on his Eagle Scout project. He stated that it was completed and thanked the Village for allowing him to do his project. The board thanked him for the great work he did on the Village sign.
Residents John Finn and Trent Bennett then approached the board regarding Trent’s boat being parked in an “abandoned alley” in the Village. A neighbor had complained that his boat was blocking access to an alley and illegally parked. After much discussion, the board decided that it was a “dead” alleyway, no longer maintained by or used by the Village and that it was fine as long as he was willing to accept the fact that there may be damage to his boat if there were some kind of emergency and the utility companies needed to get back there.
Haley McConaha then approached the board regarding either fixing or removing the wheelchair swing at Victory Park. It’s always broken and kids play on it incorrectly causing more damage. Trustee Laurent assured her the board would look into the best option.
PRESIDENT ARRASMITH’S COMMENTS
President Arrasmith asked for a motion to approve the minutes for the regular session of the September 8, 2020 meeting. Trustee Bickers moved that the minutes of the regular session of the September 8th meeting be approved. Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then asked Brad and Ryan Mumm to approach the board with the survey they had completed showing how their property would be divided up. Attorney Miller advised the board that if they allowed the property to be divided up, the Village would be waiving the right to force them to annex into the Village or be subjected to the subdivision ordinance to create streets and sidewalks in the new development. Trustee Bickers made a motion to approve the plat of survey as presented, waive the application of the Village subdivision ordinance, waive the Village’s extraterritorial jurisdiction over the property division, and authorize the Village Board President to provide a letter confirming same. Trustee Schluter seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then asked for a discussion regarding the proposed ordinance allowing chickens within the Village limits. Resident Haley McConaha approached the board (as part of public comments) to advise the board that it would not be a good idea to allow chickens within Village limits. She has a neighbor who currently has chickens and they crow at all hours of the night and day. She stated that roosters are not the only ones who crow, but hens also crow when they are laying eggs. She also stated that Champaign currently allows a limit of six chickens and that each chicken should have four square feet in a coop; so that would mean people’s coops would need to be at least twenty four square feet in area to accommodate them. How would the Village make sure the coops are big enough, and that they are being properly cleaned and maintained? President Arrasmith did inform Ms. McConaha that Champaign County Animal Control would be the ones in charge of that. She also stated that chickens attract raccoons and coyotes. Ms. McConaha left and the board began discussing whether or not to allow chickens within Village limits.
Trustee Schluter stated that he has had about 6-10 residents contact him asking him not to pass the chicken ordinance but has heard from zero residents in favor of having chickens; he thinks the board should vote how the majority of residents want. Trustee Hooker stated that she has had neighbors that have had chickens before and they were dirty and loud. Trustee Harris stated that he was concerned how it would affect property values in the Village; would people want to buy a house if their neighbors had chickens? After much discussion, the board was ready for a vote. Trustee Harris made a motion to approve Ordinance #2020-14 Amending Article V Section 175 of the Code of Ordinances of the Village of Sidney Illinois in Connection with the Regulation of Domestic Chicken Hens within the Village of Sidney. This ordinance would PROHIBIT allowing chickens within the Village limits. Trustee Schluter seconded the motion. The votes were as follows: Trustees Harris, Schluter and Hooker voted aye to prohibit chickens while Trustees Bickers, Gadeken, and Harris voted nay. President Arrasmith broke the tie vote with an aye vote. Chickens will NOT be allowed within Village limits.
President Arrasmith then stated that he received prices for a few different blind designs for the new Village hall from The Blind Man and had the board members review them to decide which ones they want to purchase. Trustee Laurent made a motion to purchase the roll up cloth blinds at a cost of $2,020. Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then brought up that we need to hire a fire alarm monitoring company for the new Village hall. We received a quote from Protection Associates for $45 per month which is the company that installed it. We also received a quote from FE Moran for a fee of $275 to install their own box and then $55 per month monitoring fee. Trustee Harris made a motion to hire Protection Associates at a cost of $45 per month. Trustee Laurent seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
Clerk Fish then asked the board if we could purchase an Ipad for the Village’s use to stream the meetings on Facebook Live and a square reader to be able to take credit card payments for the rental space for the new Village hall. Trustee Laurent made a motion to approve up to $1,000 to purchase an Ipad and a Square reader for the Village.
President Arrasmith then said that the Village needs to set Halloween Trick or Treating hours for this year. The board decided that Trick or Treating hours would be from 5-8pm on Halloween. Trustee Laurent also made a motion to make the Trick or Treating hours from 5-8pm for every Halloween moving forward. Trustee Bickers seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
ATTORNEY MILLER’S COMMENTS
Attorney Miller did not have any comments.
JARIN WILSEY’S COMMENTS
Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey was absent.
FINANCE REPORT
The financial reports were read by Trustee Hooker. Trustee Hooker made a motion to pay the bills with the addition of $14.59 to Illini Contractor Supply. Trustee Bickers seconded the motion. The motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
Trustee Hooker then began discussing the 7 day CD that the Village currently has with Longview Bank. She stated that the board would get a better interest rate with a longer term. She went through the different options. Trustee Laurent made a motion to transfer the 7 day CD into a 1 year CD. Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
STREETS AND ALLEY
Trustee Gadeken reported that he had received two bids to mow the abandoned properties in the village on Byron and Water Tower Place. The first bid was from Outdoor Services in the amount of $3,300. The second bid was from Top Notch for $3,900. Trustee Gadeken made a motion to hire Outdoor Services to mow the properties for $3,300. Trustee Laurent seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
Trustee Gadeken then stated that he would like to make the intersection of White and Victory and also the intersection of Byron and White 4 way stops. Attorney Miller will create ordinances for these to be voted on at the next Village Board meeting.
WATER/SEWER/UTILITY
Trustee Harris reported that he had gotten bids to repair the drain by the new Village Hall building. He received a bid from Davis-Houk for $7,148.66 and one from Fenter Machinery for $3,700. Trustee Harris made a motion to hire Fenter Machinery at a cost of $3,700 to repair the drain. Trustee Laurent seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
Trustee Harris then began discussing purchasing a Vermeer machine for the Village. It would do everything that we hire other companies out to do for us so it would pay for itself in a few years time. Trustee Laurent had a question regarding cost of maintenance for the Vermeer machine; he had heard it was very expensive. Trustee Harris did not know how much maintenance for it would be. Trustee Bickers wondered if Sidney Township would be interested in going in with the Village to purchase one. Trustee Harris stated he would talk to Tim Ostebur about it.
PUBLIC PROPERTY
Trustee Bickers reported that there were no permits issued. He had also received a request from two members of the Sweet Adeline singing group to see if they could use the new Village Hall to practice in every other Tuesday evening. The board discussed it and said that would be fine.
PARKS AND RECREATION
Trustee Laurent stated that he doesn’t believe enough residents are truly interested in having a dog park to assume the cost and liability of having one, but he will continue to look into the possibility of having one. He did have a resident ask if she could allow her dog on the Witt Park ball fields in the off baseball season, however, the board members stated that it still not allowed.
Trustee Laurent then stated that he has footage of kids doing doughnuts on golf carts out at Witt Park. The board members advised contacting the sheriff if this continues.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Trustee Schluter reported that he was able to save the Village $1,541.89 by getting the tables and chairs for the banquet room at different places. He was able to purchase 160 chairs, 20 tables, carts to store them in and 4 eight foot long tables for $7,613.07. Trustee Schluter then thanked Trustees Gadeken, Bickers, and President Arrasmith for helping him put the carts together for the tables and chairs.
Trustee Schluter then stated that the website is current with Trustee Hookers information.
Trustee Harris stated that Fenter Machinery was able to fix four drains for the Village at a lower cost of $35,000 under New Business.
Trustee Laurent made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:37p.m. Trustee Bickers seconded the motion. The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
The meeting was live streamed from the Village’s Facebook page and public comments were taken in person. Resident Scott Rhoton began the public comment section with a discussion regarding having a dog park in town. The Village was possibly looking at an area North of David Street close to his residence. He brought up the fact that people would be parking on the street and that it could obstruct garbage trucks and other utility vehicles, ambulances, etc. If the Village erected a fence in these areas for a dog park, they would have restricted access for creek maintenance and also for removing dead trees in the Village. He also stated that it could create a problem with garbage that people leave in the area. He was also very concerned with how it might adversely affect property values in the neighborhood.
Carson Willard then approached the board with an update on his Eagle Scout project. He stated that it was completed and thanked the Village for allowing him to do his project. The board thanked him for the great work he did on the Village sign.
Residents John Finn and Trent Bennett then approached the board regarding Trent’s boat being parked in an “abandoned alley” in the Village. A neighbor had complained that his boat was blocking access to an alley and illegally parked. After much discussion, the board decided that it was a “dead” alleyway, no longer maintained by or used by the Village and that it was fine as long as he was willing to accept the fact that there may be damage to his boat if there were some kind of emergency and the utility companies needed to get back there.
Haley McConaha then approached the board regarding either fixing or removing the wheelchair swing at Victory Park. It’s always broken and kids play on it incorrectly causing more damage. Trustee Laurent assured her the board would look into the best option.
PRESIDENT ARRASMITH’S COMMENTS
President Arrasmith asked for a motion to approve the minutes for the regular session of the September 8, 2020 meeting. Trustee Bickers moved that the minutes of the regular session of the September 8th meeting be approved. Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion; the motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then asked Brad and Ryan Mumm to approach the board with the survey they had completed showing how their property would be divided up. Attorney Miller advised the board that if they allowed the property to be divided up, the Village would be waiving the right to force them to annex into the Village or be subjected to the subdivision ordinance to create streets and sidewalks in the new development. Trustee Bickers made a motion to approve the plat of survey as presented, waive the application of the Village subdivision ordinance, waive the Village’s extraterritorial jurisdiction over the property division, and authorize the Village Board President to provide a letter confirming same. Trustee Schluter seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then asked for a discussion regarding the proposed ordinance allowing chickens within the Village limits. Resident Haley McConaha approached the board (as part of public comments) to advise the board that it would not be a good idea to allow chickens within Village limits. She has a neighbor who currently has chickens and they crow at all hours of the night and day. She stated that roosters are not the only ones who crow, but hens also crow when they are laying eggs. She also stated that Champaign currently allows a limit of six chickens and that each chicken should have four square feet in a coop; so that would mean people’s coops would need to be at least twenty four square feet in area to accommodate them. How would the Village make sure the coops are big enough, and that they are being properly cleaned and maintained? President Arrasmith did inform Ms. McConaha that Champaign County Animal Control would be the ones in charge of that. She also stated that chickens attract raccoons and coyotes. Ms. McConaha left and the board began discussing whether or not to allow chickens within Village limits.
Trustee Schluter stated that he has had about 6-10 residents contact him asking him not to pass the chicken ordinance but has heard from zero residents in favor of having chickens; he thinks the board should vote how the majority of residents want. Trustee Hooker stated that she has had neighbors that have had chickens before and they were dirty and loud. Trustee Harris stated that he was concerned how it would affect property values in the Village; would people want to buy a house if their neighbors had chickens? After much discussion, the board was ready for a vote. Trustee Harris made a motion to approve Ordinance #2020-14 Amending Article V Section 175 of the Code of Ordinances of the Village of Sidney Illinois in Connection with the Regulation of Domestic Chicken Hens within the Village of Sidney. This ordinance would PROHIBIT allowing chickens within the Village limits. Trustee Schluter seconded the motion. The votes were as follows: Trustees Harris, Schluter and Hooker voted aye to prohibit chickens while Trustees Bickers, Gadeken, and Harris voted nay. President Arrasmith broke the tie vote with an aye vote. Chickens will NOT be allowed within Village limits.
President Arrasmith then stated that he received prices for a few different blind designs for the new Village hall from The Blind Man and had the board members review them to decide which ones they want to purchase. Trustee Laurent made a motion to purchase the roll up cloth blinds at a cost of $2,020. Trustee Harris seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
President Arrasmith then brought up that we need to hire a fire alarm monitoring company for the new Village hall. We received a quote from Protection Associates for $45 per month which is the company that installed it. We also received a quote from FE Moran for a fee of $275 to install their own box and then $55 per month monitoring fee. Trustee Harris made a motion to hire Protection Associates at a cost of $45 per month. Trustee Laurent seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
Clerk Fish then asked the board if we could purchase an Ipad for the Village’s use to stream the meetings on Facebook Live and a square reader to be able to take credit card payments for the rental space for the new Village hall. Trustee Laurent made a motion to approve up to $1,000 to purchase an Ipad and a Square reader for the Village.
President Arrasmith then said that the Village needs to set Halloween Trick or Treating hours for this year. The board decided that Trick or Treating hours would be from 5-8pm on Halloween. Trustee Laurent also made a motion to make the Trick or Treating hours from 5-8pm for every Halloween moving forward. Trustee Bickers seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
ATTORNEY MILLER’S COMMENTS
Attorney Miller did not have any comments.
JARIN WILSEY’S COMMENTS
Village Maintenance Employee Wilsey was absent.
FINANCE REPORT
The financial reports were read by Trustee Hooker. Trustee Hooker made a motion to pay the bills with the addition of $14.59 to Illini Contractor Supply. Trustee Bickers seconded the motion. The motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
Trustee Hooker then began discussing the 7 day CD that the Village currently has with Longview Bank. She stated that the board would get a better interest rate with a longer term. She went through the different options. Trustee Laurent made a motion to transfer the 7 day CD into a 1 year CD. Trustee Gadeken seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
STREETS AND ALLEY
Trustee Gadeken reported that he had received two bids to mow the abandoned properties in the village on Byron and Water Tower Place. The first bid was from Outdoor Services in the amount of $3,300. The second bid was from Top Notch for $3,900. Trustee Gadeken made a motion to hire Outdoor Services to mow the properties for $3,300. Trustee Laurent seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
Trustee Gadeken then stated that he would like to make the intersection of White and Victory and also the intersection of Byron and White 4 way stops. Attorney Miller will create ordinances for these to be voted on at the next Village Board meeting.
WATER/SEWER/UTILITY
Trustee Harris reported that he had gotten bids to repair the drain by the new Village Hall building. He received a bid from Davis-Houk for $7,148.66 and one from Fenter Machinery for $3,700. Trustee Harris made a motion to hire Fenter Machinery at a cost of $3,700 to repair the drain. Trustee Laurent seconded the motion; the motion passed with all ayes on a roll call vote.
Trustee Harris then began discussing purchasing a Vermeer machine for the Village. It would do everything that we hire other companies out to do for us so it would pay for itself in a few years time. Trustee Laurent had a question regarding cost of maintenance for the Vermeer machine; he had heard it was very expensive. Trustee Harris did not know how much maintenance for it would be. Trustee Bickers wondered if Sidney Township would be interested in going in with the Village to purchase one. Trustee Harris stated he would talk to Tim Ostebur about it.
PUBLIC PROPERTY
Trustee Bickers reported that there were no permits issued. He had also received a request from two members of the Sweet Adeline singing group to see if they could use the new Village Hall to practice in every other Tuesday evening. The board discussed it and said that would be fine.
PARKS AND RECREATION
Trustee Laurent stated that he doesn’t believe enough residents are truly interested in having a dog park to assume the cost and liability of having one, but he will continue to look into the possibility of having one. He did have a resident ask if she could allow her dog on the Witt Park ball fields in the off baseball season, however, the board members stated that it still not allowed.
Trustee Laurent then stated that he has footage of kids doing doughnuts on golf carts out at Witt Park. The board members advised contacting the sheriff if this continues.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Trustee Schluter reported that he was able to save the Village $1,541.89 by getting the tables and chairs for the banquet room at different places. He was able to purchase 160 chairs, 20 tables, carts to store them in and 4 eight foot long tables for $7,613.07. Trustee Schluter then thanked Trustees Gadeken, Bickers, and President Arrasmith for helping him put the carts together for the tables and chairs.
Trustee Schluter then stated that the website is current with Trustee Hookers information.
Trustee Harris stated that Fenter Machinery was able to fix four drains for the Village at a lower cost of $35,000 under New Business.
Trustee Laurent made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:37p.m. Trustee Bickers seconded the motion. The motion carried with all ayes on a roll call vote.
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