August 13, 2014

Board Meeting Minutes

Minutes August 13, 2014

The regular meeting of the Village of Divernon Board of Trustees was held on Wednesday, August 13, 2014, at the Divernon Village Hall. Village President Randy Rhodes called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. After the Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all in attendance, Clerk Rod Molnar called roll: Randy Rhodes “Here”, Pam Cronister “Here”, Jim Copelin “Here”, Larry Baer “Here”, Derek Hedges “Here”, Dianne Brenning “Here”. Also in attendance were Police Chief Barclay Harris and Superintendent Larry Rhodes. Melissa Layton was absent.

A motion was made by Hedges to approve the minutes of July 23, 2014. Baer seconded and the motion passed 4-0. Brenning voting present.

Brenning presented the Village bills with a motion that they be approved. After Baer seconded the motion, it was approved 5-0.

John Powell was in attendance at the request of Chief Harris. Mr. Powell had put some markings on his sidewalk near the area where the Safe Routes for Schools construction was going on. The subcontractor mistook the markings to be done by the engineer and removed a section of sidewalk that wasn’t part of the program. It cannot be replaced with federal grant money. The Board offered to replace the walk for Mr. Powell at a rate of $8.00 per running foot. This is the same rate charged to anyone interested in the annual sidewalk replacement program. Mr. Powell did not indicate whether or not he would comply.

Superintendent Report:

Nothing to report.

Police Report:

Chief Harris said that the department had a busy three weeks. They have been having trouble with some young people causing problems. They had set the tree on fire behind the backstop at the softball field. They have also caused damage to a farmer’s corn crop near the softball field. Harris has their names and is taking care of it. A number of traffic citations have been written. He and Superintendent Rhodes have placed “Closed by Police Order” on the closed gas station as a safety precaution. There was discussion as to whether the animal ordinance needs to have language added to deal with dog waste. Harris will look into sample ordinances.

Committee Reports:

Streets, Alleys, and Utilities:

Cronister reported that the office manager thinks that utility deposits need to be raised. She feels that often when someone moves out of town, that there is not enough of a deposit to cover their unpaid bill. She will discuss this further with Sue. Lindsey Enloe of Utility Safety and Design is looking at the last audit to determine if the Village needs to adjust rates of natural gas. They have not been increased in several years. He asked for a copy of the newest audit before making any recommendations. The new audit should be completed soon. Bill and Nancy Beaty have asked that a portion of their sidewalk be added to the annual sidewalk replacement program. It will be added. There were no bids on the sidewalk replacement in the TIF area or for the slab by the railroad depot. Molnar will contact the TIF attorney on how to proceed. Sherry Bearden put in a request to have $150.00 returned to her from the sidewalk contractor. They damaged her invisible fence for her dogs even though she had it marked. She had paid $75.00 to have the line marked and then had to pay another $75.00 to have the line repaired. A $75.00 charge will go to

Minutes August 13, 2014

the contractor but the Village doesn’t believe that the other $75.00 should be refunded, as the wire should not have been outside the owner’s property line.

Finance:

Treasurer Christine Nichols was in attendance. She gave an update on the conversion to the new billing and accounting system. It was discovered during the conversion, that the old billing system was not billing four accounts correctly. Letters will be sent out to those customers that were affected. Nichols has worked out an agreement with United Community Bank to begin direct depositing payroll checks beginning with the next pay period. This will be a savings to the Village. She reported that the Village received a clean audit from the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund.

Personnel:

Nothing to report.

Health and Safety:

Copelin reported on a meeting of the Sangamon County Hazard Mitigation Committee that he had attended and laid out what will be required of the Village. The next meeting will be September 2, 2014.

Community Development:

Mayor Rhodes reported that the abandoned houses on State Street had been demolished. A lien will be put on both properties.

Building Grounds and Lights:

Nothing to report.

Old Business:

None.

New Business:

The Village received a letter from the Regional Leadership Council asking if the Village would be interested in participating in a group bid with other villages and cities for goods and services. They also provided a sample list. The Village would be interested in looking into bids for health insurance, law enforcement uniforms and equipment, grant writing and road salt.

Motion by Cronister to adjourn at 8:08 p.m.

Randy Rhodes Rodney Molnar

Village President Village Clerk