October 28, 2015

Board Meeting Minutes

Minutes October 28, 2015 Page 3480

The regular meeting of the Village of Divernon Board of Trustees was held on Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at the Divernon Village Hall. Mayor Randy Rhodes called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. After the Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all in attendance, Clerk Rod Molnar called roll: Randy Rhodes “Here”, Melissa Layton “Here”, Larry Baer “Here”, Derek Hedges “Here”, Dianne Brenning “Here”. Also in attendance were Police Chief Barclay Harris, and Superintendent Jeremy Rhodes. Jim Copelin and Jamie Morgan were absent.

A motion was made by Layton and seconded by Hedges to approve the minutes of October 14, 2015. The motion was approved 4-0.

Brenning presented the Village bills with a motion that they be approved. The motion was seconded by Baer and approved 4-0.

Visitors:

Bill Brown of Crawford, Murphy and Tilly and Ted Meckes of City, Water, Light and Power were in attendance to bring the Board up to date on the City of Springfield’s plan to construct Hunter Lake. The sewer plants of Divernon, Pawnee, and Virden all empty into creeks that will feed the new lake. These will need to be routed elsewhere if the lake is built. Brown and Meckes outlined a number of options and fielded several questions from the Board. The lake project is in the very early planning stages and several other meetings will need to take place.

Supervisors Reports:

Public Works:

Superintendent Jeremy Rhodes reported that Chad McCready and Jason Horn had recently received their certificates of completion for a water supply class. Water service has been restored to Dowson’s Grain elevator. Rhodes asked permission to have Richards Electric perform annual maintenance and a load bank test on the generator at the 3rd Street lift station at a cost of $1450.00. The Board asked Rhodes to have Richards give an estimate for the maintenance portion without the load bank test.

Police Report:

Chief Harris reported that new part time officers Palozzollo and Morgan are going through training.

Committee Reports:

Economic Development, Zoning, TIF, Building Permits:

A motion was made by Baer and seconded by Layton to accept the application for reimbursement for TIF funds from David Catlin for his project at 228 South First Street. The motion carried 4-0. Mayor Rhodes reported on a meeting he had with Fred Jessup. Jessup had contacted the owners of the closed service stations on Brown Street. The station on the south corner is available for sale. Rhodes in turn contacted the Springfield/Sangamon County Chamber of Commerce who has been in touch with Casey’s.

Public Utilities, Water, Sewer and Gas:

Sale of the 2007 F350 diesel truck will be added to the agenda for the next meeting.

Minutes October 28, 2015 Page 3481

Finance, Personnel, Technology, GIS:

Treasurer Christine Nichols advised that the Board may be able to levy for IMRF costs when the annual Tax Levy Ordinance is passed. The tax levy estimate will be put on the agenda for the next meeting, and a Truth in Taxation hearing has tentatively been set for November 30, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. A meeting will be set up with the Village Attorney before moving forward on this issue. Nichols also reported that tax reimbursements from the State of Illinois are running about a month behind. She also recently attended a training seminar for IMRF. R. Rhodes asked J. Rhodes and Harris to put together a budget with cuts of 10% for the next year. Hedges suggested that the Board put together a strict budget next year and stick to it instead of just working off of the Appropriation Ordinance. The Board approved a resolution to be sent to Governor Rauner and Speaker Madigan asking that tax dollars be sent to municipalities in a timely manner. The Board would like to formally thank the Divernon Lions Club for the donation of the informational sign installed at the Village Hall.

Public Safety, Police, Health and Safety:

Nothing to report.

Public Works, Streets, Alleys and Sidewalks:

R. Rhodes reported that he had spoken with Thurber Construction and explained that the work on the annual sidewalk program was on hold and would be completed as soon as back taxes from the State of Illinois were received.

Building Grounds and Lights, Parks, Recreation:

Nothing to report.

Old Business:

None.

New Business:

The Village will purchase an ad in the program for Auburn High School’s Coaches vs Cancer basketball tournament. The term for Divernon’s representative on the Otter Lake Water Commission is about to expire. R. Rhodes will check with Jake Rettberg to see if he would like to continue serving on the commission.

Motion by Brenning to adjourn at 9.22 pm.

Randy Rhodes Rodney Molnar

Village President Village Clerk

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