Village of Oblong
DRAFT MINUTES
January 7th, 2004
The Village Board of Trustees met in regular session on January 7th, 2004, in the Farley Room of the Municipal Building.
Members Present: Mayor Keith Waldrop, Clerk Ladora Boyd, Trustee Bill Hatch, Trustee Bonnie Finn, Trustee Jack Gallion, Trustee Carole Jones, Trustee Sherry Catt, Trustee Debi Wilson and Treasurer Jan Miller.
Others Present: Public Works Superintendent Gary Lanter, Police Chief Chad Pusey, Tom Compton (Daily News), Gerald "Jerry" Adams, Cory Utterback (Connor & Connor, Inc.), Shannon Woodard (Connor & Connor, Inc.), Ron Finn, Frank Weber (Village Attorney), Sara Brotherton, Susie Tracy, Charlotte Cannon (Oblong Gem), J.J. Jones, Myrna (Finn) Webber, Norma Thompson, Betty Gish, Jeff Finn, Myrl Littlejohn, Randy Pine, Kristin Avery, Mr. Grundon, Bobbie Grundon and Rex Finn.
1. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Mayor Waldrop.
2. The Regular Meeting minutes of December 3rd were approved with a motion by Bill and a second by Jack. All ayes, motion carried.
3. There were no additions or deletions to the agenda this month.
4. There were no delinquent water bill customers at the meeting this month.
5. Shannon came before the Board to bring bills for the Water Tower Project. The pay out is as follows: David L. Krick ($ 18,840.55) and Connor & Connor, Inc. ($ 1,244.85). Motion by Bonnie, with a second by Bill, to pay the bills on the Water Tower Project with approval from the Illinois EPA. All ayes, motion carried. Shannon stated that contract time for Krick had expired on December 17th. Shannon has done a change order to extend Krick's contract until June 30th, 2004, and adjusted the quantities in the amount of $13,761.17. Motion by Bill, with a second by Sherry, to approve the change order #1. All ayes, motion carried. Shannon stated that the steel had been delivered. Cory had contacted Caldwell but had not received a call back yet.
6. Betty Gish came before the board stating that she has had to spray for
cockroaches the past four (4) years due to a neighbor of her's. She would
like for her neighbor to clean up around their property. She wanted to know
if there was anything the Board could do. Chad stated that he had called the
Health Department, but had not gotten a call back yet. Frank stated that he
and Chad had discussed the issue and thought maybe it would be covered under
the nuisance ordinance the Village has. Keith stated that the Village will
look into the problem and see if anything can be done.
7. Keith stated the audience had a maximum of five (5) minutes to speak their opinions on the issue of having livestock inside the Village limits. Several were for having pleasure horses in the Village. Some were against having any kind of livestock in the Village.
Sara Brotherton referred to minutes of August 6th, 1997, where it states in Item #10 E - ...Livestock in the Village was discussed, and all agreed the livestock needs to be identified. Motion by Waldrop, second by Lindsey, to restrict the bringing in of livestock within the village limits, and livestock that is now present cannot be replaced. All votes were aye, the motion carried. There was some more discussion. Sherry stated that she had not heard one way or the other on this issue. Sherry stated that she wished there was some more option and that this issue could be resolved peacefully. Carole also stated that she had not heard one way or the other on this issue either.
Frank stated that ordinances supersede motions by law.
J.J. asked what the true reason was that Mr. Adams and the Pings were asked to remove their animals. Keith told J.J. he would let her know later if she came in his office.
8. Bill read the minutes from December 16th, 2003, minutes of the Animal Committee meeting. There was some discussion on the three (3) options for changes in the ordinance on animals that the committee had come up with. Two of the options lacked a second on the motions, so they were not voted on.
Motion by Debi, with a second by Sherry, to adopt Ordinance #2003-0-462 "An Ordinance to Amend Chapter 3, Animals, Article I - General Provisions, Section 3-1-9, Animals, Etc. in Village, Of the Revised Code of Ordinances of Oblong, Illinois"; with some changes in Item # 3. The changes are as follows: 1. change 90 days to 30 days and 2. Add the following two (2) sentences before the last sentence in Item #3. The application hereunder shall be accompanied by a consent executed by the adult residents directly adjoining the facility in which such animal or animals are proposed to be kept. In the event such application is not accompanied by that consent, then a permit shall be issued upon motion of the Board of Trustees. Ayes: Bill, Jack, Sherry, Debi. Nays: Carole. Abstain: Bonnie. Motion carried.
9. Motion by Debi, second by Bill, to adopt the Investment Policy of the Village
of Oblong for 2004. All ayes, motion carried.
10. Keith stated that a ten (10) minute break was being taken at 8:21 pm.
11. Under Mayor's Comments: a.) Keith stated that he had a Thank you card.
b.) Keith said that he felt that there was a good turn out for the Employee-Trustee Christmas meal and everyone had a great time.
c.) Keith stated that with the new software that he had Danny Deathrage go over the specs. Danny felt that the contract and spec look good, but he felt that the Village did not need to purchase everything at once. Danny has talked with Frank from Locis. Keith stated that the Village is going to be sending in half the amount for the software on Thursday. Keith thinks that with in a couple of weeks Locis will be ready to load the new software.
d.)Keith mentioned that the Water Department will be purchasing a new computer for the office.
e.)Keith stated that he knew this is only January, but the departments need to start working on their budgets before long.
f.)Keith said that he had received a letter from Mediacom. The letter states that by February 1 the rates will be raised and the customer will be getting one (1) new station.
12. The treasurer's report was given by Jan. Jan stated that the funds look low this month, so she will kept a close eye on the fund balances.
13. Motion by Debi, with a second by Sherry, to pay the bills that were on the voucher and any utility bills, bills that will incur a late charge or reimbursements to employees. All ayes, motion carried.
14. Reports of Committees:
A. Police: Carole
stated that everyone had a copy of the monthly police report and also the
year end report. Carole mentioned that service calls were down a little last
month. Carole stated that last year the department took in over $20,000 in
fines, so that proves the Village needed the extra full-time officer. Chad
explained some of the statistics on the year end report. There will be a class
for the Police on January 21st from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm here in Oblong.
B. Buildings and Park: Sherry asked about the welcome signs on the edge of
town. She wanted to know who was in charge of the upkeep of the signs. Keith
stated that the Chamber of Commerce was responsible for the upkeep.
C. Sidewalks and Lights: No Report.
D. Street and Alley: No Report.
E. Water and Sewer: Annual JULIE Breakfast Meetings will be on January 14th in Olney and on January 16th in Effingham.
F. Finance: No Report.
15. Motion by Sherry, with a second by Debi, to go into executive session to discuss some personnel matters at 8:50 pm.
16. Motion by Bill, with a second by Jack, to come out of executive session at 8:59 pm.
17. No action was taken by the board on the personnel matters.
18. Motion by Jack, with a second by Bill, to adjourn at 9:01 pm. All ayes, motion carried.
Respectfully Submitted,
Ladora Boyd, Clerk