Village of Oblong
September 1, 2004
The Village Board of Trustees met in regular session on September 1st, 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 Sherry Catt, Trustee Debi Wilson and Treasurer Jan Miller.
Others Present: Public Works Superintendent Gary Lanter, Chief Chad Pusey, Tom Compton (Daily News), Brenda L. Gillaspie, Monte C. Gillaspie, Patrol Officer Kristin Avery, Charlotte Cannon (Oblong Gem), Randy Fancil, Pat Gammill (IRWA Circuit Rider), Bob Grundon, Nedra Clark, Mike McReynolds, Cindy McReynolds and Kim Shafer.
1. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Mayor Waldrop.
2. Keith stated that there was four individuals ( Kim Shafer, Charlotte Cannon, Monte Gillaspie and Randy Fancil) who had turned in letters that stated they were interested in filling the vacancy on the Board. (See attached letters) Copies were given to all the board members. Each candidate stood up and made a statement of why they were interested in the position. Keith stated that he would like to appoint Monte Gillaspie to the vacancy on the board. The vote was 3-2 (Ayes: Bonnie, Jack, Debi. Nays: Bill, Sherry.) in favor of Mr. Gillaspie.
Keith swore in Mr. Gillaspie as Trustee.
3. The Regular Board Meeting minutes of August 4th were approved with a motion by Jack and a second by Debi. All ayes, motion carried.
4. There were no additions or deletions to the agenda this month.
5. There were two water bill customers at the meeting this month. Mr. & Mrs. McReynolds stated that they could pay their water bill on September 3rd. The Board granted their request. Also Nedra Clark stated that she would be able to pay her water bill on September 8th. The Board granted their request.
6. Pat Gammil a circuit rider from Illinois Rural Water Association (IRWA) came to the meeting to try and answer some of the Boards questions about the loss of water. She stated that she came to Oblong last month and did a leakage check (see attached letter). Pat stated that as far as she could tell there are no major leaks in the water line but that there could be some minor leaks. Bill asked a few questions and Pat answered them. Pat stated that she and Gary talked about some of the changes that IRWA were suggesting. Pat passed out some literature for the Board to look over at their leisure.
7. Motion by Bonnie, with a second by Debi, to adopt Resolution #04-8 “Halloween Parade Permit”. All ayes, motion carried.
8. Motion by Debi, with a second by Jack, to adopt Ordinance #2004-0-473 “An Ordinance to Adopt National Incident Management System (NIMS)”. All ayes, motion carried.
9. Under Mayor's Comments: a.) Keith stated that the wastewater fee was reduced from $5,000 to $2,500 and that the Village had received a refund check for $2,500 since the Village had paid the $5,000 for this year.
b.) Keith stated that the concrete for the basketball court had been poured. There is some problems with getting the pipe for the goal post.
c.) Keith stated that the papers, dealing with the dismantling of the old water tower, were signed on August 24th, 2004. Mike Munson will have 30 days to dismantle the old tower starting September 6th.
d.) Keith stated that IDOT will be here to do a field check on South Adams Street at 9 am tomorrow morning (September 2nd).
10. The treasurer's report was given by Jan. Jan stated that she had closed three (3) checking accounts at Casey State Bank, since we no longer have CD’s there for those accounts. Jan also mention that there will be 3 CD’s coming due in January. Bill asked about the Water Extension accounts and the Water Tower account. Jan stated that the Water Extension accounts were required by USDA Rural Development and that the Water Tower account was for making the EPA loan payment.
11. Motion by Bonnie, with a second by Debi, to pay the bills that were on the warranty list and any utility bills, bills that will incur a late charge or reimbursements to employees. All ayes, motion carried.
12. Reports of Committees:
A Police: Jack stated that everyone had a copy of the monthly police report. The police have several upcoming training sessions this month. On September 9th, the Chief will be certifying Officers Avery and Pine for the Tasers. On September 17th, they have a training session on Law Updates at Robinson. On September 18th, the Chief will be attending the NIMS training session. On September 23rd and 24th, the Chief will be attending a training session on new legislation on law enforcement in Charleston. Keith commended the police for the handling on a fight and high speed chase on August 21st weekend.
B. Buildings and Park: Keith stated that there will be some tree limbs trimmed around the basketball court. Keith stated that the replacement window had been installed in the Activity Center.
C. Sidewalks and Lights: Gary stated that there has been some repair work done on some of the sidewalks on his list that need work done on. Gary stated that he hoped to get some more done before bad weather.
D. Street and Alley: Everything was discussed earlier under mayor’s comments. Keith mentioned that there was some yellow panther paws painted on South Range Street leading to the High School. There is also a big “O” (painted in the school colors) right in front of the High School driveway. Jack stated that he had received a complaint about grass in the street on Illinois Street. Jack told the person that he needed to call the police department. Officer Avery stated that she went and investigate the area and that there was hardly any grass on the street or the sidewalk. Chip and seal of the streets is finished for this year. Gary stated there are some repairs that needs to done to some of the streets that were not on the list for MFT maintenance this year.
E. Water and Sewer: Debi stated that the trustees all had copies of the minutes from the last committee meeting. Debi also wanted to commend Gary on how well the summer help did this year. Gary stated that the water bills went out on time this month and that Jason was on schedule with his meter readings. Bill asked Gary if he had heard anymore from Connor & Connor on the water extension for some people North East of town that are wanting city water. Gary stated that he had not heard anything new on that matter.
F. Finance: Bonnie stated that the committee had a meeting August 20th (See Attached Minutes). Bonnie stated that the committee met with a Mr. Smith on August 26th, about GASB 34 program from his company and he also stated that it was not mandatory that the Village comply. He submitted a bid of $2,100. It has been filed and Bonnie stated that the bid was good for a couple of years.
Bonnie stated that since the mayor and trustees have not had a pay increase
since 1999, that committee recommended an increase in pay as follows:
Trustees go from $100/month to $125/month
Mayor go from $200/month to $250/month.
There was a straw vote taken. It is as follows: Ayes - Bonnie, Jack,
Monte, Sherry, Debi; Nays - Bill. Keith stated that there will be an ordinance
drafted with the pay increases for the newly elected trustees and mayor to
be passed at next months board meeting.
13. Under other business this month. a.) Sherry stated that she had researched the issue on underpinning for mobile homes. She found out that there is a 60 day limit on having the underpinning on mobile homes in the Village Code of Ordinance. b.) Ladora mentioned that the next SEICTA meeting will be September 9th at Effingham. c.) Keith stated that he, Jan and Ladora will be going to Chicago on September 16th - 18th to attend the IML Conference. d.) Jan stated that LOCIS will be coming September 24th, to install the new update and give some training on it.
14. Motion by Jack, with a second by Debi, to adjourn at 8:02 pm. All ayes, motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Ladora Boyd, Clerk