Village of Oblong
Meeting Minutes
February 2, 2005
The Village Board of Trustees met in regular session on February 2nd, 2005, 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 Monte Gillaspie, Trustee Sherry Catt, Trustee Debi Wilson and Treasurer Jan Miller.
Others Present: Public Works Superintendent Gary Lanter, Chief Chad Pusey, Tom Compton (Daily News), Charlotte Cannon (Oblong Gem), Patrol Officer Kristin Avery, Richard Ralston, Brenda Gillaspie, Bill Cox Jr., Shannon Woodard, Cory Utterback and Randy Rich.
1. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Mayor Waldrop.
2. The Regular Board Meeting minutes of January 5th, 2005, were approved with a motion by Jack and a second by Bill. All ayes, motion carried.
3. There were no additions or deletions to the agenda this month.
4. There were no water bill customers at the meeting this month.
5. Shannon Woodard of Connor & Connor, Inc., came before the Board to discuss North Extension Phase II (North East) which consist of extending the water lines North and East of Oblong. There are about 80 to 85 individuals and their families wanting to connect to city water. Shannon had a map for the Board to look at showing the location of the individuals and how many miles of pipe that will need to be laid. There are three individuals that are too far apart for it to be feasible at this time to have them on the North Extension Phase II. The estimated cost of this phase is $971,397.00. There was some discussion on this matter, such as where and how to get the funding for the project. Some of the places to get the funding for this project are USDA Rural Development, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (IDCEO) and EPA. There was a motion by Jack, with a second by Monte, to table any decision on this project until May when the new Board is seated. All ayes, motion carried.
Shannon, also, talked about the estimated cost of adding a water softening unit. The estimated cost is $517,500.00. Shannon stated that there would possibly be an addition of $30,000.00, so that the Westview Addition could have the water softening also. There was some discussion on this matter. Jack made a motion, with a second by Bill, to not proceed with the water softening unit at this time due to the add expense to the water customers. All ayes, motion carried.
There was some discussion on the reason for the delay in receiving the reimbursement from EPA on Water Tower Expense.
6. Richard Ralston of Crawford County Solid Waste Disposal System, came before the Board to state that CCSWDS is not broke but on the verge of being broke. Mr. Ralston went on to state that for now the county board is funding CCSWDS. There is an agreement that was signed back in 1988 that the municipalities were to pay a percent based on their population. CCSWDS collects recycle items from Crawford, Lawrence and Richland counties. Keith asked about the ownership on the building being used to collect the recycle items. Mr. Ralston stated that the Village owns ½ and the Township owns ½.
7. Under Mayor's Comments: a.)Keith stated that he will be gone from February 14th to the 21st on vacation. Keith appointed Bonnie and Debi to be in charge while he is gone on vacation.
b.) Keith stated that Mr. Dart had been in and paid the farm lease fee. There was some discussion about making some changes on the contract before next year. The Board decided to have the mayor contact Mr. Dart and ask him to turn in soil samples as requested in the contract now and when was the last time aglime was put on.
c.) Keith stated that MediaCom is raising the rates effective March 1st. The Broadcast Basic rate is $15.95 now. It will be raise to $20.95. The Family Cable is $45.95 now. It will be raise to $47.95.
d.) Keith mentioned the stop signs at the intersection of South Grant and East Kentucky streets. Right now cars traveling east or west on East Kentucky have to stop. Keith feels that there should be a change where cars traveling south on South Grant should stop, since the railroad crossing has been taken out. Motion by Jack, with a second by Sherry, to change the direction of the stop at the intersection of South Grant and East Kentucky streets. All ayes, motion carried. (Ordinance #2005-0-476 “An Ordinance To Amend Chapter 24, Motor Vehicle Code, Article III - Stop And Through Streets, Section 24-3-3 Of The Revised Code of Ordinances Of Oblong, Illinois”)
e.) Keith stated that the Fire Chief gave him a letter of support on condemning two properties here in Oblong. One is located at 402 South Range Street and the other is located at 405 South Garfield Street. There was some discussion. Jack made a motion to contact Mr. Weber, Village Attorney, to proceed with the condemning of the two properties. Sherry second the motion. All ayes, motion carried.
8. The treasurer's report was given by Jan.
9. After some discussion on a bill from Darby Miller. A motion by Bonnie, with a second by Jack, 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. Ayes: Bill, Bonnie, Jack, Monte, Debi. Nays: Sherry. The motion carried.
10. Reports of Committees:
A Police: Jack stated that everyone had a copy of the monthly police report. Jack stated that there are no training sessions this month for the Police Department.
B. Buildings and Park: Gary stated that there had been some remodeling on the old oilfield museum building.
C. Sidewalks and Lights: There was no report for this month.
D. Street and Alley: Gary reported that they’re filling in potholes and also working on widening Ridge Lane.
E. Water and Sewer: Debi stated that everyone had a copy of the minutes from the January 12th committee meeting and that Shannon had discussed everything else.
F. Finance: There was nothing to report at this time.
11. There was no other business this month.
12. Motion by Jack, with a second by Bill, to adjourn at 8:31 pm. All ayes, motion carried.
Respectfully submitted
Ladora C. Boyd