Village of Oblong

DRAFT MINUTES
December 3, 2008

The Village of Oblong Board of Trustees met in regular session on Wednesday, December 3 rd, 2008, in the Farley Room of the Municipal Building.

Members Mayor Randy Rich, Clerk Ladora Boyd, Trustee Rick Catt, Trustee Joe Campanella,

Present: Trustee Rick Houdasheldt, Trustee Ken Russell, and Treasurer Jan Miller.

Absent: Trustee Tony Madlem and Trustee Debi Wilson.

Others Police Chief Chad Pusey, Public Works Superintendent Gary Lanter, Tom Compton

Present: (Daily News), Jeff Lawhead, Nick Hinterscher and Shannon Woodward (Connor & Connor, Inc.).

1. The meeting was called to order at 7 pm by Mayor Rich.

2. The Regular Board Meeting minutes of November 5 th, 2008, were approved with a motion by Joe and a second by Ken. Four (4) ayes, motion carried.

3. There were no additions or deletions to the agenda this month.

4. There were no water bill customer at the meeting this month.

5. Jeff Lawhead came before the Board to ask what would be happening next with the property at 403 West Illinois Street. Randy stated that the Village will be taking the next step by having the Village Attorney (Frank Weber) start the process of getting a court decision of condemnation. Then the Village will hire someone to tear down the building and then the Village will put a lien on the property which will include all legal fees and cost of having the buildings torn down. Randy stated that if Jeff would sign an agreement to give the Village permission to tear the buildings down and make arrangement for payment to reimburse the Village for the cost. This would save some of the legal costs. Jeff stated that he would need to talk to his family before making that decision. Rick C. mentioned that before having the papers drawn up and Jeff sign them, that the Village should make sure that there is a clear title on the property. Randy stated that he would contact Frank and asked about the title search and then contact Jeff.

6. Nick Hinterscher came before the Board to ask for an extra hour and half on New Year’s Eve. Motion by Rick C., with a second by Rick H., to have last call at 1am and everyone out at 1:30 am for the tavern’s New Year’s Eve hours. Four (4) ayes, motion carried.

7. Shannon came before the Board to request payment for pay estimate #2 of the Route 33 Water Line Project. Motion by Ken, with a second by Rick C., to pay Mike Munson $87,942.97 for Pay Estimate #2. Four (4) ayes, motion carried. Motion by Ken, with a second by Rick C., to pay Connor & Connor, Inc. $7,975.97 for Inspection by the Engineers. Ayes: Rick C., Joe, Ken. Abstain: Rick H. Motion carried.

Shannon stated that the bills from Connor & Connor will also state which engineer did the work. He also brought to the Board a breakdown of the budget for the Route 33 Water Line Project. Original total was $664,073.50 (Village’s Portion $293,881.43). Current Estimate total is $553,504.82 (Village’s Portion $198,504.82). There was some questions about when IDOT would be letting for their project. Shannon stated that the letting is scheduled for January or February, 2009.

8. Under Mayor’s Comments:

A. Randy stated that the Village had received a Thank You card from The Ralstons for the floral arrangement sent by the Village for Mary Lu’s funeral.

B. Randy wanted to thank the city guys & Mike Munson for the progress of the project and the residents for their patience.

9. Reports of Committees:

A. Police: Rick H. stated that there would be normal training this month. Rick also stated that DUI Task Force will be reimbursing the Village for Chad’s hourly pay with overtime and mileage. Rick mentioned that there are a couple of guys from Effingham that are finishing up their Part/Time Academy Training that have shown an interest in working for the Village part-time. Chad stated that he will let the committee know when the guys could come for an interview. Chad stated that the schedule reflected the vacation days that he needed to take or loose.

B. Building and Park: Joe stated that he had nothing to report for this month for the building but that Gary had mentioned that the North Bathrooms is costing the Village about an extra $150/month to keep it open through the winter months. The Board agreed to let Gary winterize the North Bathrooms and close them until some time in March. Ken stated that Jan had contacted Jan Nation about the Oslad Grant to see if the Village could apply for a particle payment for the playground equipment. Jan stated that the most the Village could receive would be $20,000. Gary stated that David Krick had told him that they would start tomorrow (12/4/08) if it did not rain much. There was some discussion on this.

C. Sidewalks and Lights: Gary stated that he had nothing to report for this month.

D. Street and Alley: Gary stated that he had nothing to report for this month.

E. Water and Sewer: Ken stated that Gary & Travis would like permission to attend an IRWA seminar in Casey on January 18 th from 8 am to 12:30 pm and if possible take Dale along due to some discussion on Red Flags (identity theft).

F. Finance: Rick C. thanked Ken for initialing the bills and the adjustment to customer accounts in the Public Works Department for November. Rick mentioned that Tony will be initialing the bills and the adjustment to customer accounts in the Public Works Department for December. Rick stated that he asked that CCDA to let us know that if anyone from the Oblong area applies for loans. Randy mentioned that the mileage rate needed to be reinstated for Jan and Ladora when attending meetings. The Board granted that reinstatement of the mileage rate for Jan and Ladora.

10. Motion by Rick H., with a second by Ken, 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. Four (4) ayes, motion carried.

11. There were two other items of business this month. Ladora mentioned that the quarterly SECICTA meeting will be this month some time, and that Jan and her would like to attend. Jan stated that she would let the Board know the date later. Tom Compton mentioned that there is a book on odd towns in Illinois and that Oblong is mentioned.

12. Motion by Rick H., with a second by Rick C., to adjourn the meeting at 7:39 pm. Four (4) ayes, motion carried.

Respectfully submitted

Ladora C. Boyd