May 5th, 2010

The Village of Oblong Board of Trustees met in regular session on Wednesday, May 5th, 2010, in the Farley Room of the Municipal Building.

Members Mayor Randy Rich, Clerk Ladora Boyd, Trustee Rick Catt, Trustee Joe
Present: Campanella, Trustee Rick Houdasheldt, Trustee Ken Russell, Trustee Tony Madlem and Treasurer Jan Miller.

Absent: Trustee Debi Wilson.

Others Police Chief Chad Pusey, Public Works Superintendent Gary Lanter, Tom
Present: Compton (Daily News) and Ron Evans.

1. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Mayor Rich.

2. The Regular Board Meeting minutes of April 7th, 2010, were approved with a motion by Rick C. and a second by Joe. Five (5) 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. Motion by Rick H., with a second by Joe, to adopt Ordinance #2010-O-530 “An Ordinance Setting Forth Provisions for Compliance with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act”. Upon roll call ayes: Rick C., Joe, Rick H., Ken, Tony. There were no nays, motion carried.

6. Motion by Tony, with a second by Ken, to adopt Ordinance #2010-O-532 “An
Ordinance Approving the Dollar General Subdivision Plat”. Upon roll call ayes: Rick C., Joe, Rick H., Ken, Tony. There were no nays, motion carried.

7. Ron Evans came before the Board to let them know what his plans are for the property at 210 West Ohio Street. He stated that he is willing to tear down the buildings on the property but that he cannot afford to hire someone to come in and do the job. He asked the Board to give him a time line of getting the buildings down. There was some discussion on this issue. The Board stated that they would go on month to month bases as long as they see that Ron is making progress. There is an issue about the filling where the basement is.

The Board discussed about the conditions of the buildings (garage and lean-to) still on the property located at 402 South Range Street. Motion by Rick H., with a second by Rick C., to move forward with the condemnation of the property. Five (5) ayes, motion carried.

The Board discussed the conditions of the buildings located at 510 South Wilson Street. Motion by Rick C., with a second by Rick H., to move ahead with the condemnation of the property. Five (5) ayes, motion carried.

The Board discussed the conditions of the mobile home located on the property located at 502 West Ohio Street. It was suggested that the Village could have the property researched to see who owns it and if there are any liens on it. If no liens then the Board could declare it abandon and possibly get the property for the paperwork; clear it and resale it. Motion by Rick H., with a second by Ken, to look into who owns the property and the mobile home and then proceed from there. Five (5) ayes, motion carried.

The Board discussed the condition of the property located at 509 East Ohio. The Board decided to have a title search done and then revisit the issue at the next regularly scheduled board meeting (June 2nd, 2010).

Chad mentioned that there is another property located on the northwest corner of South Adams Street and West Texas Street that the Village needs to keep an eye on.

The Board discussed the property located at 509 North Range Street. The Board decided that this property could be taken care of by the Police issuing nuisance citations for tall weeds and trash in garage.

8. Randy stated that WTW Salvage had contacted the office and was wanting to do another scrap metal clean-up at the end of this month or one in June. The company stated that when they came on Friday after Veolia’s Spring Clean-up that there was nothing to pick-up. The Board decided to have Randy contact WTW Salvage and see if they would be interested in possibly putting an ad in the paper with their phone number so that the citizen could called the company when they had some items to be picked up.

9. Under Mayor’s Comments:
1. Randy stated that the Village had received a letter from MediaCom dated April 7th, 2010, regarding the clarification of three points. 1. There will be no increase of charges for voicemail. 2. Late fees will be increased by $2.50. 3. DVR-SVC Additional from $5.00 to $6.00.
2. Randy stated that the Village had received another letter from MediaCom dated April 16th, 2010, regarding the addition of EPIX and WEIU PBS HD. EPIX is a unique premium service that is designed with the High Definition customer in mind and is available more ways for greater viewing convenience. The EPIX packages and prices are as follows: EPIX-Movie $9.95; EPIX-Video & Online $4.95; and EPIX-Video, Online & Phone $1.00.

10. Reports of Committees:
A. Police: Joe read the monthly report for March. Joe stated that Chad has a training session on May 18th in Robinson on Blood-borne Pathogens. Joe mentioned that the department has already issued six permits for non-highway vehicles. Randy opened the four bids that had been received on the 1994 Jeep that the police department had seized. They are as follows:

1. Travis Smith $333.00
2. Scotty Chiddix $401.00
3. Bob Tracy $300.00
4. Matthew Hightshoe $800.00

Motion by Joe, with a second by Rick C., to accept the bid of $800 from Matthew Hightshoe for the 1994 Jeep. Five (5) ayes, motion carried.

B. Building and Park: There was no report for this month.

C. Sidewalks and Lights: Rick H. stated that there will be a meeting with Keiffer Bros. and Mike Nash about the new street lights for the downtown area. Rick thanked Randy and Tony for their help on this issue.

D. Street and Alley: Tony stated that he had nothing to report this month. Tony asked if the Village would be responsible for black topping the street approaches. Gary stated that the Village was not responsible for that.

E. Water and Sewer: Ken stated that Gary and the guys have started work on the Northeast Water Loop Project around the weather. Gary stated that they’re about a third done with the project.

F. Finance: Rick C. stated that the committee met on April 28th to discuss raises. Rick stated that the raises were included in the budget that was approved last month.

G. Development: Tony stated that things are moving along with the Dollar General store. Randy stated that he had talked with Shannon from Connor & Connor about the sewer line lay-out. Shannon told Randy that he had some issues that needs to be addressed by the developers before he can finish the lay-out.

11. Motion by Rick C., with a second by Tony, 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. Five (5) ayes, motion carried.

12. There were a couple of other items of business this month. The first was about the Crawford County Fair Queen Candidates. It was mentioned that last year there was only five candidates. Tom stated that if any of the Board members knew of someone who may be interested in trying-out for the Fair Queen, the Board should encourage them. The second was about whether Dr. Szigethy was going to tear down the clinic and rebuild. Chad stated that Dr. Szigethy was planning to tear down the clinic but has already found a location for the practice.

13. Motion by Rick C., with a second by Rick H., to adjourn the meeting at 7:58 pm.
Five (5) ayes, motion carried.

Respectfully submitted

Ladora C. Boyd