Draft Minutes

The Village of Oblong Board of Trustees met in regular session on Wednesday, November 5th, 2014, in the Farley Room of the Municipal Building.

Members Present: Mayor Randy Rich, Clerk Ladora Boyd, Trustee Dave Hasty, Trustee Jay Haines, Trustee Ken Russell, Trustee Tony Madlem, Trustee Debi Wilson and Treasurer/Deputy Clerk Jan Miller.

Absent: Trustee Rick Catt.

Others Present: Public Works Superintendent Gary Lanter, Police Chief Chad Pusey, Tom Compton (Daily News), Chris Dewitt (WTYE/WTAY), Lou Ann Baker (Oblong Gem), Rick Hamilton (Weber Insurance), Nick Hinterscher and Mike McReynolds.

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Mayor Rich; with everyone standing and saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Regular Board Meeting Minutes of October 1st, 2014 were approved with a motion by Jay, and a second by Ken. Five (5) ayes, motion carried.

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

There was one Water Bill customer at this month’s meeting. Mike McReynolds came before the Board to ask if he could pay his late water bill in two installments. The Board granted Mr. McReynolds’ request.

Nick Hinterscher came before the Board to ask if he could keep Floyd’s Place open until 1 am with last call at 12:30 am on November 26th. There was a question about the Village Tap’s hours. Nick stated that the Village Tap would be closing at 10 pm that night. The Board granted Mr. Hinterscher’s request.

Ken read a statement from Rick Catt about the bids received for the Village’s Property/Liability/Workers’ Comp Insurance. Rick stated that after reviewing the bids the Village would be able to save about $3,249.58, with HCC Public Risk & Illinois Public Risk Fund (IPRF). The recommendation from the Finance Committee is to go with HCC Public Risk for the Property/Liability at a cost of $20,239 and IPRF for the Workers’ Comp at a cost of $15,676. Motion by Ken, with a second by Jay, to switch the Village’s Property, Liability to HCC Public Risk and Workers’ Comp to IPRF. Five (5) ayes, motion carried.

Randy stated that there has been some issues with the Assignment Agreement for TIF 1 (Park Meadow), so for now the Board tabled any decision on this matter and any discussion of the payment to Mr. Colmark.

Mayor’s Comments:
Randy wanted to thank everyone who was involved with the Fall Follies this year. He stated that he felt everything has went smoothly.
Randy stated that the Village has received an application for money from the Revolving Loan Fund.
Randy stated that the Village Attorney is working on the paperwork dealing with the defaulted revolving loan to Reeves Kid Investment, Inc.
Randy mentioned that Trustee Ken Russell and his wife, Nancy, will be celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary on November 10th. Ken stated that there will be an open house on November 16th at the Municipal Building for their celebration and everyone is invited.
Randy stated that this year it will be the 25th Anniversary of the Santa Train. He stated that at the next meeting of the Board he will have a proclamation in recognition of this milestone.

Reports of Committees:
Jay stated that he had nothing to report this month. Chad stated that he had applied for a grant from the Mary Heath Foundation for equipment.

Building and Park: Debi stated that the other fountain out at the Park is now fixed and working. Debi mentioned that repairs to the pathway will be finish next spring due to the weather this fall. Debi stated that the committee met before the Board Meeting tonight to discuss raising the non-commercial deposit and rental fee for the Activity Center. The committee recommend that the deposit and rental fee should be $40 each. Motion by Debi, with a second by Dave, to raise the Activity Center non-commercial deposit from $35 to $40 and the rental fee from $30 to $40 effective January 1st, 2015. Five (5) ayes, motion carried. There was some discussion on the treatment of the lake this year and in the future.

Sidewalks and Lights: Dave stated that Gary had informed him that there were a couple of sidewalks repaired last month one being on North Adams Street and the other on South Range Street.

Street and Alley: Tony stated that he had nothing to report this month.

Water and Sewer: Ken stated that the inspection of the Water Tower had been completed and that there will be setup on an annual inspection scheduled so that the Village can keep an eye on what needs repairs in the future. Ken stated that there had been a survey sent to some of the water customers asking their feelings on possibly taking out the water line protection program, which would cover the cost of repair from the meter to the foundation of the customer’s home, at a cost of around $4 a month. Ken stated that from the response the committee decided not to pursue the program at this time.

Finance: Randy stated that Rick had nothing to report at the meeting this month.

Development: Tony stated that he had nothing to report this month.

Tourism: Debi stated that there was one application turned-in from the Oblong Chamber of Commerce requesting $2,000 for Fall Follies advertising. There was some discussion on whether to go ahead and approve the re quest or to hold off until next year. Motion by Debi, with a second by Tony, to give the Oblong Chamber of Commerce $2,000 for Fall Follies advertising. Five (5) ayes, motion carried. There was some discussion on setting up a due date for future applications to be turned in. It was decided that the applications would need to be turned in two weeks before a Board Meeting, so that the Tourism Committee could met and make a recommendation to the Village Board.

Motion by Jay, 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. All ayes, motion carried.

There was one other item of business this month. Randy stated that Dave, Chad and he will be attending a Disaster Mitigation Meeting in Robinson tomorrow (November 6, 2014).

Motion by Tony, with a second by Ken, to adjourn the meeting at 7:26 pm. Five (5) ayes, motion carried.

Respectfully submitted

Ladora Boyd, Clerk